Friday, October 29, 2004

2005 - A Brand New West Spring, S1 Orientation & More !!


Come January 2005, a whole new cohort of fresh Secondary 1 students will be fully immersed in the rich West Spring experience. They will be the first Secondary 1 batch who will be joining us at the spanking new West Spring Secondary School at Bukit Panjang just 65 days away from the time of this blog!

The new 6 (Yes Six!!...) storey high campus will boast of

  • a lecture theatre - the only government secondary school in Singapore equipped with one
  • 3 high-tech multimedia laboratories with video production facilities
  • a cool indoor rifle range
  • a dance & aerobics room with floor to ceiling mirrors
  • a gym for afternoon work outs
  • a rooftop tennis court
  • a very voluminous school hall to ace exam papers in plus
  • a host of exciting new features equipped with state-of-the-art facilities...
    (+ rumours of a rock-climbing wall?)

    To say that these are very exciting times for West Spring Secondary School would be the understatement of the year.

    So come now - join us today!

    Special Note:
    Don't worry S4s (class of 2004) - you're a very special alumni - you're always welcomed back home with us...

Wednesday, October 27, 2004

West Spring Blog No.1 - We're Online!

We have a brand new website to call our own. A prelude to our new school in 2005. Of course, the website will continue to undergo through various upgrades. Forums and tagboards and stuff but lets start here - the West Spring Blogs.

The exams are over now and the holidays are just round the corner? Before you go running around into the holidays and enjoy yourself silly (which you well deserve), take a step back to reflect about what’s happened this year. Reflections are a significant part of our routines to ensure we are performing at our highest performance levels.
Be true to yourself.

Ask yourself these questions

  • What you have done right?
  • What you’ve done wrong?And should not be repeated again.
  • What could have been done better?
  • What are the lessons learnt?
  • What effective systems or routines you’d use next year to make sure 2005’s gonna be a great year for you?

Congratulations
For those of you who have done well, let me congratulate you for all the hard work you have put in this year. All your focused work, the sheer effort to pull through the assignments to meet datelines, the dedication to those meticulous pieces of assignments which received high grades, the art of being organized, concentrating in class, the inner belief that you are capable and strong, all the punctual submissions – all that and more to get that solid grade at the end of the year. It was well worth it wasn’t it ?!! Congratulations once more. You earned it. And no one can take that away from you.

If you had done mediocre (average) or not done too well, the time for serious reflection is here & now. Don’t bother asking yourself “Why have I not done well?” Stop redefining the problem!! Coz once you set the question in your mind, the brain automatically tells you 1001 reasons why you have not done well. And stop blaming everyone else.

Rather concentrate on the solutions.

  • What can I do better to improve my grades?
  • Who can I ask and seek help from?
  • What are my goals for my subjects next year?
  • What do I need to relearn and consolidate in order to make sure my mistakes are not repeated?
  • How do I ensure my datelines met and on time?What are effective study strategies?
  • Who can I role model after so I can achieve the same grade as him/her or better?
  • How can I make learning fun for myself?
  • How do I monitor my academic progress?
  • How to ensure that my academic life, social lilfe, spiritual life is well balanced?


A pointer to everyone:
The 60 minutes you spend concentrating in class, putting in 100% effort, clarifying all your doubts is equivalent to 3 hrs at home trying to figure out the formulas and reading extra with 300% effort. A sheer waste of time and energy.

So rethink again about your study strategies. Be positive about your approach. I’d like to share with you the Adidas website which I found extremely fascinating and uplifting. The layout is great but more importantly, the stories of athletes who are the world’s best in what they do and their indomitable spirit to overcome the impossible through sheer believe and effort. Impossible is Nothing.

Let 2005 be a great year for all of us. The preparation starts now. We are a great school. Coz we believe.

MR RUDIE ASMARA
WestSpring BlogMaster

Tuesday, October 26, 2004

A Dedication to our S4s for the Coming Os

I Hope You Dance
Lee Ann Womack

I hope you never lose your sense of wonder
You get your fill to eat
But always keep that hunger
May you never take one single breath for granted
God forbid love ever leave you empty handed
I hope you still feel small
When you stand by the ocean
Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens
Promise me you'll give faith a fighting chance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance
I hope you dance

I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance
Never settle for the path of least resistance
Living might mean taking chances
But they're worth taking
Lovin' might be a mistake
But it's worth making
Don't let some hell bent heart
Leave you bitter
When you come close to selling out
Reconsider
Give the heavens above
More than just a passing glance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance
(Time is a real and constant motion always)
I hope you dance
(Rolling us along)
I hope you dance
(Tell me who)
I hope you dance
(Wants to look back on their youth and wonder)
(Where those years have gone)

I hope you still feel small
When you stand by the ocean
Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens
Promise me you'll give faith a fighting chance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
Dance
I hope you dance
I hope you dance
(Time is a real and constant motion always)
I hope you dance
(Rolling us along)
I hope you dance
(Tell me who)
(Wants to look back on their youth and wonder)
I hope you dance
(Where those years have gone)

(Tell me who)
I hope you dance
(Wants to look back on their youth and wonder)
(Where those years have gone)

The Big-Os Preparations @ WSSS


Am I seeing doubles? All smiles through rain and shine. A kodak moment to remember. Posted by Hello

The Singapore Girl - A Great Way to fly.
Wait a minute.
The West Spring Girls - Great friends to study with.

Teaching the finer points in organic chemistry, Mr Khoo pointed out some sure questions in O-papers. No problems. Posted by Hello

Scumpee was all smiles when he got his L1R5 results... Good work Scrumpee!! Posted by Hello

A dynamic and vibrant class. Unrelenting in the pursuit of academic excellence. Posted by Hello

Giving his full concentration and effort, BingQin 4B solved his Math problems in a matter of minutes. Posted by Hello

Studying in all these whiteness can be blinding Posted by Hello

Great friends Raj & Daniel from early days in West Spring have shared notes, traded escapades, covered for each other among other things now confidently prepare for the Big-Os. Posted by Hello