Prelims Compostion

It was a warm, sunny Monday morning, the perfect day for skateboarding, but there I was, cooped up in a stuffy classroom, having my mathematics lesson while daydreaming. In the middle of the lesson, while my mathematics teacher, Mrs Tan, was explaining to us about geometry, a tall, young lady, whom I recognised as Miss Lee, the teacher form the next class, knocked softly on the door. All our focus turned to Miss Lee as she signalled Mrs Tan to come out. I managed to glance for a fraction of a second as Miss Lee whispered something to Mrs Tan, before Mrs Tan came in again.
"Angeline, you are wanted in the Principal's office, please follow Miss Lee!" Mrs Tan shouted, trying to make her voice heard above all the din.
I froze. I was never that frightened in my life! I walked slowly towards the door, as a few mischievous boys sniggered at me. I began to think of all the bad things which could have happened to me, expelled from school, caning, scolding... But why was I worried, I did not do anything wrong. My conscience was clear. But as soon as I reached the door of the Principal's office, I began to lose all my confidence, slowly draining out of me, like how sand flows from an hourglass. My palms were beginning to break out in sweat, and my uniform was plastered on my uniform too, with sweat.
"Go on, not to worry!" Miss Lee smiled and gave me a gentle shove, before leaving me standing rooted to the spot.
I bravely turned the door knob slowly, careful not to show the Principal that I was all but scared. The bright light and the freezing cold air-conditioner blowing softly against my cheek was completly different to the place outside, it was like I had entered a different world. I looked around, pictures of him and pupils from previous years who have graduated were placed neatly on his table, row after row of shiny trophies and medals were arranged behind him, like a pirate who protects his treasures.
"Good morning, Mr Ng!" I chirped cheerfully, wiping my sweaty hands on my skirt.
I felt a sign of relief, when he motioned for me to sit down. I did what I was told.
" Angeline, your music piece that was submitted last month, has won the second prize in the latest arts competition!" Mr Ng smiled, handing to me a large, brown envelope, which I tore open. I glimmered, my very first piece and I managed to get an award, oh, I was on cloud nine, tears of joy welled up in my eyes and I fought to hold back my tears! I managed to whisper a word of thanks, before rushing out and close the door behind me. Once again, the dark corridor, doomed over me and the only form of ventilation was a small fan that hung above me. I dabbed my eyes with my hankerchief, before heading back to class.
Everyone rushed towards me, scrambling and fighting to ask what happened as soon as I reached the class. I merely told them a rough summary, before Mrs Tan threatened us with more homework if we did not return back to our respective seats.
That day's Mathematics class became more interesting as, I sat at my seat, replaying the scene in my mind.

Posting (3)

Hi! Here are the 5 animals I have chosen to add in my 3rd posting. Hope you have enjoyed reading all about them!

1. Koala

Length: 60-85 centimeters
Life span: 10-15 years

Physical Description:

The Koala has large, sharp claws to assist with climbing tree trunks. The koala's five fingers are arranged with opposable thumbs, providing better gripping ability. The first two fingers are positioned in apposition on the front paws, and the first three fingers for the hind paws. The teeth of koalas are adapted to their herbivorous diet, and are similar to those of other diprotodont marsupials, such as kangaroos and wombats. They have sharp incisors to clip leaves at the front of the mouth, separated from the grinding cheek teeth by a wide diastema.

Reproduction:

Females reach maturity at 2 to 3 years of age, males at 3 to 4 years. If healthy, a female Koala can produce one young each year for about 12 years. Gestation is 35 days. Mating normally occurs between December and March, the Southern Hemisphere's summer.
A baby koala is referred to as a joey and is hairless, blind, and earless when born. Young remain hidden in the pouch for about six months, only feeding on milk. During this time they grow ears, eyes, and fur. The joey then begins to explore outside of the pouch. The baby koala will remain with the mother for another six months or so, riding on her back, and feeding on both milk and eucalyptus leaves until weaning is complete at about 12 months of age. Young females disperse to nearby areas at that time; young males often stay in the mother's home range until they are two or three years old.

