Outing With Friends #2 - The Curve

Installment  #2 was attended by seven as the rest were away. The day began  at The Escape Room - where as the name implied you need to escape from the room (themed Space Voyager) in a given time by solving puzzles. Nicole said it was over rated.

Next came Laser Warzone which was a big a lotta fun. It that laser tag war games.

After a meal at McDonald's was time for arcade action followed by a Japanese fantasy/thriller movie called Death Note. Unfortunately it was neither thrilling nor terrifying.

The coming new year will see them go separate ways as it will be Form One with each attending schools of their own.

Back: Min Qi, Alanise, Amirah, Xiu Wyen and Nicole Front: Bryan and Kingsley

Outing With School Mates at 1Utama

Outing #1 was to 1Utama mall in Bandar Utama - ten kids in total. All from class 6E, Class of 2016. They had lots of fun - watched Fantastic Beasts, went bowling, played at arcade. They enjoyed it so much that they already planned for the next outing.

Front row: Min Qi, Amirah, Xiu Wyen, Nicole, Nicholas, Cassidy. Back row: Bryan, Henry, KZY and Tao Ming

Classmates Over for Class Project

Nic had three classmates come over to work on a class project. It was more like twenty minutes working on the laptop and the rest was fun.

Sports Day

Nic was not picked to run this year as the school practices a 'everyone gets to participate' policy - I think it is a superb policy. This way every child gets to be a track star for a day.

We were present to support one of her buddies, Gloria and she was beaming , ear-to-ear after winning a medal.

The iconic iced Milo!

 

 Nic and Gloria

Tuition

Today is day one at the new center for Nic.  The main reason we decided to take her out of the present center was we noticed the tutors did not stay long and Nic would have two or three tutors in the space of six months.

Also the new center is run by a lady with 30 years teaching experience and she confidently said Nic will improve. When I picked Nic up after school she said teacher Tracy said she would be top 5 in her class. Big target as we'd already be elated if she could just achieve mid-table for a start. We'll have to see what happens in the exams to come.

Carnival Day at School

Vernacular schools receive little or no funding from the central government and only as recent as April this year did the PM announce 'equal' funding for Chinese and Tamil schools. It appears to be a pathetic attempt to woo the Chinese as election draws near. So it was a little bit strange for us as Nic began year one last year that we had to pay fees like security, air-cond, building fund and IT project funds. The total payable is RM280 per year per student. They can marginalize us but Chinese will always rise above such challenges.

Nic volunteered to sell marshmallows for her class and we were not surprised as she does have a certain esprit de corps in her. Here's the stinker - she said we had to pack them mallows, 4 pieces in a pack and make a total of 300 packets. I felt that to be a bit much but she was adamant that it is what teacher Lee asked for.

Okay we managed to come up with 287 packets as we ran out of plastic bags. Bright and early we arrived at the stall and true enough Ms Lee said it was way too much. The plan was to sell each pack at RM1.00 and we immediately switched to 3 packs for RM1.00. Mummy did a great job by selling off, guesstimate 95% of the lot. Nic sold a few packets and spent most of the time at the games - Zorbing (below), Haunted House and lots of snacks.  I think the experience was tremendous as the kids got to operate a small business first hand.

I can conclude and say that the Chinese school method of education despite being a bit too regimented is wonderful as it teaches the kids entrepreneurship.

Report Card Day

It is time to meet the teacher today. I never had a parent-meet-teacher thing back when I was in school. Back then I guess parent's don't even have time to spare.

Nic's grades were pulled down by her Mandarin and we'll have to figure out a plan to turn it around. Here is the big shocker. Her teacher said Nic forged my initial on one of her previous Mandarin pop quiz. I don't know where she got that idea from. She obviously did a lousy job as the teacher spotted it. Time for a serious talk.

Taekwondo and a Moth

Nic wanted to quit taekwondo mainly cos her pal Reyna has quit and is joining gymnastics instead. I was not going to let her get off so easily so it is early Saturdays once more!

There are the newbies (white belts) who were mostly 1st Graders and a few older kids (Grade Two and higher).

[video] The kids were so fascinated with a dying moth - some rascal killed it a bit later on. The moth was a Lyssa Zampa aka Swallowtail Moth - they are common in Malaysia. In fact I recall seeing many of them when I was a school kid myself. They are quite dull in color - greyish but they look majestic and this specimen had a wingspan of around 150mm.

For the record, being the animal-lover that is Nicole - she wept.

Cultural Nite 2011

 above: Instructor Yukiko Hori helps out with Nic's hair.

The day began at 8.00am as Nic had taekwondo practice. She was all excited about getting her hair done for her routine in the show. The kids had to have their hair 'bunned' at the rear and we had to get the hair salon to help as her hair was quite short.

 pic: Reyna and Nicole

Next she had to be at the school by 4pm for make-up. The show began only at 7pm and was she tired. I had a little trouble recognizing her after all that paint. I decided to call it a night at 9.30pm (I think there were another 11 presentations to go) as she has taekwondo class tomorrow - extra class to prepare for her grading test next week.

