On the first Saturday in March 2012, ACS Oldham Hall invited all the major boarding schools and hostels in Singapore to participate in our annual Founder’s Day (Inter-Hostel) Challenge 2012, held at the ACS (Barker Road) Sports Hall. This major event saw up to 700 hundred boarders and staff coming together under one roof to compete in a game of Futsal (for boys) and Captain’s Ball (for girls). The overall aim was to create an exciting time for boarders of various hostels to spend an afternoon interacting together over sports as well as meeting one another under one roof.

 

For each hostel which participated in our Founder’s Day Challenge, ACS Oldham Hall would donate $1,000 to a designated charity for Educational bursaries for local students from needy families to help pay for their school expenses and textbooks. We are pleased that a total of $11,000 was donated to Methodist Welfare Society (MWS) and Methodist Centre for Youth & Children (MCYC) for this purpose. This year, for the first time since the Inter-Hostel Challenge was initiated in 2005, we organised a special “Staff Challenge” where up to two boarding staff per hostel from the total 11 hostels got to play together. This was a refreshing change as boarders were able to watch their staff playing together with staff from other hostels as well.

 

The Guest-of-Honour was Permanent Secretary (PS) for Defence, Mr Chiang Chie Foo, who had also been a PS to the Ministry of Education some years back. We ended the day by inviting everyone to our Dining Hall for a hearty and sumptuous dinner.

We thank the Lord for this special way ACS Oldham Hall has chosen to celebrate ACS Founder’s Day with its fellow hostel and boarding school fraternity in Singapore.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dedication Service is a time each year where ACS Oldham Hall staff, including full-time staff, AHMs and our OHMC (Oldham Hall Management Committee) members come together to pledge their service dedication towards our Hall before God and in the presence of the boarders. Our Chairman, Mr Koh Kok Hong, delivered the opening address and shared about the close historical links between Barker Road Methodist Church (BRMC) which was founded by ACS students; who met for the first year in Oldham Hall.
Pastor-in-charge, Rev Malcom Tan and Chaplain, Rev Terence Yeo from BRMC, together with some of our AHMs led the service; including our new LMS (Lay Ministry Staff), Miss Ling Shan Shan, who conducted the Hall’s choir team formed by our very own boarders. Below is a sharing from one of our boarders who sang in the choir:

“This is my second year in ACS Oldham Hall and compared to last year, this year’s Dedication Service was indeed different. Not only because it was not held on the same day as Orientation Games, but also because it was my second time attending the Dedication Service. Unlike last year, I felt a stronger sense of belonging to ACS Oldham Hall after staying for more than one year.

Reflecting back on the past year, I realised how grateful I am towards the HMs, AHMs, and staff who have always given me the constant support and encouragement I need when I was away from home. I was very moved and amazed by the HMs, AHMs, and staff who are willing to devote their time and energy to serve in the ACS Oldham Hall family. As one of the choir members, I was honoured to be seated at the left corner of the stage where I could witness the whole service very clearly. From the attentive faces, enthusiastic voices, and full participation of the boarders, I knew that ACS Oldham Hall is indeed one big family.

I really hope this year will be a fruitful year for everyone, especially those who will be taking major examinations at the end of the year. In addition, for boarders who have just settled and been getting used to the life in Singapore, I assure you that your stay in ACS Oldham will be the most meaningful and memorable one.”
- Glenys Jocelin Susanto

SCGS, Sec 4

 

ACS Oldham Hall is focused on promoting the various hall values to our boarders. These values are taught to our boarders during their stay in ACS OH as well as through the events we organise in the Hall.

2012 began with the Orientation Games (OG) on 4 February when the JC students had received their school postings and joined the hall. Most of our boarders were in an “Orientation mood”. There were a good choice of fun games which were simple, straightforward and focused on “teambuilding” and “bonding”. Through these games and performances, it brought many individual boarders together. We also awarded prizes to every House, based on their outstanding qualities and strengths – with the aim to make everyone a winner rather than create a competitive tension amongst boarders. Boarders also had the opportunity to reflect on what they had learnt from the OG at the end of the day.

The positive responses from our boarders indicated that the OG helped to foster team-spirit, promote camaraderie, and learning of social skills. We are glad that OG 2012 provided opportunities for boarders to interact with one another to make new friends, encouraging friendship and not competition, and even cooking skills! Our boarders shared their experiences through the survey:

“The fact that we did not compete against one another, helps OH to really bond as one family. “

“I like the games best because they helped to overcome my shyness and to have experiences of working as a team.”

 

 

There is no better way to describe this fruitful event than to read a personal testimonial from our fellow boarder on the Games:

“Oldham Hall Orientation Games (OG) 2012 was held on 4 February 2012. The theme of this year’s OG was “2012 – Can Your House Save You?” which focused on teamwork and togetherness.

The story went like this…a meteor hit the Earth causing mass destruction and your House was supposed to save you. There were different stations like Earthquake Zone, Volcano Zone and Flood Zone. In each zone, two Houses challenged each other to see who would be able to conquer the obstacles first. After every game, they were given stickers to be added to the booklet, which each House had. All the boarders were quite tired after playing the games, but each House must prepare their own dinner which was rather new to some people who do not know how to cook. We were given eggs, bread, sausages, bacon, vegetables and beef stew, and everyone helped to cook dinner for their own House-mates. After dinner, everyone gathered in the Dining Hall and started showcasing our House cheer. There was no clear champion in this Orientation Games 2012, as everyone was a winner! The last show was the Captain of each House uniting (remember the theme?) to perform the finale. In the end, each House was awarded with gift packs recognising the House for the attributes they had. That marked the end to the Orientation Games 2012.

I personally think that this is a very successful OG and different from how they did it last year. Last year’s was from morning to noon; while this year’s was from noon to evening. This was one of the best events happening so far before I leave Oldham Hall this May. I hope everyone enjoyed their time in Orientation 2012 and next year’s OG will be a bigger blast.”

- Marcus Tan, ACS (International), Sec 2

Indeed, may next year’s OG be a bigger blast! Let we work towards more fruitful events to come in ACS Oldham Hall!