2008 KS Bull Issue 2

'h4FSSA E,n,rqQ94 fi{F. rIrN gv"C IQA L li this issue of KS Bull, we bring you some of the best essays that our students in Gp and Kl have written over the past months. lf you are looking for good tips on how to commLrnicate with impact and how to write essays that are rnemorable, some good places to look areCommencement Speeches. Steve Jobs spoke to a Stanford crowd at the 2005 Commencement and inspired us with his down to earth stories buitt around lhree themes: connecting ihe dots, Iove and loss, and death. The speech is a compe ing read. coogle jt. .l K Rowling, best selling auihor of the Harry Potter series, spoke of the benefits of faiture and the lmportance of imagination at the 2008 Harvard Cornmeocemenl. Her text was simple yet powerfut, pepperecl wiih wisdom wroughi from personal and paintul experiences. One of the best exarnptes of rhetoric can be found in this paragraph: "ll you c|loose to use yout siatus and influence to raise yourvaice an behalf of thase who have no voice: if yoLl choase t.) identify nat only wjth the poweiul, but with the poweless; if you retajn the abitity to inagine yourself inlo the lives ol those who da not have you advantaqes, then it wi not only be your praud lamilies who celebrate your exislence, bul lhousands and mi tons of peapte vr'hose reatity yoLl ltave helped transforfit for the belter Wedo nat necd fitagic to change the wart.J, we cany at!the power we need inside aurcelves already: we have the powar to imagine better" Another compelling speech is Sama tha Power's, at the 20OB Commencement oJ pitzer Ctaremoni College, where she warncd Lrs.ro be wary of those who ctaim to have specialised kn.rwlectge on the way lhjngs should turrr out, in olrr lives or in the world: "The expefts deal in prababilities, but you al have the chance to decide an possibi'ties an.t make what Irower uses qLrotations, comp{!lling examples, humour, personat iltustrations and poiqnant stories devices used by the besl writers - to sLrpport five key themes by way of exhortinq the younq "As yau ligure out yout path in life, tty to fo aw your nase: be sure to crcaLe quiet time sa tou n axtmtse lhc chances yau will be able to hear your gut when it speaks to yau; by lar the most impoftant quality one needs in life is not in fact talent; jt is resiliency; find friends who tave your back; an.J please be a Reacl thc text lor yourself. Great advice- Great speech- Greal writing skilts Enjoy Auspiciunr Melioris Aevi- \^^-GA* Lim Lai Cheng {Mrs) Principal Raffles Juaior Colleoe i'_ ( xs nurl aooe ..: i ISSUE TWO .. -/^\ ,. l-i i- i,)

4 l**' 46. 0s f* D,nd. h,s" h I 38. I JC2GP COMMON TEST 2 2008 10. 14. 24. I JO2GP COIIIMON TEST 1 2008 40.

