All ready and geared up for the much anticipated Shanghai Expo 2010, the biggest Expo (so far) in history, featuring the most number of country attendees. This expo will provide you with a line of exhibitions for you to look forward to! Tonight is the official opening ceremony and let's see how well it fares:

The Shanghai Expo 2010 Opening Ceremony opens at 20:10pm, symbolic, for it is the year 2010, beginning with a magnificent auditorily pleasing theme song (or rather, one of the theme songs). However things start to fall to a low and boring drone. The speeches by the host, and other leaders including President Hu. Unsuprisingly, I nearly fall asleep until a leader attempted to speak Chinese which brings about many applauses and laughter. Good try! And then with a fluent French and so-so English. Following are some more music but the worst arrangement would be the piano tune, making me feel so sleepy. Not the best choice, for the fact that it is not very original. Things begin to grow better as musicians from other countries including the aborigines from New Zealand and a wonderful song of English and Chinese composer, "Better City, Better Life" with a unique water themed instrumentals (using water as instruments - THAT is original). Following will be African music, and more Expo theme songs and some opera style vocal action. Well, it's OK. I'd rather look forward and watch the individual exhibitions. To add on, they overused LED color lightning as the background, making the scene very complicated. Though the opening seems simple, but it has its complexity. They need to keep it much more simple yet, elegant anf favorable. | Rating: 6/10

A non-profit student organization founded April 10 by Carol Lee, Vincent Tham and Cheryl Chou, dedicated to provide abandoned and strayed dogs with a proper home, giving them a second chance of living a better life. This project will be supported by the Reveries Foundation as well in terms of fundraiser organizaing, funding etc.

For more information, check out the official site and blog: http://doggiesmiles.onsugar.com/ and http://doggie-smiles-blog.onsugar.com/

Review:

Today, we watched the Senior School Drama CCA unravel their performance and hard work after months of preparation and training at 2pm. Seated in the kind-of-new school auditorium, it was such a refreshing new experience for SSIS as the Drama CCA Club brings the school a newfound hope of budding growing talents and hidden talents among the students, despite the not-that-ergonomic seating arrangements laid out. Covering songs from Rent, Little Shop of Horrors, Annie, Grease and The Mikado, the auditorium was filled with melodious and near-professional singing of the cast, albeit the somewhat poor viewing of certain seating and some of the cast members did not manage do deliver the lines clearly enough. It was marvelous and I would say it's even better than the school choir (which no longer exist), way better! The comedic act of Victor Chang was amusing and alongside Helena Halim in the brilliant dialogue from Who's On First? Helena Halim also delivered a majestic solo with Ms Ho Chan Chan at the piano, with Somewhere That's Green from Little Shop of Horrors. The ensemble, alongside director Ms Cindy Keung with Dr Harold Good backing the Drama club, made a hilarious and perfect adaption of It's A Hard School Life from Annie, into a modern school (SSIS) context. The musical was full of suprises and shows the true and unprecedented originality of the directors and cast, bopping the school's drama program to the top! Last, but of course, not least, the backstage team, Hur Sung Jun with Benny Neo, behind all the flashing lights and props, demonstrating true professionalism in their very own role as a Stage Manager and Backstage Manager respectively. We have to give a round of applause to all other people who have made this musical successful. The drama team truly deserves a standing ovation and the crowd even shouted for an encore! Bravo and Brava once more!!! We also wish Ms Cindy Keung successful in her graduate studies when she leaves the school end of this year, returning to the University of British Columbia, you are truly a wonderful drama teacher and very talented! Applause to Dr Good too, for being such a comedic discipline teacher with so much talent hidden behind his suit! :D | Rating: 8.5/10

The much anticipated Reveries sequel will be titled "Reveries: Documents of Sophomores", with poems and short stories recounting our sophomore year from excursion to today's sports day! This will not be a C&S project, but donations are welcomed for the Reveries Fund. PDF versions will be available free for all sophomores this year along with the teachers. You are required to purchase if you do not belong in either categories. This sequel will NOT be published hard copy.

Current fundraisers in talk will be directed to the drought victims in various provinces of China as our final fundraiser before the academic year ends. All remaining funds of the year raised will be used to purchase trees to plant from Roots and Shoots in Shanghai. In Summer, we will begin planning on our first Animal Project by raising funds to build a shelter for the dogs of a farm who are deprived of proper nutritional needs with help of corporate sponsors, thanks to Vince's mum. We will also clean the farm on a regular basis. The site will also continue to be made over to provide you with the most updated information and appeal to you better. Further confirmations will be made at a later date. Thank you for your support.

Officially commence after confirmation with Ms Johnson. We would discuss further details and also, we will also be discussing on the school's purchase of the books we have left for XuHui and MinHang Campus' library. We would be compiling the book for you and it's a whole new experience that you wil enjoy! Stay tune!

Healthy Lifestyle:

Bathe daily, wash hands before and after meals and after visiting the washroom

Please contribute to the much anticipated sequel with your work of poems/short stories/photography/art. There are some contributions but we need more to produce something of significance... themes vary from life, love to almost anything you like. However no explicit materials allowed. Thanks.

IT's 2010, Happy Belated New Year! With the start of the new year, I believe we all have some kind of resolutions made. This is what we resolute: to start a campaign for those who wish to change their lifestyle and academic life into somehting much much better.

Starting off with:

Sleep early

Healthy and balanced diet

Exercise

Drink water

Take care of Health

and academically...

