A PIONEER HALL PUBLICATION. AY 15 /16 A YEAR IN MEMORY

REFLECTIONS

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LIFE IN PIONEER HALLA short introduction by Hall President

Darren How on life in Pioneer Hall

- INTRODUCTIONS -

Pioneer Hall is a special place, one made more special by the people who live in it. From a myriad of faculties and back-grounds, you’ll never find a melting pot like that of Pioneer’s.

For the last year, Pioneer Hall is a place in which many of us have come to

know of as home. As residents, we spend the majority of the academic year

in hall, living amongst each other and forging friendships. Pioneer Hall is

our home away from home.

This year has been an amazing journey for us in Pioneer Hall. We have

achieved many firsts this year, from expanding our suite of sports to the

full twenty to having our first carnival, we even won our first medal in

the Hall Olympiad. Together with Crescent Hall, we are the school’s first

exploration into the formal inclusion of residential learning into the hall

system. We have come a long way in this regard, establishing a relation-

ship with Ren Ci with regular visits to their nursing home in Bukit Batok

and the establishing of our third learning space, ‘The Kitchen’. As we come

to the second year of Pioneer Hall’s existence, we look back on the experi-

ences that we have had in this past year.

Pioneer chronicles the many different happenings and events of Pioneer

Hall. It captures a glimpse into the many facets of hall life and commemo-

rates what we have done this past year. As Pioneer Hall’s first official pub-

lication, this book marks an important step for the hall. I hope you enjoy

this book and reminiscing about the past year. It is my pleasure to present

to you, Pioneer.

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WELCOMEAnd thank you for taking the time

to read this publication

—‘Reflections’, Pioneer Hall’s first ever official publication, would not have been possible without the support of a great many people, in particular the media and publicity teams. It’s been one hell of a journey in itself working with each and every one of you and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as we did making

this publication happen.

SPECIAL THANKS

Special thanks to everyone who’s supported us throughout the process of the pub-lication, from our friends, neighbours and subcommittee members. Without you,

none of this would be possible.

The team would also like to extend a word of thanks to our friends in Crescent Hall for their ideas and suggestions in making this publication better. Thank you all for

making this publication a success.

