Advance to Go Episode #1

It's here! The first episode of Advance to Go!



Just what is the DPA anyway?
Alright all you O level students, listen up! The Direct Polytechnic Admissions Exercise is basically a chance for you to get a spot in the course that you want BEFORE THE O LEVELS.

"Before the O level results, you mean?" I hear you ask. No. Before you take the O level examinations.

What seriously?
Yes. Yeesh. Did you HAVE to ask that? I'm the most trustworthy person in the world. Just believe everything I say.

So when is this exercise?
The DPA Exercise will be held from 09 July 2008 10am to 14 July 2008 4pm. MARK IT DOWN ON YOUR CALENDAR, NOW.

Where do I sign up???
That's a lot of question marks. Next time just use one. You'll sign up here at this website, but as you can see (if you clicked on that link, which you should since I went through the trouble of linking it for you) there isn't anything there yet. Don't panic - that's because the exercise hasn't started.

But wait, how will I qualify for a place?
Well your current grades are one factor, but not necesarily the most important factor for the DPA. We're looking for PASSION and TALENT, thus a portfolio or any evidence of your aptitude/interest helps a lot.

You may also have to attend an interview, and how to make that interview cool and smart we'll post up another time with some help from the current batch of DPA students themselves! After that, all you need to do is to make sure your O level results meet the minimum entry requirement (MER) for your course and have an aggregate of no more than 26 for ELR2B2 and voila! Got all that?

Okaaay. This sounds too good to be true. What's the catch?
You're a suspicious one, aren't you? The one "catch" is really not a catch at all. You can't apply for another course after you receive your O level results - as long as you meet the minimum requirements for your course your place is confirmed.

This means you need to be sure of your choice when applying for DPA. This exercise is targetted at students who are sure of their passion and interests, and will fight tooth and nail to get into the course they love. If you're unsure, then it might be best to apply for a course only during the Joint Admissions Exercise (JAE).

Anything else I need to know?
Well... Fanning is mean and looks like a pig with leprosy. But then you know that already.

Advance to Go next week!

Hi punks! Our DPA feature show, Advance to Go, will start from next Monday onwards. If you have friends that want to find out more about DPA and what it's been like for our current DPA students, then be sure to catch our 4-video series over the next 2 weeks.

Oh, and you'll get to hear Frayon's voice. Yes, it'll be torturous. Just bear with it.


Solid as Bone,

Fanning

iPOD nano Contest

*Dang dang dang-dang! Dang dang dang-dang!*

BIG NEWS!!

We're holding a contest to find Frayon a wife!!! FINALLY!
Just send in a picture of the person you want to sabotage nominate to be Frayon's bride with her name and contact number!

We'll hold a popularity contest and the person with the most number of votes will lose win and be Frayon's bride! Of course, if you like, you can always recommend or nominate yourself (which I don't encourage).

Okay, seriously, we're really holding a contest, but not for the hunt of Frayon's bride. It's a chance for you secondary school students to win an iPod NANO!

This contest is open to ALL local secondary school students. The contest ends on 30th November 2008, so hurry and get your friends to sign up too! Each contestant is entitled to only 1 submission.
Simply fill in the following particulars and send them to kimwah@tp.edu.sg with the subject titled - iPOD NANO contest:

1. Name
2. School
3. Level (Sec 1 / 2 / 3 / 4E / 4N / 5 )
4. Email address
5. Mobile number

*Please note the following:
- This contest is only open to secondary school students in Singapore.
- Winner will be notified through email only. Entries with invalid email addresses will be automatically disqualified.
- Duplicate submissions will result in disqualification.

The information stated in the submitted entry, which was given by the respondent, will be used by Temasek Polytechnic in providing the respondent with more information on the courses available in the Polytechnic and to inform the respondent of any relevant workshop or event organised by the Polytechnic. The Polytechnic agrees not to disclose such information to any third party without the prior written consent of the respondent that has been duly authorised to give such consent.

