Goodbye Kei Wai

Dear all,

I would like to tell you that I will not be teaching in Kei Wai in next school year. I will be in another school taking up another teaching position.

I would like to thank all of you for your love and support, it's my pleasure and honour to be your teacher for 2 years.

You can contact me via this email address: nickie.butterfly@gmail.com

Have a happy summer holiday. :)

Cheers,
Miss Nickie

Super Mario

Today I browsed on YouTube and found one very interesting video. To me it is something very sweet, for you it may be very new, or very old.

The video shows a Japanese man playing the violin. The music is Super Mario game background music. It is a very old game. I remember I used to play it when I was as old as you. Back in the days the computer games were rather simple, but to us, at that time, it was very very entertaining!

I would like to share this with you here and hope you can get a glimpse on our "ancient" computer games. :)

Music Appreciation

Hi all,

Last weekend I browsed videos on YouTube and found some really nice music by an octet. An octet means a music ensemble consisting of 8 instruments; here, this group consists of 8 men and they use only their voice for music. In that case, we can also call it A cappella which means singing without any musical instruments at all.

The song I'd like to share is "Lion King Medley". I chose this because I think most of you like cartoons (so do I, actually) and I think this was a good medley. The blackout and the cheers at the beginning may make it difficult to listen to the song, but I invite you to be patient because they sang it really well!

Enjoy! :)

If you just smile :)

Hello!

How are you? Exam is coming and I hope everyone of you are preparing for it. Some of you may feel a bit tired and nervous about exams because you all care about it so much. Sometimes you may forget to smile.

I found this lovely song by Westlife called "Smile". I would like to share this song with you here and hope you can wear a smile. Believe me, a good smile can cheer you up and make you a lot happier! :)





"Smile"

Smile though your heart is aching
Smile even though it's breaking
When there are clouds in the sky, you'll get by
If you smile through your fear and sorrow
Smile and maybe tomorrow
You'll see the sun come shining through for you

Light up your face with gladness
Hide every trace of sadness
Although a tear may be ever so near
That's the time you must keep on trying
Smile, what's the use of crying?
You'll find that life is still worthwhile
If you just smile

That's the time you must keep on trying
Smile, what's the use of crying?
You'll find that life is still worthwhile
If you just smile

3E Tells You a Story

This morning, students from 3E shared a story called "The Honest Woodcutter" with everyone. I helped them write the script and they practiced very hard for the storytelling. They only had one week to prepare and, to my surprise, they could recite their lines! Well done 3E!

Here are the storytellers:

Let's Save the Whales!!!

Hello all!

Today when I watched the National Geographic Channel, I saw a very meaningful and interesting TVC about saving the whales.

I was very curious so I searched the website and found this:
http://www.tailsforwhales.org/

The idea behind is that if you take a photo with your hands gesturing like the tail of whale and upload the photo to their website. Together they collect the people's collective power and force governments to stop hunting whales at all.

Do you know what whales are endangered species? There aren't many whales left in the ocean. :( How sad it is! And in Japan, people still hunt whales, kill them just because they want to eat their meat!

Please help and save the whales. If you want to help, come and find me. I will take a picture of you and post your photo, together with your name, class and message to my other blog: http://ilovemissnickiewhales.blogspot.com/

Multi-intelligence -- English Chef

As you know, I teach only P.2-4. So I don't really know a lot of P.1 students. But every Friday I have a chance to teach them and play with them because I have a multi-intelligence lesson with them in the afternoon.I am happy that they all like me, and the food, very much!

Chinese Opera at Ma Wan

Hi all,

Last week, Ma Wan was a happening place with Tin Hau's birthday celebration going on for the entire week. I am sure you heard a lot of Chinese Operas during class last week. Me too! So I was curious and last Thursday I went to watch the opera after school. I am glad that our traditions are still well preserved and practised in this modern time. Chinese Opera is the essence of Chinese culture. Although I also find it boring sometimes, I think it should be preserved and continued.
There were a lot of people watching the opera, many of them are as old as our parents and grandparents. I found myself the youngest audience there. :P

In this photo you can see our school and the Chinese Opera theatre. I think it is an interesting photo. :)

About Ma Wan and Tin Hau's Birthday

Hello all!

