School Life

Commentary, Notes from the Underground, School Life

RSS Mental Health Strand 2019
Reading Time: 8 minutes

By Wong Zi Yang (19A01D)

Photos courtesy of the Raffles Photographic Society

The Raffles Science Symposium Mental Health Strand is back and into its third year, and its focus? You. The theme for this year’s series of mental health talks is ‘Mind-Body Disconnect’, with the Mental Health Strand placing more emphasis on the correlation between physical and mental health. With a total of three external speakers, the event promised to be more prolific than its two predecessors. The event began with an opening address by Mr Magendiran; at least, it was meant to. Although he was originally positioned to deliver the opening address, the event began immediately with Ms Woo Mei Hui from the Raffles Guidance Centre introducing the first speaker, Mr Michael Chee instead. “That’s what happens when you don’t get enough sleep,” Ms Woo laughed, which proved to be an apt if ironic segue to the first topic of discussion.

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Commentary, Sports

FIRE Tourney 2019: Have you got the spirit?
Reading Time: 4 minutes

By Sarah Chen (19S03C) and Shervon Lee (19S06A)

Photographs courtesy of Raffles Photographic Society

Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Then, everything changed when the FIRE Tourney attacked. Only the Basketball, master of all four elements, could stop them, but when the world needed it most, it vanished — into the hands of the players. Over the weekend, from the 18th to the 20th of January, the basketball courts of Raffles Institution (RI) and Singapore American School (SAS) were ablaze with players from different schools pit against each other. The squeaking of shoes on court, the dull thud of the basketball, and the musky scent of sweat in the air all amplified to a boiling point in the confines of the court — the game was on.

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CCA Events, Commentary, Please Mind the Platform Gap, School Life

Capriccio: 4 Things to Expect During Orientation
Reading Time: 7 minutes

By Mabel Yet (19S03Q)

Photos courtesy of Amy Lim (18S06O) and Tan Ting Wei (18S03J) from Photographic Society

Unless you happen to be an unfeeling robot, the prospect of the all-important Y5 Orientation you’ll soon be hurtling into will probably bring about a whole tangle of emotions. Maybe meeting new people and running around playing games is your thing, and you’re about to spontaneously combust with excitement from having watched the batch dance countless times. Or maybe you would much rather stay a hermit for another month, evade as much social interaction as possible and just get these four long days over and done with. Either way, Orientation will nonetheless be an experience that will stay with you for a long time (for the better, of course).

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Commentary, Sports

Rugby Kiwi Cup 2019: RI Wins, Again
Reading Time: 5 minutes

By Phang Yeu Yeou (19A01A) and Aaron Tan (19A01B)

Photographs by Raffles Photographic Society

Shoulder to shoulder, arms linked around each man to their left and right, the teams from both schools face the sea of supporters as a united front. It’s a sight to behold: the ruggers’ faces are steeled into a challenge for their opponents, though the jitters of their bandaged knees betray their nervous anticipation. As the drums throb through the stands, as the players head to the field and huddle together for one last briefing, perhaps only one thing is certain – no one knows how the Kiwi Cup will end.

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Commentary, Things People Search

Things People Search, Vol. 3: Take Me to Search
Reading Time: 7 minutes

By Soh Ying Qi (18A01C)

The Word of Mouth search bar. Always handy, always helpful, (nearly) always reliable. But behind the scenes, what our readers key into it is a different story. Here are some of last term’s very best queries, taken from your collective search history.

(Vol. 1 | Vol. 2)

Note: Queries posted here are completely unedited.

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