D A N I E L C H A IPublicity Director - Chai0103@e.ntu.edu.sg

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CONTACT US

PIONEER HALLNanyang Technological University

156 Nanyang Crescent,

Singapore 637125

P: +65 6790 5766

E: hall6crespioneer@ntu.edu.sg

W: http://webx.ntu.edu.sg/PioneerHall

—

E D I T O R I A L

DANIEL CHAI

Publicity Director, Chief Editor

KELVIN TEO

Media Director, Editor

C O N T R I B U T O R S

Dion Lim, Raynor Wee, Darren How, Ng Xin Yu,

Leonard Ng, Muhd. Mirza, Ng Ping Kee, Aaron Phua,

Deepashini Naidu, Kelvin Teo, Quek Hong Ghwee

P R I N T & P R O D U C T I O N

NAZERA BANU

Business Manager 08SPORTS FEATURE

Sports in Pioneer Hall

and the IHG season

01LIFE IN

PIONEER HALL

By Darren How

10SERVING

the COMMUNITY

with Ng Xin Yu

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

—

Page 1 LIFE IN PIONEER

An introduction on

life in Pioneer by

Hall President Darren How

Page 8 - 9SPORTS IN PIONEER HALL

A feature on sports in Pioneer Hall

Page 10 - 11SERVING THE COMMUNITY

A reflection by Ng Xin Yu

—

Page 12 -17FLYING SOCIAL

On social events and activities in

Pioneer Hall

Page 18 - 19RECREATIONAL GAMES

A feature on recreational games in

Pioneer Hall

—

Page 20 - 21CULTURE IN PIONEER HALL

Backstage with one of the liveliest

communities in Pioneer Hall

Page 22 - 23SPECIAL PROJECTS

Adventure with the special projects

team as they organise the most unique

of events in Pioneer Hall

—

18CULTURE in

PIONEER HALL

Backstage with one of

the liveliest communi-

ties in Pioneer Hall

10FLYING SOCIAL with

AARON and MIRZA

The story behind the

many social events in

Pioneer Hall

20SPECIAL PROJECTS in

PIONEER HALL

Embark on a journey of

fun and adventure

16RECREATIONAL

GAMES in

PIONEER HALL

Recreational games in

Pioneer Hall and the

IHRG season

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

—

Page 24 - 25 WELFARE IN PIONEER

Why Pioneer residents have the best

welfare

Page 26 - 27LEARNING IN CRESPION

Discover the dynamic learning envi-

ronment in the CresPion complex

Page 28 -29BLOCK SUPPERS

With good food and great company,

what more could you want?

—

28BLOCK SUPPERS

Good food and great

company, what more

could you want?

24WELFARE in

PIONEER HALL

why Pioneer residents

have the best welfare

26LEARNING in

CRESPION

Discover the dynamic

learning envionment in

the CresPion complex

30PIONEER HALL

COUNCIL

Pioneering new

milestones

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08SPORTS

Basketball captain

Yang Fan taking a shot

at the IHG Basketball

games

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- SPORTS FEATURE -

SPORTS—

“We may not be the best, but we work hard and we play hard. And at the end of the day, as long as we do our best and have no regrets, that in itself is a victory.”

- Andreas Tan, Assistant Sports Director While not known as a ‘sports hall’, Pioneer Hall still maintains a strong sports culture with players practicing or having friendly matches outside their training schedule. The love for the sport exhibited by our residents and players has led to

improvements when playing against other halls in the IH season 15/16.

The success of Pioneer Hall’s sports culture can be attributed to the leadership and direction set by our sports directors Aaron and Andreas. Under their leadership, Pioneer Hall has increased uptake across all sports as well as obtained better train-ing equipment for players, and better facilitites for residents in the form of free

weights in the gym.

Over the last year, Pioneer Hall has achieved many firsts, from expanding our suite of sports to the full twenty and even making it to the quarter finals for the sepak takraw team - a feat for players who had no playing experience in the sport prior

to joining hall.

INTER-HALL SEASON

This year’s Inter-hall season saw a tremendous increase in both uptake among resi-dents as well as performance. This year, Pioneer Hall participated in all 20 sports in IHG - an increase of 10 new sports. We also achieved a big improvement in this year’s IH season, with some of the sports, such as Sepak Takraw, Water Polo, Swim-

ming and Track and Field doing exceptionally well.

SEPAK TAKRAWSepak Takraw was easily the best performing sport this IH season. Led by team manager Hakim, the team worked hard and made it as far to the Quarter Finals, none of them having had any experience in playing the sport prior to joining hall.

WATER POLOThis current IH season, our Water Polo team made it into the final pool among all 18 halls, the last game before the Quarter Finals, their months of training finally pay-ing off. With this being the first time Pioneer Hall has participated in Water Polo,

this has been a huge success for everyone.

SWIMMINGOur swimming team made it to two final events this season - the 4 x 50m breast-stroke (female), and the 4 x 50m individual medley, where our swimmers put up a

good show against other halls and doing Pioneer Hall proud.

TRACK AND FIELD After months of training and hard work, our runners made it into the top 8 finals for the 4 x 400m female event, doing Pioneer Hall proud. The represeting team was

made up of: Wan Ling, Nazera, Xin Yi, and Jin Yi.

All in all, Pioneer’s players put up a really good show this IH season and we couldn’t be prouder of them.

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COMMUNITY OUTREACH——

DID YOU KNOW?For the second semester of AY15/16 Pioneer residents have been paying weekly

visits to Ren Ci nursing home? Headed by Community Services director Ng

Xinyu, residents do their part to make the community a better place.

“FROM A YOUNG AGE, I WAS TAUGHT THAT TO LEAD IS TO SERVE.”

