Speech & Drama Night (Behind the Scenes)

Dear Parents,

Thank you for your support in the P1 Speech & Drama Night! The boys had lots of fun and I hope you have enjoyed their performance. Here are a few behind-the-scenes pictures...

Have a great holiday! See you in Term 3!

Regards,

Miss Joyce Tan

26 May 2010 (Wednesday)

Dear Parents,

Speech & Drama Performance Tomorrow

• Report at 3pm tomorrow (P1 Kindness Classroom)
• Wear PE attire and school shoes
• Bring a small bag with water bottle and shoes
• Bathe and have lunch before coming back

Admin

• Reminder: Do not report to school in the morning.
• Letter regarding 75th Anniversary dinner. Please refer to the letter for more details. Many thanks to Brenon's mummy for helping to collate the responses!
• Keep all your files and books at home. Revise during the holidays.
• Parents please help your child to check if they have all the worksheets in their files (use the contents page to help you with the checking). When you have completed the check, please sign on the contents page (both English and Maths files).
• Bring the files back on the first day of school in Term 3. Do not remove any worksheets in the files as there will be a file check in Term 3.

Thank you and see you tomorrow at the performance!

Regards,

Miss Joyce Tan

大家好！

华文

1. 假期作业（创意写作）--开学星期一交
大家发挥自己的创意，画出老师想不到的东西来吧！
然后写下三个句子，如果有字不会写，可以写汉语拼音。
一定要上颜色哦！

2. 活动本1A和1B--开学星期一交

Chinese

1. Holiday Homework(Creative Writing)--Hand in when school reopens
Use your imagination and draw something that I will never think of!
Write down 3 sentences, if there are words that you do not know how to write, you can use HYPY. Remember to colour it!

2. Activity Book 1A and 1B--Bring when school reopens

PS：明天老师会来给你们加油打气！好好表演哦！
I will be coming to cheer for you tomorrow! Good luck and have fun!

明天见！
李老师

21 May 2010 (Friday)

Dear Parents,

Admin

• Travel Declaration Form - Complete the form and submit on Monday. A nil return with signature is required.
• Letter regarding 75th Anniversary Mementos - Complete the order form and submit on Monday. A nil return with signature is required.

Speech & Drama

• Bring your pants on Tuesday (if I have not collected them). I will put the pants and the shirt (which they have paid for) together and keep it in school.

Thank you.

Regards,

Miss Joyce Tan

大家好！

华文

1. 亲子讲故事比赛--星期一交

拿到表格的同学，记得给爸爸妈妈看哦！
跟哥哥或姐姐、弟弟妹妹、爷爷奶奶一起参加也可以！

2. 华文书小书展--星期二和星期三

大家记得老师用来跟你们一起复习的那本书吗？
就是《校园乐翻天--欢乐校本》！
有兴趣的同学要记得带钱哦！

注意：

汉语拼音、第一课到第四课出现的字，大家一定要会读哦！
好好复习吧！
大家加油！
老师在这里祝你们好运哦！
不要做梦，记得检查！

Chinese

1. Parent-and-Child Story Telling Competition--Monday hand in

Those who got the form from me, please show it to Daddy and Mummy.
You can even ask your siblings and grandparents to join in the fun!

2. Chinese Book Fair--Tuesday and Wednesday

Remember the book that I used to revise with you?
It will be sold at the book fair.
Those interested, please remember to bring some money.

ATTENTION:

You must be able to recognise words in HYPY lessons and Chapter 1 to 4.
Please revise and try your best!
I wish you good luck!
Remember... DO NOT DREAM! CHECK! CHECK! CHECK!

星期一见！
李老师

English Comprehension

Dear Parents,

Please take note of this point and remind your child when carrying out revision for English comprehension:

• Check the tense of the question before answering
• If the question is phrased in present tense, you answer in present tense (and vice versa)

MAJOR HINT FOR ENGLISH EXAM

Dear Parents,

Here are some MAJOR hint for the English exam tomorrow. For Paper 2 (main paper), study these grammar items:

• The verb "to be" - example: is, are, was, were & am
• Pronouns
• Present continuous tense - example: is running, are playing, etc
• Articles - example: a, an, the
• Prepositions
• Simple present tense
• Simple past tense

I wish I can say more but this is all that I can reveal. Parents, pleaseeeeeee revise the above grammar items with your child!

