Cassandra's reflection

During these three weeks of learning, I have learnt quite a few life lessons. For example, for last week's CID lesson, we were given two photos to ponder on. The two pictures depicts people begging. For the first photo, it was a man holding a sign stating that he was homeless had his things stolen, and was asking for help from others. For the second photo, it was a woman carrying a baby and was begging money from a man in fine clothings. 

After looking at those photos, we were asked to decide who to help if we had only one one-dollar coin. I was stuck on whom to choose since both are very pitiful and needed much help. However I decided to help the woman carrying a baby because not only she needed money to look after herself, but also the baby. She also can't carrying her child and beg for money since the baby is still very young, it needs more care and attention.

However, after the teacher told us the behind story the picture. For the first picture, the man was crippled and his home was broken into so needed some money to contact his family members. However for the second picture, the woman was a syndicate beggar and was forced to carry a baby to beg in order to gain others pity so that they would give her money. The money collected would mostly belonged to the syndicate.

After we knew the story behind the pictures, we were asked to reconsider our choices. I decided to give the money to the man as a dollar could enable him to contact with his family members but giving money to the woman would result to more harm to her since she was able to gain some money, the syndicate will continue to use her in order to get money and she may never be able to have freedom.

From this lesson, I realised that not everything that we see from our own eyes may be true since there may be some inside story that we may not know. I also realised the importance of looking and thinking beyond the situation 

Winnie's Colour,Symbol and Image(Chinese New Year)

1)Colour

According to tales and legends, the beginning of Chinese New Year started with the fight against a mythical beast called the Nian which  would come on the first day of New Year to eat livestock, crops, and even villagers, especially children. One day people saw that the Nian was scared away by a little child wearing red, they understood that the Nian was afraid of the color red. Hence, during Chinese New Year celebrations people would wear red clothes, hang red lanterns and red spring scrolls on windows and doors.For the Chinese, the colour red represents happiness and joy. Red clothing is preferred during this festive occasion. Red is considered a bright, happy color, sure to bring the wearer a sunny and bright future. Wearing red clothes, you would  bring more happiness and joy to the people around you. The colour, red in Chinese culture usually means good luck. So like the red packet which is given every Chinese New Year, is just a symbol of good luck in the coming Year. Children and unmarried friends, as well as close relatives are given little red envelopes with crisp one dollar bills inserted, for good fortune. In Chinese Metaphysics, Red symbolized the Fire element (shiny element which can chase out all evil).

2)Symbol

The "lucky Fu" symbol is traditionally posted on the front door on the Chinese lunar New Year. So, why do we hang it upside down? The Chinese characters 到 (arrive) and 倒 (upside-down) are both pronounced "dao". During the Chinese New Year festive period, the character 福 ("fu", literally meaning auspiciousness, blessing or happiness) is displayed inverted, so that fu dao ("reversed fu") also suggests luck or fortune has arrived. Fu(福) is written on the paper squares, which can be pasted normally or upside down, for in Chinese the “reversed fu” is homo-phonic with “fu dao le” pronounced as “fu comes”. The upside down fu becomes a pun that implies “good fortune has arrived”. Thus, the paper squares represent the “arrival” of spring and the “coming” of prosperous year  Thus,"福"pasted upside down is an auspicious symbol to put on one's door welcoming prosperity into your home.

3)Image

Children gets to enjoy this festival as most of them look forward to getting “Hong Bao 红包" from every married couple they meet, it is actually money wrapped in red packet. The amount of money contained in the envelope usually ends with an even digit, in accordance with Chinese beliefs; odd-numbered money gifts are traditionally associated with funerals. and amounts ending with 8 are very popular as the number 8 sounds like prosperity. Depending of the currency base, the most popular amounts are 8, 18, 168, and 888. An amount that ends or involves 4 is usually avoided as 4 in Mandarin and most Chinese dialects sounds like death. Traditional red envelopes are often decorated with gold Chinese characters like happiness and wealth. Variations of the red envelope include red envelopes with cartoon characters and red envelopes from stores and companies. Giving and receiving red envelopes, gifts, and even business cards is a solemn act. Therefore, red envelopes, gifts and name cards are always presented with both hands and also received with both hands. The recipient of a red should also not open it the red packet in front of the giver as it is deemed disrespectful and rude.

