Time-conscious

For half a year, I’m still not familiar with the time slot of every period in the new school I work in. I’m in particular having problem with the 5th period which should be ended at 12.20pm.  For many times, I thought the lesson should be ended at 12.25pm and overran the alloted time. 

My carelessness finally brought about some trouble today. 

I must learn to be time-conscious.

I must learn to be as time-conscious as my students!

2n Assignment – Cutting Costs

1. Read the article below and think about how you will cut cost.
2. Tell me some possible ways to save 10 dollars in a month. Let me know how much you can save in each way.

   For example:

   Pick 5 days to walk to school instead of taking tram (5 days / $2 a day)

   Deadline: 11.55pm, 2 Mar 2009 

  

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Cutting costs can be as simple as brushing your teeth, writes Sunny Tse

Feb 20 2009, Young Post, SCMP

Everyone is talking about cutting costs during the economic downturn, but the question is how to do it in a practical manner. Here are some saving tips that may seem insignificant but are effective and will not make you look un-cool or bring drastic changes to your daily life.

Every morning, you get up and brush you teeth with a brush-full of toothpaste just as they do in the commercials. But if you look closer at the instructions, a pea-sized dab of paste is enough.

In a hurry to school, you rush into a convenience store for breakfast, grab a carton of milk, a sandwich pack, a bottle of water and some tissues. But convenience comes at a price. Why not buy the milk and tissues in bulk at the supermarket and make the sandwiches the night before? The ones in the store are not freshly made anyway.

Before going to the MTR, ask yourself if there are any cheaper alternatives. And since we are using the Octopus Card more often than cash now, you might consider registering for the reward programmes in which points collected can be swapped for free rides, discount vouchers and a range of other benefits.

On the commute, you read the new novel you just bought. It is probably a book you could borrow from the library for free or get cheaper second-hand. You could probably also get it cheaper in any of the simplified Chinese bookstores in town – the only real difference between local and mainland editions of books is the quality of the paper and the price.

You might complain about having to go, but think about it, school is a great way of saving money. Not only is there nothing to buy, you get a student card that guarantees special discounts in cinemas, museums and many other leisure destinations. From now on, wear your student identity proudly.

At home, when you want to listen to some music, search online for play lists and radio stations that offer free music. What’s more, songs can be purchased individually online, meaning you only have to buy your favourite songs, not the entire album.

When it comes to movies, there is a DVD rental store on every corner. If you have a favourite magazine, sign up for a subscription or purchase an online reading plan.

When you are done, remember to shut down your computer – “sleep” and “hibernate” modes don’t count.

When it comes to grooming, savings can be made with a sponge and a pair of scissors. Use the sponge with a tiny dollop of shower gel, enough for the whole body. Use the scissors to cut open any near-empty container and scrape out every last drop in it.

Excess facial cream or scrub can be used on the arms and legs, and instead of applying chemical skincare products, go natural with a DIY recipe, using fruit peel – the recipes are widely available on the internet.

4E Assignment – The 2009-10 Budget

 

Read Budget 2009 on http://www.budget.gov.hk/2009/eng/speech.html .

Discuss an issue in the Budget in 80-100 words. You should

(1) tell whether you support it or agree with it, and

(2) suggest possible ways to better the situation / solve the problem.

 

Deadline: 11.55pm, 2 March 09 

  

Seek help from Wordreference and Thesaurus!

 

 

 

 

 

News of the Day – Women’s future important, not mine, says Edison Chen

 

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Women’s future important, not mine, says Edison Chen

Star hopes former lovers will be rehabilitated and happy Peter Brieger in Vancouver Feb 26, 2009  SCMP

Edison Chen Koon-hei has again voiced his concern for the celebrity lovers scarred by last year’s sex-photos scandal, while ruling out his imminent return to the city’s entertainment business.

“I hope every one of the victims can become healthy again and be happy again,” Chen said outside a downtown Vancouver courthouse on Tuesday.