Also, please make sure your child knows how to spell the words in the SA1 spelling list. 10 words out of the given 30 will be tested in Paper 3 (Listening Comprehension)! They must know how to spell and write the word after hearing it.

Words from the spelling list of the other units may appear in Paper 2. Just make sure your child understands the meaning of those words so that he knows how to use the words if they do appear in sentences.

A few more days to go, let's pray that the boys will know how to apply what they have learnt in the past two terms.

Regards,

Miss Joyce Tan

19 May 2010 (Wednesday)

Dear Parents,

Admin

• Worksheets are filed into the English and Maths files. Revise these worksheets for the exam.
• Parents please sign on the "Table of Contents" page after checking that all the worksheets are in the files (both English and Maths files). (Headings of the worksheets are written in the Table of Contents to help parents with the checking)

English

• Reminder: English Paper 2 and Paper 3 exam will be conducted tomorrow! Remember to study the 30 words in the SA1 spelling list for the Paper 3 exam!

Thank you!

Regards,

Miss Joyce Tan

18 May 2010 (Tuesday)

Dear Parents,

Speech & Drama Costumes

• Those who have paid, you will receive your costume on Tuesday. Bring your shirt/pants (if you have) on Tuesday and Miss Tan will put everything together in one set and keep it for you in school.
• If you need shirt/pants but you have not paid, please bring your money on Friday.
• Shirt: $8
• Pants: $8

Admin

• Bring English and Maths files tomorrow for filing.

Thank you.

Regards,

Miss Joyce Tan

17 May 2010 (Mon)

Dear Parents,

There is no homework today. Thank you.

Regards,

Miss Joyce Tan

14 May 2010 (Friday)

Dear Parents,

Admin

• English and Maths files have been returned for revision.

English

• Reminder: Composition exam is on Monday
• Revise the following for composition exam on Mon: Write Right (pink) booklet pg 1 - 16, Mid-Year Exam 2009 Trial Paper, Compo: A Bad Fall, Compo: Further Practice (I) and Further Practice (II). All these worksheets can be found in the English file.

Thank you.

Regards,

Miss Joyce Tan

大家好！

华文

1. SA1看图选句--五月十七日，星期一
看图选句5题10分，在30分钟内完成。
大家要加油哦！

2. SA1 试卷--五月二十四日，星期一（10点休息之前）
见模拟试卷，55分，在1小时20分钟内完成。
要专心，记得检查啊！

3. SA1听力考试--五月二十四日，星期一（休息之后）
见听力练习（绿色文件夹里），10分，在30分钟内完成。

4. 模拟试卷二--星期一
这是最后一次的模拟试卷了，大家加油哦！

Chinese

1. SA1 Choosing Sentence Based on Pictures--17/05/2010, Monday
5 questions, 10 marks, complete in 30 minutes.

2. SA1 Exam Paper--24/05/2010, Monday (before recess)
Refer to Trial Paper, 55 marks, complete in 1 hour and 20 minutes.
Concentrate and check carefully!

3. SA1 Listening Comprehension--24/05/2010, Monday (after recess)
Refer to Listening Practice (in Green File), 10 marks, complete in 30 minutes.

4. Trial Paper 2--Monday
This will be you last trial paper! Work hard!

星期一见！
李老师

13 May 2010 (Thur)

Dear Parents,

There is no homework today. Thank you.

