Punggol Secondary School - SEAMEO RECSAM SCIENCE OLYMPIAD

Thursday, March 7, 2019

Day 5: 8th March 2019

The day starts with career talks in the STEM fields at the RECSAM auditorium.

Wednesday, March 6, 2019

Day 4: 7th March 2019

Breakfast time!

Briefing by Mr Yuji Otsuka, expert on Science Education - Physics on Challenge 4.

The students are to collaboratively design and build a "Water Bottle Rocket" with the limited materials given . The aim is to build a prototype water rocket which is able to travel the longest distance, cost the cheapest and built the fastest.

Students in deep discussions and actively working together to construct their rockets.

Gathered eagerly at the lobby for the final showdown!

Before we end the Challenge, a picture with the very encouraging and supportive Mr Yuji Otsuka.

Continue to look out for this space, pictures of the Grand Dinner awaits all of you! :)

Here you go, our Grand Dinner pics are here!

The Grand Dinner Setting.

Our Punggolites looking great for the Grand Dinner.

Fun shot taken at the photo booth with all of us.

Punggolites presenting about Punggol Secondary School and Singapore.

Reflections

Level 4 STEM challenge was about building a water bottle rocket that could shoot up into the sky and travel a far distance. I felt that this was an interesting challenge as it required the team to think critically and work together harmoniously to decide on the shape of the rocket as well as the optimal angle when firing. Even though my team didn't shoot the rocket the furthest, it was still an enjoyable experience working with my group mates and learning from participants of other countries. - Chan Ziyung 3E

Before the construction of the Level 4 STEM challenge, I was nervous since I had initially thought that it would be harder than the Egg Drop Challenge and that intimidated me but when I found out that it was to build a Water Rocket, I realised it wasn't that hard after all.

During the construction of the rocket, we had several problems especially when agreeing on how we wanted to construct the body of the rocket but nevertheless we managed to decide on a design as a team.

We faced several problems such as the rocket being too heavy and not being able to build up enough pressure in the bottle for it to launch during the testing period. Despite the setbacks, we had managed to launch the rocket further than what we had anticipated and thus we were proud as we had perserved through and till the end while also forging stronger bonds with my teammates. - Andrei 3E

Today was a tiring but eventful day, everyone was looking forward to the Grand Dinner in the evening. During the Grand Dinner, there were performances and presentations by the participants from the various countries. The performances livened up the atmosphere, which made the dinner very enjoyable. The Thai students engaged all participants in a dance which hyped up everyone in the room. - Carina Ang 4A

The past few days in Penang were an enriching learning experience for me. Even though today was a busy day with Challenge 4, we had our Grand Dinner which was definitely one of the most enjoyable experiences! Other than the spread of sumptuous dishes served for dinner, we also learnt more about the rich history and culture of other countries in South East Asia form the participants. As we all got together, it felt like one big SEA family. The overseas competition was certainly a memorable experience for me. I was also give the opportunity to present about Punggol Secondary School and Singapore with Cody. It was a memorable experience for me to not only represent Punggol Secondary School but to also represent Singapore. - Shannon Lim 4C

Day 3: 6th March 2019

Round 2 & 3 of Science Olympiad

After a good night's rest and a hearty breakfast, the Punggolites are ready for Day 2 of the competition. There is always time for a quick photo! :)

Challenge 2 was the "Egg Drop Challenge".

Students were tasked to work collaboratively in their teams to design and create a structure to protect an egg from cracking or breaking from a high fall. Students were only given limited materials and 2 hours to complete this challenge.

Here are some pictures of our Punggolites putting on their thinking caps to solve the problem given.

Participants could test out their structures as well before submission.

And yes, there were many broken eggs from participants (including ours) cooking under the scorching heat at RECSAM.

Regardless of the failed attempts, Punggolities as well as other participants didn't give up and continued to construct their structures to the best of their abilities within the given time.

It was an enriching and enjoyable experience for all participants!

Challenge 3 was an impromptu presentation in teams. Participants were given a random topic and they had to speak about it for 3 minutes, up on stage. Each team were given 1 minute to discuss their points before presenting.

A quick but important briefing before the start of Challenge 3.

Some of our students in action!

