Author: Wallace

I have received several questions that are similar to this. 1) I am stuck at home doing home-based learning. I am bored. Anything I can do? 2) I am so frustrated to be working from home, kids are also at home. What can I do? Reply: Firstly, be grateful you are just learning from home or working from home, and not infected with Covid_19 or retrenched from a job because Covid_19 has caused so much damage to your industry that you are now jobless. Secondly, I will like to teach a Chinese idiom today. 雪中送炭 xuě zhōng sòng tàn 意思是指在下雪天给人送炭取暖，比喻在别人急需时给以物质上或精神上的帮助。 出自《大雪送炭与芥隐》。 Literal meaning: to send coal during snow (idiom) figuratively, to provide help when one most needs it Whatever you do now, put others’ needs in consideration. When you are at the wet market or at a retail store, stop your natural instinct to bargain. Pay the original price if you can afford it. If you think store A is cheaper than store B, there is no need to tell store B another store is cheaper. Just go to store A. Don’t need to be passive aggressive. If you are taking a grab/asking for grab delivery, there’s an “add tip” function. Give some tips, if you can afford it. If you are still going to the office to work, buy lunch for your colleagues every now and then. Or buy them a cup of bubble tea. What if you can’t afford to give extra? Still, don’t bargain. If you think it’s unreasonable, go to another store. If you know someone isn’t doing well, text him/her to ask how he is. When you see a service staff, smile at them. Don’t be unreasonable. It’s these small acts of kindness that we need in such a crisis. Let’s be positive. #sgunited #thurswithwei #covid_19

Posted on by Wallace

I have received several questions that are similar to this. 1) I am stuck at home doing home-based learning. I am bored. Anything I can do? 2) I am so frustrated to be working from home, kids are also at home. What can I do? Reply: Firstly, be grateful you are just learning from home[…]

**Being Rude** We would never want to be rude to our parents and hope you don’t perceive it that way. Today, I added an AWAY message for my whatsapp account, telling parents I may not reply whatsapp messages immediately due to the high volume of messages these days. I had hesitated before placing it as it might appear a little impersonal. I included it in the end because I want to let parents know I am not deliberately ignoring your message and hope you understand I will get back to you as fast as I can. *** We had received several new enquiries in the recent days about our online classes. As we are busy making sure the transition to online classes is as seamless as possible, replies might be a tad slower than usual. Please be assured I will get back to you once I can. *** I added a clause for my classes. (I am still sending the messages. You should get Zoom invitations in the next two days.) “For parents who are helping to set up the meeting for the children, please do not attend the class with the child. I hope to replicate the physical classroom experience and it would be a great help if the student is attending the class independently.” In no way am I trying to be rude as well. Parents are always helpful and trying their best to be part of a team. At the same time, we also know children behave differently when their parents are in the room with them, thus we hope to have more time with them alone. *** Thank you for being understanding again. It helps us a big deal in such trying times. ❤️ #sgunited #hbl #elearning #covid_19

Posted on by Wallace

**Being Rude** We would never want to be rude to our parents and hope you don’t perceive it that way. Today, I added an AWAY message for my whatsapp account, telling parents I may not reply whatsapp messages immediately due to the high volume of messages these days. I had hesitated before placing it as[…]

This is a very different Sat. We are taking one-week off this week to get ourselves ready for the online classes. Thus, this Sat, instead of our usual flurry of students coming in and out of our premises, parents were entering our school. This time to try Zoom to prepare for April’s classes. For social distancing, there are only two to three parents per room and students are strictly not allowed to attend this session to adhere to regulations. We also had a mock session with children at home, and it’s interesting to see how the parents and children work on this together. The trial session had just ended successfully. Hopefully, next week’s classes will be just as smooth. Thanks for your patience again. Together, we shall beat Covid! #sgunited #covid_19 #onlineeducation #zoom

Posted on by Wallace

This is a very different Sat. We are taking one-week off this week to get ourselves ready for the online classes. Thus, this Sat, instead of our usual flurry of students coming in and out of our premises, parents were entering our school. This time to try Zoom to prepare for April’s classes. For social[…]

Clarifications on FAQ: 1. Lessons start next week. No physical or online lessons this week. We have moved the June break to this week. 2. We will be sending invitations for you to join the class via zoom and google classroom next week. Please take note of the time and date of the actual class. 3. If you can’t attend the live session, a recorded version will be uploaded for a limited period for you. Please check your class schedule in the link sent to your whatsapp. 4. You can use Zoom on a laptop, smartphone or tablet. You can test if everything is working by going to https://zoom.us/test. We also sent a Zoom PDF guide to your whatsapp/email. 5. Zoom workshop for parents – There is no need to join the workshop if you’re comfortable using zoom to connect. For those keen to test-run and are not coming for the physical workshop, we’ll also be hosting the workshop on Zoom tomorrow 28 March. Click on the link sent to your whatsapp to join us tomorrow (anytime from 9am to 1pm). 6. If your child is on social media, you may ask him/her to follow us on @studyroomsg on IG or Facebook so as not to miss any updates. We will also post there to ensure everyone gets the message. It is a difficult period and we hope to resolve all issues efficiently and steadily. Please pardon us if we lag in reply or there is any hiccup along the way. #sgunited #covid_19 #onlineclasses

Posted on by Wallace

Clarifications on FAQ: 1. Lessons start next week. No physical or online lessons this week. We have moved the June break to this week. 2. We will be sending invitations for you to join the class via zoom and google classroom next week. Please take note of the time and date of the actual class.[…]