My birthday in 2011

This year, for the first time in my life, I received a birthday present way in advanced. And it was a really pretty present - a Swarovski snowflake, all thanks to my lovely student. Okay, ex-student/friend.

Then, back home, on the night before the actual day, my Kembangsari girls gave me a surprise disguised in a yumcha session at Little Star Cafe.

I was both happy and embarrassed at the same time, as Miss Teoh's entire extended in-law family was there and helped sing the birthday song! Aiyo, paiseh la but thank you all so much!

After working hard during the first half of my birthday, I spent the rest of the day enjoying myself. Perhaps it was my lucky day, we managed to get a parking spot right after we passed the boom gate. We quickly went up to the cinema to grab our tickets for the current Taiwanese blockbuster, You Are The Apple Of My Eye (那些年, 我們一起追的女孩).

As only single seats were available, we had to settle for Gold Class seats that were side-by-side. Not that I was complaining. It was my first Gold Class experience and it was great. It was worth every fifty-five ringgit spent (because I did not know how comfortable the seats and blanket were!). Will be sharing my thoughts on this movie in a later post.

To fill up our hungry tummies, we dined at Garden Lifestyle Store and Cafe, which now occupies the lot which Little Penang used to occupy. Initially attracted by just their environment, we were later impressed by their food and service, too. More on that soon.

How would my birthday be complete without ice-cream? We went to none other than Häagen-Dazs.

It did not stop there. After I got back to Sydney, I had something cute from a cute person.

Seriously, am just glad that I have all of you in my life.

Happy birthday, Rachel!

My housie did her homework. I think she puts in more effort into doing things for friends secretly than in completing her assignments for uni. I totally get it though, as it is more satisfying to see smiling faces than to devour endless reams of academic notes. So what did she get up to this time?

She managed to get our little Rachie into the house without knowing that there was a whole group of people waiting for her to surprise her:

She managed to get Rachie's boyfriend over from Melbourne:

From all of us:

Hope you liked the surprise!

Happy birthday, Swan!

Yes, her name is Swan. Shwu Woan. And it was her birthday which we celebrated in my home in true floral Victorian fashion. Er, okay, with a mash-up of Malaysian flavours.

The food that she bought included mini cupcakes, mini strawberry and lemon tarts, tea (of some floral, fruity flavour) with scones, strawberry and marshmallows to dip in chocolate, as well as Moscato.

Othilia prepared some other special dishes as main course, Sarawak Laksa and chicken cooked in some special kacang sauce.

The party continued over at Mamak in Chatswood, where Swan and her lovely room and coursemate, Tracy work.

Here is to wishing Swan

a very

Happy 22nd Birthday!

MUSEC Symposium: Applying the Response to Intervention Model with Low-Progress Readers

Macquarie University Special Education Centre (MUSEC), the centre for research and teaching in special education, enjoys a national and international reputation for the quality of its research, its excellence in postgraduate teaching and its contribution to program development in the area of Special Education.

The staff of MUSEC include special educators, psychologists, teachers, therapists and researchers, backed by technical and administrative support staff. Centre staff are involved in a variety of research projects, both on and off campus, focusing on the learning and behaviour difficulties of young children and school students with special needs and disabilities. Complementary program development ensures that research findings are translated into practical applications for implementation by teachers working with children with special needs in both regular and special schools.

MUSEC currently offers four postgraduate certificates in Special Education, a Postgraduate Diploma and a Master of Special Education by coursework study, in addition to higher research degrees at masters and doctoral level.

This year, the MUSEC Symposium, Applying the Response to Intervention Model with Low-Progress Readers (The work of the MultiLit Research Unit at MUSEC) will be held on November 5, 2011 (Saturday) from 9:30am to 12:00pm.

There is no charge to attend the MUSEC Symposium.

The program for the symposium is as follows:

9:30am - Kevin Wheldall: Introduction: What is Response to Intervention? (10 mins)

Professor Kevin Wheldall has been Professor of Education at MUSEC since 1990 and is the Director of the MULTILIT Research Unit. Kevin has been elected a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia, the International Academy for Research in Learning Disabilities, the British Psychological Society and the College of Preceptors. He has received the Mona Tobias award of Learning Difficulties Australia and has been inducted into the Macquarie Innovators Hall of Fame. He was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 2011 for “service to education as an academic and researcher, particularly in the areas of learning and behavioural difficulties, and through the design and implementation of innovative literacy programs”.