Cassandra's color, symbol and image for chinese new year

1) Color

The golden color represent wealth and happiness. Since Chinese New Year is around the corner, I felt very happy and looking forward to it. It is the period of time where relatives visit each other to greet and wish each other 'Happy Chinese New Year', so we can meet relatives which we not meet for a year. Not only that, during the process of greeting and wishing each other happy chinese new year, red packets are also given, so I would have some 'Hong Bao Money'. We would also be able to eat alot of delicious food such as egg rolls, rice cakes and raw fish salad.

2)Symbol

The symbol is a dragon which symbolises power, luck and strength for people who deserves it. Everyone would want more power, luck and strength for the new year, in order to have a more successful year. I would want also want to be more excellent and outstanding in this year.

 3)Image

It is a shop selling Chinese New Year goods. Before Chinese New Year arrives, many people would go to places such as Chinatown to buy Chinese New Year goods such as food, clothings and decorations. To me, by doing all these may bring good luck as a new year is approaching, we should buy and use new things to welcome the year and to forget the past

What is school life like in RVHS

a)What is the environment like?

The environment in the school is very conducive for studying,interacting with friends and that its atmosphere is very lively. During recess,breaks,lunch or even after-school, the noise level in the canteen is very high. Students are always seen laughing,smiling,chatting with each other in their own clique,probably discussing what had happened during the lessons or telling interesting accounts of what had happened to them.They seems to be very happy as this is one of the times in school where they can interact with their friends on non-academic topics without being scolded or caught.I feel that it is a great time to bond with our friends.They also seems very relaxed from their posture.However,some of the students talk too loudly and some of their actions which includes laughing too loudly may affect the other students.Junior high students normally hang out in small groups and sometimes in big groups with mixed genders.There will also be occasional singing of birthday songs and mini-celebrations in the canteen.So i think that RVians are not only bonded in class, but i can say that there is a bond between each and every student in school, since everyone will sing together the birthday song. Occasionally, some people that we don't even know will come to wish a the birthday girl/boy a simple but meaningful happy birthday. Students are also seen sitting quietly reading books in the library,engrossed.They can also be seen doing or discussing homework over there.  

b)Students' feelings for the day

We interviewed a first student by the name of Huang Lijing from 3M.She is very happy today as it is her first day serving her class as a chairperson in her 3 years of life in River Valley High School.She looks forward to working with her class other chairperson,Tey Shi Ying to make the class a more joyful and awesome place to be in.She is also looking forward to collecting more red packets during the upcoming Chinese New Year.She is smiling the whole time while she is talking which proves that she is really elated.She also used words such as"yay"to emphasize on her happiness.She also jumped at the end of her interview,which proves that she is full of enthusiasm and looking forward to Chinese New Year.Hereby,wishing all a Happy New Year. 

 

We interviewed a second student by the name of Lim Ying Hui from 3M.She is very tired today as she had finally ended lessons and she had slept at 12am yesterday,which caused her to be dead tired.She did not have enough rest yesterday,and thus has lost her vigour as shown through her actions.She was resting her head on her hand while saying how she felt with her eyes half-closed.Her voice sounds a little monotone and unclear too.She rested her head on the table after her interview to take forty winks,resting her head on the table.This shows how busy a schedule of a year 3 can be and we must have time-management to prevent similar cases from happening to us as our productivity level may decrease and we might not be able to concentrate in class.she also shook her head which may mean that she also disapproves of sleeping at such a late hour.

