Tuesday, April 20, 2010
P.E.E.L Example - Phones
Phones are convenient to many people. Phones allow us to contact others instantly without having to wait for weeks to receive a letter. Phones have many designs and models. We have the mobile phones, cordless phones or wired phones. Phones are a great way to communicate with others.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Journal 3 - Research on the White Rhinoes.
Title of Article :
Huge Animals with a Touching History
White Rhino Conservation
Url of Article : http://www.southafrica.net/sat/content/en/us/full-article?oid=8450&sn=Detail&pid=7014
Huge Animals with a Touching History
White Rhino Conservation
White rhino conservation seems entirely superfluous – this animal looks quite indestructible. But its population plummeted to no more than a few hundred during the 1960s. That’s when a group of South Africans, including legendary conservationist Dr Ian Player, turned everything around.
White rhino conservation - hope for the species.
DID YOU KNOW?
The white rhino is also called the 'square-lipped rhinoceros' because of its square upper lip, which it uses for grazing.
A generally peaceful beast, the white rhino has something of a prehistoric, Jurassic Park look to it. Its springy gait belies its tank-like weight - an average of two tons. In fact, this is the second largest animal on land, and like most charismatic mega fauna, is found only in Africa.
At first glance, white rhino conservation seems entirely superfluous - this animal looks quite indestructible. But its population plummeted to no more than a few hundred during the 1960s.
The reason for its decline was its horn, which is made of keratin - compacted hair. Rhinos were poached to obtain the horn, used for centuries as a fever-reducing ingredient and as an aphrodisiac in traditional Chinese medicine. In the Middle East it also in demand for prestigious dagger handles.
In South Africa rhino conservation has taken dramatic turns. Great battles have been fought to save the animal - the most famous by Dr Ian Player and a handful of men working to relocate white rhinos from the Umfolozi Game Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal (a sanctuary for most of the population) to other parts of the world between 1958 and 1964.
Until then, no one knew how to transport rhinos. Dr Player asked a local doctor how much morphine it would take to drug a large animal like a hippo or rhino, and the medico snapped back irritably: ‘A bucketful man, a bucketful.
White rhino conservation received a tremendous boost in the early 1990s when these behemoths were allowed to be privately owned by South African game farm owners.
White rhino in South Africa today number well over 10 000 and the species, once critically endangered, is now only on the near-threatened list.
Reflections
What I have learnt.
White rhino conservations in south africa has been improving and but at start people thought rhinos were indestructible so there was no need to conserve them. People realised the rhinos were becoming extinct and decided to save them. After the much effort, the rhinos are becoming safer.
The reason for its decline was its horn, which is made of compacted hair. Rhinos were poached to obtain the horn, used for centuries as a fever-reducing ingredient and as an aphrodisiac in traditional Chinese medicine.
Huge Animals with a Touching History
White Rhino Conservation
Url of Article : http://www.southafrica.net/sat/content/en/us/full-article?oid=8450&sn=Detail&pid=7014
Huge Animals with a Touching History
White Rhino Conservation
White rhino conservation seems entirely superfluous – this animal looks quite indestructible. But its population plummeted to no more than a few hundred during the 1960s. That’s when a group of South Africans, including legendary conservationist Dr Ian Player, turned everything around.
White rhino conservation - hope for the species.
DID YOU KNOW?
The white rhino is also called the 'square-lipped rhinoceros' because of its square upper lip, which it uses for grazing.
A generally peaceful beast, the white rhino has something of a prehistoric, Jurassic Park look to it. Its springy gait belies its tank-like weight - an average of two tons. In fact, this is the second largest animal on land, and like most charismatic mega fauna, is found only in Africa.
At first glance, white rhino conservation seems entirely superfluous - this animal looks quite indestructible. But its population plummeted to no more than a few hundred during the 1960s.
The reason for its decline was its horn, which is made of keratin - compacted hair. Rhinos were poached to obtain the horn, used for centuries as a fever-reducing ingredient and as an aphrodisiac in traditional Chinese medicine. In the Middle East it also in demand for prestigious dagger handles.
In South Africa rhino conservation has taken dramatic turns. Great battles have been fought to save the animal - the most famous by Dr Ian Player and a handful of men working to relocate white rhinos from the Umfolozi Game Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal (a sanctuary for most of the population) to other parts of the world between 1958 and 1964.
