Reflections on SST journey so far - Jia Le

First week of school...

When I first stepped into this school, I knew that there will be a lot of opportunities to express myself. I did not find it difficult to work with new people as I think I get along well with strangers. I don’t really have any worries as I introduced myself to the new group. To me, participating in a group project is the most important factor to success as without participation, less ideas will be generated. Therefore, a 6-member group is as good as a 5-member group. That’s why, team chemistry was the most important thing I learnt in the first week.

During the “Amazing race” around Clementi, I observed that the residents were very curious about us and the environment was not very clean. I also realised that SST would be able to help out in homes serving others, and not asking anything in return. By doing this, we would be able to give out school a good reputation of being a helpful school and increase popularity.

Subsequent weeks for the rest of the term…

At first, when we came together as a class in the first week, we did not bond really well. However, as time passes, we got to know each other better and found that our class had lots of potential not only academically, but also aesthetically. We found out that it was fun learning using the concept of applied teaching. That really engaged us, at least for me, in classes. I participated in projects such as ExCELFest. It was a great experience interacting with parents, or I should say total strangers. I would like to thank the teachers and school for giving me this opportunity. Also, grading us in projects rather than the standard pen and paper examinations was interesting as we could express our talents better. I did not achieve as high as I expected, but overall satisfied with it.

Start of term 2...

After the brief one week break, I was all ready for Term 2. As usual, stress level fluctuates at different times but I managed to handle my time better. This time, common test were set to let us experience the style of O-level examinations we were preparing for. I am quite happy with my results for certain subjects and also unsatisfied with others, such as science. I used to think that Science was my strongest subject. Maybe I was complacent, or did not really understand the concept behind some topics. Nevertheless, I will strive to do better for the upcoming Chemistry test. We also went through an animation workshop. I learned the basics of animation and how the process works out. In the end, we managed to produce our own animations using the stories we came up with. It was pretty fun as I have not tried animating before.

~Jia Le :)

Reflections of SST Journey - Stacey

  At first when I came into this school, I thought that everything would not be alright as none of my close friends came into this school with me. I was forced to attend this school by my father and I entered the school without knowing anything about this school except for that it uses a computer to teach us and they use applied learning for us to learn better. But entering into a school without anyone I know was a fresh start for me. I knew I had to speak up so that I would have friends. I finally break though my shyness barrier and talked to others.
  The first few weeks taught us about team building and it emphasizes that leadership is important. Everyone in SST should be given a chance to lead. I learnt about the school’s 3Es ( Empowerment, Excellence, Expansion) and the vision (a globally connected institution of science and technology) of SST.
  During the orientation camp, our class did not really bonded that much. It was like a bunch of strangers grouped together by the name of S1-09 but there was not much bond between us.Team work was very important in the camp as points are awarded if the team co-operated. Everyone had a role to play in the team. We should all work together to accomplish work faster and know our own weakness and strength to help out in the group. Don't do anything rash as it may affect the group.
  Through the next weeks and months, when class has finally started, we all got to know each others names and bonded quite well over time. Learning became fun and enjoyable, though it took some adapting to change my style of learning.
  I had always found that English was my strongest subject but I was terribly wrong. The marking scheme became stricter so did all the other subjects. I found out that I was not very good in my sciences, which I hope I will finally understand realize my mistakes and correct them. Finally the examinations came and so did the results. I was not very happy about my results and I vowed to improve in my studies in the next examination.
  It was overall a very enjoyable experience and I hope that it would continue to be as positive as it has so far.

Stacey Yip, S1-09
 

Reflections on the first five months in SST-Naveena

Personal Reflections (Orientation Camp)^-^

What are the three main points (or more) that you had learnt from all the activities?

1. Teamwork is very important
2. If we work together, we can achieve more than if we were to work alone
3. To participate is very important

How can these pointers be of help to you?

• These pointers have taught me the importance of teamwork and made me realise how important it is for everyone in a team to participate.

If you had another chance to try all the activities, which one will you choose? Why?

• I would choose Rock Climbing as you have to trust that your friend will catch/help to support you if you slip and fall. Thisactivity helps build trust between you and your friends.

If there was one thing you would like to change about yourself, what would that be?

• I would like to not be so shy and participate more.

Amazing Race Personal Reflection^-^

• What do you understand about the school value "Expanding Our Learning Networks"?

To me, it means to learn outside of the classroom.

• Why is this value important and how will it help you in your learning experience in SST?

It is important to expand our learning networks as this will allow us to gain more knowledge and pick up important life skills.

Reflection on The Bridge Building Activity^-^

It was not very difficult to work with my group as we had already "broken the ice" during the ice breaking activities.

I managed to overcome my "shyness" when I realized that everyone in the group must also be feeling the same way as all of us were new to the school.

I contributed to the group by providing suggestions and ideas on how we can improve the design of the bridge.

It is important that we participate so that we can improve our social skills and contribute to our group.

I learnt that listening to others in a group when they are talking is very important and I can a can apply this in class whenever I am working in a group.

