SJI NPCC

Newsletter

2014

Index:

Pg
No:

Foreword
End-of-Year Reviews
Campcraft Competition
Police Youth Ambasador
Adventure Training Camp
Survival Training Camp

2
5
7
9
11
12

By the SJI
NPCC
Publicity
Team

Foreword
By OC Unit, Winston Chew

Greetings!
2014 is certainly a year to remember. From changes in leadership to the campus
that our cadets train in, the unit had a lot to deal with as we strive to build our new
home at the Bishan campus. However, through the many trials that the year has
presented to us, the resilience, grit and adaptability of the unit and its cadets have
been underscored. Our performances at competitions have been respectable and we
have attained Gold for the Unit Overall Proficiency Award (UOPA) for the fourth
consecutive year.
The year started on a relatively sad note. As mentioned in his foreword for the 2013
SJI NPCC newsletter, Mr Daryl Tan has left the SJI family for Anglican High School
due to the end of his secondment. It was through his astute leadership that the unit
transformed into a highly disciplined and systematic one. Not to mention that for the
four years that he was at the helm, the unit clinched the UOPA Gold every single
year. Though it is a big blow for the unit, the solid foundation which Mr Tan has built
certainly paved the way for a smooth transition. We take this opportunity to wish him
every success in his future endeavours.
The unit also sees the completion of the 2-year stint of two of its Cadet Inspectors
(CI) Haswan Ade Iskandar and Ryan Lai Chi Ming. As alumni of the SJI family,
they have both sacrificed much of their personal time to help the unit grow while
maintaining its culture. They will certainly be remembered as firm but approachable
CIs by the cadets. So, to Haswan and Ryan, thank you for your contributions to the
unit!
One of the key challenges for the unit is the renewal of its members, and this year,
we are elated to see two new additions to the SJI NPCC family Hononary Officer
(HO) Lim Zi Xun and CI Loh Kwang Peng Michael. Similar to Haswan and Ryan,
both Zi Xun and Michael are alumni of SJI and former cadets of the unit. Their
inclusion has been pivotal in the smooth running of the units trainings and our
cadets have benefitted from their people-oriented approach in handling situations.
The unit has also sent two more cadets for the CI Basic Training Course in
December and we certainly hope that Tan Hong Liang Ryan and Ong Jun Feng
Jeremy will be posted back to the unit.

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It was not so long ago that Batch 41 took over the reins from Batch 40 in 2013, and
in a blink of an eye, the unit witnessed the passing-out of Batch 41 in July. On a
personal note, Batch 40, 41 and 42 each has a special standing in my heart, with
Batch 41 being the group of
cadets which has journeyed
with me in my first year as
OC Unit. It may have been
very unsettling for both Batch
41 and myself since both
parties are unfamiliar to each
others working style, but
over time, they have turned
out to be a highly positive
batch of cadets with a
(usually) queer sense of
humour. No doubt that their
path as Cadet Leaders is full
of trials and tribulations, but through their sheer determination, they have matured to
become a high functioning team led by SI Ngoh Ye Han Mark, DySI Chia Kai Tiak
and DySI S K Haridharan. A very big thank you to Batch 41 as they have made my
journey as OC Unit a more pleasant and fulfilling one, sometimes even hilarious.
On the same note, Batch 41 is succeeded by Batch 42 led by SSGT Muhammad
Riaz Bin Jamalullah, SSGT Tan Qi Sheng and SSGT Koh Yang Kai who are all
equal to the task.
Much of the units successes must be attributed to the work of the CIs, CLs and the
cadets who committed their time to train for and participate in competitions. Our
campcraft teams came in a respectable 48th and 71st placing, while the X-Challenge
teams secured 31st and 37th placing in a field of more than 100 teams. We also have
four awardees for the pinnacle badge the SPF-NPCC Proficiency Badge. SI Mark
Ngoh, SI Chia Kai Tiak, SSGT Ryan Tan and SSGT Jeremy Ong have all shown
qualities befitting of the accolade.

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SJI NPCC has an excellent track record of producing cadets who are not only
disciplined and good at our core skills, but equally good as a student and as a
person. Despite our shorter history relative to the other uniformed groups in the
school, the unit has shown that it is capable of shining brightly and exceeding all
expectations. Learning from the experiences of 2014 and seeking breakthroughs in
our traditions is going to be critical for next year as we aim to consolidate our
standing and nurture our cadets to become servant-leaders and resilient citizens.
Thank you.
Ora et Labora,

ASP (NPCC) Winston Chew

OC SJI NPCC Unit

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End-of-Year Review
By Head of Publicity, Glenn Lim

