By Amy Ng (13A01E) and Hoy Yik (13S03N)

This week, we bring you exclusive previews of the upcoming edition of Eagle Eye, which will be distributed to all staff and students at the end of the month. Jointly produced by RI’s Corporate Communications Department and Raffles Press (Yr 5–6), Eagle Eye is the school’s official magazine.

Rafflesians are no strangers to community outreach efforts, and service learning opportunities have been incorporated into RI’s Research Education programme as the Research Education Service Learning (RES-L) programme since 2006. Some students, however, have gone the extra mile to organise unique needs-based programmes for those in need of assistance, demonstrating the values of selflessness and humility in their service to the community.

In early 2012, four like-minded individuals with a passion or the arts embarked on a project “Arts from the Heart”, which sought to teach a group of underprivileged students from the Chinese Development Assistance Council, (CDAC) an appreciation for music and the arts. Their mission to help underprivileged children discover their hidden artistic abilities spawned the idea for the Raffles Arts Camp, a continuation of their original project. This idea evolved into a three-day camp with activities aimed at broadening their knowledge of the arts, developing their sense of appreciation for the arts and fostering a lifelong interest in music of all kinds.

Another project, the S!nglish Project, also melded service with the arts through a very simple idea of fusing language with music. The project team believes that not only is music easily accessible, it is also fun and facilitates language learning.

This idea of social responsibility is also embodied by Goh Zuo Min (4M), the founder of NotesAcademy. He recently made headlines in TODAY for setting up an organisation for students to share, collaborate and discuss their ideas, notes and study materials. Similarly, Hu Fangda (12A03A) started ProjectMug on Internet file-hosting service Dropbox in 2010, while Supernotes Repo was the brainchild of Vishnu R Menon (13S06P).

Empowered by their knowledge and technology, these three groups of Rafflesians have used their creativity and innovative ideas to benefit the community. They have not only demonstrated a sense of social responsibility, but also how community service can be so much more meaningful and engaging than we might usually think.

 To hear what the founders of these projects have to say, pick up the latest issue of the Eagle Eye. 

ERRATUM: Theophilus Kwek has clarified that it was actually Hu Fangda (12A03A) who founded ProjectMug. Theophilus was simply a contributor to the site. We have corrected the error in this article and apologise for it.