You are currently browsing the Clubs and Societies category.
By Lala
Last Wednesday, the ACJC Harp Ensemble had its last CCA meeting of the year before the JC1 promotional exams. While most CCAs had already stopped, we had one more meeting, as we needed to catch up on lessons.
The ACJC Choir sang the haunting beautiful Piyutim-Adon Olam by Eran Dinur. In brief, Adon Olam highlights the relationship between man and God and how this relationship is one of complete entity of trust and acceptance.
Something else of interest. Eran Dinur was commissioned by the college to write these 2 piyutim (s?). He is an Iran composer whose music has been featured in Iranian films and who has worked , or is still working with Lucas Productions , SIngapore.
Ever wondered what the words mean? Interested? Read on…
To see lyrics, click here.
RadioACtiveFilm’s Pangea Day was aimed at raising awareness of the nature and power of film, and especially how film may be used in a particularly impactful way to educate young people about other societies and cultures. It was modelled on the original Pangea Day (www.pangeaday.org) created by award-winning documentary filmmaker Jehane Noujaim, whose films include startup.com and Control Room. In collaboration with the “Technology, Entertainment, Design” (TED) Conference, Jehane and her collaborators intended Pangea Day to harness the power of film to enhance empathy, compassion and peace.
by Christy
Over the weekend, this writer took a break from shooting down the opposite gender for the various shortcomings they have and instead had a 3-day intensive camp ‘with’ shooting targets. Yes, this writer is talking about none other than Shooting Camp 2009, and did I have a good time there! However, having fun was not the only mission we had, as we also had to select our 2009/2010 exco. We had also to survive a few very unpredictable surprises which our seniors threw at us.
Our camp was supposed to start at 9am on 3 June because some JC1s were late, our seniors signalled their disappointment in our attitude and made all of us run two rounds around the track. Sigh, what a way to start camp…
Things got better however, and we had great fun bonding with one another through playing water games and icebreakers with our seniors. One of the games I found particularly meaningful was TrustFall.. we had to stand from a height and our teammates from the rifle or pistol team would link hands to form a bridge and catch us when we fall. It was no easy feat, even more so for those who are afraid of heights. The only thought running through my head when I finally found the courage to lean back was what was going to happen to me if my teammates let go the moment I land because I am too heavy. Thank goodness that didn’t happen, and I am very grateful that they caught me, or I probably wouldn’t be here writing about this.
By OriAna
Last week the ACJC Economics Society brought Wall Street, or more accurately the Singapore Stock Exchange, to our walkway to the canteen. Students were encouraged to try their hand at the markets with each class given a fixed amount of ‘money’ to invest in the stocks. The ‘stock market’ was made as realistic as possible with the prices of stock pegged to the actual stock exchange. The purpose of the event was to make students more aware of the financial markets, what affects them and how to invest wisely. After a successful week of manning the markets, I got a chance to interview the Vice President of the Economics Society, Katherine Chai, and she shared with me her thoughts on the markets and life.
by Vanessa Lim
Margaret Thatcher, the grand dame of British politics, once said: “I love argument, I love debate. I don’t expect anyone to just sit there and agree with me, that’s not their job.” In my opinion, that perfectly sums up the sentiments of this year’s Ministry of Education Invitational Debating Championship (MIDCs) team of 2009, consisting of our captain Anne Tan (2SC1), Fernando Loo (2SC1), Lim Yin Li (2AA2), Robert Straughan (1SD2) and myself, Vanessa Lim (1AH).
As a team, we have always known that debate is an entirely subjective art. Much of our fate hangs on what the adjudicators feel or know about a particular motion. In debates where we are able to clearly win the adjudicators over, this plays a negligible role, but in close debates, this almost always is the deciding factor between victory and loss, and it was something that ended up playing a huge role on the 25th of April, the date of the grand finals.
We had battled through the four preliminary rounds, the quarter finals and the semi finals, and arrived at the grand finals leaving a trail of carnage in our wake, having conclusively defeated both the finalists of 2008, Hwa Chong Institution and National Junior College, and other schools such as Saint Andrew’s Junior College and Singapore American School. Our final test was to come in the form of Victoria Junior College.
As you all know by now, we ultimately lost the finals to Victoria Junior College and the results were met with disappointment and tears: defeat was a concept hard to swallow, especially since we had been working towards the finals for half a year. To falter when the gold was so close was something difficult to accept. Subjectivity is in the nature of our art after all, and there was nothing we could do but hold our heads high in the face of defeat. In the words of our ‘07 captain Joseph Lau who was among the many alumni who were supporting us that day: “The ACJC debate team distinguished themselves with a great performance, one which, whilst perhaps not recognized by all the judges, certainly resounded in the hearts and minds of the audience”, and that is certainly something we can take pride in.
