English

We went through the corrections for the Situational Writing and instead of flashing the model answer, what I have changed this term is to correct your answers on your papers and have you to make the necessary corrections by yourself instead. This helps you learn your mistakes rather than just flashing the model answer. 

We also went through a short practice on comprehension cloze. 

For comprehension cloze, I have listed down 5 main skills to do well. You must apply these skills.

1. Read the passage first to understand the story. Ask yourself questions about the main character, the format of the passage (report, information text, narrative story, etc) and setting.

2. Highlight key words.

3. Look for clues.

4. Draw arrows

5. Check for grammar rules (whether the word is past/present/past perfect tense, singular/plural, continuous verb, etc)

The main aim is to read widely and to practise. If you apply these skills, it will help you greatly.

Science

We started on elastic spring force and have completed up on friction. Here are some recaps:

- Friction causes a moving object to stop, a stationary object to move, changes the direction of a moving object, changes the size and shape of an object. 

-Lubricants need not only be liquids (oil, grease). It can also be in solid form such as graphite (used in machines) and powder. 

We then move on to talk about elastic spring force and how it is applicable to our daily lives such as the spandex or rubber being used as the waistband for our running shorts having elastic force to help expand and contract during our movements. 

Elastic spring force occurs when we push a spring (compress) or pull a spring (stretch). 

Concept: The more the elastic force, the higher a ball bounces. A ball made of a highly elastic material will bounce higher than one that has less elasticity. 

We also went on to complete an activity in the workbook. We tested out the effect of weights on the elasticity of the spring. When more weights are added, the length of spring increases.

 

Reminders:

 

• Bring your PSLE Giro deduction form with it being signed by TOMORROW (27th March). There is no deadline extension! Thank you!
• The name list for the early bird programme commencing next week will be given out tomorrow. 
•  

Thank You,

Sincerely,

Mr Nelson Ong

Welcome back to Term 2

Dear all,

Welcome back to term 2. We will have one aim and that is to work hard together all the way. It will be a busy term but you are not alone in this. You have the teachers and your parents! We are fully behind you. Let the theme for this term be 'One for all, All for one!' Remember that you never walk alone.

I will be making a few changes based on last term's results and behaviour.

1. You still need LOTS of motivation!
2. The group points will be altered to enhance more added motivation as stated earlier. Top four groups will get the vouchers. Top 2 groups will get the lunch treat and bring along another group in the 3rd or 4th place. 
3. I will be be placing your results progress on a tracking paper and place it at the back of the classroom for you to trace your marks progression for your situational writing and composition work.

Based on your journal writing, these are the areas you do not like and thus, I want to work on making you like them, even to a little extent. I want you to change your mindset and overcome your dislikes. Even by making you like your difficult problems just by a little bit, I would have achieved my aim. You need to like the things you are doing in order to be motivated, feel more confident and improve. 

English:

• Comprehension OE has seen a decrease in dislikes as compared to the past due to the use of the pre-reading thinking activity. However, some of you still do not feel confident and find it difficult. These people mostly did not use the PRE-READING THINKING ACTIVITY and I really urge you to try. You have nothing to lose.
• Comprehension cloze has seen a majority of you agreeing that it is your weakest link. I will find a way to work on it. 
• Grammar items/rules and phrasal verbs is another big component many of you feel that you need help.

Science:

• Tackling open-ended questions is your greatest dislike and many of you complained about not being able to remember keywords and concepts to elaborate. I will be using acronyms and short forms to help you remember concepts better just like how I used the 'WCCW' to help you remember the concept of condensation. 
• We will work on energy conversions too which many of you have also gave unfavourable comments. 

Parents, these are the sections that many of the kids have complained about and you might want to also focus upon and use interesting strategies and more patience to help them :)

Lets' work together to have your 100% passes.

Thank you,

Sincerely,

Mr Nelson Ong

End of Extra Holiday Supplementary Lessons

Dear all,

Thank you for the wonderful attendance during the March Holidays for the extra lessons. I hoped you have learnt much and manage to understand new concepts posed to you. As we move on to the end of term 1 and the beginning of term 2, we are moving up one notch in terms of intensity and urgency. This coming term, you will have listening comprehension and oral examinations. Do have some practice on them. I want to see an increase in your marks now that you have truly settled down and began to grasp the concepts and familiarize yourself with the P6 syllabus.

Congratulations to Team Brennan and Team Michael for winning the top two groups placing. Congratulations to Team Matthew for their third placing and for Team Yiling, you missed by just a bit. Nonetheless, well done to each and everyone.

Student of the term: Michael

Group leader of the term: Matthew 

Let us recap the main learning points of the supplementary lessons for the past 2 days.

