Failure At the NJRC

On Thursday (7th Sept.) our school's Robotics Sec 1 to Sec 3 teams took part in the National Junior Robotics Competition along with hundreds of other teams from other schools. There is a theme for each year's competition and there are different categories of awards judged by different panels of judges. Generally you are give a few missions which you have to complete. Completing a particular step would earn you points for that mission while if something wrong occurs you may be penalised points.

This year's theme was a hard one to tackle:Rig Attack!

It involved putting the robot in water to collect water samples, and do other things and it was very difficult. It consisted of 2 missions, 1 out of water and 1 in water. My group leader was abit confident when we first reached the competition area. However, that all changed during the 1st run of the 1st mission (Each mission entitles you 2 runs to trial your errors and try again for more points) My leader, after preparing the programs and uploading them, went to the competition area to have the judges judge the robot. However, he forgot to pull out 2 axles at the bottom of the bot, leaving the robot incapable of moving and forcing us to forfeit the 1st run, meaning we couldn't calibrate the distance and could not trial our errors.

We all knew we were screwed. But we still tried the 2nd run which was even worse. After programming, he ran to the competition area. For the 1st mission, the starting point is on an elevated platform which you have to go down from. It isn't too high up, but when our robot moved down, something below broke apart from our bot. Actually, we could still run without the not-so-important piece, but the piece went directly below our bot, reducing the friction of our robot. Initally needing to turn approximately 90 degrees to the left, our robot spun 180 degrees from the front to the back, and moved forward- basically smashing into the elevated platform and smashing our hopes too. My group leader was so angry he was shouting in rage, but there was nothing we could do about the failure; fate perhaps?

The 2nd mission was a tad harder, but we managed to salvage some points to prevent a blank sheet. Failure at my 1st big robotics competition, but we learn from mistakes. Hopefully we will do better in next year's NJRC!

A Disappointing July

July. A disappointing month for me. Why? I have nothing to say about my class anymore, so much squabbles over trivial matters, and so much pushing of blame and responsibility. This class just can't bond together like a real class should.

SCENARIO ONE:
Week 4 of the new semester. After history lecture, we're supposed to have a history test on Friday. While the other classes all completed the test, ours was delayed to next week's Thursday. On Thursday. The other classes had received back their test papers. Some students from our so called 'One INTEGRITY' class had no sense of integrity. He borrowed a marked test paper during recess and showed it to everyone in class at that time.

I learnt about the incident when I came back from the canteen. Many tongues were wagging about the test paper, and they were (the ones who saw the answers) all saying that they didn't need to study anymore. After recess the history teacher came and went through our lecture notes. Then he told us to get ready for the test. I knew I had to do something to stop the dishonest act, being the history representative of my class.

I walked up to my teacher while we were arranging the tables. I told him, "The test will be unfair as some people already know the answers." He looked at me, asked me who had seen it, and how I knew. I explained the details to him, and though at least probably half the class knew the answers, only ONE had the integrity to confess when the teacher asked who had seen it.

The history teacher said he would take another test paper different from the first and he went towards the staffroom. The quarreling begun. There is one especially rude girl from my class who is disrespectful to teachers and pupils alike. The moment our teacher left to get the papers, she started scolding me, pushing much blame on me for telling the teacher. She kept emphasising that nothing would have happened if I didn't tell the teacher. So it was, alot of them were quarreling. Yes, they squandered precious time away trying to cover up their dishonest acts while I continued studying my notes silently.

The teacher came, we had the test (which they said was harder than the first). The teacher collected the papers, the lesson ended, he left. The quarrelling begun again. They kept pushing the blame on the ONE person who confessed and he cried. Yes, he cried. Why can't the others just confess. Is honesty so hard to practice? If you can do such an act, why can't you be responsible for your actions?

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE. I've had enough of this pathetic excuse for a class. People of completely different personalities just can't bond together. Your comments, anyone? I would gladly like to hear your views.

Month 4 of Sec. 1

Sorry, I forgot to post about Month 3, there were quite a few class tests for various subjects and the class was kept busy for quite sometime. The March holidays swept pass us quickly and we are now living in the month of April, yet it seems as if nothing has changed. This phenemenon seems usual yet unusual.. bah, what am I talking about? Seems Im going off-topic.

