Annex A

Annex B

Group Drawing

Why Singapore should not be complacent

Singapore is a developed country and has many achievements, however, even with great achievements, Singapore should not be complacent. If Singapore is complacent, the country will not be able to improve as a country and other countries who have been working hard would easily overtake us. Also, as a small country, we do not have natural resources and have to depend on other countries to provide us with these resources for survival. Hence, despite the achievements we have, there will still be times whereby Singapore will require the help of other countries and hence we should not be complacent. 

The extra in the ordinary

They are very very important to our every day lives and yet, they hardly come across our minds. Who has been the one keeping our dear school clean? Yes them, the school cleaners. They have long working hours from early morning till late afternoon and yet students still take their effort for granted. We think that it is a must for them to clean as it is their job but have we ever spared a thought that their job is actually really tiring? Perhaps the next time we see some rubbish on the floor, we can save a little of a cleaner's job by picking the rubbish up and throwing it into the trashcan. Of course, we should never make a mess and just leave it there for them to clear up for you.

Pre-Trip Task: Exploring China's Education System (Group Blog)

1. Suzhou education system is based on the national system of public education which include primary schools, middle schools, and universities. At least nine years of education is compulsory for all students. The primary and secondary schools in Suzhou ranks among the national's best. 

2. (Unsure about what school we are visiting)

3. 

- What do you think about Suzhou's

Education System?

- How do you think the Education System here compares with the rest of China?

- How long are your school hours? 

The extra in the ordinary -Yuxuan

The classroom clock is something that is special to me. It is a simple gadget that we use to tell the exact time of the day. To me, everything is dependent on time. My daily routine goes on according to the clock. It tells me the time to finish my homework, to go to school, and even when to start bathing. One main reason why the classroom clock is so useful to me is because I don't have a watch. And during lesson time, it is always so convinient for me to check the time. All I have to do is to look up, and I will know what is supposed to be done. Even though it might seem as the most ordinary thing that appeared in schools, it is still so special and extraordinary to me as it organized my day.

RV60

RV60 was a big event including the whole school and the event was to celebrate the past sixty years of hardwork and determination put in. Overall, this event went through very well and the performances put up were delightful.

I believe that each an every student un RV was very pleased about this event as it marks the 60th birthday of our school and we were the only batch who were actually able to perform it, unlike the following batches who can only watch until the next coming RV100. Most of us i could see have put in a lot of effort trying to make this a beautiful performance and after months of preparation, we finally did it! People who came to watch were also said to have shed a little tears.

I feel really proud of myself and every one of school mates for putting in their fullest effort to make this event so successful despite the amount of limited time given to us and the fact that all of us put in our famous school spirit,

Poverty

Does prosperity really make us happy? One may be really rich but does not mean he or she is happy? It does not. This guy may be really rich but for example, what if he does not have the love and encouragement from his family? Would he be happy in any choices he makes? Same thing, i believe singaporeans can never truly be satisfied with what we have. Once we get something, we will take it for granted and instead of being grateful, will instead ask for more. And once we don't get more, we get very unsatisfied and feel that everything is making their life so miserable and unhappy. Examples would be when there is an mrt breakdown, many would go complaining on how incovenient and time wasting it is to take a bus or walk. However, they never did thought how the mrt services are only privileges given from the government to us so sa to have a more convenient lifestyle.

Why Singapore must not be complacent in her achievements?

Singapore must not be complacent in her achievements as I have read that many countries are on a close competition with Singapore. From the first article, it says that Shanghai retained its title as the world's busiest container port for the fifth consecutive year and Singapore is its closest rival. From here, we can see that you cannot be complacent in your achievements if not other countries my overtake you. From another article, I read that the achievements achieved were achieved only after hard work by Founding Fathers and that we should continue on with the culture to make it better. If we stay complacent just because of the achievements we made because of our founding fathers, we would soon be overtaken by other countries who are trying very hard to beat us. Also in the last article, President Dr. Tony Tan said that "

We cannot be complacent. We have a special and close relationship with China. We have to continue to work at it, bring it to new levels, upgrade it, recognise the new changes in Singapore and in China, and bring our bilateral cooperation to new levels.

PRESIDENT TONY TAN KENG YAM, on Singapore's relationship with China"

I read that Singapore has been copying what ever China is doing and China is also copying whatever Singapore has been doing. It's been said that we are now a two-way street, in which we copy ideas from others and others copy ideas from us and we need to create more genuine ideas that we call our own to be better than other countries.

