Commemorating Racial Harmony Day the Zhenghua way

Mr Lim cutting the ribbon to signify the start of Zhenghua Sec's Racial Harmony Day commemoration
The dedicated parents from the PSG behind the sweet success of the food stall

Malay teachers imparting the skill of ketupat-weaving to colleagues and pupils

Nothing like a spread of traditional food to unite Singaporeans

VP2 Mdm Lee - One of the supportive Zhenghua family members in the traditional Indian outfit

In the one week leading to Racial Harmony Day on 21 July 2008, Zhenghua Secondary School pupils had the opportunity to try out traditional games e.g. chapteh during their PE lessons. They were also educated on the causes and consequences of the racial riots of 1950, 1964 and 1969 that threw Singapore into turbulent times during CME (for Lower Sec) and Lifeskill (for Upper Sec) lessons. With the above-mentioned experiences and knowledge, our school was ready to fully appreciate the Racial Harmony Day commemoration that took place on 21 July 2008, with the help of the Parents Support Group!

THE SINGAPORE HERITAGEFEST 2008 (12 - 27 JULY)

THE SINGAPORE HERITAGEFEST 2008 (12-27 July), “WHO’S YOUR HERO?”

... brought to you by the Education & Outreach Division, National Heritage Board

The annual Singapore HeritageFest (SHF), a nationwide festival is held in July every year since 2004 to celebrate our multi-cultural heritage and through that, raises the level of understanding and appreciation for our heritage and history.

The year’s festival celebrates and remembers our Singapore Heroes. These are people who have contributed to Singapore both in big and small ways - the many ordinary and unsung heroes, and the heroes in all of us that together make up the unique Singaporean story. Through the fun-filled yet educational festival activities and programmes, the Festival aims to make Singaporeans realise that everyone plays a part in shaping the history and heritage of the future, and that the personal and collective stories of Singaporeans is what makes our multi-cultural heritage rich, interesting and unique.


Festival Highlights
To make the festival come alive, there will be a whole range of activities from exhibitions, performances, talks to concerts. For more details, please check out the festival website http://www.heritagefest.org.sg/ or call our festival hotline at 6736 0503.

Some highlights which are relevant to Social Studies/History are:-
a) Festival Hub@Suntec City: Anchor Exhibition: “Who’s Your Hero?” & Stage performances
Kids’ Zone: “Who’s Your Hero?” (available for school bookings)
The Heroes Patch & Children’s Hero Activities

b) “My Hero” Writing Contest
Mystory Portal where students can write and share stories about their heroes or even take part in a writing contest. For more information, please log on to http://www.mystory.sg/.

c) Kids’ On Board@Compass Point (exhibition, puppet shows, children’s plays, costume dressing contest & stage performances)

Come, Discover and Celebrate Your Heroes This July at the Singapore HeritageFest 2008! Exciting events are waiting for your participation!

Commemoration of Racial Harmony Day

Dear school,

As a way of commemorating Racial Harmony which falls on 21 July 2008, you can look forward to playing traditional games during your PE lessons from 14 to 18 July 2008!

You are strongly encouraged to come to school dressed in your ethnic costume on Friday 18 July 2008. Better still, wear an ethnic costume that is not from your own ethnic group!

Do borrow an ethnic costume from a friend if you don't have one. Join in the fun! Certificates and token gifts will be given to the best dressed classes in the lower and upper secondary levels.

Also on 18 July 2008, traditional Malay food will be sold just outside the canteen. Special thanks must be given to our school canteen Stall 7 vendor for the provision of the food items for sale and the Parents Support Group for manning the food stall.

Looking forward to your active participation on Friday 18 July. Come prepared for a day of kaleidoscopic colours and gastronomic treats!

With warm wishes,
ZSS NE committee

2008 NE Ambassadors

Congratulations to the following pupils for being Zhenghua Secondary School's NE Ambassador!

1E1: Neo Xue Ying
1E2: Muhammad Shahidin B Razali
1E3: Ong Sai Yun
1E4: Lim Wei Cher
1E5: Syazirah Bte Abdullah
1N1: Reno Erwinshah Bin Julaimi
1N2: Chew Chang Zheng
1T1: Mohamed Salleh Abdul Shukor

2E1: Chan Jun Jie
2E2: Clara Ng
2E3: Rebecca Yeo Yong Xi
2E4: Ong Jing Wen
2E5: Ong Wei Jie
2N1: Nur Amira Bte Zaenal
2N2: Sri Nur Rafiqah Bte Paiman
2N3: Muhammad Najiy B Zawawi
2T1: Kevin Siah Min Wei

3E1: Siti Nurzakiah Bte Hashim
3E2: Musliha Bte Selamat
3E3: Daniel Hu Kai Wen
3E4: Nur Ain Bte Suhaimi
3E5: Nurjannah Bte Zulkifli
3N1: Lim Hui Jia
3N2: Nur Eliyana Bte Mohammed Tahir
3T1: Nurfana Bte Pawzi

