Aspire and Achieve

Aspire and Achieve

Monday, September 15, 2008

National Day Celebrations




On the 8 August 2008, our school celebrated National Day, the most memorable day for Singaporeans. Mr Chan, our school principal, also celebrated his birthday together with Singapore, our homeland. The school was decorated with colourful flags and banners. The day started with some classes assembling at the first and second level of our school, this was done s0 that Evgians got a better view of the parade held by the uniform groups and the school band.

After the parade, we sang the National Anthem proudly which was played by the school band. Then, we went back to our classrooms for the second activity which was to complete a piece of group work on an article and present it to the class. We also wrote an acrostic for Singapore and included a reflection. Next, we proceeded to the school hall for the concert. It started off with Mr Chan's welcome speech and the National Day Message. We continued with wishing 'Happy Birthday' to Mr Chan and then we watched a National Day video and sang our favourite National Day songs. The prefects were on stage, leading us with the singing. Even some students stood up and waved in rhythm. After the entire day, we were happy and proud to celebrate National Day in our school which is the Centre of Excellence for National Education.


WRITTEN BY:
Syaheera amira (1 Commitment) Nur Farahin ( 1 Achieve)

NE Festival 2008

On 30th July 2008, our school hosted the NE Festival for North Zone. It was a huge success. The Guest-of-Honour for this event was Ms Yeoh Chee Yan, Second Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education.

The festival started off with a fusion dance, in the theme of RICE, by our Chinese and Malay Dancers. Next, six students from different schools in the North Zone attended various workshops in our school and shared their experiences with us.

Bright, colourful costumes all around

Even our 2 Concert Emcees were in lovely costumes

That's our RICE mascot giving out free balloons!

National Educational Stories ll (NESTll), a collection of original stories written by Primary and Secondary students in the North Zone, was also launched that day.

The Movers & Shakers Gallery was officially opened by the Guest-of-Honour. The gallery features 10 Founding Fathers of Singapore who have made significant differences in Singapore's development.


There were also events like Story-telling, Movies Watching and watching digital clips on Singapore's Past.There were traditional food from different ethnic groups; Potong ice cream and kachang putih were included too. The traditional food and the setting of the environment brought back memories of Singapore in the early 50's and 60's. We even had a professional caricaturist stationed at the new Movers & Shakers Gallery.

To end off the day, there was a prize presentation for participants, comprising of Story Writing, Animation, and Illustration and Photo Stories competitions. Mrs. Marian Chia, Cluster Superintendent North 5 Cluster giving a speech

We are proud that our school hosted the National Education Festival and we thought that the school looked grand and marvellous with the banners, balloons, flowers and all the ethnic decorations. We look forward to the next National Education Festival.



Written by: Rennie Lee and Tan Zi Yu from 3 Aspire

Road Run - 23rd May 2008

Many Evgians, dressed in their own house t-shirts (Red, Green, Orange or Yellow), gathered at Bishan Park for the annual Evergreen Secondary School Road Run on 23rd May 2008.During this event, even the Evergreen Secondary School Principal, Mr Chan, joined the students in completing the road run to show his support for the event. During his interview on this event, Mr Chan commented that this year's event was better as compared to last year's. He even said that the students settled down much faster this year. According to Mr Chan, the road run had benefited us by keeping us healthy, physically fit and also keeping our body in good shape. We were also told that he had enjoyed the road run very much because he had the chance to enjoy the fresh air with the Evgians and staff.
Mr Jay Lim running for a good cause with weights in his haversack
During our Vice Principal, Mr Lee's, interview, he commented that he felt great about this year's event as the students were more cheerful and engaging in the event. When Mr Lee was asked what he thought were the benefits of this road run, he told us that the road run had helped the students gain resilience and develop their character.

Written by Hann Shen of 2 Aspire

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