Welcome to our big Hwa Chong family! You may be feeling a sense of uncertainty entering a new school and there are probably a multitude of questions on your mind now. Fret not! Hwa Chong Publications Society (HCPS) has got your back! Here is a carefully curated one-stop guide, prepared by JAE, DSA and IP students, with all the information you will need as you transition into this new school environment.
CCA opportunities don’t wait!
HC CCAs consist of Sports and Games (S&G), Performing Arts (PA), Service and Enrichment (S&E) as well as Councils. If you have a CCA in mind, do check out the CCA Council’s website (@hcccas) and the CCA’s own Instagram page for trials and recruitment information! On Hwa Chong Herald, we also have a series of articles in collaboration with CCAC - CCA in Limelight - that gives you exclusive ground information about their everyday CCA life. Signing up for open sessions of the CCAs can further provide you with firsthand experience of the CCAs’ culture. Remember: opportunities don’t wait!
A heads-up about the process of becoming a student councillor - it’s not a simple process. First of all, you will need to go through interviews with senior councillors and teachers. Should you pass this interview, you will start on your election campaign! This is followed by a camp to help orienteer you into council. Finally, after the council investiture, you will become an actual councillor. Despite the Students' Council being a high commitment CCA, it is nonetheless fulfilling. If you truly wish to serve the school, I am sure you being a councillor is something that you will not regret!
Most importantly, never let the lack of prior experience deter you from trying out for a CCA of your interest. The warm HC CCAs are more than willing to welcome newcomers into their team. Nonetheless, keep your options open and do not be disheartened if you are not shortlisted for certain CCAs. Afterall, there are multiple rounds of CCA selections so just keep looking for a CCA that suits you!
Faculties: 4 Fac 1 Hwach
You might have noticed the colourful faculty shirts that your J2 seniors are wearing. Do you remember the colours? That's right, there are four faculties in HCI and their corresponding colours are: Artemis (blue), Athena (green), Ares (red) and Apollo (yellow). You will be grouped into different faculties depending on your class. Each faculty has a Faulty Head and a Deputy Faculty Head, both of whom will be selected from the Student Council. However, take note that only interim CT Reps and Class Committee members have the chance to join these faculty committees, so make sure to volunteer for these positions if you have interest in serving your class and faculty!
Want to serve? Get involved in SL groups or CIPs!
Giving back to the community is one of the most meaningful things in life. As such, engaging in Community Involvement Projects (CIPs) is what many do throughout their journey in HC. Normally, students will organise Service Learning (SL) groups during their first year in college, before the rigorous academic demands of being a J2 kicks in. How do you form an SL group? Well, the first thing is to grab your friends who share the similar interests as you. After the grouping is confirmed, approach your chosen mentor to request for approval. This mentor will guide you throughout your SL journey – from writing proposals and filling up application forms, to the organisation of various events (fundraising, webinars etc) – as you champion for your cause.
However, if you are not in favour of starting up an SL project from scratch, you can always join an existing SL project or opt for individual CIP. Curious about how these work? Give the CIP Council (CIPC) Website a visit to address some of your burning queries. Do note that CIPC not only organises CIP opportunities for the student body, but also conducts regular SL workshops for students. All these workshops will be made available on our school’s IEMB.
What special programmes and subjects do HC offer?
Considering whether to sign up for special programmes? Well here at HC, there’s a selection for you to choose from! Do note that to enter special programmes or to take certain subjects, you would have to take entrance tests during the OG period. Hence, do look out for more information on IEMB and listen to the briefings!
Science & Math Talent Programme (SMTP) & Gifted And Talented Education (GATE) Programme
The SMTP and GATE programmes allow for the pursuit of students’ passion and interests in the sciences and mathematics. According to Voon Suin (21S7F), a student in SMTP, studying is much more self-directed. Students follow a guided-inquiry style of learning for chemistry, where they are to formulate their own ideas and concepts for each topic through a series of questions. On the contrary, students from mainstream classes are provided with concepts, following a “lecture-tutorial” format.
Gifted And Talented Education Programme (GATE) Programme
GATE and SMTP are different! GATE is going more in-depth into one subject while SMTP is going in-depth into all the subjects.
Humanities Programme
Students in the Humanities Programme go more in depth into the humanities subjects as compared to mainstream humanities students. According to Alina Tan Xuan Yun (21A14), the biggest difference between the Humanities Programme and taking normal H2 humanities is that it comes with a MOE scholarship program and an overseas trip! (Do note that due to COVID, these trips may be held locally instead.)