Special mention should be made of all the teachers, alumni and fellow students – classmates, friends and council nominees – who supported us on Saturday. While we may have been defeated, we are especially proud of our 3rd speaker, Yin Li, who was ranked the fifth best speaker in the tournament. Congratulations!
On a more personal level – now that I’ve had a few days to get over the loss, I’ve begun to realize how the gold is not everything. In keeping with our coach Joshua Hiew’s “tradition” of quoting the war speeches of Aragorn before every debate, here are some words from J R R Tolkien’s The Lord of The Rings that perfectly summarize what this entire season has been:
All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadow shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.
Indeed, “all that is gold does not glitter”. While preparing for this season, we’ve forged many friendships that will last us beyond this season and hopefully beyond our JC lives. Three generations of AC debaters, and an even longer legacy of a fine debating tradition – “The old that is strong does not wither / Deep roots are not reached by the frost”. In our disappointment, we will find the courage to take up arms and prepare for next year. What has eluded our grasp this year will be ours in 2010 – “The crownless again shall be king”.
By OriAna
People always have stereotypes. The Water Polo captain has to be buff and…well, not too academically inclined. The History Society President should be nerdy and quiet. The Debate Vice President should be talkative and argumentative. However, stereotypes aren’t everything.
The Debate Vice President of the class of 2009, Rebecca Goh, isn’t any of those things. In fact, at first glance, if not for her rectangular badge, you would not think of her as a debater. Only when she speaks up in class in her clear and loud voice does she give herself away. No, Rebecca Goh is not at all stereotypical.
For someone who is pretty quiet in class she speaks up when ‘serious things’ are being discussed. She is not at all the kind of person who calls attention to herself with a loud booming voice or an intimidating presence. Yet, at the same time, she is one of the debaters that represented Singapore at the World School Debating Championship, an international debating competition where only the best of each country compete, in Washington DC last year. How is that possible?
When asked how she reconciles these two seemingly contradictory character traits, she replies in typical debate fashion. She first challenges your assumption, saying that a debater need not be someone who constantly argues. She next gives you her version of ‘reality’ aka her argument: someone who can present ideas and can speak up when necessary is a true debater. In the face of such an organised and thorough response, maybe it isn’t so hard to believe that she can debate.
Perhaps we should all think twice before we put people into boxes.
By OriAna
My interview with Cherene lasted 15 minutes on the telephone as she has been a very busy girl this week. Perhaps I should have known better than to interview the vice president of the Geography Society in the midst of the Geography Quiz, and the publicity i/c of Christian Fellowship before their flagship event, Religious Emphasis Week (REW). However, this fast-talking and energetic girl seemed anyything but bogged down and weary when I talked to her, as she shared with me a little about herself and what she enjoys doing.
Cherene joined CF to be able to have people to have fellowship with in school; to her, faith isn’t just a matter between her and God but something to be shared. Now part of the executive committee, she is even more ready to ‘just run for Christ’. She says her exco shares her enthusiasm and this is why they are putting in such a great effort in making REW a success. They have pretty big plans for the school. They will be putting up an exhibition of FAQs about Christianity and Easter, and screening a video ‘Silence’ (about being still in Christ) on the plasma screen. They have also invited Funky B to ACJC to sell fun Christian based T-shirts among other things.
Cherene admits that all this might be a bit of a ‘culture shock’ for a J1 who has never been exposed to Christianity before. However, REW isn’t meant to be intimidating; it is meant to be informative for the non-Christians and a time of deeper reflection for those already Christian.
A very genuine and fun-loving girl, she is grateful to her 2 excos for their support this week. She hopes all will go well and that they will accomplish what they set out to do, which is to ‘walk with fellow Christians, plant the seed and serve the school’.
RadioACtiveFilm will be screening a short film from South Korea this Wednesday. It’s “Tongue Tie”, one of six shorts that make up the omnibus film “If You Were Me”. This is the first in a series of omnibus films commissioned by South Korea’s National Commission of Human Rights, with the aim of drawing attention to various kinds of discrimination and oppression in the country.
The director of “Tongue Tie” is the highly acclaimed Park Jin-pyo, whose feature-length films (“Too Young To Die”, “You Are My Sunshine”) are famous for their shockingly frank approach to social criticism. “Tongue Tie” packs a great deal into very little time. It says more about contemporary Asian society in 15 minutes than many movies do in over two hours, and its mood shifts almost imperceptibly between the surreal, the deliberately banal and the genuinely horrifying.
“Tongue Tie” will be screened in Room 3.06, at 2:30 pm on Wednesday, 1 April. All are welcome.