Concentrate on work

Finish homework on time

Revise (individually or as a group) occasionally

Be prepared for all tests and ace it!

Be part of this campaign by pledging: "I, (name), pledge to adopt the healthy lifestyle that benefits myself but also, socially benefiting my friends and will persist this and will myself to change for the better, for myself." in the comments below.

Oops!

Gotta run, it's way too late :P

Sincerely,

Reveries Committee

Anna Ling officially named spokesperson and ambassador for Reveries Inc. and all its subsidaries as of 5 Dec.

Today we came to the end of our Christmas fundraising. We may have an extension. We were visited by Anna Ling and we raised a total of 4634.54RMB and now, the Reveries Fund have a total of 5181.54RMB. Great job everyone.

Following the upcoming release of the 'Peace Out' Magazine with various websites on Peace made by the students themself (for IT Project), we would be releasing a Peace Edition of Reveries for free in PDF format soon. Keep checking ;)

1) Reveries LP - Featuring "It's Ohkay" and "Reveries" by Anna Ling in works with album art and lyrics booklet designed by Hansika and Wei Cheng

2) Reveries: Sequel - Featuring poems and short stories by students of the Sophomore Year in SSIS, SAS and other prounounced International School who used to be in SSIS.

3) Reveies Christmas Fundraising - Selling baked goods and other items including the "REVERIES" book

Get ready to hear the premiere of Anna Ling's Charity Single - Reveries on her newly opened Official MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/annaified

From now until the release of the single, Reveries Official OnSuar will premiere tracks off the [[annaifieD- EP. Stay tune!

'Reveries' Book availble now at 80RMB. Purchase can be made from Hansika or Wei Cheng of S4 Amber or Elizabeth of S4 Ruby. Promitional price of 60RMB (optional discount) available during our Christmas Fundraising.

It's our final year in SSIS for some of us... why not make another sequel and leave behind history? From now until January 2010, submit in photographs, photoshop-ed photos of you and submit in poems, short stories (within 2000 words), photography etc. to Wei Cheng's email and it might be on the cover of the book (for photo/photoshop-ed photo) and your written piece might just be featured on the Reveries Sequel! We might not be able to print in by this year but the PDF would be finished by end of this year.

Anna's Reveries Single in works... will be out soon... stay tuned!

'Reveries' now available Purchase at a cost of 80 RMB from Wei Cheng or Hansika from S4 Amber or Elizabeth from S4 Ruby. Promotional price of 60RMB available @ the coming Christmas fundraising this November.

It was confirmed that Anna Ling, ex-vice head of Reveries Foundation would be recording the "Reveries" Charity Single, and would also be debuted on her EP, [[annaifieD*-. Details of the 'Reveries' Charity Single would be announced in due time. Stay tuned for more information. 'Reveries' is a ballad and would be premiered via Anna's Last FM Page, Anna's Official OnSugar and via the Reveries Official OnSugar.

'Reveries' Book out now at 80RMB. Purchase it at a promotional price of 60RMB at our fundraising, from Hansika, Wei Cheng or Elizabeth of S4.

Typhoon Parma left Phillipines with over 10 dead and now makes its way to Taiwan... Indonesia was struck with an earthquake recently, leaving many people losing out hope... Samoa was struck with tsunami triggered by a strong quake, leaving hundreds dead... India flooded leaving 200+ dead... and so much more natural disaster leaving the world at unrest... we, as students, can't do much, we can't really participate in the rescue works... but any donations, just a dollar, could bring them some comfort to rebuild their lives. Even a simple note, to lift up their spirits, bring them the hope... give them the strength to carry on... Let us pray for all the victims around the globe that everything would be alright and that they would have the strength to carry on, to have faith and hope. You can help out via Red Cross or any other charity organizations or disaster relief organizations.

'Reveries' is out now at 80 RMB only. All proceeds goes to various charity organizations aiding disaster relief. Optional promotional price available at the Christmas fundrasing this November (60 RMB). Get it now from Hansika, Wei Cheng or Elizabeth from S4.

LATEST UPATES:

-'Reveries' sequel in talks... Childhood memories, humanity, life... and many other possible chapters coming in...

-Getting ready for the Christms fundraising... Posters and theme coming soon!

Last week, Ms Marie De Silva, CNN Hero 2008, visited Shanghai Singapore International School, giving an inspiring speech on community involvement and her charity works. She established the Jacaranda Foundation, providing funds for the Jacaranda School in Malawi, Marie's hometown, that was struck by the HIV. She never give up on the kids, and continued helping them by educating these children. From a small home where she used to teach, now, a school was built housing children with assistance from various country. She also visited Shanghai American School and attended the SAS Bazaar, having a booth for donations and displays. SAS helped contributed to the Jacaranda Foundation. This CNN Hero, is a true HERO. No doubt about that. It's the little things you do that make the world a better place. Donations. A Smile. A Card. Your Contriution. They all meant a lot for the Malawi children, and also to many other people in the world. You can do a part to and you can be a HERO too! :)

'Reveries' on sale now at 80RMB. All proceeds go to charity organizations. Make yur purchase now from Wei Cheng or Hansika of S4 Amber or Elizabeth of S4 Ruby.

(Clarifications on pricings of the book: Early bird price (up till August 2009): 60 RMB | Members price: 50 RMB | Volunteers price: 55 RMB)