Founder's Day Follow Up
Founder's Day Follow Up
Dedicated to all the ACSians that missed the proceedings...
I'll just let the pictures do the talking. Yet I would very much like to thank and acknowledge Quentin as well as my former PE teacher in ACJC - Mr Mark Ng, for this wonderful opportunity to photograph the proceedings. I enjoyed taking the pictures thoroughly. So fun and enjoyable! It is with great pleasure that I give back something to ACS. And there is much joy in mixing fun with pleasure...
Do give the pictures some time to load properly and completely. I spent quite a great deal of time editing them for the 7:3 crop ratio. And at the same time, attempting to correct the color balance as well as to manually remove color casts. The lighting in the indoor stadium was pretty darn awful. Not the most flattering especially with regards to skin tones. Its like a mish-mash of cyan/blue/green and orange all coming together to mess things up - depending on which part of the stadium one stood. I'll give some commentaries to each picture I shot, so you can roughly see things through the eye of my viewfinder. Once again, there is no perfection in quality this time round - too many ugly pictures as well as strong color casts in some that cannot be removed. In any case, its been a very good learning journey.
Can't believe that ACS is 119 years old. Isn't that a Prime number too? And given that indoor stadium celebrations that bring forth all six schools happen once every four years. The next time this happens - ACS will be 123 years old! So cool!
Primary school kids wait in the searing heat to enter the Indoor Stadium at around 1.30p.m in the afternoon. They have all been issued copies of the souvenir celebration magazine. After this shot was taken, I had a chance to meet up with one of my former F-Maths teachers. And he was complaining that the school spends so much money printing stuff that is later thrown away. Nevertheless, I get a free copy of the magazine from him as well. Somethings just never change... Can't believe that a little bit more than a decade ago, I was like one of these little ones. Short shorts. Huge bags and water bottle and incessant chatter that makes up every primary school class.
As I walk onto the floor of the Indoor Stadium - Its quite a breathtaking sight to see all six ACS schools gathered together filling up three quarters of the stadium. The one quarter left unseated being used for the stage and the projection props. Last minute preparations are underway in the sound and video crews and the cool blast of the air conditioners keep the student body very happy, if a little bored. I realise that lighting conditions are quite bad and start to test and compensate for a white balance in my photographs.
The Emcee of the day is no other than the very respected Reverend Dr. Norman Wong. Also a former ACS boy and the President of the 1st Students' Council. He starts to engage the crowd by asking "where is ACS Barker?", "where is ACS Primary" and the students raise their hands in unison as their schools are called. Rev. Norman later tells us the crowd that even though everyone is seated early and that proceedings would only start at 2.30p.m. The VIP of the day would only arrive after 3 plus. So groans of the crowd leak forth.
Its practise time! Rev. Norman requests that as many students run down to the floor for some activities. Hordes of primary schoolkids come down. Some even jumping over seated patrons as they rushed to fill the empty void on the floor. They are laughing, cheering, full of smiles and candid emotion. Tremendously uplifting as well as nostalgic. The innocence of youth shining so brightly in their eyes.
Rev. Norman asks the kids on the ground to scream as loudly as they can and before I know it. Ear piercing shrieks fill the air. It is so loud that the camera's autofocus fails as well! And as quickly as the kids came down. They make their way up after the "practise" is declared to be over. My ears ring for a moment even as the silence takes over.
As there is still plenty of time - large inflatable creations are unveiled from all four entrances for the crowd to play with. Everyone smiles as the crowd is slowly warmed up and sways to the fun of hitting a randomly flying giant balloon.
I was nearby when this young chap attempted to hit them large balloons high up. Only to have the entire contraption burst in his face into a mess of a rubber skeins. Well this is not the only case of a burst balloon. There are plenty of balloons that die as the crowd is a little bit too rough on the fragile items. After this, the Founder's Day celebrations officially begin.
Making their way down to the floor is the sixth member of the ACS family - ACS (International). They are all dressed to the nines in their Number One uniforms. Very impressive! For the guys, basically its a rehash of the ACJC/ACSI Number One uniform, with the additon of a red scarf (or something red!) on their left pocket. For the girls the top blazer is similarly adorned, while the Number One skirt is highly reminiscient of the NYGH uniform. Students of ACS (International) line up to form a shape roughly consisting of a "T". Its amazing. For once there are GIRLS in ACS who are not JC1 students in ACJC. Interesting/Amazing?!
