Ainur used to send me "TGIF" SMSes every week. She stopped doing that some time ago. I asked her why and she replied:
"Wslm. Haha. Syada, u noticed. I stopped my TGIF msges sbb sy dh bnyk kali trtpu. U can't say tgif whn u hv 2 come 2 school on strdays. dh 5 cnsecutive sabtu dh kne pg skolah. dpressed sy. Rs mcm x de life. Syada, awk free x strdays? is ur school suckng the life out of u too? "
oh YES!!
Until this Labour-Day weekend, I haven't had a "proper" weekend since the mid-semester1 break in March. April has been a punishing month. I've had to bring students to three competitions which are held consecutively. They are:
1) The 9th Interschool Debating Championship (Apr16-21)
2) Kejohanan Tenis MSSD Gombak (Apr19-23)
3) Tan Sri Datuk Paduka Hajjah Saleha Debate Cup (Apr23 & 24)
Though I got to skip school for 6 days, I didn't get to goyang kaki since attending these competitions meant my working hours were extended. So, to friends who sensed my incommitment, or felt that I was becoming more distant, I'm truly sorry. I was just in a very bad place :(
(Tasha, I knew exactly what you feel)
My school did quite well in the IDC (the team was made up of Aiman, Dakshan, Amal & Komal). We qualified for the Double-Octo Finals and was ranked number 21 out of the 80 participating schools. On the first day of competition, we won 1 and lost 1. But on the second day, we won all 3 rounds!! It was unbelievable. After the last debate for the day, Pn. Safrina & I had wanted to drive the students back to their accommodation, but they wanted to join us for dinner.
Faris, their senior who went to give them moral support, also guilted us into bringing him along by saying, "Takpe, saya boleh makan maggi je kat rumah..."
Seriously, these people are emotional-extortionists!
So, the 7 of us went out to eat at Taman Melati. The students were so deliriously happy with their wins that they were acting very hyper. Kak Saf jokingly distanced herself from the crowd and declared, "I don't know these people". They retaliated by greeting her loudly, "HAI CIKGU SAFRINA!!".
That night, Man. City was up against Man. Utd at home. So, the eatery was crowded by supporters by both sides. Whenever the supporters groaned/cheered/clapped, the students would make similar noises though none of us was watching the game. It was a very fun albeit crazy outing with the students.
After the IDC high, we went crashing down in the HELP Debate. All 4 students that we sent were new to debating and we haven't had the time to train them/oversee their preparation.
They lost 3 out of the 4 preliminary rounds. I felt so bad about neglecting them and apologised for "throwing them into the deep end of the ocean". Chua corrected me, "Teacher, it's not just any ocean, it's the Pacific!".
After each loss, Pn. Safrina and I had a long talk, dissecting our mistakes and thinking of how we could've won. We came to the conclusion of the necessity of hiring a trainer. Tapi nak cari di mana ye??
The students were demoralized after the first day. There were even talks of forfeiting the remaining rounds. But they persevered and did a much better job on the second day. We won our last round and I'm just proud of them for not quitting even though that was an easy way out.
After all the competitions were over, it's time to enter the classrooms again.
My students somehow seemed a lot nicer. Was I imagining it?
For instance, when I wanted to go to my next class or to the staff room my 3A boys would offer to help me carry my things. If I happen to hold 3 things, then 3 students will "escort" me to my destination, each carrying an item. Tak berat pun but they insisted on carrying them for me. I felt like being waited on hand and foot.
But that's the nature of students: they gave you joy and heartache in turns.
Since returning, I've also heard many complaints about my 3I students. The other teachers complained that they didn't do their work, didn't bring their textbooks, the boys and the girls mix too freely, etc.
I don't doubt that these claims are true but what am I to do? This is one of the parts of teaching I haven't got the hang of; to instill good values in students, to nahi mungkar and to nag dgn berhikmah.
So about the only thing that I can do when other teachers complain is to look grieved and say, "Diaorg tu memang macam tu..." (in a regretful tone and while shaking my head).
