Listless and can’t Handel the grind of school? Then piano ensemble’s the CCA for you.

You may be wondering – why bother putting up with these lame musical puns? Why join a CCA with 25 pianos playing simultaneously? Why surround myself with a group of professional classical musicians engrossed in their own world, spewing musical jargon from their mouths?

If that’s you, you can’t be more wrong as the whole of PE batch’14 was with you in our first, fortunately not-so-accurate, impressions.

We’re just a bunch of people who are dedicated to sharing our love for music with anyone who’ll care to listen.Though we might not be able to stage a 25-something hand masterpiece, rest assured that we certainly do more than the usual solo playing! In their two years here, members are given the opportunity to perform duets and even trios with other like-minded piano enthusiasts. Musicianship is something we strive towards, more so than merely demanding a certain level of technical standards to be met or a quota of classical pieces to be played. After all, what’s the point of practising an instrument tirelessly without being able to fully appreciate the beauty and texture of the music? On this note, we are looking for people with a heart for quality music, a willingness to take their piano prowess to the next level and an openness to new experiences. And we promise a fun and fulfilling time ahead!

What you can expect is an exciting line-up of events and activities for the budding pianists, where all members are given as much exposure as possible. Our annual concert, competitions or smaller-scale recitals are not be missed, with our CCA members consistently clinching the gold award in Vivace, the pianistic equivalent of SYF, since participating in 2005. This ensemble’s creative energy is also reflected in its innovative concert themes, which include “for Euridyce” (2005). “Child’s Play” (2009), “Legende” (2012) and for the upcoming concert, “Carnival of Animals” (2014). Our passion for music and sharing has also found expression in the area of community service, where our CCA undertakes different types of projects with different beneficiaries, depending on the batch. Last year, it saw us giving weekly piano lessons to children of Chen Su Lan Methodist Children’s Home and Beyond Social Services. This year, one highlight would definitely be the collaboration with an anime pop pianist to further expand our repertoire.

And what can you expect from our weekly CCA sessions? Besides the usual coaching sessions, musical sharing, rehearsals and even the much-feared pre-concert Quality Control checks, be prepared for a strong sense of community. Just as much, if not even more time will be devoted to batch planning, discussions or bonding time. Given how this CCA ultimately gives its members a fair amount of freedom to decide what they want to pursue, these meetings are precious in setting direction as well as launching into spontaneous conversations and practices alike with your fellow batchmates.

In the words of Richard M. Nixon, “If you want to make beautiful music, you must play the black and white notes together.” Just as how life consists of ups and downs, so will your journey in RI PE but at the end of the day, you’ll experience the joy of friendships and producing beautiful music alongside people who are unafraid to do what they love best.

Seeking to showcase and develop your talents or simply just keen to further your interest and enjoy the synergy of working with fellow enthusiasts? Then look no further!!!

I noticed that many of my close friends have been searching for a meaningful way to help serve the community as they transitioned into JC life. With various service opportunities available to students, you might wonder what distinguishes Interact from the rest. While there is no one clear answer, Interact does have a focus on direct service. In Interact, we believe that the face-to-face kindness one shares is an invaluable part of affecting the lives of others, and we carry this out in a multitude of ways.

For starters, each Interactor commits to a weekly service session with one of our seven Service Centres (SC). These service opportunities range from providing primary school tuition to children to spending time with old folks to helping organize activities for the intellectually disabled. As Ying Yilun, one of our members puts it, “Weekly service is very meaningful because we get to directly impact the lives of our beneficiaries and create a sustained, long-term relationship with them.”

And don’t assume weekly service becomes mundane after a few months! If you feel like doing something fresh and extra special for your SC, resources are provided for you to do so. We encourage Interactors to take their own initiative in organizing mini-projects with their beneficiaries. In one instance, our members from Jamiyah SC organized a scrap-booking activity for the children to take a break from studying and reflect about their aspirations for the future. Interactors from SINDA SC, on the other hand, gave additional lessons on International History from 1900 (a certain club member loves History) and even dissecting fishes.

Interactors conducting a lesson in our very own Biology Labs

We also organize various big events annually. Dine in the Dark, for example, in an event where we hold a dinner service for the public in pitch darkness, in effort to raise funds and awareness for the Singapore Association of the Visually Handicapped (SAVH). In preparation for this, Interactors visited SAVH themselves to conduct interviews with the clients and understand more about how daily life is like for a visually handicapped person (you can see the publicity video below)

These events do not only give members a chance to gain experiences in organizing large scale events, they are also a means of reaching out and serving the greater community in a meaningful way.

And if you’re wondering why we’re called Interact, it actually stands for International Action! That means that we shouldn’t just serve the local community. This year, interact led the fundraising efforts for typhoon victims in the Philippines. Moreover, we have an International Understanding trip held overseas every year. In 2013, we went to Cambodia for a week to serve at UNACAS, an orphanage in Phnom Penh.

Helping build infrastructure in Cambodia

Another great thing about being an Interactor is that you’re joining a network of people with similar passions towards serving the community. Through the several service opportunities provided exclusively for the club, you get to make closer relationships with not only your schoolmates, but also the youth from various organisations and schools. One of our members, Benedict Lee, says: “As an introvert, being in Interact has made me more open towards other people and even more sympathetic towards the people you serve.”

With about a total of 160 friendly Interactors, your time in JC is bound to be a more meaningful journey. You’ll surely learn a thing or two from people of all walks of life during the projects in-store for the club. So as long as you have the heart for the community and the will to lead in serving, your membership in Interact promises to be more than just mere lines on paper.

The name RI is usually synonymous with competition. Rafflesians are encouraged to fight for the school, and display school pride. While certainly laudable, many-a-times, Rafflesians tend to get distracted from the true reason for why they fight: passion.

You may have seen a few students playing badminton in the air-conditioned MPH to the tune of groovy music, or perhaps seen students carrying badminton racquets and chilling out in the canteen together. You may have been secretly envious of them. Well, there’s no need to, you can join them!

Recreational Badminton hearkens back to the soul of the sport – passion. The light-hearted sessions provide an environment that allows members to pursue their interest in badminton. Once every week, members gather after assembly  for 2 hours of immersion in one of Asia’s favorite sports.

Weekly training sessions are not Recre Badminton’s only fare. Members can look forward to friendlies with Recreational Badminton teams from other schools like AndersonJunior College and Hwa Chong Institution, in which they can join like-minded people in their favorite pastime.

Indeed, the only pre-requisite for joining the team is a strong interest in badminton. “Getting into this CCA is easy,” says Jillian Heng (13SO6B), “all you need to do is show your interest in the sport!” There are no nerve-wracking interviews, or tiresome tryouts. New members don’t even need to have touched a racquet before!

Not needing prior experience allows students from all ranges of skill levels to join and learn together. The absence of strong rivalry allows each individual member to develop his or her skills at a different pace. This dissuades relentless competition, yet fosters the love for the sport, while mainting an atmosphere which encourages camaraderie. Annabel Goh (13SO6B) says, “Because our practices are not as intense as competitive CCAs, the best thing about Recre Badminton is the bonding and sense of belonging that you get.”

One way in which the above is exemplified is in the school’s annual Inter-House Competition (IHC). In 2013, Recreational Badminton members had an opportunity to organize an engaging session of badminton for the rest of the institution that saw the bending of traditional badminton rules, putting a creative twist to the otherwise standard game of badminton. IHC Recreational Badminton saw teams of three play against each other, with two shuttlecocks in play at the same time, in an elimination mate– a form of organized chaos, if you will. Participant Lu Zhao Boyu (13A01D) says that “IHC Recre Badminton was one game which required utmost concentration and cooperation with your fellow team mates. It was an enjoyable process juggling two shuttlecocks and trying to stay focused.”

In essence, Raffles Recreational Badminton is about passion, friendships and lots of fun! “It is what a CCA should be; a time to de-stress and just have fun with friends who share the same love for badminton,” says Raphael Quek (12S03T). Indeed, the formula to an enriching CCA experience can be this simple. If you have the passion, join Recreational Badminton!

“I don’t care if a dude is purple with green breath as long as he can swing.”
– Miles Davis

Playful, yet earnest on the bandstand, Raffles Jazz is a close community of musicians who are passionate about performing this strangely compelling genre known as Jazz. Performing at company events, functions and school concerts, Jazz has always been serious about presenting genuine and captivating music since it was founded 10 years ago as a student initiative group. Today, Jazz thrives on its rich history of accomplished alumni whose explorations in music have enriched the Singaporean jazz scene and reach overseas to acclaimed music colleges abroad. This tradition carried on by juniors continues and evolves to present yet more mesmerizing music every year. Jazzers play with sheer feeling, and it is this emotion that engages the audience and creates a moving performance. We want to push boundaries in music and improve, as musicians and performers.

Jazz sessions are traditionally held on Friday evenings in our beloved Jam Studio. During this time, we often have lessons conducted by our instructors Tan Wei Xiang and Seow Yi Zhe along with jamming sessions and other events. However, a word of warning – do not be fooled by the compulsory 2 hours per week! Practices are often held outside of the Friday sessions, and will increase in intensity according to the occasion. The occasions range from opening acts at school events, to playing for company dinner, to our highly anticipated annual concert. Nevertheless, rest assured that practices take into account the commitments and the schedules of all band members.

Raffles Jazz after Like A Boss, the annual May concert in 2013, featuring seniors and AV Club

Bands in Jazz are flexible, allowing all of our members to interact and play with each other as they wish. As for the Jazzers themselves, all of them are unforgettable characters with a healthy (or unhealthy, depending on how you see it) dose of “hairiness”, the pervasive culture of Jazz that leaves no member unscathed. Symptoms include strange antics, jokes no one else can understand, distorted faces and uncontrollable laughter. Jazzers are very commonly spotted at the steps near the Parade Square in the morning or chilling out in the storeroom after school, and will be very happy to entertain any of your questions pertaining to Jazz. We don’t bite, so don’t be shy!
What does one have to do in order to get into Jazz, you may ask? Though any prospective member has to pass an audition and an interview, do not be daunted by these terms! Raffles Jazz welcomes all who possess musicality, passion for music, and are willing to work hard for what they love. In fact, we value this much more over technical skill. For those without prior experience in the genre, fret not! During the trial period, an introductory workshop will be held, where our instructor and the seniors will guide you through the basics to prepare you for your tasks.

