Ideawerkz has launched their annual competition yet again. This year's competition is called the Ideawerkz Innovation Challenge 2011. Students participate by forming a team, or by working solo. What they had to do is to come up with ideas for the betterment of the school, at the same time fulfilling these criterias:-

1)  What can you do to make campus a livelier and cozier place?
2)  What initiatives can you mount to help students manage stress?
3)  What can you do to encourage students to be innovative? 

With so many inventive ideas, here are some of the ideas our students have contributed! Congratulations to our winners!

Shawn Tan's Proximity Sensors is pure genius. This way, I dont have to go on a Scavenger Hunt for tables and seats for lunch! With that, this makes him the Winner of Ideawerkz Challenge 2011!

Now this I find pretty cool. This will keep my feet dry! Normally, if you're wearing just socks and shoes during a rainy day, your socks will get wet, and then it will wrinkle up your toes, and you don't want that.

This movement will be great for budding musicians! Entertaining too!

This is really cool, considering there aren't enough seats available during lunch time in school.

The first time I walked past this contraption, I thought it was pretty annoying. But after seeing the reaction on the people's faces after passing this station, it's actually pretty entertaining.

Having a food delivery service in NP would totally help beat the queues during lunch hours.

I would be so thrilled if this actually happened. I could use a mini foot spa everyday after school!

Congratulations once again to all the participants!

I am back. Two weeks later, I am flood-trained. Yes, I am flood-trained from spending time in Siem Reap, Cambodia where water-levels were thigh high. It was an eye-opening experience for me and 14 others from the School of Film & Media Studies who came along for this Youth Expedition Programme.

It happened day four into our trip, when we were all snuggled up in our pyjamas and pillows getting ready for bed when our lecturer made the dramatic announcement that we had to evacuate! We thought he was pulling our leg, but he was dead serious! So in the next 20 minutes, we were all packing our things really quickly and made our way to a church nearby that was on higher ground.

It was pitch black and we had to rely on our torchlights, and this point some of the houses were already flooded up to the knees. As walked deeper in, the water got higher. On the way to the church, we passed by the river bank and saw water spilling speedily into the village.

We camped in the church for the night, and the next morning were told that BBLC was flooded up to the knees. But our luggages, thankfully, were safe. All our activities in the village and BBLC were suspended for they were expecting another wave of flood to come but we had to make our way back to BBLC to collect our luggage.

And off we went to a hotel, for the next three nights!

Here're some pictures that were captured in the floods:

Leaving our first hotel for BBLC.

Flooded houses in the city.

Flooded up to the knees in Siem Reap.

Finally reached the entrance to the village, where BBLC is located about 500 metres in.

We had to carry our luggages in because the bus couldn't drive inside to drop us off.

The river in the day.

Our flooded journey began at our ankles.

Later, it was up to our thighs.

The overflowing river bank.

Church playground.

Overflowing river dam.

The village river.

Embarking to back to BBLC.

Villager's house.

Flooded up to out butts.

One of the kids found a fun way to entertain the flood.

He built a raft! 

A flooded BBLC.

Our flooded dorm, where we were supposed to have nice dreams..

This is Smey. (Pronounced Smai) One of the kids who goes to school at BBLC. Please ignore my very glamorous pyjamas.

Here comes the Land Rover to rescue our luggages! 

He too found a way to entertain himself with the flood.

Walking out of the village.

Finally out! 

Flooded roads.

One of the streets in Siem Reap.

A flooded church in Siem Reap.

Locals playing in the flood.

Swimming..

Photo courtesy of Aaron Leong: Marching out of the flood in our pyjamas.

Photo courtesy of Aaron Leong: The flood's not that bad.

Photo courtesy of Aaron Leong: A flooded boys dorm.

Photo courtesy of Aaron Leong: Mr Hsien, one of the lecturers for the trip.

Photo courtesy of Aaron Leong: Walking back to BBLC for cleaning up.

Photo courtesy of Aaron Leong: Scrubing the donated towels, t-shirts, to be given away to villagers.

Photo courtesy of Aaron Leong: Lots of work to do! 

Photo courtesy of Aaron Leong: The library got flooded too, so we sorted out the books that were still in good condition for reading.

Photo courtesy of Aaron Leong: Mrs Sng, our other lecturer, hanging up the towels for drying.

Photo courtesy of Aaron Leong: That's Nicholas, cleaning up the store room

Photo courtesy of Aaron Leong: What Nicholas & our other friend Johnson came up with during our 2-night rebound to BBLC.

Don't forget to check out FMS YEP CAMBODIA PART II & III for more exciting stories! 