NG XIN YU IS A FIRST YEAR COMMUNICATIONS STUDENT AT THE WEE KIM WEE SCHOOL OF

SOCIAL SCIENCES. SHE HOPES TO ONE DAY USE HER SKILLS TO HELP THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE.

PIONEER HALL’S FIRST COMMUNITY OUTREACH

NG XINYUCommunity services Director

Heading down week after week is more than a commitment, it’s a calling. People ask me from time to time why I even bother making the trip down. “They have people taking care of them there, people who are better trained and equipped to help them.” some tell me. But I do not listen, these old folks may have caretakers, but they don’t have family. The occasional visits from volunteers are about all some of these folks have. It’s an almost bittersweet feeling each time I go down. I make friends, talk to them, listen to their stories. There’s a lot to learn from someone who’s been around for the better part of the last century and I enjoy every moment. I appreciate the effort of the other volunteers too. Some may turn up once, others a couple of times, and then there are the regulars, people like Recreation Games Director Joseph and Financial Secretary Shen Juin. But no matter the frequency, they all bring something home with them. A moment. A moment of good. And it’s something I encourage each and every resident to take part in, at some part of your hall stay. Life is more than simply studying and attending hall events, sometimes, it’s the little things that matter, and I do hope to see many more residents coming forward and helping

out in the years to come.

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FLYING SOCIAL

THE SOCIAL TEAM—

NOBODY DOES SOCIAL in PIONEER HALL LIKE SOCIAL DIRECTORS AARON AND MIRZA

Social events are the heart of hall life and over the course of the year Pioneer Hall has played host to many. Headed by social directors Aaron and Mirza, the social team plans many events throughout the year. These events give residents a platform to interact, bond and make new friends, making hall life all the more interesting.

From Halloween to Valentines day, the efforts of the social team make life in Pio-neer Hall an interesting one. Many residents consider social events to be a much welcomed break from their studies and usually head down with their friends after their classes. These events are what make life in Pioneer Hall what it is.

HELLOWEEN, a joint hall affair

Co-organised by Halls 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, Crescevnt and Pioneer, Helloween featured a large number of activities for residents to participate in. From nostaligic carni-val games with a spooky twist to haunted houses with scary ‘ghosts’, Helloween brought together residents across halls for a chance to bond and interact. Featur-ing performances by jam bands and dance groups, Helloween was truly a night to remember.

VALENTINES DAY

Valentines Day was yet another event organised by the Social team. Featuring performances by the jam bands and the acapella group, The Valentines Day event featured nostalgic love songs and pretty lights creating a comfortable atmosphere for residents. The event also featured booths selling roses and gift cards.

by DANIEL CHAI

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FLYING SOCIAL

THE SOCIAL TEAM—

“WE ORGANISE EVENTS THAT WE WANT TO ATTENDOURSELVES.” - ASST. SOCIAL DIRECTOR MIRZAOrganising an event is no mean feat, imagine coming up with events all year round! Social Directors Aaron and Mirza, along with the social team at Pioneer Hall are responsible for events all year round making life in Pioneer Hall what it is. With all their effort, there’s never a boring moment in Pioneer Hall.

SUBCOMMITTEE BONDING DAY

Held at Sentosa, the subcommittee bonding day was a chance for subcommittee members to get to know each other. The event featured team building games at the beach before ending off with a group dinner at VivoCity.

WELCOME DINNERS

The start of each semester plays host to a welcome dinner, an opportunity for new residents and students to get to know each other. These events are informal, creating a relaxed environment for residents to get to know each other. Over the course of the last academic year, Pioneer Hall played host to 2 welcome dinners, both of which were well attended.