We interviewed a third student by the name of Chen Beiqi from 4H.She is very tired but happy today which is like a combination of the feelings of both of the previous two students that we had interviewed.She is feeling tired as she had lessons from morning to afternoon.However,she felt quite happy during English as what she had done was relevant to what her class had studied about education because she is involved in the Outreach which is for school ambassadors who went to primary schools for talks.It was very relevant to how holistic education system is like and hence she is catching up well and learning a lot.She is seen smiling throughout the interview.This is probably because she feels much more happier as compared to tired.She also seems very enthusiastic to share what had happened today which led her to feel that way as she made use of lots of hand gestures to emphasize her point.she also nods her head towards the end of the video,probably to agree with herself that she had done a great job today.

c)Are there special features ? What is so special about them?

The noticeboards in school are mostly decorated beautifully.Posters are also designed creatively and are brightly-coloured. I think they are important as students can get the the latest information about the school activities from there and stands out due to its beautiful decorations and bright colours.It also catches the eye of the students so that they would to look at them.There are also more posters in the school during this period of time as the candidates for the student councilor are running for the role and putting up their posters to gain publicity and allow students to know why they should vote for him or her.There is also something like a "art gallery"somewhere near the general office.It showcases posters that are made to show when concerts are being held.Even though the information is fake,it showcases RVian's talent of designing a eye-catching and pretty poster.There is also a noticeboard just beside the school library which shows some newspaper clippings on the riot in Little India.It allows students to know that such an incident happened and what are the views and opinions of some people regarding the matter.Even though one had went overseas when the riot happened,you can check out the notice-board to know more about the riot.I personally felt that this is very special as it allows us to gain more knowledge and encourages us to cultivate a habit of reading newspaper to stay up-to-date to what had happened in Singapore as well as what we can learn from the riot incident. In the library, there are also project rooms.Sometimes, i will see students gathered in groups, occasionally with a teacher's accompany, to discuss their work in the room. I feel that this is a very special feature in our school. this room provided us an opportunity to be able to discuss our projects or works in a more comfortable place, since the weather can be really hot sometimes. In other schools, the students will discuss their works in the library, which actually affected the other students who are trying to concentrate on their own studies. So it is a fortune for us to be able to enjoy such facilities.

d)What impresses you most from the surrounding? Why?

The school science garden impresses me the most as it is very beautiful and it is specially built to allow students to have an opportunity to observe the plants and fishes. I think the school has put in a lot effort in this school science garden as there is even a periodic table built on the tiles beside one of a pond there.The periodic table can be seen more clearly from the second floor.One may not even notice it if the one does not play close attention tot he ground.There is also information board that tells us that there is a periodic table and what a periodic table is.There is also small markers that tells us whats the name of that particular plant and occasional information board that tells us the uses of the plant or some brief description.I feel that the periodic table idea is very cool and unique.There is also a special fish in the pond called the archerfish. Archerfish are remarkably accurate in their shooting.They squirt out a stream of water that strikes down the prey when the prey is detected.By the time the insects falls and hits the water, the archerfish is already waiting in place ready to swallow it up.During year 1,our biology teacher,Mr Wong did a demonstration by placing a fish pellet on the concrete ground just beside the pond.The archerfish squirt a stream of water and thus moved the pellet further.The whole process happened i less then one minute and some of us did not see it.Hence the process was repeated once more. This is very interesting to me as we got to see it with our own eyes and not from online videos from youtube.We got to have the real procedure happening right before our eyes and I feel that it is a very meaningful and memorable experience for us.

e) What do you think life in RV is like for RVians?

