Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Candidates for the Elections, 10/11

Name: Ng Joo San
Faculty: Engineering
Year: 1
Interested Posts: Treasurer and Secretary

Bio:
My keenness in going for SEP motivated me to learn German. Since I have started learning German, my zeal for the language deepened. Having served as a sub-committee member in this society since last semester, I aspire to rise up to the challenge of being directly involved in its management.

My experiences and what I can contribute to the society:
I have vast experiences of organizing events and facilitating in activities. With my experiences in these areas, I can contribute to greater success in future events. In university, I have been actively involved in administrative work as secretary of NUS biathlon and have also been part of a publicity team. I believe my understanding of how events are run, administrative procedures, budget and manpower allocation in addition to personal attributes such as responsibility will be of value to the society. Therefore, I hope to be part of the great EXCO team to enhance the experiences and welfare of GLS members. I believe that with my commitment and competence, I can continue the society’s effort in providing a great platform for German students and like-minded friends to interact learn and experience the German culture.



Name: HE YAJIE
Matric. No.: U086854L
Year: 2
German Level: 3
Interested Posts: Vice President

Bio:
I have being the Project Director in German Society for the past year and Organised numerous events for the society. During my time as Project Director, I led the organising committees for 2 stammtisches, 2 German – learning sessions and 2 German Movie Screening events attracting many participants from all over NUS. My ability to lead and manage has being well tested and tuned.

My experiences and what I can contribute to the society:
With my experience in German Society and knowledge on the events organised by the society, I will be able to provide guidance for my executive committee members and lead them to scale greater heights. With NUS German Society holding the rights to organise next year’s German Day, my leadership experience and my ability to rally the members towards the ultimate goal of presenting an unforgettable German Day to all the tertiary education students, will be useful. When I am elected to the office of Vice-President of German Society, I will organise a brainstorming session together with the executive committee of the society to think of ideas for German Day. This session will allow the new incoming executive committee to build bonds and foster good working relationships. Strong working relationships will ensure that the German Day next year organised by the society will be one of the best ever held.


Name: Tan Xi'en Rachel
Matric. No.: U073243J
Year: 3
German Level: German Studies 1
Interested Posts: President and Vice President

Bio:
I am a European Studies and Political Science major, with German as my third language. I speak and write fluent German and am very interested in German culture. I love getting to know new people and am a very task oriented person. I have passed the DSH exam, an exam allowing one to study in Germany with the highest possible grade, a grade 3. This exam was administered by the University of Heidelberg, where I was an exchange student in the summer of 2009.

My experiences and what I can contribute to the society:
I have been in the German Society for 2 years. In my first year, I was a member of the sub committee where I understudied a project director. In the academic year 2009/2010, I was the project director of the society where I organised many successful events, such as the Stammtisch, the SEP sharing session and the Tandem Programme. Given my experience and my familiarity with the members, I believe that I am well equipped to lead the society to greater heights in the academic year 2010/2011. I look forward to getting a closer partnership with the Goethe institute, as well as getting new students who are studying German to join our society so that they will be able to enjoy Germany away from Germany as well. I also look forward to helping to organise German Day 2010, which will be organised later this year. Please give me your support and I look forward to seeing you at the elections. =)

Name: Lam Pey Hua @ Beatrice
Matric Number: U085856N
Year: 2
Major: Applied Math
German Level: 2
Interested Posts: Treasurer and Vice President

Bio:
I love German Language when I first met it in my studies of Music. When I was playing a song named “Aufschwung” by Robert Schumann, I have asked myself,” What is the meaning of Aufschwung?” After I have taken German 1,” auf” means up,” schwung” means swing. “Ach so, es bedeutet “Upswing” in Englisch.” Hence, it has ignited my joy of learning German. Besides having lectures and tutorials, I have joined this special learning platform- German Language Society since last year and I work as a subcommittee member under Project Management Group. I was having a great fun here by organizing program such as Stammtisch, SEP sharing session, German learning session, Tandem Program, Filming, and etc. We cook; we have supper; we play and we learn together. To me, German Language Society provides me a sense of belongings. Thus, I have confidence to propose a higher position which is Treasurer.