Aging of population

3 learning points :
- the policies may cause uneasiness and lack of privacy among the people and cause fights.
- Singapore has a 2 child service policy
- child policy is a negative impact towards child policy

2 perspective :
- huge population may not actually be a good thing
- with a lesser population, the government is able to build better facilities for us as more money can be put in

1 question :
 -

Pre-trip task

1. Suzhou education system is based on the national system of public education which include primary schools, middle schools, and universities. At least nine years of education is compulsory for all students. The primary and secondary schools in Suzhou ranks among the national's best

The aging population-yuxuan

Three things I have found out:

1. Just like China, Singapore has a two child policy. It is a government-imposed limit of two children allowed per family. It aims to control the population growth and achieve their optimum population.

2. China's one child policy was introduced in 1979 to reduce birth rates in China due to the rapid population growth. The government in China encourage couples to only have one child to slow down China's rapid population growth by rewarding the couples who follows the policy and punishing those who don't.

3. People living in rural areas tend to give birth to more children as they depended on their children for support. So the one child policy is more strictly enforced in rural areas compared to the urban areas.

Two perception I have gained:

1. Huge population does not benefit everyone in the country. It is more like majority poor and less educated working for the minority of rich people. Huge population means intense competition among jobs, schools and educations.

2. Every policy has its benefits and disadvantage to the country. 

One question I have:

 Does large population size really contributes to the economy of a country? 

321 AGEING POPULATION BLOGPOST

3 things that I found out 

- Why the 1 child and 2 child policies are needed for China and Singapore respectively.

- Impacts of the different polices

- Reason why they decided to reverse the policy

2 perspective that I have gained 

- There will be give and takes

- Things may not happen as planned

1 question I have 

- Will they start any new measure?

Aging population

3 things that I found out 

- child policies are implemented to control population growth 

- child policies have both positive and negative impact 

- aging population is one of the negative impact of child policy where by there are more elderly than young people in the country

2 perspective that I have gained 

- not everything will turn out as expected 

- there will always be positive and negative outcomes 

1 question I have 

- how is the government going to solve the negative impacts caused by child policies?

Economy - Aging Population (Reflection)

3 things that I found out:

- I found out that policies that restrict population growth may have negative impacts and implications in the long run.
- I found out that these policies have been implemented to control a fast growing country, especially for countries with large populations.
- I found out that these policies might cause uneasiness among the people and cause complaints between the people.

2 perceptions I have gained:

- With less people, more people will be able to attain jobs as there will be less competition.
- With a smaller population, the government will be able to build better infrastructure as there will be more money put aside to build infrastructure.

1 question that I have:

- Why did people have so many children before the policies were implemented?

Economy - Aging Population / Policies Poster

Introduction Of Myself

Introduction OF Myself. (200 WORDS)

Hi! My name is Khoo Jia Le. My Chinese name is 古家乐. I asked my mother before if there was any meaning behind my name and they said it was because of the phrase “家庭快乐”. I live in Woodlands and my Primary School is Woodlands Primary School. My family consists of me, my mother, my father, my younger sister and my grandparents. I like to play electronic games. My favourite subjects are Mathematics and History. My CCA is St. John Brigade. At first, I detested CCA as I didn’t know why I was in St. John Brigade when I didn’t put it as one of my CCA choice. But now, I am starting to enjoy CCA as I find it quite fun sometimes. My ambition is to become a lawyer or a successful businessman. I am looking forward to OELP as that is the time where I could go overseas with my class and have no parents controlling me. I am very lazy and therefore, I detest having homework over weekends as I would usually procrastinate and do it only last minute.

Thank You for reading my post and Thank You for your attention. Thank You.

Yours sincerely,

Khoo Jia Le.

Chingay parade 2016 - lights of legacy, brighter Singapore - Carmen

Chingay is the largest street performance and float parade in Asia. From the main parade site to the heartlands, this street extravaganza epitomises the dynamism of Singapore's vibrant and multicultural society. I think the purpose of chingay is to mark the years that have passed and to strive for a better Singapore. On the day in which me and all my year mates had went for the chingay parade, we all saw many memorable events and they all never fail to amaze me.

Vibrant floats, dancing dragons, prancing lions, stilt walkers, wushu masters, performers of different races in their traditional costumes and many many more were performing. Such of the events would be various Malay and indian dances and those of other races. Besides, the light effects that evening brought out the "lights of legacy, better Singapore' theme. They were colourful and also matched the costumes of the performances.

