Celebrations @ SST 2013

 On the 15^th of March 2013, SST held its third Celebrations @ SST. This day marks an important day to SST students as it is a time where they get awards for their academic achievements, holistic achievements and so on. On this day, SST comes together as a school community to celebrate the growth and success of the students. 

Before the official event started, parents of the award winners, the award winners and the teachers were invited to the Indoor Sports Hall (ISH) where they had a lovely buffet reception before making their own up to the Multi-Purpose Hall (MPH)

When the event officially began, Mr Chua, our principal, gave a speech to the parents about what SST is all about, what facilities they have and what programs SST offers to students. 

After that, the award ceremony started and students, ranging from Secondary 1 to Secondary 4 began to go on stage to receive their awards respectively. The awards were given by Mrs Chew and Mr Chua. The awards given out that day were the MOE Edusave Awards for Achievement, Good Leadership and Service (EAGLES), SST Character Award, MOE Good Progress Award, MOE Edusave Entrance Scholarship for Independent Schools (EESIS), MOE Edusave Yearly Awards, SST Entrance Scholarship (Secondary 1),   SST Top Student Award and the SST Book Prizes for the various levels and the SST Colours Award. The SST Colours Award is awarded to students who have shown outstanding performance representing SST in competitions and the EAGLES award is for students who excel in their Co-Curricular Activity and being active in community service. 

Once the awards were awarded to the recipients, there was a video shown, made by SST Media Club, to commemorate Friendship. Next up, there was a performance by 7 students, who used iPads and the software, “Garageband”. They received loud applause from the audience. They played the song “It’s my Life” by Bon Jovi. They used instruments such as the electric guitar, drums and the piano. 

After that, SST’s very own Dance Crew gave a performance where they danced like robots. That marked the end of the entire ceremony and parents filed out of the MPH and went to find their child.

Article by: Johanna Lim, S109
Pictures taken by: Sandy Khoo, Genevieve Foo, Isaac Lim, Douglas Ong and some teachers. (: 

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Chinese New Year Celebrations 2013

On the 8th of February, 2013, students from all four levels reported to school in their usual outfits, but with a totally different mood about them. It was to be the first time that the school celebrated the occasion with all pupils from Secondary 1 to Secondary 4. Everyone was excited about the performance later in the day and were chatting merrily about it in anticipation. The students had lessons in class as usual, until 11 am, where everyone reported to the hall for a concert.

The concert was kicked off by our very own Wushu team. A display of menacing looking weapons and sheer grit and determination by our performers, kept the audience jaws dropped in awe.

Following the wushu display, there was a Chinese Opera/Drama - two performers entertained the students with unbelievable jumps, flips and stunts, along with a massive and intense sword fight, signifying a combat between the two parties.

The concert was concluded by a song and dance item and performed by students from SST show choir - Lai Ziying and Carol Chen (s4-09). 

The song was titled "彩云之南”（pinyin: cai yun zi nan) ,  which describes Yun Nan Province's beautiful lanscapes and the minority tribes that lived there. 

This year's Chinese New Year concert was yet another magnificent performance planned by the staff and students of SST.  Organisers and performers alike had put in their best effort to perform for the school community. We ought to show our appreciation to them and let us all look forward to another great performance in 2014! Happy Chinese New Year! 恭喜发财！

Written By: Teo Ji Hao

Vetted By: Abu Ubaidah 

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The SST Heartbeat

The second of January 2013 marked a significant milestone in SST’s history. We were
finally a full school consisting of four different batches. To start off the year with a bang,
SST invited an external percussion company, InRhythm, to our spanking new campus. 800
students waited in the Indoor Sports Hall, feeling a mixture of excitement and uneasiness.
After a brief introduction by InRhythm, the teachers and students were handed percussive
instruments such as drums and Boomwhackers (Tuned percussion tubes). A huge
cacophony of sound resonated throughout the Indoor Sports Hall instantly. The sound was
discordant, yet somewhat energetic and consuming. The mood immediately lightened and
everyone started having immense fun.

