http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/news/story/0,4136,197240,00.html?
NO BOYS ALLOWED
Students set out for Nepal base camp to meet S'pore's first all-women Everest team
By Tay Shi'an
March 29, 2009
AT THE AIRPORT: (From left) Ng Xin Fang, Cheryl Koh, Priscilla Yau, Tan Wen Ting, Cherry Tan and Noriyuki Abdullah. TNP PICTURE: NG XI JIE
INSPIRED by Singapore's first women's Everest team, a group of six secondary schoolgirls have set off on an adventure of their own - to the Everest Base Camp.
The girls from Christ Church Secondary School, who are between 15 to 17 years old, flew off yesterday to Nepal.
They will start trekking today from Lukla (2,800m above sea level), and hope to reach their destination at Kala Pattar (5,545m) in about 10 days.
There, they will meet up with their heroes - the six-member women's team, who are currently in Nepal on their own attempt to reach the Everest peak (8,848m).
Said Tan Wen Ting, 16: 'This is something very cool, a very rare chance. The guys in our school wanted to go, but it's an all-girls thing.'
They are accompanied by three female teachers and a female team leader from YMCA Singapore, which was engaged to organise the trip. They have been training hard for six months for this trip.
Twice a week - for up to three hours on Wednesdays and five hours on Saturdays - they trekked, climbed stairs, ran and cycled.
Ng Xin Fang, 17, said: 'Some parts were quite tough, but we managed to endure it.'
For example, climbing to the top of a 25-storey HDB block.
But the girls are no strangers to tough training.
Five of the six girls - Xin Fang, Wen Ting, Cherry Tan, Cheryl Koh, all 15, and Noriyuki Abdullah, 16 - are actively involved in sports CCAs.
The sixth, Priscilla Yau, 15, comes from a family of active hikers, and has already been on two other Nepal treks with her parents and siblings.
The girls also had to juggle school, CCA, exams, family and friends.
Three of them are in Seconday 4 and will be taking their O-level examinations this year.
Said Xin Fang: 'At the start, it was quite difficult to balance all the activities. But when I plotted out my own timetable, I still had time for studies.'
Blog
To encourage and motivate each other, they set up a blog at ebcgirls.blogspot.com.
As it's term time now, the girls will also be missing classes during the 18-day trip. They are set to return on 13 Apr.
To help them, intensive remedial programmes and makeup lessons during the June holidays have been arranged to ensure they catch up.
They will also be taking some worksheets to do during the trip.
Teacher Puah Mui Kiang, 40, said the school was inspired to organise this trip after the Singapore women's team went to the school in January last year to give a talk.
Christ Church, a centre of excellence in outdoor education, has been conducting regular expeditions over the last few years, including trips like the Australian Bushwalk, Beijing Ice Climb, Annapurna Base Camp in Nepal and Mount Kinabalu.
They decided to make this an all-girls team to coincide with the Singapore women's team's Everest climb, so it would be more meaningful.
Ms Puah said the selection process included physical training, an aptitude test, teachers' recommendation, interviews, and assessment of the girls' commitment towards training and working as a team.
The school also met with the girls' parents in January, and said they were very supportive about the trip, even if their children had to miss school.
Parent Mr Yau Mun Loong, 45, a sales manager, said: 'Two weeks is nothing. This is part of learning also - it's not necessary to learn only from textbooks.'
The trip costs about $3,000 per student, which is partly sponsored by the Ministry of Education. The students used cash or Edusave to pay for the remaining amount.
Ms Puah said that after all their physical and mental preparation, the biggest challenge will be adapting their bodies to the harsh climate and high altitude.
They have taken along blood pressure monitoring devices to keep an eye on the girls.
Because of their young age, the team has hired one porter for every two girls to help carry their 19kg worth of gear and other belongings.
They will also be staying in lodges along the route, rather than camp out.
Marathon runners
The four women accompanying the girls are also in good shape to take care of them.
The three teachers - Ms Puah and Ms Tay Hoon Lay, 29, and Ms Lim Lee Hoon, 31, are all marathon runners, while YMCA's Ms Melissa Mak, 28, runs triathlons.
But the girls are not fazed by the difficulty of their route.
Cherry said: 'It's not about reaching the base camp. It's about realising the potential in me. I must learn to push myself.'
Said Ms Mak: 'It's a joy working with such inspired young women... whether they make it to the highest point of their trek or not, they are still champs in their own right to me.'