Signing off,
HummingBird

Star Sports Student 2

Punks! Here is our second sport talent from TP. His name is Chew Swee Hau, currently in year 1 of the Diploma of Business Studies Grouping. Graduated from Anglican High before playing full time for the national Badminton team for 2 years. This is how he looks!

Err yeah. So now you punks know how he looks like? heh. Fine fine, I managed to get a 'normal' shot of him.
He is currently with the school team, training 3 times a week. When asked what was one thing about TP he really likes, he answered "The people!".

"Not only are the seniors nice, the lecturers here are very helpful too."

He also enjoys the 'freedom' in a polytechnic environment as compared to secondary school. The orientation certainly did help him as well in making new friends and getting familiar with the school.

Stick around punks, as we continue to bring you more sports talents from TP!

Solid as Bone,

Fanning

Star Sports Student 1!

Hi Punks!

It's been a while since we've featured some students on tp4me. So, I went out to meet some Star Sports Students (they are stars because our blog is featuring them, hyuk hyuk) and will be featuring them over the next few days.

So let's cut to the chase. Introducing Foo Xiu Quan, otherwise known as Haroz:

He is a second year student in the Diploma of Chemical Engineering. He graduated from Springfield Secondary school before entering TP. He is active in school participating as an OGL (Orientation Group Leader) during orientation.

Can you spot him? Neither can I. Heh.

Anyways, you punks must be wondering why are we featuring him! Well because not only is he active in school, he is also a...
SPORTS CLIMBER!

He trains with the school team every Mon, Wed and Thurs, and with the national team every Fri. He was also the youngest climber participating in last year's Asian Indoor Games at Macau where he made it as far as the semi-finals.Haroz mentioned that this sport is not only about strength, but also requries you to think. When asked about his worst injury, he immediately pulled up his sleeve to show me this.

Uh huh. Apparently, he broke his arm before from urban climbing. When asked about how his life in TP has been so far, first thing he mentioned is the lecturers!

"They are very friendly and helpful, very unlike Secondary School teachers."

He also added that having taken part in orientation, made his TP life fun and allowed he to know more people.

There you have it. A very honest opinion from a TP student. In no way was he bribed or threatened into this.

Solid as Bone,

Fanning

DPA Info (and more)!

HELLO THERE ALL YOU MORTALS! As Fanning mentioned earlier, there's going to be a feature show on the upcoming DPA soon.

The Direct Polytechnic Admission Exercise will last from 3 - 11 July 2008, and its a chance for students to confirm a spot in a course that you want even before you take your O level examinations. Here're some details regarding DPA (taken from TP's DPA website) -

What is the DPA?

• It’s an admission exercise which allows students who have the passion and aptitude for applied learning to secure a place in a polytechnic course before you sit for your ‘O’ Level examinations.
• It’s an avenue for students whose passion and talent in a specific field are not fully reflected in their examination results.
  

Why should I apply for DPA?

• It gives us greater flexibility to select you based on a wider range of your talents other than your examination results.
• You get to enjoy special preparatory programmes which let you chalk up poly credits counting towards your graduation before your friends even enrol.

For more information, you can check out our DPA website and the DPA blog that we've linked at the side (dunno why Fanning so "mysterious" about it).

Oh yah. Fanning managed to "catch" some "Star Sports Students" for interviews which we'll be putting up next week also, together with all the fun stuff we'll be doing for the DPA. So busy! Pffft... that slavedriver.

D - P - A

Hey punks! How many of you know what DPA stands for?

No, Frayon, it's not "Deeply Painful Attack". This might surprise you, but not everything I talk about involves inflicting harm on you. Unlike you, I have more than one side to my character.

Punks, listen up - the Direct Polytechnic Admission is coming soon (yes, now you know what DPA means)! What is it? When is it? How does it concern you? Will Frayon embarrass himself again? The tp4me blog team will be putting together a special showcase on this event soon which will answer all these questions (except I can answer that last question for you already: YES).