English

We went through the essentials of writing a composition. Common themes for composition writing include accidents, fire, robbery, theft and being lost in a place. Do look out for useful phrases and vocabulary words on these themes.

We talked about the importance of planning the composition first such as giving the characters a name and writing from the point of view of the one of the characters in the picture given. Picture composition is generally easier to write if you take on the role of one of the characters in the picture. Remember to always elaborate on your points.

We did the focus writing on introduction using the strategy of a flashback. Flashbacks are good tools to be used to start off a story provided that you make the reference back to the flashback at the end of your composition.

example:

INTRODUCTION

     As I looked at the picture of Tom and I, sad memories flooded my mind and I was reminded of the horrifying accident that occurred exactly two years ago. Not only did I suffered permanent scars to my cheeks, Tom also died in the accident. Tom was my brother whom I was very close to......

     It was a bright, sunny day....................................

CONCLUSION

     This accident constantly replayed on my mind and I had a phobia of riding on motorbikes ever since. This incident would forever be etched into my memories.

We also went through the basic essentials of grammar such as what nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, conjunctions and prepositions are. Here is the upload of the list of words that are prepositions. You need to work on identifying and understanding prepositions and conjunctions for grammar cloze.

We ended off English with the situational writing exercise on report writing. No matter what structure of situational writing you will receive, always identify the role and audience first. Then, note the tone of the writing. When writing to a person of higher authority, you need to be formal.

Science

We went through the revision worksheet 1 and highlighted the importance of topics like materials, magnets and heat. A few important concepts to remember:

• Different materials have different rates of  absorbency of water.
• POOR conductors of heat do not conduct away heat easily and are good to be used to keep items warmer.
• GOOD conductors of heat conduct heat away easily. 
• When we want to find out the aim of an experiment, always look at the VARIABLE TO BE CHANGED and compare it to the PROCESS OF THE EXPERIMENT. 

We then finish up Science with the next activity in the workbook on using ball bearings to reduce friction. We cannot remove the friction totally but what we can do is to use the ball bearings so that it reduces friction and allow more work to be done. In this case, the ball bearings reduces friction between the two surfaces so that they do not come into DIRECT contact with each other. 

• Less friction = more work to be done = more efficient!

Work hard and play hard,

Sincerely,

Mr Nelson Ong

End of Term 1

Dear all,

As we come to the end of term 1, we look back at what we can improve on and then look ahead to the future. It is a term filled with many disappointments more than joy. I take comfort that you have improved in terms of comprehension open-ended based on the pre-reading thinking activity skills that we set out to use this year. It is no longer a section that we once used to really fear of not being able to pass.

Many of you are still not reaching your potential and knowing how much more you can offer to yourself in terms of motivation, behaviour and academic achievement. Until you find that motivation and discipline to work hard, it is difficult to make that one step up. Many of you have found your marks dropping and you must ask yourself one question, "How much do I want to score well?"

Change the way you are studying and make some adjustments to your lifestyle. September 26 is your first written paper. In August, you will sit for your oral examinations. We are already in the middle of March now. I don't mean to constantly nag at you guys but I do care and want you to know that as long as you do your best and have no regrets, even if you do not hit the high Bs or As, it does not matter. I want to see effort from all of you so that you can get your pass! With effort, then comes results.

Reminders for next week:

1. There are supplementary lessons on Monday and Tuesday. 
2. For parents concerned about the long breaks in between, I will be accompanying the students and doing some extra work with them for those who have 2 hours long breaks in between.
3. Food will be provided and breaks will be provided for them. 
4. Bring along your textbooks. 
5. Please bring your Science files completed with the filing of the CA papers in them and parents signatures! 

Here are the photos for the Little India Learning Journey.

Have a good weekend,

Sincerely,

Mr Nelson Ong

Friction

Dear all,

We have moved on to the topic of Friction today for Science. Here are the learning points:

• Friction is a force that opposes motion. It slows down motion / movement. 

• Friction can be classified into its advantages or disadvantages. It is useful when it helps us to grip onto items such as pen or pencil to do writing. It is useful as it allows us to walk without slipping. It is not useful when friction gives out excess heat that results in energy loss. It is also not useful when friction causes wear and tear. 

• In the example of a car moving on the road over a long period of time, it is useful as friction helps it to move without skidding. But friction causes heat and the tyres will wear out after a period of time. When not replaced, it will cause the car to skid and slide. 

• Friction always acts in the opposite direction of the movement of an object. 

• Concept: The rougher the surface, the greater the amount of friction. 

• Ways to overcome friction: 
• Oil the surface or object
• Lubricate the surface or object
• Add rollers or ball bearings to the base of the object (More ball bearings and rollers added will result in lesser friction to overcome)

• There are two kinds of friction (Static friction occurs when an object is stationary) (Kinetic friction occurs when an object is moving)

Reminders:

1. Sign your exam papers for English and Science and show me tomorrow before filing
2. Bring your energy workbook and English file tomorrow if you have not done so
3. Dictation Unit 4 test is on tomorrow. 

