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About Singapore

The earliest written record of Singapore was a Chinese account from the third century, describing the island as the "island at the end" (of the Malay peninsula).

Sir Stamford Raffles signed an agreement with Tengku Hussein, the Sultan of Johor, to found a British settlement on Singapore on 6 February 1819. Thus, modern Singapore was founded.

After World War II, Singapore gained independence from the British, and merged and later separated from Malaysia, becoming an independent republic on 9 August 1965.

Today, Singapore is a bustling port that handles trade from all over the world. It has a modern economy focused on electronics manufacturing, petrochemicals, tourism and financial services alongside the traditional entrepôt trade.

Click here to view Singapore Map.

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• Culture
  Modern Singapore today enjoys religious freedom and diversity. Almost half the population is Buddhist (42.5%), followed by Islam and Christianity (almost 15% each), the rest being Taoism, Hinduism and those with no religions. The culture of Singapore expresses the diversity of the population as the various ethnic groups continue to celebrate their own cultures while they intermingle with one another. >>Top
• Religion
  Religious tolerance is of high priority in Singapore. The government has quite successfully transcended religious and racial boundaries. In schools, mixed-race classes, interaction between students of different races and the celebration of religious festivals also help inculcate religious tolerance and understanding from a young age.On festive occasions, people could still be seen in their traditional costumes such as the Indian Sari and the Malay Kebaya. >>Top
• Languages
  Singapore is a multi-lingual nation. The official languages are English, as the working language, Malay, for historical reasons, and Chinese (Mandarin) and Tamil as the other languages spoken by the various races. Most Singaporeans speak a localised hybrid form of English known as Singlish ("Singapore English"), which incorporates vocabulary and grammar from Standard English, various Chinese dialects, Malay, and Indian languages. >>Top
• Living
  Singaporean cuisine is also a prime example of diversity and cultural diffusion in Singapore. At the Singapore's hawker centres, for example, traditionally Malay hawker stalls selling halal food may serve halal versions of traditionally Tamil food. Chinese stalls may introduce Malay ingredients, cooking techniques or entire dishes into their range of catering. This continues to make the cuisine of Singapore significantly rich and a cultural attraction. Singaporeans also enjoy a wide variety of seafood including crabs, clams, squid, and oysters. >>Top
  
  Singapore is emerging as a cultural centre for arts and culture, including theatre and music. As a cosmopolitan and multi-racial society, Singapore is often identified with the "gateway between the East and West". In the past decade, there is an emergence of several performing arts groups in Singapore, especially in theatrical arts. A number of productions were staged successfully and several groups, such as TheatreWorks, have performed overseas. >>Top
  
  Due to scacity of land, more than 95% of Singaporeans live in high-rise apartments built by the government called HDB (Housing Development Board ) flats while non-citizens and affluent could afford to stay in landed properties or private condominiums. Over the years , the government has been successful in providing a roof over the heads of its residents. The country has one of the highest home ownership in the world. Self-contained towns with generous amenities and transportation hubs such as public bus inter-changes and train stations (Mass Rapid Transit) connect these estates to make a world class transportation system. >>Top
  
  

About Norway

Earliest traces of humanity in Norway dated back all the way to 9000 BC. Norway was united into a singular kingdom in 900 AD, obtaining its own constitution in 1814.

2000 Norway begins mediation between Sri Lankan government and Tamil seperatists. The Kjell Magne Bondevik government resigns over power generation issues in Norway. He is succeeded by Labour leader Jens Stoltenberg.
2001 The Conservatives, Christian People's Party and Liberals form a coalition government with Kjell Magne Bondevik as Prime Minister.
2005 Prime Minister Bondevik loses in the general elections to the centre-left alliance led by Labour leader Jens Stoltenberg.

