City College is proud to celebrate the results of our students’ performance at the 2011 GCE ‘O’ Level Examinations.

We had the best overall performance to date, with 95% of our students obtaining their certificate. This is higher than the national average (89.5%) and our performance for last year (89.5%). 

Heartiest congratulations goes out to our top students this year:

1. Emmanuel Benedict – 3 distinctions, 11 points
2. Roy Neo & Uzen Tan – 2 distinctions, 13 points

We also extend our congratulations to Nicholas Lin and Cheri Ng for scoring 2 distinctions as well!

The latest issue of our student-produced magazine features more articles on topics of the students' choosing. They wrote about movies they had seen and wanted to recommend, products that they liked, books that they had read, and so on. As they picked up language skills in their English class, they applied their newfound writing skills with the CSE magazine.

This unit in their English classes had a greater emphasis on writing skills. Thus, the amount of content is much higher than the first issue, as is the quality of their writing. Have a read, and enjoy!

-Ms Meiling 

Students of our intensive English course, Certificate in Standard English 1, were tasked to create a class magazine with articles written entirely by them. The first magazine was a big hit: as our students explored pop culture with movies, stories, video games, and so on, they did independent research and wrote a series of articles and reviews for the magazine.

The magazine traces the development of their language, as the articles have been arranged chronologically in the production -- as students progressed through the course and their language developed, they were able to tackle and produce much more difficult language, and thus created higher quality work towards the end.

My hope is them to produce an issue of the magazine every month, so ideally you’ll be seeing another issue in November.

Stay tuned!

- Ms. Meiling

The atmosphere that permeates City College is the result of the careful cultivation of a positive culture and environment for learning to take place. We have just released posters with the defining tenets. Click on the respective poster to save a copy!

City College organised a learning forum to discuss, explore and debate what a learning culture is like, and ought to be. Held in March 2011, the forum saw both teachers as well as individuals interested in discussing active learning.

Each Saturday morning, participants would gather to listen to speakers such as Dr. Anthony Loh, a retired principal and adjunct NIE lecturer, ASEAN youth ambassador Glenn Lim, Kenny Low, City College CEO and Koh Chye Soon, principal of City College.

“The educators imparted their wealth of knowledge and experience to the participants in a fun-filled and light-hearted way,” commented Gloria Gerrard, “and provided much insight into the role of an educator.”

Covering topics such as how neuroscience affects the way we live and learn, to discipline and classroom management, the development of a learning model, and more, it proved to be an eye-opening experience for several.

“The greatest challenge that an educator faces,” shared Dr. Loh, “is to help the students ‘want’ to learn. As teachers, we may have the best ‘knowledge’ and ‘skills’, but without the true values in our heart, we won’t find much satisfaction in our vocation.”

“We need to reach for the heart before we reach for the head.”

The point resonated with participant Claria Lim, who noted that Chemistry teacher Selena See had also emphasised the importance of connecting with the heart.

“The forum taught me the importance of communicating from the heart, and the importance of allowing students the freedom to try and learn,” said Claria Lim.

Forum participant Michael Wong found the overall experience ‘excellent’. “All the speakers have so much depth that I can’t grasp everything all at once,” he remarked. “I’ll probably have to go back and look through my notes again!”

City College would like to thank all speakers and participants for making CCF 2011 a success!

Someone once told me that carnivals were meant solely for children, but after participating in City College’s Carnival 2010, I knew straight away that somebody was wrong. 

Held on December 10 and 11, the event was organized and run by the staff and students of the school itself to help raise funds for the school’s bursary funds. Based on the theme “Around The World”, the event showcased many items such as an African themed section of game stalls, a Taiwan Shilin food market, Galerie de Photographie (a photo gallery) as well as the infamous UK Boarding School, a twist in the ever-popular Haunted House. 

I was given the opportunity to help prepare for the carnival, to make sure everything would be ready for the actual days of the event. The teachers guided me through the game stalls and what equipment was needed to make them, as well as gave me a rundown on how the haunted house was to be set-up. I was very impressed at the ideas that the students had come up with for the haunted house, everything from the “scare-factor” to the music. I did a quick maintenance check of the entire Haunted House with the lights on and if that was enough to send chills down my spine, then I am sure that the actual Haunted House with all the lights off would have been a suspenseful thrill. 

