Pub09_ohana_may (youcampaign)

A publication of

MAY 2009 www.spprimers.com

Do You Know Them?

We Can Give

Mind Over Body

SP.PRIMERS EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 08/09 President’s Office Kelly (President) Sebastian (Vice President) Huey Lee (Treasurer)

May09Issue11 Front Cover: A montage of various event banners – signifying our growth as a club. Back Cover: A view of fireworks during NDP 08 Picture by: Sheng Long

Administrations & NYAA Peijin (Admin) Qilin (NYAA) Logistics Jonathan Programmes Benjamin Publicity Budiman Cluster Officers Ben (A) Huishan (B) Sheng Long (C)

3 the editor writes Ohana and you >> Take the first step to experience the family.

4 top story How far have we come? >> Check out what Captain Danny has in store for us as he reflects back on the history of SP.PRIMERS and things to look forward to in the year ahead.

6 snippets Ohana! is a publication of SP.Primers, published every 3 months by the Publicity Department of SP.Primers EXCO. The opinions and views in this publication are those expressed by the writers and do not reflect the official views of SP.Primers. All rights reserved. Subject to the provisions of the Copyright Act, 1986, no part of this publication may in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, microcopying, photocopying, recording or otherwise) be reproduced or transmitted without prior written permission from SP.Primers. Articles of interest are invited from readers who may send them to spprimers@ gmail.com. SP.Primers accepts no responsibility for the return of all manuscripts or artwork submitted.

>> DE Tribe Run >> Orhlympics >> Discovery Camp >> Reunion Dinner >> Recruitment Planning Camp

7 special Team Officers >> Get to know the driving force of the family.

10 what’s been hot Sharity Gift Box @ SP >> Have a Heart, Share a Gift.

13 and we have… RedEX >> Beyond the limits

15 quiz time!

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hana means family and family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten – a statement so simple yet so powerful. Until you experience it yourself, YOU will never know what it is like to be in a community of friends yet able to say OHANA! It is the season of the year again where SP is busy engaging YOU, the new students through Freshman Orientation Camps. SP.PRIMERS too, has not slackened and is actively planning the YOUcampaign to introduce YOU into the family. A new (but no stranger to it) addition to the lined-up of exciting events is our involvement in celebrating our nation’s birthday as Motivators. As a family, we will go out of our comfort zone, break barriers and encourage Singaporeans to let loose and have fun at the floating platform.

However, all these cannot come to past unless YOU (the crucial link) decide to give more and be a positive influence and voice in this family. YOU make the decision whether to have fun with us or just bum around. YOU have the freedom to break out of your comfort zone and grow together with SP.PRIMERS as a family or stay put at where you are now. It is your choice! As we celebrate YOU, we celebrate YOUths who will take the stage of leadership in time to come.

By Danny Lee Captain SP.Primers

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terms of exciting events as well as believing in t is now the 4th Generation of EXCO in the impossible. SP.PRIMERS, meaning that this marks over 4 years of our embarkation on Singapore Having said that Polytechnic. From a humble beginning of only a handful The numbers has truly been encouraging of 10, SP.PRIMERS grew to be known for who we but the most heartening of all is that this family (you & me) has grown much bigger and yet are now and a major contributor to the vibrant stronger in our relationship with one another. Youth Culture in SP. We have grown from a club which used to Something that is priceless and very much held be satisfied with an attendance of 50+ people to dearly to the club. running activities nearing Core values 200+ for our camp attend- “We want to be a family ance now. All these have Let’s visit my all-time favorite that started since truly blown our minds and that builds on the culture expectations. 1 of POC 2007. We that we Care, Share and day The officers team, want to be a family that EXCO and now alumni builds on the culture that Wait for one another.” we Care, Share and Wait have come a long way in