Until then, no one knew how to transport rhinos. Dr Player asked a local doctor how much morphine it would take to drug a large animal like a hippo or rhino, and the medico snapped back irritably: ‘A bucketful man, a bucketful.
White rhino conservation received a tremendous boost in the early 1990s when these behemoths were allowed to be privately owned by South African game farm owners.
White rhino in South Africa today number well over 10 000 and the species, once critically endangered, is now only on the near-threatened list.
Reflections
What I have learnt.
White rhino conservations in south africa has been improving and but at start people thought rhinos were indestructible so there was no need to conserve them. People realised the rhinos were becoming extinct and decided to save them. After the much effort, the rhinos are becoming safer.
The reason for its decline was its horn, which is made of compacted hair. Rhinos were poached to obtain the horn, used for centuries as a fever-reducing ingredient and as an aphrodisiac in traditional Chinese medicine.
Journal 2 - Research on the White Rhinoes.
Title of article : White rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum)
Url of article : http://www.arkive.org/white-rhinoceros/ceratotherium-simum/info.html
Southern white rhinoceros
Facts
Also known as: square-lipped rhinoceros, Northern White Rhinoceros, White rhino
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Class Mammalia
Order Perissodactyla
Family Rhinocerotidae
Genus Ceratotherium (1)
Size Male head-and-body length: 3.7 – 4 m (2)
Female head-and-body length: 3.4 – 3.65 m (2)
Tail length: 70 cm (2)
Male shoulder height: 1.7 – 1.86 m (2)
Female shoulder height: 1.6 – 1.77 m (2)
Male weight: 2.3 tonnes (2)
Female weight: 1.7 tonnes (2)
Status
Classified as Near Threatened (NT) on the IUCN Red List (1). Two subspecies of the white rhinoceros are recognised: northern (C. s. cottoni), and southern (C. s. simum). The northern white rhinoceros is classified as Critically Endangered (CR) on the IUCN Red List and listed on Appendix I of CITES; the southern white rhinoceros is classified as Near Threatened (NT) on the IUCN Red List and listed on Appendix I of CITES, except in South Africa and Swaziland, where it is listed on Appendix II (1) (3).
Description
Amongst the most charismatic and recognisable of Africa’s mega-fauna (4), the white rhinoceros is the largest of the five rhinoceros species and one of the world’s biggest land animals, second only to the African and Asian elephant in size (5) (6). Unlike its common name suggests, this enormous, virtually hairless mammal is not in fact white, but slate-grey to yellowish-brown in colour (5) (7). The ‘white’ likely comes from a mistranslation of the Afrikaner word for ‘wide’, referring to the animal’s wide mouth (5). Indeed, this species is often called the ‘square-lipped rhinoceros’ because of its broad, square, rather than pointed, flexible upper lip, differentiating it from the black rhino (Diceros bicornis). The white rhinoceros can also be distinguished from its African cousin by its longer skull, less sharply defined forehead and more pronounced shoulder hump (7). Like the black rhinoceros and Sumatran rhinoceros, this species has two horns, the front being longer and averaging 60 cm in length, but occasionally reaching up to a enormous 1.5 m (5) (7).
Range
Two geographically separated subspecies of white rhinoceros are recognised, the northern and the southern (1). Once ranging in large numbers throughout north-central Africa south of the Sahara (8), the northern subspecies is now amongst the rarest of all rhinos, occurring only in the Garamba National Park, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) (1), where as few as four animals were counted during intensive surveys in 2006 (9). Meanwhile, the southern subspecies is the most numerous of all the world’s rhinos, with its stronghold in South Africa (93%) (10). Much smaller populations exist following reintroductions within the subspecies’ former range in Botswana, Namibia, Swaziland and Zimbabwe and introduced outside their historical range in Zambia, Uganda and Kenya (1) (5) (11).
Reflections
What I have learnt.
I have learnt that white rhinos are also known by different names. The white rhinos are the largest species of rhinos and it is not actually white in colour. Most of the rhinos left are found in South Africa. Smaller populations are found in different areas such as Kenya and Uganda.
The white rhinos are left with little land to roam and are starting to become extinct due to the poaching of them. The white rhinos have many distinctive features about them as stated above and can be easily recognised.
