Edusave Merit Bursary 2011

Well done my Sweetie!  You did it again!  We are sooooo PROUD of you!!! ♥

Subject Combination & Higher Chinese

Based on L's result, the school recommended her to take Higher Chinese next year.   I wasn't very keen for her to take an additional paper next year.  What if she failed terribly and affect her moral and interest in Chinese?  She has been in the Higher Chinese class all these years but I am not confident that she will do well as paper will be much tougher.

After talking to L and one of the Chinese teachers in school, we decided to let her try.   She knows she will have to work extremely hard for her Chinese. One good news is that she made it to the top class again!  We are soooo PROUD of her! ♥

A little update on Z...  He made it to the 2nd top class!   He did very well for all subjects except Chinese.  Because of that, he was very disappointed he can't be in the top class.   We were rather shocked with his Chinese result, as all this time he was doing fine.  Well, top class or not,  my kids will have to work hard to strive for better results next year.

Well done my babies! ♥

Bento #257 - L's Lunch

In the box: Rice, apple, homemade nuggets, broccoli with cheese & prawn tempura

Today my girl had English oral examination....  Which means exams has begun...  So far, I hardly worry about her English oral coz she yaks alot.  Hehe...  Just hope she knows when to stop!

GEP - L

On 8th Oct, my girl was elated to receive a letter that said she was shortlisted for GEP selection test (Gifted Education Programme). Which means that she was selected for the 2nd round. That was a great news! Out of 33 from her school that was selected, she was one of them! Wow!

She went for the 1st test on 19th Oct even though she was down with fever and was supposed to go another test the next day. Unfortunately, she didn't feel any better so we called up MOE to defer her test. I told her not to give too much pressure to herself and we are already very proud of her to get in to the 2nd round. She was pretty cool about it and was a little nervous on the test dates.

The result was out and my girl didn't make it for the GEP. Nevertheless, we are very PROUD of her! She was a little disappointed though... After a talk with her, she is fine again.

Out of 33 of them that went for the tests, 3 of them made it to the programme and all of them were from her class. We were very happy that her best friend was one of them who made it! Congrats Elsie!

PTS - LZ

This year PTM (Parents-Teacher-Meeting) is quite unlike from the past 2 years.  We need only go to 1 place for the meeting and we arranged the timing one after another.   We looked forward to getting their results (we already knew their papers results but not the overall results).

This is Z's FIRST exams and PTM (primary school).  We heard very positive comments from Z's teachers about him.  He has made us proud!  He scored more than 90% for all his subjects, including Chinese!  He scores full marks for English oral composition "My hobby - drawing".   He brought along his best art piece and presented to his class.  For Chinese, I think he did quite well, otherwise I don't think he will scores more than 90%.  It was 我最喜欢的水果－ 西瓜。He brought along a big slice of watermelon for the oral which he finished in class. Haha..

Z's form teacher said he is a very helpful boy who often helps those that need help in their studies.  She also said that he is very obedient and focus in class.  The only thing that he needs to improve on is to remember to hand in papers that we need to sign on time.  Oops!! We are at fault...

I remembered my boy often tells me he wants to get all the badges and he strives to be a good student and do well in his studies.  He hopes he will be appointed as a prefect when he goes to P3.   Looks like my boy is trying his best to work towards his dream.

My girl did well for her exams too!  What surprises me was her Science!  She was the 3rd highest for Science.. Honestly, I thought she may fail it coz the night before the paper, she was rushing to finish the topics. We were so worried....  She was not confident with the Science paper at all and kept telling what if she fails and she can't find her Science textbook the day before the exams!  It is so unlike her... I told her to try her best and even if she scores just above 50%, I know she did her best. She listed Science as her least preferred subject before exams and now, it is her 2nd favourite (Maths is her favourite). Haha....

L did very well for her Maths too!  I better mention that LZdaddy was the one who coach her on both the subjects.  Hehe...  We pulled her out from the Maths tuition this year and decided that LZdaddy would coach her on these 2 subjects. I think we made the right move.  Yes, even though he travels often, he makes efforts to coach her whenever he is in town.

The other 2 subjects that I helped her with, the results drop a little.  And we send her for tuition for these 2 subjects!  I am thinking of switching her to another tuition center or perhaps she should spend more time at home and I coach her.  According the teachers, it is expected that these 2 subjects to drop a little.  Sweetie, mommy is very sorry...

Overall, we are very HAPPY with our Babies' results.  LZ hope they will score better than this mid year exams and I know my babies will do their best.

PTS & Last Day Of School - L

I think all classes took their report books and had their parent-teacher sessions (PTS) done few days ago except my girl's class.  Her teacher had to go for exams and we didn't get to see her till today.  Since she was not around for the PTS day, we were given a choice to speak to her through the phone or to speak to her personally.  I personally prefer to speak to her in person. LZdaddy actually change his flight so that he can attend the PTS before the teacher gave out the letter of change of date.  Unfortunately he can't postpone his flight schedule any further.... Haiz...

I met her Chinese teacher few days ago for the PTS. Teacher's feedback was better than mid year and I was glad to hear that.  L is still as talkative as ever BUT she knows when is the time to 'switch off'!  Hahaha...  Gotta remind her not to talk to much.  Her Chinese has improved and she spoke more mandarin compared to 1st half of the year.   She also comment that L is a very expressive girl and told me how expressive she was when she did her oral (she wrote a compo on her ambition  in mid year and had to present it to class).   She also said that L is very proud of ME preparing cute bento for her which she mentioned in her compo writing (for oral this year)!  Wow! 

Back to PTS with her form teacher...  I think L talked alot about us to her teacher coz her teacher mentioned that she can tell we are a close-knit family and L is very proud of us and her brothers. AND she talked and showed her teacher the bentos I prepared (again)!  Aiyo... *Shy*

We talked about her results and her teacher said all her subjects improved and that includes her Chinese!  Yeah!  She would have scored full marks for her Maths if she has not make careless mistakes.  I was surprised she scored full marks for problem sums and made mistakes in MCQ instead!Aiyo...  Anyway, what most important is that she did very well this year!  She scored Band 1 for all subjects and was 4th in class!  Her teacher was very happy for her and praised her.  We are very happy and proud of her!

Next year, L will be in P3 and in the top class.  I think it will be stressful with all the the top students in the class and they will be doing higher Maths.  Higher Maths?!  I never know they have that in P3!  Very different from my time!   From next year, she will also be doing a new subject, Science. 

After recess today, the whole of P2 reshuffled to their new classes and  L already knew who are her new classmates.  Out of 40 students, 10 were from her class and she was so happy to know her besr friend from school will be in same class as her.

I am very proud of my girl and very happy that she did very well this year. She worked hard to get such fantastic result and not forgetting LZdaddy was the one who revised her work with her,  I praised my princess and also remind her to work on her weakness, that is less careless mistakes. 

Holiday Creative Writing Workshop - L

I signed up L for the school holiday workshop for the week. It is a continuation of what she did for the March holiday. I am grateful to my friend, Pauline for sending & fetching my girl for the 5 days. She has been sending L home everyday after school and she offered to even help me during this school holiday.

This time, she was taught how to describe a character & setting, plotting of the story and dialogue. She was taught Braille (The Braille system is a method that is widely used by blind people to read and write) too!

She likes the story of this little girl, Helen Keller who was blind and deaf. This lady, Annie Sullivan who taught Helen how to read with her fingers, how to write and how to speak. In the end, this little girl grew up to be a great woman and devoted her to life to help others. She brought courage and hope go these people. I like it too and I think she inspired L to work harder.

Parent- Teacher Session

I was sooo disappointed that LZdaddy has to fly off this week and needless to say, L was disappointed too. He missed ZJ's checkup, Z's hand was swollen and today's Parent-Teacher session cum Collection of L's report book. I had a few sleepless night.... ZJ didn't sleep well after his jab, plus the fever and he woke up middle of the night for 2 nights (he has been sleeping through the night)! I think he misses LZdaddy too.

I brought my 2 boys along with my helper to collect L's report book. We were 10mins early but we had to wait almost half hour for the 15 mins chat. If I have known earlier, I wouldn't go so earlier. ZJ was hungry while waiting and I had to breastfeed him outside the classroom. While I was feeding, this man came with his son and stand in front of me! I mean I already tried to be discreet. I pulled the chair to a corner with a blanket covering ZJ and he and his son chose to stand in front of me! He didn't face me but once in a while he turned and looked at us! I was fuming mad and "signal" to my helper to help me bring the chair back. Guess what? He walked away after that! Arrrgghhhh!

Anyway, back to the topic of this post. L's form teacher, Ms Liang told me L has improved, in term of her behavior, she knows when is the right time to talk. She used to talk so much in class! Teacher commented that she is very well mannered, saying please & thank you whenever she should. She also said that L's Chinese teacher and she like to ask L to read out loud for the class. They said she her reading is good, that is loud and clear and very expressive. That I must say I agree. That is how she read to ZJ too.

As for academic, her results has dropped a little, though she still scored Band 1 for all subjects. Her standing in class is 9th and last year she was 5th. I expected it... Who to blame? Me lor... Honestly, I didn't do as much with her compared to last year. Most of the time, I asked L to do self study. I think she would have done better if I had put in more effort with her. Sorry Sweetie... Mommy will put in more effort with you ok?

Ms Liang told me she has high expectation of L. She likes to 'pressure' L coz she knows L can do better than this. I am very happy that her teacher thinks so highly of her.

This year is a very important year for my girl. Whether she can go to the best class next year depends on her SA2 result. Ms Liang and I talked about this too. There would be only one best class of 40 students, unless the results is overwhelming, then the school may consider to have 2 classes. Based on the SA1 result, L stands at 33th place among 200+ students. Like I said earlier, teacher has high expectation of L and she hopes L will go to the best class. Of coz we hope so too. We cannot be complacent just because of the standing coz all children will try their best.

I talked to some parents, who's kids were in the best class, they said the teacher are better and more committed. How true is this? I don't know.... But looking at the how irresponsible or the 'bo çhap' attitude of the teacher in the weaker class, I may have to agree. How come I know that class is weaker? One of the mommies told me so coz her son is in that class. Before they start P1, the children went for a 'interview'. From there, those who is weaker, or can't read will be place in that class. They are placed in that class so that the teacher can teach than accordingly. I am not sure how true this is but it is what the mommy said (she is very active in school).

Am I giving too much stress to L? I don't think so and I hope not... L is a very competitive girl. Take last year SA1, she thrived to get better result after that and she did very well for SA2. She set target for herself and she hit it! For this SA1, she asked me to set a target for her and I told her I hope she will score Band 1 for all subject and she did it! Sweetie, Mommy loves your positive attitude! Hope you will do better for SA2 and mommy will put in more effort to help you.

Chinese Enrichment Oral Result - L

What a bad mommy I am! I didn't even know my girl did a mock up oral test for her Chinese Enrichment on 15th April!

She got her result for written test today and it 43/60. I thought the result wasn't that good but teacher told me they set a very tough paper this year for the Higher Chinese Class. When I saw the paper, I admit it was quite tough and my girl made silly mistakes! I hope she doesn't make careless mistakes for the coming exams.

Well Done my girl! Hope you will do better for your exams!

口试、听力考试：

听力 - 4.5/5

评语 - 听讲认真，理解力强，成绩不错。

朗读 - 4/5

错字

评语 - 声音洪亮，感情丰富，朗读流畅、连贯。美中不足的是''满''字不会读。

看图说话 - 3/5

评语 - 需加强华文表达，因为有一部分的图意讲不出。希望今后有更多机会多听、多讲华文。

会话 - 3/5

评语 - 需要老师提示才能找到一些图中人物的错误行为。

总成绩 : 14.5/20

Edusave Merit Bursary

We were suprised to receive a letter from MOE regarding the Edusave Merit Bursary (EMB), which is awarded to the top 25% of students in each level in each school. We were very happy that my girl's effort was recognised and it says there will be monetary reward.

Wow! We were excited till I read that it is only eligible if your family is earning less than a certain amount. When I saw the amount, I realised we were not eligible... Nevertheless, we are very happy that her effort is being recognised!

Good job Sweetie! Keep up the good work ya and hope you will receive the same letter again next year!

This post has been in my draft for a month!

Parents - Teachers Session & Report Card

Yesterday was Meet the Parents session as well as collection of report card. Needless to say, we are very HAPPY with her Results! She was nervous when we went to collect her report card. I was too! Hehehe...

L's form teacher (who is her English & Maths teacher) praised L for her improvement in her academic results as well as her maturity. She said she has definitely grown more matured.

"L's commitment towards excellence is always evident. She always does her best when given a task. She is able to identify some of her weaknesses and takes steps to improve on them. She has initiative in dealing with unexpected situations and carries her duties as a leader responsibly and efficiently. She has shown sustained commitment in her studies."

Her standing in class is 5th position! Wow! I didn't expect that! Did I hear it right? And she is in the top 20 % for overall. My girl was in joyous mood when she found out. She can't wait for her pressie, something from High School Musical that she asked for and we promised her. Phew! Lucky she didn't ask for expensive rewards.

I asked teacher if it is compulsory for them to take CCA next year and she said no. I was glad... Coz L is planning to join her swim coach in competitive swim. Teacher told me if L took part in any competition or something similar, I am suppose to inform her so she record it down in L's personal file (I didn't know each of them has a personal file in school). I was wondering why should I inform her as L told me Ms Liang will not be her teacher next year. Then we received the good news is that she will be L's form teacher again next year. Yeah! She was so happy!

After that, we went to see her Chinese teacher. She commented that L is a very chatty girl, and sometimes, too chatty. She hope L will change for the better next year. We will talk to her about that. As she scored Band 1 for her Chinese, she has the choice to opt for Higher Chinese next year. We asked teacher for opinion, if L will be able to handle it. She said L shouldn't have any problem and she encouraged her to read more Chinese books. We also asked my SIL for opinion coz she is a primary school Chinese teacher and she said L should opt for that too.

I think it is pretty common that P1 or P2 kids scoring perfect scores or above 90%. If not for the careless mistakes, I think most kids would have perfect scores. I am thankful that my girl did very well for this exams. Now, I am worried for next year..... I may not have as much time to coach or guide her.... Hope she will do as well or even better next year. Jiayou Sweetie!

Today, L came back with another good news. She told me a parent volunteer came and took individual pics of her and 4 other boys from her class. All the classmates including herself were wondering why. Some guessed that they must be the most handsome & prettiest so they have their pics taken. Hahaha.... Aiyah! I should have tied her hair nicely today.

The truth is they took pics because of their Maths in P1! L got the Top Improvement Student! Wow! Their pics will be displayed at the parade square! I think it is very encouraging that the school do that. I remembered after SA1 exams, we saw some of the students pics were displayed there and L told me she hope that by year end she will see her own pic there. She did it! We are so proud of you Sweetie! But remember my girl, don't be too proud ok? You must stay humble and continue to work hard. If not, you will not get such good results or even better next year.

Sorry if I sounds like I am bragging about my girl (which I think I am) . But I just can't contained my excitement and this is LZ's diary, so I would like to record it down.

Her Results

L called me during recess to inform me her results. Oh man! She did so well! She heard me screaming over the phone, not only her, her friends heard that too. I was tearing too.... She scored higher than the target we have set! I was even happier when she told me after school her Chinese result. For the record, she told me she scored the 3rd highest in class for Maths & Chinese and 2nd highest for English. That's the result for now... YEAH! Let's hope the listening comprehension, oral and compo will not pull down her overall results.

As soon as she got home, she asked if she can open one of her last year birthday presents. Of coz she can! I thought she wanted a new present but she must have been eyeing on the tamagotchi (given by Rachel & Charmaine) for a long time that she asked to open that. At least I know she is not greedy to ask me buy something new for her.

In case you are wondering, LZ don't get to open all the toys to play at one time. They usually unwrap the toys and are allowed to play with 2 toys and the rest will be kept. They are allowed to open one at a time whenever they are well behave. By this year birthdays, they would have open up all. Do you do that too? Or do you let them open all to play?

Oh! Before I forgot! LZdaddy claimed credit for L's Maths results. Yes, he did helped to coach L with Maths but HELLO! I was the one that did most of the coaching leh... Ok lah... You get half of the credit ya. Do you realised that when the kids are naughty, the man says "your girl..... " but when the kids did well, it is "my girl....."