Sounds of sweet singing and bubbly laughter filled the air at One Punggol earlier today at the Creation C.A.R.E 2024 Art Showcase Opening Ceremony. It was our second time holding our showcase there, which was fitting as it is a hub for young families and communities to come together. This year, the theme for Creation C.A.R.E is Rooted in Beauty: A Celebration of Trees. In the classroom, lessons and activities helped the young ones delve into symbolic parallels between children and trees to discover invaluable life lessons. Their silent and unwavering resilience through seasons of change has much to teach our young ones about environmental care. Just as trees shape the landscapes they inhabit, children are also able to transform the community.
Children arrived in anticipation to see their artworks on display for all to admire, and were definitely not disappointed. In addition to the joy of seeing their hard work in all its glory, they got to explore their peers’ interpretations of appreciating trees and the resources they provide for both humans and the rainforest ecosystem. The ceremony kicked off with a game called “Wind Conductor”, where the children mimicked how a tree would move and dance about in the strong wind, waving their branches in different directions.
This year, we also invited 100 seniors from the 6 Active Aging Centres under Presbyterian Community Services (PCS) to join in the fun with the children. We believe that intergenerational connections are important as there are invaluable lessons to learn from one another, thus using this year's Creation C.A.R.E to kickstart this collaboration between seniors and children. As such, we had the Estheritar group from PCS perform 3 interactive songs for the children to sing along and do actions to! They included familiar tunes such as “The Leaves on a Tree” as sung to the melody of “The Wheels on the Bus” but with reinvented lyrics that were so apt for this year’s celebration of trees. It was lovely to see both young and old in one place, enjoying themselves to the fullest through song and dance.
Next, children were enraptured by the lively yet moving storytelling of the book “What do you see when you look at a tree?” by both Principal Yinshuang (LOT AMK) in English, and by Danyang Laoshi (Assistant Curriculum Specialist (Chinese) in Mandarin. The story urges us to take a breath, stop and ponder about the next tree that we encounter. To consider its unique appearance, its history, its character and life. Who has interacted with the tree, and are friends with it? Going further, how many things do we use in daily life are provided by trees? The paper we flip in our favourite books, the table we enjoy dinner on with our loved ones, the bed we rest our weary bodies on at night.
We then took the time to honour Mr David Lim, who has been the Executive Director of Presbyterian Community Services (PCS) for 11 years since 2014. Prior to that, he was already a Board Member and Member of the Resource Panel, which means he has been serving with PCS for a total of 22 years! It was no mean feat to watch over the Senior Services, Children Services and Special Needs Services (before Presbyterian Preschool Services (PPS) was incorporated in 2021).
With his passion and hard work, David has planted the tree of PCS and PPS so that the old and the young can enjoy the fruits and the shade that the tree brings. As he steps into retirement this year, we hope that the 50-year-old olive tree that we gifted him will accompany him for many years from now. (Fun fact: the average life span of an olive tree is 500 years, but some live up to thousands of years!)
Children have also been practicing their moves to the song “I’m Gonna Be Like a Tree”. Everyone, including the adults, got up on their feet to twirl and shimmy while singing the upbeat and catchy tune.
“The deeper the roots grow, the better the fruits grow; the blessings bloom out for all to see. The bigger the fruits grow, the more of my life shows that Jesus is the Lord of me, Lord of me!”
Finally, children set off on a hunt to gather and observe leaves and flowers in the vicinity. Children used magnifying glasses to better see the characteristics of the plants, such as the shape, textures, veins, patterns and colours. They then proceeded to draw them out with crayons, attempting to capture what they gleaned ‘as real as’ and as creatively as possible.
It is always a blessing to have our whole team on board to prepare for this wonderful initiative every year, including teachers, staff from HQ, parents and anyone else who contributed in one way or another. Check out some behind-the-scenes photos below, and be sure to visit the Creation C.A.R.E Art Showcase @ One Punggol which will be open the entire day from today, 16 May till Sunday, 19 May (till 2pm only). See you there!
