Subjects (and how to sleep discretely in class)

OK. It's probably too early to drone on about which subjects are nice or which subjects are not, you're supposed to be enjoying your orientation. But since all the practical stuff has almost been covered (unless you have any questions) we think it wouldn't hurt to give you some overview of the school subjects. You can come back to this post when your lessons officially start. :)

I'm not going to talk about the normal subjects in primary school like Math, Chinese English and all that. =/

1) History. You'll be learning about ancient civilizations, which is the red textbook, so don't bring the Singapore History one to school! History doesn't involve lots of memorizing in Sec One, you'll be exposed to source based and inferring and all that. All in all, Sec One history is bearable. And rather interesting.

2) Geography. Nothing to fear, either. Except the maps. For common tests, you are required to memorize the locations of all the different Geographic stuff, like where all the volcanoes are, where is South America, where is Africa, where is Europe, where is the Amazon River, where is the Mississippi River, where is the Huang He.............. Geography should be nice, except for a few chapters.

3) D n T. Design and Technology. Depends on how you look at it. It requires you to know how to draw isometric figures, and I tell you that's pretty hard for me, and you're supposed to invent lots of different things, measure all the stuff, and when you leave the workshop your pinafore is usually brushed with sawdust or paint.

4) Chinese Literature. This is the lesson in which you copy the notes on the slides until your hand muscles scream, for a full hour, and at the end of it all your teacher tells you the slides will be available on Edulearn and you hiss and swear and curse all the ancient Chinese characters. Seriously, nobody pays much attention in CL classes, except the really, really interested ones. For me, most of the time I can't get what my teacher's trying to tell me. But there will be a test for CL at the end of the year, but if you memorize your notes and practice writing every single paragraph, and pour them all onto the page blindly on the test, you'll score. I memorized my notes with no comprehension of whatever those famous sayings were, I just wrote them down and I got an A. :D Not to say CL is a bad subject, I mean, it's good to know about ancient Chinese culture and all that, but it's extremely boring, so pay attention as hard as you can.

5) English Literature. Now this isn't as bad as CL, but it involves lots of essay writing and inferring too. English Lit. isn't really torturous, you just need to read your book more than twice, and do the worksheets you'll be given.

6) PE. Yes, this is a subject too. There will be tests at the end of some terms, in which you'll be answering true and false questions on PE technique like what's the right method for throwing a ball called, what's the correct stance if you want to pass a ball, and all the PE terms. You'll be doing PE projects too, but those should be rather easy.

How to sleep discretely in class

Sleeping discretely in class is going to be rather easy if you get a window seat. As far away from the teacher's standing point as possible. Prop your head up with your hand and pretend you're looking at your worksheets, and just close your eyes like you're thinking abotu something. Or you can slump forward and put your head on your hands, and if somebody calls you and you wake up just in time you can say you were just resting. Of course this will all depend on the strictness of your teacher. We do not recommend sleeping in core subjects like Science, History, Geography, Math, Chinese and English. If you're really tired, catch some sleep in CME. CME is really nothing much, it's only civics and moral education. If you find that your teacher is digressing and digressing further and further away from the main topic, you might want to sleep for a while. Of course sleeping in class is a blatant sign of disrespect to the subject and its teacher, so sleep only when you absolutely have to.

Subject reps

There will be different subject representatives chosen from the start of the year. One does not have to be good in the subject one is representative of. When the teacher asks for volunteers, just raise your hand if you feel you like that subject. Nobody will know each other during the first day of school, so be sure you're going to be committed to your subject rep position and do a good job for the class. Subject reps are supposed to help their teachers with stuff, give out stuff, collect stuff and go for subject rep meetings (if there is one) Some subject reps will also be chosen to give presentations during Open House. (OH BTW DID ANYONE REMEMBER SEEING ME AT OPEN HOUSE? I WAS IN FRONT OF THE ENGLISH NOTICEBOARD GIVING PARENTS AN OVERVIEW OF SN'S ENGLISH CURRICULUM!!! HAHA TOO BAD I'M NOT GONNA TELL YOU WHICH ONE I WAS. :D)

Here's a guide for different responsibilities of the reps.

English rep: She is required to go up to the office every Monday to pick up a whole stack of Straits Times newspapers like a Garang Guni and distribute them to the class before lessons start. (The newspapers are very heavy, I tell you.) She also has the responsibility to relay all messages from the subject teacher to the rest of the class, distribute the worksheets, and collect homework. She also needs to make sure nobody hands up their work late by constantly reminding the class of their assignments. She might be chosen to present the English Curriculum to parents and daughters during Open House.

Math rep: Required to collect and give out worksheets, and to relay all messages from the subject teacher to the rest of the class, and make sure nobody hands up their work late. Might also be chosen to present the Math Curriculum to parents and daughters during Open House.

Science rep: Her task is pretty much the same as the Math Rep.

Chinese rep: Same as the Math rep.

Geography rep: Same as the Math rep.

History rep: Same as the Math rep.

PE rep: There are usually two of them. They're required to carry some of the sports equipment needed to the class, and lead warm up sessions. Constant reminders come from them to tuck in your shirt.

D n T rep: Pretty much the same as the others.

Art rep: Collect art homework, obviously. And remind the class to bring the materials for next week's art class. Another informal task is to bring extra drawing paper to lend to anyone who've forgotten to bring their own.

English Literature rep: Same as the others.

The reps' different responsibilities might differ from teacher to teacher, so these are just the basics. Being a rep means you are in charge of that subject, and you should be doing it whole heartedly.

I guess that's all for the academics. Unless you have any more questions, that is. Please shoot onto the tag board. Thanks!

Cheers,

St. Nicholas Girl (1)