SST Open House 2014

SST Open House 2014

On the 30^th of March, SST’s staff and students banded together to help create the grand event known as the SST Open House 2014.

SST Open House 2014 is an important event in which parents of Primary School students and the young ladies and gentlemen themselves are invited to be displayed the many unique aspects of SST, and most importantly, advocate SST as a promising choice of Secondary School to the PSLE-examinable students.

Many events were conducted within the grand event, from Principle/Vice-Principle Talks to student demonstrations of certain subjects, by the many teachers, student volunteers and our Principle and Vice-Principle, Mr. Chua and Mrs. Chew.

Parents are given goodie bags once entering, with a stamping card given within it. Many booths, ranging from the subject booths, to Science Lab Sessions to CCA stalls provide activities in which the parents and their children can participate, and receive chops. Guided tours by the Student Council were provided, in order to give a brief overview of SST to the parents and their children.

                         

                               Activities at the Mathematics Subject Booth

Student Councillors conducting guided tours

Activities at the Singapore Youth Flying Club Booth

Parents of these students were encouraged to attend the Principle/Vice-Principle Talk, a session in which the Principle or Vice-Principle would talk about the important aspects of SST, and why their child/children should enroll in this school.

“Students engaged in not only the head, but also in the heart and hands do well,” Said the Vice Principle, as she explained the unique attributes of applied learning. Applied Subjects, Talent Development Program, so on and so forth were shown and explained too. 

“You don’t want to work for your lunch? Someone else will come and take it. And do not come crying when someone else comes to take your lunch.” Said the Vice-Principle, as she explained how SST teaches their students about the real working world, the necessary work habits needed, along with interpersonal and leadership skills.

Another event which parents were encouraged to attend was the Student Panel, where SST students from Sec 1 to the Pioneer Batch talk about their experience in SST. 

A Secondary One student talked about how unsure he felt when deciding if SST was the right school or not, and how he is enjoying his three months in the new year. He also added how smooth the transition from Primary Six to Secondary One was, due to the fun and unique Orientation.

A Secondary Two student talked about the compulsory Global Citizenship Program, how he travelled to Thailand on a Scientific Trip. He learnt more than just Science, however. He also learnt about the importance of looking out for each other, and teamwork. He also talked about the Innovation & Entrepreneurship Camp, in which Secondary One students, after their major exams, studied about I&E in Ngee Agn Polytechnic, our sponsor and partner. He learnt about the importance of working hard to get results.

A Pioneer, now in a Junior College, talked about how SST helped her greatly in time management and skills needed to help her along her years. Another Pioneer, pursuing Psychology in a Polytechnic, talked about how as former SST Students, they had more exposure to the real world. This has made her more independent, proactive and participative in competitions.

SST Students at the Student Panel

Science subjects such as Physics were set up in labs, along with entertaining experiments for the young ladies and gentlemen. They were welcome to perform exciting activities, from making crystal gardens in Chemistry to assembling circuits in Fundamentals of Electronics.

While the children have their fun, parents are invited to attend Educamp at SST Incorporated, a display of the ongoings within the ICT TDP. Students went up to share their experience under the Talent Development Program. 

A particularly eye-catching presentation was from Ding Wen, one of the youngest iPhone programmers in the world. He gave a presentation of what exactly we are doing wrong in life, and thus help us realise how we could improve, in a rather crude, yet true and frank manner.

Parents were also invited to In Conversation, a session in which the subjects ADMT, I&E and IRS were presented by their head teachers and student volunteers. Many projects evident of the application of these non-traditional subjects were shown, impressing parents.

Subject booths were set up to display the many other subjects offered. From compulsory academics to Talent Development Programs. Many parents were awed at the display of the student’s works, evidence of the Applied Learning Process.

This Open House is none but the work of SST Staff whom banded together to plan this event. But let us not forget the student volunteers, who not only held expertise in a certain subject or CCA, but also gave up the weekend following up to their holiday to help out in the actual event itself. To hold everything together. To actually make it all happen. To be the living example of an SST student.

Overall, the SST Open House 2014 was a marvelous event that helped portray SST’s finest and best to the potential ladies and gentlemen, and especially their parents.

