A team of 5 teachers together with 21 students from our school embarked on a meaningful project of compiling the life stories of 30 elderly living in Kreta Ayer-Kim Seng constituency. Guided by the teachers, the students interviewed the elderly who had valuable life experiences to share. Their stories were written in Mandarin by the students and edited by the Chinese Language teachers. These articles was compiled and published as a book. The book will contain 30 articles and photographs of the elderly as well as reflections from some of the students who interviewed the senior citizens.

The book will be distributed to Kreta Ayer-Kim Seng constituency’s grassroots organizations, Kreta Ayer Seniors Activity Centres as well as to all the Sec Schools in Singapore. It will also be used as a reading resource for all Chinese Language students in our school. The project which started in January this year and completed by October 2008. Book launched on 1st Nov at Kreta Ayer CC by Dr Lily Neo, MP Jalan Besar GRC.

Through involving our students in this worthwhile project we believe that they will be able to:

- Strengthen their bond with the older generation and learn valuable lessons through the interaction
- Become caring and compassionate individuals with a strong sense of civic engagement Develop    their creativity and writing skills

Many of today’s elderly are part of the greatest generation. They lived through depression, the wars and raised families in an ever-changing society. It would be a loss to society if their stories remain untold. Thus, these memories can now be preserved through this collection.

On 25th July August, the Mother Tongue Department Chinese Unit organized the qualifying round for the Mandarin Karaoke Singing Competition. About 40 students competed in the AVA theatre to qualify for the finals. On 1st August, there were 6 female finalists and 5 male finalists competing for the top three positions. In the end, Yu Xin Heng (Sec 1/7) and Zheng Xiang Yin (Sec 2/6) clinched the 1st position for their categories respectively.

On 7th July 2008, which happens to be a Youth Day holiday, four teachers and sixteen Xi’An students from the 38th High School, Xi’An arrived in Singapore for a five days exchange programme with Outram Secondary School. During their stay in Singapore, they visited many renowned landmarks in Singapore such as the Esplanade, Merlion Park, Civilian War Memorial and the Asian Civilisations Museum. They also had the opportunity to experience the rich ethnic and cultural diversity of Singapore by visiting places like Little India, Chinatown, Chinatown Heritage Centre and Kampung Glam.

On 8th of July, the teachers and students arrived in Outram for a two days immersion programme where the students get to experience a day in the life of an Outramian by attending lessons with their Outramian buddies. They also participated in floorball and rockclimbing activities which were specially arranged for them. On the second day of the immersion programme, the Xi’An students got to try their hand at Malay Dance, Henna Painting and making of traditional Peranakan snack, ‘Ondeh Ondeh’. At the end of the 2 days of school immersion programme, both the Xi’An students and Outramians presented two performances during the farewell party.

In addition to the two days of classroom experience, the Xi’An students also get to bond with their Outramians buddies after school hours during their two nights of home stay with our Outram students. Parents also played as great hosts as they took good care of the Xi’An students during their stay with them. Though the time spent was brief, it was an enjoyable experience for both the Xi’An students and Outramians as they get to learn about each other’s culture and lifestyle.

On 28th May 2008, five teachers from the Chinese Unit and eighteen Sec 2 and Sec 3 Chinese students set off from Singapore to China on a seven days China Cultural Immersion Programme. Our first stop was Suzhou, Jiangsu province, a picturesque place where traditional and modern architecture stood shoulder to shoulder. The teachers and students visited Blue Wave Middle School (碧波中学) and experience a typical day in the life of a student in China where classes usually starts at 7:40am in the morning and ends at about 5pm in the evening.

In addition to the school experience programme, our teachers and students also get to tour the famous Silkworm Fillature Mill (苏州第一丝绸织造厂)where we saw how silk is being processed in the factory. We also visited the Master of the Nets Garden (网师园), the Hanshan Temple (寒山寺) and the Tiger’s Hill (虎丘).

After our three days stay at Suzhou, we travelled to Wuxi(无锡)where we visited The Three Kingdoms(三国城) and Lake Taihu (太湖). During our trip to Shanghai, we visited Yu Garden Bazaar (豫园), the Shanghai City Planning Exhibition Hall（上海规划展示馆）, Nanjing Road(南京路), The Bund (外滩), and also Zhujiajiao Water Town (朱家角) or the ‘Venice of the East’. We also stopover at the Oriental Pearl TV Tower (东方明珠塔) and the Shanghai Xintiandi (新天地).

On the all, we have an enjoyable experience learning about the new developments in education as well as the culture in China.

To usher in the Year of Rat, the Mother Tongue Department presented a wide variety of performance items for the Spring Festival Concert 2008 to the school and 40 senior citizens from the neighbouring estates.

To begin with, attractive prizes were given to the winners for the Chinese Calligraphy and the Inter-class Chinese New Year Decoration Competitions. After the singing of “Gongxi Gongxi” by the whole school, Mdm Pang Kim Lan and the Dance Club entertained us with a Cantonese song “Da Jia Gong Xi” and a traditional Chinese Fan Dance “Celebrations of Festival” respectively.

