by Wilson Chan and Lorraine Fong (15A01c)
Photos by the Raffles Photographic Society

On the 16th of May, Raffles Institution Chinese Orchestra (Year 5-6) (RICO) marked their return to the public limelight after two years with their highly anticipated concert, 《叙》 or Recollections. Held at the Singapore Conference Hall, Recollections explored the emotions one feels when reminiscing the nostalgic past, by balancing longing and heartfelt yearning with the joy of childhood memories. Juggling the complexities of blending Chinese melodies and Western harmonies, this specially-themed evening, coupled with the unconventional and unexpected use of instruments, enthralled audiences with both familiar tunes and ancient soundscapes. Just as how diverse and wide-ranging our recollections are, the varied repertoire that RICO presented shattered any misconceptions that the orchestra was limited in form or genre.

RICO opened with one of the main highlights of the evening – an enchanting medley incorporating some of the most inspiring and popular tunes from The Phantom of the Opera. Arranged by Mr. Tan Bing Liang, a ‘RICO alumnus-turned-dentist’, the medley started with a simple, yet reverberating keyboard solo of Masquerade. This simple melody seamlessly transitioned into an immersive orchestral playing of Think of Me. RICO continues to take us through this riveting journey with another effortless passage, where cellist Rui Chen (one out of six secondary 4 orchestral members) took on the role of Raoul, and Kim Ji Hwan (15A01C) the role of Christine in the heartwarming duet All I Ask of You. With the flawless solos of the cello and the gaohu (a smaller, higher-pitched version of the erhu), Ji Hwan commented how his maiden solo performance was “nerve-racking yet exhilarating at the same time”. The audience, which was busking in the romantic atmosphere, was mercilessly hurled into the sinister, dark world of the Phantom. The most iconic and stirring song, The Phantom Of the Opera, resounded forebodingly through the hall, drawing the audience into the mystery and dangerous unknown of the Phantom’s lair. The audience is then led from fear to a solemn, heart wrenching delivery of Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again, evoking sadness and sympathy in their hearts for the loss of Christine’s father in the original musical. RICO closed the medley with a self-descriptive piece, Music of the Night, as student conductor Benedict Lim faded the emotion-provoking medley into silence.  For a moment, the audience was left dumbfounded, but snapped out of their enchanted states to mask the silence with roaring applause.

As the main orchestra took their leave, a small chamber ensemble emerged onto the stage to perform their second piece, Dun Huang. Departing from the Broadway strains of Andrew Lloyd Webber, the audience was plunged into the mysterious and exotic locale of the Silk Road. Set against a rich and groovy accompaniment, influenced by the fusion of Indian and Western elements which capitalised on the unique sounds created by the pipa and the zhongruan, the whole musical landscape was inspired by the cultural melting pot of Dun Huang as a blend of both Eastern and Western styles. Furthermore, it functioned as an exciting and refreshing twist to the otherwise more commonplace pentatonic scale employed by traditional Chinese instruments. Beginning with a bangdi solo by Sue Jean, the small ensemble then drove the music forward passionately, shaping the seemingly dissonant notes into complementary layers of euphonious and energetic music. The intensity was then kicked up a notch when the performers started to rap on their respective instruments, conjuring a fast-paced rhythm which eventually culminated in rapid and furious playing, which concluded this colourful piece. Special mention should be given to these talented performers, who constantly had to follow each other’s pulses consistently in order to be synchronised with each other. The chemistry they had with each other was a testament to the amount of effort they had put in to perfect and to coordinate the entire piece of music.

The animated and spirited atmosphere kindled by Dun Huang was in stark contrast to the next piece that followed, Spring of the Seaside. This time, the number of instruments decreased to just two, as sheng soloist Nicholas Teo and pianist Chua Zhe Xuan commanded the stage with a quaint duet. The rolling of the arpeggiated chords of the piano symbolised the ebb and flow of the waves as it reaches the shore, while the poetic style of the sheng drew one’s attention to the allure and charm of the seaside, and its striking scenery. With an almost intriguing quality to the music as its softness and gentleness drifted from the sheng and the piano, it was then superimposed upon by the introduction of a livelier rhythm, making the middle sections more passionate and cheerful. The piece soon ended with the mellow mood set in the opening, coming full circle.

One of the night’s highlights was their fourth piece, The Game of Drums, a contemporary piece which brought Chinese percussion music to another level. Commissioned by and premiered at the Chinese Classical Music Special Concert at Paris in 2000, RICO’s rendition of this unorthodox piece explored the dynamic techniques of Chinese percussion music with an upbeat tempo. The beauty of the piece lies in how the different rhythms interlocked to create a unique and exciting feel and atmosphere to something merely accompanying in nature. The wholly percussion sound allowed the soloists to showcase the full strengths of the section in all its glory: the furious rapping of the drumsticks, the superb skill in the timing and coordination of the whole piece, and in never overshadowing the other percussionists by being too loud. The fiery piece then ended with a loud cry from the performers, drawing to a close the first half of the concert.

After a brief intermission, the full ensemble took to the stage once more with their fifth piece, The Plaint of Love, featuring the guzheng as the main instrument in a concerto. The wistful melodies that flow from the guzheng are accompanied by the sonorous backdrop of the orchestra. The music is soon interjected with a graceful interlude where Nicholas Quek, the guzheng soloist, has a cadenza – the whole orchestra recedes to allow the soloist to bask in the limelight with a powerful solo. In this case, Nicholas’ quick fingers and expressive playing does not disappoint. He describes the challenges of his solo:  “I would say the process had its challenges, because as a soloist, whether playing by myself, or with a piano accompanist, or with an orchestra on stage – these are three very different things. So there’s a lot of adjusting within the three at the same time.”

The final two pieces of the concert dealt with the languid and unhurried poetic paintings of Chinese landscapes and symbolic entities. Delving into Southern China, Music of the Alleyways brought us through the wide streets and narrow alleys of the bygone days. The calm and soothing opening quickly transitioned into a reverberating and joyful folk tune, which employed a call-and-response technique within the plucked strings section. The playfulness of the entire piece recalls a time of optimism and childlike imagination, and this was accompanied by an increase in tempo in the uplifting themes in the gaohu and the flute. Eventually though, it ended off with a slow and unhurried, yet enrapturing, tune which led into the next and final piece.

The Golden Lotus Flower enticed the audience with its magical tune and symbolism of hope. The focal point of the piece was the use of the yunluo in both the opening and the conclusion, while the distinct and mysterious chords were enhanced by the absence of the pentatonic scale. Alternating between grand and dramatic sections with the sublime and soothing, it aptly describes the golden lotus flower: a divine and beautiful flower which represents purity. With the yunluo in the limelight once more, the boldness and loudness of the discordant chords convalesced into one majestic and dignified blast of music, thus signalling the end of the piece. The audience then exploded with a thunderous cheer as the orchestra took their bow, and conductor Mr Yang Ji Wei was presented with a bouquet of flowers and a teddy-bear plush toy. Before long, the audience chanted “encore!” in synchrony.

Much to the audience’s surprise, Mr Yang handed his conducting baton back to student conductor Benedict Lim. The audience cheers excitedly from the conceding of their request, but quickly falls silent as the familiar tune of Those Bygone Years《那些年》, from popular Taiwanese romance movie You Are The Apple Of My Eye, starts to play. The audience sighs with heartwarming satisfaction as the love song filled the hall.

The evening then finished with another encore piece, RICO’s rendition of Cups, a song popularised by American actress Anna Kendrick. Providing a new twist on a familiar melody, it overturned any expectations that the Chinese orchestra was not versatile enough to be able to adapt to the modern harmonies of pop music. The percussion imitated the beat of the cup game used in the song, while the rest of the ensemble gave voice to the original tune; this simple arrangement presented an invigorating change from the overplayed version. Mr. Yang also invited the audience for a little interactive session when he got everyone to clap along with the orchestra. The energy which then pulsated from the entire hall brought the whole performance to a climax, and ended the concert off with a bang.

There is a Chinese saying which goes “台上三分钟，台下十年功”, literally meaning how the three minutes on stage equates to ten years of hard work behind the scenes. A tremendous amount of effort and perseverance from all the students involved and the conductor, Mr. Yang, has gone into making this concert such a successful one. “Right at the beginning, they were very sure of their goals and what they wanted to achieve. They were very motivated, and knew that they wanted to be at a certain standard, and managed their time well while juggling between practices and studies,” said Mr Yang of the students. “They worked very hard and what the audience saw today is a good conclusion, and they actually delivered higher than my expectations. They really achieved beyond their goal and it’s because they’ve been working very hard from the beginning.”

Mr Yang also went on to thank the audience for their presence: “I think the orchestra would like to mention and appreciate our audience, or the concert would not have been successful if there’s nobody watching.”The audience did enjoy the concert – the concert hall was packed full of supporters and even teachers who came down to show encouragement for the performers. “It was very unexpected,” Jamie [15A01C] said. “This is my first CO concert and I didn’t think that it would sound like this; it was really good!” Indeed, the whole performance was of exceptionally high standards, and affirmed the commitment each RICO member showed for the CCA and for their concert.

On behalf of Raffles Press, we would like to congratulate RICO on their astounding performance, and we wish them all the best in future endeavours. This concert will truly be a part of our recollections.

by Kate Tan (15S03U), Chu Phuong Anh (15S06C) and Tan Su (15S07A)

‘Tis the season for handover, as the Year Sixes step down in preparation for their A-levels and the Year Fives take over the task of helming their various CCAs. But perhaps the most scrutinised handover would be that of the Student Council. After making it through Council selection and Council Camp, the Council President and House Captain nominees went on to campaign for their positions.

After a grueling week of campaigning and fielding questions from teachers and students alike, the Council Presidents and House Captains of 2014-2015 were announced. As journalists, we sought to find out more about the Council Presidents, in terms of their personality, opinions and visions for the school. The 34th Council Presidents are: Isaac Leong (IL), Chan Mae Yee (MY) and Cai Minglu (ML). They answered questions asked from us here at Raffles Press, and from the school population.

Our Questions

For the sake of those not in Council, perhaps you could tell us how the Council Presidents and House Captain campaigners were selected?

IL: We started with our internal elections, where our batchmates get to vote for our House Captain elects and presidential nominees. We made short speeches and they voted, then afterwards two House Captain nominees and three presidential nominees were put up to the school. After that all of us made speeches and campaigned to the school.

MY: So internal elections came first, and the top three with the most votes are the ones presented to the school.

ML: The structure of the elections was such that for the first round, we could nominate ourselves or be nominated by our batchmates. We then went through a speech round after which the three of us all became presidential nominees such that when we are presented to the school, all three would be part of the presidential team.

We saw in your campaigns that you all have big ideas for the school, such as creating a more family-like culture. However, many of these are large-scale and may require a longer period of time to achieve, through passing the project on to your juniors. Is there anything smaller-scale and highly feasible that you want to implement within your one year of Council?

IL: The role of presidents is not such a tangible one, more an intangible one where we can’t propose initiatives on our own and we need the support of our Council. So actually, what we do is try to get ideas from the Council and for the ideas that they wish to implement and that we think are in line with the direction of Council, we will try to guide them through, and they are the ones to implement these ideas. We are not really in the implementing stage.

So you’re saying while your role is more intangible, the role of Council is more tangible?

MY: The tangible stuff is usually done by the departments such as CCAD, Welfare, Comms. CCAD will be the one driving the initiatives towards drilling CCA unity and the Rafflesian spirit. Welfare will be trying to improve students’ welfare, and seeing what we can do to make the school a better place for everyone. For Comms, they’ll be getting feedback from everyone, and from the feedback gained we’ll see how it can be turned into initiatives, and what can be done to address the needs of the school.

If someone in Council wanted to propose an initiative, what would the process be like?

IL: We won’t spend so much time on the details but it boils down to the idea being thrown out, and then we’ll form a team to look into the area. So perhaps those could be people already interested in the project, or EXCO members, or those who feel for the cause. So we’ll be the ones checking in and pushing their projects through, and eventually whatever resources that we’ll need, like manpower and money, will be approved by the EXCO and teachers before it takes effect.

