CVSS Overseas Service Learning Programme – Vietnam 2016

As part of our Learning for Life Programme in Community & Youth Leadership, our school organises an overseas service learning project every year to neighbouring countries (Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam etc) for student leaders to make a difference to other communities, inculcate our school values of graciousness, empathy and resilience, and develop leadership and project management skills.

For 2016, 32 students and 4 teachers led by one of our Vice-Principals, embarked on a 7 days 6 nights Overseas Service Learning Project to Ho Chi Minh CIty, Vietnam in September.

This year, our students visited Tran Van On Primary School for the second time to teach the Vietnamese pupils English and Mathematics through songs, games and Art & Craft, as well as organise mini sports and games which were well-enjoyed by all.  Our students also helped improve the school infrastructure and environment such as cementing the floor of the courtyard and classrooms, building a brick fence and painting a wall mural.

The trip also provided a valuable opportunity for our students to learn about the history, culture, practices and livelihood in Vietnam.  These include visits to the War Remnants Museum, Cu Chi Tunnel, Re-unification Palace, Post Office, Notre Dame Cathedral.  Students also visited a bee farm to learn about local products and making coconut candy from scratch during the Mekong Delta Land Tour, as well as watched a Water Puppet Show to appreciate traditional Vietnamese arts.  As much as they have served the local community, our students have also learnt much from the locals and have learnt to appreciate what they have at home. They have gained many precious memories and experiences and would share what they have learnt with their fellow schoolmates upon their return.

Student Achievements in Mother Tongue Competitions 2016

5th National Create your Own Newspaper Competition
In the National Create Your Own Newspaper Competition （全国中学编采比赛）jointly organized by the Committee to Promote Chinese Language Learning（推广华文学习委员会）, SPH Chinese Student Paper Zbcomma and Xinmin Secondary School, our students clinched a Silver Award in the Upper Secondary Category and a Bronze Award in the Lower Secondary Category.  The competition aims to develop students’ passion in the learning of CL, as well as to strengthen their command and proficiency of CL through practical and interesting applications. Despite facing stiff competition from over 50 schools, our students showed perseverance and confidence in planning the layout and generating two pages of content for a newspaper article.

Our Upper Sec team comprised Leow Hui Xuan (3E5), Jennifer Goh Mui Foong (3E4), Gladys Wong Lin Hui (3E5) and Tan Jia Peng (3E5), while our Lower Sec team comprised Joachim Aw Man Ling (2E4), Lim Siang Yee (2E4), Liow Lydia (2E4) and Choon An Wen (2E2).

10th Interschool Theatresports Competition

In the 10th Interschool Theatresports Competition organised by Dunman High School, our students clinched a Team 4th Position and the hotly contested Most Creative Team Award despite facing intense competition from traditional powerhouses like Nanyang Girls’ High and River Valley High School.  Theatresports is improvisational theatre done in a competitive way for dramatic effects. Competing teams had to perform scenes based on random suggestions and adapt to spontaneous changes requested by the judges. The competition aims to provide contestants with the opportunity of learning CL in an engaging and innovative way. Through Theatresports, students also learn to work collaboratively in teams, building up their self-esteem and confidence along the way and putting their critical and creative thinking to the test.

Our students involved in the competition were Lee Jia Qian Valerie (1E4), Cheung Chun On (2E2), Lee Yong Sheng (2E2), Koh Zhi Rong (2E4), Cheung Yuen Ling (4E1) and Zenise Tey (4N3) North 3 School Cluster Malay Scrabble Competition 2016

In the annual N3 Cluster Malay Scrabble Competition held at Pei Hwa Secondary School, our students were crowned Champions in both lower and upper secondary categories despite facing stiff competition from other schools in the N3 cluster. The icing on the cake was when our students, Fatin Humaira Bte Mohd Ashik (Sec 2E1) and Siti Farzlinda Bte Misran (Sec 3E1) also emerged individual 1st and 2nd in their respective categories.

The competition was organised to encourage and enhance vocabulary building amongst participants and open their world to the beauty of the Malay Language through the engaging Sahibba game, which is equivalent to Scrabble.  Students had to build as many words as they could from a pile of tiles within a time limit. This allowed them to hone their confidence, calmness and the ability to strategize their game-play by purposeful interceptions and quick thinking.

