Independence Day Celebration

As Indonesia strides into its 73rd year, it is fitting to consider what it has achieved thus far. For example, our country stepped in to host the Asian Games in 2018, and exceeded all expectations. Indonesians should feel a rush of patriotism watching the opening ceremony. It is an amazing time to be an Indonesian, and thus why I had started the article in this manner.

The independence day ceremony started with the traditional upacara. This is essentially the same everywhere, so it is unnecessary to go into much detail. The speech by the principal Mr Richard, however is worth listening to. His talk of character and leadership (was almost worth standing out in the sun for.

After the upacara ceremony came the house games. There was the sack race, the bakiak race, tug of war and cracker eating as usual. The events was lively, especially as the house rivalries started showing. The most interesting however, are the balloon popping competition and the pillow fight. The balloon popping consists of teams of people from each house with a balloon tied to their backs running about, attempting to pop others. It was fascinating to watch the houses employ different tactics to protect their balloons. In the end, it was won by Blue team, who used group tactics to prevent being surrounded. The pillow fight was just pure fun. Watching Mr Kim and Mr Rogel getting dunked in was in my opinion, the highlight of the event.

Finally, there was the traditional food competition where each class brought indonesian food. There was certainly enough food for everyone to eat their fill. The winners of this competition were the first to be announced. In first place, Sec 1 wycliffe and Sec 3 Newton, in second place , Sec 1 Pascal and Sec 4 Pascal.

The whole day was well worth the efforts in preparation by the teachers, students and staff. Let us hope we can equal or better this celebration next year.