NHSS 88th Anniversary Dinner cum Official Opening of New School Campus
I woke up at 11.39am this morning and had lunch. Seriously. Then headed to Westmall Popular to get a copy of the Half-Blood Prince (albeit the children's edition; the adult's edition was reserved for those who pre-ordered) and had a hair cut at a neighbourhood barber.
I then changed into formal wear for the NHSS 88th Anniversary Dinner (long-sleeved white shirt, black T-shirt inside and beige pants). Boarding the bus to Clementi MRT Station with me was Juliet, and on the bus already was Zhi Yuan (near the back door of the bus) and a sleeping Chii Yeh (back of the bus). We were heading to Clementi MRT Station to meet with the other 4o1ers who were also going. Once most of us were here, we walked to the school.
After signing the canvas sheets for guests (acting like guestbooks) and passing through security checks, we came to our tables. Tables 89 and 90 were next to each other, while some of us got Table 101, which was separated from us by a few giant lanterns. There were two dining areas: the Hall was where the Guest-of-Honour, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, and other VIPs would be dining, while the Parade Square was for the others, which included past and current students. In the Parade Square, the tables were arranged such that they make the numbers 88, with lanterns in the holes of the figure '8' and a small stage between the two numbers.
We had a bit of wait before a few performances by the Harb Ensemble, drums section of the Chinese Orchestra and the Symphonic Band. After that, PM Lee arrived, his car escorted by two others, and he, together with Principal Foo Suan Fong, walked towards the centre stage to officially declare the new mascot of NHSS. Since I was seated between the stage and the flagpole, I could see what the mascot was already: a yellow figure with some sort of an inverted comma for its head; kinda like the Pokemon Makuhita (go check it yourself!). The life-size mascot was like balloons filled with air and the poor little person holding the mascot up had to be escorted up the steps of the stage with much difficulty. That one looked horrendous; the drawn version looks cuter. Students representing different groups of the school held placards showing the mascot specialising in their corresponding areas.
The whole group then headed to the Hall for a few speeches and PM Lee signing on the school plaque to signify the official opening of the school campus. After his speech, we began the 9-course dinner. There was a cold dish, shark's fin, ginseng chicken, red snapper, fried yam paste with duck, mushroom in abalone sauce, rice wrapped in some kind of leaves (forgot what), prawns (which I didn't eat thanks to some photo-taking; well, I wasn't into de-shelling prawns anyway) and fruit pudding. A splendid meal, but perhaps the air in my stomach sort of reduced the amount I could eat.
Some of the best things about the event were the performances and the lighting. Ther performances reminded me of the 117th IOC Session Opening Ceremony in Singapore. The first act, sticking to the theme of Oriental Splendour, was carefully planned. On the forefront, performing were the Dance Society, members of the Calligraphy Society, the Guzheng Ensemble and the er-hu genius (according to Ms Wassan, he was only Secondary 1). The backdrop was highlighted with excellent lighting work and tall bamboos (with leaves). The second act was a purely Dance number, but it was equally enjoyable.
The lighting and visual effects were also done spectacularly. In the Parade Square, light which changed colours were installed around Level 2 shining down, while the visual effects projectors (the type you see in the MediaCorp Studios shows like Project Superstar and the charity shows) were used in the Hall to give the performances a magical makeover. And because the backwall of the stage was white, the visual effects worked very well. The school spent more than $40,000 on all these stuff, and I must say it was well used. They sure pulled out all the stops on this opening ceremony.
There were also quite a number of photos taken. I took pictures with the Exco, with some members of the Piranha group (from the Leadership Camp a year ago) and of course, with my class. We left the place at about 10.15pm, having thoroughly enjoyed the event.
I then changed into formal wear for the NHSS 88th Anniversary Dinner (long-sleeved white shirt, black T-shirt inside and beige pants). Boarding the bus to Clementi MRT Station with me was Juliet, and on the bus already was Zhi Yuan (near the back door of the bus) and a sleeping Chii Yeh (back of the bus). We were heading to Clementi MRT Station to meet with the other 4o1ers who were also going. Once most of us were here, we walked to the school.
After signing the canvas sheets for guests (acting like guestbooks) and passing through security checks, we came to our tables. Tables 89 and 90 were next to each other, while some of us got Table 101, which was separated from us by a few giant lanterns. There were two dining areas: the Hall was where the Guest-of-Honour, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, and other VIPs would be dining, while the Parade Square was for the others, which included past and current students. In the Parade Square, the tables were arranged such that they make the numbers 88, with lanterns in the holes of the figure '8' and a small stage between the two numbers.
We had a bit of wait before a few performances by the Harb Ensemble, drums section of the Chinese Orchestra and the Symphonic Band. After that, PM Lee arrived, his car escorted by two others, and he, together with Principal Foo Suan Fong, walked towards the centre stage to officially declare the new mascot of NHSS. Since I was seated between the stage and the flagpole, I could see what the mascot was already: a yellow figure with some sort of an inverted comma for its head; kinda like the Pokemon Makuhita (go check it yourself!). The life-size mascot was like balloons filled with air and the poor little person holding the mascot up had to be escorted up the steps of the stage with much difficulty. That one looked horrendous; the drawn version looks cuter. Students representing different groups of the school held placards showing the mascot specialising in their corresponding areas.
The whole group then headed to the Hall for a few speeches and PM Lee signing on the school plaque to signify the official opening of the school campus. After his speech, we began the 9-course dinner. There was a cold dish, shark's fin, ginseng chicken, red snapper, fried yam paste with duck, mushroom in abalone sauce, rice wrapped in some kind of leaves (forgot what), prawns (which I didn't eat thanks to some photo-taking; well, I wasn't into de-shelling prawns anyway) and fruit pudding. A splendid meal, but perhaps the air in my stomach sort of reduced the amount I could eat.
Some of the best things about the event were the performances and the lighting. Ther performances reminded me of the 117th IOC Session Opening Ceremony in Singapore. The first act, sticking to the theme of Oriental Splendour, was carefully planned. On the forefront, performing were the Dance Society, members of the Calligraphy Society, the Guzheng Ensemble and the er-hu genius (according to Ms Wassan, he was only Secondary 1). The backdrop was highlighted with excellent lighting work and tall bamboos (with leaves). The second act was a purely Dance number, but it was equally enjoyable.
The lighting and visual effects were also done spectacularly. In the Parade Square, light which changed colours were installed around Level 2 shining down, while the visual effects projectors (the type you see in the MediaCorp Studios shows like Project Superstar and the charity shows) were used in the Hall to give the performances a magical makeover. And because the backwall of the stage was white, the visual effects worked very well. The school spent more than $40,000 on all these stuff, and I must say it was well used. They sure pulled out all the stops on this opening ceremony.
There were also quite a number of photos taken. I took pictures with the Exco, with some members of the Piranha group (from the Leadership Camp a year ago) and of course, with my class. We left the place at about 10.15pm, having thoroughly enjoyed the event.
yours truly, tobias at 11:37 pm
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