by Jervan Khou
Aurora: What does it mean? Scientifically at least, it is a natural light display, caused by the collision of charged particles in the atmosphere. It is also the theme for the orientation of the Class of 2014. Perhaps it was hoped that the collision of the supposedly brightest minds would spark off a brilliant, awe-inspiring display of beauty – one which would light up the sky.
Continue reading “Opinion: Why Orientation Should Be More Than Fun”
by Choo Yun Ting and Kimberley Yeo
Do you dream of playing in the largest football stadium in Singapore under the floodlights and an expanse of AstroTurf under your feet? Jalan Besar Stadium has been one of the greatest motivations that Raffles Soccer Girls has drawn on since we’ve come into some prominence – much like an amateur club turning professional. We’re coming off our first National Schools title, and trying to create a legacy (and knocking some stalwarts off in the process).
Soccer is a game usually associated with our male counterparts, and most of us come into the CCA barely having kicked a ball in our lives outside of PE lessons. But perhaps it is this new environment for all of us that brings us together. That, and having the best CCA teachers-in-charge, who always have food in arms – Mr Leong’s famous tins of biscuits! Raffles Soccer Girls has come a long way from our humble beginnings, from training irregularly in various unlikely areas of the school, to being one of the guardians of the main field.
We train thrice a week, one physical and two ball trainings at the field. As Mr Leong always says, the best bonding is done through PT. Requirements to join Soccer Girls are pretty fair – basic coordination skills, a good attitude towards training and soccer in general, and some sense with the ball. But really, all we are looking for are passionate girls! Many of us started out with zero experience and as one team, we continue to learn new skills.
Kicking a ball may seem counter-intuitive, but that’s the challenge! Come push yourself & do things you never thought you could. Dribble, trap, shoot – discover your affinity with the soccer ball. And, of course, soccer is the place to do it where we learn, make mistakes and perfect our skills together, all under the patient guidance of our coaches Mr Leong and Mr Man.
Above all, soccer is a team game. Individual skill can only get you so far – it is in the team spirit that brings out the beautiful game. Every ball training ends with a scaled down match where we learn to trust each other. We then progress on to friendlies on the full field which provides invaluable experience for the ultimate test, the National Schools Championships. Though our time together is short, the shared memories will stay in our hearts much longer.
Come join us! As our defender Wan Qi says, “I love soccer because balls are meant to be kicked!”, soccer isn’t all serious trainings and nothing else. As many of our players can vouch for it, soccer will be the best thing that happened to you here in RI.
Read our match report about how Soccer Girls won champions for the first time, at Jalan Besar Stadium last year.
By Neil Coomber (guest writer, General Paper Department)
There was little to separate Raffles Institution and St. Andrew’s in the 2013 Kiwi Cup and the final score reflected that. Played under beautiful weather and on Raffles’ soil, this year’s match was certainly a close-fought battle.
The only try of the game came just on the stroke of half-time after a relatively equal first-half. And if the timing of the try was difficult to swallow for the home team, so too was the manner of the try, as Kyran Chew charged straight through the middle and crossed to give the St. Andrew’s the advantage. Despite this disappointment for Raffles, St. Andrew’s subsequent failure to convert the try from a relatively central position gave the team some hope for the second half.
For much of the first-half, both teams had trouble breaking through the other’s defense and opportunities to score a try were limited. Led by their captain, Matthew Tjeong, Raffles was clearly determined to put an end to a successive losing streak in the Kiwi Cup. Despite being a man down as a result of a yellow card in the 30th minute of the game, Raffles held their ground well and it looked as though the score would be even at half-time.
Going into the second-half, Raffles knew that without conceding further tries, a try and conversion would be enough to win the match. Equally, St. Andrew’s knew that their single try might not be enough to win and so pushed to extend their lead. Both teams were buoyed on by the enthusiastic support from the fans and the mascots.
The game started to open up in the middle of the second half and both teams had tussles around the try-line. However, neither side was able to take advantage of these positions. As the game went on, Raffles conceded a number of penalties, perhaps as a result of frustration or fatigue, which gave the St. Andrew’s the advantage. In the end, St. Andrew’s was able to hold on to their slender lead, with the Saint’s captain, Hargaven Singh Gill, lifting the trophy for the team.
Despite the defeat, Raffles can take a number of positives away from the game and be confident about the upcoming rugby season.
Final score:
Raffles Institution 0 Saint Andrews 5
By Zara Nicole Toh (13A01B) and Cara Leong (13A01B)
So you’re walking down the hallway to your next class, just minding your own business… when out of the blue a brilliant flash of white catches your attention. Is it a reflective surface on which you can check your hair? Or a Sec 1 boy in his clean new uniform?
These days, it could very well be a perfect stranger baring his pearly whites at you. How do you react? Do you wave? Do you smile back? What if a person who looks vaguely familiar smiles at you? If you smile back, she might feel obliged to strike up a conversation, which you obviously do not welcome, since you cannot remember her name.
Three weeks on, we wonder if anyone is still actively smiling at strangers (or if anyone even remembers the challenge issued by our dear Council President Ashlynna) – but if you’re one of the few people still embracing the challenge wholeheartedly, we applaud you! To put a more realistic spin on this article, we decided to undertake the Smile Challenge ourselves. Here are some of the strange, silly and sometimes surprisingly smiley responses we got!
REACTIONS
We undertook the Smile Challenge, smiling at strangers from 21st to 25th January 2013. Here’s a compilation of how our test subjects reacted to scenarios when they found themselves being smiled at! What would you do if someone smiled at you?
Scenario 1
A person who may be in your Math lecture – or was it your Bio lecture? – smiles at you. You’re unsure of how to respond, as you’ve never even spoken to him before!
