PICTURES GALORE !!!

a very nice poster @ Toa Payoh Entertainment Centre.. though i don love dogs...
spotted an 'antique' neo print machine.. used to love this one when it first came out...
god knows how much was spent on these inventions from Japan.. the Japanese must have laughed their way to the bank...
dear and me @ PARISS restaurant.. in our new nerdy glasses... hehe
my 1st round of dishes...
Xth round... my fav dish cox the prawns were really nice...
a long table of 11 adults and 4 kids... total bill came to a whopping $600++....
teacher Eng with a glass of fruit punch.. think my kids will freak out when they see me in glasses?
a nice ambience and great deco @ PARISS.......


dear and me... behind the glass windows is the Esplanade.....
me and ah ma... with her yummy gui lin gao...
zhao ping and me... with my big prawn...
wenya and me... yummy kiwi...
zhao xiang and me.... yummy kiwi too...
Wanrong and me... donnoe why she won smile at the camera.. haiz...
ah ma and all her grandchildren.. except for one who was in the toilet.. hehe...
Wanrong : *yeah... i can finally get to ice cream without mummy scolding me... *
Wanrong : *yummy yummy.. lick my spoon clean... ah ma says cannot waste food...*
Wanrong : *hmmm.... what are those people doing over there? *
Wanrong : *nvm.. shall not care about them.. jux eat my own icecream.. hehe......*

A GREAT DAY!

i think i'm really lucky...

read the messages posted by some of my NIE friends.. some have been tasked overseas immersion programmes during the sept holidays... some of them kenna 'arrowed' to attend workshops.. some of them having tcr's day dinners in their school hall..

as for me.. i spent a great day today.. finished marking my P2 and P3 CA2 papers.. average of about 8 failures per class.. but some have shown improvements... now only left the PSLE Prelim marking for P6 EM1 Compo paper.. my 1st time marking Prelim Compo papers as a second marker.. hopefully i did not give too high marks...

den it was off to a nice dinner meeting with Tanlim.. we ate KFC @ Bishan.. would have been real great, if not for the fact that the lady sitting beside me spilt her whole cup of pepsi onto me!!!! ARGGGH! thks dear sister for going to the toilet to clear up the mess with me...

den we went shopping. and i...... bought a pair of shoes, two skirts and one capri pants within 45mins!!! haaaaaa...... tok about saving $$ .. haiz.. no choice leh... the clothes donnoe why seemed to fit so nicely today..... haha...... so i bought loh...... haaaaaaaa.....

Tanlin left for tuition while i took 55 home.. den i chatted wif yan on the way home.. met a friend while i was buying stickers at the pasar malam next to the bus stop where i alighted.. he helped me carry some of my shopping bags and we chatted for a while.. but a bit awkward cox we seemed to run out of conversations..

den when i reached home.. 2 envelopes greeted me.. one frm OCBC and one from UOB.. finally.. my long awaited cards have been approved and have arrived!!!

with the addition of 2 more cards to my wallet.. i must resist the temptation to shop and shop...

tempted to go try out my cards now.. hehe.. shall resist the temptation!!! Be Frugal Sharon!

i miss you ah dear... see ya @ jurong east tom!!! don be late hor! muackz...

WELL DONE SHARON!

tatz what my principal told me @ our post conference this morning.

YIPEE!!!

haaaaaaaaa...... went to the P's office after my P4 class today... he jux sat down with me, without any of those observation papers from yesterday...

after the above statement, he started the conference by discussing about the complaint letter sent weeks ago... P asked if i had antg to say abt the complaint letter.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Seriously, i did not expect him to bring up the topic. or rather, i would say i had forgotten abt it since the hype died off weeks ago. Hence, i was caught offguard..

therefore, i cleared my throat.. and tried to put across my comments and tots in the LEAST defensive way possible.. told him abt the typo mistakes not made by me, abt the mistakes that i could not find.. but i also apologised for my writing which might seem untidy to some.

ha! all that jus rattered off my mouth.. and i was feeling nervous at the same time.. afterall it's my 1st face-to-face meeting with the P...

well... then came his tots on the letter.

".... i decided to take the letter with a pinch of salt as i did not want to judge you too quickly. I'm glad i did not cox after observing your class yesterday, i think that the parent is not too updated with whatever has happened in class. The boy might have twisted the facts or blown them out of proportion so as to shift the blame to the teacher. The parent also compared you with the previous teacher and i can confidently say that you are of a different 'class' from her. You know, this complaint letter won't be your 1st one. Many teachers get it all the time, and most of the time these are some of the best teachers. I hope you will not be discouraged by this single episode and continue to teach with passion and love!"

