25 September 2016
It was that one day that DIT freshmen would be able to know their classmates and cohort mates better – the Bonding Day. The event was organized by the planning committee consisting of DIT first year and second year students in Week 03 of the first semester when all students still did not know one another – that well. The Committee had planned many exciting activities in store for everyone.
The clock showed 8.30am and the hall was filling up. After the students had marked their attendance outside the hall, they came in to sit together with their classmates. Occupied with their phones and sitting in cliques huh? Later on we shall see how different they all would have become.
There was a 30-minute buffer time, which called for some bonding games. Seated in circles, everyone was up for games such as Takoyaki and The MRT Game. Afterwards, Ms Leong Fong Sow, the DIT course chair, addressed the audience.
Not only that, there was an industry talk by IMDA. The speaker mentioned about the growth of IT sectors over the recent years.
Meanwhile, the Logistics Team, led by Darrel, one of the year-1 committees, was at the stadium preparing for the outdoor activity. What’s the activity you may ask…
The Making of a Class Flag! Hmmm...sounds something out of a primary school curriculum but you’ll be surprised at the amount of fun the students were having. Each class chose a ‘lucky spot’ around the track and sat comfortably. They were given a white piece of cloth to be used as a flag. Along with it, two students from each class held different coloured paints in their palms. The rest of their classmates took paint out of their hands and started to create their masterpieces. This is where the bonding began.
Playing with paint is pretty fun and soon after everyone started to make handprints on the flags. Also, since it was a group effort, one could see various imprints on one flag itself. The students were very innovatory with the designs – there was a tiger design and some others wrote their class down. The seniors were engrossed in their own flags too.
After the making of their class flags for about 45 minutes, it was time for the next game: The Macaroni Game. For this game, students were required to stand in single file and they were each given a chopstick. A cup filled with macaroni was at the start of the line. The 1st student had to pick up a macaroni with the chopsticks and pass it on to the next student, who also had to receive it with the chopsticks. As this continues, the last person had to put the macaroni back in the empty cup at the back. At any point of time, if the macaroni fell on the ground, the student is not allowed to pick it up again.
This game was also effective to an extent because the students had to strategize on how to pass the macaroni without it falling. Moreover, I guess It was an opportunity for those who didn’t know how to use chopsticks to learn it then then. The winner of this game was based on the highest accumulated amount of macaroni in the cup at the back at the end of the stipulated timing of 1 minute. During the game, it was evident that students could be seen giggling. In contrast, there were some very focused students too; they had the competitive spirit in them. Also, as a matter of fact, there was also bonding here too due to communication between them.
The time hinted for the next activity - The Amazing Race. The Group Leaders had close up photos of the campus with them. Students were required to identify the places and go in search of them. To know if that was the correct location, there would be a DMIT card pasted nearby. As soon as the correct location is found, a selfie had to be taken with the location in the background. The GLs would then send it to the camp chief, Wei Han, for scores to be tabulated. “What exactly is the purpose of this activity?” Some may ask. Well, it enables the students to know more about their campus and its locations. This is ensured since the locations are not only within the School of DMIT but also at the other schools.
As the last activity was almost reaching the end, the lunch table was being set up. When they returned, it was time for food! Class by class, the students took their food and sat in circles. Some of their PTs joined in the fun and took the opportunity to correctly remember their students’ names for starters. The hall was filled with chuckles of laughter and lots of smiles. There was feedback that the food was good too.
Where there are games, there’s prizes to be won. Next, the Prize Giving Ceremony. Class 1A04 had accumulated the highest score and emerged as the winner. Yes of course every class had a gift; there were snack hampers for everyone. Along with that, everyone received their DIT Bonding Day Brotherhood shirts. Best part of the whole day huh? Many others were taking selfies and group photos. New friendships had been forged and classmates were more aware about each other; cliques no longer dominated proper friendships. We are brothers after all!