"RAMADHAN IN MY HEART" PROGRAMME FOR TEACHERS

This is one of the programmes that we had in school specially for teachers in conjunction with the coming fasting month of Ramadhan. The first slot at 8:00 a.m. was a talk delivered by none other than Ustaz Mohd. Rifqi Myddin. We were given information about the practices which should be done and would be rewarded by Allah throughout the holy month.



After that, at about 9:30 a.m., it was the moment that everyone (especially me) was waiting for: the morning tea break. And that was all - it was a short but meaningful session.


Not many colleagues turned up this time, most probably they had gone back to their hometown to fast with the other family members as this week will be a long weekend. School will only start on Wednesday after Monday and Tuesday were declared holidays.

There will be other programmes coming soon which everyone should be looking forward to.

THE LAST POTLUCK BEFORE THE ARRIVAL OF RAMADHAN

Since today was the last day of school before Ramadhan, a potluck was held in the staffroom today. The food was superb and everybody looked happy. I am sure there will be another potluck to celebrate Eid ul-Fitr coming soon.


Since Ramadhan is the month of giving, there are dates given by colleagues and office staff to bring home. May Allah bless all the kind souls.

*NOTE:
My PC is back but it is as if I am getting a brand new machine. Why? All my documents and picture files are not there anymore. The people at the computer shop could NOT do any back up to save them. As for me, I have to accept this as my fate (and my ignorance for not saving all the documents and pictures into, let's say, a portable hard disk). Nevertheless, I, on behalf of the people whose computers were infected with FB's "how are u?" virus, hereby pray that the creator of the virus, his/her children and grandchildren and great grandchildren will suffer throughout their miserable lives before they were all burned in hell. Thank you.

SPOT THE ERROR 10

Thanks to Mr. Ridwan Wahid, a friend residing in Sydney, who was kind enough to share this photograph captured when he was on his trip to Tasmania.

Can you spot the error? It looks kind of complicated but what you should be looking for is a spelling error in one of the words.

*NOTE: The blog has not been updated for days as my PC is still in the computer shop after being infected with FB's "hi how are u?" virus. I am doing my work on the (school's) notebook which is something I don't like but I don't have any other choice. I miss my PC very much.

SAMPLE ESSAY FOR PMR LITERATURE QUESTION

QUESTION: From the novel that you have read, write about a lesson you can learn from it and give evidence from the novel.

From the novel "The Prisoner of Zenda", there many lessons that we can learn. One of the most prominent one is we must be brave. This value is shown by the main character, Rudolf Rassendyll.
From the beginning of the story, Rassendyll has shown he is a brave man. In the early part of the novel, he impersonated King Rudolf V. This is due to his same features: red hair, blue eyes and long nose. When he saw the King, it was as if he was looking into the mirror. It takes a brave man to do this as Rassendyll could be killed by the King's enemies but he carried out his duty right until the end.

Rassendyll also shows that he was a brave fighter and a skillful swordsman. He had a fight with Detchard, Bersonin and De Gautet when he went to met Antoinette de Mauban at her house and escaped unharmed. Once, he met Rupert of Hentzau face to face when Hentzau acted as the messenger to Black Michael. Known as the most wicked of the Six, Rassendyll was almost killed.

Lastly, Rassendyll had tried to save the King from Zenda Castle even though he had to put his own life at risk. At the end of the story, he went to the Old Castle to free the King. He a had fight and killed Detchard after driving his sword through Detchard's neck. Rassendyll was seriously injured but he still tried to chase afer Hentzau in his attempt to kill him.

All in all, Rassendyll is the bravest character and because of his courage, the King and his kingdom were saved. From the story, I have learned that it is very important to be brave in life.

*NOTE:

The content of this essay can also be used to support answer responding to questions related to theme or moral value of the same novel. You have to change the statement in the introduction paragraph so it will directly answer the question and also the sentence in the conclusion paragraph. And please never ever memorize the essay, this acts only as a sample.

A DATE WITH AN AMERICAN WOMAN FROM WASHINGTON DC

Another get together was organized by my TESL friends. This time we were welcoming another friend, Puan Puteri Khairul Bariah Mansor, who came back to Malaysia from Washington DC for a short holiday. Not many could be present this time but nine people were good enough. I guess this should be the last gathering for our group, at least before the coming of the month of Ramadhan.

So thanks to these people for the fun time we had in Pyramid Tower Hotel: (1) Puan Maizurfidar Anom Abdullah cum organizer (2) Puan Rozana Sani Abdullah Sani (3) Puan Christina Chan (4) Puan Maslinda Mohd. Dahalan (5) Puan Salmiah Mohd. Ghazali (6) Puan Sharifah Aishah Osman (7) Puan Aida Ahmad Saipiuddin, and the guest of honour (7) Puan Puteri Khairul Bariah Mohd. Mansor. I am sure we will have more frequent gathering after this.

SAMPLE ESSAY FOR PMR LITERATURE QUESTION

*NOTE:
In order to get high marks for Literature Section [Paper 2] PMR:
1. Read the question carefully and understand what you have to do actually.
2. In the introduction paragraph of, there MUST be a statement that directly answers the question.
3. Provide DETAILED description/example from the novel.
4. Most of the time, try to provide three reasons/events to support your answer.
5. Be organized ~ good paragraphing with introduction and concluding paragraphs help a lot.
6. Do not worry about writing long essay - the more you know, the more you tend to write and this should be good.

QUESTION: Based on the novel that you have read, write about a character that you like and give reasons why.

