MACPHERSON SECONDARY NPCC UNIT
Issue 1
MacPherson Secondary NPCC Unit
March 2016 IN THIS ISSUE
Vice-Principal’s Message by Ms Lo Yen Nie
“When the going gets tough, the tough gets going.” This was the mantra that had kept me going in the past, in spite of the obstacles before me. And I had my days as a NPCC Teacher Officer (TO) to thank for as it had taught me resilience, teamwork and service to others. Recalling my first year as a TO bringing my cadets to the estate around the school to collect newspapers for our Community Involvement Project or CIP at that time (today, we call it ‘Values-In-Action’), we had to toil from morning to late afternoon going from one block of flats to the next, carrying heavy stacks of newspapers down the stairs. It did not help that we were all in our NPCC uniform working ourselves hard in an unforgiveable weather, perspiring nonstop. Nearing the end of the day, I could see from the weary faces of my cadets that they yearned to sit down and rest their legs. Anticipating that some would soon succumb to fatigue and sit down on the ground at the void deck, I waited to see who would be the first to give in. However, I was surprised when none did that. Instead, the cadets stood quietly for the next hour, waiting for the newspapers to be weighed and sent off and for the rest to gather. I was totally unprepared for the responses I got from the cadets in the subsequent debrief. Their refusal to sit down
was entirely due to their being in the NPCC uniform and as one cadet said “It does not look nice to sit on the ground when you are in the police uniform. People will not respect you because you are not respecting the uniform.” In another instance, I had a most humbling experience cooking lunch for the NPCC cadets of several schools. It was our ATC at Pulau Ubin and unfortunately, the care-taker of the camp-site, an elderly and kindly Malay uncle, was unwell. The ingredients for the day’s lunch were already in the kitchen and the cadets had a whole morning of High Elements and were famished. At our wits’ end, one other TO from another school and I decided to roll up our sleeves and cook. It was my first time cooking for so many people and we had to slave over the stove for 3 hours. It was also the most satisfying camp experience I ever had as the smiles and ‘Thank You’ I received from the cadets more than compensated for the fatigue and hunger. It was also the first time I put my needs aside and consider others above mine. (Vice-Principal’s Message continued on Page 2)
Shooting Enrichment Programme Page 4
Yellow Ribbon Project Page 5
8th Asean Para Games Page 6