Go to NORWAY MAP

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• Language
  Two forms of the Norwegian language, the North Germanic language of the West Scandinavian branch, Bokmål (Dano-Norwegian) and Nynorsk (New Norwegian) are widely used in administration, e.g. in education, in media and in the church. Norwegians are able to understand each other in the Norwegian language, regardless of dialect.
  Bokmål has its roots in the written Danish introduced during the union of Denmark and Norway (1380–1814). Meanwhile, Nynorsk was created as a written language by the scholar Ivar Aasen during the mid-nineteenth century, mainly from the dialects of the western and central rural districts, in order to preserve Old Norse.
  In parts of Troms  and Finnmark, Sami, the language of the indigenous peoples of Norway, holds equal status as Norwegian. For more information , click here . >>Top
• Culture
  Although far from centres of culture such as Florence, Rome and Paris, Norway, has been removed from major European cultural trends. Instead, Norway’s own unique culture has flourished since the ninth century. Burial site discoveries indicate that the Vikings were great shipbuilders, with strong artistic craftsmanship. These skills were passed on to the parts of Europe they occupied. This included Norway. The beautiful stave-churches built after the introduction of Christianity to Norway evidence these artistic capabilities of the Norwegians.
  During the Denmark-Norway Union, Copenhagen acted as the capital of Norway, and as such the written language, artistic life and culture of Norway began to be heavily influenced by Denmark. In Copenhagen Norwegian artists found new opportunities. For example, Ludvig Holberg staged his early plays there. Copenhagen’s University was the only university here Norwegians could pursue academics. This meant that when Norway was reinstated as an independent nation, she had little of the typical European cultural life.
   However, a culture, lively and vigorous, began to rise in the regions, embracing architecture, decorative arts, music and folk tales. When Romanticism emerged in Europe, Norwegian artist found plenty of inspiration in the stunning landscapes of their homeland. As such, the second half of the 19th century was one of rich artistic development and works such as those of Henrik Ibsen and Edvard Munch, became international cultural history.
   Over the course of the 20th century, Norway, like many other countries, was affected by numerous foreign influences. This, combined with a determination among the Norwegian peoples to preserve Norwegian culture, has created a unique blend of mixed expression in Norwegian cultural life. >>Top
• Religions
  Norway enjoys religious freedom today, with the evangelical Lutheran faith as the official religion. 86% of the population makes up the members of the Church of Norway, a state church.
  However, religious and lifestyle diversity continues to increase, with tolerance and openness becoming more and more evident across most of the nation. Islam is such an example, as Scandinavia’s largest mosque is in Grønland, Oslo. >>Top
  
  

FMSS Sports Activities

• Badminton
  2008 has been another great year for the Fairfield Badminton Team despite being filled with few triumphs– many important values were learnt and many blessings received from the Lord. With the guidance and support of the coach and teachers-in-charge, the members were able to improve and take their badminton skills to the next level for the team and for the school.
  
  Although the ‘B’ division girls did not emerge into the top four of the South Zone ‘B’ Division Badminton Tournament this year, they were still able to gain invaluable experience and skills through the various schools they played with. As the saying goes: “It doesn’t matter whether you win or lose; the most important thing is you have gained experience.”
  
  During the June holidays, the ‘B’ division girls participated in the annual Wee Kim Wee Badminton Challenge Trophy. It was because of the intensive training throughout the year, in addition to the determination and perseverance of the girls, that they, for the first time, were able to emerge 4th in this tournament. Although the ‘B’ division boys did not manage to qualify for the quarter finals, they played extremely well to get into the fifth round of the tournament, which was a record breaker for them.
  
  Through the weekly training sessions, the members have improved not only in terms of their physical and technical abilities, but also in terms of relating to one other as friends and team-mates. The team would like to specially thank the coach, Mr Izwan, for his dedication and constant guidance. This year, the team is privileged to have a parent volunteer, Mrs Sim, to help out in the training especially for the secondary one girls. With the inspiration, encouragement and coaching from Mr Izwan and Mrs Sim, the team certainly looks forward to another year of new challenges ahead!

• Soccer
  ‘B’ Division
  The ‘B’ Division Soccer team hosted and participated in the National Inter-School Soccer Tournament (South Zone) in February but failed to go beyond the preliminary round.
  
  The school would like to thank seniors Muttaqin, Feng Yuan, Wan Ho Tang, Nicolas Yong, Chan Sheng Hui, Lai Zi Jie and Pritish Chad and significant contributions from Sec 3 players Christopher Koh, Zachary Dilhan, Yeo Tee Kun and Isaac Low.
  
  ‘C’ Division
  The ‘C’ Division competition season started in February for the Zonal Round and concluded in July with the team competing in the H2O Soccer Sevens - League 2.
  The team captained by Tan Hong Ting had only a draw to their credit in the Zonal Round. 
  In the H2O Soccer Sevens, Fairfield sent in two teams with Team A being undefeated in all their group matches and progressing to the semi-finals. A penalty shoot out win over Deyi Sec set up a final clash with Coral Sec Team A. Fairfield Team A eventually finished as 1st Runner-up in the tournament after a final loss by a single goal. Determined performances from Hong Ting, Quek Hai Liang, Heng Wee Siang, Jekemaiah Black, Derek Goh, Marc Leung and Cliff Tan were crucial to this achievement. Goalkeeper Joshua Lau deserves a special mention for only conceding two goals in all 8 matches.
  
  Notable talents amongst Sec 1 players like Jared Yap, Okky Tok, Shaun Lim, Noel Tay and Tan Teng Ching bodes well for 2009.
  
  We thank our coach Erman B Johari for guiding the players of both divisions through the course of the competitions and trainings for the year. He has been dedicated in the education and development of all our soccer players.

