The Community Youth Leaders (CYL) Club was set up in 2019 as an extension of the school’s Learning for Life Programme in Community & Youth Leadership. Its mission is to propel its members to inspire and encourage their fellow North Stars to serve others by instilling civic-mindedness and igniting their passion for serving.

What We Do

Members undergo a variety of workshops that seek to develop their planning and organisational skills, socio-emotional competencies and reflective practices. With these skills and competencies, they plan and carry out projects that meet the needs of our beneficiaries. Through these platforms, members cultivate empathy and compassion for people around them. Additionally, these learning experiences nurture our youth leaders to discover their voice and advocate for social causes within and beyond our school.

Last year, the CYL Club was able to identify and serve diverse groups in our community where we could make a positive impact, namely the elderly, patients from Sengkang Community Hospital, and low-income families. This year, despite the limitations caused by the pandemic, our students observed the safe management measures and continued to engage community partners. Due to the social isolation that comes with the Safe Management Measures, it is increasingly important that our students spread love and kindness around the community.  

Accomplishments in 2021

1. Chinese New Year Celebration via Zoom with Sengkang Community Hospital and Bethesda  C.A.R.E Senior Activity Centre

Members delivered some festive cheer to the patients and elderly by engaging them in conversation and activities such as folding origami, a sing-along session and dance. They also prepared a video to send their new year greetings to the beneficiaries to warm their hearts.

1. Teens Conference 2021 

Selected Secondary 2 members attended the Teens Conference 2021 organised by Holy Innocents’ High School. The theme for this year’s conference is “Shine: From Shadow to Light”. Through this conference, our members developed a sense of empathy that would motivate them to spearhead efforts within the school and community, especially during this COVID-19 pandemic.

1. National Day Celebration via Zoom with Bethesda C.A.R.E Senior Activity Centre

Members collaborated with the Dance and Choir members to celebrate National Day with seniors from  Bethesda C.A.R.E Senior Activity Centre via Zoom. Dance members presented the Dance of the Nation which is choreographed based on a remix of this year’s National Day song and is a workout that all ages can partake in. CYL members shared some health tips with the seniors for them to lead a healthy and active lifestyle. Choir members pre recorded a video, presenting the National Day song “Tomorrow is here again” for seniors to sing along. 

1. Appreciating Non-teaching Staff 

Our members also seek to serve their immediate community in school. This year, they conveyed their appreciation to the non-teaching staff in the school, such as the administrative staff in the General Office, Operational Support Staff in the laboratories and workshops and the security personnel. For this project, our Secondary 3 members took the lead in collaboration with cadets from NCC (Air) and members of the Girl Guides to make paper fans with words of thanks and appreciation creatively written on them. These gifts were distributed in conjunction with Teachers’ Day celebrations in school. Our members hope that through this project, they will inspire their fellow North Stars to show appreciation to all members of our school community through simple yet meaningful acts of kindness.

1. Social Entrepreneurship Programme  

Our Secondary 1 and 2 members participated in the Design to Enrich Lives - Social Entrepreneurship Programme in Semester 2. It was a six-session long programme organised by mentors from Design for Change Singapore. Through the programme, our members tried their hands at using the Design Thinking Framework to think critically about the needs of their assigned beneficiaries - Bethesda C.A.R.E Senior Activity Centre, Sengkang Community Hospital and ItsRainingRaincoats, and explored creative solutions to authentic problems faced by these organisations. This project helped to develop in our young members a keen eye towards opportunities for social innovation - to challenge the status quo in current outreach and community efforts, design new solutions towards the process or product and improve the wellbeing of beneficiaries.

Moving forward into 2022, the CYL Club hopes to strengthen the executive committee and leadership structure, sustain partnerships with identified beneficiaries, delve deeper into social entrepreneurship, as well as initiate more opportunities to collaborate with other CCA groups to serve our Sengkang community in various ways. 

Our first batch of pioneering members will be stepping down and handing over the legacy to the next batch of students. We believe that every student is a champion for change!

2020

Community Youth Leaders club

The Community Youth Leaders (CYL) Club was set up in 2019 as an extension of the school’s Learning for Life Programme in Community & Youth Leadership. Its mission is to propel its members to inspire and encourage their fellow North Stars to serve others by instilling civic-mindedness and igniting their passion for serving.

What We Do

Members undergo a variety of professional development workshops and plan as well as execute projects to address the needs of beneficiaries. Through these platforms, members cultivate empathy and compassion for people in need while developing organisational skills, social-emotional competencies, and reflective practices. These learning experiences nurture our youth leaders to discover their voice and advocate for social causes within and beyond our school.

Last year, the CL Club was able to identify and serve diverse groups in our community where we could help make a positive impact, namely the elderly, people with intellectual-impairment, people with physical-impairment, and low-income families. This year, the club continued to strengthen partnership with beneficiaries and ventured into social entrepreneurship.  

What we accomplished in 2020

1.     Chinese New Year Celebration at Sengkang Community Hospital

Members delivered some festive cheer to the patients by engaging them in conversation and activities such as folding origami and writing calligraphy.

CYL club members engaging a patient at Sengkang Community Hospital in conversation

CYL club members guiding the patients at Sengkang Community Hospital in folding origami fishes with red packets

2.     Project Encourage

Members championed the ‘Do Good, Feel Good, Spread Good’ movement by encouraging Secondary 1 students to express compliments to their classmates and loved ones through writing notes. This project is featured in the Design For Change World website.

CYL club members briefing their classmates about Project Encourage.

Students participating in the Project Encourage by writing notes of encouragement for their classmates and loved ones

3.     Appreciating non-teaching staff

In collaboration with the Videography Club, members packed and distributed care packages for all non-teaching staff and school’s contract staff and produced an appreciation video for teaching staff. CYL club members preparing care packages for non-teaching staff with safe management measures in place

4.     Design for Good Youth Competition

Members designed posters to create awareness for the Media Literacy Council’s Better Internet Campaign. From among 500 submissions, Ong Zheng Xi (1E3) and Kaelan Wong (1E3)’s entry was shortlisted as one of the winning posters.

5.     Birthday cards for Bethesda C.A.R.E Senior Activities Centre

Members created birthday cards for the seniors which will be distributed to them by the Centre in the coming months.

Birthday cards for the seniors at Bethesda C.A.R.E Senior Activity Centre designed by CYL club members

6.     Social Entrepreneurship Programme

Members attended a series of workshops organised by Christel Goh, an alumnus from the class of 2010 and the co-founder of PlayHuaHee, which introduced the social enterprise landscape in Singapore and developed an action plan for social causes that resonated with the members. The students will continue to refine their plan and put it into action in 2021. 

7.     FairPrice Share-a-Textbook Project

Members volunteered to sort donated textbooks by level and stream at Our Tampines Hub. These textbooks were made available to students from low-income households and the public.

Moving forward into 2021, the CYL Club hopes to establish the executive committee and student leadership structure, strengthen partnerships with identified beneficiaries, delve deeper into social entrepreneurship, as well as initiate opportunities to collaborate with other CCA groups to serve our Sengkang community in various ways.