A few weeks ago, I went back to Singapore because my sister had a baby. Her baby's name is Jo Claire. Doesn't she look cute in the pictures? She was just five weeks when I saw her. Isn't she just pretty?
Today the EDB announced that the school closure will be extended. In a way, I'm sad that I won't be able to see you kids at school. But at the same time, I'm glad as I'm hoping to be able to head back to Singapore earlier so that I can see and carry little Jo Claire.
Write and tell me what will you be doing over the summer holidays. Hope you'll have lots of fun!
Since I've not blogged for a while, I've some photos that I would like to show you that I've taken during my travels.
During Easter holidays, I went to Shanghai with my husband. I've never been to Shanghai before that. I thought Shanghai was very beautiful. I liked its architecture. There were the old buildings standing right next to the new buildings. I really hope that the old buildings will continue to stand and not be pulled down.
This is the tram or train that goes up and down Nanjing Road. Nanjing Road is a pedestrian road which means no cars. People walked up and down the road to look at shops or simply to enjoy the atmosphere.
Can you see the building in the background? We stayed in that hotel. We liked the hotel. It looks like it's a very old hotel that has been renovated and refurbished. I like old buildings for some strange reasons!
The Shanghai art museum, was another place of interest that we visited. The paintings and exhibits were beautiful. But there was a slight problem. The explanations were all in Chinese and I couldn't read it. And my husband's Chinese was not that good to read too. Maybe, it's time for me to start having Chinese lessons.
This is Yuyuan Garden, a beautifully manicured garden that was preserved. There were lots of plants and fish. I had a good time exploring the garden.
At Shanghai, I met some of you that was on a school trip. I must praise those that I met. My husband and I felt that you were very well behaved children. We were very proud that our school has well behaved students. Behaved wonderfully on a school trip! Keep it up!
I know Easter holidays was quite a while ago. Write and tell me what you did. I'd love to read what you wrote.
I'm so sorry for not updating my blog. Been too busy with other things. I feel terrible. How do you feel about the school closure? Yesterday when EDB announced the school closure, I was a little disappointed because there are things that I need do with some of you but I can't do them now. I heard loud cheers from some of you when the announcement of the school closure was made. Know some of you must be happy to have extra holidays. But when I spoke to some of you, some were quite disappointed as you wanted to get over and done with your exams.
Write and tell me what you will be doing over the break. Tell me how you feel. This time, I promise that I'll reply!
Did you have a great Christmas holidays? I had an enjoyable holiday. It was so fun that I almost didn't want to come back! I went on a holiday with my husband. We went to California and Nevada in America.
In California, we visited Disneyland and Universal Studios. I love visiting Disneyland. The last time we went there was about six years ago. In Disneyland, my favourite ride was the Monsters Inc ride. I saw many monsters in the ride. They were not scary at all! They were actually rather cute!
This was taken outside the ride. Doesn't the house of the ride look very beautiful and colourful?
This is a photo of my husband and me. I was very happy and excited to go to Disneyland but I think my husband was still a little tired from the plane ride and also the time difference.
After spending three days in Disneyland, we went to Universal Studios. This is my favourite ride. The Simpsons' Ride. The difference between the rides in Disneyland and Universal Studios is that some of the rides in Universal Studios do not move. In other words, we just sat in our seats in Universal Studios and the special effects take over. It was really interesting because of the 3-D effects. I thought that the balls were going to roll into my face and I was going to be hit by things. It was very fun!
We flew out of Los Angeles airport into Las Vegas. We went to Las Vegas because we wanted to see the Grand Canyon. The Grand Canyon is not actually in Nevada but in Arizona. It was a long bus ride to get there and to get back to our hotel room. But the view and the scenery was just spectacular. When I stood there looking at the beauty of Grand Canyon, I was just amazed at God's beautiful creation. I love looking at natural beauty because I love to admire God's creation and the beauty of it.
Students, write and tell me how you spent your Christmas holidays. Let me know if you had a wonderful time and what did you do.
I must apologize for not updating my blog earlier. I've been pretty busy for the past two weeks. We moved to a new apartment and before moving, we were busy packing and then we had to move and unpack. It was very tiring even though we just moved to the next block. I like my new apartment. It's bigger and more spacious. Will put up pictures when I finally clear my mess at home! Happy loves her new home too. She loves running up and down and playing in the bigger space.
I want to share with you my favourite children's storybook, The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein. Last Thursday, class 5C did a wonderful job telling you the story. Just in case, if you missed the story or could not hear the story, here is the story.
Once there was a tree......and she loved a little boy. And everyday the boy would come and he would gather her leaves and make them into crowns and play king of the forest. He would climb up her trunk and swing from her branches and eat apples. And they would play hide-and-go-seek. And when he was tired, he would sleep in her shade. And the boy loved the tree....very much. And the tree was happy.
But time went by. And the boy grew older. And the tree was often alone. Then one day the boy came to the tree and the tree said, "Come, Boy, come and climb up my trunk and swing from my branches and eat from apples and play in my shade and be happy."
"I am too big to climb and play," said the boy. "I want to buy things and have fun. I want some money. Can you give me some money?"