Their performances have warmed my heart as to how a huge performance could actually be put together. It is amazing that how thousands of Singaporeans can actually form up such a wonderful and spectacular performance. I believe this is all because of one main reason, the teamwork  and unity that us Singaporeans have. 

I find it really important that Singapore is a multicultural society as this ensures that regardless of race, religion and socio-economic background, are encouraged to develop to their fullest potential. Everyone has access to education, which equips them with skills and knowledge to earn a better living. 

Hence with this said, i think the organiser has fulfilled his purpose and make Singapore a more successful place.

Chingay Parade 2016 - LIGHTS OF LEGACY, BRIGHTER SINGAPORE

I think the purpose of Chingay 2016 was to connect Singaporeans together from different races, connect overseas memebers and celebrate the Lunar New Year. This has changed alot from the first Chingay as the intial purpose of the first Chingay is just to liften the spirits of the Chinese in Singapore. But now, the Chingay is an event where there are performers from all age groups, from all over the world and also backstage crew from all over the parts of Singapore. Performers and backstage crews have came united and stood together and completed this significant event. This changed has happened from the first Chingay to the Chingay this year as people were willing to put away their identies and work as one to have a better Chingay 2016. I think the organizers have successfully fulfilled this purpose as the performers and backstage crew have really unite together to put up a great Chingay show for audiences to watch. The organizers have also successfully bring the Singaporeans together and unite them as one Singapore. Lets all work together to a better SG100.

Chingay 2016 (Isaiah See)

Chingay's is an annual event with the purpose of celebrating the chinese new year. However, overtime, it became and multi-racial, inter-country event. This year's other purpose is to mark the next 50 years for Singapore to prosper towards SG100.

This has changed over the years since the first chingay as the first chingay was held as another way to celebrate chinese new year since firecrackers were banned in singapore that year. Over the years, it started becoming multicultural (1976) and started foreigners started joining in this event (1987). To make this relevant to everyone, Chingay took a step forward and became a uniquely Singapore event.

The organisers have indeed successfully fulfilled this purpose this year. the colorful costumes, high spirits of the participants and volunteers, floats and differnet programmes has indeed fascinated me as an audience. This celebration had showcased the high tech gadgets that we might be using in the near future as popularity rises (hoverboards , drones, etc. ). It also preserves the past in displaying some activities related to the chinese new year. ( The dragon dance made of firecrackers, the loud noises of chinese instruments , etc.) Although we must embrace the future that lays before us, we should also remember the past and learn from mistakes. On this point, i feel that the organisers have done a great job in making the audience feel this.

Chingay Parade 2016 - Lights of Legacy, Brighter Singapore - Jia Xuan

    2016 marks the first year of Singapore's next 50 and hence, Chingay 2016 is aptly themed, "Lights of Legacy, Brighter Singapore". I think that the purpose of Chingay 2016 is to mark the 50 years that have passed, as well as to signify a brighter and more successful Singapore in the next 50 years to come. 

    The first Chingay was held on 4 February 1973, and the parade was a relatively simple one which had been put together by the People's Association and the Singapore National Pugilistic Federation, and it saw a procession of lion dances, giant flag bearers, dragon dancers, stilt walkers, clowns and juggling acts down a 3 kilometre route from old Victoria School to Outram Park. While many in Singapore feel that the annual Chingay parade, now in its 43rd year, has moved away from its original purpose of a street parade for the masses first celebrated in 1973 to make up for a total ban on the long held tradition of letting off fireworks during the Luanr New Year, the parade is without a doubt still very much a celebration of what Singapore is and what perhaps Singapore has become. The parade has in its recent editions become a show of the spectacular, combining a street-like parade in which the people from all major races and from all walks of life participate, with a well-orchestrated show of lights, music and effects which never fail to dazzle the audience. I think that this change happened as Singapore has gone through many changes in technology and economy, hence the change in the way we celebrate Chingay. 

    I think the organisers have successfully fulfilled the purpose of Chingay 2016 which is the mark of the starting of the next 50 years to come before SG 100 arrives. In order to portray a brighter Singapore in the future, the organisers have incorporated bright and colourful floats with brightly-lighted costumes worn by the performers. All these bright and colourful "lights of legacy", with light sticks and a lightbulb included in the drawstring bag given to us, this allows us to get into the theme of "Lights of Legacy, Brighter Singapore". That definitely shows us that the purpose of Chingay 2016 is to aim for a brighter and more successful Singapore in the future.

