Hi! I’m Maika! I LOVE all things creative. Musical theatre, composing, literature, creative writing. I’m about to go on a 6 year journey in my DREAM school. Life has it’s challenges, but I feel like I’m pretty ready to face mine! Come along with me on my journey!
I know that to all my fellow Primary 6 students out there in our little red dot, we’re about to go through the stressful process of choosing a secondary school!
I know there is not much that can truly help from this little post, but I’m just giving you a little advice that I got.
The first factor you want to look for, it courses. If, for example, you love music, is there a school that may have a course such as the Music Elective Program?
The second, is the distance. I’m pretty sure you’ve heard that a million times, but it MATTERS. In secondary school, CCA is no longer optional, it is compulsory. School days may end as late as 7 p.m., then you still have to go home and do your homework. Unless you can manage to cram it on the train, bus, or on a car, i’d say just choose a school nearer to you.
Third, culture. This is the place you will be spending your next 4 (or 6) years in. You have to make sure you are happy with the atmosphere and culture at the school you are going to. Of course, reading about the school wouldn’t get you this, so I’d recommend going to the school’s open houses.
The final thing I think is important, is that, is this the school YOU want to go to? Or the school your parents like?
With that, I wish you guys all the best, and good luck on your journey!!!!
I recently had a school trip to a public experience in Singapore, the theme being about the future, getting to give that a try through AI. We started off with an activity where we made our own characters. We would take photos, and AI would turn them into visions of us in the future! Honestly speaking, I looked horrid, but we shall look past that.
After that, we started off with an activity called “Wheels Of Time” it’s exactly what it sounds like, basically a turn of a wheel back into time. Starting off with from when Singapore was found, and named “Singapura”, all the way to when Singapore gained it’s independence.
The next activity was a mini show, each of ours customised to the answers we had given during our character personalisation. A showcase of what Singapore might be like in the future, along with a look at what WE might be in the future too!
Let me stop there for now, and turn to this question. “What do you want for our future?” Not just Singapore too, the whole world in general. I know I’m only 12, there may be some silly thoughts that may never be accomplished, but I thought you might hear me out.
I mentioned the elderly in my previous post, so now I’ll talk about people like me! Kids! The world is huge. There are many kids out there in the world, younger than me, older than me. The world isn’t exactly a fair place either. I’m here, with the privilege of a computer, in a nice house, with someone to take care of me, not having to worry that tomorrow I might not be okay. That’s not the case for all kids, across the world, there’s a kid, just like me, my age, the same love and passion for music, but no opportunities. No hope. Well, not really no hope, but no chance to have hope.
Take an example, the kids in Gaza, I’m so sure there’s a kid who longs to have piano lessons, but can’t because of war. A kid who just wants to go to school, but can’t because school doesn’t exist anymore.
So what do I want for our future? Safety. Communal hope. A chance for these kids to have what they might want. That’s impossible, sure, but even though we can’t help every single one of the kids, one kid is one less whom has no chance at hope. Maybe I sound stupid, maybe I sound weird. But maybe music CAN fix a tiny batch of this vast ocean. Like I said, we are all tied by melodies. What if I could share with them a way of joy, humming a melody together?
I hate wars for this reason. Hate is a strong word, and I have that strong feeling towards why these children, innocent children, have to suffer. I’m glad now that wars are slowly decreasing, but there are more issues for sure. Sometimes I look out the window, just zone out, and think, “What will happen in the future?” And I’m pretty sure we all have thought of this at least once. Though this can’t be determined for sure, I want to just share these wise words I learnt. “We can’t erase the past, we can’t control the future, but for now, the present is in our hands, and we have the power to make the small difference for the future.” It touched my heart in a place I couldn’t quite reach, but I understand these words in and out.
So, before I end off this post, let me say this once again. No matter how small you are, or how weak you think your words or actions may be, I can promise you that a singular drop of water can be THE droplet to completely fill up a container.
