Dear Teachers,
We take this opportunity to wish you all a Happy, Peaceful and Prosperous New Year.
After the completion of a successful year of examinations, the management and staff of CALSDA are looking forward to a more efficient New Year in providing a high standard of Examination Services to you.
In this issue of the Buzz we wish to bring you information on Examinations for the year 2009.
NEW SYLLABUS
The revised and updated syllabus from 2009 is now available at the CALSDA office. Please ensure that your students are prepared on the current syllabus when entering them for Examinations.
INFORMATION BOOKLET
The general Information Booklet for examinations in 2009 has been sent to all registered teachers. However, if you have not received your copy, please make sure that you obtain one from the CALSDA office, or it can be posted on request.
ANNUAL PRIZE GIVING
The annual Prize Giving for candidates who obtained the highest marks in their grades will be held in two sessions on 29th March 2009 at the St. Joseph’s College Auditorium and on 5th April 2009 at the Bishop’s College Auditorium.
CLOSING DATES FOR EXAMINATION ENTRIES
Closing dates for the examination entries for the first session are :
Practical Examinations - Friday 27th February 2009
Written Examinations - Friday 27th February 2009
WRITTEN EXAMINATIONS
PLEASE NOTE THAT THE CLOSING DATE FOR THE WRITTEN EXAMINATIONS WILL BE STRICTLY ADHERED TO. ENTRY FORMS AND BANK SLIPS SHOULD REACH THE CALSDA OFFICE NOT LATER THAN ONE WEEK AFTER THE OFFICIAL CLOSING DATE OF ENTRIES.
PRACTICAL EXAMINATIONS
LATE ENTRIES FOR THE PRACTICAL EXAMINATIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED (AFTER THE OFFICIAL CLOSING DATE) UP TO SIX WEEKS PRIOR TO THE REQUESTED WEEK OF EXAMINATION. THIS WILL BE STRICTLY ADHERED TO.
Please make every effort to bank the entry fees and ensure that the teacher’s name is written on the reverse of the Bank Credit Slip sent to us in respect of examination entry fees ( Practical and Written). This information is vital especially when the Bank Credit Slip does not accompany the entries.
PLEASE NOTE THAT UNLIKE IN PREVIOUS YEARS ENTRIES WILL BE ACCEPTED ONLY AS MENTIONED ABOVE IN ORDER TO MAINTAIN A HIGH STANDARD OF SERVICE AND EFFICIENT CONDUCT OF EXAMINATIONS.
TIPS ON ENTERING STUDENTS FOR EXAMINATIONS
ü Since entries must be handed in 6 weeks prior to the date of Practical Examinations, and before a given date for Written Examinations, give a printed notice to parents about 6 months in advance so that they can meet the deadline.
ü Do not pocket out fees for any one, as this encourages lax and irresponsible behaviour – keep your standards.
ü Start preparing students for Examinations at least when fees notices are given.
ü Give those who have not paid, a verbal reminder a few weeks before the closing date.
ü Charge the late entry fee of Rs. 50/- as stipulated by CALSDA.
ü Enter the students who have paid on time without waiting for all the monies to come in, as you can end up penalising them unfairly.
ü When entering, mark with a asterisk and notify CALSDA, of siblings, so that they can be scheduled together. This will avoid chaos on the day of the Examination as the parents want their children to be examined a.s.a.p. (students are generally scheduled by grade and siblings get times which are far apart).
ü If you know that there will be absentees on the day of the Examination, please notify the CALSDA office (at least through a parent if you won’t be present) and ensure that your students are told to arrive 30 minutes early to avoid the gaps.
A TEACHER’S PRAYER
Each time,
Before I face my class,
I hesitate a while,
And ask the Father,
“Help me, Lord,
To understand each child.
Help me to see in everyone
a precious soul, most dear,
And may I lead that child
Through paths of wonder,
not of fear.
“Dear Father, as they look to me
For guidance true,
I look to thee and humbly ask
That Thou will teach me too.”
Amen
(Nellie Pease Gorbett)
THE ROLE OF THE TEACHER
PLANNING
PREPARATION
PRESENTATION
PUNCTUAL
PLEASANT
PATIENT
PRONUNCIATION (PHONETICS)
PSYCHOLOGY
(understanding the child)
SPEECH TRAINING EXERCISES
Start your lesson with a Relaxation Exercise, a Breathing Exercise, and a Speech Training Exercise.
( Refer Anne Mc Allister’s Book 1-5)
For beginners:
AW P
I saw a spider One potato,
Crawl, Crawl, Crawl, Two potatoes,
I saw a spider Three potatoes, four,
Crawling up the water. Five potatoes,
Seven potatoes more.
FL B
Flutter, flutter, butterfly Boats upon the water
Flutter flutter by, Boats upon the sea,
Flutter from flower to flower, Boats upon the bath tub
Flutter butterfly fly Boats for Bob and me.
TIPS FOR TEACHERS
MIME
Mime is acting without conversation. It challenges students to convey meaning by way of facial expression and physical movements. It helps them learn about communication and in particular body language.
The actions used in a miming must be well-defined, precise and sequential for the spectator to understand what the performer is acting out. There must be a progression of actions and a conclusion to the mime during the time limit given in each grade.
As you may have noticed in your classes some children feel comfortable about communicating through mime while others find they are shy and nervous. Here are some ideas for using mime in the classroom for beginners:
- Ensure that the students are relaxed before starting a
mime.
- At first, pick a simple everyday action as a topic for
miming. For example: combing the hair or brushing
the teeth.