Raffles Jazz at the Arts House for its 2013 alumni collaboration Christmas concert, titled ‘From Place to Place’

If you have a love for music and a passion for trying new things, Raffles Jazz would be very happy to have you if you were to choose us as your second home. We assure you that you will not regret it. “Jazz was one of the best things in JC,” quipped pianist Jessica Tan, and the rest of the Jazzers definitely agree with that sentiment. Joining Jazz not only opens doors for you in terms of musical development, but also gives you a group of friends that will walk with you through your JC life; vice-chair Jennifer Ho strongly believes in this. “Because to me, these people are more than just the club, these people are my family.”

By Aaron Quak (14S03P)

You have a dream. Somewhere inside of you, there lurks a drive to achieve, succeed and most of all, to create. Perhaps your goal is to make it big in life or to improve the way we do things, from making phone calls to volunteering. If so, you may wish to join the Raffles Entrepreneurs’ Network (REN) and cast away the bowlines, for to paraphrase Mark Twain, it may well be what you chose not to do that you regret the most.

HISSOC, or the History and Strategic Affairs Society, is one of the oldest CCAs in RI, having been founded over a century ago at about the same time as when this school emerged on Singapore’s map. Every batch is about 60 students strong, and students participate in Model United Nations (MUNs for short) both locally and internationally. This year, we are sending students to Harvard Model Congress Asia (HMCA), which will be held in the University of Hong Kong from the 9th to the 12th of January. This event draws high school students from all over Asia.

HISSOC at HMCA2014 in Hong Kong. The delegation won 13 awards in total.

This is but a glimpse of the number of opportunities you will get in HISSOC. For the 2014 calendar, students are already involved in competitions such as NTUMUN, organized yearly by the eponymous institution. The CCA’s main objective is to serve as a platform for members to develop their interest in politics, current affairs as well as diplomacy. History as a subject is rather less commonly explored in this CCA due to the nature of the competitions that other institutions offer (with most counterparts in other schools placing their focus on current affairs, with names like Young Diplomats Society – we, however, keep our name as it is part of the heritage this organization is proud of).

That is not to say, however, that the significance of History with a capital H in this CCA is relegated. We organize a History and Current Affairs quiz yearly, inviting teams from secondary schools to take part, and members in general take an active interest in events that have shaped the world in the past. We will likely be collaborating with the Preservation of National Monuments Board (PMB) for Monument Open House 2014! There is no admission criteria for HISSOC – instead, all this CCA demands from its members is a willingness to take the chances that this CCA offers them, and to assist the CCA in turn by contributing to the creation and organization of events.

What events? To answer this rhetorical question, there is one answer – RMUN, or Raffles Model United Nations.

Our flagship event is generally recognized by most secondary schools to be one of the most prestigious MUNs within the local circuit. The CCA manages everything: deciding debate topics, themes, budget, et cetera. It’s a painstaking, entirely student-run process, and all members are taken on board to help make it a success.

HISSOC’s alumni is pretty impressive – Jarrett Huang, HISSOC’s president in 2011, is now a President’s Scholar studying in Cambridge, and many members of similar (and diverse) portfolios have streamed through this CCA.

For those cynical about MUN and the meaning in this CCA in general, my advice is to just take what you do seriously and as an intellectual exercise. You’ll be surprised at the number of soft skills you pick up just by interacting with delegates from other schools or by planning an event as large as RMUN. If you have a passion for diplomacy, history or current affairs, and would like to be actively participating in events revolving around the aforementioned areas of interest organized both locally and internationally, join HISSOC. We promise fulfilling times ahead.

by Angelica Chong 14A01B

1.5 Hours of Your Life You’re Never Getting Back: A Preview

It’s a Thursday night. Too late in the week to have any energy to finish (or should it be or perhaps start) your work, still 24 more hours to go before you can head out on a Friday night. Instead of laughing at cute cat videos at home by your lonesome, why not come to the PAC and laugh at your schoolmates, with your schoolmates, instead?

Where can I sign up?!!! you desperately ask, relieved to be free from adorable animals that you will never get to hold and cherish. And what is this preview for, anyway?

It’s for the so very adroitly named 1.5 Hours of Your Life You’re Never Getting Back: a one-of-a-kind (perhaps thankfully so!) performance, featuring our very own students directing and acting in two plays, one a slapstick satire and the other a literal ‘comedy of errors’, as well as performing a few of the most famous monologues in literature in between. Rest assured, you’ll get your money’s worth—and if not, you can always angrily approach any HP student for a refund/get a mob together, buy a couple of pitchforks, and go after the nearest hapless HPer for a refund. (I’m kidding. There will be no refunds as I’ve been told all proceeds will go straight to buying a flat-screen TV for LT6.) (That was also a joke.

King Lea— er, Kin Lee Er

King Lear? You pull back in horror as you read this. Wasn’t this supposed to be fun? Before you let any literature teachers catch you lamenting about the unfun-ness of Shakespeare, however, fret not—this isn’t just any ordinary play about a king and his avaricious daughters who drive him to madness and death; what   the HPers have done with it is to use this premise and convert it into an ode to the vagaries of the local political scene. Call it blasphemy or genius or anything in between, but you’ll be undoubtedly entertained by the satirical twists in this new and improved, Singaporeanified version of the bard’s famous play. Since poking fun at our political leaders is every Singaporean’s favourite past-time, it’s pretty much got universal appeal. You definitely won’t have to pull up Sparknotes in the middle of this play to enjoy it.

Pride at Southanger Park

Everyone knows that feeling—when you’re watching a performance on stage, and suddenly someone messes up (forgetting their lines, breaking a prop, falling, farting, what have you) and you literally cannot bear to watch. Ah, the pains of second-hand embarrassment. Watching Pride at Southanger Park, though, you can leave those worries behind you. Rupert Bean’s Pride at Southanger Park is a piece of coarse acting, which takes aim at the blunders of amateur theatre by taking the very concept to its disastrous extreme. By bald-facedly parodying these bloopers and blunders, it’s hoped that theatre-goers will forget about the—at times—snobbish intellectualism of theatre, or the subtextual meaning behind every stage direction, and just enjoy themselves by having a good laugh.  Of course, if you think about it, it’s easy for bad actors to act badly, or for good ones to make honest mistakes. For our budding home-grown actors, who cannot be labelled ‘stupendous’ but surely not ‘horrendous’, to act acting badly—well, that just might be a tad more tricky.

Oration through the Ages

If watching many people speaking on stage isn’t really your thing, maybe watching one person speaking on stage is. While listening to a lone figure rant and rave on stage for what seems to be an interminable period of time seems deathly boring, you might just enjoy this one. From Blanche DuBois to Shylock the Jew, the monologues being performed vary so much in theme, time period, and tone that they will be anything but monotonous. (However, if at the end of the day they still don’t rock your boat, you can always tune out the performers and make up your own words to amuse yourself. I’m sure no one will notice.)

Details

23rd January, Thursday, 7.00pm (doors open at 6.45pm) at the PAC (RI Y5-6 side)

Tickets go at $5, and you can get them from the canteen booth on the 22nd Jan (Wed), or order online at http://tinyurl.com/1point5hours. Alternatively, probably less attractively, approach any Year 6 HP student!

If you’re still on the fence, visit https://www.facebook.com/events/268811453274387/ for more details!

Track and Field. An individual sport with a team spirit. In fact, it’s more like four sports- sprints, jumps, throws, and pole vault. Quite apart from the abundance of good-looking teammates you’ll have, there’s a whole catalogue of reasons for seriously considering Track and Field as your CCA of choice.

1) It’s sport at its purest. There’s something strangely alluring about running really fast, jumping really high, and throwing heavy metal objects really far. If you want the certainty of knowing that you’re becoming a better athlete without worrying about whether you’re breaking Rule 21.7.2 of Section 3 on the Permissible Substitution of Players, then Track is the place for you.

2) It’s sport at its most versatile. Being able to fire a tiny ball into a tinier goal from twenty yards with nothing more than your trusty Floorball stick is fine and dandy, but you won’t get many chances to use that skill elsewhere. Conversely, Track and Field has countless applications, be it in standing broad jump, running away from friends who want to cake you on your birthday, or even playing other sports. After all, pace, explosiveness (jumps and sprints), and sheer strength (throws) all provide a massive edge no matter what game you’re playing. And if you join pole vault, well, getting abs of solid steel won’t hurt your sporting chances either, to say nothing of your chances in other areas.

3) Training is really fun. It seems almost an obligation for a CCA preview to say this, but the common misconception that all we do is run couldn’t be more wrong. Our coaches for all the sections are both fun and very creative, since they’d get bored too if we just did the same thing every day. We’ve got drills, games, hurdles, contests, trainings at bizarre locations like Botanic Gardens and the beach, and a standing challenge of getting Mr Tan’s car if we throw a medicine ball above the roof (applicable to sprinters only, with throwers excluded by reason of Mr Tan not really wanting to lose his car). If that isn’t enough, you’ll soon fall in love with your teammates, with weekly pilgrimages to Jai Thai, periodic ice-skating, chalets, and overly long gossip sessions that carry over from training into dinner and finally onto whatsapp.

4) If you need another reason, we weren’t kidding when we said you’ll have an abundance of good-looking teammates. The best part is, what with large amounts of sunlight, intense toning of legs (track) or training of upper-body (field), and becoming more lean by the day, you’ll soon be looking good too! (Disclaimer: beauty is a subjective quality determined by both socially constructed norms as well as individual conceptions of self. We provide no guarantee that our CCA can alter these perceptions to the extent that you fulfill these norms in what is perceived to be a satisfactory manner.)

5) If you still need another reason, you might as well go join floral arrangement.

If you’re still reading, you must be pretty interested, so here’s some important information:

-Sprints
Consists of 100m-800m events, as well as hurdles events. Training is Monday, Wednesday, Friday/Saturday, 3 times a week with the fourth training optional. Training is at the RI Yr 5-6 track. National Schools Championships are in late March to mid-April.

-Jumps
Consists of Long Jump, High Jump and Triple Jump. Trainings are held on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, 3 times a week at the RI Y5-6 track.

-Throws
Consists of three main events: Javelin, Discus and Shotput. Trainings is Monday, Wednesday, Friday, 3 times a week at the RI Y5-6 track.

-Pole Vault
Trainings is Monday, Thursday, Saturday, 3 times a week at RI Y5-6 Track, although sometimes trainings are held at the gymnasium and swimming pool.

