Exams and Results

Kids had their exams, and the results are back. They did good (my standards la).

Me : How was school? Any results today?
Jeremy : Yar, we got our science paper back. And the teacher taught us to 'berlagak' (show-off)
Me: huh? What do you mean?
Jeremy : He asked those who got 90 and above to come up front and show the papers to the class, and he took a picture, and then tell the class they are the smart ones.
Me : oh.... so... how did you do?
Jeremy : Lucky I got less than 90.... no need to 'berlagak'.

Josephine : I am really stupid
Me : hey, no, you are not stupid.
Josephine: My teacher told the whole class I'm stupid, I can't do Maths. I don't understand Maths
Me: You know what? Mommy was like that too. I always get low marks for Maths too because I cant understand it. But suddenly when I was in Form 3... ting! .... Maths made sense to me. So, one day, your mind will go 'ting'! too :-)
Josehine : But I don't want to be like you!!!! I want to be smarter NOW!

Stephanie : hahaha, I got 'C' for BM la
Me: So... how you feel about it?
Stephanie : It's ok. At least I pass. (big grin)


Our education system is messing me up!!
.

The ole incident

We saw this car, and the kids were so amazed. Could you spot why?

It led me to remember an incident that happened a loooooong time ago, back in the days when I was still under 3 feet tall.

Pa has a car (maybe not like the one shown above), but i remembered the fan!!!! And even when the fan was on full-blast, it can get sweltering hot, so it's usual for Pa to have the windows down.

The 6 of us kids were always fighting for the window seat, where you could feel the wind blowing in your hair. And although 'take turns' was a mantra amongst us, I never get the window seat (always on one of my sis' laps instead), something that I was eternally grateful for one day. 

We were going somewhere, and my 2nd sis, MT, got the window seat right behind the driver. She was gleefully letting the wind whip at her hair, when suddenly..... my Pa made a huge honking noise, cleared his throat and .... spit out of the window!!! Guess where the 'treasure' landed?

Ramblings of a Mom

As Damian becomes a Teenager, the one person I keep having in my mind is ... my Pa.

 

I remember how Pa keep looking into the crib, but refused to carry such a small infant.

I remember when Damian reached his full-moon, and Pa awkwardly carried him and posed for a picture.

I remember how Pa said he gave up smoking because Damian was constantly coughing because of his allergy to ciggy smoke.

I remember Pa taking Damian and Marcus out to the playground so that my sister and I could have a little timeout.

I remember once when I wanted to cane Damian and Pa just whisked him away! Then I threatened Pa that if he doesn't allow me to cane that brat I will cane him [my son, not my Father :-D] harder!! But Pa just drove off to the shops and bought his grandson an ice-cream!

I remember when we first went to USA, how Damian, so tired from jet-lag was crying for his grandfather "I want my kung-kung. I want go back to Malaysia".

I remember how Pa used to save hundred of ringgit in coins and gave it to the grandchildren to be counted and divided amongst themselves. Pa was a good grandfather not only to my Damian, but to all his 13 grandchildren.

 Why the nostalgia? I guess... with kids growing up, I realised that I can't pause time, no matter how much I wanted to. I might have this desire to keep them small, to keep them with me forever.... but that's not possible. They have to grow up. They have to leave the nest one day.

 

Damian turning 13 is just one more step into that direction. I cant stop that, and I do not intend to. What I can do now is to continue to ground him, give him roots, and at the same time, strengthen his wings. He'll fly away one day. And I hope.... that he'll also learn to fly home once in a while.

 

Just like what Pa gave us......

 

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Who is a pharmacist?

Stephanie turned 10 last November. She's sweet, kind and helpful. (well she does have her moods sometimes too, who doesn't yeah?). She's also very talkative, and she loves adult company, especially if they would listen to her chatter :-)

Last Friday :

Stephanie : Uncle M, what do you do? What is your work?
Uncle M : I am a pharmacist.
Stephanie : *eyes rounded, looking impressed* Which farm do you work at?
Uncle M : *huh?*
Stephanie : You are a farmer's assistant right?

Pharmacist - Farm-Assist !!!

Kudos Damian and Marcus!

