Bukit View Primary School commemorated National Day by combining it with The New Paper President’s Challenge Be Yourself Day (BYD). The school put up a musical entitled “The Singapore Story – A Home to Cherish” and together with the theme for Be Yourself Day - Uniquely Singapore, we brought the celebrations to greater heights.
The musical depicted the history of Singapore from her humble beginnings to the present day. It showed
how our forefathers, coming from different parts of the world, came to regard Singapore as their homeland.
Pupils dressed up as Japanese soldiers reminded us of how harsh life was during
the Japanese Occupation.
It showed how as a nation, regardless of race and religion, we have made it against all odds to become a vibrant global city today. There was a mass participation from pupils and teachers. The musical had various chapters to show and re- tell the Singapore Story with our very own young talents who were dressed as happy workers, Japanese soldiers, SIA pilot and air stewardesses and many more characters. The Primary 3 pupils acted out a scene during the Japanese Occupation and sang the song “Eating tapioca is never fun”. This song’s lyrics were composed by our very own Bukit View teacher. The other teachers also choreographed the dance steps for the various National Day songs sung such as ‘Count on Me Singapore’ , Stand Up for Singapore, ‘Happy Workers’ to name a few.
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 Special appearance by
Sir Stamford Raffles
There was also a special appearance by Sir Stamford Raffles, who was played by our very own teacher, Mr Goh Wee How. He said,” Combining the two (National Day celebrations and BYD) make sense as the two are about a celebration of our identity, one as a nation, the other as ourselves.” Cynthia Lee,8, a P2 performer, remarked,” I am able to understand the history of Singapore better and I have learnt to appreciate Singapore as my home. Since our forefathers had contributed to Singapore’s success, I can do my part by studying hard and by being a good citizen.”
Uniquely Singapore!
After the celebrations, the pupils went back to their respective classes and wrote on what gift they would like to give to Singapore on her birthday. Nur Iqlima, 11, said that she would keep Singapore clean by not littering. Ashwathy, 10, wrote that she had made friends with people from other races and that she would continue to do so. She felt that it was important to preserve racial harmony in Singapore.
National Education is about engaging the heads and minds of our pupils, not just a passing celebration for us to take for granted. It is connecting our pupils with their heritage, their history, and their homeland.
Submitted by:
Mrs Selena Ang,
NE Head
Miss Mumtaz Bte Maideen,
NE/CIP Coordinator
Bukit View Primary School
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