Commentary 3 March 20133 March 2013

IHC Remix 2013: Dancefeste

Reading Time: 4 minutes

By Bryan Chua and Vo Van Quoc Toan

The RI Auditorium was packed to the brim, with many having to resort to the stairs and even the floor just to watch the performances. They were there to catch Dancefeste 2013. With 5 houses giving 2 performances each, the audience was understandably excited.

They were not disappointed. Several performances worked to tell a story with their dances – one made use of moves and music to tell the story of a troubled relationship – reeling the audience in and appealing to their emotions. Others, went with hilarity – one featured Kanye West’s memorable interruption of Taylor Swift, and another featured two dancers wearing pants over their shirts and shoes for hands.

BB1's dance, featuring a Joker — BB1’s dance, featuring a Joker

Not just creative, the dancing on the night was brilliant. “Many of the dances were synchronized so well, they were like an Olympic synchronized swimming team!” said Giam Jia Hao (13S06M).

The dedication and passion from countless hours spent rehearsing certainly showed on stage. Michelle Lim (14S03P) said:“The dancers were elegant and entertaining, engaging and exciting. But to me, what mattered more than the sleek moves was the obvious effort that was put into the routine!

Amazingly, many of the dance crews only had just over a week to prepare – including choreographing, memorizing a full 3-5 minute dance and rehearsing it to perfection. For some, dancing has always been a passion, and they jumped at the chance to take part. Srivathsan Anirudh (14S06M) of Moor-Tarbet said that dancing “has always been the thing I loved to do. ” The experience certainly etched itself into the minds of the performers, as Anirudh goes on to add, “I’m really glad we did it as a group, and I wouldn’t mind doing it again. Now after all of it is over, I really miss all the intense dance practices and all the crazy fun we had.”

Yet, participation in Dancefest is not just for dance aficionados. Joel Tang (14S06A) and Derrick Tang (14S07B) from Hadley-Hullett, had no experience in dancing, let alone performing. When asked why they signed up, they both agreed that they thought signing up would be a fun idea. “People who signed up (for Dancefest) before said that it was exciting, so I decided to try it out for myself and true enough, it turned out to be really fun,” said Joel.

With no prior experience dancing, it is without question that the rehearsal process would have been much more challenging for them. Joel said the experience was “intimidating at first, seeing all the other dancers moving naturally. It was quite scary too, but the process proved to be really fun.” When it came to getting on stage, Derrick recalls how “the large crowd seemed daunting at the start but performing on stage was really enjoyable, and I would jump at the chance to participate again next year.” Both of them also heard their friends yelling out their names from the crowd (whether in horror or surprise upon seeing them appear from behind the curtain, however, remains unknown), which Joel found “nerve-wracking and cool at the same”, while Derrick said it felt really good hearing their support.

There is one final group of people that should receive as much praise as the dancers – the AV team. They contributed to the atmosphere of each performance, working their way through the fast-moving beats to match the dancers on stage.

Dancefeste may have been an inter-house competition – but that didn’t mean that everyone tried to go to war with each other and deprive each other of rehearsal space. Rather, it was the exact opposite. Madeleine Cheng (14S03O) of Bayley-Waddle shared of how everyone still maintained a respect for each other, despite being in different houses, sharing speakers and the mirrors wherever possible. Even on performance night, while there still might have been an ongoing competition, it really felt like one major performance, with audience members shouting out names of whoever they recognized on stage, be it from their house or not.

While awaiting the results, emcees Gan Hui Zhen and David Lee called for audience members to come up on stage and perform the IHC Dancefeste version of the Harlem Shake. It was a moment of priceless hilarity.

At the end of the night, the results were announced. They were as follows:

5th – Hadley Hullet
4th – Moor Tarbet
3rd – Bayley Waddle
2nd – Morrison Richardson
1st – Buckle Buckley

Comparing this year’s event with the previous year’s, Jia Hao felt that last year’s performance had a more “fun dance segment that was a lot less uptight – while it may not have had dance moves that were as polished, they had a large element of fun to them, which made it incredibly entertaining to watch.”

