Miss Serene Lai’s English Blog

Being a teacher cum student in this digital age

November 30, 2009 · Leave a Comment

This is kind of like a vision break from my admin work and I also realised that I haven’t been writing for quite a while.

One of the interesting things recently is an EL Teaching Seminar that I attended at SMU.  I think I come from the era where note-taking was in the form of self-concocted abbreviations and structures that only made sense to me.  Working with a laptop in the middle of a lecture is something I would never ever get used to.  Plus, there is a multitude of distractions in the form of MSN, Facebook and YouTube.  I must confess I am not the most cooperative student in this aspect.

However, the age of laptops as a tool in the classroom opened up possibilities in learning for me.  No longer was information static.  We had teaching videos streaming in the notebooks and hands on experience with some materials which we could manipulate or create.  In this sense, it was refreshing.

A couple of the highlights at the seminar was the introduction of the Interactive Whiteboard (IWB).  I had a lovely instructor who gave us some very practical hands on experience with the IWB and fool-proof instructions like “Just follow the steps I gave blindly.  You can’t go wrong.”  Here we are exploring the possibilities of an IWB.

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Another one memorable session was spent learning all the different forms of poetry like a haiku, tank, concrete, shape and cinquain.  Given 20 minutes, we had to rack our brains and write two different kinds of poem.  It was rather challenging.  I know you all are ever so interested in L-O-V-E.  So, here’s a wonderful piece written by my coursemates on what love is in the form of a “list poem”.  Enjoy :)

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You are so AWESOME!

November 28, 2009 · Leave a Comment

A BIG THANK YOU to the Student Guides at the Open House!

I am very grateful that you gave your time and were passionate about Kranji!

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I never saw myself this way

November 28, 2009 · Leave a Comment

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Awesome shot by Jian Lun at Grad Nite 2009

ps: I should get more sleep too.  The eye bags are deplorable.

 

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our little secret – you both made it an extra special night :)

November 24, 2009 · Leave a Comment

You are my sunshine

:))

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Quick Post Before I Leave for Work

November 23, 2009 · 2 Comments

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Click to view the rest of the Grad Nite Photos :)

See how sauve my “favourites” look like!

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I don’t know what possessed me …

November 22, 2009 · Leave a Comment

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First Manicure of My Entire Life

… but are you ready for prom nite?

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Last Day of School

October 20, 2009 · 1 Comment

Here are the photos from the last day of school. Too bad I didn’t to take with everyone. Let’s hope we can some pics at grad nite ok?

Keep reading →

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sublime september

September 11, 2009 · 1 Comment

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thank you for the music

September 2, 2009 · Leave a Comment

Monday’s marathon meeting immediately after the Teachers’ Day Concert was brutal.  I only got to open and sort out all the cards and presents today.  I sincerely want to thank everyone for all the lovely cards, heartfelt wishes and gifts.  They are an immense encouragement to me.  It doesn’t get any easier as the years go by.  Reading (and re-reading) every single one of the cards remind and affirm what I started doing in the first place.  When the going gets tough, I sometimes take out some of these cards and reading it gives me an instant boost of faith.  I still believe in impacting and influencing the lives of young people.  It will bear fruit in the years to come.  Thank you to all my lovely students :)

Some personal shoutouts cum replies:

Xiao Jin: Yes, I like the colour.  You read my mind.

Melissa Tan: Oh yeah, you got it right.  It fits like a T. hee hee  I will wear it soon.

Brandon: I read and re-read it many times.  Arigato.

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NDP Madness!!!

August 9, 2009 · Leave a Comment

I shouldn’t sound apologetic here.  Truth is, 4E swept all the awards for NDP 2009!!!

Reddest Class

Best Class Decor

Come visit our class to see the F1 track!

In the meantime, we will be housed at the SPIN room for the whole of Tuesday.

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For the rest of the photos

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