Have you ever been mesmerized by the soothing, evocative voice of Frank Sinatra singing “Fly Me To the Moon”? Or the dexterous, funky yet unhurried playing of pianists like Scott Joplin (The Entertainer)? Or have you been fascinated by the way a saxophonist or guitarist churns out melodious tunes and intricate lines from his instrument?

Even if you aren’t familiar with jazz music, don’t be deterred! In Raffles Jazz, we believe, first and foremost, in passion and the thirst to learn and explore new things in music. Although many may perceive jazz to be an obscure art form only for those well-versed in music theory and possessing outstanding technical expertise in their instrument, it is in fact quite accessible – and enjoyable – as long as you put your heart in it. Rather than ability, we treasure diversity and enthusiasm, for this is what Jazz has thrived on, especially since what sets jazz music apart from pop, rock or classical music is its heavy emphasis on improvisation and individuality of band members. At its heart, jamming and playing together is like conversing with each other about things that cannot be expressed with mere language alone.

Given the common misconceptions of jazz as ‘atas’ or mere lounge/bar music, besides creating good music, we also aim to make jazz more accessible to the rest of the school population and the public. We’ve worked towards this by holding casual free-of-charge evening performances in the intimate setting of the Black Box, as well as a performance in Artistry Cafe. Of course, we also held our annual concert in May, Take My Word For It, which was filled with awesome jazz music as well as a fun-filled and hilarious acting segment!

We’ve also taken part in last year’s Singapore Jazz Festival, where we performed, participated in workshops conducted by international professionals and also got to watch many professional performances free of charge. You can look forward to gig opportunities like these and more as an aspiring Jazzer – CIP concerts for fundraising, external gigs at cafes and Community Centres, you name it!

If you wish to know more about jazz before the auditions, and even if you don’t intend to join us, do attend our upcoming introductory workshop! We will be performing the pieces that will be set for the audition (Yes, you can prepare and practice these pieces beforehand!) as well as giving a short introduction on jazz and its history. Sectionals for every instrument will be held as well. We accept any instrument as long as you can make music with it, so don’t fret if you play a relatively unconventional instrument – we’ve taken violinists and flutists before.

Our official CCA time is every Wednesday, 2:30-4:30pm – but do expect to find Jazzers on other days to practice their own instruments and jam for fun! We even welcome you to crash our practices as well if you want to have a taste of what our CCA is like. Jazzers are one big family – we listen to music together, play together and ultimately, have fun.

Raffles Jazz is truly a CCA fuelled by our passion for jazz and music. If you are looking for an environment where you can explore and share your passion for music and look forward to  working with various musicians with different quirks and abilities , then Raffles Jazz … is for you.

This coming year, when you enter RI as a Year 5 student, you’ll be acquainted with the infamous General Paper (GP), a subject that requires you to give your stance on a topic, presented in a logical and sound essay. We here at Raffles Volleyball are happy to present you with a model GP essay that can serve as a reference when revising for your CTs next year!

Let’s use this sample essay question:

“You should not join Raffles Volleyball.” Discuss.

Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. It is a beautiful sport whose history dates back to the 1800s. I disagree with the statement “You should not join Raffles Volleyball”.

Some may say that one should not join Raffles Volleyball because they are not winners. Without doubt, Raffles Volleyball is a development CCA in RI that welcomes all interested students from any CCA backgrounds to join. No volleyball experience is required but of course, there are CCA trials. However, it is also because of this fact that compared to other junior colleges, they may have a huge disadvantage in terms of skills and experience at the National Volleyball Championships. Hence, seeing through the lens of competition and prestige, many will quickly argue that Rafflesians in Volleyball are not winners.

However, if you were to just take a small step back and look at the bigger picture and ask, ‘Is a medal my main consideration when choosing a CCA?’, then perhaps you will realize that what is most important is the experience you get. Since Raffles Volleyball offers a fantastically enriching experience, you should join Raffles Volleyball.

First, you should join volleyball because it is not just a CCA but an inclusive family. In JC, amongst all the work and stress, it is important for your emotional well-being to find a family like volleyball. There are both the girls and boys teams, but they are not known as separate entities. They form a huge volleyball family. Some of the bonding activities they have as a CCA are the annual batch-bonding camps, batch outings to the beach or just ‘lepak-ing’ before and after trainings.  We are winners in taking care of every member in the team, and we dig, set, spike as one complete family.

