Jessie

To keep or not to keep

I agree that Botanical Gardens should be preserved. Botanical Garden has many memories in it, I went there when I was only 7, it has my memories in it, although people come Ang go, memories still stay. I think that this site should stay like how our memories stay. From the Tourism Board perspective, many tourists would come and visit this site, so many people would visit.

My China Buddy

Being the only child in the family, I think my buddy would be less talkative and less sociable, as they do not have siblings to talk to at home, so they might feel very uncomfortable talking to others, especially a stranger like me. So I hope that with my cheerful attitude, I might get my buddy to open up, so that we can have many conversations and have a fun time together. Though I am quite worried I might not be able to understand their fast way of talking and their accent. Even so, I hope that we can become good friends.

3-2-1 Reflection

3 Things I found out:

- The One Child Policy in China caused women to abort their child if it was a girl, the reason is that boys can continue the family while girls have to leave their homes when married, which caused the country to have a lot more boys than girls due to the favouring of boys.

- Both Singapore and China faced the problem of an aging population eventually after the implementation of the Two Child and One Child Policies

- The One Child Policy in China have caused many women to go through painful abortions if they had more than one child, if not, the government would go after them.

2 Perceptions I have gained:

- I think that it is very sad that women in China have to abort their child if they had more than one.

- I think that the women in China do not deserve to go through such painful abortions, both mentally and physically.

1 Question I have:

- Did the government of Singapore and China knew that there would be the problem of aging population due to the One Child and Two Child Policies?

Chingay 2016 Reflection

   The original purpose of the Chingay parade was to make up for the ban of firecrackers as a result of fire hazards as this ban was viewed unfavourably since firecrackers is the most important part of Chinese New Year and one of the highlights. Some people felt that the ban would result in a much dampened festival mood for the Chinese New Year period. Therefore, in order to bring back some cheer to the general public, a street parade was organised, featuring the signature floats, acrobatic acts, lion and dragon dances, stilt walkers, and the like. This year's theme is "Lights of Legacy, Brighter Singapore 智 慧 灯 海, 璀 璨 新 加 坡”.The theme is displayed by 'LED lights' costume performers, 'LED lights' floats, dragons and birds.

   The purpose for the Chingay Parade 2016 is for us to remember the core values that have lead us to what we are today and be grateful of our past, also encouraging Singaporeans to adopt a can-do spirit and to brace ourselves and be ready for the future which would sure post many challenges along the way. The parade marks the beginning of the first year of SG100. The parade also encourages people of all ages from different races and even countries, to volunteer to participate and perform. The theme was due to inspiration was drawn from the legacy of our Founding Prime Minister, Mr Lee Kuan Yew and the values embodied by our Pioneers. It is a place where Singaporeans from diverse backgrounds will come together to celebrate core values important to Singapore. Core values such as Racial and Religious Harmony, Caring for one another, Resilience and Meritocracy, which meant that every Singaporean regardless of race or religion could take his rightful place in the Singapore story, as we take the first step towards SG100. These are the values that made us One People, One Singapore. I think the change of purpose have happened as more and more people from other religions and even countries are volunteering to participate and perform in this parade, and the need to remind ourselves to prepare for the upcoming 50 years by the floats that said "Voyage SG 100" and "Towards SG 100"

   During the Chingay, there were many performances by many different races and culture. One of the few highlights include bungee jumping, the hula-hoop dance and the drum performance. All were done in mid-air, I admire them as performing in mid-air is no mean feat. It requires certain skills and quite a lot of energy and courage. If it was me, I would not be able to do so as I am afraid of heights and do not have enough skill. Another one of the highlights were the many different floats, they were all colourful and meaningful. The floats are the ones that bring the messages across to the audience, it is short but meaningful and would not bore the people out. The designs were also very nice and creative, which would capture people's attention. It caught my attention most as it is very big, nice and with creative designs, I could understand the messages perfectly. I also admire the volunteers, both performers and participants, to bring about such a spectacular and magnificent performance, they must have put in a lot of effort, time and hard work. They must have attended many practices too. Unlike us who attended much lesser practises for RV60, they spent way more time. I admire their dedication too, volunteering for the parade while balancing it with their other works too. If it was me, I would not be able to do so as I take a lot of time to do my homework and would not have much spare time left. I can understand their dedication as this is a very important event and it is for the country which we call home.