The teams gave it their best! It was not an easy feat however our Punggolites spoke with confidence!

With that, it's a wrap for Day 2!

Reflections

Challenge 2 was interesting! When we stepped into the room and saw the materials given to us for egg drop challenge, we were quite surprised as we have not done it before.

Initially, we were discouraged as other teams were already starting to build their structure while we were still brainstorming our ideas. However, we decided not to be influenced by other teams and continued to spend time planning and started construction once we were ready. When we tested out our structure for the first time, we were quite disappointed that our egg cracked.

Nevertheless, we were still pleased with our overall performance for today as we persevered till the very end without giving up and bonded more with one another. Working in a team is much better than working alone. - Shermaine 4A

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Challenge 3 was probably the most difficult round for our team as all of us were nervous about the impromptu speaking.

The day before the competition, we were all very anxious about the topics that we would get. As a team we reassured each other and decided that we will be confident and give it our best. We prepared for various topics in Singapore and uploaded our resources into Google Classroom for all of us to see and recap.

Even though the topic we received was unexpected, we used the 3 minutes given to us wisely by quickly listing out as many points as we could with examples. We did our best and we hope for the best when we receive the results on Friday.

From this experience, I have learnt that teamwork is really important to get through difficult situations. I also learnt how to improve on my presentation skills by watching students from other countries. - Srivarshini 4A

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Over the past 3 days in Penang, participating in the Science Olympiad, I've forged many new friendships whilst strengthening current ones, as I am given various opportunity to interact with those whom I do not talk to on a daily basis.

I've also learnt to practice respect, since I have to work in a team, and as a group leader, it is important for me to listen to everyone's opinions and come to an agreement to work towards our goal.

I am grateful for this opportunity which has allowed me to apply my knowledge learnt in school and to push myself to think critically and come up with innovative solutions for the STEM challenges.

- Patricia 4A

Tuesday, March 5, 2019

Day 2: 5th March 2019

Briefing by Organisers and Round 1 of Science Olympiad

First day of competition starts with a Punggol Secondary School team photo!

While waiting for the briefing to begin, our punggolites mingled with participants from other countries and made friends.

During the briefing sessions, participants learnt more about the various levels in the competition and what to expect for the next few days.

Level 1 Challenge took place in a classroom and the students were tasked to answer 100 multiple choice questions on Science, Math and general knowledge. We wish the students the very best and a rich learning experience!

Reflections

"I felt that the Level 1 challenge (100 MCQ) today was indeed very challenging. Despite the efforts to study topics beforehand, it proved to be quite a test of not only knowledge from our regular textbooks, but knowledge from an extremely vast range of sciences as well. Moving forward from the first challenge of SEASO 2019, I do look forward to cohesively working with my group members in the upcoming challenges and hope for the best to come." - Alberto Mallari 4D

Today was very meaningful first day for me as I was given the opportunity to meet and interact with the participants during the ice breaking session. The ice breaker session helped me to bond with other participants despite not knowing them initially. Everyone is warm and friendly and it feels like one big family here. From the familiarization session, I learnt more about what is going to happen what I should do during the different levels of challenges. - Cody Loo 4A

Monday, March 4, 2019

Day 1: 4th March 2019

Flying off to Penang for the 1st SEAMO Science Olympiad 2019

Today, we met at the airport at 1pm feeling excited to fly off to Penang for the Science Olympiad Competition. However, we were also filled with nervousness and anxiety as it was a new experience for all of us. With the encouragement of our friends, we felt more assured and confident that we will do well. Together as a team, we will achieve great heights!
- Hoo Jun Qiang 4A

We had a few training sessions before we came for the competition. We got to know one another better during the training sessions. A a team, we decided that all of us will take a topic each to do research and post useful resources and materials such as videos and links to articles onto the Google Classroom platform created for us by our teachers.

One of our training sessions included a hands on challenge in which we were tasked to build a boat made of materials such as straws, ice cream sticks and aluminium foils. We worked together in teams to find innovative solutions to the challenge given to us. - James Foo 3A

Tomorrow, I am expecting a tough battle as there will be an individual component testing on our scientific knowledge. I am also expecting to make many new friends during the ice breaker sessions. I hope all will go well tomorrow and I wish all competitors the very best! -Teja 2D