9:40am - Meree Reynolds, Kevin Wheldall and Alison Madelaine: Establishing provisional benchmarks for identifying young low-progress readers in Years 1 and 2. (25 mins)

After many years as a teacher, consultant and administrator in education, Meree completed her PhD at Macquarie University on Effective Literacy Intervention for Young Struggling Readers, seeking evidence about cost effective ways to get all students off to a good start in reading. Aspects of her research included investigating the effectiveness of MINILIT and establishing benchmarks of progress for students in years one and two in NSW schools. Meree also has a MA in Special Education and a BA, majoring in education and history, both from Macquarie University. She also has a Teachers Certificate from Wagga Wagga Teachers' College.

Dr. Alison Madelaine is a Lecturer at Macquarie University Special Education Centre and teaches postgraduate units in Effective Literacy Instruction and Special Education Research Methods. She completed her doctorate on "Curriculum-based measurement of reading and teacher judgment of reading performance". Her current academic interests include reading instruction, reading fluency, book levelling and curriculum-based measurement of reading and writing. Alison has also had classroom experience teaching disadvantaged students with learning disabilities in South Carolina, USA.

10:05am - Alison Madelaine, Kevin Wheldall and Meree Reynolds: The role of curriculum-based measurement of reading within the Response to Intervention model. (25 mins)

10:30am - Morning tea

10:50am - Jennifer Buckingham, Kevin Wheldall and Robyn Beaman: Randomised controlled trials of Tier 2 small group reading interventions for young and older low-progress readers. (25 mins)

Jennifer Buckingham is currently undertaking doctoral research on literacy and social disadvantage. She is trialing the new small group MINILIT and MULTILIT programs with socially disadvantaged low progress readers in the primary school setting. For the last decade, Jennifer has been working as a policy researcher at the Centre for Independent Studies specialising in school education, and also spent a year as the schools editor at The Australian newspaper.

Dr. Robyn Beaman-Wheldall is a Research Fellow at MUSEC and is also Deputy Director of the MULTILIT Research Unit. Robyn has been extensively involved in the development of MULTILIT since its inception in 1995. A current focus of Robyn's research work is improving the educational outcomes of Indigenous students. Her other research interests include positive classroom behaviour management and effective literacy interventions for low-progress readers.

11:15am - Robyn Beaman, Kevin Wheldall, Alison Madelaine, Saskia Kohnen, Meree Reynolds and Sarah McMurtry: Meeting the needs of Aboriginal low-progress readers in remote communities. (25 mins)

11:40am - Q & A

Registration is essential. Please e-mail Natalie Watson by October 31, 2011 (Monday). Her e-mail is natalie.watson@mq.edu.au

AMSA Welcome Afternoon Tea

Recently, AMSA held an afternoon tea to welcome new members. It was a chance for us on the committee to meet both old and new members in person, touch base and to make new connections. We also took the opportunity to introduce ourselves to everyone, and also to welcome our new webmaster on board.

The grey weather failed to dampen the liveliness of the event, which we held at the Sydney Mechanics' School of Arts (SMSA). Judging from the constant chattering, with little groups discussing their own topics of interests spread across the function rooms, the event served its socialising purpose.

And the food - fried noodles were plentiful and who could resist the home-made bright red angku kuih, as well as the red and pink kuih lapis?

Our lovely Singaporean members Christine and her husband who came all the way from the Central Coast could not agree more that the kuih were finger licking good!

The afternoon tea would not have had such tempting food without the help of members, Rose and Jennifer who volunteered their time and energy. A very big thank you to them.

There were also 'story-telling' sessions, where Elvan (our president), Evelyn (our vice president), James (the other vice president) and Tony (long-time member) shared their experiences of living in Australia, the country they have called home for some time.

Elvan shared his experience of living with a Christian Lebanese family and how living with students was a terrible idea.

Evelyn recalled how she learnt to use a lawnmower and to care for her children without a domestic helper.

