Settling in took some perseverance … Hiking in a national park in Hong Kong or Japan is a far cry from where many of our students choose to spend their vacations, but the National Youth Achievement Award (NYAA) pushes our students to the limit. The NYAA is Singapore’s equivalent of the Duke of Edinburgh Award and is closely aligned with UWCSEA’s core values. Currently around 100 Grade 9 and FIB students are taking on the challenge of the Silver Award, while 49 students are tackling the demands of the Gold Award. The NYAA encourages students to engage in service projects, skills development, physical recreation, and adventurous journey, which for the Silver candidates can be linked to a range of expeditions offered by both the Outdoor Education and NYAA departments. For Gold candidates, there is the added challenge of a residential project. There is no doubt that NYAA expects a lot from our students. It’s challenging, demanding, emotionally and physically exhausting, but ultimately rewarding, and has led to a number of our students graduating with truly inspirational accounts of perseverance and friendship. By Adriene Tien Grade 10 FIB Dover Campus What started as a group of friends at their new international school (having joined in Grade 10 for the Foundation IB (FIB) programme) looking for a way to settle in, ended with us forming a close-knit group, complete with newfound skills and independence. Our participation in the NYAA Silver Award programme was unforgettable—and not just the final five-day expedition 10
in a Hong Kong wilderness area, which included strenuous physical work and mental perseverance. As the ‘new kids on the block,’ FIB students are viewed somewhat differently—not as outsiders, just as those who might need some ‘kid gloves’ since we’ve not been through the expedition programme that the rest of our Grade 10 peers have completed in earlier grades. When a Gold awardee spelt this out for us on a training hike early in the year, the comment ignited some spirit and immediately pushed us to finish the 20km trek. But it was more far-reaching than that—it ended up sparking competition between those participating in the NYAA Silver Award, along the way helping us to meet so many other people in the school. It was perfect for helping us to settle in. When we started out in Term 1, the final expedition felt so distant. After spending a couple weeks in self-directed reflection, and some sessions with NYAA Coordinators Wayne Fozzard and Matthew Tuggey, we started planning our expedition. This involved numerous after school sessions, many of which were spent meticulously detailing and perfecting our individual group route cards. Planning our own trekking routes in a country unfamiliar to us was challenging. Proper terminology in our writing and accurate measurement in time and distance were necessary to ensure our safety. Not to mention our focus on first aid; during one training weekend we spent an evening outside the Roy Bennett Theatre going through
emergency scenarios and the recovery position. Nothing was left to chance and everything was designed to develop skills necessary for all candidates to complete the award. Fortunately, the effort was fruitful. The Hong Kong expedition took place 29 March to 2 April. As the distant event that we had laughed and joked about at school was becoming a reality, even the three-hour plane journey to Hong Kong had us feeling nostalgic about our access to technology. Anxiety was creeping up in us, but as we got off that last bus at the starting point of the trip, it was replaced with excitement about the adventure ahead. The first few breaths of fresh air were enough to knock me off my feet. What followed was without a doubt one of the most remarkable experiences of my life. Thrown into Tsai Kung, Hong Kong, and applying the skills we gained over the past months of pre-trip training and planning, was a blast of exhaustion, perseverance and accomplishment. We reached our goal height of 408 metres on Tai Cham Koi mountain and conquered the most peaks of any group. I’d like to personally thank Group 5 for being extremely collaborative, encouraging, and unyielding throughout our final expedition. The time we allocated to the NYAA was absolutely worth it. On behalf of the FIBs who joined the Silver Award as an exercise to help us settle in to our new school, I’d like to say thank you—the experience was greatly appreciated and irreplaceable.