Lim Guo Hong

I had changed my phone to Samsung z240. My mother gave it to me as she got it for free as M1 is having this “promotion”.

Just to post it here.

Thanks Gary Tan for typing this.

Mr Simen Lourds is no geek. The principal of Montfort Secondary confesses to being “not very good at computers”. Indeed, he ended up shooting his team-mates while trying his hand at Counterstrike recently.But the high-energy man, who picked up his guitar halfway during the interview to sing, is a student gamer’s dream educator. He recently organised a DoTA All-Stars competition within the school and even paid for the prizes, worth $1,100 in all, out of his own pocket.

The 49-year-old has also fought for a gaming centre to be build on-campus, and has recently got the green light from MOE. The $80,000 gaming centre, located near the general office, will be where student can play the latest games. It is expected to be ready by next month.given these efforts, the school won the Gears of War tournament at the Interschool eGaming Challenge 2007, beating 16 teams from 14 schools.No doubt, his openness towards gaming has endeared the principal, a former national athlete, to his students in his all-boys school.

Among the many SMS messages received from them is this one : “You are THE best principal!”So far, there have been none of the adverse effects such as falling grades that is often linked to video games. The school has obtained value-added academic results for the past three years, something Mr Lourds expects will continue even after the gaming centre is well underway.

Why are you bringing computer games into the school, when other schools are doing exactly the opposite - banning them?

You can’t stop students from gaming. It’s the interest of the new generation, and the schools are fighting a losing battle trying to stop it.I won’t fight it, I will manage it instead. Furthermore, we want many peaks of excellence - our students should also have talents in other areas rather than just academic (ones).

What are the benefits that the gaming centre will bring to the students?

Firstly, by making gaming services available in the school, my students don’t have to go to outside gaming centres and be exposed to negative influences or health hazards there, such as smoking.Secondly, we can also manage them better. For example, before they can even play, they must first buy a coupon and get the teachers who have taught them on that day to sign it, certifying that they have completed their homework and have no CCAs to attend.

Once the coupon is signed, the students can then use it to start playing their games.We will also control their play time. After playing for two hours, they will have to stop and report to a waiting bay, where there will be plants to provide fresh air and a board displaying some eye and hand exercises for them to follow. They can only return to their games after 15 minutes or so.Currently, we are looking at ways to make gaming more healthy. for example, most gaming centres use neon lights, which are harmful to health.

Our gaming centre will be illuminated by natural sunlight instead.I will also be setting up a club for students, who will play a part in managing the gaming centre. This will help foster entrepreneurship in them.

Did your plans to set up a gaming centre in school meet with any resistance from parents?

They loved it! Some of them did raise their concerns, but once I explained the concept to them, they realised they preferred to have their children here, where their gameplay is monitored and their health taken into account, instead of gaming centres outside which many not have any social responsibility.As the principal of a Catholic school, doesn’t it disturb you that most computer games involve violence? Life itself is violent, with all the tsunamis, earthquakes, and wars. We have to get our students ready for real life and not try to shelter them.However, there are some games that do go overboard. When a game is deemed unsuitable by them, students and teachers, who act as consultants, will come to me. I will personally test out (the game). If I find that it is indeed too graphic or too violent, I will ban it.

But the recent Virginia Tech shootings by the south Korean student…

We have to understand that violence is not just from computer games alone, but from many sources like movies and television.Education is the key to managing violence. The Virginia Tech shooting serves to raise awareness; it is an incident that teachers can highlight to students for them to understand the reality of violence.