From the novel that I have read, "The Prisoner of Zenda", there is one character that I like very much. He is none other than the main character, Rudolf Rassendyll.


The first reason why I like Rassendyll is because he is a brave man. In the early part of the story, he was asked to impersonate King Rudolf V. This was due to his same features: red hair, long nose and blue eyes. When he saw the King for the first time, it was as if he was looking into a mirror. It takes a brave man to do this as Rassendyll could be killed by the King's enemies. And he did just that until the King was finally saved and his throne was secured.


The second reason is Rassendyll is a loyal person. There was one time when he was offered a bribe of fifty thousand pounds by Black Michael to leave Ruritania, but he refused. The second time, he was offered one hundred thousand pounds. Although it was a large sum of money, he still rejected it because of his loyalty to the King.

The third reason is Rassendyll is an honourable character. Despite the fact that he was deeply in love with Princess Flavia, he did not marry her right until the end. Because of his honourable act, Rassendyll risked his own life to save the King instead of killing him. This shows that duty must come before love and personal feeling.

As a conclusion, the character that I like the most is Rudolf Rassendyll. He has displayed many positive values as Fritz had once said, "The best men are not often Kings".

LET'S LEARN PROVERBS WITH MY FORM 2 STUDENTS [PART 1]

CLASS/TIME: 2KP1, 5:00-5:35PM
TOPIC: English Proverbs
OBJECTIVE: Students should be able to complete the English proverbs correctly in the quiz given.
REFLECTION: After checking their answers, there are mixed feelings - either I would be rolling on the floor OR I am going to strangle some people after this. I must threaten them with a heavier punishment if they do not study their list of proverbs for the second quiz.

STUDENT'S ANSWER:
Birds of a feather cannot fly

IT SHOULD BE:
Birds of a feather flock together

STUDENT'S ANSWER:
Cut your coat on your body

IT SHOULD BE:
Cut your coat according to your cloth

STUDENT'S ANSWER:
The last straw is very long

IT SHOULD BE:
The last straw breaks the camel's back

STUDENT'S ANSWER:
Every cloud has its own shape

IT SHOULD BE:
Every cloud has a silver lining

STUDENT'S ANSWER:
There's no use crying over a dead man

IT SHOULD BE:
There's no use crying over spilt milk

STUDENT'S ANSWER:
Don't wash your dirty linen under a cloudy cloud

IT SHOULD BE:
Don't was your dirty linen in public

STUDENT'S ANSWER:
One bird in a hand is happy

IT SHOULD BE:
One bird in a hand is worth two in a bush

STUDENT'S ANSWER:
Blood is red

IT SHOULD BE:

Blood is thicker than water

STUDENT'S ANSWER:
An eye for an eye, a nose for a nose

IT SHOULD BE:
An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth

STUDENT'S ANSWER:
Like father, like me

IT SHOULD BE:
Like father, like son

*NOTE:
1. All the answers are real students' answers but who they are will remain anonymous until this very day.
2. The pictures are copied from sources from Google images without permission but used not for commercial purposes, so please do not sue me.
3. There will be Proverbs Quiz 2 coming soon.
4. You can read similar posting of a quiz given last year HERE.

A BREAKFAST DATE WITH A FRENCHMAN

Sometimes I like to exaggerate, just to attract people's attention. Actually Mr. Abdul Hadi Azman is not a Frenchman. He is an ex-student who is studying in France. The last time we met was like two years ago. I could not make it on his wedding day last year. So it was kind of him to set a breakfast date at KFC somewhere near the Larkin Bus Terminal as that would be the most convenient time. The meeting was too short but hopefully we could chat longer if we can meet for another meeting before he leaves for France in September.

THE RETURN OF MY DISAPPEARING PENCIL CASE

I have been searching high and low and I have been looking every nook and cranny. My pencil case has been missing for about three weeks and all my effort to find it was in vain. I have been using it for the last six years (or more) and its disappearance has made my life as a teacher a miserable. I already bought a few new red and black pens and was thinking of getting a new pencil case. However, suddenly, this very pencil case appeared on my table this evening. Oh what joy! Actually, someone must have found it but when it was sent to the main office, my possession was left hidden behind some pieces of paper.

So now there is no need to buy a new one and I can lead a normal life.

THREE EX-STUDENTS WEDDING IN TWO DAYS

WEDDING 1: ZULFADZELIE'S

with Zahari, Hanis and Faiz

16TH JULY ~ I had to rush to Zulfadzelie's wedding as I was in the middle of the Drama Workshop in school. So I went off during lunch break but it was a bit too early as the bride and bridegroom were busy preparing themselves for the event. Nevertheless, there were a few of ex-students around so I was still happy to be there.

with Syafiq

with Zaleha and Hamidah

with Asma' and Fasiha

with Sakinah Omar

WEDDING 2: KAMIL'S

with the bridegroom's sister, Sakinah, also an ex-student

16th JULY ~ Another wedding invitation on the same day was held at UTM. I fled from the Drama Workshop at 4:00 after presenting out own production. Nevertheless, I was too late. I still managed to meet the bride and bridegroom as they were about to leave the hall. Luckily the bridegroom's sister still recognized me so at least I saw someone I knew there.

WEDDING 3: NURUL HANA'S

17th JULY ~ The wedding was held at the same place of the second wedding which I attended yesterday. However, everything was of a totally different decor. This time round there were more ex-students I met so it was some sort of a mini reunion.

with Sakinah and her sister, Raihan

with Hakim and Hakam. can you spot the difference?

with Munir

I guess these would be the last wedding events attended before the arrival of Ramadhan, the fasting month. I do expect more weddings though after that.