In all honesty and seriousness, Track and Field is a wonderful CCA. If your interests lie elsewhere, we wish you all the best. But if you do join us, congratulations – you’ll learn why the Olympic motto is Faster, Higher, Stronger. Citius, Altius, Fortius.

The guest writer of this article has requested to remain anonymous. 

To some, dealing with the opposite sex is not simply a matter of minding the platform gap. It is a veritable chasm, with most of us hailing from four years of single-sex schools. Junior college brings boys and girls together not only in learning, but also in socialisation. Some things are for sure: you’ll make wonderful friends, male and female alike, and you’ll learn a fair bit about the opposite sex. Girls will learn how smelly boys can be, and boys will –or not– get used to casual period talk. Boys will not always understand female emotional intricacies, and it takes a long time to get used to guy leg hair.

There are a ton of avenues to get to know others in JC: orientation, classes, lecture groups, CCA, through mutual friends, camps… The list is endless! It is a whirlwind of social life within the walls of the Year 5/6 campus, and couples are a natural result. A statistic speculates that there are well over fifty couples in the batch by the end of the first year. There is at least one couple, or someone in a relationship, in almost every class. Budding romances will be all around you; some will shock you, some will disappoint, and others you’ll grin at and cheer on from the sidelines.

Still, there always exists that Singaporean mantra ‘studies come first’. “I’m not allowed to have a boyfriend till I’m in university,” shrugs a Year 6. “Relationships can be a huge distraction with the commitment and all, and coming from Raffles the pressure to perform (for A levels) is especially high.”

Studies, disapproval from parents, and the two-year admissions staggering due to National Service are the three most common cons naysayers have quoted. They are indeed valid concerns, as junior college is primarily a preparation for the mightily important A-level exams. Studies aside, there have been several interesting responses from Year Sixes interviewed who have had crushes and confessions, yet don’t envision themselves attached. One cites a fear of commitment, and another insists boys are like brothers to her.

“They are playful and childish,” she laughs. “In a good way! They are great friends, but I prefer to wait for them to go through NS and mature first before you know, looking for a husband. I’m the conventional type who wants to date only when I can see a lifetime with that person, and I kinda get the feeling that will scare any boys off.” She looked pretty embarrassed, but sportingly added, “Some of the boys my friends are dating are mature though, and seem to really care for (my friend) and value her as a best friend, so I’m happy for them! But nope, just guy friends for me for now.”

Of course, there is always the teenage Romeo-and-Juliet question: is he/she in love with their partner, or in love with the idea of love? When asked why he thought his male peers entered relationships, one boy said, “I guess there are always a variety of reasons, like companionship, and most truly like the girl and want to commit to her. I know of some guys who go into relationships looking to show off, or for sex. They are a minority though, but personally I feel girls make better friends for now.”

Who then, is ready for a relationship? When is the right age or the right time, who is the right person? No one will know this but yourself. However, before any self-assessment one needs to grasp two simple facts.

The first fact, and probably the harshest reality: any couple is either going to break up or end up married. The more poignant second: a relationship is an investment, a commitment, a work in progress.

There are bound to be crushes in JC. Someone glimpses a cute guy at an IHC and the next hour she is texting her ‘spy’ contacts for info. Someone else sees a pretty female acquaintance walking his way, and stares straight ahead refusing to make eye contact. Numbers are exchanged whether by traditional, awkward face-to-face requests (by the way boys, this does impress girls. We asked.) or via Twitter, Facebook or mutual friends.

Not all crushes develop into something more. Many are, at most, a lively source of conversation among friends and something to look forward to in school. And for those guys and girls brave enough to make the first move, not all meet with favourable replies.

“There’s CCA, schoolwork, enrichments, plus I still wish to spend time with my secondary school friends. You actually have to put a lot of time and effort into a relationship to make it work, and some boys, when they ask, don’t really know the girl well or are truly serious about it,” says a Year 6 girl, who turned down a confession early in her J1 year.

“But,” she adds, “I’m honestly happy for my friends (in relationships), especially couples who seem compatible and complement each other! The boys are generally really sweet and caring. So no, I don’t feel much worry for them, especially if they are doing well in school or know full well the heavy commitment.”

Raffles Press interviewed a Year 6 girl, who has been with her boyfriend for over a year. It was hardly a whirlwind courtship, for they were close friends for two years before they went official. They have faced all the traditional obstacles; from high-commitment CCAs and leadership roles to classwork and parents. She shares with us her favourite part about being attached.

“The best part is that there’s this mutual support. Like you know on your worst days when you feel like something’s always going wrong, that special person will always be there for you to make it better. It’s really all about support, and it’s more than having a best friend because on a deeper level, there’s a sense of security.”

However, she also admits that couples are seldom prepared for the effort relationships require to work out, especially with grades and other CCA or social commitments. “It’s about what you value, I guess,” she says. “If you value it all: grades, your relationship, free time, and you aren’t willing to sacrifice, you’re in for a rough ride.”

Relationships in JC can be amazing, and for the general school populace, a great churner of the gossip mill. To our newly-minted Year 5s: there’ll be couples, there’ll be breakups. But there are also many ways of maintaining special friendships with members of the opposite sex through study dates, mutual agreements to put special relationships on hold till exams pass.

Junior college will ultimately be two of the most eventful and fast-paced years of your life. Relationships may crop up on the sidelines, but even the sweetest couples can tell you that there is nothing as important or special as friendship. Most couples start as friends anyway, and let us tell you this: you will have times of fun (and stress), you will spend time maturing with your peers, and you will find friendships that are for life, whether with a spark of romance or not.

We loved being in Year 5, we hope you do too! Raffles Press wishes all incoming students a great two years in RJC :)

In the meantime, have fun dating your books.

By Lee Chin Wee 14A01B

Not too long ago, I was wrong about debating.

Perhaps because my views were blinkered by the heavily televised debates between American Presidential candidates or by watching my own debating heroes when I was younger, I always believed that debating was about the individual. A grandstanding, intellectual fencing match between six speakers who were divided into two teams for argument’s sake. To the casual observer, debates are often decided by one person – typically the one who sounds the most stylish, makes the sharpest rebuttals, and pummels the opposing team into submission.

What we slowly realize as we mature, however, is that therein lies the massive contradiction of competitive schools debating – that even though we are completely alone and isolated when making our speeches, relying on nothing more than our trusty palm cards and overworked brains, these moments of individual brilliance belie hours of teamwork and strategizing. After all, there would be no match-winning reply speech without the match already won. A rebuttal speech would probably lose most of its lustre if it were delivered in the absence of any argumentative logic. Quite tellingly, the ‘Best Speaker’ title that is handed out after each debate is a uniquely Singaporean invention. On the international stage, all the judges really care about is which side took the debate. Maybe fencing, where fencers locked in singular combat grind out points for their team, isn’t the best sporting analogy for schools debating. Think more along the lines of a relay race, which requires near-perfect execution from every runner just to be completed. It doesn’t matter if you happen to have Usain Bolt on your team – a small slip, a fumble, a botched baton passing will have repercussive effects on your race.

This is important, because just last month, five student debaters travelled to Istanbul to take part in the Eurasian Schools Debating Championships under the banner of Team Singapore. Four of us were guys from RI, all products of the Raffles Debaters, and each one of us the embodiment of the stereotypical Rafflesian debater (my first speaker, of course, would beg to differ). Our national captain, on the other hand, was a girl from Hwa Chong – someone who, for as long as I could remember, had been sitting opposite me on the debating floor, bent on refuting every single word and punctuation mark that came out of my mouth.

At this juncture, it’s very easy to scoff and exclaim, “Well, just get along and work together as a team! What’s the big deal?”

Exactly.

What we often forget, in the midst of waving our school flags, while belting out our school anthems, or when brandishing our school colours, is that these tribalistic divides are completely constructed. It’s easy to rationalize and dismiss this, but remember – when you’ve conditioned yourself to believe that other teams are mere dissenting voices to the moral truths which you speak, when we elevate Raffles to the pedestal of deserving winners, it’s not as easy as that. And when it comes to competitive debating, where absolute trust in your teammates is literally a pre-requisite to success, every little bit counts.

There is little doubt in my mind that such an attitude should transcend the parochial boundaries of schoolyard rivalries – there is absolutely no reason why we should put down other institutions or countries for the sake of our own benefit. But it was in the context of an international debating tournament, where we competed under our nation’s flag, where this probably resonated the strongest within me. Standing up to top teams from countries like South Africa, Turkey and Hong Kong required more than individual showmanship – it demanded hours of preparatory research, mechanical efficiency during impromptu preparations, and an almost irrational belief that your teammate would deliver what you just instructed him to say.

Even though we snatched all 3 of the top speaker prizes and ended up champions of the tournament (winning 8-1 against a South African team), our work is far from complete. Later this year, another group of five Singaporean debaters will travel to Thailand to compete in the World Schools Debating Championships. Here’s to hoping that we run a good race.

By Feng Zhuo (14S03S)
Photos taken from the Orientation Facebook Page

Orientation. That big word associated with hope, anticipation, and perhaps even a bit of fear. It’s coming your way, but you don’t know what to expect. “Will this be the start of something promising?” You wonder. The optimist in you is determined to make the four days the best in your life yet, challenged only by the quiet naysayer that co-habitates within your heart, a soft voice which whispers fears and worries about that oh-so-hyped-up event. “What if I can’t make any friends during Orientation?” “What if it just ends up being the worst event of my life?” True, those are valid concerns (and so emerges the naysayer in the writer), but don’t ignore the trusty old optimist which asserts that it’s still too early to tell, especially when you suddenly realize: “Hey, I actually don’t have a clue about what ANY of the four days entail!” So here’s a little help on that.

Now, let’s go back to the root word.

Orientation. noun.

Variations and related short forms include OG, OGL and even OGlings. Let’s get started clearing down all those clouds of confusion that might have subconsciously scattered over your head as you read through that sentence.

