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Donning a hip-looking belt made of ang pows, a Malay boy sashayed
in front of his group mates, who were beaming with pride at
their joint creation. At another corner, a Chinese girl was
weaving a garland, engrossed in her first foray into Indian
handicrafts.
These were just some of the fun-filled activities organised
for 285 students from all 13 schools in the West 4 (W4) Cluster.
It was the first-ever mega project organised by the W4 National
Education (NE) Committee from 30 to 31 May 2005 at Keming Primary.
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| Experiencing
a traditional Malay way of life — fishing
for a living. |
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With the theme of “cultivating national unity and student leadership
through National Education and Innovation
and Enterprise activities”, students were exposed to the
cultures of other races through interactive games and quizzes.
They also forged stronger bonds with cluster school mates by
participating in obstacle courses together and putting up skits
that conveyed the ideals of racial harmony during the grand
finale.
The W4 NE Committee, led by Mrs Tonnine Chua, Vice-Principal
of Hong Kah Secondary, had gone to great lengths to ensure that
each group had a fair mix of students from the various schools
and races.
We want to move away from mere tolerance of other races, to
appreciation, and then to acceptance,” professed Mrs Chua.
Mrs Chua’s wishes have certainly come true as far as Lee Mui
Wei was concerned. The Sec 2 group leader from Hong Kah Secondary
shared, “It has been a fresh experience interacting with students
from other schools and races. Communication has made us understand
each other better and we have developed strong friendships.”
Harmony of another form was evident among teachers as well.
“Planning for this large-scale project has been underway since
December 2004 and the camaraderie was evident from the start.
Although the coordination has been difficult, I appreciate the
teachers’ efforts” added Mrs Chua.
To maximise the skills and knowledge they have learnt, students
will assist their own schools in project planning. Group leaders
will share their leadership experience with Sec 1 students to
groom another generation of leaders. For a start, students from
Hong Kah Secondary, Dachong Primary and St Anthony Primary will
be representing the W4 Cluster to organise events and participate
in the MOE Racial Harmony Day on 16 July 2005. In addition,
student leaders from Yuan Ching Secondary will be given free
rein to organise the school’s upcoming Racial Harmony Day.
Such empowerment fits nicely with the NE approach of engaging
the hearts and minds of our future leaders, a vision shared
by the W4 NE Committee.
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