Written by: Athiyah Tamanna Azeem (S307)

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Cyber Wellness Student Amabassador Programme (CWSAP) 2014

Launched in 2009, the Cyber Wellness Student Ambassador Programme (CWSAP) is an initiative under BackPack LIVE!, a collaboration between the Ministry of Education (MOE), Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) and Microsoft Singapore to inspire, explore and promote safe and responsible use of ICT among our students.

In line with the theme for this year’s Safer Internet Day which we commemorated on 11 February 2014, the theme for this year’s conference is “Let’s Create a Better Internet Together”. It focuses on how student ambassadors can take the lead in becoming a positive online presence by creating meaningful and responsible relationships online.

This year, the 2014 conference was organised by SST for primary schools and secondary schools and by Innova Junior College for junior colleges and IP schools. It was held over three days for students from different levels. 

On the 12 February, SST held the first conference for primary schools.  

On 26th March, SST held the third conference for secondary schools. 200 secondary schools joined the conference. The focus of this conference is “Creating a Positive Online Presence”. 

The Secondary CWSAP 2014 conference started off with a showcase of student efforts in various schools by The Cyber Wellness STudent Ambassador Recognition (STAR) Award nominees. This award is given to schools in recognition of their cyber wellness ambassadors for their active involvement in promoting cyber wellness to their peers. This year, SST nominated 2 student ambassadors who fulfilled the criteria. They are Ryan Tan Zheng Ning and John Cheong Zhan Hao. All nominees presented about their school's activities and efforts to promote cyber wellness among students. They were judged by a panel of 3 judges and audience votes.

   

 

Next, Mr Wong Siew Hoong, Deputy Director-General of Education (Curriculum), MOE, gave the opening address. After that, the keynote speech was made by Dr William Wan, general secretary of the Singapore Kindness Movement. A token of appreciation was then presented by SST to the speakers. Lastly, the top 3 schools from the showcase were awarded the CWSAP STAR Award. The winners of the award are SST, River Valley High School and Ang Mo Kio Secondary School. After the presentations, the students moved to the classrooms to participate in discussions facilitated by SST students based on the Cyber Wellness Framework.

                       Opening Address by Mr Wong Siew Hoong

Keynote Speech by Dr William Wan

There are 3 segments in the Cyber Wellness Framework, ‘Sense’, ‘Think’ and ‘Act’. For ‘Sense’, students played a bingo game, to sense the online habits of children in Singapore. For ‘Think’, students had a scenario based discussion to think of options and consequences of their online behaviour. They watched two videos, focusing on online footprints and digital dossiers. Next, students were introduced to the idea of advocacy. They were given a question, which they have to advocate their stand on. They then pen down their ideas and compile them in a video. For ‘Act’, students and teachers come together to plan a cyber wellness programme to benefit their school community. The entire CWSAP event ended off with an evaluation & feedback session to gather the participants' views on how to improve the programme.

Finding out about online habits of Singaporean children

Discussion on options and consequences

Planning a Cyber Wellness Programme for their school

Written by: Chew Yun Hui (S308) & William Ming (S308)

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Mid-year Post-Exam Activities 2014