Our team comprised the following students:

From Left to Right - Fatin Humaira - Individual Award Winner (Lower Secondary-1st)
and Siti Farzlinda –Individual Award Winner (Upper Secondary-2nd)

2016 National Stamp Collecting Competition and Four-Nation (ASEAN) Stamp Contest

12 of our Sec 2 and 3 students took part in the 2016 National Stamp Collecting Competition (NSCC), organised by the Singapore Philatelic Museum in July and brought home one Gold Award with Special Prize, one Silver Award with Special Prize and one Silver Award among a total of 107 teams from 24 schools, including top schools such as Raffles Institution.  The entry of our team who won the Gold Award with Special Prize was selected for the Four-Nation Stamp Contest with competitors from Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand and our entry clinched the Silver Award. The winning entries were exhibited at The Plaza, National Library from 19-21 Aug 2016. Our Gold Award with Special Prize team with the Chairman of Singapore Philatelic Museum Board and their entry entitled “Music – Voice of Soul”

The National Stamp Collecting competition aims to promote the study of postage stamps and philatelic materials to learn about Singapore and the world.  In this competition, students worked in groups of 4 to submit philatelic exhibits using stamp products and narratives based on a theme of their choice such as nature, culture, technology etc.  Our students have shown resilience as they persevered in researching on information over many months and poring through the information on transport system, food of other countries and impact of music in life.  In the process, they have developed learning and thinking skills such as language development, writing, research, organisation and creativity.

Our team members comprised:
- Gold Award with Special Prize for the entry entitled “Music – Voice of Soul” - Aqil B Kusaini (2E4), Claudia Heng (2E5), Adinda Fitri Falinka (2E3) and Johan Fadli B Jailani (2E4).
- Silver Award with Special Prize for the entry entitled “A Food Detective on a Hunt – Bon Appetit” - Ghumaysa Asif (2E4), Aw Man Ling Joachim (2E4), Alex Low Hao Han (2E4) and Ng Wai Meng (2E4).
- Silver Award for the entry entitled “Our Singapore Transport – Tales through Ah Seng’s Eyes” - Marcy Nicole Baeza Marasigan (3E4), Nur Jasmine Bte Roslan (3E5), Ho Jun Jie (3E3) and Neo Chung Sheng (3E4).

Commendation Award for SP Toy Design Competition 2016

Our students achieved a Commendation Award in the 2016 Toy Design Competition organized by Singapore Polytechnic’s School of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering and sponsored by Hewlett-Packard Singapore (Sales) Pte Ltd and Autodesk Asia Pte Ltd.

The team of students from Sec 3E2: Nur Shabrina Diana Bte Shairul, Megan Lucciana Poh Eng Oon,
Felix Ang Jing Yi, Wong Tian Ren

The competition provided a platform for students to challenge their creativity and skills in designing and creating fascinating animated mechanical toy sculptures called Automata*.  The competition emphasizes on innovativeness, design element and engineering skills.  Participants sought to generate interesting storyline of their Automata and thought of the most appropriate mechanism(s) that could be used to drive the actions and deliver the story.  The project involved several stages such as conceptualization of the storyline, sketching of the design using computer-aided design (CAD) software such as SolidWorks, printing of the design using a 3D printer, and the building of the Automata using wood materials, plastic, high density foam, kapaline board etc.  A 2D Laser Cutting Machine was used to create their Automata parts.

Our students came up with the storyboard of “From Third World to the First” and included key features of the story to animate such as Changi Airport Control Tower, Merlion sculpture and HDB blocks. It was a difficult challenge but our students trained hard for the competition and demonstrated their use of critical and inventive thinking.  They have shown great resilience, strong teamwork and good sportsmanship as they faced more established teams during the competition.

Students constructing the cam and follower mechanism and applying the finishing touches.

*Automata comes from the Cabaret Mechanical Theatre (CMT), a highly acclaimed travelling exhibition originated from the UK that combines the work of Arts, Science and Technology.  These mechanical toy sculptures showcase the fine art of engineering and are valued highly in the collectors’ circle. They can be brought to life by cranking a handle to move a shaft mounted with a series of machine parts such as cams, gears, linkages, belts and pulleys, ratchets, etc. which are in turn connected to the various parts of the sculptures to produce the desired movement.

CVSS International Coastal Clean-Up (ICCS) 2016

As part of our school’s commitment in advocating environment sustainability, 132 students from various CCA groups participated in the annual International Coastal Clean-Up (ICCS) on 17 September 2016 at Changi Beach Site 3, organised by our school in partnership with Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum.  Besides the CCA teachers-in-charge, many other teachers also joined in to play their part, with some teachers bringing their family members along.

ICCS is an international event which aims to collect data on shoreline debris as well as encourage communities to come together to do their part to keep the shorelines clean by removing debris. The information gathered serves to educate the public on marine debris issues and encourage positive change by submissions of the data collated to governmental and international organisations that will reduce debris along the shorelines and enhance aquatic environments.

Through this meaningful event, our school endeavoured to do our part to raise awareness about anti-littering and protect our marine environment. Our North Stars also exemplified our school values such as graciousness and resilience during the activity and learnt more about the importance of keeping our shorelines clean. For detailed results, please visit https://coastalcleanup.nus.edu.sg/results/2016/cn-cn4-compassvale.htm.