Then, the InRhythm facilitators led us on an uplifting musical journey, dividing us into
smaller groups that each played a simple yet upbeat rhythm. The facilitators used hand
gestures to give each group a cue to start playing. With a common pulse, the rhythms of
the different sub-groups were connected and in-sync. The powerful rhythms started to
gather momentum. Full of vim and vigor, we were completely engaged and excited. We
were now a spirited team, an enthusiastic community, a united family, connected and
flourishing. Then, the teachers and students got the final signal to end. With a loud
‘BOOM!’ the room fell silent, followed by thunderous applause.

With the guidance of the talented InRhythm facilitators, we also played the famous song
‘Ode to joy’ with the percussive instruments. In retrospect, it was amazing how we had
learnt a legendary song in less than fifteen minutes. It was only made possible because of
our teamwork. The short percussion session left us feeling united, inspired, energised and
ready to take on the new schooling year with zest. It was indeed a remarkable and
dynamic way to start off 2013.

Meredith Teo Shuyi
S2-07

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Happy Teachers' Day on 31st August 2012

On this special day, all classes in SST, School of Science and Technology proceeded to their classrooms after the usual bustle of the morning assembly and set up their wonderful surprise for their beloved teachers. Besides appreciating the teachers, 31st August 2012 also express their acknowledgement for all supporting staff of the school for all their hard work for all these years. The theme to this year's Teachers' Day celebration is "Heroes". Our teachers have always been there for us, an unsung hero whom has helped us achieve what we have today. The supporting staff put in their best efforts in working hard behind the scenes for the school, overcoming the challenges like a superhero.



Prior to this event, the classes were to invite their teacher, plan a surprise class party for their teachers, create an appreciation card and a weapon for their teachers. All classes celebrated and appreciated their teachers each in their own unique way, expressing their heartfelt thanks to their teachers. Classes proceeded to cleaning up their classrooms after their joyous class party and headed towards the multipurpose hall for an exciting concert being put up in the hall.



Kicking off the start of the concert, Mark Tay from S201 sang "  " while the academic, management and supporting sauntered on the red carpet laid from the middle of the hall, leading to the stage. Everyone clapped and cheered as they spotted their teacher ambling across the red carpet, a truly memorable moment.

Mr Chua makes a speech to thank the teachers and acknowledge their immense efforts that they have put in through out their years of teaching in SST. He also appreciated the hard work of those student leaders, colleagues and admin staff in making the celebration possible.

Millie ( Chairman of the Peer Support Board), Calvin Heng and Hardy Shein went up on stage to present about how is their teacher their hero and what does it mean to them. Handmade paper flowers were presented to the teachers and staff through the PSL. 

Last but not least, a appreciation video for the supporting staff of SST is shown to the school. The funny imitations of SST's teachers brought back wonderful memories for everyone. In SST, we also demonstrate our gratitude towards them in making the school a great and comfortable environment.



Let the fun begin now! SST’s very own show choir group put up a dance and sing performance, donning on silvery vests on their black shirt and pants as they put in their very best performance, full of vibrancy and energy. Next up is a soothing song sang by Abu, accompanied by the skillful piano skills of Neo Wei Hong, a marvelous combination. SST’s first A Capella team performs on stage, comprising of Mark Tay, Fathiah, Abu, .... sang Secrets by One Republic. It was a stunning experience for all of us. SST’s newly formed dance group also put up a revitalizing performance. Another solo singing performance was also sang a song on the theme Heroes.

A quirky and entertaining quiz by two emcees, Harindrar and Jia En from S207 asked questions and the teachers answered. Everyone anticipated the teacher’s responses as each question was spoken ending with a round of applause. The great emcees entertained everyone immensely and everyone was engaged in the round of answering and questioning.

