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a publication of

BGSS

HONOURING OUR SENIORS:Graduation CeremonyBy Herh Peng Leng (3E1)

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The Graduation Ceremony was held on Wednesday, 17 October 2012. The ceremony began with the Principal's address, in which our Principal, Mr Lim Yu Kee, shared with the graduating batch inspiring stories to strive on to excel in their upcoming National Examinations and future endeavours.

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managementadvisorMrs Helen Lee

chief editorMs Norfarhana Mohamed Ismail

editorMr Huang ZihaoMs Norhayati Abdul Rahim

designMr Teo Kim Seng

published by theSchool Image Committeeof BGSS

ContentsCOVER STORYHonouring our seniors:Graduation Ceremony

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Principal’s Message

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Hari Raya Celebration

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E2 Cluster Biennial GamesUNSW MathematicsUNSW English

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ACES Day

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Healthy Lifestyle Week IILiquid Nitrogen Ice-cream Making

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Following this was a montage showing the graduating students' 4 – 5 years of experiences in BGSS. The short montage brought much laughter to students and staff alike. Subsequently, a representative of each class delivered a speech, some accompanied by class videos. Our former President of Student Council, Cao Mingmin of class 4E1A, also gave a speech on her experience in school. Before the students adjourned for the lunch reception in the canteen, they sang two songs – Auld Lang Syne and Whenever You Remember (Carrie Underwood) – both led by our BGSS idols. Overall, the ceremony was a memorable one.

HONOURING OUR SENIORS:Graduation Ceremonycontinued from cover

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YOLO.

In case you have not come across this before, it stands for “You Only Live Once”. It is an internet slang that started becoming popular since last year, especially on Twitter. What is unfortunate is that this catchphrase is often used as an excuse for irrational and irresponsible behaviour. The argument goes that since you only live once, you should make use of whatever opportunity there is to enjoy life and have fun. The most tragic example that I have come across this year was an aspiring young rapper from the States who, while drunk driving, boasted of his speeding through a tweet message together with that catchphrase YOLO. Sadly for him and the four passengers in his car, he crashed minutes later, killing everyone on board.

Yes, it is true that we only live once. But precisely because of that, we have make use of this one opportunity to make the most of it and not squander it away. Don’t use YOLO as a pretext to do random stupid things which are meaningless in your life. Instead, use YOLO as a justification to live your life in such a way that, one day when you are a hundred years old, you can look back and be contented that you have done what you would wanted with your life.

It is timely to remind us all of this as we once again draw another school year to a close. Our students are only with the school for a brief four to five years and now, one of those years has gone by. I often ask the older students, especially at Sec 4 or 5, to remember the person they were when they first step into the school at Sec 1. I ask them if that person at Sec 1 would have wanted to become the person they are now. If yes, what have they done right, and if not, what went wrong. And along the same vein, I ask them to think about whom they want to become four or five years down the road, and what they should do to become those persons.

As Secondary School teachers, we feel the march of time very keenly as we can literally see the students transform before our very eyes in the short time that they are with us. As educators, we hope that in this brief time, we can instil in them not just knowledge and skills, but the passion to continue to grow in their lives.

Have a good holiday, and make it count. YOLO.

“Instead, use YOLO as a justification to live your life in such a way that, one day when you are a hundred years old, you can look back and be contented that you have done what you would wanted with your life.”Mr Lim Yu Kee

PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGEMr Lim Yu Kee

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On the 24th August, the students and staff of Bedok Green gathered in the hall for the Hari Raya performance. The first item was a song and music performance put up by the Secondary One students from the ICT in Music Programme. The crowd cheered and clapped along to popular songs such as, “Price Tag”, “Superman” and “Payphone”. This was followed by a poetry recital by Secondary 1 students who touched the hearts of many with their poem on “Forgiveness”. This poem was translated from Malay to English so that the rest of the

school could understand the poem as well. Other entertaining performances included a dance performance by the Malay Dance Club members and a skit by the brave and confident Sec 1s. A mini ‘Karaoke Night’ games session was conducted by the fun-loving Parents Support Group. The highlight of the show was a “Dikir Barat” performance by a group of talented teachers. The crowd was full of cheer, tickled by the witty and humourous lyrics written by Mdm Norlindah. What a great time everyone had!

HARI RAYA CONCERTBy Ms Sheryl Low Xue Zhen

Hari RayaConcert

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The Biennial Cluster Games for teachers was held in Bedok View Secondary this year and our school sent in two teams for Floorball (ladies) and Frisbee (mixed team) respectively. The objective of the event was to foster closer bonds among teachers in the E2 cluster as well as provide opportunities for teachers to partake in sports and games.

After several hours of exciting and high intensity games, our school emerged champion in both events. An inter school tug-of-war competition was also held within the cluster at the end. All staff participated rigorously in the various events and enjoyed themselves thoroughly. Kudos to all the teachers!

