We’ve all had that feeling before. When we follow the lead of perhaps a Councillor in shouting school cheers while watching our fellow schoolmates fight for glory on the sporting field, and find something stuck in our throat, something that prevents us from shouting at the top of our voices, something that we struggle to overcome. When we sit in the cinema and hear a touching or heartwarming line, intentionally scripted to be as impactful as possible by a scriptwriter we will never meet, and find ourselves trying to swallow back the tears welling in our eyes, as though in the darkness, others could see them. When we listened to Principal Mr Chan sharing his recovery journey from colon cancer, we laughed at his jokes about his ample girth, the usefulness of national campaigns, and swimming in the RI pool; but when he came to the real, raw and painful parts of his narrative, the fear of not waking up from the operating table or the turmoil of learning to cope with his diagnosis, surely at least some of us must have felt some discomfort.
By Christopher Liew (15S06E)
Photos courtesy of Abdul Musawwir (15S03Q) and Ernest Low (15S06O)
There’s a saying that rugby is the game they play in heaven, a seemingly ironic moniker given the intimidating physicality involved in the sport. The origin of this nickname is nebulous, but the 22nd annual Kiwi Cup held last Friday made manifest the sport’s allure. The Kiwi Cup is the first sporting event of the year for our school’s athletes, who traditionally go head to head with our long-standing rugby rival, the Saints of St Andrew’s Junior College. This year’s match saw Raffles go down to the Saints, although they came out of it nothing if not hungrier for victory than ever.
This 22nd meeting of our very own Rafflesians and the Saints opened to rapturous applause from supporters on both sides, each armed with an arsenal of paraphernalia to hype the crowd and spur on their teams. The event was graced by Mrs Bernadette Cavanagh, the High Commisioner of the land of the Maori ‘All Blacks’. Hailing from the home of the world champions, the presence of Mrs Cavanagh at the 22nd Kiwi Cup likely spurred both teams on just a little as they played to impress. The impetus to win for the injury-laden Raffles Rugby team stemmed from their eight-year drought at this event, with this chip on their shoulder driving the stakes of this match up a notch.
The afternoon began with a C Division matchup between both sides. The young Rafflesian C Division team’s defensive grit was tested early on, but the team showed not even a foible in their defense through their decisive stops. However, the Saints seemed unflappable even with a wall of resolve in their faces, eventually muscling their way through to score their first try. At half time, Raffles was on the losing end. Although the Saints looked to seal the deal there and then, they met with strong resistance in the second half as our Rafflesians battled it out with all they had, culminating in a try which set us on course to making a comeback. Unfortunately, the Saints proved too strong an opponent, playing lockdown defense for most of the second half, and the C Division’s team suffered a 10 to 17 loss in full time, ending nearly 80 minutes of battle under the blazing afternoon sun.
The intensity of the first match was merely the overture to the ensuing exhilarating A Division matchup. A narrow loss to the Saints just a year earlier had only stoked our home team’s desire to claim the Kiwi title, although our prospects were dampened by the unfortunate injuries of three key players prior to the match’s commencement. Offense was a focal point of the match, as both sides did not rest on their laurels when it came to gaining ground on their opponents’ half of the field. However, the highlight of the match was the Saints’ stellar run right around the Rafflesian defense, which put them up by five points early in the game. History seemed about to repeat itself as our team was trailing ten to three before half time. Having said that, all was not lost as Raffles began to gain momentum and closed in on the Saints after Raffles’ Park Chang Kyu converted a couple of penalties. As time trickled on, Raffles was still searching for their first try which eventually came from Keith Tay after a series of scrums, giving Raffles only a three point deficit to catch up on. The second half proved to be an agonisingly slow one with as the stakes grew with each minute. Eventually, the Saints began gaining ground, with a penalty to bolster their morale, leaving the home team without any points in the second half. The match ultimately ended with a final score of 10 to 16, in favour of the Saints.
The match ended in defeat for the short-handed home side and tears were shed, but only greater experience was gained, as the Rafflesian rugby team stood strong and fought hard throughout the course of the Kiwi Cup. Despite this loss, captain Shant Sin (15S03K) remains optimistic about the upcoming season. As he told us, “I am confident in my team making it all the way. No matter how tired we are, we do not stop fighting and give it all until the last whistle blow.” These words encapsulate the spirit of Raffles Rugby, and together with the players’ sturdy resolve and the passion they have for the game, exemplify rugby’s title as the sport of heaven.
As Raffles Rugby heads into another season of intense matchups, Shant believes that his team will only grow and develop with every match they play, with camaraderie being the center of all things. With our rugby team’s unparalleled commitment to the sport and their chemistry as a unit, let us all wish them the best; may this year truly be a great year for rugby!
Reading Time: 3minutesRaffles Press batch 2015 at our J1 orientation camp last year!
