Welcome Back!

A Note from the Head Designers:

It's the start of a new school year once more and we would like say welcome to Cempaka to the new students and welcome back to the current student body. Our designers have made some creations of their own to welcome both old and new Cempakans and to kickstart the new academic year. We'll see you soon with more ideas and monthly designs!

Source: 1

Submitted by Aaron Lim, Junior 2 Venter, Class of 2015

Submitted by Gillian Phua, Junior 2 Venter, Class of 2015

Welcome Back to School!

by Tai Kai Xin, Senior 1 Cempaka, Class of 2015 

Photo Credit: En Syariz Amir Sharji

As the new school year commences, we warmly welcome the youngest members of the secondary school, now donning the green striped blazers instead of the yellow pinafores we are accustomed to seeing them in, and begin settling ourselves in for yet another challenging year. But carefully hidden behind those smiles and eager looks, (I believe) are anxiety, fear and doubt. Let’s face it, it’s a whole new year and you’re anticipating a jam-packed one with more assignments when you could barely finish your work last year, more challenging tests when you could never pass an Additional Mathematics test last semester and now you’re a society president? Not only that, but your parents expect 9 A+’s on your report card this semester, a distinction in your next music exam and 2400 for your SATs? 

As a Cempakan, you’re probably among the busiest students in the country, keeping on the forefront of everything that’s going on. In times like these, you just want to escape from reality and wish you didn't have to participate in the entire line of activities your parents have chosen for you. However, is just focusing on your academics only really the way to go? Personally, I had to juggle between IB and SPM last semester, which meant going back and forth for classes, keeping up with everything that was going on in the 20 courses I was in, working to meet each of my teacher’s expectations and on top of that holding multiple leadership roles. Call it stress, call it peer pressure, call it having too many things to juggle, call it anything you want. Well, I say declutter your life. It is crucial to prioritise on the important things, manage your time well, and you’ll soon find that there’s always time for everything. If you find that you’re falling behind in your studies, your teachers are always there to pull you back on track. The best thing about a Cempakan education is the myriad of things open to be explored.

After you’ve figured out your academic plan for the year, find something you’re passionate about by involving yourself in as many activities as you can be it in school, or out of school. You will always be able to find something to do around campus and along the way, meet new friends, not only learning more about them but also more about yourself. If you can’t find anything you’re interested in within school, then start your own club, create a project, or organize a campaign! Don’t just read about inventions, be the inventor. Don’t just know about problems, find solutions to them. My point here is that the voice of the youth has never been more significant. If you’re thinking “Aiyaaa, those people who can do everything are overachievers.”, “I’m only a small fish in a big pond, what change can I even make?” or the common “No time to care…. exam year!”. You’re terribly mistaken. You are never too young to take a stand, propagate change and be involved in society.

Photo credit: En Syariz Amir Sharji

To the new freshman students, welcome to the secondary school. We are all equals no matter what age, and don’t be intimidated in any way by your seniors who you feel are more capable than you. School is a place where we learn from each other, to discover that we have no limits and to build memories we will treasure for a lifetime. If at all you find that you need to seek advice, the prefects are always ready to lend a helping hand as your older brothers and sisters. No house can win the First House Cup without their freshmen and no society is complete without their young talent.


Learning is not confined to the classroom. The only barriers you face are the ones you build for yourself. Challenge yourself to take your skills to a whole new level, explore something out of your comfort zone and look at things from different perspectives. Take a leap of faith and make the impossible, possible.

“Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.” - Robert F. Kennedy

January Issue: Happy New Year

A NOTE FROM THE EDITORS

The year 2013 is now a time of the past. In fact, sandy beaches, alarm-clock-free mornings and multi-coloured long, shapely nails are now all things of the past as we get ready for the new academic year to begin. 

2013 hasn’t just been a momentous year for Cempaka, but also one for the Lumen Studet. The previous year saw us undertaking a major change, rerooting from our previous website to a blog version of our online newsletter. With the new dissemination channel for our journalists, designers and photographers came the opportunity for us to be capable of having instant updates and posts. So of course, we had to pull up our socks. With renewed drive again to see the Lumen Studet alive and buzzing once again, we bugged friends, classmates and students more than ever to start writing. We changed our editing process, writing formats and a whole load of other things including making sure that writers stick to the deadline (or at least don’t stray off it too much). Compared to the previous, half-dead Lumen Studet which was updated only once every six months, we for one love the change! 