Thank you,

Sincerely,

Mr Nelson Ong

Forces and Comprehension Open-ended

Dear all,

I have returned your your feedback for the term. Please bring it back and show it to your parents and work things out together on how you can improve further. For most of you, you would have to work on your concepts for Science and use it to help you answer the open-ended questions. Drill and practise on the concepts for each topic and identify them before answering the questions for open-ended. You need to be very precise and exact as possible.

For English, most of you would have to improve on grammar for a start. Forget about vocabulary first and concentrate on grammar if you want to pass your English. Redo your practice papers to help you remember better. Your weakness is lacking the memory power to remember skills and concepts. Go through the papers at least twice to help you retain the memory. It is a better way of studying. Focus on phrasal verbs and prepositions to be used with certain verbs. This is a common item in grammar.

Today's learning points:

• We have moved on to the first kind of forces and that is friction. Using the simple experiment of testing how different surfaces affect the amount of force used to drag weights across the surface, we tested it out today and the main concept here is that forces opposes motion. It slows down the movement and motion of moving objects. Remember that!
• I have also told you that you need to remember the 4 main concepts of forces and that is 1) Forces cause a stationary object to move. 2) Forces can cause a moving object to come to a stop. 3) Forces can change the shape and size of an object. 4) Forces can change the direction and speed of a moving object. 
• The heavier the object, the more the friction it needs to overcome. 
• We then move on to finish up the comprehension open-ended section. We learn about the idea of not judging a book by its cover through the story of the biker, Mr Oak Tree and the kittens he cared for. 
• I still need to see more of you highlighting key words and looking for contextual clues in the grammar cloze, editing and comprehension cloze section! If you do not highlight and look for clues, you will not be able to do as well. Please practise. 

Have a good rest,

Sincerely,

Mr Nelson Ong

Term 1 Week 10 (Last week)

Dear all,

We have come to the last week of the term. It's 1 term down and 3 more terms before you graduate from primary school officially. Time really flies.

As we come to the last week of the term, I will be giving you each your feedback and encouragement note for term 1 probably on Wednesday. There is supplementary tomorrow but there will be no remedial on Thursday.

You end at 11am on Friday for the Sports Carnival. However, I am opening up extra remedial from 11.30am - 1.30pm. Do attend if you can. It is not compulsory.

We are on to our supplementary worksheet for Unit 4 and I really urge you all to continue with the pre-reading thinking activity. 24 passes for Comprehension open-ended for CA1 is really an achievement! Forget about it being a difficult section. It is definitely a section you can pass. Some of you are still asking me about the importance of the strategy.

Before even reading the passage, the strategy helps you map out the story and give you a clearer understanding. It becomes more focus when you write down what i know and what i want to know and summarise the story and understand more about it on your own first. As you then read through the story, you have the answers to what i want to know already. This strategy is meant to give you a clearer picture and better focus and understanding and it does help!

Dear parents,

For those who did not attend the meet the parents session, I will be sending out emails or sms-es to update you about your child's progress soon. For those who have attended, I will be sending out emails or sms-es to you only if your child's results are highly undesirable and he/she needs to really improve and make changes to excel.

Thank you for your understanding and patience.
Sincerely,
Mr Nelson Ong

End of Week 9

Dear all,

As week 9 draws to a close, there are several things on my mind which I would like to say to all of you.

It has been an emotionally draining week. Some things have happened with regards to some pupils. Looking back at your results and having to firmly reprimand most of you about it makes me feel saddened. It is indeed not easy this year as compared to last year. Some of you have confided in me about your problems both academically and also outside your work. Do know that you can always come to me and talk to me if you need help. I promise I will be here for you not just as your form teacher but as a listening ear and a friend for you. I do know that P6 is a tough year and this is probably your first exam. Your parents are pushing you that extra bit and I am also tough on you but I hope you see that it is from our hearts and not just pushing you for the sake of it all.

For both parents and pupils, I am beginning to see that most of the pupils are going through the phase of puberty. Some are finding their own identity and themselves while some are beginning to be conscious about themselves and being sensitive to words being said in class. Emotions wise, I have seen a rise in you being more emotional this year. I really urge all parents to spend time with their children as they go through this phase and with the stress and demands of the PSLE and expectations. The pupils really need the support of all parents, from simple things like how are you doing and how I can help you to talking to them about anything under the sun and spending time going out for a meal, shopping or sports. These will help them mentally and physically.