On the 26th May, the post-exam activities for the Secondary 1 and 2 students commenced. It lasted for one week and was enriching for the students to reduce their stress and at the same time, learn something new. Firstly, for the secondary ones, they had a service learning camp and a chance to program a game via Game Salad. For the service learning, the Secondary 1 students went to nursing homes such as Orange Valley Clementi where they had a chance to interact with the elderly there. They talked to them and entertained them. They were able to listen to various stories and experiences from the elderly people. For the GameSalad activity, they were to program a simple application. No doubt it was difficult for some as they were not familiar with the application. Nonetheless, the guidance of the instructors helped them complete it! Now, on to the Secondary 2s. There were various activities lined up for the Sec 2s, to prepare us for the outdoor expedition at the end of the year. On the first day, we attended the Integrated Humanities briefing for the learning journey that was to be held on Wednesday. We then proceeded to a talk by Mr Lam regarding what OE (Outdoor Expedition) was all about and how it would benefit us. Shortly after that, we went to our respective venues. Pitching the tent and learning how to tie knots were the first two activities. We were divided into groups (our camp groups) and learnt how to pitch a tent. There was some standard of difficulty but most teams managed to pitch it up perfectly. There were also some who needed assistance but managed to do it in the end. Well done! Following that, we went into the ISH to learn the art of tying knots. These were important in securing the tent! On 27th May, the Sec 2s went to the I&E room to have a talk on RAMS. This stood for Risk Assessment Management System. We were divided into groups and discussed on the factors that affected a certain activity and how safe it was for the participants. This geared us for the outdoor cooking session that would happen later in the days. Outdoor cooking had risks as students could sustain minor cuts and injuries when opening the tin cans or when setting up the fire. Compounding that, another talk was coming up! The 'Hygiene talk'. This talk basically briefed us on how to keep clean during the camp and the specific items we were supposed to bring. To ensure our understanding, Mr Dennis Lam tasked the class to come up with a list based on the categories, 'Clothing', 'Equipment', 'Personal', 'It's nice to have' and 'Do not bring'. Other than that, teams were tasked to put shoes, books and umbrellas into the bags so that Mr Lam could check whether it was placed appropriately to avoid the straining of the back. Lastly, the Secondary 2s had to attend the Rio Tinto competition, which tested them on their general knowledge for Science. Now, onto the third day! The activity was the Integrated Humanities Trail. Before it started, students were to report to their classes to fold the Poppy Flower. The Poppy Flower was a tribute to the soldiers who died in the Kranji War Memorial. Other than that, the Poppy Flowers were also used for the IH Booth for SST's Open House! The classes then went to Kranji War Memorial and Labrador/Kent Ridge Park. At the Kranji War Memorial stood the graves of more than 24,000 soldiers who died in World War II. The ages ranged from 6 weeks old, all the way to around 88 years old. Next, we proceeded to Labrador Park, where we saw the cannons used by soldiers and the bases they used to hide in during the war. It was truly great and touching to hear about their stories. On 29th May, we participated in the Maps and Scales activity. In this activity, we were to walk around the school, measuring the steps walked and the bearings of the compasses. We were also required to take a selfie to prove that we went to the places. It was a rather fun and enjoyable time as we got to explore the school a little more than usual and had team-bonding with our friends. After that, First Aid came in. We learnt how to bandage an arm, elbow, leg and head within the span of 1 hour! We tried different types of bandages, including the roll and triangular bandages. Other than that, we also took the opportunity to learn more about the severity of the wounds and how we can prevent them. Some of them were gruesome but we were glad that it was taught because, if an incident were to happen, we were prepared. Lastly, on 30th May 2014, it marked the last day of school. Did you know what other day it was? The answer is Kindness Day! The students proceeded to their respective classrooms and the teacher preached about kindness to the class and how we can make a difference. A kindness card was issued out to every student and they were require to write a note to a elderly, thanking them and showing their appreciation. Right after that, the time had come! Outdoor cooking. First of all, we were given the apparatus and instant noodles. It was not the modern stove but it was the old-fashioned portable ones. As we cooked the noodles, we had to watch the fire. We had to be careful to avoid getting burnt or scalded. In the end, the food turned out great and tasty! To end off the school term, students then cleaned their classrooms and cleared their lockers. That marks the end of SST's post-exam activates! Written by: Johanna Lim (S209)

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Track & Field Meet 2014

The SST Track and Field Meet 2014 was held on 23 May 2014. This was more than just a day to show off your athletic skills but it was also a time for us to show our house spirit. Of course, it was also a day for students to boost the number of points for their houses by participating in the remaining races.
In the morning, all students and teachers made their own way to Clementi Stadium. Both students and teachers came flooding into the stadium, dressed in their house colours. Everyone assembled in classes to facilitate the attendance-taking. The various houses also hung up their house banners in front of the grandstand. After the National Anthem and Pledge, they dispersed into their respective houses as they made their way to their assigned area on the grandstand.

After everyone settled down with their houses, the house captains and vice-captains of the five houses carried their flag and torch towards the main cauldron. The respective house torches then combined to light the SST Track & Field Meet Torch held by the Principal, Mr Chua. After the lighting of the cauldron by Mr Chua, all athletes and spectators rose to take the athlete's oath. Finally, streamers were fired into the air as the event began with a bang. 