FAREWELL DINNER

The farewell dinner was the final social event of the academic year. Organised by both the welfare and social teams, the event featured a series of performances as well as refreshments for residents - the perfect way for a last get together before finals.

by DANIEL CHAI

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16DANCING with

THE STARS

Pioneer Hall’s D&D

takes you on a star

studded journey

DANCING WITH THE STARS

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Last year’s D&D was held at Hotel Rendez-vous and featured a sumptuous dinner, fol-lowed by performance segments by pageant contestants selected from the different ori-entation groups (OGs) during the FOC. Dur-ing the event, various orientation groups came up with banners and posters support-ing the pageantees from their respective groups with some going as far as to print almost life sized cutouts of the pageantees.

“A TRULY SPECTACULAR AFFAIR”

Themed “The Oscars”, Pioneer Hall’s D&D was a star studded affair with residents dressed to the nines for the red carpet event. Some OGs even turned up in group cos-tumes, showing their solidarity and undying support for their pageantees.

The D&D also featured a competition seg-ment with personality awards given out for most humorous, charismatic and positive (sunshine) residents. There were games for the best dressed participants and many priz-es to be won.

The event also featured a photobooth with props by sponsors ‘Snap Square’. Many resi-dents spent the night queuing up and pos-ing for photos, with many memories being made that night.

“IT’S A GREAT WAY TO REUNITE WITH THE OG POST-FOC. I THINK EVERYONE HAD A GREAT TIME THAT NIGHT”. - WIZARDS GL KAHMUN LEONG

The night ended with a final performance by pageant contestants before the crowning of the hall king and queen commenced. Fabian Leong from ‘Starlords’ and Victoria Chang from ‘Pirates’ were crowned Hall King and Queen respectively while the title of Hall Prince went to Dylan Ang from ‘Jedis’ and

Lynn Ong from ‘Wizards’ respectively. Oth-er pageantees however, did not walk away empty handed as prizes such as Mr. and Ms. Congeniality and Mr. and Ms. Personality being given out.

“BEING PART OF THE PAGEANT REALLY GOT ME TO STEP OUT OF MY COMFORT ZONE AND MAKE SO MANY NEW FRIENDS.” - DION LIM, PAGEANTEE

Organising the event was no mean feat, but the D&D committee worked tirelessly over the past academic year to organise the per-fect event, planning everything from food to prizes.

“PLANNING THE EVENT WAS DIFFICULT BUT SEEING THE FACES OF THE RESIDENTS MADE ALL THE EFFORT WORTH IT.” - ZHENG HUI JUN, DND FINANCIAL SECRETARY

On the whole, both pageantees and residents alike had a ball of a time, with residents staying till well after the event had ended. With the comfortable atmosphere and good company, the Pioneer D&D presents resi-dents with a platform to get together, and a chance to mingle and get to know both their neighbours and hall mates better. With good food and excellent company, it’s no wonder the D&D is easily one of the most looked for-ward events of the academic year.

DANCING WITH THE STARS

- DINNER & DANCE -

One of the two biggest, and most anticipated events of the academic year, the other be-ing the freshmen orientation camp (FOC), the annual dinner and dance (D&D) is a grand

affair, with residents dressing their best for a night of good company and music.

by DANIEL CHAI

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RECREATIONAL GAMES—

Pioneer Hall’s recreational games rooms are al-most always filled with constant chatter and good company. This is in part due to the presence of its recreational games directors Ping Kee and Jo-seph - two exceptional individuals who are full of life and incredibly passionate in what they do. Through the course of the year, they have im-proved training conditions through the acquisi-tion of new equipment and facilities for the recre-ational games room.

The bond the recreational games directors share with their players has yielded results in the IH sea-son 15/16. With Pioneer Hall improving by a total of 5 ranks this IH season - a result of both direc-tors’ and players dedication and hard work.

“THE PLAYERS HAVE IMPROVED TREMENDOUSLY THIS IHRG SEASON BECAUSE OF THEIR HARD WORK AND EFFORT.”

In the IH 15/16 season, Pioneer Hall participated in a large number of recreational games includ-ing - Chess, Wei Qi, Carrom, Darts, Othello, Chi-nese Chess, Snooker, Contract Bridge, Boggle, and Scrabble.

