Oh yes, I prepared my own wonderful lunch today - instant beehoon, scrambled egg, a grilled chicken thigh, lettuce, tomato and MacDonald's chilli sauce! ..wah, shiok, man! (sorry, greenviewans and friends, "talking" to my wife and kids la..)

Managed to chat with "Liu Tai Tai" before she left for Grand Copthorne to meet Boon Long and Mullick Sharonee. Was told by Marcus on msn that she will be driving there in heavy rain... .. alamak! Then got sms that she has reached Robertson100, parked the car and waited for rain to stop before walking to the hotel. So my Tai Tai has met up with Sharonee. Thanks to Boon Long!

Took an exercise walk in the other direction towards Borivali after lunch. The route was strewn with run-down shops where people conduct businesses. There is a row of shops dealing with marble slabs, many shops engaging in repair of buses, lorries and motor rickshaws. Although the area looks dilapidated, the people were generally happy going about their businesses. I do get the occasional stares here and there (what's a china man doing in a place like Mumbai haha!) I managed to cross the highway the Mumbian way...just simply walk across like you are a vehicle and the real vehicles will negotiate past you....frankly I got the scare of my life!!! Phew! I dont think I will ever do that again but you see it being done and no one got grazed not to mention get knocked down...surprise!

Ok, now I want to write about what I had learnt about TOK....not the TOK, TOK mee-pok man selling noodles of a bygone era in Singapore...but Theory Of Knowledge...a subject all Year 11 students at SIS must take for 2 years ( like Knowledge and Inquiry and General Paper taken by our JC students). Click on Theory of Knowledge on the right to learn more.

Yesterday I had posted that we would have to stay put in our apartment or hotel this weekend as "drivers need to rest and the city is too far way". Then my SIS colleague, Elvin, called to say that a car will be sent over to pick us up as we wanted to go to Thakur Mall. After the mall, Elvin requested for car to to go to Nehru centre at Worli where a Travel Fair exhibition was on. Permission was granted and so we were off. Poor Sumi and Dr Vanitha! If only arrangements could have been confirmed yesterday, they would have been in the party.

At Nehru Centre, we picked up lots of brochures to many exotic destinations in India but may not have a chance to visit these places. We walked to the Nehru Planetatrium but the English version has just ended. What luck! We decided that we shall visit this place again with the rest of the Singapore team perhaps when Director, Boon Long is here.

As we were in the city, we got the driver to drive us to Taj Hotel and to look for the chinese restaurant, the SIA general manager had recommended. The driver helped asked the locals if there was a restaurant here selling Singapore food...no one knows but when we mentioned chinese restaurant, one pointed round the corner. We walked through the streets lined with vendors (just like Pratunam in Bangkok, but not as congested) and found The Imperial Palace and went in for dinner. There wasn't any Singapore dishes here except for the commomn Singapore noodles! Must check with the SIA Manager again for the right one and bring the rest of the Singapore team for authentic laksa, chicken rice, kway teow, ....walau, do they have all these? Really missing on our local food liao!!! Got the Bongo drum for Marcus for Rs200!

Strange feeling today...did the usual handholding of teachers at the school..felt feverish late morning.....eyes were droopy..nearly fell asleep on the comp! Not that I did not sleep well last night....something was just not right...anyway.. wanted to write about TOK , that's Theory of Knowledge, a subject the Year 11 students are taking for their IBDP. But really not in the mood to dwell on this...perhaps on a better day.

In the evening, I made a request to arrange for a car to fetch us to the city but was discouraged...reason being on a Saturday, the drivers need a rest? Earlier, Dr Vanitha, Sumi, Elvin and I thought a good idea we visit this chinese restaurant (was told that Singaporeans call it a home away from home...must be the food what else) in the city (recommended by SIA Station Manager in Mumbai) . So we have to stay put this weekend then.

Yes, it was a lousy day alright.

Here are the four pages of SIS very first newsletter named SPIRIT . [You can read by pointing the cursor on the picture and double click and drag to the corner you wish to read].

The SPIRIT has been the brainchild of Director/SIS, Mr Mike Thiruman and alot of work was put in by Miss Sumithra Kalidas, the school's Primary Division Coordinator and English teacher. She had worked feverishly meeting datelines with the printers and at the same time vetting all the articles. In fact she had to miss our weekend outings in order to meet the printers twice!

Cheers to Sumi for a great job. Well done, SIS!

This afternoon, many teachers worked hard at setting their CA test papers. It was indeed a pleasant sight to see teachers cuddled together round a table discussing their table of specs, the format and the questions their papers. I have helped various subject teachers identify resources for their lessons as well as test and exam papers since I arrived a month ago. I had vetted two sets of papers today. One was the PD paper for Year 4 and 5 for Maths and the Year 7 paper for Business Studies. My professional advice was sought for the form the paper was to be set, the layout of the questions and the marking scheme. The Singapore standard was applied for all papers in the primary and middle divisions. For English Language papers, teachers sought Dr Vanitha's advice.

Teachers have until 10th October, 2007 to submit their papers for vetting. Tests begin on 22nd Oct during their subject periods as far as possible.

SIS first newsletter was released today. Although only four pages long, it is colourful and is of a high quality. I was featured in the section welcoming new teachers to the school..haha.

A short staff meeting was called to iron out details in connection to the coming CA examinations. Letters will be sent to all students to inform them of the dates for the various papers. Subject tests will be held during lesson time from 22 Oct 2007. I will be helping to vet all papers for the PD Maths papers and all Year 7 and Year 11 papers to see that it is up to the mark and that the format matches our Singapore standard. Years 9 and Year 11 will stick to the IGCSE and IB standard respectively and will be assisting the teachers in vetting the Maths papers.

