Thursday, August 20, 2009

YSTTE 2008 Publication

In 2008, 9 pupils from Endeavour Primary School participated in the literary competition. Their entries were published. A copy has been placed in the school library for browsing. More copies will be made available for borrowing.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Your Singapore Through Their Eyes 2009

This year, 12 of our pupils participated in “Your Singapore Through Their Eyes” or YSTTE, a literary competition organised by Nanyang Girls’ High School. I would like to thank the form teachers and parents for their support.



Here are our winning entries:
Category A
First: Cheryl Kho Xue Er
Merit: Tracy Yeo Yu Ting
Congratulations!

They attended the prize-giving ceremony on 18th August 2009 (Tuesday), at Nanyang Girls’ High School, Siew May Auditorium with their parents.

Here's Cheryl with from the YSTTE Organizing Team 2009
You can visit the YSTTE link for more information

First: Cheryl Kho Xue Er

SINGAPORE THROUGH MY EYES

Although Singapore is small,
It is not bad at all.
Singapore is a place tourists like to go.
It is attractive, as far as I know.

Singapore is quiet,
Without any riots.
The place is peaceful
And really beautiful.

Singapore has a great variety of food.
Yummy! They taste so good.
Chinese, Malay and Indian cuisine,
You’ll have difficulty choosing.

Waiters don’t let the customers wait.
The napkins and cutlery on the table they laid.
Even when there are many customers to serve,
Their smiles never disappear.

Singapore is a nice place to live in,
So we must keep it clean and green.
Plants and trees, all the greenery,
They are our responsibility.

Singapore is efficient in everything it does.
For example, the police are very fast
In investigating and solving crimes.
If you need them, just dial ‘999’.

Transportation is convenient
And it is very efficient.
Bus-stops and taxi-stands are very near.
There’s one over there and one over here.

To keep Singapore close to our heart,
We must all do our part.
How? By picking up litter here and there,
Don’t pluck flowers, but help to care!

I love Singapore.
It is my homeland.
Now it has blossomed into
My very best friend.

Merit: Tracy Yeo Yu Ting

MY SINGAPORE - A GARDEN CITY

Several decades ago, Singapore was just a fishing village with kampong houses and coconut trees. Today, Singapore is known as the “Garden City” with many high-rise buildings. Tall trees and beautiful flowers can be seen almost everywhere. “Garden City” is indeed an appropriate representation of Singapore.

I have a Malaysian friend who came to Singapore for a short visit last year. She told me that she would prefer staying in Singapore than in Malaysia. She commented that Singapore is a much cooler place due to the beautiful green environment. She does not need to carry her umbrella everywhere as there are many tall trees along the way, providing shades to ward off the immense heat.

Being a Singaporean, such comments made me feel very proud of my country. I agree with her that Singapore is a beautiful place where you can find green plants everywhere, even in high places like HDB flats. Many people grow plants along the corridors and inside the flats on the balcony, to beautify their homes. Besides beautifying homes, plants in places like the Herbal garden, Hort park and Botanical Gardens also serve educational purposes.

We need to maintain a clean environment so that our reputation of a clean and green “Garden city” will not be tarnished. It is every citizen’s duty. Only then can we continue to be proud Singaporeans.

Other Entries: Anastasia Shane Teow Jie-En

MY HOME – THE LITTLE RED DOT

We live on a small, red dot
where there are four major races
Chinese,Indian, Malay and Eurasian.
We live and play side by side.

The small red dot is a peaceful and safe place
where visitors like to visit.
Come and see our Sentosa, Orchard Road and the Flyer.

The small, red dot has a beautiful flag of red and white.
The red part represents warm brotherly love.
The white part represents pure friendship.
The new moon represents a new nation,
With the 1st star for justice,
the 2nd star for equality
the 3rd star for peace
the 4th star for progress
and the 5th star for democracy.

This small red dot is where my home is …
this small red dot is Singapore.

