so it seems that i have not updated my blog in quite a while. well, actually, i have, but they are all saved as drafts... my musings about issues close to my heart.. all never to be published, never to see the light of day.
this post is dedicated to my four years in River Valley High School...
back then in primary school, like everyone my calibre (i was among the top students back then), i wanted to go to RI. of course, when reality check stepped in in primary 6... i could have entered chinese high but guess mum was uncomfortable with the idea of me going to an all-boys school. so i chose RV, and got in quite comfortably.
i can still remember my first day in RV. i still remember how unfamiliar i felt, and on hindsight, having known the school building for a whopping 8 years (till it was torn down last year), how much of a greenhorn i must have been then. but well everyone goes through this stage i guess...
i can still remember that on the first day of school in 1997, my school uniform was not ready yet. so i wore my Pei Hwa uniform for the very last time... And i remember how i was very curious about the different levels of insignias worn by the student councillors... and how to put on the buttons for the uniform. (As they still are, the school uses metal buttons which are to be held in place by a small metal ring. Of course, now the school uniform has changed supplier (and hence quality.. which sadly meant that it looks less smart now.)
The school song was in chinese, just like my primary school song... and I had two of my primary school classmates who followed me up to my secondary 1 and 2 class.
Of course, the highlight of my secondary school life was joining St John Ambulance Brigade, a whole post of which shall be dedicated to that.
In sec 1 we were supposed to have swimming lessons at Pandan Swimming Complex (i think it's closed down by now, anyway)... and i couldn't forget the technical lessons in 1st semester and home econs lessons in the 2nd. (apparently now it has changed to technical in sec1 and home econs in sec2... well much better..) the art lessons also.. back then they were conducted by this guy who was rumored to be a certified artist. After school activities were fun too, and it was during that time that I really got into computer stuff, Internet, e-mailing and all that. I ever set up a homepage on Angelfire and another on Geocities... but obviously both are defunct by now...
My first two years were very enjoyable years of learning subjects across a large spectrum of disciplines, ranging from art to literature to maths and sciences. But i regret not spending enough time on my maths and sciences, because...
When the time came to opt for subject combination, i opted for triple science and geography, which i was assigned. Back then, the system in RV meant that it was compulsory for every upper sec pupil to do english, higher chinese, pure physics, pure chemistry, E and A maths, and two other subjects of his or her choice. Choices included English Lit, Chinese Lit, History, Geography and those good in the maths and sciences can take Biology... together with the criteria of average of A2 overall to do 9 subjects. Well i didn't get A2 overall, but I could still do 8 subjects which meant triple science and geography. My maths and science were just a few marks below A2.
I was supposed to be in 3D'99... then the fateful day came that Mdm Teo, the then HOD of Maths called me and said that due to my maths results, i am not qualified to do biology. after some negotiation, i was reassigned to English Lit and Geography (Sec 3K.) Later i was to realise that 3C was a class purely meant for PRC students, and everyone did triple science together with C Lit and something else. Of course, the maximum class size was 36, and that meant that some more had to spill over to 3D. I may have mentioned this in an earlier blog post - they took out some local students, and yours truly was one of them.
Now i regret playing too much during my secondary school days, spending too much time on SJAB and unhelpful activities, but anyway what's done is done... I will never know if i would have went into medicine or life sciences, or perhaps chem or bio engineering, if i had stayed with triple science.
In sec 3 i did the unthinkable, at least in a chinese school context. I volunteered to take on the role of class chairperson. Obviously, that was an unpopular decision as I was soon met with resistance from every quarter of the class. And I need not mention the vulgar references to myself on freevote.com, back then the avenue for venting frustations / opinions / etc. I survived long enough in the post, before i was finally removed halfway through my term... and that earned me a reputation in the whole school.. notwithstanding the fact that i was only one of two boys in SJAB. But I can boldly look back at those 6 months in my life. Uncomfortable and trying a period that was. But I am glad I went through it. It played a part in my personal development. Even my mother commented that before i took up the position, i was quiet, introverted and reserved. But i became more outspoken after i assumed the post.
And back then, I was nominated for the post of a student councillor, which i was really enthusiastic about. But in the end, I did not get it. I was devastated. But life still had to go on... and i went on to sec4.
perhaps i should note something interesting here... except for sec1, each year i ended the year as the class Pupil Service Head. A LOBO post. I wasn't surprised when i returned for relief teaching that it had been scrapped. Much better for one of the reps (IRP rep, Green rep, etc) to concurrently hold the head position. in sec2, i continued with my post of history/geography rep, which i wanted to step down from. and finally i managed to. sec3, i already mentioned that i was chairperson, and became pupil service head after that. well for sec4, i just assumed pupil service head. probably my classmates already felt it was a LOBO post, so they didn't really object to it. but i was aware anyway that i was the prima donna that they disliked. but it was because my outlook and way of doing things was really incompatible with the culture in RV. And i've learnt that people normally do not like others who are different from them. But that's been covered before anyway...
I remember that i was the only one that year to attain the National Youth Achievement Award (NYAA) Silver. To this day I still wear the badge on my SJAB uniform. I've applied for Gold, and am working on it, but I do not know if I will complete it before I reach 25...
Might i add that in sec3, my class was taught by a slew of relief / contract teachers for physics. As a result, our grades were not so good. Then, after the end of year exams, to our horror back then Mrs Lee Lee Mui was deployed to teach us. She pushed us very hard, to our limits even, but I wound up getting an A1 for Physics, and i attribute this to her... So RV students reading this, yes you may hate her like anything but in the end, you will be grateful to her. Just adopt the right attitude...