I guess that when your parents pay fifteen grand so that you can wear white and blue. Chances are that you're gonna be decked out in the finest fashion at all times... But fifteen grand? Can buy me a Canon 1Ds Mark II already leh! (In case you didn't know, its a 16.7 Megapixels FULL FRAME sensor camera).
Rugby guys (YEAH LET'S GO AC LET'S GO!!!!!) from ACJC, ACS(Independent) and ACS (Barker) make their way onto the floor. They form up in a large square grid, opposite the "T" formed by ACS (International). With the combined ACS band in a semi-circle, the rugby guys as a square and ACS (International) as a "T". A shape of the school crest slowly forms up. This is done in anticipation of welcoming the Guest of Honor... The VIP.
They wait so long for the VIP that I have enough time to walk up and get this shot. I bump into the ACS Primary photographer, who is holding a Canon EOS 20D and a 16-35mm f/2.8 lens. And he is only primary six!!! The top tier 1.6x crop Canon dSLR camera as well as the best fast wide-angle zoom lens from Canon. Very expensive stuff being used by a primary school kid. The Photographers from ACS (Barker) are really sad/pathetic. They are still shooting film with seriously backdated equipment... *sigh*...
The Guest of Honor, the VIP. Minister of Education and former ACS Boy, Tharman Shanmugaratnam is lead along with the Board of Governors. Seen here he is flanked by Mr Tan Wah Thong, Chairman of the ACS Board of Governors. Mr Tharman looks very happy even as he is given a stading ovation welcome by his alma mater.
The ACS Rugby boys break into the Hakka. The Maori War Dance, after the guest of honor as well as as the Board of Governors is standing clean in the area in between them and ACS (International). And incredible sight. We're gonna thrash RJC in rugby and wrest back that Police Cup A-Division Title from them! For the HONOR and the GLORY of ACS! Raffles...TREMBLE!!!!! The ACSians are coming back with a vengeance!
The service starts. And its a pretty long and boring one. So I have fun taking all sorts of other pictures while the rest of the photographers wrest for space in the front.
The two leading photographers of the day. On the left is the official photographer hired by the ACS OBA. On the right is the official photographer hired by the ACS family. One shooting Nikon. Another shooting with Canon. But the ACS OBA's photographer is very very scary. He's shooting film with a Nikon F100, probably the 3rd best film camera in the world out there as well as a fast power zoom lens and a very very powerful L-Bracket flash. He later demonstrates to me the power of his flash by giving me a test exposure. The light dissapates three-quarters across the indoor stadium diagonally. THAT is ONE POWERFUL FLASH! A predessor to the Metz MZ-70 flash of today. Even his lenses are very unique. He has a very fast fixed aperture and very solidly built wide angle zoom on a Fuji S2Pro (shooting with two cameras). The aperture is even faster than the top Nikkors from Nikon today AND the best thing is that the lens is more than 20 years old... but comes with autofocus as well! And to top it off - its SILENT autofocus! (20 years ago everyone was still laughing at the sounds of noisy auto focus mechanisms in the cameras of that time.) Incredible! If you might want to take note of that large pouch at his waist? That thing is a battery to power the flash...
Its quite sad to see the photographers from Barker still stuck on film. Nothing wrong with that, just that, with just a plain 36 exposures as well as some really crappy lenses and ancient camera flashes, I could see them basically saving their shots. Not wasting their film. Being reluctant to even snap pictures. That is why even as the rest were snapping away, they just stood there. Not even taking more than one shot. Its quite sad.
After Mr Tharman is done with his speech, he gives out prizes to all the top students from each of the five ACS schools for varying exams last year. Reeks of Stakhanovitism. Mr Tan Wah Thong later hands over a painting, done by an ACS student as a token of appreciation to Mr Tharman. All is happy. And all is well.
Rev. Dr. Norman Wong begins his preaching session and now the earlier practise session is for real. Even more students flood the floor as previously. Its controlled pandemonium at its best. They scream and shout and laugh and are just so full of genuine emotion.
