Pupils' Response 7-Reading Is Good And Fun

I think it is good for pupils to read because they get to learn more. I think the school gets all the pupils to read every morning because the school wants them to develop a 'passion for learning', to improve their english, learn more words and can also widen their vocabulary.

I like reading because I can develop a true 'passion for learning' and also because I can learn a lot of new words. I like reading scary, funny and adventurous stories like "Macho Macho Animals", "Mr Midnight"and Enid Blyton's books.I think reading can help us with our school work because once we have read that difficult word then we can read/pronounce that word properly.

The school can encourage more pupils to read more books by asking them to read every time they have finished their school work, every time after their recess and they can also get more books for the library.

The book I can recommend is "Macho Macho Animals". The author of the book is Stephan Pastis. I like to read his book as it is very funny.



If you want to read more of the book go to the shop called "Borders" at Wheelock Place.

Pupils' Response 6-Using A Personal Computer To Do Your Schoolwork

There are advantages and disadvantages to using a computer. These are some examples:

Advantages:
1. We can find more information about something on the internet.

2. We can blog about a lot of things.
3. Computers make doing work faster and more efficient.
4. We can store much more information in a personal computer.
5. When we have a lot of information to store, we can check very easily if the new piece of information is already available, so that we don't save something more than once.

6. We can communicate with many people at the same time using Google Talk or MSN Messenger, etc.

Disadvantages:
1. Spending long hours in front of the monitor can spoil our eyes.
2. Sometimes, when the PC hangs, we may lose information or data that we might have been working halfway on.
3. The school computers sometimes restart when we leave them unattended, so we may also lose information or data that we might have been working halfway on.
4. We may be distracted by easy access to on-line games.
5. When computers are slow, we may have to wait for a very long time for them to boot up or to install programmes.

6. We may become lazier as we rely on the computer to process information for us.

Pupils' Response 5-Outside School Activities

Every Monday and Thursday nights, my elder brother and I attend Taekwondo training. We have attained Poom belt status. It is the junior black belt for those who are under 15 years old. When we reach 15 years old, we can take the grading exam to get the adult black belt. We enjoy going for Taekwondo lessons on Thursdays because we get to do more sparring and practise our kicks. We also like being treated with respect because we are now more senior than most of the students. The lessons are supposed to be 1.5 hours each time, but the instructors usually keep us training for 2 hours or more. Mummy signed us up for Taekwondo lessons almost 3 years ago because she wanted us to learn something for self-defence. She says that we are not supposed to attack anyone using the kicks and punches that we have learnt. We can only use them during sparring and if anyone tries to attack us first.

Every Saturday morning, we attend Chinese tuition class at my tutor's house. She is a very good teacher who is both patient and kind. The class is about 2 hours. When she is helping us to prepare for our exams, she sometimes keeps us there for a longer time. My maternal grandmother found this tutor for us when I was in K2 and my brother in Pr 1.

On Sunday mornings, we attend art class at Crestar. Mummy has been asking us if we want to stop this class, but my elder brother and I don't want to. We like this class because we get to do both art and craft and we enjoy making things. The teacher is Mr Lin. He is also very patient and I think he is very creative. Every week, he has to think of something to teach us. Some Sundays are more fun than others. My favourite time is when Mr Lin asks us to make things like goldfish or giraffes from paper or cardboard or other recycled materials. This class is about 1.5 hours. My elder brother chose to attend art class instead of music class in K1. I joined him when I was in K1 the next year.

We attended in-line skating lessons in February every weekend. This was fun. We have stopped so that we can practise on our own before attending the higher level lessons to learn new tricks.

I think these activities are necessary for me. Taekwondo is for self-defence. There are bad people out there who may kidnap children or try to rob us or bully us. We should be able to defend ourselves and then run away. Chinese tuition helps me to keep up with my school work. Mummy says the art class helps to develop my right brain - whatever that means.... But I enjoy it, so it's ok. In-line skating was fun and helps me to exercise my leg muscles.


These activities don't affect my school work/studies because I enjoy them and I get to do other things besides school work. Chinese tuition helps me with my school work. I don't feel stressed with all these activities because I enjoy most of them.


I feel that pupils should be involved in activities outside of school so that they can experience different things besides school work and PE in school.

Pupils' Response 4-Passion For Learning

'Passion for learning' shows that you are so interested in learning that you will not stop learning all your life. You are enthusiastic and excited every time you learn new things. You always want to find out more about any new thing that you learn about.

I think it is necessary for people to have 'passion for learning' as those people will learn more throughout their lives and be able to achieve more.

I know that my older brother, my maternal grandmother and my maternal grandfather have 'passion for learning'. My elder brother always reads and never stops reading until he has completed the book he has chosen to read. He sometimes reads books again to try to remember what he read before. His constant reading has improved his English. I think my maternal grandparents have 'passion for learning' as they still learnt how to use a computer even though they were old and never used computers before. My grandfather used the internet to do research on the cancer that my grandmother died of. He did this when she was still alive so that he could find out what sort of treatment she needed, and how to help her when she felt sick.

I'm not sure if I have a true 'passion for learning' but I believe that when I put my mind to something, I can do well. I must do my work properly and read more books to develop a true 'passion for learning'.

Pupils' Response-School's Vision, Mission and Value

Anderson Primary School's Mission is "Providing quality education to equip pupils with the values, knowledge and skills for the 21st Century."

