This year’s Secondary One Orientation Programme was an extended affair with not one but two weeks of fun-filled activities and positive classroom experiences specially designed to facilitate the Secondary Ones’ transition.
The Secondary One students welcomed the additional lesson-free week as they were given more time to get to know their classmates, teachers and school system better. Let’s hear what they have to share about this experience!
Now that orientation was over, thoughts of the upcoming lessons and the academic workload crossed my mind. The prospect of a demanding academic year seemed apparent, despite my efforts to encourage myself.
“Induction week?” I muttered to myself, reading the contents in the cheerful-looking programme booklet sitting on my desk.
Turns out, this programme had nothing to do with the commencement of school term lessons.
As I entered the programme’s venue with my classmates, my heart brimming with anticipation, I heard everyone buzzing about the programme with curiosity.
“Take the ball!” One of my classmates called out. Before I knew it, we were deeply engaged in a game where we had to pass four balls around in consecutive index numbers without dropping it. Sounds simple? If only. Each round featured more balls, progressively increasing the difficulty level. The competitiveness of my class amplified the excitement, turning each round into a race against the clock to achieve the fastest time.
Nanyang is a special place. As one of the leading SAP schools, I expected it to be very competitive and stressful and harboured fears of not being good enough. However, the uplifting atmosphere and encouragement I received from my classmates during this game has helped me learn that everyone is capable of contributing something worthwhile to the school. I am confident that I will settle into my new secondary school life comfortably, as I know that I can conquer anything with this amazing Nanyang community!
My deepest gratitude to teachers and everyone who made Induction Week possible! Thank you Nanyang!!
– Ang Xi En Amelia, 102
Induction week was an extremely enjoyable experience for me with activities such as Daily Convo Bingo, where we asked each other questions according to the bingo sheet and learnt how to write Chinese calligraphy words. We also played numerous other games that allowed us to bond as a class.
Personally, one of the most memorable aspects of it was during the ‘Let’s Warm Up’ session on one of the mornings, where we danced to a Chinese song called “小苹果” and the teachers joined in too. The dance was a little difficult at first but after a while, we got the hang of it. I really enjoyed the display of school spirit as everyone danced and laughed together, energising ourselves for the day ahead too.
I think I speak for everyone in my class when I say the highlight of the programme was the design thinking workshop. We were given 18 minutes to build the tallest standing structure out of spaghetti that could support a marshmallow. My group started taping the structure together and kept building upwards. At the end of the 18 minutes, we succeeded in getting a solid structure. However, it was not the tallest. I was amazed to see that some students had managed to build their structure up to a whopping 72 cm! The activity ended with a debrief on how to build a taller structure; turns out that the key was to keep testing the stability of the structure while building it and not to only test it at the end.
I think everyone in NYGH worked hard to make this possible, and I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to all of them. I have observed how the teachers and seniors have tirelessly planned and tried out the activities before carrying them out. I really admire their efforts and I hope to be part of the team welcoming the Secondary Ones next year!
This entire experience has almost felt like a dream, and I never expected my transition from Primary to Secondary school to be so smooth. Through Induction Week, I have fostered strong connections with my classmates, and got to adapt to Nanyang before lessons started. I’m absolutely elated that I got into Nanyang and definitely look forward to similar activities in the future!
– Gilia Goh, 110
The fun and interesting activities played during the Induction Week really helped me in getting to know more about my classmates as I went out of my comfort zone to reach out and interact with other classmates. I also got to learn more about my subject teachers and understand more about them.
I enjoyed the morning dance sessions the most! They were hilarious as my teachers got to “shine” on stage while my friends and I quickly followed suit with the embarrassing dance moves shown on the projector. I felt that it was a safe space for me to let loose and have fun with my classmates without being judged by others. Moreover, I felt more energised and ready to face the day!
In addition to the positive classroom activities, the CCA experience also proved to be an engaging experience for me as I opted to try for CCAs I never tried before such as concert band and artistic gymnastics. It really widened my perspective of what other CCAs can offer and allowed me to be more open-minded towards multiple possibilities! I even found out that I was actually quite fond of artistic gymnastics and even went for the tryouts!
I hope that Nanyang can continue this Induction week for future Secondary One students. I really had so much fun over the week thinking of ideas for our class values and motto and also got to discover new talents supposedly “hidden” within me. It has also greatly helped in my transition to secondary school life in Nanyang as I made more friends in my class. I can’t wait for more activities organised by Nanyang!!
– Puah Ying Tsi, 106
The Induction Programme has been a constructive and unforgettable experience for me. I still remember vividly how friendly all my form teachers and classmates were as they always responded to me with enthusiasm and were eager to share more about themselves. The teachers were also hospitable and willing to share about themselves.
The most memorable aspect of the programme was probably the class bingo game where we sought to reach out and befriend different people each day across the entire week. I feel that this was a brilliant opportunity for us to bond with other people, and to forge new friendships. Another highlight of the programme had to be the “Our Positive Classroom” setup, where we learnt how to leverage on one another’s strengths and weaknesses and grow as a class.
Overall, my greatest takeaway from this entire experience is that meeting new people is not as tough as you think! I even made friends from other classes. The induction programme was unquestionably a crucial event in allowing me to settle in my new secondary school life.
In conclusion, the induction programme ignited a spark of delight, curiosity and hope within me. I believe that every Nanyang girl has the potential to be a star, the brightest, shiniest star in the night sky.
Generation NY 