Let's meet on 01/10/10

R U Ready

In the morning for those interested meet up at the poolside at 6.00 am for Tai Chi

exercises or those who want to go for the morning walk be out side of the hotel by 6.30 am

and we will walk along Gurney Drive (can assure you it is interesting) or those that want

the gym just go there, bet you are not alone, those that want a swim the pool is yours.

As for breakfast meet at 7.30 am at THEtreeRU corner, it is specially reserved for us and

you can take all the time, the whole morning for breakfast. But for those who want to have

their breakfast outside the hotel there are a variety and walking distance and they are

good and tasty but you need to take a walk to Pulau Tikus, you can have Penang curry mee,

prawn mee, ‘Chay Koay Teow’, ‘Koay Chup’, ‘Ah Pong’, and many other Penang specials.

The morning is free and easy or meet at the hospitality suite and catch up on the lost times

A collection of photos of those days on picnics, excursions, cycling trips, dance parties

hiking up BM hill and Kedah Peak are all up on the walls. Check it out and see if you can recall

those days and who were there and can you recognize all those in the photos. I can assure

you it is great fun. We also have a huge map of Kulim and stick a tape on where you used to

lived. As for lunch we highly recommend that you go to the Berjaya Hotel for the Malaysian

Buffet and they have a special discount for senior citizens, all of us LAH!! it is real cheap at

RM 17.00 per head. You could of course take your own sweet time to have lunch and spend a

good 2 hours there. As for those who prefer the Penang hawker food or the Nonya food in

Pulau Tikus or you may go else where like Sri Bahari Rd, some nice restaurants there.

The afternoon is free and easy and could take a short walk to the Sleeping Buddha or the

recently opened ‘Kuan Yin’ in Ayer Itam may be worth visiting.

At 6.30 pm we meet at the foyer to the dinning hall where we will have a cocktail, and this

where we will exchange gifts as we were suppose to bring a gift of less than RM30 and

exchange it so we are going to have an interesting time, some surprises and may be some

disappointments but remember it is all for the fun of it. At one corner of the foyer we will

have some selected videos from You Tube and the songs have been specially selected as it

has certain messages and may touch you, drop a tear or two and enjoy it.

Dinner will start at 8.00 pm and it is a buffet dinner you are free to start at what ever time

you want and as long as you want. Of course in between we have music of the 60’s and some

great entertainment, you will laugh or cry but they have been specially put up for you, there

are some good singers, if they are no good throw them out. Dance if you want or can but at

the end of it is the Auld Lang Syne, we all sing this together at 12.00 midnight and till we

meet again.

FRIENDSHIP 4EVER …………………………………………………………………….. ………………………Teddy Dielenberg

Profiles of past students of St Patricks, Kulim

Those of you who have been peeking into this blog might want to identify yourself by posting your profiles under the following headings:
Name.
Age
Year you started school at St Pats,
Year you finished.
Subsequent studies undertaken
Profession
Members of your family


Your impression of your old school

Achievement

Hopes for the future.

etc.

Please send the info to me as part of an email and I will do my best to publish it in the blog.

Photos are most welcome.

Hopefully this will keep us in touch.

An idea of what schools can do

My interest in education takes me through some of the schools to find what the children are learning. This is one example of what is taking place in one of the schools in Sydney. I am not suggesting that we imitate whatever is done in schools in other places but it is good to see what imagination can do. We have to be more imaginative and explore the wider world for our own good. Learning need not be confined to just the three Rs.What we need most are leaders with imagination in the field of education to make the country bloom.

'WHEN you are already learning Sanskrit, Latin, Spanish and putting on a Shakespearean production each year, the national literacy and numeracy tests might seem like a cinch to children at John Colet School.

Gilbert Mane, the headmaster of the independent school in Belrose, which came sixth overall in a ranking of NSW primary schools based on results from NAPLAN tests, said the students also studied philosophy and meditation.'

Extract from the Sydney Morning Herald

Quotable Quote

IMAGINATION IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN KNOWLEDGE
KNOWLEDGE IS LIMITED,
IMAGINATION ENCIRCLES THE WORLD.

Albert Einstein

How good is our education system

Almost all countries have some mission statements on Education. The article following is an intent put out by The US President, Barack Obama on the outcome of his educational policy.
I have chosen to put this statement on the blog because it so happens that education is my calling.
Australia has also made big strides in its education programme through the introduction of early childhood education and the implementation of the teaching of languages in schools to name just two areas.
What I am driving at is the importance of education in the preparation of our young for the tasks ahead in all areas of life. It is not enough to just say 'copy the Chinese or the Jews to show improvement' as one politician put it. It involves a lot of energy put in by the students guided by well trained educators.
What is the quality of the programmes that help to prepare our children for higher education not just in the main cities but also throughout the nation. Do we have well trained teachers in the various fields, do we have proper facilities to help with the acquisition of knowledge such as science and language labs especially in the primary and lower secondary areas of the country?
Do we leave out subjects, for example languages, simply because the children have difficulty in coping with their learning?
How often has the government done its homework to improve its education policy?
Something to think about for the purpose of nation building.

Where do we stand

Ihaveb The Current Situation

At this defining moment in our history, preparing our children to compete in the global economy is one of the most urgent challenges we face. We need to stop paying lip service to public education, and start holding communities, administrators, teachers, parents and students accountable. We will prepare the next generation for success in college and the workforce, ensuring that American children lead the world once again in creativity and achievement.

The SolutionImprove K-12 schooling:

• We will recruit an army of new teachers and develop innovative ways to reward teachers who are doing a great job, and we will reform No Child Left Behind so that we are supporting schools that need improvement, rather than punishing them.

• Expand access to higher education:

  After graduating high school, all Americans should be prepared to attend at least one year of job training or higher education to better equip our workforce for the 21st century economy. We will continue to make higher education more affordable by expanding Pell Grants and initiating new tax credits to make sure any young person who works hard and desires a college education can access it.

• Make sure our children are prepared for kindergarten:

  One of the most critical times to influence learning in a child's life is the period before he or she reaches kindergarten. We will invest in early childhood education, by dramatically expanding Head Start and other programs to ensure that all of our young children are ready to enter kindergarten.

Counter

The counter on your left was introduced last week. It's starting date was 19th September 2009. Don't be surprised if the number indicated is low. It should increase as more and more people take peeps at the blog from now on.

You are never late to continue sending your articles.

Bill