Before each race, the athletes did their warm ups and stretches at the starting line as they prepared themselves both physically and mentally. Race after race, students were tense for their favourite athletes. All the house members did their best to cheer for their athletes as loud as they could to encourage them. Some also bought temporary hair colour spray and sprayed their hair with their house colours, showing the support for their team.
During that day, the athletes showed just as much as enthusiasm as the cheering house behind them. They gave it their all as they ran the race, trying to not only gain points for their respective houses but also achieve their personal best.


After the first few races, there was an inter-house game in which all the spectators on the grandstand participated. The objective of the game was to keep a ball up in the air by hitting it. The house with the most number of hits wins. Everyone worked together with their respective houses as they continuously hit the ball, trying to prevent it from falling. Then, the 4 x 100 relays started.

When the relays ended, it was time for the inter-house cheerleading competition. The cheerleading teams were chock full of energy and it helped to liven up the whole stadium with their crazy moves and brilliant music. The performances showed the great amount of effort that the teams had put in for this event.

 

Next, the 4x400 relay races began as the cheers continued to become increasingly louder. Another round of cheerleading was held. This time, it involved the entire house as it was held on the grandstand itself. Everyone cheered for their teams at the top of their voice as the judges walked in front of the grandstand to view the cheers. Finally, the Parent & Child Novelty Telematch was held. Although the inter-house parents & staff race were planned to be held after the Telematch, it was postponed due to heavy raining.

After all the hard work on the common test which had ended 3 weeks before, SST students enjoyed themselves at this event. They really put the “hard” in play hard. Laughing, cheering and munching on the snacks from the stadium’s shop could be seen everywhere on the stands throughout the day. Both spectators and athletes obviously enjoyed their day. Even the heavy downpour that followed could not dampen the spirits of the school as people raced through the rain with umbrellas, bags and other forms of shelter. Many students could be seen sharing umbrellas as they quickly made their way to the nearby bus stop. All in all, that day was much more fun than the Track and Field Meet before. Written by: Sean Michael Koh (S207) & William Ming (S308)

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SST Student Congress 2014

On 21st May 2014, SST organised its second annual Student Congress Day. This day is commemorated as it will be a day where SST students will be allowed to express their opinions freely on the given topic.
The day started off with a talk given by the volunteers of a community service project. They told us about their story and how young teenagers were also involved, bringing happiness to others. Other than that, they spoke about the qualities of being a good service leader. Some qualities that were mentioned were passion, determination etc. Shortly after that, we were dismissed to our class for the first official activity. 

When we assembled in class, the Student Councillors and Peer Support Board Leaders were setting up their Macbooks and they started the Student Congress with this question; “What is advocacy?” There was much buzz in the class and this brought us to a lively and good start.

Thereafter, we were introduced to the ways we could classify our problems; Environmental, Socio-Emotional etc. We were then split into four groups for a discussion and brainstorming of problems that were happening in SST. We were told to further elaborate on the problem using the 5W1H thinking process. Discussing the problem also led to potential solutions. It was then further categorised into what kind of solution it was based on the KISS framework ; Keep / Improve / Start / Stop. Afterwards, we proceeded to the next part of Student Congress.  

        

As a class, we chose the best problem and started working on it. Lastly, there was a topic which was, “How can your class be more bonded?” Using a butcher-paper, we then brainstormed our ideas and thought of answers like class outing, watching a movie etc. It was a great day but that was not all. The final part of the event occurred at the Indoor Sports Hall (ISH), where we held our closing ceremony.

In the ISH, representatives from the four levels expressed their opinions about SST and how they found the Student Congress so far. Mr Lim then closed the whole session by showing us videos that was related to the topic. Mr Chua also gave his talk about why we commemorate Student Congress and how it affects the school.

That wraps up the whole of Student Congress 2014. It was an enriching and beneficial day as we gained knowledge, as well as had a platform to express our opinions regarding the school. Through this, we believe that the school would be further improved.

