On Thursday we had a combined PD session at Bishan in the afternoon. Guest speaker was a presenter from the Glasser Institute. William Glasser's theory has been around for a long time, but in this instance we were looking at applying it to the increasing number of students we teach who are somewhere along the autism scale. I found her insights into the aspirations of our parent body interesting but unfortunately she didn't really come up with practical strategies our inexperienced teachers could apply, and that was the purpose of the PD. Opportunity lost.
More staff were away from our branches as the week progressed and at each location we had to combine or juggle classes. On top of that, Pokemon Go was released in Singapore on Saturday. Pokemon appear in real-world locations, and players walk around trying to catch them on their mobile devices, they've even been found in one of our classrooms. We need a more powerful disincentive to have students turn off the mobile during class.
I joined the walkers on Monday morning as they walked from Tampines, through Eco Green and on to Pasir Ris Park. I needed to quit after Eco Green but by the time I got back to the mrt I had done over 6 kms which isn't too bad for a first hit out since my knee started giving me trouble about 3 mths ago. I have really missed bird watching in particular, not to mention the social aspect of the group walk. We saw many birds in Eco Green so I was rewarded and the rest of the group found a flock of Pied Oriental Hornbill in Pasir Ris later, so they were very happy too. Below is the Pacific Swallow and Rufous Woodpecker.
Above are some of the many keen students out looking for Pokemon. The students only had a half day at school on Monday as Tuesday is National Day. Hence the red t-shirts too. The Pied Oriental Hornbill is above a male Asian Koel.
In the evening we went to Lakeside, near Jurong for the annual MAE Social Club Trivia Night. It was rather poorly attended, but those that turned up had a good time, then we shared a meal at a local hawker stall.
We spent a lazy morning indoors on Tuesday then met Peter at Paya Lebar in the afternoon to take a trip out to Changi Village. As anticipated, the station and train was awash with red t-shirts and lined with banners as people made their way to the stadium for the National Day Parade. Peter didn't let the side down, also turning up in red and with spare shirts for us.
We expected that with so much entertainment happening, Changi Village would be deserted. We were wrong. The park was crowded with many families down on the sand and in the water. This is one of the few places in Singapore where a sandy beach still exists and has a kind of kampong feel to it. It was terrific to see so many people out enjoying a game of frisbee, a bike ride together or just watching the planes come in to land at the nearby Changi Airport. We've been here before, most often to catch the bumboat ferry ride to Pulau Ubin. The relaxed family atmosphere of the crowd on this day belies its macabre history though, Changi Beach served as a killing ground for the Japanese during the Sook Ching massacre of WWII. Thousands of Chinese were tortured and killed during this Operation as they were suspected of being anti-Japanese. Not on anyone's mind today though as Singapore celebrated its 51st birthday.
We had gone to see the parrots who have now established themselves in big numbers and roost in the trees near the hawker centre. Singapore only has three truly native parrots: Long-tailed Parakeet, Blue-rumped Parrot and Blue-crowned Hanging Parrot.
These 3 native species of parrot have been joined in recent decades by a wide variety of newcomers. Many parrots are kept as pets, but being highly versatile birds, they establish themselves easily in foreign land once they have a chance to escape from the cage. Most are beautifully coloured and vocal, hence the reason for their pet trade. We even came across a man displaying his pets in the park. Some can mimic human words - the African grey parrot (L) being the most famous. Having escaped or been released from captivity, a number of these have begun to establish themselves in Singapore, and are now breeding. We once found a pair in Bidadari. Others have been known to occur locally for several years, but breeding has yet to be recorded.
This visit we found the Tanimbar Corella, believed to have originally escaped from captivity. Seriously endangered in its native Indonesia, this bird is no longer in danger of extinction because it is bred in captivity. We have sighted it before at Bidadari. It is a very noisy bird and tends to be found in moderately large flocks ranging from two to eight individuals although roosting flocks of about 40 birds have been seen at Changi Village.
We also saw a few Lesser Sulphur-crested Cockatoos, very like the Sulphur-crested Cockatoo native to Australia, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia but it is smaller. The most prolific were the Red-breasted parakeets, considered a feral resident that is currently getting more and more common and slowly replacing the Rose-ringed Parakeet, another feral species, as well as the Long-tailed , a resident.
Right by the food centre is an outlet called the Little Island Brewing Co. An old warehouse in a previous life, we were drawn to it by the 'industrial-cool' feel, so unlike Singapore. The tables are recycled wood and there is lots of polished concrete. You purchase a ticket on arrival and then help yourself to drinks at the tap-and-go taps until the value expires. They have cider and wine as well as beers which include pale, golden and Scottish red ales, a wheat beer and a stout. We decided to stay for dinner even though the food centre would have been a much cheaper option, we were so enjoying the beach side atmosphere under the trees on the forecourt. It turned out to be a good decision as we all enjoyed our wood fired meals from the open kitchen that dominates one end of the sprawling building.