The OG is just about the most important term throughout your entire course of orientation. Those two letters will be like family to you in your ever-expanding vocabulary of short forms in J1, a parallel to what they stand for throughout the duration of your orientation. The OG, or Orientation Group, is a group of twenty people from your house, who are just as excited, clueless and scared as you are on your first day. The First day, a first awkward ‘nice to meet you’, and a first eagerly returned “how do you do”; this group will stand testament to a series of your firsts in this new phase of life. This is also when any pent-up gender awkwardness slowly melts away, because, as in life, you don’t get to choose who to be with. Say goodbye to your girl friends or bros, say hello to that long-dreaded (or long-awaited) gender interaction! Each OG will have approximately ten boys and ten girls, so you better beat off those stereotypes you hold of the opposite gender, because the next thing you know, you will be dancing with someone from that foreign species in a traditional(ly embarrassing) orientation event called the batch dance. But hey, who said it had to be awkward, right? Your confident self proclaims that as a true Rafflesian, you will embody the Fortitude of the FIRE values and be a good sport even when the going gets tough (or really awkward) during the batch dance.

Over the course of orientation, you will need seniors, who put the ‘L’ in ‘OGL’. As Orientation Group Leaders, they will be grouped in threes to fours, heading a single OG, and looking out for who they affectionately term as their OGlings. And there you have it, this is what makes up a basic OG unit, with people from different genders, schools and even levels coming together as one unit, ready to brave the new challenges that orientation, or even J1 life, will throw at them.

“Wait! I still don’t know what the next four days are going to entail!” Before you start panicking again, let’s hear from the Orientation I/Cs themselves regarding the key highlights of Orientation.  According to Ruthanne, “Each day typically has at least one highlight, so Station Games, War Games, External Activity and O’Nite are definitely things to look out for. Our Storyline plot and decorations this year are quite amazing too, so if you ask me, I’d say everything is a highlight!” The other Orientation I/C, Ernest, feels that the Batch Song and Dance are events to look forward to. He also reveals that this year’s theme, Kaleidos, was chosen based on the hopes for the J1s’ new school life to be similar to a Kaleidoscope, where filtered rays of life can pass through to form an array of incandescent colours, symbolizing the start of a vibrant experience.

On the Batch Dance, Orientation Programmes and Logistics I/C, Arjun, fondly recalls from his personal experiences. “It is made to be a bit tricky each year…but that’s the whole fun of the Batch Dance! You and your dance partner get to have so much fun trying – and in my case, failing – to keep up with the moves! I still remember when it came to one dance move where you just had to sway and clap, suddenly the WHOLE batch was in perfect unison and everyone just burst out laughing. Of course, I also remember when my dance partner accidentally punched me in the face. Let me tell you, it is not fun to get punched by a judoka.”

For those who are worried about dancing with two left feet, fret not, there is another more exciting highlight to look out for. OGlings (time to get used to being addressed with this new term!) can look forward to O’Nite, which is the final night of Orientation. Each OG will get to dress up under themes that are decided by the OGs themselves, and there will even be a prize for the best dressed from each House. OGlings can dress up as superheroes, soft toys, or even an invading species from Mars. (Just remember to keep your costumes appropriate for a school environment!) At the mention of O’Nite, Arjun recalls how his own OG dressed up as a wedding procession, complete with bride and groom, best men and bridesmaids, a wedding photographer, musicians, and even flower girls! Needless to say, the OG swept everyone off their feet and proudly won the Best Dressed OG award for their house.

Of course, no OGling will ever leave Orientation forgetting the (one-of-a-kind) experience of War Games. War Games I/C, Zhi Peng, gives his take on the games. “As the name suggests, War Games is the time where many of the OGlings go crazy, as the games involve teamwork and elements that will engage everyone participating in it. With the addition of competition between the houses, it will definitely be intense, exciting and memorable!” Regarding the concerns that have surfaced on RJ Confessions about the possible violence involved, Zhi Peng responds, “As the games are carried out, there is no doubt some OGlings might get carried away and be excessively competitive and violent, but our I/Cs will be there to manage the situation if things get out of hand! It will get a little physical for some of the games but it really adds to the fun. Just take care of yourself and others and all will be well.”

However, amidst all this fun and games, it might be time for the easily-tired to do a little bit of mental preparation. The programme ends at 5pm everyday, except for the last day, which will culminate into an event (O’Nite) that will end at 7pm. OGlings might also want to note that most OGs choose to stay back for OG dinners to enhance the Orientation experience, making the daily schedule end even later, depending on how enthusiastic your OG is. Regarding this, Arjun shares the personal experience of his first OG dinner. “You should also make the most of your OG dinner on the first night. After every day during Orientation, all OGs go out to eat, but I think it’s safe to say that that first meal is the most important by far. Start talking to your OG mates. Get food together, share your likes and dislikes, your CCAs, play games like “Two Truths One Lie” – whatever works! Just be as open as possible and make that night last for as long as possible.” However, the writer would like to caution all incoming J1s to prepare themselves for the “people mountain people sea” at J8 during dinnertime throughout the course of orientation, made up of people none other than their very own batchmates. As such, it would be good to explore other alternatives, such as going to the nearby Thomson area, or even ordering pizza to school.

While Orientation might sound like a very exciting experience for many, some may find it very daunting because of the energy and enthusiasm it requires over the span of four days. This may be a little overwhelming, especially for some of the new JAE students who have just entered Raffles and are new to the school environment and culture. However, Arjun gives his take on that.

“I think the most important advice I can give is very simple – be willing to try new things. That’s the purpose of Orientation after all! The change from Secondary School to JC life is honestly quite drastic, and Orientation serves to open you up to new experiences so you can enjoy JC to the fullest. In fact, many of the activities you’ll be taking part in are planned to take you just a bit out of your comfort zone. Maybe you don’t like making too many new friends. Maybe you don’t like physical games. Maybe you’ve never talked to someone of the opposite gender before – who knows! But if you come with an open mind and an enthusiastic spirit, you’ll be able to make the most out of your Orientation experience.”

Ruthanne also pitches in on how to make the best out of the experience, “The J1s should really try to get to know their OGLs better! Aside from being their leaders during Orientation, OGLs can really prove to be great sources of advice and support. After all, they’ve already gone through the same problems the J1s will be going through! So don’t distance your OGLs and treat them as your friends. They can be your pillars of support even after Orientation.”

However, if one were to ask any J2 senior regarding the sustainability of the bond in their OG, it would be easy to find out that not all OGs manage to stay together amidst all the challenges and new unshared experiences that come as part and parcel of J1 life. While some OGs, like Arjun’s, can proudly claim their title as “one of the most bonded OGs in the batch”, “meeting for breakfast every morning and making it a point to go out during every holiday, even going for school events and plays together”, it would only be fair if the other side of the picture was shown. It is the truth that many OGs do ultimately break apart, with the duration of this process depending on how much effort the OG puts in. An anonymous Year 6 even declares, “I haven’t seen my OG since the end of Orientation!” But regardless of the final outcome, just like how Year 6 Leong Yee Ting wisely puts it, “Just be open and try to treasure what little time you have with your OG mates. Maybe you were thrown together for a reason; maybe not – but that shouldn’t stop you from enjoying the moment while you can, and just let it be thereafter.” In fact, instead of not letting it hinder you, let it be your motivation. Be that person that you’ve always wanted to be; get to know the people you’ve always wanted to know; make full use of the time you are given with your OG, because that fresh, new, experience as a wide-eyed J1 only comes once.

Concluding with a heartfelt statement from Arjun, “Most people don’t remember the specifics of any of these activities during Orientation – in fact, most of us have long forgotten the steps to our Batch Dance – but you will always remember the experience.” Orientation might be The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, but who cares? Nothing changes it from being Your Orientation.

With that, the writer wishes all J1s (or soon-to-be OGlings) an amazing Kaleidos 2014.

Here’s to the start of something new.

–

Follow Orientation 2014 on:

Facebook: facebook.com/kaleidos14

Twitter and Instagram: @kaleidos14

(Click here for the Kaleidos 2014 Publicity Video)

By Gao Wenxin 14A03A

What can you get for SGD$5?

Last December, I had been dared by my dear friend Chin Wee to take on the $5 Challenge. Challenge accepted, I thought, Barney Stinson-style. The premise of this activity seemed simple enough: go about your daily life with only $5 a day, including food and transport. It was a novelty initiative started by the website Singaporeans Against Poverty, to encourage people to experience the daily budget of some 387,000 Singaporeans with a household income of less than $1,500. Chin Wee had argued that since I was doing an internship in the CBD at that time, I was practically the perfect living model of a working adult. Perfect, if only it wasn’t also one of the most expensive places to work on this island.

Perhaps I should preface this by saying that my family had actually lived in similar circumstances when I was younger. Here I borrow the words of Alice Munro, when her character Edie had started work in a wealthy house: “I thought it was still a lot easier, living the way we lived at home, to picture something like this, the painted flamingos and the warmth and the soft mat, than it was anybody knowing only things like this to picture how it was the other way.” My family’s situation has improved vastly since then, but I know a number of my schoolmates who probably cannot imagine poverty and think it a far-flung third-world concept. But even if you do not find homeless beggars starving on the streets, many Singaporeans face relative poverty, when their income falls below what is needed to pay for living necessities. Poverty is not a distant concept at all.

So while everyone was stocking up on chocolate santas, I was bracing myself for this period of self-enforced austerity. And I braced myself again. And again. I could not take the plunge because it just seemed too difficult. My round-trip commute from Toa Payoh to Clarke Quay will have cost $2.42 already, if I was a paying adult. The Starbucks peppermint mocha ($7.20) I had yesterday would have busted an entire day’s budget all by itself, and the cheapest thing I could find in the CBD food market was fishball noodles ($3.30). The first thing I realised before even starting the challenge was that small daily costs add up to become expensive, and it takes someone with pinched pockets to feel the sting.

Given the odds, I figured that if I was in it to win it, I might as well take one for the team. I managed to work out a plan to take advantage of the free MRT rides in the mornings before 7.45am, and also save 10 cents in the evening by taking the MRT from City Hall (1km walk from my workplace) instead of Clarke Quay (650m). That left me with $3.89 to spend on my three meals, and I set out to the supermarket, hopeful that I will solve my personal bread-and-butter issues.

But it was depressing. Especially because the Spirit of Christmas was beckoning me with its goodies and unaffordable price-tags.

Turns out, there was little I could buy with $3.89 except maybe, bread and butter. For those of us who take Economics, you can definitely see Engel’s Law (i.e. when income decreases, the proportion of income spent on food rises) at work here in real life. Food is expensive for the low-income. Making a decision at the shopping aisle no longer involves grabbing whatever strikes your fancy, but a complicated game of mental sums. Do I buy the $2.20 loaf of average Gardenia bread, or the awful $1.70 house brand loaf with twice the amount of slices? Should I spend $0.65 on a cheap cereal bar which will fill me for breakfast, or an apple to compensate for a balanced meal but will leave me hungry? What about butter? Could I do without it? Isn’t margarine, like, the same thing?