Our Vision is "A School of Distinction Nurturing Future-Ready Citizens of Character"

Our Motto is "Courage & Sincerity"

Our Core Values can be remembered as SPICES:

1. Self-Discipline
2. Passion for Learning
3. Integrity
4. Courage
5. Excellence
6. Sincerity

Mummy says an organisation should have a mission because the teachers and other people working in the school can work towards a common goal. I think the school's mission and vision are not so easy for the pupils to understand. It is easier for us to understand the motto and to live out the values the school has. The core values can be understood and put into action.

I believe in the school values because they make us better people if we use the values to live our lives. Like if we are self-disciplined and have passion for learning, we can achieve better marks in exams. If we have integrity and courage, we are honest and tell the truth even if it means getting ourselves into trouble. If we do everything with excellence, we can give good quality work and be proud of ourselves. If we are sincere, we can have many friends.

Not every student will think of the school values when engaging in activities inside or outside of school. Mummy always reminds me that if I wear my school uniform outside, people know which school I am from, and I may embarrass the school if I misbehave. I don't always live out the school values, but I will ask Mummy and Daddy to help me and remind me about the school values because I want to become a better person.

Teachers can help students to learn and remember the values by letting us know when we have done well and have done something that shows the values. We can also do group projects on the different values and brainstorm about how we can practise the values wherever we are, for example, when we are at home or outside or in school, etc.

Pupils' Response 3-Setting Targets

We set targets so that we have goals to work towards. I think target setting is useful because it helps us to work harder to achieve the new targets and to continuously improve ourselves.

My teachers helped me to set the targets for myself by looking at last year's marks and setting a target which is higher.

To help myself achieve my targets, I will read and revise my subjects every week. I must also learn from my mistakes and corrections. When I do not understand or when I'm not sure of an answer, I will ask someone to help me. My mummy helps me with my school work and marks my assessment books and papers. I must also be extra careful and serious about my work, and also focus harder when doing an exam. I must be willing to work hard to achieve my targets. I will also get Mummy and Daddy to ask me many questions or give me quizzes. I must also not give up and will try to be more self-disciplined.

Mummy gives me time to play and watch television to that I don't spend too much time only studying. Daddy brings us out over the weekends for different types of activities, like kayaking, playing badminton and in-line skating so that we have some exercise and enjoy ourselves.

Our teachers try their best to teach us and encourage us so that we can do well.

I hope to be able to reach my targets and not disappoint myself, my parents or my teachers.

Pupils' Response 2-Our Festivals In Singapore

My family and I celebrate Chinese New Year every year. Chinese New Year falls on the first day of the first month of the Lunar calendar, so the dates change every year. I read the legend that a long time ago, there was a beast called "Nian" or "Year". "Nian" would come on the first day of New Year to eat animals and people. The villagers protected themselves by putting food in front of their doors on the first day of New Year. After the "Nian" ate this food, it did not attack anymore people. The people also lighted fire crackers to scare away the beast. We don't have fire crackers in Singapore anymore because they can start fires easily.

My older brother and I look forward to Chinese New Year every year because we can collect red packets with money in them. These are called "hong bao", which are given by relatives who are older than us and who are married. We also get to eat many goodies like 'love letters', pineapple tarts and other delicious stuff. We also go visiting on the first 2 days of Chinese New Year. My family and I usually visit my grandfather, grand-uncle, grand-aunt and my mummy's teacher from Secondary school. At every place, we get to see different relatives and friends and eat different cookies and food. I especially like to go to my grand-aunt's house because she cooks very well and I like her curry.

The Malays in Singapore celebrate Hari Raya. The month before Hari Raya Puasa, the Muslims would fast for a whole month to prepare for the celebrations. This month is called 'Ramadan'. During the celebrations, they would wear their traditional costumes. They also have many Hari Raya goodies that are only made or sold during this time. I usually see many Muslim people going around Singapore visiting their friends and relatives like we do during Chinese New Year.

The Hindus celebrate Deepavali - also known as Diwali. The word "Deepavali" literally means “row of lighted lamps.” During this festival, lamps are lit as a symbol of hope and celebration for mankind. Popularly known as the “Festival of Lights,” Deepavali signifies the victory of light over darkness, and knowledge over ignorance. The main focus of Diwali is to strengthen ourselves personally and with others.

The Eurasians celebrate Christmas and New Year (English). Christmas season is when the Christians remember the birth of Jesus. This is important for them because they believe that Jesus was God's Son, and He was sent to save the world by dying on the cross after much suffering. Many people have Christmas parties and eat turkey.

I think the celebration of the various festivals help to strengthen racial harmony among the various races in Singapore. This is because we get to experience the celebrations when we have friends of different races. Sometimes, we also celebrate together with them even though we are not of the same race.

It is important to be tolerant of people of other races. We should also learn more about their practices and culture so that we know why they do the things they do. For example, Chinese people used to burn joss papers and burn off patches in fields, making them look ugly. If people of other races didn't understand that this was done out of respect for their dead ancestors, there could be more quarrels and complaints. The government now has proper places for burning joss paper to respect this tradition of the Chinese, but also to make sure that other races don't need to complain about them spoiling the scenery.

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What Will I Defend

I will defend the Singapore flag because it is important to me and Singapore and also because Singapore is my home country!!