Chingay parade 2016-Lights of legacy, brighter Singapore -Adeline

2016 marks the first year of Singapore's next 50 and hence, I feel that apart from bringing the people from different races to celebrate the new year of 2016, the purpose of Chingay 2016 is also to celebrate how successful Singapore have become in 50 years time and to look forward to a better Singapore as Chingay 2016 is themed, "Lights of legacy, brighter Singapore!" 

When Chingay first started in Singapore, it was held as a result of the ban on firecrackers due to fire hazards in 1972. Some people felt that the ban would dampened the festival mood for the Chinese New Year period. To address this issue, the People's association and the Singapore National Pugilistic Association organised a street parade, featuring the signature floats, acrobatic acts, lion and dragon dances, stilt walkers, which are mostly Chinese cultural performances to bring back some cheer to the public to celebrate Chinese New Year. When time passes by, the organizer make changes such that there are not only Chinese cultural performances, other cultural performances such as Malay dance and Indian dance are also included. With that, I believed that the change was made so that to bring people from all races and ethnic groups together to celebrate new year together as one Singapore. 

Chingay 2016 includes unique multicultural performances of all over the world which capture the essence of the Singapore's unique cultural diversity. Not only that, for the opening performance, the people wore costumes and props with LED lights. The light effect of the costumes and props symbolizes the theme "Lights of legacy, Brighter Singapore" which also brings out the purpose of Chingay 2016. Hence, with these, I feel that the organizer have successfully fulfilled its purpose.

-Adeline

Chingay Parade 2016-Yuxuan

I am very glad to have this opportunity to watch the Chingay 2016. 

My first impression on Chingay is a colorful, passionate, and exciting event. My friends and I screamed and cheered for the performance the whole night.

I think Chingay 2016's purpose matches with its theme," Light of Legacy, Brighter Singapore". It marked the prosperity of Singapore in the first 50 years and the well wishes to Singapore in the next 50 years. In the show, there are boats designed with words like " voyage to SG100" . There are also different races from the community performing their traditional dances to the audience. Hence the Chingay 2016 is wishing on a better, more prosperous and racial harmony SG 100.

The first Chingay is only organized  for the celebration of Chinese New Year. However, i think the change happened because Singapore is a multiracial society , therefore, such an exciting event must envolve all  Singaporean no matter of the races, languages or religion.

In my opinion, I think the organizer have fulfilled their purpose successfully. They invited the young audience like us, students from different races and background, to watch this amazing show. Which educated us, the students, on the importance of racial harmony in Singapore, and deepened our love towards Singapore as our nation. Chingay parade had also brought the whole nation together when the crowds screamed and cheered as one.

Does being rich means happiness

I feel that money will bring happiness. Money can buy us many stuff like: iPad ,computer, hand phone, house, nice car. Electronic devices will provide entertainment sources which in my opinion, can bring us happiness. With a big car and house, owe vcan attract girls and friends, which will make us happy.

Money can bring us anything we want which will make us really happy. I like playing soccer. With money I can buy a ball. I like gaming, with money I can buy a gaming device or even buy a really pro account. At times , I can treat my friends which will make some happy.

Singaporeans work hard every day which makes them unhappy. However if they are rich since birth, they can be happy and do not have to work. 

HENCE MONEY GIVES US HAPPINESS

Being a prosperous country, are we a happy country? Why or why not? Does being rich means happy?

Although Singapore is a prosperous country, but in fact Singaporeans are not happy. Compared to China and Malaysia, the Happy Planet Index is lower. This means that Singaporeans are not truly happy. Why is this so? This is probably because of the hectic life we have in Singapore. Many people may not have time to interact with each other due to busy lives. Furthermore, despite some Singaporeans being rich, that does not mean that they are actually truly happy. Although you maybe rich and can afford everything that you want, but think of what you did in order to get what you deserve today. You may have worked hard for most of your life and got rich today, but during you milestones in getting rich, you often overlooked many things. You often do not have time to bond with your family and friends. In the end, your relationship with your family members and friends may just get worts. However, being poor doesn't mean you are unhappy. As long as you are doing something that you enjoy, it will make you happy. Thus, being rich doesn't means happy.