Diet:

Koalas only eat eucalyptus leaves. Koalas prefer the leaves of about three dozen varieties. Joeys learn to eat eucalyptus leaves on their own gradually. At first the joey goes after leaves with its mouth. Its early attempts look like a game of bobbing for apples, with its nose getting in the way and pushing the leaves out of reach! Fortunately, joeys keep trying until they are successful. Eventually they figure out how to grab leaves with their front paws and put them in their mouths.

2. Otter

Length: 6 feet

Life span: 15-20 years

Characteristics:

Otter fur is a rich dark brown, lighter on the underparts; the throat and chin are grayish, the nose black and bare. Two fur layers -- short dense underfur and longer guard hairs -- combine with a subcutaneous layer of fat to insulate the body. In autumn, the normally thick fur grows in even thicker for extra cold resistance. All four feet are wide and webbed between the toes, although the hind pair are used more in swimming than the front pair.

Diet:

Otters obtain most of their food from the water. They love to eat fish such as minnows, sunfish, suckers, carp and trout. Other foods are frogs, turtles, snails, mussels, crayfish, snakes and snake eggs, worms, insects, aquatic plants, roots and, occasionally, muskrats.

Reproduction:

Otters mature sexually by two years of age. They breed sometime between January and May, mating taking place in the water. Approximately two months later, from February to April, one to five (most often two or three) young are born. Females usually have their first litter at age three. Baby otters are referred to as pups and weigh 4-5 ounces and are blind and toothless at birth. They do not open their eyes for five weeks, and their mother keeps them in the den until they are three or four months old.

Habitat:

Otters are found in extremely varied habitat in North America, including high Rocky Mountain lakes, spruce and birch forests in the North, marshes and swamps in the South, and major river basins. Dens may be excavations under tree roots or rock piles, abandoned beaver, muskrat or woodchuck burrows, or unused beaver lodges. A typical den has an underwater entrance hole, a living space above water level and several air or exit-entry holes to dry ground.

3. Rabbits

Length: 30-60 centimetres

Life span: 5-10 years

Characteristics and anatomy:

The long ears of rabbits are most likely an adaptation for detecting predators. In addition to their prominent ears, which can measure up to 6 cm (more than 2 inches) long, rabbits have long, powerful hind legs and a short tail. Each foot has five digits (one reduced); rabbits move about on the tips of the digits in a fashion known as digitigrade locomotion. Full-bodied and egg-shaped, wild rabbits are rather uniform in body proportions and stance.

Diet:

Rabbits are herbivores who feed by grazing on grass, forbs, and leafy weeds. In addition, their diet contains large amounts of cellulose, which is hard to digest. Rabbits solve this problem by passing two distinctive types of feces: hard droppings and soft black viscous pellets, the latter of which are immediately eaten. Rabbits reingest their own droppings in order to fully digest their food and extract sufficient nutrients.

Reproduction:

Most rabbits produce many offspring each year, although scarcity of resources may cause this potential to be suppressed. A combination of factors allows the high rates of reproduction commonly associated with rabbits. Rabbits generally are able to breed at a young age, and many regularly conceive litters of up to seven young, often doing so four or five times a year due to the fact that a rabbit's gestation period is only 28 to 31 days. Newborn rabbits are naked, blind, and helpless at birth. The young grow rapidly, and most are weaned in about a month.

Location and Habitats:

Rabbits are ground dwellers that live in environments ranging from desert to tropical forest and wetland. Their natural geographic range encompasses the middle latitudes of the Western Hemisphere. In the Eastern Hemisphere rabbits are found in Europe, portions of Central and Southern Africa, the Indian subcontinent, Sumatra, and Japan. The European rabbit has been introduced to many locations around the world, and all breeds of domestic rabbit originate from the European. Nearly half of the world's rabbit species are in danger of extinction; many are among the most vulnerable of all mammals.

4. Kangaroo

Length: 20-25 feet

Life span: 6-10 years

Diet:

Different species of kangaroos eat different diets. Eastern grey kangaroos are predominantly grazers eating a wide variety of grasses whereas some other species (e.g. red kangaroos and swamp wallabies) include significant amounts of shrubs in the diet. The smaller species of kangaroos also consume hypogeal fungi. Many species are nocturnal and crepuscular, usually spending the days resting in shade and the cool evenings, nights and mornings moving about and feeding.