Pioneer Hall performed very well in the recre-ational games area during the IH season 15/16. This was largely in part due to the constant sup-port of the residents as well as the hard work and determination of the players. The team also received support from resident mentors such as Vincent Du and Oak Yannapol, emerging Silver for international Chess and making it to the quarter finals for Wei Qi.

- RECREATIONAL GAMES -

Since its induction in 2015, Pioneer Hall’s recreational games community has been getting better and better. With new players joining in its second year, the recreational games community is as

lively as, if not livelier, than ever.

INTERNATIONAL CHESS

Pioneer Hall did exceptionally well in the International Chess tournaments this IH season, this has been largely due to the guidance of resident mentor, PhD student Oak Yannopol, Pioneer Hall made it into the finals for Chess, taking home the silver medal.

A WELL DESERVED RESULT

Throughout the year, the Chess team worked incredibly hard, submitting ‘homework’ to Yannapol outside of training schedules - this eventually led to the team clinching the 1st runner up in the chess tournament.

“I have high hopes for the players next sea-son, there’s a lot of potential around here, I think we can make it to the top 10 next year!” says recreational games director Ping Kee with a laugh. With the amount of effort and passion present among the players, this dream might just become a reality next IH season.

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19RECREATIONAL

GAMES

Directors Joseph (left)

and Ping Kee (right)

posing for a photo

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C U LT U R E I N P I O N E E R H A L L—

Jam band Rubber Souls featuring guest singer Xerxes

- CULTURAL COMMUNITY -

20CULTURE of

PIONEER HALL

Jam band, dance and

acapella add colour to

the Pioneer community

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- CULTURAL COMMUNITY -

Over the last year, Pioneer Hall’s cultural wing has made significant leaps with our dance crew PARAD18M bring pride to Pioneer Hall. Fuelled by their camaraderie and their passion for expres-sion, our dance crew PARAD18M are living proof that going together will ultimately lead to achiev-ing much more than we could have done alone. This Hall Olympiad season, PARAD18M competed in the annual Hall Olympiad Closing Ceremony, the biggest dance competition in NTU, climbing up the ranks to 9th place, a tremendous leap from 16th place last year

“THESE ARE SOME OF THE MOST PASSIONATE AND COMMIT-TED PEOPLE IN NTU.” - LEONARD, CULTURAL DIRECTOR

Pioneer Hall also excels in its acapella and jam band groups with the latter being recognised among the top hall bands in NTU. This year, jam band Rubber Soul represented Pioneer Hall in FUSE, NTU’s joint hall music festival, performing alongside bands such as Sabby and the Cats, NTU’s leading alternative rock group. Led by leader Lu Junde, the band was an amalgamation of mem-bers across all three jam bands in Pioneer Hall. For many of the members, this was their first time front of a large inter-hall crowd. FUSE was defi-nitely something they’d remember in the years to come.

CULTURAL NIGHT

In addition to FUSE, the Cultural Community holds an annual cultural night. One of the key events every year, Pioneer Hall’s cultural night features joint perfromances by the 3 cultural groups: jam band, dance and acapella. Combined with the handing out of exam welfare packs, this year’s cul-tural night was a welcome treat for all residents and many stayed the night. With good music and great company, the turnout for this year’s cultural night was the biggest yet - the event was certainly a huge success for the cultural team in Pioneer Hall.

CULTURE—

The cultural community in Pioneer Hall is made up of 3 groups, the dancers from PARAD18M, the various Jam Bands and the acapella group, the latter being introduced by resident Hidaya Alatas in the AY15/16. Headed by Cultural Director Leonard, the cultural community is by far one of the

most active in Pioneer Hall.