By Russell {Facilitator for Lincoln 
}
On 17th March, the ACJC Debating and Oratorical Society organised a Debate Clinic for secondary school students, mainly those from New Town Secondary, Clementi Town Secondary and NUS High.
During the debate clinic, the students were introduced into the basics of debate through various activities. The event was kicked off by Miss Neha Prakash – an illustrious debator, who also happens to be an ex-ACSian and is currently the captain of the NUS debating team. Following her insightful introductory speech, the students were then organised into 4 different groups, aptly named after famous speakers – Mandela, Johnson, Lincoln and Obama.
In these groups, they watched video clips and participated in several thought- provoking activities which familiarised them with the structure and nature of debates. The students had to learn a different debate skill as they moved through various stations. These stations were ’scattered’ all over college, so going from one station to the next is like going on a mini-tour. They walked from Smiley to the Amphitheatre and even climbed up to ACJC ‘Heaven’. The session concluded with a debate and every particiapant had a chance to showcase their new skills. This activity made use of everything they learnt and they had to battle it out in a contest of words and wit. During the ‘losing ceremony’, all participants receeived certificates! It is certain that they all walked away with more than just the goody-bags and certificates; they left as more confident and outspoken individuals.
by 4l0n
One of the most cherished traditions of ACDance is the annual RJ (stands for Raj, our ever timeless and glamorous resident instructor) Dance Camp, where we go through much fun and suffering to learn the magical craft that is Dance. Themed ‘Versatility’, this year’s camp cleaved the society into seven distinct groups engaged in a two-day competition culminating in a dance battle on the last night. The groups represented different genres —ballet, hip hop, broadway, fusion (which is actually Indian Dance), ballroom, modern contemporary, and pop & lock — and commenced preparations weeks before the actual camp, which was on February 27-28. And who wouldn’t be so kiasu when up for grabs were free tickets to Cinderella, a Singapore Dance Theater’s production?
The camp started immediately after the unveiling of Smiley. Sadly, I had Bio SPA which means missing all the games and ice-breakers (boohoo…). I arrived just on time to join them for warm-up (or wear-out, if you want to be more apt) and conditioning, as Raj took us through two hours of leg raises, scissors (with your legs), push-ups, stretching (my ligaments are still crying over this), pas de bourrees, and basically everything else that the human anatomy can execute without sustaining any injuries. okay, maybe I exaggerate but you get what I mean. It was torturous (short sentence for dramatic effect). However, it took more willpower to sustain a smile through the crunches and the splits than to perform the actual exercises themselves! At the end of two hours, the dance floor was freckled with puddles of sweat.
Instructors from different dance genres took us for genre-specific lessons throughout the two days. For this year’s camp, the master class was ballet (which I sadly had to miss in lieu of external commitments.. again, boo hoo…) and Mr. Jeffrey Tan from the Singapore Dance Theater personally came down to teach us (or them, rather) some ballet techniques. I heard he could do a 180° arabesque penchée (front split with one leg on the floor, one leg pointing at the ceiling and his torso perpendicular to both legs). Wow… The other classes were hip hop, contemporary, some jazz, and BELLY DANCING (gasp!). Yes, belly dancing: scarves, bells, and all…
The whole camp ended with the Dance Party , where the dance battle would ensue. The dancers, clad in the high society version of their respective genres, traipsed across the make-shift party area outside the aerobics studio with much glitz and anticipation. Some trophies were given away. While most were real awards (Best Leader was a tie between Kris Fu and Joy Sim), others were given phony awards in the spirit of good humour (like the coveted Kian-Yong-please-have-some-class award… an award which demands an unfathomably unglamorous level that only the mythical Kian Yong himself could muster). As traditions go, the alumni from the old days came down to support and to acquaint themselves with the latest progeny of ACDancers. They even performed an item for us!
The dance battle proved to be a fierce competition with the top three groups differing by margins of 2-5 points. But in the end, Ballroom emerged victorious with a score of 527 points and claimed the free tickets to SDT’s Cinderella (Sadly, I was from Ballet, which was an awesome group except that we didn’t win. So again, boo hoo…). Nevertheless, the seven groups performed beautiful and impressive pieces (Imagine tiny me doing glissades and ballet pirouettes!) which received flattering comments from Raj himself.
Most people learn how to ‘dance’ but never learn what Dance is. While they may look great on stage and have perfect lines and techniques, many great ‘dancers’ never understand the meaning of Dance and its inexplicable and inextricable connection with the human heart and soul. What is the line drawn between a mere sequence of movements and a dance? Dance is emotions in motion. Dance is when the human body, heart and soul merge to express unfathomable passions and inexpressible thoughts. It is a great freedom. When one surrenders his body to the whims of the heart and the soul, one becomes a Dancer. When you dance, all the world is you… the music, and your thoughts and passions pulsating through your body, touching lives. Dance is life.