4E1: Ben Tiong
4E2: Lau Feng Yuan
4E3: Khoo Chong En
4E4: Lee Yu Xian
4E5: Wong Yoke Heng
4N1: Nur Lydiawati Bte Juraimi
4N2: Muhd Faiz B Rahim
4N3: Yip Jun Wei Aron
4T1: Achmad Susanto B Noor Mohammad

5N1: Matin Faruq B Abdul Haddy
5N2: Azdiyatul Akhmah Bte Aziz
5N3: Jyothi Rajendran

International Friendship Day celebration in Zhenghua

Commemorating

INTERNATIONAL FRIENDSHIP DAY

on 11 April 2008

A procession of peace and friendship…..our pupils taking up their positions

Getting ready to address the school in their full national & ethnic splendour

Not quite Moses parting the Red Sea but nevertheless our pupils are spreading their Messiah of Friendship and Understanding through the Youth Olympic Games

Red and rapturous, Zhenghua pupils listen as the spirit of international friendship touches their hearts

Zhenghua - a microcosm of internationalism and friendship that knows no boundaries
A picture perfect embodiment of friendship, peace and unity
The Youth Olympic Games in Singapore: Circles in unison, hearts in harmony, friendship abound

The principal congratulating the pupils for spreading the spirit of international friendship in Zhenghua

Read about the "Food and Energy Crisis" Interview-Programme hosted by Melissa Hyak on Channelnews Asia

Food and Energy Crisis

Thursday, 19 June 2008
CNAS 8:30pm CNAI 8:30pm(Singapore time)

Global food prices are skyrocketing along with soaring fuel costs - but are cartels, export curbs, science and subsidies offering a way out?

Is there a solution as the silent tsunami sweeps across the world?

Join Melissa Hyak and her guests as they explore the link between rising food and fuel costs, and their implications.

Panel members:

Dr Asanga Gunawansa
Assistant Professor, Department of Building, School of Design and Environment, National University of Singapore

The Problem
The recent skyrocketing cost of world food prices is stoked by rising fuel prices, unpredictable weather and the ever growing demand for food from countries such as India and China.
According to the World Bank price of rice has more than doubled during the period March - April 2008. Further, the World Bank estimates that food prices have risen by 83 percent in the last three years alone.

Unrest over the food crisis has led to deaths in Cameroon and Haiti, and caused hungry textile workers to clash with police in Bangladesh.

According to Ban Ki-moon, the UN Secretary General, rising food costs threaten to cancel strides made toward the goal of cutting world poverty in half by 2015.
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Joergen Oerstroem Moeller
Visiting Senior Research Fellow, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies

Over the last 200 years the world has lived in an era of plenty. There has been enough of food, raw materials, energy with low prices stimulating industrialization and energy intensive societies. Water has not been scarce except in a few places and clean environment was not included in economic calculations. All this turns around right now. We move into an era of scarcity. Food prices will go up with more people and more people having money to pay for better food, the growing economies need more raw materials, demand for energy is on a steep upward curve, water is beginning to be scarce in many areas including some traditional food export regions and clean environment is on the agenda under the name of global warming/climate change. Put on top of this that if we try to solve one of these problems others will aggravate. We can for example move for desalination, but that requires energy. What will it mean for solidarity inside our countries? The only way to manage the threat of environmental degradation is to devise new forms of international governance, how do we do that?
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Assistant Professor Davin Chor
School of Economics, Singapore Management University

The current rise in world food and commodity prices has raised fears that the world may be facing an impending food and energy crisis, in which the poor in many developing countries will likely take the largest hit. A confluence of several forces has been driving this upward trend, namely the strong demand from fast-growing developing countries, coupled with tight supply conditions in world markets. Neither of these fundamental forces is likely to let up in the short term, which means that we cannot expect prices to recede anytime soon. For the longer-term outlook, technological advances are likely to hold the key to reversing these recent trends. It is crucial that the OECD countries take the lead now to channel R&D efforts towards improving agricultural productivity and inventing more fuel-efficient technologies, as well as to ensure the swift diffusion of any new best-practices that are developed.
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"Singapore: The First Ten Years of Independence" Essay Competition by NLB

Dear pupils,

Keen to participate in a National Library Board (NLB) Competition? Make good use of your time this holiday to pen a composition on the topic, "Singapore: The First Ten Years of Independence". Take note that the deadline for the competition is Friday 20 June 2008.

The maximum number of words is 500 and 800 for lower and upper secondary students, respectively. Submissions must be made online stating details such as name, school, address, birth-date and competition category.

For more information (especially on rules and regulation), please go to this website: http://firstcabinet.nl.sg/.

All the best to you!