Letter OF COMPLAINT!
7 Sunrise Place
Singapore 123557
21st April 2010
Mrs Saraspathy Menon
Principle
Chong Boon Secondary School
Dear Ms Menon,
My friends and I have been going to the school library lately to do some self-studying. However, my friends and I are unhappy about a few incidents which took place recently. I am writing this letter to inform you about the incidents and I hope that you can take actions so that the library can return to a favourable environment and other people can study well in there.
There was this group of student that is so rude to the librarian that they argued with the librarian. The student was swearing at the librarian loudly. Despite of the fact that the librarian was older than them, they still did not care and continued to do so. I personally feel that those students should be punished as swearing is not an appropriate behaviour.Some students even smuggled food and drinks and even spilled their drinks on the table, attracting ants and other pest as it is a sweet drink.

Kids tempt to cool themselves with the air conditional especially after P.E. There is this boy who came into the library after P.E his T-shirt is soaking wet with his sweat as time went by the smell of his sweat had caused the library to stink. We should not allow students wearing shirts that are soaked with sweat to come into the library they should at least change into a new set of clothes before coming in.

A group of students were playing internet games with the library’s computer. While the other group of students were waiting for their turn to use the computer so that they can do their project. When they could not wait any longer, they asked politely towards the students to let them use the computer however the students playing the computers refused. I think we should set a limit of time for students using the computer especially for gaming.
The library has now become a place that is no longer suitable for studying or a place to do projects. As the principle of the school I hope you can do something about this inconsiderate behaviours or performance by the students.
Yours Sincerely,
Zhi De

International Friendship Day

International Friendship Day
1. What are the relationships that are important to you within the school context?
The relationships between the teachers or classmates are equally important to me. I think that in order to study or learn well in class there must be a good understanding between the teachers and a student. Nobody wants to be in a class which has the teacher he or she hate.( I am just saying) Class mates are counted as important as without classmates you won’t be able to do group work. Besides class mates could also cheer you on when you are in a bad mood or share the joy with them when you are in a good mood.
2. What do you know about the history of your school/CCA?
I know that my school has quite a long history but I do not know any of its events nor my CCA history. I know that our school will annually host a Sports Fiesta or a Growth a day as events for the school to make school more interesting for students.
3. Share a story about your school/CCA. It can be funny ones, successful ones and difficult ones.
I remember when I first join my CCA as a Multimedia Club member we don’t really have much to do all I did was to slack through the entire hour and go home. It was very relaxing.
4. Have the stories you heard from your classmates changed the way you view/feel about your school?
I heard some rumours when I in primary school that Chong Boon is not a very nice school to be in. However I chose Chong Boon as a second choice still as it was near my house and in is convenient but I found Chong Boon not a bad as the rumours were there are bad kids in Chong Boon but not all of them are bad kids. I still feel that Chong Boon is a very interesting school as there are many events held every year.

< Durian
Durian is a very unique fruit. Its shell has sharp pointy spikes and inside of the fruit have soft tender yellow flesh. There are bitter or sweet durians. Durian is very popular with the locals in Singapore. However durians are not well liked by some people as they find it stinky or disgusting. The outer layer design of the building, Esplanade has a similar shape with a durian.

Reflection on shark conservation again again
Humans have hunted sharks for sport, food, medicine, and leather for centuries, with little regard for the health of shark populations. Sports fishers around the world regard sharks as some of the most challenging fish to catch in the sea. Shark flesh is highly prized in many regions of the world. One particularly popular food made from shark meat, shark fin soup, is in such demand that some fishers hunt sharks just for their fins, throwing the rest of the fish back to the sea to die. Shark liver oil is a popular source of vitamin A, and some people believe that shark liver and cartilage are beneficial to human health. Shark skin, with its microscopic teethlike scales, was once used as a fine grade of sandpaper, and when the scales are removed from the skin to make shark leather, it brings high prices for use in shoes, belts, and handbags. Many sharks are killed unintentionally. Each year, thousands of sharks die in nets set out to catch other types of fish. Sometimes, humans kill sharks just because they fear them.Such activities have placed many shark populations in danger of extinction. For example, between the mid-1980s and mid-1990s, populations of dusky sharks and sandbar sharks off the eastern coast of the United States declined by more than 80 percent. Internationally, the sand tiger shark and the great white shark are also in danger of extinction. Sharks grow slowly, reproduce late in their lives, and produce few offspring when they mate, making the natural rate of population replenishment very slow. If too many sharks in a particular area are killed, that population may never recover. For example, numbers of porbeagle sharks, swift, ocean-going sharks once commercially valuable, declined dramatically until, by 1960, commercial fishers could no longer catch enough of them to cover their expenses. Thirty years later, porbeagle populations still have not recovered.Sharks caught in high-seas fisheries are among the ocean’s most vulnerable animals. Their low reproductive rates make them particularly susceptible to overfishing in the face of increased demand for shark products. More than half of the shark species taken in high-seas fisheries are classified as Endangered, Vulnerable or Near Threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Three hammerhead sharks, oceanic whitetips, spiny dogfish, porbeagles, sandbar and dusky sharks have been proposed for a CITES Appendix II listing, which would closely monitor and control international trade. In addition to seeking protections for sharks, Pew Environment Group will also advocate for the protection of Atlantic bluefin tuna. A proposed Appendix I listing would prohibit international trade in the species.
Link as they help with the reflection= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shark_Conservation_Act