"I'm sorry," said the tree, "but I have no money. I only have leaves and apples. Take my apples, Boy, and sell them in the city. Then you will have money and you will be happy."
And so the boy climbed up the tree and gathered her apples and carried them away. And the tree was happy.
But the boy stayed away for a long time......and the tree was sad. And then one day the boy came back and the tree shook with joy and she said, "Come, Boy, climb up my trunk and swing from my branches and be happy."
"I am too busy to climb trees," said the boy. "I want a house to keep me warm," he said. "I want a wife and I want children, and so I need a house. Can you give me a house?"
"I have no house," said the tree. "The forest is my house, but you may cut off my branches and build a house. Then you will be happy."
And so the boy cut off her branches and carried them away to build his house. And the tree was happy.
But the boy stayed away for a long time. And when he came back, the tree was so happy she could hardly speak.
"Come, Boy," she whispered, "come and play," "I am too old and sad to play," said the boy. "I want a boat that will take me far away from here. Can you give me a boat?"
"Cut down my trunk and make a boat," said the tree. "Then you can sail away.......and be happy."
And so the boy cut down her trunk and made a boat and sailed away. And the tree was happy.....but not really.
And after a long time the boy came back again. "I am sorry, Boy," said the tree, "but I've nothing left to give you - My apples are gone."
"My teeth are too weak for apples," said the boy. "My branches are gone," said the tree. "You cannot swing on them -" "I am too old to swing on branches," said the boy. "My trunk is gone," said the tree. "You cannot climb -" "I am too tired to climb," said the boy. "I am sorry," sighed the tree. "I wish that I could give you something......but I have nothing left. I am just an old stump. I am sorry....."
"I don't need very much now," said the boy, just a quiet place to sit and rest. I am very tired."
"Well," said the tree, straightening herself up as much as she could, "well, am old stump is good for sitting and resting. Come, Boy, sit down. Sit down and rest."
And the boy did. And the tree was happy.
The End.
Have a look at this website too if you have time. What does this story remind you of? What lesson did you learn from this story? Write and tell me. I learnt that sometimes having lots of money and things may not make a person happy.
Last Friday was Halloween. Some of you came up to me and said, 'Trick or Treat', and my reply was that I don't celebrate Halloween. I didn't have time to explain my reasons to you. On Friday evening, I met some of you when I brought my dog, Happy, for a walk. I was pleased that most of you were not shy to come up to me. All of you spoke very fluently in English. Even my husband was surprised that all of you spoke so well.
When I was around your age, I've always wanted to celebrate Halloween and I even wanted to have a Halloween birthday party since my birthday is just one day before Halloween but my parents never once allowed me to have a Halloween birthday party. As I went to Sunday School and church, I learnt more and understood why my parents made that decision.
I'm going to explain my view on Halloween as simple as possible. Some believed that Halloween started in Rome many many years ago when the Romans prayed to the dead. I do not believe in praying to the dead as it is very clear in the bible that God commanded us not to have any other gods other than Him and never to worship anyone else than Him. To me, that is an important point.
Trick or Treat came from tricks that were played by witches and wizards. This was done especially for those who believe in black magic. The word treat came from witches and wizards promising people that they will be rich if they donated to them. This happened many, many years ago. I do not believe in witches or wizards. In my point of view and from what I understand from the bible, these things do not make God happy but rather it makes Satan which is the devil happy as one would seem to be worshipping him.
During Halloween, there are many people that dress up as devils, witches and scary people. This does not make God happy as it seems that people want to imitate the devil with their devilish behaviour and scary dressings. When I think of this, it makes me wonder how can I be obedient towards God if I'm dressing up as His enemy.
So students, these are my reasons why I do not celebrate Halloween. I'm sorry that I didn't have time to explain to some of you earlier. I hope that you are able to understand my reasons now. If you want to read further, these are a few websites. Some of the words in these websites maybe difficult but check the dictionary, ask your parents or even me if there are bits in the website that you don't understand. Read and tell my your opinions.
Do you have pets at home? When I was young, I think, when I was in primary school, I had many pets at home. Lots of them. I had a dog, many hamsters, two white mice, lots of fish in the tank, two turtles, two rabbits, two guinea pigs, a bird and I can't remember what else I had. I loved pets when I was young. Then as I grew up, some of my pets died and I got new pets. I had a dog in Singapore before I moved to Hong Kong. Her name is Hobbit. We wanted to bring her to Hong Kong after we settle down. But my mother loves Hobbit too much so she didn't let us bring her here. So we bought another dog, Happy.
Pets are part of the family. We must take care of our pets. You know, when you're hungry, you can go and get food to eat. But when a cat or bird is hungry, it can't really get food on its own. So we must remember to take care of our pets. When you look after your pets well, it will love you in return.
Write and tell me about your pets. And if you do not have pets, tell me what pet would you like and why.
Anyway, enjoy another video of my mad little Happy!
A few weeks ago, I went back to Singapore because my sister had a baby. Her baby's name is Jo Claire. Doesn't she look cute in the pictures? She was just five weeks when I saw her. Isn't she just pretty?
