OVERSEAS SERVICE LEARNING PROGRAMME TO HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM 2019

36 Sec 3 student leaders, accompanied by 5 teachers and one of our Vice-Principals went on our annual Overseas Service Learning Programme (OSLP) to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam from 8 to 15 June 2019.  As part of our Learning for Life Programme, the OSLP aims to develop community and youth leadership in our students through values-in-action projects with an overseas partner school.  Our partner school this year was An Khanh Primary School. Over 3 and a half days, our students conducted Arts & Craft, English & Mathematics and Upcycling lessons for the primary pupils as well as engaged the pupils through simple games and sports activities. They also helped refurbished the school. In a short span of 3 days, they gave the school a fresh coat of paint, painted colourful murals on the exterior walls, cleaned up the toilets thoroughly and helped in the renovation of a classroom. We ended our service at the school and bid farewell with a gift exchange and mass performance, singing iconic Singapore songs like Singapore Town and Chan Mali Chan. The School leaders of An Khanh Primary School thanked us for the help rendered and their teaching staff were grateful for our visit. After the school attachment, our students went on an eco-tourism tour visiting local coconut candy production factory, bee farm factories and agricultural farms.  Besides tasting local delights such as honey and fresh fruits, our students also tried harvesting Tapioca leaves and plant crops. Through these activities, they were able to gain a deeper appreciation of the tough but essential work of farmers. To learn more about the history and culture of Vietnam, students visited the Cu Chi Tunnel and learnt about the Vietnam War through a guided tour. They also watched the renowned Vietnamese water puppet show and experienced traditional lacquer making and Vietnamese glutinous rice wrapping. Hard and heart-work was key to the success of this trip as our North Stars gained new perspectives and appreciate the peace and comfort that they enjoy back here in Singapore. The bonds forged and valuable lessons learnt would always be unforgettable and meaningful for all involved.

Secondary 3 Service Learning Projects 2019

As part of our Learning for Life Programme on Community & Youth Leadership, all our Sec 3 students embarked on a semester long service learning project with the objectives to inculcate good character values and develop life skills while nurturing a greater empathy for people in need.

In this project, students were tasked as a class to identify the key needs of SunLove Home, Bright Hill Evergreen Home, Bethesda C.A.R.E Senior Activity Centre or Sengkang Community Hospital. They were then challenged to think of opportunities to serve these needs and then plan, develop and fine tune their projects under the guidance and support of their form teachers and mentors from Social Change in Action. They then carried out the projects with the various beneficiaries on CVSS CAReS Day (29 May).  The projects completed include interacting with the elderly residents at the two homes with arts & craft and games, bringing the residents from SunLove Home to Gardens by the Bay and the eldely guests from Bethesda CARE SAC to Malay Heritage Centre, cheering up patients through performances at Sengkang Community Hospital wards and hosting a visit to our school for elderly residents who live near our school.

Students braved myriad obstacles and demonstrated grit to overcome these hurdles. They seized opportunities to exercise social responsibility and contribute meaningfully to their chosen community.  The service learning project culminated in students sharing their experiences and reflections with their peers from other classes and inspiring the next batch of students who will be embarking on their projects next year.

SchoolARTS@SKGH 2019

As part of the SchoolARTS@SKGH initiative undertaken by several schools, our North Stars did CVSS proud by tapping on their talent to show care for the patients and appreciation for the staff at Sengkang General Hospital and Sengkang Community Hospital.

Our Sec 1 NCC Air cadets did a wall mural to liven up the ambience of the hospital wards while our choir, band and dance CCA members put up an entertaining lunch time concert on 24 May to cheer up the patients and staff.

Secondary 1 & 2 Green Compass Programme 2019

As climate change becomes a central issue in the world today, it is important that students are exposed to ways of reducing consumption of new products by making new use of everyday items that are discarded. This is part of the UNESCO Sustainable Development Goals.

As part of our school’s Green Compass Programme, all Sec 1 students attended a talk on Waste Management by NEA and embarked on a recyclables collection drive from 36 HDB blocks near our school.  They also helped spread awareness on environmental issues and waste management by giving out NEA pamphlets to all the residents. All Sec 2 students went through a series of upcycling workshops and talks by TERRA Organisation, which include workshops on creating juice carton wallets, upholstery tissue paper holder and pencil cases made of recycled plastic bottles. Besides acquiring the skills of upcycling, students were given insight into the extent of environmental pollution and how their little actions could impact climate change in a big way.

Commendation Award in Design for Good Youth Competition 2019

A group of students from our Community Youth Leaders Club took part in the annual Design for Good Youth Competition organized by Make the Change on 1 Nov 2019 and clinched a Commendation Award among over 600 entries from 28 secondary school.

The Design for Good Youth Competition, organised by Make The Change (a social enterprise with a marketing, advertising and design school), is a yearly event that encourages secondary school students to use their creativity, arts and design to address a social cause. In collaboration with the Media Literacy Council, this year’s competition was to create awareness of the better use of the internet and promoting the values of ‘Be Kind, Be Smart and Be Safe’.

