Counting Down 2010......

It has almost come to the end of 2010..... Let's see what our DNI club's members have to say for the year 2010 and what are their targets or goals for the coming 2011. =)


DNI Club Reflections:
----------------------------------------------------------------

Name: Le Phuoc Hoang Long
Class: 3E1

In 2010, I have taken part in the following competitions: National Earthquake, Landslide Competition, Solar Sprint.

Earthquake Competition: The competition required the participants to construct a building structure with the use of wooden stick and strings. After which it will be placed on a simulator to simulate an actual earthquake magnitude. Whichever team can withstand the largest magnitude will be crown champion. It was a fun and enjoyable competition after all, though it was time consuming but I have gained much knowledge about the structure’s resistance to earthquake.

Landslide Competition: In this competition we need to shape up a slope with the given requirements from Singapore Polytechnic. Then it will be placed on a simulator to test on the resistance of our slope, thus “satay sticks” were provided for the extra reinforcement. Reinforcement plays important roles in preventing landslide, as their role were to hold the sands together just like knitting. This is why the government should install them when necessary.

Solar Sprint Competition: This competition required teams to construct a solar powered car by using recycled materials. As Singapore Polytechnic (SP) will only provide the participating teams a standard set of materials such as solar-panel, motor, gears etc... However we are allowed to change the electronic components as long as the car doesn’t exceed the pre-requisites set by SP. In this competition we need to research on how to achieve a maximum gear-ratio performance and which types of motors are suitable for solar car.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Name: Fayiza
Class: 1N1

Earthquake competition: since this was my very first competition in Henderson Secondary School, I felt very nervous and excited at the same time.

Together with my classmate Yuna, both of us were in the same team with one of our senior Xiao Dan. Frankly speaking I had benefited quite a lot from this competition itself, such as the importance of “Teamwork”, “Responsibility” etc…

Even though we did not managed to emerge as Champion but we are still proud of ourselves, due to the hardwork that we had put in.

The most recent competition that I had joined will be the e-Lantern competition. I have no words to describe for this, as my team spent almost everyday staying back in school just to prepare for this competition. I had gained quite a fair bit of knowledge about electrical components, such as the use of Light-Emitting Diode (LED), series connection, parallel connections etc…

The good news for this competition was that my team had clinched the 1st Prize and Most Popular Award. I was shocked when the judges announced the results. Hence I would like to thank my teachers for their valuable advises.

I have already registered myself with Mr Ong for the following competitions in the year 2011. Earthquake competition, Electrifying competition, e-Lantern competition and Trexi competition.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Name: Yuna
Class: 1N1

Earthquake Competition: Earthquake Competition is a very unforgettable experience, though my role was to come up with fascinating designs to decorate our structure. But I really enjoyed the fun that we had during the competition period, not forgetting the importance of “Teamwork”. If I were to manage this task by myself, don’t think I would be able to finish it on time.

Trexi Competition: Trexi is a fun and challenging competition, as there are different templates for us to choose from: ‘Horn Trexi’, ‘ Round Trexi’, ‘Square Trexi’ , ‘Oval Trexi’ and ‘Headphone Trexi’. The good thing about this competition is that, there’s no limit to the number of submissions. In the end I had submitted 3 entries to my teacher. Though I did not win any prizes, but the experience that I’ve gained is more important than anything else.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Name: Wen Khiey
Class: 1E2

My experience with this year’s DNI Club interschool competitions was a very enjoyable experience. Although I have failed to achieve the targets that I had set for the various competitions, but that does not affect my overall performance in the team. As I have a group of wonderful members who encouraged me to move forward, despite of the mistakes that I have made.

In conclusion, I think that if you try your best at everything, you will have a bright future ahead of you. This can also be achieved throughout your years in school and career. So I should work hard to fill my family and the people I know with pride and joy. When there is something that happens to knock you down, you need to able to stand up on your feet again.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Name: Nigel
Class: 1E3

LEGO Bionicle competition:

This competition is about building a hero figure from the six Lego bionicle products which the organiser had given to us and creativity is the key in winning this competition. Before submitting our entry, there are a lot of works to be done: poster design, background description of your hero, giving a name to our hero, hero’s special abilities etc… I had a memorable experience, although I did not win.

Competitions that I would like to take part in year 2011: Landslide competition, Trexi design competition, bionicle competition and maybe joining Earthquake competition. I hope to win more prizes for DNI Club for the year 2011.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Name: Jas
Class: 1E4

Lego Bionicle Design Competition 2010: In the Bionicle Design Competition, I have learnt how to appreciate other people’s design and combine them together. During the competition I had lots of fun, but also encountered problems before the competition such as the sketching of our hero, poster designs etc… However this can be overcome with the help from my fellow DNI club seniors and we managed to secure a 2nd placing for this competition.

Clean Water Challenge 2010: In this competition, I have learnt how to filter cloudy water with just pebble, sand and active carbon. During our practice in school, we faced problems like the water was not clear enough due to the lack of active carbon. In the midst of preparation we have lots of fun and I’ve benefited a lot from my seniors.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Name: Jingwen
Class: 2E2

In this CCA, I have taken part in Clean Water Competition this year. I had fun as we need to filter the dirty water into clean water. Then the judges will test on the purity of our filtered water. Whichever group has the most purified value will win the competition.

We have begun our training in our school weeks before the competition, as our teachers gave us a pail of soapy water for us to filter in the workshop. In order to do that, we will need to rearrange the given materials (sand, pebble and carbon) accordingly in the bottle, so to see which combinations works well in filtering the given soapy water.