And the RJ Dance Camp was just that. While we learned a lot about how to dance, Raj always shares his passion for the craft and never gets tired of explaining the real meaning of being a Dancer. This is what makes ACDance so different from the rest of the dance troupes around. Not only do we know how to dance, we also know what Dance is. So to Miss Yu, Miss Chen, Miss Neeta, Madam Lim, Miss Wong, and Raj: thank you for sharing the gift of Dance with us. We will never cease dancing.
“Dancers are the athletes of God.” (Albert Einstein)
By Anne Tan
On the 21st of Feb 09, the inaugural Orator’s Trophy was held. Formerly an invitational known as the Zhou Yi Nian Inter-Secondary School Oratorical Competition, this year we made it a national tournament by inviting all schools in Singapore. With 36 schools from all over the country, it was by far one of the largest turnout for any oratorical competition in Singapore. For those of you who are not familiar with oratorical/debate, an oratorical competition is different from a debate as there is no clash between 2 teams; instead an individual just has to make a speech about a given topic. A winner is decided based on delivery and content. There are only a few other oratorical competitions in Singapore as unlike debate, oratorical competitions are not as explored a field. Also unlike the other oratorical competitions, our tournament was completely impromtu . This means the contestant knows the topic 5 minutes beforehand. This made it both challenging for us and the competitor, though for very different reasons. This is why I must commend all our finalist for what they did that day. 4 impromtu speeches is no joke, even if you do tell some during the speech!
The winner of the Orator’s Trophy 2009 was Nishanti of MGS. First runner’s up was Jennifer of NYGH and Jonah of ACS(I) took third place. The theme of the competition was “Humanity” with the competitors speaking on topics such as “Anger” during the preliminary round to the topic “Success is not final, failure is not fatal, courage is all that counts” (Winston Churchill) during the finals. The refreshing and varied takes on perennial topics about “humanity” was indeed entertaining both for the judges and for the audience.
I would like to thank all the participants for coming and being part of it; a competition is as interesting as the competitiors. Also I must thank the judges, the teachers and alumni who spent their Saturday with us, as a competition is only as credible as the judges.
A competition is only as efficient as the organising committee and the society running it are. From an administrative point of view I would not say that everything went smoothly. We had lag time and hiccups along the way. I wish I could turn back the clock and do it all over again with the knowledge I have now so I could do everything right. However, you and I both know that that is not possible.
Some people tell me that my standards are too high and that I should ‘take it easy’, it’s normal and expected that there will be hiccups along the way. The important thing is that we reacted fast enough and make sure we don’t repeat the same mistakes. I am feel both heartened and humbled as I think of the things we did right and the things we did wrong yesterday. I am heartened as I remind myself that no one in Singapore has ever done what we did yesterday. I had no precedence to draw from when making plans, as no one has ever done what we did on such a scale. I am humbled by the many lessons I learnt in organising an efficient competition. Yesterday was a good reminder of all the things I did not know.
In ACJC, we hope that every year will surpass the last and seniors always come back to lend a hand. We have a culture of excellence that we pursue the only way we can, with hard work and a sense of fun. As I told the J1s during the debrief, we have a”debate tradition” for a reason so remember today and make sure you do it better next year.
Send in your CCA promotional videos!
Jean Harrington (Barbara Stanwyck) and her fellow con artists
If the romantic comedies currently on general release are anything to go by, feminism is dead. The female characters in these movies seem to be either wedding-obsessed harridans, weak-willed nincompoops or irritating kooks. We need to go back to the Golden Age of Hollywood to find a romantic comedy with a strong intelligent heroine. A classic of the genre is “The Lady Eve”, starring the incomparable Barbara Stanwyck.
In “The Lady Eve”, a father-daughter pair of con artists set their sights on Charlie ‘Hopsy’ Pike (Henry Fonda), the snake-loving heir to a brewery fortune. The daughter Jean (Stanwyck) falls for Charlie, is rejected by him, and seeks revenge in the guise of an English aristocrat Lady Eve Sidwich.
Jean pretending to be ‘Lady Eve Sidwich’ and a very confused ‘Hopsy’ Pike (Henry Fonda)
Whether she’s casing a joint, befuddling a patsy or just yearning to be loved, Stanwyck’s Jean Harrington is never less than a woman of character — a far cry from the insipid girls of today’s romantic comedies.
RadioACtiveFilm will be screening “The Lady Eve” at 2:30 pm this Wednesday, 18 February, in Room 3.06. All are welcome.