With a limited shopping budget, taste and nutrition often gets thrown out of the window. It’s hard to think about the food pyramid when you are wondering whether you should spend the $1.70 on a celery stick, or a loaf that will give your whole family the energy to start the day. This is because supermarkets often sell items like bread below costs of production to draw customers to the store, in order to persuade them to buy mid-to-high range products with a higher profit margin. The poorer lose out because they will be falling for discounts on poor quality or unhealthy processed food, since there is almost never an offer on the celery stick. [1]

So, here’s the hard truth: $5 in Singapore really isn’t worth much. I left the supermarket with only four purchases to last me for the day: bread ($1.70 for 18 slices), canned soup ($1.50, but I will only need half a can for dinner, so $0.75), tom yam cup noodles ($0.80), and an apple ($0.65). The tally was $3.90, and unfortunately I have still exceeded the remaining budget by 1 cent. Unbelievable. Disastrous as it is, I decided that I will simply make it up as I go along, and went to bed.

“Wake up, Wenxin! Aren’t you supposed to be poor today, or something?” said a voice as I rolled back to sleep. No, wait. I looked at the clock. 7.07am. I was supposed to be washed, dressed, and out of the City Hall gantry in 38 minutes. No way. I dashed out of my house and on my way, but time ticked by. At 7.44am the train was just pulling into Dhoby Ghaut. A terrible idea begin forming in my head. I made a last ditch effort to salvage the situation and sprinted out of the station.

The good news was that I made the 7.45am cut. The bad news was that I was also 1.4km away from my workplace, with no money to take other forms of transport, and separated by the Fort Canning Hill.

I did not have a data plan to check my location, or any sort of plan really, and it must have been so strange to see a girl in a dress sweating it out on the steps of Fort Canning while parading a giant loaf of bread. I also got desperately lost. In fact, I made it past three museums and the treasury building before finding my way past this former graveyard, but fortunately got to the office unscathed after the longest 30 minutes of my life.

Putting away my things at the cubicle, I went to heat up my breakfast, which was essentially just 2 pieces of plain bread and free workplace coffee. Nothing to get excited about, really. It unfortunately didn’t take 2 slices for me to get sick of the sour and yeasty taste, so I stopped eating, but this decision cost me. I was hungry for the rest of the morning, unable to get out of an important meeting.

After 4 hours with a queasy stomach, however, I am ashamed to admit that I failed the challenge many times over the course of the day as my resolve wavered. We had served refreshments to some guests at the meeting, and as an intern I obviously felt it my duty to clear the leftover Swissbake pastries (into my stomach). After which we had our lunch (small restaurant, nothing remotely under $5) paid for by our colleagues because it was our last day of work, and I could not possibly refuse. I did somehow wrestle my conscience into walking to City Hall for my trip back home, but when I returned I found the dinner table set for my place because my grandfather had predicted that I would fail. I had lost the challenge, and disgracefully so.

Feeling that it was too soon for me to give up just yet, I decided to set aside the next day to repeat the feat. And I actually passably succeeded, by spending less than the allotted amount. The only questionable move I made was to avoid a rehearsal in school to save on transport (shh), but in real life unexpected costs are sometimes unavoidable. No amount of planning can prepare for uncertain illness or injury, a sudden appointment at an inconvenient location, or your classmates deciding to go for a spontaneous meal that you cannot really afford.

And here exists the real five-dollar question I should be asking: What have I learned? Beyond the challenge’s gamification of suffering underlies a message that poverty is cruel and humiliating, and that food poverty is particularly inhumane and a real public health issue. As a developed country with one of the highest rates of income inequality, we could do much better as a country to help the needy.

Harper Lee once said that “you never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view… Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.” If there is a lesson to be learned from this challenge, perhaps you should try it for yourself. But then again, the fact that we can choose to partake in this challenge and give up whenever we wish reveals the privilege that we enjoy. Have I truly experienced poverty? No. It was a sanitised version of reality, an experiment with controlled variables. Sure, I may have gained some superficial understanding by stepping into their shoes for a day. For the 387,000 Singaporeans facing this daily reality however, there is no stepping out.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

[1] http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/oct/01/dont-worry-david-cameron-price-bread

By Tan Jun Xiang 14S06C

Raffles Press recently received the sad news that the owner of the Haw’s Kitchen canteen stall passed away on the 27th of January, after a prolonged struggle against breast cancer. From the accounts of those who knew her, Mrs. Haw Geek Nai was a diligent worker and a wonderful cook who was close to many students and staff.

Mrs. Haw first joined the school around 2009, when she started up Haw’s Kitchen. She had previously been running a similar canteen stall over at Ngee Ann Polytechnic, but shifted over to RI when she heard there was an opening.

Mrs. Haw with her family

It didn’t take long for Haw’s Kitchen to become one of our canteen’s most frequented stalls – serving up piping hot Tom Yam soup and fish soup to hungry students. Among the students and staff Raffles Press spoke with, several mentioned that she would dole out extra portions or even free food to students from needy families. Raffles Press also spoke with her two sisters currently running the stall, who recalled how it was in 2012 when Mrs. Haw first began complaining of back aches and nose-bleeds. During a routine check-up with a doctor, she was unexpectedly diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer.

She immediately underwent treatment, going for surgery and chemotherapy in a bid to keep the cancer from spreading. And for a while, she got better. For a brief period of time, she was even well enough to return and help out at the stall. She couldn’t be as active as she once was, but her husband, son and daughter assisted by helping to purchase food ingredients every morning. At one point, her sisters recounted, a student who was a regular at the stall even made it a point to buy an egg for her from the drinks stall every day, after seeing how skinny she had become.

Yet, even after her return, it swiftly became clear that she had not fully recovered. Following further complaints of bone aches, she returned to the hospital for a full body scan. The prognosis was poor. Despite treatment, the cancer had metastasized to her bones and her chances of recovery were slim.

She was hospitalized just last year (some of you may recall that Haw’s Kitchen closed intermittently for a period of time last year) and frequently received visitors from staff and students who knew of her condition. Although she remained positive about her condition, she grew progressively weaker and passed shortly before Chinese New Year.

Mrs. Haw receiving visits from ex-students

We contacted Hu Weijie – a Rafflesian graduate who visited her regularly in hospital – who kindly shared his experiences with and memories of Mrs. Haw:

I was really lucky and blessed to have gotten closer to her during my JC life such that we even kept in contact after I graduated. About 2 years back when i visited her in school during my army days I received the news from her that she was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. Despite the news, she remained optimistic and strong.

She went for an operation and the doctor said she was recovering well back then. The students could tell as well as she still insisted on coming back to work here and then in her headdress, although she often had to rest as chemotherapy has its toll on patients.

As I got more involved in army I had less time for her so I only managed to visit her after I ORD, which was at the start of December 2013. I couldn’t contact or find her then and I was pretty upset about it. Then a week later her daughter texted me that she was in the hospital, and her condition has worsened and it was stage 4 terminal cancer now and whenever I went to visit her she got weaker and weaker.

Though she is a very happy person with a strong will to live, her condition still got the better of her and she passed away last Monday [27th January]. Before she passed away I posted a photo of me and her on Facebook and a description of what happened to her, as I knew that many people were concerned about her well-being. Many many kind souls shared the post, private messaged me encouraging notes and several went down to visit her as well. This includes students teachers and the staff of the school as well.

You can ask anyone who has interacted with her personally and you will know how beautiful a person she is, both on the inside and the outside. She’s selfless and always cared for the people around her before herself. Even during her last days, she would apologise to people who visited her for taking time off just to see her. In school, she’d make sure her students had enough food and are well fed. She would also take the time to have a good chat with students who came by the stall.

She appreciates the support and concern the school students have given her as well and to quote her ‘to have such loving students, teachers and customers who are so concerned about my well-being, in this life I am truly blessed’. She would also often give students extra or free food. So one day, I asked her: how exactly does she make money this way? 

She then replied, ‘How much money can anyone earn in their life? It’s an endless pursuit. I would rather see my students well-fed, satisfied and happy, that’s enough.’

Erratum: The article initially mentioned that Haw’s Kitchen opened in 2011. Our thanks to our sharp eyed alumni readers who noted that the stall opened in 2009. We apologize for the error.

By Allison Choong 14S05B, Arintha Adelina 14S05B, Law May Ning 14S03O, Seraphine Chanentia 14S06N

Q. What would you expect a girlfriend/boyfriend to do for you on Valentine’s Day?
A. Kiss me.

- Female respondent, currently single

How did you spend Friendship Appreciation Day?

Did you know that Valentine’s Day was originally a religious celebration of a Christian saint named Valentinus? The original festival had nothing to do with roses or chocolates – the only semblance of sentimentality was that the said saint carried out secret marriages for soldiers otherwise forbidden to marry.

What then does the arbitrary retailers’ dream day mean today, beyond making most American men $150 poorer? And in particular, what does it mean to the average Rafflesian?

In an attempt to demystify the unspokenly exciting day that might spice up an otherwise dull school life, Raffles Press presents to you an online survey of 120 respondents on boyfriends, girlfriends, expectations and reservations. Of the 120 people we surveyed, about 56% were girls and only around 26% were in relationships.

Expectations

Q. What would you expect a girlfriend/boyfriend to do for you on Valentine’s Day?
A. Buy me chocolates! And spend time together with me.

- Male respondent, currently single

The first of our questions was ‘What would you expect your girlfriend/boyfriend (or hypothetical one) to do for you on Valentine’s Day?’. Girls are commonly stereotyped to expect more gifts and romantic gestures, and some may feel weighed down by perceived expectations from the day. But is this actually true?

Q. What would you expect a girlfriend/boyfriend to do for you on Valentine’s Day?
A. Not get heat stroke at Take 5.

- Female respondent, currently single

At first glance, it might appear that flowers, chocolates, and handmade gifts like cards and letters can commonly be found among the girls’ responses. Some wanted “personalised gifts”, others “self-composed songs”, while one slightly vague response hinted at the desire for “a romantic event”. Some girls seem to be more imaginative than others, providing us with more detailed descriptions of their ideal Valentine’s Day. One female respondent detailed that her ideal date would be to “go on a walk in some quiet nature place, like a reservoir, beach, garden or park and stone with me somewhere quiet and with no one, just looking at the scenery with a cup of tea~”.  However, the generalisation of demanding girlfriends is definitely false, with even some of those in relationships not even expecting gifts. “I just expect him to spend time with me. No gifts needed”, said one. Out of 67 girls, the majority of 31 expected to spend some time with their would-be significant other on the special day, 27 expected some sort of gift if a small one, and the remaining minority didn’t expect anything at all.