Being a class teacher makes you feel like a mum of 40 (unmanageable) teenagers *sigh*
Sunday, May 02, 2010
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Why Do You Teach?
I first read the article last year. It was included in the Form 5 July Test. I put it away somewhere to reread it and only came across it again recently.
It's written by Peter G. Beidler and my favourite paragraph is this:
"Certainly I don't teach because teaching is easy for me.Teaching is the most difficult among the various ways I have attempted to earn my living... For me, teaching is a red-eye, sweaty-palm, sinking-stomach profession. Red-eye, because I never feel ready to teach, no matter how late I stay up preparing the night before. Sweaty-palm, because I am always nervous before I walk into that classroom, sure that I will be found out for the fool that I am. Sinking-stomach, because I walk out of the classroom an hour later convinced that I was even more boring than usual."
True isn't it?
When a lesson goes well, you feel on top of the world. But when it doesn't, it's thoroughly soul destroying. You then ask yourself: Why do you choose to become a teacher? You are horrible at it!
Why am I still a teacher then?? (Apart from being bound by contract) the rest of the article seems to partially answer that question for me.
It's written by Peter G. Beidler and my favourite paragraph is this:
"Certainly I don't teach because teaching is easy for me.Teaching is the most difficult among the various ways I have attempted to earn my living... For me, teaching is a red-eye, sweaty-palm, sinking-stomach profession. Red-eye, because I never feel ready to teach, no matter how late I stay up preparing the night before. Sweaty-palm, because I am always nervous before I walk into that classroom, sure that I will be found out for the fool that I am. Sinking-stomach, because I walk out of the classroom an hour later convinced that I was even more boring than usual."
True isn't it?
When a lesson goes well, you feel on top of the world. But when it doesn't, it's thoroughly soul destroying. You then ask yourself: Why do you choose to become a teacher? You are horrible at it!
Why am I still a teacher then?? (Apart from being bound by contract) the rest of the article seems to partially answer that question for me.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Hectic
This past week has been very hectic. On top of marking the students' March Test papers, I had to settle 2 major things: registering my students for the district-level tennis competition and the upcoming HELP debate.
The former was particularly time-consuming. There are so many forms to fill in; MO1, MO2, Borang Pendaftaran Mengikut Kategori, Nota Minta, parents' consent forms, etc. The huge paperwork made me feel like buying a shredding machine and turning all those forms into confetti.
I have so many things to settle that my desk is littered with post-it notes. So much so that the teacher next to me jokingly asked, "Dah habis tampal dah tu?"
It's true what Dayah has said; When you're burdened with too many tasks, the quality of your work deteriorates. You end up doing things in a touch-and-go manner. Which aptly describes the quality of my work nowadays :(
I thought I had reached breaking point last Friday, when I reached home at 6pm. I had to endure a 1-hour traffic jam in a journey which normally takes around 15 minutes. It was raining heavily and, feeling wet and utterly miserable, I felt like quitting my job and becoming something, anything else.
But alhamdulillah, after having a home-cooked dinner prepared lovingly by Mom, after eating chocolate-flavoured ice cream straight from the tub with my sister, and after getting sufficient sleep, I woke up to a beautiful Saturday morning :)
Though I had to work on a Saturday from 8am to 6pm, I was in a good mood (those who think that teaching is a half-day job are gravely mistaken). Seeing my students benefiting from the debating workshop we attended made it all worthwhile.
I was reminded of 2 quotes:
1) "Orang yang hidup untuk dirinya sendiri akan hidup seperti orang yang kerdil dan mati sebagai seorang yang kerdil. Tetapi orang yang hidup bagi orang lain akan hidup sebagai orang yang 'besar' dan mati sebagai orang yang besar juga" -Syed Qutb-
2) "Apabila kamu merasa letih kerana berbuat kebaikan maka sesungguhnya keletihan itu akan hilang dan kebaikan itu akan kekal. Dan sekiranya kamu berseronok dengan dosa maka sesungguhnya keseronokan itu akan hilang dan dosa itu akan kekal" -Saidina Ali bin Abi Talib-
Maybe I should write down these quotes and add them to my post-it notes collection...