You’d think this was just an ordinary school newspaper, obscure and small-scale, stultifying in its esotericism, read only by the select few. Of course you’re wrong. Within and without the school community, writing for Raffles Press means you’re writing for thousands of people. No easy feat; but the accompanying thrill can be electric, addictive. If there’s one thing you can learn from your friendly, neighbourhood politician, it’s that it’s fun to have your voice heard by multitudes upon multitudes of people. Of course the difference between you and your politician being that you can have something important to say. You may have read some of our more distinguished articles that have made their fair share of rounds around the island. You may have read some of our controversialpieces that, regardless of your sensibilities and inclinations, you must admit provoked swarms of discussion alongside a salubrious dose of fireworks. To the discerning reader/writer who recognizes the sovereign power of words: whether you wish to constructively challenge the establishment; whether you wish to bring to the fore unduly neglected or covered up issues the public has failed to acknowledge; whether you wish to dislodge the dispossessed and inordinately cynical public from their apathy; whether you yearn for catharsis and wish to express your eclectic interests in the RJ Cats, Raffles Press wants you.
We are the proverbial epicenter, the Grand Central Station of news and information in Raffles Institution (Y5-6). The old, half-humorous quip about us – “if Raffles Press doesn’t report an event, did it still happen?” – doesn’t apply: we report everything. We reported about our beloved Mr Chan Poh Meng’s assignation to our school even before our hallowed mainstream press got their hands on it. We are also a repository and forum for debate and discussion of important issues that have at some point dogged everyRafflesian, student or staff, or concerned the wider public, and even have universal ramifications. Raffles Press is a benevolent Big Brother (or syndicate of brothers and sisters) with eyes and ears all around the institution and country. We report everything that comes to us, and everything comes to us to be reported.
Rhetoric aside, Raffles Press hold official sessions once a week, usually on Wednesdays. Our sessions last between 1.5 to 2 hours, and traditionally involve a copious amount of snacks. However, you can expect to spend significantly more time outside of sessions doing your own writing and peer-editing, as well as attending events such as concerts or sports finals and semi-finals. Nevertheless, if you are concerned about your academic performance, Raffles Press’ workload is flexible and accommodating. You will appreciate this towards the end of this year, and the first half of next year. If you can’t decide between another CCA and Raffles Press, you can join both. What do we do in Raffles Press? We write. Be it editing, brainstorming, discussing, snacking, attending internal training and camps, at the end of the day everything we do is geared toward that ultimate goal. We write. How much you get out of Press is contingent on how much you put in, and if you commit immense effort, you can, like others before you, reap immense rewards.
Raffles Press batches 2014 and 2015 at handover last year
We are looking for students who have an able grasp of the English language and who have the courage and desire to know things before anyone else knows them. Isn’t that essentially what the news is? Our trials are held on the 21st, 26th and 27th February, from 3-7pm, and will consist of a short, 40-minute test followed by a 10-minute interview. We are looking out for perceptive students with clarity and incision of thought and an intelligent sense of spontaneity. But beyond that, we are looking for students with a hungry, desirous attitude to both life (how else does one write?) and to learning how to write. If you feel out of your depth but are desperately willing to put in the man-hours to solve that inadequacy, you are more than welcome to join us.
What is Club Automatica? We may be the CCA with one of the most mysterious-sounding names, but we’re actually the home of robotics and physics in RI (Y5-6). Now, before the phrase “geeky CCA” starts flashing across your mind, hold on. Yes, we do have so-called geeks in our midst, but we also have passionate and curious (or if you like, normal) members who simply want to learn more about robotics and physics and more importantly, have fun! In order to accommodate such vast interests, most of the time, Club Automatica is split into two divisions – Quanta for physics, and Robotica for, well, robotics.
Compared to other CCAs, our meeting times are rather unique. While Quanta meets on a weekly basis, Robotica has a flexible schedule to suit Rafflesians’ diverse timetables and commitments. Aside from a fixed day each month where both divisions meet up for a combined CCA session and share about what they have been doing, the timings of the rest of Robotica’s sessions (usually training sessions or competition preparation) are up to each competition team and individual to decide.
A triumphant club + our mascot at the Singapore CoSpace and RoboMaker Challenge 2014
Of course, besides having fun, we also take immense pride in what we do. In the last RoboCup Singapore Open, we clinched the Championship trophy, along with 3 1st places in the various categories. The recent National Junior Robotics Competition also saw us with a team in the finals and another team placing 1st in a category.
Fret not Year 5s, for prior experience is not a prerequisite to join Robotica; training will be provided! As everyone has the opportunity to take part in 2 major competitions in Year 5, you’ll also learn on the job, coupled with guidance from your friendly Robotica seniors.