James advised us uni students to challenge with knowledge, to believe in our own abilities.

Tony made us laugh with how he was a lecturer with a difference.

A special guest of mine did a little promotional talk for his upcoming big event, as well. Yes, Logann, the big guy behind the upcoming Malaysia Festival spent a few minutes marketing his event.

I would also like to thank the newly elected Executive Committee of the Malaysian Students' Association (MSA) from Macquarie University. Choong Hern (the president), Siew Lee (the vice president) and Vijey (the secretary), thank you for coming all the way! Hopefully, we will manage to establish a partnership of some sort to have MSA involved in AMSA events, or vice versa,in future.

I made a new friend, Li Ping, whom I have already invited over for dinner with Xin Wen and added to our support network.

Now, who would like to put their name down for the next AMSA event, Pamper Day? It will be at SMSA again on Saturday, October 29, 2011 from 2:15pm to 5:00pm. As the name of the event suggests, it will be a day of pampering the self, with facial and make-up demonstrations for the ladies, and for the men, Swedish and chi trigger point massage.

Why not come to relax and make some new friends while you are at it?

Creating New Frontiers in Leadership 2011

Children's Services Central is sponsoring an early childhood leadership conference and one of my lovely lecturers, Associate Professor Manjula Waniganayake is working with Anthony Semann from Semann & Slattery to organise this. Last year, the first of these conferences was held and it was a huge success (based on participants' feedback).

This year is particularly exciting because Jillian Rodd, the pioneer Australian leadership researcher has agreed to be a keynote. Some issues that will be addressed include:

• gender and leadership
• deconstructing leadership
• Indigenous leadership
• power and leadership
• leadership history
• culture and leadership

Held on November 22, 2011 from 9:00am to 5:00pm at the SMC Conference and Function Centre (66 Goulburn Street, Sydney, NSW 2000), registration starts at 8:15am and costs $170 per person.

Places are limited so early registration is recommended. Bookings are now open at http://www.cscentral.org.au/

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!

A new year, in a new environment with new faces. Good old Miss Moon still shone brightly from above. This year, a simple cheese-baked black pepper beef rice dinner was prepared by yours truly and was enjoyed with housie Jie, PR May Hsien, TR Rachie, newly appointed MSA Social Aaron and his extremely sociable and has-been-to every-event-there-is sidekick, Jeremy.

Dinner was fun mainly due to how the three young ones filled the house with laughter and plenty of lameness.

It was pure entertainment to watch them squabble over everything. Literally.

Oh, and also that little episode where there was a 'How To Use A Lighter 101' tutorial.

Big thank you to Jeremy for getting the Kee Wah Deluxe Mini Mooncakes Gift Box!

Here is to wishing everybody

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!

中秋节快乐！

10 signs your child cannot hear

From the latest issue of MQ Staff News was a small write-up dedicated to children with hearing difficulties.

Children acting out or displaying behaviours that seem defiant could actually be showing signs of a hearing problem. Audiologist Dr. Mridula Sharma has a list of ten signs that your child may be experiencing difficulty hearing:

1. Turns up the volume of TV or radio to a disturbing level.
2. A delayed reaction or no response when called.
3. Suffers from frequent colds, fever or ear infections.
4. Frequently pulling at or playing with their ear.
5. Often overactive, uncooperative or cranky.
6. Withdrawn when interacting with other children.
7. Will only respond to direct questions when facing you.
8. Has trouble paying attention and does not follow directions.
9. Frequently asks for words or phrases to be repeated.
10. Tends to speak loudly.

Children displaying any one of these behaviours may have an auditory processing disorder. Even if you do not observe the above signs, I think there is no harm in taking your children for a hearing test.

We teach who we are

I am glad I dragged myself out of bed early this morning to attend the lecture at 8:00am. Since I told Clare that I would be there, I told myself not to create excuses. And so there I was at the lecture theatre with the other tutors and some fifty-odd students.

This morning, the lecture was presented by a guest lecturer, Dr. William De Jean. And it was one heck of a lecture! If every lecture was as interactive and hyped up as his was, I would attend every single one of them!