The former was particularly time-consuming. There are so many forms to fill in; MO1, MO2, Borang Pendaftaran Mengikut Kategori, Nota Minta, parents' consent forms, etc. The huge paperwork made me feel like buying a shredding machine and turning all those forms into confetti.
I have so many things to settle that my desk is littered with post-it notes. So much so that the teacher next to me jokingly asked, "Dah habis tampal dah tu?"
It's true what Dayah has said; When you're burdened with too many tasks, the quality of your work deteriorates. You end up doing things in a touch-and-go manner. Which aptly describes the quality of my work nowadays :(
I thought I had reached breaking point last Friday, when I reached home at 6pm. I had to endure a 1-hour traffic jam in a journey which normally takes around 15 minutes. It was raining heavily and, feeling wet and utterly miserable, I felt like quitting my job and becoming something, anything else.
But alhamdulillah, after having a home-cooked dinner prepared lovingly by Mom, after eating chocolate-flavoured ice cream straight from the tub with my sister, and after getting sufficient sleep, I woke up to a beautiful Saturday morning :)
Though I had to work on a Saturday from 8am to 6pm, I was in a good mood (those who think that teaching is a half-day job are gravely mistaken). Seeing my students benefiting from the debating workshop we attended made it all worthwhile.
I was reminded of 2 quotes:
1) "Orang yang hidup untuk dirinya sendiri akan hidup seperti orang yang kerdil dan mati sebagai seorang yang kerdil. Tetapi orang yang hidup bagi orang lain akan hidup sebagai orang yang 'besar' dan mati sebagai orang yang besar juga" -Syed Qutb-
2) "Apabila kamu merasa letih kerana berbuat kebaikan maka sesungguhnya keletihan itu akan hilang dan kebaikan itu akan kekal. Dan sekiranya kamu berseronok dengan dosa maka sesungguhnya keseronokan itu akan hilang dan dosa itu akan kekal" -Saidina Ali bin Abi Talib-
Maybe I should write down these quotes and add them to my post-it notes collection...
Friday, April 02, 2010
Hands of Honour
'Hands of Honour' is one the the activities we did during the English Camp. I thought I would try it out with my 3Q students as a pre-writing task.
They were supposed to write 'What I Am Passionate About'. What I really want was for them to write about what they absolutely love. I do not want them to merely write about their hobbies.
The 'Hands of Honour' works like this: Students trace their palms on a piece of A4 paper. They then write down 5 things that are synonymous with them.
I gave them a simple exercise on synonyms first (casual=informal, incorrect=wrong, etc) before asking them to write the 5 most significant things about themselves.
To further clarify the task, I gave a few examples:
"Contohnya, bila saya tengok Arif je, saya teringat silat; kalau Azfar, rubix cube; kalau Fahmi pulak, tenis."
(Yes, I codeswitch in class!)
Pretty soon the rest of the class wanted me to do/"read" them/their friends.
"Kalau saya pulak Cikgu?"
"Teacher, buat Adam pulak"...
Eventually, they settled down and began writing. Then, they had to swap their paper with a friend's and proceed to write 5 things about that friend.
Only after that do they start writing the actual essay. Yes, the pre-writing task was too long and it seemed to go on forever but I need to get my students excited about the topic first as they are chronically allergic to writing essays.
At the end of the lesson, the students handed in their essay and their "palms". I had fun reading the 5 things they had written about themselves and their friends.
These are among the ones that made me laugh out loud:
1) "If fight learning, lots man have falls". Confused? Fret not, a Malay translation was provided next to it: "Kalau lawan belajar, ramai yang kalah".
