Third prize went to Ma Nan for this nice CNY picture.

Second prize went to Zhu Yun for these two great night shots.

And finally, first prize went to Kong Ling Yu for this colorful shot of a flower vendor in Little India at Deepavali.

Well done everyone!

Best of luck to you, LyLy in all you do. We are gonna miss you.

Guilt

                Jerry Tan lounged in his limousine heading towards Mount Elizabeth Hospital, the best private hospital in Singapore. It was Monday morning and Jerry was on the way to work after arriving back from a holiday. Yes, he had taken a relaxing break, since he successfully completed an operation on a patient who had contracted a rare illness. As a surgeon, he was famous both at home and abroad and was chained to his work every day.

Dr Tan was a charming, single man in his early-forties. His expensively coiffured dark hair framed a face that was strong and intelligent. He had piercing brown eyes which shone like twin diamonds, a firm jaw which tapered into a determined pointed chin. He was extremely talented in medicine, which his university tutor knew when Jerry was in school. However, due to his gift, he was also arrogant and was blind to his fellow doctors’ suggestions.

When he stepped into the hallway of the hospital, everyone greeted him. Nevertheless, he never acknowledged them or even gave a glance. He just carried his document bag, heading towards his spacious office decorated with many lavish and delicate pieces of furniture.

“Hello Dr Tan, these are two cases accepted during your holiday. One of the patients had a heart attack, however it was accompanied with some symptoms of bloating. The other doctors could not find out the cause, but they thought it was different from other illnesses with had the same symptom,” said his assistant, Tom, who was also an excellent senior doctor.

Dr Tan took a casual glance at the document. After a few moments, Dr Tan conceitedly smiled and said, “It is nothing special, just a common case of bloating.”

Tom was a bit anxious and said, “I think you should go and see him, then you can make the final decision.” Dr Tan fidgeted and said, “I’ve helped plenty of patients recover from more nasty illnesses. Don’t you trust my judgement? Fine! I will go with you.”

When they arrived at the ward, Dr Tan saw that the patient lay in the hospital bed, frail and gaunt. He asked the patient some questions and mustered more information about his illness. After Dr Tan and Tom walked out of the ward and back to his office, Tom said, “Although this case has common symptoms, I still think it is strange, so the best solution is…” Abruptly Dr Tan barked, “Are you mocking my capability?”

“No, I am definitely not. I just wanted to err on the side of caution. After all, it is a life.” Tom answered. “You are merely my assistant, you must follow my directions!” Dr Tan shouted angrily, “Now, you will carry out my instructions or be fired.”

“Fine, I will resign!” Tom retorted, “If you are so arrogant and unwilling to accept my suggestions, you will regret your careless behaviour.” Then Tom slammed the door and strode off indignantly, leaving Dr Tan alone in his grandiose office.

Two months later, the police charged Dr Tan with misuse of medicine. He was fined, lost his licence to practice and was sentenced to 2 years in prison. As tears ran down his cheeks, Dr Tan let out a big sigh; he was completely ruined and full of self-pity. Nonetheless, he felt no guilt for his mistake.

Nicely done! The second is by Fu Na.

Guilt

It was the summer of 2011; the future never looked brighter. Anna had enrolled successfully in a famous university. Her years of hard work had finally paid off. Today she received a letter of admission and was over the moon.

Anna was an outstanding student. She had piercing blue eyes that seemed to see into your soul. Her forehead was high and broad. She ran out of the doorway, letter in hand. She saw the tree planted in her front yard and stopped. She remembered it was only five years ago when she planted the sapling with Linda. They had made a pact to go to the same secondary school and then to the same university. Anna’s smile had disappeared and all was silent.

Linda was Anna’s best friend from childhood. She had dreamy blue eyes which were just like limpid pools. She was a soft-spoken, demure girl.

It was the fall of 2006, a sunny morning. Linda and Anna went to school to collect the grades for their final exams. On the way, they walked hand in hand like a pair of twins. When they arrived at school, their classmates saw them and immediately broke the news. Anna got full marks on all her papers, but Linda got the lowest in class, both of them at opposite ends of the spectrum.