We have initiatives such as Project X that allow ideas to come up, and after they do we make sure we put enough focus on it so that they come to fruition. Whenever Council has a random idea that doesn’t fit into their department or function job scope but that they wish to implement, they can bring it up as Project X, in other words, their own initiative, and rally the rest of the Council to support their cause and come up with a proposal, and everyone tries to help them to push for it.

Going back to your role as having more intangible impact on Council, so you guys will be like figureheads for the Council?

IL: Well, I feel that would be a misrepresentation to say that our role is solely ceremonial, I think that we play a very big role in influencing the tone and direction of Council. I think in a way that’s quite tangible in terms of what we want our Council batch to do. That’s not to say that things like direction and big picture things are always intangible. I think these things are very much driven by tangible steps and goals in that direction. During Work Day, we looked into that. For example, we’re going to pay greater attention to the role of the class and one’s sense of belonging to class, because we spend most of our time with our classmates.

How are you managing your workload?

ML: Is the question “Are we coping okay?” (laughs)

MY: We just started off, and we’re laying the foundation and setting the direction, so currently there’s quite a lot of work. But along the way, our main role will be to make sure that all the departments and functions are aligning their work towards our mission and goals that we just came up with.

So now is not the peak period?

MY:….We’re quite busy.

ML:  Actually, it’s very busy (laughs)

IL: We’re not so much busy with implementing initiatives right now, we’re more setting the direction for the year ahead. So it’s a lot of brainstorming and working with departments, functions and eventually coming together as a Council to see where everything goes.

We heard rumours that House Captains got only 7 hours of sleep in total last week! Is that true?

ML: I think that’s untrue!  But I think a lot of the work now is centred in EXCO because we’re the ones getting everyone’s opinions and then writing it down in a work plan. So maybe that’s why the house captains are very taxed; in fact the whole EXCO is.

So you’re talking about setting the direction for the year ahead. When you step down as the 34th Council, what is the legacy you want to leave behind?

IL: Our mission is to foster a greater sense of belonging to school, to build an inclusive community, and create a sense of belonging felt by all Rafflesians. We realised that not all initiatives in the past meet students’ current needs. There’s a big drive towards making sure that all the initiatives that we do are relevant to the school. In the end, we just want to make sure that we’re serving the school in a genuine way.

ML: We gathered the opinions of all the councillors and crystalised 5 Council values that we want to embody in our term. Our main council value is Sincerity – we want to serve the school in a genuine and authentic way. We want the process to be transparent, and we want ourselves to be on the ground at all times, be the friends of all the students and reach out to them. The other values are integrity, tenacity, teamwork and inclusiveness.

MY: Our priority will be sincerity, to make students feel that we are not a separate body from them – we want to be part of them and be friends with them.

Questions from the School

What about the current Council system should be improved, and how would you improve it?

ML: I feel that we should focus on having a strong internal base, in terms of making sure that our councillors are committed, capable of the job and know what they’re doing. We also want to have a very united Council on in the inside, because only when we have a strong foundation can we reach out to the school and serve them effectively. Internally, I think we agree that unity is a very important aspect.

IL: I think that for all types of student leadership, especially Council, it’s easier to see us as event organisers rather than leaders. There might be basis for saying so, as a lot of our work is focused on doing events . And I think that’s something we could change, not just to change the perception but also to think of ways such that individual councillors who don’t have leadership roles can step up within their own spheres of influence and become a leader in that area. So that’s one area we should improve on.

MY: For Council internally, one thing we hope to do is improve unity between departments, because there is a tendency for departments to work within their departments and do whatever they’re supposed to specialise in. So what our Council batch could do to improve unity is to increase inter-departmental interaction.

Through what initiatives?

MY: What we plan to do is to promote more bonding opportunities between departments. We also want to utilise general meetings more effectively, so that we focus not just on work days, but also on relationships between councillors, such as by having more informal things during meetings.

IL: I think it’s both informal and formal areas; that is, formal work and informal bonding, that need to be more united in terms of having one council. In terms of work side it’ll mean councillors themselves are a lot clearer on where we’re going as a whole council, so it’s not just driven by individual departments and initiatives, but rather how this all comes together and how it adds up to a direction that we’re headed to.

Do you have any concrete strategies to better integrate our JAE friends?

IL: We had to write a proposal about one thing we want to change for our campaign, and that was one area that struck me because campaigning was right after orientation, and after we got sorted into our classes.  I think ensuring that JAEs feel welcome is something that is important to us. Concretely, I think JAE Heroes is a good one but the problem right now is that Council doesn’t put much focus on it because it’s a sideline thing, something the Orientation Comm works on on the side, whereas we could look at how the J2 JAE students could play a bigger mentorship role in helping JAE students integrate. I think they meet up once or twice during the scheme and they play games so it’s just another orientation – you don’t really feel much more at ease in the environment of Raffles. When JAEs first enter they have many big decisions to make like subject combination, CCA, enrichment, RA, so I think it’s about making sure that you have a senior you can talk to at this critical point.

ML: Linking this to our values, we were thinking about this when thinking about inclusiveness which is how to cater to the needs of minority groups – which includes how to be more inclusive of JAE groups and since it’s a focus of Council’s, we want to convey this to all our functions and departments. So for things like Open House and Orientation, we must be more welcoming towards them and get them to bear their interests in mind. It’s not something that can be done in one initiative, but rather, we need to make sure it’s a focus of everyone’s.

Are JAEs sufficiently represented in Council (especially in leadership positions)?

IL: I’m not too sure of the exact numbers, but I think the ratio of JAEs to RP students in Council is representative of our batch. Within the EXCO, it’s not very representative: 2 out of 13, slightly less than the ratio.

ML: Among Function I/Cs, which is also a leadership position, I think it’s more representative. Personally, I think the ratio is quite unhealthy in EXCO.

IL: In a way, I don’t think there’s an easy solution to it, because Council campaign starts in March and Council President campaigns start in April, so there isn’t much time for councillors to get to know one another.

ML: Next year we might give councillors more time to interact before internal elections, so that the elections aren’t so much based on who you knew before. I think we cannot deny that the problem exists, but it’s more serious in some areas, such as EXCO, as compared to other areas. I think that there are ways we can alleviate that.

MY: For example, this year the only event we had as an entire batch was Council Camp. So more opportunities for councillors to get to know one another before internal elections might improve this problem.

The 3 of you have had sizable past experiences as school leaders. Why not let someone else have a chance at Council President?

IL: We get that question quite a bit but not phrased in that manner. It’s usually phrased as “A lot of your predecessors did not join council in JC. Why did you?”

At the end of the day, if you believe you have what it takes to lead Council and lead the school well, I think you should accept the nomination and stand for elections. I think it is for the school and Council to decide whether or not you are up for the job.

Another perspective is that if you look at leadership development as something that spans 6 years, you don’t say that just because you had a leadership role in year 3 or 4 you stop developing in years 5-6. You still learn a lot despite your past experiences; it’s not true that we’ve “been there, done that” since there are a lot of new things in Council.

ML: For me it’s not so much a personal thing but more of the ideas that we represent. If we have a direction, it’s not about who’s bringing it to life or how much experience you’ve had. If the vision you have is something that people believe in then they elect you. I believe that campaigning and running for a position is not such a personal thing but more objective in terms of what you can do for the school.

As for giving others a chance – I feel that this role has a lot of work and responsibilities attached to it so if people are willing to take up the work, they would have run for the role as well.

MY: I don’t really get that often but why I ran for this role was because I wanted to challenge myself – I had a leadership position in my CCA but not a sizeable school-wide one. I wanted to try to bring out the ideas I have for Council and hopefully to make a difference as well.

Skeptics have pointed out that many Councillors are probably there just to stuff their CV for future use. What is your opinion on this?

IL: It’s a very individual thing; maybe for some people at the end of the day it’s for the CV, but there’s nothing we or the school can do about that. We do our best to look for traits of someone who is genuine or passionate about serving the school and someone who has the values and tenacity to do it. Inevitably, we will have some of these people in the council or any other CCA. I guess then the challenge is encouraging them to see beyond themselves. While their decision to join Council may be partially or to a large extent motivated by the intent to help things like your CV, there is at least a small part that’s about serving the school, or why wouldn’t they have joined another ‘glamorous’ CCA like Interact?

ML: There are a lot of barriers in place for those who come for personal motivations. There are tight deadlines – during campaigning they gave us a tight deadline where groups were released the night before and by the next morning (7am) we had to submit the proposal. And secondly, there’s Council Camp. Presidential elections are also very tiring. The main message given to us is that there’ll be a lot of work ahead, so don’t come here for the prestige. So if you’re here for the school, strive on, and if not, you can pull out. There are a lot of opportunities for people who joined for personal reasons to pull out. I think all these barriers are put in place to ensure that, at the end of the day, we get as many sincere people as possible.

MY: Also, the selection process is such that people vote you in. So if your friends believe in you and believe you have the capabilities, they will vote for you. There is something in those who get voted in that isn’t just about personal gains; they also want to genuinely help the school.

What is the biggest worry on your minds coming into the responsibility of Council Heads of the school?

IL: The strength is in our numbers but weakness could also be in numbers. Being a group so big, it’s very easy for us halfway through the year to become split in many ways. When we don’t believe in the same thing and strive for the same purpose, or do things to fight against each other, it’ll mean the end of what we can do as the 34th Council.

MY: Mine is more of a personal one – whether I can live up to others’ expectations and try not to let the people who placed their trust in me down. But that will keep me going to ensure that whatever I do, I’ll do it to the best of my abilities and just keep trying and have the courage to go on, no matter how tough the journey is.

ML: This is both a Council and personal one. I’m worried about Council losing motivation. It’s quite a common problem in past Councils, that of people losing purpose – people call it burning out. I’m afraid of it because I find it easy to find my own motivation, but it’s harder to find motivation for other people and it’s harder to inspire other people, especially since it’s such a big group. That’s something we have to keep looking out for and keep in mind.

Personal worry: Health. The three of us have a tendency to become absorbed in our work and neglect everything else. I know that a few of our predecessors suffered from health problems, so that’s what I’m worried about because without our health we cannot do anything.

Bonus Round: Trivia

1. Favourite movie?

ML: Recently, the Amazing Spider Man 2.

IL: The Dark Knight. I really liked X-men after watching it but I still love Batman the most.

MY: I like Dear John.

2. Favourite book?

ML: Everyday, by David Levithan

MY: Tuesdays with Morrie

IL: No favourite book per se but my favourite author is Alice Munro, a short story writer.

3. Favourite colour?

ML: Turquoise/blue

MY: Yellow

IL: White

4. Favourite food?

ML: Italian

MY: Japanese

IL: I like a lot of food! Think I’ll say something local… Prawn noodles.

5. Favourite food in school?

ML: Tom yam plus chicken plus egg with Maggie Mee

MY: Mixed rice –  Lee’s Cooked Food (ML: Mae Yee is very health-conscious!)

IL: Haw’s Kitchen or the first noodles stall

6. What animal best represents you? And why?

IL: This is too hard!

ML: How about we describe each other, would that be more interesting?

7. Impressions of each other:

ML: I think Isaac is like an opinionated dove (laughs), but then doves are usually very meek, so he’s an opinionated dove. He has a very pleasant personality.

MY: Minglu is always full of energy and ideas and is very on the ball. Isaac is……. I agree with ML about the opinionated dove. He’s strong character-wise but doesn’t come across as pushy. It’s very nice working with him.

IL: Minglu is very hardworking, and she takes the time to listen to people around her, and that’s good. Mae Yee is… (laughs) this is difficult, it’s like reducing someone to a couple of words! Mae Yee is driven, very nice, and also very focused on values.

8. Favourite subject in school?

ML: KI and Literature. I think everyone should take KI (laughs). No, but I mean, KI is really a subject worth learning, and it really changes your view of the world.

MY: Math and Chemistry.

IL: History.

9. Favourite quote?

ML: The first one that comes to mind is “Love is always patient and kind.”

MY: “Success is the peace of mind knowing that you’ve done your very best.”