I have gone through P6 too and know the demands and expectations of how it is like to sit for the PSLE examinations. Papers after papers, advice after advice and alot of disciplining too. But when I look back, I do know that these are for my own good. If there was one thing I have truly learnt, it is to start revising earlier. It is not how much you do but how much you understand your work. So spend time going through the papers again. A paper should be done at least twice or more times until you have understood your mistakes.

The reason why I am so hard on you this year is because I need to motivate you and keep you in check in terms of discipline. It is very easy to be friendly and crack countless of jokes all the time but what do you truly learn? Will you be able to maintain your discipline if I tone down on my strictness and start to be more joyful and friendly? I believe very strongly in striking a balance. There is always a time to joke but the first priority is to make sure you improve and come out a better person by the end of the year. I do not expect 100% As and A*. As long as you really motivate yourself and do your best by working hard with the right attitude, even if you just pass your subjects, I am more than happy because I know you try. Of course, in an ideal world, my greatest hope is to see my A*, A's, B's and C's without any other grades.

I do still care and have always cared for each one of you. Next week, you will receive your individual feedback for the term as usual. Look at your feedback and use it it motivate you for further improvement next term alright.

Today's learning point:

We have started on Science (Interactions) and have completed the first activity in the workbook. It is a very lengthy book and there are several topics you need to learn and as such, we will begin today.

• We learn that a force is a push or pull that acts on an object.
• A push is going away from you while a pull is coming towards you. Note the directions.
• 
  
• We also learn about the 4 golden concepts that you MUST MUST MUST * know. 
• A force will cause a stationary object (object at rest) to move. 
• A force will change the direction of a moving object. (KEYWORD here is 'MOVING'. Without the word 'moving', it is a wrong concept)
• A force will change the shape and size of an object.
• A force will cause a moving object to come to a stop. 
• 
  
• A force cannot be seen. We can only see the effects of a force. 

We also carried out the first two experiments on the coin and glass cup and the magnets. What we do in life is highly related to forces. Forces help us do work. You must definitely know the 4 golden concepts as mentioned above. 

Look at the additional blog, 'A question a day' for some questions on forces.

Homework:

1. English newspaper article
2. Journal writing

Have a good weekend,

Sincerely,

Mr Nelson Ong

Heritage tour to Little India

Dear all,

Tomorrow will be your trip to Little India for the heritage tour. Please take note of the following reminders:

• Bring along a scarf (foldable towel of considerable size) for the entering of the temple. 
• Bring along your water bottle and raincoat/small umbrella
• Bring along some light snacks/food to eat along the way
• There will still be remedial tomorrow so please bring along your items for those in my remedial class and those who want to stay back

Thank you,

Sincerely,

Mr Nelson Ong

Week 9

Dear all,

It's been a while since the blog was updated. My apologies for the hiatus and not getting the questions up for a question a week for the weekend due to the marking for the CA1 papers. The papers will be returned this week over time.

Review of the papers

English

• There was a huge increase and percentage of passes for the comprehension open-ended which is a joy to witness. The Pre-reading thinking activity has helped greatly and most of you have ended up with passes for the once dreaded section. Good job and continue to use the strategy.
• Areas of weakness was surprisingly, the punctuation section, vocabulary mcq and vocabulary cloze as usual. We need to target these areas for improvement in the coming months. 
• Synthesis was an issue together with comprehension cloze although there were increases in the marks. 
• Composition writing needs to be reviewed again. It was not very well done and those who failed had very low marks. 

Science

• MCQ was poorly done together with the open-ended section. Revision questions were once again an issue and you need to put in more effort to go through the revision questions.
• Many of you did not write down the topics and concepts for each question to help you focus better. 
• The P3-P4 topics are no longer as simple as they were in the textbook. They are now of a higher order/standard that suits the P6 level. Questions are going to be phrased differently and they also include other topics. You need to make use of your basic concepts to help you understand and solve the questions.
• Classification tables have been very common in the questions. Do have more practice on them. 

Overall

• It is many steps backwards. I can understand that as you come up to a new level, you need to adjust and you must be prepared for the sudden drop in marks but you should be passing the subjects and not dropping so drastically in marks. Some of you have indeed shown a lack of progress with your poor attitude in class this term. 
• You need to work hard and know that there is not much time left. It is crucial that you start to work hard in the coming terms with only 1 and a half term left before your major examination!
• You have only 1 more SA1 in which new topics will be tested before you are supposed to consolidate your learning and revision for every single topic for your best practice before your PSLE - the prelims.
• I still want to achieve my 100% passes for both subjects.

Reminders:

• Bring your interactions textbook and workbook this week.
• Bring your science worksheets if you have not. We will do filing soon.
• Supplementary lessons / remedial lessons for this week are still ongoing.
• Pass up your journal writing and newspaper articles book if you have not done so.

Have a good week ahead.

Sincerely,

Mr Nelson Ong.