Other Entries: Chin Qin Jin

SINGAPORE MY HOME

A small island
The little red dot
The whole world knows
“Singapore” – an unfamiliar name it is not
A safe, clean and green
Beautiful “Garden city”
A perfect place to live in
Well educated, highly wired as far as technology
The best airport in the world
Success as one of the world’s
Busiest container ports
Good hospital equipment
The largest shopping malls
Colourful, expansive and compact HDB Housing
Delicious cuisine - Chicken Rice, Satay,
Roti Prata, Nasi Brani and many moreSingapore my home forever more

Other Entries: Calista Lim Rui Wen

I AM A SINGAPOREAN

Singapore is a small country and it is a very beautiful place to stay. There are many high-rise buildings, clinics, hospitals, shopping malls, playgrounds and schools. We also have our adorable Merlion and the good drinking water - the “Newater”.

Singapore’s National Day falls on the 9th of August. We always have an excellent National Day Celebration and we called it the NDP.

Being a multi-racial country, we have different races such as the Chinese, Malay, Indians. We also have many festive celebrations. Some examples are the Chinese New Year, Moon Cake Festival, Hari Raya Puasa, Deepavali, Good Friday, Christmas, Vesak Day and Thaipusam. From these festival celebrations, people from the different races learn and understand the others’ culture. In school, we celebrate Racial Harmony Day.

Singapore is a clean and green country. To save the environment, Singaporeans reuse, reduce and recycle. We do not litter in Singapore. We will be fined if we are caught doing that.

I love Singapore; I am proud to be a Singaporean.

Other Entries: Lim Kai Wen

“SINGAPORE THROUGH MY EYES”

S ingapura
I sland
N ational Pride
G arden City
A mbitious
P arliamentary republic
O lympic sensation
R acial Harmony
E xcellence

Singapore is the smallest country in South East Asia, with only a 4.9 million population and an area of 704 km2 . It was once a Malay fishing village named Singapura, the “Lion City”.
In 1819, Sir Stamford Raffles founded Singapore and established a trading post on the island. Singapore achieved its independence in 1963 and has developed into an energetic young nation.

Though we are small, we have made big names in the world. SIA, Temasek Group and Creative have all proven to be our national pride.
Singapore is famed as a “Garden City” with its beautiful scenery and cleanliness. The luxuriant greenery is not an overnight miracle, but over 40 years of perseverance and determination.

As a safe and organized country, tourism is an important industry in Singapore. Last year, we had our own “mission impossible” by successfully organizing our first “F1 Night Race”. The amazing light effect and the tremendous sound from the race were simply unforgettable.
Singapore is a shopping and food paradise with our annual “Great Singapore Sale” and “Food Fair”. The reliable and advance medical service is also one of our nation’s pride.

As an ambitious nation, we have come this far by remaining competitive and is rated one of the most business friendly economy in the world.
Singapore is parliamentary republic .We are fortunate to have our government as one of the most politically transparent ones in the world. Our good leaders with broad vision are leading the country to allow us to enjoy peace, harmony and wealth.

We had won our first medal in the Olympics. Everyone is overwhelming with excitement as Singapore will be hosting the first Youth Olympic Games in 2010. I believe that this “Olympics Sensation” will make us into a more health conscious nation.

If New York is like a “Big Apple”, then Singapore is like a “Big Rojak”, nicely blended in terms of races, religion, culture and food. As a multi- cultural nation, we have Chinese, Malays, Indians and Eurasians. Racial harmony is the key factor of Singapore’s prosperity today. Almost everyone is bilingual and our unique “Singlish” distinguishes the Singaporean from other nationalities.
During this year’s International Friendship Day, I learnt about ASEAN and Singapore being a member of ASEAN. I learnt the importance of maintaining a close and good relationship with our neighbouring countries.

Though we are facing global economic recession, we have faith to sail through the tough times and strive towards EXCELLENCE !