Achievements
Starting as a small and humble unit in 1971, the SJI NPCC has slowly grown and
evolved over the many years it has spent as a uniform group in SJI. Although NPCC
is the 2nd youngest uniform group in SJI, it has proven itself to be extremely
proficient and prestigious, achieving various awards of excellence over the years. In
2013, the SJI NPCC has yet again proudly received the Gold Award for the Unit
Overall Proficiency Award (UOPA 2013) for its 4th consecutive year. Not only that, 4
of our most highly skilled and outstanding cadets have been awarded the noble
Singapore Police Force Badge, one of the highest number of awardees in SJI NPCC
history, in recognition of their contributions and dedications to the unit. Though with a
size of only 100 cadets, the SJI NPCC is just as exceptional as the other uniform
groups and will soar to greater heights and achieve greater expectations and most
importantly, bring pride to SJI and the Corps.
Training Camps
Every year, Secondary 2 and 3 cadets get to attend at least two training camps.
Namely the Unit Training Camp (UTC) which is organised by our own unit, the
Adventure Training Camp (ATC) for the Secondary 2 cadets and the Survival
Training Camp (STC) for the Secondary 3 cadets. The Unit Training Camp aims to
instill discipline and a sense of responsibility in the cadets, at the same time allowing
the unit to bond as a whole through various team-based activities. Not only that, both
the Adventure and Survival Training Camps aim to develop and nurture our cadets
self-reliance and leadership skills. All these camps will nurture the cadets to become
potential Cadet Leaders in the future and lead the unit to greater heights.

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Continuing the Legacy

As the year reaches the end, we reflect on what has happened over the past year.
This marks the halfway point of Batch 42 as Cadet Leaders. Having taken over the
unit for half the year, Batch 42 strives to improve and bring the unit to greater
heights. As each batch grows older every year, we hope the current juniors of the
Unit would grow into capable leaders under our guidance. This being the fourth
consecutive year of achieving Gold for the Unit Overall Proficiency Award (UOPA),
Batch 42 would have an even greater responsibility as they try their level best to
achieve 5 consecutive gold awards. Reaching 5 consecutive Gold Awards for the
UOPA would be considered a significant milestone in SJI NPCC history. Thus, we
hope the new batch of Cadet Leaders will guide the unit and bring glory to it.

SJINPCC

Campcraft Competition
By Head PET, Andrew Chew

The Campcraft Competition is a biennial event held by the Home Team Academy
where all National Police Cadet Corps (NPCC) Units island-wide compete against
one another on a national level. During the competition, all units are required to
complete and assemble a tent, flag-staff, and gadget in less than 10 minutes.
Besides meeting the time limit, the entire setup must be as neat and tidy as possible,
as overall organization is an important factor in the grading system. This year, 2014,
our NPCC unit was fortunate enough to send 2 teams to participate in the 2014
Campcraft Competition. However, before the competition itself, we had to undergo
an intensive Campcraft training regime that lasted over a period of 2 months
(November and December 2014) in order to ensure that we were in perfect condition
for the competition.
Over the 2 months, we had to make our way back to school about 2 to 3 times per
week to take part in Campcraft trainings, hence it was a heavy commitment that we
had to hold onto. During our 1st training, we were split up from our respective teams,
into different sections that had different responsibilities. For example, those who
were more proficient at erecting a flag-staff were grouped together and as such with
the others. After the allocation of responsibilities, we spent the 1st month perfecting
our skills needed for the respective requirements such as pegging and bowline tying.
At first, we were quite confident that our skills were in top conditions; however we
soon realized that there were mistakes in our actions that may prove detrimental
later on. Thus, we knew that much work had to be done if we wanted to do well for
the Competition. As such, throughout the 1st month, we slowly etched away our
mistakes and refined the actions to ensure perfection.
Simultaneously, we also increased our speed and swiftness since there was a time
limit that we had to obey. After the 1st month, we noticed a significant improvement in
terms of quality and speed that provided a sense of motivation and encouragement
to do even better.
For the 2nd month, we primarily focused on our speed and agility by having a
repetition of mock competitions. At first, we were very slow and finished with a time
of 15 minutes which overshot the time limit. Needless to say, we further spotted
many other errors such as slow arrangement and disorderly placement of
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equipment. Fortunately, as the saying goes, Practice makes perfect. Our hard work
and determination coupled with the never-ending words of encouragement from our
teachers and peers, managed to help us inch towards the time limit and before long,
we finished with a time of 9 minutes which was a major breakthrough for us. For the
rest of the month, we improved the overall neatness while keeping the timing in
check. Before long, competition day arrived and we put in our all and did our very
best.
In the end, Teams 1 and 2 achieved a placement of 48 th and 71st respectively.
Although we were a little disappointed because we did not achieve what we wanted,
we still left with a happy heart knowing that we did our best. In conclusion, the 2014
Campcraft Competition has had been a fruitful event for us not because of the result,
but the precious friendships that we forged and deepened through the tiring and
vigorous trainings over the 2 months. We hope to participate in such events in the
future and achieve more as NPCC cadets.