Written by: Johanna Lim (S209)

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Marine Conservation Presentation on 9 May 2014

On 9th May 2014, the School of Science and Technology, Singapore organised an assembly programme for the students regarding Marine Conservation. They had invited the representatives of Resorts World Sentosa SEA Aquarium to tell us more about conserving our environment, such as the species around us, for they may become extinct and disappear from our sights forever if we do not do so. The whole school gathered in the Multi-Purpose Hall to listen to the speaker, Mr Adam. As he started, he talked a little about Resorts World Sentosa and what actually made up the whole Sentosa, such as the Aquarium etc. The talk was mainly focused on the Aquarium, in order to raise awareness of the diversity of marine organisms in Singapore. He also talked about the rising number of deaths of marine organisms. Some aquatic species have even been brought close to the brink of extinction because of us and our actions. He talked about what the ocean is like now and what kinds of organisms actually have the sea as their natural habitat. To keep us engaged in the topic, he actually interacted with us, having a few Question and Answer sessions throughout his entire talk. The students, were very co-operative as they actively participated and answered the questions he asked. Other than that, the talk was not only about the ocean alone, but also about how we, as people in this world, can play a part to save these organisms. Second of all, he addressed how we usually act. Some of the common actions that he pointed out was humans littering on the ground and even into the sea! We may think that this is a minor issue but it is affecting our eco-system greatly. The organisms, such as jellyfishes or even birds, think that the litter we throw (e.g. plastic bottles or plastic bags) are food and thus, consume them. This then led to their deaths.

Additionally, Mr Adam and his team have also helped the environment. They embarked on a project where they had to pick up the litter at East Coast Park Beach. They were split up into various groups and then conducted the project. As they tabulated the results at the end of the day, it was stated that cigarette buds amounted the most.
In conclusion, they also told us a few tips to keep our environment save, such as car-pooling, throwing your litter into the rubbish bin, recycling etc. The students not only learnt more about the environment and how to keep it save, but also had an enjoyable and engaging time listening to it!

Written By: Johanna Lim (S2-09)

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Awfully Entrepreneurial - A Visit from the Founder of Awfully Chocolate

Awfully Entrepreneurial

A Visit from the Founder of Awfully Chocolate

On 24^th April of 2014, Mrs Ho Lyn Lee, founder of “Awfully Chocolate” came down to SST to give a talk based on the story of the success of her chocolatey franchise. The speech was given as to inculcate the entrepreneurial spirit within us, and to motivate students towards the fruit of passion and effort, at the final weekday before the Common Test.

Mrs Lee tells the story of how they started- a single chocolate cake sold in an outlet that hardly looked like a chocolate shop. In fact, it looked clinical, with a white counter, and a cleric seated behind it. When one walked into the shop, the cleric would take out the cake and start talking all about the cake. This unique way of presenting their products has become tradition, and is still carried out today.

Mrs Lee had a vision-to bring back the cake amidst the age of french pastries - everything but cake, in 1998. And through this one outlet, she expanded outwards, putting her time and effort into the development of her business while studying in university. But that was not her only limitation - she did not advertise, she did not display her products extravagantly. There was not even a menu. Mrs Lee wanted customers to discover Awfully Chocolate in their own little ways.

The passion and efforts of Mrs Lee and her dedicated team drove Awfully Chocolate to its international success. The story behind the franchise inspires the spirit of entrepreneurship within our hearts, to keep on striving, to put in all your effort and passion, in order to reap the sweetest of fruitful results. To overcome limitations, to think out of the box. To find opportunities in even the most unlikely of places, and grab onto them, and use them towards our advantage. To keep working towards perfection, but never loosing sight of our ideals. 

Several students, inspired by Mrs Lee’s story, stayed back after her speech to ask her about her tough journey through her entrepreneurial career. These eager students learned quite a bit from her expert advice. 

Awfully Chocolate is truly a story we can all learn from, and reflect upon.

Written by: Athiyah Tamanna Azeem (S307)

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MTL Fortnight 2014 - A visit to the Jurong Regional Library

On April 11, the Malay students visited the Jurong Regional Library for their learning journey. Firstly, the students were given 40 minutes to complete a quiz on malay culture. After that, the speaker went through the answers and also shared many stories of the different events and festivals that he went through.This intrigued the malay students deeply, as they listen and pose questions to the speaker. They learnt many unique ways of gaining inspiration and writing better works than before.

Next, the speaker shared how Malay history, stories and culture still affect people today, especially writers to write compelling and interesting pieces of work. The speaker also shared many useful websites, that provide valuable information for both students and teachers. One of the websites hosts newspapers dating back to the 1900s as a viable resource of history for the students. Another website was an archive of information that are considered to be trusted as proper factual content which would certainly help the students with their individual projects in school.

