community autumn issue (sept 2014) by Warwick Singsoc

community Autumn 2014

Autumn Issue

September 2014

T h e U n i ve r s i t y o f Wa r w i c k S i n g a p o r e S o c i e t y

Rad Rec @ Raffles: WSG 2014 In this issue:  Warwick Summer Games  Orientation 2014  School Visits & University Fairs  UKBound  Children’s Aid Society Home Visit

Read more about the Warwick Summer Games

The 6th Annual Warwick Summer Games (WSG) was held on the 23rd of August 2014, at Raffles Institution and comprised seven sports and two games (Monopoly Deal and Scrabble). As usual, proceeds from the event were donated to the adopted beneficiary: the Children's Aid Society.

on Page 9 This year, WSG was proud to have Mr Baey Yam Keng, Member of Parliament for Tampines GRC, as our

guest of honour. Mr Baey, an alumnus of Imperial College London and University College London, kickstarted the day of inter-collegiate competition with a rousing opening address, before interacting with the various universities’ Sports Officers. They then participated, along with over 800 other competitors and spectators, in a short filming coordinated by the Overseas Singaporean Unit (OSU) to celebrate Singapore's Golden Jubilee next year.

An inclusive community As part of the ongoing effort to make the Singsoc website and newsletter more relevant and representative, community is now sourcing articles from the … community! Flip through this issue to find out what your peers have been up to over the summer and drop us an email at contact@warwicksingsoc.com if you have a unique experience to share and want to see your name in print.

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Sea, sun and sand: Orientation 2014 The annual Singsoc Orientation Camp for 2014 was held on the 2nd and 3rd of August, involving around 50 freshers and over a dozen volunteer facilitators and OGLs. The Camp was meant to let the freshers meet their

batchmates and get to know their seniors prior to setting off for the UK, to build bonds of friendship which would make settling into their new homes that much easier once the Autumn term rolled around.

A fresh(er) perspective

“...the breaks we had in between events definitely helped to break the ice.”

A bag of mixed feelings, was what I brought to the Warwick orientation camp. I was curious to meet my batch mates and seniors, excited for an overseas adventure, yet at the same time, I felt anxious about the small amount of time I had left in Singapore. Fortunately, during the icebreakers session, all those feelings transformed into one- a sense of relief! My OGLs were really friendly and helpful in bonding the team together and answering our endless flow of questions. Despite the differences in backgrounds and courses of study, I felt that we bonded really fast! I really enjoyed the flexibility of the camp schedule, in the sense that there were pockets of time for chatting, which helped break the ice. Personally, I found kakis (buddies) for gymming, hiking and cooking! I can’t help but look forward to exploring new places, trying new sports and sampling new recipes! Overall, I felt that the orientation camp was a good start to a new chapter. Kudos to the organisers and OGLs for running the camp!

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BTS: Why I chose to become an OGL such guidance from my seniors, I was inspired to do the same for my juniors. Orientation is a great platform to foster the spirit of camaraderie and make lasting friendships. This year, I was involved in the planning of the games and tasked with being an OGL. with the objective of helping our juniors bond instead of building such bonds ourselves. Planning this camp also offered me an insight into how much effort has to be put in for such events and allowed us to find out a little bit more about each other and meet new people. Overall, it has been a great learning experience.

Sherilyn Chee Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s really the people around you that make an experience. Knowing that I had someone to look up to when I was in Year 1, my Orientation Group Leaders (OGLs) and Mentor, had indeed helped me through various uncertain times. Having experienced

To all the incoming freshers for 2014-2015, welcome to the Warwick Singsoc Family (:

Although not as long as local universities' orientation camps, the camp was still a challenge to organise, and would not have been possible without the direction of Events Officer Terence Tang, the time of many volunteer OGLs, games facilitators and logistics team members, and of course the enthusiasm of the freshers who took part. Special mention also goes out to Phuah Kia Liang for coming down during the Pageant to interact with the freshers, Sia Chen Yang and Kung Ying Xiang who dedicated a lot of time as games facilitators, and all the other seniors who lent a hand. ÂŠ 2014 The University of Warwick Singapore Society

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Putting Warwick on the map: School Visits & Fairs While others were busy interning or enjoying beach holidays, some dedicated members of the Singsoc community found time in their summer schedules to share their experiences at Warwick with the Singaporean public. These volunteers worked with the University’s International Office to place Warwick on local students’ radars by representing Singsoc and Warwick at university fairs, school visits and talks across the island.