for one another. Sounds very “cheem”? Yes, but if you get a chance to hear the many stories that Kenny, Yaohan, Huishan, Sheng Long, Vimel, Hoong Sheng, Derrick, and many others who have shared this journey - it may just change your life and those around you. Why? Because we all have a place in this family, we all can share something that we each have and we can all wait to discover that special something within us and around us. Do you know we have Primers who came to SP just because they wanted to join SP.PRIMERS? Will you imagine one day we need to have a room to meet in each of the 7 schools in SP, because you are anchoring groups of freshman in their various courses! Challenge towards the dream In this upcoming year, we will begin our baby steps towards this big dream. I want to challenge you to search deep into yourself and pull out that special something within you and create history in the club scene here in SP! Motivators @ NDP 09 This year we have a revamp of some of our annual highlights and re-introducing our involvement in National Day Parade as Motivators! We will be part of a 600 men strong contingent tasked with the responsibility of lifting the mood of the crowd! It is an awesome role and this is coming from me who have been involved in NDP the past 4 years! The excitement and adreneline rush I get each time I go out to meet the 40,000

eager crowds will supersede the tiredness I feel and it will propel me to give my very best. It is an out of this world experience and lets all be in this together as a family. Exciting times are now This is also in conjunction with all our activities like Discovery Camp, Rough-It-Out Camp, the recent RedEX, Sharity Gift Box and Overseas Service Learning Trip. In addition to the exciting line up of events coming up, we will be hosting the annual Inter Primers Olympics Day (IPOD), where the various polytechnics will come together for a sports festival that will include many various disciplines. Oh by the way, I forgot to mention that we are the reigning champions 2 years in a row, so if we are champions one more time, we will get to keep the trophy permanently! Spoilt for choice As you can see, we serve to provide a platter of various needs of each Primer, be it adventure experience, to life changing trips, to just simple fun and games, we encompass everything! We trust that as the Primer goes through the experiences he/she will grow as a person and understand that Poly life is not just all about books! Remember that you are the leader of TODAY!

RECRUITMENT PLANNING CAMP

ORHLYMPICS Our very own version of the Olympics is actually a compilation of whacky sports event that is fun

REUNION DINNER The mood for interaction was high and the hunger was unbearable but before we can start to chomp on our food, we need to do something that every reunion dinner family would do – “Yu Sheng” It was a messy time! But it was really a time of reunion as we took time to share and update each other as we had our dinner.

and crazy. These sports event consisted of many different challenges that are “out of the world”. It was a sports day that no one could have trained for and every game was subjected to the elements rather than our skills.

DISCOVERY CAMP

DE TRIBE RUN

You might have seen our officers during events and wondered how they are like. Are they fierce and unfriendly? Or are they simply fun and crazy people? Do you really know them on a personal level? If your answer is a big NO then this column is dedicated specially for you. Read on and find out, they might be totally different from how you picture them as! KENNY As a graduate from Ngee Ann Polytechnic, he chose to come to Singapore Polytechnic to invest his life in the youths. Always seen as a cheeky, funny and entertaining man, Kenny is a man with knowledge and great advice. A visionary and an articulate teacher, this

officer pushes the boundaries of what a student led club should be. He excels best when he mentors the leaders in making, believing that “Youths are the leaders of

today!” and never expecting any less from his Executive Committee members. No matter what skills sets a person has, he believes most of all in the development of the inner self, the moral values of the each person that he comes in contact with. Being a people person, he best enjoys sitting down in a café and chit chatting with his friends. The heartbeat he has for the youth is always that they are able to understand their destiny in life and that there are no impossibilities to what a person can achieve! YAOHAN He is always seen as the cheerful and caring brother to the family of Primers. Being the youngest in a family of five, it was a reversal of roles as he is the one now taking care of others instead of him being taken care of. Although sporty isn’t a word to describe him, he does enjoys sports and outdoor activities. However, he usually spends time surfing the net and finding out new updates about the IT world. Yaohan hopes to teach and empower youths to reach their fullest potential. Being trained as a combat medic during his National Service days, safety has become second nature to him and is always looking out for people. Having worked 2 years in the television industry, he hopes to bring up the pop culture and spark creative ideas so as to make SP.PRIMERS a club that is not only current but one that sets the culture that others would want to follow.