E2 CLUSTER BIENNIAL GAMESBy Ms Seow Xue Ling

As part of the Mathematics Department’s efforts to develop our student’s higher order thinking skills. All Secondary 1 to 3 students in the Express stream were sent to participate in the International Competitions and Assessments for Schools (ICAS) Mathematics 2012. This competition assesses students’ skills and knowledge across five strands, Algebra & Patterns,

Chance & Data, Measures & Units, Numbers & Arithmetic and Space & Geometry. We are proud to announce that 14 students obtained the DISTINCTION award (top 10% of country) and one student, Situ Zhengjie (class 3E1) obtained the HIGH DISTINCTION award (top 1% of country). Well Done BGSS!

UNSW MATHEMATICSBy Mr John Lim

Our school participated in the 2012 International Competitions and Assessments for Schools (ICAS) organized by The University of New South Wales (UNSW). This is the first time that Bedok Green Secondary students took the English test. The entire Secondary 3 express cohort sat for the test on 11 July 2012 and we are

extremely proud of our students’ results as 20 students achieved distinction or credit which placed them in the top 35% of entrants. Participation certificates were issued to all other students. The table overleaf lists the students who achieved distinction or merit. Congratulations!

UNSW ENGLISHBy Mrs Lee Su Wee

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UNSW ENGLISHcontinued from previous

DistinctionsDistinctionsDistinctions

1) Chan Kwan Kit Keith 3E1

2) Radhiga K Mohan 3E1

CreditCredit

3) Srishti Aggarwal 3E1

4) Eileen Ho Yulin 3E1

5) Khiu Kim Hong 3E1

6) Ng Jun Kai 3E1

7) Michi Kuan 3E1

8) Cherie Leow 3E1

9) Tan Sher Kye 3E1

10) Chrystal Tan 3E1

11) Lim Zheng Wei 3E1

12) Peh Zhi Wei 3E1

13) Loh Yan Shan 3E2

14) Keith Chua 3E2

15) Huang Wan Ting 3E3

16) Yukie Miyazaki 3E3

17) Jamie Ng Zoe En 3E3

18) Adi Surya Permana 3E3

19) Tan Jian Sheng 3E3

20) Raja Ain Zulkifli 3E4

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The Secondary three CCA leaders came together and choreographed the mass dance for this year’s ACES (All Children Exercising Simultaneously) Day. The mass dance was entitled BGSS Shuffle and it rightly encapsulated the dynamic energy and free spirit of the teenagers. Most of the students were on task and shuffling to the upbeat song with the objective of working out on that day as a community as well as to bask in the celebratory mood of the day. The CCA leaders led the event with enthusiasm and brought up the energy level of both lower and upper secondary levels throughout the mass dance. It was a vibrant sight to witness. The atmosphere was mostly light-hearted for the entire session as teachers gradually joined in the fun and exercised with their form classes!

ACES DAYBy Ms Seow Xue Ling

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HEALTHY LIFESTYLEweek IIBy Ms Seow Xue LingHealthy Lifestyle Week II was held during the post-examination period in Semester 2. It comprised a series of sports activities, as well as other innovative events, to increase the awareness of staying healthy on a daily basis. An entertaining and informative video was also made and screened, showing the simple and achievable ways to stay healthy. The PE department also introduced a new and refreshing stair-counting competition where students, in teams of two, competed in counting the number of steps in the entire school.As part of the Healthy Lifestyle Week, the Sports Fiesta II was incorporated into the post-examination schedule. It was well-received by students and staff as a nice and energetic finale to the school year, especially after the intense revision and examination period. On the whole, it was indeed a fruitful two weeks for the students as they partook in the various activities.

LIQUID NITROGENice-cream makingBy Ms Peggy KohHave you ever wondered how to make ice cream on your own? On 25th October, the internationalisation committee organised an educational enrichment tour for a group of 29 international and local students. They were accompanied by 3 teachers to Snow City, Singapore’s first permanent snow centre. It was indeed a ‘winter getaway’ in sunny island Singapore. Upon arrival, the pupils were escorted to the Function Room for their first hands-on experience on ice cream making. They were provided a little liquid nitrogen, a tub of HULA Cream, 3 tablespoon of sugar, vanilla / chocolate / strawberry syrup and most importantly, an appetite for exploring the science of food.Before trying out the recipe, the students were briefed on the safety aspect and training on how to handle liquid nitrogen as contact with it can freeze the tissue and cause severe injury.

For safety measures, gloves were provided for the pupils. They have to stir vigorously to ensure that the portion was evenly dissolved and the mixture had thickened before pouring the liquid nitrogen.After tasting the ice cream, the students had to put on winter clothes, boots and gloves before entering the Snow Chamber. They sat on inflatable snow tubes and slide down the giant snow slope in the Snow Chamber. The ‘snowtubing’ activity was indeed one of the highlights to end the learning journey trip as it fostered cohesiveness and team building between the foreign students and their fellow local friends.In short, the ice cream making hands-on program provided the experiential learners the opportunity to apply their chemistry knowledge in real life.

Liquid Nitrogen ice-cream making

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