Reproduction:

As with all marsupials, the young are born at a very early stage of development – after a gestation of 31–36 days. The joey will usually stay in the pouch for about nine months before starting to leave the pouch for small periods of time. It is usually fed by its mother until reaching 18 months. The female kangaroo is usually pregnant in permanence, except on the day she gives birth; however, she has the ability to freeze the development of an embryo until the previous joey is able to leave the pouch. This is known as diapause, and will occur in times of drought and in areas with poor food sources. The composition of the milk produced by the mother varies according to the needs of the joey. In addition, the mother is able to produce two different kinds of milk simultaneously for the newborn and the older joey still in the pouch.

Species of Kangaroos:

~The Red Kangaroo

~The Eastern Grey Kangaroo

~The Western Grey Kangaroo

~The Antilopine Kangaroo

5. Owls

Length: 5-28 inches

Life span: 20 years or more

Characteristics:

Owls have large forward-facing eyes and ears, a hawk-like beak, and usually a conspicuous circle of feathers around each eye called a facial disc. Although owls have binocular vision, their large eyes are fixed in their sockets, as with other birds, and they must turn their entire head to change views.

Outer Covering:

The owls outer covering is feathers. Another important adaptation for owls is silent flight. Where other birds have stiff feathers that make a whooshing sound when they fly, owl feathers have soft edges that allow them to fly silently. This is important for owls, allowing them to swoop down on prey without being heard. In the darkness, owls don’t soar like eagles or hawks but rather fly low to the ground as they look for prey, from small rodents to fish. Larger owls have been known to carry off young deer, weasels, and foxes.

Family Life:

Male owls may bring offerings of food, dropping the item near the female to catch her interest. Even so, it may be several hours before she loses her fear and moves closer to him. The number of eggs that are laid depends on the food supply. If prey is scarce, only two or three eggs may be laid; if food is easily available, then six or more eggs may be laid. Chicks generally hatch two days apart, with the oldest chicks getting the most food. This ensures survival of at least a few chicks if food is scarce.Young owl chicks get the best of care from their mother for about three months. They are fed, protected from predators, and learn to fly and hunt so they can leave the nest and find territories of their own. Fathers are also often involved in rearing the chicks, including sitting on the eggs and bringing food back for the family. By about six months, most owl chicks look like their parents.

Posting (2)

My Autobiography:

Hi, my name is Angeline Yip. I was born on the 8th of February 1996. Between the years 1997 and 1998, I learned how to read and talk simple words and crawl. By the time I was 3 years old in the year 1998, I knew how to read a whole book by myself, talked in full sentences. I also learned how to run and walk by myself in the year 1999. In the year 2000, I learned to play the piano when I was 4 years old.

Finally in 2001,I entered kindergarten for the first time, in that year, I got 3rd in class and performed on stage for the first time. The following year in 2002, I joined Maris Stella Kindergarten and had my second performance. In the year 2003, I joined Henry Park Primary School and went to class 1B, although I was a little nervous at first, I soon made a few good friends. The following year, I went to 2B and received the model pupil awardand also joined my first CCA which is Gymnastics. Next, in the year 2004, I went to 3B and joined my second CCA which is International Dance and took the streaming test and the next year I went to 4C, I was a little sad at first, but I soon made some friends, I was also nominated to be a prefect. In the year 2007, I went into class 5B. I was selected to go to Shandong, China for a school exchange programme, I also teamed up with a few people and won the IT MAP competition 2007, and in January 2007, I was officially a prefect. Lastly in the year 2008 which is this year, I went to 6I and my form teacher was Mrs Minnie Yit. I am also a little nervous as this year I am taking my PSLE.

Elizabeth Choy

Elizabeth Choy was a war heroine during the World War 2. She survived all the torture implied on her for 193 days. I felt that she was very brave to help the prisoners despite the warnings given. She was not afraid to die for the country. She was also very kind as she forgave those people who had tortured her. She went through the electocutional torture-which was to imply electricity on her bare body.

Although she had passed away last year, she will always remain as a kind and courageous lady forever in my heart!

Thanks for reading!

Just Testing... ...

Hi everybody, I am Angeline Yip. This is my first entry, so I am just testing!