As with last year, the first day was registrations and introductions. I got to meet quite a few new Juniors as well as some returning ones, not to mention answer some of their many curiosities. After the break and the introductory talks by the teachers, Kah Kit and I were back in the lead to teach them the school song and cheer. (Kween was supposed to lead the team, but... well...) Pn Shiveh spiced things up by having the Juniors sing their own school songs as well (their Seniors joined in too). Of note is the sole St Gabrian who belted out his school song proudly (his friends mysteriously disappeared during the session...). Later in the afternoon was the ice-breaking session. Contrary to last year, this time Kah Kit designated twelve mentors from the PPUU to, well, mentor each of the twelve groups, mentors specially chosen by yours truly. We split them up by star signs this year, and needless to say, I got to mentor the group of the archer-centaur.
Your reaction is probably the same as Squidward's...
What I didn't expect was that my team ended up being all girls. (!) Where'd all the Nov-Dec boys go??? Nevertheless, once they chose their leader and I stepped aside, they showed enough independence to be able to come up with a group cheer all on their own. (Salute!)
On the second day of orientation, my true lo- Sorry, wrong season. Anyway, nothing much in the morning, just some housekeeping and then the Discipline briefing. Boy, Pn Ng really knows how to be thorough... I left for class after recess until shortly before lunch. After lunch was the "Chat with mentors" session. As with yesterday, 12 groups, 12 mentors. Lots of questions, lots of answers... Oh, and team Saggi- finally got some boys today...
Third day. I left for class after housekeeping, but joined in the Pidato event after recess on Pn Azizah's request. After the lowers had their turn, Pn Azizah asked me and Thivager to give our own 1Malaysia Pidato speeches. Thiv went with the same style he did during the contest, but for me, I noticed the lowers were already beginning to "nod in agreement", so I spun mine into this weird, wacky, talking-to-myself sort of thing, with sporadic changes in intonation and pacing to match. Needless to say, this managed to keep them awake for a while...
After the break, was the highlight event, the Explorace. It think it's best explained in pictures...
Sinister faces...
This is one of the more sadistic stations...
Because in that bucket...
Are these...
Believe it or not, the superbly sporting principal actually grew up playing with the little fellas...
Man, I wasn't even a contestant...
Oh, and most of the tasks have punishments for failing. (Obviously...)
Now these are real sinister faces...
Here's another fun one...
Now, in slow motion...
Sneak attack!!!
Predictably, after a while, our own PPUUs became targets...
Myself included. Although, in a much different fashion than last year, this time I decided to give almost every guy within reach a nice, big, hug...
Somewhat frustrating was that I had to actually ask somebody to get me wet, otherwise the PPUUs won't dare touch me. I guess they knew better... At least this time, it was fun...
Day four. I had no involvement until right at the end in the closing ceremony. Council Prez Kah Kit somehow managed to forget to get an emcee to chair the ceremony, so I filled in, being one of the only few who could chair an entire ceremony without a script. Speeches were given, prizes were given out, and fun was had. Here's to another great event organised by the PPU Council.
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Something most Cochraneans will be either pleasantly or unpleasantly surprised with. Friday was Pn Helawati's last day in SMKC. She was asked to transfer to SMK Puterijaya to serve as a F6 teacher there. And with that, another long time teacher leaves SMKC. She may not be the most well-liked, but to be honest, as I've said in my farewell speech in the ceremony, I'm gonna miss her. For all the strictness she puts out, she still has some more gentler moments. And it's also a shame that future Cochraneans won't have the privilege of knowing her... ;)
Although next time, we don't stay up until 3.30 am to type out a farewell speech, okay Nick?
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Saturday. Would have been an off day, but I decided to go and support the team of Junaidi, Doreen, and Grace as they compete in a 1Malaysia storytelling-esque competition in the National Museum's Auditorium. (I haven't been near there since kindergarten...) As with the Pidato competition a while back, they were up against colleges, teachers, and so on. In fact I think SMKC is the only school in the ages 18+ competition. We didn't win, but nevertheless, compared with the spectacular performances by TAR College (who sent 3 teams out of the 6 competing) and the others, SMKC's team stood up quite well for first-timers. Also, thanks to the comedic stylings of Man Raja Lawak, the Cochranean clap was heard three times in that auditorium that day, courtesy of yours truly...
And then I passed out for 7 hours straight later throughout the day due to exhaustion...
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