EVG-VIBES by CREATIVE CIRCLE

Monday, September 15, 2008

Honours Day 2008

On the 28th of March 2008, Evergreen Secondary School had its 9th Honours Day. The efforts of teaching, non-teaching staff as well as students eventually paid off as the event was successful. The parents, Evergreen's alumni; who were here to receive their awards and student audience were seated as soon as they were called in. The participants waited eagerly for the arrival of the Guest-of-Honour, Ms Claire Chiang of the famed Banyan Tree Gallery (Singapore) Pte Ltd.

The event started off with the parade of Evergreen's very own uniform groups. The Guard-of-Honour for this year's Honours Day was the Red Cross Youth (RCY). They performed well displaying their teamwork and strict discipline.Apart from the Red Cross, the other uniform groups also did their part wonderfully. They consisted of the National Cadet Corps (NCC), National Police Cadet Corps (NPCC) and the National Civil Defense Cadet Corps (NCDCC).

The Unit Sergeant Major (USM) of the NCC praised everyone's effort in making this event a successful one. "The parade commander and the contingent commanders did a good job. The cadets themselves also performed pretty well. The event is very successful and I'm very happy," declared Vincent Lim of 4 Achieve who was also the Contingent Commander for NCC.

They marched to the tune played by Evergreen's band which was led by Aref from 4 Dynamic. Aref is the Drum Major for Evergreen's band which is also known as the EVG Winds. He was really impressed with the improvement showed by the members as compared to the previous years.

"These kinds of events are a good exposure for students to improve. I'm glad that everyone took this opportunity seriously," he added.

The concert started off with the singing of the school song where everyone present in the hall had to stand. It was followed by Mr. Chan; the Principal's speech. Ms Chaing's speech was next. The concert then went on with the Chinese Orchestra's soulful performance. The Gamelan and the Malay Dance Club had a combination performance where the Malay Dancers danced to the tune played by the Gamelan members. The dancers performed a Javanese dance which was indeed very graceful.

The Creative Circle reporters had a chance to interview the Chairman of the Malay Dance Club, Roshazmira from 4 Integrity. She has been dancing for Honours Day for three consecutive years. She felt really great and honoured for the opportunity and trust bestowed upon her.

The Chinese Dance Club also performed for the concert.

The emcees for Honours Day

The concert lasted for about an hour before the guests had their refreshments. The students and parents had their reception in the canteen. Meanwhile the teachers and the Guest-of-Honour went to the NE library for the reception. In the library, they were entertained by the wonderful tune on the piano played by a Secondary 3 Achieve student, Japheth. The band joined in moments later. Lastly, the Secondary 3 Express pupils sang a medley of a few songs.

An interview with Ms Claire Chiang was conducted by the Roving Reporters of Creative Circle.

When asked about the highlight for this year's Honours Day, she said, "I'm impressed by the cultural show and music performed by the Secondary One pupils. Maybe next year they can use cooking pots and also forks and spoons!"

She also advised EVGians to set their targets high and to be the best that they can be in order to strive harder. EVGians are also advised to set aside time and to put in their best effort so that the goals of 'Stronger, Higher, and Faster' can be achieved.

Mrs Lim, the Vice-Principal of Evergreen Secondary who was also the advisor for 2008's Honours Day, felt that the event was great and that it showed the energies and efforts put in by the teachers and students. She added that this event was to celebrate the school's successes and achievements.

Overall, this event ended with a bang and it was a day to remember as everyone pitched in to make this event successful.

"Whatever we do, just do your best. When, you do your best, no one can blame you."
-Guest-of-Honour, Ms Claire Chiang

Written by
Amirah,Farhana & Farhani of 4 Commitment

FYI:Feed Your Imagination

During the month of May, the English Language and Literature Department organised trips to the Esplanade for the Upper Secondary students. Feed Your Imagination (FYI) Programme aims to develop passion and interest for the English Language and the Arts and to also enhance the appreciation of our Singapore's icon. Evgians had the opportunity to watch dance performances and go on a guided tour of the world-class facility.

The Secondary 3 students got to watch a conceptually-based movement, 'Kaleidescope' by MI Arts Ltd. that helped them understand fundamental elements of dance and how dancers use space, time, shape, energy and emotion to create complex and appealing choreographed works. Some students were even called from the audience to take part in an activity where they could move the dancers' bodies to whichever position they wanted so as to form an artistic pose.

On the other hand, the Secondary 4 & 5 students were treated to a hip-hop performance, 'It's All That' by The Trinaqi which is a tribute to Singapore's hip-hop scene and a celebration of the special blend of unique cultures and talents that make up what it is today. The students learned about how the hip-hop culture has been adopted and adapted to include local flavour. Life stories of influential hip-hop dancers were also told. Some of the students even tried their hands at hip-hop moves and surprised the audience with a performance! To top it off, the students were rollicking in laughter from the second the show started as Sheikh Haikel's sense of humour was just too hilarious to handle.

