BEHIND THE SCOREBOARD: KYUEM GARNET HOUSETRIP

The first thing you hear about the appeal of KYUEM is its university connections and ability to provide you with a bright future but the second is the range of events that the school holds. Amongst these are Housetrips, which are among the most anticipated events of the year. This Garnet Housetrip allows the house members, which we refer to as Garnetrons, to have team building experiences and strengthen the bonds between juniors, which we refer to as baby dragons, and the seniors. 

On October 21st, 2023, the long-awaited day finally arrived, when 98 eager Garnetrons embarked on a journey to the Eco Venture Resort & Retreat in Semenyih. Despite most students initially feeling sleepy and fatigued, their enthusiasm quickly took hold, infusing all the Garnetrons with adrenaline following a hearty breakfast of traditional Nasi Lemak. Before diving into a day full of activities, we split the Garnetrons into 10 groups where each group has a chant, a group name, and a leader who is a “garnet shadow”. Garnet shadows are essentially baby dragons who are shadowing the current hi-com to gain experience and the skills needed to lead the house in the near future.

    Our day kicked off with an engaging water balloon activity. The ten groups lined up with significant gaps between them. Each group's first member threw a balloon over their head, and the person behind them had to catch it without popping it. This chain continued until the last person. The group with the most balloons intact emerged as the victorious team.

    Moving on to the second activity, it was called puncture pipe. This activity comprised of the teams sending 3 swimmers and retrieving 3 balls from the pool and when done, the other teammates would have to drop a ball into a tube punctured with holes and fill it with water using a small cup whilst covering the holes with their body parts. The team which is able to make the 3 balls float to the top of the tube first is declared as the winner. 

    Other than that, to further solidify the bond between Garnetrons we decided to play an engaging game of water polo in the swimming pool where we were all randomly separated into 2 teams. This allowed us to communicate and interact with people outside the 10 teams. I believe this was the highlight of the trip as everyone was striving to win but also not being so competitive to break any bonds between Garnetrons. Soon after we moved back to the hall for a delicious Thai cuisine lunch. 

    During this time, there was ample free time where some Garnetrons went on ATV rides, or some just went walking around the campus to get a breather. Some Garnetrons even went to the playground to unleash their inner child. In addition, there were multiple stores there that sold a variety of snacks and drinks which by observation, Garnetrons were dying for. 

    After the much needed break, we moved on to our last activity of the day, DIY Rafting. This activity needed the Garnetrons to create their own rafts out of 3 tyres, a few ropes and 3 tubes. They were given a mere 5 minutes to make the raft which was followed by 4 or 5 of them sitting on the raft whilst the others swam and propelled the raft to the end of the river and back. The fastest raft would emerge from this tiring activity, victorious. We then wrapped up our event and left the retreat and made our move to IOI City Mall to have some dinner and allow Garnetrons to enjoy themselves after the hard work they did that day. 

    Reflecting on the Housetrip, we consider it an unequivocal success, strengthening the bonds among Garnetrons and fuelling their excitement and House spirit. This experience will undoubtedly drive us to excel in future House activities. Overall, this trip has ignited a passion and determination within our students, empowering them to thrive in all upcoming House endeavours.