Our students designed a communicative poster that advocates for better internet use and compels people to take action.

Bronze Awards in National Youth Upcycling Movement 2019

Two teams of students from our Environment Club took part in the National Youth Upcycling Movement on 11 Nov 2019, organised by Crescent Girls’ School, with the support of the Ministry of Education and S2 Cluster Schools. The theme for this year’s movement is “Sustainable Singapore Model”. Through its ‘By Youths, For All’ approach, the NYUM empowers each team to design and create upcycled household items using waste materials, with guidance from experts and consultants in the industry.

Both teams achieved the Bronze Award for their innovative design and practical product.

Team CVSS 1, consisting of Pee Yuan Yun Felicia from 3E2, Amberly Tan Jin Wei from 3E5, Joshua Tee Zun Rong from 2E3, Zeus Ki’Ern Ong from 2E4 and Yeo Qiao Xuan from 2N2, saw the high usage of one-time use plastic bottles in school, and decided to upcycle these waste materials into functional nightlights and mobile phone holders.

Team CVSS 2, consisting of Lau Hou Ying Angelina from 2N2, Koh Hui Xin from 3T1, Lim Xin Ying, Renee from 3T1, Sharon Afny Binte Junaidy from 3T1 and Atikah Wahyuni Binte Mohd Arifin from 2N1, sewed fabric from old clothing to make into customised pillowcases and aprons.

ANNUAL HOSTING OF SIP XINGGANG SCHOOL

Our school hosted 38 students and 4 teachers from SIP Xinggang School from Suzhou, China on 19 Jul. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the establishment of Singapore-China Suzhou Industrial Park and the 15th anniversary of the organisation of twinning programmes by Suzhou Education International Exchange Association. Our school has hosted SIP Xinggang School yearly since establishing ties with them in 2006 and has forged strong relationships over the years. Our Sec 3 student buddies hosted Xinggang students with much warmth and hospitality. The Xinggang students attended a special Design & Technology (D&T) lesson where they tried polishing acrylic using sand paper.  They also attended a special Art lesson on Paper Quilling where they learnt how to roll narrow strips of paper into unique 3D shapes. The Xinggang students also joined in the Racial Harmony Day Celebrations by trying out our local games and traditional food at the Racial Harmony Day Booths. It was an eye-opener for them as they had the opportunity to understand the multi-racial and multi-religious nature of our society and why racial and religious harmony is important for Singapore. The hosting ended with a sumptuous farewell lunch for all the students and teachers from Xinggang and our student buddies and teachers accompanying our guests in a visit to the Arts Science Museum. Everyone had an exciting time experiencing three high-tech interactive artworks and exhibitions: Future World – Where Art Meets Science, Floating Utopias and Wonderland, where they explored and experienced Lewis Carroll’s timeless tale of Alice’s adventures. All in all, the hosting was a fruitful and memorable experience for our North Stars. We look forward to future exchanges with SIP Xinggang School!

ANNUAL HOSTING OF CHANGSHU FOREIGN LANGUAGE MIDDLE SCHOOL 2019

Our school hosted 28 students and 3 teachers from Changshu Foreign Language Middle School on 7 & 8 Aug 2019.

28 Sec 2 student buddies hosted the Chinese students with much warmth and graciousness.  On the first day, the Chinese students attended specially arranged Art and NFS lessons conducted and enjoyed the engaging hands-on learning activities. They were then treated to an interactive artwork display at the ArtScience Museum together with our student buddies. On the second day, a farewell party was organised by our student buddies, which included talent show by our students and Changshu students, sharing of learning points and exchanging of little personal gifts by both sides. The highlight of the party was a general quiz where our CVSS and Changshu buddies worked together to compete in a Kahoots! game about Singapore and China. The school also coincided the hosting with our National Day Celebrations. Our guests joined in the celebrations by sportingly dressing in red on that day. They attended the assembly programme and enjoyed the performances by our students. Through the Singapore Bicentennial video prepared by our students, our guests got to know more about Singapore’s history and understand the journey Singapore has taken to evolve into a modern and vibrant city.  They also joined us in the singalong session and were impressed by the good energy and vibrancy in the hall.

All in all, the hosting has been a wonderful experience for our North Stars as they get to make new friends from China and know more about the Chinese education and culture. It is also another year of renewing and strengthening the close ties between CVSS and Changshu Foreign Language Middle School. We look forward to more visits by them!

CVSS ALUMNI HOMECOMING DAY 2019 – REJOICE!

Our third annual CVSS Alumni Homecoming Day themed “Rejoice!” was successfully held on 6 Jul 2019. Alumni across 18 batches gathered to reminisce their school days as they participated in various activities planned by the CVSS Alumni EXCO.  The highlight of the event was the Captain’s Ball friendly matches, where all top 3 positions were clinched by alumni from the Class of 2016! The Alumni EXCO is grateful for the strong support from the school, as well as all alumni members, helpers and performers for their effort in making the third Homecoming a success!