Hi! I am Clara, a second-year Mass Communication student. I am currently on a six-week Overseas Immersion Programme with the School of Film and Media Studies. Over the next few posts that I will be writing, I will share with you my experiences on this trip to Wuhan, Hubei China were we are currently staying in the hostels of Wuchang University of Technology. 

Let’s start off with the food! The food in Wuhan is really value-for-money. The portions are really huge! Here are some pictures:

First up, we have fried rice. This mountain of rice only costs 10 yuan, which is equilvalent to about S$2! 

 Next, we have dumplings, which cost 6 yuan (about S$1.20) for 25 pieces. 

For noodles, they have many varieties of noodles. This plate of beef noodles costs 10 yuan (S$2), and it is such a huge serving of noodles with ingredients!

Of course, we had to try their local delicacies too! This bowl of hot dry noodles was bought from the school’s canteen, and only cost 3 yuan ($0.60)! Again, there is a huge portion of noodles. Who says canteen food can’t be good and cheap?

Another local delicacy would be Tang Bao (汤包), which is what we call Xiao Long Bao. 10 Tang Bao cost 12 yuan (S$2.40). It is very hot, and best eaten when the weather is cold! Currently, it was autumn here, so the weather is slightly chilly.

In general, the food in Wuhan is more salty and oily than what we are used to back in Singapore. After a week or two, we have adapted to the food here. Also, if the food portions are too big for you to get used to, it’s good to share with a friend!

That’s all I have for the first post! I will leave you with more pictures of the good food:

You've probably seen him as a driver for our daily morning shuttle buses to Ngee Ann Poly. The question though: who exactly is this Michael Jackson look-alike? 

When I first got an invite to his Facebook fanpage (set up by our lovely students), I was intrigued by his striking similarity to the real King of Pop.

The Facebook Fanpage

Shanjey Nair, 41, a part time Service Representative for SMRT Buses, is a true MJ fanatic. I met up with him recently to and trust me, it was all worth it as the man we met truly emulated MJ down to a tee. 

He came along with his daughter, carrying outfits he had wanted to share with us. If you think the resemblance to MJ is uncanny in the photos, you'll have to meet him in real life. He donned a black outfit that bore "CTE" in yellow on red shoulder pads, and a red armband with a yellow star.

CTE= Children of The Earth

Star symbol, symbolising MJ's message of saving children around the world

Shanjey grew up listening to MJ's music since he was 10 and knows the lyrics to every single MJ song. Though in the process, this MJ fanatic's dress sense has faced with opposition from his family, religious restrictions, and subjected to the public's ruthless scrutiny.

Passersby would stop and ask for a photo of him, but Shanjey has had his fair share of naysayers who would make fun of him. He once recalled somebody doing a feminine parody of MJ which made him upset.

Shanjey, explaining which MJ look he has adapted.

To maintain his Motown MJ hairdo, he keeps his own hair trimming devices at home, to save costs. 

Check out the two outfits that he's brought along:

This outfit replicated the one MJ made famous during the "This Is It" tour.

 The crystals on it? Austria-imported Swarovski crystals!

My friend who tagged along, was the first person Shanjey's ever allowed to wear his outfits! Feeling honoured, she went on to strike a MJ pose!

"This is how you do it"

This outfit, is a blue version of the CTE outfit he wore.

And of course, an MJ look isn't complete without the famous sequined socks. 

MJ's outfit with a buckle sans belt - a detail Shanjey took into account when creating this outfit!

A statuette of MJ that Shanjey has at home.

Shanjey's daughter, KMJ Kasturi, has also caught on to the MJ fever. She recently bagged the champion title at Okto's One Minute of Fame with her awesome MJ impersonation. It all started a few days after MJ's passing when KMJ asked to learn MJ's dance moves because she could not bear to see her father feeling so down.

Shanjey was really glad that he did his part to ensure a part of MJ's legacy continued with his daughter.

Shanjey did everything he could to perfect KMJ's performance. In order to staying true to MJ's performances, he even bought sound editing software and edited songs to the way it was performed during MJ's live concerts. They were perfected with apt explosions and special effects. And doing all of it with no prior knowledge of sound editing!

And as KMJ's manager, he made sure designs of costumes she wore were exact. "These designs were Michael Jackson's and we have no right to change it". He ended up spending $600 on the outfit that she wore for the competition that he sometimes had doubts of winning beause they were up against contestants who're performing solid and current dance routines or songs. 

Check out the 45 degree gravity lean. WOW!

With the support of 20 - 28 of her friends and family among the audience, her performance of Smooth Criminal clinched her the first prize! Since then, they've been invited to perform at shows and have become quite famous in the local media. They were once invited to perform with Aznil Nawawi, a Malaysian celebrity well known for his quirky and entertaining talkshow, Macam Macam Aznil. 

