The red carpet was rolled out, the lights were dimmed, and every little detail- from the decorations to the technical support for the performances- was prepared to the point of flawlessness. All that was left was to breathe in the almost tangible buzz of excitement in the atmosphere and watch the long weeks of hard work pay off, seamlessly coming together to form the brilliant success that was Cedar Girls’ Secondary School’s Opening Ceremony.
On the 22nd of July, school had ended earlier than usual so as to allow the staff and students
involved in the preparation of this much anticipated event to get everything immaculately done for the night.
When the time to begin the event came, the guests were seated in the almost unrecognizable,
exquisitely-decorated Cedar Hub. Cedar Modern Dance opened the ceremony with a performance at the foyer that was streamed via a live video feed to the guests seated in the hall. The elegance and poise of the dancers were certainly a brilliant way to begin the ceremony, and welcome Mr. Heng Swee Keat, the Minister of Education and the Guest of Honour for the night.
Once the Minister entered the Cedar Hub to drum rolls from a few talented Cedarians, Mrs. Ou
Yang, our principal, began her opening speech. It wasaccompanied by informative video montages of the school, including the extensive implementation of ICT in our lessons, facilities specially allocated for Cedarians’ all-round development as leaders of character, and unique features such as the mobile whiteboards.
This was followed by Mr. Heng’s speech, which praised Cedar for its combination of “excellence in academics with excellence in CCAs.” The Minister encouraged Cedar to continue imparting “right values, skills and competencies for the 21st Century society”, and praised the Victoria-Cedar Alliance for the greater diversity of experience it will give deserving students. He also described the pride he sensed in Cedarians whom he spoke to while they were describing their learning processes, a heartening show of the drive Cedarians have for learning.
“I wish the school every success as she embarks on the next phase of her journey,” he concluded.
The mosaic of the Cedar crest, made of tiny photographs of Cedarians and staff, was then revealed.
Next, a picture of bonsai trees, along with a haiku written by two Secondary three students, Gladys Ng and Andrea Oh, was presented to the Minister. The bonsai trees encompass the traits of model Cedarians: resilience and adaptability. The trees are able to flourish in most terrains, and this was exemplified when they were moved twice to our holding site at Geylang Bahru and back in the past three years.
Entertainment for the night included performances by Cedar, Victoria School, and Victoria Junior College choirs. The songs performed ranged from jazz and Broadway numbers to the all-time favourite, Dream a Little Dream of Me. Other performances included a work of sand art, portraying our school’s history and journey to where we are now.
Dinner then commenced, to the delight of the hungry guests. Guests mingled and enjoyed their five course meal to acoustic performances of down-tempo music. Laughter was especially loud around the back, where most of the teachers were seated.
While the guests were enjoying their dessert, a few members of Cedar Modern Dance performed
a closing dance to a Broadway number. Lastly, the guests stood up to sing the school song, led by a former Cedarian. Her powerful voice left everyone in awe and singing even louder. Regretfully, the night had come to an end and that marked the end of the ceremony.
Cedar’s Opening Ceremony was a one-in-a-lifetime experience. It gave both the guests and
performers a wonderful memory to last a lifetime.