Regards,

Miss Joyce Tan

大家好！

华文

1. 组词成句练习(Iron Man!)--明天交
做练习一和练习二。

2. 总听写--明天
明天的总听写是真的了，大家加油！

3. 活动本1A--明天带
做改正。

4. 文件夹--明天带

5. 看图选句子--星期一
老师已经把看图选句子的练习还给你们了，记得放在文件夹里哦！

Chinese

1. Rearranging Vocabs(Iron Man!)--Hand in TOMORROW
Complete practice 1 and 2.

2. SA1 Final Spelling--TOMORROW
Tomorrow's the REAL thing!

3. Activity Book 1A--Bring TOMORROW
Complete all CORRECTIONS!

4. Green File--Bring TOMORROW

5. Choosing Sentence Based on Pictures--Monday
I have returned your practices, please put them in your Green File!

明天见！
李老师

Important Dates

Dear Parents,

Please take note of these examination dates:

• 17 May (Mon): English Language Paper 1 & Chinese Language Paper 1
• 20 May (Thur): English Language Paper 2 & English Language Paper 3
• 21 May (Fri): Mathematics
• 24 May (Mon): Chinese Language Paper 2 & Chinese Language Paper 3

Note:

• Paper 1 --> Composition
• Paper 2 --> Main paper (For English, it consists of grammar, vocabulary, cloze passage, comprehension, etc)
• Paper 3 --> Listening Comprehension (For English, out of the 30 words given in the SA1 Spelling List, 10 words will be tested in this paper)
• Pupils will be dismissed at 12.05pm from 20 May to 25 May
• Please try not to book any overseas trip before 27 May as we will be going through examination papers (corrections and checking of marks, etc)

12 May 2010 (Wednesday)

大家好！

华文

1. 模拟总听写--明天
总听写1-20。
今天同学们做得不错哦！
明天加油！

注意！

1. 考试范围

课本：

汉语拼音= 第1页到第66页
课文= 第一课到第四课（第67到97页）

不用复习：第81、87和89。

Chinese

1. Trial Spelling--Tomorrow
Final Spelling vocabs 1 to 20.
Most of you have done well today! Keep it up!

ATTENTION!

1. Exam Syllabus:

Textbook:

HYPY: Page 1 to 66.
Text: Chapter 1 to 4 (page 67 to 97)

Do not have to revise page 81, 87 and 89.

明天见！
李老师

12 May 2010 (Wednesday)

Dear Parents,

Admin

• CH Family Day coupons were issued today. Please get the coupons from your child today. Please keep the coupon stubs for verification purpose in the lucky draw. Miss Tan has entered the serial numbers on your coupons for the lucky draw (hopefully you will be able to win something). If you do win something, you will have to produce the coupon stub (which contains a serial number) to claim the prize. So do keep the stub well!
• Filing will be carried out on Friday (the files are in class right now). Files will be returned on Friday for revision.

English

• Please sign the spelling book and submit tomorrow.

Thank you.

Regards,

Miss Joyce Tan

Composition Writing

Dear Parents,

The English composition exam will be held next Monday. Here are some points to take note of when you are carrying out revision with your child:

• They must write a minimum of 5 sentences. In the exam, if they have written only 4 sentences (or less), marks will be deducted as they have failed to meet the basic requirement of the paper and they have not followed instructions. Just remember: They can write more, but they cannot write less.
• This is what they have been taught: Make use of every single helping word given. The helping words should be used from left to right (first row) and left to right again (second row). The helping words are there to help them form sentences and help them to stay on track (instead of digressing to something irrelevant). Try to form 2 sentences for each picture. This way, you will definitely meet the requirement of the paper. If you make use of all the helping words, you can very easily form more than 5 sentences.
• Remind them to check the number of sentences that they have written by counting the number of full-stops they have. One full-stop equals to one sentence. They should see at least 5 full-stops (but of course, the full-stops must be at the "right places" - if there is an error in their punctuation, they will be penalised as well).
• Introduce your characters right from the start and give names to your main characters. When your characters are clearly identified, it is easier for the marker to make sense of what you are writing.
• Be logical! Example: If you wrote "Ben fell from a chair and hurt his leg." You should not go on to say "His head started to bleed." If Ben had hurt his leg, shouldn't his leg bleed instead of his head? If you want Ben's head to bleed, then you should write "Ben hurt his head. His head started to bleed". They have to also make sure that they follow the picture closely. Example: If the picture shows the teacher applying medicine for Tom on the field, then in your story, don't write about the teacher bringing Tom back to the Staffroom to apply the medicine because you are digressing away from the picture and you are not writing what you see.
• Make use of connectors to give more information and make your story more interesting. Example: "Ben dashed out of the school gate because he wanted to be home on time for his favourite television programme." If this sentence is written without the connector "because", the sentence will become "Ben dashed out of the school gate" - This makes the story dull as there are not enough information given.
• Make use of adjectives. The boys have learnt about adjectives. Instead of writing "a car", they can write "a green car". Adding adjectives to describe people or things will make their stories fuller and more interesting.
• Conclusion - I do not expect them to write one whole paragraph of conclusion. All that they have to do is to write one sentence to tell the readers what their main character has learnt from his experience. Example: "Ben regretted dashing across the road. He promised his mother that he would not do it again." Or "Ben learnt that it is wrong to jay-walk. He promised his mother that he would use the traffic light to cross the roads in future." Remember: Always end off your composition with one sentence, stating how the main character felt and what he learnt has learnt after the incident/experience.