Soon. Everyone just "dies" and lies on the floor. Sudden death... Rev. Dr. Norman Wong goes on to preach about the Tsunami. And of course, the message of Hope, Faith and Love that the Word of the Lord always brings forth. Its a blessing to hear him preach even as I continue to snap pictures.
Much later on as I snap pictures in the crowds. I overhear some people talking about the "two ACS International girls who went down as well..." And when I checked my picture archives. Nicely they were captured in one frame! This is nonsense! I do propose that we call girls from ACS (International) as "ACI girl". Because "AC Girl" should always keep up with its standard definition as a girl from the Most Nonsense College In The Country. Now it gets a little confusing if you tell the older generations that the last AC girl you met was only 15 years old. And its like *huh*?
By the way. As I edited the photo. Does anyone have any idea what the guy in the center is looking at?
The school anthem is played! IN DAYS OF YORE! FROM WESTERN SHORES! OLDHAM DAUNTLESS HERO CAME AND PLANTED A BEACON OF TRUTH AND LIGHT IN THE ISLAND OF THE MAIN!
Lao Shi always told me. "Bu Yao Chui Ni De La Ba lah" (Don't blow your trumpet!)
"SING ACS FOREVER MORE... OUR ACS... FOREVER... GOD SAVE OUR LAND AND HEAVEN BLESS OUR ACS FOREVER..." The next time I want to hear this anthem is when we beat raffles JC at the police academy and reclaim that coveted rugby title from the greens! Without yellow and blue. There is no green!
Three "AC Waves". Something like the Kallang wave. Three waves are done. One each for A, C and S. A standing for Academic Achievement. C for Strength of Character and S for Service. It doesn't seem quite right at first as the two waves go around. Like "something" is missing.
And then they realise what's wrong! The student body is doing the AC Wave STANDING UP! Immediately, they are hastily asked to sit down for the last wave - S. And it is probably the best. The photo in the previous post would show. Absolute cheers erupt as people toss the souvenir magazine into the air. No, its not heavy. No, its not going to land and hit them hard. And No, its not annuals. And yes, they do this every everytime they're at the Indoor Stadium for as long as I can remember. Its an "AC Tradition". Fast glass is essential for such shots and many shots of mine actually come out blur - save for a tiny handful that are more than acceptable for action shots in an indoor venue without a flash. After this, the guest of Honor as well as the Board of Governors are escorted out of the Indoor Stadium.
Let the games begin! The telematch starts! 8 teams representing 8 houses of ACS, with 3 of them being brand new additions. Each House is represented by at least a member from each ACS School. Primary, Junior, Barker, Independent, JC and International. And as teacher's team as well, formed also from all six schools.
Now now. Repeat with me: "Lawrence Ang"... No No NO! Say it again.. "LAWWWWW-Rence Ang". No! Not like that! Lower your tone. It must be as low as that of a tuba. "LAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW-rence Ang!". This is truly one unglam picture! =)
So the various teams dress up into their colors. CKS as usual, is in the funky Aqua Blue. Oldham is now red, and there are a few other colors. Grey I forgot is for what house and Yeah, so basically the teams dress up themsevles according to a color theme. Its interesing that all the guys in a team come from Barker, Independent, Primary or Junior. But all the girls in any random team come straight from International or ACJC.
Ok, this is a close up shot of one of the teams. Aqua Blue! My house! CKS! Jia Kow Sai!!!!! But anyway, that is not the point. The theory here is to point out the differences in the AC Girl's PE outfit as well as the ACI girl's PE Outfit. Student's of the Most Nonsense College In The Country wear the same top. Guys and Girls. Same theory for ACS (International). Just note that it is a V-Neck top as opposed to a ROUND Neck tee. And for the International folks. They've got this fanciful blue color banding abstraction of fabrics in their tops. Quite unique indeed! Perhaps a design influence from the Parson's School of Design in Upstate New York? A Stone's Throw away from Times Square... NEW YORK CITY?
I snapped this shot only for the little boy in the center. Green is for Thoburn - "Toe Burn" - geddit? Ironically, I think Toe Burn is full of fast cross country atheletes that dominate the annual cross-country.
The first game begins. Teams have to blow up a number of balloons. Tie them to a group member; which inevitably ends up to be either the kid from Primary or Junior and then to carry that person to the finish line. The teacher's team wins this segment of the competition.