STELLA ECCELLENTE

While the dancers from PARAD18M duelled it out in HOCC, our musicians were hard at work prac-ticing for Stella Eccellente 2016, an annual hall cluster band competition that sees musicians from Halls 4, 5, 6 and Pioneer Hall showcasing their ren-dition of popular songs in the Hall Idol and Band categories. In line with this year’s theme, “Home Is Where The Art Is”, the audience were treated to our musicians’ take of songs written by local art-ists. Representing Pioneer Hall was Aaron Phua in the Hall Idol category, and our founding band 18 Shades of Grey in the Band category.

CULTURE IN PIONEER HALL

With many advances over the AY15/16, the cultur-al community has great things in store for them. The community is a tightly knit one with a strong core, possessing some of the best and most dedi-cated performers in NTU. Great things are expect-ed of the cultural community in the years to come.

PARAD18M dancers performing for Cultural Night

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There’s always something special about about spe-cial projects. What sets special projects apart from other hall activities is the sheer uniqueness of it all. The special projects team works tirelessly to come up with and organise events that are both fun and unique for residents.

Over the last year, the special projects team or-ganised many fun and interesting events includ-ing food hunts and a mini carnival within hall premises. In addition to organizing these events, the special projects team is in charge of managing and organising the freshmen orientation camp - the biggest event of the year.

A FUN AND EXCITING TEAM TO WORK WITH

Outside of work, the special projects team is a fun and diverse one with many team members being heavily involved in other aspects of hall life in-cluding sports, media and cultural activities.

“They’re some of the most fun and interesting people you’ll ever meet, especially the ones on the FOC committee! They’re doing so many things, I sometimes wonder how they even manage!” says Special Projects Director Shen Yang when asked about his subcommittee.

At the time of this article, the preparation for the freshmen orientation camp for the AY16/17 is well underway with committee members working tire-lessly to create the best possible camp for the in-coming freshmen.

FUNCREATIVE EXCITING

SPECIALPROJECTS

READY FOR

An Adventure?—

Adventure is what special projects is all about. Headed by special projects director Shen Yang, the special projects team comes up with the most exciting and innovative events to give residents

events and activities that go beyond special.

- SPECIAL PROJECTS -

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23SPECIAL PROJECTS in

PIONEER HALL

Unique events and

activities to add colour

to hall life

UNIQUE EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES

Among the number of events and activities planned by the special projects team are the sup-per hop and the carnival.

SUPPER HOP

The first Special Project of the academic year, resi-dents took buses all around Singapore hunting for the very best dishes Singapore has to offer. From Al-azhar to Rochor, residents had a great time hunting for food and eating their hearts out. Most came for the food but stayed for the company.

BLAST TO THE PAST

Pioneer Hall’s first ever carnival - ‘Blast to the Past’ took place one weekend in semester 2. Fea-turing old school games, snacks and even a dunk-ing machine. The event was a great getaway from studying for our residents. Many residents stayed back over the weekend for a day of fun getting to know each other over games and popcorn.

A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE: CAMP REVOLUT18N

Pioneer Hall’s first ever freshmen orientation camp was a blockbuster production, pun intend-ed. 5 orientation groups, their namesakes hailing from famous blockbusters were put together over the course of a week. The freshmen orientation camp was a great experience for the freshmen, getting them acquainted with their neighbours , hall mates and seniors. In addition, it was a great bonding activity for the seniors (themselves hav-ing no prior camp) and many forged close bonds during the camp.

A MEMORABLE EXPERIENCE

The 5 day camp was held over the summer holi-days, and featured confidence building activities, team bonding games and interaction sessions with hall mates. The camp also featured wet games and a beach day, all of which were greatly enjoyed by seniors and freshmen alike. After 5 days of fun, the camp ended with a bang, with orientation groups heading continuing with a final bonding celebration.

Camp Revolut18n 2016 main committee

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25WELFARE in

PIONEER HALL

Showing care for

our residents

WELFARE in PIONEER HALLWelfare Director Deepa (pictured)

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In Pioneer Hall, there’s no such thing as too much welfare. Be it sports or recreational games, whenever Pioneer Hall is out in the field, the welfare team is always there in the stands cheering them on. Armed with re-freshments procured by the business man-agers and bringing the loudest of cheers, it is impossible to miss the Pioneer Hall’s sup-porters on the field.