That's about all. As they write more, they will become better writers. So, find chances to let your child write. Talk to them, help them to form proper sentences when they are speaking (because the way they speak will affect the way they write - their writing is often a direct reflection of how they speak). Help them to express their ideas into words so that they will not experience "writer's block" when they are writing their compositions.

Parents, just a bit more to go and then the mid-year exam will be over. We can do it! And so can our little darlings! Let's persevere on!

Regards,

Miss Joyce Tan

11 May 2010 (Tuesday)

Dear Parents,

Admin

• A letter regarding the Speech and Drama Performance was issued today. The flow of events for that day can be found in the letter. Please sign the reply slip (and remember to indicate the number of people who will be coming to watch the performance) and submit tomorrow. [By the way, I told the boys to keep quiet about what their performance is about so that you will be pleasantly surprised on that day. So, don't worry if your darling says "I don't know" when you ask him what he is going to do on that day ;p ]

Thank you.

Regards,

Miss Joyce Tan

大家好！

华文

1. 看图选句练习--明天交

2. 模拟总听写--明天
明天听写总听写表里的11到20。

3. 绿色文件夹
你们可以开始用文件夹复习了！

4. SA1总听写--五月十四日，星期五

5. SA1看图选句--五月十七日，星期一

Chinese

1. Sentence Choosing Based on Pictures--Hand in TOMORROW

2. Trial Final Spelling--TOMORROW
Final Spelling 11 to 20 will be tested TOMORROW!

3. Green File
Please revise using your Chinese file.

4. SA1 Final Spelling--14/05/2010, Friday

5. SA1 Sentence Choosing Based on Pictures--17/05/2010, Monday

明天见！
李老师

10 May 2010 (Monday)

Dear Parents,

English

• Complete composition correction - Further Practice (II)
• Complete composition - A Bad Fall
• Reminder: Spelling (Unit 13) will be conducted tomorrow.

Thank you.

Regards,

Miss Joyce Tan

大家好！

华文

1. 文件夹
有些同学没有交哦！
你没有交，老师怎么帮你检查呢？

2. 模拟考卷2份
有2位同学还没签名！
明天再不交，老师要打你屁股了！

3. 总听写--星期五
这个星期五考SA1总听写，大家要读哦！

Chinese

1. File
Some of you have not hand it in...
I will not be able to check it if you do not hand in your file...
Remember to bring it TOMORROW!

2. Trial Paper X2
There is still 2 boys who have not let their parents sign their trial paper...
Please bring it TOMORROW!

3. SA1 Final Spelling--This FRIDAY!
SA1 Final Spelling will be carried out on this FRIDAY!
Please study all 20 of the spelling vocabs.

明天见！
李老师

7 May 2010 (Friday)

Dear Parents,

Speech & Drama Information

• If you have already gotten the costume, please pack them in a ziplock bag (label your name and class) and bring it to school on Monday.
• If you do not have the shirt, bring $8 on Monday to purchase it from the Speech & Drama instructor.
• If you do not have the pants, please buy one over the weekend and bring it on Monday (in a ziplock bag).