Url of article : http://www.arkive.org/white-rhinoceros/ceratotherium-simum/info.html
Southern white rhinoceros
Facts
Also known as: square-lipped rhinoceros, Northern White Rhinoceros, White rhino
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Class Mammalia
Order Perissodactyla
Family Rhinocerotidae
Genus Ceratotherium (1)
Size Male head-and-body length: 3.7 – 4 m (2)
Female head-and-body length: 3.4 – 3.65 m (2)
Tail length: 70 cm (2)
Male shoulder height: 1.7 – 1.86 m (2)
Female shoulder height: 1.6 – 1.77 m (2)
Male weight: 2.3 tonnes (2)
Female weight: 1.7 tonnes (2)
Status
Classified as Near Threatened (NT) on the IUCN Red List (1). Two subspecies of the white rhinoceros are recognised: northern (C. s. cottoni), and southern (C. s. simum). The northern white rhinoceros is classified as Critically Endangered (CR) on the IUCN Red List and listed on Appendix I of CITES; the southern white rhinoceros is classified as Near Threatened (NT) on the IUCN Red List and listed on Appendix I of CITES, except in South Africa and Swaziland, where it is listed on Appendix II (1) (3).
Description
Amongst the most charismatic and recognisable of Africa’s mega-fauna (4), the white rhinoceros is the largest of the five rhinoceros species and one of the world’s biggest land animals, second only to the African and Asian elephant in size (5) (6). Unlike its common name suggests, this enormous, virtually hairless mammal is not in fact white, but slate-grey to yellowish-brown in colour (5) (7). The ‘white’ likely comes from a mistranslation of the Afrikaner word for ‘wide’, referring to the animal’s wide mouth (5). Indeed, this species is often called the ‘square-lipped rhinoceros’ because of its broad, square, rather than pointed, flexible upper lip, differentiating it from the black rhino (Diceros bicornis). The white rhinoceros can also be distinguished from its African cousin by its longer skull, less sharply defined forehead and more pronounced shoulder hump (7). Like the black rhinoceros and Sumatran rhinoceros, this species has two horns, the front being longer and averaging 60 cm in length, but occasionally reaching up to a enormous 1.5 m (5) (7).
Range
Two geographically separated subspecies of white rhinoceros are recognised, the northern and the southern (1). Once ranging in large numbers throughout north-central Africa south of the Sahara (8), the northern subspecies is now amongst the rarest of all rhinos, occurring only in the Garamba National Park, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) (1), where as few as four animals were counted during intensive surveys in 2006 (9). Meanwhile, the southern subspecies is the most numerous of all the world’s rhinos, with its stronghold in South Africa (93%) (10). Much smaller populations exist following reintroductions within the subspecies’ former range in Botswana, Namibia, Swaziland and Zimbabwe and introduced outside their historical range in Zambia, Uganda and Kenya (1) (5) (11).
Reflections
What I have learnt.
I have learnt that white rhinos are also known by different names. The white rhinos are the largest species of rhinos and it is not actually white in colour. Most of the rhinos left are found in South Africa. Smaller populations are found in different areas such as Kenya and Uganda.
The white rhinos are left with little land to roam and are starting to become extinct due to the poaching of them. The white rhinos have many distinctive features about them as stated above and can be easily recognised.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Journal 1 - Research on the White Rhinoes.
Title of article : White Rhinoceros
Url of article : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Rhinoceros
1. What is the article about?
The White Rhinoceros or Square-lipped rhinoceros is one of the five species of rhinoceros that still exist and is one of the few megafaunal species left. It has a wide mouth used for grazing and is the most social of all rhino species. The White Rhino is the most common of all rhinos and consists of two subspecies: the Southern White Rhino, with an estimated 17,480 wild-living animals at the end of 2007, and the much rarer Northern White Rhino. The northern subspecies may have 7 remaining worldwide, all captive 1 male 6 female which are out breeding age.
A popular theory of the origins of the name White Rhinoceros is a mistranslation from Dutch to English. The English word "white" in English is said to have been derived by mistranslation of the Dutch word "wijd", which means "wide" in English. The word "wide" refers to the width of the Rhinoceros mouth. So early English-speaking settlers in South Africa misinterpreted the "wijd" for "white" and the rhino with the wide mouth ended up being called the White Rhino and the other one, with the narrow pointed mouth, was called the Black Rhinoceros.