I was snapping photos away when I noticed this very interesting person, dressed to the nines, sitting in the front row of the crowd. He is no other than Mr PJ Thum. Went to Harvard at the age of 16. Won the Rhodes Scholarship to study for his Master's at Oxford at the age of 20. And now he is a teacher at ACS (International) teaching English and History. I'm very proud to know that he too is a "class alumn" from "The Class of 1SA5". He Majored in East Asian Studies with a focus on China at Harvard. And read Modern Politics and History at Oxford. He is currently enroute to do his Ph.D, Either at Harvard, Princetone or Oxford. However, before that happens, he is attempting to swim across the English Channel is August to raise funds for Charity. Oh, did I mention that he was a former national swimmer that represented Singapore at the Olympics too? Woah! Truly an outstanding ACSian. A true honor to meet him indeed.
The 2nd game begins. Teams have to use whateve items they are issued in their hands in an attempt to retreive other objects from the other side of the line. You might see a person with a toilet plunger attempting to balance a beach ball as he races with the other teams. Else you might see a person with a tennis racket trying to do the same as well. Quite a simple and quick game.
The third game is basically that of a "best dressed competition". Teams have to dress up one of their members (once again, inevitably a primary school kid) in the color of their house. Green for Thoburn, Red for Oldham. Funky Aqua Blue for CKS. And so on. At the end of the day, practically everyone looks the same after being dressed up by their teams. It is an enjoyable experience photographing all the interesting emotions that are shown during the dress up process. Do you see the primary school boy being dressed up by the AC Girl?
There!
Swamp Thing decided to take on a little boy's form for a day...
Oh no! Its Harvie!
I don't know which house won the competition though. Was out photographing a bunch of ACS (International) students. With this one being the most unique of the lot. After I took the picture. Someone "loudly proclaimed". "The two of you are like a couple like that..."
So Sweet! Isn't It Romantic? Hope they don't kill me if they see this. Especially since my house is just a stone's throw away from their school!
Prize Presentation. And end of the day. Quite an experience to photograph it. I hope you've enjoyed all the 7:3 cropped pictures! =) The End!
Dedicated to all the ACSians that missed the proceedings...
I'll just let the pictures do the talking. Yet I would very much like to thank and acknowledge Quentin as well as my former PE teacher in ACJC - Mr Mark Ng, for this wonderful opportunity to photograph the proceedings. I enjoyed taking the pictures thoroughly. So fun and enjoyable! It is with great pleasure that I give back something to ACS. And there is much joy in mixing fun with pleasure...
Do give the pictures some time to load properly and completely. I spent quite a great deal of time editing them for the 7:3 crop ratio. And at the same time, attempting to correct the color balance as well as to manually remove color casts. The lighting in the indoor stadium was pretty darn awful. Not the most flattering especially with regards to skin tones. Its like a mish-mash of cyan/blue/green and orange all coming together to mess things up - depending on which part of the stadium one stood. I'll give some commentaries to each picture I shot, so you can roughly see things through the eye of my viewfinder. Once again, there is no perfection in quality this time round - too many ugly pictures as well as strong color casts in some that cannot be removed. In any case, its been a very good learning journey.
Can't believe that ACS is 119 years old. Isn't that a Prime number too? And given that indoor stadium celebrations that bring forth all six schools happen once every four years. The next time this happens - ACS will be 123 years old! So cool!
Primary school kids wait in the searing heat to enter the Indoor Stadium at around 1.30p.m in the afternoon. They have all been issued copies of the souvenir celebration magazine. After this shot was taken, I had a chance to meet up with one of my former F-Maths teachers. And he was complaining that the school spends so much money printing stuff that is later thrown away. Nevertheless, I get a free copy of the magazine from him as well. Somethings just never change... Can't believe that a little bit more than a decade ago, I was like one of these little ones. Short shorts. Huge bags and water bottle and incessant chatter that makes up every primary school class.
As I walk onto the floor of the Indoor Stadium - Its quite a breathtaking sight to see all six ACS schools gathered together filling up three quarters of the stadium. The one quarter left unseated being used for the stage and the projection props. Last minute preparations are underway in the sound and video crews and the cool blast of the air conditioners keep the student body very happy, if a little bored. I realise that lighting conditions are quite bad and start to test and compensate for a white balance in my photographs.