Q. What would you expect a girlfriend/boyfriend to do for you on Valentine’s Day?
A. Wish me Happy Valentine’s?

- Female respondent, in a relationship

As for the guys, it would seem that some still hold the mindset that they’re not supposed to be on the receiving end. About ⅓ expected nothing at all, with one respondent even remarking, “I’m the guy. I should be the one doing something special for her.” However, contrary to popular belief, some guys did expect some sort of presents – one commented, “Write me a card at very least.” The majority of male respondents simply wanted to spend time together or hang out. As clichéd as it might sound, it seems that the best present is our loved one’s presence, regardless of gender.

People in a relationship:

“Give me a surprise!” – Male
“Make me feel happy.” – Female

People not in a relationship:

Spend a quiet day with me reading books. – Male
“A handmade card perhaps? I’d love a necklace, or flowers or chocolate are fine too. :) A simple picnic would be amazing.” – Female
“Be there.” – Male
“I wish she existed…” – Male

Attractive Traits in a Partner

What our respondents could agree on, however, was that the most attractive trait was – thoughtfulness! It topped the charts for both girls and guys, with almost 80% of responses. It was followed by sense of humour, which again ranked second unanimously by both genders. Following these two traits though, disparities between guys and girls’ preferences start to occur. Attractiveness apparently plays a more important role in choosing a potential partner for guys as compared to girls. Attractiveness ranked third in the guys’ preferences, while it’s close to the bottom in the girls’ preferences. It does seem, however, that girls still prefer guys to be their knight in shining armour – protectiveness ranked relatively high in for the girls! It could also be assumed that Rafflesians are most interested in well-read and charismatic individuals, considering how both self-confidence and intelligence made it to the top five of the guys’ and girls’ rankings.

Dealing with a Relationship

We also asked the respondents about the one mistake they felt that guys/girls tend to make in a relationship. Majority of the female respondents responded something to the effect of “expecting a fairytale-like relationship” as the most common mistake, subsequently facing disappointment when things go sour, leading to an unhappy relationship.

Contrastingly, the responses we received from the guys were rather surprising. While we often hear that guys like to rush into a relationship, it seems that Rafflesian guys like to take things slow. One male commented, “People often go in too early without really knowing their feelings and end up breaking the other’s heart.”

The one key mistake that both genders wholeheartedly agreed on was the issue of miscommunication. Supposedly, our respondents felt that overthinking and making assumptions about the other’s feelings were key causes of conflicts and break-ups. It seems emphasising the importance of communication doesn’t only apply in workplace, but in relationships as well.

As anyone would be curious to know, we asked our respondents to talk about the one key piece of advice he/she would provide for their potential partners. Responses ranged from serious advice (honesty is the best and talk things out, even if you’re not one to talk or share concerns easily – after all, a relationship should have no secrets) to amusing ones like ‘get me a cat!’ and ‘please exist’.

On this romantic eve of Valentine’s Day, Raffles Press would like to wish all the couples out there a memorable Valentine’s Day. We would like to point out that, as one of the respondents cleverly put, “One shouldn’t celebrate their relationship specially just on one day. Every day that you’re together is a gift to be cherished (:” As for everyone else, we wish you a happy Friendship Appreciation Day! Look on the bright side – you’ll be able to get all those chocolates you’ve been eyeing in the supermarket on sale within the next few days!

Jayne Chan 14S03D, Sushma Pai 14S03R, Divya Muthiah 14S06C

At the start of every new year, 300 brave O level survivors will enter the realm of the Raffles world, facing excitement, apprehensiveness and awkwardness in equal measure. All around them, they will see green, black and white, and unfamiliar faces huddled together in groups, chattering away animatedly. This is how JC life typically begins for a JAE (Joint Admission Exercise) student. Life in RI will definitely be very different from how it was in a non-Rafflesian secondary school – intimidating even – but most JAE students find themselves blending in perfectly well by mid-year. With a few tips to guide you and the clearing up of some misconceptions, we hope to ease and quicken a JAE student’s adjustment into the Rafflesian family.

RP (Raffles Programme) students are snobbish.

False! This is one of the more common rumours a JAE student would hear about RI, but in actual fact, most RP students are friendly and accepting – it would be unfair to generalise all RP students as snobbish. With that said, every JC has its fair share of arrogant kids and of course, RI is no exception. Even if you do face such negativity, learn to take it in your stride. There can’t always be nice people out there in the world, and there’s no harm in learning how to deal with it earlier in life.

RI is a very competitive place.

Competition is an inevitable feature of any education system, but in RI, (due to the nature of the student body here) competition will be more intense. Then again, it’s all part and parcel of the RI experience. However, we would like to stress that it’s healthy competition, and not just pure cut-throat competition. Most students are more than willing to rally around to help their fellow schoolmates, so you don’t have much to worry about.

RP students are higher achievers than JAE students.

A person’s academic capability is absolutely not linked to whether they are from JAE or RP. In fact, there are many JAE students whom the writers have witnessed outperforming their RP peers (though this is sadly not true of the writers themselves, who happen to be JAE). Ironically enough, since JAE students have just been mugging their hearts out for O levels while RP students have been taking their lives relatively easier, JAE students are expected to get into the swing of JC academics faster. Many claim that they’re supposedly more well-prepared to sit for a major nationwide exam than their RP peers, whose last such experience was, well, PSLE.

Rough Seas and Rocky Shores

“A ship is always safe at the shore – but that is not what it is built for.” – Albert Einstein

Here we discuss some of the issues you’re likely to deal with in your first few months in a new (and sometimes terrifying) school environment.

1. Intimidation

Being in an unfamiliar environment with millions of questions flying through your mind can be unsettling, especially if you’re one of the select few who entered RI alone without your fellow secondary school peers.
Most JAE students agree that Orientation is the best time to get to know people, so treasure that opportunity and make full use of it. Even though Orientation is now over, take the time to hang out with your OG before the bulk of your workload catches up with you.

Remember that most RP kids are as eager to make friends as you are. While they may already have a bunch of close friends, practically everyone’s more than willing to get to know more people. However, friendship is a two-way effort! Don’t expect to make many friends if you don’t bother to start a conversation or say hello to the people around you. It can be as simple as grabbing any other student and making small talk (What CCA are you in/are planning to join? Do you like the school uniform?). Just take a deep breath and plunge into it. Once you get over that initial fear, everything else will fall into place.

Your friendly JAE heroes are here to help you get used to your new school environment!

2. Making Decisions

Since JAE students enter the school later than RP students, decisions have to be made fast. You might struggle to cope with it all at the start. Immediately after Orientation, the IHC seasons begin and then CCA applications/trials come along, followed by enrichment programme applications, and then student council and EXCO applications, after which you have a break in June that leads up to CT1s. And before you know it, half of JC1 is over. Sounds overwhelming, doesn’t it?

When you do feel lost here, don’t fret! There are lots of people you can approach for help. Counsellors, your OGLs, CCA seniors, or even your friends can help you out. Most of them are very willing to share their opinion on how things are run in RI. There are plenty of helpful seniors and students who would be happy to answer queries. If you have friends in RI/RGS, say your classmates, who would’ve entered the school earlier for JIP, do talk to them and ask them about the information they have received about various enrichment programs/introductory lectures/etc. It pays to do your research early, rather than walking into school on the first day completely unaware of what’s going on.

3. CCAs and Enrichment

One of the best things about RI is the wide variety of enrichment programmes and CCAs available. There are about 70 CCAs and 17 enrichment programmes, each as impressive as the others – you’ll be spoilt for choice! If you choose the ones you’re truly passionate about, you’ll probably be able to keep yourself well-occupied throughout your two years, and will be presented with many unique opportunities. You might have the chance to participate in overseas CIP trips, bicultural programmes, national competitions, or even research programmes. Despite so, here’s where the tough part about being a JAE student comes in. As would anyone looking to choose the right CCA and enrichment programme, you will have to do plenty of research. Issue is, this is trickier if you’re a JAE student with fewer seniors and friends to consult, especially at the start of the year when you’re faced with many important decisions to make. If you have any doubts, don’t hesitate to check with your peers or seniors.

4. Academics

While you may have been the top of your cohort in secondary school, it might not be the same here. As long as you pay attention during your lectures and tutorials, do your work on time and actively consult your teachers, you should be able to manage (take heart in the fact that countless students before you have managed it). However, to do better than the average student, arranging to meet up with your teachers and doing extra practices will help. A lot. We have some of the best teachers right here in RI, and your teachers are more than willing to help clarify any doubts!

Joining the Rafflesian Family

Every JAE student is a cross between a non-Rafflesian family and a Rafflesian one, so a JAE student will turn out as a unique hybrid who’s able to adapt to the changing environment. As a newly minted Rafflesian, don’t be too intimidated by all the rumours you hear! By the end of your two years here, you might realise that coming to RI might’ve been the best decision of your life.

By Austin Zheng 14A01B

In recent weeks, MOE has announced significant budget cuts for several independent schools and a slew of restrictions on expenditures, prompting parliamentary questions and public debate. Concerned citizens have criticised the cutbacks in air-con use, the restrictions on building new facilities, and the limitations on alumni donations, noting that they hurt independent schools without benefitting government-funded ones. Others have lambasted the perceived opulence of the top schools. But the most pressing issues aren’t philosophical ones. These budget cuts will have a massive practical impact on the affected schools, which include RI.

What, from a three percent reduction, at worst? But we should not be complacent.  Consider that an overwhelming portion of the school budget has to go towards non-negotiable expenditures, such as staff wages, utility fees, and maintenance costs. If we assume, optimistically, that discretionary spending is about one-third of the total budget, a three percent reduction would mean a 10% cut to items like funding for CCAs or enrichment programmes. Suddenly, the picture seems a lot bleaker. In addition, MOE’s figures are calculated to account for ‘total resourcing’ – which means that the real cuts to government expenditure on independent schools like RI are much deeper, possibly along the scale of over a million dollars a year. This is a crucial distinction, because the 1823 Fund is mainly used for bursaries and community service projects, not CCAs or enrichment activities, so a reduction in government funding cannot be entirely mitigated by alumni donations. In other words, an apparently innocuous three percent budget cut could have serious implications for the very programmes that are closest to our hearts. We have every reason to be concerned.

