Secondary News Desk
Raptors Volleyball Match with Crescendo and Repton
Raffles Athletics are very much back in play this year! Your Raptors hosted a 3-way volleyball match with Crescendo and Repton, yesterday. We were represented by 2 teams, against our opponents’ finest. The 1st team’s match with Repton was the matchup of the year! The Raptors and Repton split the first 2 sets with a total point differential of 4. After losing the 2nd set 16-18 to Repton, the Raptors caught their second wind and thrashed Repton, 11-3, in the deciding set.
The Raptors’ 2nd team’s matchup against Crescendo did not end up with a win. This group, though feisty, came up just 4 points shy of taking the deciding set. The team lost the first set tight, before taking command and putting away Crescendo in the second set 15-11 behind an astounding performance on the service line by Alfie Taylor. The young freshman racked up 5 aces in a row, and 7 points with him serving, bringing the Raptors back from a 7-10 deficit.
Results
Raptors 1s v. Repton (2-1) W | 15-13, 16-18, 11-3
Raptors 2s v. Crescendo (1-2) L | 13-15, 15-11, 7-11
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House Block Trivia Competition
To match this Critical Thinking theme of this term, the Student Council Class Representatives organized a Trivia Night event in the Black Box during Wednesday’s House Block. Student Council provided snacks and drinks from some of the funds they have raised this school year. Students worked as teams to answer a wide range of trivia questions. One Grade 10 student said that the event was run well and was a very new concept to her. Students also appreciated the cookies that Student Council purchased from Chef Sara and the excellent RAS Kitchen Staff. The winning teams will be announced next week in Homeroom. [masterslider id=”158″]
Basketball: U14 Raptors v Stellar International WIN 34 -10
A solid start putting 8 points on the scoreboard in the first 4 mins saw the Raptors take a dominant hold of the game very early on. Substitutions were made in order to give all players the opportunity to get their hands on the ball and to put their presence in the game. However, in the middle section the Stellar team found their footing and started to notch up the points slowly. At half time the score was 16-8.
In the second half, the fitness and the quality of the Raptors shone through. With the Stellar team only scoring 2 more points in the second half and the Raptors regularly putting points on the board, the gap grew.
Special Thanks:
Carey (Gr10) & Jay (Gr12) for refereeing the game so well. The Drumline for the musical accompaniment. Zooq for coaching the team as an extra. Thank you to all for your help and support.
Mr. Garth Taylor – Thur Nov 3, 2022
Secondary Awards Ceremony
Students and parents joined together with secondary teachers to celebrate their achievements over Term 1. At the beginning of the Secondary Awards Ceremony, teacher’s recognized the GLO awards; organization, and research attributes. In addition, students from grades 6-12 earned certificates for academic achievement in both core and non-core classes. There were a record number of high school students who received a GPA over 3.6, therefore, a large percentage of students were on stage.
Congratulations to all students for an outstanding term 1, we look to celebrate again in January 2023.
Mr. David Hornby – Wed, Nov 2, 2002
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Halloween Dance
Saturday, October 29th
Nearly 100 students and staff had a chance to relax and enjoy a spooky Halloween party together on Saturday. Student Council and Senior ExCom collaborated together with the extremely supportive RAS Boarding Staff in the weeks leading up to the event. Students entered the party through a safe Haunted House led by Boarding Staff. Students then walked through a spectacular recreation of some of the scenes of the popular Netflix Stranger Things series. Ms. Natalie and Mrs. Branch spent weeks preparing the deep details to help the students get into the fun spirit of the event. Music was provided by a RAS graduate who came back to help the students dance the night away in their costumes. Students also had an outdoor chill area where they could chat with friends and enjoy snacks prepared by the Seniors and Mr. Kho. But like the grandfather clock in the show, time eventually ended as the students went home with many fond memories. Additional thanks to Ms. Fortuné, Mr. Chris, Mr. Kho, the Security and Maintenance teams, and our volunteer chaperones for making the event a success.