UPSR Results were out last Thursday (19 Nov).

As expected - 5As for both Damian and Marcus. (out of 87 students, 19 of them got 5As.)

Now we can all relax. The weeks before the exam.... the weeks after the exams.... were pretty torturous for Damian , and me! Damian - because that's Damian la. He allows his imagination to run wild with 'what ifs'.
What if he wrote the wrong thing,
what if he accidentally shade the wrong box,
what if he calculated wrongly.

And torturous for me - coz - he keeps 'what if-ing' with me!

One of his teachers was telling them about a student who didn't get the results she expected and she killed herself! I told Damian (the day before the results were out) that if he kills himself, I'll kill him!!!

So... UPSR so important meh? 5As so important meh?

On results day, one of the boys were seen with his fingers crossed, eyes screwed shut and chanting to himself "Pls let me get a C! Please let me get a C!" (He was expecting a D for his BM paper!)

Another boy who was totally not expecting it, continued to stare off into space when his name was announced as amongst those who has gotten 5As!

A girl cried coz she worked so hard for her BM, score the A, but then scored a B in another paper!

Seriously ... how important are the As? Yes, of course it's great to have, but seriously.....does it really determined our kids future?

Stephanie and Josehine is now worried that they can't get 5As. I always told them.... no need to compete with kor-kor. Be the best they can be. Always either do better or maintain their own standards. Good advice? And when they've tried their best (and don't get an A), I really think they deserve a reward for their efforts.

New Kids on The Blog

I started this blog on 24 Feb 2009 - almost 9 months! When I first started, I was told that many people start blogs and then don't continue. To tell the truth, I was not sure if I will be one of the statistics as life was really very hectic for me.

What I discovered is that blogging can be very therapeutic. Helps me to de-stress after a hectic day. And most times, helps me to see things clearer after I've written it, and then re-read it in the blog.

My kids read my blogs too (except Jeremy! He's not interested yet.)

Damian asked if kids could have their own blogs. I asked him why would a kid want to blog? He replied "for money?" (Hahaha, I certainly have not made much $$$$ from blogging, tho I know some people actually have their main income (4 to 5 figures) from blogging.)

So Damian wants to try blogging. For money maybe (if we could find out how), but also for the fun of it.

"I want also!" both Jo and Stephanie said.

Want what?

"To blog. Like kor-kor."

Oh, and what will you write about?

"Dunno. But I want to blog"

So...now there're New Kids on the Blog: www.dsjj-asweseeit.blogspot.com

Jeremy & Exams

Yes.... again!!

Happened yesterday. Teacher called! He refused to do his BM penulisan paper! I know! *BIG SIGH* What to do? What to do?

I went to school. He said if he can't get 1st in class, then he wants to get LAST! OMG! Where did that come from?

I asked, "How did you know you can't get 1st?"

"Because the last exam, I didn't get 100. Another boy already got 100 and they count the marks of 2 exams to get 1st"

Well, anyway, I'm not going to give you the blow-by-blow. What finally convinced him is the threat to send him to a holiday school and he wont get to go anywhere for the holidays. He will have to go to a boarding school and can only come back when normal school reopens next year!! (Ok... quick, where to find such a school .... just in case i really need one!) And if he purposely fail - off he will go to this school!

I sat outside the class for 15 mins. Then went to check on him. Turned out that he got most of the answers right. See how la, when the results comes out.

Today, he went to school happily. How come? He's sure he's going to get 1st in

Maths!

Chefs in the Making

I have been now maidless for more than 2 months!! Really really tough. But now getting the hang of it. It ain't that bad. I got part-time cleaners, at least. But I'm tied down - can't go out as and when i like - can't go hospital anytime to help someone to breastfeed, making apppointments for fitline in the mornings, then have to rush back to cook and get the kids from school

Kids got it tough too. They've learned how to wash plates properly, sweep the floor, fold their clothes and put them into their proper place in the closet and cook!

Yes cook!

Damian cooked this Fried Rice (a bit wet tho) - I just gave verbal instructions and he did everything. The orange? His idea. he even cut them himself.

This dish was cooked by Josephine - all by herself, without me standing next to her!