Last but not least, the show choir bought to their
 last performance of the day, Edge of Glory. They cladded in a new red glittery vests as dancing as enjoyable as before. As the song came to an end, the finale of the Teachers’ Day celebration came. The finale of this year’s event was the singing alongs session of Ain’t no Mountain High Enough. This song symbolises that no challenge is too large to overcome and no goal is too big to achieve. Everyone stood up and clapped along to the tune. As the song comes to an end, everyone settled down and soon the students were dismissed. This year’s Happy Teacher’s Day celebration is planned by the Peer Support Board. On this special day, we would like to appreciate and put across our sincere words of thanks to all academic and supporting staff.

Article Written by Mavis Cheng S201 

Photos by : Owen and Sandy S201 

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National Day Celebrations @ SST 2012

On this special day, the 8th of August 2012, SST commemorates the nation’s 47th birthday in the new premises of the School of Science and Technology at 1 Technology Drive. This year’s celebration was newly organised by the PforSST group, comprising of voluntary parents of students here in SST and the event takes on a new concept today. Instead of the usual performances and singing of the national day songs routine, the PforSST planned a series of new activities like a booth stall styled carnival where students and teachers were free to move about to explore each different themed stall.

Mr Chua kicked off the event in the morning with the reading of the Ministry of Education’s message for the National Day 2012. Next, Ms Tay presented a video that was submitted for Hi-Story, My Story Filmmaking Competition. The film was to show the evolution of Bras Basah Complex throughout the years. The film was produced by Matthew, Luke, Ben and ... from S202, who had sacrificed parts of their June Holidays in producing the inspiring film. Following, was the inviting of Mr Chua and Mrs Chew to pen down their wishes for Singapore on a huge banner that was specially hung up on a side of the Multi-purpose Hall.

P For SST with Mr Chua and Mrs Chew

Mr Chua and a Parent signing on a banner

Upon the emcee’s cue, everyone was dismissed and disperse off to the various booths set up in the Multi-purpose hall and the Indoor Sports Hall. Every student participating will collect a special card where the station master at each booth will stamp on the card upon completion of the activity.

To introduce, there were booths set up  to promote culture and appreciation of heritage for the Chinese, Malay and Tamil, traditional games competition region and the food centre. At the Chinese heritage booth, students can experience calligraphy on traditional paper fans or paper. The three races also displayed their traditional costumes for students to try on and snap photos for remembrance. Traditional games like Skipping, Gasing (Spinning Top), Five Stones, Chapteh and Zero Point also set up stalls to hold mini competitions to stand a chance to win prizes. The food centre sold traditional authentic food like Mee Goreng, Bee Hoon and small snacks.

Attractive prizes can be won when presenting one’s card at the prize collection area. With different number of stamps collected will determine the prizes that can be redeemed.

Lastly, the prizes were given out to the top three winners of each game in the Multi-Purpose Hall. The parents volunteer and PforSST members involved in the preparation of this event were gathered on stage for a photo shoot following by a sing-along session to the 2012 National Day Themed Song - Love at First Light and the familiar tune of Stand Up for Singapore and Count On Me Singapore.

The celebration closed off with loud bangs of confetti poppers after the final singing of the National Anthem and the recitation of the National Pledge. Together as a SST community, we had observed and rejoiced over Singapore’s remarkable spirit in overcoming challenges and strived for success today, 8th August 2012. SST would sincerely like to wish Singapore a Happy Birthday!

Article by Mavis Cheng S201
Pictures by William Ming, Meredith Teo, Jericho Manguan
Date : 8th August 2012

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I&E Bazaar 2012

20th July 2012

On this day, SST celebrates the annual Racial Harmony Day again.This year, the Racial Harmony Day celebration is divided into two parts: the Racial Harmony Day Concert and the I&E Bazaar. It started off with our emcees for the day, Sarah from S1-04 and Marcus from S1-05 by introducing this year Racial Harmony Day theme, “People, Places, Memories”.

First up, the guitar ensemble will be performing ‘Di Tanjong Katong’ , which is one of the more popular but now rarely heard songs form Singapore in the past and it is also about one of the famous place in Singapore.

Next up, a group of Malay students will be giving a Creative Poetry Recital named ‘Dunia’, which is written by Singapore-born poet named Jaka Budi. This poem is about changes that happen in the world. The world has seen people of different characters- people who love the power, people who struggle in life and people who gave up in the life. 