For RVians,school life to them is both stressful and fun at the same time. Due to the heavy workload consisting of homework and projects, students have to rush their homework and projects in order to meet the deadline.Some of them even have to sleep in late when the amount of homework increases. However,I feel that with time-management,we would be able to manage our homework well.We should not wait for the last minute to complete our homework as we may not be able to finish them on time.Other than rushing to meet the deadline, students also have to commit to their co-curriculum activities.They may have competitions going on and thus would have lesser time to complete their homework.They should complete their homework bit by bit so that they would not be in a frenzy when the deadline is the next day.Some of the them would then resort to copying.In my opinion,I feel that we should not copy our friend's work.We would not only get into trouble,but not learn anything at all. However, the school does organize fun and interesting programs to aid in the students' studies such as the drama classes,OELP trips and Chinese calligraphy drawing courses.We had drama classes during year 1,this course allows us to build up our confidence and knowledge.At first,I did not even know what Minimata poisoning was. However,through these classes,i found out that Minimata poisoning is actually mercury poisoning in Japan.These classes also boost up our confidence level. For the upcoming OELP trip,we would be able to have a"hands-on "learning experience as we get to go to China or Taiwan to learn more about the country's culture and tradition,which would widens our knowledge. As year 2s,we are taking the Chinese calligraphy drawing course for our RV literature currently.This allows us to know how to draw certain drawing and some techniques as well as some background information on Chinese calligraphy drawing. 

Photo Challenge

a) School Spirit

On 16th January, our school celebrated its 58th anniversary. Students put in effort and performed '立化情' during the concert.Everyone was singing and swaying according to the beat,totally immersed in the song.The singing of this song shows that we are united as a school and this displays our school spirit.

b) Happiness

Playing a game of basketball with our friends aids in bonding.Smiles on their faces were evident on the two students at the top right hand.They must be happy for their team had successfully gotten the basketball.The student standing next to a black bag is also smiling.I think that he must be very happy as that day was Friday and thus he would have some time to rest and play with his friends.Due to our busy lives,sometimes we are unable to spare time for our friends Happiness is when we are with friends enjoying a similar interest.

c) Fear

One of the student with a pink sweater on her chair is rushing her homework that is due on that day.She is afraid of being scolded by the teachers for not completing her work and is trying her best to do it as fast as possible.She is also stressed out as the students near her are all not rushing their homework but enjoying themselves.Fear of not being able to hand in her work on time is evident as she was writing at a quicker speed.

   d) Life       

                                    

“The tree is more than first a seed, then a stem, then a living trunk, and then dead timber. The tree is a slow, enduring force straining to win the sky.”
- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

In Life, there are highs and lows.Life is also the  process of growing into a adult tree.We,from a seed growing into a young sapling and eventually the adult tree,tall and sturdy We have to overcome obstacles in life just like a tree, overcoming rain, wind and the hot sun,never breaking down.Although there may be occasional scars,we must never give up on our life,but continuing to persevere and make it better

Poverty in Singapore

I think poverty in Singapore is a serious problem. Even though Singapore is one of the World’s fourth leading financial center in the world, our poverty rate is as high as one of the poorest countries in the world, and significantly higher than other middle-income countries like China, Thailand and Vietnam. I think one of the biggest reasons of this problem is the high income inequality among the population. Singapore ranks 26th out of 136 countries for income inequality - and a high cost of living: In 2012, Singapore was the world's sixth most expensive country to live in, according to the Worldwide Cost of Living Survey 2013. In fact, according to data from the United Nations, Singapore now has the “second-most unequal economy in the developed world, behind Hong Kong”. In other words, 10 to 12 percent of households in Singapore are unable to “meet basic needs in the form of clothing, food, shelter and other essential expenditures”.

Prime minister Lee Hsien Leong said   ".....my Gini coefficient will get worse but I think Singaporeans will be better off, because they will bring in business, bring in opportunities, open new doors and create new jobs, and I think that is the attitude with which we must approach this problem.”However, I wish to differ, with more billionaires in Singapore, the income gap between the rich and the poor would increase. Even though there may be more jobs opportunities if these billionaires set up their companies here, those living in poverty may not have much skills and education, the employees may not choose to employ them as they have a great range of educated and experienced people to choose from for the greater benefit of the company. Hence, the poor would lose out in the job industries as no one would employ them for high-paying jobs. This causes that poverty cycle to be never-ending.

The two main ways to promote reemployment to reduce poverty is to create more jobs by encouraging trades and foreign investment in Singapore and also to promote skills redevelopment for citizens who have been retrenched and those who do not have much education. Help should also be given to the unemployed so that they will not suffer from lack of money. The Public Assistance Scheme and community assistance will provide financial help to the unemployed for duration of three months so that they can still afford basic necessities. Besides that, the rent and utility scheme and the healthcare subsidies will also ensure that citizens can still have a place to live in and enjoy healthcare even after being unemployed.