PHEW!!! haaaaaaaa........ my head started to float upwards, heaving a sigh of relief at the same time..

den my P went off to tok abt the actual observation (after a whole 15 mins!!!)...

"i liked the different strategies in placed.. and the kids seem to be very comfortable with the routines you have established... i can tell that they are eager to learn instead of being forced to learnt... your variations of IT, word cards and picture cards definitely liven up the entire lesson... you sure have a way with kids and i find discipline a breeze in your hands. Your lesson was extra-ordinary, and i enjoyed it very much. It's really great for a beginning teacher! "

as my head swelled in happiness, he continued...

"i see great potential in you. You should consider pursuing the leadership track... once you are comfortable with your classroom teaching, you should consider levering up and taking up more initiatives, both within and out of your department. I would also like you to share with the rest of the teachers on your discipline and classroom management strategies. You can approach the TA (Technical Assistant) to videotape your teaching, and if you need help with the video editing, i can help you with it. The discipline of your classes under the charge of the previous teacher was terrible. Many a times, the discipline committee teachers had to be called in to managed the class. I am extremely pleased with they way you manage your kids, that's why i made the statement of you being different from the prev. teacher. Well Done Sharon ! Keep it up! "

AWWWWW...... i was sooooooooo Happy that i jux kept smiling and nodding and smiling and nodding my head.....

i quote a stmt which one of my friends love to say : "With great power comes great responsibility."

i'm very happy that my P and my HOD enjoyed my lesson as much my kids and i did. My lovely P2s... might have jux added a star to my portfolio!!! However, i'm also afraid of 'climbing too fast, falling too fast'... i'm gonna be extra cautious, see no evil.... hear no evil......

up next, i am planning the following activities for the months of Aug and Sept :

1. find a good timeslot for the TZ to videotape my class for the teachers' sharing
2. attend a Chinese Comic Workshop @ Creative Technologies this Sat, 27th Aug
3. attend a 'Youth and Adults' workshop @ NACLI on 3rd Sept
4. help out in the P5 camp @ Labrador Camp during 1st 3 days of the Sept holidays, 5th - 7th Sept
5. attend a SEED CL Sharing workshop on 9th Sept morning
6. enter 5 of them for the Interschool Chinese Storytelling Competition on 9th Sept evening
7. go on stage to do a presentation on the origin of Mid Autumn Festival in English on 14th Sept
8. enter 5 of them for the Chinese Proverbs Whizkids Competition
9. attend SEED CL Sharing workshop @ TN on 23rd Sept
10. Decorate the stage for Children's Day 2005 by 23rd Sept

my calendar's almost packed... but well... i have survived worse times... I WILL SURVIVE!

jux plain happy ... lalala....... gonna see my dear reeeeeeeal soon!!! yummy dinner @ Paris this sat, courtesy of dear's dad! YEAH!

MIND AT EASE

finally can set my mind at ease !!!!!!!!!!!!! at least for now...

lesson observation was a SUCCESS!!! my kids did a great job.. they enjoyed the lesson which i had painstakingly prepared.. they lurrrrved the cliparts which i had printed and laminated (pics of animals like cat, dog, fish, rabbit, mouse and parrot etc)

Today's lesson was about Caring for pets. The story was about an autobiography of a dog which was abandoned by its owner.. kids came fwd to share abt their pets @ home and how they spent time with their pets.. then , the class played some games, before retreating to a writing game... last but not least, i concluded the game by getting the kids to talk about the correct ways of treating an old/ a sick pet.

Jun Hong was throwing tantrums, as usual.. but being autistic, it is really difficult for him to follow the other kids in the games and questioning at times... He also hit Issac on the head.. Agnes told a lie and scribbled nonsense on her partner's worksheet.. but my hod mentioned at the post observation conference that all these problems acted as an advantage to me as they were very pleased with the way i had handled these 'ad hoc situations'

my HOD gave me 4/5 for most of the categories.. i was really over the moon! she told me that she did not expect to give such high marks to a beginning teacher, but she was extremelt pleased with my discipline and classroom management... hehe...... basically there wasn't any negative remarks except for some suggestions to improve...

have yet to meet the P for his post observation conference with me... but my hod told me the P said 'Very Good' to her.. hmm..... hopefully he is free tomorrow...

i'm REALLY glad that EVERYTHING is finally over!!!! time for a short rest!

thinking of volunteering myself for Mid Autumn Storytelling during Assembly.. shall go n tok to my hod tom..

i miss my dear soooooooo much... can't wait for the weekend!

