CVSS Sweeps 8 Awards at the Singapore Amazing Flying Machine Competition 2018!

It was a time of great jubilation for our school at the Singapore Amazing Flying Machine Competition (SAFMC) Awards Ceremony held in the Singapore Science Centre on 7 April 2018.  The competition was held over several days.  A record of more than 400 teams from 84 schools participated in the SAFMC this year. Our North Stars swept 8 awards and clinched the coveted Championship Award, 1st Place in the Unpowered Gliders category, the highest award a team could win based on overall excellence shown in all aspects of the competition. This is the first time our school clinched the championship award in the competition’s 10 year history and our third participation since 2016.

• video player -
• video player -

Category B: The Unpowered Gliders [170 participating teams from secondary schools]:

• Championship Award, 1st and 3rd placing
• Best Performance Award, 1st and 2nd (tie) placing
• Most Creative Award, 2nd

Category C1: The Fixed-Wing Radio Controlled Flight (103 participating teams from sec IP schools, JCs, Polys and ITE]:

• Championship Award, 3rd
• Most Creative Award, 1st
• Best Aesthetic Award, 3rd

Our teams received the awards from Dr Maliki Osman, Senior Minister of State for Defence and Foreign Affairs, the Guest of Honour at the ceremony.  Apart from receiving medals for each award, the teams have also won a collective sum of $2,600 prize money.  As a result of our outstanding performance, two of our teams were selected to demonstrate the launching of gliders and flying of their radio-controlled plane to the Guest of Honour and the audience during the award ceremony. Valerie Lee Xin Yi from 4E3 was also chosen to present the token of appreciation to the GOH.

Although some of our teams did not managed to clinch any award, all of them have put in a lot of time and effort to research, learn and improve, relentlessly overcoming obstacles in the process such as the lack of knowhow, mutual free time, practice space and venue.  The enthusiasm, commitment and resilience that they displayed are indeed exemplary and befitting of a North Star!

AERONAUTICS CUM CULTURAL IMMERSION LEARNING JOURNEY TO CHINA BEIJING/TIANJIN 2017

During the school visits, our students attended various demonstration lessons in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and learn about radio frequencies, drone technology, robotics and mathematical estimation. One such interesting lesson on the applications of wireless technologies in our everyday lives involved students using radio frequency receivers to find out the location of a transmitter hidden by the teacher, and to decipher the message being transmitted. Students also tried their hands in flying drones that were built and assembled by Tianjin Fu Xing School.

The industry visits included the Tianjin Airbus Final Assembly Line (FAL), Aircraft Maintenance and Engineering Corporation (AMECO) Beijing and Reignwood Star Aviation.  Students gained an insight into the aerospace industry in China and were shown some of the day-to-day operations of the companies. At the Tianjin Airbus FAL, students saw how an Airbus A320 was being put together in stages. The students also saw how apprentices were trained at the AMECO training college as they observed ongoing classes and were brought around the hangar to observe training teams working on the maintenance of various airplanes. At Reignwood Star Aviation, students attended a lesson on basic flight theory conducted by an experienced pilot and were given a tour of their hangar facilities including exploring the inside of a helicopter.

The learning journey was also a cultural immersion trip.  Our students visited the various cultural and heritage sites in Beijing and Tianjin such as the Great Wall of China, the Forbidden City, Tian-an-men Square and Tianjin Food Street. At these locations, students learnt more about the historical and cultural significance of the sites through interesting activities such as an “Amazing Race” at the Forbidden City, in which students raced around to find out more about the history of the palaces and the various innovations to improve the lives of the people who lived there.

Besides visiting aeronautics schools and the industry, our students also visited vocational schools and the applications of vocational skills in the real world.  This includes visits to Beijing Jinsong Vocational High School, a top vocational school in Beijing, and vocational training facilities in Beijing and Tianjin. One such facility was a fully operational hotel which provided training for students in the areas of hospitality and culinary arts. The students observed lessons in progress and got to participate in a culinary lesson as well. Our students also visited the Grand Millennium Hotel Beijing, where they received invaluable education and career guidance from the general manager of the hotel. The students were brought around the hotel to observe its day-to-day operations and gained valuable insight into what goes on behind the scenes in a large scale hospitality business.

The learning journey was also a cultural immersion trip.  Our students visited the various cultural and heritage sites in Beijing and Tianjin such as the Great Wall of China, the Forbidden City, Tian-an-men Square and Tianjin Food Street. At these locations, students learnt more about the historical and cultural significance of the sites through interesting activities such as an “Amazing Race” at the Forbidden City, in which students raced around to find out more about the history of the palaces and the various innovations to improve the lives of the people who lived there.

Our students also attended Chinese cultural enrichment classes and tried their hands at calligraphy writing and Chinese paper-fan and figurine painting during the school visits.

To wrap up the trip and not forgetting doing good, our students visited an orphanage where they were shown the challenges in operating an orphanage. The students interacted with the children, put up performances and played games with them.  It was a fulfilling and touching experience for all. All in all, the learning journey was an invaluable and enriching learning experience for all our students, even teachers. It is hoped that it would inspire our students to continue pursuing their passion in aeronautics and perhaps a career in the aerospace industry.  Besides learning about vocational training in China and gaining some knowledge in hospitality management, our students were also developed in the 21st century competencies of civic literacy, global awareness and cross-cultural skills and gained a deeper appreciation of the Chinese culture and heritage.