The journey concluded after a short tour around the Jurong Regional library. The facilities were both comfortable and useful. The students took away many important lessons and motivation to spur them on to improve their Malay Language. Finally, they ended their enriching journey with a group photo. 

Written by: Zahid Aziz (S306)

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Mother Tongue Language Fortnight 2014

On Monday, April 7, 2014, SST started its Mother Tongue Language (MTL) Fortnight for the year. Over the span of two weeks, all students would be participating in various events related to their mother tongue languages and learning more about them.

On April 9, the Malay students had participated in a ‘Cultural Fiesta’. Many stations, with different traditional games unique to the Malay culture, were set up for the students. Before all the fun and games, the students were seated down for a talk about their current knowledge of the Malay culture. After which, they embarked on their games. Most students were delighted to try out the various traditional games planned out for them! Many of them walked away with fantastic prizes too. Lastly, they were given the pleasure of eating delicious malay food!

On April 10, the Chinese students set off to Chinatown for their cultural camp at ‘Tea Chapter’, where they were introduced to the origins and legends of Chinese tea. They learnt about the many different types of tea, and also the traditional way to brew them. The students were very fascinated and participative during the whole process. Soon, they were given the opportunity to brew the tea for themselves! Most students were very eager to embark on their tea brewing journey. Like kings and queens, they enjoyed their self-brewed tea with a tea biscuit and herbal tea eggs.

As the Chinese students were enjoying their tea brewing session, the Secondary 1 Tamil students were having their own cultural camp back in school. They participated wholeheartedly in the game of Tiger and Goat, a traditional board game native to India. Other students learnt and made their very own flower garlands. And lastly, the students were taught to draw beautiful Kolams, which are used for house decorations during the festive season.

Tamil students making their very own flower garlands in school.

These were only some of the many wonderful and fun activities put up for the MTL Fortnight. The students not only learnt more about their cultural heritage, but also forged a strong sense of belonging to their mother tongue and joyful memories with their friends!

Written By: Klaudia Oey (S1-04)

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Celebrations@SST 2014

On the 12th of March 2014, SST held its 4th annual Celebrations@SST. On this day, everyone in the SST Community comes together to celebrate the growth and success of the students. The students are recognised for their achievements in many areas, such as their character, CCA and studies, and many awards are given out in recognition of their outstanding performance. There were two sessions - the morning session and the evening session. For the evening session, many students from the pioneer batch were invited back to SST to receive the Top 'O' Level Performer Award. Parents of both current students and alumni were also invited to witness their children receive the prize and celebrate the occasion together with the school.

Pioneer batch of students taking a group photograph after receiving their awards.

Before the evening session, parents, award winners and teachers were invited to the Indoor Sports Hall, where they had a buffet reception. They had their dinner while chatting with others. Meanwhile, the SST Guitar Ensemble played some music for all to enjoy.

SST Guitar Ensemble practising and getting ready for their evening performances.

Both sessions were kicked off with the award recipients marching into the hall, smiling and waving, as the audience welcomed them with a warm applause. The Principal, Mr Chua Chor Huat then gave his opening address to the the audience. After that, the award ceremony began with our Vice Principal, Mr Vincent Tan giving out the awards, followed by our Principal, Mr Chua. Various awards were given out, such as the SST Book Prizes, SST Character Award, MOE EAGLES Award, MOE Edusave Yearly Awards, and others.
Next, an NEmation video by our school Team Hashtag was featured, followed by a video made by the pioneer batch thanking the teachers of SST. The concert then started. It was a narrated story of a teenager who had difficulty understanding his physics homework. The story incorporated performances by the English Drama Club, Singapore Youth Flying Club, Robotics Club, Dance Crew and Taekwondo. It was an enjoyable performance and it received a resounding applause from the audience.

 

Various clubs of SST performing on stage for everyone to enjoy.

The end of concert concluded the 4th annual Celebrations@SST. Overall, the event was a success and everyone felt a sense of accomplishment after receiving their awards.

Written by: Maximilian Oh Yangzhi (S209) Edited by: William Ming (S308)

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