“I hope the victims involved can stand back up. That is more important than me at this time. Their wellbeing in this case is more important.”

It was the second time in as many days that Chen, 28, cast himself as the protector of female entertainers who appeared in hundreds of his personal sex photos circulated on the internet in January last year.

The pop star testified in Canada as a key prosecution witness in the coming criminal case against Sze Ho-chun, an electronics store employee accused of stealing the photographs from Chen’s computer.

Before his cross-examination on Monday, Chen warned that he would refuse to answer any questions of an “intimate nature” about his former lovers, Cecilia Cheung Pak-chi, Gillian Chung Yan-tung, Bobo Chan Man-woon and Rachel Ngan Wing-sze. He reluctantly confirmed the identity of the entertainers in court.

“I am determined to protect their innocence,” he told the hearing in the British Columbia Supreme Court. “They have suffered enough.”

After the hearing wrapped up on Tuesday, Chen said he had no immediate plan to return to Hong Kong and hoped his testimony would close the book on a scandal that captured international headlines.

Chung, best known for her role in the singing duo Twins, will soon return to the entertainment business after self-imposed seclusion, according to her management company.

“Just wait for a little bit, but she will make her comeback very soon,” the chief executive of record company Emperor Entertainment Group, Ng Yu, said. “We just hope this [scandal] can end soon and people will stop digging things up.”

Authorities at the Department of Justice approved this week’s Canadian hearing because Chen had refused to return to Hong Kong to testify at Sze’s trial, due in April.

“I came to Vancouver to be a witness and hope that this will bring closure,” he said. “If the case is not over, I definitely will not go back to Hong Kong and I don’t want to cause more issues. In this past year, I’ve thought about a lot of things and had much unhappiness, but I hope, with hard work, I can get through this and I hope this case will soon be over.”

Chen, surrounded by his mother and bodyguards, said he had stepped back from work this year to think about his future. Asked about Sze’s court case, he said: “I want justice – that’s it. Over this past year, I’ve done a lot of different things, went to a lot of different places and met some different people and learned some new things that I feel that I needed to learn. I want to try and find my own values, my own identity. In truth, I hope that when this case is over, we can move on and I can live my life.”

In court, the actor-singer testified that all the sexually explicit photos were taken with his lovers’ consent.

Chen’s mother told reporters her son had always been a good boy and that he called her often and returned home to be with her every New Year.

6A Weekly Plan (2 – 6 Mar 09)

 

Date	Day	Prds	Content	Assignment	DL*
2/3	B1	4, 5	No School	Read Eng news
3/3	B2	8	Religion and Life (Handouts)	Eng Builder Reading Report Read Eng news	8/3 30/3
4/3	B3	1-2	Writing Review     Sec D Unit 3	Writing Corr Writing Read Eng news	6/3 9/3
5/3	B4		No class	Eng Builder Read Eng news	8/3
6/3	B5	3-4	Sec A Unit 6                   Submit Writing correction	Writing: Sec B Read Eng news	9/3

4E Weekly Plan (2 – 6 Mar 09)

 

Date	Day	Prds	Content	Assignment	DL*
2/3	B1	2	No School
3/3	B2	1-2	SBA Practice (Gp 2, 4, 5, 6 and 8)      GF Ch 23, 24 (Class work)	Eng Builder GF Ch 23, 24 Reading Report	8/3 4/3 30/3
4/3	B3	3	Review of SBA Practice       Writing review	Writing Corr	9/3
5/3	B4	1-2	Writing: Option 4 pp. 114-117	Eng Builder Writing	8/3 5/3
6/3	B5	5	Teach & Practise 4 Prac Paper 3

2N Weekly Plan (2 – 6 Mar 09)

 

