Inside:

How Earthquakes

are Formed

Recipe:

Enjoyable

School Life

Interview with the

Dancing Queens

Joyce & Michelle

Bonus!

Speaker’s Corner:

Why Recess Should be

Extended

Plus! MYOPIA – do

you suffer from it?

~

Inter viewed and reported by Wenting Su and Clarissa Wong

Wenting and Clarissa (W&C): Hi, Dancing Queens, congratulations on winning the interschool dance competition. How do you feel?

Joyce (J): We feel very honored and happy to win. We didn’t expect to win, so winning was a pleasant surprise and we want to thank the school and our friends for their support.

W&C: How long did it take both of you to practice your dance for the finals? How was the process like?

Our “Dancing Queens”, Joyce Pang (3E2) and Michelle Arthur

(3E1), won the Singapore Inter-school Dance Championship held on

June 3rd

2009. Their dance piece won the hearts of the audience

and judges! It has been about a month since the competition ended,

and we caught up with the champions for an exclusive interview.

J: From choreography, to practice and making changes, we took about 4 months to prepare.

Michelle (M): The process was very tiring. After each dance practice, which ends late in the evening, we have to return home and complete our homework. It really required us to be disciplined. We don’t want to affect our studies, so we had to manage our time properly.

W&C: What are your plans for the rest of the year?

M: We want to concentrate on our studies and prepare ourselves for the final year examination. I think that is the best way to repay the kindness of our teachers.

W&C: Are there specific people you want to thank?

J: We want to thank our principal, Mrs Lin-Liu, our dance coach, Ms Catherine Love, and all our teachers and peers.

M: Not forgetting our supportive parents and family members who take special care in making sure we stay healthy and strong.

W&C: Any words of advice for fellow students who want to pursue dancing?

J: Dancing requires discipline and practice. Do not sacrifice your studies just to dance. It is important to strike a balance between studies and dance. After all, we are students, and studies should be our priority.

M: Not many people recognize dance as a sport. Sometimes it takes patience and perseverance to convince your family that you want to take dancing seriously. It may take some time for them to understand and recognize your passion, so don’t give up!

“Just keep training and trying until your mind and body are one. A

great dancer does not just perfect his/her techniques, but also uses

his/her sincerity and emotions to touch the hearts of the audience.”

~ Dancing Queens

What is …

MYOPIA?

Myopia, also known as nearsightedness or shortsightedness, is vision problem experienced by people who have difficulty seeing objects at a distance, but have no problem seeing objects near to them. What are the causes and possible treatments? Turn the page to find out!

Myopia ? According to our Health Promotion Board, Singapore has one of the highest prevalence

rates of myopia in the world, with more and more Singaporeans are getting myopic at a younger age. Studies have shown that the earlier a child develops myopia, the higher the tendency of developing severe myopia later in life. Undetected myopia before the age of 6 years old can lead to amblyopia (lazy eye) and eventually blindness in the affected eye.

When we see an object, the light rays from the object

enter our eyes. In a normal eye, the light rays fall on

the inner layer of the eye called the retina. However,

in a myopic eye, the light rays get focused in front of

the retina, resulting in blurred images. This is usually

because the eyeball is too long. Spectacles are

needed to help focus the light rays onto the retina.

What causes myopia ?

Myopia can be caused by a wide range of visual

activities done at a close range. A good estimate

for this would be activities done within an arm’s

length. This is especially if such activities were

done in poorly lit conditions and without

intervals for the eyes to rest. Such activities

include:

Reading

Writing

Using the computer

Playing with handheld games

Drawing

Painting

Sewing

Watching the television from too near the television set

Myopia should not be thought of as merely an inconvenience of having to wear spectacles, as

severe myopia may lead to complications which may result in blindness.

What are the treatments available ?

There is no known cure for myopia. Instead, various corrective measures may be taken to

perfect one’s eyesight. Currently, there are three main treatment possibilities;

Corrective eyewear

Corrective eyewear refers to any eyewear that corrects one’s vision. This includes

spectacles and contact lenses.

