Week 7/8: Post-CID Oral Presentation Reflection - Nellie

Hey everyone! So, the past few weeks, the whole class had been taking turns to present our reflections an thoughts of the Chingay Parade that we went to watch. Our group was one of the first few groups to present and I was pretty glad about that! As everyone would be almost presenting to same things and informations over and over again, my group was fortunate to be the second group to present. In this case, the presentation would seem more original and the audience were not that bored. 

When Mr Chua( our CID teacher) was choosing the group, it was a finger-biting moment for everyone. In my heart, I was thinking 'Please don't choose us, but, please choose us...' You know, that kind of feeling when you are so excited yet nervous to present?

After the presentation, I felt that my group overall did a pretty good job. Even though the whole presentation, from the script to the slides to the rehearsal were all rushed through and prepared within 1 and a half weeks, my group managed to persevere through obstacles and challenges we faced and managed to display a decent presentation. We had a few disagreements here and there, but we managed to solve these mini conflicts rapidly!

I personally feel that I could have done better by memorizing and being more familiarised with my script. I was constantly looking at my cue cards , thus affecting my eye contact with the audience. As a result, I wasn't able to engage everyone. However, I thought that my voice was loud and bright enough to be heard clearly by everyone! :D

In a nutshell, I have gained and learnt many techniques and skills for a good oral presentation/public-speaking. It was an enriching experience and I hoped that I will be able to put all the skills that I have garnered from the past few weeks into use in the near future!

“A speaker should approach his preparation not by what he wants to say, but by what he wants to learn.” - Todd Stocker

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Week 4/5: Chingay Reflections ~

Shu Ting's Reflection

It was a memorable experience as I rarely attend public celebrations. I felt honoured to have been given the opportunity to witness such an amazing and spectacular parade with the accompaniment of my friends whom I cheered along with til the very end. All the floats and performances have indeed brought out the Chingay theme this year and the true spirit of Singapore. I especially loved the segment where the Broadway-themed float came by as Broadway is unfamiliar to me and thus I found their performance the most exciting of all.

Geraldine's reflection

I feel that this trip to watch the Chingay Parade has been very meaningful and exciting for me. Many exciting and beautiful performances were planned for this event and I feel really touched that Singapore has actually put in so much hard effort to create such a brilliant multi-cultural show for all of us. It was the first time I truly felt the spirit of our multi-racial society, the first time I felt it so strongly. It also made me proud to be a Singaporean as I am really glad to see that my country is so united together although there are many different people from different races. I am really very happy that I had such a chance to watch this Chingay!

Nellie's reflection

I enjoyed the Chingay Parade as it featured many vibrant and bright floats and performances of different races. After the Chingay Parade, I've realised the importance of being a united as one people, one nation, ONE SINGAPORE regardless of our race. We should cherish the fact that Singapore is a multiracial society and a clean and green city! Chingay parade 2014 is indeed successful and meaningful!

Reuben's reflection

During Chingay, I have learnt about the multicultural aspects of Singapore. The performers put up spectacular performances for us to watch! I feel very excited before the Chingay. I feel that Chingay is a very meaningful occasion as it is once in a year and there are many performances the performances are put up by different races/religion of Singaporeans. Also, many organizations and schools have participated too. For example, River Valley High School students have also made a banner for Chingay. Overall, this year's Chingay is successful! I hope to go to Chingay again next year. :)

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Week 6: CHINGAY PRESENTATION SLIDES

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Week 3/4: Chinese New Year (Colour, Symbol, Image) - Nellie

Once again, HEY THERE TO ALL READERS! :D So today I will be touching on the holiday -- Chinese New Year a.k.a Lunar New Year. Chinese New Year falls on the 1st day of the 1st month of the Lunar calendar, thus marking a brand new year in the Lunar calendar. It is celebrated in many Asian countries by the Chinese population which includes Singapore, Malaysia, China, Indonesia and many more. When I think of Lunar New Year, the first thing that would always appear in my mind would be the vibrant colours and display put up at Chinatown. There would be bright and warm colours like red, orange, yellow that represents liveliness and happiness. However, if I would have to narrow down to just one colour, it would be GOLD. Gold symbolises many things, like wealth, prosperity and good fortune. However, in my case, I think that gold represents happiness. Some of you may feel that gold refers to the Chinese gold ingots or money, but I feel that gold is a bright, shiny yellowish colour that it resembles the rays of a sun shinning onto the smiling faces of everyone! 😄

I would choose a horse as the symbol for Chinese New Year as it is the Year of the Horse this year. The horse symbolises freedom, strength and power. Therefore, I choose a horse to represent this year's Chinese New Year.

The first image that appears in my mind during Chinese New Year would be the reunion dinner on the eve of Chinese New Year. On the eve of Chinese New Year, relatives and families will get together for a reunion dinner. A reunion dinner is feast where family members sit together to enjoy the dinner and to catch up with one another. In a more advance and technological world, extended family members rarely visit each other, therefore, a reunion dinner is a time where they sit down together to talk with each other face to face instead of through social medias and smartphones. A reunion dinner is also a time of family bonding, a happy and joyous event! Therefore, I choose a picture of a reunion dinner to be the image to represent Chinese New Year! 

