The world of Tzu Chi Sep-Oct 2022 (Vol.143)

TZU CHI 143 25 AMuch-awaited and Memorable First Sports Day group held on the following day radiated an entirely different atmosphere. Donning their specially-designed team costumes, the students marched into the school field for the opening ceremony. The energetic performances brought on by the cheerleading teams, be it their exuberant dance steps, pyramid stunts, or ballet dance mascots, astonished the spectators, who responded with thundering cheers. The first event for the secondary school was the boys’ 800-metre race. The contestants sprinted forward at the sound of the gunshot. After running for 2.5 laps, one of the contestants began to slow down due to exhaustion. His schoolmates outside the running track cheered him on shouting, “Go! Go! Keep it up!” Some teachers were even seen running alongside the contestants to boost their spirit to complete the final 100 metres. All the teachers and students in the audience cheered and applauded for the tenacious sportsmanship displayed by the contestants. Approach, take off, flight and landing; Gan Kok Leong, a high jumper, jumped over the bar in perfect moves to win a silver medal. He exclaimed excitedly, “I had never tried high-jump in the past. I am not competing to win, but to challenge myself and learn from every failure so that I could do better.” It was a comfort to the teachers seeing the students’ performance and positive attitude. On the third day (July 24), it was the primary school students’ turn. They entered the school field energetically amidst the upbeat music played by the primary school band. Jerome Wong, a teacher in charge of music and activity planning for the primary school sports day, explained that the band performance symbolized unity and discipline, which is an indispensable part of a sports event. The students of different ages and grade levels had allocated 15 minutes daily during their break time to practise together. In the process, they learned to accommodate one another and work as a team. In the 200-metre race for Year 5 Girls category, Tan Yan Qi, who was leading, had an unfortunate fall when approaching the finishing line. Despite sustaining scratches on her knees and hands, she immediately got up and charged forward. Although she still missed the gold medal by one second, she has shown excellent sportsmanship by not giving up and persevering to the end. Children, I am proud of you In addition to the cooperation of the teachers and students, the physical education (PE) teachers had contributed greatly towards the success of the three-day event. Due to time constraint and various uncertainties, the PE teachers had stayed back at the school until 10 p.m. almost daily, trying out different ways and giving their best for the event. Wan Nornajihah Wan Endut, a primary school PE teacher, said with tears in her eyes, “The process was hard and tiring, but do you know when I saw the children putting their hearts into the games and were all smiling, I felt it was all worth it!” She recounted that some Year 6 students went up to her and asked if she saw their performances in the field. When she responded with a “Yes”, the students asked, “Teacher, are you proud of us?” Speaking of that, she could not help shedding tears of emotion. An outgoing and active person, Teacher