Are You Ready for e-CCA?

Dear Boys,

It has been a while since we have met as a Company. We (Officers, Primers and Teachers) hope that all of you are adjusting well to school life with the new measures in place.

As you may know, we resume CCA online this Saturday. I thought it would be good to let you know of what to expect, and what we expect of you for e-CCA.

This is what a typical e-CCA session would look like:

Expectations for e-CCA:
1. Participate actively!
2. Stay focused! Keep your mobile phones aside and have breakfast before e-CCA.
3. Switch on your cameras and mute your microphones during sessions conducted on Google Meet. You should only switch your microphone on after you have been given permission to share.
4. Show a thumbs up to indicate "Yes Sir/Instructor" or a thumbs down to indicate "No Sir/Instructor" when responding to questions.
5. Adhere to the instructions/deadlines given.
6. Seek to clarify if you are unsure of what is going on.

The teachers will give all of you some time this Saturday to ask any questions you may have. Take some time to digest the information above, and we look forward to seeing you this Saturday!

Regards,
Mr Liu
for Officers, Primers and Teachers

Suspension of CCA (23 Mar - 4 Apr)

Dear Boys,

As you would have heard from our Vice-Principal, Mdm Wu, this morning, CCA will be suspended for Weeks 1 and 2 of this term (23 Mar – 4 Apr). Tentatively, CCA will resume on 8 Apr (T2W3 Wed). Make sure you check the blog and clarify with your NCOs should you have any doubts. In the meantime, do spend your time meaningfully and take good care of yourself. We look forward to seeing you again when CCA resumes.

Regards,
BB Teachers, Officers and Primers

Is processed food the way to resolve global hunger?

Dear Boys,

I hope that your are gaining insights into global issues as you are preparing your presentation for Citizenship 2.

One of the ideas that I have when I was younger was...could processed food be the way to resolve global hunger and poverty? Processed food are relatively cheaper than fresh items, and they have a longer lifespan (weeks, months or years longer) than fresh food. Therefore it is more efficient to ship a large amount of can food to different parts of the world (esp the poorer ones).

That being said, I realised that there are other disadvantages to processed food too. Processed food contains large amount of sodium (element which is found in salt).



 The table above contains a research done by researchers in America. It reflects that a higher amount of sodium are found in processed food as compared to fresh food prepared by restaurants.

So why does a high level of sodium matter? Researchers have shown that consuming large amount of salt leads to high blood pressure and heart diseases.

A even newer research shows that eating more processed food leads to a shorter lifespan (i.e. die earlier). https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/article-abstract/2723626

Therefore, processed food may not be the best way to address global hunger until the high sodium level in processed food is resolved.

#citizenship2inreallife #firstaidknowledgeinreallife #applyingbadgeworkknowledgeintolife

 

25th Anniversary Celebrations

Dear (ex and current) Boys, friends and supporters of 45th Singapore Company,

It is about 1 more month to our celebration and this is the programme lineup on the day. The programme is designed to be family friendly so do bring the young ones along!:)

Current RSVP stands at 120 this morning! RSVP at http://bit.ly/BB45th if you have not done so.

Regards,
qinyao

Leadership.

First and foremost, this post will be about things that I have learned from BB.

  BB promises a fulfilling journey for all Boys, regardless of backgrounds. It provides a platform where Boys can strive to become something more, to become a better leader in many aspects, in however tiny way they can. I had been fortunate enough to be granted opportunities to lead the Company, and thus I have the responsibility to share with my peers and juniors(esp Plt2 and Plt3) on what i have achieved and learned being a leader.
1.  Leadership style differs from group to group
   Many groups have many different personalities. While it is important to be a firm, strict leader in BB, it does not cover all aspects of being a good leader. People's personalities varies from place to place, and from batch to batch. Being a leader means that one have to flexible, to accommodate for different oddities, and different occasions. And being able to learn from these experiences makes you a better leader every day.
2.Empathy
  While it is common to hear 'empathy', it proves to be a challenge for most people when it comes to the application. Empathy means the ability to understand and share a feeling with another person. Being a good leader requires one to be able to empathise with your peers and your juniors. It is important that a leader understand the feelings of those beneath him, and can thus change, adapt and accommodate for their followers.
3.Down to earth.
  One attribute many leaders lack, is the ability to apologise and learn from followers. While it is important for a leader to be confident, it is also equally vital that leaders learn from their peers and followers. Sometimes, groupmates or juniors may have a different perspective, which can help the group progress better as a whole. As such, do not let the pride of being a leader blind and hinder you from learning things from others. Do not be afraid of making mistakes, and subsequently, do not be afraid to apologise. 
4.Servant leadership
  This phrase is also extremely common. Servant leadership means the leader leads and guides his/her people by serving them. By serving their followers, leaders gain respect, gratitude, and loyalty from their subordinates; and by doing so allows the leader to gain a reliable following, and thus makes more progress as a group.
5.Never forget your roots
  By far the most important thing I have learned, is to never forget your roots. To me, this means a few things. First, it means to never forget the lessons you have learned, in every single place you have been, and where you come from. Every life lesson you learn will prove useful. Second, it means to possess and heart of kindness, of gratitude. Every tiny thing that someone has done for you: never forget those. Never forget those who brought you up, who taught you life lessons, who taught you how to survive, etc.. Ensure that you always have a heart for gratitude. By being grateful, it inspires others to follow, as they find joy and comfort in following grateful leaders, which results in a more effective group, and a more effective leader. I will end off with a quote from former Herman Miller CEO Max De Pree :"“The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between the two, the leader must become a servant and a debtor.” 

  As De Pree later elaborated, to "define reality", also means to "accept gratefully the call to serve others.”

These are just fragments of what BB really taught me, and i am sure that many Boys will learn much much more than I have. I hope this will help you ( esp my juniors) to reflect, learn and thus evolve into better leaders.
- Chun Hei