Aloha! : CCPE Ohana Retreat

by Norl Ali

June 13, 2008 was a Friday like no other.


CCPEs, some of them accompanied by family and friends, were geared up to celebrate the CCPE 2nd Anniversary: Ohana Retreat at Pura Jaya Beach Resort, Batam. This 2 day event started off with a scenic ferry trip, coincidentally named ‘Gembira 3' (happy in malay) that had CCPEs delightfully posing for pictures. It was a great start for the weekend! The energetic emcees, Muhammad (CCPE of Outram Secondary) and Hafiz (CCPE of St. Gabriel’s Primary), energized the crowd with some simple but outrageous warm up exercises. Their silly actions got the CCPEs roaring with laughter. With their contagious enthusiasm, the event started off on a high.

Day One: CCPE Seminar @ 1200 hours

Michael Ong, CEO of Capstone, took the stand and spoke about the importance of mind, body and soul in training CCPEs holistically. He urged CCPEs to pursue knowledge (mind), keep fit (body) and contribute to the community (soul), for instance- helping the CCPE community in planning events and trainings.

Michael also took the opportunity to thank former CCPEs and launched the CCPE Alumni. He expressed his plans passionately; talking about acquiring the Singapore Quality Class (SQC) for Aspire! by training staffs in different areas. Michael then concluded his speech by telling CCPEs to enjoy themselves and “let loose” these 2 days.

Guest speaker, Debra Devied, representative of Make-A-Wish Foundation Singapore, was next and explained about her organization’s mission to grant wishes of terminally ill children. She also thanked Aspire! EduServices for their pledge to fulfill the wish of 11-year-old Janice, whose dream is to visit Disneyland. The CCPEs also donated money to be given to Janice for her maiden trip. The last presentation was on 10 Focus Group topics and Best Practices presented by CCPEs. The newly revamped CCPE website was also introduced.

Then came to the most anticipated segment of the day: Telematches!

Day One: Battle of the Sexes @ 1730 hours

It was to be a friendly gender fight between Men & Women, and the CCPEs could not wait any longer. Three games were played concurrently at three different locations. The games were received eagerly; it was evident from the loud shrieks of joy that the CCPEs did not want the games to end.

The Fancy Dress competition got the CCPEs and managers roaring with laughter at the comical antics of the participants: men were told to dress up as Hawaiian girls while the ladies were transformed into rock stars. The Hawaiian ‘ladies’ and CCPE ‘Rockstars’ paraded and flaunted their made up selves to numerous cat-calls and wolf-whistles. Even assistant zone manager, Alan Teo joined in the fun and entertained the crowd with his miraculous transformation into a curvy woman!

Day One: Grill & Chill @ 2030 hours

The exhilarating day had them looking forward to the night. The CCPEs were greeted by a colourful and Hawaiian themed gazebo ala Hawaiian echoing the theme of the night. It was a sight to see, especially with everyone dressed up in floral shirts and funky dresses. The night started out proper with a cake cutting ceremony to rejoice the 2nd year of the CCPE Project and with that, the feast began.

In the comfort of fellow friends and family, the CCPEs dined and were entertained by 5 impromptu items, all performed and choreographed by CCPEs. It was amazing to see these 5 items so refreshingly acted out considering the fact that they had less than a day to prepare. The audience and the performers enjoyed themselves tremendously, especially when the management acted out a Tarzan & Jane skit. Guess who acted out as elephants?

Soon after, the lucky draw, with the top prize of a SONY digital camera, commenced. A series of prizes were given out once the lucky draw was over. The prizes were presented to Best Practice Award recipients ranging from $100 to $500 cash. Management acknowledged and gave out prizes to the top 29 CCPEs who have the most points for their contributions to the CCPE community over a course of 1 year. They received prizes in the form of Training Kits valued from US$145 to US$1,995.

The top 12 CCPEs also received an educational trip to a country of their choice valued at S$1,500. Other prize recipients included telematch winners and best group performance. The women emerged champions in the telematches whilst the best performance was won by the Bohemian Rhapsody group.

The night event ended with applauses to the 2nd Anniversary committee for the wonderful retreat.

Day Two: Rest & Relax @ 0900 hours

There was nothing particular happening on day two; the CCPEs had a chance to bask in the sun and enjoy the relaxing atmosphere whilst shopaholics went to Batam Centre for an hour’s worth of retail therapy.

It soon came time for the CCPEs to bid adieu to the beach and to each other as they made their way back to their beloved homeland. Of course, the day was spent with much delight. Everyone was in a jovial mood; talking, poking fun at each other and taking pictures with the promise of always keeping in touch.

And of course, eagerly waiting for the 3rd Anniversary in 2009!

Here are some comments given by CCPEs, who attended the retreat.

“A big thank you to the company and organizing committee. Well done!”
- Esther Tan (CCPE of Townsville Primary)

“The retreat and the team, who made it happen was fabulous. I give them 5 stars. Job well done!”
- Satvant Singh (CCPE of East Spring Primary)

“A HUMONGOUS THANK YOU for a job well done.”
- Abdul Kadir bin Said (CCPE of Tanjong Katong Primary)