   For the first time in Chingay’s history, the lnter-Religious Organisation (IRO) will collaborate with 30 religious groups to present an item at Chingay 2016. Called “Because We Are Different, We Are One”, this segment takes on a special meaning as  the racial and religious harmony we enjoy today was forged through trials of fire. It is something we  never take for granted. PA is therefore very happy to partner the IRO and our friends in the religious groups to reinforce this important message of mutual respect and universal brotherhood.

Chingay 2016 represents the first step towards SG100, as we celebrate the Singapore Spirit and our shared values that have transformed us from a fishing village into a modern metropolis.  We celebrate these values that have brought us this far, and will take us into the future with confidence. I think that the organizers have successfully fulfilled this purpose.

Does Rich Means Happy


Some people might think that being rich would mean being happy. However, I think that being rich does not necessarily mean being happy. Although being rich can be able to allow people to spend money without worrying about going bankrupt, I think that poor people can also live a simple and happy life too.


Being rich sometimes even comes with a condition, such as working almost every day of the week and almost the whole day. As such, most of the time had been spent working and lesser time is spent interacting with their families. I have friends who barely knows their parents, due to lack of family
time, which was very shocking to me as I cannot imagine how we would not be able to know our parents.


Singapore being a relatively prosperous country, it is definitely not a happy country. Some time ago, a survey had been conducted and results have shown that Singapore has a very low happiness compared to other countries although Singapore is richer. I think that it is due to the fact that Singaporeans spend a lot of time at work and are more tired.


I think that being able to have family time is privilege as Singaporeans are very busy and have little spare time. I think that being rich would not necessarily mean being happy as happiness cannot be bought even though lots of expensive things can.

RV60 Reflections


The RV60 performance was a meaning one, it was meant to celebrate River Valley's 60th birthday, it had meant that River Valley had pulled through those 60 years. Everyone had worked hard and made the school to what it is today and the facilities we can enjoy.


The RV60 celebration was also very fun,, although some people had complained at first, but they still did it. The RV60 practices was actually quite fun for me, I get to interact more with my CCA seniors as there were many practices. Now the students in River Valley can understand why they had put in so much efforts after seeing the fruit of their hard work which is the RV60 performance. The teachers think that the students should be more grateful but I think that they should also see it from the student's point of view and not only from their own. They can explain to the students why they had to this and convince them, so nobody would complain anymore. I think that the teachers should be less harsh on the students and not blame them so much for their complains and give longer datelines for homework as we are all very tired


I think that the celebration's performance was very rushed and we could have started preparing for it earlier and not rush all of a sudden and put a lot of stress on everyone. We could have spreader out the practices so that everyone would not be so tired.


Lastly, I think that the performance was the best. I am proud of the school and the people for being able to make this celebration a success.

Extra in the Ordinary





This is a picture of the performance held on 16th of January to celebrate River Valley High School's 60th birthday.


It might just seem to be another performance to anyone else but the students worked very hard just for this special performance, most of the students have to stay in school late to practise almost everyday. We might whine sometimes but we still gritted out teeth and did our best.


The practises for most of the students were very tough as many had to practise on the field under the very hot sun. The field was also filled with tiny gravel which hurts when it gets into your shoe and you step on them. Despite the obstacles, they had to perfect their performance. Although I was not part of those practises, I can understand how they felt as I was under the hot sun when my CCA tried to practise walking up the stage once. Under the burning hot sun, I felt like I was going to melt.


From where I was sitting to perform, I had a perfect seat to watch the a back-view performance. Even though it would have been better if I was looking from the front, but the back-view performance was very spectacular too.


Even though I am relieved RV60 practises is over, I still miss the days when we were released at 1.30pm. I think RV60 was very successful and I'm very proud to have been proud of it.

Self Introduction

My name is Jessie Ong. I am from class 2K and my index number is 6. My CCA is Chinese Orchestra and I play the bamboo flute, I love my CCA as my CCA seniors are very nice and fun to be with. My favorite colour is blue, more of sky blue than dark blue, I think the colour is very pretty. I like to read books like mystery, adventure or fantasy books, books kind of bring me into their world and I could be lost in a book for hours. I hate being disturbed when absorbed in a book. I also like to play games, like Vainglory or sometimes other computer games. I find it weird for me to like reading yet like playing games. Other than those, I also like to watch anime shows when I have the time to as the shows are very interesting, sometimes funny. I would rather the rain than the sun as it makes the perfect temperature to sleep comfortably. I am going to work hard this year and get better at my studies and my CCA. I am very excited for the upcoming OELP as I think it is going to be very fun. I hope to get to know more about my group mates and get along well.