IL: “To love means loving the unlovable. To forgive means pardoning the unpardonable. Faith means believing the unbelievable. Hope means hoping when everything seems hopeless.” (by Gilbert K. Chesterton)

10. Pet peeves?

IL: Even though I’m a P, it just ticks me off when things have no structure. Oh, another one would be that I hate seeing outdated posters! So I just go around ripping them out.

ML: I used to be a perfectionist. My teacher pointed it out when I was very stressed over council and stuff that I wasn’t behind, but merely that I was a perfectionist. I have very high standards and expectations and if I don’t go the extra mile, I see it as I have failed.

I also hate seeing litter on the ground, even on outside of school. My friend and I go about picking up litter, so much so that we’ve even noticed that there’s a lot of white paint on the school ground because we always mistake it for litter!

MY: People shaking their legs in the LT.

11. Role models?

IL: A senior who was the Raffles Press president two years ago, Chua Jun Yan, who is my mentor and a very good friend.

He’s very clear about what sort of direction the team should take. He’s very driven, very determined and very driven by principles, so I look up to him a lot.

MY: My dad who is very selfless and always put me and my brother before himself or my mom. He always takes care of our welfare and goes the extra mile in what he does even if it means sacrificing his time or well-being, and he is also a very principled person.

ML: Our senior Ashlynna (Council President of 2012). I’ve never seen anyone so personable in her leadership style. She’s a very authentic person and even in a position she is very humble and real, and these are values I uphold, and I’ve never seen anyone who can do it to that extent.

12. Any last words for the school?

IL: Study hard.

MY: Sleep more, catch up on sleep during the June hols and study hard for CTs and we’ll pull through it together as a batch.

ML: If you have any feedback or anything you want to tell us, please tell any one of us. It’s very important for us to know what you’re thinking about and feeling.

MY: And the 34th Council batch will do our best to fulfill our campaign promises and improve school for everyone!

The authors (1st and 2nd from left, respectively) with the 4 Johannes Kepler Gymnasium students (from left to right): Svatava s̄imovà, Vojtēch Brezik, Jakub Moravec and Adèla Kramperovà.

by Chew Sher Mein (15S03H) and Martin Lim (15A13A) Additional reporting by Yeo Jia Qi (15S03H)

Raffles Press had the opportunity to interview 4 visitors from the Czech Republic who participated in an exchange programme in the first half of the year. They have since returned, and we present here a snapshot of their recollections of their experiences in RI and Singapore, and their thoughts on the differences between our education systems and societies.

The Raffles Experience
The students, aged 17-18, are from the Johannes Kepler Gymnasium in Prague, Czech Republic, one of RI’s partner G20 schools. It was part of an exchange program, since nine students from RI Year 4 flew over to Czech Republic during last year’s Gap Semester. They were selected after an essay writing round and an interview, as well as based on their grades.

Just like normal Rafflesian students, they attend lectures, tutorials and lab sessions with their buddies, sometimes including the Monday enrichment programs. While they receive all the lecture notes and tutorials, their work is not marked. 3 of them being from science classes, they found themselves most accustomed to the science subjects’ syllabuses. Another issue was the uniform, which for some of them, took some effort getting used to since they do not normally wear uniforms in their school.

After school, they also join CCA programs of their interest. Adèla trained with the Floorball girls team, having played floorball for ten years and being in a floorball team back home. She found the girls impressive, considering that most of them are new to the sport, having just joined a few months ago, and found the training really fun and enjoyable. Svatava trained with the fencing team and was similarly impressed by the level of skill.

The students attended several arts events, including Raffles Runway’s RProject 2014, the Chinese orchestral performance Recollections, the Raffles Chorale and Raffles Voices joint concert Limelight at the Esplanade (23rd April) and the Raffles Jazz concert Take My Word For It held here in the PAC. They appreciated all the effort that went into the elaborate and intricately designed props and costumes for RProject, and found the atmosphere fresh and exciting. Recollections was their first experience listening to music made from Chinese instruments and they particularly praised the stunning rendition of the soundtrack from the Phantom of the Opera with traditional Chinese instruments, as it was their first time seeing the unique fusion of Chinese culture with the intricate melodies of the well-known musical.

Unlike Rafflesians, they don’t have as many opportunities to enjoy the arts in their school, since Czech schools do not have compulsory CCAs attached to their school. Enjoying performances by their peers and classmates is significantly less convenient and accessible for them. Many students voluntarily take up sports and pursue their interests outside of school.

According to the Czech students, Rafflesians seem to not have much of a life outside of school and CCA.They spend their whole weekends studying for tests and completing homework. As such, the Czech people don’t feel like they have many things to talk about with Rafflesians.

Back home, teenagers have more fun and hang out more with their friends. Unlike in Singapore where outings are mostly limited to the shopping malls and mostly consist of eating, shopping and movie-watching, teenagers in the Czech Republic source out more open areas such as the park and city just to relax, and in our terms, lepak.

Moreover, they commented on a certain divide between the boys and the girls in school, as if they were separated by an invisible wall. In the Czech Republic, the girls and guys mix around a lot more and are a lot more comfortable with hanging out together. This is probably attributed to the fact that most schools in the Czech republic were co-ed while a good proportion of students from Raffles were from the single-sex RI (Y1-4) and RGS. So boys and girls in the Czech Republic spend significantly more time interacting with peers of the opposite gender.

They were not used to the amount of homework Rafflesians were assigned, feeling that our system forces us to spend a lot of time in school and doing homework, so Rafflesians barely have any time to do anything else. In the Czech Republic, the focus is on guided learning in school and the amount of homework assigned is minimal. They do not have lectures, only tutorials, so the lessons are classroom-based and slower-paced in general, and  most students make their own notes because notes are not provided. To them, the Czech education system seemed less exams and results oriented as ours, with a greater emphasis placed on holistic development, while RJC seems to have the sole focus of pushing the students for A Levels.

However, while the Czech students have less homework and generally have more fun, they still have exams and stress. They acknowledged that their perceptions of our education system could be just due to unfamiliarity, as after spending many years in the Czech system, they felt that it was more natural. They also saw merit in our education system as good preparation for the rigour of university.

Additionally, they commented that we are very lucky to have the resources and facilities in RI, which is huge compared to their school, such as our own Performing Arts Centre. We also have gardens around the school, such as the sculpture garden between Blocks A and B which they like to visit, and they found that it made the general environment very pleasant and conducive for learning. As an example of how much resources we have available to us, the Czech students noted how we waste lots of chemicals here in RI during class, especially after lab sessions where we pour entire beakers and burettes of chemicals down the sink, something that is completely forbidden in the Czech Republic.

The Singapore experience
Some landmarks the Czech students visited were the Singapore Flyer, Gardens by the Bay, East Coast Park, Sentosa and Chinese Gardens. Surprisingly the favorites were the parks Gardens by the Bay and Chinese Gardens. Jakub added that his favorite training ground for his running exercises was MacRitchie and praised that ‘it’s like a forest in the city.’

The funniest incident of their trip occurred in Sentosa when the students and their buddies wanted to save money riding the Luge by buying the family package. So two of the oldest students tried to be the ‘parents’ while the rest had to be the ‘kids’. To make matters worse, the ‘kids’ were a mix of Chinese, Indian and European while the ‘parents’ were European. In the end, although they managed to buy the family set tickets, they were denied entry onto the Luge and had to get their tickets refunded and buy the separate single rider tickets.

Regarding cuisine, Vojtēch found the chilli crab they ate at Jumbo Seafood most memorable, while Svatava felt that Thai noodles were her favorite. Jakub found the Chendol dessert the most delicious, while Adèla enjoyed all the seafood dishes, seafood being a real luxury in the Czech Republic as the country is landlocked and fresh seafood is expensive.

When asked what were some of the popular dishes in Czech Republic, the students described for us Vepřo-knedlo-zelo, which was roast pork with dumplings and sauerkraut (a type of fermented cabbage), and Svíčková, a cream-based dish with spiced vegetables served with meat (such as sirloin or venison) as two of the well-known dishes in Czech Republic.

They found that the weather here is much more hot and humid than in the Czech Republic. There, the temperature is also more varied. The weather averages around eight degrees throughout the year, although it can get as hot as 40C in summer and -40C in winter.

In general, they found Singaporeans more open and social. They were also very welcoming and treated them well, albeit differently from the locals. They commented that people in the Czech republic are nice too, but they are less open to strangers and especially foreigners.

The particularly memorable event was when they had to give an introductory speech in front of the entire school. Vojtēch said he was particularly nervous speaking to the hundreds of students but was relieved when all the words just flowed out naturally.

Parting comments
As parting comments, the Czech students wanted to remind us to “be thankful for the resources and facilities that you have and stay as nice as you were to us, all the time”. They also thanked their classmates and teachers who were very friendly and welcoming (especially Svatava’s class which had a small celebration).

by Joyce Er (15A01A), Michelle Zhu (15A01B) and Kang Yi Xi (15S03N)

Photos by Joyce Er (15A01A)

Tucked away in a relatively inaccessible corner of Dempsey, Roadhouse is not an intuitive gastronomical choice for the average Rafflesian, nor are its prices particularly wallet-friendly. However, with its hearty portions, explosive flavours and divine desserts, we could hardly keep this gem to ourselves. Visit this American-style diner as a treat to yourself – on a friend’s birthday, or after completing a round of examinations. We promise it’s worth the trek.

Mains

We arrived in time to catch their Lunch Combo offer, which comprises of a burger main with fries coupled with either a salad or dessert, all for $22 – which we thought very reasonable in comparison to the considerably higher prices on their à la carte menu. The four of us shared three combos and some even struggled to finish our portions.

Each standard set comes with fries. Between the truffle and regular fries, we preferred the regular, which were perfectly salted and had a subtle crunch. In contrast, the truffle fries were lacking in truffle flavour and tasted slightly underdone.

We chose the Build Your Own Burger option for the last main, forgoing the fries. One of us decided to have a burger containing a Cajun-spiced chicken patty with red cheddar cheese, sauteed mushrooms and BBQ sauce. The rather sizeable nature of the deep-fried chicken patty meant the burger could be considered quite a filling dish. However, in our opinion, that did not justify the lack of fries, especially since this particular patty was made out of chicken and not a more expensive meat like beef. Another grouse would be that although the patty was supposed to have been amply marinated with spices, we found its actual flavour a tad underwhelming as it was rather bland. The sauteed mushrooms were similarly lackluster; fortunately, the rich, savoury BBQ sauce ensured that the burger was still considerably satisfying. Owing to its crisp, well-fried nature, the batter also had a very pleasing crunch. Moreover, the melted cheddar cheese not only looked but also tasted appetising, and was a relatively excellent choice of topping. Overall, you might be better off choosing the beef patty instead and skipping the mushrooms entirely, though this might just have been a one-off incident.

Their Caesar Salad (à la carte: $13) was a delight, featuring the usual croutons, grated parmesan cheese and bacon bits atop a bed of crisp juicy Romaine lettuce. We were surprised and impressed by the breaded soft boiled egg, which turned out to be an egg beautifully poached and then carefully fried. When broken, the yolk flowed over the salad, mixing with the tartly sweet salad dressing.

Desserts

Having been enticed to Roadhouse by photos of their S’more Ice Cream Cake, we were looking forward to this dessert and were thankfully not disappointed. Featuring a buttery graham cracker crust and a vanilla toffee ice cream filling, the cake was topped with roasted mini marshmallows and drizzled with a vanilla/toffee sauce. All in all, it is a great dessert, but perhaps is one to be shared amongst friends unless you have an exceptionally sweet tooth.

The Warm Salted Triple Nut Tart, served with vanilla ice cream and drenched in a butterscotch sauce, juxtaposed crunch from the nuts and crust with the filling, which was thankfully not cloyingly sweet. While the quality of the ice cream was not fantastic, it more than sufficed as a complement to the pastry.