Well, there isn't really many exciting matters to talk about during these 2 months. Regarding Ismail's comments.. Don't forget the grenade that blowed 4 up. :P Joking. As for Miss Chia, thanks for the positive comment towards the school. I appreciate having so many good teachers, though my Chinese teacher has left already. She was scheduled to leave during the June holidays, but MoE pushed the date forward to the March holidays. I must say I cant' agree with some of MoE's decisions, it just isn't fair, but oh well.

Also, the Character First workshop has also ended, and now we have another workshop, Life Sciences, where we learn about DNA, blood groups, and other complicated biology subjects.
Recently, I also heard that our CME teacher would also be going during May to go to University. Ugh! So many good teachers leaving all at once :(.

As always, my classmates are still the same, gossiping about pointless matters and disturbing everyone. My class only has one counsellor, and a bad one at that, I have to say. He is the class vice-chairman, but he is so inefficient XD He can't handle the class and doesn't set a good example I have to say. He tells us to sit down and do our own work quietly during the self-study period, but he himself walks around in class and talks to his friends.

Since there isn't much to say anyway, Ill just cut this post short instead of talking about the same things over and over again. Ill try to post more during May, and the June holidays. =)

2nd Month of life in CCHMS

Altogether, CCHMS (Chung Cheng High Main School) is a nice school. The DM (Mr Soon) is fierce sometimes, but he is actually very friendly when you talk to him personally. He is also quite funny too, even when he is reprimanding students on the loudspeaker during assembly, he will crack some jokes and the students gathered at Parade Square would roar into laughter.

Of course, it takes quite some time to adapt to this new life. I have to wake up much earlier, and go downstairs earlier to wait for my school bus to come. And also, Pri School was only 5 subjects that had exams that counted in our overall score. However, in Sec School, the subjects that will count in our overall score is around 9, and non-examination subjects are also at least 5.

The teachers are very funny, optimistic and friendly (most of them) and the school also has some workshops for us, like Character First, where we learn how to build up character (Integrity, Respect, Resilience, Responsibility and Care) to 'increase our value'. We also have a workshop called Speech and Drama where every odd week is Chinese, and every even week is English speech and drama lesson, where we learn how to act in stageplays, how to boost our confidence onstage and how to overcome stage fright. The English S.a.D teacher is very funny and I really enjoy his lessons.

Of courses, having no friends at all were a major problem in my first week at school. Everyday, I sat at my seat quietly, watching the rest discussing some matters without me, during recess, I sat and ate alone, after school, I walked to the bus-stop alone, took the bus alone, and took the MRT alone, and walked back home alone... However, now all that has changed. Overtime, I made friends with around 2-3 boys in my class, and then made more friends. (My class has 11 boys and 25 girls sadly) Now they greet me whenever I arrive in school, talk to me during free periods and have their recess with me. I feel more 'in place' now, since they include me in their mini conversations, luckily. :)

However, theres one sad time about my class, which is 1IT, or 1 Integrity. The students love to shoot their mouth off about things that are not their own business, and there is lots of stupid and nonsensical gossip being spread around all the time. Its so meaningless and only hurts the person who is the victim of such nonsense. One of such gossiping people is my best friend sadly, and sometimes when I am with him I feel so uncomfortable.

I know this post is messy, but Im going to be more specific about my teachers.
There are many different subjects, so there are many different teachers all teaching different subjects, so I will only mention a few that are better than the others.

Geography:Our teacher is Mrs Long Lay Na, a very nice and friendly teacher who also is our form teacher. I feel very lucky to have her as our form teacher, as I feel very happy whenever its her lesson. Her lessons are interesting and lets me understand Geography better.

History:Our teacher is Mr Suhaimi, our assistant form teacher. He is friendly and good-natured, and I just simply love his lesson, though its only once a week. He explains the concepts of History very clearly and when we ask questions, he answers with a smile on his face.

HCL:Our teacher is Ms Dang Pei Yuan, a temporary teacher who is 19, and will be teaching us till May. I feel very sad that she will leave us in 3 months to go to University. She is very funny and the whole class is always very active during her lesson. She speaks to us in a fun yet serious tone and the whole class definitely enjoys her lesson and forget their hatred for Chinese subject.