That being said, a view echoed across the board was that Dancefeste was incredibly fun for both performers and the audience. For Zaky Askari (14S06S), “(It was) a real party and the atmosphere was exhilarating. The night was well worth it, filled with spectacular dances and mouth-watering moves.” It probably goes without saying that the event may have inspired several Y5s to consider signing up next year for the fun of it – one of whom is Zaky, who said he would definitely take part if he could.

Photos courtesy of Photography Society

Commentary 2 March 201326 October 2016

No Shoes Day: Why dare to bare?

Reading Time: 3 minutes

By Law May Ning, Feng Zhuo and Felicia Teo

To any spectator, 27th February was business as usual at RI(JC), with 2000 students flocking from activity to activity, climbing stairs and roaming the corridors. Yet behind the seeming normalcy, something was different. On second glance, one would find that a large majority of the students had no shoes on.

In a campaign to help raise funds and awareness for the poor living conditions of children in Kenya, Rafflesians bared their soles for a day to experience the plight of the less fortunate. There is a population as big as the United States walking without shoes, often through potentially hazardous grounds, and this event aimed to give Rafflesians a feel of what it might be like. With campaign efforts ranging from photo booths, donating of shoes to fund-raising sales, the high-profile event certainly made for an interesting sight, as students – and even teachers – spent the day treading about barefoot.

The campaign, now in its second year running, was organized by Community Advocates in collaboration with the Tana River Life Foundation, which received the donated shoes and funds raised from selling merchandise such as bracelets.

So did the campaign succeed in giving Rafflesians a taste of poverty? For Year 5 Ng Ruixin, it was an “eye-opening experience”. “No Shoes Day was a good opportunity for us to appreciate what we have and it reminded me not to take for granted what we have in our lives. Even if it wasn’t exactly like the conditions of children in Africa, it still showed us just how fortunate we were,” she said. The examples of different ground surfaces, such as gravel or wild grass, placed in the canteen walkway allowed students to have a feel of what the Kenyan children have to experience in their everyday lives.

Still, a Year 5 who declined to be identified said, “I only took off my shoes because I felt the social pressure to do so”. In fact, a number either chose not to or could not take off their shoes – since shoes had to be worn inside science labs or for PE lessons – and the real purpose of taking off one’s shoes seemed a little lost. Perhaps the fact that we were able to put our shoes back on at any moment created a less realistic feel of the plight of those without shoes. “It all felt a little fake to me,” one Rafflesian who declined to be named said. “The first thing that organisers said to us in the morning was to “beware of puddles” and “take care”. It kind of drives home how sheltered we really are compared to children who have real hazards in their lives.”

To better drive home a greater sense of empathy for those without shoes, Phyllis Gan from 14SO3C suggests further calling attention to injuries sustained from walking about barefoot. While this was put up on a board in the canteen walkway, “maybe the organisers can make it more realistic by painting their feet to look like they were scarred from injuries,” she offered.

So was No Shoes Day 2013 a walk to remember or an empty event? Raffles Press has to stay on the fence. Nonetheless, there is no mistaking the well-meaning intentions of the organising team. That the target number of shoes donated (300) was exceeded is indeed testament that many did appreciate the motive behind No Shoes Day.

shoe collection drive -- 382 shoes were collected by Wednesday — shoe collection drive — at least 403 shoes were collected

Photos courtesy of Community Advocates (noshoesday on Instagram) and Kimberley Pah

Commentary 1 March 20133 March 2013

Class of 2012 does RI Proud

Reading Time: 3 minutes

by Gao Wenxin and Allison Choong Min

The 2012 GCE ‘A’ Level Examinations results were released today in the MPH and ISH at 2.30pm. The Class of 2012 did RI proud with its holistic excellence and stellar academic results, including a record-breaking number of 10 students who scored 9 distinctions in 13 academic units! This is the best showing in history since the introduction of the revised ‘A’ Level curriculum in 2006.