SJINPCC

Police Youth
Ambassador(PYA)
By Adithya Suresh

As one of the few schools that emphasize on a holistic curriculum for their students,
SJI requires each and every one of their students
to attain a certain number of hours involving
community-oriented service work. As such, the
members of the National Police Cadet Corps
(NPCC) chose to give up precious hours of their
time during the December holidays to spread
awareness
within/amongst
a
nearby
neighbourhood regarding certain cases of fraud.
The Police Youth Ambassador(PYA) programme
aims to develop NPCC cadets to represent and
carry the name of the cadet corps.
Despite having rained shortly before, the spirits of the cadets was not dampened.
We assembled in our iconic uniforms at the void decks of the various HDB blocks we
were visiting. After being assigned to our groups, we then went our separate ways to
complete our designated block.
Reactions of the residents were mixed upon our arrival, ranging from shock due to
our uniforms, to annoyance for waking them up. Some even thought we were actual
police officers! I was a nervous wreck during the first few visits, but over time it
became more natural. After explaining the purpose of our visit, the residents
welcomed us with open arms. We then went on to relay the information regarding
fraud that the Officer at the Bishan Neighbourhood Police Centre had briefed them
on, which included illegal moneylenders, conmen, and other suspicious characters,
while supplementing that knowledge with informative flyers, and answering any
inquiries the residents had.

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Towards the end of the day, we were all exhausted but satisfied with the knowledge
that we had been able to contribute to society. And although the day was short, it
was a valuable and fruitful experience for us that will not be forgotten.

SJINPCC

Adventure Training
Camp(ATC)
By Ivan Neo

Initially, I thought that ATC would be a camp full of fun and enjoyment. However,
during the camp I realised that ATC was not only about having fun, it was also about
developing the core values of an NPCC Cadet.
At the start of the camp, we assembled with the rest of Area 15 in Camp Resilience.
Seeing all the unfamiliar faces made me feel awkward. Upon learning that our squad
had to be divided among other schools to form groups, our hopes of spending this
period of time with familiar faces dissipated.
The first activity with our groups was icebreakers. It proved to be a problem as no
one possessed the courage to speak up to introduce themselves. The CI taking our
group was quite frustrated as we simply sat there in silence. Eventually someone
spoke up and we managed to complete the icebreakers. We then headed for lunch
and pitched our tents subsequently after.
Many challenges were faced in this camp. For example, the space allotted for the
tents we were pitching was way too small, and there was not enough space to peg
the side-guy lines. This gave us the opportunity to put our heads together to think of
another solution. By pegging into the neighbouring tents space by communicating
with the other school cadets pitching their tents, we managed to solve the problem. It
proved to be challenging as we had to find ways to secure the knots by crawling
under tent sheets. This not only created chances for people to step up, but also
bonded our groups closer together. I also learnt how to communicate with people.
Knowing some of the other people from NPAP, I tried to build a bridge of
communication to also bond with their squad-mates. I was relieved to see that it had
worked and all of us started to talk to each other more.
Finally, Camp Resilience has taught me to be more resilient and sociable through
the adventurous yet arduous activities such as rock-climbing, land expedition and
physical training in the mornings. I personally feel that everyone has grown to be
more familiar with our area after this camp and has learned how to be better NPCC
cadets.

SJINPCC

Survival Training
Camp(STC)
By Head of Operations, How Yew Kit

Survival Training Camp (STC) was a fun

and interesting camp as only Secondary 3
NPCC Cadets were able to go for this
camp. Walking down the road leading to
our Campsite in Pulau Ubin, nostalgia hit
me as memories from the previous camp
came back. A year ago, we were
Secondary 2 cadets, not knowing what to
expect of the 3D2N camp in Camp
Resilience. Having gained experience
from the previous year, we expected STC
to be an even more challenging and
tedious camp as we were now Secondary 3s about to take over the unit from the
previous batch.
STC enabled me to befriend people of different backgrounds, different schools, with
different mindsets. However, we all had something in common; we are all from
NPCC, we are one people.
STC also taught me life values and allowed me to conquer my fears through
different challenges. For example, the high ropes challenges. Since I was a child, I
had always suffered from acrophobia. Through these challenges, I was able to
conquer my fears with the support and words of encouragement from my newfound
friends. The various activies such as pioneering, fire starting and shelter making
enabled me to improve my survival skills taught me how to survive in the case of an
emergency. Important values crucial in the running of a unit such as teamwork,
communication and perseverance were also fruits reaped from our hard labour.

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This camp has not only impacted my life as a cadet in NPCC, but also my life as a
whole. The values learnt, the skills sharpened, friendships forged and memories
created all constituted to enabling me to be a better person, a better leader. This
camp may have passed, but the memorie s made there will never be forgotten.

SJINPCC