After the performances, all the Upper Secondary students went for a guided tour around the Esplanade. They were very lucky to be able to enter the grand Esplanade Theatre and they even caught a glimpse of the props for the upcoming 'P. Ramlee the Musical!' All in all, the Upper Secondary students learned tremendously about the Arts, Language and Culture from this programme.

Written by Shaun Lee of 3 Achieve

Sports Day 2008

It was an energetic morning for Evergreen Secondary pupils as they headed to Yishun Stadium for this year's Sports Day. We had to sit on the field while waiting for the morning assembly to begin. After singing the National Anthem and taking the pledge, we were separated into our 4 different house colours, Red, Green, Orange and Yellow. :)

Right after everyone has settled down, our Principal officially marked the starting of the event. The cheerleaders of each house took their positions in front of their houses to lead their mates during the Cheering Competition.

Green House was acclaimed the champion for the Cheering Competition. While the cheer was going on, the athletes got themselves ready for their individual race. Our Principal, Mr Chan Yew Wooi, was the one who started the race by firing the gunshot. Our runners were enthusiastic to begin the race.

The scorching sun did not bring down the runners' spirit but rather, it fueled the confidence in them.

We then had a friendly competition with other neighbouring schools. Our school emerged as the champion and this was a great and proud achievement for us. The final race was between the teachers of the different houses and some of the pupils' parents even joined in the race.

A new event this year was one where every EVGian from every house went down to the tracks to participate in a Mass Relay. It was so great to see 100% participation from the entire school!

Finally, after tallying the scores for the overall competition, Green house was finally declared as the House Champion for this year's Sports Day.

This sure brought satisfaction and great victory to them. It may be a very hot day but the students still enjoyed themselves with big smiles on their faces.

Written by Rafiqah & Zakiah of 3 Aspire

The Diary of a Dairy Farm Adventure Camper

Day 1.

Firstly, when we reached the camp site at the Dairy Farm Adventure Centre, we gathered at the canteen.
We spent about an hour or so there where they checked if we had any food or drinks in our bags.
Next, we went to our dorms where we put our stuff and then went back to the canteen again.
We spent about half an hour or so having lunch, the food was okay.

Then we went to this area near the back of the canteen to play games.
The first game we played was called Human Entanglement. W e had to form a circle and hold the hands of the person in front of us. Then, we had to untangle ourselves, it was really confusing, we had to bend and turn and even cross over someone’s arm.
Next, while waiting for the other group to finish their game, we played charades at the corner of the area.
It was really funny because it was really hard to act out what they wanted us to say.
After the Charades, we continued to play the second game, called the Leap of Faith, it was like rope skipping, but the one we played involved 5 people.
We had to, one by one, jumped in until there were 5 people rope skipping.
It took all of us about an hour to finish the whole game.
After the Leap of Faith, we continued to the Low Elements. These included The Wall and The Nitric Crossing.
We went for a campfire preparation next, we joked, learned cheers from others. Needless to say, it was hilarious.
Later on, we had dinner. Everyone was very happy to have dinner because it was a tiring day and we were all starving.
At around 10p.m , we went for a night hike near Bukit Timah, we were separated into groups of ten.
I thought the hike was quite scary, the forest was eerie and gloomy and my imagination ran wild.
We ended up at a huge field of grass where we could see huge hills.
We sat there for quite some time, finally, we started to go back to the camp site and then had supper which was curry puff. Then, it was time for bed.

Day 2

A lot of people were really hungry because of the extremely tiring hike.
After that, we went for the High Elements.
Firstly, we had rock climbing, then abseiling, next was the CRC.
The CRC included the Postman Walk, Cargo Net, Charlie Chaplin, Wild Woozy, Swinging Beams and the Tension Traverse.
When we finally finished, it was almost dark, and we went for dinner.
After dinner was the most exciting part of the camp! THE CAMPFIRE!

Every class cheered and shouted loudly to win.
After the campfire ended, we went for supper and showered.
Finally, it was time for bed.

Day 3

Everyone woke up in the morning and started packing our stuff.
Carrying our heavy bags, we went for assembly.
Firstly, we were debriefed and then we had a morning stretch.
Breakfast was next, this was followed by an area cleanup.
We cleaned the toilets, picked up the stuff people left behind and also washed the floors.
Then it was time for us to leave and say goodbye to Dairy Farm Adventure Camp.
With our heavy bags and heavy hearts, we walked out of the gate and hopped onto the bus.