Education plays an essential role in breaking the vicious poverty cycle. The families are often not able to do better than their parents due to lack of access to knowledge and educational support. For example, the child would quit school to work and supplement the family’s income, simply trying to put food on the table. Outstanding students who are poor should be given preference when applying for scholarships so long as their results remain on the mark, which ensures that poor students are able to study in top schools, removing the margin between the rich and the poor. I feel that subsidies and improvising school specialized in helping poor should be implemented to ensure that all students are given access to basic education and not quit school just because their parents cannot afford it. If the government could further subsidize the costs of those, they would be able to live a more comfortable life and providing them with access to education, they would be able to make better of their situation. It is critical that the young remain in the education system, and that they receive the best support they can to gain the knowledge and skills for a better future.

The government spending in Singapore is the least among other developed countries. But even as government spending on anti-poverty efforts is rising - assistance payments to the poor exceeded $100m Singaporean dollars for the first time on 2012,a nearly 45 percent jump from 2011 - business-minded Singaporeans are balking at the idea. I think the government should spend more money on those living in poverty, as 26% of Singaporeans still live below poverty line in 2012. Poverty in Singapore grew from 16% in 2002 to 28% in 2013, this means that the situation had worsened. The poor and needy in our society struggle with “relative poverty” —simply defined as that their financial resources fall substantially below what is needed to pay for the necessities of living in Singapore. Due to various factors like health issues and family circumstances, they struggle to survive on a day-to-day basis. It is highly unlikely that you will find beggars lining the streets or see starving malnutrition children walking the pavements, scrounging and begging for food. The reason is that begging is illegal here, under the island-nation's Destitute Persons Act, carrying a fine of up to $3,000 or imprisonment for up to two years for repeat offenders. Singapore's poor are largely hidden, in part because affordable public housing typically means a roof over the heads of the working poor and elderly poor. That helps to create an overall impression that poverty and homelessness may exist only negligibly, if at all. Singapore's poor still can be found, often selling packets of tissues outside food centres or spending the night on benches near their jobs to save the transport fare home - they are commonly called "sleepers”. They could be also collecting empty soft drink cans out of trash bins, cardboard boxes to sell for money. These scenes often allows us feel sorry for them and sincerely hope to help them. However, actions speak louder than words; if we really want to help these people we should lend a helping hand to them by giving them some financial aid to help them back up on their feet. My heart goes out to them every time I see them but then again, my resources are limited hence there is little to what I can do.

However, we can see many elderly pushing a cart to collect old yet useable stuff. They often do that so that they can collect it for their own use so that they do not need to spend a lot of money on those necessities and that is also the reason why many of the old people's houses being crowded with old things or furniture. This crams up their houses which will make it harder for the elderly to walk and dust will also collect up which might make their living environment very dirty. However, the poor elderly also do not have a choice since they themselves are not able to afford for the things or have the energy to clear up their things. There has also been several cases where the elderlies living in such houses dying in that their houses and the ”rubbish” that they had collected made it difficult for the morticians take the body away. Sometimes, the “rubbish “at these elderlies house stink so much and that there were many insects in the corridor that neighbours would complain and social workers would help to clean up the place.

The fact that many needy residents live in the shadows of a rich society prompted a new campaign to raise awareness about the poor in Singapore. Singaporeans Against Poverty, launched in October and organised by Caritas Singapore, a Catholic social action group, is intended to operate for three to five years. I feel that this is a very meaningful campaign as many people in Singapore may not even know that there are such less-fortunate people living in Singapore and we can learn about how we are able to lend a helping hand to them.

