My favorite part in Village by the Sea

I think that my favorite part in Village by the sea is the part where Hari left for Bombay to find a job and to earn money.
Let me give a summary of that part:
Just as Hari reached Bombay, he was enthusiastic about everything in Bombay; the lights, vehicles and the many buildings. However, it surprised Hari that he and the other fishermen were not chosen to give the petition to the Chief Minister. Then, Hari had no choice but to stay in Bombay as he could not afford a boat ticket. He met Billu, a coconut seller, who gave Hari a small coconut to quench his thirst. Then, he attempted to look for the De Silvas for help but it failed. As a result, he got to know Hira Lal, a security guard working in the De Silvas’ flat. He brought Hari to Sri Krisna for food and shelter. Jagu, Hari’s boss, was a selfless man, who gave Hari a job and a shelter to live in. The watchmaker, who has a shop beside Jagu’s one is the person whom I think is Hari’s biggest benefactor. The watchmaker not only gave a high-salary job to Hari, he still taught him on how to repair watches and imparted him life values. It was also him who made Hari feel not so lonely in Bombay. Moreover, if he did not teach him watch-repairing skills, Hari cannot be a watchmaker when he went back to Thul.
In my own opinion, I think that it is Anita Desai’s intention to write this part of the story so as to show that Bombay is not a place full of evil people; it also has some kind people too like Jagu and Hira Lal. With the benefactors’ help, Hari could then settle down in Bombay and earn a living.

Are we really nerdy?

During the previous Sec 1 assembly, we had the Principle’s Dialogue session. It was about a quiz on Facebook which commented on various schools. The topic was “ Are HCI really nerdy or reserved, just like what the “Facebookers” label?”
I have two points to support my decision.
First, if we were nerdy and reserved, can our school even survive for 90 years, without any setbacks? Okay, this means that a lot of parents wanted their children to study in HCI. Then, will it mean that they want their children to become nerdy or reserved? I know, the temple-like gates, students wearing short and brown khaki shorts make the people think that we are reserved and nerdy. However, these “traditions” had been ongoing since the opening of HC and we had to keep them as they are our symbols.
Secondly, I think, in my opinion, the “Facebookers” are jealous of our success. Well, just like Dr Hon said, people will always find chances to find fault with successful ones. (okay, I am not boasting) Wonder how they would feel if they were in our shoes? Usually or always, people, mostly from the press, like to “find fault” with elite schools so that they can attract attention from people and earn money.
Let me give you an example. If there are two students in Macdonald’s and they come from an elite school and a neighbourhood school and they speak vulgarities. And there is a Straits Times reporter there… Let me ask you, will the reporter want to write the title “ HCI caught in action” or “ ABC school caught in action” Which one is more catchy? The answer is obvious.
Therefore, let me give HCI students a piece of advice. Don’t ever commit a mistake or the school’s reputation will be ruined!

CIP in Clementi

Last Saturday, the Ortus sec 4s and the HCINCC went to Clementi for a food drive, organized by the Ortus Service Learning Club. There were 55 of us and I earned 8 hours of CIP.
Our aim was to collect food (such as instant noodles, rice) from various houses and donate them to the needy and helpless elderly who are living in Clementi. We were divided into four groups. The three groups, which comprises about 45 students, was in charge of collecting food whereas the second group was in charge of classifying the collected food into groups such as instant noodles, oil and canned food. All the sec 1s were in group 1.
The SLC had rented the nearby RC for convenience and a place for us to rest. To be frank, it was my first time approaching so many houses to collect something. Our group was given three black garbage bags and off we went!
Usually, most of the doors were closed as it was 9pm then, which I think that it was quite early as it was a Sat. The people would normally give instant noodles as they were cheap but some kind Samaritans gave food like rice, oil and canned food. Unluckily, for my group, we met an unreasonable Aunty……
We saw an apartment which the door was opened. We approached it and rang the doorbell. Out came an obese Aunty. My friend said that we came from HCI and were here to collect food and … Do you know what her reply was? She replied in Chinese, “ I can give the food to the elderly myself and not need middlemen like you all! After all, I am an elderly and you all not only do not give me food, you all still want me to give you food! Tell me, is this world fair?” Having heard her words, we stood rooted to the ground, not knowing what to say. “Aunty, come on, your house is so well-furnished and you still claim that you need those food? Morever, you can just gave us a straight ‘No’, instead of telling us a long story!” I muttered to myself. After calming ourselves, we thanked her and left in a hurry, not wanting anymore ‘trouble’!
With the strength of so many people, we managed to collect quite a large amount of food for the needy elderly. I think that when the elderly receive these food, they will be elated as they know that there are people around to help them.
From this CIP opportunity, I not only earned some CIP hours, I also get to learn on how to socialise with all sorts of people. Also, I had learnt that being a salesman is not easy as they will be rejected or rebutted when they attempt to sell their products.

