Balestier Special School Visit

Rushed down from NIE to McNair Road with Mindy and Huili for our CED434 site visit after 12:30pm (luckily we're excused from another module's 13:30-16:30 lessons).

We were brought to observe a class of 8 kids with autism. 2 teachers were conducting the STEP programme while the 3 of us took notes and interviewed 1 of the teachers to gather more information for our presentation and report. We were quite fortunate as the staff there were very friendly and helpful. Left the school by 17:30, feeling quite drained.

More information about the school can be found at http://www.rainbowcentre.org.sg

DAS visit

Got the chance to visit the Dyslexia Association of Singapore due to the CED module on Catering to pupils with behavioral and learning problems.
The 2 hr presentation and brief tour of the centre gave us an overview of the difficulties faced by dyslexic children and how the centre helps them.

Common symptoms include:

1. later than expected speech development
2. poor vocabularly development
3. difficulty in reading
4. difficulty in learning the names of letters or sounds in the alphabet
5. difficulty in writing
6. difficulty in learning nursery rhymes and playing rhyming games
7. confusion of similar letters such as "b","d","p","q","s","z"
8. confusion of words that look alike "on", "no", "dog", "god"
9. distractibility
10. quick forgetters

Quite disappointed to find out that research regarding remediative methods for children having dyslexia in Chinese language is not as extensive when compared to English language.

More importantly, children who have been identified with this neurologically-based specific learning difficulty have to be motivated and determined in helping themselves accept and deal with this learning difficulty positively. Support and understanding from their family, teachers and peers will definitely encourage them to not give up. Famous dyslexics include Albert Einstein, Agatha Christie, Tom Cruise and SM Lee.
For more information, the site to visit is www.das.org.sg

Jackie Chan Sports Club

Despite feeling a little lethargic after class today, decided to check out the fairly new Cali gym in Bugis. Caught a whiff of the distinct smell of the new lockers as i deposited my stuff before starting my workout. There's a few changing cubicles which is different frm the other 2 gyms. Found lotsa new, improved equipments; tried out a few and noted a gd view of the cityhall area buildings at the treadmills corner. Not really used to the narrow staircase linking the 2 levels cos it resembles a carpark stairway, however, the shower rooms are more spacious. I suppose it's cos of the odd hour, there were relatively fewer pple working out. Didn't get to attend any classes cos don't intend to return home late.

Was about to leave when I realised that I've lost my ezlink pass...retraced my steps all the way back to the shower room but still couldn't find it. Approached the auntie who was cleaning the area and was told that someone found it and she'd passed it to her boss. She was really helpful and brought me to look for her boss who passed it to another staff immediately. Realised they are really efficient...& I'll have to remember to empty my pockets before changing. Appreciate the lady who found it and the auntie who helped or I'll have to go through alot of trouble to replace it.

Weekend dinners

Sat: Got to enjoy Lei Garden dinner treat (Rating: 9/10) as Dad's Japanese friend brought his family for a tour. The 2+ yrs toddler had very beautiful eyes, long lashes. Was warned by Dad that he can be rather boisterous but during dinner he behaved relatively well...was quite talkative, playing with the rubber sea creatures they got from Underwater World. He likes the stingray the most, kept holding on to it...chuckles in delight when Dad entertained him by naming the sea creatures correctly in Japanese. He even personified his toys by calling the stingray "a e sensei" (mr stingray), "sa me san" (shark) Interesting eating habits too cos he requested for tomato sauce and white rice...understand that even when his mother cooks other dishes he prefers plain rice, perhaps need to introduce new food in smaller quantities. Tried to recall my basic Jap to understand the conversation between the child & his parents without much success. =P Went for a brief night tour in the city (with Dad as the guide providing them the historical info as we pass by certain landmarks) and short walk at Merlion Park before calling it a night.

Sun: 小叔 & his family is back from Taiwan so had a dinner gathering at the restaurant near Lower Peirce Reservior (Rating: 7/10). The chilli crab with fried 饅頭 & claypot sea cucumber are my personal faves. Since it's the 2nd night of dinner spread, i tried to control & not overeat.

赶场

Had two group presentations back to back with Wanjun & Yifen so had to meet up early in campus to run through the details one last time. Didn't sleep well last night so was pretty lethargic early in the morning but really glad when both our presentations are over. More reports and assignments are piling up...need to start working on them soon.

Fireworks spectacular

Met Josh and his friends (Angela, Yvonne, Ricky & his wife) at Cityhall to catch the firework display. Still had some time so had coffee and chatted at Citylink first. Walked to Esplanade and a huge crowd had already lined the banks of the Singapore river. Some families even had a picnic there!

Luckily we persisted to walk further up, before Sheares Bridge and managed to find a clear spot to catch the action. I took 10 video clips in all but only 8 were satisfactory. Can imagine the amount of fireworks the French team used...The best part of the live action besides enjoying the spectacular view for me would be to hear the expressive awes from the little ones. =) Proceeded to the food court in Raffles City for hot drinks and some snacks before getting a lift back home, thanks to Josh.

Wondering if anyone knows how to upload videoclip here...do teach me how in order to share the clips. Thanks!

MuVo V200

Finally I've my very own MP3 player with direct USB drive...Dad got it as my birthday gift. ^_^ Intended to get from BEST Denki during the National Day offer but luckily checked with Adrian and he helped to get from his friend who's working with Creative. A difference of about $50!

戏剧盒演出

Alighted at Outram Park station to get dinner before heading for 戏剧盒免费社区演出: 论坛剧场 -(1)“大歹纪 ! ”(2) 爱之病 outside Chinatown Point (19:30-22:00) with Wanjun & Shuixian.

Enjoyed the first play better as there were humorous references to local news such as the NKF saga. However, we were seating on straw mats so after some time, could feel legs getting numb and butts getting sore. Can see that it's not easy to perform forum theatre especially when the participating audience might misconstrue the scene content.
Here's the website for those who might be interested:
http://www.dramabox.org/main.htm