The students had to take a pen-and-paper test of about 60 minutes. They will have to spell a total of 50 pre-recorded words that will be read out to them. Each word is contextualised with an example so that the meaning and form of the word are clearly understood. Afterwhich, the top students from each zone will then be invited to take part in the Zonal Championships.
Preparation stage
The role of the OICs for this huge event was given to Alex and Evie. A few weeks before the event day, the two of them had to attend meetings with the SPH organizers and their various partners to obtain details of the competition. These details are significant with regards on how the event would be run and the crowd size as well as the logistics needed. After the first meeting, roles were administered to the other team members – manpower, ushering, registration and logistics. Though some might deem the work tedious due to a few last minute preparations, the organizing team continued to maintain a cool spirited and cohesive teamwork. create the registration lists, shuffling the participants’ seats, setting up the seating arrangement in the Fairmont Ballroom and deciding on the types of fixtures required.
All EMRS personnel reported to the Fairmont Ballroom at 7.30am. Overall, the setup of the venue and manpower briefing went smoothly. It did not take long for the crowd to start flowing in. At around 8.30am, the queue for each registration booth started to pile. Students and teachers from various schools anxiously waited for their turn to register as well as to collect their seat stickers. With the patience and quick resoluteness of the ushers, registrants and staff of SPH, every participant was accounted for and was seated by 9.30am.
In the competition hall, every personnel had the responsibility of being an invigilator. This gave us the opportunity to be in the teacher’s shoes during examination. Communication was a big factor during invigilation. The invigilator ICs had to coordinate not only with her/her fellow peers but also with the emcee and other organizers as well. The collection of the test papers also posed to be a challenge as the number of papers we collected had to tally with the total headcount.
Overall, the event was a success even though we experienced some obstacles along the way. It was indeed a privilege to work with huge organizations such as Singapore Press Holdings, Ministry of Education, RHB Bank and National Library Board. Even though the preliminary round is over, our team has to prepare for the upcoming zonals and finals which will be held on the 14th April and 28th April respectively. We are all excited and look forward to continue working with SPH on these events.
