Get Ready To Shout "Singapore"!

On the 8th of August, Singapore held an opening ceremony rehearsal especially for the secondary students from the every corners of Singapore. The main aim was to let as many students attending the rehearsal, feel the spirit of YOG – which would be a once in a lifetime opportunity.

To start off, the students were brought to a waiting area to have their dinner. The dinner was nutritious, usually not consumed by most Singaporeans, but it was to let the students experience the athletes' diet. To add on, a small tub of Ice Cream was distributed as a treat.

After the healthy meal, the students were led by the YOG volunteers to the Marina Bay Floating Platform. Although they were stuck in the human jam, but that didn't bring their spirits down. It was a time to test their patience, surprisingly they withstand the long wait and not only that, they cheered as a cohurt. It was such an enjoyable and spiritual moment that most of the students would probably never ever forget.

It was long wait before they could finally reach their seats. Moving in an orderly manner, they sat and waited patiently for the other schools to settle down too. Everyone was ready for the spectacular performance they were about to see! The performance started of with a band march and young adolescents dressed in ethnic costumes dancing to the oldies and a combination of the lastest and popular songs such as Tik Tok by Kesha, a rising pop singer.

Many of the performances were to inspire the athletes to do their best and that every single one of them has their very own special ability to acheive. Inspiring stories like the "Champion story" which showed a boxer who thought that he wasn't good enough to compete in the Youth Olympics. He had a bad dream and he was fighting a very tough "monster" which was his shadow. He overcame it and regained his confidence. This is to display the kind of spirit that every athlete should have - don't give up on yourself before trying.

There were many other amazing performances by our very own Singaporeans, the spectators, which were the students never failed to cheer on the performancers. The atmosphere was overwhelming and the theme of the whole event was the spirit of the Youth Olympics 2010. There was also a performance put up by some youths and adults, dressed in costumes, and forming a shape of a water lily flowever. Besides that, a breath-taking performance done by a pole-dancer swinged and showed the beauty of the dance.



Last but not least, it ended with a sky full of fireworks and the showcase of the different countries participating in the Singapore Youth Olympic Games.

Reported by: Mavis Loh & Rachel Tan :)

Youth Olympic Games

Origins of the Youth Olympic Games

Recently, there are adults or Singapore youths rising their concerns about the Youth Olympic Games. Why amongst all the other choices, they chose 'Youth' instead? What are the reasons or origins of the Youth Olympic Games? What is the purpose of hosting it? Why was Singapore chosen as the first country to hold the first Youth Olympic Games? Let's just slowly reveal all the answers to break the silence and clear the doubts.

The tremendous support given by Singaporeans made it possible for Singapore to be chosen as the host for the first Youth Olympic Games. Various ways such as, "I support Singapore 2010"videos ,websites, banners, T-shirts and car decals collecting signatures and pledges in support of Singapore 2010, and carrying “I support Singapore 2010” on corporate collaterals. These were done with the effort of each and everyone of Singaporeans to strive for what they want. They hold on to strong belief all hopes are not lost when the results are announced yet.

Besides the hard work and effort submitted by the supporters, there is a political reason to why Singapore was chosen. It was because Singapore is a parliamentary democracy with a strong and stable government. It is single-tiered with no regional or local authorities. It creates a sense of security to whoever entering Singapore.

The purpose of the games is to develope the distinctions within the atheletes. Furthermore, the main values are friendship, excellence and respect. Beyond championship, the most significant aim of these events is the experience and positive lessons learnt.

I confidently trust that the Youth Olympic Games will be success in every aspect - be it morally or physically. Lastly, I will be looking forward to the games with my friends and family. We shall all cheer on Singapore!

Source from: http://www.singaporesights.com/sight/singapore-host-inaugural-youth-olympic-games-yog-2010

Inter-class games on 3rd August!

Exciting Inter-class games on 3rd August!

Yesterday, on the 3rd of August, boys and girls turned up for inter class games after school. The games consisted of basketball, soccer and captain's ball. All the students were encouraged to take part in either one of it. Thus, many took part in the game, with their class shirts on and they took part in events which they were most interested it and devote their heart and sweat fully into it!

As witnessed from the event, all of the games started with a confident head start and ended with a friendly hand shake. Firstly for the captain's ball, it was an "all girls" game. Those students, who played, fought their wits till the end and those who weren't cheered till their throats went hoarse! Eyes could not leave any competition between any two classes at any moment. It was definitely an exciting sight. Although there were some disappointing moments as some classes lost, they picked themselves up and decided to move on! Needless to say, those who won jumped with delight and punched their fists into the air to express their glee! For the graduating classes, I believe they were at cloud nine when they won as it is their last year, and their championship made it a meaningful and memorable one.

The next anticipating game was the basketball event. It involved girls and boys. Due to the mixed gender and as the boys are more skilled in basketball, the team had to work well together to ace! Dribbling of ball, running for the ball and cheering from respective classes could be heard and seen every second. On-lookers stared at the intense of the whole competition which eyes bulged out and hearts thumping as though they were playing. Spectators were in awe of the team spirit and determination the players had. Overall, it was an enjoyable and entertaining show!

Last but not least, it was the soccer game. It was a "boys" game. They had to come in the proper outfit to suit the whole sporting event and show their seriousness towards the game. Regardless of the mud and sun, the players still gave their best and tried to shoot into the goal post. All wells end well, all of the participants had a good time of their life and smiles could be seen at every corner of the field.

In summary, the interclass games held was a success and it showcased sportsmanship, friendship, determination and the colaboration of all the altheletes. I believe it was right for the school to host such event to enhance these values within the students. I hope there will be such upcoming events similar to this.

Amazing Race And Mask Painting On Racial Harmony Day

It all happened on the 22th of July. Yes, it was Racial Harmony day. Students took part in two different events, the Amazing Race and Mask Painting.During the Amazing Race, students had to complete five stations and compete with one another for the ultimate prize. Some of the activities at the stations included, translating an English poem to Malay and making a bunga mangga which is commonly used during Malay weddings. Besides that, the groups also had to dress up one of their teammates using various materials. They had to create a costume based on the combination of the traditional clothing of different races.

Nora from 2E1, shared her thoughts regarding the event that she participated in. She told us that she was very excited for this event and she felt that her team did a great job. She learnt about the cultures of other races, especially the Chinese culture. When questioned about which culture she found the most interesting, she replied with no hesitation that it was the Chinese. This is because most of her friends are from the Chinese race and she was extremely interested in finding out more about their culture. The station she liked the best was the dressing up challenge. Her friend got dressed up with two buns on his head and cheongsum top to signify the Chinese culture, a red dot on his forehead for the Indian and a sarong for the Malay. He was also made to hold a bunga mangga while he did the catwalk.

The next enjoyable yet meaningful event was the Mask Painting. For this activity, an outline of a mask was given on a piece of paper and students were asked to design the mask based on other cultural races to express their creativity.

Darryl James Arado from 2E4, contributed his feelings towards the event and said that he didn't think he would win anything at first, but at least got third place in the end.Subsequently, there were many ideas going through his mind at and he couldn't choose so he thought for a bit, and finally came to a conclusion. He described his mask as very colourful and designed it based on the Indian, Malay and Chinese cultures. To him, his mask represented colourful happiness as it didn't have any dark colours. He personally felt that the aim of this event was to find out and interact more with other cultures.

After hearing from our fellow schoolmates, it was evident that both events were a huge success and the students had much to learn from it through the games and activities organized by the teachers. I'm sure we are all looking forward to more of such fruitful and beneficial experiences during the next Racial Harmony day or upcoming events!

Mavis Loh & Cheng Wai Ling 3E5