The Emcee of the day is no other than the very respected Reverend Dr. Norman Wong. Also a former ACS boy and the President of the 1st Students' Council. He starts to engage the crowd by asking "where is ACS Barker?", "where is ACS Primary" and the students raise their hands in unison as their schools are called. Rev. Norman later tells us the crowd that even though everyone is seated early and that proceedings would only start at 2.30p.m. The VIP of the day would only arrive after 3 plus. So groans of the crowd leak forth.
Its practise time! Rev. Norman requests that as many students run down to the floor for some activities. Hordes of primary schoolkids come down. Some even jumping over seated patrons as they rushed to fill the empty void on the floor. They are laughing, cheering, full of smiles and candid emotion. Tremendously uplifting as well as nostalgic. The innocence of youth shining so brightly in their eyes.
Rev. Norman asks the kids on the ground to scream as loudly as they can and before I know it. Ear piercing shrieks fill the air. It is so loud that the camera's autofocus fails as well! And as quickly as the kids came down. They make their way up after the "practise" is declared to be over. My ears ring for a moment even as the silence takes over.
As there is still plenty of time - large inflatable creations are unveiled from all four entrances for the crowd to play with. Everyone smiles as the crowd is slowly warmed up and sways to the fun of hitting a randomly flying giant balloon.
I was nearby when this young chap attempted to hit them large balloons high up. Only to have the entire contraption burst in his face into a mess of a rubber skeins. Well this is not the only case of a burst balloon. There are plenty of balloons that die as the crowd is a little bit too rough on the fragile items. After this, the Founder's Day celebrations officially begin.
Making their way down to the floor is the sixth member of the ACS family - ACS (International). They are all dressed to the nines in their Number One uniforms. Very impressive! For the guys, basically its a rehash of the ACJC/ACSI Number One uniform, with the additon of a red scarf (or something red!) on their left pocket. For the girls the top blazer is similarly adorned, while the Number One skirt is highly reminiscient of the NYGH uniform. Students of ACS (International) line up to form a shape roughly consisting of a "T". Its amazing. For once there are GIRLS in ACS who are not JC1 students in ACJC. Interesting/Amazing?!
I guess that when your parents pay fifteen grand so that you can wear white and blue. Chances are that you're gonna be decked out in the finest fashion at all times... But fifteen grand? Can buy me a Canon 1Ds Mark II already leh! (In case you didn't know, its a 16.7 Megapixels FULL FRAME sensor camera).
Rugby guys (YEAH LET'S GO AC LET'S GO!!!!!) from ACJC, ACS(Independent) and ACS (Barker) make their way onto the floor. They form up in a large square grid, opposite the "T" formed by ACS (International). With the combined ACS band in a semi-circle, the rugby guys as a square and ACS (International) as a "T". A shape of the school crest slowly forms up. This is done in anticipation of welcoming the Guest of Honor... The VIP.
They wait so long for the VIP that I have enough time to walk up and get this shot. I bump into the ACS Primary photographer, who is holding a Canon EOS 20D and a 16-35mm f/2.8 lens. And he is only primary six!!! The top tier 1.6x crop Canon dSLR camera as well as the best fast wide-angle zoom lens from Canon. Very expensive stuff being used by a primary school kid. The Photographers from ACS (Barker) are really sad/pathetic. They are still shooting film with seriously backdated equipment... *sigh*...
The Guest of Honor, the VIP. Minister of Education and former ACS Boy, Tharman Shanmugaratnam is lead along with the Board of Governors. Seen here he is flanked by Mr Tan Wah Thong, Chairman of the ACS Board of Governors. Mr Tharman looks very happy even as he is given a stading ovation welcome by his alma mater.
The ACS Rugby boys break into the Hakka. The Maori War Dance, after the guest of honor as well as as the Board of Governors is standing clean in the area in between them and ACS (International). And incredible sight. We're gonna thrash RJC in rugby and wrest back that Police Cup A-Division Title from them! For the HONOR and the GLORY of ACS! Raffles...TREMBLE!!!!! The ACSians are coming back with a vengeance!