My experiences and what I can contribute to the society:
With my 1 year experience in German Language Society, I have generally known the structures of organization for the upcoming events of the year. As what I know, we will be having German Day next year, taking over the role of NTU. It will be a very excited experience for me to learn more about the organizing skills from previous EXCO. Responsibility is the most important value especially as a Treasurer who handling with money and stuffs. Treasurer has to deal with our society’s financial report, filling taxes, reimbursement and funding. Of course, I have no problems dealing with them because I used to be responsible in my counting jobs and I am from Math Department=) I am looking forward to become a part of EXCO of this German Language society and bring a big success to it by joining the new elected EXCO.

Thanks and Happy voting:)



Roadshow for the NUS Arts Festival game music fringe, "Press Any Key" on Saturday, 31st January 2009 at the Esplanade Library.

Name: Pau Xi Ling
Matric. No.: U073969H
Year: 3
German Level: 4
Interested Posts: Vice-President and President

Bio:
Hi everyone! I'm currently majoring in Chemistry at the Faculty of Science and minoring in European Studies at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. I have a great passion for the Arts (Performing and Literary), and it is this love for classical music (especially deutsche Lieder) and poetry which gave me the courage to take up German at NUS 3 years ago. When I'm not working in the laboratory, I like to sing and accompany myself on the piano, discover German/English poems (especially those set to music by classical composers), blog about music, attend concerts, and immerse myself in the beauty of nature.

My experiences and what I can contribute to the society:
I was a member of the society since 2007. Though I did not know any German when I first joined, I was really happy to be able to meet many like-minded friends here who share the same love for music and German culture as me. In 2009 I decided to take up the Treasurer role under the leadership of Shawn, and together with him and the guidance of my other exco members we managed to attract the highest number of students in the record of our society’s history at the Matriculation Fair, with close to 100 of them turning up at our Welcome Tea. As the Treasurer, my main responsibilities include sourcing for venues/equipments, filing taxes, keeping a record of the society’s expenditure and doing reimbursements, but I have also actively helped out in the planning, execution and publicising of events such as the Matriculation Fair, Tandem Programme, Stammtisch, SEP Sharing Session, German Learning Session and other activities organised by my Project Directors. Next year will be my final year at the University and my final year as an undergraduate member of the society, so I hope you can continue to give me your generous support and a chance to make next year a fulfilling and memorable year for you and for me. Thanks!

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Upcoming Elections, 1st April 2010

Hi everyone!

The German Society will be holding 2 elections for the next committee.

The first one will be for the core EXCO, comprising of the PRESIDENT, VICE PRESIDENT, GENERAL SECRETARY and TREASURER. These are the key admin appointments. It will be held on Thursday, 1st April 2010 from 7-10pm at YIH Function Room 2, the Thursday just before Good Friday holiday.

The second election will be held by the newly elected EXCO to select their EXCO directors (some of whom might even be new students, or returning students from SEP). These are: EDITOR, PROJECT DIRECTOR 1, PROJECT DIRECTOR 2 and MARKETING PROJECT DIRECTOR. It will be held either on the 2nd or 3rd week of school when it reopens in August, depending on the newly elected core EXCO.

Voters eligible are all members past and present, plus those who have studied or are currently studying German.

The process will be as follows: all applicants send in their resumes to us and these will be screened and put up for common information.

They will be writing:
1. their name,
2. matric number,
3. year,
4. German level,
5. position interested that they are running for,
6. 1st and 2nd choices,
7. personal bio,
8. and what they can contribute to the society.


The deadline will be 31st March 2010.

Those who send in their resumes and get registered are considered for voting and their forms will displayed on the blog.

For the day itself,
1. all candidates who have successfully registered will give a 5-10 min speech.
The floor is permitted to ask questions.
The process will be controlled by the outgoing committee not standing for election.

2. all present will fill in the vote.
Voting is secret and all present cannot collude.
All will write down only one name per choice.
No repetition is allowed.

The vote consists of the following list, with a blank next to the name.
CHOICE OF PRESIDENT ____________________________
CHOICE OF VICE PRESIDENT____________________________
CHOICE OF GENERAL SECRETARY ____________________________
CHOICE OF TREASURER________________________________

3. counting will be done in public.

Votes will be immediately tabulated on the board.

4. If there is no clear winner with a majority, only that position will be recontested. Points 1 to 3 follow.

5. Results will be out on the day itself. We estimate 2.5 hours at the very maximum for voting to start and end. We will start on time and end before time.

Thank you and we hope to receive your applications soon!

Candidate Videos from EGM!

Hi everyone!

Here are the videos of the candidates' speeches from the Extraordinary General Meeting on Thursday, 18th March 2010. Please do give them your generous support!