Looking Beyond The Picture (Poverty) -Jia Xuan

Singapore is a relatively prosperous country, but does that really mean that we are a happy country? In my opinion, I definitely do not think that being rich is equivalent to happiness. Those points do not equate, and that might surprise many people. 

Many people expect Singaporeans to be happy, because of all that we have: good transportation and education etc. However, things definitely differ from what most people have in mind. Singapore, is no doubt a great country, looking at the levels of corruptions as well as economic performance. However, there are many other points that others do not consider. Singaporeans could be stressed and frustrated about living in a place with high population density and work stress. This includes the fact that Singaporeans are generally too caught up over academic grades, outcomes and materialism, and pragmatism still weighs heavily on people's minds despite affluence and the city's transformation. The competitive nature of Singaporeans can lead to many having the fear of losing out to others. This might affect the level of happiness that Singaporeans experience as they are more concerned about winning instead of being happy.

The points above prove that being rich doesn't equate to being happy. Instead there are many other factors that contribute to happiness, like good physical and mental health, good personal ad intimate relationships, such as those of marriage, the family and friendships etc. Being rich is definitely not the ultimate reason why people are happy, it can be one of the factors, however there are many who are rich, who are definitely poorer in terms of happiness in comparison to one with an average income. 

Looking beyond the picture -Yuxuan

In my opinion, being rich does not mean happiness of a person. However, a basic financial capacity of a person is very important to keep them away from sadness. 

For example,if  a person is struggling to survive in the underclass society, when he suffers from hunger,  despair, the despise from the rich; he is uneducated,  ignorant and empty minded ; will he be happy? 

I will say no.

In the contrary, does a rich man necessary equals to a happy man? 

Yea, I know,  he has huge possession: large houses, expensive cars, he might also be popular and respected because of his position and his manners. Will he then be a happy man?

My answer is: Yes and no. If a rich man is not contented with what he has, in all those temptations he faced, he might easily loss himself and his real happiness in that process.

In conclusion, the secret of happiness to me is to stay contented with what you have; enjoy all the love and happiness all around that is given to you.

Does being rich means happy?

Personally, I don't think that being rich means being happy. However, one can be happy if they are rich but it don't necessarily have to be this case. Money do not come with happiness. I feel that being happy is just simply being contented with what you have which has nothing to do with the amount of money we have. Sadly, I believed that Singaporeans are not happy even though Singapore is a prosperous country with good transportation, education system, and so on. Most Singaporeans are too caught up over academic grades, outcomes which weighs heavily on peoples' minds despite the city's transformation into a even more modern city and affluence. The modern environment and facilities the country provide residents with had turn most of us into ungrateful people. The affluence we have had caused us to take things for granted and becoming ungrateful and resulting to not feeling happy. Hence I do not think that being rich means happy. 

RV60-Isaiah

The purpose of rv60 celebrations is to celebrate the 60th birthday of the school and to reunite the past batches of students since 1956.
The issues i feel that i faced were the unconfirmed practice dates and the unforseen weather circumstances.also on the actual day one of the emcee broke his leg and had to be replaced.
No. However i feel people will volunteer to join the national day parade because of the love for SG and the pride we feel.
THERE IS A HIGH PRIDE EVERY STUDENT WILL DEFINETLY FEEL.
There are some consequences if rvians were not as proactive and poitive. Firstly the students will not be there for practices. Next the students will not be motivated to perform well on the actual day, affecting the results of the actual performance. BUT rv is different and special and im proud to be part of it.

RV60 REFLECTION

The purpose of RV60 celebration is to celebrate the school's diamond jubilee. This is important as it marks the milestones the school has went through to become what it is today. Some issues of the celebration are unforseen weather conditions, av problem, lack of manpower and replacement of important roles like emcee due to unforseen problems. No. These issues aren't unique to this situation. People would volunteer for National day as they love their country and wants to do their part in celebrating the country's birthday. I can infer that RVians have the RV spirit,  ‘立化精神’.We assume from our inference that all RVians love the school. They will dislike rehearsals and play truant from rehearsal sessions when students view negatively towards their own school. The RV spiriit  and the feeling where RVians will always have friends by their side makes me proud to be a student of RV.

RV60

For me, RV60 was an important event and its purpose is to celebrate the effort put in by the school for the past 60 years by allowing all the students to perform for this event, which enable us to learn to appreciate our school lives and to have a further understanding of the school. This event was a great success and had also demonstrated the school spirit "立化精神” through the performances put up by the students.

