Having mid-week blues? “Wacky Wednesday” at the National Institute of Education is the activity for you! The brainchild of Associate Professor Tan Aik Ling from the Natural Sciences and Science Education Academic Group, a series of “Wacky Wednesdays” was initiated mid-way into the Circuit Breaker. The idea was to encourage everyone to take a break from their lectures and tutorials, and to connect with one another over an activity—purely for some fun and laughter!
Various individuals chipped-in to organise these online events that were anything but work-related. And for five successive weeks beginning 29 April 2020, “Wacky Wednesday” successfully chased away the mid-week blues. Check out some of the wacky actions that took place.
Session 1: DIY Mask Making
Led by Dr Johannah Soo
29 April 2020
“It was definitely a good opportunity to come together for something meaningful and fun. Sharing and teaching is bread and butter for us, but online teaching is a new experience. Trying to position the camera while hosting a live audience was another new challenge! Those who attended the session were very encouraging and most of the time, we were laughing at our own mistakes. We have so many talented colleagues out there, and I think, it’s time to uncover all their talents.”
~ Dr Johannah Soo
Session 2: Apple Crumble Workshop
Led by Ms Jolene Tan
6 May 2020
“It was great fun to be able to reverse roles and teach the teachers how to bake for a change. It made me realise that live streamed events may look effortless to pull off, but I actually had to spend an hour or two preparing the ingredients and materials before the baking demo session to ensure that we could send the apple crumble into the oven within the 45 minutes allocated for each session. Our teachers in schools and at the National Institute of Education must have spent much more time preparing for their online lessons before they present them to their students!”
~ Ms Jolene Tan
Session 3: Stretching Exercises
Led by Mr Jensen Ong
13 May 2020
“It was a good idea for us to gather online to engage in some activities beyond work. It was a great way to strengthen connections, especially during the Circuit Breaker period. Our muscles can get stiff after prolonged periods of sitting and we may experience aches and pain when we adopt bad postures. Simple stretches help to get us moving during the day while alleviating some of the tension in our bodies. Many often complain about feelings of tightness in areas like the neck, shoulder, lower back or glutes. Good reminder for us to stand up, walk to get a glass of water, or walk to the toilet after 30 minutes of sitting.”
~ Mr Jensen Ong
Session 4: Shepherd’s Pie Workshop
Led by Dr Johannah Soo
20 May 2020
“It was very enriching and a great distraction from the mundanity of working from home. It also helps to strengthen my bond with my colleagues.”
~ Dr He Jie, a participant
Session 5: Congratulatory Message for the National Institute of Education’s 70th Anniversary
Led by Associate Professor Tan Aik Ling
27 May 2020
“I really liked that this was a ground-up initiative. It gave us good reason to come together, share our hobbies and interests, and to literally ‘do something’ during a time when we had to be physically apart. We deliberately chose the 3 pm timeslot so that it was easy for all to remember—Wednesday at 3 pm. And I considered anyone who logged in during that time to be an organiser, as these sessions would not work out if no one participated.”
~ Associate Professor Tan Aik Ling