I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to my lovely country,

S ingapore.
I love you.
N urturing me,
G lowing bright.
A spiring me,
P olishing fine.
O h, my country, Singapore
R efining me
E very moment I remain

Other Entries: Kelvin Teo Kai Jie

“ I AM A SINGAPORE CITIZEN”

I am a Singapore citizen. My father, Alan was born in Malaysia and my mother, Elaine was born in Singapore. I saw Singapore in my dreams. Everyday, my mother will bring me to school before going to work. My grandmother takes care of my baby brother, Dalton. I like to go to places like Sentosa and the beach. The beach in Singapore is lovely. I can find seashells, crabs and fishes at the beach. I also like the food although laksa, mee siam and mee rebus are a bit too spicy for me.

Everyday, I am very happy to go to school because I can see my friends. I make friends with almost all the students in the school. They are of different races and from different countries. My best friends are Samuel Swam Htet Tun, Baquilod David John Dela Cruz and Kong Ming. I have so much fun with my friends.

I am proud to be a Singaporean. I love the food, my friends, my family and the places in Singapore. I love Singapore!

Other Entries: Jessie Lim Jade Ying

“ I LOVE YOU SINGAPORE”

Hello, I am Jessie Lim from Class 2D. I am a Singaporean. Singapore is a small country. She is only a small dot on the world map.

Although the country is small, we have many attractive places to visit and interesting culture to learn. For eating places, we have hawker centres, coffee shops, fast food centres and international restaurants. As a shopping paradise, we have our famous Orchard Road and many neighbourhood shopping malls. We also have the annual Great Singapore Sale to attract more shoppers to spend. There are also the all time favourite tourist attractions such as the Merlion Park, Sentosa, Zoo, Bird Park, Singapore flyers, F1 Night Racing and the soon opening integrated Resorts. Evidence of our diverse culture of our Chinese, Malay and Indian friends can be found in our special neighbourhoods, such as Chinatown, Geylang and Serangoon.

Singapore has her own style of living. Besides condos and terrace houses, we have our unique HDB flats. They are built in blocks and are neatly arranged in each town. Most of us stay in flats. We like to live here because the schools and shopping malls are just nearby.

I love Singapore. There are no earthquakes and floods. Everyone works hard to have a better living. This country makes me always feel safe and comfortable wherever I go. I love you, Singapore.

Other Entries: Tay Chao Yuan

“SINGAPORE THROUGH MY EYES”

Singapore is a well-known country for many reasons. Some might say it is winning the bid to host the Youth Olympic Games, some might say is the famous Merlion, while others might even say it is our unique Singlish. But to me, it will be Chinatown, the MRT and the hawker centers.

Chinatown can also be found in many countries like USA and Russia, but our Chinatown is unique. This is not only because it has preserved buildings and shophouses, but also because for the other countries, Chinatown town is known as “唐人街” in Chinese while for Singapore, it is known as “牛车水” which means ‘Ox Cart Water’. It is also unique as it is where our Chinese ancestors used to live and it is the land that is actually set aside for the Chinese by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, founder of modern Singapore. Chinatown has many stores selling one of my favourite Chinese food, Bak Kua. During Chinese New Year, it will be very crowded with many people and decorated with Chinese couplets and other Chinese decorations.

Another thing that makes Singapore unique is the hawker centers which can be found almost everywhere in Singapore, from shopping districts like Bugis to heartlands like Ang Mo Kio. It is hardly available in other countries like Australia. In the hawker centers, they have a wide variety of food ranging from Roti Prata, the Indian cuisine to Chicken Cullet, the Western cuisine. Not only are the foods sold at reasonably cheap prices, the foods are also finger licking good! In Singapore’s society today, the parents in many families are working. They do not have the time to prepare the meals or are too tired to do so after their work. Hence, most of the families in Singapore have their dinner at the hawker centers. Most working adults also have their lunch at the hawker centers. The Amoy Street Food Centre, which is situated near many offices in the Central Business District, never fails to be crowded during the lunch hours.