2) "Look kind, his heart still in investigation" = Nampak je baik, hati tu tak tau lagi"
And this one made me raise my eyebrows in serious doubt:
"Never misses 'Indahnya Iman' on Astro Oasis"
Then, I came across this:
Somebody had done the 5 things for me. I asked 3Q the next day and the mystery author turned out to be Mas Dayana.
So, thanks Mas, you had made my day! :)
They were supposed to write 'What I Am Passionate About'. What I really want was for them to write about what they absolutely love. I do not want them to merely write about their hobbies.
The 'Hands of Honour' works like this: Students trace their palms on a piece of A4 paper. They then write down 5 things that are synonymous with them.
I gave them a simple exercise on synonyms first (casual=informal, incorrect=wrong, etc) before asking them to write the 5 most significant things about themselves.
To further clarify the task, I gave a few examples:
"Contohnya, bila saya tengok Arif je, saya teringat silat; kalau Azfar, rubix cube; kalau Fahmi pulak, tenis."
(Yes, I codeswitch in class!)
Pretty soon the rest of the class wanted me to do/"read" them/their friends.
"Kalau saya pulak Cikgu?"
"Teacher, buat Adam pulak"...
Eventually, they settled down and began writing. Then, they had to swap their paper with a friend's and proceed to write 5 things about that friend.
Only after that do they start writing the actual essay. Yes, the pre-writing task was too long and it seemed to go on forever but I need to get my students excited about the topic first as they are chronically allergic to writing essays.
At the end of the lesson, the students handed in their essay and their "palms". I had fun reading the 5 things they had written about themselves and their friends.
These are among the ones that made me laugh out loud:
1) "If fight learning, lots man have falls". Confused? Fret not, a Malay translation was provided next to it: "Kalau lawan belajar, ramai yang kalah".
2) "Look kind, his heart still in investigation" = Nampak je baik, hati tu tak tau lagi"
And this one made me raise my eyebrows in serious doubt:
"Never misses 'Indahnya Iman' on Astro Oasis"
Then, I came across this:
Somebody had done the 5 things for me. I asked 3Q the next day and the mystery author turned out to be Mas Dayana.So, thanks Mas, you had made my day! :)
'English Is Just Awesome' Camp
The Form 3 and Form 5 students of SMA Rembau were forced to attend the above mentioned camp (co-hosted by the school and KRIM Negeri Sembilan). So naturally, most of them had negative preconceptions about it.
But on the last day, after speaking English for 3 days; after doing all the fun language-based & non-language-based activities; after bonding with the facilitators, good feedback was received from the participants... Alhamdulillah...
I thank Allah for the opportunity to be a part of this programme. Credits to my juniors in IPBA who formed the backbone of the organising committee. They had to do all the required planning, preparations and arrangements in the midst of their assignments. May Allah ease their tasks for them...
What made this experience special was the people that I was surrounded with. I love my fellow facilitators (Fariena, Izyan, Saqinah, Abby, Thuaibah & Safura) who were very fun and enjoyable to work (and drink teh tarik) with. I admire their enthusiasm, creativity, confidence, humour and their overall nice-ness.
And the participants were wonderful. They were eager learners, punctual,courteous and oh-so lovable.
So different from the students I'm used to having... :p
It was heartening to observe students who were initially reluctant and hesitant to speak English gradually shed their self-consciousness as the camp progressed. We even caught participants speaking English to the canteen operator and on the telephone to Mum and Dad! :)
All praise is due to Allah for the camp's success. A teacher there even suggested that the camp be held annually from now on.
Hopefully, the camp's positive impact will last for a long time instead of being a short-term thing. And may all our sacrifices, difficulties and hard work be counted as good deeds in the sight of Allah SWT... amin...
Read other accounts of the event here and here.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Lest We Forget
You know the feeling when you've read/seen something so significant that you just want to make it known to others?
That feeling was constantly on my mind when I was watching UK's Channel 4's 'Dispatches' programme: 'Children in Gaza'.