I am sure all of you are aware of the fact that there have been some Chinese celebrations happening near our school this week. And you probably have seen this temporary construction just opposite to our school:

This is a temporary theatre built by bamboo sticks and zinc plates. People can watch Chinese opera on stage. This is part of the Tin Hau's (Queen of Heaven, or Goddess of the Sea) Birthday celebrations.

Ma Wan, where our school is, is a fisherman island. Many years ago, people from Ma Wan were mostly fishermen and some tourists still come here to eat yummy seafood. For the fishermen, Tin Hau is very important to them because they believe that the Goddess will protect them when they are fishing in the rough sea. Hence every year on her birthday the fishermen celebrate it. In old times it was one of the big days because people could go out and watch lion dance and Chinese opera. I found two websites that talk about Ma Wan and Tin Hau. They are written in rather easy English so I think you can read and understand the story of the place of our school and some Chinese traditions.

http://www.thaiworldview.com/hongkong/feast/tinhau.htm
http://www.thaiworldview.com/hongkong/outerisland/mawan.htm

P.4 Fun Zone Reference

Dear P.4 students,


Some of the classes have already started their creation of their own Fun Zone. I put my sample here for your reference.


1. Cartoon Fun Park

- You can draw pictures, or you can find pictures from magazines / newspapers.

- Make sure you write down the name of the part on your map.
2. Sports Ground


3. Presentation Script

- Remember to write this down.

- Make sure you practice the script with your classmates. If you have any words you don't know make sure you ask me or your English teacher. :)

Can you spell numbers?

Hi all,

How are you? Did you have a good weekend? Last weekend the weather was gorgeously beautiful! I went to Lamma Island on Sunday for a short hike and some yummy seafood! :P


I found a good exercise for P.1-2 students on spelling numbers. What about these numbers? Can you spell them?

a. 12 = T _ _ _ _ _
b. 20 = T _ _ _ _ _
c. 30 = T _ _ _ _ _
d. 40 = F _ _ _ _
e. 50 = F _ _ _ _
f. 60 = S _ _ _ _
g. 70 = S _ _ _ _ _ _

English Online Exercise

I found a website about grammar today. I think it can be good for your study. You can try some of them.

some/any/a:
http://www.english4all.pro.br/students/exercises/L2/someanyaan.htm

countable / uncountable:
http://esl.about.com/library/beginnercourse/bl_beginner_course_muchmanyquiz.htm

Enjoy! :)

Months of the Year Song and Days of the Week Song

Sometimes I teach P.2 and P.3 class and they sing "Months of the Year" song to me. I find it very interesting and easy to remember. I would like to share this song with all of you, especially the P.1-3 students. These songs are very educational and helps you remember things a lot easier.




This is another song called "Days of the Week" song.

Earth Day - World Search

Today is Earth Day. Many people in different countries are reminded to be greener and clearner by reducing, reusing and recycling. Even Google puts up a special picture of its logo to celebrate this special day.

I found on www.kaboose.com that there are some interesting games and colour pages for kids. I put 2 word search papers here for your understanding to Earth Day and enjoyment.

Easy:

Intermediate

Learn English from News

You may notice that today is the national day of mourning for those killed in last Wednesday's earthquake Qinghai.

In Hong Kong and China, all flags are flown at half mast.
"Flags flown at half mast" means that the flags to not go all the way up at the top of the pole. It stays halfway at the pole, this is for the people who died in the earthquake.
Also, people observe a minute of silence. That means they close their eyes for a moment for the people who died. During this moment, everywhere is very quiet to respect the dead.

Iceland Volcano Eruption

I found this link on YouTube about the volcano eruption in Iceland. I also typed the script in the video for your understanding.

Volcanic ash from Iceland that has blurred across northern Europe has severely disrupted air traffic across the U.K., Ireland and Scandinavia.

The next two hours all flights in British airspace will be suspended, grounding hundreds of planes including those in the world’s busiest international airport at Heathrow, London.

The ash is dangerous to aircraft because the tiny particles can damage engines, causing them to shut down.