NO BOYS ALLOWED
Students set out for Nepal base camp to meet S'pore's first all-women Everest team
By Tay Shi'an
March 29, 2009
AT THE AIRPORT: (From left) Ng Xin Fang, Cheryl Koh, Priscilla Yau, Tan Wen Ting, Cherry Tan and Noriyuki Abdullah. TNP PICTURE: NG XI JIE
INSPIRED by Singapore's first women's Everest team, a group of six secondary schoolgirls have set off on an adventure of their own - to the Everest Base Camp.
The girls from Christ Church Secondary School, who are between 15 to 17 years old, flew off yesterday to Nepal.
They will start trekking today from Lukla (2,800m above sea level), and hope to reach their destination at Kala Pattar (5,545m) in about 10 days.
There, they will meet up with their heroes - the six-member women's team, who are currently in Nepal on their own attempt to reach the Everest peak (8,848m).
Said Tan Wen Ting, 16: 'This is something very cool, a very rare chance. The guys in our school wanted to go, but it's an all-girls thing.'
They are accompanied by three female teachers and a female team leader from YMCA Singapore, which was engaged to organise the trip. They have been training hard for six months for this trip.
Twice a week - for up to three hours on Wednesdays and five hours on Saturdays - they trekked, climbed stairs, ran and cycled.
Ng Xin Fang, 17, said: 'Some parts were quite tough, but we managed to endure it.'
For example, climbing to the top of a 25-storey HDB block.
But the girls are no strangers to tough training.
Five of the six girls - Xin Fang, Wen Ting, Cherry Tan, Cheryl Koh, all 15, and Noriyuki Abdullah, 16 - are actively involved in sports CCAs.
The sixth, Priscilla Yau, 15, comes from a family of active hikers, and has already been on two other Nepal treks with her parents and siblings.
The girls also had to juggle school, CCA, exams, family and friends.
Three of them are in Seconday 4 and will be taking their O-level examinations this year.
Said Xin Fang: 'At the start, it was quite difficult to balance all the activities. But when I plotted out my own timetable, I still had time for studies.'
Blog
To encourage and motivate each other, they set up a blog at ebcgirls.blogspot.com.
As it's term time now, the girls will also be missing classes during the 18-day trip. They are set to return on 13 Apr.
To help them, intensive remedial programmes and makeup lessons during the June holidays have been arranged to ensure they catch up.
They will also be taking some worksheets to do during the trip.
Teacher Puah Mui Kiang, 40, said the school was inspired to organise this trip after the Singapore women's team went to the school in January last year to give a talk.
Christ Church, a centre of excellence in outdoor education, has been conducting regular expeditions over the last few years, including trips like the Australian Bushwalk, Beijing Ice Climb, Annapurna Base Camp in Nepal and Mount Kinabalu.
They decided to make this an all-girls team to coincide with the Singapore women's team's Everest climb, so it would be more meaningful.
Ms Puah said the selection process included physical training, an aptitude test, teachers' recommendation, interviews, and assessment of the girls' commitment towards training and working as a team.
The school also met with the girls' parents in January, and said they were very supportive about the trip, even if their children had to miss school.
Parent Mr Yau Mun Loong, 45, a sales manager, said: 'Two weeks is nothing. This is part of learning also - it's not necessary to learn only from textbooks.'
The trip costs about $3,000 per student, which is partly sponsored by the Ministry of Education. The students used cash or Edusave to pay for the remaining amount.
Ms Puah said that after all their physical and mental preparation, the biggest challenge will be adapting their bodies to the harsh climate and high altitude.
They have taken along blood pressure monitoring devices to keep an eye on the girls.
Because of their young age, the team has hired one porter for every two girls to help carry their 19kg worth of gear and other belongings.
They will also be staying in lodges along the route, rather than camp out.
Marathon runners
The four women accompanying the girls are also in good shape to take care of them.
The three teachers - Ms Puah and Ms Tay Hoon Lay, 29, and Ms Lim Lee Hoon, 31, are all marathon runners, while YMCA's Ms Melissa Mak, 28, runs triathlons.
But the girls are not fazed by the difficulty of their route.
Cherry said: 'It's not about reaching the base camp. It's about realising the potential in me. I must learn to push myself.'
Said Ms Mak: 'It's a joy working with such inspired young women... whether they make it to the highest point of their trek or not, they are still champs in their own right to me.'