Response: You give a confused and awkward half-smile as you don’t want to appear unfriendly, but you’re also unsure of whether to smile back or not.
Smile Challenge: Fail
Scenario 2
A stranger smiles at you, and you smile back just because you’re feeling happy, the sky is blue, the birds are singing, you ate prata for lunch…or maybe because you’re generally a happy and friendly person.
Response: A wide smile spreads across your face as you bear those pearly whites. A wave of the hand is optional.
Smile Challenge: Success
Scenario 3
A person whom you find really annoying or you do not even know smiles at you. You are immediately suspicious and question his/her motives behind smiling. You also do not feel like smiling back.
Response: A questioning look appears on your face as you notice the person, but you quickly avert your gaze and pretend to be captivated by something in the opposite direction. In other words, you complete “dao” the person smiling at you.
Smile Challenge: Fail
Scenario 4
It’s 7am in the morning and you’ve just gotten to school. On the way to the canteen, someone smiles at you. Your facial muscles are still cramped up from lack of sleep, so you have entirely no control over them.
Response: A blank look. Probably followed by a yawn.
Smile Challenge: Fail
Our mini social experiment has confirmed the hard truth: you are highly unlikely to get a smile in return if you smile at a complete stranger. Most people simply don’t go out of their way to smile, preferring to continue talking with their friends while walking in between lectures. The rare times that we got a smile in return while conducting this social experiment were boosts of confidence for us, as we were reminded that people in this school remember the nicety of smiling.
Ashlynna, our Council President, hopes that this article will be a timely reminder for everyone to continue smiling and spreading cheer especially at a time when work is piling up and CCA training is intensifying. On a day when you are feeling down and blue, it’s amazing what wonders a friendly smile can do to perk you up.
“When there are clouds in the sky, you’ll get by
If you smile through your fear and sorrow
Smile and maybe tomorrow
You’ll see the sun come shining through for you”
– Smile by Nat King Cole
By Phang Ying Cheng (13S03F), Deepa Selvaraj (13S03O) and Chang Cui Qin (13S03R)
31 December 2012 saw the successful culmination of Countdown @ Boon Lay 2013, a journey that will remain unforgettable for the organizers from Youth Club @ Boon Lay. On that day, Boon Lay residents welcomed the new year together with much fanfare.
This year, Countdown @ Boon Lay received immense media attention due to the emphasis on performances by local talents. The event was featured in the Straits Times, Lianhe Zao Bao, Capital 95.8FM and 早安您好. A publicity booth was also set up at Jurong Point, where club members and volunteers encouraged shoppers to write down their wishes on origami paper, which they later folded into paper cranes.
Preparations for the event began early in the day, with volunteers arriving at the community centre to help transport goodie bags, game equipments and décor over to Jurong Central Park. Meanwhile, at Jurong Central Park, stage performers had already begun their sound and technical runs to ensure flawless performances later in the night. Throughout the afternoon, the Countdown committee together with volunteers worked tirelessly to set up the necessary logistics for the event.
However, the weather that day did not seem to share the jubilation many had towards the event. In the midst of preparations, a heavy downpour ensued, stalling many of the ongoing plans. At that juncture, the only thought in the minds of everyone was for the rain to stop as soon as possible.
Thankfully, our wishes were answered when the skies began to clear later in the evening, and Countdown @ Boon Lay 2013 proceeded in full force. Fortunately, the light drizzle did not dampen the festive spirit of Boon Lay residents as many of them gathered at Jurong Central Park to enthusiastically participate in the carnival booths and watch the show put up for them. Over at the games stall area, volunteers helped to distribute free popcorn to residents and also manned game stall booths, such as Life-Sized Jenga, Floorball Frenzy and Basketball Bash. At around 10pm, professional fire performers entertained the crowd gathered at the field near the games stalls. They ended off with a breath-taking performance to the song Gangnam Style.
At the stage area, residents were treated to a visual spectacle of performances that featured many talented local performers. These included RI Chinese Dance, Chanel and Dancers, Raffles Jazz and SWAT – the winner of Boon Lay’s Got Talent 2012. The range of performances did not fail to entertain and many residents were impressed by the quality of local performances.
The highlight of Countdown @ Boon Lay 2013 was bandWave – a band competition that saw three youth bands (Au Revoir SG, Emerald Street & Obviously We!) pit their musical talents against each other. The three youth bands had undergone a fully sponsored training camp earlier that month at the Academy of Rock – Singapore’s pioneer rock and pop music school. To kick-start the competition, Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, Senior Minister of State (Ministry of Communications and Information) and MP for West Coast GRC (Boon Lay Division) Mr. Lawrence Wong, roused the crowd by performing the song Wake Me Up When September Ends on the electric guitar with youth band Fancy This Progression.
Audiences were wowed by the immense musicality displayed by each band and the judges had a difficult time deciding who was to be the eventual champion. After much deliberation, it was an ecstatic moment for Emerald Street when they emerged as the champions. It is truly heartening to see the emergence of platforms such as bandWave which allow youths to take their passion for music to greater heights.
Soon after, the countdown to 12:00 AM began. Everyone could not wait for the New Year to arrive and it was truly exhilarating as the moment inched closer. Finally, at the turn of midnight, the fireworks went off, and cheers filled Jurong Central Park as people wished each other a happy new year. Emerald Street then treated the crowd with one last performance, ending the night on a high note.
Countdown @ Boon Lay continues to be one of the biggest countdown parties in the heartland – and YOU can get to be a part of this incredible and memorable experience – just join the Youth Club @ Boon Lay, a popular Student Interest Group (SIG). The opportunity to organise an event of such a scale is truly amazing and the experience will definitely be an enriching one.
Find out more about our club at our website, and join us with this link.