Even though many students felt annoyed towards this event as we were unable to understand the purpose of having hours of practices under the hot sun which affected our daily activities and holiday schedule at first. I believed that all of us were still glad to had been given the opportunity to perform for the school as it is quite obvious that we had put in our best effort in making this event a success :D  however, I felt that this event would have been better if the school planned the venue used for practices more specifically as some of the locations that my CCA was appointed to was used by other CCA which caused quite a lot of trouble for us :( 

I felt really proud of RV as even though this is the first time the school is planning the anniversary celebration in such a manner, even with limited time and resources, we were able to produce remarkable performances which I believed had displayed the spirit of RV which made me feel really proud of :D

RV60 -Jia Xuan

RV60 was a huge event, with almost the whole school involved in this event. However, many students may be wondering, what exactly is the purpose of the RV60 celebration, and why is the school having such a huge celebration? Well, firstly this diamond jubilee held for our school is to celebrate the effort put in by the school these past 60 years. Now, 60 years may seem to be a very short time, but in fact it is not the least bit short. Through these 60 years, RV has overcome so many milestones and has had so many breakthroughs and improvements, its almost unbelievable where we stand in the present day.

Of course, with every huge-scale event, there must have been some trouble and issues while preparing for the celebration. I, as a spectator, think that one of the main issues while preparing the celebration is the fact that nearly everyone in the school is involved. This means that every aspect of the celebration would be huge and many people would be involved. While the final product was amazing, the preparation was certainly not as glamorous as it seemed. From the instructors yelling their lungs out to the hot sun, every single rehearsal was extremely dreaded by the students. However, these issues are not unique to just RV60. Take National Day for example; many of the performers are volunteers. However, why do they volunteer for it? Do they want to get tanned, or are they bored? No, in fact they want to contribute in their own way, showing how much they love and appreciate Singapore by celebrating its birthday whole-heartedly.

There were definitely many complaints. The students complaining about the sun, about how their muscles ached from running and performing. However, we could see that everyone put his or her best foot forward in his or her performance. What does this show us? We can, from this, infer that they have a high level of school pride. We can assume that they really appreciate the school for everything the school has done for them. However, there are still students who view negatively towards their schools, complaining about everything, and not having a sense of satisfaction and gratitude towards the school for its everlasting efforts to provide us with a conducive environment to study in. This may cause the school to feel that their efforts are not appreciated and they might decide to discontinue the program, affecting the other students who enjoy that particular program.

Overall, RV is a really warm and welcoming school. It makes me feel comfortable, with friends and teachers I love, as well as the friendliest people we will ever meet. This family warmth that RV gives me, is the reason why I love, and I am proud to be a student in RV.

RV60 Reflection-- Yuxuan.

1)The purpose of RV60 is to celebrate our school's 60th birthday. My school had managed to survive all these years and it is now older than Singapore. Rv60 is an important event to all of us, the Rvians.  Through our hard work in preparing,  I learnt to appreciate our school lives and understand the importance of the school better.

2)Some issue about this celebration is that I felt the school mainly want us show. The actual day of the  performance, we, the violinist played with the recorded song, and the only thing we have to do, is to make the correct bowing, as they told us that the sound doesn't matter.

3)Of course, during a National day for instance, Singaporeans will volunteer  to help out in the parade work. Because this is their home country's important Birthday. The birthday represented the success and the growth of Singapore over the past years.

4)I am proud of my school, so as my friends And classmates. We are willing to spend effort to celebrate our schools birthday!

6) When the students views negatively towards their own school, there will be some issue within the school. Because if they can't even make their children to love them and be proud of them, they didn't do a good job.

7)I am proud of being a Rvian because of the people here I love , and the amazing culture of Rv.

The Extra In The Ordinary

This may be just a simple school arch. But, who knows what's behind this. This school arch was built using the money of the school alumni. Many may thing that this is nothing, but to the alumni this is something that they want to give back to the school to thank the school for what they have today. This school arch wasn't simple. Just drawing one piece of the design was already not a simple figure. What more about the actual construction of this school arc. This school arc took a few months to complete and was delayed because of the haze situation. During the construction period, the main gate couldn't be used and when the side gates are closed, students often have to walk from the main gate all the way to the hostel gate to enter the school.