Day 1

On the first day, the whole team went to Manjusri Secondary for the National Inter-school Wushu Championship 2007 to so call “test the carpet”. We do wushu on carpet for those we doesn’t know so basicially, the whole team went there and we do warm up. We were told that we can only enter the hall to test the carpet after 12.30pm and we reach there at around 11.30am so basically we waited there and then when time come, we tested on the green carpet ( Court B ), Hong Wei attracted a lot of WZ’s athletes and basicially our team don’t dare to do anything since then. We basicially formed two rows with empty spaces in between and WZ’s athletes formed the other side and we basicially didn’t dare to do anything except for doing wrist and ankle rotation for that 30 minutes. Not that I didn’t dare to do but I don’t find the need to. It is just a carpet, isn’t it? Nicholas Foo and Kelvin Chua compete it in their International Nan Quan Routine, they did their best that day but didn’t win. Highlight of that day includes A Girls 5 Duan Chang Quan where Jie Ru, Joyce and Zhang Qian compete in, B boys International Nan Quan Routine where Alex Chan ( My spear competitor as well ), Sim Zheng Jie and Wei Yang ( From OP Secondary ) compete it.

Day 2
I didn’t go on that day but Tee Hng and Gabriel compete in their 4 Duan Broadsword Routine event. I am not sure how they perform but Tee Hng got a lower mark than Gabriel. I am not too sure what had happened as this is not what I expect but I do believe they did their best. I am not there so I cannot relaly say the highlight of that day.

Day 3
I am not there as well but we almost get medals on that day. Yong Yu compete in 4 Duan Cudgel Routine and Tee Hng compete in 4 duan spear. Yong Yu almost get a 4th but he injuried his right knee during the competition while performing his routine and from that he jumped/shaked 3 times. He did well that day. Tee Hng’s spear moves got interrupted by his “belt” and he lost a 3rd position from what I knew. It is a waste that day. Danielle from Wufang Singapore also compete in that and she got first in her B girls 4 duan spear routine. I think she is really really happy and I congratulate her for winning. Hard works paid off.

Day 4
The day where medals start to come in and it is also the day of my event. We went there as usual. Shen Huan and Zhen Wei were asked to tag along to watch the performance of Hong Wei so on that day, Hong Wei, Shen Huan, Zhen Wei, Guo Hong, Benjamin was there. We went there early but the good thing is that the 12.30pm capret rule was gone so we managed to use the carpet. Benjamin was the first to compete and he is also the first to compete in his event, 2nd International Sword Routine. He didn’t do extremely well that day but he didn’t make any major mistake as well. Hong Wei ( Captain of our wushu team ) then competes in his 2nd International Broadsword Routine and he got 2nd losing to Yi Yang from CCHMS and his 2nd International Cudgel Routine got 3rd. This time the move after his Xuan Zi isn’t too nice. Jun An and Jaryl from Wufang compete in their 1st International Chang Quan Routine and Jun An being te same to compete seems to be a bit too nervous and did quite a few balancing mistakes. Jaryl got a gold for this event. Jaryl later then compete in his 1st International Spear Routine. He is good and got another gold so 2 golds for 2 events. My 2nd International Spear Event were after that… I really waited for a long time. It was the last event. I was the 10th out of the 12 people who is competiting and I have to sit there and watch the rest to compete before I can. Basicially I was sitting there to wait. Alex Chan from CCHMS, Shi Jie from Catholic High were very good and there is one more guy, Hong Ming from Maris Stella ( My school’s badminton rival school) who is good as well. The result were all very close. 1st. Shijie, 2nd. Hong Ming 3rd. Guo Hong (Me), 4th. Alex Chan, 5th. Benjamin. I only beat Alex by 0.02… If not for his small mistake, i wouldn’t have won him I think.