(This is the picture of the reunion dinner I had with my family on the eve of Chinese New Year ;D)

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Week 3/4: Chinese New Year ~ Shu Ting

Hey readers! Chinese New Year is when I can see majority of my family in Malaysia. I get to have some time away from Singapore which is often a stressful environment for me. In Malaysia, I have no internet connection, and it is only then I would realise that the internet stresses me out a lot, so when I get back I would make the effort to stay away from it as much as I possibly could. 

This may sound slightly cliché, but I am somewhat indifferent to the amount of money I receive in my red packets, although I enjoy receiving notes and dollars to place in my bank account. I feel that yellow could be the colour to represent how I feel about Chinese New Year because it gives me a sense of happiness, warmth and prosperity. I am always glad to travel to Malaysia for CNY holidays and relax but at the same time do my given homework. The pace of life there just seems so much slower and I don't feel the need to be rushing through my tasks. I love being able to see my younger cousins again whom I haven't seen since a year ago. We get to reconnect and have fun together. 

I think the Mandarin oranges we give out when visiting would be a symbol I'd use to represent how I feel about Chinese New Year.CNY is when we can visit our extended families and I consider mine a friendly and loving bunch. Everyone would be catching up with one another's lives and I would be greeted with their warm smiles and hugs. Nothing feels better than family love. Well, with so many family members there would be more red packets handed out. Although I cringe when some of my relatives misspell my name on the red packets, I still forgive them as it is completely understandable.

I always stay in my grandmother's house in Malaysia for the Chinese New Year Holidays. Unlike my house in Singapore, her home is so much more cooling and cozy. Her house is always filled with food hence I would be able to always enjoy a afternoon snack whenever I want. Therefore I have used a picture of a random house in Malaysia to represent my views in relation to Chinese New Year.

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Week 3/4: Chinese New Year (Colour, Symbol, Image) ---- Reuben

Hello readers! :)

In this week, I am going to cover the topic of Chinese New Year. I am going to express my thoughts on the Colour, Symbol and Image I think is suitable for CNY. 

I think red is the suitable Colour for CNY as it represents good luck, prosperity, good fortune and joy! 

The symbol for CNY is something like this :) 

It is an upside down '福' which represents good fortune and happiness

It's image which represents CNY may be pictures of what we celebrate during CNY. For example, a picture of Lion Dance :) 

Other pictures may include lanterns, firecrackers and mandarins :D

That's all for now, thanks! :)

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Week 3/4: Chinese New Year (Colour, Symbol, Image) ---- Geraldine

Hey readers! :) I am going to share about what I feel are the colour, symbol and image that can express my feelings and thoughts for Chinese New Year.

 
The colour to represent Chinese New Year. It's common, I know, but I still feel that red represents my feelings for Chinese New Year the best. When Chinese New Year was approaching about a week ago, I was feeling very happy and excited. Red which represents happiness, at that time, reminded me of the fabulous Chinese New Year decorations, the traditional foods, the red packets that are waiting to be given... Red just reminds me of the kind of happiness I always had experienced and felt during Chinese New Year. I also feel warmth when I see the colour red. It makes me think of the times during Chinese New Year when my family, relatives, friends and I got to be together and have more time to communicate. I am reminded of the warmth with my close and loved ones, the joy and satisfaction of being with them during Chinese New Year as we enjoyed our talks and foods together. Hence, I feel that red is the best colour to represent my thoughts and feelings for Chinese New Year.

  

The symbol I would like to represent Chinese New Year is the red packet. As we young people love to receive many red packets from our relatives during Chinese New Year, the first thing that instinctively comes to my mind when I am reminded of Chinese new year is the red packets. Red packet is something that I am unable to forget during Chinese New Year since money is quite significant to me :p... And when I am given one, I also feel very happy and moreover, Chinese New Year is supposed to be a joyous occasion isn't it? So I feel that the happiness of collecting my hong baos can signify the joy of Chinese New Year and therefore, I think that the red packet is the symbol that should represent Chinese New Year.

The image I would like to use to represent Chinese New Year is a picture of an upside-down 福 couplet. This is because many people feel that Chinese New Year brings us luck and the upside-down 福 would represent that luck has been brought to us. Furthermore, on every Chinese New Year, my house would surely be decorated with this couplet, which makes me feel that it is the most common and perhaps significant couplet, and something that truly signifies this festival. I therefore feel that this 福 couplet is the image that represents Chinese New Year.

So... This is the end of my sharing and I wish all of you a Happy Chinese New Year ! :)

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Week 3: CID 2 Reflection - Reuben

Hey there readers! :) 

In this week of CID 2 lesson, I have learnt that a picture paints a thousand words. Firstly, our teacher showed us a picture of a disabled man holding a sign saying that he has been robbed of his home and valuables. He is trying to beg for some daily necessities. The 2nd picture was about a woman holding a baby and begging for money. The teacher asked us who was more pitiful, and of course all of us said it was the woman. However, the teacher told us the true story, it turns out that the man was really in need of resources while the woman was actually only holding a baby. However, there was another plot twist. The woman was actually held prisoner by thugs who forced her to give the 'begged' money to them. So it was a troll :D

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