Drinks

To wake ourselves up from the midday doldrums, we ordered a Double Espresso ($5), which was of a passable standard but rather lacking in the appearance department. Another gripe about this otherwise charming eatery is its iced Cafe Mocha ($9). Although purportedly containing 67% Valrhona chocolate, it was disappointingly watery and lacked the rich flavour we were anticipating. If you’re looking for a mocha fix, we recommend splurging on Artistry Cafe’s Iced Mocha instead.

by Lorraine Fong (15A01C)

Evil Origins

Looks familiar? The wide-eyed, rosy-cheeked, red-headed porcelain doll does nothing but chill your bones.

Contrary to popular belief, Annabelle isn’t as hideous as the movie depicts it to be. Annabelle, in reality, is a sweet, innocent looking Raggedy-Ann doll. The movie is actually based on an allegedly true story told by paranormal researchers Ed and Lorraine Warren, involving the possession of the doll by a malevolent spirit.

The encased Annabelle doll in the Warrens’ home in Connecticut

The Movie

Directed by John R. Leonetti, “Annabelle” is the prequel and spin-off to the horror film “The Conjuring”. Set in 1969, it tells a story of a couple, Mia (Annabelle Wallis) and John (Ward Horton),  expecting their first child. John gives Mia the hideous Annabelle to add to her doll collection, and their peaceful lives take a turn for the worse when Satanic cultists invade their home and stain Annabelle with their blood. Life seemingly returns to normalcy until the demonic spirit left by the Satanic cultists decides to unleash hell unto the family through Annabelle.

First, I must commend the filmmakers for managing to include every possible horror movie cliché in 98 minutes. Large empty house? Check. Creepy dolls? Check. Intellectually challenged characters? Check. They didn’t even forget to include the “you-are-crazy-and-need-to-seek-help” cliché.  The list goes on and on. Undeniably, Mia has to be nothing short of stupid to insist on keeping the doll once it re-appears mysteriously not only after being thrown away, but even after being burnt in a house fire which caused its face to melt into a more horrifying mess! In another instance of idiocy, Mia repeatedly leaving her child alone to have its life threatened by demonic forces (yawn) shows just how stellar her parenting skills are.

The lead actors are relatively unknown, and both actors fail to deliver convincing performances. Although Wallis manages to accurately portray the typical distressed and tormented lady at some points, she still seems stiff and disturbingly unfazed by these unfortunate circumstances. For example, while someone’s usual reaction would be to scream and writhe in pain after being stabbed in the stomach, Mia has to be some Disney princess who slumps to the ground daintily and passes out – while being nearly 9 months pregnant! This thus fails to convey the true, horrified emotion that should have allowed audiences to feel more for her character. Horton isn’t much better either as he seems emotionless and incapable of showing genuine happiness, worry, or fear. Whether it is a performance flaw or just part of their portrayed characters, both leads are shallow and undeveloped. Furthermore, they lack chemistry despite their on-screen marriage. This results in an apathetic view of the characters; people only care about Mia’s pregnancy, or about her adorable and extremely vulnerable child.

Scarily predictable

The only thing horrifying about this film is how unbelievably predictable it is — it’s like the filmmakers decided that all “the scary parts” had to be in the form of extremely predictable jump-scares.  A crescendo of violin-created squeaks, a loud racing heart rate, a momentary silence and BOOM! A deafening orchestral blast reverberates as Annabelle/demon/something pops out in your face. Don’t get me wrong; I’m not saying that all jump-scares are particularly bad, but the mere predictability of them renders them ineffective. The mark of a successful horror flick is that scary scenes are highly unpredictable, and that the audience is kept in suspense and at the edge of their seats, completely unaware of the next scare.

The only successful moment of unpredictability (and genuine scares) occurs when Mia bashes Annabelle’s head onto the crib repeatedly, only to realise that it is her own baby as she flings it onto the ground. She grabs the baby and hugs it as it makes an all-too-familiar automated laughter, and the camera pans down to reveal that she is hugging another creepy doll, revealing how the demon can alter Mia’s perception and can easily cause her to kill her own child. While this isn’t even truly a jump-scare, it still manages to be effective in causing discomfort and terror within audience members.

Closing words

The movie isn’t terrible per se, but as the highly anticipated prequel of The Conjuring, Annabelle simply can’t do justice to the multimillion-dollar franchise. To be fair, the main strengths of the film come in the form of cinematography and style; the filmmakers do succeed in creating an eerie atmosphere and setting the tone for the entire film. Moreover, other than the thunderous and overused “booms”, the movie’s soundtrack is effective in boosting the film’s suspense factor.

As a PG-13 movie, I would recommend this film to horror-flick newbies; every jump-scare can be accurately anticipated, allowing these film-goers to be spared the horror (by closing their eyes two seconds before something hideous pops out). It is still a fun movie to watch with a group of friends, for you can laugh together at the sheer stupidity of a scene, or at a friend who can’t seem to stomach the tiniest tinge of suspense.

Floorball is an exciting, fast-paced indoor sport played in teams of 5. Founded in 2006, Raffles Floorball is a relatively young CCA, training under the tutelage of our coach, Ms Jill Quek. She is one of the top female players in the world, who is well known not just in local floorball circles, but also around the world, in traditional floorball strongholds such as Finland and Sweden. Raffles Floorball is regarded as one of the top few teams in Singapore, with the boys and girls team having a strong showing year after year.

Trainings are held three times a week (Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays) at the Indoor Sports Hall in the evening, usually starting off with drills targeted at honing specific skills required for the game. It then ends with a match to apply those skills. Along with fitness training and conditioning, our trainings shape players into well-rounded athletes. The team bonds through the physically and mentally tough trainings together, and not only supports each other during CCA but also outside CCA, where dinners after trainings and birthday celebrations are not uncommon.

The peak period for Floorball is from March to May, where both the boys and girls teams compete in the National Inter-School Floorball Championships. Of course, there are many other opportunities for us to gain experience throughout the year, such as friendlies organised with floorball teams from other schools, NTU Floorball Open and NUS Tenses, where we get to play against players at the university level or even adults!

Floorball is a sport which is relatively easy to pick up, with many of our players having little or no experience playing Floorball before, so it doesn’t really matter if you have a sports background or not! Hence our CCA is a great platform for both existing athletes to experience this exciting sport, as well as for new athletes who want a taste of the sports intensity and team dynamics that Floorball has to offer. If you have a passion for Floorball, our Floorball family gladly welcomes you!

Batch of 2014-2015

The referee’s whistle blows; a huge roar erupts from the crowd, cries and cheers fill the air. You are far removed from the glamour and the action, here on your narrow turf by the sidelines – but your battle is no less intense, for the consequences of failure can be so much more severe. A few quick, well-practiced movements serve to securely fasten the bandages around your newest charge, just in time for another goal to be joined by a collective shout of triumph. Your own victory is much quieter; a quiet murmur of thanks, relief at a wound ably seen to, and satisfaction from a job well done.

While First Aid skills are essential for treating everyday emergencies at home (treating a scald, for instance), they also have uses in school and for the larger community. Upon joining Red Cross Youth Chapter (RCYC), you will be provided with compulsory Standard First Aid (SFA) Training, hence employing you with skills which range from tending to common cuts and abrasions to cleaning and bandaging for burns and fractures, and even CPR for life-threatening emergencies. Members will then apply their skills by offering First Aid coverage to the school during events. There will also be HQ-level opportunities where members join experienced aiders on the lookout for the general public. These include the monthly First Aid On Wheels (FAOW) at East Coast Park and national events such as the 2015 SEA Games.

Members cycling to injured members of the public during FAOW

There is a saying that goes, ‘Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.’ Here at RCYC, we believe in the power of the human touch to put a smile on anybody’s face, and hence we place great focus on direct service to the community. All members volunteer at a Voluntary Welfare Organisation (VWO) of their choice on a weekly basis. At present, such VWOs include tutoring girls from underprivileged families at Good Shepherd Student Care (GSSC) and befriending elderly patients at Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH), with plans to open more centres! In addition, further one-off opportunities are given for the entire batch to engage in direct service together.

A visit to the Red Cross Home for the Disabled

As an RCYC member, you can also expect exciting opportunities to participate in a wide array of events and programmes. These range from service-oriented activities (such as Overseas Humanitarian Programme) to ones unique to the International Red Cross Movement, which tackle issues like humanitarian diplomacy and disaster management. Open to all, members may sign up for these based on interest.

Our chapter also helms 2 school-wide events – the biannual Blood Donation Drive (there’s one coming up on 13 February!) as well as World Red Cross Day, which is a fundraising effort.

Some of our members at the Youths as Agents for Behavioural Change (YABC) Camp organised by the Singapore Red Cross

Blood Donation Drive

To sum up, here’s what you can expect:

1. Weekly service at 1 VWO

2. Allocation to an organising committee, whereby you will help plan for one of the following: First Aid, Blood Drive, Welfare and Batch Service Initiatives

3. First Aid training and opportunities

4. Ad hoc HQ programme

There will be a simple interview for all who sign up with us. We have no prerequisites – what we’re looking for is a passion to serve, be it through community service, First Aid, or (even better) both! Commitment-wise, there is a general meeting every Wednesday, in addition to the list above, giving members ample free time and opportunities to plan for any other service project if they so choose.

Sound like just your (blood) type of CCA? Then do join Raffles Red Cross Youth Chapter for A Positive-ly great time!

Welcome to the world of contract bridge, one in which you can bid farewell to all the random-partner-calling, less-than-4-points-washing, gambling-style, luck-based card game that you have been used to all this while. Be ready to face the real deal when you join Bridge Club, where what you once knew as bridge will suddenly start to seem so foreign. Declarer? Dummy? Double? Redouble? Slam? Grand slam? Don’t worry, these terms will soon be part and parcel of your vocabulary within a few weeks of joining us!

Every bridge hand consists of two parts, the bidding and the play. The bidding is where you and your (yes, fixed) partner relay information about your hands to each other through the bids you make, in order to arrive at the optimum contract (e.g. 4❤ or 6♠). Since verbal communication is not allowed at the table during competitions, you have to learn the language of bidding well. For example, a one heart or one spade opening promises 5+ hearts or spades respectively and 12+ HCP (HCP refers to high card points, where Ace- 4pts, King- 3pts, Queen- 2 pts, Jack- 1pt). After bidding, the play involves the declarer (from the partnership that wins the bidding) trying to take enough tricks to make his contract (the final bid- e.g. 10 tricks in 4♠, and all 13 tricks in 7NT). The defenders (the opposing partnership) will try to set the contract by preventing the declarer from doing so.

Although probability is involved, luck is actually negligible in contract bridge! In competitions, there are different boards, which hold 4 sets of cards, one for each player, in a fixed arrangement, and these are passed around the room such that the same board is played by everyone, and scores are compared to those playing in the same seats as your pair.

Trainings are held on Wednesdays and Fridays, from 2:30-6:30 p.m. Members have the choice of attending either session, but are highly encouraged to come for both, especially if they are interested in joining the school team. Members who want even more practice can go to the SCBA (Singapore Contract Bridge Association), where games are held several times a week, as well as on holidays. SCBA is conveniently located close to school, at Bishan Community Centre. There are many competitions available for our members to join, such as the Hwa Chong Cup, Catholic Junior College Cup, and the National Inter-Schools Bridge Competition. Our bridge club also organises its own competition, Raffles Pairs, at the start of the June holidays!

Trainings usually include a lesson on bidding or card play, followed by a team match or duplicate pairs games that are just like actual competitions. Training sessions are light-hearted and centered around having fun while trying to improve your game.

Bridge is both a partnership and a team game. Everyone in the team is important – a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. As such, you should be willing to put in the time and effort to train, in and out of CCA hours, in order to improve. Training sessions are limited, hence learning is often self-directed. This allows pairs to learn at their own pace, and develop their own strategies. Many resources are available online, as well as at the Shaw Foundation Library, so you can start reading up if you’re interested!

There is only one pre-requisite: interest. As long as you are enthusiastic and diligent, we want you to be part of us, so just sign up! Prior experience with contract bridge is not needed, and you do not have to sign up with a partner; passion and commitment will be more than enough.

Once you learn the game, we assure you that you will never see cards the same way again. This is a one-way journey of no return but one that is guaranteed to be fruitful and rewarding.

