YOU CAN CONTRIBUTE TO ALL ENGLISH CORNERS

Attention all English teachers and pupils.

We hope all English Corners in our school will be filled up as soon
as possible. Teachers as well as pupils can contribute to this
creative corners by bringing interesting pictures based on the
lessons in school, newspaper cuttings, poems, short stories and
language games.

We need articles, riddles, jokes, comic strips, crossword puzzles
and grammar notes. Pupils can display their own creative work such
as compositions, written work, journals, mind-maps etc. Hope for
greater cooperation from all. Thank you.

Our First English Panel Meeting Of The Year 2010

7 January, 2010 - 7 English teachers gathered for about an hour in the air-conditioned CiTAKU Lab to discuss important matters and plan activities for the year. These energetic and dedicated teachers showed keen interests in exploring new areas and work together hand in hand to achieve success. These are the wonderful and multi-talented teachers too so with this new breed we really hope to add essence to the teaching and learning of English in the school.

Pupils should look forward to a lively year filled with fun activities to compliment the formal classroom teaching. The English Campaign will be carried out the whole year but will be more focussed from April to May this year. English competitions will provide opportunities for all to participate and enjoy learning English the fun way.

The ICTL lessons will go on full swing and our only hope is the computers in our old computer lab will not let us down. Teachers will undergo in-house training programmes to improve on ICT skills. Managing this panel blog is one on their tasks. The teachers are encouraged to start their own educational blog so that they can interact with their own pupils. Today, this new English Blog is launched officially and the teachers have a hand-on experience to explore it excitedly.

Our "Jejak Gemilang" or "Trial of Glory" programmes for both Level 1 and 2 will be carried out and monitored closely. For Level I,it is focussed on vocabulary and grammar. For Level 2 , we stress on writing skills. By the end of the year, we hope to see a mark improvement in pupils' scores in English. During the holidays, a large sum of money was spent to buy 2 sets of Model Essay books and a lot of Teacher's Reference books. Pn Hjh NorHaizan's Yellow Book will not be left out as an important reference for teachers as well as the pupils here.

The panel also has planned to make an educational tour and we hope to make a visit to the Penang British Council and an established English lab either in a cluster school or teaching institute. Well, we hope everything planned will sail on smoothly.

Dedicated To All Teachers

Being the first day at school this year we meet the smiling faces of the students. For some it will be the toothless little ones, cry baby faces and sleepy heads too. Some will even say, " Oh no, this little brat again. He was a devil last year." Then there are those kids who are ever ready to attract your attention. They finish their work so fast and start creating some headache for us.

My , my whoever would love to have a taste of a teacher's life could come and step into our shoes for a day. We, teachers meet with all kinds of pupils or students who come in all shapes, sizes and characters . I've always wanted to be a teacher and here I am still without any regrets.

Teachers in today's world need words of encouragement and inspiration to drive them to perform even better than before. With lots of documentation to be done and numerous files to keep and books to mark, they are drowned in their work. No wonder some are having hyper tension and some have even gone cuckoo .

English teachers, wake up! Haven't you heard we've got more to do than the others? More time will be allocated to English and mind you...you've got to jump about the classrooms ... a little of acting, singing, cracking jokes, playing games will indeed keep you slim. I'll enjoy that if it means to shed some extra fat. ..Be creative. No more chalk and talk or asking pupils to copy down notes. Of course, don't get stuck to the chairs as we're expected to be more active and versatile. Just can't imagine by the end of the day, we'll be lying flat on the bed.

Teaching and learning of English has to be fun. So, I hope they will all stop comparing UPSR marks and see which school has the most number of As. Some even condemn the teachers for not producing the As as if it was all their fault. I hope to see a change in the mindset.

We, English teachers should be able to make pupils be aware of the importance of English and help them to master the language through meaningful and fun ways. Primary school English teachers have to lay a strong foundation by helping the young ones master vocabulary and grammar especially. I enjoyed how I learnt English in Convent Light Street, Penang and we even had drama class.

Well, just wishing all teachers lots of strength, courage and joy in teaching. A rewarding and noble job, teaching is.

HERE'S DEDICATING THREE LOVELY POEMS TO ALL TEACHERS.

THE TEACHER

The teacher must have the
professional commitment,
the concern,
the pride, the dignity,
the awareness that this profession
is the profession that he has dedicated himself to and
that
it is his mission to teach,
to educate and to bring up children
who will grow up to be good citizens,
not only in the political sense
but also as good people,
good neighbours,
good fathers,good husbands
and good wives.
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WHAT IS A TEACHER?

A teacher is someone who sees each child
As a unique person
And encourages
Individual talents and strengths.

A teacher looks beyond each child’s face
And sees inside their souls.

A teacher is someone with a special touch
And a ready smile
Who takes the time to listen to both sides
And always tries to be fair.

A teacher has a caring heart
That respects and understands.

A teacher is someone
Who can look past disruption and rebellion
And recognize hurt and pain.

A teacher teaches the entire child
And helps to build confidence
And raise self-esteem.

A teacher makes a difference in each child’s life.
And affects each family
And the future of us all. … Barbara Cage
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THE TEACHER

I have come to a frightening conclusion.
I am the decisive element in the classroom.
It is my personal approach
that creates the climate.
It is my daily mood that makes the weather.
As a teacher, I possess tremendous power
to make a child’s life miserable or joyous.
I can be a tool of torture or
instrument of inspiration .
I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal.
In all situations, it is my response
that decides whether
a crisis will be escalated or de-escalated,
a child humanized or de-humanized.
*******************************************



Best wishes from Mdm Aileen Oon Lay Wah