Thursday, November 25, 2010

NYP in Action for the Community Party for Senior Citizens 2010

By second-year Diploma in Molecular Biology Student Tan Kiat Yi.

They came, sang and danced and played games - more than 480 senior citizens from nine constituencies had a fun-filled day at special party at Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP). The party held on Saturday 23 October was jointly organized with the Lions Befrienders Service Association as part of “NYP in Action for the Community” initiative. The initiative aims to raise awareness of community involvement among NYP’s staff and students, as well as inculcate in them a spirit of care and giving to the community at large.

NYP’s School of Chemical & Life Sciences took the lead this year with the help of 63 staff and 216 students from across NYP.

The party started at 9 am when busloads of senior citizens arrived from all over Singapore. They received a grand welcome as students lined the canteen clapping and cheering as they proceeded to their seats. They each received a goodie bag containing a bottle of water, biscuits, packs of tissue and a foldable fan.

Highlights of the day included the following games:

  • “Guess the Song” where participants had to guess the title of songs based on a song snippet.
  • “Jigsaw Puzzle”, where seniors had to work together in groups to solve challenging jigsaw puzzle.
  • “Musical Beach Ball” a modified version of musical chairs, where instead of chairs, a beach ball was passed around.

The real fun, however, began when some seniors went up on stage to sing all-time favorite hits such as “The moon represents my heart” by Teresa Teng. Many of them were deeply immersed in the music, going up on stage for solos and duets. Some of them even went on stage to dance the Macarena! They were also treated to songs sung by Dr Joel Lee, Director of the School of Chemical and Life Sciences (SCL (LS)), Dr Lee’s effort garnered much applause.

It was a fun-filled day with activities and entertainment for all participants, and they left with smiles on their faces.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Awakening Experience in Cambodia

Nabilah Noordin, a first year, Diploma in Molecular Biotechnology student together with 14 others went on a 17-day Youth Expedition Project to Cambodia recently.

The 17-day expedition include upgrading works and teaching basic English at the Andong Village Primary School, in Phnom Penh and the Boys Brigade Learning Centre in Siam Reap.

Here are snapshots of their journey.