Day 5
I collected my medal with Hong Wei, Jaryl on the 5th day. We have Gregory and Matthew competiting in 1st International Sword Routine with Wufang’s Jaryl, a sparring event by Nicholas and Kelvin Chua and supposely 2nd International Chang Quan Routine from Hong Wei but that morning, Hong Wei keep telling me his legs hurts and he cannot even do a Pu Bu properly and i massage for him in that bus for the whole journey and even when we are in the hall. He decided to give up the event but he will have a high chance of getting at least a bronze if he competes. Out of the 3 who compete in the sword event, Gregory was the first. He did extremely well that day except that it was a waste that his stamina is not there when he is finishing the routine. Jaryl did extrememly well though not the best I have seen of him. He got 4th I think and is quite upset about it. I also think the people who “won” him shouldn’t had “won” him… it is just some stuff. He got minus 0.1 for missing movement. Matthew then compete and minus 0.2 for additional of movement. He was extremely upset about it and actually Coach Xin Ru had warned him about it when we were at Rulang Primary. The sparring got the loudest clap among all the sparring group and i think it was the funniest ending one can ever think of for the sparring. I will post a video if I get the chance to. This year, there is a trend of killing another person in sparring event.

Day 6
The last day of National Interschool Wushu championship 2007 and it is the team event day. We did well that day or extremely well in the eye of coach and teacher and I guess so. The whole team including non-school team were there to support us. We got 5th for the event with a score of 8.20. It is a waste. Some schools are really good like CCHMS and Catholic High.

This is a wonderful competition experiences and I get to know a few more guys and get the chance to see Yi Ming. Haha Nice guy.

I don’t feel like competiting in the coming Nationals, should I? I am not good enough for it. I am lousy. Updates regarding Interschool coming soon.

I won third getting 8.45 losing to Hong Ming and Shi Jie. More updates coming up. I will be posting a summary of what happen these few days soon.

Year 2005 (Interschool Wushu Championship): 4 duan Cudgel - 7.++
Year 2006 (Interschool Wushu Championship): 2nd International Spear Routine - 8.08 (2nd)
Year 2006 (National Wushu Championship): 2nd International Spear Routine - 8.51

What will be my score for Year 2007’s Interschool Wushu Champion (2nd International Spear Routine)? It will be my last Interschool I will be in suppose I don’t wish to go to JC.

Score isn’t that important as you may get higher score than the previous one did but he still lose to other people but at least you know where you are.

Good luck to me, Wu Fang’s student and Montfort Wushu Team.

I will update this if I can find my score for my 4 duan cudgel.

4 more days… 4 more.

Today, I really have a great day hanging out with the wufang’s people. Every Saturday is really enjoyment. We had training as usual in the morning, it is not so bad except for a few mistakes here and there. Afterwhich, we went for lunch. I am not sure where Bryan and Ren Zoe went, they said they want to follow us.. eh. Anyway we went to eat at the Newton hawker centre, about 10-12 of us. The drinks there are really expensive. I rather buy from West.Later me, Jaryl and Bing Han went to Plaza Singapura to “walk” and trust me going out with them will really make you laugh. They are really fun guys. Beside Hong Wei, they are the only people I went out with before (except for my class’s outing). I saw one shirt that really look like our Wu Fang’s shirt in red text. New Balance but this is dry fit. Know some of their secrets, actually I am not really surprised, I just didn’t tell them that I does that as well. Don’t want to ruin my “good boy” image in them, haha. Bing Han had been trying ways to make me angry but without him knowing, he makes me laugh even more and more. If you ever need laugher in life, find Bing Han. He is the best man.So it is only until 3-4 pm so why did I say Wu Fang day? In an hour time, I am going to “The Forest” (eh ok, somewhere around this pronouncation) with Jaryl and celebrate Karen, Wufang’s Admin, birthday. I don’t really know her well but at least we work together on some occasions like Chinese New Year. Meeting him at Seragoon’s MRT and lets see how we can get there. Haha.

5 more days to my event. Good Luck.