And if you're sharp-eyed enough, you might be able to see a new link on the right panel. Hyuk hyuk.


Solid as bone,
Fanning

It's time for Linnnn-go!

Annyeong-haseyo!
*that's Hello in Korean*

It is so fun learning foreign languages from friends worldwide. But... there are some interesting Lingo in TP as well!

Such as...

POSERS

Pos-ers (pō'z-er.s)

• People who pose/act/impersonate a character or personality which they are not.

In short, posers = *wanna-bes
Now that you know what it means, let's put this new vocabulary to use. Posers can be categorised into many types like...

The "ah lian" Poser

The "Geek" Poser

And...

The "Macho man" Poser

All rights, that will be all for today folks! Hope you guys have a better understanding of "posers".

Annyoung! *that's goodbye in korean*

I am NOT missing...

So I go away for a couple of days and suddenly Hummingbird is learning different languages and Fanning ... remains her old annoying self. Eh. Some things don't change I guess.

I DIDN'T GO MISSING. My handphone was "taken" from me by my friend who "conveniently" forgot to return it to me and then went overseas for a couple of days.

It's funny how a little device like the handphone suddenly defines whether or not we "exist" or not.

Anyway, this Sunday is Father's Day, and similarly to Mother's Day I'd like to introduce someone very important to my existence - MY FATHER!


My father is my idol. During the prime of his youth (as seen in the picture), he was the heart-throb of every girl around him, the apple of everyone's eye and was so good looking that mirrors would turn of their own accord just so they can reflect his countenance.

As they say, like Father like Son.

Happy Father's Day, papa!

Term break!

Bonjour!

*that's good day in French*

Before I start today's post, there is something I need to announce:

Frayon is MISSING!

Fanning: He looks like a criminal.

*If anyone sees him around, kindly return him back to the blog k? Much thanks!

Okays, back to the blog. So it's the term break now, what have the students been up to?

Come take a peek below to find out!

Woah... The school is still as lively as before even though this is the term break. Just take a look at the crowd in Design School Canteen!

Okays, so we have students coming back to do their projects at the FAV spots

*HOT TIP! Benches outside lecture halls are GREAT for projects because of the sockets and nice wind~*

Another HOT TIP is, students get to enjoy the sports facilities in school all year round! That explains why we see so many of them coming back for tennis, squash, badminton and many sports activities. Hurhur

Okays, that is all for now. i've got to fly off again.

Au revoir! *that's bye in French*

Pasir Ris Secondary School Visit

Hola!
*that's hello in spanish*

How are you guys enjoying the holidays so far? I bet there must be lots of online gaming, anime and drama marathons to catch up on... But hey, take a break from those and look at what TP has been up to!

Yes, we have a couple of... nope, it should be a huge bunch of fun students who came from Pasir Ris Secondary School last friday! Come on, let's meet them!

At the entrance of Design School.

At the entrance of Applied Science School.

The students get to visit the School of Applied Science, Design, Informatics & IT and Engineering according to their own groups!

After some short talks and video on the school, it's time for some hands-on experience!

Off to the lab of Applied Science School we go!

Now now, it feels good to get away from all the gamings and stuffs for a while right? I'm sure coming out for a stretch and visit to TP beats sitting in front of the computer all day.

Okays, I've got to start brushing up my language skils from other foreign feathered-friends.

Till then, Adiós! *that's Bye in spanish*

tp4me - Taking a look back

HELLO ALL, FRAYON HERE! Let's just ALL put the toilet incident behind us, OKAY?

If you guys have been following this blog for a while, you'll know that we've been consistently tweaking it, making changes here and there, posting about all sorts of things both for current TP students and prospective students as well.