Naveena Menon^-^

The first month-At first, it was hard to get used to the new environment but all the teachers and the students were very pupils were very friendly. We went for a team building camp and we had a lot of fun. Our class didn't really bond at first during the camp, but we started bonding later on and now we are all pretty close.
The next 2-3 months-Our class grew closer over the months as we played more team building games, did more group work and discussed with each other about our homework. It was really fun. Then the exams drew near and we all had to focus and start to work harder. When I got my results back, I wasn't very happy cause I didn't do very well but I have decided to work even harder and do better the next time.
My over all experience so far was a really good one.
=)

Naveena(4)

On the first day of school i was very excited to see how school would operate and who were my new classmates. In class i got to know more about my classmates, our teacher had a good "Ice-breaker game" that made us interact with (actually i am not really worried) one another so i got to know my classmates better :)
When we were told we were going to build a bridge i was starting to like school because i like hands on work. We had to build a bridge in a group, I was the main designer. It is great working as a team because we have more hands to do the project and I think our group interacts great (easy going group of people).

We had a talk by the principal about the three E's , Excellence, Empowerment ,Expansion . The talk also included about our school vision and 2010 theme ( A globally Connected Institution of Science and Technology / Building bridges beyond boundaries )

I really enjoyed the camp! It was fun and I learnt team work is very important . Just like what camp chief Rio said that we are like chopsticks easily broken but when together it is tougher to break the bundle of chopsticks. .We must learn to help one another so that we as a whole can advance forward

The class only started to bond closely when class started. Class for the term was interesting, we had many group work to do which helped us to understand each other better and how each other work. When exams came i studied hard and tried my best to absorb (info) better in class. My results were not very good but at least satisfying .

I like the term two animation program, as it was the first time i have tried animating. I am very happy that i chose SST as my secondary school and will not regret the choice.

Davina

Reflections on SST Journey Jan-May 2010 (Michelle Dapito)

When I entered SST, the only person I knew was Naveena. Therefore, I did not feel very good as like everybody was stranger to me, even the teachers. On the first day, we did the MacBridge Activity and that made me closer to my group, but not yet the class. Through the following days, I got to know my other classmates and became closer to them. Since then, I found SST a very enjoyable school especially the 2 day 1 night team-building camp. During the camp, my class did not really bond that much unlike the other class, but nonetheless, we got closer anyway, especially during the group/class activities.

Here are some of my Reflections on the first week of school.

At the beginning I was a bit shy as I did not know most of the students. However, after being together for a whole morning, I overcomed my "shyness". How I overcame it? I just mustered up my courage and talk to the other students in the group.

When we were building the bridge, I was not sure what to do as most of the jobs were taken. Somehow, I managed to help. I help to put the "fence" around the bridge and also used the green sticky tape to paste them on the bridge. I also helped to put an ice-cream stick between the two towers. Oh ya! I also helped to paste the "weird" tree. haha! (:

I think it is important to participate in projects as we can communicate more with the other members in the group and we can experience a broader world.

One important skill I learnt is teamwork. However, I think cooperation is more important. When a few people are in a group and are required to do a project, everybody should cooperate. If even only ONE person does not cooperate, the group will not work out as well as another group where every single person is cooperating. Also, if ONE person does not cooperate and gets angry, arguments will occur. If the argument is too big, the project will most likely be uncompleted. How I apply cooperation in class? When a teacher asks me to do something, I will do it without hesitation. I will also listen to other people's opinions during group work. (:

I feel okay with it, but when we just started, it was quite weird as I am not used to working with boys. But at the end it was okay. We talk a lot, haha, but when we need to do work, we do them, but with talking, haha. We do jobs separately, and join them at the end(: I learnt that I can actually build a bridge model. I have not tried doing that before. In future group activities, I would be more active and participate more than this time.

When we just started the project, like what I said, I was not comfortable with working with boys, but at the end it was okay anyway. I was also scared at first that we may not finish doing the bridge on time, but surprisingly, we finished it early and the bridge looked really good. How I overcame them? I just told myself that I should just participate actively, and work with the people in my group, no matter if they are male or female. I also mustered up my courage and told myself that the bridge would work, and with the active members of my group, the bridge would work well and we will be able to finish it on time. (:

"Forging Excellence" means having the will to win, having the desire to succeed, etc . You should have the "burning desire" in you to learn. When you learn, the outcome will be EXCELLENCE. You have to have the "burning desire" to forge Excellence.

The 2 day 1 night camp was exciting ! I think the overnight camp helped the class to know each other more , and helped us to bond more. I knew more people's names during the camp. The camp also taught me how to overcome my fear of heights. The activities were so fun that I want to do them again ! I also learnt that we should continue trying, do our best even though we fail in doing something right, but if we do our best and not stop trying , we will accomplish it no matter what happens. We should also understand more of our classmates to accomplish group works. We should always cooperate and participate to accomplish teamwork. Overall, I enjoyed the camp.

The following weeks in SST are very enjoyable and finally S1-09 was like a real class that really worked together in projects and activities.

During lessons, we would try to make the class fun but not overdo it, so we had fun classes and not boring ones. The teachers also helped to make the classes fun and not too dry.

Some things I learnt about the use of the learning device is that we should not misuse it in school, like playing games or socializing during classes.

We also had fun animation classes that helped me to find out the true meaning of cooperating and collaborating. When my group finished and saw the end product, we were delighted that our efforts paid off.

My overall reflection on the five months in SST is that SST is an enjoyable place and that it cheers me up. It is the prefect school for me.

-Michelle Dapito