2. What have I learnt?
I have learnt that not many white rhinos are still prowling the earth. If we do not start to take care of them, the white rhinos are going to go extinct and we will never be able to see them again. The northern subspecies of white rhinos are left with a small number of 7 and all of them are not able to breed, which means to say that if all 7 die, the subspecies of rhinos will be extinct.
White Rhinos get their names from mistranslation from Dutch to English from the word "wide" in Dutch. The word wide is used to describe the width of the rhinos mouth. Wide mouthed rhinos were called white rhinos while narrowed mouth rhinos were called black rhinos.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Total Defence Day
Total Defences Day, the day that reminds everyone about the past of Singapore and how we need to defend ourselves in our times of need. The day started with a talk but during the talk, there was a fire breakout in the science lab. The students and staff all hurried and assembled in the field. After we assembled in the field, we were told it was just a drill. We all laughed as we already knew it.
The next exercise was learning about the different defenses. By the time the whole thing ended, we were all very tired but we still had a concert ahead. So the day was enjoyable yet tiring.
The lessons planned had made the day very organised yet unorganised at the same time. This is due to the fact that the roaming around the school to different booths to learn about the different defences were was very messy.
Classes were ether ahead of schedule of behind it. The lessons were fun but if it was better organised it would have been a better success. The overall results were fun yet messy and a little bit boring on the side.
The next exercise was learning about the different defenses. By the time the whole thing ended, we were all very tired but we still had a concert ahead. So the day was enjoyable yet tiring.
The lessons planned had made the day very organised yet unorganised at the same time. This is due to the fact that the roaming around the school to different booths to learn about the different defences were was very messy.
Classes were ether ahead of schedule of behind it. The lessons were fun but if it was better organised it would have been a better success. The overall results were fun yet messy and a little bit boring on the side.
Chinese New Year/Hari Raya/Deepavali Celebration
The concert was very interesting. The performers all put on a great performance, I can tell that they put in a lot of effort into making the concert a success.
The students were all impressed by the performance especially the lion dance. Overall the concert was great and we were all having fun. The performers really did put a lot of effort into the concert which allowed it to be a success. If the performances were put on my halve-hearted pupils it would not have been a huge as a success.
The perfermances really wowed many and have shown what chong boon students are capable off. The celebration really boosted the schools moral during the holidays. The celebration was a great way of hyping the students for the holidays and the Chinese pupils a great Chinese New Year.
The event has proved that chong boon is a school that takes pride in its celebrations.
The students were all impressed by the performance especially the lion dance. Overall the concert was great and we were all having fun. The performers really did put a lot of effort into the concert which allowed it to be a success. If the performances were put on my halve-hearted pupils it would not have been a huge as a success.
The perfermances really wowed many and have shown what chong boon students are capable off. The celebration really boosted the schools moral during the holidays. The celebration was a great way of hyping the students for the holidays and the Chinese pupils a great Chinese New Year.
The event has proved that chong boon is a school that takes pride in its celebrations.
Growth Day @ Sentosa Beach
Growth day was tiring as heck but very fun. Since I had councilor duties I only played a few games at the stalls. During my duty, I had to guide classes in the right direction and I was abused by some classes that went by.
The games were fun but hard to win, I ended up redeeming the prize that required the least stamps in the short period of my free time. The students from ITE had thought me a valuable lesson and it was a very fun day.
The ITE students showed great enthusiasm and were well prepared to educate others in this event. They were all keen to help out each other and to provide a fun learning experience for others to take part in.
The event was a big success as there were many happy faces and all the participants were carrying smiles on their faces.
The event has showed what the ITE students are capable off and others have learned that ITE is not a lousy place to learn. Many people must have learnt that ITE does not mean " its the end " and it will be a great learning experience if we went.
The games were fun but hard to win, I ended up redeeming the prize that required the least stamps in the short period of my free time. The students from ITE had thought me a valuable lesson and it was a very fun day.
The ITE students showed great enthusiasm and were well prepared to educate others in this event. They were all keen to help out each other and to provide a fun learning experience for others to take part in.
The event was a big success as there were many happy faces and all the participants were carrying smiles on their faces.