The Israeli attacks on Gaza was over a year ago. We all remembered it. The intense media coverage engaged everyone. People were enraged by the whole thing. Feeling helpless, people did everything within their power to help; donations poured in, prayers were offered, certain products were boycotted, rallies & talks were held, etc.
Sadly, people moved on. We rarely think about sufferings for a long time especially when those sufferings are not ours. So, Gaza was somewhat forgotten.
I'm guilty of the same disengagement. Though I do sort of keep up with what's happening (the site http://gaza.tumblr.com provides an excellent coverage of Gaza), the level of concern and anxiety has been less acute.
Thus, when Ibraheem said, "Whilst they are playing, we are sad", guilt and shame came over me as I felt that he could very well have been referring to me.
The documentary reminds me of the tragedy and why it is important for us to never forget it. Through the eyes of Ibraheem, Amal, Mahmood and Omsyatte, we could comprehend just how destructive the attacks had been to their country, their family, their home and their physical, mental & emotional well being.
These children are articulate, honest and brave. Their stories moved me and I felt that their honest remarks cut through the issue like no other "analysis" written by any journalist could.
I strongly urge you to see the documentary for yourselves at this link. I couldn't find the code to embed the video in this entry... sorry for that.
(Pictures taken from: channel4.com)
That feeling was constantly on my mind when I was watching UK's Channel 4's 'Dispatches' programme: 'Children in Gaza'.
The Israeli attacks on Gaza was over a year ago. We all remembered it. The intense media coverage engaged everyone. People were enraged by the whole thing. Feeling helpless, people did everything within their power to help; donations poured in, prayers were offered, certain products were boycotted, rallies & talks were held, etc.Sadly, people moved on. We rarely think about sufferings for a long time especially when those sufferings are not ours. So, Gaza was somewhat forgotten.
I'm guilty of the same disengagement. Though I do sort of keep up with what's happening (the site http://gaza.tumblr.com provides an excellent coverage of Gaza), the level of concern and anxiety has been less acute.Thus, when Ibraheem said, "Whilst they are playing, we are sad", guilt and shame came over me as I felt that he could very well have been referring to me.
The documentary reminds me of the tragedy and why it is important for us to never forget it. Through the eyes of Ibraheem, Amal, Mahmood and Omsyatte, we could comprehend just how destructive the attacks had been to their country, their family, their home and their physical, mental & emotional well being.These children are articulate, honest and brave. Their stories moved me and I felt that their honest remarks cut through the issue like no other "analysis" written by any journalist could.
I strongly urge you to see the documentary for yourselves at this link. I couldn't find the code to embed the video in this entry... sorry for that.(Pictures taken from: channel4.com)
Monday, March 15, 2010
Dato' C Q Teo - KDU Debate Challenge 2010
I accompanied my students for the above-mentioned debate last Fri-Sun (March 12-14).
Our school sent two teams; SMKTM A (Aiman, Dakshan & Yusintha) and SMKTM B (Nabihah, Amal & Sable). And three Form 3 students came to observe to gain some exposure (Dev, Shyam & Alya).
Both teams lost their first round. They were a bit down and demotivated by that. Pn. Paridah tried to cheer them up by saying, "Takpe, there are 4 more rounds coming up!". But to this, Aiman replied, "Teacher, that's not a relief!" Haha
For many in the teams, it was their first time entering an unscripted debate competition, so they were quite nervous. But after the initial nervousness had died down, they showed a vastly improved performance in the next round. Both teams won Round 2. *applause*
The event ended around 6.30 to 6.45pm. But the traffic was so bad (it was Friday night after all) that the journey which normally takes around 25 minutes took a whole hour instead.
A funny thing happened on our way back though. Dev commented, "You drive very well Teacher".
"I do?"
I was surprised by the comment and was feeling very pleased with myself when he added, "Yeah, for a girl" (!)
I was laughing so hard that I did not anticipate the car in front of me wanting to turn right. Instead of slowing down and stopping like a courteous driver would, I overtook the car from the left on a rather narrow road.