We’ve also taken a leaf out of this generation’s book - if you want anything to be heard, social media’s the way to go. Our twitter account (@lumenstudet), brainchild of Jamie Kok (Editor-In-Chief 2013), has definitely succeeded in getting the Lumen out there. This was particularly evident when the article ‘To All Cempakans, From Cempakans’ was posted. With that one article, we succeeded in sending the heartfelt message the article projected across as the views went up past 1000, setting a record. Alongside it, our ‘Getting To Know You’ series, in which the schools prefects' deep, dark secrets were revealed, was a great hit generating both laughter and retweets. 

Any time you are feeling a little nostalgic and want to reminisce the year 2013, feel free to peruse the numerous articles we’ve covered here on the Lumen. From school events like expeditions and school visits to the entertainment buzz like top movie reviews, there’s an array of memories to be found in the Lumen archive. We hope that we’ve successfully preserved some, if not most of last year’s memories. Later in the year, we’ll also hopefully be flipping through pages of the 2013 yearbook; a project spearheaded by the IB students in which the YJC has collaborated in. 

But enough with the past, let's talk about 2014. With a new year comes a fresh start and a clean slate; new faces soon to become new friends, a little bit of excitement and perhaps a jolt of uncertainty as we face the slightly scary fact that we’re actually seniors. We foresee headaches, sleepless nights and days of hard work not far off in the future. Yet we also know that there'll be precious memories and moments to cherish in the days to come. So get ready for a whole load of ‘I-can’t-believe-it’s-our-last-’ tweets and albums full of ‘Class of 2014’ photos because it’s our last year and you can bet we’re going to savour every moment - the fun ones that is. 

Besides the inevitable norm though, what will the new year bring? What lies ahead? We can plan. Predict. Speculate. But the future's uncertain - and that's okay. Because while we cant exactly say what tomorrow will bring, we can do lots to point our compasses towards the brightest stars. 

With that dear readers, welcome to the Lumen Studet; where the pen is always mightier than the sword. Welcome to 2014. 

We are journalists. 

Designers. 

Photographers. 

We tell a story.

Thank you to all our readers for your support and to our writers for your invaluable contributions. 

Amanda Lee Yue Ping & Chin Wye Mun

Time & Tide Wait For No Man!

A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

Alas, it's July already and we're now well into the academic year! It seems like only yesterday I took my first step into school as a senior, ready to take on all the challenges of my final year and to cherish the memories 2013 would bring. Yes, it certainly has been a challenging year! Being a Cempakan, one's schedule is never empty and you're constantly on your toes- participating in various school events,  studying for topical tests, taking part in sports, or even the occasional writing for school newsletters. As a senior, I feel the onerous brunt of the workload even more heavily as I try to juggle my responsibilities and stretch my time to its maximum capacity.

From the very beginning of the year, Cempakans got down to business and busied themselves with the array of activities to do around school, starting with none other than the Launch Pad project, which was  introduced just last year. Furthermore, for the first time ever, Cempaka held an Appreciation Day assembly in May, where students paid tribute to our wonderful teachers and loving mothers who have done so much to ensure we receive a holistic education. In fact, if one were to just glance at the school calendar for the lineup of events, you might scarcely be able to believe that so much can really be accomplished in the timespan of less than a year. 

Yet, here we are taught that 'Nothing is Impossible', and so we will continue to live, sleep and dream by our mantra. 2013 promises even more events, surprises and excitement as the Cempakan community gears up to celebrate a very special year- the 30th anniversary of Cempaka. It will undoubtedly be a year-long celebration to commemorate the marvelous journey we've all been on and travelled together, mile by mile. It is a year full of remarkable milestones, of commemorations, celebration and accomplishment. Yet, after all these years, we must not rest on our laurels but aspire to aim even further and soar even higher.

Thus, as the year passes by and the days come and go, I can only say 'bring it on!' to whatever the future has in store for me and the rest of us. To all Cempakans, always find support in each other and take the time to rounden yourself through the assortment of activities that will doubtlessly come your way during your time here. I wish you the best of luck in your endeavours, dear reader, and please, take your time to browse through the plethora of articles our wonderful writers have contributed for this issue.

Best regards,

Jamie Kok Yixin