CME:Our teacher is Ms Lin, who is also a young teacher. She is good-natured and we always feel free to ask questions, as we always get a friendly response. A very nice teacher altogether.

Character First:Character First is a workshop which will be taught by different teachers. Our teacher who is teaching us currently (we just had our last lesson with him) is Mr Harry Quek. He is by far the most funny teacher I have met, and has built up his character well. He knows how to pay attention, and most importantly respect the student's point of view. He teaches us teambuilding and character-building games and give small rewards whenever a particular group does well during the game. (they include wrapping 2 eggs up with scotchtape, paper and straw and throwing it down to the 1st level from the 2nd, and seeing if they will break)

My CCA is IT Club, which during the 1st year teaches us Robotics. The lessons are very interesting, and we learn how to construct and programme robots to do certain things. Of course, the whole matter is very complicated and the students are always buzzing the poor teacher with questions.

I think I have finished my post. I hope you enjoyed reading about my life. I will try to post more if I have the time to do so, as homework is beginning to pile up sadly.

My Current Life

Since today is the last day of the Prelim examinations, many people may feel its the end for now. But, unknowingly, the hardship of P6 begins directly after the Prelim exams.

After months of study, study and more study, Prelim is over and PSLE, the main exam, is arriving. Just double the amount of studying again. We have to leave all enjoyment till after the PSLE is truly over. When is that? When will that day truly come?

No blogging, no enjoying of life, pure 100% into the inevitable examinations, coming after one month and 1-2 weeks. This exam can affect our whole life. We must put our all into it, and give the exam the best shot.

Tackle the papers like we tackle daily life problems. I believe that as long as we can endure this test, we will do well for PSLE and then, truly enjoy the next few months of 'no study, no work, no torture'.

Still, this period of time does not mean no enjoyment. We should learn how to control our stress. Don't overstress yourself by studying for many long hours non-stop. This will only dampen your studying spirit, and affect your mood for PSLE.

Lokk on the bright side of this exam. It will affect indirectly which school we go to, our level of education, our job, our life, our enjoyment level.. when we are much older. Do not overstress, do not think negatively even if your Prelim exam results are not good. Do not feel depression, look and think positive and strive for the best you can.

Dreams will only come true if you work to fulfil your dreams. Success is 1% inspiration, genius and 99% perspiration. Work hard for the coming exam, strive for accuracy, take the bull by its horns, practice our Habits of Mind.

And... just for fun.. Don't think like a sadist.

Interesting Observation?

When I was in Johor 18th-19th June for a holiday with my family, I realized something funny about the storekeepers selling DVDs. All fo them say the same thing when we walk them, asking if we want to buy soem goods. For example, they say 'Want to see anything, boss?' in chinese.

Many stores sell the same things and the way they speak to us is the same. The prices seem to be the same at approximately RM 6-7 each, but only two stores sell at RM 6 each. When we ask the other stores, they state the price at RM 7, but when we say other stores sell cheaper, they want to find out which ones sell RM 6 each, as if they want to beat the storekeeper for unbalancing the economy. (o_o?)

Anyway this is what I observed. Not so interesting, but.. its the only matter I have things to really blog about.

ShatteredGalaxy:The J-E-I Story

I have just opened up a blog writing stories about edited versions of the popular online game ShatteredGalaxy.

It features three factions, edited from the proper ones, Pacifica, Atlantis and Agartha. They are replaced by Icifica, Jolantis and Egartha. The 'heros and commanders' of each faction edited are as follows...

Icifica-Ismail
Egartha-Ewan
Jolantis-Joel (me)

Expect me to update the blog alot as I simply love to write stories online, though few people read them as I never mention the websites. (:P) There is an introduction to the world of Morgana Prime, the proper 2nd planet in ShatteredGalaxy. There is a description in the blog which you can go view to understand more. There is currently already one story blogged, and expect to see many more. The blog is http://shatteredtales.blogspot.com, and will be run only by me.

Feel free to read these stories of the victory or defeat of each faction, whether you are interested or not. I most welcome Ismail and Ewan to read it. Ewan himself has a blog mentioning the old factions before a change in the game. (The first three were Terminus, Renaissance and Brotherhood) But since they updated the factions, I'm blogging these as an add-on.

I hope for your support in future,
Joel