Headed by Welfare Director Deepa, the wel-fare team, along with the Business Manager Nazera, Pioneer Hall’s unsung heroes go out of their way to provide residents with little treats all year round, supporting them in every possible way. From welcome back mooncakes to exam welfare packs, teams work tirelessly behind the scenes to provide the best for residents.

MAKING LIFE BETTER, ONE PACK AT A TIME

Residents have responded positively to the welfare provided, with some hailing the welfare packs as a welcome boost during the exam periods. These welfare packs are the result of the hard work of the business managers, who liaise with sponsors all year round to help acquire a great many items for residents.

GOING BEYOND THE CALL OF DUTY

Both Deepa and Nazera’s roles go beyond the obtaining and distribution of goodies for residents. Over the academic year, both have initiated events and activities for resi-dents. Under Nazera’s initiative, residents had access to a 3 week fitness workshop, to encourage a healthy lifestyle teaching resi-dents fun exercises such as Zumba, cardio dance and kickboxing.

On Deepa’s end, the welfare team spear-headed the subcommittee appreciation night, held towards the end of the second semester, subcommittee members were in-vited for an appreciation dinner. Located at Top Deck, the event featured games, prizes and performances from main committee members - a simple thank you to subcom-mittee members for their hard work over the academic year.

A DESIRE TO MAKE LIFE IN PIONEER HALL BETTER

Out of work, both Deepa and Nazera are very approachable individuals, their desire to make Pioneer Hall a better place show-ing. In her own time, Deepa has worked with Publicity Director Daniel to design and pin helpful notices for residents around the hall should they require assistance, she also takes the time to get to know residents all over through her involvement in vari-ous sports and hall activities. Nazera is also heavily involved in hall activities and goes for regular runs with her friends and neigh-bours, fostering a sense of cameraderie dur-ing their weekly runs around NTU.

Pioneer Hall would certainly be less without these two exceptional individuals and their dedicated teams.

Tasked with the wellbeing of residents in Pioneer hall, the welfare team and business managers are the unsung heroes, working to make life better for all residents. Their hard work and effort is what spurs residents on, and making hall life all the more enjoyable.

WELFARE—

Business manager Nazera (pictured)

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26LEARNING in

CRESPION

Crescent and Pioneer

Halls’ dynamic learning

environment

LEARNING IN CRESPION

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One unique aspect of the CresPion halls lies in its approach to learning. Designed to be a dynamic learning community, Pioneer Hall, along with neighbours Crescent Hall, boasts learning facilities such as the Studio, Work-shop and Kitchen, catering to the different learning needs and interests of residents.

“A UNIQUE LEARNING EXPERIENCE”

Helmed by Academic Services directors Peishan (Crescent) and Zeqing (Pioneer), The halls hold monthly learning seminars and workshops for residents ranging from woodworking to leadership workshops. Residents are also encouraged initiate learn-ing workshops. This has led to workshops such as the doodle art workshop and the photoshop masterclass being organised by students.

The academic services team gives students a chance to explore areas of interests out-side their curriculum and discover their strengths and talents. In addition, the skills and knowledge they learn from the many workshops and seminars may prove useful in both their student and working life.

“GREAT THINGS IN STORE”

With a sizeable number of students coming forward to propose events, academic servic-es director Zeqing believes that the upcom-ing academic year will be an interesting one for residents in both Crescent and Pioneer Halls. “We’ve got a great many ideas here in the CresPion Halls and so many hidden tal-ents here, I’m sure that the next year will be an exciting one!” says Zeqing.