As for the coming year 2011, I’ve registered the following competitions: “E-Lantern” and “Clean Water” with Mr Ong. This time round I hope to achieve something out of the competition.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Name: Fiona
Class: 2E2

I participated clean water competition in this year. Through this competition, I experienced how to filter dirty water into clean water by using carbon and sand. I also learnt that different amount volume of carbon and sand can affect the results. Although, my group did not win, but we had gained experienced from it. If we were to participate it again, I think we would do better this time.

What I have achieved/ contributed to the club:

I have won a 5th place in the solar boat competition. Although, it is not the 1st prize, but I felt very happy as the solar boat competition is the first competition that I have took part in.

The competitions that I have registered for 2011:

I have registered E-lantern competition with Mr Ong, although last year my team did not win. However this does not stop me from taking part again. As I felt that creativity plays an important role in this E-lantern competition.

----------------------------------------------------------------

e-Lantern Competition 2010

On 22nd Sept, Wednesday, our school participated in the annual e-Lantern competition held by Singapore Polytechnic. DNI club have sent in 3 teams for the competition. The teams were led by Mr Ong Kwang Wei and Mr Eric Yang, with the advise of Mdm Eileen Ang as our design consultant. We were pleased to announce that our lanterns had beat the rest of competitors and clinched 1st Prize, Most Popular Design Award, 3rd Prize and Merit Award.



Below are the design of our lanterns..... Enjoy viewing~

Team 1: Forest Whisper (1st Prize & Most Popular Award)

Members: Lu Jinhong (3E1), Kyi Kyi Sein (2E2), Fayiza (1N1)

e-Lantern description:

Listen to the songs of the birds, the whispers of the forest and follow the blooming flowers. It leads you into a brand new world, a new mother earth, a world where man finds his rightful place in nature for nature.

Mother Nature - appreciate her beauty and kindness. Hear her cries and heal her pain. Feel her joy and fall into her embrace. Spare a thought for the only place, we can call Home.

Team 2: The Plea of Mother Nature (Merit Award)

Members: Wei Xiao Dan (3E3), Chen Danqing (3N1B), Zhang Yingyi (3N1B)

e-Lantern description:

There is a garden we can never forget Because it gives birth to the beauty of secrets Yet, beauty will not last For the hands of Man are mindless The shiny dewdrops are tears of the beautiful land The blossoming flowers smile in resignation The winding tree branches reach and clutch our hearts Why must we destroy such beauty lands?

Team 3: Trumpeting Joy (3rd Prize)

Members: Liu Jingyan (2E3), Jiraphorn (2E3), Sha Tian Jiao (3E1)

e-Lantern description:

The Elephants symbolises Strength, Peace and Royalty. For people of many origins come together in our School. The Jewels represent the richness of Diversities and the Best in each one of us. Circular Shapes and Forms represent Togetherness and Unity Flowers represent the Beautiful Accomplishments we have achieved together as one.

CCA Leaders 2010

Visiting Henderson Old Folks' Home

On the 20th of August, Friday, 10 DNI Club members,together with Mr Chui Kiam Ming and Mr Eric Yang,paticipated in CIP-visiting Henderson's Old Folks' Home. The members are looking forward to the visit. The elderly sure are friendly! The members also enjoy teaching the elderly how to fold origami swans and hearts,and also,communicating with the elderly. The members have learned how to be more open, and also to communicate with the elderly. It has been a great experience for the students! Good Job DNI.

Electrifying Connections 2010

On the 29th of June,Tuesday,Ngee Ann Polytechnic had a Competition called the 2010 SuperScience Olympiad Electrifying Connections. In this competition,the competing teams have to solve electrical problems by designing electrical circuits ,wiring them up and testing the circuits for functionality. The DNI club sent in three teams to compete in the Electrifying Connections Competition.

They did well and demonstrated a upbeat spirit and positive attitudes during the training as well as the competition. What awesome bunch of youngsters! And they really enjoyed themselves in the process of the competition!

Although Yishun Town Secondary got the first place,Bukit Panjang Government High got the second and third place,but we have learned from the competition that teamwork and critical thinking is really very important.

I have to say that the DNI club really did the school proud,even though they didn't win any prizes,by applying critical thinking,close teamwork spirit and fought hard with other school teams in the competition.

We look forward for the next year's SuperScience Olympiad Electrifying Connections 2011 and we'll be stronger.

Always do your best,DNI!!!

Solar Boat Competition @ Singapore International Water Festival

On the 27th of June, Sunday, Singapore Polytechnic organized a Singapore International Water Festival at Marina Barrage. They have a slew of activities and competitions available for students to participate, and DNI club sent in 3 teams to compete in the Solar Boat Competition.

On the day of the competition, the teams and the teachers were very anxious as the weather in the morning was very bad. It was raining very heavily, so there was no sun to power the boats. Eventually the sun came out, but it was still not sufficient for all the boats to compete. Finally, when it was noon time, the sun was bright enough for the competition to start!

The competition was conducted as a league, with the faster boats being able to advance to the next stage of the competition. DNI Club sent in 3 teams, Team 1: Ma Yi Heng (4E1), Zhang Xiao (4E1), Li Jia Qi (4E1); Team 2: Le Phuoc Hoang Long (3E1), Wei Xiao Dan (3E3), Liu Jingyan (2E3); Team 3: Lu Jinhong (3E1), Hoang Duy (3E1), Kyi Kyi Sein (2E2). The teams were led by Mr. Chui Kiam Ming and Mr. Eric Yang, with Mdm Eileen Ang being our consultant. Of the three teams that we sent in, Team 2, led by Long from 3E1 obtained the 1st place, and Team 1, led by Yi Heng, won the 2nd place, beating 15 other teams to earn the top 2 positions.

We are exceptionally proud of all our teams, not only the winning teams, as we could really see the effort and time that they put in to improve their designs. Once again, to us, the learning process is more important and valuable to the students then the positions and the prize money.

Well done once again, DNI!!