You know how sometimes, when you are feeling so down, so hopeless, just so tired in general? What do you normally do then? For me, and for a ton of my friends, the answer is “Listen to music”. That got me thinking, what *can* music do for us?
Let me break it down for you. A survey I read up about actually stated that per person, we listen to about 20 hours of music every week. Now, my math is not exactly the best, but that’s a lot of time! Specifically among youths like me, we turn to music as a comfort. Bad day? Music! Good day? Music!
We all have different music tastes, yes! Like me, personally, I’m not really the…biggest fan of Taylor Swift (sorry to the swifties) but I sure have music that i will be listening to repeat!
Now we turn from my opinion to the world. A test had shown, that a group of people singing in a choir, had taken their heart beats taken whilst singing, the results showed that every single one of them had the exact same heartbeat. How cool is that? Singing the same song, different people, different stories, from all walks of life, somehow in the same room, connected even through their heartbeats!
The question I have? How can we help the world with music? I’m fortunate enough to be taking music classes every week, experiencing all the joys and uhm…maybe frustrations of learning it step by step, but what about those who don’t? What about those who long to learn it, but simple can’t? How can I…share it to them?
Over 7,000 languages in the world, yet we all understand a melody. 8.142 billion people in the world, all with the hope of humming a tune. My main focus, is the elderly. Especially those in the old folk’s home. It hurts my heart every single time I see them there, so desperate for someone to talk to, only able to mix with all the others there, so happy for a simple thing as a child like me visiting them. The last time I went, they were so sad to see me go.
So let me share my dreams. A small, but hopeful dream. One day, I would love to share my music, the things I write, with people across the world, the people in pain, the people whom simple need a positive thought, the youths going through the struggles of finding their place in the world, the elderly trying to find a source of comfort in their golden years.
I’m only 12, I’m not that big yet, but as my motto goes, “The world didn’t grow on ‘maybe’s, so if you’re scared, do it scared. Learn to be brave.” So until I can find my own footing in the world, I’m starting small. This blog, (which probably not many people read) maybe visits to the old folk’s home, share a little music with them, and all the small things I can come across. One small ripple can start a big wave after all!
My first lesson today was a comprehension exercise about a news article.
When you do a comprehension exercise, start by reading all the questions quickly and highlighting the key words. This helps you know what to look for. It also helps summarizes exactly the word that should appear in the passage. Most of the time, the keyword in your question could relate to a word in the passage!
Then, read the article carefully and keep those key words in mind while you read.
For factual questions, look for the facts in the passage, then check back with the question to make sure your answer matches the information given. Even for factual questions, you should not just dump the whole paragraph you saw from the passage either. Find the exact thing the question is looking for.
For inference questions, write your own opinion or idea based on what you’ve understood. Don’t copy from the passage, think about the main idea or message instead.
For vocabulary questions, focus on how the word is used in the passage. The meaning in context might be a bit different from the one in the dictionary.
Learning English is more than just finishing exercises or passing exam! It is a doorway to the world. Through English, we can explore new ideas, understand different cultures, and connect with people from every corner of the globe.
One of the best ways to see the world through English is by reading newspapers and articles. Every story we read opens our minds to new perspectives and helps us become more informed, thoughtful, and confident global citizens.
That’s why in my opinion, I don’t really think that learning to infer a passage is just a normal English skill, I feel like it’s kind of a life skill!!!!
Hi! I’m Maika. I just turned 12 and have finished six amazing years of primary school in Singapore. English has become my first language, and now I’m excited to start my dream secondary school!
Next year, I’ll be diving into literature, language, and creative writing — subjects I love, even though they’re challenging.
I started this blog to share the things I’ve learned in Singapore with friends in Vietnam, especially those curious about how students in English-speaking countries study language and literature. Writing here is also my favorite way to review what I’ve learned.
I hope you enjoy reading my blog as much as I enjoy writing it!
Maika Nguyen 