Making Use of Your Holidays

What do you do now that your exams are over?

Holidays are the time you spend after your exam doing things you enjoy to recuperate from a stressful term at school and getting energized for new challenges
Here are some things we suggest you do =)
1. Relax

Especially for students who have been stressing out and burning midnight oil to study for exams, its time to let loose.

Make use of your school holidays to calm your nerves and reduce your stress level. You will feel better and more full of drive and energy when school reopens.

How exactly do you relax?
2. Enter a challenge.

If you love sports, join a camp, learn a new sport or activity. Do something that you have never tried before. You may even visit an outer island or a foreign country.

You will get to broaden your horizon by meeting new people, learning new ways of doing things and maybe develop a new interest.

3. Pursue Your Hobbies
During term time, you hardly have any spare time to do things you enjoy doing such as reading, sports, watching movies and maybe sewing or cooking.

During this month your body should automatically be on slow mode and it is time for you to invest minutes on things you really love doing,

4. Volunteer Your Time

We often find that despite having good intentions, it is hard to find time to give back to society during term time. This is because it requires a commitment to make a difference and often even our weekends are spent doing homework.

By taking part in such volunteer work, you could contribute your time and effort towards helping the needy. It could turn out to be a most rewarding experience for you.

5. Catch Up With Your Family And Friends

Every one of us is involved in our own personal affairs everyday. Amidst all this, we sometimes neglect the important people around us, including our family members and friends.

For example, while studying for your exams, you might not have spared enough time for your parents, brothers and sisters. You might be too preoccupied with your own studies that you did not realise that your family members might have needed you most at that time.

Your action may have even caused them hurt. Recall how your parents have taken great care of you all this while, and how your brothers and sisters have helped you in many ways too.

What you can do now is to try and catch up lost time with them. Show your care, concern and appreciation towards them. It may mean as little as helping with the housework while your parents are working. It may mean as easy as helping your brothers and sisters with their school projects. This will not only make your family more united, it will also make them realise that you also cherish them.

Remember, though, that you should not stop doing so once school reopens!

6. Clear Up Your Room!

Did you create a big mess of your rooms while preparing for your school exams? Did you throw your books all over the place, dump your belongings in all corners, and forget to clear your waste paper baskets? Then this is a good time to start clearing your room if you are guilty of the above.

A tidy and clean room is conducive to living and studying. It also shows how much you respect yourself and your family members. Your family members will greatly appreciate it if your room is neat and clean when they bring their friends home. So will your friends when they suddenly pay you a surprise visit!
7. Take Up A Vacation Job!

If you are a student in a secondary school, junior college or polytechnic, you can take up a vacation job during your school holidays. This will allow you to gain valuable working experience, including gaining new job skills, learning how to interact with people, and understanding how difficult it is for your parents to work and support you.

You may even wish to try a job similar to what you wish to do when you graduate. This will allow you to get a feel of how your future job may be like, and you can decide whether it is suitable for you or not.

Of course, the extra cash you will earn at the vacation job will also bring you satisfaction, because you have worked for it!

8. Catch Up On Your Studies!

Last but not least, if you have not worked hard enough in your previous semester, or are still lagging behind your classmates despite your hard work, you should make use of your school holidays to catch up with your school work.

Nobody said studying is easy, but if you are willing to spend more time on your studies, you will achieve good grades in time to come. Remember the golden rule, "Practice makes perfect!"

Book Review

Brisingr

The third book in the Inheritance cycle was recently released. Do not be lettered by the volume of this book as every page is a feast for the mind. Followers of this series will have many of their questions answered as the author cleverly links details from each book together.

The tale is inspiring as Eragon contintues to face challenges everywhere, both mental and physical and through it all comes up with a sense of self belief and purpose that allows him to overcome all odds. One has a greater sense of identification with Eragon as more secrets about his life are unveiled. This book cleverly paves the way to the sequel as fans wait with bated breath for a final battle of good over evil.

Organizational Work

In 2008, we have done workshops on Decision Making, Innovation, Networking, Creativity, Leadership and Stress Management for government and private organizations such as Ministry of Defense, Singapore Armed Forces, Urban Redevelopment Authority and Singapore Press Holdings. Our offerings for organizations include workshops on:

 Decision Making,
 Innovation,
 Networking
 Creativity
 Leadership
 Team Building
 Stress Management
 Chairing Meetings Effectively
 Emotional Intelligence at Work
 Conflict Resolution




These sessions were very well received with high ratings from participants. They learnt how to solve common work problems thinking innovatively in a relaxed environment. Also, most participants were in important decision making position where everyday they had to work under extremely high pressure. As such, participants benefited from stress management skills where they learnt to clear their heads and work more effectively.

Our trainer facilitated open sharing and interaction among colleagues. This communication stretched across different levels in the department, allowing for closer ties between bosses and their employees. Hence, our workshops serve to inject a different perspective into these organizations, forcing participants to move out of their comfort zone and look at things from a different perspective.

comments from participants:
(identities are withheld to protect firm identity)


"Laakh's infectious enthusiasm while training us made us more excited to go back to work and apply our new skills."


"Every worker in every department should have the opportunity to go through these programs."


"I have never seen my employees work so well together."


"Thank you for reinforcing the belief in ourselves and our jobs."

Camp for Primary 6 Leaders

Creative minds at work.

Forming a team identity.

Being true leaders in all actions.

Sharing session with the trainer.

Discussing what it means to be a leader.

Presentations are team efforts.

Students from different schools working together.

Debriefs about the performance of each team.

Taking part in ice-breakers.

Juying Secondary School

Juying students listening attentively.
Planning a strategy for 'Area of Control' activity.

Contributing during team discussions.

Learning about having a belief system.

Working together to create a fantastic presentation!

Back to School!

The holidays have ended and you are back in school! Even though you need time to settle it, don't forget to start planning your revision schedule for the final exams.

To help you get started, here is a a guide to time managment:

Step 01: Getting started - stop procrascinating and START TODAY!

Step 02: Set clear goals and objectives - you are more likely to achive what you want if you know what you want!

Step 03: Keep an activity log -know how you spend your time every day!

Step 04: Handle e-mail and phone calls in batches -don't interrupt your studying by constantly replying to phone and computer messages

Step 05: Divide larger tasks into groups of smaller ones -large tasks look easier if you divide them

Step 06: Prioritize tasks -Decide what is most important when you have many things to do

Step 07:Set aside chunks of time to do nothing -Remember, you need to relax!

Step 08: Don't overwork yourself -You are human too=)

Step 09: Learn when to say no - Don't promise to do too many things

Step 10: Know when you need time management help- Ask your parents and teachers for help to plan your time.

Here you go, remember START NOW!!!

Sandcastling with NUS High!

Students working on their sandcastle
Learning to be resourceful
Teamwork
Learning can take place anywhere
Learning to work together effectively