Aznil and KMJ, the mini MJ extraordinaire. 

Picking out a pair of shoes for an MJ outfit

Shanjey decided to make our last few moments together memorable by showing us some of his dance moves:

Check out the silver Tornado Stripe at the sides of his pants.

Dance, dance, dance. 

Just like a real superstar, Shanjey has his own fanbase as well. 

In the true spirit of MJ, Shanjey does his part to make the world a better place too. Every year, MJ fans in Singapore would gather to perform as part of fund raising initiatives for the Singapore Children's Society and cancer patients in Singapore. He would bring his daughter with him to town sometimes for his performances.

Shanjey gave both Ika and me a surprise with souvenirs! We're frankly humbled by his generosity. :')

MJ may have been dancing with the angels in heaven for a few years now but his spirit still lives back on Earth. I'd like to express my sincerest gratitude to Shanjey, who took time to share his passion with us!

ADIOS! 

A diamond in the rough. This aptly describes Lourence Steven before National Service came along and transformed his life.

“I had always been an average student who had never aimed high or achieved much, but my army experience changed my whole attitude. Having to spend days in the mountainous terrain of Taiwan and the forest of Brunei really pushed me to the limit and made me realise that I could do so much more when put to the test. So, after finishing NS, I set a very clear goal for myself - get a good diploma in the next few years,” he recalled.

Lourence, who is now 25, went to a junior college before he enlisted for NS. He decided to give himself a second chance at getting a degree via the diploma route.

Today, Lourence can happily enjoy the fruits of his labour and bask in the limelight. Besides graduating as the gold medallist for the Mechanical Engineering course, he has also bagged the prestigious Lee Kuan Yew Award and Ngee Ann Polytechnic Outstanding Achievement Award.

Check out his interview with Razortv here!

Friday, Friday, gonna get down on Friday~ Yep it’s me again, and not Rebecca Black, so you don’t have to worry about which seat I’m going to take. Thank god it's the weekends finally, huh? Finally a time to catch your breath and unwind a bit before more school.

On the other hand though, graduation is coming soon (just a few weeks more!) and I’ve finally gotten my acceptance letter. I have confirmed a place in Creative Producing in Chapman University, a US-based uni which is based in NP, and I just can’t wait for school to start! Anything to break the monotonous routine I’ve fallen into would be more than welcome, though I might change my mind the moment the workload starts piling up.

Like most of my other friends, I started worrying about university admissions as the submission periods for university applications came around. In the end though, I applied only for Chapman for a couple of reasons.

1. I’d heard plenty of advice from well-meaning seniors who said that a mass comm degree would largely cover what I’d already learnt in NP, and so I didn’t want to waste my time or money doing something that would be similar to what I’d already learnt. Can you imagine doing that? It’d be so boring.


2. The course is only 2 years, and $6.9k per year at that. While I would love to go overseas to study, I can’t put that financial burden on my parents. Plus, there was also a chance I’d get to join the immersion programme and head over to Orange County, Cali for a 3 month long internship. Woohoo~


3. Creative Producing was something I wanted to pursue, and thought would be interesting. It’s quite different from what I specialised in (Print Journalism), so more than a few people were surprised when they heard I was going to Chapman.

In any case, those are my reasons for coming back to NP, even though that means I’ll be spending 5 years here in total. Those were the pros to making this decision, and as for the cons, I guess there’s no escape from Makan Place. (Just kidding, I know there’s the new canteen – but I haven’t eaten there yet so…)

Don’t feel left out though, if you’re not from FMS! Just so you know, Chapman Uni is not the only degree option that’s available in NP.

For HMS students, there’s the Bachelor of Science in Early Childhood Education (which I’m sure you’ve heard of). It’s a partnership with Wheelock College and specially customised for graduates from Early Childhood Education and Child Pyschology & Early Education – and the best thing is that it’ll cost you $6.8k a year, which is a few hundred dollars cheaper than tuition fees you’ll need to pay for a local university.

There are also scholarship schemes for this particular course, unlike mine, which only has one. Other than the general NP Undergraduate Scholarship, there’s also the Lien Foundation Undergraduate Scholarship, NTUC Childcare Co-operative Ltd Scholarship and finally, the Lee Kuan Yew Scholarship to Encourage Upgrading (LKY-STEP).

If you’re lucky, you even get to join a 5 week summer internship at the Boston campus, which sounds pretty cool.

The other post-poly option available are the degree programmes offered by Newcastle University. There’s Marine Technology, Marine Engineering, Offshore Engineering and Naval Architecture, so there’re really quite a couple of options available there. They’re mainly catered to graduates from Marine & Offshore Engineering, other graduates from Mechanical Engineering-related courses are welcome to join. You just have to take a bridging course.