The two girls having a blast. This dish (Seafood spaghetti), I got help la.

Not having maids can be a blessing in disguised.... but I still want one!!! I think I can 'see ' one coming soon! ;-)

Missing Kung-Kung

I was out for a meeting when I received a distressed call fom home. Damian was on the phone sobbing his heart out. He must talk to me NOW!!! I rushed home in record time. (It didn't occur to me to call his father, who's at home babysitting!)

What was the emergency?

Damian read a story from Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul which made him think about his grandfather, Kung-Kung. That inspired him to write a poem. And then the tears started, and soon he was sobbing! Real big sobs! I just held him. What can I say? I wanted to cry too.

With Damian's permission, here's the poem he wrote. (You can see that it does not matter about rhyme and prose, as long as it came from the heart):

A man died a few months ago,
Suffering from a mistake he did long ago
His family misses him, although he's far,
But they know he's in their hearts.

They cry for him each other day,
For he is not around anymore
Many distractions have made them forget
But nothing can replace him.

'Him' is my grandfather
whom I love so much
Even if he's gone from Earth
He'll never leave my heart.

Jeremy

My friend WSL asked (on msn) how come no more updates about Jeremy. I answered coz he's boring nowadays. nothing much happened.

Jeremy's been 'coughing' for quite some time. Why 'coughing' (and not plain coughing)? Coz it's not real coughing. It's more like there's some irritation in his throat and he's clearing it all the time with a cough. All the manuka honey and Superkid from Fitline dont seem to help (by the way, Jeremy hardly sees the doc, and even when he does, he hardly takes the medication given)

So, i took him see doc. and doc said that his throat is very dry and 'raw' probably from too much screaming or shouting. It's not infected, and his lungs is clear, and it's not a normal cough. So he must have hurt his throat from screaming.

Yar, that explains it! Jeremy has gotten into the habit of crying and screaming his lungs out whenever he's angry. Well... last time he screamed too... but now he's bigger, he scream more and very much louder too. Once, Josephine told me that Jeremy screamed and cried in school so loud that they could hear him in her class which is 2 floors above.

So I 'pakat' with the doc and asked (with a wink) in mock seriousness what can be done? Doc played along, and said 'well, if he does not stop screaming, and his throat really spoilt, then we've no choice but to cut it out."

Jeremy was:

It's all worth it

Sometimes, something just happen out of the blue, and makes my day:

Selamat Hari Raya

I remember (in my childhood) .....

But now the only 'feel' of Raya is ......

Raya decorations in Shopping Complexes:

Is this 'sad' or what?????

Izma : Case Closed (?)

So... the case is now considered 'closed'.

Had a meeting with the HM, her 2 assistants, the discipline teacher and the school counsellor on Tuesday. Izma was not present, tho I requested for her to be there.

Cut to the chase : Izma has insisted she did not slap Stephanie repeatedly with a book. She just 'touched' Steph's shoulders with a thin book!

Well, anyway, HM said Izma has been given a show-cause letter, and they'll be keeping an eye on her. And to further explain their investigation (and protect her teachers, of course), she invited one of the assistant (A-HM) and the discipline teacher, DT, to give their reports.

The A-HM said she spoke to a few students from Steph's class, and they all confirmed that Izma did not hit Steph. Anyone could imgine how frightened a child would be to be called to the office and be questioned about Izma! (Steph told me later that one of the nice and dedicated Teacher asked those students why they did not tell the truth. The kids said that they did not dare as Izma might start hitting them too! I spoke to the Teacher, but she said that she's not allowed to discuss the case.)

According to DT, who consulted the few teachers who teach in Steph's class, Steph is a rude, disobedient child. He implied that because of Steph's behavior, she deserved to be hit (?). Oh, you could imagine my fury. I lost it it!!! Raised my voice and everything. Pointed out to them that since Year 1, Steph has been getting an A on her attitudes towards her studies and school in general. She might not excel in certain subjects, but teachers has always given her good remarks when it comes to her behavior and attitude. And now they (the HM, DT & Izma, at least) are implying that Stephanie is a 'discipline problem'?

