Tay Zhao Xuan
A great welcome to our new friends joining RH in AY22/23, and a long time no see to our old friends :) Phoenix Press hopes to deliver great content as well this year. We're excited to push out the new activities we have in store, so follow us closely on The SuRHge, our instagram and also on our Spotify podcast!
Let's start off with a RHecap on what our newblood had been doing as new members of RH while the rest of us were recuperating from last AY with our first ever Summer RHecap!
RHOC
The annual Raffles Hall Orientation Camp is a rite-of-passage for all incoming Raffles Hall residents (or RHesidents), and this year’s edition marks the much-awaited return of physical RHOC.
But the journey of new Raffles Hall members did not start on day 1 of RHOC, as seniors who moved in early were up and ready to help the freshies at an ungodly timing for hall residents! Check-in for new residents opened at 9am and already many seniors were standing by at both the comm hall and Kuok office to help the new ones in! It was a heartwarming sight to see this tradition once again as they too were once freshies, aided by the seniors before them.
RHOC day 1 started off with all the incoming freshies gathering in our beloved comm hall and getting to meet their OG mates and OGLs for the first time. Then came the opening speech by RHOC VPD Melody who revealed this year’s theme: RHOCwarts.
Over the next 4 days, camp attendees represented their Houses and OGs, playing various games and undergoing many challenges which include (but not limited to) the sweltering, humid weather. But it is only through experiencing difficulties that bonds people together even tighter, and we’re sure that played a part in bringing these former strangers closer to one another.
FLAG
As Singapore’s flagship university, as well as one of the pioneer Halls in NUS, Raffles Hall always remembers to give back to the community. And in no other way is this done more than through Flag. Fundraising began all the way back in February of last AY, starting off with a Valentine’s Day photobooth at UTown, and through merchandise sales in June and July.
This year, Flag also conducted a wide range of activities for our beneficiaries over at Kang Le and Oasis@Outram’s Day Hospices. The activities commenced by welcoming them warmly into the hospice by helping to escort them from their vans and accompanied them throughout the day. Activities included morning exercises to get everyone active, paper origami folding to exercise their minds as well as hands, and who could forget the karaoke sessions of their favourite old songs?
And help was also enlisted from our new residents, in the form of Flag Day. 75 Rhesidents went out to Choa Chu Kang, Bishan, and Tanjong Pagar MRT stations to do flagging, and effectively raising a whopping $5.1k.
RH Flag also served as a valuable lesson for our participants, as you also gain when you give. Our participants learned to be more appreciative of what they currently have, and to remember to give back to those not as fortunate.
RHAG
Raffles Hall’s annually represents NUS for both Rag & Flag and this year was no different. Only, it was finally time for RHag to return to the physical. Raffles Hall, also known as the Culture Hall, takes great pride in her culture CCAs, and seniors were sure to pass on that spirit to the incoming residents. Recruitment for RHag began during Raffles Hall Engagement Camp (RHEX), and practice for the dance department started a month and a half before D-day.
Then came August 6th, the fated day that our RHaggers, first-at-bat, took to the stage at UTown Green and displayed the culmination of their efforts in front of friends and family. Our RHaggers, full of energy from the get-go, put on a resounding and impactful performance that showcased why Raffles Hall is indeed the Culture Hall of NUS.
And their efforts were duly rewarded when Raffles Hall once again, brought home Gold. Waving the Raffles Hall flag up high, they celebrated, as dancers, as floats, as costumes, as RHag, and of course as a proud Resident of Raffles Hall.
That concludes our Summer RHecap featuring the FOP for AY22/23!