What an aRWSome Kids' Date it was

If we should say so ourselves. :D

This is the final outcome of all our days of prep work -- wide grins plastered on the faces of the kids (and adults) who turned up for the event.

That is the best gift to us.

The day started with us trooping to Lido 2 with boxes of goodie bags in tow, and then the hard labour started.

We had to put bags and bags of the goodie bags, which had sponsored items like ST School Pocket Money Fund teddy bears, a Transformer notebook, a Hasbro game, Mendaki mugs, SingTel pencil cases with stationery, notebooks and Nestle food items.

Once this was done, the guests and kids tucked in to their breakfasts, which were served outside the cinema.

The real fun and excitement began after the children were ushered into the theatre.

The curious kids started peeping into their goodie bags and not-so-surreptiously starting swopping Transformer toys, which were also placed on the seats, with one another.

They then went mad when they realised there were more goodies to be given away, as a quiz-master took centrestage and started posing different questions, and gave away toys such as Shrek, T-Rex and Woody the Woodpecker dolls.

Mad stuff.

As this went on our other guests and VIPs started to fill the cinema. RWS Big Boss Mr Tan Hee Teck gave a stirring speech thanking the uber-generous sponsors, followed by Straits Times editor Mr Han Fook Kwang, who announced that we raised a whopping $30,000.

:D

With the mood and atmosphere set, everyone was ready for the movie.

Cheers and claps emanated from the audience once the highlight of the event, the screening of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen started.

All these could not have been made possible, really, if not for our kind sponsors who were so generous with their gifts.

Can't wait till the next aRWSome Kids' Date!

Check out our pics of the event here!

Prep, prep and more prep

Two big events for the Comms Team coming up these few days.

The first, which is to be held tomorrow, is a tour of the Resorts World at Sentosa site.

Needless to say we are praying for good weather tomorrow.

We are in the midst of preparing logistical stuff like boots for the journalists who are coming, helmets, drinks, transport etc.

It's been mad.

The office is also filled with boxes as we get down to preparing goodie bags for the 300 children who will be coming for the aRWSome Kids' Date at Lido, where the kids, who come from the various CDCs, will get to watch Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

There are lots of goodies for them: board games, food and beverage (of course), an uber-cool Transformers notepad with Bumblebee on the cover, and even a Transformer toy, amongst loads of stuff kindly sponsored by loads of big-hearted people.

:)

In the meantime, we have to get back to work, so stick around for what happens next!

RWS goes hiking!

IT IS most gratifying to see smiles, especially on the faces of kids.

You know what we mean right?

Somehow, it makes everything worthwhile.

As mentioned in our earlier posts, the RWS team took 30 kids up Mount Imbiah on Jun 12.

This is not the first time we are organising something like this: back in Nov 2008, we had organised the first outing to the movies at a screening of Madagascar 2.

Then, about 300 children from various Community Chest Family Service Centres and the Chinese Development Assistant Councils were given a visual treat, as well as breakfast sponsored by McDonald's and fruits for dessert, compliments from Chilli Api.

We decided to take a different route this time (literally!), taking the children aged 7 to 12 on a hike instead.

The entire group, split into two smaller clusters, set off at 2 pm on a balmy Friday and were each led by a guide.

All teams later congregated at the beach for a picnic, and had a feast of burgers and other goodies.

Such fun. And as you know, kids being kids, some were of course running all over the place in gleeful joy.

T'was a sight to behold.

But really, really. It was all worth the planning and effort, as we were touched to see the children having fun.

A total of 15 staff turned up for this event, and the sad part is that there were many, many more who asked to be there as well, but had to be turned down because of space constraints.

Our next aRWSome (pronounced 'awesome') Kids' Date will be held later this month, and this time, we will be treating several hundred children to watch the new Transformers movie. (See the trailer here.)

AWESOME stuff. Heh. It would be absolutely fabulous as more RWS staffers can turn up and help out then.

It was sooooooooo hot...

But it was all worth it.

The Met. services predicted that the temperature would hit 34 degrees celsius and they were unfortunately right.

We went to the worksite at about 10 am yesterday and it was blisteringly hot.

By 11 am our shirts were drenched with sweat and we were trying to squeeze our bodies into shady areas we could find, big or small.

Anyway the visit was awesome; we managed to get great pics of the Dueling Coaster aka Battlestar Galatica, and seriously, no pictures do the real thing justice.

We also saw the other attractions in the park ( and other rides of course!), and the pics will come later.

So hang on in there. Oh yea.. the Straits Times also published a picture story about our blockbuster today on Prime Page 12. :)

Later today the Comms team is all set to bring 40 kids to Mt. Imbiah in Sentosa for a Nature Walk later today at 2 pm.

Keeping our fingers, toes and eyes crossed that the weather holds and/or become cooler.

:)

Dare you take this ride?