I was expecting Dev to say something along the lines of, "I spoke too soon" or "I take that back" but instead he said, "See what I mean? No lady driver would dare do that!"
Errmm...
I think Dev has 'recklessness' and 'skillfulness' confused but since it was working in my favour I let that comment passed :-p
Day 2
The remaining preliminary rounds were conducted today (Rounds 3, 4 and 5). Round 5 was a silent round meaning that the adjudicator would not reveal the winner nor provide any feedback like the other rounds. SMKTM A won Round 3 but lost Round 4 while SMKTM B lost both rounds.
By the end of Day 2, everyone was just so exhausted by the day-long, back-to-back debates. And things were further complicated by whether or not we should come tomorrow. Team A still had a mathematical chance of making it to the final 16 but not all team members were optimistic.
Day 3
Dakshan, Aiman, Amal & Yusintha came with me on the 3rd day. Unfortunately, we didn't break through. But most of us stayed on to see the last 16 and the quarterfinal matches. The teams that we saw were awesome. No wonder they managed to chalk up 5 wins and high speaker scores in the preliminary rounds.
At 1.30pm, we decided to call it a day. We didn't stay on for the semis and the final.
Overall, we had a great time. Kudos to the organisers for a well-executed event. I think that the students benefited a lot from the competition. They not only got to debate, but they also received invaluable constructive feedback from the adjudicators, they got to socialise and meet new people who share the same interest, they gained more exposure, improved their language abilities and discussed "intellectual" stuff that they don't normally talk about (world politics, human rights, the law, etc).
Hopefully the experience will make the students love debating more. With a strong commitment and with proper, regular training, inshaAllah, we'll do better at subsequents competitions :-)
Our school sent two teams; SMKTM A (Aiman, Dakshan & Yusintha) and SMKTM B (Nabihah, Amal & Sable). And three Form 3 students came to observe to gain some exposure (Dev, Shyam & Alya).
Both teams lost their first round. They were a bit down and demotivated by that. Pn. Paridah tried to cheer them up by saying, "Takpe, there are 4 more rounds coming up!". But to this, Aiman replied, "Teacher, that's not a relief!" Haha
For many in the teams, it was their first time entering an unscripted debate competition, so they were quite nervous. But after the initial nervousness had died down, they showed a vastly improved performance in the next round. Both teams won Round 2. *applause*
The event ended around 6.30 to 6.45pm. But the traffic was so bad (it was Friday night after all) that the journey which normally takes around 25 minutes took a whole hour instead.
A funny thing happened on our way back though. Dev commented, "You drive very well Teacher".
"I do?"
I was surprised by the comment and was feeling very pleased with myself when he added, "Yeah, for a girl" (!)
I was laughing so hard that I did not anticipate the car in front of me wanting to turn right. Instead of slowing down and stopping like a courteous driver would, I overtook the car from the left on a rather narrow road.
I was expecting Dev to say something along the lines of, "I spoke too soon" or "I take that back" but instead he said, "See what I mean? No lady driver would dare do that!"
Errmm...
I think Dev has 'recklessness' and 'skillfulness' confused but since it was working in my favour I let that comment passed :-p
Day 2
The remaining preliminary rounds were conducted today (Rounds 3, 4 and 5). Round 5 was a silent round meaning that the adjudicator would not reveal the winner nor provide any feedback like the other rounds. SMKTM A won Round 3 but lost Round 4 while SMKTM B lost both rounds.
By the end of Day 2, everyone was just so exhausted by the day-long, back-to-back debates. And things were further complicated by whether or not we should come tomorrow. Team A still had a mathematical chance of making it to the final 16 but not all team members were optimistic.
Day 3
Dakshan, Aiman, Amal & Yusintha came with me on the 3rd day. Unfortunately, we didn't break through. But most of us stayed on to see the last 16 and the quarterfinal matches. The teams that we saw were awesome. No wonder they managed to chalk up 5 wins and high speaker scores in the preliminary rounds.