Rachel: http://courseware.nus.edu.sg/e-daf/rmn/DS/DS2010/rachel's%20election%20speech%202010.wmv

Yajie: http://courseware.nus.edu.sg/e-daf/rmn/DS/DS2010/yajie's%20election%20speech%202010.wmv

Joo San: http://courseware.nus.edu.sg/e-daf/rmn/DS/DS2010/joo%20san's%20election%20speech%202010.wmv

Beatrice: http://courseware.nus.edu.sg/e-daf/rmn/DS/DS2010/beatrice's%20election%20speech%202010.wmv

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Geman Learning Session 25th March 2010

Fancy a chance to practise the cool new German vocabulary you have learnt?
Wanna ace your incoming German oral examination?

If you answered a ‘Yes!’ to any one of the above, then this is the event for you!

The German Society is proud to present the latest ‘German Learning Session’:
German Learning Session
Date: Thursday, 25th March 2010 (Week 10)
Time: 7-9pm
Venue: YIH Function Room 2


It is an opportunity to mingle with fluent speakers of the German language and in the process improve your own fluency in the German language. Also, you will get to learn new vocabulary and polish up your grammar. You will also benefit from our scenario-based practices where you can learn how to use the German language to communicate in the various situations, which will aid you in your examination preparations.


Speakers:
Kathrin (PHD candidate for psychology from Germany)
Rachel (In-coming president and German level 7 :)
Wei'an (One of the top GAP students who is going for to Germany for SEP)...


Situational Practice:
The practice session will be designed according to the exam preparation requirements. Native German speakers will be serving as facilitators to guide and correct the mistakes participants make during the session.





Indication of interests:
Please indicate the topics you will be interested to practise during the learning session @ http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/7YJ9CQS


The indication of interest is important for the organiser to prepare the relevant materials for the learning session

Sunday, March 14, 2010

EGM, 18th March 2010

Dear Members and Friends,

There is an EGM (Extraordinary General Meeting) for all members of the German Language Society, and your attendance is requested and needed!

Date: Thurs, 18th March 2010 (Week 9)
Time: 7-9PM
Venue: YIH Function Room 4

Agenda:

1. President's Final Rally Speech
2. CCA Points Briefing
3. CCA Card Briefing
4. Brief Q and A and Appeals
5. Opening up of Elections - German Society supported candidates
6. Elections Notice
7. Candidates Rally Speeches
8. Final Comments

I know that some of you may not have gotten enough CCA points or may not have been credited for various reasons. However, most of the Society has received as many points as they deserve and some have in fact received more than is necessary. Why this is so will be explained and discussed during the meeting. It is compulsory for members and more so if you wish to put in your appeals.

I seek your understanding and hope to see you there!

Herr Doepel's Lecture Series 1, 17th March 2010

Dear Members,

We will be having a special program organized especially for you! We are inviting our very own Herr Doepel to give us a lecture. Here are the details of Herr Doepel's lecture on 17th March 2010.

Event: Lecture Series 1: 20 years of unity - historical, sociological and political issues of the re-unification.

Date: Wednesday 17 March 2010

Time: 7pm to 9pm

Place: AS1/0205

This lecture will be held in English.

Mr Martin Doepel

Martin Doepel was born in Jena, Germany, which was formerly part of the DDR. He graduated from the Friedrich-Schiller University of Jena in 2004 and majored in German as a Foreign Language, Modern History and Political Science. Before coming to Singapore, he taught at his alma mater, the University of Jena and and was involved in the development of E Learning material there. He has been in Singapore since 2007 and currently teaches German at the Center for Language Studies. His interests include cognitive aspects of language acquisition, new media in language teaching and the Cold War.

Don't hesitate to come down for this event. Hope to see you guys there! =)

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Update: SEP Sharing session, 25th feb 2010

Hello everyone!

A few weeks ago, the German Language Society held a SEP Sharing session for all interested to find out more information on SEPs in Germany, whose universities are amongst the best in many fields of study. We are extremely delighted that there were so many of you turned up and showed great interest in learning more about the ups and downs of such a journey. We would also like to thank our speakers, who set time aside to prepare and come down to share their first-hand experiences with us all!

We hope that this sharing session was able to help answer some of the questions you all had reagrding SEPs in Germany and wish you every success in your own journey! =)
For all of you who have pressing questions regarding SEP, but missed this highly informative session, please feel free to email us at frag.mal.uns@gmail.com. We will try our best to help you!








As always, here are some photos of the event: