Racial Harmony Day. And Other News.

As I mentioned in a earlier post, I was performing during Racial Harmony day. The performance was done with the 11 HCI students and the Bukit Panjang students. We were playing two gamelan pieces. The first piece was Kebo Giro, and I was playing the Saron (on the right).

The piece sounded like this youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hlap5WulHOw

However, we had to perform the pieces four times for the Secondary 1 to 4 levels. Thus, we only got to explore the cultural bazaar after most of the stalls had packed up. Also, we missed the Indian Mass dance. The experience was quite interesting as I have never performed in front of such a large crowd. I was wearing A Jacket with a white shirt and Black trousers. (But because I had no black trousers, I had to wear track pants) There was also a cap for us to wear.

The cultural bazaar was also quite interesting. Most stalls were selling food, such as éclairs, Nasi Lemak and Chicken Curry. There were some stalls which sold snacks and drinks as well as some game stalls.

Other News:

I sprained my ankle last Sunday, accompanied by a cold. Thus, I had to wear a rather uncomfortable ankle support and I was unable to go for CCA.

News.

Well, I've been rather busy.

SJAB National Comp.

Recently, the HCI SJAB AC team made it to the National Competition, so most of us went down to support them @ Nan Hua Primary School. It was very exciting, and there were separate components, for each prize. The components included Transportation of Casualties, CPR, Footdrill, First Aid Long Case, and First Aid short case. (PS, It was on Sunday, 11th July, for pretty much the whole day.)

It was quite interesting watching the Footdrill, and certainly a good experience. The First Aid Long Case was also interesting. For one of the cases, a woman was worrying over her son, and was hindering the first aiders, but she was very resistant although they tried to get her to calm down. In the end, she became a casualty due to hyperventilation. However, I must agree that the casualties were very good at acting, and very convincing! It sent chills down my spine watching the woman trying to stay next to her son, as it was very realistic.

In the End, we swept the National Champions for AC and First in each category!! :)

http://www.hci.edu.sg/ViewBreakingNews.asp?BID=226 Yay!

A Bunch of tests.


Hmm... Another Reason why I took so long in posting this was that I have a lot of tests.

1. 13th July- Maths Test on Inequality and Statistics
2. 14th July - English ICAS
3. 15th July - English Comprehension -40% of Term 3 LA marks.

And many more to come...

Racial Harmony Day.

As you might or might not know, I am in the Bukit Panjang Government High Exchange Program.

So, for the first part of the year, the BPGHS people came to HCI for some activities:

1. Dumpling Making
2. Calligraphy
3. Dragonboating (I didn't go coz I was ill :( )
4. Lantern Making.

Then, it was our turn to go to Bukit Panjang:

1. Kueh Making (I brought mine home for my family. Sadly, the results were inconsistent. For example, when we bit into the kueh, sugar would occasionally spurt out, or you might get a mouthful of dough, of pandan flavoured dough, but still dough all the same.)
2. Batik Painting
3. Gamelan Practice

Gamelan is quite fun, and it is a form of traditional Malay or Javanese Music. The instruments are very varied, including a gong, some xylophone like instruments, drums, and stringed instruments.

We are performing on Racial harmony day. We must wear a traditional Malay costume which our friends @ Bukit Panjang have kindly provided. Being the first time I have performed to so many people, I am very excited and frightened.

Also, we had to go for another Gamelan practice today, so I had to miss my CCA.

Resorts World Sentosa Visit

I visited Resorts World Sentosa on Friday Night. There was a promotion, so, for two dollars, you could enter and look around. However, only some sections would be opened for public view, and there would be no rides. Also, it was only open from 7pm to 10 pm.

However, it was still very fun, as we were still able to see some of the attractions. After entering, we went to eat dinner,as it was already 7.30 and we had not eaten. We ate at the "Hollywood China Bistro". It seemed more of a fusion restaurant than a proper Chinese Restaurant. For example, the tea cups were very wide at the top and were probably about twice the size of a normal tea cup. In fact, judging by the name and the restaurant, it seemed more like a Chinese Restaurant you might find in America. It was somehow less authentic than other upmarket Chinese restaurants. However, it was still quite an enjoyable meal.

