Rising to a Tall Challenge
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Go teachers, ‘all the way’! Pupils wave posters to support their teachers in the vertical marathon.
Seventy-three storeys above ground level, five pupils stood in rapt anticipation on the helipad of Swissôtel The Stamford. The hot sun beat down on their faces as they waited patiently without a word of complaint. Instead, their excitement grew palpably with every minute, and when they finally spotted one of their teachers emerging from the stairway, the group burst into cheers and waved posters wildly in the air!
Southeast Asia’s tallest hotel was the venue for the annual Swissôtel Vertical Marathon, which took place on 16 November 2008. For these five pupils from Park View Primary School, the event marked the culmination of weeks of hard work in a special fund-raising project they had initiated.
Sports sparks an idea
When teacher Vincent Koh, a running enthusiast, received an email inviting him to register for this year’s Vertical Marathon, he noted that the race also welcomed companies to send in teams to take part in the Marathon’s Corporate Charity Race. Participants in this race would see their entire registration fee donated to The Spastic Children Association of Singapore.
Pupils and teachers banded together for the fund raising project.
An idea began to form in Mr Koh’s mind. What if he were to put some of his pupils to the test and challenge them to raise funds for the Association? It would be a wonderful opportunity for them to learn to be active citizens and get involved in community outreach.
He then picked five pupils from his Pri 5 class for the project. “Being their form teacher, I know them well,” explains Mr Koh. “I selected the pupils based on their strengths such as IT skills, leadership qualities and experience in doing community projects.” When he spoke to the pupils about his idea, they responded with great enthusiasm and readily agreed. Together, they hoped to raise $2,200 and send a team of eight teachers to run in the vertical marathon.
Presenting the project
From the start, Mr Koh wanted his pupils to take the lion’s share of the project. “I tried to involve myself only minimally, because I wanted them to take ownership of the project,” he says. “I gave them some suggestions but most of the things were done by the pupils.”
To advertise the event, the pupils gave a presentation during assembly. But instead of producing simple PowerPoint slides, they decided to inject more creativity with a video and a skit. Transforming themselves into little reporters, the pupils interviewed the school staff. “We asked them how they will help. Some of them said they will donate money, some of them said they will take part in the race,” says one of the pupils, Iffah Adlina Bte Johan. They also did online research about the Association and the work they do and shared this information with the school through the skit.
While pupils were busy raising funds, the teacher participants were busy getting ready for the marathon.
To generate even more buzz, the pupils set up a booth during recess where teachers could make donations. Both pupils and staff could pen notes of encouragement for the teachers who would be taking part in the race. The pupils later used these notes to form the words ‘all the way’ on three posters, which they used to cheer the teachers on during the marathon.
With the help of their IT trainer, the pupils also designed an eye-catching poster, which they placed all over the school. Meanwhile, the team got their schoolmates to bring home letters that explained what they were doing and invited parents to contribute to the cause.
When the pupils finally tallied the contributions, they were delighted to find that they had managed to raise $3,011.80, a far cry from their original target! Thanks to their enthuasism, eight teachers had signed up for the vertical marathon, along with three reserve runners.
Teachers doing their part in the fund raising project by running the marathon.
A sense of pride filled the five pupils are as they look back at what they had achieved. “What I liked most about the project was that I can help others,” beams Stephanie Sioa.
Principal Mdm Ong Lee Choo, who turned up at the race to support the teachers, is visibly proud of the pupils’ efforts. “This is a very meaningful event because it is a partnership between the pupils and the teachers,” she notes. “The pupils are very passionate and committed and they have really done a great job!”
Indeed, these five young citizens have demonstrated that community work and leadership training can start early, and that with a little encouragement and guidance, the young ones can make a real difference in the lives of the less fortunate.