Friday, February 20, 2009 3:03 AM
Childhood Memories
I remembered that when I was young, my parents took me and my sister to Australia for a holiday. We went to mainly 3worlds, Sea World, Movie World and Dream World.
At Sea World, we went to watch the dolphins perform and bought dolphins and seals soft toys. The dolphins were very smart as they could do alot of stunts that we people cannot even do! After the performance, I went to touch the dolphins and the dolphin took away my First Kiss. Boo Hoo Hoo... HEHE... The dolphins were very "slippery" and i even sat on the dolphins and with the help of the dolphin guide, the dolphins took for a ride... It was a splendid experience for me.
At Movie World, we took a "train" into a "museum" which has alot of scary monsters that would pop out suddenly for the sake of scaring people. At that time I was really scared as I was very young at that time but I think if I were to go back now, I would not be frightened... I even had to close my eyes through out the whole "train" trip...
At Dream World, there were alot of cartoon characters on the streets just to perform for us. When we walked past the bugs bunny, it took my sister's spectacles and even tickled her... HAHA... Next, we went to look for the kaola bears and sheeps. The sheeps were very pitiful as their fur were being shaved off for other purposes. The kaola bears were very cute and I even carried its BUTT!!! HEHE... I hope i couls go to Australia again as the place is very beautiful and I loved it there... Here are some photos...
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Thursday, February 12, 2009 4:09 AM
Chek JawaThe beauty of Chek Jawa is that several different ecosystems can be seen in one small area. These ecosystems and the plants and animals found there are no longer common in Singapore. They are also fast disappearing elsewhere in the world. One of the examples is sea stars which are commonly known as starfish.
Sea stars are going to extinct soon and the beauty of the sea stars are so beautiful. There are many different types of sea stars with many different shapes, colors and sizes. Most sea stars have five arms or multiples of five. The arms radiate from a central disc. A few species have multiples of six. Their backs are covered with knobby spines and their undersides with rows of tiny tube feet. Each tube foot is tipped with a small suction cup which helps it hang on tight to things and pry open mussels or clams. It can stay motionless on a rock for weeks. Sea stars eat by inserting their inside-out stomach into a shell and digesting their prey. When the meal is done they retract their stomach back into their bodies. Sea stars exhibit a superficially radial symmetry. They typically have five "arms" which radiate from a central disk (pentaradial symmetry). However, the evolutionary ancestors of echinoderms are believed to have had bilateral symmetry. Sea stars do exhibit some superficial remnant of this body structure, evident in their larval pluteus forms. 
Sea stars do not rely on a jointed, movable skeleton for support and locomotion (although they are protected by their skeleton), but instead possess a hydraulic water vascular system that aids in locomotion. The water vascular system has many projections called tube feet on the ventral face of the sea star's arms which function in locomotion and aid with feeding. Sea stars usually hunt for shelled animals such as oysters and clams. They have two stomachs. One stomach is used for digestion, and the other stomach can be extended outward to engulf and digest prey. This feature allows the sea star to hunt prey that is much larger than its mouth would otherwise allow. Sea stars are able to regenerate lost arms. A new sea star may be regenerated from a single arm attached to a portion of the central disk.
As for our personal point of view, we have always thought that animals and plants in Chek Jawa are seen in Singapore, but we am wrong. They are found at Pulau Ubin and we really found it intresting to find out so many others animal and plant. And they are so beautiful, it will be a pity if we don’t cherish what we have now, or else these will be extinct very soon and we can pass it down to our next generation. Starfishs are very special animal and they have very special festures too. If we have the opportunity to go to Chek Jawa, we would really want to visit and take a picture with the starfish!
Taken at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_star & http://www.wildsingapore.com/chekjawa/text/a001.htm Photos are taken from yahoo and google ! Vanessa && Yixn :D
Friday, February 6, 2009 5:19 AM
Total Defence & Cross Country
The school held Total Defence day and cross country at Nanyang Poly. The uniform groups namely (NPCC, NCC & RED CROSS). We were seated in a circled area while the uniformed group showed us how to manage when there is an emergency.
The Red Cross showed us how to use our personal belongings to help a hurt person to wrap up the wound or to hold on to a fractured arm. They too showed us how to bandage our head if the bleeding do not stop. The NPCC showed us how to make a strecter using T-shirts and pole and a big cloth and pole. They even ask students to come out to try the strecter. The NCC showed us how to use their uniform to make clean water to drink out of dirty water when in a jungle.
After the uniformed group showed us the survivour skills, it was running time... When the whistle went off, i went running around the stadium. After 2 rounds around the stadium, it was another run again around the whole Nanyang Poly. Half way through, i felt very tired and felt like giving up but I persevere on and manage to reach the ending point. After the boys finished running, it was prize giving time. After the prize giving, we were very tired but still went home with a smile on our faces as we manage to finish the long run...
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