Following up, is a video about the Maria Hertogh Riots, one of the racial riots in Singapore.     

http://youtu.be/wPPRERt3m18

After that, the wushu club presents a performance which brought a thunderous applause from students and teachers. 

The final item of the concert ends off with a Malay Drama Performance by Sri Warisan Group, entitled ‘Unity in Diversity’ . Sri Warisan presented to us a series of creative dances that highlight the colourful diversity of the various ethnic traditions, customs in multi-racial Singapore and different parts of the world. Through this performance, they  introduced dance as an innovative medium to convey different social themes and concepts.

After the performance, there is a Q&A followed by students going up on stage to learn the several steps for Malay, Chinese and Indian dance and dance to the song, ‘chan mali chan’.

Following up is the I&E Bazaar, where all classes set up stalls to sell food, present games and many more in the canteen and the Atrium. Students can be seen walking around shouting and even carrying posters to advertise for their stalls.

One very unique and creative stall is the stall from S2-03. S2-03 presented song dedications. Requests for any songs and they would play it. Pupils crowded around the podium as G.R.E.G and friends, winner of SST got talent danced along. Jee Hoon did beat boxing and both of them recieved an appplause from everyone. 

Overall, this I&E Bazaar not only brings out the creativity in students, it also enables students to learn more about Innovation and Entrepreneurship, which is what this bazaar aims to achieve. 

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EduCamp @ SST

On 13th April 2012 , SST had an EduCamp held at Learning Oasis 2 for students to sit in and listen to the talks given by their fellow schoolmates. This year, the students present would vote for the topics they want the students who are presenting to talk about.

Some of the topics they offer were:
a) Protection of networks
b) Are we controlled by Big Brother?
c) Photography and the modern social media
d) Smart devices taking over
e) Augmented reality + face detection
f) Fundamentals of SQL
g) Mobile devices liberate education
h) Game development theory
i) Basic game development
j) The integration of Aesthetics in OSes.
k) Tech startups
l) Hardware/Software programming.

At around 2.30, the EduCamp was about to start and people were doing last minute discussions and just hanging around, chatting with their friends. Soon, everyone got seated and the event started. First up was the introduction to EduCamp. EduCamp is somewhat barcamp where everything is related to Technology. However, EduCamp is related to education and has NO alcoholic drinks compared to a BarCamp.

SST EduCamp is about sharing ideas on Technology. Next up, they played a short video on how a normal EduCamp would look like. They introduced the special guest, Mr Daniel Chee, to the students.

After the short introduction, each present student was given a sticker to vote for the topics they would like to have present. The topics with the 4 most number of votes would be presenting their topic later on in another classroom. Each topic would have a session all to themselves. Each session lasts about 20 minutes.

As students got up table by table to vote, there are more talking between them and the whiteboard is getting covered by

However, all topics would be presented. 3 presentations would be taking place at the same time, only at different venues.

For the first session, we have Argumented reality and face detection in classroom 307, which started with them showing how one of their applications work with showing how they turn something into a 3D object. In classroom 308, we have Smart devices taking over. They showed graphs and talked about how computers would affect the world, for example, the amount of time it takes for people to adapt to the changes if PCs die out. And since they ended earlier, they had a little dialogue session with the students who were listening on to their presentation. And in classroom 309, we have The integration of Aesthetics in OSes. They talked about the Mac without the use of slides and talks about the trackpad, such as introducing an idea they have to "replace" the trackpad.

For the second session, we have Hardware and Software Programming in classroom 307. They started off by introducing Programming, like the History of Programming and the types of programming. They then moved on to introducing and letting us know more about Hardware and Software programming. And in classroom 308, we have Are we controlled by Big Brother? They played a video to talk about the cyber threats such as threats to shut down the site. The video talked about how cyber threats come about etc. After that, they talked about the video and they elaborated and talked about the main points in the video. They also talked about the differences of the different "companies". And in the 309 classroom, we have Photography and the modern social media. Jurvis, the presenter for this topic, talked about how children these days are glued to social media. He shared his project, which involves taking pictures of Kids in playground. He talked about how Social Media helps Photographers and NPOs to spread messages, how effective it was. He gave the example of Kony 2012, which turned out to be a hoax. However, he talked about how effective it was and how it drew people's attention.