My family also tagged along for the event, and they had a really fun time playing games such as Tic-Tac-Toss, which was a variation of the classic game of Tic-Tac-Toe. It was so much fun because we had a chance to let loose and just have fun while others were having fun as well. 

We had our caricatures drawn by an amazing caricaturist, and they turned out perfect. I headed to Level 3 where the photo gallery was held. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw so many lovely photographs that were taken by the teachers and students of the school. We ended up buying a lovely photograph by Mr. David, a chemistry teacher in the school, and we also had our pictures taken “studio-style”. 

Overall, City College Carnival 2010 was an amazing experience. I enjoyed myself to a point that I had completely forgotten that I was in school. Now that’s something I never thought I’d say, ha-ha. I am sure that the next carnival will be just as, if not twice as good as this one. After all, it is only the school’s 2nd carnival so far. 

And you know what they say, “Third Time’s The Charm…” 

Joey Teo, Class 2-2A

*This blog post was published in the February 2011 edition of the school newsletter. Please click here to access all our newsletters.

Hi everyone,

We're going to celebrate the end of school year 2010 with the City College Party. It's a chance for the whole family of City College, past and present, staff and students, to remember each other, and the times they had at City College. 

This year, we're having a small celebration where we're limiting space to 150 tickets, so that the event is cosy and warm. It will be held in school (where else?) and we're expecting a slew of great moments, programme and dinner to commemorate what will be, an annual event. Look forward to facebook dedications in real time, professional photography, limited editions posters for those who will be there, lucky draws, special performances by teachers and students, and words from individuals who have made a difference or felt a difference by being at City College. 

My heart for those who are there: You will be genuinely loved and remember what makes City College so special - the bond that turns a school into a family, because each person (especially you!) matters.

Ms Dawn

*Note: Event photos are now available! Click here to view the photo montage.

This Mid-Autumn Festival left a deep impression on me as I spent a wonderful time with my teachers and classmates in a celebration party on 22 September 2010.

We started off by playing “Human Bingo” with the teachers. Ms. Jelaine gave us a piece of paper that was filled with personal questions (like “Who can speak more than 2 languages?”). We were supposed to find a person who was able to answer the question, and have the person sign it.

The aim of the game was to complete the “Bingo” board as quickly as possible. Immediately everyone began asking each other questions to solve it. Through this game we got to know each other better. Suddenly, the frigid atmosphere became festive.

The second game we played was to blow out as many candles as possible. The candles were placed in a straight line on the table. I thought that it was easy! My friend Lele went up first, took a deep breath, and tried to blow out the candles. To my surprise, none of the candles were extinguished at all! Others burst out laughing as the hilarity of the situation struck them. 

The following students also did not do very well as the best record saw only three candles being blown out. Dylan, who is a Malaysian student, later managed to blow out all of the candles successfully. Everyone marvelled at his performance. We were stunned by his amazing breathing capacity. My eyes almost popped out in amazement as nobody was able to do that. He was grinning from ear to ear, and clearly on cloud nine as we gave him a warm round of applause.

Once the games were over, we could eat dinner and take whatever food we wanted. There were many different kinds of foods, such as chicken wings, sausages, noodles, and mooncakes to name but a few. Some of them were in charge of the barbeque, helping to roast the meat and delivering the food to the function room where the party was held.

Other students participated in a guessing game that consisted of riddles hung at the lanterns around the room. After a while the students began a heated discussion attempting to solve the riddles. The rest of the people were chatting with others and taking photos. The festive atmosphere was infectious!

I had the honour of cooking dessert for my dear teachers and classmates. When they tasted it, my heart was in my mouth as I didn’t know whether they would like it or not. In the end, all of them commended my cooking. I was speechless with joy.

It was my first time celebrating the festival with teachers and classmates. I enjoyed the day a lot. In China, the Mid-Autumn Festival is the time when the whole family should get together. Even though I could not go back to China and celebrate it with my parents, the school is just like a big family. I didn’t feel lonely at all, thanks to my school and friends who were at such a wonderful party.

Angela Gu, Class 1-E

i-Invent is one of the physics projects we had in school. We were separated into groups of three and were told to come out with a totally new product to make life easier for a particular group of people, or anyone in general.

After much thought, my group came out with a product called 'The Convenient Jam Jar'. Simply put, it features a plastic knife attached to the the lid of a glass jar so that the user will not have to use other utensils to scoop out the jam (or any sort of spread) and spread it onto the bread. It also comes with different jar sizes, with the small one being able to be brought out for a picnic.