Second, you should join volleyball because it is about more than just playing volleyball. In volleyball, opportunities are presented to members to engage in activities that develops them in many dimensions.  The very definition of a Rafflesian is one who uses all the skills at his disposal to lead the way and forge a path for everyone else, hence the doctrine: Thinkers, Leaders, Pioneers. Every year, each batch of volleyball members are involved in the planning of the annual CCA camp, Old Rafflesians League and Interhouse Sports Challenge for volleyball.

Third, you should join volleyball because Raffles Volleyball players strive to achieve the pinnacle of excellence, exhibit hard work and determination (and it is healthy to be surrounded by such people). They have trainings on Tuesdays and Fridays (5pm-8pm) and when their sports season arrives, Saturdays . They treasure every second of their training and put in their every best to do their school proud every year.

Last, you should join volleyball simply because it is fun. In fact, it is so fun that they organise self-trainings and extra trainings with their coaches during the holidays because they just cannot seem to get enough of it! As schoolwork becomes stressful, trainings are not a chore but a great place to de-stress and enjoy the company of your teammates

Therefore, the statement ‘You should not join Raffles Volleyball’ is obviously not true as it is evident from the argument above that Raffles Volleyball is one of the best CCAs to join. Just ask any past/ current members from Raffles Volleyball!

As you can see, with the appropriate skills, answering the aforementioned question can be a simple matter. Next, perhaps you can attempt this question:

“A good team can win a volleyball game when they are ahead, a great team can win when they are behind.” Will you be a part of this great team?

Let’s talk about Math.

Do not be fooled by any homogeneity in this image. We may seem like an extremely serious club (which, granted, we are at times). But behind this over-solemn veneer lies some of the most genuine and fun-loving people around who also happen to be very passionate about all things Mathematical. And we are looking for new members to join us in the numerical revelry: potential new members such as you.

We are accepting students from all backgrounds, whether you possess an interest in math or not. As long as you’re looking to have a good time, we welcome you, and if you’re not looking to have a good time, well, then Math Club can probably work something out for you. Maybe you’d like to try something fun, like build a potato cannon, but Automatica refuses to deal with impure robotics, well, Math Club is more than willing to help you realise this goal.

Here at Math Club, we believe everything is Math, and we promise our support for any of your endeavours.

At Math Club, we believe in helping you tick off your bucket list, that means no request is too big, and no idea is too dumb.

As you may suspect, Math Club has no prerequisites for entry besides having a pulse, but appeals can and will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Training hours, by popular demand, are typically on Tuesdays or Thursdays, though the timing and date has varied year to year depending on the incoming batch (so don’t worry about commitments clashing! We are very flexible when it comes to stipulating training hours).

What has stayed constant (if you see what I did there) is that we only have sessions once a week. So again, do not fret about having too much on your plate! We will not detain you and keep you inordinately busy. This will be pertinent when it comes to exams and Project Work, when you will be immensely grateful for our relatively light and forgiving schedule.

There are no particular peak periods for Math Club, however, there are funtabulous events planned out over the course of the year. Of particular note is the RMCCC, the full name is a mouthful, so let’s just leave it at that.

It is a large scale camp with Math Club members from the Year 1-4 side and RGS, where everyone gets together and plays games for a couple of days. This may seem uncharacteristically frivolous but we promise you loads of intensive Math-related activities and training as well. Not only that, but the frivolities will not be only some of the best fun you’ve had in your life and will be something you’ll definitely cherish as you leave the hallowed halls of this institution.

For our welfare plans, we would like to point out that Math Club provides air-conditioning for all its sessions! We also have zero pre-requisites.

If you are interested in fully stretching yourself and pushing yourself to the limit, many of our Math Club members have also joined Bridge Club and done excellently there, so that’s one thing to consider if you’re planning on dual CCAs. The skills learned in one can be highly complementary to the other and both are excellent ways to increase the power of your intellect.

