Typical day in school by Tay Wei Sheng

As the morning school bell tore the silent air apart,
It signalled the start of another fun and enriching school day.

Some listened attentively and assiduously copied down notes,
while some just doodled and drowned in the teacher's ponderous monotone.

As the recess bell rang shrilly,
Everyone zoomed out like rockets, signalling a hubbub of activity.

Some went to eat as hunger was a devil, prodding their stomachs relentlessly,
while some went to play, having a whale of their time.

As the dismissal bell sliced the air like a razor-sharp knife,
It signalled the end of another fun and enriching school day.

Some idled in school, reluctant to go home,
while some rushed home, though just released from firing squad.

While everyone looked forward to the next school day...

Introduction to Figurative Language

1) In the poem, I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud, an example of a simile is "I wandered lonely as a cloud", while examples of personification are: "Fluttering and dancing in the breeze", "Tossing their heads in a sprightly dance.", "The waves beside them danced" and "Out-did the sparkling leaves in glee." The poet chose a cloud to be a simile in his poem as a cloud usually floats very slowly in the sky and its movement is barely visible. Thus, it best describes the loneliness of the person in the poem as it shows that the person is very lonely and can only move around aimlessly. In the statements showing examples of personification, the poet has used words like dancing, sprightly and glee, to show the comparison between the person and others as a form of emphasis.

2) I like this poem as it is very simple and easy to understand, yet leaves me a great impression after reading it. The poem shows great use of simile and personification, though it does not have any metaphors. The similes and personification used show vast contrast between the feelings and atmosphere of the person and others. This emphasises hugely on the lonely person which i the main character in the poem and has successfully conveyed the message what the poet wants to tell the reader which makes it easy to understand the poem, thus leaving a great impression and letting the reader to enjoy reading it.

Favourite Poem (I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud)

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced, but they
Out-did the sparkling leaves in glee;
A poet could not be but gay,
In such a jocund company!
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

My reflections after eating at a Little India restaurant

On 14 May, our Language Arts teacher, Ms Kala, brought our class, as well as others, to a Little India restaurant, called Spice Queen) to have a taste of Indian food, especially chappatti, after going through Village by the Sea with us. Our teacher chose that restaurant as it was quite a famous one and the chef, as well. The chef, Chef Devagi Sanmugam, is an author of 16 cookbooks, as well as a food columnist for magazines. She also owns a culinary consultancy firm Devagi's Epicurean World Pte Ltd.

At the restaurant, we were packed like sardines and fortunately, my group of friends and I quickly got ourselves a seat each. For hygiene's sake, we were told to wash our hands before we could eat. After that, Ms Kala introduced Chef Devagi Sunmugam briefly to us and the chef herself introduced Indian food to us and we indeed gained new insights. Without further ado, we took the serviette and queued up to take the food. The snake-like queue was really long and each of us waited a long time before we got our food. However, a number of us did not have a chance to taste the tendoori chicken as it went out and it was apparently not enough for everyone of us. However, the service there was really good and before we got to the place where got our food, an amicable female staff gave each of us a piece of koropok and gave those a second time if they requested for it.

They gave us a variety of dishes, such as Indian rice with gravy, cubed potatoes, tendoori chicken(not for me) and chappatti, not forgetting lime juice. Without it, we will definitely not be able to eat the food. It was really spicy! The rice and chappatti was fine but not for the potatoes. Many of us were complaining about the spiciness and for me, I could literally feel my stomach burning! For some of them, they actually took their own drnk to drink as the lime juice was not enough.

After our stomachs were filled, we went back home ourselves by taking the Little India MRT train as the MRT station was just beside the restaurant. For those who wanted to take school transport back to school, had to wait a little more. I felt that it was indeed an enriching and enjoyable experience for me. Firstly I got to see a famous chef in person and secondly, I learnt more about Indian culture including eating the food with our bare hands. We also got to know about the different kinds of Indian food. Last but not least, I interacted with my friends at the same time and I really enjoyed the entire time.