The lecture reminded me of some of the lectures that were conducted last year for the same unit. The first questions he asked us to answer were why we were going into teaching and our intentions for doing so. My reply was a slightly selfish one. I am going into teaching (I am teaching) because these is a special feeling of achievement and pride when someone I have taught comes back to say ‘thank you’. I find that such appreciation actually motivates me to be better. So, indirectly, teaching helps me better myself because like what Dr. De Jean kept emphasising throughout his lecture, we teach who we are.

He asked us to read aloud the following questions, which he took out of The Courage to Teach: Exploring the Inner Landscape of a Teacher's Life by Parker J. Palmer, an author, educator, and activist who focuses on issues in education, community, leadership, spirituality and social change:

The question we most commonly as is the “what” question – what subjects shall we teach?

When the conversation goes a bit deeper, we ask the “how” question – what methods and techniques are required to teach well?

Occasionally, when it goes deeper still, we ask the “why” question – for what purpose and to what ends do we teach?

But seldom, if ever, do we ask the “who” question – who is the self that teaches?

He related that back to how we are educated (as opposed to trained) as teachers. We almost always justify our teaching with what is in the best interest of the children. It always is for the children. We almost always not talk about ourselves. What about us? We teach who we are so how can we not place some amount of significance on ourselves?

I liked how he metaphorically referred to our teaching as roadmaps. We have all these directions to follow. We use compasses because we are going places we do not even know. How do we know where we are going with our teaching? Do we know what the creative superminds we are teaching today will create for tomorrow? I think we can only assume that we are laying a foundation for the younger generation. What kind of a foundation will depend on who we are.

Like it or not, our identity is made up not only of who we think we are but also who we think we are not. Dr. De Jean likened it to a beach ball that is being held forcefully underwater. Yes, the beach ball is our shadow and what we suppress will always surface when we are unable to take the pressure any longer. So, what do we truly believe about difference? Do we really treat everyone equally? Do we really know what it feels like to be wearing glasses or to walk with a plastered foot?

What do we truly believe about success? If people work hard, will they really succeed? Does that mean that people who do not succeed are people who are not trying?

What do we truly believe about intelligence? Who do we believe is “smart” and who do we think is not? Who do we believe seems “motivated and who is not? Who do we believe should and should not go to university?

What do we believe about language? What do we laugh at? Why do we say “Hey, guys” when half the crowd is made up of females?

What do we truly believe about gender? How do we believe boys should act? How do we believe girls should act? We get concerned when they do not act the way we think they should.

What do we truly believe or feel when we hear an accent? What are our emotional responses? How is it different if it is French, American, Aboriginal or Spanish? Why do we think that when someone speaks English in a French or Scottish accent sounds beautiful or sexy while a person who speaks English in an Asian accent needs to attend an English speaking course?

How often do we think about our race, gender, sexual orientation, “accent”, nationality, class and language?

How well do we know our selves? Our light, brilliance, gifts, talents, compassion, intuition and healthy boundaries. Our fears, shadows, judgements, hidden belief systems, agendas and grief.

What do we think? What do we feel? To me, I think that there are many challenges in being the teacher we think we can be and I feel that there is a heavy sense of responsibility that comes with it.

Quoting Margaret J. Wheatley (commonly known as Meg Wheatley), a writer and management consultant who studies organisational behaviour with approaches including systems thinking, theories of change, chaos theory, leadership and the learning organisation (particularly its capacity to self-organise),

“The leaders we need are already here.”

If they are already here, our jobs as teachers are to make sure that we make them absolutely fantabulous leaders. Get out our compasses (GPSes?)!

*Unless otherwise hyperlinked, much detail included here were from the lecture slides provided this morning.

Buns for Books!

I came across Mari Kita Membaca (MKM) a few months ago through a friend's facebook page. Literally translated as Let’s Read, MKM is a project to bring books to children living in the rural and under-served areas of Malaysia and to encourage the love of reading.

They believe that by cultivating the love of reading and independent learning they contribute towards empowering local communities. They work closely with grassroots organisations and partners on the ground supporting local initiatives. They take inspiration from the local communities, who despite the lack of resources, work hard to provide education opportunities for their children.