Groupmates with the Jam Jar (L) and presenting a live demonstration (R).

At the end of the project, we had to present our product before our teachers, classmates and a panel of judges who would present a prize to the top invention. This has allowed most of us to overcome the fear of coming up to stage to speak to an audience, which was really helpful. The project has taught me how to manage my time better and to work with my team. Although we did not win, it helped us to think out-of-the-box and gave us a chance to show our creativity!

Cheri Ng, Class 2-2A

City College focuses on providing students with an engaging curriculum that is made relevant to real life. The lessons were brought to life last month in an entrepreneurship venture. Students from Class 2-2A set up shop at the Pop and Talent Hub (PaTH) Market within Vivo City and sold items like photo books and bejewelled handphone cases, with the proceeds going towards charity.

The experience was further enhanced with the Entrepreneurship Forum organized by, Ms. Clara, our Faculty Head (Languages), together with Class 2-1A and 2-1B. Held from May 13 to 14, it was also attended by students from Assumption English School. The students listened to speakers such as Mr. Bernie Utchenik (owner of Botak Jones food outlets) and young entrepreneurs such as Ms. Priscilla Lim and Mr. Ee Boon Kiat as they shared both their success and failure stories.

Read more about our events in the City College newsletter! You can also view a montage of the photos taken during the Forum here.

Our visit to Green School in Bali, Indonesia, during our staff retreat earlier this month was a mind-blowing experience for me. More than the physical structure of the school, built wholly from bamboo, it was the vision of the founder that truly amazed me - "delivering a generation of global citizens who are knowledgeable about and inspired to take responsibility for the sustainability of the world" (as quoted from the school's website).

The resourcefulness and creativity of the entire project were as impressive - using the area's natural materials and traditional craftmaking skills to build a school of that size. One lesson I took home was that we should always capitalise on our own strengths and explore all possibilities without compromising on our standards.

As a teacher, I am provoked by the way teaching is carried out at Green School. In an environment of sustainability, the teachers there look to nature for ideas and resources. There is a constant challenge to innovate and to improve one’s pedagogy in order to bring a totally new learning experience to the classroom and beyond, something fun and enriching for the students. Our visit to Green School was an inspiration to continually improve myself and increase my own capacity. The sky literally is the limit!

Ms. Joli

Our most recent trip took seven of our students and two alumni to the Hagar Community Learning Centre (CLC) in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, to help rebuild a small school and interact with the local students and teachers.

The YEP team spent two weeks in November with 30 students from the Hagar CLC. The team ran ice-breaking and team-bonding games at the school, taking turns as game masters, and facilitated music and English lessons. We also produced an instructional video to help the teachers and students of the Hagar CLC hone their percussion skills.

To ensure we had everything covered before our visit, we thought through as much of the details of the programme as we could, from the form and logistics of the games to the content and instruments of the lessons. Besides raising funds to support the trip and learning about the culture of Cambodians, we also polished our percussion skills to make sure we were ready to share our talents with the students there.

The project was a great platform for our team to interact with the Hagar school community and nurtured mutual understanding even if we were there for just a short time. On top of that, those of us who had never led such a large group before this trip came back to Singapore with increased personal confidence.

Ms. Jasmine

The biggest party of 2009 for City College gave good reason for our students and teachers to let their hair down after a year of hard work and brought past graduates back to join in the celebration.

The Hollywood theme really set the mood, giving everyone a chance to feel like their favourite pop stars and movie characters for a night. The most interesting costumes included a Michael Jackson, complete with one white-gloved hand, a J-pop star, a vampire (Edward Cullen from the Twilight saga), and an Elvira, one of the most popular Halloween icons ever.

The evening's highlights were an ice-breaker game of human bingo, a guess-the-teacher PowerPoint quiz, and a pageant in which Emmanuel Cheong and Huiling Yao won the Mr and Ms Charisma titles and Glen Chia and Nur Diyanah Bte Husin made it as Mr and Ms Hollywood.

Kudos to our organising committee, consisting of six students and three teachers. They generated a lot of pre-event buzz with a blog, FaceBook posts, and flyers and posters in school. They planned a seriously fun programme, set up the equipment and decor, and even convinced department store chain Watson's, Singapore's National Youth Council and a local fashion boutique to sponsor the prizes and goodie bags.

The result? A night that will not soon be forgotten. Check out the photos here!