The service starts. And its a pretty long and boring one. So I have fun taking all sorts of other pictures while the rest of the photographers wrest for space in the front.
The two leading photographers of the day. On the left is the official photographer hired by the ACS OBA. On the right is the official photographer hired by the ACS family. One shooting Nikon. Another shooting with Canon. But the ACS OBA's photographer is very very scary. He's shooting film with a Nikon F100, probably the 3rd best film camera in the world out there as well as a fast power zoom lens and a very very powerful L-Bracket flash. He later demonstrates to me the power of his flash by giving me a test exposure. The light dissapates three-quarters across the indoor stadium diagonally. THAT is ONE POWERFUL FLASH! A predessor to the Metz MZ-70 flash of today. Even his lenses are very unique. He has a very fast fixed aperture and very solidly built wide angle zoom on a Fuji S2Pro (shooting with two cameras). The aperture is even faster than the top Nikkors from Nikon today AND the best thing is that the lens is more than 20 years old... but comes with autofocus as well! And to top it off - its SILENT autofocus! (20 years ago everyone was still laughing at the sounds of noisy auto focus mechanisms in the cameras of that time.) Incredible! If you might want to take note of that large pouch at his waist? That thing is a battery to power the flash...
Its quite sad to see the photographers from Barker still stuck on film. Nothing wrong with that, just that, with just a plain 36 exposures as well as some really crappy lenses and ancient camera flashes, I could see them basically saving their shots. Not wasting their film. Being reluctant to even snap pictures. That is why even as the rest were snapping away, they just stood there. Not even taking more than one shot. Its quite sad.
After Mr Tharman is done with his speech, he gives out prizes to all the top students from each of the five ACS schools for varying exams last year. Reeks of Stakhanovitism. Mr Tan Wah Thong later hands over a painting, done by an ACS student as a token of appreciation to Mr Tharman. All is happy. And all is well.
Rev. Dr. Norman Wong begins his preaching session and now the earlier practise session is for real. Even more students flood the floor as previously. Its controlled pandemonium at its best. They scream and shout and laugh and are just so full of genuine emotion.
Soon. Everyone just "dies" and lies on the floor. Sudden death... Rev. Dr. Norman Wong goes on to preach about the Tsunami. And of course, the message of Hope, Faith and Love that the Word of the Lord always brings forth. Its a blessing to hear him preach even as I continue to snap pictures.
Much later on as I snap pictures in the crowds. I overhear some people talking about the "two ACS International girls who went down as well..." And when I checked my picture archives. Nicely they were captured in one frame! This is nonsense! I do propose that we call girls from ACS (International) as "ACI girl". Because "AC Girl" should always keep up with its standard definition as a girl from the Most Nonsense College In The Country. Now it gets a little confusing if you tell the older generations that the last AC girl you met was only 15 years old. And its like *huh*?
By the way. As I edited the photo. Does anyone have any idea what the guy in the center is looking at?
The school anthem is played! IN DAYS OF YORE! FROM WESTERN SHORES! OLDHAM DAUNTLESS HERO CAME AND PLANTED A BEACON OF TRUTH AND LIGHT IN THE ISLAND OF THE MAIN!
Lao Shi always told me. "Bu Yao Chui Ni De La Ba lah" (Don't blow your trumpet!)
"SING ACS FOREVER MORE... OUR ACS... FOREVER... GOD SAVE OUR LAND AND HEAVEN BLESS OUR ACS FOREVER..." The next time I want to hear this anthem is when we beat raffles JC at the police academy and reclaim that coveted rugby title from the greens! Without yellow and blue. There is no green!
Three "AC Waves". Something like the Kallang wave. Three waves are done. One each for A, C and S. A standing for Academic Achievement. C for Strength of Character and S for Service. It doesn't seem quite right at first as the two waves go around. Like "something" is missing.
And then they realise what's wrong! The student body is doing the AC Wave STANDING UP! Immediately, they are hastily asked to sit down for the last wave - S. And it is probably the best. The photo in the previous post would show. Absolute cheers erupt as people toss the souvenir magazine into the air. No, its not heavy. No, its not going to land and hit them hard. And No, its not annuals. And yes, they do this every everytime they're at the Indoor Stadium for as long as I can remember. Its an "AC Tradition". Fast glass is essential for such shots and many shots of mine actually come out blur - save for a tiny handful that are more than acceptable for action shots in an indoor venue without a flash. After this, the guest of Honor as well as the Board of Governors are escorted out of the Indoor Stadium.