Some Rafflesians, however, remain dismissive. Surely it is unfair to pass judgement about the budget cuts when we don’t even know their effects? But it will simply be too late to respond when we do. Principal Mr Chan Poh Meng has stated that the budget cuts are ‘an opportunity for us to relook everything’. With such a grand commitment, the school administration will presumably and understandably be reluctant to relook everything again after it has rebalanced its budget. The appropriate moment to provide student feedback, then, would be when the administration is in the process of reevaluating its priorities – that is, now.

CCA funding tops the list of student concerns. That’s unsurprising, given that budget cuts in this area will affect literally every student in the school, with potential effects ranging from fewer overseas trips to less coaching. Smaller CCAs in particular could be crippled by budget reductions. The current chairman of HISSOC, Darren Teoh, reflected that HISSOC cannot run with a smaller budget, and that the CCA already has to source for external funding to sustain itself. Thus, if the school absolutely must reduce CCA funding, it should review the budgets of larger CCAs and examine if there are any excesses, instead of unwittingly threatening less established CCAs with extinction.

Similarly, the school could reconsider potential cuts to funding for enrichment activities. This refers both to enrichment programmes like RP3 or ISLE, and activities such as class camps or overseas cultural trips. Such activities, after all, provide students with an invaluable opportunity to broaden their horizons beyond the confinements of the classroom. Jian Hui from 14S03F hence opined that enrichment activities should not be scaled down, as students would then lose the opportunity to expand their learning. Jin Jie from 14S07B furthermore pointed out that students from lower-income households could be disproportionally affected if the budget cuts extend to financial aid for such programmes and overseas trips. While RI may ultimately have no choice but to largely restrict overseas programmes to Asia, it would be unfortunate if students lose the opportunity to gain global exposure.

Conversely, despite the disproportionate focus on air-con cutbacks in the mainstream media, students seem confident in their ability to withstand the heat. Adriel Ang from 15S03D moreover supports reductions in air-con use, observing that the air-con had been left on for long periods of time after lessons at the Year 1-4 campus. This flippant wastage suggests, worryingly, that some Rafflesians have taken the school’s facilities for granted. On the other hand, one should pause before doing away with air-conditioning entirely, since the classrooms are not designed with ventilation in mind. A notable example is the curious presence of large metal sheets outside the windows of certain classrooms, which block any wisps of wind.

Nevertheless, it is clearly unreasonable to expect everything to go on as before with a shrinking budget. It would be highly desirable however, if the school left funding for CCAs and enrichment activities untouched, and focused on feel-good events that have little tangible benefit for students. Jian Hui cites Take 5 as a prime example. Yes, it may be immensely fun, but does the school really need to spend thousands of dollars on monorail tickets? To go even further, does it really need to book an entire beach? Darren also feels that education should always be prioritised over school tradition or celebrations. It would be quite ironic, for instance, if the school commemorated the handover of CCA leadership with flowers and fanfare while students wonder if their CCAs would survive till the next Prometheum Day.

In the end, no matter what direction the school takes, the greatest mistake we can make is to be apathetic. Even as we are challenged to respond to wider questions of equity in society, we should not forget that we also have to respond to practical questions in our own backyard as a school community.

By Lee Chin Wee  and Jeremy Khoo 14A01B

“The human being is an unequal creature. That is a fact. And we start off with the proposition — all the great religions, all the great movements, all the great political ideologies say — let us make the human being as equal as possible. In fact, he is not equal — never will be.”

– Lee Kuan Yew

One wonders what our founding father thinks about the recently declared cuts to independent school funding. In private, he probably believes we are headed down the slippery slope of socialism. For someone who believed in policies like setting up dating agencies solely for university graduates, cutting back funding for top schools must be anathema. After all, it goes against the grain of the brand of economics that has defined Singapore’s success story — the best talent makes the best use of scarce resources.Today, however, as inequality soars, pressure continues to mount on the government to distribute resources more evenly. Perhaps we need to think about what is fair, not just what is efficient — we need to reexamine the meritocratic principles that we have grown to reflexively accept.

Therefore, the recent funding cuts cannot be viewed in isolation. They must be seen as part of a larger trend towards a more equitable spread of resources. Recent policy changes, like the introduction of a progressive wage structure for cleaners and the increased welfare benefits granted to the pioneer generation, have signalled a gradual shift away from the free market principles that the government used to espouse. To paraphrase an enamoured Foreign Policy correspondent, “At a time when big government is a four-letter word, Singapore continues to earn high praise for being run like a company. Its economic strategy reads like a business plan.” That was in 2011. Three years on, the government seems to have realized that the desk-bound everyman working for Singapore Inc. deserves a raise.

“The second major plank of the Budget has to do with our work to achieve a fair and equitable society.

We are driving important initiatives to help our lower-income families aspire for themselves, and enable every Singaporean to contribute to a better society.”

- Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam delivering the 2014 Budget Speech

In the same way that we are beginning to re-allocate economic capital to help the most financially disempowered, why not re-allocate educational capital to help students who are systemically denied the opportunity to maximize their potential? To fund better facilities and provide a diversity of educational opportunities to more students, it is only right to equalize the financial playing field for schools. We’ve been conditioned to believe that because Singapore is a meritocracy, the privileges we enjoy as Rafflesians are our just rewards. In order to understand why this does not tell the full story, we need to understand the distinction between equality in principle and equality in practice.

In principle, our education system is fair and equal. Every twelve-year old sits the same set of PSLE papers under the same conditions. Regardless of who his parents are or how much money they earn, he can still make it if he’s got what it takes. This is the meritocratic narrative offered by the government.

In practice, when John takes the PSLE, he has twelve years of accumulated privileges behind him. At the tender age of four, he was enrolled into a good preschool, giving him a head start in the educational rat race. At home, he was able to satisfy his inquisitive mind by delving into one of the many encyclopedias that his parents invested in. John’s parents signed him up for advanced chess classes to hone his thinking skills and drama classes to boost his self-confidence. By the age of nine, John was streamed into the ‘gifted’ programme and placed into an accelerated class. He was taught by some of the best primary school teachers, and was exposed to course material that thirteen or fourteen year olds were expected to handle. Unlike a vast majority of his peers sitting for the PSLE, John has benefitted from a uniquely privileged upbringing. Maybe anybody can make it, but John is far likelier to make it than many others.

If meritocracy is to mean anything in practice, the playing field has to be levelled so everyone gets a fair chance to compete. It’s only then that a meritocratic system is actually rewarding the best rather than those who’ve lucked out in the birth lottery. Yes, many, if not all, of us have worked hard to excel academically, but so have our peers in less prestigious schools. It’s indisputable that, for most of us, our being in RI has at least something to do with the circumstances of our birth. Not everything, to be sure, but enough to give us a host of structural advantages when it comes to academic success.

Thus, in order to make sure everyone is given an equal chance to succeed at every stage of their lives, government funding has to be distributed more equitably. Fact is, more funding directly equates to a better educational experience. And for schools which may not have strong alumni support or do not currently enjoy IP/GEP grants from the government, the pinch of tight budgets are felt most acutely. While we can afford to fund leadership institutes and subsidize overseas learning journeys, less privileged schools are forced to close down CCAs and trim enrichment programmes. We enjoy a remarkable range of privileges — think about the Gap Semester, the exchange programmes, the leadership camps, and the dozens of club and societies in RI. Perhaps taking away a few of these programmes and redistributing the money to ‘neighbourhood’ schools is the right thing to do. The more money a school has at its disposal, the less direct educational benefit can be reaped through additional spending. For instance, opening up yet another leadership programme might well give a few Rafflesian leaders a little more insight into the art of leadership, but the money could have gone to a government school instead, allowing them to enjoy some of the things we already have — like a dedicated leadership department.

The problem, though, is that the recent cuts to school funding don’t do enough, even though it is a step in the right direction toward a more equitable educational system. To quote a letter from the MOE, “[Out of the independent schools] three schools will see an increase in funding of about 5 per cent this year compared to last year, three schools will get between 1 per cent and 3 per cent more, and four schools will experience a reduction of no more than 3 per cent.” (emphasis added) In other words, although there is now a more equitable distribution of funds amongst the IP schools, this change doesn’t affect government schools, which are probably the schools that would make the best use of a budget increase.

On a related note, one wonders why independent schools have also been asked to limit any fundraising efforts for new facilities. On the face of it, it might look like a useful measure to narrow inequality within the education system, but the upshot of this policy actually seems to be that independent schools have less resources to work with without a commensurate increase in resources for government schools. By restricting an independent school’s ability to raise funds, the system is made more equitable, but only because there are now less resources on the whole. In short, this measure hurts independent schools without helping government schools, and seems to focus more on trying to make everything appear more equal. In fact, by forcing schools that want to upgrade their facilities to clear an even higher bar in order to justify the expenditure, we limit upward mobility significantly. If every school is to be a good school, we need to concentrate our efforts on making these ‘non-standard’ facilities and advantages a standard part of every student’s education, which will benefit one and all.

We do have one caveat: it’s important to acknowledge that there are some good reasons to allocate more resources to independent schools. While independent schools do receive grants for all IP and GEP students, they don’t just go towards funding new facilities. Within RI, for instance, the school budget provides for initiatives like the Humanities Programme and the Monday morning enrichment programmes (such as ISLE), which serve the important purpose of nurturing talent within niche areas. In these cases, it does seem as though some resources should be devoted toward helping talented students develop their potential. Shouldn’t education both serve as the great social leveller and help students achieve greater success? That’s why the government has spent taxpayer monies building up the Singapore Sports School, to help our most promising athletes develop in the best possible training environment. That’s why we’ve continually invested in niche schools like the School of the Arts, to equip aspiring musicians and actors with the specialized skills to help them succeed in the future, or even shine on the international stage. Only a minority of Singaporeans will get to use these facilities, but everyone’s taxpayer dollars are funding these programmes. Why? Because these programs serve other important national goals — encouraging interest in the Humanities, turning young sportsmen and women into world-class athletes and so forth. Whether you want to push the boundaries of modern economics or play football for the Lions, shouldn’t the education system also help you to realize these aspirations?

