Marching Forward Confidently

By Chan Yu Xuan 25J05

It’s that time of the year again. As the country dons its red and white banners, adding a new song to the collection of songs from the past years that are played on loop, we gather yet again for the biggest birthday celebration in the nation. That’s right — National Day has arrived yet again.

While the way we may choose to celebrate it might differ, be it by taking advantage of the long weekend to go abroad or simply staying at home and taking a break, I’m sure we would all agree that it is a holiday to look forward to.

Speaking of celebrations, one must also speak of the National Day Parade (NDP). Formed up by various Singaporeans from all walks of life and from all over the country, it is certainly no easy feat to manage. But today, allow me to shine the spotlight on a few of our schoolmates, who had the honour of being part of this year’s parade. Having started their training from as early as late April, they have certainly put no small amount of effort into preparing for it, so do keep your eyes peeled for them!

The National Day Parade consists of 2 main groups: the Uniformed Groups and the Show Segment. 

First off, I’m sure by now most of us know at least one of them, more specifically, Lim Shu Xian from 25J14, who was given a special shoutout by the principal during the fairly recent St John Day celebrations. A newly minted officer, Shu Xian went from being a member of the marching contingent last year to being the contingent commander for the St John contingent this year. 

Her main motivation for joining the parade was her having “made a lot of friends who are so fun to be with and so passionate about drills and sjb” last year and hoping to “meet more people who were like that (be it meeting [her] old friends or new ones)”, which she had found in her fellow contingent commanders from the other UGs. Staying at the venue from 8am to 8pm, across a span of 14 Saturdays certainly takes a toll on oneself and one’s academics, but Shu Xian expressed that she was grateful for the kindness and understanding of her teachers and various group mates who helped her cope with the additional burden. 

Catching a bite with her fellow Contingent Commanders after training 

(Photo credits: 25J14 Lim Shu Xian)

Over at NCC, we have Neo Hwee Min from 25J04 and Abbie from 2F taking part in the parade in 2 rather different roles. 

For Hwee Min, similarly to Shu Xian, this is her second year taking part in NDP. For her, she felt that it was “very cool to march and participate in the contingent while representing [her] school and serving the NCC community”, by “helping out as a Coordinator for the NCC Sea & Air Contingent, and to relive some of [her] memories from the previous year” as it was “one of [her] last events where [she] c[ould] contribute to NCC”. She also expressed that she liked “spending time with [her] fellow trainers and laughing alongside them during breaks”. 

Abbie on the other hand had her interest piqued by her seniors who took part in it last year, expressing that on top of “want[ing] to be part of sg60”, she felt like giving it a try as it had “looked fun”. She expressed that she felt a sense of “NCC spirit” and camaraderie, and thought that all of them shouting “yes sir” or “yes maam” together “fe[lt] so wholesome”. From uncontrollably laughing so hard she cried as a way to combat stage fright and trying not to subconsciously “hunch” when doing drills, it certainly sounds like it has been a fun and memorable experience for her. She also added that she “enjoy[ed] the process” of being a part of the parade even despite how tiring it is, and that she felt that it was “so satisfying to be standing in padang, hearing all the audience sing to national day songs”. 

The NCC Contingent, posing with the Parade Commander and Regimental Sergeant Major of this year’s parade (Photo credits: 25J04 Neo Hwee Min)

With that, let us now head over to the Show Segment of the celebration.

Yeoh Kai Bo from 25J11, who is participating in NDP as part of the Performance Sector, expressed that it was quite fun and that he was very happy to have the opportunity to “perform on the big stage”. He had originally just joined for fun as his mum had asked him to tag along and attend NDP together, which led to him going to audition and eventually getting accepted to join the performance. Contrary to the fixed, whole-Saturday trainings of the parade sector, his training spanned around 8 to 9 hours each Saturday, with additional 4 hour long training sessions added every Tuesday starting from June, causing all of his NDP rehearsals to end at 10pm. Talk about exhausting! Having to train for such long hours with extremely short breaks with the pressure of having to perfect the choreography as fast as possible to “work on some movement” on the mobile stage (jokingly referred to as the roomba) already sounds stressful enough, but couple that with having 0 room for mistakes due to being the most visible people on the roomba… seriously, much kudos to them.

One of the biggest supporting factors of his journey was, and I’m sure you’d agree, the food. From KFC to Old Chang Kee and various different types of bread and biscuits, it's undeniable that the welfare crew overseeing NDP has done a great job in keeping participants well fed, while simultaneously keeping them healthy with a regular balanced meal. He also proclaimed that there were many freebies and souvenirs that participants could get from NDP training and well hey, who doesn’t love free stuff?

Group photo on the Padang

(Photo credits: 25J11 Yeoh Kai Bo)

But of course, while our eyes are all on the stage, there are also the people working tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure the safety of everyone at the venue.

A heartlands volunteer, Wang Zilin from 25J20 helps out at the seating gallery, where she often has to come up with solutions on the spot to solve the various problems that crop up while trying to effectively seat all the spectators. When asked about her driving force behind joining the heartware volunteers, she had cited the free food as one of the pull factors, but more importantly stated that she had volunteered once before back in sec 3 and had rather enjoyed it, which motivated her to sign up again.

Getting to watch the fireworks while on the job 

(Photo credits: 25J20 Wang Zilin)

With that, I hope you now have a better understanding of what goes on behind the scenes of NDP and have a better appreciation for all the blood, sweat and tears involved in the preparation for the show. Happy 60th birthday, Singapore!