The event has showed what the ITE students are capable off and others have learned that ITE is not a lousy place to learn. Many people must have learnt that ITE does not mean " its the end " and it will be a great learning experience if we went.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Personal Recount - Shameful thing you did,
It was a regular day in school with nothing special happening, Jim and his friends were hanging out near the canteen beside the washroom. Jim was a teacher’s pet, he did everything the teacher told him to, he would not forget to do any of his homework and he always listened to them. However, that day, Jim was feeling low and was not himself. He forgot to bring his homework and was to stay back after school.
Jim was not the only one who had to stay back, one of his friends had to stay back too. And that friend was me. I was reluctant to go but Jim dragged me along. He said it was compulsory to go, I tried to sneak in away into the washroom to hide but Jim found me. He pushed me out of the cubicle I was hiding in, but accidentally, the door slammed shut right after I was pushed out and Jim was stuck in the cubicle.
I tried to get the door open but it was futile, the door would not budge. I asked some of my friends to help, but by the time I went to look for help, everyone had already gone home. I finally managed to get Jim out but we were late for out meeting with our teacher. We hurried over to our teacher’s room and found her punishing the other student as we were late.
We stood and the door, dumbfounded. I bit my lower lip and forced myself to go in ahead of Jim. I stood in front of our teacher and finally blurted out, “ Sorry we were late, Jim was stuck in a washroom cubicle and the door would not open…” The teacher did not seem to believe our story and accused us of using excuses. I shook my head in denial.
After half an hour of reasoning with the teacher, she finally believed our story, I was so happy the moment I saw the time and realized we had wasted enough time reasoning that the punishment of going to be over soon. However, my happiness started to seep away when the teacher read out a list of names that had to stay back the next day for another day of punishment. And as predicted, Jim and my name were called. That was the last time I used the washroom cubicle again.
Jim was not the only one who had to stay back, one of his friends had to stay back too. And that friend was me. I was reluctant to go but Jim dragged me along. He said it was compulsory to go, I tried to sneak in away into the washroom to hide but Jim found me. He pushed me out of the cubicle I was hiding in, but accidentally, the door slammed shut right after I was pushed out and Jim was stuck in the cubicle.
I tried to get the door open but it was futile, the door would not budge. I asked some of my friends to help, but by the time I went to look for help, everyone had already gone home. I finally managed to get Jim out but we were late for out meeting with our teacher. We hurried over to our teacher’s room and found her punishing the other student as we were late.
We stood and the door, dumbfounded. I bit my lower lip and forced myself to go in ahead of Jim. I stood in front of our teacher and finally blurted out, “ Sorry we were late, Jim was stuck in a washroom cubicle and the door would not open…” The teacher did not seem to believe our story and accused us of using excuses. I shook my head in denial.
After half an hour of reasoning with the teacher, she finally believed our story, I was so happy the moment I saw the time and realized we had wasted enough time reasoning that the punishment of going to be over soon. However, my happiness started to seep away when the teacher read out a list of names that had to stay back the next day for another day of punishment. And as predicted, Jim and my name were called. That was the last time I used the washroom cubicle again.
1. Personal Aspirations & Target Setting for 2010
My targets for 2010 is to ACE everything and pass Chinese. This is because I get As and Bs on all subjects except Chinese so this year I want to make a difference.
My targets are not really that high just that I do not believe in setting high targets and crying when I do not get them as it is a waste of time. Targets are meant to boost your moral but if you set too high expectations for yourself, you end up losing your moral instead.
The only problem pulling me back is that my Chinese Language is very weak, therefore my grades get pulled down just like my PSLE results. Chinese is very hard for me to understand, my parent say its due to the lack in foundation that I have.
This is due to my Chinese teachers in kindergarten and primary school did not teach me very well.
I hope I will be able to buck up and pull back my Chinese to win back my grades.
My targets are not really that high just that I do not believe in setting high targets and crying when I do not get them as it is a waste of time. Targets are meant to boost your moral but if you set too high expectations for yourself, you end up losing your moral instead.
The only problem pulling me back is that my Chinese Language is very weak, therefore my grades get pulled down just like my PSLE results. Chinese is very hard for me to understand, my parent say its due to the lack in foundation that I have.
This is due to my Chinese teachers in kindergarten and primary school did not teach me very well.
I hope I will be able to buck up and pull back my Chinese to win back my grades.
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