Resilience. I heard it preached during assemblies, stressed by teachers, discussed among students, but just what is it? No one has ever explained it to me.

“This is Kumamon,” Mr Heng placed a Russian doll in the shape of a rosy-cheeked black bear on his table. “Normally he acts as the mascot of a prefecture called Kumamoto in Japan. Anyway, I saw this at a souvenir shop and couldn’t resist buying it.”

He then pushed Kumamon and we all watched intently as it moved left-right, left-right, just like the pendulum we used during science class.

“There is a wise proverb in Japanese - fall down seven years, get up eight times,” he continued. “I hope you will exhibit the same fighting spirit as Kumamon. Be resilient and don’t give up!”

A silence descended upon the class...for a second. Danial’s hand shot up, and with an impish grin that was so characteristic of him, he asked, “Mr Heng, is it true that your wife is Japanese?”