In principle, it is easy to say that we want an equitable distribution of resources. It is not much harder to elaborate the idea of equity — a comprehensive attempt to level the playing field so that everyone gets a fair shot at success in a meritocratic system. It is far harder to find answers in practice, when we have to balance the goal of equity against other worthwhile goals that require state funding as well. But the difficulty of finding the perfect answer does not stop us from trying to solve problems that we know exist. In the end, as the economist John Maynard Keynes might say, it’s better to be roughly right than precisely wrong.

Additional reporting by Bryan Chua 14A01A

By Celine Liu 15A01E, Michelle Zhu 15A01B, and Nai Jie Lin 15A13A

Photo Credits: Raffles Institution Year 5 – 6 Orientation 2014 Facebook Page

Kaleidos – from Ancient Greek Kalos, meaning beautiful, and eidos, meaning form.

We are all aware of that which we call a kaleidoscope, a narrow, enclosed tube filled with beads and pebbles and other beautiful things all crammed and packed into a mangled mess of colour that, when observed, launches into a medley of brilliant light. Kaleidos 2014, a time once so woefully dreaded and eagerly anticipated, has come to a close after 4 short days and an even shorter weekend packed with new experiences, new memories and new friendships.

Or so that’s the plan.

Though to the casual observer orientation must have seemed a jumble of energy, excitement and light, for some of us more inconspicuous pebbles in the midst this was far from the case. Being surrounded by people seemingly on a constant, albeit rather artificial high- the energy can become exhausting, the excitement forced and the light- blinding.

What is an introvert?An oft-seen term that’s frequently tossed around and loudly (and ironically) claimed on the internet. Yet putting the ‘introvert pride’ debate aside,  an introvert is simply a person who gains energy by being alone, and expands energy when communicating and interacting with others. By that definition, orientation must of course seem like every introvert’s worst nightmare, when one is literally surrounded by strangers sunrise to sunset. But that does not necessarily have to be the case. While eliminating the socializing aspect of orientation may defeat the purpose of orientation itself, there are still many ways in which one may fulfill the aims of orientation, that is, initiation into a new community, without systematically excluding the needs of those who are not content with relationships formed over the span of 4 days and a lot of adrenaline.

Something that most may agree on, yet few dare to say, is that orientation can be rather superficial, a fact that can be ascertained by the sobering small number of OGs that manage to stay together throughout the two short years in JC. Despite the various OG ‘bonding’ activities and the copious amount of time spent together, it seems I’ve come away from orientation knowing absolutely nothing about anyone. And before an angry mob descends upon me in protest, I would just like you to stop and think for a moment about how much you truly know about your OG mates. What are their hopes, their stories, their fears, their loves? And no, whom they choose to shoot, shag, or marry doesn’t count. While we applaud the efforts of some OGLs to initiate ‘H2HT’s within the OG, the whole idea of forcing a connection can be rather oxymoronic.

Perhaps the real issue here can be put across by a Year Five, who commented that “I am more comfortable knowing a person before choosing to spend time with them because I know I will enjoy it, which is the opposite of orientation.” Personally, I have no qualms about being chummy with people I’ve only just met, but many people fail to realize that this may cause some discomfort amongst introverts who prefer interacting with people within their own comfort zone, and that comfort zone takes time to expand to accommodate new people – time which we don’t have.

In a period crippled with uncertainty and anxiety, trying to drown out your apprehension through fun and games and loud music may not appeal to everyone. Some may say that it all comes together with time, yet ought not the point of orientation to be to ease this process of transition? Perhaps some changes to enable better quality interaction with our peers may be at hand to benefit not just those who require deeper interaction to feel comfortable with people but everyone as a whole. While OGs may broaden your social circle and enable you to meet a larger variety of people, bringing 20 people together and then tearing them apart immediately after seems rather cruel, especially for those who already have trouble forming relationships quickly. Indeed, some introverted Year 5s admitted to intentionally distancing themselves somewhat from their OGs because there is little meaning in the superficial interactions that do not culminate into genuine friendships. Perhaps orientation should be geared less towards a focus on the OG alone and instead directed towards developing a passion and sense of identity with the school. The focus and emphasis of “socializing” with our OGmates is really only a fraction of the big picture, that is, providing a smoother transition into the school and its systems.

Even within the OG/House system, the large amount of physical bonding activities may not be the most effective in bringing people closer. Speaking candidly from an introvert’s perspective, team-building activities may even be a factor in widening the gap between introverts and extroverts; while extroverts derive energy and enjoyment from them, introverts tend to shrink and retreat, preferring more intimate one-on-one time with their OG mates instead. Activities like station games and war games may be a lot of fun, but some time could be set aside for more meaningful getting-to-know-you activities, instead of relying solely on OG dinners and downtime to really sit down and talk. This is especially so when you consider how these times usually end up occupied more by embarrassing dares and forfeits than anything more sincere. As a self-proclaimed introverted batchmate aptly put, “what brought us together as an OG were the times we sat together and ‘talked about strange things’.” True and heartfelt interactions were much likelier when the introverts feel comfortable with their fellow OGmates, possibly even with the slight nudges of their extroverted friends. To be plunged into team-building activities is a prospect that appeals more to the extroverts, and continues to prove itself intimidating and tiring to others.

However, as OIC Ruthanne so fittingly puts it: ‘Orientation doesn’t necessarily cater to any type, extroverts or introverts. Rather, it is dependent on how willing the individual is to participate; life is all about choices after all.’ It is easy to claim the short end of the stick, but rarely is anything moulded and pressed to fit precisely your form. Nothing stops you from making this your experience, be it as an introvert, extrovert, or somewhere in between. Proposals and planning can only go so far, but at the end of the day, the real stories and friendships you forge are of your own creation, and worth so much more than words.

by Lee Wei Hern (14S03T) and Benedict Koh (14S06N)

Before the Year 5s open a new chapter in their lives and embark on two years of JC life, they go through a traditional rite of passage- the four-day long Orientation programme. It’s an experience every Rafflesian can relate to as we are allocated into an Orientation Group (OG), and make our first JC friends through ice-breakers and OG dinners. After those four days, however, school life starts to kick in proper – a (largely) dreary routine of lectures, tutorials, CCAs, and revision which never seems to end. The mundane tasks of our everyday life can be so time-consuming that some of us end up unable to spend time with our OGs. Hence, for many unfortunate OGs, the ‘OGlings’ stop hanging out, and in some cases, cease any contact whatsoever; such a situation is commonly referred to as the “death of an OG”. Yet miraculously, some OGs still manage to remain alive and active. So, why is it that some OGs are longer-lasting than others?

According to our survey conducted on Year 6 students in October, we were surprised to find that only 7 in 20 respondents considered their OG to still be alive.  What was even more shocking was finding that more than 40% of the respondents NEVER met up with their OG after Orientation.

Strangely enough, when asked to rate the importance of Orientation in JC life, on a scale of 1 to 10 (with 1 being the least important and 10 being the most important), half of the responses registered a reading of 7 and above. Since many Rafflesians hence view Orientation as such an important aspect of their JC lives, why then do OGs still die? We tried probing further by asking our respondents whether they felt it was important to maintain contact with their OGs AFTER Orientation and their supporting reasons.

Upon inspection, we realized many of our respondents felt that maintaining contact with their OGs after Orientation was important as it helped to boost house spirit (since OGs are formed within houses). Moreover, on a more personal level, they felt that the OG provided them with an additional backbone of support, especially for students who had not yet fully assimilated into the rhythm of JC life and were facing extra difficulties coping. The OG hence became one group of friends one could rely on for support.

“ OG-mates are no longer called OG-mates, but friends. Lasting friendships are formed during Orientation, which also provided some of the best memories in one’s JC life.” – (Bryan Tan, 14SO6H)

While many felt that it was important for students to maintain contact with their OGs after Orientation, it seemed that keeping OGs bonded became an increasingly difficult task, as time constraints from academics, CCAs, enrichment programmes and the like prevented the OG from meeting up often. A typical JC student’s hectic life sees him/her focus on so many personal commitments that it is unsurprising how staying bonded to his/her OG has not been a main priority for many. On a deeper level, many also felt that Orientation was too short for the OG mates to get to know each other well enough to forge strong bonds with each and every member – hence perhaps leading to the fragmentation and formation of cliques within the OG.

“Classmates bonding together were of greater importance, the OG staying together was an added bonus, not a necessity.” (Rachel Quek, 14SO3T)

Since the Y5s are randomly sorted into their OGs, it is a wonder why certain OGs somehow manage to survive, whereas others die off almost immediately after Orientation. We asked our respondents about the reasons behind the survival of their OGs, or the reasons why it all just didn’t work out.

The main reasons why respondents felt their OGs remained long-lasting was due to enthusiastic people who were willing and able to put in effort to organize regular outings. Despite their numerous time constraints, they did their best to rally their OG-mates to meet up, making use of various social media platforms such as WhatsApp and Facebook. In fact, some OGs were more bonded as the routine of meeting up at a specific table in the canteen every morning (for example) had become a norm.

On the other hand, we discovered a trend among our many respondents whose OGs went their separate ways – that OGs usually ‘die’ around Term 2 of that year. In addition, many respondents agreed that the key reason behind this ‘death’ was due to the presence of other friends from their classes, or from their CCAs. As one would spend (almost) his/her entire JC life with his/her class, it is unsurprising that one would form stronger bonds with his/her classmates than OG-mates. Another factor to be considered is that OGs will be made out of people with different subject combinations. Having different streams and timetables undoubtedly makes it harder for the OG to find a time when most (if not all) members are available to meet up.

For the batch of 2014, it has been one year since Aurora. It has been one year since we first nervously met our OGs in the MPH on our first official day of JC life, one year since we made our first new friends in JC, one year since we forged many memories – memories of fiercely playing war games in defence of our houses, or recalling the moves of our batch dance (and awkwardly trying to execute them).

These memories will be irreplaceable for most of us, even if some of us have moved on from our OGs. At the end of the day, though, while the survival of OGs after Orientation is indeed important, we must remember that in every RJ student’s schedule, there will be many more commitments that he/she is likely to prioritize over his/her OGs. While the survival of your OG should not be taken for granted and is definitely not a given, it’s certainly not impossible. Keeping your OG alive is something that might be beneficial to you, should your OG weather the storms of JC life.