CCA-ORIENTATION 2014
It was the day of CCA orientation and in Evergreen Secondary School, everyone was preparing to promote their CCAs. Soon, students started to come in for the event. NCC had their booth set up, NPCC was starting on their wooden, hand-made swing and Red Cross was starting on a fire to roast food. Parents filled the hall as the secondary ones went to their classes. Booths were slowly set up and by the time the secondary ones appeared, the atmosphere was just… wow.
The ELDDS members were buzzing with energy after the prep talk from our teachers and set off to reach our target. We split up and handed out flyers to every junior in sight. The first presentation by ELDDS soon finished and we had a huge group of parents and students were seated and listening to Marcus, Felicia and Eunice who were representing the different divisions.
I had a quick interview with one of my friends, Terence from 2 Respect, who is a Red Cross cadet.
Q: How are you feeling right now?
A: I’m feeling nervous and stressed right now because first off, it’s my first year being here. Secondly, whether I can persuade them to join Red Cross and lastly, I don’t know how the juniors are going to be like. Are they going to be excited or bored, I really don’t know.
The secondary ones had hundreds of flyers given to them, exaggerating about the figure, of course, but it was so crazy! Everyone was walking around handing out flyers and talking to the secondary ones and their parents. Oh, did I mention? Chinese Orchestra had a walking advertisement. Long story cut short, someone was wearing a signboard and walking around.
Anyways, I managed to get another short interview from a NCC cadet, Bryan from 4 Enterprise, who was about to march in the parade.
Q: How are you feeling?
A: I’m feeling awesome because CCA orientation means getting to see more new faces and I look forward to getting the secondary ones to join NCC.
Speaking of the parade, it started a little over 5 minutes later and everyone was gathered around the parade square. The band had started playing the music piece as the NCC, NPCC and NCDCC cadets marched out and was greeted with many cheers from their peers. The emcees had spoken a bit about the parade before the Red Cross cadets marched in, having received the same treatment from the crowd.
The parade continued on for 5 minutes or so, and I managed to get an interview with Andrea from 2 Respect, a Red Cross cadet who marched in the parade, after it ended.
Q: How are you feeling right now?
A: I’m feeling pretty tired since I just marched in the parade for the first time. I’m also pretty proud of myself for not freaking out too much and seeing through with it. But I’m mostly just tired.
Q: So after this experience, if given the opportunity, will you join the parade again?
A: Definitely! It was fun and I learnt a lot from the experience.
By the time it was 11.30, everyone was worn out and was slowly packing up for the day. The school was restored to its original state and everyone felt happy. And that was the end of the 2014 CCA orientation.
Written by Zoey Chow, 2 ETP Assistant Editor