For the third session, we have Fundamentals of SQLs in 307 classroom. They talked about what is SQL, how does it work etc. Which really is an introduction to SQL and what it does. It gives more information about SQL for the students to learn more about. In 308 classroom, Protection of Networks was being presented. They started off with giving an introduction on how website security works and how it is being solved. They also gave examples and the different ways that Hackers use. They came up with a story to show about hacking. After that, a Q&A happened. They also talked about the features. And in 309 classroom, Mobile devices liberate education is being presented. They used statistics and they posed a FAQ and gave their opinion. They posed questions and gave their main opinions on the question to help the audience understand more about their topic. They used a timeline to show the different restraints the parents give. They stated that it was the users that determine whether technology corrupts them or not.

And for the last session, we have Basic Game Development. They first introduced about Games, whether online or not. They talked abou\t Games Opposition, by saying how it is important to the game. They mentioned Game Rewards, which would keep the player on the game. They then talked about how games require an engine to run. In classroom 308, Game Development theory is presented. They pose questions, and answer them. They introduce what defines a video game, and what makes games interesting. They are talking about how one should make a video game. Like choosing an audience to aim the video game is at, where the game should be published etc. And lastly, we have Tech Startups in 309 classroom. After talking about Tech Startups and going through the Powerpoint Slide, they played a video on why Facebook snatched Instagram.

After all the groups have presented their topics, they went back to the Learning Oasis and had a dialogue session with Mr Daniel Chee. He talked about the different engines used to run Games. Of course, we have students asking him for his opinion.  Mr Chee gave examples of games and the things he does. He also talked about how he got into the game industry. He talked about the amount of money involved in making a video game. After that, the students were dismissed.

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Celebrations@SST- Evening event

On the 8th of March, SST held its very third Celebrations@SST for the first time in the new campus. This year, we had a morning event for all students and teachers and a evening event for the award ceremony and the parents of the prize winners. The evening event started around 6pm. Parents started coming in and headed towards the Indoor Sports Hall (ISH)for the reception where they interact with other parents and the teachers.

The Peer Support Leaders(PSLs)were stationed along the way to usher the parents towards the ISH and in the ISH, there were more PSLs stationed at the food stations, helping to serve the parents, the teachers and the prize winners. Tables were set up in the middle of the hall for parents, teachers and prize winners.

Some parents and teachers were also standing around. Not long after, Mr Chua led the Guest of Honour to the ISH for the reception. After the reception, parents were ushered by the PSLs into the Multi Purpose Hall(MPH) for the award ceremony and the performances. By 7.30pm, most of the parents were seated in the hall, waiting for the GOH to arrive at the MPH.

The emcees announced the arrival of the GOH and everyone stood up to welcome him. Next, the emcees introduced Mr Chua Up on stage to give a speech on the school's progress. Following that, our GOH went on stage and gave a short speech. Then, we had a short prize ceremony for the excommittee of PforSST to thank them for all the things that they have done for us. After that, we had the prize ceremony for the student prize winners.

Mr Chua and the GOH

One by one, the students went up on stage to get receive their prize for the acheivements they had done last year. The last award, the mot Outstanding Student award goes to Kimberly Ong from S309. Mr Tan Hoe Teck gave a short speech about Kimberly and reasons why she got the Ost Outstanding award. Then, we had Kimberly herself to give a short speech. Then, we had the Chronicles of a SST Student, done by Celine Chee of S302.

The chronicles talked about Celine's life on SST up til now. In between, we had performances by Jee Hoon to show off his finger techniques, SST Drama Club for their own re-enactment of Steve Job's life, SST Show Choir and lastly, SST Dance Troop. All these performances recieved lots of applause from the parents, the teachers and all students present.