Comparison between Urban and Rural lifestyles

15 differences
Urban life

1. High crime rate (Pg 168) (Get up quick or I'll take you off to the police station)
2. More equality between between men and women (Pg 118) (To Hari's utter amazement, all the people marching in it were women)
3. Presence of modern technology (Televisions, watches etc.)
4. Earn more income
5. More protection against elements (e.g. Monsoon season)
6. More noise pollution due to cars and more population of people (Pg 121) (Hari strained to listen but the noise of the traffic distracted him)
7. Formal doctors with proper medication available (Pg 155) (There is a hospital in Alibagh)
8. No sleeping in public places (Pg 168) (This is no place to sleep.)
9. More competition in terms of jobs and housing
10. Presence of electricity
11. More job prospects (Pg 120) (He held a megaphone to his mouth and began to speak.)
12. Less environmentally-friendly
13. Less greenery
14. More complex lifestyle
15. Better built housing (Pg 207) (Mr Panwallah was popular in that block.)

Rural life

1. Low crime rate
2. Less equality between men and women
3. Absence of modern technology (Villagers in Thul do not have engines for their fishing boats)
4. Earn less income (Villagers in Thul can only depend on fishing and farming and it is very competitive)
5. Less protection against elements as houses can easily catch fire (Villagers in Thul live in thatched huts)
6. Quiet and tranquil (Absence of cars in Thul)
7. No formal doctors with proper medication available
8. Can sleep in public places
9. Less competition in terms of jobs and housing (Less people in Thul)
10. No electricity
11. Less job prospects (farming, fishing and plucking of coconuts)
12. More environmentally-friendly
13. More nature and greenery (Pg 4) (The morning light was still soft as it filtered through the web of palm leaves, and swirls of blue wood-smoke rose from fires in hidden huts and mingled with it.)
14. Simple lifestyle
15. Live in thatched huts. (Pg 5) (she looked at the hut and knew nothing was as it had been before, and nothing was well either.)

10 similarities

Urban and Rural life

1. Have doctors
2. Have appopriate housing to live in
3. Have their own recreation
4. Jobs include fishing
5. Have schools
6. Equallly religious and superstitious
7. Celebrate festivals
8. Have their own culture
9. Have both the rich and poor
10. They have their own forms of transport

Village by the Sea Presentation (Importance of Adaptation and Changes)

Changes

1. A new fertilizer complex is going to be built im Thul.
2. The paddy fields, the sea, fish and cattle are going to be affected, like being polluted or being removed.
3. Jobs will be affected, like those fishermen who depend on fishing for a living, since the fish will die due to pollution of the sea.

How has the changes helped Hari?

1. Hari went to Bombay to look for jobs alone alone, thus making him more courageous and more initiative due to the changes.
2. He learnt to be independent, which is the main benefit of adapting to a new environment, Bombay.
3. He learnt different skills, like watch-mending and cooking chapattis.
4. He has learnt adaptation skills due to change in lifestyle in Bombay.
5. He learnt to be frugal and thrifty, while being wise at spending money.
6. He learnt to be caring and helpful towards people as he helped Mr Panwallah while he is ill.
7. He learnt to be diligent and not be lazy, idling each day.
8. He learnt to make his own decisions and not always seek advice from his family, thus learning to be decisive.

Adaptations

1. The people have to go to Bombay to look for jobs.
2. If they are unable to find jobs in Bombay, they will have to be beggars living in the streets.
3. Another option would be they be workers at the fertilizer complex, which is definitely not feasible as the job requires skills which they do not have.

How has the adaptations helped Hari?

1. Hari need not depend on fishing to earn a living as he has learnt watch-mending skills which he can depend on for a living. It will be more competitive to depend on fishing to earn a living in Thul as the fishing is one of the main jobs in Thul and watch-mending would definitely not be competitive as not many people in Thul know how to mend watches. Furthermore, when the fertilizer complex is built in Thul, Hari can help to mend watches for the people who come to Thul.
2. Hari also learnt to be independent as the new environment and the change in lifestyle forces him to support himself without the help of his family.
3. If people go to Thul to work at the fertilizer complex, there will be more jobs in Bombay.
4. He learnt that being laxy would not do him good in the future.
5. He also met many kind and helpful people like Jagu and Mr Panwallah.

Photo Montage

Hwa Chong Institution has many statues and places which is of important significance, they are the Tan Kah Kee statue, the Kong Chian library, and others. All these have significant historical value, and makes up the rich Hwa Chong history, which is over 90 years. The guiding principle is 饮水思源，which means paying gratitude to those who fought to make the present possible. One must not forget to whom one is indebted, whereas the philosophy is live with passion, lead with compassion.