Istana 150^th Anniversary logo designed by SOTA student


Photo courtesy of The Straits Times

Year 5 Visual Arts student Charlie Chua's logo design for the Istana 150^th anniversary celebrations stood out and was selected from over 100 entries submitted through the Istana 150 Logo Competition. He was invited to unveil the logo with President Halimah Yacob at the Istana during the Deepavali Istana Open House on 6 November 2018. 

The logo design, which will be featured on Istana 150 memorabilia, shows a white outline of the building against a strong red background. According to Charlie, his logo design was inspired by his visit to the Istana grounds when he was three years old. He recalled playing in the garden and seeing the building's facade in the morning sun.

We are excited to see how his logo will feature on Istana's memorabilia!

24-Hour Playwriting Competition 2018

Ariadna (sixth from left) and Tiffany (fourth from right) with the winners of the 24-Hour Playwriting Competition 2018. Photo courtesy of TheatreWorks.

Congratulations to Year 4 Theatre students Ariadna Padron Yassin and Tiffany Ho who won 2nd and 3rd place in the Youth Category of the TheatreWorks' 24-Hour Playwriting Competition! The 21^st edition of the competition in July this year challenged participants to use the venue of the competition as the foundation for their plays. Held at Haw Par Villa, participants immersed themselves in the Asian cultural park, filled with ancient Chinese mythology, folklore and history.

Ariadna (left) and Tiffany (right) receiving their prizes. Photo courtesy of TheatreWorks.

Flying the Singapore flag high in Indoor Skydiving

Year 4 Visual Arts student Kyra Poh has made Singapore and SOTA proud again!
At the Asiania Indoor Skydiving Championships in Chongqing, China in September, she displayed remarkable resilience to win two gold medals! Despite fracturing her rib in June, Kyra overcame the injury to win the solo freestyle title and topped the dynamic two-way category with her partner Choo Yi Xuan from Singapore Sports School. Read about this on The Straits Times HERE and HERE.

Kyra (third from left) with the Singapore team at the 2018 Asiania Indoor Skydiving Championships. Photo by Asiania Indoor Skydiving Championships.

She continued on her winning streak at the World Air Sports Federation (FAI) World Cup of Indoor Skydiving competition in Bahrain in October, where the duo clinched the gold in the dynamic two-way category. Kyra also won silver in the solo freestyle open event. Watch the gripping finals HERE and read more on Channel NewsAsia HERE.

Kyra (fourth from left) and team mate Choo Yi Xuan clinched the gold in the dynamic two-way category at the 2018 World Air Sports Federation (FAI) World Cup of Indoor Skydiving competition. Photo by Gravity Indoor Skydiving.

Congratulations, Kyra!

Tee Zhu Yi's artwork receives praise from Minister Indranee Rajah

Photos taken from Minister Indranee Rajah's Facebook page

As part of a collaboration between SOTA and the Ministry of Law, five linoleum print designs by Visual Arts students were selected by the Ministry of Law to be reproduced into their corporate gifts. Commending our students on their work and efforts, Minister Indranee Rajah showcased the print created by Year 2 student Tee Zhu Yi in a Facebook post. Named "Their Own Findings", his work is intended as a vibrant depiction of Singapore's identity as a multicultural nation, bound by the bonds shared between our people.

Asian Grand Prix International Ballet Competition
​

Dance students Kenzo Seah (Year 2), Michael Heng (Year 2), Woo Zi Yue (Year 4) and Vivian Leow (Year 5) qualified for the semi-finals of the Asian Grand Prix International Ballet Competition held in Hong Kong in August 2018. They were guided by mentors Mr Ng Teck Voon, Ms Cheah Mei Sing and Ms Liliana Durlai. Kenzo and Vivian made it through to the finals of their respective divisions, and Kenzo was awarded the Gold medal in the Junior A category. In addition, he was offered short term scholarships at the following prestigious dance institutions - the New Zealand School of Dance, English National Ballet School and the National Ballet School of Canada. Kenzo also received a Harlequinn Travel Scholarship grant.

Well done to all dancers! We hope this opportunity has inspired them to reach for greater heights in Dance.

Hidden Wilderness by Tan Shao Qi


Hidden Wilderness (2018) by Tan Shao Qi

Year 6 IBCP Visual Arts student Tan Shao Qi's work was featured at Gajah Gallery's exhibition, The New Now II: VIVID AND VEILED. Titled Hidden Wilderness, the artwork was inspired by Shao Qi's memory of discovering the quiet splendour of nature along a secluded area in Tanjong Rhu road. Remaining vivid and arresting in her memory since, the grandeur of a mature rain tree is revealed in her photographic work. Rendered in black and white, and focusing on the subtleties of shadows and textures instead of the vibrancy of colour, the image exudes a melancholic mood. This moves viewers to ponder the artist's process of recollection.

FamChamps Awards Ceremony 2018
​


We are proud to share that SOTA FamChamps received the Most Impactful Family Service Project Award at the FamChamps Awards Ceremony held on 30 June 2018 at ACS Barker Road! This was for organising SOTA Honour Night, an evening of bonding for families that was held in March. SOTA FamChamps, made up of Year 2 students, had started planning for the event since last December.

In addition to the team award, one of our students, Charlene Yong, was also awarded the Outstanding FamChamp Award, given to youths who have displayed strong qualities of being a Family Champion. She is one of only 11 recipients of this award.

Well done, SOTA FamChamps!

Find out more about FamChamps here.

National Schools Xinyao Competition 2018



After many weeks of hard work and passion, Team SOTA has emerged from this year's National Schools Xinyao Competition with good news! Year 2 Music student Raine Chiew attained second place in the solo singing category, while over in the group category, honourable mentions were accorded to a band of five SOTA students led by Year 5 Theatre student Marcus Chiau, together with the duo formed by Raine and her sister. Raine also received the online popularity award for the solo category.

The National Schools Xinyao Competition aims to encourage students to enhance their Chinese reading and writing abilities and cultivate a love for local Chinese music (xinyao). This is the first year that Raine took part in the solo category despite having been participating since 2016, and also the first time that SOTA sent in a group entry.

Congratulations to Team SOTA! Keep your passion burning!

Find out more about the National Schools Xinyao Competition here.

Lee Kuan Yew Prize Award Ceremony



The Lee Kuan Yew Prize Award Ceremony and Banquet celebrates the winners of the Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize and Water Prize. This year, the event was held on 9 July 2018 at The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore. Our students - Parveen Kaur (Pipa), Natasha Michella da Costa (Voice) and Michael Huang (Piano) - had the honour of performing at the event, and had the opportunity to have a photograph taken with Guest-of-Honour President Halimah Yacob!

CHAOS Competition 2018



Some of our Year 2 students were caught up in the whirlwind of excitement at the Creative and Heuristic Applications of Science (CHAOS) competition finals in May!

In the multi-disciplinary Science competition this year, students had about four weeks from February to March to research and work on problems related to cyclones. At the finals and award ceremony on 23 May 2018, one of the two SOTA teams - consisting of Subashri Yuvaraj, Hasel Soh, Charlene Yong, and Larissa Yong - received Honorary Mention.

Well done to all the students who represented SOTA and thank you Mr Alex Teng and Ms Angela Wong for your guidance!