“Without music, life would be a mistake.” – Friedrich Nietzsche

Love music? We do, too. The Raffles Symphonic Band (RSB) is a group of students who share a common passion for playing and performing. Band brings us something that nothing else can replace – the euphoria of immersing yourself in the music. Regardless of whether you come from a band, or if you want to pick up a new instrument, the band welcomes everyone with open arms.

Established in 1982 as Raffles Junior College Symphonic Band, RSB puts up two concerts annually under the baton of our conductor Mr Lim Yean Hwee. Held in the month of May, A Tempo is RSB’s showcase concert, where the band tackles challenging pieces. Last year, the band performed Stravinsky’s world-famous piece, The Firebird, which lasted for twenty minutes. Despite the initial struggles, learning a piece out of our comfort zone made the process all the more fulfilling.

RSB – A Tempo XXIII

Our year-end concert, Bandemonium, features comparatively light-hearted and accessible tunes, never going without a Christmas classic or two! Just last year, RSB ventured into uncharted waters by introducing a choreographed act, where members paired movement with music.

Bandemonium III

RSB also holds events along with its counterparts from the Raffles family, RI Military Band and RGS Symphonic Band, to build a supportive band community. Annual events like React and Tune-In, as well as band exchanges, provide opportunities for us to listen and learn from other bands and meet fellow musicians.

React 2014: Gathering of the three Raffles Bands

With an unusually small batch of 15 people, RSB is a tight-knit and friendly community, where our members always look forward to band practices and get together outside of CCA sessions to bond as a batch. The long practice hours allow us to forge meaningful bonds- and also mean that we are a little too familiar with each other’s strange antics!

RSB holds practices twice every week, with additional practices leading up to performances. Although we admit that band members will have to work hard and be able to commit to the practice schedule, we have no doubts that the experience is definitely rewarding. RSB cannot promise you an easy time, or a relaxed CCA life, but what it can promise is something money cannot buy – the joy of making music together. When you look back on your school years, what you’ll remember are the experiences that you’ve had outside the classroom, and Band is something that will stay with you for life. If you think that music is something worth working hard for, if you want a challenging and interesting band experience or if you want a CCA that spices up your school life, do join us!

华乐。

hua yue

the joy in music.

It is often opined that the Chinese have a poetic way of encapsulating meaning in but a few letters. Indeed, this holds true for the traditional hua yue, or what the general populace knows better as Chinese Orchestra.

As its name suggests, Chinese Orchestra is a tight-knit family of happy music makers; we find joy in our music. And just like any other orchestra, we take pride in our numbers and more so, our diversity of musical timbres. From the sweet lilting melodies of the dizi (flute), the distinctive pitter-pattering of the plucked-string instruments to the heart-wrenching and expressive pitches of the erhu — you name it, we have it. Our instruments aren’t too hard to pick up but sound great.

CO consists of 5 distinctive sections, namely:

1. Plucked Strings
2. Chinese Strings
3. Woodwind
4. Bass
5. Percussion

We have instruments for everyone; it all depends on what you’re looking for. Anyone is welcome to try out, regardless of whether you have a musical background. What we value more is attitude and willingness to learn.

Apart from the musical bits, there’s also the less tangible culture aspect. We’re a family of bonded and easy-going folks with an extraordinary passion for CO music! We’ll be more than happy to welcome you onboard. Here are some testimonials from our current members:

Daryl Goh (15S03N): “There’s something crazy about the people in CO, and I think it’s that hyperness that keeps us together both on and off stage.”

Kim Ji Hwan (15A01C): “I thought I’d quit after Year 4 to try something new, but RJCO’s warm familial culture made me feel at home and continue on.”

Wong Yuxian (15S06P): “CO has changed from being something I dread to something I love.”

Indeed, RJCO has been a source of happiness for its members. Yet, as a ‘Chinese’ CCA, we often struggle to be heard. We are often compared to and deemed less deserving than our Western counterpart because of our heavy Chinese influences. ‘Overwhelmingly loud’, ‘garish’ and ‘boringly Chinese’ may be some common descriptors for the general Rafflesian populace. However, while these descriptors might have been applicable to the Chinese Orchestras of the past, they are certainly not accurate adjectives for RJCO.

This is because our repertoire is not only limited to the same few festive Chinese New Year songs that you’re sick of hearing at CNY assemblies. We cover music of all genres and origins, be it traditional or contemporary, western or oriental. We’ve done pop, anime music, classical western, movie OSTs and a whole lot of others. We’re also extremely receptive to new musical suggestions because we believe in playing music that is accessible to everyone. For example, in our concert last year, we performed a medley of songs from the Phantom of the Opera, as well as the tune Those Bygone Years from the popular Taiwanese romance movie You Are The Apple Of My Eye.

The following lists the RJCO practice schedule:

Mondays 

Sectionals/Xiaozu
5.30-8.30pm

Tuesdays
Combined Practice/Dazu
5.30-8.30pm

Hours of practices and rehearsals are invested into ensuring the standards of our orchestra: sectionals are held in separate sectional classrooms. Facilitated by qualified instructors, they aim to improve each individual’s skills, ensuring that a homogenous sound is achieved within the section. The entire orchestra then gathers in the CO room on Tuesdays for combined practice under the guidance of our Conductor (or occasionally, Student Conductor), creating a harmonious and unified sound.

Performance opportunities include the biennial Singapore Youth Festival (SYF) Arts Presentations for Chinese Orchestra, various concerts and CIP performances. However, though preparing for these events does take up the bulk of our CCA time, it is not all that we do.

A camp in March is organised every year to welcome our new initiates and to also serve as an opportunity for all members of the CCA to know each other better before the busier period of concert or SYF preparation sets in. During these couple of days, we simply loosen up, lose a few (maybe more) hours of sleep and have fun! Smaller scaled activities include monthly birthday celebrations to liven up some of our Dazus, and impromptu meal sessions before and/or after practices!

And finally, we close with what we started with:

华乐。

hua yue

For most people, the above word will be read as le but for those in CO, it’ll always be yue, and that is our one aim: to find joy in music.

“‘Come away’, is the call, with the love in your heart as the only song. There is no such beauty as where you belong.” –The Road Home, Stephen Paulus

Passionate about music-making, Raffles Chorale is a second home to a close-knit group of individuals who share a love for singing.

With an extensive repertoire spanning various genres including sacred hymns, folk tunes and contemporary pop songs, the dynamism and versatility of Chorale has kept audiences at the edge of their seats. The incorporation of different elements to our music – such as aleatory singing (or ‘chance music’), percussion instruments and even wine glasses – provides for a pleasant, refreshing take on traditional choral performances.

Under the esteemed musical direction of our resident conductor, Mr Toh Ban Sheng, Chorale has enjoyed a rich tradition of commendable achievement since the choir’s conception in 1982. In addition to having attained a Certificate of Distinction at the Singapore Youth Festival Central Judging in 2013, Chorale has achieved significant international recognition in numerous competitions held in Belgium, the Czech Republic, Finland, Italy and Poland.

Post-competition at the Kozel Castle (Credits to Dominique Yap)

Most recently, in June 2014, Chorale participated in the Musica Sacra Festival at the Kozel Castle in the Czech Republic, where we achieved a Diploma (Gold Level) in both the Mixed Choirs and Popular Sacred Music categories, a Jury Prize, as well as the coveted Grand Prix.

Chorale practices are held every Wednesday (2.30pm-6.30pm) and Friday (3.30pm-8pm), but may increase in duration and frequency in the lead-up to performances. Sectionals may also be held outside of official rehearsal hours. Though some technical expertise may come in handy, it is not of paramount importance as solfege is used to learn new pieces – if you have little experience with that, do not fret as we will readily help you out! Rather, the key prerequisites are an open mind and willing heart.

That being said, Chorale is more than a music-making machine. Concert performances and competitions aside, we have exciting activities lined up throughout the year which promise to make your time here enriching and meaningful. The annual overnight Chorale Camp held in March, for example, will leave many with spirits lifted and energised for the busy year ahead. Because we believe in bringing the choir together, you can expect some good fun with picnic lunches, outings to the beach, frisbee games and even an annual Secret Santa gift exchange!

Picnic at Marina Barrage! (Credits to Nicolette Foo)

In the spirit of giving back, our yearly Christmas event, Vocal Delights, is an entirely student-organised concert – traditionally helmed by the Year 5 batch – that aims to raise funds for the less privileged while spreading some Yuletide cheer. In addition to featuring our resident a cappella groups, PUNCH and Fringe, this concert also evinces the vocal prowess of our numerous student interest a cappella groups.

Student interest a capella group The Acafellas at Vocal Delights 2014 (Credits to Hee Xin Wei)

“The most valuable things are forged through the toughest times, and the friendships I speak of are no different,” remarked I Vivek Kai-Wen, chairperson of the batch of 2014. While it may not always be smooth-sailing, we assure you that the personal growth experienced, friendships forged, as well as the joy of making music will make this journey a rewarding one.

Here at the Raffles Debaters, we strongly believe that debate is the key to unlocking the potential of the human mind. More than just an activity, debating is an art, a skill, and a mode of thought all rolled into one.

Debating, in its various forms, involves a striking clash of wits, words, and styles. It is no surprise that Bryant McGill believes “the real battlefield is the realm of ideas”. And while nobody would ever mistake the Raffles Debaters for gladiators in an arena, or for warriors in a battlefield (mental fitness and the willingness to train are the only prerequisites), every debate is a contest for hearts and minds – albeit one fought with cue cards.

Beware the fearsome…cue card?

​Founded in March 1886, the Raffles Debaters has the distinction of being the oldest club in Raffles Institution. It has arguably been one of the most successful clubs of its kind in the country, with men and women who have gone on to become true leaders, thinkers and pioneers in its ranks. From former Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong to Professor Tommy Koh, the Raffles Debaters has a strong tradition of producing luminaries who contribute to Singapore.

The club seeks to nurture critical thinking and a passion for knowledge in each of its members, regardless of which stage of debating they are at when they first join us. Debaters can also expect to be equipped with intellectual dexterity and the ability to effectively harness the spoken word. These talents stand debaters in good stead. They are invaluable not only in academic disciplines, but also in one’s daily interactions. Everyone can benefit from the art of debating. Even if one is not keen on competitive debating, recreational debating can sharpen the wit and energise the mind. The argumentative, persuasive and critical thinking skills gained are sure to benefit all intellectually and academically.

Raffles Debaters is coached by two eminently qualified debaters: Mr Joshua Hiew and Mr Tan Teck Wei. Both are former captains of the Singapore national debating team, and have earned a plethora of accolades in their illustrious debating careers. They are always willing to commit time and effort, often beyond the call of duty, to help our debaters improve. They have been strong sources of support to the club throughout the whirlwind of events that dot the debating calendar. In training for the variety of championships where we represent our school, or for open tournaments that anyone can participate in, our coaches lend a helping hand in ensuring that we are prepared!

A Team of Raffles Debaters and our coaches

Regular training sessions take place twice a week. In each session, Raffles Debaters debate an entirely new topic – so one can learn something fresh from every training session! Occasionally, we mix things up and try cool new activities like “debates taboo”, extemporaneous speaking on quirky topics, or even organising our very own internal debating championship.

The Raffles Debaters is also committed to giving back to the community. Members participate in a slew of activities such as adjudicating debating championships and organising our very own tournaments. In 2011 and 2013, we organised the Prometheus Cup, an international tournament for debaters from across the world!

And finally, when joining Raffles Debaters, one does not just join a CCA – one also becomes part of a debating family that includes our Year 1-4 counterparts, and members of debating clubs all around the world. It is telling that whenever one goes for a tournament, there are always friends to be made and familiar faces to greet. Having a community of like-minded individuals who support and encourage you definitely adds a unique quality to one’s debating experience.

Debaters from across the world gather at the inaugural Prometheus Cup in 2011

Raffles Debaters welcomes all, regardless of prior debating experience, to give debating a shot. Passion, intellectual curiosity, and an open mind are all one needs to enjoy everything debate has to offer!