At 1.30pm, we decided to call it a day. We didn't stay on for the semis and the final.
Overall, we had a great time. Kudos to the organisers for a well-executed event. I think that the students benefited a lot from the competition. They not only got to debate, but they also received invaluable constructive feedback from the adjudicators, they got to socialise and meet new people who share the same interest, they gained more exposure, improved their language abilities and discussed "intellectual" stuff that they don't normally talk about (world politics, human rights, the law, etc).
Hopefully the experience will make the students love debating more. With a strong commitment and with proper, regular training, inshaAllah, we'll do better at subsequents competitions :-)
Friday, March 12, 2010
School holidays (again)!!! Woohoo!!!
After an interval of 3 weeks, it's time for a break again! *grin*
I remembered a friend's remark after she glanced at my yearly planner, "Banyaknya cuti!" I thought I detected disbelief coupled with envy in her tone... hahaha.
The thing is, I feel this year, we have fewer holidays. 4 public holidays fell on a Saturday (Thaipusam, Wesak, Labour Day & Agong)! FOUR!! Where's the fairness in that??
And to make it worse, the Raya Puasa holidays coincide with the mid-semester 2 break (!).
At the beginning of the year, while mapping out my 2010 planner, life appears bleak indeed :-p
Only after that remark did I realise how lucky I am. So, no more complaints about having fewer holidays!
Having a break to destress yourself is important but I've never been able to make full use of the school holidays (not when I was a student, and not now, as a teacher). Of course, you start off with all the best intentions: to mark your students' books, to enhance your subject's content knowledge, to declutter your workstation, to read for leisure, to spend quality time with your family (shouldn't this be first?), to get done the things you've been putting off, etc, etc, etc.
But rarely did these intentions materialised. Maybe about 20% did. But the rest are what we call "angan-angan yang terkubur".
Despite my embarrassing track record, I couldn't help myself from setting ambitious targets for this coming school holidays as well. There are 2 weddings and 1 engagement feasts to go to (congratulations to my lovely friends Faizah, Mass and Nada!!) and the rest are same old, same old (read: things mentioned in the previous paragraph).
I just hope that I won't oversleep, overeat and surf the internet excessively.
Fa is coming home from Marudu so I'm counting on her and Nada to engage me in fruitful activities :-p
As for my beloved students, here's something that you can join:
May you come back to school with a rejuvenated body, revitalised energy and a rekindled iman.
Oh, and a refreshed mind too so that more grammar items can be stuffed inside there :-)
For more info, visit http://krimgombak.wordpress.com/
I remembered a friend's remark after she glanced at my yearly planner, "Banyaknya cuti!" I thought I detected disbelief coupled with envy in her tone... hahaha.
The thing is, I feel this year, we have fewer holidays. 4 public holidays fell on a Saturday (Thaipusam, Wesak, Labour Day & Agong)! FOUR!! Where's the fairness in that??
And to make it worse, the Raya Puasa holidays coincide with the mid-semester 2 break (!).
At the beginning of the year, while mapping out my 2010 planner, life appears bleak indeed :-p
Only after that remark did I realise how lucky I am. So, no more complaints about having fewer holidays!
Having a break to destress yourself is important but I've never been able to make full use of the school holidays (not when I was a student, and not now, as a teacher). Of course, you start off with all the best intentions: to mark your students' books, to enhance your subject's content knowledge, to declutter your workstation, to read for leisure, to spend quality time with your family (shouldn't this be first?), to get done the things you've been putting off, etc, etc, etc.
But rarely did these intentions materialised. Maybe about 20% did. But the rest are what we call "angan-angan yang terkubur".
Despite my embarrassing track record, I couldn't help myself from setting ambitious targets for this coming school holidays as well. There are 2 weddings and 1 engagement feasts to go to (congratulations to my lovely friends Faizah, Mass and Nada!!) and the rest are same old, same old (read: things mentioned in the previous paragraph).
I just hope that I won't oversleep, overeat and surf the internet excessively.
