All About A Levels
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beezlebubz:
You mentioned commuting from Orchard Plaza to TJC in an earlier post... You will pass Parkway &/or Katong - areas littered with tuition centres.
okay noted, i will join clubs and societies hahas. im seriously nervous about it because i feel sleepy in sec school at 10am lol. i usually sleep at 12am and wake at 5am because my sec school is also 1hour awayInterestinggg:
Honestly speaking, coming from a student (myself) who has just recently graduated from a junior college, such commutes during peak hours are common. Of course, initially, it was hard to get used to such long school hours, waking up at 5.30am to take public transport to school (2 buses + 1 mrt + walking for one way) which could last between 50min to 85min depending on how fast the buses arrive or the jam along bukit timah roads and central area (near to where I stay. Just like you). By the time my school lessons ended, it was already 4.30pm. Following that, there were CCAs which could easily last till maybe 7pm or even 10pm depending on the type of CCA you choose (sports, performing arts and council are more rigorous compared to clubs and societies). But over the weeks you'll get used to such a life. It's only for 2 years anyway. This might sound harsh but seriously and honestly, just suck it up. Every student faces the same problems and stress and whatever strains. I usually take advantage of the break times in between lessons to catch up on my studies or homework. Weekends are especially precious. JC is pretty different from secondary school which is pretty lax if you ask me. But you'll get used to it. Feeling sleepy around 3.30pm is common, trust me! All of us fight back the urge to nod off. (Bring some sweets to keep you awake!)
All the best to you! And my additional advice is: don't grumble and whine about it, it'll only make you more miserable. Make full use of this experience: it's a once in a lifetime experience that will be very fulfilling at the end of the dayand there's no tuition center near tjc or my hse so im kind of at a loss about that too, since it has to be near to either one or it would be super rush for me. fulfilling or not will depend on my results lol
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ohhh omg thanks lol xD i shall go on google map now to calculate no. of busstops
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Anyone can advise which exam model of graphing calculator best for use for A level (2014). Currently there it seems like only following 3 exam model for use till 2015 and 2016 base on SEAB.
TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
TI-84 PLUS use till 2015
TI-84 PLUS Silver Edition use till 2015
TI-84 PLUS Pocket SE use till 2016
Anyone can advise which one to buy ? -
MdmKS:
The JC will inform the students. Best to check with them.Anyone can advise which exam model of graphing calculator best for use for A level (2014). Currently there it seems like only following 3 exam model for use till 2015 and 2016 base on SEAB.
TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
TI-84 PLUS use till 2015
TI-84 PLUS Silver Edition use till 2015
TI-84 PLUS Pocket SE use till 2016
Anyone can advise which one to buy ? -
MdmKS:
Don't get too hyped up over any particular calculator model; what matters so much more is the student's ability to become significantly independent of it especially for the pure maths section (too many kids these days rely on punching in stuff to retrieve every single answer without questioning why/how) and in turn emerge a far superior, efficient learner.Anyone can advise which exam model of graphing calculator best for use for A level (2014). Currently there it seems like only following 3 exam model for use till 2015 and 2016 base on SEAB.
TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
TI-84 PLUS use till 2015
TI-84 PLUS Silver Edition use till 2015
TI-84 PLUS Pocket SE use till 2016
Anyone can advise which one to buy ?
Brains over machine for maths (save for the statistics section), period.
Peace. -
whitecorp:
Indeed I agree that the model doesn't matter. I own a TI-PLUS (blue one, \"slower speed\") and it just lags slightly as compared to, say, a TI-PLUS silver edition mode. But, for statistics where you need to graph out the spread of information, it does lag significantly. I think most school bookshops only stock the silver edition model now, which is the fastest and latest. If being any second faster is critical to you, grab the fastest one.
Don't get too hyped up over any particular calculator model; what matters so much more is the student's ability to become significantly independent of it especially for the pure maths section (too many kids these days rely on punching in stuff to retrieve every single answer without questioning why/how) and in turn emerge a far superior, efficient learner.MdmKS:
Anyone can advise which exam model of graphing calculator best for use for A level (2014). Currently there it seems like only following 3 exam model for use till 2015 and 2016 base on SEAB.
TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
TI-84 PLUS use till 2015
TI-84 PLUS Silver Edition use till 2015
TI-84 PLUS Pocket SE use till 2016
Anyone can advise which one to buy ?
Brains over machine for maths (save for the statistics section), period.
Peace. -
Study hard and get into NJC! It's not as bad and boring a school people make it out to be!
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One of the major downside of the TI-84 plus and TI-84 plus Silver edition is that they are bulky and inconvenient to bring around.
Thus I recommend the Pocket for the form factor.
That said, all 3 calculators essentially perform similarly. The silver edition and the pocket are supposedly slightly faster but if we key everything in correctly the speed difference is negligible in the context of a level type calculations. -
MdmKS:
My students mainly use TI-84 PLUS.Anyone can advise which exam model of graphing calculator best for use for A level (2014). Currently there it seems like only following 3 exam model for use till 2015 and 2016 base on SEAB.
TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
TI-84 PLUS use till 2015
TI-84 PLUS Silver Edition use till 2015
TI-84 PLUS Pocket SE use till 2016
Anyone can advise which one to buy ?
I think they are all very similar, no real difference. -
Hi,
Appreciate some advice, please.
For a student doing Sc, say Chem and Bio, besides Maths, there is a contrasting subject he/she has to take.
May I ask what is this contrasting subject? Can it be Geo or History or even a 3rd lang?
Thank you. -
starlight1968sg:
This is from the MOE website >> http://www.moe.gov.sg/cpdd/alevel2006/experience/levels.htm#sub_offeredHi,
Appreciate some advice, please.
For a student doing Sc, say Chem and Bio, besides Maths, there is a contrasting subject he/she has to take.
May I ask what is this contrasting subject? Can it be Geo or History or even a 3rd lang?
Thank you.
Note not all JCs will offer the complete list of Humanities &
the Arts subjects. -
koguma:
Thanks for your reply.
This is from the MOE website >> http://www.moe.gov.sg/cpdd/alevel2006/experience/levels.htm#sub_offeredstarlight1968sg:
Hi,
Appreciate some advice, please.
For a student doing Sc, say Chem and Bio, besides Maths, there is a contrasting subject he/she has to take.
May I ask what is this contrasting subject? Can it be Geo or History or even a 3rd lang?
Thank you.
Note not all JCs will offer the complete list of Humanities &
the Arts subjects.
Can anybody give me an example of a contrasting subject to be taken at A level, if he/she takes Maths, Chem and Bio?
Thank you. -
starlight1968sg:
Very likely econs. This is the BCME combination for A levels, the other popular sc combi is PCME. I think there is a thread discussing PCME vs BCME somewhere.
Can anybody give me an example of a contrasting subject to be taken at A level, if he/she takes Maths, Chem and Bio?
Thank you. -
starlight1968sg:
Thanks for your reply.
This is from the MOE website >> http://www.moe.gov.sg/cpdd/alevel2006/experience/levels.htm#sub_offeredkoguma:
[quote=\"starlight1968sg\"]Hi,
Appreciate some advice, please.
For a student doing Sc, say Chem and Bio, besides Maths, there is a contrasting subject he/she has to take.
May I ask what is this contrasting subject? Can it be Geo or History or even a 3rd lang?
Thank you.
Note not all JCs will offer the complete list of Humanities &
the Arts subjects.
Can anybody give me an example of a contrasting subject to be taken at A level, if he/she takes Maths, Chem and Bio?
Thank you.[/quote]If the student takes Maths, Chem and Bio, then the contrasting subject is any subject under \"Humanities & the Arts \". Note not all JCs will offer the complete list of Humanities & the Arts subjects. You can go to each JC website to see what subjects combination each JC offer.
Example in Anderson JC, the student can choose to do
Humanities & the Arts Contrast Subject as H1
Economics, Literature in English, Geography, History, General Studies in Chinese .
Humanities & the Arts Contrast Subject as H2
Mother Tongue Language & Literature, Economics
Source: http://www.ajc.edu.sg/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=55&Itemid=226 -
wiimum:
Ok, thank you.
Very likely econs. This is the BCME combination for A levels, the other popular sc combi is PCME. I think there is a thread discussing PCME vs BCME somewhere.starlight1968sg:
Can anybody give me an example of a contrasting subject to be taken at A level, if he/she takes Maths, Chem and Bio?
Thank you.
Why Economics, and not say Geo or History or even a 3rd lang? -
PCME and BCME are the two most popular combinations in JC. For a contrasting art subject, the most common options are Econs, History, Geog and Lit.
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jtoh:
PCME and BCME are the two most popular combinations in JC. For a contrasting art subject, the most common options are Econs, History, Geog and Lit.
Thank you to all who have responded.
Reason for asking is my sec 2 girl will be choosing her subjects and thus would like to have an idea her selection would lead her to where, so to speak. -
starlight1968sg:
At this juncture, let your dd choose subjects that she's interested in and has an aptitude for.jtoh:
PCME and BCME are the two most popular combinations in JC. For a contrasting art subject, the most common options are Econs, History, Geog and Lit.
Thank you to all who have responded.
Reason for asking is my sec 2 girl will be choosing her subjects and thus would like to have an idea her selection would lead her to where, so to speak. -
starlight1968sg:
Econs is more 'maths-science' and less 'humanities' than Geog or Hist, so science students usually think it will be easier to understand and study. Most science students also think that Geog/Hist are purely memorising subjects (I disagree, but that's another topic), and prefer not to try them. Another constraint is how each JC timetables classes - not all combinations may be possible.Ok, thank you.
Why Economics, and not say Geo or History or even a 3rd lang? -
jtoh:
At this juncture, let your dd choose subjects that she's interested in and has an aptitude for.
Yes, she indicated her preference but from a parent's pt of view, it might be too stressful and not necesary to do triple Sc as at A level, she has to drop one of the subjects.