POSSIBILITY OF POTENTIAL ELECTIVES

According to Senior Faculty in Residence Dr. Sze, the learning in the CresPion com-plex goes beyond that of mere events and workshops. The creation of the 3 learning facilities, the Kitchen, Studio and Workshop gives rise to the possibility of projects being academic credit worthy, contributing to stu-dents’ academic requirements. While plans for such a development are still underway, this may be something we could potentially see in the next few years.

CRESPION AS A MODEL FOR OTHER HALLS

Being the first halls to integrate learning into hall life, the Crescent and Pioneer Halls are a model for other halls, with plans to integrate learning into hall life and culture underway. Through the success of the learn-ing environment in CresPion, other halls will have an example to follow going beyond the traditional hall cultures mere gatherings and social events.

With much in store for the CresPion halls over the upcoming academic year, it goes beyond a doubt that the next year will defi-nitely be an exciting one.

LEARNING IN CRESPION

- LEARNING IN CRESPION -

A unique community, Crescent and Pioneer Halls integrate learning into aspects of Hall life, creating a dynamic learning environment for residents all year round. Headed by Pioneer academic services director Zeqing and Crescent academic services director Pei

Shan, residents have access to a wide variety of learning seminars and workshops.

by DANIEL CHAI

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28BLOCK SUPPERS

Good people and better

company

GOOD FOOD, BETTER COMPANY

Yet another event to look forward to in Pioneer Hall are the block suppers. Organised by the block representatives, under the direction of Vice Presi-dent Amanda Wong, the block suppers are held once every semester.

A BONDING EXPERIENCE

The block suppers give residents the opportu-nity to get to know their neighbours and residen-tial mentors. These events are lively affairs and well deserved breaks within the hectic univer-sity schedules. With the block suppers, residents throughout the block have a platform to get to know each other outside of their busy schedules.

New friendships are often made over good food and great company company and the supper of-ten stretches late into the night, almost as if school didn’t exist the next day. The block suppers are also a great opportunity for the professors to get to know the residents making block suppers a healthy addition to the hall environment making hall life all the more interesting.

A SMALL TASTE OF PIONEER

The block suppers are perhaps among the most anticipated events organized by the Block Rep-resentatives. However, the block representatives also organise many other events which serve as opportunities for residents to socialise and bond. Other events and activities such as ‘Angel and Mortal’, and the ‘Exam welfare delivery’ work to-wards creating a more close-knitted and vibrant community in Pioneer Hall.

Block representatives and Vice-president Amanda Wong (centre)

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29BLOCK SUPPERS

Good company and new

friendships

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30TOGETHER AS ONE

Pioneer Hall 2nd Council

(Pictured)

Brought together by a common goal of serving residents at large, the Pioneer Hall council tasks itself with the organisation hall events and activities to help make Pioneer Hall a more vi-brant community. They work throughout the year to organise events and ensure the welfare of residents throughout Pioneer Hall. A cohesive team, the 2nd Pioneer Hall council led Pioneer Hall to achieve a number of milestones during its term, from organising its first ever carnival to its very silver medal in the IHRG season 15/16.

HALL COUNCIL

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2ND PIONEER HALL COUNCIL (from left to right)

FIRST ROW: Tan Shenyang (Special Projects), Muhd Mirza (Assistant Social), Ng Xinyu (Community Services), Aaron Phua (Sports), Leonard Ng (Cultural)

SECOND ROW: Kong Zeqing (Academic Services), Daniel Chai (Publicity), Amanda Wong (Vice-president), Michelle Tan (Honorary General Secretary), Kelvin Teo (Media)

THIRD ROW: Aaron Soh (Social), Darren How (President), Nazera Banu (Business Manager), Lee Shen Juin (Financial Controller), Deepashini Naidu (Welfare), Joseph Seah (Assistant Recreational Games), Ng Ping Kee (Recreational Games), Andreas Tan (Assistant Sports)

31TOGETHER AS ONE

Pioneer Hall 2nd Council

(Pictured)

HALL COUNCIL

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AUDE ALIQUID DIGNUMAY2015 - 2016

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