As I was nearly screaming, the DT quickly added that Steph's 'discipline problem' is 'mild'. At this time, the school counsellor quietly said that "Stephanie is a good girl". (He has been on the investigation for this case and has spoken at length with Steph). That calmed me down, and the DT tried to climb out of the hole he dug himself by giving all sorts of nonsensical excuses about what he meant by 'discipline problems'. In the end he just trailed off......

Well.... anyway, Izma wrote an official apology "kerana menyetuh anak puan di bahagian bahunya dengan buku nipis". (touching your daughter on her shoulder with a thin book). Initially, I refused to accept that apology because Izma refused to acknowledge her wrong.

But my hubby, ever the calm, cool man, played 'good cop' to my 'bad cop'. He said of course the teacher will not admit in writing that she hit a student. That will be like handing over evidence of a crime. And since she has been given a show-cause letter, her career prospects has been much compromised. So we'll accept this way of settlement now. If it ever happens again in future, a lawyer will be involved!

So.... the case is now considered 'closed'..... until the next time (?)

Sweet Siblings

All his brother and sisters knew that kor-kor was stressed over his UPSR. Jo and and Jeremy woke themselves up before 6am and wrote a message for kor-kor on the white board in his room:

Teacher Izma

Last friday, Stephanie (my 10-year-old) was repeatedly hit in the face with a book by a teacher! Her offence? She forgot to bring her book to school!

This teacher is well-known for hitting students. She's about 40+, wears long fake eye-lashes with studs on them (seriously), thick make-up, long fingernails with a ring on almost every finger. For this reasons, we dubbed her Izma (from Disney's Emperor's New Groove):

(think about the above in baju kurung, and you'll get the approximate picture)

She has been terrifying the kids since last year! This year, Josephine (Year 3) has her for Maths and Stephanie (Year 4) has her for KT (Kajian Tempatan).

She's a slapper! She once told a boy "The next time I'm going to give you a tight slap!" and she immediately slapped the boy! What happended to 'next time'????

She once banged two boys' head together because they wouldn't stop talking.

She told Jo's class that if they don't get an A for Maths, she's going to 'whollop' them!

She has been slapping and hitting the students, but no one dare complain coz the kids are terrified for she had warned them "if you complain to your parents and I get into trouble, you'll be in bigger trouble!"

Some parents knew about it, but no one complained as most likely, parents are afraid their kids will be victimized if they complained. This has been known to happen.

I am a "fair complainer". But I am also an 'appreciator'. Teachers know me. After all I've 4 kids in the same school!

You can imagine how I reacted when Stephanie told me on Friday (after school) that Izma used a book and hit both sides of her face. I was furious! I went back to school immediately (school's just 3 mins away from my house), wanting to confront Izma. She left already, but the HM and assistant-Head were still there. HM not free to see me, so Asst-H took down my complaint.

When I asked her what actions will be taken, she said that they will investigate, but the school is not obliged to tell me what actions were taken. (This is what they always say whenever a parent complain about a teacher or a situation). I told her that if they don't tell me what actions will be taken, then I'll just assumed no actions were taken. I'll lodge a police report and then go to Ministry of Education. That got her attention! As she cannot make decisions, she told me to come back on Monday (today) to speak to the HM.

Cut long story short, HM promised to investigate, but with UPSR and etc, she'll need time.

Stephanie came back from school today pretty unhappy. She told me that Izma scolded her in front of the class. Told her off for 'squealing' on her and getting her in trouble. Izma claimed that she did not hit her face. She was holding a notebook, and was going to tap Steph on the shoulder, but accidentally hit her face. Huh? Accidentally hit hit both sides of her face a few times?????

Izma asked the class who she has hit before. A girl put up her hand and Izma told her to 'put down your hands stupid girl!" No one else dare to put up their hands. Izma also told Stephanie that if she's so 'precious' she should just get out of the class and don't study or change school.

During Math period in Jo's class, Izma scolded Jo for not doing her work properly and say "I'm going to whollop your face if you do this again! You are just like your sister!"

I am horrified! How can this mad woman be allowed to teach????? I will insist on her termination!! I won't let this go without a fight!