Education, like in any socially stratified society, is the key to breaking the cycle of inequality and discrimination. I have also found this in UNESCO and UNICEF reports, which support the work of their consultants and other personnel in imparting education and care skills to local communities in hard-to-reach areas. They go by the saying of how giving a man a fish will only let him eat for a day whereas teaching a man to fish would help him eat for a lifetime. By equipping the local communities with skills and knowledge, they come to realise the power of education thus would feel motivated and would strive to provide their children with a better future.

Currently, they have provided Library Boxes (the books are packed in lovely boxes!) to Orang Asli (indigenous) villages in Negeri Sembilan, Perak, Johor and Sabah. They also conduct reading activities in many of the villages.

In support of their good work, I managed to get the co-operation of the Malaysian Students Association (MSA) in uni and PappaRoti Australia to help me in raising funds.




A big thank you to Clayton for coming up with the designs above and for being the messenger between the MSA committee and I. Also, a big thank you to Junda and his PappaRoti team for sponsoring the buns.

Look forward to seeing everyone on Wednesday!

Good morning!

Every morning I carpool with housemate to work, I walk past a patch of green right opposite the shopping centre. I always keep my eyes peeled for movement in the grass and when I find my friends, I perk up for a brand new day ahead.





Cute, right?

They would stop their munching to stare me back in the eyes. They probably were thinking of whether I would chase after them in their small heads but I would rather think that they were trying to wish me, "Good morning, young lady! Have a nice day!"

Haha... Gotta love going to uni...

Thank you, Thursday tute group!

Thank you for being good sports and participating in all the early morning discussions, provocations, videos, brainstorming and confusing group work I put you through.

To every one of you in my ECH230 Thursday 9:00am - 11:00am tutorial, a very big

THANK YOU!

P/S: Custom-made cupcakes were from Ivory & Co.

Graduation memories

Well, it depends on which aspect of 'life' you are directing this question at. If you are asking about the moments directly after the graduation ceremony, then it is more or less standard practice to do most of the following:

With your clumsy graduation robe and bouquets of flowers, you run around the ceremony grounds chasing after lecturers and 'important-looking-people' to take photos with them. In doing so, your friends chase after you to take photos with you.

Your family members would be on a photo-shooting spree, candidly snapping your every movement and expression. Then, depending on whether your family is the portrait kind of family, you would proceed to take professional family portraits that would cost you the sky.

You would then have a celebratory meal with your family. Perhaps, another meal with friends.

Then, the most enjoyable (and painful) part - the after party.

I had the privilege to relive all these happy moments yesterday when Han Wei graduated with his degree.


It was so delightful to have been there to witness the glowing pride of his family members. It was great to see the old DLC guys, too - Daniel,


Wei Foo


and Albert.


It was also eye-opening to see how drunk Han Wei was at night.

The 5/10 finger game and a free-flow of beer DO NOT go together.


Man, the amount of alcohol guzzled down at the rate they were going last night, we were lucky not everyone became as knocked out as he was. Wei Foo and Susan had a challenge going on, too, whereby if Foo got drunk first, he would have to make out with a guy and vice versa.

I, on the other hand, had a very sober night. So sober that I had to drive out to buy some Macca for supper, as I was starving!

Oh, and if after the drinks you still do not feel like sleeping, there would normally be another round of drinking at home. Either that or cards. For us (Wei Foo, Daniel, Susan and myself), we played Big 2. Well, Susan changed it to Strip Big 2 so the two boys went to their rooms to put on as many things as they could. It was hilarious! Susan had three of Foo's sweaters on while Daniel put two on, as well as socks and shoes!


It was great hanging out with them - reminded me of the carefree times in college all those years ago, which were filled with plenty of laughter. Foo insisted on walking us to the junction (so he could' offer' himself to the dogs first to 'protect' us from rabies). Still sweet, nevertheless.

The most exciting part of the night would have to be the part where I could not let myself in to my own room. Not funny. I kept swiping the card to no reaction from the door! It was so humiliating to call the RA on duty at four-freaking-A.M. to open my door for me! Even she had to try for 5 minutes before the door could read her card...

It sure was a long day. A long day of robes, drinks, cards and fish tofu.


So, someone please tell me why is it that I still woke up at 8 this morning!?!?!?!?!?!