Reported by:
Chloe Soh Ke Er Sr1ScH
Stepping into a new phase of life can be challenging. The students who were born in 2008 that have completed Junior Middle Three are stepping into the senior middle level this year, which led the school and counseling department to hold a special ceremony to celebrate and welcome the growth and development, academic as well as personal, of students. The ceremony was held on the 20th of January 2024 in the school hall. Students orderly lined up and went into the hall at 7.40 a.m.
The theme for this year’s ceremony is “Ushering Light and Building Dreams”. Being the emcee, Ms. Chu Hui Qi from the counseling department welcomed Principal Madam Chua Lee Lee to give a speech before the ceremony proper started. Madam Chua congratulated students for coming this far in their school life. She stated that some people might not want to grow up this fast, but this is reality and we have to accept it. Growing up means added responsibilities and things to learn in life. She emphasized that we must hear ourselves, develop and explore ourselves, as everyone is special in their own way, do not compare yourself with others.
She added that growing up means having to upgrade yourself on growth, responsibilities, learning, time management, and habits. We have to have a growth mindset, be positive, and step out of our comfort zone. We also have to choose in participation and be responsible in choosing, as we have to face many life-changing choices every now and then. She also stated that we have to stay consistent in learning everything as we will forget everything once we stop learning. Madam Chua reiterated the importance of having a SMART goal, whereby it is specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and also time-based. We need to manage our time and balance study and life. Lastly, about habits, she mentioned that it might be hard at first to develop a good habit, but once it becomes a habit, it’ll be easier to do it consistently.
Next up, awards for the design of the gift for 2024 senior middle one students were given out. All of the participants of this competition were senior middle one students from 2023, who hoped to offer all their best wishes to their juniors. The gifts for 2024 senior middle one students were given out to each form teacher for their respective classes.
Group photo of all the form teachers of senior middle one classes
A meaningful game session led by Mr. Chua Zhan Heing followed, immediately after the prize-giving session. On the first page of the Student Handbook, there was a column for students to write down their resolutions for this year. Students were required to write down one thing they wanted to challenge themselves this year. Then, they were requested to rate the difficulty of their challenge on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the easiest and 10 being the hardest. In the meanwhile, form teachers gave out LED light strips to their respective classes for the game later on.
The game was about to squat for the respective ratings that students wrote. If they wrote 10, they had to maintain the squat position for 100 seconds. Students were required to light up their lights after completing their challenge. Most of the students completed the whole challenge. A short Q&A session was held after the game. One of the questions was “What does this challenge symbolize?”. Students answered: “Step out of your comfort zone, face the challenges bravely.”
Students getting ready to start the challenge
After some physical challenges, the next activity was to calm down and do some handwork. Students were given sticky notes to write down a sentence to wrap up the game session just now, which also serves as a reminder to motivate themselves to move forward to their dreams. Stickers and bottles were then passed down and students DIY their gift of growth. Students got creative in making their bottles special for themselves.
The end product
The last session was a closing ceremony. Students pinned a school badge on their collar to symbolize a fresh new start of their school life. Finally, 20 minutes were given for students and teachers to take group photos to record this memorable moment and a significant day.
Students wearing the badges
Group photo of Sr1ScH