Term 1 Week 4: (Weekend Assignment)

My favourite place in the school campus is the clock tower.

To me, the clock tower is a symbol of my school and is also a national monument. It means so much to me because I have tried very hard to get into this school. It meant sacrificing my CCA at primary school and other commitments to study for my PSLE. Now that I have made it, I feel all the more proud of my Hwa Chong identity.

Every day when I walk into the campus, the first thing that I would see is the clock tower. It gives me a sense of pride and belonging to an elite school which encompasses a high-spirited, roaring student body.

When I feel overwhelmed by too much homework or commitments, I would look at the clock tower and think to myself, "I am now a Hwa Chongian and I have to live up to the school's reputation!" I would end up feeling energised and determined.

The clock tower is an inspiration to me and my schoolmates to strive for the best and have a "自强不息"（continuous self-learning) attitude towards learning.

Prejudice (A Short Story)

day one my jernell
yeah ms sparks says i an tu smaart fur my skool an tat I can goes tu a bitter skool! mermi says tat eef i wonna been tat skool i has too rite a jernell averiday. i an sooper essited!

day too my jernell
tuday my nu tee cha ask me to sit nex to a boy with speetecles. I say hi how are u, but he look at me funny an turn aroun. I tink he has a stumack ack. The tee cha tot me a lot off tings. lik maf an scienz. i mit a lot off fwens an I tink i make dem hepi. wen i ask sumting ebut wat we leernt dey laaf. maybi i an funni.

day three my jernell
tuday we has pE, yay! Tee cha ask us too play wit a ball an the boys wanna play soccer so we spit intu too. at fist, I herd a lot off names call out an pepul start to move to too sides off the futboll fill. But no one call my name an ven I was the last one, averyone look at me funny. So the teacha come an put me on one tim. Ven we start my fwens are very hepi but dey naver gimme the boll. So I stood there an waitet but I din get the boll.

day four my jernell
tuday I an hepi becos there is my favorite art lessin! Tuday we were suppose to pain a picure off anyting we liked. Ven we started, the teecha helped me to setup the art brush an the pain an paper even ven I say I din nid her help. my fwens all sit far far away from me, but I dunno why. Anyway I started painin an ven I finis averybody was lookin at me, the teacha too. dey all look at me even more funny, an I ask dem why. Teecha just look at me funny an say wunderfull wunderfull an averibody clapped an look hepi. I am hepi too.

HBL 24/1

By lauteur | View this Toon at ToonDoo | Create your own Toon

This is a cartoon I created using ToonDoo.com. I chose to potray the theme of different types of government to help people better understand what each type of government means. I used two wolves and a lamb as characters to exagerate the situation, where they are lost and have nothing to eat. I hope that through this toon, people can grasp the concept of different governments more easily.

Term 1 Week 3 Assignment

I think this song is trying to tell people to "practice what they preach", as thus, the part of the song I feel most about is the chorus.

"People killing people dying
Children hurtin you hear them crying
Can you practice what you preach
Would you turn the other cheek?
Father Father Father help us
Send some guidance from above
Cause people got me got me questioning
Where is the love?(where is the lovex3)(the love2x)"

The chorus highlights the importance of practicing what you preach.

"Whatever happened to the values of humanity
Whatever happened to the fairness and equality
Instead of spreading love, we're spreading anomosity
Lack of understanding, leading us away from unity"

This verse also questions the lack of democracy in the US, where people believe that everyone is equal. However, to acheive this vision, the Iraqis have been ruthlessly killed, which is ironic. The writers of this song again are telling people to practice what they preach.

It is our greed, our thirst for success and our competitiveness that we become "scums". However, I must point out, although I agree we should treat everyone fairly, we cannot totally stop our greed and competitiveness. Those mindsets are what brought us here today, as superior beings in the animal kingdom. As said by Martin Luther King Jr., "in order to achieve peace, we must prepare for war". Having said so, we cannot blame it all on our human traits. We have voted for a democratic government, and thus we must be democratic.

Assignment 1: Hot Air Balloon by Owl City

A song that has definitely impacted me is 'Hot Air Balloon' by Owl City.
This song is about two very good friends who spent time together and forgot all of their problems to enjoy life.

"We wrote a prelude to our own fairytale"
"We sewed the day above L.A."
These two lines suggest that they spent their time somewhere way from the hustle and bustle of life. To me, friends are very important as they are like family when you're out of your house. To spend time with someone you like is like a blessing.

Being with your friends helps you to forget all your problems and worries. In the song, the writer say that "now [his] worries are gone" and that "you made my frown turn upside down".

A good friend is one who also doesn't mind your flaws. In the song, although the writer's friend was "so bored to death", she "held [her] breath" and the writer, too, "tried not to yawn" at whatever boring thing his friend was talking about.

I was a guy who didn't enjoy modern songs before, and this was one of the first new songs that I actually liked listening to, and it's all thanks to one of my friends, whose love for music influenced me. At first, he told me that lyrics from Owl City often meant nothing. However, I thought otherwise and searched for the lyrics. To my surprise, I was stunned to know that the lyrics were composed by a renwoned lyrics composer, Adam Young. I was also shocked to realize that not only was Owl City's music soothing, their lyrics were also meaningful! This prompted me to search for more Owl City songs and now, I'm proud to say that I've finished listening to ALL of their songs, and my perspective of modern songs have also changed.


Full Lyrics: www.lyricsreg.com/lyrics/owl+city/Hot+Air+Balloon/
Full Song: www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6OQFnUrbW8
http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/search/song?q=hot%20air%20balloon