SIS Motto, Vision, Mission and Core Values

The motto of SIS is “Carpe Diem” which means “seize the day”. Simply put, it means making the most of each day having fun while at the same time working hardtowards achieving one’s goals.

Its vision is to become a vibrant, outstanding institution of learning recognised globally as one of the finest.

To provide quality international educationthat will groom students to become responsible global citizens, while retaining their Indian values is the school mission.

The school core values stands on 4 main pillars which are Engaging minds, Touching Hearts, Dignity in Action and a sense of enterprise.

SIS, Mumbai supports and actively engages in teaching the IB Learner Profiles (see picture).. The school curriculum, which is modelled on the lines of the systematic, scientific and practical aspects of the Singapore Education System, with affiliations to IGCSE ( “O” and “A” Levels). In addition, SIS will be affiliated to International Baccalaurete (IB) from Geneva, Switzerland for Grades 11 and 12, which is accredited by universities in India, Europe, America and Australia. Advanced placements and extra credits are given by many universities in the United kingdom, United States of America, Canada and Auatralia. Singapore International School is already a candidate IB school. The IB Diploma Programme is a challenging two years curriculum primarily aimed at students aged 16 years to 19 years. the programme prepare students for university and encourages them to ask challenging questions, learn how to learn, develop a strong sense of their own identity and culture and develop the ability to communicate with an understanding of people from other countries and culture.

Tomorrow I will give more details of the IBDP.

Today. India salutes and pays homage to the father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi.

UN observes 2 October as the International Day of Non-Violence . Yes, today is the first World Non-Violence Day declared by the United nations to mark Gandhi’s birth anniversary., a public holiday here in India named as Gandhi Jayanti.. The idea of promoting the resolution originated from the Declaration adopted at the International Conference on “Peace, Non-violence and Empowerment – Gandhian Philosophy in the 21st Century” convened in New Delhi n January 2007 to commemorate the centenary of Satyagraha.

Greenviewans, if you are reading this, this is history for you. If you need to know more about Gandhi, go to the internet and googlle on Gandhi. I am sure some of you have seen the movie of the same name. It really is a great movie you all must watch.

Here’s a little bit on the great Indian leader…Gandhi was born in October, 1869 in a town called Porbandar. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi would go on to make history, rewrite geography and inspire philosophy among many other things. So today, the people of India thank the world for honouring the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi. Indians rededicate themselves to carry forward his message towards creating a better world. The Times of India, one of the major newspapers here, carried a full page article “Why India Needs a Second October” on its front page today. If history can repeat itself, India is asking why can’t they have a second October, that is, why India can’t have another Gandhi? Read what Gandhi had dreamt for India and changed the world:

India of my dreams
“I shall work for an India in which the poorest shall feel that it is their country, in whose making they have an effective voice, an India in which there shall be no high class and low class of people; an india in which all communities shall live in perfect harmony. There can be no room in such an India for the curse of untouchability, or the curse of intoxicating drinks and drugs. Women will enjoy equal rights as men. We shall be at peace with all the rest of the world. This is the india of my dreams.” – Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

Major leaders and movements have been inspired by the Mahatma’s philosophy and practice:
- Martin Luther King Jr : main leader of the American cilvil rights movement;
- Dalai Lama : in the forefront of a struggle to liberate Tibet from China using non-violent
means;
- Aung San Suu Kyi : worked for democratisation of her country, Burma. Won an absolute
majority in 1990 elections but instead of becoming prime minister, has been placed under house arrest since then by a military junta.
- Nelson Mandela : the first South African president to be elected democratically in 1990 whose political approach was influenced by Gandhi;
- Adolfo Perez Esquivel : an Argentinian who was among the founders of Peace and Justice who adopted non-violence as its credo at a time when the country was gripped by violent conflict.

Ironically, all the above leaders won the Nobel Peace Prize, something that Gandhi himself was never awarded.

OK, so much for a History lesson on India. This afternoon I took a walk again to Thakur Mall. Again, it reminded me of Singapore more than 50 years ago. I remember clearly when as a child I had walked from Beo Lane (my first kampong) to River Valley Road (my uncle's house) amid scenes of dirty tracks and shacks. Yes I was literary walking through my life as a child here! And the feeling was really one of nostalgia, a Singapore that was as carefree as Mumbai. I couldn't help feeling sad lah....the really poor people going about their businesses and dirtied old vehicles plying the roads.

In the late afternoon, I took my first walk along the approach road to the school entrance. I was pleasantly surprised when the security guards recognised me instantly with a "Good Afternoon, Sir!" Another surprise was in store when in the school building, the admin staff was celebrating Sukriti's (the HR Manager) birthday! What a vast difference it was last Saturday when only we three Singaporeans were in school. They were in school because the boarders stayed back in school as it was not a weekend. I was invited to join in the celebrations, small though it was but very thoughtful on the part of the staff, a true lesson on relationship building and bonding.

The staff room today was abuzzed with discussion on format of paper for coming Continual Assessment. Individual teachers were seeked out as to the the format of the papers they will be setting.

For SIS, the PD and MD classes will follow the Singapore examination format and I was tasked with making sure that teachers do that. At the PD and MD meetings last week, I had outlined for the various subject teachers what format each subject could take using my Singapore experience having taken charge of school examination committees in various schools over the years. Year 9 papers will follow closely the IGCSE format. As for the Mathematics Paper, Mr Chander will set two papers. As with our GCE "O" level paper, Paper 1 will contain short questions without the use of a calculator and paper 2 will consist of long, structured questions with use of calculator. Year 11 will follow the IB format directly under the VP's charge, as she personally oversees the IB programme.

I look forward to SIS setting up an examination committee as soon as possible to start planning for the end of academic year examination in May, 2008.