Online Co-Curricular Activities

Jointly reported by:
Sophia Ng Szu Fei Sr1ScA 17685
Lew Yuen Teng Sr3ComA 15070
Lee Ai Lin Sr2ScC 16642

After being absent for three whole months, Co-curricular Activities are finally back on Saturday, starting from 13th of June 2020, with various clubs holding their activities via Zoom video platform. As we step into the third week of activities, let’s have a little throwback to a few classes held to see how different clubs engaged their respective members during these trying times.

Before its formal implementation, our school’s Rhythmic Gymnastics Club has had online practice since April, coached by Ms. Teoh Chin Yie and Ms. Lau Hui Jue. During classes, the club members are separated into two groups so the coaches can monitor each member’s progress better.

Practice began at 9 am after members greeted the Teacher-advisors, Ms. Tan Ching Yen and Ms. Chong Cin Yen, as well as the coaches. Each member was ready in their training attire having also prepared a yoga mat, chairs, ball, and rope beforehand. The members started off with their usual warm-up of doing a high split with either one or both feet on the chair. Then, the coaches taught the members some apparatus difficulty (AD) moves on the ball or rope. They monitored each of the club members closely and pointed out corrections when needed.

Club members learning apparatus difficulty (AD) on ball and rope

Moving on was the most dreaded part of training: strength work. It develops one’s stamina and core strength which is essential for rhythmic gymnasts to execute difficult moves such as tumbling, leaps and turns. “You can do it!” “20 seconds left, keep going!”. The supportive coaches have always given words of encouragement to the club members whenever they felt like giving up. The training ended at 10 am with the club members thanking both the coaches and their teacher-advisors.

Club members doing strength training

The Drama Club students were also very excited to resume club activities, which were usually held every Saturday from 3 till 4pm. The senior students were taught by Mr Kenneth while the junior students were taught by Ms Barbara.

Junior drama class students with Ms Barbara

For the first and second week, the senior students learnt “What is Drama?”, discussing drama from historical and structural aspects. Throughout the lesson, the teacher would ask questions. Although the students were rather inactive at first, a few of them still answered voluntarily. They learnt that drama consists of conflict, suspense, observation, and coincidence.

After that, he also recommended some interesting Korean dramas that he had watched during the MCO period. Lastly, he gave the students an assignment: to record a 5 minute play set in school through Zoom. Even though doing online club activities is a new experience, everyone still looked forward to it.

Senior drama class students with Mr Kenneth

The Debate Club wasn’t excluded from online classes either. Conducted by Ms Amath, debate classes were held every Saturday, from 5 to 6pm. On the 20th June, she elaborated more on the speaker roles she taught last week. This time, more constructive feedback was given as all previously assigned homework had been submitted. The senior members were praised as matured due to their experienced arguments and reasoning. In contrast, junior members still needed major improvements and could improve through reading and debating.

Ms Amath sharing info slides on speaker role

Moving on, she talked about the importance of each speaker through the info slides she screen shared. It was highly informative as she covered various aspects for junior and senior members to reflect on themselves. There was also a Q&A session every 15 minutes. Although it was slightly inactive, she was pleased as she assumed that most of the members had grasped the key concept of that day’s lesson. Thus, she held an interactive session where everyone could voice their opinion on the motion “This house would ban home-schooling.” There were many responses from senior and junior members alike. Even though there was insufficient time, it still encouraged shy members to raise their voices. This then marked the end of the lesson.

Ms Amath reading through the chat with various opinions on the motion given.

The Broadcasting Club was not one to shy away from conducting activities, either. The first two weeks saw classes for new members and non-broadcasters, conducted by the Heads of Broadcasting and assisted by the Club President. The 20th June class taught members techniques in broadcasting and writing news reports, which can be heard daily via the PA system at 7am sharp.

The Head of Broadcasting began the class by listing out some SOPs and important regulations regarding news broadcasting. She then explained the flow of news broadcasts, which consists of an opening, five international news pieces, five local news pieces, and an ending. News script writing techniques were up next, followed by samples of news scripts which exemplified how they should be written. An interactive session followed, where members were tasked to write a news script based on an article from the local Chinese Newspaper, Sinchew Daily website. They were then invited to read out their scripts, which were given feedback by the Head of Broadcasting.

A slide listing out the six key components in a news script: person(s), time, place, context, process, result

The next part was the introduction to news broadcasting techniques, of which were demonstrated by the Head of Broadcasting. The members originally attempted to broadcast the scripts, but were cut short due to time constraints. The class ended after a brief Q&A session.

Sample news scripts, accompanied by broadcasting demonstrations