Meanwhile, Quanta has student-driven lectures where members get to share interesting tidbits of Physics amongst themselves. Besides lectures (which can be admittedly boring for those who absolutely abhor theoretical things), Quanta also allows its members to build and play with “Physicky” things. In fact, we once had a senior who built a gigantic tesla coil!
This, ladies and gentlemen, is a tesla coil in its full glory!
But really, what Quanta does depends on the choices of its members – the members decide what they want to do. This means that if you join the Quanta family, you would get to put your creativity (which has been hitherto suppressed by the rigid school curriculum) to good use. More than fun and fruitful CCA sessions, however, members will also get to participate in the annual Amazing Science X Challenge. This is an excellent opportunity for those who love to perform mind-blowing stunts (based in Physics, of course) and crave generous cash prizes ;) !
Then, besides robotics and physics, what does Club Automatica have to offer as one CCA? In every event and competition, you’ll get to work with other like-minded individuals with similar interests and cravings. Moreover, much hard work and time is put into preparation, so you’ll definitely form firm and long-lasting friendships through the process.
In short, whether you are someone who has an insatiable intellectual desire for knowledge in theoretical physics, someone who loves getting your hands dirty by building automated objects (a.k.a. robots), or someone who enjoys having fun (albeit of a less common kind), Club Automatica can be your new home!
Oh, and before closing this tab, feel free to browse our Facebook page to find out more about us!
“The true measure of a person is who they are with sword in hand…”
— Aldo Nadi
Our 2014 CCA Yearbook photoshoot
Modern Fencing descends from the 700-year old art of European sword fighting and duelling. While the using the sword as a practical weapon has fizzled out today (and is actually considered illegal), its use still carries a kind of romantic appeal. From Captain Jack Sparrow, James Bond and Joan of Arc to Obi-Wan Kenobi, Zorro and Mulan, who doesn’t love a good swordsman/woman? The fact is, fencing is cool and always has been, yet it is becoming less and less common to find anyone truly proficient with a sword.
Today, fencing is a fast-moving, fast-growing sport that reflects the practices of a different era. Because sword-fighting is inherently an individual’s sport, it’s pretty much whatever you want it to be. Some people use it as a sport to challenge their minds while others find cathartic benefits (there is no better way to de-stress than with swordplay!). Regardless, it takes a great deal of self-control and practice to reach supreme proficiency. In other words, it takes a lot of training to turn your perception of fencing into your personal reality, since fencing is a sport that requires the use of muscles you may never have unlocked before and acute hand-eye co-ordination (all of which we will help you hone when you enter the CCA. Imagine the benefits!!)
Common perceptions of fencing, taken from Google
Albeit an individual sport, we train hard and play hard as a team. You won’t be alone in your fencing journey, for your teammates will always be by your side, bonding and training together as a family. Along the way, you will probably find yourself closest to your weapon group, of which fencing has three: foil, epee, sabre, with each having its own characteristics, equipment and rules. However, the whole CCA does still gather to do basic fencing footwork, warm-up and have meals together.
The team during a break from training
Most will never have the opportunity to pick up this relatively unorthodox sport outside of school, but RI is one of the few JCs to offer it as a CCA. Many may think it too late to pick this sport up in Year 5 at 17 years of age, but fret not! Our boys and girls put in a good showing every year at the National Interschool Championships in April, to be specific, our 2014 results: Girls’ 1st (we have been champions in the girls’ category for the past 4 years), Boys’ 3rd, despite our team comprising mostly of brand new fencers who just started in Year 5. No prerequisites are needed when joining the team! Just a will to learn and dedication to the sport will suffice. And for those wondering, being tall is not always an advantage. In fencing, being tall or short will help you in different ways, since fencing is a holistic sport that transcends physical superiority. The world no. 2 in women’s foil in 2012 was just 154cm tall. Nothing is impossible.
One of our training sessions in the MPH
Training is helmed by Coaches Henry, Marin, Samson and Oleg, some of them ex-national fencers, from one of the renowned fencing institutions in Singapore—Blade Club. The sessions are conducted twice a week on Tuesday and Thursday from 4.30pm to 7.00pm, and usually maintains a balance between drills, the learning of new tactics and actual sparring bouts. Blade club also provides free sparring sessions on Saturdays for our fencers.
Practising footwork at training
Throughout our journey in Raffles Fencing, we gear up for the National Interschool Fencing Championships, as well as several other competitions and invites throughout the year. They include the Novices Championships, U-17, U-20 and Open competitions, as well as Fencing Invitationals by other schools, including our own Raffles Invites we organise every December!
Fencing is a creative sport enabling free development of the personality. It offers no ready recipes. It only provides the notes, while the athlete himself has to compose the music. If there is one thing it does teach, it is discipline. As you train in the heat and balance having to do homework with physical and mental fatigue after training, your body and mind are taken to a whole new level and you will develop the valuable life skill of perseverance through tough times.
The Team
So just come in, try your best, have fun and make new friends in the process.