SHENG LONG Being one of the few pioneer members of SP.PRIMERS, he chose to continue serving in this family even after graduation in 2007. Always setting high standards for himself and his EXCO, he is a man who leads by example. Sheng Long believes that all youths should be given a platform to shine and unleash their potential. All youths have that something in them and what is lacking is a chance to showcase and nurture it. He is committed in giving them that platform. To him, it is more important to be willing to put in heart and soul into doing something rather than merely just seeing the end product. This officer loves to discover new things and enjoys designing and experimenting with colors in his free time. His outgoing personality renders him to be the one normally initiating a chat or sharing his experience in a group. His advice for the youths out there is to boldly take that first and try for you will not regret it! HUISHAN A faithful young lady who never fails to show enthusiasm in meeting people, care and concern naturally never seems to depart from her. She is always seen getting people involved and making a constant effort to help everybody blend in. Graduated in 2008, Huishan chose to continue to serve in Primers as an officer. She is committed into building the lives of youths as an elder sister to them. She constantly takes

time to listen and share her experiences with the youths in hope she can make a difference. Huishan believes youths can make a difference in the choices they make. She is interested in helping them analyze and make the right choice. At the same time, she believes in giving support to youths to build the courage in them in making choices. This young lady shows that it is important to excel in your own personal development and relationship with one another. It is not a matter of ‘When’ but a matter or ‘Will’. Being a cheerful person, she enjoys seeing smiles on faces of people she meets. BEN Currently Computer Science undergraduate at NTU, he graduated from Temasek Polytechnic in 2004. Not someone who enjoys the hustle and bustle, he prefers to concentrate on the simpler and quieter things that are around. Laid back but yet pragmatic with an eye for details, he adds another slice of diversity to the diverse yet well-mixed personalities of the officers in SP.PRIMERS.

His journey with SP.PRIMERS began in 2008, answering the call to help develop the next generation of leaders through SP.PRIMERS. His experiences with the club so far have further fueled his desire to see even more lives enriched and changed. As someone who values relationships greatly, he enjoys building close relationships with those he works with. And to those he shares such bonds with; they will discover that beneath the seemingly dull exterior is a personality that is as colorful as any other. He believes that through sharing and building bonds of trust, he can influence, support and encourage others to achieve over and above what they previously would have thought impossible.

To view full and detailed profiles of the officers, log on to www.spprimers.com and click on the OFFICERS tab on the menubar.

An annual 2-month long community service project, SGB@SP hopes to bring cheer to the less fortunate by collecting food items and fulfilling Christmas wishes.

Story and Pictures by: Publicity Dept EXCO, SP.Primers

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GB@SP is part of the nationwide charity effort, Sharity Gift Box (SGB) led by The Boys’ Brigade in Singapore. We adopted TOUCH Cancer Support (TCS) as our Voluntary Welfare Organisation (VWO) last year. TCS provide care and support to Leukaemia patients and their families through support group meetings and outings. They also provide emotional and practical support to patients who have been diagnosed with cancer.

Collection booth Keeping true to SGB, we had to set up booth to help us collect food items and wishes. Usually, our booth is held over two weeks so as to allow staff and students of SP ample time to give the items to us, but, due to the study break, we had to shorten the duration of the booth this year to one week instead. Despite the shortened runaway, it did not dampen our spirits but instead, this spurred us to give more effort in our booth collection.

Opening ceremony The project started off by having a mini "Ceremony" to kick start our annual Campuswide charity event. It was a tough period of time for a charity event as most of us were preparing for our exams.

Those who were around were treated to a performance by the Bagpipe Club. They performed 2 well known songs and they caused a fair bit of attraction for those who were near our event.

We were honoured to have Miss Angelvin, our SAA officer, gracing our event. This ceremony really helped create publicity and awareness for us.

It was a great feeling at the end of the week long collection when we realised we have not only hit our target, we have it in just half the time we originally planned. Deliveryman/ladies After the process of asking, receiving and consolidating, now is the time for us to visit people who will be benefiting from what we are doing at their individual homes.

