Chinese New Year 2012

On the 20th of January, SST celebrated it's first Lunar New Year in the new campus! Students were invited to wear red for the day to mark the yearly occasion. The day started of normal, with the main difference being the sea of red in the hall instead of the usual blue. Classes resumed as usual, until the real celebration began during assembly. 


At about 11 am, students were streaming into the hall, excitedly awaiting the start of the concert. Soon, the concert began. The curtains opened, and the audience were treated to spectacular renditions of Chinese New Year songs by the guitar ensemble. Led by their conductor, they certainly brought the concert to a great start. 

Carol Chen performing

Following which, Carol Chen from S3-09, performed a traditional Chinese song famous in China called 大地飞歌. The song started off with a technical glitch, but nonetheless, after it was resolved, Carol still brought a inspiring song. When asked why she selected that song, she responded, "因为我觉得这种歌是在中国很出名，也很流行。然后每一个名族的歌手都很希望以这首歌来出名，因为这首歌很高难度。之前我也学过大概几年的（类似），然后我觉得我可以handle了啦，这首歌，所以我就选者了这首歌。" In other words, she decided to sing this song as it is very famous and popular in China. As the song is rather difficult to sing, many singers use this song to make their mark. As she has learnt many related songs in the past few years, she feels that she can handle it well. When asked about her Lunar New Year wishes for the teachers and students, she responded, "老师可以工作顺利，同学可以学业进步吧." In other words, she wishes that the teachers would not have many problems in their job, and that the students continue to improve in their studies. 


Following that performance, the finalist team of the N.E-mation competition gave a presentation regarding their entry, hoping that out fellow SST students will vote for their entry. To vote, simply visit http://nemation.sg for more details.Their presentation brought lots of laughs to the audience. 

Kok Yin and Celine presenting for their N.E-mation entry

After that, the wushu CCA honed their skills with a spectacular and intense display of martial arts. They certainly kept the audience at the edge of their seats with their use of swords and weapons. When asked how he felt about this year's celebration, Preston from S3-08 and also from the Wushu CCA responded that, "I feel that it was a major success, all of the events that were planned for the celebration went very well, and the audience were great - they were very supportive. " He also reminds SST students to study harder and at the same time, make sure that they have better health. 

Wushu Performance

Following the wushu display, the students were into another treat of vocal talent. The SST Show Choir performed a re-written version of Gong Xi Fa Cai. The innovative twist to the song was definitely a refreshing change to the traditional song. 

Show Choir Performance

Following the Show Choir performance was one of the highlights of the show. The lion dance had begun. The loud noises accompanying the 2 lions and a man in a costume certainly wowed everyone, especially when they were on the floor interacting with the audience. It certainly brought the festive feeling up to another level! 

Lion Dance

Lions "playing" with students

Soon, the lion dance ended and that marked the end of the celebration. Ms. Alice Lim, the organizer of this event, feels that this performance is "refreshing apart from last year because we have a rather short time to prepare but everything actually come together very nicely. All the performance, the performers all put in their best effort and put on a brilliant show." When asked about her New Year wishes for SST Students and teachers, she responded, "I wish SST students and staff a happy Chinese new year, may all the wishes come true."


Overall, this celebration had been a spectacular one and with the lack of time the school had, considering how early the lunar new year is this year and our move to the new campus, it certainly made this celebration a much more impressive one. All of us, students and teachers had fun this celebration, and it was a great one to mark the first ever lunar new year celebration in our new campus. Congratulations to all involved in the celebration for the hard work put in! You certainly had outdone yourselves!

Students enjoying themselves watching performances

Written by Lee YuChong
Photos by Reuven Lim and Issac Lim
Vetted by Cherin Tan