LRD Passport Week 1 -- Are you kind to yourself?

Today (22 March 2011), after reading Page 12 of this week's LRD,  we read about how to take care of our kidneys at worldkidneyday.org

From the website, we learnt that having a balanced diet and leading a healthy lifestyle with plenty of exercise will help us to take care of our kidneys. 

Today's LRD Passport activity is on being kind to yourself by having proper nutrition and nourishing our minds and our bodies. 

One of the ways that we nourish our minds by reading good books and articles and thinking good thoughts. 

Can you think of other ways that you can nourish your mind?

Why is it important to be kind to yourself?

Killer Waves! by 6 Charity

Today we read an article on the Japanese tsunami and these are some of our reflections: 

- I feel that Singaporeans should not take things for granted (Vanessa)

- Some Singaporeans who were interviewed said that they could not travel anymore. This is rather selfish. (Christine)

- The relief efforts have been slow because of things are stuck in Narita airport. This is very sad. The people who are living in slums are also very pitiful because now it is worse for them. (Merissa and Taranya) 

- The Japanese were really calm and they were not feeling frustrated. I think if this happened in Singapore, it would be mayhem. (Jiexin and Vanessa)

What do you think about the disaster?  Leave a comment below! 

Getting around

There is an article in the 8 March issue of LRD on the increase in the percentage of people taking the MRT. According to a population census conducted by the Department of Statistics, MRT travel has risen sharply.

The percentage of people who go to work by taking the MRT or a combination of other modes rose from 23.6 in 2000 to 31.2 in 2010. The increase in train commutes has resulted in a decrease in bus commutes.

Work trips by car increased by only 1.1 percentage points despite a 50 per cent increase in car population.

1. What is your favourite mode of transport? Why?
2. What are some of the problems you face when you use public transport?

All because of a spelling mistake (P5 eLearning)

All because of a spelling mistake
Issue: 1 March 2011 (page 7)
P5 eLearning Exercise

Interestingly, the name of the neighbourhood Serangoon came about because of a spelling mistake. In the 19th century, the burong ramggong, a small marsh bird, was commonly found in the swamps of north-east Singapore. Thus, a river in that part of Singapore was named “Saranggong”, a combination of part of the word “satu” (Malay word for “one”) and “ranggong”.

Activity:
Imagine you have to take a friend on a tour of Serangoon and Upper Serangoon Roads. Using a street directory, choose one place along these roads that you would introduce to your friend and explain why.
(Note: You can click here to view a map of the area around Nex, a shopping centre in Serangoon)

Post what you would say to your friend as a comment to this blog entry.

The above write-up is adapted from Little Red Dot (Issue: 1 March 2011) page 7.

Are you absent-minded?

There is an article (1st March Issue Pg 1) about being absent-minded. ‘Absent-minded Dot’ shared on how she forgot about her Math tuition session. She also said that since the start of the year, she had left her mobile phone in the canteen, misplaced her homework and forgotten to study for her spelling tests. She always has a hard time keeping track of what she needs to do.

Are you like ‘Absent-minded Dot’?
Do you forget to do your homework?
Do you misplace your library books?
How often do you forget to do things?
Do you get into trouble when you forget to do things?

Give some suggestions as to how to keep track of things you need to do. =)

Lucky? Or just a happy coincidence?

On Tuesday, 6 Faith read the article on Page 18 of the LRD and did the comprehension questions.

After we had read the passage and attempted the questions, we held a quick poll of our class to see who believed that the story was true. 20 out of 27 of us (74.1%) did not really believe the story.

Surprisingly, many of these 20 girls said that they had seen animals like frogs and crabs survive after being put in the freezer, so they felt that the catfish in the story was not really that special.

"It's just superstition!" one of my classmates said.

We then had a discussion about the kinds of superstitions we knew. Have you heard that shaking one's legs means shaking away good luck? Or that eating at a transparent table means you're eating on the floor? Or that sleeping beside your bed means that you're sleeping outside the house?