Sec 1 NCC Camp Feast

On 2o-21 April, we, the sec 1 of HCINCC went to Ang Mo Kio where the NCC HQ is located. We spent a fun and interesting 2 Day- 1 Night camp there. Alot of schools were there like New Town, West Spring, Nan Hua High and the one that I can't forget most--- Crescents' Girls. The Crescent girls really gave me a deep impression and they let me think again what NCC is like. They were so disciplined, more "obedient" than boys.
They even had their own club water bottles and attire. Maybe I should suggest this to my seniors. I was so-called traumatised when they could 'stone' under the hot sun for two long hours, and they neither moved nor talked! For the boys, including our school, we just chatted happily, as if no one was watching. Unluckily, one of the 'Sirs' saw our act and he decided to 'knock us down' ( which means to make us do push-ups). At first, all the boys were pumping and the girls continued being statues. Then, a Malay boy from Kent Ridge shouted, "Sir, u taught us the meaning of 'one for all, all for one', so I think that the girls should pump with us to show team spirit!!!" After hearing his words, my eyes widened and jaw dropped, body still in the pumping position. I think it was not only the boys, the girls were shocked too!(Haha!!)
After much consideration, the Sir ordered the girls to pump. Giggles could be heard among the boys. The boys were told to do 30 whereas the girls---15. This was the most interesting and shocking experience I had in NCC!
The food provided there was not too bad( since the name of the camp is Camp Feast). Surprisingly, we slept on beds and I thought it was tents at first. For the whole of two days, we did abseiling, flying fox, shooting paintballs at targets and the night performance! Actually, when I was told to go up the 5-storey building for the flying fox, my legs really wobbled and went numb instantly! After all the safety measures were checked, I was told to sit on the edge of the building, ready to jump. I really felt like backing out but it was all too late. The staff pushed me down with his legs and here I went!! The experience was really thrilling and fascinating. My newly- made friend from West Spring did the Flying Fox for three times as he joked in improper English, " Why u so stupid? U know, outside, one trip costs 70 Bucks and I can save 210 Bucks if I go for three times!" What a typical Singaporean!
After all camp, we exchanged contacts with one another. We reached the school at 4pm. What a fun and exciting camp I had!

My Reading Habits

Hmmmmm...... My READING HABITS?..... let me think...
I think I like to read fiction books more than non-fiction ones. Why?? It is because fiction ones are more interesting and not boring. In non-fiction books, they just give you the scientific facts which are rather boring. And, I can learn new vocabulary from fiction ones, thus helping me in my literature essays. Lastly, it is because there is a story in fiction books, which can make me 'go into their world', but not non-fiction books. How nice it would be to have a story in non-fiction books so that I could learn new vocabulary and scientific facts!
Recently, I read a book called Holes, which is rather interesting and uncommon. It is a story about an unusal Boys' home, where rebellious boys stay. The main character(I forgot his name) was sent to there because he was a theft. The master of the Boys' Home told the boys to dig holes because there was a rumour that there was a valuble treasure near the Boys' Home. Then, one day, the main character found that treasure, which was a gold gun. Rather angry with the master, he decided to keep it to himself. However, his 'best' friend betrayed him and went to tell on him. Knowing that, the main character escaped with the gold gun. His adventure began...

Ways to save the environment

Some people might think it is ironic to save the environment because they think that their efforts are not enough to save it. We need the whole world’s effort to save the environment. Here, these are some of my suggestions to save the environment:
First, in homes, we can use energy-saving bulbs instead of normal light bulb to save energy. We can also use fans instead of air-conditioners. And, switching off electrical appliances when not in use. These can not only save the Earth, we can also save money on electrical bills!
Secondly, we can choose to sell our cars and use public transport like buses and MRT. If not, we can also save car fuel by not using cars if the distance is near.
Thirdly, we can reduce things like plastic bags, clothes and paper. Instead of using plastic bags for groceries, we can use environmentally- friendly bags. For the use of paper, we can use both sides of it. By saving paper, less trees will be cut down and global warming will not take place.
Fourthly, we can recycle stuff like aluminum cans and paper. Dumping these stuff into the recycling bins is a contribution to our society. Of course, recycling is not the best way. If we recycle, but we consume a lot, it is useless.
In conclusion, by contributing to save the environment, we can make the Earth a better place to live in.

What is the difference from Singapore's education system from other countries?

I think that the main difference in the education system between Singapore and other countries is that Singapore has a lot of major exams like PSLE, ’O’ Levels, ’A’ Levels, which can decide on which school you will study in. We also have the IP Programme, which last for six years . The bad point of having so many exams is that the students will have lots of stress. In most other countries, they only have the ‘O’ Levels exams. The bad point of having a few exams is that the students will ‘slack’ and become lazy. Well, in my opinion, I prefer Singapore to other countries. Because, by having more exams, we can know what our weaknesses through the mistakes made in exams are and to improve on them.
Another difference is that, in Singapore, there are various ways to enter a good school like your grades or your sports talent. However, in other countries like Malaysia, the students’ parents can pay a sum of money to the school such that the principal of that school let their children enter it.
I think that no matter what country you are in, the education system will do good for us and not ‘harm’ us.