Let the games begin! The telematch starts! 8 teams representing 8 houses of ACS, with 3 of them being brand new additions. Each House is represented by at least a member from each ACS School. Primary, Junior, Barker, Independent, JC and International. And as teacher's team as well, formed also from all six schools.
Now now. Repeat with me: "Lawrence Ang"... No No NO! Say it again.. "LAWWWWW-Rence Ang". No! Not like that! Lower your tone. It must be as low as that of a tuba. "LAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW-rence Ang!". This is truly one unglam picture! =)
So the various teams dress up into their colors. CKS as usual, is in the funky Aqua Blue. Oldham is now red, and there are a few other colors. Grey I forgot is for what house and Yeah, so basically the teams dress up themsevles according to a color theme. Its interesing that all the guys in a team come from Barker, Independent, Primary or Junior. But all the girls in any random team come straight from International or ACJC.
Ok, this is a close up shot of one of the teams. Aqua Blue! My house! CKS! Jia Kow Sai!!!!! But anyway, that is not the point. The theory here is to point out the differences in the AC Girl's PE outfit as well as the ACI girl's PE Outfit. Student's of the Most Nonsense College In The Country wear the same top. Guys and Girls. Same theory for ACS (International). Just note that it is a V-Neck top as opposed to a ROUND Neck tee. And for the International folks. They've got this fanciful blue color banding abstraction of fabrics in their tops. Quite unique indeed! Perhaps a design influence from the Parson's School of Design in Upstate New York? A Stone's Throw away from Times Square... NEW YORK CITY?
I snapped this shot only for the little boy in the center. Green is for Thoburn - "Toe Burn" - geddit? Ironically, I think Toe Burn is full of fast cross country atheletes that dominate the annual cross-country.
The first game begins. Teams have to blow up a number of balloons. Tie them to a group member; which inevitably ends up to be either the kid from Primary or Junior and then to carry that person to the finish line. The teacher's team wins this segment of the competition.
I was snapping photos away when I noticed this very interesting person, dressed to the nines, sitting in the front row of the crowd. He is no other than Mr PJ Thum. Went to Harvard at the age of 16. Won the Rhodes Scholarship to study for his Master's at Oxford at the age of 20. And now he is a teacher at ACS (International) teaching English and History. I'm very proud to know that he too is a "class alumn" from "The Class of 1SA5". He Majored in East Asian Studies with a focus on China at Harvard. And read Modern Politics and History at Oxford. He is currently enroute to do his Ph.D, Either at Harvard, Princetone or Oxford. However, before that happens, he is attempting to swim across the English Channel is August to raise funds for Charity. Oh, did I mention that he was a former national swimmer that represented Singapore at the Olympics too? Woah! Truly an outstanding ACSian. A true honor to meet him indeed.
The 2nd game begins. Teams have to use whateve items they are issued in their hands in an attempt to retreive other objects from the other side of the line. You might see a person with a toilet plunger attempting to balance a beach ball as he races with the other teams. Else you might see a person with a tennis racket trying to do the same as well. Quite a simple and quick game.
The third game is basically that of a "best dressed competition". Teams have to dress up one of their members (once again, inevitably a primary school kid) in the color of their house. Green for Thoburn, Red for Oldham. Funky Aqua Blue for CKS. And so on. At the end of the day, practically everyone looks the same after being dressed up by their teams. It is an enjoyable experience photographing all the interesting emotions that are shown during the dress up process. Do you see the primary school boy being dressed up by the AC Girl?
There!
Swamp Thing decided to take on a little boy's form for a day...
Oh no! Its Harvie!
I don't know which house won the competition though. Was out photographing a bunch of ACS (International) students. With this one being the most unique of the lot. After I took the picture. Someone "loudly proclaimed". "The two of you are like a couple like that..."
So Sweet! Isn't It Romantic? Hope they don't kill me if they see this. Especially since my house is just a stone's throw away from their school!
Prize Presentation. And end of the day. Quite an experience to photograph it. I hope you've enjoyed all the 7:3 cropped pictures! =) The End!
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