Some might think that Squash is simply about hitting a ball against a wall with a racquet. But actually, it is so much more than that. As the squash legends will call it, squash is like a physical and mental game of chess combined. The sheer fitness and racquet work needed, on top of agility, reflexes, tactics, and even mental strength makes squash a highly demanding but fulfilling game indeed. According to Forbes Magazine, squash is rated as the healthiest sport in the world, burning the most calories across all other sports.

As such, have you ever wished to join a fun and truly enjoyable CCA where at the same time, you’ll never have to worry about your NAPFA again? Upon joining Raffles Squash, the 2.4km run will become quite literally, a walk in the park. The very nature of the game is demanding: an extremely fast-paced racquet game where one’s fitness, mental strength, and game strategy will be put to the ultimate test. While squash is a sport that is relatively less known, some might say it’s a combination of the two popular sports, tennis and badminton. To some of us in the CCA, this sport is simply the best of both worlds.

Ideally, our CCA would be looking out for those who have had experience in the sport itself. However, if you don’t, any other forms of racquet experience (such as in Badminton or Tennis) would be highly preferred. At the end of the day, we are looking out for individuals who have basic ball-sense.

Our training times are on Mondays 5pm-7pm, as well as on Wednesdays and Fridays 3pm-6pm. On Mondays, we do physical sessions comprising of all the exercises designed to work our cardiovascular abilities to the very fullest, owing to the high amount of stamina the game requires in order to excel. On Wednesdays and Fridays, we have court trainings where players will get down onto court and start practising their shots with different drills, and of course have some matches to end off the day.

Our peak periods will be the first four to five months of the year leading up to the inter-school competitions where training will be three times a week as listed above. After the completion of the inter-school competitions, the Friday training will stand down until the end of the year upon the completion of Project Work assessment where it will resume all the way until inter-school competitions again with a break in the last 2 weeks of the year.

So, do you fancy a CCA that will keep your body at the peak of physical fitness? A CCA that commands all the different aspects of a sport such as agility, reflexes, speed, stamina, and of course mental strength? A CCA that works all the muscles in your body that you may not even know you had? To sum up, Squash is a game of physical chess. Thus, if you’re interested in what squash has to offer, join us today!☺

Did you know that the most famous segment of Dr. King’s ‘I have a Dream’ speech, which jolted the conscience of America, was delivered off-the-cuff? King’s mastery of the art of speaking was the result of years of service as a minister to his congregation. The art of speaking beautifies the message and lends clarity to its content. It is a skill that aids communication, which in turn, changes lives. If you wish to hone this valuable skill, we invite you to join us!

The Raffles Gavel Club is a subsidiary of Toastmasters International. This means that we follow an established curriculum consisting of a set of 10 speaking projects as part of our activities. Upon completion of all the projects, globally-recognized Toastmasters accreditation will be given, making each and every member a certified speaker and leader. Through the plethora of speaking exercises carried out during gavel sessions, gaveliers have access to growth through experiential learning, self-pacing, peer-feedback and mentorship. It is a core belief of the Raffles Gavel Club that in the domain of speaking, practice makes perfect.

Gavel Club Orientation 2014

Every week, members meet to carry out their Toastmasters projects within the club for 2-3 hours. These weekly sessions are an avenue for members to practice speaking under guidance and broaden their understanding of our world by listening to the speeches made by fellow members on issues that excite them. The Gavel Club is a friendly and accepting environment where speakers can interact freely, and achieve personal growth through mutual learning.

Gavel in session!

The art of speaking can be put into immediate use, even if we do not possess the statute of Dr King. Beyond the learning opportunities that being a member of the Raffles Gavel Club provides,  friends who are interested in serving the wider community through sharing the gift of speech would be excited to know that we have frequent collaborations with the Children Cancer Foundation and primary schools, allowing members to use their speaking skills in serving others.

A member’s development at Gavel is limited only by his or her enthusiasm. One can take on the many opportunities presented, ranging from club sessions to national competitions, to perfect the art of expression through speech. The seniors of the club are an inviting and friendly bunch who will give honest and constructive feedback to aid the growth of new members as they journey along the path towards speech mastery.

Members representing the Gavel Club and Raffles at speech competitions

Gavel is not only a club at here at Raffles. It is a family. By joining Gavel, one enters a community of driven and talented students with interests that span an entire spectrum. The Gavel Club is an anchor for many, and a platform for strong friendships to develop and thrive. Most of all, Gavel affords every member a trusting and supportive environment, free of disparagement and judgment.

The Gavel Club extends its welcome to interested candidates, regardless of background or speaking ability. The selection interview is not an assessment of ability, but of potential premised on the willingness of candidates to further improve their speaking skills and explore issues they find close to heart. We look forward to welcoming the incoming batch of speakers, who we hope will exemplify humility and steadfastness in their time with the club!

What is Club Automatica? We may be the CCA with one of the most mysterious-sounding names, but we’re actually the home of robotics and physics in RI (Y5-6). Now, before the phrase “geeky CCA” starts flashing across your mind, hold on. Yes, we do have so-called geeks in our midst, but we also have passionate and curious (or if you like, normal) members who simply want to learn more about robotics and physics and more importantly, have fun! In order to accommodate such vast interests, most of the time, Club Automatica is split into two divisions – Quanta for physics, and Robotica for, well, robotics.

Compared to other CCAs, our meeting times are rather unique. While Quanta meets on a weekly basis, Robotica has a flexible schedule to suit Rafflesians’ diverse timetables and commitments. Aside from a fixed day each month where both divisions meet up for a combined CCA session and share about what they have been doing, the timings of the rest of Robotica’s sessions (usually training sessions or competition preparation) are up to each competition team and individual to decide.

A triumphant club + our mascot at the Singapore CoSpace and RoboMaker Challenge 2014

Of course, besides having fun, we also take immense pride in what we do. In the last RoboCup Singapore Open, we clinched the Championship trophy, along with 3 1st places in the various categories. The recent National Junior Robotics Competition also saw us with a team in the finals and another team placing 1st in a category.

Fret not Year 5s, for prior experience is not a prerequisite to join Robotica; training will be provided! As everyone has the opportunity to take part in 2 major competitions in Year 5, you’ll also learn on the job, coupled with guidance from your friendly Robotica seniors.

Meanwhile, Quanta has student-driven lectures where members get to share interesting tidbits of Physics amongst themselves. Besides lectures (which can be admittedly boring for those who absolutely abhor theoretical things), Quanta also allows its members to build and play with “Physicky” things. In fact, we once had a senior who built a gigantic tesla coil!

This, ladies and gentlemen, is a tesla coil in its full glory!

But really, what Quanta does depends on the choices of its members – the members decide what they want to do. This means that if you join the Quanta family, you would get to put your creativity (which has been hitherto suppressed by the rigid school curriculum) to good use. More than fun and fruitful CCA sessions, however, members will also get to participate in the annual Amazing Science X Challenge. This is an excellent opportunity for those who love to perform mind-blowing stunts (based in Physics, of course) and crave generous cash prizes ;) !

Then, besides robotics and physics, what does Club Automatica have to offer as one CCA? In every event and competition, you’ll get to work with other like-minded individuals with similar interests and cravings. Moreover, much hard work and time is put into preparation, so you’ll definitely form firm and long-lasting friendships through the process.

In short, whether you are someone who has an insatiable intellectual desire for knowledge in theoretical physics, someone who loves getting your hands dirty by building automated objects (a.k.a. robots), or someone who enjoys having fun (albeit of a less common kind), Club Automatica can be your new home!

Oh, and before closing this tab, feel free to browse our Facebook page to find out more about us!

by Joey Low (15A01C)

Some of you may be carefully considering how to spend your Monday mornings now. Other than those of you who are determined to further your relationship with your bed or your lecture notes and tutorials, there’s pretty much a plethora of options available through the Monday Enrichment Programmes, one of which is the Business Leaders Programme (BLP). Hopefully, this article will help those who are considering this particular programme better understand what it is all about.

For starters, the name should already give you a general idea of the programme: it’s for aspiring entrepreneurs who wish to push the boundaries and conceptualise a visionary plan for their own dream businesses, moulding them into the Warren Buffetts or Larry Pages of tomorrow. After all, if you dream of being like Gru, with little minions to execute your every command, even embarking on ambitious (albeit less villainous) plans, BLP is the programme that should teach you the little details of how to get there.

Exactly what does this programme entail?

We meet once a week every Monday, just like all the other enrichment programmes in the allocated venue, typically the Hodge Lodge (yay for bean bags!) or one of the seminar rooms. But for our first session last year, we divided ourselves into groups of around six to work on the nine-month long ‘business’ project. I put this in quotation marks because all this consists of is writing a business plan (which, by the way, most of us can probably tell you, is harder than it sounds, but wholly satisfying in the end) and presenting it to a group of judges at the end of the year. Whether or not your group and you choose to make it a reality is really a matter of choice.

A typical sharing session during BLP!

While writing a business plan is definitely not an easy task, rest assured that the programme does provide you with the necessary information on how to craft your plan and do your research. The two hours you spend every week with your BLP peers routinely involve discussions with your ‘business partners’ and lessons by Mr Francis Tay, who is a very respectable and knowledgeable person in the field of business leadership. He is also very friendly and enthusiastic, even bringing us snacks every week to start each session on a high note! Occasionally, there will even be talks by other successful businessmen in which they share some of their innovative tips and secrets that helped their businesses grow.

But other than sitting in classrooms week after week (which, to be honest, can be a little tiring when you have CCA and endless tutorials being thrown at you), there are other things to look forward to. Did I mention we had the chance to attend an actual pitching session at the Singapore Management University (SMU)? We were presented with some amazingly creative business ideas, even having the opportunity to interact and network with people familiar with the current business environment. It was quite the eye-opener.

BLP Outing to Fish&Co.!

Beyond all that, the biggest and most interesting activity in the program is really the week-long internship that you get to experience during the December holidays. I spent 8 days at Fish&Co. with 5 other students in BLP learning about both the back- and front-of-house operations in their establishment. You may not like F&B, but don’t worry because there were many other options available to us and there will be for you too, from start-ups to big name businesses like A.S. Louken.

The internship at Penhaligon’s is just one of the many you can choose from!

Well, you don’t have to take my word for it. Ask any other year 6 who has gone through BLP and I’m sure they’ll tell you that the internship was awesome.

Now, the first lesson we learnt was that you should always capture your reader’s attention in a short and sweet executive summary, so I’ll stop here. Hopefully, you now have a better idea of what BLP is all about. And before I go, yes, I did enjoy myself. For all those applying, I hope you do too!

by Kate Tan (15S03U), Wilson Chan (15A01C), Tan Yi Chern (15S03N) and Yeo Jia Qi (15S03H)

Press: What can we do to make your life easier? Ms Chen: Submit the matriculation forms by the deadline. My joke is that everyone should take PCME or BCME.

As the Year 5s transition to a timetabled academic curriculum, Raffles Press sheds some light on the behind-the-scenes work that goes into creating the sheet of paper that will define the majority of your weekday hours for the year to come. In this article, Press interviews Ms Chen Yee Chien, Dean of Systems since 2007, to find out more about the down-and-dirty of timetabling and class allocations.

Timetabling

Starting with a light-hearted and humble disclaimer, Ms Chen emphasises that it is actually her timetabling committee that does most of the work, but that she does know “the big picture of how it’s done”.

The long process of conceptualising and organising the sheet of paper that we often take for granted begins with what everyone would expect: lots of data entry. “All the groupings, all the teachers, who is teaching which class or which group” must be keyed in, after which the software is left to run, and the complex back-and-forth dealings with the computer program begin. Lecture groupings are decided by the HODs; in Year 6 they can even request extra tutorial slots based on individual classes’ needs. The timetabling committee will collate the requests and determine if these classes can be given extra slots.

Past years’ experience has given the committee an idea of “the things that will jam up the system” and make the program unable to produce a solution, allowing them to pre-empt such issues and generate a rough timetable (i.e. the first cut) in as little as 15 minutes. This enables several timetables to be generated and compared to each other manually before the best set is selected for manual adjustments to improve it even further.

