Induction Week

What else can highlight the start of such a long-lost ordinary school year apart from the first few weeks of student induction? After being away for a year, Concord’s student induction finally makes a comeback with great blasts of fun for both returning and new students here.

Prepared by our head boy and head girl Barney and Chloe-Nicole way before the academic year had even started, a few online Q&A sessions followed by some ice-breaking games were organized by our school prefects to familiarise returners and newcomers altogether. As many were still in quarantine, we were only able to communicate through the screen for a while, which was a shame until the long-awaited Prefect Games were held in Concord’s Sport hall for a consecutive two nights.

The ice-breaking games are always the highlight of the programme, where new students come together and build friendships that last for the entirety of their time here at Concord. We played physical games like dodgeball, but also things like handcrafts and games requiring teamwork. The two-night induction games sessions truly embodied the Concord values of rigour, kindness and creativity, giving newcomers a taste of the school life they will enjoy in the next few years.

“Friendship groups were being made and it’s good to bring ideas to life through this induction. We get to gain friendship with students not only from our year but across different year groups as well!” – Audrey 6.2

The last night of the induction games ended with the Concord tradition called “the high five game”, which required all of us to sit heel to hell in a pair and people run through the gaps of our legs and high fiving us at the same time. This brought the atmosphere of the whole event to its pinnacle and we have never seen so many smiles and laughter in one single room. As the organisers of the event, we feel super proud.

These game nights are truly amazing and we still remember the game nights from the time when we were form 4 or 6.1. We hope all the newcomers will have a wonderful year ahead, and remember these induction game nights just like we do.

 

 

Kenneth and Tiffany – 6.2

House Dinner

In Concord, the House Dinners are held annually and are a chance for students and staff to gather as a ‘house’ to have dinner and bond.

Gandhi:

The Gandhi Dinner was amazing, as always. It’s just great to see so many people working together towards the same goal. It was like coming back to family. Everyone was happy, the food was fantastic and it set the right tone for the upcoming year with everyone. Unlike other houses, Gandhi did not have any performances during the dinner. We focussed on building up connections between the returning and new students. We had a quiz to match the Prefects to their given facts as the dinner went on, and that really helped many people open up and get to know one another.

Michael – 6.2

Pankhurst:

Like other social events, the House Dinner embodies values of the community and diversity. Having experienced it for 4 years as a member of Pankhurst, approaching it from an organiser’s perspective has taught me two lessons I’d like to relay to my younger self – if a time machine is ever invented. Firstly, the amount of consideration and commitment put in by Prefects is easily hidden as you arrive with everything laid out beforehand – but even the smallest details are performed with a purpose. Show immense gratitude to the seniors and the staff for trying to create the best experience for you. Secondly, the seniors aren’t as intimidating as you think they are. There is no reason to place unnecessary pressure on the impression you make with the ‘wiser’ ones amongst us. They only want to make you feel comfortable and see your beauty in its raw form, not to judge you for a single embarrassing word. Every story has multiple perspectives, and this event is no exception. Although these pieces of information may seem obvious to some, experiencing it as a reality is truly something else.

Mia – 6.2

Teresa:

The Teresa House Dinner is always an annual celebration of blue, student talent, laughs, and what it means to be part of the Teresa family. As students enjoyed their food, the Prefects’ seating arrangements helped everyone to make new friends and catch up with old pals. Everyone, of course, had a good laugh at figuring out how well Teresa House Prefects have aged according to their baby photos. And by matching facts to the right Prefects, we were able to learn so much more about the diversity of our friends. The dinner was filled with impressive piano playing, voices of our home-grown Teresa talent, and even an upbeat Korean song. There was the yearly ‘murder mystery’ to solve and the sharing of desserts (since we were unfortunately not allowed to take three at once ha-ha). In all, the Teresa House Dinner was a reminder of the fun-loving house where we have made so many friends.

 Leah – 6.2

Mandela:

The Mandela House Dinner was yet again another amazing opportunity to bring staff and students of this great house under one roof. The dinner kicked off with an opening address by Mr. Rawlinson, the Head of Mandela House, followed by wonderful performances by students, Jamus and Chloe. In addition, the Prefect quiz which was put together by the Mandela Prefects made the evening even more exciting and captivating. As the saying goes, “All good things must come to an end”. The evening was brought to a beautiful end with the song Frozen by Sabrina, sung by Alisar.

 Antoinette – 6.2