From the other side of the classroom Phuah Kia Liang This trip back to RI was a little different from the

leave feeling that you have contributed meaningfully to

ones before, now that I have graduated and am properly beginning to take on the role of a

the Warwick and Singapore school community, as well as have a deeper appreciation for the choices and

teacher. I’ve always viewed these school visits as

journey that you have taken thus far. Despite having

opportunities to showcase Warwick as a very good option for further studies and also to play a

gone for many of such school visits, I still feel that each visit is a whole new experience as I will be meeting

part in guiding the next batches of students in

very different students who carry with them diverse

helping them to make a choice that best serves their interests. In the case of this RI school visit, I

backgrounds and personalities, thus making every visit a uniquely interesting one.

found a great deal of personal meaning in meeting and advising current students as I am an RI alumnus and also a teacher-to-be.

I highly encourage all current students at Warwick to join in the school visits if you can, even if it is not to your alma mater. Not only will you be promoting Warwick as an ambassador, you will also be engaged to reflect and think about your own experiences as you talk with the younger students. At the end of the school visit, you will © 2014 The University of Warwick Singapore Society

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Novelty & Nostalgia Law Zhi Tian Heading back to RI to talk about Warwick felt like an odd intersection between nostalgia and novelty. Having known only the Rafflesian culture and way of life for the last six years of my school life, it felt like a long-lost homecoming of sorts to step through the gates to talk to our juniors about our new Warwick experiences alongside friends who had made the same transition as I did. It is easy to be excited by the prospect of life overseas â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and I could see that reflected in their eager questions that focused not simply on academics, but also the kind of lifestyle and environment overseas. I was initially uncomfortable with coming back and giving advice to the juniors - a year away did not make me any kind of expert on the subject of overseas living. So I simply went by the principle of giving any information that I think I would've found valuable as a junior and being as honest and candid as possible. Overall, it was great to be back and I hope that the juniors gained from the session as much as I did.

Cultural Officer Dominic Nah chatting with freshers and their parents at the Pre-Departure Briefing held at Conrad Centennial Singapore.

The Warwick for Dummies Guide given to all freshers: packed with tips, tricks and information about transitioning to life in Warwick

ÂŠ 2014 The University of Warwick Singapore Society

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Mr. Warwick reflects: How it feels to be UKBound

Photo: UKBound Organisers

Guo ZiYong

“ … I would be lying if I claimed that it had been an easy experience … ”

Being selected to be Mr. Warwick for

In retrospect, I’m glad that I was able to

UKBound has exposed me to things I had considered flamboyant and excessive to

be part of the UKBound experience, with the warm and friendly committee

the experience of a student, such as

members from Imperial College

soliciting support for Facebook photos and selling tickets. I have always been

London, as well as contestants going to other universities. Getting to know

rather passive when it comes to such

these people and gaining the support of

things, and I would be lying if I claimed that it had been an easy experience.

the Warwick Singsoc community had been worth the time and effort.

