The Big Bird Airlift (P6 Peace)

We enjoyed reading the article on how the penguins were affected by the oil spill. After we read the article, many of us responded that we wanted to be the volunteers who tirelessly clean the feathers of the penguins. We admire the volunteers who had spent so much time cleaning the oil off the their feathers by hand, using toothbrushes and detergent. Each of these volunteers worked 16 hours a day! They certainly love and care for these little creatures! So do WE!

Oil Spills

LRD 13/4/2010 P13



On July 6 2000, there was an oil spill off South Africa's coast. A ship carrying 14,000 tonnes of oil sank and that resulted in conservationists having to airlift 18,000 penguins out of the 55,000 African penguins living on Dassen Island off Cape Town.

Oil spills are dangerous for penguins and other marine life. If you read the news recently, there was an oil spill on 3 April 2010 near the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. The picture below contains some information about this spill.



conservationists are people who try to protect animals.
To airlift something is to transport people, animals or supplies by aeroplane, especially in an emergency.

Especially for the P5 girls doing e-learning:

Do you know what effects oil spills have on marine life?

Find out on the Internet and post your answer!

How Do Diseases Spread? (6Hope)

A disease is an illness or sickness - something that happens when the body is not working properly.

How do we get diseases?
Some diseases develop on their own inside a person’s body and some diseases can be spread from one person to another. Those that spread are called infectious diseases.
Infectious diseases are caused by germs such as bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites. These get into our bodies and then multiply.

How do these germs get enter the body?
There are two main ways: direct contact and indirect contact.

How can we fight the germs?
Have a balanced diet
Get enough sleep
Exercise

What do YOU do to keep yourself healthy?

Vocabulary
Outbreak - a disease that affects more people than usual, e.g. the common flu
Pandemic - a disease that spreads from one country to another, e.g. Influenza A (HINI) flu

Can you think of other outbreaks and pandemics?

Making sense of Ads

Making Sense of Ads – 30 March 2010 by 6 Faith

We are bombarded by advertisements everywhere we go. We see advertisements in magazines, in newspapers, at the bus-stops and even flyers sent right to our doorsteps. In this issue of LRD, there is an exercise (on Page 16) that teaches us how to read advertisements and how to identify the intended audience and what the intended message in the advertisement is. After we have done this exercise as a class, we came to the realization that advertisements are there to create a sense of lack in us. If we think that they are there just to provide information and choices for us then we are really hoodwinked by them. As we discussed, we came to the conclusion that advertisers can never and will never say anything bad or negative about their products. Thus, as consumers, we have to be alert and take advertisements with a pinch of salt.

hoodwinked: to be tricked by someone or something into doing something to the person’s advantage in a clever way
to take something with a pinch of salt: not to believe everything that is said or mentioned.

Chewing Gum Ban - Lift it? (30 March)

The chewing gum ban in Singapore was enacted in 1992. In 2004, the ban was reviewed and only chewing gum of therapeutic value is allowed into Singapore. It was unfortunate that the government has banned the chewing of gums in Singapore due to the inconsiderate behaviour of many Singaporeans.

What did they do? Chewed gum was stuck onto anything - seats on the bus, lift buttons, etc. The list was endless for these vandals. But when chewed gum was found on the doors of the MRT trains which have caused some disruptions and a lot of inconvenience, the ban was put in place.

However, there are instances where Singaporeans have smuggled packets of chewing gums for their personal consumption. This is a misconception. Bringing in gum into Singapore, even small quantities for whatever purpose, is technically prohibited.

What do you think will cause for the complete lift of the ban?

23 March: Why do we grow old? (page 9) - 4 Humility

With every passing second, we are growing older. Have you ever wondered why we grow old? Cells in our bodies make copies of themselves and keep dividing into twos for about 50 times, after which, they start a process of “hibernating”. A possible reason that our cells grow old and die is the “build-up of poisonous and waste materials inside the body, or because of little mistakes that cells sometimes make when they copy themselves”. Humans have been living longer because of better food and health-care. What are some things we can do to help ourselves be healthier?

9 Feb 2010: THE BIG FACE Mr Salim & What Causes Nightmares?

Our class, 4 JOY, responded to 2 articles that we read in the Little Red Dot...

THE BIG FACE Mr Salim...
Do you believe in miracle? Mr Salim, who died in September 2008, was reported to have come back from the dead. But how could it be? Was he really dead in the first place? Could he be Mr Salim's long-lost twin brother?

Ressurrection

Scary, Frightening

Trembled, Shook, Shivered

Back from the Dead

Miracle?

- by Ashley & Meghna

What Causes Nightmares?

Some of us have nightmares and we do not like them. Why do we have nightmares? Are we feeling stressed?

Nightmares

Disturbing, Harrowing

Shrieked, Panted, Terrorised

Dark Scenes... Bad Dreams

Phobia

- by Eden, Natalie & Chloe

"First batch of S'poreans starts NS" - page 13 (2 Feb 2010)

By 4 Humility

In this fictitious article on the first batch of Singaporeans who started NS, a brief recount of the difficulties faced by the government in making National Service compulsory for males was given.

There had been attempts to introduce military service in Singapore prior to her independence. However, it was not welcomed by the Singaporeans. Putting his foot down, Defence Minister Goh Keng Swee said in Parliament, "I consider it wrong to believe that there is nothing we can or should do about defending ourselves."

In the words of some pupils from 4 Humility, there is a need for the implementation of compulsory military service "so that Singapore will no longer depend on other countries and remain weak" (Hazel) and for Singapore "to be a stronger country" (Rachel Wang).

As a Singaporean or a foreigner who currently resides in Singapore, what do you think of making National Service compulsory for all Singaporean males? Do you agree or disgree with what has been said about "defending ourselves"? Have your voice heard by participating in the poll below.

customer surveys

China Takes back Hong Kong

We read the article in this week's (12/1/2010) LRD and completed the following KWL as a class:


K
There was a war between Britain and China
Why was there a war?
Why did Britain hand Hong Kong back to China?
Why did China take Hong Kong back?

W
There was a war because of a kind of drug found in a flower.

L
I learnt that Britain handed Hong Kong over because they promised that sooner or later they would return Hong Kong.

This is a youtube video that Ms Wong showed us after we read the article:



P5 Charity

Recent natural disasters

Recently, there have been a series of natural disasters in various countries. In Taiwan, Typhoon Morakot caused many homes to be damaged. On Page 6 of LRD (1/9/2209), we read that many Taiwanese have asked their president, Ma Ying-jeou, to resign because they felt that he responded too slowly after the typhoon struck.

In Greece and California, fires also damaged many homes recently. Experts said that these fires were probably caused by hot weather.

In Indonesia on Wednesday, a 7.0 magnitude quake shook buildings in the capital Jakarta and flattened homes in villages closer to the epicentre in West Java.


As you read about all these disasters, what are your thoughts?