Derek shared,” The visit was both an enriching and an eye-opener for all of us. We realized that although Singapore is a well-devel-

oped country, there are many people who look normal like every one of us but are struggling to make ends meet.” Then he added, “We’re so much more blessed compared to these people, it is important to extend a helping hand and gestures of love to show that we still care in such bad times.” Year end party It was a different year end party for us this year as instead of us having a time of gathering, we help organised a party for our adopted VWO

It was apt as not only do we bless the clients of TCS during SGB@SP, we could also help the staff of TCS during this period of giving.

During the start of the event, most of us were very apprehensive as we had never come into contact with so many cancer patients before. In our minds, we do not know what kind of topics they would like. However, all these feelings slowly faded away as we played opening games with them. Indeed, games broke all barriers between us and the patients. They were not as different as what we had imagined in our head.

The event ended off with a dinner and we had a chance to spent time with the patients and found out more about them. It was a fulfilling event and I can safely say everyone will agree with me that we do not mind organising such an event again next year.

RedEX, short form for Red Expedition seeks to train Primers in events management and help each person realize their own potential by pushing their limits through a 4D3N adventure journey. Story and Pictures by: Publicity Dept EXCO, SP.Primers

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articipants had to plan from scratch their journey from SP to the checkpoints (these checkpoints are as far as Changi airport and Kranji) using only a street directory, limited experience of trekking and no public transport but only their feet. This is compounded by the limitations that they can only have a budget of $7 per head per day, which will take care of all their basic needs, like food, water and medical supplies. “A challenge for our team

is to workwithin a budget of $7 for our 3 meals per day and to travel through these places by foot. It is really a huge challenge for all of us, “ Jingyi recalled. When it gets not only physical She added, “Before going for this expedition, I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one who underestimated the requirements of it. We never imagined that it would be so tough that it pushes us to the limits of human endurance!”

Owen agreed, “Each journey between every destination was torturous – both physically and mentally. Lactic acids built up in every possible area – shoulders, back, thighs, calves, ankles etc. Thoughts of giving up happen very frequently.” Temptations from everyday things Due to their limited and constrained budget per day, participants had to give up a lot of their ‘wants’ and focused more on their ‘needs’. Said Jingyi about her struggle: “As I was having lunch in FC3, I sat right in front of the juice stall and it was an agony for me as I would always buy fruit juice whenever I there but now I had to think twice!” Life lessons Due to the physical nature of this expedition, it is only normal for participants to feel tired and discouraged. This is when support from fellow teammates come into the picture which Owen agreed: “I’m glad I had such motivating, encouraging and fun teammates for without them, this expedition was not possible. Though the journeys to each location were tough, they were worth it.”

When asked what were some things she took back from this event, Jingyi revealed: “I learnt how I will react under stress. We tend to give up too easily without pushing our limits in our everyday life but in this expedition we had no choice but to keep moving on pushing our limits. That is when all our real and inner emotions starts to show. Through this I also learnt to deal with them accordingly. A well deserved treat At the end of it, the participants all arrived back for a welcome break from walking and partied themselves with glorious BBQ food. It had been a resounding success as the feeling of ecstasy in finishing this expedition overcame all the hardship that was endured previously! Reflecting back on the event, Jingyi shared: “At that monment I felt the whole ‘Family’ feeling (that the officers keep talking about) while all of us shared what happened in our journey.” Emerging stronger All these sounds impossible? Well this is a test of the Primers’ spirit as once again we moved through what seemed like an insurmountable task!

QUESTION:

Which of the above 3 portraits belongs to Ignez, the princess of Captain Danny and Evelyn? Hint: Check out the cover page of the article: “How Far Have We Come” Note: With regards to the question posted above, here comes another news: Captain Danny is going to have his second child soon. Will you make a guess which gender will the baby be of? If you prefer things to be confirmed... why not approach the man himself and ask him? Contact Us Website: www.spprimers.com Email: [email protected] Location: PC127 (Above SP FC3) Credits This publication is brought to you by SP.Primers EXCO Publicity Department, Print Section