Anna was so happy about her results that Linda’s poor grades did not register with her. Anna was so steeped in her happiness that she forgot about Linda’s sadness. She went out with her classmates to celebrate and Linda just tagged along looking downcast. While they were celebrating, Linda went to a corner to cry, but Anna never noticed it. In the meantime Linda was teased, “Guess you helped your best friend so much you forgot to study yourself.” Linda just forced out a smile.

In the afternoon, when Linda reached home, she knew what she feared most would come true. Her parents had found out about her results. Their face turned black and they stared at her. Her father lost his temper and shouted at her, “How could you do this to us? How can we face our friends now? Do you know how much you have embarrassed us?” Linda was numb to everything and just wanted to get out of this cruel world. That evening Anna received a message on her phone, “I’m so happy that you did well. Live our dream for the both of us. Goodnight and goodbye.”

“I’ve done it Linda,” Anna thought to herself. “I’ve finally done it. You’ll always be with me.” Anna heard a voice from behind her “Anna, what are you doing standing there? It’s time for lunch.” Anna’s mother called. Anna sighed and turned around, walking back to the house. The letter drifted from her hand and fell by the tree.

Good job to both of you.

Nice job everyone! Happy Holidays!

9 year old Temuulen from government prep wrote this nice story about his trip to the zoo.

Good English, good job!

The Bamboo Garden is one of the most popular areas as you can tell. One student included a poem and drawing about bamboo.

Nicely done everyone!

Descriptive Essay – A Day to Remember ~ Shen Zhen Tao

It was a Friday and the weather promised to be fine. After many stressful school days, we were finally going to chill out at Universal Studios Singapore. We gathered in our classroom and then took the bus to Sentosa Island. We were all dressed to the nines. Universal Studios Singapore is a theme park located within Resorts World Sentosa on Sentosa Island. The park consists of seven uniquely themed zones which surround a lagoon. Each zone is based on a blockbuster movie or a television show, featuring their own unique attractions, character appearances, dining and shopping areas.
We flashed our tickets and passed the gantries into … Hollywood! The streets were teeming with tourists who were posing for photographs with famous Hollywood stars. Hollywood was really crowded and there was much to see. Hollywood is the main entrance area of the park. Being a replica of the famous Hollywood Boulevard, the zone is flanked by dynamic architecture and palm trees. We walked down the streets and found ourselves in New York. We went to watch Lights! Camera! Action! —a special effects show in a sound room. The host – Steven Spielberg – briefly explained how special effects in movies are made in this new Century. It was really fantastic. After that, we were ushered into the next studio. There were three viewing rows. Unluckily, we were in the front row and were told that we would get wet. The show began. We were in an old boat house in New York City which was struck by a hurricane. The pouring rain descended in sheets and strong winds swept off the roof of the factory. A flash of lighting sparked off a fire which quickly spread across the waters. The adventure climaxed when a cruise ship hurtled into the boat house, tearing down the walls! I was stunned!
After that, we moved on to Ancient Egypt. I followed my classmates into a dark room but I was clueless as to what was inside. Finally, we saw the high speed roller coaster. We were surprised. When it was our turn, all seventeen of us got onto the same roller coaster. We were like the gold that was being sent into the mine. First, it was slow and there was nothing special. Suddenly, it stopped and fell backwards into a dark pit of hell! Needless to say, we were all taken aback. It was pitch-dark in most parts, so when we arrived at our destination, we did not know the exact course.
When we had completed our ride in Ancient Egypt, we decided to take the world’s tallest roller coaster Human and Cyclon. Both tip at 42.5 metres. We decided to take Human first. I was really afraid to go on the tall roller coaster, but I decided to take on the challenge anyway. Off we went, fourteen storeys into the sky. Again and again, it rose and fell, twisted and turned. At last, it slowed down and returned to the boarding station safely. It only took us two minutes, but i felt as if it was a long time. In like manner, we rode on Cyclon. This trip impressed me a lot, as I was inverted five times in less than two minutes. I think I will never forget it.
After all the excitement, we went to lunch at a fast-food restaurant, where we spent an hour gossiping.
In the afternoon, we joined Shrek, Fiona and Donkey on a 4D show. It was fantastic as we were given an all-sensory experience right in our own seats.
We ended the day with a rapids adventure in a yellow boat in The Lost World. It was already dusk and we really enjoyed our trip. What a great way to end the day as our boat plunged down a flume of water and we were splashed from head to toe! I know I will never forget this trip.