Earthquake in Qinghai

I think most of you have read about the earthquake at Qinghai provinice, China last week. The exact point of earthquake was at Yushu Prefecture. The magnitude of the earthquake was 7.1.

The earthquake was so strong that many buildings were soon flattened down into debris. Many people there were made homeless, they needed to stay outside with no food and water.

Qinghai is a province with many Tibetans. So there are many Lamas, or monks, living there. They played an important role in resue because they have been living in the area for a long time and their bodies are fit enough to save people. Many other rescue teams have problems in their body because Yushu is a very high land, the air is very thin and it can make people dizzy.

Of course, as a Hongkonger, you must have heard of the story of a great hero called Wong Fuk-wing. He sacrificed his life to save the orphans who were trapped in the debris.

Earth Day

Earth Day is on 22nd April (Thursday), this year is the 40th anniversay of Earth Day.

Now, environmental protection becomes a hot topic and everyone talks about it. But how much are we doing to save the earth? I remember when I was a primary school kid, I heard a lot about saving water, recyling things we don't use and keeping the world clean. But many years later, we are still talking about it. Sometimes I think, have we done enough to protect our world? Or are we doing the opposite, make the earth our rubbish bin and throw a lot of rubbish in it?

What do you do to save the earth? Let's share your ideas here and hope we can keep our world clean and healthy together.

Ok, so let me share first. For me, I am very careful about using water. I only take enough water from the tap to wash my dishes. You don't have to turn your tap to the maximum to wash the dishes, just a small stream of water can also do the same job.

Yummy!

At the first night of my Singapore trip I met my friend in Singapore. His name is JY. He brought us to a place where we could enjoy some very yummy crabs. We ordered two crab dishes -- pepper crab and crab in soup with rice noodle. Both dishes were very delicious! We all got so full after the dinner. The restaurant is very famous in Singapore and overseas, I could see crab shells hanging on the wall with celebrities' autographs. And guess what, I saw a TVBuddy figure! So I guess even TVB came to introduce their food.

My Visit to Singapore

Hi all,

How was your Easter holiday, did you go anywhere? I went to Singapore with my cousins on 2-5 April. On the third day we went to Universal Studio of Singapore. The last time I went to a Universal Studio was more than 10 years ago at Los Angeles. I had a really good time at Singapore.

I was enjoy the merry-go-round at the Madagascar zone. I quickly grabbed this panicking giraffe, doesn't it look funny?

I also took picture with the characters there, this cat is from Shrek, do you remember it?

My Sunday Brunch

Last Sunday I woke up very late :P. I woke up at about 12noon. It was already too late for breakfast, so I went for brunch. Brunch is a word comes from breakfast and lunch. It is usually for people who wake up very late sometimes, and would like to have a meal after they wake up.
I had tiger prawn risotto. Risotto is Italian rice. It is a little bit different from the rice we have. And as you can see from the picture, the prawn is very big! (That's why it is called Tiger prawn!)

P.4 Writing Exercise - # 3 & 5: Where to go and what to do - Tokyo

As for Tokyo, many of you will probably think of "eating sushi". Well, you can eat sushi at Tsim Sha Tsui so perhaps we can do something more interesting in Tokyo. What do you think of these activities?


If you are a boy, you may want to visit Gundum Theme Park. If you are a girl, you may want to go Hello Kitty Land. For me, I would like to climb Fuji Mountain!

P.4 Writing Exercise - # 3 & 5: Where to go and what to do - Hong Kong

Hong Kong, our home town, is a very international city where east meets west. There are a few things you can do in Hong Kong, like....
and....
Any other things we can do in Hong Kong? What about going to Ocean Park, Disneyland, Ma Wan Park... ...?

P.4 Writing Exercise - # 3 & 5: Where to go and what to do - Beijing

Beijing is the capital city of China. Everyone knows where Beijing is because of 2008 Olympic Games. Except seeing the Water Cube and the Bird Nest, there are many other things you can do when you visit Beijing.

P.4 Writing Exercise - #2. Where are you from?

In Hong Kong, it is very easy to meet very from all around the world. When we see foreigners, we usually ask, "Where are you from?"