Admin

• English and Maths files have been returned for revision over the weekend (revise the revision worksheets and trial papers!). Please bring it back on Monday.

Maths

• ATM book have been returned for revision. Please keep the book at home until further notice.

English

• Study Spelling (Unit 13). Spelling will be conducted on Tuesday.
• Write one journal entry. Submit on Monday.

Thank you.

Regards,

Miss Joyce Tan

大家好！

华文

1. 总复习一和模拟试卷一
还没有做完的 同学，在家把它做完。
做完的同学要做改正哦！
记得给爸爸妈 妈签名！
然后放进文件夹里。

2. 听写本子--星期一交
请大家做改正，一个错字写三次，然后请爸爸妈妈签名。

3. 好朋友17--星期一交
做第5，6，7和8页。

Chinese

1. Revision Paper 1 & Trial Paper 1--Hand in TOMORROW
Those who did not complete your paper, please complete it at home.
Those who have, please do your corrections.
Remember to let your Daddy or Mummy sign it!
And put them into your FILE!

2. Spelling Book--Hand in on Monday
Please do your corrections and let your Daddy Mummy sign it.

3. Little Newspaper 17--Hand in on Monday
Complete page 5, 6, 7 and 8.

Feedback on Chinese Revision Paper and Trial Paper

Overall, the boys did better for the Trial Paper, compared to the Revision Paper. The Revision Paper is a little more difficult. Below are a few points that I would like to highlight for boys and parents to take note:

1. Time Management
Many of you can finish before the given time limit of 50mins, well done! However, there were some of you who talked to your classmates even when you knew that it is not allowed. Some were dreaming, some were to nervous, and some were too slow. I have to call your name to bring you back on track. Boys, I will not be there when you are doing your paper, so the teacher in the classroom maybe not know your habits. Please stay alert and focus!

2. Handwriting
Many of you have great improvements in your handwriting, but do be very careful when you are copying the words, write them down carefully and correctly.

3. Han Yu Pin Yin
Many of you have returned all your HYPY to me... Please revise it using your textbook and your FILE.

4. Erased and Left Blank
Some of you wanted to change some answers. You erased it and forgot to write down your new answer. Please remember to check.

5. Repeating of Options
In many of the sections, you have to choose and answer from the big box and write down the number representing it. The options can only be used ONCE! Please remember to check.

6. CHECKING SAVES POINTS!
Boys, please remember to CHECK! It saves points and probably saves you from being scolded by your Daddy Mummy and also me... Checking means re-doing all the questions in your mind, so you do not have to erase the answers and rewrite everything again.

I will be giving you another Trial Paper on Monday!
Remember to revise!

星期一见！
李老师

Feedback on Maths Revision Paper (A)

Dear Parents,

The boys were given a mock Maths exam on Tuesday and I have just completed corrections with them today. The paper will be filed in tomorrow and the file will be returned tomorrow for revision over the weekend. This paper follows the ATM syllabus very closely. Thus, it is important that you go through the questions with your child again when you are revising with him.

Here are my observations after marking the paper:

• Time management problem - When boys are "stuck" at a particular problem, they chose to linger on instead of moving on to attempt the other questions. Please remind your child: when they are "stuck", move on and answer all the other questions before coming back to the ones that they do not know. The clock will continue ticking and no extra time will be given if they cannot finish the paper. Therefore, remind your child that he must constantly keep track of how much time he has left so that he can answer all the questions within the stipulated time frame (1hr 15mins).
• Speed in calculation - The boys are still rather slow in calculation. Over the next few weeks, you need to train your child to count fast. Try getting him to count in your daily life (example ask him to help you to add/subtract simple numbers when you are shopping) or time him when he is counting so that he would have a sense of urgency. He needs to count fast so that he can finish the paper on time.
• Leaving blanks - Many boys left blanks when they do not know how to answer the questions. Tell your child DO NOT leave a single blank! Even if they really do not know the answer, at least try to write something. Who knows, they might earn a few marks (if they are lucky)!
• Number sentences for word problems - A handful of boys still do not have the habit of writing number sentences for their word problems. Number sentences are written to safeguard their marks. Though they might be able to count in their head, they may write the wrong answers due to carelessness. If number sentences are present, some marks may still be awarded even if the final answers are wrong. So PLEASE write number sentences to safeguard your marks!!
• Did not check through when paper is completed - Many boys do not have the habit of checking their papers. As a result, a few boys left 1 or 2 pages totally blank because they missed out that page. Please remind your child to CHECK when he as finished the paper and make sure that EVERY SINGLE question has an answer to it.
• Concepts - Many boys have forgotten the concepts taught in Term 1. Please make sure your child revises the topics that were taught in Term 1 as well. Re-do the ATM book (on another piece of paper) if necessary so that he can refresh his memory.

That's about all. Tough as it may seem, but I believe our little darlings will be able to pull through and rise to the occasion. The boys need a lot of encouragement because it is their first major exam. I'm sure they feel the jitters as much as we do. So please don't lose your temper when you are carrying out revision with your child (we don't want him to start hating Maths). Let's give them as much support as we can and please let them know that Miss Tan is here to help them, so don't be afraid to ask. Parents as well, if you have any queries, please feel free to call me. I will offer assistance to the best of my ability. Hopefully our little darlings will survive their first major exam "in one piece" (parents too) ;p

Regards,

Miss Joyce Tan

6 May 2010 (Thursday)

Dear Parents,

Admin

75th Anniversary Polo Shirt

• This shirt will be part of the school's uniform and boys are allowed to wear it during school hours or for school events (such as CH Family Day)
• Miss Tan will be taking the sizes of the boys tomorrow (based on their PE shirt)
• Please submit $15 in cash or cheque (made payable to Catholic High School) tomorrow
• Samples of the shirts can be found in the General Office

CH Family Day Forms and payment

• Miss Tan will also be collecting forms and payment for CH Family Day tomorrow. Please note that a NIL return is required.

Thank you.

Regards,

Miss Joyce Tan

大家好！

华文

1. 总复习一和模拟试卷一--明天交
还没有做完的同学，在家把它做完。
做完的同学要做改正哦！
记得给爸爸妈妈签名！

2. 总听写--五月十四日，星期五
20个听写都要学哦！
可是老师会选10个来考你们！

Chinese

1. Revision Paper 1 & Trial Paper 1--Hand in TOMORROW
Those who did not complete your paper, please complete it at home.
Those who have, please do your corrections.
Remember to let your Daddy or Mummy sign it!

2. SA1 Spelling--14/05/2010, Friday
Please learn all 20 vocabs, but I will only pick 10 of them to test you.

明天见！
李老师

5 May 2010 (Wednesday)

Dear Parents,

Admin

You can now access the Lead Portal to retrieve answers for the Maths ATM book.

• ID: (your child's birth cert number)
• Password: learning

Maths

• Complete corrections (in green) to the revision worksheets (stapled together). Submit tomorrow.

Thank you.

Regards,

Miss Joyce Tan

大家好！

华文

1. 听写十--明天
老师已经把听写本子还给大家了，大家记得做改正，给爸爸妈妈签名哦！

Chinese

1. Spelling 10--TOMORROW
I have returned your Spelling books, please remember to do your corrections and let your parents sign it!

明天见！
李老师

4 May 2010 (Tuesday)

Dear Parents,

Speech & Drama Information

A small note regarding the Speech & Drama Performance was issued

• Black cats: Get black long-sleeved shirt and black pants
• White cats: Get white long-sleeved shirt and white pants
• Tell Miss Tan by Friday if you have the shirt. If you do not have the shirt, bring $8 on Monday to buy
• Pants will not be sold. You have to buy it outside

English

• Complete spelling corrections and sign. (There is no chop for parents' signature, please sign beside the marks). Submit tomorrow.

Thank you.

Regards,

Miss Joyce Tan