SA1 English Results

Dear Pupils

The result for English SA1 will only be released on Week 9.

In my opinion, I think the class did not do well enough. However, I believe all of you can achieve better marks if you put in more effort in your class work and revision.

I already used Fabian and Renny as two good examples in class on Friday (Week 8). There is no secret formula for success. You need to work hard. I also shared with you on my primary school days in Dazhong. Your teachers can share with you that much - it's up to you to put your thoughts and words into actions.

For those who did not do well (you should know who you are) - you seriously need to work very hard to catch up during the holidays. You have to stop using "it-is-not-too-late" excuses on yourself. Start working hard now or else it is really going to be 'too late' - and by then, it would be too late to regret and cry in shame.

For those who passed and did reasonably well (only a few of you), do not be complacent (contended/happy) - because the teachers were quite generous with marks during the Oral Exam as well as in the writing paper (Situational & Composition writing). Paper 2 is a fair paper, not difficult at all - you would have done well if you did your revision well enough (that is, study the worksheets in the English File) - which apparently, many didnt. For those who didnt study/revise, dont you deserved to fair or perform badly? Do you expect marks to come to you without hard work? Dont be silly, wake up!


All of you seriously need to work really hard during the holidays - 1 full month of self-study revision. You need to be independent and to honour your work. I cannot be with you 24/7 (24 hours, all the time). I believe you should be old / matured enough to know what you should do to do well. You are no longer in Primary 3, Primary 4. Very soon, you will be taking your PSLE.

All the best.

Online Debate in Week 9 or 10

Dear Pupils

We will be having an online debate very soon in either week 9 or 10 at the Computer Lab.

In the meantime, please brainstorm for ideas or do some research on the following topic:

Examination & Tests - 

Is it good or bad for children?

Regards
Mr Andy

SA1 Exam - Paper 1 on Tuesday

Dear Pupils,

Please remember that you will be having your Paper 1 English on Tuesday.

You will be tested on the following components:




Part 1: Situational Writing (Formal Letter)

- Remember the read the notes on the format of writing
- Read the graphic stimulus (question)
- Find and underline the 6 points (score 6/6 full marks for the Content component)
- Write your answer in complete sentences
- Dear XXX  .... Yours sincerely (or faithfully)
- Start with: Re: ________________________ 
- Conclude with: "I look forward to hearing from you"

Part 2: Continuous Writing
Q2: Picture Composition

Q3: Scenario

Study the post-mortem materials well (those on Crime & Accident), and the common blunders made during your Topical Test 2.

Remember to PLAN your story (5 min)
And develop your plot structure throughout by asking Who, What, Where, When, Why, How....
- Orientation
- Rising Actions (develop your conflict/problem)
- Climax (make it very exciting)
- Falling Actions (how you solve your problem)
- Ending/Resolution (the story/message must be consistent to problem/conflict)

Good luck!

Forms

Dear pupils,

Please remember to submit the following forms if you have not done so (to Mr Beh when he comes back on Monday). Urgent.

1. Travel Declaration Form
2. Edusave Form (Fees Schedule for 2011)
3. Exam Time Table - acknowledgment slip

Food for thought

So what if you scored 100 marks for all subjects - but your character is flawed.

So what if achieved Band 1 in all subjects but your attitude is bad, you are rude and have no respect for your teachers and parents. You bully, you steal, you break school rules...?

So what's more important? Good values or good grades? Both?

Eye Care Rap Results

Congratulations to 5/2 for coming in 2nd in the Eye Care Rep contest!!

Kudos to all those involved and had participated in the contest!

Here are the results:
1st - 5/1
2nd - 5/2
3rd - 5/3
4th - 5/4

What had we learnt so far?

Tackling the section on Editing (bold = spelling; underline = grammar)

Tackling the section on Graphic Stimulus (read the questions, find the answers; questions dealing with "main reason", "main idea", "main objective" - always do it last)

Tackling the section on Situational Writing (aim for full 6/6 marks for Content)

Plot structure in narrative writing (Orientation > Rising Actions > Climax > Falling Actions > Resolutions); and keep asking yourselves 5W1H when you write. But before you write, you need to PLAN!

Grammar & Vocab (GV worksheets) - Eliminate/Cancel the wrong answers first, learn how to guess the answer in context.

Synthesis & Transformation - Do not change the meaning of the sentence. Know where to put your "comma" and "full stop", and tenses.

For the next few weeks (Term 2 Week 3 & 4), we would be focusing on writing skills (more on plot structure), cloze passage and comprehension skills.

English is not difficult - it's about identifying patterns and equipping yourselves with the right techniques/skills to understand and answer the questions.

English Remedial - Term 3

Dear Parents/Guardian and pupils of 5R,

Please be reminded that there will be remedial on every Monday for 5 weeks starting from Week 2.

This remedial is compulsory. I will be focusing on comprehension and writing skills during these sessions.

See you on Monday,
Mr Andy

Week 2 Spelling

Dear P5R pupils,

Please remember to study Spelling 2 & 3. I will be testing your spelling on coming Monday.

(Bring along your GV3 worksheets)

All the best.

Regards,
Mr Andy

Today's Homework (22/3, Tues)

1. Complete the remaining questions in the GV 1 worksheet.
2. Editing 3 (refer to your Editing spelling list for help)
3. My Pals Unit 4 - do the comprehension MCQ on Marco Polo.
4. Learn Spelling 2 and 3 (to be tested on next Monday)

P5 English - Make or Break!

"Time to pull up your socks - it's never too late to start now!"

I'm sure many of you have heard many teachers saying this to you. True enough, it's never too late to start. P5 is a very important year - if you don't seize the day (carpe diem!), you would have a problem catching up in P6. Trust my words!

The school's English Department has put in place a structured worksheet curriculum to help our pupils raise their standard of English.

From Term 2 onwards, we will have:
(1) Structured Progression - Situational Writing focusing on Formal Writing in Term 2 and Factual Reports in Term 3.
(2) Open Cloze Passage
(3) Comprehension Skills Strategies - teaching pupils how to read with understanding. Main approach: DRTA
(4) Structured Writing Package - based on the Understanding by Backward Design principles. Worksheets are carefully designed in a sense that there are a series of activities to help build prior knowledge and scaffold understanding and thinking.
(5) Grammar and Vocabulary Worksheet Series - focusing on building foundation of weaker pupils. Pupils of higher ability will be given another set of worksheets.
(6) Subscription to Little Red Dot - to utilize the newspaper on every Friday during the school' Joy-to-Read programme.
(7) To improve the standard of spoken English, the walls outside 5R will be pasted with activities in which pupils will learn how to convert Singlish to proper English.

 ...... and many more!

Of course, all these initiatives and programmes would be wasted if pupils are not self-motivated or do not take learning seriously.

Snapshots of our classroom...

Here are some snapshots of the classroom:

... deep in thoughts

P5R pupils engrossed in their class work

Class 5R with 2 Koreans on exchange

Reminders for Parents & Pupils of 5R

March Holiday's Assignments (English)
(1) Vocabulary
(2) Editing
Please use a dictionary to help you!

(3) When school reopens on Day 1 (Term 2), there'll be Spelling. Remember to learn the words and phrases.

(4) Spend some time to look through the Grammar notes (present tense, past tense & participles)

Learn how to plan and manage your time well. Pace yourself and you will realise that you actually do have a lot of time to complete the assignments.

Have a good holidays!