After dinner, we decided to head to "New York", before moving on to "Madagascar". It was just as well, as "Madagascar" was off limits. In "New York", we walked around. It seemed as if we were really in New York. Even the minor details were there. For example, on the side of a building, there was a fire escape, remiscient to those in sitcoms like "Friends". The rubbish bins were also green, and labelled "Please help keep New York City Clean".

Also, we got to see the Battlestar Galactica, although we only got a glance from New York City.

All in All, it was a very pleasant experience.

PS - My photos are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ng_jonathan_sy/sets/72157624262730078/

My favourite poem

Messy Room by Shel Silverstein

Whosever room this is should be ashamed! (Line 1)
His underwear is hanging on the lamp.
His raincoat is there in the overstuffed chair,
And the chair is becoming quite mucky and damp.
His workbook is wedged in the window, (Line 5)
His sweater's been thrown on the floor.
His scarf and one ski are beneath the TV,
And his pants have been carelessly hung on the door.
His books are all jammed in the closet,
His vest has been left in the hall. (Line 10)
A lizard named Ed is asleep in his bed,
And his smelly old sock has been stuck to the wall.
Whosever room this is should be ashamed!
Donald or Robert or Willie or--
Huh? You say it's mine? Oh, dear, (Line 15)
I knew it looked familiar!

The poem uses mainly hyperbole and personification. Personification is less frequent, occurring only in Line 11, "A lizard named Ed is asleep in his bed," This makes the reader think of a person in the bed, rather than a Lizard. This is also mainly due to the fact that the lizard has a name. 

Hyperbole is quite frequent, with it mainly referring to the messy room. Generally, it would be rare to find a room as messy as the above mentioned room. 

Also, the twist at the end makes the poem more enjoyable. The narrator has been "putting down" the room, and complaining about how messy it is. However, he finds out that it is his own room. "Huh? You say it's mine? Oh, dear, I knew it looked familiar!" (Line 15 & Line 16) This twist is also present in most of Shel Silverstein's poems, if you have read more of them. I have actually read quite a few of his poems, and his is one of my favourite poets. The others being Roger McGough and Kenn Nesbit.

I also like:

Food Fight
	by Kenn Nesbitt

We’d never seen the teachers in a state of such distress. The principal was yelling that the lunchroom was a mess. It started off so innocent when someone threw a bun, but all the other kids decided they should join the fun. It instantly turned into an enormous lunchroom feud, as students started hurling all their halfway-eaten food. A glob went whizzing through the air, impacting on the wall. Another chunk went sailing out the doorway to the hall. The food was splattered everywhere— the ceilings, walls, and doors. A sloppy, gloppy mess was on the tables and the floors. And so our good custodian ran out to grab his mop. It took him half the afternoon to clean up all the slop. The teachers even used some words we’re not supposed to mention. And that’s how all the kids and teachers wound up in detention.

IDS News... And other News

Today was the day when iSpark Students were meant to visit Sungei Buloh wetland reserve. We needed to take along a cap, water bottle, snacks, insect repellent, writing materials... etc. The trip was part of the IDS, which we are doing in Term 2 Week 10. Some consortiums did their IDS earlier. The IDS is short for Interdisciplinary Studies. It is meant to help us incorporate elements of all our subjects into a single project. The IDS will be completed over two days - ie, the next two days, in which the school will have home learning, but we will be doing our IDS at home.

Anyway, I had been to Sungei Buloh before. so the trap was not really new. However, the trip was certainly interesting, as being older this time, I was able to understand more things. My first trip there was memorable - in a bad way... I remember it was unbearably warm - leaving me very sweaty. Plus, there were plenty of mosquitoes. However, the second time I went there, the weather was pleasantly warm - not oppressively, and the weather was only marred by a short drizzle. The mosquitoes were also not a problem.

During the trip, we spotted many animals, including mudskippers. spiders, and several Monitor Lizards (Related to the Komodo Dragon). We spotted many plants which had aerial roots - pencil like roots which grew above ground or stilt like roots which also grew above ground.

It was very enjoyable. Finally, at the end of the trip, we watched a short clip on the Animals there. 