The extra in the ordinary

This is a picture of the school field. When anyone see this picture, I think most of us would just be thinking about how we play sports on the field during P.E. lessons and so on. However, this picture tell me more than just playing sports. It was taken during break time when I was practicing the RV 60 item with my CCA mates. All of us had to stay back in school to about 6 to 7 pm in the field for the past few weeks to rehearse for the mass performances. Practicing the performances not only caused me to reach home late and have less time to complete my homework, lessons were also affected due to the limited time given. However, our hard work were paid off when we see how well the event went. I think that this explains "the extra in the ordinary" as even though RV is just a school like any ordinary schools, we are able to bring up the school spirit "立化精神” by celebrating our school 60th anniversary in a way that makes us stands out from other ordinary schools which makes us the extra in the ordinary :D

The Extra in the Ordinary (平凡中的不平凡）-Jia Xuan

We often see them around in school, busy with their own individual chores, but have we really appreciated their work and efforts, or have we just been taking them for granted?

They, the cleaners, work hard, from morning till late afternoon. They have all aged, but yet they are diligent while doing their chores, cleaning everything to the best of their means. Yet many people underestimate the job that they have. When asked what jobs the cleaners do, most students and even some teachers will simply say, " Oh, they clean the toilets." However, is that their only job scope?

We think that their jobs are simple, but after interviewing some of them during a CCA project, I saw otherwise. They told us that they had to clean after the students, from the bathrooms to the canteen and even the classrooms. They had to run up and down the school everyday, to make sure we have a conducive environment to study in, making sure to keep the canteens and classrooms rid of pests, and cleaning the bathrooms after we made a mess. Their jobs may seem simple, but it isn't. They often suffer from back aches and muscle pains, but they never complained.

I definitely think they play a huge role in our lives and we should appreciate them more instead of leaving a huge mess on the floor, thinking that they would clean up after us and taking them for granted.

Carmen.

Hello, my hame is Zhu Yi Qi Carmen from class 2D. Honestly , there is nothing really interesting about me but either way, I still have to write something down so...

Firstly, I'm actually a not a very studious girl unlike everyone in River Valley so sometimes, that makes me feel very left out. All I do is listen to the teachers when they teach in class and complete the homework for the day before finishing up with a little revision. To me, this is more than enough practice... Is it exactly sufficient? That I don't know.

For the rest of the things that I do for my leisure time is really weird. Similar to many guys, I like (or maybe love) to game. However sometimes when I get sick of playing, I would always use the phone to read up something online stories. Also, I'm admitting that... I actually like to daydream XD. Of course I try not in class although the temptation really is rather difficult to resist. Usually, my daydreams comes with me singing or humming so sometimes, only sometimes, my table mate would tap me to ask me to quiet down... Oops.

So those are just those the simple things about me. Thank you!

Thats Taka :))

Kevin Carter [Group Assignment]

Initially, when we were first showed the picture, it simply didn't signify anything to us. The picture itself portrayed a starving kid, with a vulture preying upon her. However, little did we know that there was so much more to that one iconic picture then we had imagined. 

The picture itself was taken in March 1993, in southern Sudan, by photographer Kevin Carter. Carter mentioned that he waited for 20 minutes, waiting for the vulture to spread its wings, but it never did. After snapping that haunting photograph, Carter eventually chased the vulture away. 

The photograph received a lot of attention and it sparked off a huge commotion when it appeared for the first time on March 26, 1993 as ‘metaphor for Africa’s despair’. Carter came under criticism for not helping the girl, even though journalists in Sudan have been told not to touch the famine victims, because of the risk of transmitting disease. 

Even though Carter eventually won the Pulitzer Prize for this photo, he couldn't enjoy it a single bit. From the violence he'd witnessed to the questions he got on a daily basis about the little girls fate, he simply could not be at peace. He eventually took his own life, three months later.

Netizens criticized Kevin Carter, saying that he was cold blooded. They said he was selfish, wanting to capture the perfect moment, and leaving the girl to her own devices, even though she was at the brink of death. And that was true. He was selfish. He, indeed, had not saved the girl, just because of his own selfish rights. However, was it right to push all the blame onto him? 

Kevin Carter was present, but so were the other Sudan journalists. Why didn't anyone blame them, but instead they naturally blamed Kevin Carter? Why was it that they thought by criticizing, the situation might have had a better turn? 

What I don't understand is that when the netizens mentioned that  “The man adjusting his lens to take just the right frame of her suffering might just as well be a predator, another vulture on the scene", did they think that what they were doing were appropriate? Yes, indeed he had done wrong. However, that was in the past. Nothing they said, none of those comments could make a difference in the child's ultimate fate. 