In a break from tradition, Principal Mrs Lim Lai Cheng focused on students who had demonstrated all-round excellence in areas like music, sports, and leadership in her presentation. In an exclusive interview with Raffles Press, newly-appointed Deputy Principal (Curriculum) Mrs Reavley Munn Ye noted that this was the second cohort of students to receive the Raffles Diploma (RD). She added that the RD captures this spirit of celebrating “all-round achievement” and that it encouraged students to chase non-academic pursuits, beyond the A-levels.

Our reporter with Deputy Principal (Curriculum) Mrs Reavley Mun Ye.

The overall results saw about 97% of students score at least 3 H2 passes with a pass in GP or KI, higher than the average national pass rate of 90.6%.

In terms of performance in individual subjects, English Language and Linguistics and Knowledge and Inquiry saw their best-ever showings with 50% and 98% of candidates scoring distinctions respectively! This is a significant increase from previous years. English Literature was also singled out by Mrs Lim as a subject where improvement has been made – 8 out of 10 candidates scored an A, as opposed to 7 in 10 last year. When asked to comment, Ms Lye Su-Lin (Literature Tutor & Assistant Department Head / Raffles Diploma) replied, “We are very proud of our students! This can be attributed to their hard work and flair for the subject.”

However, some subjects, including History and Economics, have seen a slight drop in the percentage of distinctions. The distinction rate for subjects like Physics, Chemistry and Biology has stayed fairly constant.

Distinction rates for each subject (rounded off). (source: Raffles Press) — Distinction rates for each subject (rounded off).
(source: Raffles Press)

In addition, the number of students who achieved a perfect University Admission Score of 90 points decreased marginally from 27% in 2011 to 26% in 2012. 129 students achieved distinctions in all subjects offered, a drop from 155 students in 2011.

But the future still looks bright for our graduates, because many of them have received early decision offers from universities as well as scholarships. 45 students have already received provisional scholarships from various agencies such as the PSC. More than a hundred students have been offered places: 53 at Cambridge University, 39 at Oxford University, and 28 at Ivy Leagues. This is ostensibly the highest number in any high school in the world.

Nevertheless, Mrs Lim concluded the results release by saying, “Your academic grades is only one of many things that make you who you are. it is not the end-all and be-all. […] Even if you don’t have the perfect score, there is always something precious and important for you to accomplish, and there is always a route out to the next stage of your lives.”

Year-on-Year Comparison

Class of 2011

9 Distinctions: 6 students (i.e. 0.48%)
8 Distinctions: 89 students (i.e. 7.13%)
7 Distinctions: 202 students (i.e. 16.19%)
6 Distinctions: 274 students (i.e. 21.96%)

There were 1,248 candidates.

Class of 2012

9 Distinctions: 10 students (i.e. 0.81%)
At least 8 Distinctions: 88 students (i.e. 78 with 8 Distinctions, i.e. 6.29%)
At least 7 Distinctions: 282 students (i.e. 194 with 7 Distinctions, i.e. 15.65%)
At least 6 Distinctions: 543 students (i.e. 261 with 6 Distinctions, i.e. 21.05%)

There were 1,240 candidates.

Commentary 28 February 2013

Lunchtime Football

Reading Time: 7 minutes

by Teoh Ren Jie

I glanced down at my gently curving waistline and promised myself I would work out over the holidays.

“Uh… crest.”

“Sure,” he said, then flicked his thumb and sent the coin spinning through the air. For a moment it hung, lazily, at the apex of its climb, a silver orb glinting in the noontime sun.

I would remember this moment in the years to come because that slowly spinning coin seemed a perfect allegory for our teenage years. The years where the changing faces of our childhood spun themselves into a frenzy and it felt like we would wake up with a different one every day. The years before the gravity of obligation took hold and we still believed we could make ourselves in our own image, where it felt like every choice we made would decide which side we landed on on our way down. The years where my friends and I hung, suspended, at the crest our lives, caught between who we were and what we would become.

