Parental Trust - by Dr Bill Maier

I read this article in the Today Paper yesterday.

Parental Trust
All teenagers want to be trusted by their parents. But trust is something you earn, not demand.

A counsellor once asked a group of teenagers: "How many of you consider yourselves to be honest with your parents?" Not one hand went up.

When she asked why, one student answered: "I don't actually lie; I just don't tell them all the facts."

Sadly, a lot of teenagers have the same attitude. And they then complain when their parents do not trust them. But trust is a precious gift, and you have to work to gain it.

You begin by developing a habit of telling the truth, no matter how painful it may be, even if you have to suffer consequences. And when you give your word, always follow through.

When your plans change, call home to let your family know. And take care of things you borrow.

It's the little things each day that thay builds trust between children and their parents. Once developed, trust seldom diminishes.

Holidays Ended, Term 3 begins

Swine flu, H1N1.. whatever you call it, it has made a significant impact in our daily lives in the last 2 months. With the end of the school holidays, schools are putting up with more precautionary measures to contain the spread of the virus. In other words, this means more work and more busyness for many of us.

I have my fair share of work too. Thankfully, the virus was well contained, fingers crossing. So far, this is for week 1. I wonder when the epidemic will go away. The sooner, the better. This is a long weekend coming up. What's your plans? I have not decided mine yet. Have an enjoyable weekend.

Term 2 - Over!

Term 2 was really a hectic term for me. It is the busiest period for many schools as "mega" events like Sports Day, Speech Day, mid-year examinations all happened in these 10 weeks. I have my fair share of work load and marking load too. In the last week of the term, I was actually motivating myself by looking ahead of the holiday that was coming soon.

Yes, I am in Clubmed Bintan now, enjoying the scenery, sand, sea and sail. Everything is provided so no stress! There are also a variety of activities... We tried archery and kayaking yesterday. In an hour's time, I would be playing golf with my daughter on the reknown Ria Bintan Golf course. It is rated the best golf course in Asia in 2008. I am looking forward to it. Some of the holes actually faces the Ocean. Let's see how many golf balls we hit into the Ocean.. Haha... (cont).. We hit the whole bag of balls (about 25) into the ocean or the woods. But the scenary is really beautiful. There is one hole (hole 8) where the backdrop is the South China Sea. You must be very careful when you are approaching the hole. If you hit the ball too hard, it will go into the sea. Awesome, isn't it? I'll post pictures when I am back in Singapore. This evening I had formal dinner at the beach. The cool sea breeze with seafood, steak and wine was... :)

Back to term 2. One of the major highlights must be the Student Council Investiture. This is the second most important event in the school calendar. It is also the first time the Student Council is inviting parents, guests and students from other schools to grace the event. In past years, the Investiture was usually during assembly period and strictly an internal affairs. This year's investiture was grand. The Student Councillors walked down the red carpet with NPCC cadets on both sides of the carpet. The school song was sung with live music from the band. Awesome! The main part of the Investiture was the parents pinning the Student Council badge onto their child's uniform. This was a touching moment for many students and parents. I have parents sharing with me that they felt very proud of their child when they were pinning the badges on them. Student Councillors from other schools also shared that they felt our Investiture was very special and meaningful. Great Job Student Councillors! You have exceeded expectations!

It will be a few days of rest for me before I plunged myself back to thinking and planning for the second half of the school activities. I am happy that we have this break so that we can refresh ourselves and reflect on what we have done. This rest will definitely sharpen many of us who are in the education profession.

Examination Week!

Examination week! This is a time where teachers' vocal cords take a break. Most of the time spent is on invigilation and marking. I have completed marking 2 sets of papers - E Maths Paper 1 and A Maths Paper 1. As I marked these papers, I realized that some of the better students have learnt how I think and approached problems.. this is shown in the way they have tackled the examination papers. This was what I told the class that some of them will become when I started teaching them at the beginning of last year... Isn't it interesting? :)

Honour your parents

Today is Mother's Day! A day to remind us, children of our duties to honour our mothers and fathers. This is the right thing to do. The Bible says that there is blessing for those who honour their parents. Our parents are not perfect, they made mistakes. But to be fair to them, they are first-time parents who do not have prior experiences. Their job is made even more difficult with the influx of new technology and the digital cyber age. The issues that we face today is so different from those they experience when they were growing up. Let's love and honour them because their love for us, even though at times not expressed appropriately from our point of view, is sacrificial. Do it today while you still have an opportunity :)

I would be mentoring 5 students this year. They are preparing for their O levels. I met each of them last month. Each one has different aspirations, strengths, potentials and struggles. I look forward to helping them strengthen their inner person so that they have the strength to overcome whatever challenges that come their way.

We have completed our Student Council Election. A new batch of Student Councillors will step up to take over. This is my Core 7 and Shadow 6 (C7, S6). I have high expectations of them that they will do all right.

Food for Thought

I was reading an article from Mr. Adam Khoo on becoming an expert in the area one is interested to develop. This is an except from it that I feel it makes a lot of sense.

The lesson I would like to share with you is that in order for you to become successful in any field, you have develop a talent for it. To develop a talent for anything, you must have the discipline to work on it for hours and hours until you master it!

So, before you can succeed as trader, you have to first put in 10,000 hours studying stock charts.

Before you can become a best-selling author, you have to write for 10,000 hours.

Before you can succeed in golf, you have to hit golf balls for 10,000 hours.

Before you can succeed in sales, you must spend 10,000 hours selling in front of customers.

Pay the price and you will be a genius!

Love Crucified Arose

Isaiah 53:5

"But He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with his stripes we are healed"

700 years before the birth of Jesus, the prophet Isaiah prophesized of his life, death and resurrection. Today is Easter! A day to remember our Saviour, Jesus Christ who had risen from the dead. He was wounded for our iniquities, crushed because of His love for us.

This video reflects well - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjNeqvgMryw&feature=related

The song, "Love Crucified Arose" is by Michael Card. It is one song that I learnt during my teenage years and always touches my heart when it is played and sung.

Wonderful Song that mersmerized me today!

Beautiful lyrics, tune and MTV... enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXeRW_Urq4o&feature=PlayList&p=C2B8DDF9F0C000C2&index=42