community autumn issue (sept 2014)

community Autumn 2014

© 2014 The University of Warwick Singapore Society

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.

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, kick-

started 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.

Autumn Issue

Rad Rec @ Raffles: WSG 2014

The Un i ve r s i t y o f Warw i ck S ingapore Soc i e t y September 2014

In this issue:

Warwick Summer

Games

Orientation 2014

School Visits &

University Fairs

UKBound

Children’s Aid Society

Home Visit

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 [email protected] if you

have a unique experience to share and want to see your name in print.

Read more about

the Warwick

Summer Games

on Page 9



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

A fresh(er) perspective

Sea, sun and sand: Orientation 2014

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 over-

seas 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

“...the breaks we had

in between events

definitely helped to

break the ice.” 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!

Angela Tan

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.



Autumn Is sue

BTS: Why I chose to become an OGL

Sherilyn Chee

It’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

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 friend-

ships. 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.

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.

To all the incoming freshers for

2014-2015, welcome to the

Warwick Singsoc Family (:



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 Interna-

tional Office to place Warwick on local students’ radars

by representing Singsoc and Warwick at university fairs,

school visits and talks across the island.

This trip back to RI was a little different from the

ones before, now that I have graduated and am

properly beginning to take on the role of a

teacher. I’ve always viewed these school visits as

opportunities to showcase Warwick as a very

good option for further studies and also to play a

part in guiding the next batches of students in

helping them to make a choice that best serves

their interests. In the case of this RI school visit, I

found a great deal of personal meaning in meet-

ing and advising current students as I am an RI

alumnus and also a teacher-to-be.

I highly encourage all current students at War-

wick 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

leave feeling that you have contributed meaningfully to

the Warwick and Singapore school community, as well

as have a deeper appreciation for the choices and

journey that you have taken thus far. Despite having

gone for many of such school visits, I still feel that each

visit is a whole new experience as I will be meeting

very different students who carry with them diverse

backgrounds and personalities, thus making every visit

a uniquely interesting one.

From the other side of the classroom

Phuah Kia Liang



Autumn Is sue

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 home-

coming 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 –

and I could see that reflected in their eager questions that

focused not simply on academics, but also the kind of life-

style 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.

Novelty & Nostalgia

The Warwick for Dummies Guide

given to all freshers: packed with

tips, tricks and information about

transitioning to life in Warwick

Cultural Officer Dominic Nah

chatting with freshers and their

parents at the Pre-Departure

Briefing held at Conrad

Centennial Singapore.



Mr. Warwick reflects: How it feels to be UKBound

Photo: UKBound Organisers

Being selected to be Mr. Warwick for

UKBound has exposed me to things I had

considered flamboyant and excessive to

the experience of a student, such as

soliciting support for Facebook photos

and selling tickets. I have always been

rather passive when it comes to such

things, and I would be lying if I claimed

that it had been an easy experience.

Given that most of us did not have any

prior experience in modelling, the

challenges which the photo shoots

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.

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

be part of the UKBound experience,

with the warm and friendly committee

members from Imperial College

London, as well as contestants going to

other universities. Getting to know

these people and gaining the support of

the Warwick Singsoc community had

been worth the time and effort.

May the next Mr. and Ms. Warwick find

UKBound as enriching and gratifying as

I did.

“ … I would be lying if

I claimed that it had

been an easy

experience … ”

Guo ZiYong



Autumn Is sue

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

students from Sheffield. The opportunity to engage and

interact with the children allowed us to see that despite

the various difficulties that the children were facing, a lot

of them were still happy and had positive outlooks on life.

While it is always fun to play and interact with the chil-

dren, 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

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 allowed us to consider and explore the

opportunity for Sheffield to adopt a charity

ourselves.

Sheffield Singapore Society



A reminder of childhood

For many of us, volunteering has been an

essential part of our school life. This was

however, my first chance to visit a

children’s home. Not knowing what to

expect and feeling at a loss about how to

interact with children, it is no surprise

that I showed up at Melrose Home

anxiously wondering how I would fare.

