Preparing for Practical Test

Dear all,

All the best for your practical test tomorrow. It is worth 10% of your CA2 marks and please give your best effort. Read the questions carefully.

Here are some important reminders again

• Tune the needle to the exact 0 position on the weighing scale before you start
• Count the markings and calculate the weight correctly. 
• Take note of the names of the apparatus. Spelling must be correct. 

Reminders

• Unit 7 Situational Writing Homework to be passed up tomorrow
• Dictation Unit 7 test tomorrow.

Remedial for English and Science will start next week. 

Sincerely,

Mr Nelson Ong

Midweek Wednesday

Dear all,

You have reached the mid-week and that means the long weekend is approaching slowly but surely. But before that, you have your important practical test for Science and Maths to sit for first. We have been doing revision for your practical test. Please go back and revise each day, especially on the pictures and names of the different appraratus. I have already attached a copy of the list of apparatus for you in the earlier posts. I also given out the worksheet and gotten you to jot down several important points.

We have done the mini test today and from there, look at which areas you need to improve upon. Keep the worksheet well as we will be filing it in soon.

What have I learned today?

• Learning to read off the weighing scale is important. If you can, try to use your weighing scale at home to weigh some objects like your eraser, pencil case, etc and read off the weighing scale. You can get your parents to check for you. Parents, you can help assist your kids and double check your answers.
• We learned that civilizations are important early way of life that sets the foundation for the present and the future.
• We learned about the civilization of China today with the history of many dynasties ruling the country. The Qin dynasty was the first dynasty to unite all the states under one ruler, Qin Shi Huang.
• We learned about the importance of filial piety to the Chinese culture and tradition.
• China was famous for its pagodas, invention of paper and Chinese Opera.

I.T tools for added learning

Chinese Opera Part 1

Chinese Opera Part 2

Chinese Opera Part 3

That's it for now. Today's task is to look and search for answers for the comprehension open ended passage in your workbook. Do not write the answers down yet. Just highlight in your textbook and come readily prepared for classroom discussions tomorrow.

PS: I still noticed that some of the groups are still blaming one another when it comes to fighting for group points. It is not about the points but how you come together to work as a group. Group friendship and bonding is more important than just points. Remember that.

Thank You

Sincerely,

Mr Nelson Ong

Science Practical Notes

Dear all,

Sorry for being so long-winded. Last post for the day. Here is the list of items for you to recognise and remember for your Science practical test. These items are important. Please ensure you match them correctly and have the correct spelling!!!

You can click on it to enlarge it further. One copy will be printed out and provided for you too.

Thank you,
Regards,
Mr Nelson Ong

What's On My Mind...

Dear all,

Do you remember some time back last term we learned about endangered species and there were links given to watch the videos on endangered species. Was browsing through the web for news and came across this news on the death of the world's oldest tortoise and the lone remaining species of its type. You might want to take a moment to read it. (Click on link below)

Lonesome George

For those of you interested in the Greek mythology, here are some useful links to increase your knowledge:
(Just click on the links)

Greek mythology

Percy Jackson Movie (8 parts all in this link. Watch in your free time with your parents' approval!!!)

Useful Links for Science Questions

Expansion & Contraction

Other topics

That's all for now. Pick up the newspaper, surf the webpage for useul news. Reading will improve your english.

Regards,
Mr Nelson Ong

First Day of Term 3

Dear all,

Hope you had a good first day of school. Lessons have resumed and the hard work has begun. Remember my advices and my talks with you today.

Today's learning points

English

• We learned about Asian Civilizations and the cradle of Western Civilizations, Greece.
• Greece is well-known for its mythology of their gods and godesses.
• The Olympic Games originated from Greece and is still ongoing in the World today. The next Olympics wil be held in London in August 2012.
• We respect each religion and beliefs.

Science

• Always use Science key words and concept to answer questions. Look for the concept first and apply the concept to the question.
• Opposite ends of the batteries need to be connected to each other in a close circuit for the bulb to light up. (-ve) with (+ve)
• For a circuit to function, it has to be closed and there needs to be a wire, switch, light bulb and batteries.
• A battery does not store electricity, it stores chemical energy that will react with electricity in a circuit.

Here is the attached timetable for this term.

Thank You,
Sincerely,
Mr Nelson Ong

Getting ready for term 3

Dear all,

Sorry for the long absence. It's been a busy June Holidays. In a twinkling of an eye, you are all preparing for the return of semester 2. While some of you may be doing some last minute preparations, here are some pointers and notes for the preparation of term 3.

1. English dictation for unit 7 will resume next Friday. Start preparing. Spelling Unit 7 will be on the following Friday. One week Dictation, one week Spelling. Do not forget about it. 
2. Remember to complete your composition for Unit 7, which was given to you before the June holidays as part of your June holidays homework. This is to be handed up during the first day of term 3. 
3. Bring your thermometers everyday and we will be taking temperature for the whole of first week. 
4. Ensure your haircut is neat and proper. There will be checking of each individual during the first day of school.
5. There will be another round of change in timetable. I will upload a copy of the new timetable on Monday. For now, bring your books on Monday for all the core subjects and for Social Studies too. 

CA2 will come earlier this time around due to PSLE Oral examinations in the later weeks of the term. As such, it is really a tight term in terms of scheduling. You might feel the stress level but pace yourself evenly. Revise your work daily, pay attention in class and put in your 100% effort. Even if you might not have done as well in semester 1, do not give up. Now is the time to turn things around. Work hard and believe in yourself. 

For this semester, I am looking at two areas to work upon. Emphasizing on rule #1 'We are a Family', I really do hope that as a class, we can bond together and help one another out. These are your classmates who will follow you up to P6. Unity is important, especially with the P5 NE Show coming up in July and the P5 Camp in August. Help one another out, do not be too hard on one another. Do note that we are all still learning. We are SD3! Be forgiving of others and really look to help one another out. 

The other area to work upon is to really improve on your results. I may nag often but do have your own target of what you want to achieve by the end of the year. You need to have a goal to work towards rather than live life by the day. Motivate yourself. It is an important word! Motivation! Always look to improve. Those who are doing well, keep it up and maintain. Especially for mathematics and chinese, I may not be teaching you but I do want to see all of you doing well. At least pass every single subjects. 

There will be a new trainee teacher attached to our class to teach you science for 5 weeks. I will be sitting in to guide her and it will also give me time to guide those weaker students one to one. Please show your support and be on your best behaviour. You have gained some positive feedback from some teachers so do keep this up. For parents, please do not worry. I will still be taking the students for their supplementary and will be sitting in the lessons so rest assure that I will be still be in touch with the students for their Science and to also provide extra supplementary every Fridays. 

Supplementary lessons resume for the first week.

• Monday - Chinese
• Tuesday - English
• Thursday - Mathematics
• Friday - Science

Your Science practical test will be held on the first friday of term 3. The first week will see us revising hard for it. Parents, do take note that this is worth 10% of the students' CA2 Overall marks with the written paper worth 90%. I will be giving more tips come next week. Do take some time to prepare your kids too. 

You need to know the names of certain equipments in the Science lab such as the:

• Beaker
• Test tube
• Wire gauze
• Bunsen burner
• Ruler 
• Thermometer
• Stopwatch
• Measuring Cylinder

For Science, the key to scoring well is to always remember that behind every Science question in Booklet B, identify the concept and use science vocabulary words to answer the questions. You must be very specific and this will come with more practice in your assessment books. 

Look forward to seeing all of you again,

Sincerely,

Mr Nelson Ong

PS: Remember to check the blog often!