Since majority of the poorer people are elderlies, helping and promoting the support of elderly in family is important in reducing the poverty in Singapore. Our government should set up more social organizations to help and provide for elderly living alone. There should also be regular home visits by the Member of Parliaments in charge of the particular area, to know about their living conditions and offer them help if needed. The rent and utility scheme is also one way to help them. Some of the unfilial children sees their parents as a burden to them and tries to escape from their duty as a child, leaving them to fend for themselves even though their parents were the one who brought them up. As family support remains the best way to reduce poverty in Singapore, the government hopes to motivate children to look after their parents through giving subsidies and incentives to families who supports elderly.

An elderly are seen selling old veggies on the street

      An elderly pushing a cart and collecting

      recycle things such as cardboards.

A homeless elderly sleeping on the floor 

A homeless elderly sleeping on a bench in a park

In a rental apartment in Tampines, 15 people share a space no larger

 than 50 square meters. Nine children live with their two parents, two 
grandparents, uncle and aunt under the roof of a small two-room flat in Singapore

Volunteers from NTUC Eldercare and HNF  provided nursing
service to a former construction worker Seah See Seng,
58, who lives alone in his two-room rental flat in Ang Mo Kio

 If we compare Singapore to the other high income countries, measured by the GDP per capita, though Singapore is the richest country in the world, we actually have the highest poverty rate among the high-income countries 

if we compare Singapore to the other regional East and Southeast Asian countries, Singapore has one of the highest poverty rate among them

                               

Singapore is the richest country in the world, our government has one of the highest national reserves and surpluses in the world, and we have the highest national reserves per capita in the world

                                   

we have the highest income inequality among the developed countries and one of the highest in the world

Cassandra's Holiday Reflection

On 1st November, our class had our second outing together at West Coast Park. I was very excited that day since it was my first time there. Upon arriving at the destination, it was very humid and wet, due to heavy rain earlier. Since the West Coast Park was huge, we had to walk along way to the barbeque pit that was near the end of the park. :/

After we had settled down, the class committees explained to us the game rules which they had planned beforehand and split us into 3 groups. We had to find 10 cards corresponding to our group colours. As the game started, we headed out searching for cards. While searching for the cards, we could only find cards that belong to other groups and decided to keep them so that in case other groups’ members found our cards, we could trade with them. After searching for a long period of time, our group members were separated from each other, so I had no choice but to search on my own. After being alone for around an hour, I finally found some of group members. However, they weren’t looking for the cards! They started playing! Even though I was slightly frustrated, seeing that most of the class were also playing, I decided to join in the fun ~

The Pyramid ><

I was afraid of this !! Although most of the class climbed to the top easily, but to me , it was challenging task. I had difficulty climbing the ropes. After climbing about a few feet above ground, I was already afraid and did not dare to climb any further. Since I could not climb the pyramid, I joined some of my friends in climbing the slide. It was slightly difficult at first since it was very slippery so most of us remove our shoes to have more friction with the slide.

    when i tried climbing this, it was a little scary since the platform keep shaking when you step on it

That was very fun! We had to sit on the black 'seat' and needed a big push from the back in order to reach the other end. Sometimes even though you had a great push from the start, you may not be able to reach the end but instead, you will get stuck in the middle and the only resort is to get off it .

After playing for around an hour or two, we headed back to the barbeque pit. Since one of us had to go home, my friend and I accompanied her to the bus stop and at the same time we went to fetch our facilitators along to our gathering, However on the way back, it started to rain heavily. >< Thus, our class and us went into McDonald's for shelter. After the rain had stopped, we headed back to the barbeque pit and started water bombs. After the water bomb, most of us very soaked wet and we finally started our barbeque party. 

During the barbeque party, at first it quite messed up. Food was half cooked or burnt. Tongs for raw and cooked food were messed up and brushes for oil and butter were switched. Luckily two of our classmates from uniform group could save it, so that we could have some proper cooked food to eat. 

1G + Facilitators photo~
   

And lastly, to end it off perfectly, a group shot was taken :P

I'm thankful to out class committees who took time and effort to plan out this gathering for us. I appreciate all their efforts, without them, there would not be a gathering like this :)