In all honesty, if you already have a CCA in mind, you may not consider us at all, you may not even read up to this. But if you’re still undecided or just plain want to try something new and unique, try Math Club. Sign up for our trials, you won’t be disappointed. Math has been a passion for some of the world’s most brilliant minds for millennia. If you want to, like Isaac Newton, stand on the shoulders of the mathematical giants, or simply delve in something that seems to have caught your ever-shifting gaze, consider us a first step.

By Wahid Al Mamun (15A01A) and Charlene Yap (15S06Q)

“Play it Loud!”

– Bob Dylan

Have you ever wanted to emulate your absolute favourite bands? Ever dreamed of making hordes of people go crazy over a guitar solo? Do you have an inner rockstar that wants to be unleashed? Then look no further than Raffles Rock to play loud and rock out!

At Raffles Rock, we focus on making and playing music. Don’t get us wrong – it’s not only pure, adrenaline-boosting rock n’ roll that we do! From Fall Out Boy to KT Tunstall to Radiohead, we jam to and perform an eclectic range of music which every member comes to appreciate after a while. The great part about Raffles Rock is how the diversity of our members’ music preferences come together nicely in coming up with a final product that we can proudly call our own. Each batch of Raffles Rock consists of about 10 people, who are then split into two bands. However, there are times where we jam and perform for gigs with members from the other band, so inter-band collaboration is definitely a thing!

Raffles Rock’s official CCA day is Tuesday, with sessions from 4pm to 7pm at the Jamming Studio. In reality, though, this is more of a guideline as we have a slight tendency to overshoot this timing! We are coached by Ian Toh from Thunder Rock School, who brings his valuable expertise and wisdom from the Singapore music scene to us on a weekly basis and who constantly motivates us to improve as musicians. Bands try to meet up on other days of the week whenever they are free in order to jam or to practise for upcoming gigs. In addition, at the end of 2014, Raffles Rock recorded an acoustic cover EP in school with the help of AV teacher Mr. Hazli, which was certainly a new experience for most of our members.

Of course, the showpiece event for Raffles Rock as a CCA is our Rockout concert that is annually held in May. Last year’s edition of Rockout – named The Day The Earth Stood Still – was the third incarnation of the event and the second time it was held at Scape’s The Ground Theatre. Having sold in excess of 800 tickets, it was a great experience for us to play to a huge crowd cheering our every note. Additionally, Raffles Rock also perform for other fringe events such as RIJC’S Take 5, National Day and NJC Rock Night. If that doesn’t whet your rockstar appetite, then wait until you hear about the opportunity of a lifetime to play to PM Lee! Yes, Raffles Rock had the privilege to play to the Prime Minister during the Teck Ghee National Day Dinner Celebration as well!

So how does one get into Raffles Rock? It’s pretty simple – there will be an audition which requires you to play your instrument in front of a panel of Rock members, our coach Ian, as well as our teacher-in-charge, Mrs Teo. It’s not as intimidating as it sounds! We aren’t looking for monster drum solos or finger-bleeding shredding wonders. On the contrary, musical background and experience is not compulsory – some of our current members had barely touched their instruments when they first auditioned. What matters most is a willingness to learn from others, which is the core ethos of Raffles Rock.

We hope you want to join Raffles Rock to make good music, and to have fun making good music. That’s the reason why all of us joined. Equally important is the sense of community and comradeship that we have created over the last year. We’re all a bit crazy. From ridiculous MRT rides carrying keyboards and guitars to running around Scape mere hours before a concert trying to buy a stage outfit, we’ve all had our fair share of stupid moments. Yet that’s precisely why our CCA is so special and so awesome – because ultimately, we’re just a bunch of musicians who just wanna have fun and rock out.

Some things you might hear if you join Rock (you have been warned):

“Death to all scrubs!” – all of us

“The real question is, do you love China?” – Qiu Biqing

“This is war. And war is a patriarchy!” – Neo Jin Hong

“The bass is a patriarchal instrument.” – Neo Jin Hong

“That song is nice and all but can I add a drum solo to it?” – Neo Jin Hong

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Rockout 2014 – The Day The Earth Stood Still (video) | Twitter: rafflesrock | Instagram: rafflesrock

Enquiries: rock.raffles@gmail.com