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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English Language Day 2014

On 28th February 2014, the School of Science and Technology, Singapore held English Language Day by organising a variety of events related to English Language. 

During the two different recesses and after school, there was a display of some of the new books that were recently acquired by the Info Hub in the canteen. The books were categorised into different genres neatly so that the students could conveniently borrow books that they liked on the spot. This activity was organised to encourage students to read more English books. 

Soon after, during the assembly period, the whole school gathered in the Multi-Purpose Hall to watch a play, “Mind Our Language”, that was performed by Drama Arts. The play was about a boy who liked to talk in broken English or “Singlish”, and the foreigners from other countries, who spoke in perfect english could not understand many of the things that he said.  This caused a very big language barrier between the two. The story continues, explaining how the teacher of the boy convinced him to change his bad habit of speaking broken English,the challenges he encountered along the way, and how he finally managed to communicate with the foreigners fluently when he got rid of his bad habit. In the end, there was a happily-ever-after ending when the three classmates became friends. 

The play ended with a thunderous applause from the crowd, the teacher’s announcement ended the day on a high note with a launch of the the Inter-House Challenges which included the Inter-House Speech Challenge for the Upper Secondary students and the Inter-House Story-telling Challenge for the lower secondary students. 

Done by: Jona Chin, S1-03

Vetted by: Genevieve Foo, S4-02

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Badge Ceremony 2014

Held on the end of Week 1 each year, the SST Badge Ceremony is an annual ceremony marking the induction of the new Secondary 1 students into SST’s family. It is an exciting event for both the new students and their parents. The 2014 Badge Ceremony was conducted on 10 January 2014. Before the ceremony, parents and students were invited to the 4th floor of Block C to have a buffet dinner.

Soon, the staff, parents and VIPs were ushered into the Multi-Purpose Hall as the students waited backstage. The ceremony began with a rousing welcome to the Secondary 1 students as they marched into the hall, class by class, with their form teachers. Parents eagerly took photographs as the students marched towards their seats. After the march-in, the Vice-Principal, Mrs Chew, made a speech, acknowledging the students leaders for their hard work in organising the orientation programme, as well as welcoming the new students and parents to the SST community. 

Next, the Principal, Mr Chua, was invited on stage to present the badges to the students. Each student received their badge from Mr Chua as some parents rushed to take photos of their children. After all the students had received their badges and were seated, they rose from their seats and pin on their badges. Parents were told to rise as well, as the school song was going to be played. All the students sang the school song loudly, with pride and dignity. After that, the audience gave a round of appluase to welcome them to the SST family.

Subsequently, the Orientation Camp commandant, Harindrar, from the Peer Support board made a speech about the Orientation. Following that, the representative of the Sec 1 batch, Rohan from S1-06, was invited on stage to talk about his personal experience of the Orientation. A compilation video of the Orientation Programme was then played, showcasing the thrilling experience that the newly initiated Sec 1 students had gone through.

Finally, to end the ceremony on a high note, the student leaders were invited up on stage to perform the school cheer. The Sec 1 students stood up as well and joined in on the cheer.

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Sec 1 Orientation 2014

On the 2nd January 2014, it was the first day of school for the new batch of students. Tension hung in the air as the Secondary 1s entered the school with mixed feelings of nervousness and excitement. The school year kicked start with a welcome address from the Mr Chua, and then they were dismissed to their classrooms where they got to meet their form teachers and PSLs that will lead them through the 3 days orientation camp. This year’s orientation theme was “With  your hands, heads and hearts”.

As usual, Orientation Camp started off with icebreakers like ‘whacko’ and ‘blow wind blow’, which is interactive and requires everyone’s participation, which will help them to know their classmates better.

They were then given a short break to refuel before the next round of exciting activities.They played games like, ’Pass the ball’, ‘Flip the mat’, which challenged them to complete the task in the shortest time. The students managed to complete all challenges with teamwork and participation from everyone. They were then sent back to their classrooms to settle admin matters and have a proper meeting with their form and co-form teachers.  They were also given their very own orientation t-shirts to where for the next to days of the camp. Once those were settled, they were sent to the ISH for a mass cheer where they got to know the school cheer. They were also briefed about the activities and the items to bring for the next day of the camp before their dismissal for the day.

The next day was equally eventful. After arriving in school the first 4 classes were taken to boon kent for high elements. The sec 1’s had to trust each other as they faced their fears and conquered the obstacles there. This helped strengthen ties between them and their classmates as they helped each other through the course.

While the first 4 classes were having a whale of time in high elements, the other 4 classes were having equally as much fun. They had team building games which focused on trust and teamwork. For example they had a game where they had to prevent an egg from breaking when dropped from the 4th floor using the given materials. In the afternoon,the groups of classes were then switched and those who went for high elements in the morning had the team building game vice-versa. Once everyone was back they had badge night preparation and were then dismissed.

The next day they settled administrative stuff in the morning before having an amazing race in which they were challenged against their schoolmates from different classes to complete a series of games. They got to play many games which enabled their class to get more bonded. They then bid farewell to their PSLs thanking them for the enjoyable and memorable experience they had over the past 3 days.

Written by: Sneha Vinod S205

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Farewell Ceremony 2013

On 11th of October 2013, the SST community said farewell to its very first batch of Secondary 4 students. The Farewell Assembly was held as it was the last school day for the Sec 4s, and also to wish them all the best for their upcoming O-Levels, then only a mere 1 week away.

The event started with a bang, with the beaming Sec 4s walking down the red carpet in the multi-purpose hall, while the other students gave them a warm round of applause. This was then followed by the National Anthem and the National Pledge. After everyone has settled into their seats, a photo montage began to play, highlighting key events of the Sec 4s' journey in SST. There were numerous photos, from Sec 4 students attending prestigious international events to their daily lives in school. At the end, the montage also showcased some of the teachers who have stuck with the Sec 4s through the thick and thin in their 4 years here. The Sec 4s laughed at some pictures, and gave a murmur of approval at others.

Afterwards, the Principal of SST, Mr Chua, started the main part of the ceremony by delivering a short address, emphasizing on how the Sec 4s, the school's pioneer batch, overcame the many obstacles in their way and being the trailblazers of the school. Finally, he also mentioned that he hopes the Sec 4s will make the school proud in their O-Levels.

Then, each Sec 4 class was individually brought up on stage. Their form and co-form teachers first gave a short but touching speech about their classes. Some teachers talked about the class spirit, others talked about their cheerful attitudes, but there was one thing all the teachers said in common - that they would remember their classes for the rest of their lives. After the teachers' speeches, each student was presented with a Graduation Memento by Mr Chua. Some students decided to take it a step further with their silly antics during their photograph with the Principal, which the rest of the student population roared with laughter in response. This segment would definitely be etched in the Sec 4s' minds in many years to come.

 

 Next, the Valedictorian of the cohort, Cheng Zhi Chao of class S405, came up to give his speech. He thanked his family, friends, teachers and fellow schoolmates for supporting him throughout his journey in SST. He also highlighted key moments while here at SST. His inspiring and thought

provoking speech definitely motivated students and teachers alike.

 

 

Next, there was a series of performances by our very own students. There were performances by our school's very own Show Choir, as well as other students such as the Wei Chern and Aisyah, both Sec 4s. Abu, another Sec 4, also led the school in the singing of another song.

Finally, the Ceremony was concluded with the entire school singing our School Song, as well as our School Cheers, which was led by the Student Council and the Peer Support Board.

This touching but euphoric event was sure one to remember for the Sec 4s as well as the rest of the SST community.

Written By: Jiajun

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I&E Bazaar 2013

On 17 of October 2013, SST held its annual I&E Bazaar. The I&E Bazaar is an event whereby the lower secondary level sets up various booths selling items ranging from food and snacks to goods and xbox games to put what they have learnt from the I&E lessons to use. Students learnt how to manage a booth, the finances and decide on their products. Each lower secondary class had a maximum of 2 booths. Booths selling food and drinks were set up in the canteen while gaming booths were placed in the atrium. To advertise their stalls, students hung up colourful and attractive posters and banners all over the school, featuring their very own stalls. On that day, the canteen was bustling with a joyous, free and relaxed atmosphere.

Class S104 had a game stall. The game is such that a player would have to spin a wheel with 5 categories on it. The prizes included candies, stationery sets, origami penguins and a special gift for the graduating batch. A number of people brought their own polaroids and charged around $2 for each picture taken. Students could be seen taking pictures of each other for commemoration. Classes providing polaroid picture taking services made quite a good profit as a result.

Class S202 set up a stall featuring the season's hottest game which attracted a long row of eager participants. Participants would team up in a group of four to play the xbox game. This year, a vast number of our pioneer batch came back to school to participate in this special event, bringing with them their Digital Single Lens Deflect cameras. They were seen taking pictures with their juniors to commemorate their stay in SST. Unlike previous I&E Bazaars, this event had a special touch to it as it would be the last year that the pioneer batch would be with the school. It was more or less the last farewell event. 

The Bazaar ended off at eleven-thirty in the morning. The students finished packing up by twelve in the afternoon. All in all, it was a fantastic experience to every student who participated. Being the last Bazaar with the pioneer batch , this is indeed an unforgettable event.

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SST Open House 2013

On 1^st June 2013, SST held its 5^th Open House. There were various booths, stations and activities set up for both the parents and the students to enjoy and participate actively in. 

This year, parents and students had to go around the different booths and stations to collect stamps to redeem certain prizes such as USB Hubs, thumb-drives and water bottles while stock last. There are three different tiers of activities that they can redeem their stamps from. The three different tiers are SEE, SEEK and TRANSFORM where the first letters of each word forms ‘SST’. The different activities in the Open House are catergorised under these three tiers for the visitors to redeem the stamps. There was also a Popcorn and Cotton Candy booth for parents and students to enjoy. 

In the Atrium were where most of the CCA booths were located at. Some CCAs such as Drama had their booth in the canteen. CCA booths were one of the ways to earn a stamp for prize redemption. Different CCA booths had different activities that they would want the student to do to earn a stamp under the “SEE” category. Also under the “SEE” category, there were the PforSST booth, student projects where students can have a better insight on what SST students have researched on as well as subjects booths. For the ‘SEEK’ tier, visitors can participate in activities like the Handson Session in the Science Laboratories, Principal and Vice-Principal’s talk, Student Panel and the completion of the Feedback form. Last but not least, the ‘TRANSFORM’ tier stamp can be redeemed at the DSA booth when the students register for an account for DSA. The redemption booth and the general enquiry booth were also at the Atrium.

Outside the ICT area, a booth was set up for students to redeem a goodie bag, which contains the redemption form and for them to register. Student Tour Guides were also carrying iPads to enable mobile registration to make things move a lot smoother. The Student Tour Guides will bring the visitors on to a tour around the school, for them to better how the facilities of SST 

Every subject had their very own booth to explain to the future students of SST what they learn in school, what they do in the curriculum and some of the Student’s work.

Also, there Handson Sessions in the Science laboratories that allows students and parents to be engaged and experience the unique teaching and learning style that SST adopts. The three different fields of science are Physics, Biology and Chemistry. Each of these science disciplines have designed a few activities to get the students interested and understand how SST instill learning in SST students.Applied subjects such as Biotechnology and Fundamentals of Electronics also set up booths in the Science laboratories for the students to have a insight on what will a applied subject in SST offer with activities like the DNA double helix model making. 

In the Info Hub, there was a total of 3 Student Panel sessions and on the 5^th level of the Info Hub was the DSA Booth, where students would register themselves to take the DSA test. The Student Panel serves as a platform where visitors can sit in the session and personally hear the students summarise their experience here in SST and also ask questions. The visitors can hear and better understand the school from the students’ own perspective of the SST apart from the coperate image. 

The visitors can head towards the auditorium for the PVP talk (Principal and Vice-Principal’s talk) where the visitors can interact with the P and VP and learn more about SST. The visitors can visit the DSA booth where they can enquire more about the application process to SST. At the DSA booth, there are several student helpers to answer the parents and students’ questions and explain to them the whole DSA process. The P6 students can register for a SST DSA account at the booth, under the guidance of the student helpers. Visitors visiting the DSA booths are entitled to a ‘TRANSFORM’ stamp on the redemption form. 

Written by: Mavis and Genevieve 

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