76. I JC 1 KICOMMON TEST 2OOB PAPER 1 109. 112. I JC2KI COMIlION TEST 2 2008 PAPER 2

,IC2 PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION 2OO7 ISSUE IWO ;;;; jo;-;ouraqe- a shrli to more high skilled iobs amons the Sinsaporeans Sinsapore is movhg t. r""lr qlrylf4rqDqirdj d as such the highlv educaied workforce of Sinqapore is not very diruau"ntog;;;;;influx of tow skilled workers, as the jobs thev take over aro more than compensated for by the i;bs created. There is a shitt iowards a more skilled population and workforce which ls beneficial tor Sinqaporeans. Hence, Ioreign workers have only filled the vacuunr crcated by Singaporeans unwilling to take up such jobs; lhey have not threatened the employment prospects of lhe locals ski ed ammigrantscan also be beneflcialto singapore. As it is ofien said, singapore s only resource is people' anoassucn'itisimpodantforUStoincreaseoLlrtalentpoolandattractpfominentnamestoourcountry. Such foreign talent can stimulate the growth of our tirms and industries and bring aL'out irreater economic groMhfor-ourcountry,Thisgrowthwillalsoatkactmoreforeigniirmsandinvestorshere'creatinqmany iols for Slngaporeans thai can more than compensate for those that might have been lost Furthermore Singaporean workers can learn trom these expe{s and upgrade iheir own skills and expertise' thereby inc;asinq their productivity For example singapore has recently been sLrccess{ul in attracting the renowned Dr Alan Colman to the Biopolis. The benefits of his research can now be passed on directly to singaporeans, and he can also boost Singapore's reputation as a leading hub in biotechnology research' aikaciing more researchers here. Thus, the benefits brought about by the increase in foreign talent in our country more than orrtwergh lhF lo\ 'a Furthermore,itisimpodanltoreme]rlberthat..foreigners,'donotonlyrefertothosewhocort]eheretowork' but atso includes tourists tn this respect, it can be seen that these foreign tourists brirlg many benefitq to our country The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) is promoting Singapore as a perfect weekend getaway ior peopfe in tire n.urt,y ,.gion and with the opening oi the lntegrated Resorts in the lutLrre: tourisrn seems to be KS BI]LL 2OOB ln today's globalised world, foreign immigrants and workers are becoming a commonsight in nlany couniries Singapore too, is seeing an increasing number of foreigners on her shores' both as tourists and migrant wo*ers- tlere nas atso been much debate overthe inllux of foreign talent, as many local singaporeans feel that foreigners are a threat both to their jobs as well as to the Social stqbiliiy of gur nation While some of t'"." -.plgqlSelelliGna jr.tJ -aintain that' on the whole lg!9!9!19fry9!g lro@ng t" "ur country lu..t ot"d' one of the common complaintg against foreigners is that the increasing number of foreign workers here is a threat to the iob security of local Singaporeans Many feel that ihese foreigners are taking Lrp jobs that would othenrise have gone to Singapore citizens This seems to be a valid concern considering the increasing number of {oreign workers here, from counlries like lndia, Bangladesh and the Philippines- Thus, it appears as if foreign workers may have exacerbated the problem of unemployment in Singapore Howevet I feel that these qgncerns are exaggerated Firstly these fore'gn workers often iusi cause a shift in the kind ol jobs available rather than actually reducing the actual number of jobs For example, many of the fgreign workers io Singapore are those holding low skilled jops' such as construction workers q9!1- sangtaiesi;;;;mesiic netpers from the phitiPplnes ' rhese workers bv t4\!N lvgr sq:e 'oJ lhe qAFFLES JUNIOR ()OLLEGE

tding towards becoming a booming industry in singapore. This is a positive sign for our economy as rocar ., especially those in the hospitality industry, benefit greafly from the tourist do ar. Ihus. it can be seen tourists can brjng great benefits to our economy. les economic benefits, foreigners can also bring sociat and culturat benefits to Singapore_ Foreigners J with lhem lhe culture of their home country and this can add vibrancy and enrich the cosmopolitan :ure of our society. our traditionar mixture of rndian, chinese and Matay curtures is now being further ?nced by spanish' ltalian and French cultures. walking down clarke euay, one is now oombarded by a "J range ofsights, smerrs and sounds from the diverse restaurants of every curture possibre- This increases 'social vibrancy of Singapore and truly promotes us as a wodd-ctass city whrch is open to all foreigners. -ourse, there is some concern that the influence of other cultures may not always f,e a good thing for : society. singapore is traditionatty a conservatave society and the inftux ot too many so ca ed western ?s and ideals may cause uneasiness among our population. For example, the increase in foreigners in rgapore has brought along an increasing awareness of homosexuals in society, and a greater ca lor them te accepied as part ofsociety, as they have been part of a culture that is more open to atternative tifestytes. is attested 10 by the opening of severar bars here which cater sorery to homosexuars, as we as by the vernment announcing that it will a ow homosexuats to hold jobs in the civil service. this has resulted in, uproar