 After the performances, the emcees have a closing speech before the GOH left and the remaining parents and students slowly left the hall.

Pictures by Bing Jue and others
Article by Genevieve Foo

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Getting to know your new teachers - Miss Karen Ng

1. Why did you choose to teach at SST?

As a Science teacher, it is exciting to be teaching in a school with the focus on Science and Technology. The liberty to plan and innovate lessons is one of the main reasons why I chose to be teaching in SST.

2. What are some of your past experiences as a teacher?

I have been teaching Upper Secondary Chemistry for 3 years. In the 3 years, I was fortunate to have the experience in teaching both 'N' and 'O' levels syllabus.

3. What do you think of SST so far? In terms of teaching methods, people, facilities?

The facilities available to the teachers and students in SST create an environment that promotes innovative teaching and learning. This allows teachers to explore various ways to teach. It is also heartening that teachers are sharing good practices to enhance students' learning. In SST, students are inquisitive and are willing to explore the different ways of learning.

4. How would you define "learning in a whole new way"?

Instead of the traditional "memorising" and "drill and practise", SST students are taught to understand and apply the concepts. Students learn how to solve problems and provide solutions.

5. What are some of your dislikes?

My pet peeve would be people who have bad attitude and like to waste time.

6. Can you tell us the most memorable thing that has happened in your teaching career?

When an ex-student wrote me a card telling me, how she changed from hating Chemistry to loving and appreciating Chemistry.

7. What are your expectations of the students? In terms of grades, learning attitude, etc?

Students with positive learning attitude will excel.

8. If you were able to go back in time, would you still have chosen to come to this school to teach?

Yes, definitely I would.

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Getting to know your new teachers - Miss Evelyn Teo

Q) Why did you choose to come to SST?
A) Prior to joining SST, I was lecturing at National Institute of Education (NIE). At NIE, I was teaching trainee teachers, mainly on the use of inquiry in their lessons. My teaching experiences at NIE and as well as in Integrated Programme (IP) schools will certainly aid me in my teaching at SST.

Q) Is there anything you especially like about this school?
A) The small class size and the integration of ICT during curriculum time.

Q) Are you comfortable with SST’s different way of learning and teaching with an LD?
A) I am certainly comfortable and thrill with the use of LD at SST. I feel that LD is not only an useful device for learning by the students, it also allows students to gain new knowledge through the availability of information on the internet as well as collaboration with their peers with the use of various software and Google sites or groups.

Q) Is there anything you think the school can improve on?
A) The school can have more collaboration between the stakeholders like the community and the parents.
   
Q) Do you think the new campus this year provides a conducive learning environment?
A) The new campus certainly provides a conducive learning environment with the availability of air-conditioned classrooms and the well-equipped laboratories specially catered for the different sciences.

Q) How do you usually teach?
A) I usually teach with the use of LD and student-centered activities. I feel that pedagogy used in teaching must value-add students in their learning.  

Q) Do you think anything can be done so that learning can be done more efficiently?
A) Instructions for any activities must be clear and disseminated at the beginning. Students must also do their part in order for learning to be efficient.

Q) Where do you think is a good learning environment in SST, other than the classrooms?
A) Lecture theatres, various science laboratories, the ecogarden and ecopond.

Q) What applied subjects in SST are you interested in and why?
A) Biotechnology and Environmental Science. These two subjects are only unique to SST and it is a collaboration between Ngee Ann Polytechnic and SST. With the knowledge and skills gained for the two subjects, it will give SST students an edge over others in their pursue of higher education and careers in the future.

Q) Do you think the school is on the correct path to achieve its mission, which is ‘To Develop World-ready and Future-looking Leaders through Innovative Technology and Applied Learning.’ ?
A) With the well-planned curriculum and the implementation of new initiatives, it is on the correct path to achieve its mission.

Q) How long have you been teaching and where were you teaching before coming to SST?
A) I have been teaching for more than 12 years. I was teaching at mainstream schools for the first six years and thereafter an IP school. I was lecturing at NIE before coming to SST.

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