Date	Day	Prds	Content	Assignment	DL
2/3	B1	1	No School	Eng Builder	8/3
3/3	B2	5-6	L & S Unit 6 pp. 10-11 Activity: Health Quiz ERS (15 min)	Reading Report	30/3
4/3	B3	7-8	LE Unit 6 pp. 41-42 Writing Review Writing (Pre-task): LE Unit 5 pp. 14-15	Writing Corr Eng Builder	6/3 8/3
5/3	B4	3-4	Writing: LE Unit 5 pp. 14-15 (Bring composition paper!)
6/3	B5	7-8	Sherlock Holmes: Pre-reading activity Sherlock Holmes: Ch 5 Submit Writing Corr	Eng Builder	8/3

 

* DL: Deadline or Date of Submission

News of the day – Tobacco duty in HK to rise by 50pc

 

Tobacco duty in HK to rise by 50pc

 

BUDGET 2009
Regina Leung
1:52pm, Feb 25, 2009  SCMP

 

Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah on Wednesday announced an increase in Hong Kong tobacco duty by 50 per cent “with immediate effect” – saying it was needed for public health reasons.

Mr Tsang was unveiling new fiscal measures in his second budget address in the Legislative Council.

“The duty on cigarettes will increase from around HK$0.8 to about HK$1.2 per stick. We will also continue to step up our efforts on smoking cessation, as well as on publicity and enforcement in tobacco control,” he said.

There had been calls from health experts for the government to consider raising tobacco taxes in an effort to curb smoking-related diseases such as lung cancer.

According to customs statistics, a tobacco tax of 80 cents per cigarette levied in Hong Kong – unchanged since 2001 – makes Hong Kong cigarettes among the cheapest in the developed economies. It is estimated that over 6,000 people die in Hong Kong annually of smoking-related illnesses. Health experts are also concerned about the dangers posed by passive-smoking.

Mr Tsang said although the government’s fiscal position this year was likely to be weak, spending on healthcare would be boosted.

“The government will honour its pledge to increase healthcare expenditure to 17 per cent of recurrent expenditure by 2012,” he said.

“When the financing arrangements are finalised after the consultation on its implementation, we will draw an amount of HK$50 billion from the fiscal reserves to implement the reform” he told the legislators.

Mr Tsang said the government would increase Hospital Authority funding by about HK$870 million a year over the next three financial years.

“The annual subvention for the Hospital Authority by 2011-12 will be approximately HK$2.6 billion higher than now.

“I have also earmarked some HK$840 million for the next three financial years to implement various complementary measures to strengthen primary care services and the support to chronic patients, promote public-private partnership and develop a territory-wide electronic health record system,” he said.

He said the government would provide additional funding of about HK$19 million to enhance the care for people with disabilities.

Mr Tsang said that because of the growing ageing population, healthcare posed the greatest challenge to the public finances.

He said the Food and Health Bureau would continue with the second stage of a public consultation on healthcare reform.

Mr Tsang said more measures to support the development of food testing services were also planned.

“This will help Hong Kong to develop into a food testing hub in the region,” he added.

Seek help from Wordreference and Thesaurus!

To serve

       

 

 

Whoever serves must do so with the strength that God supplies. (1 Peter 4:11)

  

    

   

Skipping Homework!

Why Homework?

The idea of homework is not to punish you or to take up all your free time. It is to make you more knowledgeable in many areas and therefore more employable when you leave school. It also improves your thinking so you can deal with more problems in life.

Danger of Skipping Homework

The more you skip homework, the less practice your mind gets at dealing with problems. You have more trouble finding knowledge and remembering what you learn.

Best Way to do Homework

The best way to get your homework done is to have the right attitude. Just realize that you have to do it, then get it done as soon as you can. Putting it off doesn’t work. You will sometimes run out of time or something will happen to stop you from getting it done on time.

Believe me! Every minute you spend on your homework is improving you in some way. It will either improve your knowledge, improve your thinking skills, or improve your self-discipline. Any one of these will benefit you in life and make you ahead of many people throughout your life.

(Adapted from http://www.users.bigpond.com/rdoolan/homework.html)

 

If you are having difficulty with your homework, go to your teacher before the deadline. Don’t just skip it! Skipping homework without informing or discussing with your teacher is actually very rude and disrespectful!