Edit:

Yesterday’s night was fun. I was suppose to meet Jaryl at Seragoon MRT but I was late so anyway we met at Dhoby Ghaut MRT in the end. I made him wait 3 trains and he was sick some more. I feel quite bad. I will treat him to eat next time, I really owe him a big one. Later we went to Orchard and trust me, we were not lost there. We were opposite the MRT and Jaryl called Ling Juan and she told him how to walk. Jaryl told me after 1 sentence what Ling Juan told her, he doesn’t even know what she was saying after that. Quite made my day, actually, wanted to laugh but that will make me a mad guy. Anyway we managed to make it to the Forum and ate there. Coach Wen Xin, Xin Ru and Chun Huei were there, Ling Juan, Karen ( The Birthday girl ), Zhen Ling, Yao De, Gim Hong and another 4 wufang girls were also there. I also met this 2 fun guys, Yan De and Chang Hen, they were really funny and Chang Hen really like to shake hands. All the female really like to take photos, I believe they took more than 20 photos. Haha, went to Starbuck afterwards and I am really tired already. Managed to catch the last 2 trains but not the last bus so I had to walk home from Hougang Mall. Actually I quite regretted that I didn’t take any photos with them haha.

Montfort Secondary School’s principal, Mr. Simen Lourds, is preparing its students and teachers to be able to react when there is an unpredicted disaster striking us. ( This sentence looks weird no matter how I rephrase, eh? ) They had a day “off” on the 5th of April 2007 and students are expected to do the work and submit it online.

Our school uses 2 main eLearning platform.
http://www.lead.com.sg
http://www.heymath.net

When I tried I access the site at 7am, Heymath was down but later it was up. We have Chemistry and Math homework on there. I didn’t managed to access it but I got my friend to and managed to get the chemistry work in the end. The problem is when I open the file, it is corrupted. I will go to my friend’s house this Sunday and print it and do it again. On Lead, we have English and Chinese, English is just fine but Chinese is something I don’t know how to do it. We have to type in Chinese but the software we are told to download cannot be used. During the time when Heymath were down, teachers posted messages on Lead.com.sg and I didn’t managed to see it only until a minute ago.

It has its pros and cons. The school should not have 2 systems, they really should have 1 instead. They are making things really confusing and messy here. The lead.com.sg portal isn’t user-friendly either. I am using Firefox as my browser as I don’t like how Internet Explorer works and I got message saying I cannot use Firefox on lead.com.sg. Lead.com.sg is good but it is too flashy. Sometime, its loading time is too long. They should use plain html instead but its their system so its up to them. 1422 students using the lead portal and will all of us will have a good system specs to allow us to use lead.com.sg in the first place? Heymath is good as well but the website went down even before the time we are suppose to do the work? ( 8.30am to 4 pm ). When I check the site at 7am - 9am+, it was down. The experience of eLearning is fun nevertheless.

I went for a haircut with Hong Wei, and a lot people phoned me at this time by the way, then we went to Toa Payoh stadium to watch the interschool primary wushu competition ( Group Event ) and that was when my phone’s battery went flat and I believed that denied a lot of phone calls. I apologise if you called me and there is no response. I went with Hong Wei, Lin Feng, Nicholas Foo, Kelvin Chua, Shen Huan and Zhen Wei. Mathew and Benjamin later joined us in the stadium. It was a good watch. My coach’s team was really good but it was a waste that they didn’t win. Didn’t went for Wu Fang training at night because coach said I really need rest and asked me not to go and surpisingly enough, I got a message that all competitors ( I assume secondary students ) have to go for training the coming Saturday which is tomorrow, much of a conicidence if you ask me. I will be there tomorrow. 6 more days ( or rather 5 ) to my event.

Good luck

May 17, 2007

to

May 19, 2007

They are hosted on eNom, Move out on his behalf if they are not renewed.

My Manager, Daniel, commonly known as catfriedirce, at Invisionfree Skin Zone had retired officially on the 5th of April 2007. After serving for Skin Zone for more than 2 years in Support and a few other aspect of SZ inclduing PYF, he decided to leave.

Today marks the day of the lost of a good Manager. I quote what Lucas said, “our only and best manager.” IF Support of IFSZ will remember this day. Me, Lucas and Andrew will continue to work hard on Support even without you. Thanks for leading us through the years. Without you, me and Lucas will not be what we are today. Stay happy in life. May god bless you.