Awards Day 2007 - Guest Post By Arthur Lee

Awards Day 2007- How a graduate sees it

It was just yet another Awards Day. But this time, it's different for me. It was from the perspective of a graduate. Screened in the hall was the CCA Passing Out Parade. It came with the usual glamour and what not, fit for a parade as the name suggests. There was also the Student Council Investiture. It showcased the EXCO committee for that year and the new
student counsellors that were stepping up. Many new faces waiting for their leadership skills to brought to be an all new level. I bet being a student counsellor would be tough with all the meetings and administrative work. I myself had never been a student counsellor and never wanted to. It's just way too stressful. But i respect the people who take up these roles as
student counsellors as they could possibly compromise their academic studies and their social life. With great power comes great responsibility. However, there is often a debate regarding the selection of these student counsellors from the view of an average student. Who should get selected and who should not. Some student counsellors are "forced" into the student
council unwillingly. With that, i am referring to my own classmates. I wonder how's it like now. On the other hand, there are some people who have yet to hit the standard they should behave yet they are given the clout. Look at it from the positive side. Maybe it's just to give them a chance to behave even better and to give them a chance. Isn't that great? Just some
food for thought. Despite that, the school still managed to run smoothly with some stumbling here and there. But what's learning without mistakes, right?

There was the NYAA Awards Ceremony. Many students from Westwood had received this prestigious award. It was made compulsory for all students to take the Bronze Award starting from the cohort of Secondary 2's in the year. It is indeed something that we should celebrate. Each year, the class would send a representative to the event to collect the award on behalf of the class. It is quite a pity that not every single person can enjoy the glamour
of receiving the award from a Minister. But, there is still a certain element of glamour in receiving it during the Awards Day. For all these, we should thank Mr Neo Beng Seng, the Coordinator for NYAA for his hard work and dedication. Back at the graduates' seats, the seniors were talking about the juniors. Hehe. Ever wondered what your seniors thought about you? Haha. Some food for thought.

An Awards day without celebrating the Academic success of the pupils would not be called an Awards Day. The top few students of each cohort received their awards in recognition of their academic success. Three cheers for these people! There was a Valedictorian speech by Kian Boon as you all know him, the Scrabble King. It was indeed an interesting speech to listen to. The juniors out there must be thinking it's boring though. It only makes meaning
to you if you experienced what the Valedictorian himself was talking about which i experienced first hand. I shall let all of you in on a secret. The Valedictorian hit me before he went up onto the stage because he was too nervous. Hohoho...Can you imagine that? Kian Boon being nervous? Heh. I bet you've never seen that side of him. Behind the scenes before and after the
Secondary 4's took their award were the photograph taking sessions. Gotta thank Ms Joy Chen, our photographer for that. I shall send these photos to Jeremy when i get hold of these for all you people to look at. Your turn would come soon though.

After the Awards Day, the graduands were dismissed together with the teachers while the rest of the students were asked to stay back. I was down at the Cafeteria at the VIP table with the Principal,Vice Principal, Guest of Honour and a few other people. It was indeed an interesting experience. There was some talk about the school and some future plans. The juniors back
in the hall were probably given a good earful and a piece of the Discipline Committee's mind. I can understand that pain that they go through. It happens often after formal events. There are exceptions where the school would be praised and released early though instead of being kept back. I gotta say, you guys need to work harder on your performance for events like
this!

Ever imagined having a casual dinner with a group of teachers? Haha. I experienced that. I have had quite a few lunches and dinners with my teachers before but the one on the Awards Day was slightly different though. Marcus,Kian Boon,myself,De xian,Jia Jun and Chee lup invited the teachers for dinner at Pizza Hut.I think some Westwoodians saw us and the teachers
decided to get a table inside in order to prevent being harassed and have a good dinner. Ha! De xian,Jia Jun and Chee lup didn't turn up though. Do any of these names sound familiar to you? The teachers that turned up were Miss Gay, Mrs Melissa Tan, Ms Joy Chen, Ms Lim Chiau Li and Ms Sim(Also known as Mrs thio but i prefer calling her Ms Sim).We had dinner and some gossip talk about teachers and also students there. When you are in secondary 4, usually
you would get to hear a lot of rumours about both teachers and students if you have a close relationship with your teachers. It was the case for me, at least. Never imagined the gossips the teacher would talk about huh? Haha... i tell you, it's interesting.

For those of you who don't know me, don't worry if you are a secondary 4. Some of the seniors including myself would be coming back to tutor the graduating classes in Additional Mathematics and Chemistry by the request of our Westwood teachers. We could possibly be starting a Debating Society in Westwood too! I have spoken to Mr Johnny Ang. He said he has plans to make Language a niche area in Westwood. Good news for all of us? Heh. Another
achievement to come in time. Till then!

Background Information : The author of this post was an Ex-Westwoodian from class 4G who graduated in the year 2006 currently schooling in Jurong Junior College. The author has a personal blog which is updated regularly at http://www.arthurlgh.blogspot.com/