Stepping up during a time of loosening COVID-19 restrictions, the 42nd Students’ Council aspired to reinvigorate school life and atmosphere for the student body. By engaging and empowering more student groups beyond Council, we strove to restore and reimagine the fun and vibrancy of student experiences and to build a safe, supportive and homely space in school, thereby forging a greater sense of belonging for all Rafflesians.
Special ProjectsThe 42nd Students’ Council was privileged with the significant opportunity of building up student excitement for RI’s 200th anniversary in 2023, which was a key part of our mission to foster a sense of belonging to the Raffles community. Working in tandem with the RI200 committee, our Councillors embarked on new and refreshing initiatives leading up to Founders’ Day 200, such as the RI200 Digital Challenge in which student participants came together to play a unique game of Odd One Out, and shared about their #whyRI in another video compilation. Our Houses also helmed the Opening Act of FD200 at Expo, managing the performance programmes and rallying the entire Y16 population in exuberantly demonstrating their House spirit through cheers.
Additionally, the 42nd Students’ Council was concerned with sustainability and innovation to engage and support the student body through effective coordination of our plethora of initiatives. To this end, our councillors spearheaded a new initiative: the Griffles Feathers digital currency system. Done up completely from scratch, our Councillors helped initiatives (including that of other student groups) gain traction through a central redemption system, tapping on both old and new Raffles memorabilia for sale at our Feathers shops for students with accumulated tokens. We hope this has made school initiatives more refreshing and engaging for all student participants.
VibrancyCouncil has always strived to create a greater sense of vibrancy in school life, with the 42nd House Directorates initiating a series of House Days that gave House members the opportunity to catch up over fun memento-making activities and physical games. Accompanied with snacks, ice cream and music, these events no doubt add flavour to the daily school routine. For those avid about sports, Council actively reached out and worked closely with the CCALs from 7 sports CCAs in jointly organising the highly-anticipated Team Raffles Games. The event saw Rafflesians forming teams within their Houses and fighting hard in their respective events to win points for their Houses. This atmosphere of vibrant competition also permeated through Orientation, as the new Year 5s were greeted with a grand narrative of 5 warring Houses fighting to find their President. Through exciting dance-offs, clue hunts and war games, the House spirit in every Rafflesian was ignited as every House member wanted to see their House emerge victorious. A special mention to all the Orientation Group Leaders (OGLs) who helped Council spin its plans for Orientation into reality, with patient guidance and leadership of their juniors that created a greater sense of belonging to the school.
HomelinessWith the hope of furnishing Raffles as a second home for all Rafflesians, the 42nd Students’ Council embarked on various projects aimed at fostering a supportive and homely environment.
To nourish the hearts and minds of Rafflesians during periods of exam stress, our Welfare department embarked on Mega Mugging Madness, a well-received initiative that ran over the course of Term 3 and 4 of 2022. Our Welfaries made it a point to replenish snacks at study corners all around the school, provide food hampers to each class and also reached out to all Rafflesians to write notes of support to friends and strangers to encourage each other during this examination season, a period of high-intensity. This came together with the first reopening of the Hodge Lodge for recreation and study, to give Rafflesians both a comfortable space to bond as well as a conducive environment to study in. Further, to ensure that Rafflesians felt accounted for and heard, our Communications department (Commz’D) embarked on a 3 phase feedback collation and dissemination initiative known as the Team Raffles Town Hall (TRTH). Starting with school-wide surveys through the help of our Class Leaders, we distilled a list of refinements and discursive points that shaped a focus group discussion with Class Leaders and other avid volunteers on matters like school spirit, student welfare and many others, incorporating such student feedback into our later initiatives. Additionally, Commz’D released episodes of Council Hits the Streets to share the opinions of Rafflesians on matters like sleep, friendship and school history on the backdrop of our RI200 celebrations.
Besides self-nourishment and having a say, homeliness is also crucially about the relationships and people around us. Post-orientation, Welfare initiated FAM, a week to celebrate friendships for both Y5s and Y6s. Many Rafflesians flocked down to the canteen to send care packages to their friends and just have fun together at the shrink film keychain stations, food booths and even ZooMoov! Another key figure in our JC journey, our teachers, were also appreciated – the Teachers’ Day Committee came up with a series of activities like Teachers’ Awards and interviews to get to know our beloved teachers better, culminating in our final hybridised Teachers’ Day Concert as we moved out of the tail-end of the pandemic.
BelongingA sense of belonging is what makes school feel like a second home, and Council is active in initiating frequent events to remind all Rafflesians that we are all part of a larger Rafflesian family. Batch Night, for instance, was a night of fun organised for the Year 5 batch to celebrate completing their first year in JC together. Complete with live musical performances, game shows, photo booths and popcorn at the Albert Hong Hall, the event was an unforgettable memory for many who had the chance to let loose and enjoy themselves after a long year.
Furthermore, to promote a supportive environment for our CCAs going for a variety of competitions and events, the 42nd CCA Department (CCAD) held Spirit Week to rally the school towards supporting their friends from different CCAs through specially customised cards and an amazing race. Spirit Week concluded with a Unite banner launched by our principal Mr Yeo and filled in by the rest of our school, ready for Match Support for the National School Games. Led by all of our 42nds over a course of 8 weeks of sporting events, we claimed a high degree of excellence and displayed our school spirit as One Raffles.
Council also helmed key events that rallied many Rafflesians together to revitalise school spirit. At this year’s Y56 Open House, besides coordinating the planning of CCA booths with various CCA leaders, our councillors managed a large pool of student Befrienders in running tours for visitors, and together with them, cheered our hearts at the widely anticipated House Processions, during which visitors crowded around in awe and truly felt the unabashed Rafflesian pride of not only councillors, but all Year 6 Rafflesians. Additionally, our Graduation Night function ran one of the first renditions of the event on school grounds. Reimagining the event and its programme, our councillors hoped that we had provided an affordable and sentimental experience for everyone in the Albert Hong Hall – where many of the graduates had first started out.
Follow us on Instagram
@teamraffles,
or
check our website for more information.