Mini Update
How long has it been since the last update? Hmm... Slightly more than three weeks? But... I have a backlog of more than a month's worth of entries to cover :/ Yea... this is what happens when I do not blog regularly. This coming week is going to be a rather busy week, which means that I won't be able to update much. But... that aside, I might be in the mood to do some typing and photo editing, which means that there might be eh... finally... an end to my earlier series of entries.
Anyway, my 4-week school experience ended and I'm now into my first official week in NIE. The week that just passed was the orientation week, with briefings and half a day of team-bonding activities. I'm quite interesting in the modules that I will be doing. Well... if only there is no need to write essays and reports. That it would be perfect. Heh.
Life has generally been good except for the fact that I have already been coughing for weeks. The cough's not going away... probably due to late nights. The throat has been weird today... feels as if there's something stuck inside. Maybe the coughing has caused some inflammation. Or maybe it's just lack of water. Shall drink more water.
No promise of updates this week, but I'll see what I can do :P
Final week of ESE [17 - 23 July 2006]
ESE is short for Enhanced School Experience, a month of observation and hands-on in a Secondary school near the vicinity of my place. Not sure if I have mentioned this before, since I'm blogging an entry that will be backdated to about a month ago. Anyway, let's start.
Monday: A dinner meeting at Jurong Point Fish & Co, despite the fact that I was having a sore throat. My first day teaching Properties of Circles... A chapter in the Secondary 3 syllabus which I will be covering with my class for the whole of the week in about eight periods of 35 minutes each. Not a bad start I think... Not sure how the students felt about the lesson though.
Tuesday: My second day of teaching Properties of Circles. I did a little teaching of Physics as well... didn't do well because I got a concept wrong :/ I've got not much confidence in teaching Physics as I haven't had contact with it for hmm... at least four or five years. My one year in NIE will be the time when I will have the time to brush up on the subject. Hopefully. Tuition in the evening as usual.
Wednesday: Woke up at 4am in the morning to try to finish up whatever homework that my students have handed in. "Whatever homework" because eh... only slightly more than half of the class handed in their homework. A bit sad ah... :P
Five periods of Maths = Five periods of teaching for me = Five periods of learning for my class. Was so relieved when the whole thing was over. Ha. I think my mini FLASH animation breaks were not bad. Provided the students with breathers now and then. In the afternoon, I followed a Secondary 3 class to Raffles Hotel Jubilee Hall, together with the rest of the Secondary 3 cohort and some lower secondary students, to watch the premiere of "Where I Belong", a play put up by I think... Act 3 and many many students. It was a poignant play, highlighting certain issues of identity search that many adolescents are going though now. I was able to relate to some of the statements presented in the play and I think that it was a well-researched play.
Thursday: Tuition in the evening.
Friday: My last day in my ESE school. Bought chocolates for my CTs and students. I had one whole period with my Maths/Physics class. Well, three weeks is neither a short nor a long period of time, but I did feel reluctant to leave. Gave each student two Ferrero Rochers. I do hope that my future classes will be just as nice as this class. They had their noisy moments, but in general, I think they are quite a nice bunch of people to teach =]
Saturday: Was at my friend's place to play Maple Story. It has become sort of a routine for me, to play Maple Story during the weekend. Well, it's the only time I have more time to play. Lunch was KFC's O.R. Chicken Chop. Nice. Heh =] Dinner at East Coast Park... a chinese restaurant, a treat by my uncles and aunts. I never liked eating crabs... because it'll always end up as a disaster. Well, I dirtied my shirt because the crab claw flew into my shirt when I tried to eat it. Ah well.
Sunday: Lunch was at Bugis Junction Mos Burger, then it was home for a nap. I was sick ah...
Graduation Day & Pay Day
Right... I know I haven't been blogging for ermz, quite some time. I'm basically being "attached" to just a class for all my Maths and Physics lessons (observations and a little bit of teaching) and they have been a nice bunch so far. Just to dispel rumours that the situation is bad. Ha
This will be a short entry as well... I'm a bit tired (more of lazy) to type out all my entries. Might do that on my laptop tomorrow if I have time.
Commencement 2006... took place on the morning of 12 July 2006. Yep, I've finally graduated, with a Computing Degree in Computer Engineering. It took a span of almost 20 years to get to wear the graduation gown. The last time I wore it was when I graduated from my kindergarten :P Nah... no excitement over wearing the gown... so heavy and warm. Just an observation ba.
My first official salary came in on Tuesday I think. It was only this morning that I found out, from a colleague who happened to check her bank account. Hee, my first salary leh... Happy :P It might not be a lot to some people, but I think it's good enough for me, at least for this phase of my life.
Okie, further updates pending "busy-ness" status. There's marking to be done and lessons to be prepared, but I guess I'm happy with my life at the moment =]
