One year ago, along with many of my fellow batch mates in the class of 2014, I went one day without shoes around campus, perceiving that we were doing something good for the world. While I didn’t actually donate any of my shoes to the donation drive, I thought that the entire project was a worthy and noble act that would save the unfortunate communities who had no access to good shoes.
One year later, I realised that I was sorely mistaken. What we were doing was not benefitting communities – it was potentially destroying them instead.
Having defeated Temasek Junior College (TJC) 7-2 in the preliminary stage of competition, RI’s A Div water polo girls no doubt entered Thursday’s final against the very same opponents with some degree of confidence.
Back-and-forth cheering between the TJC supporters and RI councillors, as well as some prospective Council nominees, preceded the start of the match at MOE Co-Curricular Activities Branch. While the TJC supporters came armed with plastic clappers, the banners hung at the RI end of the pool and the drum brought along by CCAD for coordinating cheers ensured that our supporters were not outclassed.
RI Councillors putting up support banners before the match
The match started somewhat slowly, with both goalkeepers saving long shots across the pool, but soon gained speed. After a disallowed goal, RI managed to keep the ball in TJC’s half for a full minute, and the pressure produced results when Richelle Ang (#8) finally managed to send the ball past the goalkeeper. This energised the RI team, which continued to dominate possession and keep the ball in the Temasek half. The second goal came two minutes later in dramatic fashion when a shot on target hit the top of the Temasek cage, bounced back and was palmed past the TJC goalkeeper by Clarinda Tan (#6), triggering cheers of “Raffles Dynamite” from the councillors. Later, RI coach Mr Lim Yao Xiang would remark that the girls displayed such confidence that all that remained for him was to “take a back seat and let them play their own game”.
The second goal
In the second quarter, RI seized possession and made it 3-0 20 seconds in. This time round, TJC put up a more resolute defence and the fourth goal only came 3 minutes later from a remarkable shot over the entire Temasek defence line. Despite a stout defence, Temasek still could not get the ball out of their half. More drama ensued after a RI was awarded a penalty shot, which unfortunately sailed over the cage. Moments later, RI substituted four players, increasing the speed of the game, and Rachel Lee (#12), one of the four new players, immediately found her mark as she scored a shot over three Temasek defenders.
Incredible defending by goalkeepers Joanna Chue (#1) and Stephanie Sim (#13), as well as two lightning shots by Neo Serhan (#7) in rapid succession, ensured RI led by a margin of 7-0 at halftime, giving the councillors good reason to put up an intimidating display of “Rafblood” and “Ichiban” cheers.
In the second half, Temasek ramped up the pressure but failed to capitalise on the RI defence, being repeatedly frustrated by the time limit of 30 seconds they had to attack the opposing goal. The TJC goalkeeper, repeatedly shouting a ten-second countdown across the pool to encourage her team members, made quite a few excellent saves, and the pace of scoring slowed. Nethania Low (#10) and Rachel Lee (#12) nonetheless managed to score one more goal each, making it 9-0 before the final quarter.
RI scores their 9th goal against TJC
The final quarter commenced with a spate of fouls and determined marking of RI players by their Temasek opponents. Determined to stop conceding goals, TJC further intensified the pressure on RI forwards, with 3 defenders challenging one RI player holding the ball on more than one occasion. Rising to the occasion, RI mounted a comprehensive attack on the Temasek defence, resorting to long passes with unerring accuracy over TJC players, and Clarinda Tan (#6) of the RI team finally made it 10-0 before Richelle Ang (#8) found her shot saved twice. In the nerve-wracking last minute of the game, Temasek finally found the RI cage with a long shot from the halfway line, but subsequent attempts on goal were stymied and the final ended with raucous cheering from the RI supporters.
RI supporters and the team sing the Institution Anthem after the match
After the match, coach Mr Lim Yao Xiang admitted that they “didn’t expect to win by so much”, but also remarked that the girls “fully deserved” their win because “they trained really hard and even throughout last year’s promos they did not stop training on their own just to improve”. He also said that the team was one of the “most united teams [he had] coached so far” and that their “chemistry on land [was] really reflected in the pool”, which explained their fitting win.
They put in a lot of effort more than the competition. Every holiday they will ask whether they can come back to school for extra training, so I’m the one that needs to say ‘give me a rest’, so that says a lot.
On Thursday mornings they start swimming at 6am at the RI Hong Leong pool in the cold, in the dark for an hour. That’s something that no one actually knows [so] they deserve every bit of their victory.
Raffles Press would like to congratulate the A Div Girls’ water polo team on defending their National Champions title for the 8th year running, and wishes all sports CCAs well in their matches and games to come.
By Nguyen Hoang Nhan (14S03K) and Chu Phuong Anh (15S06C)
Today, Raffles Press features Mr. Alfred Chan and Ms. Eva Hor – two freshly-inducted Year Heads just starting out on their new roles – to further explore their interests, passions and impressions on the batch of 2015.
World Autism Awareness Week 2014. Celebrating colours in our lives.
As a typical bored student scrolling through your Facebook newsfeed on the 30th of March, you may have noticed that a number of friends suddenly set the exact same profile pictures. How exactly did this mysterious phenomenon happen?