If you haven't been following us - WHERE ON EARTH HAVE YOU BEEN? =D

Now that the dust is finally settling after a hectic couple of months ranging from Freshmen Orientation to Graduation Ceremony, we've decided (or rather, I decided and commanded everyone else to do the same) to put together this post to highlight a few things new visitors to the blog might be interested in, and my constant-loving-fans might have missed the first time around.

Also, we've been trying our best to spruce this blog up, and it looks like the time has finally come to do so! Watch out for it soon!

- TP students who've posted before on the blog: Dumdum, Hummingbird, Shuk, Dora, Soon Wai, Augustine (all of whom are at least not as frightening as Fanning, thank goodness)
- TP Graduation 2008 (GUYS, ALL THE BEST! GIRLS, DON'T FORGET TO CALL ME!)
- Frayon and Fanning Show (where I totally trashed Fanning in witty repartee)
- Lingo Dictionary (speaking of which, it's been a while since we put a new word up. It's all Fanning's fault, in my opinion)
- Granado Espada Levelution Competition (be sure to check out the vid I did with Eudora!)
- Attack of the Freshies (the Freshmen Orientation "show", named so by Fanning. Are we surprised? Nope...)
- Hady Mirza's concert in TP (TP's Asian Idol alumnus! One day I will be as famous as him)
- Joint Admissions Exercise or JAE (this year's O level students LEARN THIS TERM NOW!)

It's now June, halfway through the year already! FAST RIGHT?

Goodbye Shuk

Hello all. I can't bear to say this, but...
Shuk is leaving us!

*Sits in one corner draw circle*

Shuk: Awww...

Let's see, Shuk's first post here was dated... April 9 2008 starting off with her hilarious animations.

That is the vandalised Shuk. Haas!

Well, but something to be happy about is... Shuk is leaving for Queensland to pursue her degree in Business, with advanced standing of 1.5 years! Congrats!!

That's the University of Queensland.

Woah... It is going to take me like at least a good 100 days just to fly there with those rusty wings of mine. =.=

Nevertheless, I'll drop you a visit if I can ok? Play host Shuk!

Soon wai: me too me too!
Eudora and Mindy: yays!
Fanning: Count me in.
Frayon: Me me me!

(moment of silence)

Fanning: NO Frayon. Not you.
Frayon: W-H-Y?!! That’s not F-A-I
Fanning: *Sharpens knife*
Frayon: Gulp. Ok, remember to get me some presents then. Take care Shuk. ):


Shuk: No problem. I’ll be expecting you guys then! Cheer up Frayon. Haha

All: Take care Shuk! We will miss you!

OKAY OKAY I'LL SAY

So, Stupid Fanning tells the whole world about my toilet "incident". Now both on the blog and in real life everyone's asking me what happened. Sounds so wrong some more - "EH FRAYON WHAT YOU DO IN THE TOILET??"

FINE FINE I'LL TELL EVERYONE, OKAY? ... Stupid Fanning.

I was coming out of the toilet cubicle after my... business... but because I feeling a bit lazy, I opened the door by tugging at it then I immediately let go. Unfortunately I swung open the door too hard and noticed that it was going to hit me unless I stop it with my hand. But I got lazy again, so instead I tried to avoid it by sidestepping to the left.

But misjudged the distance from me and the wall, so when I sidestepped I rammed my head into the wall. And because there was a wall, I couldn't siam the door and the door hit me also. Two hit combo.

After that I felt a bit dazed, Fanning ask me what happened so I told her... ... YES. I KNOW I should've just done everything the normal way. I WASN'T THINKING STRAIGHT OKAY??

Stupid Fanning. I shouldn't have told her. Laugh so hard at me some more.

YOU WAIT, FANNING. YOU JUST WAIT.

Fanning: First of all, Frayon, you never think straight. Second of all, you never do things the normal way because you're abnormal. And thirdly, I must say I didn't entirely expect you to actually come out and say all this yourself. I think I'm going to ask Hummingbird to do an illustrated version of this so that people who can't imagine it for themselves can have some visual aids, hyuk hyuk.