Freshman Orientation (Day 1)

The day that I had been waiting for finally arrived! That was the day that saw us having a seemingly strong connection between the synergy leaders and the freshmen. As usual, the first part of the activity that is to welcome the newcomers to our school and subsequently our course was sort of a kickstart that kept the ball rolling.

My partner, the enthusiastic Teck Chuan, & I were given a responsibility of taking charge of the class 1E05. There was the angelic Jolene, the early bird. Then there was the energetic Shaun, perhaps the most hyperactive guy in the class. Others include Gerald the dragonboater, Shafira, who was from the same school as mine, Felice the soft-spoken lad and China-originated Wen Di and Li Ling. One word to describe the atmosphere at TCC: A-W-E-S-O-M-E~. Being a rookie SL was no easy job, especially if you want to influence your class to cheer loudly. At first, the freshmen were quite dead but they got that tempo that we wanted them to be in eventually. The synergy leaders, on the other hand, were as rapturous as ever.

We then led our respective classes to the concourse level of Business School where we played games that we hoped to keep them awake. However, they did not seem to acknowledge our presence and we were somehow at a loss albeit we tried communicating with them with random topics. To make matters worse, my partner was always getting involved with other imperative matters and I was left alone with my class at that period of time.

Performing the 7 wonders~

From left: Jing Ren, Joel, John, me

Joseph & Shaun, how romantic:)

It took me some time to think of ways of cheering them up. Eventually, I took the initiative of teaching them simple but meaningful games like 'Concentration' and 'Go Back Jump'. At that moment, they began to acknowledge my presence and and I was practically pleased with them. However, that was not good enough as they still refuse to their new classmates. Shy, perhaps? We were once in that situation when we were freshmen and strongly knew how they all felt...doubtful of starting conversations...not enthusiastic about the camp & so on(some even asked me when was the dismissal time and THAT REALLY GOT MY KNICKERS IN A TWIST!).

We then proceeded to LT 20 where we played games which involved the battle of the sexes. Oh but before that, our course's synergy leaders were asked to gather to meet Johan...it was not a scolding...but a firm talk that would trigger us to change for the better. That was our turning point. We showed more pride in handling the various tasks and took the initiative to approach our DHLs (Diploma Head Leaders) whenever we were in doubt, depending on the situation.

We then proceeded to a classroom on the fifth level of Business School where we taught our freshmen TP's very own unique mass dance. We really had a whale of a time and we could see that most of them were enjoying themselves, without showing signs of boredom or lethargy...ALL THANKS TO 'PROFESSIONAL INSTRUCTOR' YOKE TING as well as the other SLs who were doing their part in both participating in the dance and correcting their mistakes.

We then gathered at the school stadium where we formed the number 20 at the centre of the stadium which marked our school's 20th anniversary since its grand opening in 1990. Sweet! The day which once dawned bright on us was beginning to fade as the evening sun's throne took over its place. We then gathered our freshmen to the sports hall to collect their business school t-shirts followed by a short debrief by our DHL. That was only the start of a beginning...AND I THINK I DID QUITE A GOOD JOB ON THE FIRST DAY BUT IT WAS JUST NOT GOOD ENOUGH!!! WHAT NOW? SAVING MY ENERGY AND VOICE FOR TMR, OF COURSE!!! VIVA LA BUSINESS!!!!!