The day started with soccer and basket-

ball; a test of prowess between the well

trained, well prepared Melrose Home

team… and the Warwick volunteers.

Personally, I hadn’t kicked a ball since PE

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.

Needless to say, it was a frenzy of balloon

twisting and sword fighting that some-

times descended into actual violence

(then being scolded, and forced to make

up). It reminded me of how we played

during recess in primary school. Watching

the defiant exchanges of scowls and

rebranding of teams reminded me of

scenes from the Lord of the Flies, and it

amazed me how the play of children could

tell us so much about human nature.

“ … it was a frenzy of

balloon twisting and

sword fighting … ”

Li Zhengda

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.



Autumn Is sue

A brief summer-y of the games: WSG 2014 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

Touch Rugby

1st - Manchester

2nd - Imperial

3rd - SMSI

WSG boiled down to fierce but

respectful competition throughout the

day, with dozens of exciting matches

taking place throughout the campus, as

the various Singapore Societies

stepped up to defend their titles or

claw their way to supremacy, one

point at a time.

Among the more interesting teams

were the "Warwick Old Birds",

comprising recent graduates of the

University, who came back to show

everyone that newer isn't always

better, emerging as champions of the

frisbee tournament over their junior

batches. Similarly, WSG was happy to

Playing for Warwick: Two perspectives

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

as well as befriend other freshers, which has made me

feel more positive about going abroad alone.

welcome back the frisbee team from

the OSU, whose slightly more mature

team members took to the fields with

the young and spry undergraduates

and gave them a run for their money.

At the end of the day, everyone

enjoyed themselves with plenty of

friends and sunshine all around, and

Team UCL were crowned champions

of WSG 2014, a title they will have to

defend at WSG 2015!

Celynn Ang

Floorball & Netball

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 sen-

iors patiently guided us through the rules, footwork

and common plays, getting us up to speed and ready

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!

Heng Su Yun

Netball



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.

For more information, visit our website or drop us an email.

c/o Warwick Students' Union

Warwick SU

Gibbet Hill Rd

Coventry

CV4 7AL

United Kingdom

The University of Warwick Singapore Society

graduating years, but collectively the

Warwick teams managed to earn the

top three spots. Afterwards, all of us

were treated to a barbecue-turned-sit

-down-dinner-due-to-rain, courtesy

of Victor’s incredibly hospitable

parents who in traditional Asian

parent style tried to feed us as much

as possible in just a few hours.

The next day, we tried Singapore’s

strange versions of char kuey teow

and hokkien mee, then made our way

to Sentosa for a day at the beach…

playing more Ultimate. An excellent

last meal of crab, roast chicken, and

ice cream rounded up our trip, and

we all parted ways the next morning.

Thanks again to our Singaporean

hosts, Chen Yang and Victor, for the

great mini-break, and hopefully I get

to show you guys some real hawker

food sometime soon!

I think WSG was a great excuse for lots

of us Malaysians to make the trip down

to Singapore for a very fun weekend.

With people coming from all over

Malaysia, it was great to have everyone in

one place again, with some of the newly-

grads playing in their last ever

competition with their teammates of the

past 3 years.

On our first day, we went kite flying at

the Marina Barrage, followed by live

music, great atmosphere, and pizza at

Timbre, and then normal touristy stuff

around Marina Bay Sands. Early the next

morning, we dragged ourselves out of

bed and into the car to get to Raffles

Institution for a full day of Ultimate in the

blazing sun. All credit to the organisers

for a very well-planned tournament and

fun day of competition (thank you!). In

the end, Warwick A lost to the ‘lao jiao’

team of seniors from the previous few

Crossing the causeway for the Ultimate cause

www.warwicksingsoc.com

[email protected]

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

Monopoly Deal

1st - UCL 2

2nd - UCL 3

3rd - Imperial 2

Scrabble

1st - UCL 2

2nd - Warwick 1

3rd - UCL 1

OVERALL

1st - UCL

2nd - Manchester

3rd - Warwick

Laura Oh

community autumn issue (sept 2014)

Documents

warwick orientation

community autumn

new sports

camp schedule

inclusive community

new homes

new places

new chapter