There and Back Again

I thought hard about whether to include this in the blog - it is, after all, a negative reflection on my son. Do I want this memory to be recorded down for prosperity? After some thinking, I decided to include it, but I will not emphasise this entry in social media. If you are reading this, it means you are probably somebody who reads my blog quite often! Last week was my son's Math Amodes (which stands for alternate mode of assessment). To me, an alternate mode of assessment is something non-traditional, like project work, presentation, scrapbook, etc. But in Catholic High, it is still a pen and paper test - not very alternative is it?. It is like calling Madonna an alternative singer. But, anyway. My wife spent some time helping my son prepare for it. She went through the Math files and even got an assessment book so that he can have more practice. By the time he sat for the test, he was very ready for it. As usual, I was waiting for him along the corridor when I saw him cr

Ball left in the car for a few days Two Fridays ago, my son suddenly wanted to buy a ball. He is a cunning boy - he asked his mother instead of me. My wife bought the ball from the bookshop, pasted a sticker with his name on it, told him about the sticker, and then reminded him to be careful with the ball. The ball is not very expensive but we hope to inculcate ownership and care of his belongings. The case of the useless ball happened when I picked him up next Monday. Unlike most other Mondays, my wife happened to be on leave and we went to school together to pick him up. When we saw him, we could sense that something had happened. He told us that his ball was missing - some boy from the next class took the ball and it was gone. He looked quite flustered. We went to the General Office to try our luck in the lost-and-found. There was no sign of the ball and the office clerk told us to go the cages containing the school-owned balls to look for it. I was rather sceptical tha

This looks like a comprehension passage he set about a Ryan Gowith and Caleb Xia. Please don't ask me who they are. Last night, my son decided to write some stuff. He proceeded to write all these pages, which I guess was based on what he did in school. I am not sure if these are considered good or bad; I have never seen samples of Primary One writing that has not gone through the eyes of an adult. Nevertheless, these are totally unedited and without any intervention. The only reason I am sharing these is that it amusing that he writes such things. It is something he did unexpectedly, and I think will never do again.  "Today we are learning math. This answers are easy. Try them. Good luck." Looks like he needs to brush up on his continuous tense and 'this' vs 'these'. And stop being so arrogant about his math. They are easy because he is only in Primary One! According to him, there are science lessons. The school never requested u

Playing a shooting game It's the annual Our Lady of Good Counsel (OLGC) fun fair. Even though I did not go as I had to work, my brother-in-law kindly offered to bring him there, together with his children who studies in the school. He sent me these photos. Thanks, Lawrence! Having his breakfast His favourite game - fishing

This week is Catholic High School's English Language Arts Week. And the school has organised some activities for the children. The theme is 'Around the World in 80 days' - the classic book. It is indeed a classic book, just like what Mark Twain said, 'Classic - a book which people praise but don't read'. I have not read the book but roughly knew the storyline. So as to help him, we managed to borrow the book from the library even before the holidays. Anyway, on April 6, the kids were supposed to turn up in school in a costume, made up of recycled and scrap materials, based on the ethnic clothing of selected countries. We were quite undecided on what to make my son wear. He was also not very forthcoming with suggestions. This is very typical of him - he is indecisive when faced with almost unlimited choices. Eventually, we decided on a Chinese emperor's costume. To keep with the material requirements, we sacrificed a bed sheet and a Transformer toy box. But