PS - We got to see a multicoloured bird through a telescope set up by someone. It was very beautiful...

Also, we had our LA Animal Farm Test Today... It was at LT2...

PS. MSG for this term coming out soon!!

Sabbatical- More News

This post is being published from SMU, SIS Seminar room 2.1... Seriously! This is the third day of the Problem Solving using Java Sabbatical. We will be at SMU for the remaining three days of the course, which I mentioned in yesterday's blog post. However, we all had to bring our own laptops as there were no computers available for us to use. The Seminar Room is really cool though :

1. It has automatic blinds - controlled by a switch
2. The room is designed like a miniature auditorium but more circular and smaller. 
3. There are full size desks in front of each row, which are like semicircles
4. There are LAN outlets and power sockets under each desk.
5. Each Person gets a nice "office chair" - One of those roller chairs - Very Comfy :)
6. The Speaker in the middle of the room gets bis voice amplified via a special system.
7. There are two whiteboards - (Not really that spectacular)
8. There are two very accurate clocks - digital, with seconds and date shown. (Accurate means the exact same time as mine :p)

Yup... Currently, it is break time, so I'm posting now...

Jon

Sabbatical Week... and other news

x

Well... Sabbatical week is here already, and I got into the "Problem Solving using Java" course. It is the second day of the course. On the last three days, ie - Wednesday to Friday, the course will be held at SMU (Singapore Management University). To be more precise, it is being held at SIS (School of Information Sciences) in SMU. The course is actually pretty fun!! Java Programming is a bit difficult, but you can do some pretty fun things on it too. I learnt how to create a infinite loop - the program runs til stopped. Also, I learnt some Command Prompt Commands, to add on to those I already knew.

1. shutdown - Shuts Down the computer, Restarts or logs off. Syntax - shutdown -s (seconds) -t (time) (time in seconds) shutdown -a to Abort shutdown
2. exit - Exits the command prompt window. Syntax - exit
3. dir - Directory - Gives a list of the files in a selected directory. Syntax - dir
4. md - Make Directory - Makes a new file in a selected directory. Syntax - md (New Directory Name) e.g md ps - A new file named ps will be created in the selected location
5. cd - Change directory - Changes the reference location. Syntax- cd c:/ (To go to hard drive)
6. java - (Only works after Java Development Kit has been installed and Computer Path has been changed) Runs a class file (created by notepad). Syntax - java MyProgram - Will run "MyProgram"
7. javac (Only works after Java Development Kit has been installed and Computer Path has been changed) Compiles a *.java file into a *.class file, which can be run with Command Prompt. Syntax- javac MyProgram.java - Compiles MyProgram into a usable class file. 

Other commands which I knew before the course:

1. ipconfig - Will find the ip address and other network information about a computer. Syntax - ipconfig
2. ping - Test Internet connections -Syntax- ping (ip address) or (website address)
3. tracert - Traceroute - Tracks the steps taken to a website. - Syntax - tracert (ip address) or (website address)

Note: For all the commands which require additional info - ping, tracert, javac, java and shutdown, typing the command by itself will bring up "help" for the command. 

Other News: 

Holidays!!

I can't wait for June Holidays to be here, and I expect most students will share my sentiments! A Month of hard earned rest is on the way... but we have to wait two weeks more :p. Anyway, I am going to buy Pokémon Soulsilver - The remake of Pokemon Silver. I am thrilled! Pokemon Crystal was the first pokemon game that I played. Of Course, judging by the fact that my mom doesn't like me playing it (she locks it up the whole year, except June and December Hols), she probably wished I never started... XD But anyway, I'm also looking forward to getting a DSi, which has not one, but two cameras, and a SD Card slot! Yay! But it has not GBA Port, so it is not compatible with GBA Games. However, I have a DS Lite which is compatible with GBA Games, so it shouldn't be a problem. 

P.S, While I wait for Soulsilver, I got a Pokemon Crystal Emulator on my Phone, so I'm honing my skills... (My Starter will be Totodile)

Piano Results...

Well, I finally got back the results for my ABRSM Grade 5 Theory... I got 85/100, which is Pass with Merit. :)