Naturally, the first step is to schedule all the lessons. While seemingly straightforward, the process is complicated by basic constraints. As Ms Chen explains, “The general rule we work with is, after 4 periods in a row, you should have a break. After PE, there must be a break. There cannot be more than one science practical a day. Lectures must be strategically placed to maximise the possible slots for science practicals as far as possible […] and there should be at least one short day (ending at about 1.30) besides Wednesday. But it’s not possible for some classes.” Subjects that have students drawn from many classes across the level, such as the H1 subjects in Year 6 or English Language and Linguistics, also need to have their tutorial slots carefully arranged to align nicely with each student’s timetable. After this, the manual adjustment process begins: “It’s like playing a game. Every period, every class is called a tile. Then we shift the tiles to empty slots, and the system tells us if we can’t shift. Say we want to shift a math tutorial to an empty tile, but the system tells us we cannot because the math tutor is teaching another class during that period. So we look at it – we might shift out the other class to make room for this class.”

How complicated the timetable really is on the software (click to enlarge)

While the constraints of the normal academic timetable are understandable, some question why the days of H3 subjects are so rigidly fixed. As Ms Chen explains, it is a matter of experience. In the past, where H3 timings were more fluid, it became a “nightmare” trying to sort people into classes. Hence, H3 subjects are now fixed on specific days, and it is “you [who are] in charge of figuring out if the H3 clashes with your CCA and whether you can work around it… you have to settle your own issues”.

It’s not just about the lessons though; even breaks are also taken into consideration. Because of the limited capacity of the canteen, the number of classes on break at any one time period must be monitored. Then, of course, comes the issue of venues. Although most of the time there is no shortage of venues, classrooms are almost always occupied – hence the reason why Year 5 classes (with the exception of HP classes) can’t have homerooms. At any one time, some classes must be scheduled in the LTs, or there simply won’t be enough classrooms for everyone.

For students upset at their many seventh-floor tutorials, the crux of the matter is that the software assigns the venues completely randomly: “The software doesn’t know where the venues are physically, so it might assign one period seventh floor, next period second floor, next period seventh floor again.” This means that consecutive tutorials have to be manually adjusted to be held in classrooms that aren’t too far apart. So the last step in the process, concludes Ms Chen, is manually arranging venues to minimise movement between classes, as well as minimise using the A7 and A6 classrooms.

Allocation of classrooms on the software (click to enlarge)

The Year 6 timetable is settled first, with slots and venues left for the Y5s. Sometimes the Year 6 timetables will be adjusted slightly when the Year 5s come in, especially concerning teachers that teach both levels. But the Year 6 timetable, lacking Project Work and Mother Tongue, ends earlier and generally is simpler to iron out, especially since Year 6 classes have homerooms, making manual adjustment mostly unnecessary. “Normally, all the classes are assigned homerooms randomly by the computers,” Ms Chen explains, excluding “temporary issues” like wheelchair-bound or injured students, who have priority for the lower floors.

Ms Chen is also involved in setting examination timetables. The challenge, she reveals, is to deal with the “big papers”, namely “GP, Econs, Chem, Math, and Biology and Physics (the last two are always scheduled together). If one level is having these five exams, all the venues are used up!” Generally though, the MPH, ISH and Innovation Centre can hold all the candidates, which cuts down the number of invigilators needed, as compared to using classrooms.

Class Allocation

The process of class allocation concludes before timetabling begins. Classes are sorted by subject combination and so “the biggest problem is really having too many subject combinations within a class”, especially so in RA classes and Arts classes. As Ms Chen puts it succinctly, “The smaller the candidature, the bigger the problem.” Compared to many universities, which set timetables from the start with students choosing themselves which courses to take, the subject combination is selected during matriculation before timetabling begins. This means if classes contain too many combinations, slots cannot be synchronised, and transferring between classes is necessary.

Here, Press takes the opportunity to ask the age-old question  – are classes sorted by ability or GPA? Ms Chen answers frankly, “If there are a few classes left [after sorting by subject combination, H1MT, RA and HP], there is a very loose banding. We don’t go very strictly by GPA only.” She explains that, from experience, having a class of students with similar learning profiles allows teachers to adapt their teaching style and pace to suit the class:

It’s not just by GPA, it’s also by [GPA of] prerequisite subjects, gender mix, racial mix, JAE/RP students mix – and sometimes [the mix of] foreign scholars…

Just like playing a game, the process of allocating classes involves certain rules. On one hand, the Science classes can only have a maximum of 27 students, because that is the maximum capacity of the labs. On the other hand, classes can’t be too small, as there is a set limit of classes per year. If one class has less students, that means another class must have more students, all while staying under the limit of 27 students per class. “It’s a very tight thing, because we try to maximise resources. After all, the more classes we have, the more teachers we need, and the more rooms we need. We don’t have the luxury of having extra teachers waiting to be deployed!” Other considerations also matter, such as Muslim students, who need to be free on Fridays between 12.30 and 2.30 for prayers. So as not to inconvenience other students in the class, “as far as possible, we will usually try to end the day by 12.30p.m. for such classes,” says Ms Chen.

With the criteria for sorting of classes listed out in such a neat order, class allocation might seem like a simple task. However, the very first criteria – that of subject combination – is also the most difficult to accommodate. Reminiscing on past experiences, Ms Chen says, “The old syllabus was very easy. Students took 3 or 4 subjects, and there wasn’t this H1/H2 business. So when the H1/H2 syllabus first came out, the first year was a very painful learning experience.” Now in their 10th year of working with the H1/H2 syllabus, Ms Chen and her committee are far more prepared. “So now we give a disclaimer!” she announces cheerfully, reminiscent of the numerous talks she gives in the MPH. “After Orientation, when we first allocate you into classes, I said this is as far we can as see for now, but I reserve the right to change [your class allocation] 1 week later when the full timetable comes out.” However, she assures students, such cases are few and far between, and will only involve those taking very unique combinations, or subjects with very small candidatures.

But what about those who want to change out of their current class? The Press writers then bring up the ever-familiar subject of Y5 students who wish to change classes and subject combinations after first receiving class allocations. Ms Chen empathises with their situation, but explains her own constraints. “Now (as at the time of the interview), subject combinations are still very fluid. So say I’m sorting the BCMH students, and I have 24. So I find 3 BCM+French students and add them to the class to make 27.” Digressing briefly, she jokes that “third language combinations are my best, like wildcards, can put anywhere! Wherever got vacancy I slot them in!” She continues, “So now, if a BCME student comes and tells me that he or she wants to change to BCMH – too bad! I don’t have space in the class, unless someone moves out. It’s like playing musical chairs.”

When it comes to subject combinations, Ms Chen admits that the committee has not been able to accommodate everyone for the past few years, despite their best efforts:

If you all have a first choice, give me your first choice and don’t change! If you give me at the start, I will definitely give you [the subject combination]. If later then you change, my hands are tied.

Look out for Part 2 of our interview, where we take a step back to consider a broader view about the general logistics of running the school.

by Kate Tan (15S03U), Wilson Chan (15A01C), Tan Yi Chern (15S03N) and Yeo Jia Qi (15S03H)

In Part 1 of our interview with Ms Chen Yee Chien, Dean of Systems, Raffles Press learnt more about the details and difficulties of class allocations and timetabling. In Part 2, we ask her about what her role encompasses, as she shares with us her experiences.

After finding out about timetabling and class allocation, we shift our focus, asking Ms Chen what her job scope of Dean of Systems consists of. She ponders briefly, before laughing and commenting, “I always have trouble explaining the word ‘systems’, I hate the word ‘systems’!”

Going on, she details how her job scope covers seemingly all logistical areas of the school, from student data, to scheduling of examinations and classes, results management (i.e. collating the results and comments entered by tutors to print progress reports) and results analysis. Her job also encompasses the duty of registering students for A level exams and submitting applications for access arrangements for students who may be colour-blind or need other special requests.

It’s not easy work; having barely managed to arrange a free timeslot for an interview, we were curious as to how busy Ms Chen was now, given that Term 1 is mostly certainly a peak period for her. Indeed, she confirms, “My peak periods are actually Term 1 and Term 4. I always joke that I should take no-pay leave in Term 1 and Term 4, and come to work only in Term 2 and Term 3!”

Term 1 consists of dealing all the matriculation issues, and by the time they are more or less settled, A-Level results are released, meaning a sudden surge in demand for data analysis. After that, Term 2 tends to be a lull period, and she starts preparing for the matriculation of the next batch of students in Term 3. The beginning of Term 4 is another lull period. Of course, once exams end, results analysis begins, followed by applications for H3s, and then matriculation starts over again in November.

“I’m actually the freest during your exams! Nobody will disturb me!”

She is quick to credit the teams she works with, including two Heads of Systems, two Assistant Department Heads, the IT department, the data management centre, and various committees. Summing up her job, she quips, “It involves a lot of data work. That’s why, after a while, I know a lot of students’ names, and results, and a little bit of everything!”

The people who work in Systems and the Data Management Centre as of 2014 (Ms Chen is fourth from the left)

Her job as Dean of Systems actually covers Years 1-6, though she works more closely with the Years 5-6. After the re-integration of the Junior College and Secondary sides of RI, Ms Chen also worked towards creating the Stamford portal that all RI students are now very familiar with. With an integrated system, Stamford was able to collate the two sets of student data and merge it into one easily accessible set that we now easily take for granted. As for where the data comes from, Ms Chen shares about the MOE-equivalent of Stamford, a system called Cockpit that holds data of all students in the local education system.

When asked about the skills necessary for her job, Ms Chen revealed that she majored in Math and Physics in university, while taking some computing courses. As she was on a PSC Teaching Scholarship, which was then very rigid, the officer questioned her every year why she was taking computing courses. In hindsight, she now comments, “Ironically, like 20, 30 years later, when I took over this job, all those computing lessons come in handy!”

“So I always tell students, ‘Don’t ask why you’re studying this. You’ll never know when it comes in handy.’”

Over the years, she has also learnt the crucial importance of human judgment. “You cannot just work on the system; you have to use a system to do the first cut, but after that the human touch has to come in to help you manage,” she says. She raises an example of the criteria for H3, which is a B for the prerequisite subject and a C for all other subjects, before asking, “But the thing is, what about people who scored AAAD? Technically, they don’t meet the criteria. Should I reject them?”

In such cases, she looks the cases individually and makes a decision. As she advises students, “Don’t worry, apply first, and let the system cut based on the criteria. If you don’t get it, you can appeal, and we will look at it on a case by case basis.” As for appeals, Ms Chen also does a lot of consulting and counselling for students, as those who had a chance to talk to her about subject combinations would know.

“Actually I think it’s quite interesting. I don’t even know these people but they come and talk to me and tell me about everything, like we’re good friends,” she laughs. “It’s like look, I don’t know you! I don’t know whether you should take Physics or Chemistry or Biology; you know it yourself. I can only help you to unravel yourself. But of course I see that as part of my job to help you, and I’ll do my best.”

So when you do get a look at your new timetable, and grumble about the unnecessary three-hour breaks, or why lessons are on the seventh floor, do consider the hard work and effort that goes into managing all the different timetables for various students. After all, Ms Chen does use the “human touch” to eliminate such issues – even if it doesn’t seem like that when you end at 4.10 p.m.

by Melissa Choi (16S06B)

A Division Cross Country Team 2015

It was not your typical scene at Bedok Reservoir, with 121 Crossers all reared-up and ready to go at the start line. An electrifying atmosphere enveloped the race site as the audience waited in anticipation for the first runner to emerge. Punctuating the morning calm was the sound of cheers from the many impassioned supporters who came down to cheer for their schoolmates. It was the 56th National Inter-School Cross Country championships, and what a race it was. In total, there were six races spanning three divisions, and six titles for Team Raffles to clinch. Rafflesian dominance was strongly felt, with the Rafflesian family clinching four out of the possible six titles.

The RI flag flies high; audiences crowd along the barricades near the finish line.

The A Division boys kicked off the first race at 9am, covering a distance of 4.6km. The Raffles team started strong as a pack, with pre-race favourite Chong Qi taking the lead. As the race progressed and the Crossers neared an uphill slope, a clear separation began to show. Some runners broke off from the pack, with Chester being one of them. Despite their exhaustion, many runners were determined to pick up their pace at the end, and even overtake close competitors such as the team from ACS(I).