For those curious souls out there, the 30th of March marked the start of Autism Awareness Week.
As the name might suggest, this is a week for the spreading of awareness for autism. But before going into what Autism Awareness means, the bigger question is: why dedicate an entire week to it? Beyond vague recollections of Rainman, Forrest Gump, or that Jodie-Picoult-character-you can’t-really-remember-the-name-of, (they were all… kind of autistic…. right? right?), nothing really comes to mind about about autism besides silly insults that are supposed to be insensitive to…. some unfortunate people you’ve never met.
And therein lies the problem – unlike the widely touted diseases of cancer and heart disease, no one really knows what autism really is.
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a lifelong developmental disability characterized by great difficulty in forming relationships with other people and in using language and abstract concepts. Does that mean that that socially awkward guy who sits in the corner of your class is autistic? Not necessarily so. Autism is an actual diagnosable condition (which we will be telling you more about this week) however, the most important thing is that it is just a label– a label that does not define who they are. Yes, there are differences. But what is more important is that they are just like us, with big dreams, big beliefs and big aspirations. These people could be so much more, yet much of their potential is being thrown away because we tend to focus on the disability itself rather than them as people.
And that’s why we have World Autism Awareness Week. To show that children on the autism spectrum shouldn’t be viewed any differently. To lift the chains of prejudices and stereotypes that we shackle them with. To prove to the world that autism is a word, not a lifelong sentence. This WAAW, challenge yourself to look beyond. Everyone has aspirations, and everyone is a winner in their own right.
So, what can you look forward to in this WAAW?
Like and follow the Facebook page at http://www.tinyurl.com/RIWAAW2014, as members of Community Advocates bring to you facts and myths about autism. Check back daily to receive new updates and opportunities to do more to help children on the autism spectrum! We will also be featuring stories and experiences from various Rafflesians, so do check it out.
Apart from that do also look out for #riwaaw hashtags on Twitter. It would be great if you could use the hashtags and tweet about the new things you have learnt this week! CA will be displaying a live Twitter feed in the canteen during your break times alongside some videos they’ll be screening regarding autism. In the canteen, you might also find that each table has pieces of paper attached to it containing facts and short excerpts on autism that you can take the time to read and learn more about.
Last but not least, do look forward to our extremely excited and ferociously friendly CA members approaching you with their eager whiteboards at the end of WAAW and be bold in sharing what you have learnt from it and how your perception of people on the autistic spectrum has changed!
World Autism Awareness Week 2014. Celebrating colours in our lives.
If you’ve got interesting facts/quotes/personal anecdotes/videos/photos/projects/anything related to autism to share, we want to hear from you! Head over to http://www.tinyurl.com/riwaaw2014submissionsand say whatever you want to say. We’re also open to questions being asked.
BREAKING NEWS – RI is planning to charge students for the use of non-essential shared school facilities, in an effort to cut costs. The changes are expected to affect both Year 1-4 and Year 5-6 students and are effective from the 2nd of April. We have been assured that the changes have been made “after due consideration … with the best interests of students in mind.”
Raffles Press has been informed that the school WLAN network, the gyms, the Hong Leong Swimming Pool, the Library and the Open Labs will all come under the umbrella of chargeable facilities. Internet rates are expected to be competitive, with the school planning to charge $2 per hour of use. The library entrance fee will be 20 cents, and is going to be deducted from student ez-link cards upon entry. Charges for pool and gym usage will also be lower than that of existing alternatives, with a flat $4 weekly fee for unlimited entry into both facilities. We understand that this scheme will be integrated with the goto.ri portal, providing students an easy way to track the amount which they owe the school on a weekly basis. Specific to Internet usage, we have been told that upon trying to log in, students will be met with a pop-up warning them of the new payment model.
Current goto.ri login page
To ensure that CCAs will still have access to crucial facilities, we also understand that group rates have already been calculated and deducted from their respective budgets. Shooting team captain, Magdalene Teo (14A01B), shared, “It’s really unfortunate that we now have to pay for using the Internet or the school gym. I’ve had to keep all our rifles at the back of my class to avoid paying the storage charges. But what can we do?” Daniel Boey, the captain of the track team told us that “(the track team) has resorted to bench-pressing old car tyres and sneaking into condominium gyms in an effort to save on club funds.”
Student response to this pay-per-use scheme has, understandably, been mixed. Lim Buff Boey (14S04A) argues, “The school could have cut costs in other ways – like shutting off the air-con. Why charge for the gym and the swimming pool?” Concerned parent Mrs. Ong Kay Poh added: “We already pay for these facilities through school fees! Why charge extra?” On the flip side, Anthony Slacker (15S06C) pointed out that “students who rarely use these shared facilities and have 3G access have little to worry about.”
Based on such feedback from students and Council, the school intends to roll out package plans in the near future, bundling certain services based on student preferences – the Study Package, for instance, will grant students unlimited Internet access, weekly use of the Open Labs and the school library. Download this document for more information on these packages: Package Information (Student Only). For the school announcement in PDF format, click here: Facility Charges Announcement (Student)
