Literary & Debating Society

At the start of the year, the Literary members warmly welcomed Ms Cherlyn into the CCA, who also like us, share a love for the written word. The Literary members were privileged to have Ms Sheperdson, a young and budding Singaporean poet, teach us the art of writing good poems. We learnt how to make use of our surroundings to write interesting poems. This taught us that no matter where we are, it is always possible to write a poem. Through practicing the different skills she taught us, we were able to develop our interest in poetry. 

Natasha Bisht (3E6) and Faith Lee (2E3) took part in the recent Singapore Writers’ Festival which is a National Literary event organised by the National Arts Council. It is a multilingual literature festival that encourages intercultural dialogue by bringing together writers, thinkers and participants from Singapore and overseas. In addition, some of our members also took part in the Camp Lit workshop that was held virtually. Through this workshop, our members learnt about the art of creative writing.

During CCA sessions, we often hold public speaking sessions. Topics range from current affairs to personal experiences. This enables members to build confidence and learn to think on the spot. Overall, the Literary Wing aims to improve members’ English oratorical and writing skills, while making CCA sessions fun and enjoyable. 

The Debate Wing had an eventful year in 2021. Throughout the course of the year, we proudly represented TKGS in various virtual debate competitions. In January, we kicked off the year with the Debate Association Debating Championships. Our team consisting of Sharmell Sonia D’Silva (4E4), Gauri Jain (4E5), Bilquis Aimie Binte Muhamed Abdillah (4E6) and Claire Goh Jia An (3E4), had been able to qualify for the Quarter finals. Next was the exciting Secondary Schools Debating Championships (SSSDC), where our debaters were put to the test and competed against the best debaters from schools all over Singapore. During SSDC, we were delighted that our debaters, Gauri Jain (4E5), Bilquis Aimie Binte Muhamed Abdillah (4E6), Claire Goh Jia An (3E4) and Gracia Teo (3E4), have not only triumphed and ranked second in the competition, but also managed to gain positions amongst the top 20 speakers in our division!

Debate is all about exposure and challenging ourselves. With that being said, debate has sent our new members, comprising of Srihitha Reddy (1E5), Prithika Vayalooran (1E6), Belinda Koh (2E3), Stacy Tan (2E5) and Alina Khan (2E6), to represent us in the prestigious Raffles Debating Academy championships for lower secondary members. To continue our streak of good work, debate has fielded members comprising of Carissa Sim (2E3), Yusra Mufeeda (2E5), Alina Khan (2E6), Kimi Chee (1E3) and Saumya Rai (1E3), Amelia Kee (1E1), Riva Ghule, Clariss Yew, Claris Teo from 1E2 and Prithika Vayalooran (1E6) in team B who participated in the Hua Yi Debating Competition, allowing them to learn and gain valuable experience. 

All this could not have been possible without the support of our coaches, coach Sudhi and coach Sanjana, and our teachers, Mdm Haryati, Ms Cheryln and Mr Leong. They have also worked tirelessly to provide us with a wide array of opportunities to develop into confident speakers by guiding us through competitions and making every single training session fun and enjoyable. 

To end the year with a bang, we organised a yearly camp where members from the Literary and Debate wings get to come together and have fun. During the day camp, members can interact with others from different levels by playing fun games that the LDS EXCO had planned. It is a time where we are able to learn new things together as a team. 

Claire Goh (3E4)
Gracia Teo (3E4)
Chua Hsui-Ting Erin (3E5)
AAdhya Bhatia (3E3)