Then, Miss Wong told us something quite amazing. Originally, the Singapore Flyer was built to turn from the land toward the sea. However, after it faced bad business and some technical glitches, feng shui experts were consulted and guess what? They reccommended that the Flyer turn the other way instead! A lot of money had to be spent to make the Flyer turn the other way. After that, the Flyer became more popular and business started to improve.

Click on the link below for a report on this
http://www.asiaone.com/Travel/News/Story/A1Story20080811-81704.html

After we had heard this story, we were a bit unsure if such superstitions were really true afterall....

What do you think? What kind of superstitions do you believe in?

Or if you don't believe in any superstitions, why not?

Leave your comment below!

Plastic Surgery --- For or Against?

Yesterday, we (6 Charity) had a debate about plastic surgery after reading the LRD article on Page 4 of this week's LRD (15th Feb).

Half the class came up with points supporting plastic surgery while the other half came up with points against it. The class got very noisy because many of us were very passionate about our views, but I think it was a very interesting topic!

FOR PLASTIC SURGERY
- It gives people a headstart in the beauty department, according to the article
- It gives doctors more money
- It increases emotional security, according to the article
- It might be necessary for accident cases or for life-threatening cases
- It enhances natural beauty
- After you look confident on the outside, you will feel more confident on the inside
- It is no different from beautifying yourself with make-up
- There is always a risk whatever you do

AGAINST PLASTIC SURGERY
- The opposite sex likes natural beauty and plastic surgery might be off-putting
- It wastes money if you do it unecessarily
- It's better to feel confident on the inside first. Then, you'll look confident on the outside.
- There is a risk if operations go wrong
- It can cause a lot of scars and there may be side-effects from the procedures
- After you do one procedure, there will be a lot of mental stress to keep looking beautiful all the time
- Botox makes you look tight
- People should just be satisfied with what God has given them

What do you think about plastic surgery? Leave a comment below!

Man behind the Pledge (page 14)

5 October 2010
(4 Humility)

Mr S. Rajaratnam was a "pillar of strength" during the founding years of Singapore. His determination and hard work in building our nation made him one of our important leaders. Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew spoke fondly of him, "His fighting spirit never flagged... When everything looked bleak and we were in the depths of despair, Raju roared like a lion."

His hope for "a peaceful society held together by mutual respect" was reflected in one of the many legacies left behind by him - Singapore's National Pledge. It was penned by Mr Rajaratnam "shortly after Singapore gained independence in 1965" (page 14).

Take some time to reflect on the following:
(1) What does the National Pledge mean?
(2) Which aspect of the National Pledge is especially meaningful to me? (State reason/s.)

Early Puberty (Issue: 31 August 2010)

Early Puberty (Little Red Dot issue on 31 August 2010)
Done by: 4 Humility

Being one of the developed countries, there is a trend in Singapore where more girls are reaching puberty at a younger age. This increase has been observed over the past decade. While most girls “reach puberty at the age of 10 or 11”, “more girls here are growing breasts and/or pubic hair at age seven” (page 4). The early onset of puberty may bring with it a set of problems e.g. growing up shorter and the possibility of a higher risk of breast cancer. Reaching puberty at an earlier age may also have an emotional impact on the girls as they are “too young to deal with the surge of hormones they experience at that stage of life, and could turn aggressive” (page 4).

Some questions to think about:
(1) What are your concerns about reaching puberty at a younger age?
(2) What are some questions you have about reaching puberty?
(3) What do you think is more difficult - being an early developer, or reaching puberty later than everyone else in your class? Why do you think that?

Our YOG Dolls

St. Kitts and Nevis is our twinning country for the YOG and some teachers as well as pupils in our school made dolls to welcome them.

The dolls, Christopher and Kenisha, will be on display at Compass Point shopping centre this week from 11-15 Aug, along with other dolls.

Here are some pictures of the beautiful dolls. Look at how pretty their costumes are!