Atropine drops

When used daily, atropine drops can retard the progression of

myopia. However, this should not be a first-line treatment

because of its side effects (e.g. glare, loss of focusing) and

uncertain long term risks. Research is still ongoing in the use of

atropine eye drops in children.

Laser surgery Laser surgery such as LASIK shapes the cornea to act like a focusing lens. It does not cure myopia in

that it does not treat the elongated myopic eyeball. LASIK is not performed in children whose eyes are

still developing.

Help me prevent myopia !

Taking 3 to 5 minute vision breaks after 30 to 40 minutes of continuous close range work can help rest

your eyes. A good vision break is one that allows the eyes to focus on distant objects, although there is

no scientific proof that the colour green provides a soothing effect for the eye.

Also, while it is not yet determined scientifically that outdoor activities can prevent the onset of myopia or

delay the progression of it, there is emerging evidence suggesting that outdoor activities have a protective

effect against myopia. This is perhaps due to the fact that outdoor activities generally do not involve

continuous close range work as indoor activities do.

Earth is made up of an inner and outer core,

the mantle and crust. The crust and upper

mantle form a cold, strong layer known as the

lithosphere.

On 12 May 2008, a massive

earthquake broke out in

Sichuan, China. The deadly

earthquake caused the death of

at least 69,000 people, leaving

4.8 million others homeless.

To better understand how

destructive Mother Nature is,

let us look at how earthquakes

are formed.

The lithosphere is broken up into plates.

The downward pull of gravity on the

plates as they cool causes them to move.

When plates converge, one plate is drawn

slowly beneath the other. This takes place

over thousands of years.

When plates collide, rock layers

are forced upwards creating

mountains.

When plates diverge, lava emerges

from the mantle and cools to form

new sections of crust.

Other plates move very slowly

alongside each other.

In some places the plates become

locked together. Potential energy

builds up in the locked plates.

When plates give way, the stored

energy is released in the form of

an earthquake. The point of the

earthquake’s origin beneath the

surface if called the hypocentre.

Recipe Corner

Enjoyable School Life

Instructions: 1. Mix a handful of best friends with respect for others to create a frothy blend. 2. Heat the motivation to learn till it boils and swiftly pour it in to the blend. 3. Stir constantly for 5 minutes to get a creamy base. 4. Add in an open heart and interest in CCA and stir well before cooling the mix in the freezer. 5. Spread discipline on to the mix and send to bake in the oven for 20 minutes.

Ingredients: 1. a handful of best friends 2. motivation to learn 3. respect for others 4. an open heart 5. interest in CCA 6. discipline

Voila! Savour the fruits of your freshly baked Enjoyable School Life!

Speaker’s Corner

Recess

Recess is a time that all students in schools look forward to. The current length

of recess in school is 30 minutes, so we would like to appeal for recess to be

extended to 40 minutes. We have come up with a few points below to support

our appeal.

As secondary school students, we study for at least 6 hours on a normal school

day; from 8am to 2pm. Studying is ongoing and non-stop, as the next teacher

walks in immediately after the bell has rung for the previous lesson. We are

not given any breaks between lessons, to rest and prepare our mind to absorb

more information. Hence, recess is definitely a well-deserved break, so we feel

that it is reasonable to be extended to 40 minutes.

The queues at the food stalls are so long and slow-moving that there is no time

to enjoy our food properly. We wait for food in the queues, get our food, and

eat hurriedly to rush back to class for the next lesson. Recess should therefore

be extended so that we can eat food without rushing.

Besides eating, recess is also a time for friends to bond. We usually meet our

friends from other classes, since we do not see them in class at all. There is no

time left after eating to talk and have fun with our friends. We need more time

to make friends so that school will be more fun.

We strongly believe that it is reasonable to extend recess time from 30

minutes to 40 minutes, so that we can better enjoy our food, have a well-

deserved break and even have time to chit-chat with our friends.

- Class 2/1