Mr. Ken Morrison – Sat Oct 29, 2022
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Houseblock: Cultural Performances
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Interhouse Volleyball Tournament
This week’s House Block saw over 140 students come together in an Inter House Volleyball Tournament. Split into Middle School and High School teams, each house played each other in an adapted 9v9 tournament. The increased numbers on the court enabled greater rallies to take place and some incredible pick-ups from the players. This certainly got the crowds entertained and made for a much more competitive event. Once all the games had been played, the results from middle school and high school were added together to find the RED house were the champions; doubling the points of BLUE house who came second, GREEN third, and Yellow house fourth.
A magnificent sporting afternoon, with an incredible atmosphere from the supporting students and the music from the band.
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Inaugural Movie Night – Matilda
Thank you all so much for helping make SrExCom’s very first event possible. All of you were an essential part of the successful event! We learned so much from the movie night and we are looking forwards to holding more movie nights and other events this year that are even better!
Kind regards,
Olivia McCallum (On behalf of SrExCom)
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8th Grade Chemistry Class
In Mr. Tiru’s 8th-grade chemistry class students used red cabbage juice to classify various chemicals into Acids and Bases by using red cabbage juice as an indicator.
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Excom Fundraising
- Coffee/sachet
- Tea/bags
- Protein and cereal bars
- Fruit kebab
- Ramen noodles
- Baked goods (if available)
- Creamer/Milk
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Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Grade 10 Technology students finished their first unit on Artificial Intelligence (AI). through self-paced lectures from a Google Engineer, a learning journal, team presentations, and learned and exploratory extensions, they learned how AI is used in areas such as customizing vocabulary-building games, fine-tuning translations, asking for help from humans when needed, music, and art. Students even had a chance to co-write a poem with an AI ‘author’. Students’ core project was using AI to help them use Google Slides to create interactive flashcards for learning a new language with AI-assisted clipart to aid memorization.
Ken Morrison
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Dance Students Field Trip
High School Dance students went on a field trip to Sekolah Kebangsaan Sungai Melayu in Iskander Puteri. The RAS students taught the basics of street jazz to the host school students. They used their organizational as well as their communication skills to divide 40 students amongst themselves. The host students were quite pleased and enjoyed themselves throughout.
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House Block Competition
Student Council Homeroom leaders led their first event on Wednesday during House Block. Student Council is very proud of our newest members as they did an excellent job of planning and leading the event. All secondary students participated in team-building activities which included a Lego contest, “find the difference”, ball toss, and a memory game to match cardboard cutouts of teachers’ faces. Each game was designed to include some elements of our GLO focus this month of “Organizational Skills” Student Council will lead one House Block each term this year. They want to thank their friends for the active participation from the student body.
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Contemporary Dance
Students were finishing up their first contemporary choreography. This routine involves a lot of self-expression, ground techniques and transitions. Body balance and rhythm are the two key elements of this choreography.
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8th Grade Science: Sodium in Water Chemistry Demonstration
This experiment illustrates various physical and chemical properties of metals in the periodic table. Students can clearly differentiate various physical ( melting, evaporation, density, state, and appearance of metal) and chemical reaction indications (heat, gas production), and also understand what safety measures are involved in carrying out this experiment.
Tirupathi Nidamanuri
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RAPTORS U18 Football vs. Crescendo Drew 0 – 0
In a hard-fought battle against Crescendo, the RAPTORS came away with their heads held high. Whilst they didn’t find the back of the net, they certainly overcame the difficulties from the first half to be the stronger team and created many shooting chances.
Some fantastic individual performances, but hopefully we can develop our teamwork for our next game against Marlborough
Player of the Match (as voted by the players):
Kim – amazing performance in the goal, preventing clear-cut goal opportunities
Special Mention:
Mr. Hornby for refereeing the game
Mr. Kim and the band
Mr. Kho and StuCo
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Computer Science
Computer Science students are advancing well toward their coding Goals. Each Friday, they make ‘how-to’ videos that show what they learned that week when coding in Python through the CodeHS website. Students get real-world experience by making a team website where they publish these tutorial videos that they make each week. Students also advocate for themselves and share helpful tips by typing short summaries each day about what they learned. This Summary Dashboard helps others know who might be able to help them when they get stuck. We will share this website with the RAS community near the end of the 1st Semester.
Ken Morrison
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Raptor Football Wins Opening Match
Wednesday, September 14th
What a magnificent start to RAPTORS sport for the U18s. They played incredibly well and dominated the game. With a little more practice they could start to develop the build-up play that I started to see glimpses of. Solid in defense, creative in midfield and dangerous upfront is how I would describe the team overall yesterday. Well done to every player.
