My first semester as a secondary one student
After approximately 6 months, the semester has come to an end. Time really flies. A boy who first came into the 90 year old school has now finished his first semester and is heading into the June holidays and then the third term. I couldn’t adapt to the school at first, as it was so big (well, not because of that), and I had to take a staggering 7 subjects from a mere 4. Plus I have EP3, and thus I couldn’t manage well by balancing EP3 with the homework given to us from our various teachers. This resulted in my MSG (mean subject grade, not the salty thingy) going very high and caused me to be one of the lousiest in the class. However, in term 2, I got used to it and besides balancing my EP3 well with my homeworks, although I had to stay up late in the night sometimes to do it. Perhaps, I thought to myself, this is secondary school. Compared to my primary school, it was very much different; more subjects, a bigger school, more friends who seemed like strangers and of course, different teachers. In primary school, whenever there was any conflict with my friends, I would automatically go to the teacher and complain about it to her, but now I am in secondary school, I knew the situation was different, and the teachers will be too busy to entertain us. Thus, we had to settle the arguments among us. I had to pick up the courage to apologize, as much as I hated it, make up, and bury the hatchet with him, let bygones be bygones.
When I first came here for the secondary one orientation, I was very unfamiliar with the environment. It was as though I was lost in a forest. Any idea how big is Hwa Chong? A staggering 33 hectares!! Compared to my primary school, my primary school was like a needle in a hay. I did not know where to find my way at first, but I got smart. I used the hall as a landmark and wherever I went, I would remember where the hall was from the place and after that, I could get back there.
My EP3 is track and field-sprinting. Thus the training is about 4 days per week(imagine that!) and it is about 2 ½ hours per training. By the time training ends, my body will be aching all over and I will always need to drag my heavy legs back home. When competition is nearing, there will be even more training, resulting in my energy being used up and being tired. Thus, the quality of my work will not be as good as the others, and the next day I will not have the energy to pay attention in class. All these require adaptation. In a term’s time, I got used to it and I learnt more about time management as during the interval before my EP3, I would take out my work and finish it. Thus, by the time I drag my weary body back home, I can revise a little bit and go to bed. Don’t get the wrong idea guys, for my EP3 is not entirely that bad. Yes, it may be tiring, but the training is fun. I get along well with my friends in my EP3 and sometimes, we can play soccer in training. The coach will also let us do hurdles. I am not bragging but I am one of the best hurdlers. Haha.
There are quite a lot of events that happened in the first and second term. An example is the secondary one camp, whereby I got to bond with my friends and got closer to them. I also learnt how to work with each other, got to learn about leadership qualities and some life skills.
Another important event was the track and field finals, whereby we went to the Choa Chu Kang sports complex to watch the runners pit themselves against the other athletes from other schools. We cheered the runners on and I think that this played an important part in our school being able to clinch the double champions for the B and C boys group. You may think that cheering is not of much help to the runners from our school, but can you imagine the scene whereby the runner is going to give up, but after we cheered them on, they suddenly gained the power to cross the finishing line.
One of the events that happened in our school was the influenza A, H1N1, or commonly known as the swine flu. Our school took safety precautions, taking temperature almost every morning, and closing the gates of our school. I think that the precautions taken are good, besides, it is better to be safe than sorry.
As we are heading onto the June holidays, everyone is in high spirits, but let’s not forget that we have a lot to do during the long holidays. We have to complete our ACEs, as there will not be time in term 3 for us because of the preparations for the exams and the coming End of Year examinations. Thus, we have to do our ACE as it is important (10 % of the whole results). Even if you got 65 marks, if you max your ACE, won’t it be 75 marks and an A1for us?
After calculating my MSG this term, it should be around 2.5, and it is an improvement for me, as my MSG last term was 4.67. In term 3, I want to make it better, as we should seek places for improvements every single time. It will not be easy, but I believe that, with hard work, I can do it. By managing my time more wisely, I can do it. By paying attention in class, I can do it. I will excel in my academics and my EP3!! Yeah!