Fa is coming home from Marudu so I'm counting on her and Nada to engage me in fruitful activities :-p
As for my beloved students, here's something that you can join:
May you come back to school with a rejuvenated body, revitalised energy and a rekindled iman.Oh, and a refreshed mind too so that more grammar items can be stuffed inside there :-)
For more info, visit http://krimgombak.wordpress.com/
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
ICAS 2010
ICAS stands for International Competitions And Assessments For Schools. It is conducted by the University of New South Wales (UNSW) annually. Our school (SMK Tmn Melawati) is one of the participating schools. The subjects assessed are:
1) English
2) Writing
3) Mathematics
4) Science
5) Computer Skills
ICAS is an international competition which is also conducted in Australia, Brunei, Fiji, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, South Africa, Vanuatu and the USA. So, participating in the competition will earn you the highest extra-curricular marks for participation, regardless of whether you pass or fail the test.
(Remember your extra-curricular marks come from Attendance, Participation, Designation and Achievements)
To participate, contact the teachers-in-charge for the respective subjects.
For English, it would be Pn. Norfidzah but the Form 3 students may give their names to me. Register your names by this Friday and the fees will be collected after the school holidays.
Yes, the fees...
The entry fee is RM25 per subject. Except for writing which costs RM55.
The dates for the exams are as follows:
Tuesday, April 13th 2010
Computer Skills
Tuesday, April 27th 2010
Science
Tuesday, August 3rd 2010
Mathematics
Wednesday, 30th June 2010
Writing
Tuesday, July 20th 2010
English
I strongly encourage you to enter this, as it will really test your language abilities.
For more info, visit the website: www.eats.com.my
Monday, March 08, 2010
Ladies' Night
Naiiemah did an awesome job with the poster design. Loved it! And it translated well in the forms of bunting and banner too!
The main objective of the event is to strengthen the ukkhuwwah between Beliawanis KL members. Hopefully, that objective is achieved to some degree.
Ukkhuwwah is such a common phrase. It's a common tazkirah topic as well which may get some people to think "not again?!" or "heard that before". I used to think so too.
But since entering the working world, being apart from close friends from college made me value ukkhuwwah that much more. Though you get along with your colleagues; it's vastly different isn't it?
After that last day in IPBA, after the teary goodbyes and promises to "keep in touch", after surviving 1 year as a teacher alone, who do we still keep in touch with? I mean really keep in touch (not just random responses to their facebook's posts). Friends who we still (occasionally) meet up with, talk to over the phone, SMS, remember their birthdays, fret over their well being, take an interest in their affairs, etc...
I've just realised that my circle of friends from college has shrunk. But of course, we do meet new people and make new friends. Hopefully we can practise everything that we've learnt from all the ukkhuwwah tazkirah that we've heard with our old and new friends :-)
"None of you truly believes (in Allah and in His religion) until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself" (reported by Bukhari & Muslim)
The main objective of the event is to strengthen the ukkhuwwah between Beliawanis KL members. Hopefully, that objective is achieved to some degree.Ukkhuwwah is such a common phrase. It's a common tazkirah topic as well which may get some people to think "not again?!" or "heard that before". I used to think so too.
But since entering the working world, being apart from close friends from college made me value ukkhuwwah that much more. Though you get along with your colleagues; it's vastly different isn't it?
After that last day in IPBA, after the teary goodbyes and promises to "keep in touch", after surviving 1 year as a teacher alone, who do we still keep in touch with? I mean really keep in touch (not just random responses to their facebook's posts). Friends who we still (occasionally) meet up with, talk to over the phone, SMS, remember their birthdays, fret over their well being, take an interest in their affairs, etc...
I've just realised that my circle of friends from college has shrunk. But of course, we do meet new people and make new friends. Hopefully we can practise everything that we've learnt from all the ukkhuwwah tazkirah that we've heard with our old and new friends :-)
"None of you truly believes (in Allah and in His religion) until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself" (reported by Bukhari & Muslim)
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