Player of the Match (as voted by the players): Charlie Taylor – Very creative and dangerous on the attack.
Garth Taylor, Athletics Director
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Bangkok International Band Festival
Saturday, September 10th
Over the weekend our Band Department had the privilege to perform in Bangkok for the BIBF, and they made the school PROUD! A message from our Band Director:
What a night! Thank you for sticking with us throughout this trip! We had a fantastic turnout! One of the first collaborating concerts since Covid restrictions. It brought so many tears to the audience to see all of the students work hard and present their work.
We could feel the energy, excitement, and eagerness throughout the whole auditorium. Bravo to all of our student musicians.
Our student musicians started the day with additional 4 hours of rehearsal prior to our concert. After the concert, we went to celebrate at Baiyoke Tower. At the tower, we were able to see downtown Bangkok from the top. We enjoyed our dinner buffet there as well.
Thank you for your support throughout this trip.
Mr. Kim
Band Director
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Honor Band Bangkok Trip: Update from Mr. Kim
We have made it to Bangkok! Around 8:30 pm local time, we safely landed at DMK airport. We started our journey around 2:00 pm from RAS departing to the airport. We spent a few hours exchanging money and grabbing a quick snack at the airport. Then we flew for about 2 hours from Senai to Bangkok. Currently, in Bangkok, it had rained heavily and caused heavy traffic. Therefore, we were only able to get to our hotel around 9:15. After our quick dinner, we are all settling down to prepare for our rehearsal tomorrow.
We are extremely excited to meet new friends and student musicians to share this experience. There are 11 schools represented and a total of 270 students!
Our student musicians are ready to represent our school!
If you have any concerns or questions, please feel free to reach us through Ms. Evine.
Thank you,
Mr. Joseph Kim
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Mooncakes for Mid-Autumn Festival
Raffles American School Secondary Mandarin Department hosted a mooncake demonstration to celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival. Students celebrated togetherness by learning how to make snow skin mooncakes.
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An object in motion stays in motion.
In yesterday’s upperclassmen physics lab students conducted an engaging glider experiment. They tested their theories on air tracks with ramps to calculate how angles can affect the glider’s distance, time, and speed. This data was analyzed and used to defend or disprove their hypotheses.
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What does it take to become a scientist or engineer?
In Mr. Tiru’s 8th-grade science class, students researched and presented historically famous scientists and engineers, and their monumental contributions to the scientific world. Through this assignment, our Raffles students learned how these men and women prepared the way for the advancement of science in today’s world.
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StuCo Retreat
Our StuCo and ExCom representatives held their leadership retreat, in Boarding, over the weekend. These students immersed themselves in high-performing team activities, to better guide their fellow classmates this academic year, and collaborate on events and a timeline for activities. The workshops focused on stewarding skills such as character development, discovering individual strengths, running effective meetings, the importance of self-care, and much more! Through a challenging yet supportive environment, our RAS student leaders are fostering a vision of service for the school community.
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Aerobic Activity: Swimming
What a perfect day for a swim! Raffles PE juniors and seniors participated in the Aerobic Activity Log unit. Today the upperclassmen participated in all of the available forms of aerobic fitness. In this unit, they will jog the track, swim in the pool, complete interval staircase climbs, and participate in Zumba. Students also learned how to measure their heart rate by hand and through the heart rate monitor. They tracked heart rates at different stages of each activity to find their “aerobic training zones” (between 120-140bpm). Student efforts were adjusted accordingly to reach this zone. For next week’s Aerobic Activity Log, the students will have the freedom to choose which aerobic activity to complete.
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Dancers prep for Street Jazz
RAS secondary dance students are preparing for their street jazz choreography. Since this dance style demands a lot of flexibility and body control, the students are training their bodies and preparing themselves for the choreography.
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Welcome Back Raptors!
It is the start of another great year and we’re thrilled to welcome back our returning RAS community. Please join us in welcoming our new students and parents! It was an exciting first day filled with fun activities–reconnecting with old friends and making new ones.
RAS Seniors ExCom held a fun Time Capsule activity to kick off the their final year. They Seniors got together and wrote letters to their future selves, which will be opened on graduation day!
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