Brian caught the coin expertly between the back of his right hand and the palm of his left. Lifting his left hand slightly, he peered at the coin through the cracks and smiled.

“Flower. Go take your shirts off.”

I groaned, but the rules were the rules so I reluctantly shrugged my way out of my shirt and prayed my belly wouldn’t wobble too much as I ran. My classmates stripped down too and soon we were all half-naked and ready to begin the game.

Zhiming walked up to me and gave my paunch a friendly nudge.

Zhiming and I shared one of those friendships which, in hindsight, seem impossible to explain. He was good-looking, captain of the hockey team and in danger of failing most of his classes. I was the class prefect, captain of the debate team and perennially the last person to finish the long runs we did for PE. We lived in totally different worlds and yet we were seat-mates and good, maybe best, friends. I would turn a blind eye to the food under his desk, cover for him when he skipped class and occasionally let him copy my answers in Math. In return, he would sometimes sit with me at recess or lunch and tell his friends that I was “chill”. From the outside it might have looked like Zhiming was using me but I knew him and I knew that he was simply incapable of thinking that way. He could be petty and childish at times but at heart he was a straightforward, simple person. The thought of exploiting our friendship would have been as foreign to him as the algebraic notation on the few tests he deigned to take.

“Michael’s covering for Yuan Hao in midfield so we’ll need you to take his spot in defense,” he said. “Make sure to mark Brian – that guy’s a piece of s*** but he’s a really good striker.”

I nodded, still unsure as to why he had asked me to play in the first place. Yuan Hao was down with the flu but there were still plenty of guys in our class who could take his place, most of whom could actually run ten meters with the ball without tripping over their own feet.

Zhiming, sensing my hesitation, gave me a reassuring wink.

“Don’t worry man, you’ll be fine. Just kick the ball out of bounds every time Brian comes near it – imagine you’re kicking Mr. Chan in the face.”

I snickered. Mr. Chan was our physics teacher and was universally reviled for having no sense of humor and a predilection for giving brutal pop quizzes in class.

“Yeah man, remember that quiz he gave last week? I swear 80% of the questions weren’t even on the sylla-“

But Zhiming had already moved on to the next player, offering words of advice and encouragement as he expertly marshaled our team.

Muthali, my partner in defense, shook his head skeptically. “Look, try not to f*** up too badly, alright?”

I gulped. “Yeah… I’ll try.”

Preparations complete, Zhiming gave the thumbs up to Michael, who passed the ball out of the center circle. The game was on.

As far plans go, Zhiming’s was a good one. But he had failed to account for youth’s belief in its own invincibility – deep down inside, we thought that we could win the game all by ourselves, if only we had the ball. So those players that found themselves in possession would overelaborate with mazy dribbles and ludicrous shots, while others assigned to stationary roles would watch discontentedly and scream, arms raised, for the ball. Soon, most players on both sides had abandoned their nominal roles and collectively attacked the ball with adolescent élan. Together they formed a seething, swearing mass of humanity, half bare-chested and half in white, thundering across the pitch in an affront to organized football.

I was not immune to the heady adventurism that infected my fellows, and early on I made several forays into midfield in an attempt to win the ball. However, each time I did so I left Brian unattended, and when the man in possession invariably found a way to beat me Brian would be open and clean through on goal. The selfishness of his teammates and the heroics of our keeper did much to reduce his danger, but even so he had put his side two-nil up by the time my repeated failures and the cursing of my teammates forced me to accept that there would be no miracles today.

Having come to my senses, I marked Brian till he grew frustrated and joined the pack chasing the ball. I wanted to join them but I now knew my limits, so I hung back and watched with no small amount of envy. The game dragged on and Zhiming eventually pegged one back with a stunning volley from some distance out. Our teammates mobbed him in celebration while I, far from the action, exchanged high-fives with Muthali by way of vicariously sharing in the glory.