Another thing that is unique about Singapore is the famous Mass Rapid Transit (MRT). It allows us to travel around Singapore easily and quickly. It was officially opened on 12 March 1988 by Mr Lee Kuan Yew, who was then the Prime Minister of Singapore. The first line to be opened was the North-South Line which starts from Jurong East to Marina Bay, passing through the Central Business District (CBD). It is a milestone for Singapore because before that, the most common form of public transport is buses. If you were to travel from Punggol to Woodlands by bus, it will take hours. With the MRT, you can reach Woodlands in an hour.

Singapore may be only a small dot in the world map, but to me, it is more unique than the bigger countries on the map.

Other Entries: Tan De Zhu Stanic

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SINGAPORE!”

During my family’s outing to Sentosa last year, I came to know more about Singapore, when we visited the “Images of Singapore”. It showed how Singapore transformed from a small fishing village to a modern city.
Sentosa is one of our many famous tourist attractions. There are many other places of interest like Singapore Zoological Gardens, Jurong Bird Park, Botanic Gardens and Merlion Park. Recently, I had an enjoyable ride on our new Singapore Flyer, where I got the most beautiful view of Singapore. Last September, Singapore was proud to host our first Formula 1 night race which attracted many more tourists.
Our visitors can have a wonderful time shopping in the many shopping malls along Orchard Road. In our neighbourhoods, there are also many new shopping malls with attractive shopping themes and various food restaurants. One of my favourite food is the Hainanese Chicken Rice which is also one of our famous local cuisine. In Singapore, we get to have many choices of delicious local food cuisines because we have different races living together. We also have easy access to a great variety of cuisines from many other countries.
Every year, I like to celebrate our National Day with my family and my grandparents. We enjoyed watching the National Day Parade with the exciting parachute jumps, Fighter Jets’ air display, the marching past and many interesting multi-cultural shows. Last year, I celebrated it differently. It was the first time I celebrated National Day in school. I had a wonderful time! My joy was captured in a photograph and posted in our school’s blog.
I am happy to live in an eco-friendly environment with many friends from the different ethnic groups in my housing estate. I am proud to be a Singapore Citizen. I wish her “Happy Birthday” and all the best for the future.
“Majulah Singapura! Majulah Singapura!”

Other Entries: Tiara Deanna Binte Roslee

“SINGAPORE THROUGH MY EYES”

I love Singapore. It has very tall and nice buildings. The houses are comfortable to live in. I live in a 5-room HDB house. My Papa painted the walls with my favourite colour – purple!
When I look out of the window, I can always see the sunny blue sky. It is beautiful and my Mama says that it makes her feel cheerful. Usually, I like to go down and play Frisbee with my big brother Danial. I always win against him!
Singapore has low crime rate and it is because the men in blue and green will patrol around everyday. The cameras in the lift and speed traps help to catch people who break the law. When I grow up I want to be a policewoman. Robbers - Beware!
I like this part the best. Singapore has many food centre and restaurants. This is because Singaporeans love to eat. My favourite food is roti prata with egg and teh tarik. Yummy!
In my school, I have many friends. Some of them are Chinese while others are Malay and Indians. We play together at the school Parade Square and basketball court. We also go to the library to read and borrow books together. I love my friends and I love Singapore.

Other Entries: Hipol Roebhic Daeus Mogote

YOUR SINGAPORE THROUGH MY EYES

I am a Filipino boy living in Singapore. It may be a tiny red dot on the map, but it is home to people of different races, religions and languages. I feel welcomed by my peers here. The words ‘racial harmony’ ring true and sincere. I do not feel discriminated or looked down upon for belonging to a different race.

Singapore is truly the ‘Paris of Asia’. There are many tourist attractions, shopping malls, different types of entertainment and, of course, delicious food here. Orchard Road is the place to go for the fashionista. For those on a budget, they can visit the ‘pasar malam’. Items sold at the ‘pasar malam’ are much cheaper and affordable, like our ‘tiangge’ in the Philippines.