Our very own Nur Afizah, the gold medalist in the recent world junior championship, captivated the audience with her performance of Silat, the Malay Martial Art display, accompanied by the Chinese Orchestra drum and the Indian drum.

Besides the two mandarin songs presented by our superstars Miao Mengchen, Li Jiale and June Tay, as well as the emsemble performance by the award-winning Chinese Orchestra. The concert ended in a grand finale by welcoming the arrival of the God of Fortune, who was none other than our Discipline Master, Mr Cheliyan. Everyone responded with thunderous applause and was in a joyous festive mood.

On 6th July to 10th July 2007, 46 students and teachers, including their Principal and Vice-Principal, from Xi’An 38 High School came to Singapore for a 5-day cultural immersion tour. They went sightseeing on 7th and 8th of July, and visited places of interest like the Singapore Science Centre, Mount Faber, Setonsa, Zoological Gardens, Kampong Glam, Little India, Singapore River and the Merlion Park. On the last day, they also went to the Duty Free Shop to do some final shopping.

Among them, 20 students were attached to our school to attend 2 days of programmes and lessons. They first toured our school, had a better view on the school environment before they met their buddies to join them in class. In the afternoon, rock climbing activity and a basketball friendly match were arranged for them. On their 2nd day in school, they had the opportunity to bake cookies and complete an Indian rangoli. They also visited the Malay and Tamil Cultural rooms to learn more about their culture.

At the end of the tour, Xi’An students had a better understanding of the Singapore culture and the school learning environment. Our students also played as good hosts to their buddies from Xi’An. It was indeed an enriching and enjoyable trip for all. A Memorandum of Understanding was also signed with the Xi’An 38 High School. We look forward to meeting them again in the near future.

From 25 th May 2007 to 1 st June 2007, Outram Secondary School combined with Hillgrove Secondary School and went on a Cultural Immersion Educational Tour to Beijing & Xi’an. In Beijing , students went sightseeing and visited the Great Wall of China , Summer Palace , Tiananmen Square , Imperial Palace and the Temple of Heaven . In Xi’an , students also went sightseeing and visited Forest of Stone Steles Museum, Terra-Cotta Warriors and Horses Pits, Big Wild Goose Pagoda, the Ming Walls and Hua Qing Hot Spring. The highlight of the trip was the visit to Xi’an 38 High School and the 2-night home stay students spent with their China buddy.

At the end of the trip, our students widened their horizon, gained a better deeper understanding of China ’s development, had a better understanding of the Chinese culture and history, and developed a greater interest in the learning of Chinese language.

On the 16th February, the Mother Tongue Department teachers and students from different ethnic groups put up a dazzling performance in the hall for the staff and students as well as senior citizens from the neighboring estates.

The concert started with a lively rendition of 《恭喜恭喜》. The second item was ‘Zodiac Super band’, a skit cum musical item performed by twelve students of different ethnic groups.The students mimic the 12 animals from the Chinese Zodiac groups to the laughter to the audience. The concert continued with two beautiful dance items, namely Nirmala, a Malay Dance and 《香扇挥挥喜迎春》put up by our award winning Dance club.

Mr Chan Wing Fong from the Kreta Ayer Senior Citizen Club wowed the audience with a classic Cantonese oldie. The audience were most impressed with the martial art performance 《刀光闪闪贺新年》 put up by David Gammon from Sec 3/4. . After the song items, our Chinese Orchestra performed 《大拜年》and《庙会. The concert lasted for about an hour and ended with a song item 《恭喜恭喜》by all the teachers accompanied by the our Chinese Orchestra.

This year, the Mother Tongue Department attempted something new. Instead of presenting the concert items as separate programs, they became “part” of the skit put up by the award winning team (from 2005 courtesy skit competition). The audiences were presented with an array of programmes: two dance items (one of which won Silver award at 2005 SYF Competition) and one Indian Dance item. There were many highlights, to mention a few, a singing item “Love You More Than I Can Say” and a demonstration of “Kok Kok Mee” by two senior citizens and a Lion Dance put up by students of different ethnic groups.

The audience were captivated by the feast to say the least and responded with thunderous applause. The concert ended in a high note with the lighting up of “fire crackers”, with compliments from Mr Benng Chng.

A group of us, 13 sec two and three TL students, from our school participated in the Indian Cultural Carnival organized by NIE on 24th March 2007. We set up booth on Indian Traditional Games. The objective of the carnival was to give hands- on experience to primary school pupils who visited the booth. About 300 primary pupils visited our booth. We engaged them by demonstrating the various Indian Traditional games. These games really fascinated them as we could see from the enthusiasm they displayed. We also prepared quiz sheets for these students. The questions were based on the games information charts we prepared.

Our booth was the most visited booth and we thoroughly enjoyed imparting information to the young children. It was a meaningful experience that we look forward to having again.

By Uma Theivi
Sec 2/4