• Volleyball - Year of Breakthroughs
  
  As we end the year of 2008, it is a period of reflecting and thanking God for His continual goodness to the volleyball teams. In the past few years, the competition has stiffened and many teams have progressed and shown improvements.
  
  This year saw many close and hard fought matches, notably with both our ‘B’ and ‘C’ Boys narrowly missing out for the finals when they lost in the semifinals to eventual champions, Catholic High in 2-1 sets. The ‘C’ Boys’ performance was commendable as they lost to Ang Mo Kio Secondary in the group phases but emerged third by defeating them in the 3rd / 4th position match. The ‘B’ Boys also overcame tough oppositions to clinch the third position in the zone.
  
  As for the ‘B’ Girls, God blessed us with qualification for the semifinals with three teams tied with the number of points. As we had a superior set difference, we were able to proceed to the semifinals where we lost to the eventual champions, Cedar Girls. We managed to finish third.
  
  The ‘C’ Girls did us proud by going through numerous tough battles to enter the finals of the South Zone competition. Though they were demoralized after losing the finals to Cedar Girls, they rallied themselves and worked hard. As a result of their effort, they managed to clinch third position in the National Competition. They lost in 3-2 sets in their semifinals match against Nanyang Girls. Well done, ‘C’ Girls.
  
  In June, the volleyball pupils were once again privileged to travel to Bangkok for a training trip. The trip helped our pupils to witness the dedication of the Thai players. It allowed them to appreciate their training conditions. Many gained valuable insights and technical knowledge from the many well-known Thai coaches.
  
  Other than the rigour of training, selected pupils were also placed on the NYAA programme. As part of the programme, they were given the opportunity to partner Tanjong Pagar GRC for block visits. In such visits, pupils were able to better understand certain government policies. They were also able to witness and thus heighten their understanding of the needs of the community. This experience is indeed enriching and has helped many pupils to serve the community in a more practical manner.
  
  CCA stands not just for Co-Curriculum Activity but it also stands for Character, Commitment and Achievement. As firm believers of what CCA stands for, these programmes have catered to the continual holistic development of the pupils. There were plenty of highs and lows but through it all, the Lord’s blessings on all the teams were evident. Let us wait upon the Lord and pray that there would be new breakthroughs for the year to come! >>Top

About Gausdal Upper Secondary School

Gausdal upper secondary school was established in 1978. In 1983 the school was given the possibility to develop a curriculum that provides sport in different ways. The sports subjects are both practical and theoretical. The practical sports studies are top-level sport, recreational sport and outdoor life. The curriculum also includes the subject leadership development. The theoretical subjects are sport and society (including olympism) and exercise theory. Today the school has approximately 180 students in this educational programme for sport and physical education.
We also have two other departments, The Media and communication and General studies.
 
During 2007 Gausdal upper secondary school became a member of the International Network of Pierre de Coubertin Schools. The International Pierre de Coubertin Committee is responsible for the Network and held its first International Youth Forum in Le Havre in 1997. >>Top

Outdoor life has traditionally been a way of life for Norwegians, and is a central aspect of national culture. Outdoor life is important for Norwegian customs, and for many people it provides an opportunity to improve health and heighten the quality of life. Spending time outdoors in different environments, in all seasons, in different ways, (ski, backpacking, canoeing, dog-sledging etc.) can increase the students understanding of the importance of caring for and preserving nature.

Experiencing different weather conditions teaches the students how to "survive" in a safe and healthy way by reading the warning signs from nature itself. They also learn how to cope with both mental and physical challenges.

Through sporting activities the student learn different skills both in winter sports and sports on bare ground. They learn the master skills in their chosen sporting activity both as a top-level performance and as a recreational sporting activity. They learn the principles of basic training and how to plan their own training, analysing the work load and setting out goals based on their own capacity. Of course - together with their classmates and their training-partners.

At our school we teach football (soccer), handball, cross-country skiing, biathlon, alpine, telemark, snowboard and twintip.
 
Through the programme subject "Training management" the students are required to plan, lead and assess sporting activities for groups and individuals, with their different prevailing conditions and expectations. Through learning the students will gain knowledge of how to work in a multi-cultural society, and gain an understanding of other cultures. >>Top

• Organizing
  The students also learn how to organize, administrate and lead sporting events. In 2004 the students organized “ The Youth Olympic Games 10 years after Lillehammer `94” They organized sporting activities for more than 800 pupils in the region of Lillehammer. Following the principle: SPORT FOR ALL
  
  "To ask different peoples to love one another is mere childishness. To ask them to respect one another is not utopian, but to respect one another they have to know one another"           
  Pierre de Coubertin