As our opponents returned the ball to the center circle, Zhiming motioned Muthali forward with a wave of his hand and dropped back to take his place in defense.

“Good goal,” I said, flashing him a thumbs up.

“Thanks man. You did a good job yourself marking Brian.”

“Not really… I let him score two goals.”

“Yeah, well, s***happens. Listen, I’m pretty worn out from running. Mind if I play center-back with you for a while?”

“Sure. You’re not going to see much of the ball though.” I pointed up field where our teammates were attacking the opposing goal. “I get a feeling its going to stay up there for a bit.”

“That’s fine. You know, I actually I gotta tell you something.”

“Yeah?”

“Well, I don’t know how to put this but –“

“Watch out!” A clearance from our opponent’s backline came bouncing our way and uncharacteristically, I was the first to react. Remembering Zhiming’s advice and my disastrous play earlier in the game, I hoofed the ball straight back towards the opposing goal. To my disbelief, the ball took an awkward bounce that beat two defenders, then fell to Michael who bundled it past the keeper and into goal.

“Did you see that? Did you see that!” I exclaimed, clapping Zhiming on the shoulder as our team exploded into celebration. “I actually did something useful! Bet you don’t regret picking me now, eh?”

“Yeah.”

I was about to comment on my friend’s strange lack of enthusiasm when Michael came sprinting over and caught me in a sweaty embrace. Lifting me off the ground, he spun me in a circle and clapped me on the back.

“Great pass!”

“Thanks! It was a fluke really…”

“It doesn’t matter – we can win this thing now! C’mon Zhiming, we need you up front! Nick here can manage by himself for a while.”

Zhiming opened his mouth as if to say something, then sighed and seemed to change his mind. Our opponents kicked off and he ran up field to join the attack.

Michael’s equalizing goal had only changed the tide of the game further in our favor, and my teammates kept our opponents penned back in their half, launching attack after attack to try and break the deadlock. Reduced to merely spectating, I watched the game from my position in defense, slowing growing drowsy with heat and fatigue.

The school clock chimed twice, and with a start I remembered that I had to be at tuition in half an hour. For a moment, I considered skipping tuition to see out the game. But then I remembered that my tuition teacher had a nasty habit of calling up my mother when I didn’t show up and decided that I wasn’t helping the team much with my presence anyway.

Waving goodbye to my friends, I picked up my shirt and bag from where I had left them, using the former as a makeshift towel to wipe off my sweat. I put my uniform back on, then headed to the canteen to get a drink before going to tuition. To my surprise, Zhiming broke off from the game to join me.

“Whoa dude, shouldn’t you be playing?”

“Don’t worry. They can manage without me for a while and I need a drink,” he said. “This one’s on me. Lemon tea again?”

“Yeah,” I said. No one really knew how the “lemon tea” in our canteen was made, but the general consensus was that it involved some kind of industrial waste, copious amounts of sugar, and if we were lucky, a little bit of lemon. And yet us students still bought it by the gallon – exactly why we liked it was one of those mysteries no one could explain.

“I don’t know how you can drink that crap. It tastes like plastic.”

I shrugged my shoulders helplessly in reply and Zhiming laughed, but bought himself a cup too. Desperately thirsty, we carried our drinks to a nearby table and sat down, drinking them in silence.

We were about halfway done with our drinks when Zhiming put down his cup. Sensing he had something to say, I paused mid-drink to listen.

“You remember Janice?”

“My ex? Yeah, why?” Still thirsty, I gulped down another mouthful of the artificial orange liquid.

“We’re going out.”

I put down my drink. For a split second, I could see myself getting up and hitting Zhiming in the face, then the moment was over and I turned away.

“Whatever. I’m over her.”

For a long moment, nothing was said.

“It was a good pass, just now.”

“I know.”

We sipped our drinks in the midday sun and watched the others play, feeling within them and within ourselves the strength and the pain of being young.

The writer is an alumnus from the Class of 2011. He is currently pursuing a liberal arts education in the United States. This piece is reproduced with his permission from his personal blog, Unfinished Lines.