Chester (RI, left) and Leroi (ACS(I), right) in a close battle for 3rd place

Chester recalled that he “wasn’t confident that I could overtake Leroi [one of the runners from ACS(I)] at the start”, but in the last 400m, “the coach told [him] to go get [Leroi]”. This was the push that propelled him to overtake his competitor in the tense last 3 seconds of the race, giving RI a clean but narrow sweep for Top 3 for the Boy’s A Division.

Some even collapsed to the floor after passing the finish line, having given the race their all. It goes without saying that Cross Country is a physically demanding as well as mentally trying sport. However, akin to finishing 2.4km in NAPFA, there is immense satisfaction derived from scaling long-distances and pushing one’s boundaries. Larry (15S06N), the captain of the boys’ team, felt “tremendously proud of the team”, as “the team was always there for one another when it mattered – be it helping pace each other or encouraging each other during tough times”.

Following the close fight between ACS(I) and RI, team scores were tabulated based on the timings of the best four runners from the school. Shohib finished 1st, Chong Qi 2nd, Chester 3rd, and Larry 8th, securing a 13-point lead over our closest competitors Victoria Junior College. Our other two runners also finished in the Top 20, with Shammo finishing 12th and Willy 19th. For Shohib, this was his second straight individual gold; in 2014, he finished with a timing of 14:02.8 on the 4.3km course. Chong Qi was also 2014’s B Division Individual Champion, achieving a timing of 14:26.7; this year, he finished just 12 seconds after Shohib.

Shohib on the last leg of the course; he finished with just a time of 16:05.1.

Our A Division girls too performed strongly, narrowly losing out to the VJC girls by only three points. The girls were a strong team overall, and “the race could have gone either way”, according to the coach, Mr. Joe Goh. While both girls and boys ran along nearly the same course, the girls took a shorter route of 3.6km, and began their race at 9.40am.

With the VJC girls establishing their lead 400m into the race, and extending it further as the race progressed, Natalie, the forerunner of the Raffles team, tried to keep up but was unable to. Eventually, she finished 3rd, followed closely by Yi Xin in 4th. Faye battled Xin Ying (VJC) for 6th place, but crossed the line 0.2 seconds after her to finish 7th. Edina came in 9th, bagging a team score of 23 points. Valarie and Shiying from the RI team also performed well, coming in 10th and 19th respectively.

Natalie sprinting towards the finish line; she achieved a superb timing of 14:03.0.

It was a neck-and-neck battle though, as the runners who finished third through seventh all finished in close succession, varying only by 24 seconds. Natalie (16S03S) attested to the race being a very close fight, but that “there is nothing to be disappointed about” because “everybody put in their best effort.” Sporting a positive attitude, she remarked that the only thing the team can do is to train harder for next year. “Even though we didn’t get champions, they will still be champions in my heart!” she said.

When asked what she thought of the team, she said, “I love our team, it was super fun training with them up to this season, and they make training much better.” Her teammate Valarie (16S06I) echoes this sentiment, “Even though it’s tough, it’s fun.”

Shiying (15S03F), the captain of the girls’ team, told us, “Though we were unable to bring home the title this year, I can say with certainty that we’ve trained hard for it and given it our best shot.” Although she felt that “losing the title so narrowly was definitely a bitter pill to swallow”, she still remains optimistic and motivated “to train even harder for the upcoming Track and Field championships.”

A showing of strong team spirit in the Cross Country team

Confident that the runners have given their best, the coaches are proud of Team Raffles and maintain that the results are secondary. Mr Goh remarked, “They did above expectations…For A girls especially, we had a very close fight with VJC. We [expected] them to give us a tough fight based on the past few races … It could [go] to anybody, just that today they did better than us.”

While many see Cross Country as an individual sport, the Cross team strongly believes in the importance of the team. Larry noted, “Although the nature of the sport is an individualistic one, it never felt this way in this team.” Training three times a week in paced groups, supported by teachers and parents who do all sorts of behind-the-scenes work, has enabled the Cross team to form bonds like no other.

Both Cross teams have shown great sportsmanship and team spirit, and we would like to congratulate them on a job well done. We wish the Cross Country team all the best in their future endeavours!

by Qiu Kexin (16A13A)

Photos by Nicolette Ang (16S03P)

It was late morning, soon passing into the heat of the afternoon. At 1 pm, Hougang Secondary School was abuzz with chatter as spectators crowded into the Indoor Sports Hall and canteen, while awaiting the start of this year’s Judo Championships. There was a thrum of anticipation as competitors readied themselves for their most important Judo matches of the season, which would either make or break them. Nevertheless, if the determined and confident looks from the various participants were any indication, they had come well-prepared both physically and mentally.

In Judo, the team that secures at least three out of five bouts will be crowned the overall victor for a competition. Each bout lasts 3 minutes, and is played between 2 opponents from the same weight category. In the course of each bout, competitors aim to score an ippon, which is done by throwing (as opposed to merely forcing) one’s opponent flat onto their back, or holding for 20 seconds. An ippon is the highest possible point in Judo, and when a competitor executes it successfully (by no means an easy feat!), it ends the match instantly and the victory for that bout is awarded to them.

A DIVISION BOYS

Having defeated Catholic Junior College in the semi-finals, Raffles Institution’s A Division boys were now competing against formidable opponents from Nanyang Junior College. Expectations were high for the boys due to their triumph in last year’s finals, and the Rafflesians there were hoping that the results this year would be in favour of this victorious streak.

The competitors representing Raffles Institution were as follows, in order of ascending weight category:

• Feather (-60 kg): Yong Kang Ren
• Extra Light (-66 kg): Ong Jia Xiang
• Light (-73 kg): Wu Bo Dong
• Middle (-81 kg): Chen Yuan Bo
• Heavy (+81 kg): Ryan Chong

In the first match by the A Division Boys, Kang Ren tackled his opponent with much vigour. His Nanyang competitor attempted strong grapples to win an edge, but Kang Ren eventually gained leverage halfway through the bout to pin him down to the floor, after which the 20-second countdown for his pin started. His resolve paid off as he was successful, earning Raffles the victory for that bout.

Kang Ren trying to hold his opponent

Next up was Jia Xiang. He was a competent fighter who managed to get his opponent down many times while also preventing his opponent from holding him down. Unfortunately, he suffered an injury to his mouth – the bout was temporarily paused to allow it to be taken care of. Despite his significant efforts, he lost the bout narrowly by only a few points at the end. Still, the tenacity he showed during the bout was truly the mark of an honourable judoka, and he had put up nothing short of a good fight.

For the third bout, Bo Dong used his strength to tackle and counter his opponent’s attacks, while staunchly wrestling with control to try to bring his opponent down, but he was eventually overpowered and thrown for a full point.

Fourth in the line-up was Yuan Bo. His display of skill was spectacular, evading his counterpart while parrying attempts to overpower him. He was able to score a major point when he gained on his opponent by pinning him to the ground for 20 seconds; the bout was subsequently won. This turned the tide for Raffles. Having fought back to parity, the morale of the team’s supporters lifted considerably after this victory, in eagerness for the final and decisive bout.

Yuan Bo throwing his opponent

In the last bout, Ryan Chong and his contender faced off in an intense match that saw both of them fighting to pin the other down as swiftly as possible. The referee renewed the bout when the two competitors were struggling with each other, none apparently able to gain on the other. After the bout restarted at the centre, Ryan made the first attack and quickly brought his contender down through a series of steadfast grapples. He secured a win after that, amid roaring cheers from the audience.

Ryan holding his opponent down

It was with pride that, with a score of 3-2, the Rafflesian team had beaten Nanyang Junior College in an ardent series of duels and emerged with the title of national Champions. For the excellent win this year, the boys’ captain Kang Ren (15S03E) credited “each one of us in the team, our coaches Mr Tan and Mr Low, teachers-in-charge, and most importantly… everyone.”

The team commented after the bouts that they truthfully had been feeling “terrified” before the competition, but the support from their coaches and one another helped “calm them down” to be ready for their bouts. The values of discipline, determination and team spirit advocated by Judo were poignantly summed up in this statement by one of the A Division boys: “We had put in so much hard work for the past six years and also suffered together, so when it came down to this, we just wanted to fight for everyone, to show something for our efforts.”

A Division Boys in first place

A DIVISION GIRLS

This year, the Rafflesian girls’ team was up against Hwa Chong’s team, after defeating Nanyang Junior College in the semi-finals. Both school teams had had a long history of being favourites in the annual Judo inter-school finals, and it was clear that they would put up a tough fight to the teeth for the title of Champions.

Our A Division girls had won Silver in the previous year’s finals, barely losing to Hwa Chong Institution by just one bout. There was hence evident stress placed upon them to try their best to pull through for a victory this year. However, the girls maintained a resilient and positive attitude in the face of the difficulties ahead. Joyce Lee (15S03F), who competed in the semi-finals, expressed that, “We didn’t focus much on winning this year because it was our last Nationals together. There were times [when we felt demotivated] but remembering our whole batch’s effort in training helped drive us.” In hindsight, valuing the journey more than the outcome could have been what gave them the necessary motivation for their triumph this year.

A Division Girls facing their opponents

The competitors representing Raffles Institution were as follows, in order of ascending weight category:

• Feather (-48 kg): Charis Tay
• Extra Light (-52 kg): Lim Yong Ling
• Light (-57 kg): Fadhillah Md Faizan
• Middle (-63 kg): Tania Forichon
• Heavy (+63 kg): Joey Low

In the first bout by Charis, she rapidly brought down her counterpart with a throw, for which a half point was awarded to Raffles Institution. The bout was restarted after that in the centre. Her competitor hit out with the first strike, but Charis was ready for it, and maintained control over her movements even as her competitor tried to bring her down. She did not concede and, through skilful manoeuvring and adroit balancing, avoided being thrown. Eventually, she then gained yet another point when she successfully threw the Hwa Chong competitor to the ground. The bout was thus won for the Raffles team.

For the next round, Yong Ling displayed adept skill in groundwork, using well-timed foot sweeps a few times in order to bring her opponent down. Many times, the two competitors struggled on the ground, each fighting fiercely to gain leverage over the other. Unfortunately, in the last few seconds of the round, Yong Ling was awarded a penalty, which earned her contender an extra point that gave Hwa Chong a small margin for the victory for that bout. Nevertheless, Yong Ling had been a spirited fighter and had given her best for the team.

Next was Fadhillah in the third bout. As soon as the bout started, she fought relentlessly to cut down her opponent. Her opponent also exhibited much prowess in her movements and attacks. However, Fadhillah was quick on her feet and at one point, she was able to swiftly overturn her opponent onto her back even when it seemed imminent that she was about to be pinned down. Fadhillah’s footwork and careful balance helped in bringing down her opponent several times, for which points were awarded. In the end, she won another bout for Raffles.

In the second last bout, Tania continually hit out from the start to try to assert a strong grip on her opponent. Her competitor similarly took swings at her with offensive moves. Tania was a force to be reckoned with, expertly defending against numerous attempts to bring her down while also dodging sweeps. The atmosphere was tense but exciting, with Tania lunging at her opponent at one point to throw her onto her back. Eventually, the Hwa Chong competitor conceded the bout to Tania.

For the last bout, girls’ captain Joey faced stiff competition from her opponent. She took on a more defensive stance initially, with the first attack coming from her opponent. It was a fierce neck-to-neck duel, but she pressed on, refusing to be held down to the ground in spite of a few close calls. She showed great competence, cleverly taking advantage of a moment when her opponent was struggling to grapple with her to pin her down. The tide turned in the middle when Joey successfully countered twice, which scored half point each to make one whole point for Raffles. Thus the fourth bout was won, and with it, Raffles Institution’s place as Champions was also secured.

Seeing everyone’s faithful commitment to the team, it felt as if this year’s Double Championships were truly a well-deserved reward in return for their unfaltering dedication to their sport. Both the Judo teams have done well above all expectations, and we wish to congratulate them for their great sportsmanship and tenacious spirit. Good luck for the individual bouts, and may the path of the Gentle Way lead you to more fruitful avenues!