One thing I admire in this country is the courtesy of the people. Adults are addressed as ‘aunties’ and ‘uncles’ by almost everybody, not just their nephews or nieces! It is a gesture that I’ve never seen in my own country.

Singapore is very peaceful and clean. The longer I stay here, the more I want to remain here. Singapore is my home now.

Thursday, August 13, 2009

North Zone NE Carnival 2009


This year, the NZ National Education Carnival Committee will be organising the NZ NE Carnival with the theme," REmembering the Past, LIving the Present, Crafting the Future (RELIC)" – NE Journey through Stories with values reinforced via games.

The objectives are to:
· share experiences that enable our young to understand what it means to be Singaporeans
· provide participants with insights and perspectives about our roots by passing on accumulated wisdom, beliefs and values
· initiate reflective learning that engages hearts and minds
· develop the leadership qualities of story tellers through service learning


NZ NE Carnival 2009 was held at North Spring Primary School on Tuesday 12 August 2009. 7 pupils from Class 5A attended the carnival with Mdm Angela Wee.

North Zone NE Carnival 2009: NE through Story Telling



Shawn Goh & Leona Wu Shun Ning of Class 4A participated in the Storytellers’ Toolbox Workshop and Grooming Workshop on 26 May, 28 May, 5 August & 8 August.
The training sessions focus on the following:
§ Why tell stories?
§ Storytelling games and activities.
§ How to find stories that are suitable for telling.
§ Techniques for learning story structure.
§ Techniques for imagining a story through different sensory modes.
§ Performance tips & Storytelling practice.

Upon the completion of training, these trained story tellers will tell stories to Primary School participants at the NZ NE Carnival. Whilst telling the stories to their peers, the story tellers will be able to develop communicative and leadership qualities. They learn to respond humbly / graciously to questions raised by their listeners and this hone the servant leadership skills.



Shawn was selected as one of the storytellers for Group B for the NZ NE Carnival. He had fun at the workshops and I hope that the experience had been an enriching one for him too, allowing him to learn more about himself -his own strengths & weaknesses - to become an even better story teller.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Assembly Program "Tree Neighbours"



On Wednesday 12 August 2009, Paper Monkey gave a wonderful and engaging performance. Pupils learnt the importance of getting along with our neighbours and helping one another.

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Featuring our P5 pupils for NE Show by mediacorp OKTO



On the 18th July 2009, mediacorp OKTO interviewed 2 of our Primary 5 pupils about their personalised NE Tshirt. The interview was featured on mediacorp OKTO. Did you manage to catch the interview on television?
I would like to thank Mr Ryan Koh for helping to coordinate; as well as Mr Jahangeer and Miss Aida for helping with the Tshirt painting.

National Day @ EDP 2009


Come Together... Reaching Up, Reaching Out

On Friday 7th August 2009, we commemorated Singapore's 44th birthday. This year, the March-in ceremony of our national flag was carried out by our Brownies, under the guidance of Mdm Fauziah & Mr Ramandan.

In the hall, Mdm Vijayashree led her pupils and the school in the Recollections. Mr Chia read the National Message to the school. Mrs Kris Ong and our new citizens led the school in our national pledge.

This year, our Drama Club put up a fantastic performance, telling us about the Singapore Story. Tokens of participation were given to the 12 pupils who participated in the YSTTE literary competition by our principal Mr Chia. Mr Bhim, our vice principal, gave out the tokens to the 3 selected entries for the NE Show Tshirt Design and our very own " Muscle Man of Endeavour Primary". Do you know who he is?



Pupils and staff, who were also having their birthdays in August, came togather to cut a cake while the whole school sang a birthday song for Singapore. Miss Sharifah, together with her 3A pupils and choir members led the school in singing the community songs.


Happy Birthday, Singapore!!!

Thank you, pupils and fellow colleagues, for coming together to make this occasion a memorable one.