The Ugly Truth About Drugs (Page 3)

Don't Take Drugs - by 4 Charity

Reason 1:Drugs can ruin one's internal organs such as heart, liver and brain.

Reason 2:Drug addicts usually look unkempt.


Reason 3:When a person is addicted to drugs, his or her behaviour will change for the worse.


Can you think of any other reasons not to take drugs? Post your views as a comment to this blog entry.

National Day Rally 2009

Every year in Singapore since 1966, the Prime Minister makes a National Day Rally speech to the whole country. This takes place on the second Sunday after August 9, Singapore's National Day. In this speech, the Prime Minister talks about key challenges and future directions of the country.

Last Sunday, on the 16th of August, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong talked about four issues. They were the economy, healthcare, social harmony and shaping Singapore together. During his speech, he talked about some challenges facing Singapore, such as an ageing popultion and job losses, but also talked about resilient Singaporeans who were able to work under difficult conditions and in a changing world.

The Prime Minister spent a lot of time talking about why and how we can all live peacefully with each other, even though we are from different races and religions. He said that we must "rejoice in our harmony but..never forget what being a Singaporean means. It's not just tolerating other groups but opening our hearts to all our fellow citizens."

What do you think it means to open your heart to our fellow citizens, which include our classmates from different races, religions and countries?

How do you think you can open your heart to the people around you?

No Smoking!

This week, we were very interested in the article on Smoking, on Page 13 of this week's LRD (11th August 2009).

We all know that smoking is harmful, but do you know how harmful it really is ?

From this article, we learnt that smoking causes at least 25 different diseases, including heart disease and stroke. From our Health Education projects this year, we also know that smoking causes bad breath, makes your teeth yellow and can cause infertility.

Before 1957, not many people knew that smoking was so dangerous, and governments ignored the harmful side-effects of smoking, because they did not want to start a panic and did not want to lose the money that the tobacco industry was bringing in. It was only after 1957 that a lot of people started quitting, but there are still more than one billion smokers on the planet.

We could think of a lot more reasons to quit smoking, but we want to hear from you! What are some reasons why people should quit smoking?

By 4 Faith

Happy Birthday Singapore!

National Day Preview

Hi Everyone,

This is 5Joy. With National Day just two days away, we thought it fitting to pen some of our reflections of the National Day Preview that we Primary 5s were privileged to watch. The following reflections are from Rebekah (I'm Singaporean!), Cyan (I'm from the Philippines!) and Adeline (I'm from CSH!)

" 11 July was the day that we P5s went for the Nationay Day Preview. In school, I saw that we were all dressed in red and white. My friend, Vina, had brought her father's army binoculars. They came in useful because she could clearly see the navy ships sailing behind the stage at the Marina Bay. We saw the Red Lions (parachuters) jumping off the helicopter. I think the wind was quite strong, so they appeared to glide through the sky before landing. What I enjoyed most was learning about the history of Singapore through the performances. I felt very happy although it rained while we were saying the pledge! I hope that I will be able to get tickets for the parade next year!"

Rebekah

"11 July was one of the best days of my life ever! I was so amazed when I stepped on the floating platform at the Marina Bay. I enjoyed watching the performances, especially the soldiers marching. I also enjoyed the loud music, and the fireworks! Seeing our heart-shaped torches lighted up in the dark made the atmosphere so romantic! Most of my friends enjoyed getting wet in the rain. I did not allow myself to get wet as I was afraid to catch a cold. But the truth was, I WANTED TO JOIN THEM! I am a foreigner and this is my first time watching an event like this. I want to say that I am proud to be living in Singapore. I want to live here forever! Happy Birthday Singapore!"

Cyan

"My teacher, my classmates and I went for the NE show on 18 July. The Bay was so crowded! The personnel showed us to our seats. There was a big eye on the screen. I was so shocked when it 'spoke' to us. It asked us if we were warm and if we wanted to switch on the air-conditioners! My classmates and I were also very shocked to see Phua Chu Kang. He told us to take out the flag and wave it. He also asked us to take out our heart-shaped torches. Mine was broken and it could not light up. But I was lucky that an army officer actually exchanged his torch with mine. At night, we saw the fireworks. They were so beautiful. I really enjoyed myself at the NE show. I hope that I can go there again."

Adeline

The Eclipse

Did you catch the longest solar eclipse of the century?
Many in India, China and Japan saw the eclipse.

If you did not, it will happen again a century later in 2132.
Most of the students in 4 Humility feel they might not live that long to see the next solar eclipse. Only our grandchildren might live to see it.

An eclipse happens when the moon blocks the sun. We live in total darkness for a few minutes. To find out more about eclipses, this website has more information ?

Some people thought that the eclipse would bring bad luck while others were excited over it. Do you think eclipses bring bad luck?