Given that most of us did not have any

May the next Mr. and Ms. Warwick find

prior experience in modelling, the challenges which the photo shoots

UKBound as enriching and gratifying as I did.

entailed came as a surprise. Working with either the photographer’s poses, or some we suggested ourselves, the quest for photographic perfection caused some others to remain as late as 3am, making the shoot incredibly time-consuming. Strutting down the runway and practicing our smouldering look to impress the judges also required lots of practice. Luckily, our choreographers were patient and everyone was happy to help one another improve. I am thankful to have made new friends who are going to study in other parts of UK. © 2014 The University of Warwick Singapore Society

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Going a step further: A visit to the CAS

Every year, the proceeds of the Warwick Summer Games benefit our chosen registered charity: the Children’s Aid Society. This year, we took it one step further and decided to donate not just our money, but also our time to this meaningful cause. We were privileged to share the experience of meeting and spending time with the multi-talented and energetic kids of Melrose Home with some guests, including Teresa and Chengxi from Sheffield Singapore Society. May future generations of Warwick Singsoc continue to find new ways to connect and benefit our society, and make this the first of many steps in the right direction.

Sheffield speaks The visit to the Children’s Aid Society was fulfilling for us,

allowed us

consider

and explore

the

students from Sheffield. The opportunity to engage and

opportunity for Sheffield to adopt a charity

interact with the children allowed us to see that despite

ourselves.

the various difficulties that the children were facing, a lot of them were still happy and had positive outlooks on life.

Sheffield Singapore Society

While it is always fun to play and interact with the children, we noticed that there were some children who were rejected and isolated from their fellows there and we tried to reach out to them. It was heartwarming for us to see that they are indeed responsive to our efforts that day and we hope that the children had a great time playing with the balloon swords and the sports activities that Warwick had organized. As Sheffield does not have any local charity efforts as of yet, the opportunity to participate in Warwick’s activities

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A reminder of childhood

Li Zhengda For many of us, volunteering has been an

Needless to say, it was a frenzy of balloon

essential part of our school life. This was however, my first chance to visit a

twisting and sword fighting that sometimes descended into actual violence

children’s home. Not knowing what to

(then being scolded, and forced to make

expect and feeling at a loss about how to interact with children, it is no surprise

up). It reminded me of how we played during recess in primary school. Watching

that I showed up at Melrose Home

the defiant exchanges of scowls and

anxiously wondering how I would fare.

rebranding of teams reminded me of scenes from the Lord of the Flies, and it

The day started with soccer and basketball; a test of prowess between the well trained, well prepared Melrose Home team… and the Warwick volunteers.

amazed me how the play of children could tell us so much about human nature.

“ … it was a frenzy of Personally, I hadn’t kicked a ball since PE balloon twisting and sword fighting … ”

lessons in JC2 so it was no surprise that we were outrun and outwitted by the adolescent athletes, and were down 2-1 when we were finally saved by lunch. What I particularly enjoyed was the balloon sculpture workshop and the games after lunch. If there was one thing I noticed, it was that the kids REALLY loved balloons. They absolutely adored them.

I’m glad to say that there were no hard goodbyes – the children had already been distracted by movie watching time. And that’s how I liked it to be – children being preoccupied only with having fun, being happy and not being consumed by worry. Given the difficult background of these children, it is truly a good thing that the Melrose Home is doing: keeping the children happy, because happiness belongs to all children. © 2014 The University of Warwick Singapore Society

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A brief summer-y of the games: WSG 2014 WSG boiled down to fierce but

welcome back the frisbee team from

respectful competition throughout the

the OSU, whose slightly more mature

day, with dozens of exciting matches

team members took to the fields with

taking place throughout the campus, as

the young and spry undergraduates

the various Singapore Societies

and gave them a run for their money.

stepped up to defend their titles or

At the end of the day, everyone

claw their way to supremacy, one

enjoyed themselves with plenty of

point at a time.

friends and sunshine all around, and Team UCL were crowned champions

Among the more interesting teams

of WSG 2014, a title they will have to

were the "Warwick Old Birds",

defend at WSG 2015!