There’re also numerous scholarships available, such as the George Chow Yew Tong Scholarship, the ASMI-Naval Architecture Scholarship and the Lloyd’s Register Educational Trust Fund Scholarship – and if you do well enough, you get to participate in a 4 week immersion programme in Newcastle, UK!

For more information about the choices you have in NP, check out Degree options for Ngee Ann grads.

And that’s the end of my post for this week – I’ll be flying off to Hong Kong on Sunday, so expect a post about HK when I get back! :)

The weather has been insane these few days- many are feeling the effects of the heat in Singapore. However, the sweltering heat didn’t stop more than a hundred runners from running at least 1km each to raise funds for Ideawerkz's Run for Fund event.

The concept behind the event was that $50 would be donated by Ngee Ann Poly to the Student Aid Fund for every kilometer ran. The event was held over three days. Pre-registered runners and passers-by alike gamely took on the challenge and put their best foot forward (literally) to raise funds for the needy in our school.

Ideawerkz Advocate Lim Jia Min also took to the chase and completed her 2km run in about 10 minutes.“I did it because all I had to do was to run 2km and I could do my part for the NP Student Aid Fund, so why not? It was a mere $100, but every dollar counts.”

The final year Biomedical Engineering student, who was on duty for most of the three days of the event, wanted to run another 2km on the last day, but there was an overwhelming response and she didn’t manage to.

Year One Mass Communication student Law Kim Ying doing her part

Two of the 114 runners who took part in the event

To encourage the runners, a tub or Cornery popcorn was given away to those who ran more than 2km.

For those who were not as physically fit but wanted to do their part for fellow students, they could too! With a minimum donation of $2, they each got a cup of Cornery popcorn. With more than 10 different flavours to choose from, they were definitely spoilt for choice.

Bubblegum flavoured popcorn!

At the end of the three-day event, more than $12,000 was raised, surpassing the $10,000 target. As what Jia Min said, it was indeed “heartwarming to see students stepping forward to do their part”.

-Clarissa

Catch Derrick Hoh in concert on Wednesday, 9 Feb 2011, 6pm at NP!

We have 25 pairs of VIP passes to be given away and all you have to do is to tell us why you want to see him in concert.

Email us your most creative answer to npfriends@np.edu.sg in this format:

Name:
Mobile number:
Current School:
Education level: Sec.
Stream: Express/Normal

 
This contest is opened to secondary school and ITE students only and the contest closes on Sunday, 6 Feb 2011.

On Monday, I spotted quite a few NP students walking around holding little pots of cacti. Being the busybody that I am, I poked around and found out that that was part of the Ideawerkz "Grow A Smile" campaign! 

Students were given the opportunity to order cacti online and dedicate them to their friends and lecturers. Special messages were written on the cacti and they were placed on this wall.

The wall on which more than 500 cacti were placed.

This initiative was put in place to encourage students to engage in green living at home, despite space limitations.

Apart from encouraging green living by placing plants vertically, the event also encouraged student to integrate recycling into their daily lifestyle. Push carts were set up to allow students to choose their very own cacti and place them in little "pottles" which they could decorate. I decided to go down to have a look and try a hand at decorating my own pottle!

By the time I had reached, most of the cacti were snapped up! 

I had to contribute at least two plastic bottle to the minion bin in order to get a cactus. 

After choosing a cactus of choice, I proceeded to decorate my little pottle with pink and blue gravel

I had only one, how did they manage to get so many?!

Year two Nursing student, Low Shi Chia, with her creation :)

Sherlynn Teo, year one Psychology and Community Services student and her friends! 

Last but not least...........

My very own creation! :D 

To learn more about the IdeaWerkz - the cool peepz behind this campaign, visit their site here!

-Clarissa

The final and most important part of the Open House, the talks! The school organized different talks to cater to students' needs and questions. I hope that you people made your way down during the Open House to clear your queries!

First up, at the Convention Centre, we had Course Counselling and Scholarship Talks!

The lecturers from the various academic schools attended to the students and parents who visited.

All the above talks were organized to help students who have questions!

If you're interested in Overseas Trips and The Christieara Programme, this is the right place for you!

Students listen intently as the speaker talks more about the programmes.

The various scholarships that our school offers to students are being explained.

Held at OurSpace@72, the Find Your Dream Course talk helped students to further understand themselves.

Last night was the last time to chat with ngeeann@live.com! If you still have questions about our school's courses and other school-related stuff, you can always go to Ngee Ann's facebook and leave a message there! All the best for your JAE posting results!