Fort Siloso

SAS Maker Day

Today our class went to the SAS Maker Day in the high school. It included very creative inventions made by high school and middle school students. Some examples of the inventions were a flight simulator, unique mazes, life-size toy structures, and small couch-like rooms.

My favorite creation was the Creation Station. It was a triangular cupboard which opened up to be a larger closet with a lot of storage space. The inside part of the cupboard doors had a lego board with 3-D pieces coming out. The shelves had things like pens, books, and papers to show what students might use it for. The back side of the closet had a whiteboard attached and some pictures taped on too.

When I interviewed the inventor of the Creation Station, she said she wanted to build something that kids like herself can use. She also didn't want something that only a certain age group of kids can use, but middle and high school students can use. It had to be compact, and something that is actually useful. It is meant to be used as a storage space for kids, whether they're just having fun or doing homework. The inventor said a challenge in making it was that since it was made out of wood and planks that had been drilled together, everything had to be perfect. The wood had to be measured exactly and drilling had to be done perfectly as well. Although it does appear that the wood and been measured and drilled in quite perfectly, the inventor said she would've wanted to be more precise with this.

It's quite interesting to think that a high school student can invent something like this, and actually do a job like drilling wood and planks. An idea like this seemed like a dream because it felt like something a kid can't do. The inventor said it took her 2-3 months to built it and that she went back to the same store 3-4 times.

My Student-Led Conference Reflection

I had a great time showing my mom what I have learnt this year and how much progress I've made this year in class. She was impressed and found many things interesting. She found my math project interesting, my Genre Challenge 'sweet' and our silhouettes, and generally found the classroom interesting. We agree that Social Studies is more studies than social.:)

Personal Narrative: Chosen

Chosen

Sept. 16, 2013                                                     by Kavya

I copied down what the teacher wrote on the board, my left hand tossed on the part of carpet beside me. My textbook was open beside me and my notebook in my lap. Then the sound of the door swaying open then filled my ears. I turned my head, and the counsellor, wearing a light blue collar shirt, two envelopes in his hand, was standing under the doorway.

A butterfly or two flew into my stomach. I knew why he was here. ‘Peer Supporter,’ I thought to myself. It was something I had been waiting for for a time probably as long as three weeks. ‘He is here to tell us who has been chosen for Peer Supporter next year in 5th grade,’ went the voice in my head. I just wanted to figure out who it was that would be selected.

“Can I see…Adam and...Karya please?” he asked, pulling his head up from two white envelopes after pauses.  

Now I felt a wave of excited butterflies glide into my stomach. When he said Karya, I knew he meant me, Kavya. But, still I just sat tight and waited silently for someone to point it out so things didn’t get too confusing. The butterflies in my tummy really set in. It was weird; if he was here for Peer Supporter, I should’ve been really happy-and I was- just in a way where the butterflies were moving at the speed of light.

“We have a Kavya, but not a Karya,” my teacher replied.

“Oh yes, Kavya- it’s Kavya,” Mr. Felice noticed, after tilting his head down to the envelopes again.

Adam and I stood up, leaving our books on the rug.

“Peer Supporter,” I mouthed my suspicion to him as we got up.

“I know,” he mouthed back, grinning from ear to ear.

We had the kind of look you have when you know something big’s going to happen, the face where you are ready to be proud and ecstatic. The excitement on our faces, we both made our way through the doorway. The next seven words were words that would bring amazing things.

The moment we stepped out of the classroom, this happened: “You have been chosen for Peer Supporter,” Mr.Felice disclosed directly, handing us the envelopes.

The small smile that was already planted on my face grew to my cheeks. Adam and I shared a quick glance of joy. We were beaming. For some reason, the butterflies in my stomach swirled around faster, while I imagined going home and sharing the good news with my parents, and what I really achieved. I also thought back at the voting. It meant my classmates thought I was good for the job. The triumph I felt set deep into my heart.

When Adam and I made our way back into the classroom and got back down on the rug, my friend Eunah mouthed to me, ‘Peer Supporter?’

I nodded, trying to pull my lips in, so my smile wouldn’t get too big.

Informative Writing Piece #1: Global Warming

Migration to Singapore

Fantasy Story: Ryan Wayne & the Oreh Repus: The Diamond Thief

My Journey to Singapore

Reading Reflection

Over the last two weeks I finished The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan, The Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling, my book club book The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis and started Flush by Carl Hiaasen and my new book club book, Midnight Magic by Avi. All of these books are fantasy except for Flush, being a realistic fiction book. The time period in which I started and finished these books was from February 3rd to February 17th. I read a total of 21 times over the last two weeks. I read for 547 minutes or 9 hours and 7 minutes and I read 512 pages. This is an average speed of 0.94 pages a minute or around 9/10 a page a minute. This is just right level. The book that I started and finished in the last two weeks is The Sorcerer's Stone and this fits into it's genre of fantasy because it has inhuman creatures and the characters have powers. The book is about Harry Potter, who just finds out that he is a wizard and at his wizard school notices a professor acting strange. Harry gathers enough information with his friends Ron and Hermoine and knows the professor is going to steal a stone that has an elixir that makes you immortal. Harry must stop the professor from doing so. I like this genre because they always have a lot going on and tons of interesting plot twists and turns. One compliment I can give myself is that in the past two weeks I have been reading just right books and my evidence is my average pages per minute reading speed. One thing I'd like to focus on for the next few weeks is reading books from genres other than fantasy by reading books in the genre challenge.

Kavya's Typing Progress

Kavya's 5th Grade Goals

Typing Training SMART Goal

My typing speed should not hinder the writing process.

S	Specific	I want to type at 45 wpm by October 1 with correct finger placement and without looking at my fingers so my typing speed does not hinder the writing process.
M	Measurable	Four nights a week I will practice TypingTraining for 10 minutes. I will take a 3 minute typing test at the end of each week to monitor my progress.
A	Attainable	I will blog about my progress and comment on how my attitudes and skills are changing as I work closer to my goal.
R	Realistic	My goal is realistic. By the end of Grade 5 I would like to be typing at 35 wpm with correct finger placement.
T	Timely	My goal will be achieved by October 1, 2013.

My First Four Weeks of 5th Grade

My first four weeks of fifth grade have gone really well. I really like how all the fifth graders get to do lots of things other grades don't. These include going to a water park twice a year, getting our very own MacBook Pros, being the oldest in Elementary, we get to go to Subway in the High School, and getting to do extra things like Gecko Press, Student Council, and Peer Supporter.

Another thing I have really enjoyed in 5th grade is that I have had some really fun times with friends. For example, I joke around with them a lot at lunch, and have fun with them in the water park.

One thing I want to work on is writing because I hear we get to write tons of cool genres like fantasy. I also want to improve on my writing skills in these genres. I think it will be interesting to come up with story lines. I don't write fiction that much, so this will be something different, too.