Report Card Day

I went over to school to get Nic's 2nd semester report card. Her grades were somewhat lower than the first. She will not be in the same class as her buddy Reyna next year, too bad!

Today was Nic's first DanceSport lesson. Over fifty kids attended last week's trial and it was good to see the children show so much excitement. Instructor Miss Yukiko Hori who runs Dance Xpress studio was wonderful with the kids and taught them the cha cha cha!

Although I did not get to attend today's class I am sure Nic was even more excited cos she got her dancing shoes!

Class of 2011

Nic (seated, third from right)

Ernest's Note Book

Nicole brought home a note book belonging to Ernest Liang who sits right next to her in class. Ernest keeps notes in this book and wanted to keep it private and Nic volunteers to help him secure his notes. Nic actually has this cute idea of punching a hole through the book and using a tiny padlock to secure it (see pic above). Neat idea! See pic below for what Ernest wrote on a page. Apparently he has not completed his sentence yet and I wonder what more sinister ideas he has in mind.

A Note From Reyna

Nic showed us a lovely note from sweet Reyna. The pair are so bubbly that it is a joy to watch them together. Coincidentally Reyna also joined Taekwondo albeit a month after Nic started. They would be chasing each other laughing - not a care in the world. Ah, yes I recall those carefree days when I was a young lad too. What bliss!

Take a look at the note from Reyna! Here's the link to an earlier post of Nic and Reyna - First Day at School

First Taekwondo Lesson

Lessons start early (7.45am) and lasts for 75 minutes. There were 26 kids in the beginner class ages ranging from seven to nine. Another fifty or so kids were in the intermediate group (yellow, green, blue and red).

The kids learned the basics today like [1] the attention stance (cha-ryot in Korean) to show respect and courtesy to the instructor. [2] horse (sitting) stance - feet are placed much wider and the knees are deeply bent.[3] throw a punch and double punch. Nicole enjoyed it - long may it last!

Co-curriculum Activities

Week two just ended and Nicole has received her textbooks and her school bag weighs 10lbs - which makes a trolley bag a must. The pace so far is quite relaxed and I expect it to pick up after the Chinese New Year break (classes start February 7).

The school has a co-curriculum list of twenty activities like Art, Math, Science, Violin, Guitar, Piano, Martial Arts, Rhythmic Gymnastics and more.The one that stands out for me is the Yo-yo Club - amazing! We have talked it over and I suggested Nic take up Taekwondo as I am counting on her to learn discipline besides the obvious reasons like self-defense and sport. I showed her clips on You Tube on both Taekwondo and Wushu and she chose the former. I was suprised as I had expected her to go for Wushu seeing it had more graceful movements. I guess the tomboy in her runs deep.

First Day at School

Nicole is in Standard One and her first day began with a torrential shower that lasted most of the afternoon. I knew traffic was going to be bad and sure enough it was bad. I had to park a kilometer away and we both trudged to school in the rain (wearing our rain jackets of course). A lady  with  a couple of kids on board stopped her car and offered us a lift but I politely declined as I was sure walking was the best option. Yes there are still kind souls on Earth!

Due to the Malaysian school system this is something we cannot avoid as there is a massive number of vehicles due to the fact the outgoing 'morning session' meets the incoming 'afternoon session'. It will ease after the next two days as parents and children adjust and soon it becomes routine.

 Nic and classmate Reyna at break time!

I guess it is the sign of the times that we live in a world that is no longer secure. We have to ferry our kids to school or hire a responsible transporter to do it. As a kid I was transported to school by a 'privateer' for the first week. I started taking the stage bus to school from week two onwards. It was a safer world back then.

Nic Likes Ryan

It has been three weeks and Nicole's extra Mandarin classes ends today. Overall she really liked going to school. It is amazing how a child sees fun in simple things. For Nic, dressing up in a new uniform and actually buying her own snacks at the canteen is exhilarating enough. Oh yes, there is also the attraction of a so-called boy friend - Ryan Siew. The pair can be seen hugging and holding hands (pic). I have warned her their actions are going to get them into trouble when year one begins next month.

Right in Front

I went to greet Nic at noon and her class teacher informed that she was too chatty and kept distracting the girl next to her. As a result she was placed in a separate desk in front of the white board and beside teacher's desk all by herself. Well I hope she learns her lesson after this.

pic; Nic in front of the VIP seat

Preschool Mandarin Class

Nic hit it off with Reyna (pics) the instant they met at the assembly area. I see similarities in Reyna who is also  chatty and adorable. Like Nic she is also very independent. Speaking of which Nic waved me to go home yesterday and complained to mom later that 'I asked your husband to go home but he stayed on and was eating at the canteen'. As for Nic and Reyna, it is day two and the pair are inseparable.