ALL READY FOR TOM'S OBSERVATION

lesson plan --- checked
powerpoint slides --- checked
blank observation report --- checked
teaching materials --- checked

kids's reaction when they see the Principal in their class --- unforseen
general response from class - unforseen

all the best to me...

DEAR AND HIS FRIENDS PART I

DEAR & HIS FRIENDS PART II

THE JOYS OF A NEW CAMERA

extracted from http://it.asia1.com.sg/reviews/cameras/dig002_20050524.html

Twin wonders
Digital Life 24/05/2005
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ1 , $519

FIRST LOOKS
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ1 digital camera straddle between the pocket-sized models and mid-range compacts. The four-megapixels LZ1 has a few tricks up their sleeves to make them one of the top runners in this category.

WORKING IT
I'm particular about the time it takes to focus the image sharply, especially in the longest zoom position of 222mm. Here, shutter lag is kept to a minimum with the improved Venus Engine Plus. I was able to take three consecutive shots in high-speed burst mode in the highest resolution with the LZ1 .

I have come to rely on the Mega OIS image stabiliser circuitry to give me at least a two stop advantage in taking shots in dim, low light conditions. Regardless of the zoom setting, the technology was able to get me crisp images.

As with the other models, you can set one of two modes depending on your shooting style. Mode 1 will continuously monitor the camera for shaky hands and adjust appropriately. In the Mode 2 setting, the image stabiliser will only be called to action upon pressing the shutter release.

The f/2.8 to f/4.5 Lumix DC Vario lens is clean and sharp throughout the zoom range and displays no visible purple fringing due to chromatic aberration. Colours are accurate, bright and true-to-life.

The LZ1/2 also makes a nice travel camera as it uses standard off-the-shelf pair of AA batteries. With the NiMH batteries reaching 2500mAH, I am sure it packs enough juice for a full day's shooting. I did not fully test the pair of Oxyride batteries, but it still showed two full bars after pumping over 100 shots.

LAST SAY
I cannot find any fault in the Lumix LZ1. Recommended for beginners as well as seasoned photographers. - M.K. Wong

Editorial Review:
Product DescriptionMEGA Optical Image Stabilizer Helps Eliminate Blurry Pictures Jitter from shaky hands is one of the main reasons why cameras produce blurry images. We don't expect everyone to have hands of stone when taking pictures, that's why Lumix cameras help solve the problem of unsteady hands with advanced MEGA Optical Image Stabilizer technology. The DMC-LZ1 has a built-in gyrosensor that detects any hand movement and relays a signal to a tinymicrocomputer inside the camera, which instantly calculates the compensation needed. A linear motor then shifts the Optical Image Stabilizer lens as necessary to guide incoming light from the image straight to the CCD. You won't even notice it working, all you'll see are the outstanding results! 6x Optical Zoom in a Compact Body Use the 6x optical zoom together with the 4x digital zoom to enjoy up to 24x zoom power, which approximates a 888 mm zoom lens on a 35mm camera, with a body size as compact as an ordinary 3x optical zoom camera. Snap Off Consecutive Shots at 4 Frames per Second! You can take up to 7 images in Standard Mode and 4 images in Fine Mode with fullresolution. In addition, the Unlimited Consecutive Shooting2 function lets you continue shooting until the memory card or built-in memory is full. All this is made possible by the Venus Engine Plus, which reduces power consumption by about50% compared with our previous Venus Engine.

HALL XV DINNER N DANCE 2005

it was a lovely evening at Le Meridien Hotel yesterday night... dear's hall had their d&d yesterday.. and dear was the biz mag... great job! WELL DONE !!! i'mn sure everyone enjoyed the evening.. hehe.. minus the occasional cold crowd... the deco was really sweet and apt - SUMMER TOUCH... complete with butterflies and coloured cotton wool.. the performance by the prodigy drummer basker @ Orchard, Ethan, was awesome too! hehehe..... dear and the committee finally reaped the success of their hard labour last night... the food was v v nice! sufficient portions for everyone.. sumptous and delicious..

the programme was qite interesting also.. the performances were enjoyable and a few couples amazed the crowd with their dance item..

the whole event ended close to 12mn.. den dear and i headed down to MS with his friends... ended up @ NB.. per, dave, johnson, stephy, germaine, baocun and us.. ;op fun and music all the way till 3am before dear sent me home..

i had greaaaaaat fun.. thks dear dear.. muackz....

PROJECT SUPERSTAR