Flag Raising Ceremony Students’ Sharing 2026-2-5

Bella and Diyana, students from Form 4 Jacaranda and Form 5 Delonix, respectively, gave some details of the upcoming Dragon Dance Competition. They introduced the background of Dragon Dance, shared the challenges they faced in the previous training sessions, and explained how they overcame them. They also made a comparison between their experience in Form 1 and now as house captains.

Written by Isabella HORGAN (Form 4) and Diyana KASTHURI HETTI ARACHCHIGE (Form 5)

Bella: Good morning, Principal, Assistant Principals, teachers, and students. I'm Bella from F4, the House Captain of Jacaranda.

Diyana: And I’m Diyana from F5, the House Captain of Bauhinia.

Bella: Today, we are going to talk about the upcoming Dragon Dance competition, which will take place next week. The Form Ones have been working hard with the House Tutors and House Committees in the past three weeks, whether training as an actor, dancer, or being a part of the dragon itself.

Diyana: Bella, do you know that the dragon dance is not just a performance? It began over 2,000 years ago in China during the Han Dynasty as a sacred ritual. People believed the dragon's movements could summon rain for crops and scare away evil spirits, bringing good luck to the whole community.

Bella: Wow! I hope that our six dragons will bring blessings to CSS too! This year's dragon dance is going to revolve around the theme ‘Wisdom’. I can confidently say I’ve seen a lot of effort and growth from the Form Ones this year. This experience will help the Form Ones strengthen their collaboration and creativity while also developing my leadership skills as House Captain.

What about you, Diyana? What challenges have you faced in the past few training sessions? How did you overcome it?

Diyana: I think I can speak up for all the House Committees, time management was one of our biggest challenges. We were determined to perfect every move for this performance as the Form Ones worked so hard, and we wanted them to feel truly proud of the final performance. To overcome this challenge, we stayed after school with the students, helping them perfect every movement we could.

In the end, what matters most is one's attitude. We all understand that trying something new can be scary at first, but a little push can truly change your perspective. No matter if we win or lose, we know we gave it our best, and it isn't the end of the world! That's what truly matters: we gained invaluable experience throughout this journey. There are always more opportunities waiting for you.

Bella, I'm curious, what was your own experience with dragon dance when you were in Form One?

Bella: That's a good question. I think it's definitely a fond memory to look back at. I was the dragon ball and in our performance, I actually tripped, but I overcame the fear and we finished the entire performance as planned. We still got third place because of the hard work we put into it. I'm glad that I had the opportunity to be a part of the dragon dance performance, as it was not only fun working with the rest of my housemates, but I was also able to build up my confidence and performance skills! I hope the current Form Ones will also be able to look back on this experience as one of their fondest memories with their classmates in the future, like I did.

Diyana: Woah, that must be a very special memory! Unfortunately, I wasn't able to join the dragon dance as I joined CSS in Form Two, but I'm happy to be a part of it now as Bauhinia's House Captain alongside the Form Ones and my House Committee. We also want to thank the Form One House Tutors and our House Supervisors for helping us throughout the training, as they were a big support to all of us!

Bella: To everyone else, please remember to show your support to the Form Ones and to your House Committees. On another note, I am excited to see which house is going to claim victory this year. Last year it was Bauhinia and the year before it was Jacaranda. Guess we’ll find out on 12th February!

Bella & Diyana: Thank you!