We had seen a number of planes landing almost overhead and the massive flag being trailed into the National Day Parade below a chinook, then to top off the afternoon a majestic white-bellied sea eagle brought the show to a close.
I thought that was a lovely way to end the day but made the mistake of mentioning the most unusual stall I had seen at the food centre when taking an extra circuit to look for birds. Charlie's Corner served Guinness, who'd have thought? Hope Peter enjoyed his first day of Middle School with the students the next day.
More staff were away from our branches as the week progressed and at each location we had to combine or juggle classes. On top of that, Pokemon Go was released in Singapore on Saturday. Pokemon appear in real-world locations, and players walk around trying to catch them on their mobile devices, they've even been found in one of our classrooms. We need a more powerful disincentive to have students turn off the mobile during class.
I joined the walkers on Monday morning as they walked from Tampines, through Eco Green and on to Pasir Ris Park. I needed to quit after Eco Green but by the time I got back to the mrt I had done over 6 kms which isn't too bad for a first hit out since my knee started giving me trouble about 3 mths ago. I have really missed bird watching in particular, not to mention the social aspect of the group walk. We saw many birds in Eco Green so I was rewarded and the rest of the group found a flock of Pied Oriental Hornbill in Pasir Ris later, so they were very happy too. Below is the Pacific Swallow and Rufous Woodpecker.
In the evening we went to Lakeside, near Jurong for the annual MAE Social Club Trivia Night. It was rather poorly attended, but those that turned up had a good time, then we shared a meal at a local hawker stall.
We spent a lazy morning indoors on Tuesday then met Peter at Paya Lebar in the afternoon to take a trip out to Changi Village. As anticipated, the station and train was awash with red t-shirts and lined with banners as people made their way to the stadium for the National Day Parade. Peter didn't let the side down, also turning up in red and with spare shirts for us.
We expected that with so much entertainment happening, Changi Village would be deserted. We were wrong. The park was crowded with many families down on the sand and in the water. This is one of the few places in Singapore where a sandy beach still exists and has a kind of kampong feel to it. It was terrific to see so many people out enjoying a game of frisbee, a bike ride together or just watching the planes come in to land at the nearby Changi Airport. We've been here before, most often to catch the bumboat ferry ride to Pulau Ubin. The relaxed family atmosphere of the crowd on this day belies its macabre history though, Changi Beach served as a killing ground for the Japanese during the Sook Ching massacre of WWII. Thousands of Chinese were tortured and killed during this Operation as they were suspected of being anti-Japanese. Not on anyone's mind today though as Singapore celebrated its 51st birthday.
We had gone to see the parrots who have now established themselves in big numbers and roost in the trees near the hawker centre. Singapore only has three truly native parrots: Long-tailed Parakeet, Blue-rumped Parrot and Blue-crowned Hanging Parrot.
These 3 native species of parrot have been joined in recent decades by a wide variety of newcomers. Many parrots are kept as pets, but being highly versatile birds, they establish themselves easily in foreign land once they have a chance to escape from the cage. Most are beautifully coloured and vocal, hence the reason for their pet trade. We even came across a man displaying his pets in the park. Some can mimic human words - the African grey parrot (L) being the most famous. Having escaped or been released from captivity, a number of these have begun to establish themselves in Singapore, and are now breeding. We once found a pair in Bidadari. Others have been known to occur locally for several years, but breeding has yet to be recorded.
This visit we found the Tanimbar Corella, believed to have originally escaped from captivity. Seriously endangered in its native Indonesia, this bird is no longer in danger of extinction because it is bred in captivity. We have sighted it before at Bidadari. It is a very noisy bird and tends to be found in moderately large flocks ranging from two to eight individuals although roosting flocks of about 40 birds have been seen at Changi Village.
We also saw a few Lesser Sulphur-crested Cockatoos, very like the Sulphur-crested Cockatoo native to Australia, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia but it is smaller. The most prolific were the Red-breasted parakeets, considered a feral resident that is currently getting more and more common and slowly replacing the Rose-ringed Parakeet, another feral species, as well as the Long-tailed , a resident.
We had seen a number of planes landing almost overhead and the massive flag being trailed into the National Day Parade below a chinook, then to top off the afternoon a majestic white-bellied sea eagle brought the show to a close.
I thought that was a lovely way to end the day but made the mistake of mentioning the most unusual stall I had seen at the food centre when taking an extra circuit to look for birds. Charlie's Corner served Guinness, who'd have thought? Hope Peter enjoyed his first day of Middle School with the students the next day.
No comments:
Post a Comment