WSG 2014 RESULTS: Basketball 1st - Manchester B 2nd - Warwick A 3rd - Team A Floorball 1st - Imperial B 2nd - Imperial A 3rd - Manchester Netball 1st - Manchester 2nd - Warwick 3rd - LSE Ultimate Frisbee 1st - Warwick Old Birds 2nd - Warwick A 3rd - Warwick B

comprising recent graduates of the University, who came back to show everyone that newer isn't always

Touch Rugby 1st - Manchester 2nd - Imperial 3rd - SMSI

better, emerging as champions of the frisbee tournament over their junior batches. Similarly, WSG was happy to

Playing for Warwick:Two perspectives The opportunity to play netball at WSG was enriching and eye-opening. While playing netball was not new to us, we were mostly amateurs. Thankfully, the seniors patiently guided us through the rules, footwork Celynn Ang

and common plays, getting us up to speed and ready

Floorball & Netball

to go for the actual games. Although we lost our final game by one goal, it was a day well spent getting to know my schoolmates better, I look forward to the many netball sessions to come in Warwick!

WSG was an excellent platform for freshers, like myself, to interact with seniors and find out more about school life in the UK. It also allowed students of the various schools to come together and foster new friendships. Though initially worried about having difficulty adapting to a new environment, through WSG I got to clear up some doubts with my seniors

Heng Su Yun Netball

as well as befriend other freshers, which has made me feel more positive about going abroad alone. ÂŠ 2014 The University of Warwick Singapore Society

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Crossing the causeway for the Ultimate cause WSG 2014 RESULTS: Football 1st - UCL 2nd - LSE 3rd - Leeds Table Tennis (M) 1st - LSE 2nd - LSE 3rd - UCL Table Tennis (W) 1st - Durham 2nd - UCL 3rd - UCL

Laura Oh I think WSG was a great excuse for lots of us Malaysians to make the trip down

graduating years, but collectively the Warwick teams managed to earn the

Monopoly Deal 1st - UCL 2 2nd - UCL 3 3rd - Imperial 2

to Singapore for a very fun weekend.

top three spots. Afterwards, all of us

With people coming from all over Malaysia, it was great to have everyone in

were treated to a barbecue-turned-sit -down-dinner-due-to-rain, courtesy

one place again, with some of the newly-

of Victor’s incredibly hospitable

Scrabble 1st - UCL 2 2nd - Warwick 1 3rd - UCL 1

grads playing in their last ever competition with their teammates of the

parents who in traditional Asian parent style tried to feed us as much

past 3 years.

as possible in just a few hours.

OVERALL 1st - UCL 2nd - Manchester 3rd - Warwick

On our first day, we went kite flying at

The next day, we tried Singapore’s

the Marina Barrage, followed by live

strange versions of char kuey teow

music, great atmosphere, and pizza at Timbre, and then normal touristy stuff

and hokkien mee, then made our way to Sentosa for a day at the beach…

around Marina Bay Sands. Early the next

playing more Ultimate. An excellent

morning, we dragged ourselves out of bed and into the car to get to Raffles

last meal of crab, roast chicken, and ice cream rounded up our trip, and

Institution for a full day of Ultimate in the

we all parted ways the next morning.

blazing sun. All credit to the organisers for a very well-planned tournament and

Thanks again to our Singaporean hosts, Chen Yang and Victor, for the

fun day of competition (thank you!). In

great mini-break, and hopefully I get

the end, Warwick A lost to the ‘lao jiao’ team of seniors from the previous few

to show you guys some real hawker food sometime soon!

The University of Warwick Singapore Society c/o Warwick Students' Union Warwick SU Gibbet Hill Rd Coventry CV4 7AL United Kingdom www.warwicksingsoc.com contact@warwicksingsoc.com

The University of Warwick Singapore Society (Warwick Singsoc) is a 200-odd member society under the umbrella of the University of Warwick Students' Union Societies Federation. Our stated aims are to serve as a home-away-from-home for overseas Singaporeans studying in Warwick, as well as a platform from which non-Singaporeans can experience Singaporean culture.