Commentary 25 February 201326 February 2013

Great Expectations, Hard Times

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Better Ways to Save

By Sarah Yeo (13AO1E)

Everyone must be yearning for a first-period lecture these days—after all, the lecture theatres are the only places with air-con in the early morning (in fact, even the 4th floor of the crystal palace is not spared). A tutorial would mean sitting in a hot, stuffy classroom (the fans are not of much use, especially if the sun is shining right at you through the windows) and sweating through a shirt or blouse. Given this, turning off the air-con for the first fifty minutes of every school day isn’t really a fantastic way to save.

Here at Raffles Press, we’ve come up with a few better ways for the school to save.

1. Adjust the air-con temperature!
We don’t want to sound like a bunch of whiners, but some classrooms are freezing cold when the air-cons are turned on. That’s right, not just one, but TWO air-cons. With an average class size of about 20-odd people, there just aren’t enough humans to give off heat to offset the cold. Now, this would change if we were actually allowed to increase the temperature to an optimum of 25 degrees Celsius, in line with NEA’s recommended guidelines. For each degree increased in temperature, $25 is taken off the yearly bill. Multiply that by two air-cons in 62 classrooms (in Blocks A and B only), and we have savings of $3100. This will also save us the trouble of taking our jackets on and off. After all, what is air-con if no one enjoys it?

2. Reduce printing of school handbooks
Every year, all of us get new handbooks, regardless of whether you’re a Year 5 or 6. While there is a need for the Year 5s to familiarize themselves with school rules, the Year 6s don’t need two copies of the same booklet (which many people don’t read anyway). A Year 6, who declined to be named, said: “I’ve only flipped through [the handbook] in passing, it now permanently inhabits a corner of my room and I have no idea where it is”. Clearly, the online version on Stamford’s Resources is enough.

The handbook: sadly abandoned on the canteen table

3. Why the LCD screens?
The new LCD screens advertising school events haven’t gone unnoticed, but most people wouldn’t give it more than a glance while walking past. Having gotten most of our information on school events from Facebook, Twitter and even the projector screen in the canteen, the screens don’t really serve any purpose. A Year 6, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “I don’t find [the screens] to be particularly useful, but that could be because I never look at them. It would be more functional if it had a navigation function, but that probably wouldn’t help much in the way of costs”. A lot of money could have been saved if they weren’t installed.

4. Revive Eco-Wednesday
Many people don’t know this, but the Team Raffles shirt day that we have now has its origins in what was previously Eco-Wednesday. Back in 2009 and 2010, the air-cons were turned off in tutorials on Wednesdays, and for that reason, became a dress-down day for both teachers and students. It was eventually scrapped as the air-cons had to be turned on during the Hungry Ghosts Festival to prevent incense smoke from getting blown into classrooms through the open windows. However, it’s a better way of cutting electricity costs compared to the current Eco-first periods. More money can be saved: As a huge part of air-con costs is the initial ramp-up to cool the room, switching off for one period doesn’t actually help much. With Eco-Wednesday, the air-cons are saved from ‘ramping-up’ for the entire day, and less electricity costs are incurred. Also, being able to wear the Team Raffles shirt means that students don’t suffer as much from the heat, and the teachers won’t mind having another dress-down day (on top of Friday). So, revive Eco-Wednesday!

5. Take a walk at Take 5!
The time spent queuing for the Sentosa Express could have been better used taking a ‘leisurely stroll’ or ‘experiential walk’ (as the Sentosa website puts it) along the Boardwalk. It has two-way canopy-covered travellators, features five tropical landscapes indigenous to Singapore, AND most importantly, costs only $1 to enjoy. This is considerably cheaper than the Sentosa Express, which costs $3.50. With the school sponsoring 5000 tickets, opting for the Boardwalk would help to save…a whopping $12,500! For those who aren’t keen on admiring the pretty flowers along the Boardwalk with thousands of people, however, a swim to Sentosa Island can be considered.

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