iCIT Training Camp

The iCIT Training Camp was held on Wednesday to Thursday during the one-week long March Holidays. The aim of the event was to kick start the journey of the CITs and also serve as a training platform for the new, budding leaders.

Now, I have to ask myself: Why did I decide to join iCouncil? Was it because a teacher had invited me to do so? During Secondary One, I was pretty much interested to join council but what hindered me from doing so? Yes, there will always be influence from my parents but I had to give up this opportunity for myself. After all, many people feel that academics come before council. I failed to score well in PSLE already and I knew that I had to buck up and keep up with the learning pace in Hwa Chong, especially since it is my first year in secondary school – I needed time to get use to the system and cope with it. After one year, the same conditions again – bad results, and yet again, I was not “encouraged” to become a councillor, but what really sparked me was an invitation from the teacher. Why did I accept it then? First and foremost, it was to not let the teacher down, especially since he believed I had the abilities to become a councillor. Next, this was my last chance to lead this school, my only chance to get the experience of being a councillor and gain leadership experience. It was a rare chance, and I had to take it.

Day 1 started off with a briefing and icebreakers followed by the Amazing Race, which fostered better relationships between members, this was followed by time to practice for Performance Night and then we watched a movie "Remembering the Titans". However, throughout the night at 2.30 a.m., we were woken up for a night activity "Kidnap", many of us were surprised and the aim of this was to access the reaction time of the CITs and to see how alert can they be at any time. Day 2 started with breakfast at McDonald's while the rest of the day was dedicated to practice for Performance Night with a dining etiquette at SIM, teaching us how to dine in the proper and usual conditions. The day rounded off with the Sec 4 Farewell Party and Performance Night.

What have I learnt throughout this whole camp? I have aims in this journey as a councillor – to lead my class, my consortium and my school. This experience is not only about fun, but behind the scenes, hard work has to be put in to make sure every event is a success. My aims for this year – to be a great councillor, do well academically and also to excel in my CCA.