First Week Of School!

Written by Adlyn Koh on 19 January 2025, 4.49 pm

After two months of holiday, I have started school! But this time, in a different environment. I'm 13 this year, and this week was my first week of secondary school! My secondary school is Dunman High (my Mother's, teacher's, and late grandfather's school). I chose it because of it's rich Chinese culture, it is co-ed, and also because it is an IP school (which basically means i don't have to take O-levels because it is a programme that last six years) 😜

The first day of school, I was feeling jittery and nervous as I had a desire to become a more confident verion of myself but I was afraid of what my schoolmates will think of me. However, once I stepped into the school, the student ushers guided me to my classroom and I felt very welcomed. In Dunman High, many of the things are run by the Student Council (a group of student leaders who are like the prefects in the school). The ushers, guides, student facilitators are all students! 😯

I didn't get to meet my form teachers until the end of the first day (many things were managed by students). The student facilitators (in charge of our class) brought us to the different venues for briefings. At the end of the day, I was pleased to meet my form teachers as they were really nice and friendly. 

The second day of school, I was excited as that day we would be checking out all the different CCA booths to have a better idea on what CCA we would like to be in for secondary school. The day was packed and I did get to try out many things. I would like to join choir and tomorrow is my audition 😭. I hope I can get into a nice CCA where everyone grows and learns together. 

The orientation began on the third day. Our class played icebreakers to get to know one another more. Our students facilitators also brought us around on a school tour in our small groups (we change everyday to get to mix with different classmates). We also watched an enjoyable skit put together by the organising comittee (also students 🤣) about the theme of this year's orientation. 

On day four, the whole class put together a skit for the next day's finale concert. We had many funny parts to it and everyone got to have a role. The skit helped us to build the class spirit. 🔥We also learnt two songs that the whole cohort was going to sing along to during the finale concert.  

On the last day of the orientation, I felt pretty sad as the next week was going to be focused on studying. In the morning, our class rehearsed our play and we almost died of laughter 😄. Seeing everyone's faces made me feel like we were a giant family. I was nervous when it was our turn to perform but I think we did very well. Even though I felt that our class had the best performance, we got third place. However, that did not dampen our spirits as we gathered together for a photo. 

Then, we had lunch as a class in the classroom to bond together on the last day of the orientation. We sat in a big circle and faced each other. That was definitely a very memorable experience for me. I loved the way our class was so close and how we worked together. When school ended, I missed my classmates! 😅

This first week of school had been joyful and filled to the brim with many opportunities to grow as a class. Looking forward to more happy moments in the future! 🥰