- Let the class think how much energy is used to do t
hem.
- Allow the whole class to mime these actions in various
ways, as done by different types of people.
- Then move on to simple occupational miming.
- Movements , which need freedom of the whole body.
For example : scrubbing the floor , lifting a heavy
suitcase , reaching for a pile of books from a high shelf.
- Let them sit still and imagine the action before trying it
The teacher can describe it in detail. Encourage them to
hear in their minds any sound that would accompany that
movement. A child’s imagination is so lively and vivid
that he will be eager to start and self-consciousness will
be forgotten.
- Repeat the occupations as performed by particular types
of people.
- Choose other occupational mimes that can be carried out
in a limited space, varying them according to the age and
capacity of the children.
Examples: Boys – Winding up a toy train.
Piling up bricks.
Girls – Threading beads.
Bathing a puppy.
IMPROVISATION
Improvisation is the making up of or elaborating on a given idea or theme through action and speech. It should be an exercise of freedom with discipline.
In considering situations suitable for improvisation, careful thought should be given to the development of the plot, characterisation, and the use of movement and facial expression. Situations should be devised to give the pupils the opportunity to develop their skills in performing with others and in relating to a variety of situations, surroundings and emotions.
Some topics that can be practised in class :
§ Talking on the telephone – (receiving good news, bad news, exciting news, unexpected news)
§ Finding a lost object (e.g. spectacles)
§ Meeting an old friend.
§ At the doctor’s.
§ Asking/ Giving directions to go to a place.
§ Surprise at the doorstep.
§ No one turning up at your Birthday party.
§ Giving advice to a younger sibling on how to study for an exam.
§ Trying to sell raffle tickets to some relatives.
§ Ordering food at a restaurant.
WRITER’S PROFILE
Roger McGough (1937- )
McGough, one of Britain’s best-loved performance poets for both adults and children, was born in 1937 in north Liverpool.
He was educated at the University of Hull. Returning to Merseyside in the early 1960s he met Mike McGear and John Gorman – both multi-talented entertainers. Together they formed ‘The Scaffold’, a comedy group, hitting number one in the British charts in 1968 with ‘Lily the Pink’. McGough co-wrote many of their acts.
With Adrian Henri and Brian Patten, he published two best-selling volumes of verse entitled The Mersey Sound, and came to prominence as one of the "Liverpool poets" of the 1960s and 1970s. The Mersey Sound, first written and published in 1967, was revised in 1983, and then again in 2007.
One of McGough's more unusual compositions was created in 1981, when he co-wrote an "electronic poem" called ‘Now Press Return’ with the programmer Richard Warner for inclusion with the Welcome Tape of the BBC Micro home computer.
McGough won a Cholmondeley Award in 1998. He was awarded his O.B.E. for services to poetry in 1997 and a C.B.E. in June 2004.
Some of McGough’s well known poems include, ‘Sky in the Pie’, ‘The Great Smile Robbery’, ‘Pillow Talk’, ‘My Dad's a Fire-Eater’ and ‘Nailing the Shadow’.
First Day at School by Roger McGough
A millionbillionwillion miles from home
Waiting for the bell to go. (To go where?)
Why are they all so big, other children?
So noisy? So much at home they
Must have been born in uniform
Lived all their lives in playgrounds
Spent the years inventing games
That don't let me in. Games
That are rough, that swallow you up.
And the railings.
All around, the railings.
Are they to keep out wolves and monsters?
Things that carry off and eat children?
Things you don't take sweets from?
Perhaps they're to stop us getting out
Running away from the lessins. Lessin.
What does a lessin look like?
Sounds small and slimy.
They keep them in the glassrooms.
Whole rooms made out of glass. Imagine.
I wish I could remember my name
Mummy said it would come in useful.
Like wellies. When there's puddles.
Yellowwellies. I wish she was here.
I think my name is sewn on somewhere
Perhaps the teacher will read it for me.Tea-cher.
The one who makes the tea.
A WAY WITH WORDS
ANAGRAMS
As you know an anagram is a word or phrase formed from the letters of another word or phrase in a different order. For example, POST and STOP are anagrams of each other.
Can you find anagrams of the following with the help of the clues in brackets?
1. SORE (flower)
2. THAN SLEEP (animals)
3. AND SHOUT (a number)
4. BET NAILS TEN (a sport)
5. NIGHT AS NOW (American State)
6. BUS IN MARE (ship)
7. STORM LEARNING (astronaut)
8. WE ALL MALE HIS PRAISE (playwright)
9. A MAN EVADED (first pair)
10. AN ASK LETTER (reptile)
It is interesting to find anagrams that are related to each other in some way. For example, ENRAGED and ANGERED. Try these:
11. MOON-STARTERS (one word)
12. NINE THUMPS (one word)
13. THEY SEE (two word)
14. THE CLASSROOM (one word)
15. ONE IS APART (one word)
16. ONE PLUS TWELVE (three words)
TEACHER SUPPORT MATERIAL
A series of work books are available for sale at the CALSDA office. These books can be purchased between 8.30 a.m. and 1.00 p.m. Monday to Friday.
IMPORTANT
Those teachers who have not received the results of the theory examination held in October 2008, are kindly requested to collect them from the CALSDA office.
We thank everyone who contributed to the newsletter.
and welcome valuable contributions.
………………………… ………………………….
Varuni Jayasekara Zulfika Musafer
Executive Director Director of Examinations
For and on behalf of the Board of Management