Their comments had caused Kevin Carter to take his own life, does that not make them a sinner? They, in fact, had done equally as much harm as Kevin Carter. They were upset, and that was understandable, however, has it ever dawned upon them that Kevin Carter was not feeling any better? Did they for even a single second, think about how badly their comments had impacted Carter? 

All these doubts, hatred and unhappiness were all caused by a single photo. As they say, "a picture speaks a thousand words". From merely one single picture, one would never expect such a huge commotion to have been caused. However, from this little picture, we could see the selfish nature in humans, as well as how powerful the Internet is. 

We could see human's selfishness, but at the same time we could see that we who criticize, are not any better. 

Self description of yuxuan

Hi, Mr Wong,  I am yuxuan:), register No.14 of the class. My English name is Rain. 

I am a girl who loves detective stories,  anime, photography and classic novels. 

I LOVE traveling as well.  I hope I can travel around the world when I become an adult, and visit North Pole to see the northern light with my family and friends when I am 18 years old. I have an outgoing personality, though I am quite shy in some occasions.

Lastly,

My CCA is String Ensemble, and I'm super excited about RV 60 performance this year :D (Jiayou for me Mr Wong :)

P.s. This is the game I'm playing recently. Neko atsume

Self Introduction

Hi, my full name is Adeline Ng Xin Yi. My CCA is dance and I dislike cats even though people may think that they are cute. I personally find them very creepy because of their look and the sound they produce which always make me feel disgusted and as if a million ants were crawling at my neck. My favorite colour are blue and green. I enjoy Science and Geography lessons the most and they are probably the few lessons that I do not dread when I go to school. I find English Language the most boring subject (I probably think this way because I'm terrible at English) Also, I dislike going out and prefer to stay at home. I like to watch the anime One Piece and I love to eat. I also dislike reading and running long distances because I always tend to vomit after it. I am a very lazy person who do not bring an umbrella when I go out and hence, I hate raining days because I would always be drench. I enjoy watching dance performances especially Chinese and Modern dance. Lastly, I love to dance. Even though it is a really tiring thing to do, I just simply enjoy it!

A self introduction

Hi! My name is Hee Jia Xuan. Yep that's right, that wasn't a typo; my surname is "Hee", which is usually used to express extreme happiness or just a simple for of laughter. It is a little unusual, and I get many quizzical looks every single time i introduce myself. However, I do not blame them a single bit, because I, for one, have never seen anybody else, other than my family, with the same surname as me. I guess we are just unique! After all, I do laugh a lot! :D

Of course, like everyone else, I love music, especially K-Pop. I idolise EXO and BTS because of the music they produce and how dedicated they are to what they do. You may ask, what are your hobbies? Well, they include fangirling over the two groups and stalking people on Instagram, Twitter and other social platforms.

Lastly, I like playing the piano, even though it takes a lot of time and patience to learn a piece, but after all the effort, when I can play the song fluently, all the hard work seems to be worth it.

                                                                                      

Isaiah see introduction

Describtion about me: Isaiah see

My full name is See Yuefeng, Isaiah. My Chinese name is 施岳锋。I am pleased with this name as Isaiah is neither an introvert or extrovert. He loves to perform, but not necessarily be the center of attention all the time. He enjoys doing things on his own and is very critical of imperfections. Isaiah is hilarious, however his sarcasm will sometimes hurt other people's feelings; still, he won't care because he has no heart. With that said, it doesn't stop people from falling immediately in love with his charming-ness. His stunning looks make girls faint and give guys a reason to keep their girlfriends inside. [   adapted from urban dictionary :) ]

Well I have a few hobbies, mainly soccer, guitar and gaming. I have been playing soccer since primary 2 and I idolize CR7. Yeah he's really good !! Guitar was my primary school cca ( classical guitar only ). I learnt electric , classical guitar and self taught acoustic guitar. My favorite is electric guitar as I can play many solo parts and riffs, which is a different experience compared to the other two types , acoustic and classical. Lastly, like other normal boys , I adore the esports universe. I mainly play league of legends but I also play console, my PlayStation 4. The interesting mechanics and achievement system in league of legends attracts me, so does the wide pool of various characters. I mainly play ekko, graves and varus. All deadly burst / poke champions. They are all diffcult to master but I am proud to say that I can play them above average.

Varus^

Hey guys. We are RVHS 2D 2015 CID Group 2. This is our blog and do comment on it. Thanks!