This year, we had a live audience during our Kahaani performance which was an extremely exciting experience because the audience was lively. Unfortunately, last year, we could not have a live audience due to strict COVID-19 regulations, however, this year we could invite our family to enjoy the performances. Through this experience, I have significantly improved upon my contemporary dancing abilities as well as the portrayal of different emotions through dance.  Additionally, the significance of teamwork and collaboration shined through our live performances. Due to the fact that we had extensively rehearsed our dance, and collaborated together to ensure that the dances were in sync, we were able to successfully synchronize our dance moves, including the most difficult ones, which made our performance extremely impactful and beautiful.

During rehearsals, our group did face various challenges when trying to synchronize our dance steps which required good collaborative skills in order for the output, our dance performance to be incredible. In order to overcome our problems faced, we came to school for extra rehearsals to practice every step as a group and we also came to rehearsals early, especially light plot rehearsals, in order for the dance moves to be synchronized.

This is the dress rehearsal video before our live performance:

 

This is my 3rd year of participating in Kahaani, and each year, I have realized that I have learned more dance styles and forms. Although I am aware of my strengths in Indian dance styles including traditional dance styles which I developed last year, this year, I have the opportunity to develop my skills in contemporary dance styles. Contemporary dance moves can be quite difficult as they require quick changes in emotions that are shown through dance. While I am normally used to energetic dance styles, practicing more contemporary dance styles has been a challenge in terms of the amount of energy and emotion that needs to be shown. In some areas, energy needs to be toned down to show the delicate aspects of the dance, and in some areas, lots of energy is required to show the enthusiastic aspects of the dance. While I was able to easily grasp the dance moves, the portrayal of emotion is an aspect that I need to further improve on.

This is one of our rehearsal videos on a song:

After the High School Science Fair, we had 2 more months of Science Society remaining until the end of the year. Therefore, the chairs and I had initially planned to do practicals and scientific explorations during each session, however, due to the lockdown imposed in Singapore, we realized that there would be quite a lot of challenges to execute our initial plan, therefore, we had to consider other valid alternatives and contingencies. Subsequently, we decided to create a science magazine that would include as many science fair projects as possible from the members of the Science Society but in a report-like format in order to share our knowledge with the wider school community. Rather than putting Science Society at a halt, my team and I persevered and committed to continue running Science Society until the end of the year. I believe that we were successfully able to adapt to the uncertainties and changes in the situation as we were motivated and committed to participating in the Science Society. 

The Student Scientist: 1st Issue Published

Although my responsibility as a Chair has ended, in Grade 12, I am still participating in Tech Tinkers in order to help the new Chairs with their responsibilities and give them advice before leaving Tech Tinkers. While it was not a requirement, my commitment towards Tech Tinkers is shown through my drive and perseverance to help the new Chairs despite having more academic commitments. When I became the Chair, the previous Chairs were not there to guide me, and hence, I wanted to ensure that the same scenario was not repeated as a little bit of guidance is always helpful when taking up a leadership role. I have been a part of Tech Tinkers since Grade 9, therefore, displaying my passion through my long-term commitment. I had initially joined to explore new initiatives, but I became really passionate about environmental sustainability as well as helping NGOs to meet their technological needs that I chose to continue. I have come a long way, and it is deeply saddening that I will need to leave Tech Tinkers in a few weeks to focus on my academics. But I hope to drop in sometimes to see the progress and stay connected with the cause.

Our Leadership Team

Currently, we live in a tech-savvy world, where when new versions of technology come, it is instantly purchased and the old ones are disposed of, especially during holidays. Considering that Black Friday is in a few months, there will be various promotions on new phones, computers, and other devices, in which old devices will either be handed off to younger members of the family or will be disposed of. However, there are many environmental implications of this. Considering that our initiative tackles the issue of e-waste and encourages people to donate their devices for reuse, it is important for our initiative to be aware of the consumption patterns of devices as well. This issue is not only a local issue in Singapore but a global one, as globally, devices are disposed of in an environmentally unfriendly manner, hence producing harmful fumes and contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. Hence, it is important to not only raise awareness locally but globally to combat the issue of e-waste and the associated environmental implications.

Last week, I submitted the recording of my Grade 5 ABRSM Piano Online Practical Examination. It was a completely different experience. Normally, I give in-person examinations, however, due to COVID-19, the set-up has drastically faced. In fact, due to the new requirements of the online examinations, I had faced many challenges. For instance, one of the new requirements was that I had to learn one additional piece, which would mean a recording of 4 pieces in total. Although I had a short period of time to learn this piece and I had to balance my academics and other extracurricular activities, I was able to overcome these challenges and find time to constantly practice in order to learn the new piece to the best of my potential in the provided time. Luckily my examination had shifted from July to August which provided me with more time to practice all the pieces. However, the biggest challenge I faced was while I was recording my pieces. Since I was required to submit only one recording with all the pieces played consecutively, I had to take multiple re-takes as I made mistakes while playing and there was a lot of background noise. To be honest, I felt quite nervous playing my exam pieces with the presence of my parents. Therefore, I decided to wake up early and complete the recordings. By this method, I was not only able to play the pieces really well but there was also no background noise, which was wonderful. This experience has improved my skill of problem-solving as I was able to correctly identify the problems and tackle them. Although this experience was filled with challenges, I was able to overcome them all, and the results were quite fruitful.

After Kahaani was over, we had 4 months until the end of the school year where we utilized this time to decide on the theme of Kahaani 2022. As this decision was a group decision, collaboration was an essential aspect in order to determine the theme. For Kahaani 2022, we decided to portray the significant events that occurred in Voice of World, from natural disasters and COVID-19 impacts to celebrations. In order to determine this theme, we had long discussions on how best to raise awareness about Voice of World and portray the life of children at Voice of World. Although people had different ideas, through effective communication and collaboration, we were able to respectfully discuss the advantages and disadvantages of ideas as well as incorporate a lot of people’s ideas into the theme. I believe that by acknowledging the proposals of other members, we were successfully able to achieve our goal of coming up with an impactful theme.

Additionally, during this time, we were coming up with ideas to further help Voice of World. We thought of potentially hosting a donation drive for clothes, shoes, and toys, however, while brainstorming this possibility, we were thinking of the ethical implications because technically, the children in Voice of World have the right to have access to new clothes, shoes, and toys, however, many people constantly dispose of their old clothes and toys that are in perfectly good condition, therefore, ethically, it would be better to donate these items to those that are not financially capable to support them and make them happy. Currently, this alternative is still under consideration in terms of logistics and feasibility. But through this experience, I have learned that before making big decisions that impact a third party, the ethical implications must be considered.

As the Chair of Tech Tinkers, it was my responsibility to lead the production of the Tech Tinkers video which was published and shared in the school community which raised awareness about e-waste as well as our initiative. After the completion of the video, I was put into deep thought of whether it is ethically correct to donate old electronic devices to other local and GC partners because technically, in order to support their cause they have the right to receive new equipment, however, as an environmental initiative, it is also important to consider the environmental impacts of e-waste and how this can be reduced. This put me in a dilemma. However, ethically speaking, while people in need deserve new electronic devices to help themselves, it is also important to understand the purpose of using electronic devices. Our local and GC partners use these electronic devices in order to better support the people that are impacted by certain issues, therefore, now I have realized that donating old electronic devices is also ethically correct as it not only goes towards a significant purpose, but it also promotess environmental sustainability, a crucial aspect of today’s world. Therefore, through my participation in Tech Tinkers, I was able to reflect on the ethics of the action of Tech Tinkers as well as change my perspective of what is morally and ethically correct.