UPSR tomorrow

Finally, UPSR is just hours away! Damian has been counting down since the beginning of the school year and as the days pass, he got more and more tensed. We kept telling him to relax, but he seemed unable to do that. He tells me that everytime he thinks about UPSR, he gets stomach-ache and his heart beats faster.

Well... he doesn't excatly bury his nose in his revision books. In fact, I think he reads more story books than he does his school books. And he always gets good results - well, most of the time anyway, except for BM Pemahaman paper. That's the paper he's most worried about.

Hmmm.... we didn't have UPSR back then. We has something called 'Assessment Exams' in Standard 5. I was so lost during those primary years. I went to school one day and found out there's an important exam that day! Hahaha. I bet my brainy friend SY was prepared ages ago! (I mentioned SY here before.) I turned out ok. Didn't ace every subject, but I turned out ok.

But I know Damian will be ok. He'll get his 5A's.

What's the big deal about A's anyway?

Maids

There are 2 new maids at home .....

Because the 2 maids are new to the job, they're not used to hard work. By the end of 1 week, both were scheming about running away.

The kids were very sweet.

They helped to wash plates (after which Ginawati has to rewash, due to the soap and sometimes grease and food still stuck on the plates).

They helped to sweep the floor (moving the dirt and dust from one end of the room to the other end.)

They helped to wipe the tables (sweeping all the food residue and bones under the table.)

They helped to tidy up their room (dumping everything out of sight into the cupboards.)

They helped.

Thanks!

............................. I mean it!!!

* kisses and hugs for them!

Sisters Buddies

It's school holiday. The two girls have been at each other.

Mommy Jie-Jie (Elder Sister) did this
Mommy Jo-Jo did that
Mommy Jie-Jie not helping
Mommy Jo-Jo didn't help just now
Mommy Jie-Jie snatched
Mommy Jo-Jo wouldn't share
Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, Mommeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

(and the final straw)
Mommy Jie Jie hit me
Mommy Jo Jo started it first

I've warn you before..... no hitting!!!
And guess what I did?
I gave them each a stroke of the rotan! (so much about leading by example :-P)

Now they're best buddies again..... and angry with me. There's nothing like having a common enemy to go against to patch things up.

Jo - a Nurse?

I'm out of inspiration what to blog on. My life is currently 'boring'.

So I dug my brains/memories for some little 'stories' to share. This happened about 2 years ago when Jo was 7 years old.

We were at Children's Service in Church one Sunday, and the reading of the day was :

Matthew 4:18-20 (New International Version)
As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." At once they left their nets and followed him.

The teacher explained what the passage meant, and then in her cheery voice asked "So, who wants to be fishermen for Jesus?"

All the kids in the room put up their hands except Jo. I gave her a nudge. She shook her head and gave me a worried look. Then in a loud whisper she said "But Mommy, I want to be a Nurse!"

7 is such a blissful age........ :-D

Life is back to normal

Yes... indeed life is back to 'normal'. Why I say that? *Sigh* Another incident happened today at school......

Yes, it's Jeremy again. It's "Hari Suntikan' (some immunization jabs - I've lost track).

Well anyway, the kids were not warned. The nurses just turned up at school and almost all the Year 1 and Year 6 kids have to line-up for their turn to get a needle stuck into their arms! Some kids got 2 needles, and it seems there was this Year 6 kid who was given 4 jabs!!!! And so the news travelled about how that kid nearly 'died' - it was so painful. *eyes rolling*

Ok .... so it's Jeremy's turn. And he had no idea what was happening. In his own tearful words.....

"I was just lining up and suddenly the nurse grab me and put a needle into my right arm! Pain ma! So I kick her lor! Then 2 other nurses came and grab me and that first nurse put another needle ino my left arm. I kicked all of them."

He created such a havoc that his kor-kor Damian came running. Jeremy held onto kor-kor and wouldn't let go. He refused to go back to his class and followed Damian to his class instead. So what do you expect a 12 year old to do? Damian's teachers told him that he should have just left Jeremy to cry. That Damian is not helping his little brother by manja-ing (moddle-coddling) him.

Damian felt real bad. He's afraid that he might had just played a part in Jeremy turning out to be a monster. Are the teachers right? What do you think?