WELCOME TO THE MAPLE LEAF TIMES BLOG

A couple of articles are added each month with many more articles provided in the CAS's Maple Leaf Times (eMLT) magazine. To receive your eMLT magazine sent directly to your inbox (8 issues per year), become a member of the Canadian Association of Singapore. Visit the CAS website to register -- www.canadians.org.sg

Saturday, November 1, 2014

Facilitating Academic Excellence Through Inquiry and Play


By Andrea Strachan, Vice Principal Elementary School, Lakeside Campus


The Canadian International School (CIS) early years classrooms (ages 3 – 6) are inspirational and vibrant learning spaces that utilize years of research about how children learn best. We base our programme on the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (IB PYP) with an inquiry and play-based approach – an approach at the heart of substantial research documenting the importance of play in young children’s healthy development and learning.

Our purpose-built school facility fully supports our inquiry and play-based programme. All our classrooms are organised around learning “pods”.  These are large, open, shared spaces where teachers can set up hands-on learning centres organised in ways that support learning through inquiry and play. For example, in numeracy our students explore volume and capacity concepts through “hands on” waterplay stations. This approach allows us to work with small groups of students and to differentiate teaching to suit the academic needs of each learner.

Inquiry and play-based learning at CIS does not mean a chaotic approach to learning or a lack of guidance by teachers.  Instead, it is a balance between a classroom rich in child-initiated play and focused learning guided by our teachers.  In all child-initiated play activities, our teachers are actively present.  They monitor, engage, and where needed, guide the children’s play, answering their questions, building on their ideas and introducing new content and concepts as appropriate.


To find out more information about CIS’ inquiry and play-based learning programme, please visit www.cis.edu.sg.

All About Veneers

Contributed by the Specialist Dental Group®


Dental veneers can transform the most unattractive smiles. Veneers are made of a thin layer of tooth-coloured (ceramic) material bonded onto the surface of teeth. This procedure is conservative compared to having dental crowns, as it requires lesser removal of the tooth structure.

When do I need Veneers?

  • When you want to change your tooth’s colour, shape and size
  • When you want to mask minor undesirable defects due to medications such as tetracycline, excessive fluoride or injuries due to accidents
  • When you have slight gaps between your teeth, slightly misaligned or chipped teeth. Orthodontic treatments may be needed when you have moderately out of line teeth.
  • Worn down tooth due to wear and tear

Veneers require re-shaping part of your teeth which is a permanent change to otherwise healthy teeth. Hence, your dentist may offer teeth whitening if colour is the only factor you want to change about your teeth.

It is important to manage your expectations of veneers as the colour may have a slight variation compared to natural teeth. Most importantly, regular dental maintenance by brushing and flossing your teeth twice daily, and a dental check-up twice yearly will help preserve your veneers.

For more information on how veneers can improve the appearance of your teeth and smile, do visit
http://www.specialistdentalgroup.com/services/veneers/


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Specialist Dental Group® is a corporate sponsor of the Canadian Association of Singapore (CAS). CAS members enjoy a special rate for dental services. For details, send an enquiry via www.specialistdentalgroup.com or call 6733 7883



Fossicking in the Philippines

By Rachel Hyde
Photos by Terry Booth & Charlene Kwan

An early start complete with the delights of a “golden arches” breakfast saw us heading 2.5 hours to the south of the sprawling metropolis that is Manila, to Anilao in late July.

Having witnessed the devastation wrought across Manila and the southern areas of Luzon by typhoon Rammasun only one week before, we were unsure of the impact on the dive sites at Anilao. Sure enough, upon our arrival at Planet Dive they confirmed that almost the entire house reef had been wiped out. Fortunately however, the dive gods were smiling down upon us and Secret Bay, and we were, nevertheless, in for some excellent diving.

Dive one was an embarrassingly short 47 minutes for some due to some over enthusiastic Dutch lungs, but we still managed to get a good look at a huge variety of macro critters including shrimps, nudis and frog fish.

Dive Two was a stunning reef dive, again with macro critters galore but this time with a rich diversity of fish life, as well some seriously beautiful corals. Even a turtle popped by to visit. 

The descent on our third dive was unspectacular to say the least, especially after the sensory overload of the glorious corals on the previous dive. I have to say that looking down onto an almost completely bare, sandy bottom with the odd tuft of sea grass waving in the gentle current lowered my expectations of this dive considerably. But how wrong I was. Every inch of this sandy bottom was teeming with sea life to delight even the biggest skeptic (i.e. me 30 seconds previously). Tiny frog fish, seahorses, skeleton shrimp, hairy crabs, Orangutan crabs, nudibranchs, jaw fish, ribbon eels, boxer crabs – every patch of sand contained yet another delight. Very tempting indeed to dive until the air ran out…


Anilao is convenient to Manila, very reasonably price and most of all, offers some spectacular and seriously interesting diving.

5 Winter Wear Storage Tips

By Jo Clary Maughan,  Leading Image Consultant at F3 Image Consultants,


Winter is a word that is rarely used in Singapore.  With the climate hot all year round, we tend not to think of the cold.   However, if you travel to cooler climates, have a look at the following tips to take care of rarely worn items that may be spoiled by humidity.

  1. Hang coats, jackets, skiwear, etc in a spare closet separate from your daily clothes. Leather should always hang and it may crack if folded tightly without access to air. Recycle dry-cleaning plastic bags to hang over delicate items and to keep dust away. Store coats on wooden hangers to keep the shape of the shoulders. To avoid mouldy garments, place a disposable dehumidifier container or sachet on the lower shelf of the wardrobe, or in drawers.

  2.  If your leather items have mould on them, try to wipe it with a damp cloth. If this doesn’t work or there is staining left behind, suede or leather can be treated at ColourWash, www.colorwash.com.sg. They may be able to clean most stains or discolouration.

  3.  Take out the seasonal clothes you do not wear and store them separately. Store all handbags, gloves, shoes and boots in Ziploc bags.  Take a straw and suck the air out the bags before closing them up.  Plastic will keep these items from falling apart over time.

  4.  All cold weather items can be placed in plastic storage bags under your bed or in a separate closet. Utilise the area under your bed, as it is easier to access than a high cupboard.

  5.  Put labels on the outside of all of your boxes or bags. This makes it simpler and faster to find the things you’re looking for – especially if you’re in a hurry!

For information or enquiries:
Phone: 6876-1761/9150-1705 | Email: info@f-3.com.sg  | www.f-3.com.sg