Computing Talent Programme
The Computing Talent Programme gives more opportunities for people who have a passion in computing, according to Huang Sikai (21S6D), a student from the programme. Although they attend the same classes as the students who take computing as a subject, they go through additional enrichment talks where they further their learning. For example, a SUTD Professor gave a talk beyond the syllabus about machine learning.
Art Elective Programme (AEP)
In AEP, students have the opportunity to explore both studio practice and art criticism as part of the syllabus. Students part of the AEP have to take H2 or H3 art at A Levels, which typically consists of coursework and a theory paper analysing and evaluating art based on artists, art styles and themes.
Bicultural Studies Programme (BSP)
In BSP, they do case-study questions and open-ended essays which are mainly scoped to the economy, society, governance and foregin affairs of China. Enrichment lessons are offered once every week and some activities are conducted to further their learning. However, do take note that you must take H2 China Studies in China (CSC) to be in BSP!
Language Elective Program (Chinese)
According to Jiang Yuchen (21S6A), a student from CLL (Chinese Language and Literature), during lessons, they may act out scenes from their drama book and hold immersion trips to understand Chinese culture better. Furthermore, they conduct writing competitions with different genres and attend debate competitions with people from BSP.
Another topic you may be curious about is H3s. H3s are usually taken based on interest in a particular subject. Depending on the subject, there can be as many as three types of H3 - independent research paper, university taught programme or MOE-developed examinable syllabus. Most H3 subjects are only offered in J2 based on our J1 Promotional Examination results. Thus, if you intend to further your interest in a subject by taking H3 in J2, focus on doing well for your year-end examinations and approach your respective subject teachers for more information. More information will be uploaded onto IEMB towards the end of your J1 year about H3s.
If you are interested in joining additional enrichment like competitions or research opportunities (e.g. CENTAD, Seminars, Webinars), do also check IEMB regularly as registrations for these opportunities will be posted there.
Study tips!
Before coming to JC, you have probably heard from your seniors all the terrifying stories: uncooperative Project Work mates, “DESU” grade club, chronic late night mugging… Some even termed JC as the “hardest 2 years of their life”. Indeed, the content is definitely a lot heavier as compared to secondary school and more time is needed to digest them. So here are a few tips on how to cope!
First of all, be consistent. After lectures, remember to finish your tutorials and revise your topics if you have time! This can be done through the supplementary exercises or additional practice questions that are usually found after your tutorials. Do your best to follow the scheme of work given and not let your unfinished work snowball!
Secondly, be self-directed learners. Oftentimes your teacher may not force you to hand in homework (unlike in Secondary school) or check whether you have completed your tutorials. Corrections are usually done on your own time too. Sometimes, when you have questions, the fastest and easiest way is to ask your friends and if both of you don’t understand, you just found yourself a consultation buddy! From personal experience, teachers are always very willing to help so do approach them if you don’t understand anything.
Thirdly, don’t compare yourself with others. It is very easy to feel inferior to others when you start comparing yourself with others. Remember that self introspection is the way to go instead!
Lastly, take a break and don’t overcommit. If you find yourself sleeping 3-4hours a day everyday, it is probably time to take a break. Otherwise, you may burn yourself out and fall back to square one.
Socialising tips
As JAE students, many are pretty worried about making new friends in an IP-majority school. While you are reading this, you may find it really relatable. The good news is that you do not have to be overly troubled by this. While adapting to a new school environment takes time and the outcomes vary among different individuals, JAE students in general have integrated well into HC. Everyone in HC is incredibly friendly and if you are willing to keep an open mind and reach out to them, they will definitely be willing to befriend you too! In fact, after making friends with students from the IP stream, you will realise that they are just as anxious as you are transitioning into a new school environment. A simple greeting can eventually blossom into lifelong friendships. That being said, don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone and say “Hello” to your new buddies!
To sum up, remember to check IEMB regularly to not miss out on opportunities and reminders, do not hesitate to try new things and work hard but also play hard!
Written by: Jenny Huang (21S74), Goh Yu Le (21S79)
Edited by: Tan Xuanmin (21S78), Caroline Ong Wan Ting (21A10), Tran Vu Phuong Uyen (21A15)
Websites for reference:
"HC CIP Council - Google Site" https://sites.google.com/student.hci.edu.sg/cipcouncil/home?authuser=2
"HOME | CCA Website - Wix.com." https://hwachongccas.wixsite.com/ccawebsite.
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