Reflection on shark conservation again
Tens of millions of sharks and closely related rays are killed each year in fisheries, either intentionally or as by catch. Too often their populations are being fished faster than they can reproduce. Despite the mounting evidence of shark overfishing and depletion, few countries restrict shark fishing. Even fewer have managed shark fisheries successfully. Most sharks do not stay within the waters of any one country, migrating across national and international boundaries. Some species, such as makos and blue sharks, travel across entire ocean basins. Yet, there are virtually no international limits on the catch of sharks. By catch is the unintentional or incidental capture of non-target species during fishing operations. By catch is a significant global issue. The by catch of sharks can be particularly problematic as sharks usually have slower growth rates than the target species. Shark populations may be seriously depleted through by catch from a targeted fishery that may be sustainable because shark by catch is often thrown back into the sea dead, or landed but not reported, the depletion of shark populations may go unnoticed for long periods of time – as is the case with several species of large-bodied North Atlantic skates. So even during fishing, fishermen should also look out what they will catch.
Link(shark at risk)=http://www.sharkalliance.org/v.asp?level2id=14&rootid=14&depth=1

Shark

Research on sharks-As a result of Bite-Back’s campaign it is now impossible to buy shark meat in a British supermarket (ASDA previously sold 100,000 portions of shark meat every year) and now only one supermarket (Tesco) is selling swordfish. And when the country’s largest health food retailer, Holland & Barratt, honoured Bite-Back’s request for the removal of shark cartilage capsules across 500 stores it became clear that its campaigns are having a genuine and measurable impact on the way Britain goes shopping.Campaign director for Bite-Back, Graham Buckingham, said: “It’s our prediction that 2010 will be a landmark year for Bite-Back breakthroughs and that soon the country will look back in shame that these fish ever appeared on supermarket shelves and restaurant menus.”In the coming weeks, this site will become even more campaign-focussed and deliberate in its mission to halt the trade and consumption of vulnerable fish species, promote sustainable fishing, protect ocean habitats and inspire worldwide respect for the marine environment.
Throughout the world sharks are under such intense attack by Man that their numbers have declined to the point where certain species are now threatened with extinction. The situation in the Red Sea is critical and some areas that were until recently renowned for their richly productive reefs, replete with fish of all sizes, including sharks, have been transformed into desolate habitats where both the coral-reef fish and their primitive predators have been wiped out. Meanwhile the general public is still being fed the misleading old line that the seas are full of man-eating sharks and we must protect ourselves at all costs from them.
The fact is that the demise of the sharks will affect the whole eco-system and sea creatures such as oysters, clams and scallops will disappear
Reflection on articles -
The shark conversation campaign was quite successful hosted by the ‘Bite Back’ company. They had gathered many supporters of saving shark from extinction. A large amount of shark meat has been removed from the sales of the fishmonger restaurants and retailers had take out shark from their menu. I only thought that sharks are being killed for their fins till they are endangered animals but besides being hunt for their fins there are other reasons for sharks to be endangered. For example oceanic pollution could also cause shark to die. Perversely, against this backdrop, shark meat is being popularised by celebrity chefs, trendy restaurants and even supermarkets and, as such, Britain is compounding the worldwide problem of over-fishing, the single biggest threat to the marine environment. Over-fishing is decimating shark populations Over-fishing is decimating shark populations. Actually the fishing industry does not want to catch sharks but most of them being forced to catch sharks faster than they can reproduce, purely because more people want to eat it. When sharks are killed this could affect the food chain, as sharks eat on coral-reef fish that feeds on coral they would have less predator to hunt them and they could reproduce more freely. Hence not just sharks coral would be endangered too.


Shark Conversation Campaign-Fins are Changing
URL Link:http://www.bite-back.com/finsarechanging.htm
Shark and Coral Conservation
URL Link:http://www.sharkandcoralconservation.com/

Total Defence Day

Total Defence Day

On Total Defence day there was quite a few events had happen. There was a practice on fire drill, emergency bell had ringed and the whole was asked to move to the field for evacuation, the whole school was scold as we were too slow. After the fire drill we were taken to different part of the school and visited the booth set up by the uniform groups and pasted our opinions about the five different defences on each of the board. During recess we were only gave a bottle of water and bread for food rationing. At the end of the trip we went to the hall for the Chinese New Year concert.