Oooh... my paper and zaobao both did a write-up about our dueling coasters today (Jun 10).

Here's what we shared with the media:

By end this week, about 15 per cent of the tracks of our dueling coasters (双轨过山车) would have been installed. When all the tracks are linked and completed around September, the twin coasters will be one of the world’s tallest dueling coasters at more than 40 metres tall.

This is one of the highlights in Universal Studios Singapore. The roller coaster is called Battlestar Galactica（太空堡垒卡拉狄加）because it brings riders on a thrilling aerial duel between Humans (red tracks) and Cylons (blue tracks). To date, more than 240 reinforced concrete foundation bases were cast to carry the steel columns which support the tracks of the Battlestar Galactica dueling coasters. Laid end to end, each set of coaster tracks will stretch 992m. Two types of space craft for the different tracks are due to arrive in Singapore this September.

The Human coaster (seated coaster on red tracks) is designed for riders who want a roller coaster experience with no inversions. But those who ally themselves to the Cylons (suspended coaster on blue tracks) will travel on a space craft that will perform more intense manoeuvres such as one inverted loop, one cobra roll and one helix spiral. The Cylon coaster will also plunge into a 5-metre deep pit filled with artificial fog to give thrill seekers the sensation of a near miss with the ground. Besides, part of the ride will take place over a lagoon.

In short, the exciting loops, sudden turns, breathtaking drops and thrilling near-collisions will make you scream your heart out.

Universal Studios Singapore, being the first world class movie-theme park in South East Asia, will feature 24 rides and attractions of which 18 attractions are specially created or redesigned for Singapore. The Battlestar Galactica dueling coasters is one of these 18 attractions and it allows thrill-seekers to brush past one another in several near misses in their aerial combat. Visitors can choose to blast off on the side of the Humans or with the Cylons.

Read ZaoBao's article on this here.

Quick facts:

World’s tallest dueling coasters tipping 42.5 m.
Tracks laid end-to-end: 2 km ( each track is 992m).
Part of the coasters go over water.
The Cylon coaster promises one inversion, one cobra roll and one helix spiral.

At one point, it plunges into a 5m deep, dark, foggy pit. You’ll think that you are about to hit ground.
Footprint of 11,550m2, the size of 1.5 football field. (7,140 sq m)
Pea gravel is used for the filling of the running rails of the track to make them quieter.
The two cars catapult off at 95Km/hr.

Cylons: Blue, suspended.
Seated: Red, Human

Sneak peek!

Guess what this tee-shirt is for!

Like yesterday, we are busy planning and working out the kinks for this Friday's walk.

15 Resorts World at Sentosa staff members will be accompanying 40 children aged 7 to 12 and who are from CDAC on this trek up Mt Imbiah.

Accompanying them are three guides leading the trek.

Really, really hope the children will enjoy themselves and that the weather is good!

aRWsome Kids' Day

Planning is in progress for next Friday's aRWSome Kids' Day, where a group of 40 children will be brought for a nature walk around Sentosa.

We are going mad (and of course having fun) working out the logistics.

This is part of Resorts World at Sentosa's CSR efforts, where we endeavour to make a difference in the lives of children.

After this, we will be having a premiere screening of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, for another group of children at a cinema later this month.

Really, really hope that the kids will enjoy themselves.

Just wish that there were activities and events like these when we were younger (eons ago)

Tearing down at job fair

So the first Big Bang has ended.

Some of us went down in the evening yesterday to see and help out in the proceedings. and boy, was the whole thing massive.

The bulk of the clearing and cleaning up ended at about 10 pm and most of us then left for home tired, but happy.

Of course, it was really difficult getting out of bed to get to work today, given that it is another wet and cold morning, with dark clouds abound and peppering the sky.

Heard we managed to get quite a good mix of staff coming on board (yay!), but of course, as it is with the hospitality industry, the more the merrier.

For those who missed this round, take heart. Just head down to our corporate website and look at what positions are available and send in your resumes there online.

Cheerios!

Webcast galore

Quick quiz: Did you know that we have webcasts in Mandarin as well?

View the latest Chinese video about the USS Audition Tour in Singapore for instance: http://www.rwsentosa.com/video/webcast10_jun_c.html

Much work goes into the making of such videos as the Comms team is a lean and mean one :)

We try as much as possible to capture the flavour of what is happening on the ground.

So don't diss our efforts. Spread the love.

The Big Bang

Less than 100 days before all the major buildings are topped, the air in Resorts World is abuzz with excitement.

It is Wednesday, June 3 today, the third day of our Big Bang held at Suntec City, where we are having a big recruitment drive which lasts three days and which started on Monday.

Went down yesterday and was amazed by how everyone was so enthusiastic.

You should have been there.

The job applicants who came down were so happy and chirpy, well, most of them at least. :) They listened so attentively as they were briefed about the proceedings, and sat wide-eyed as they went through the whole screening.

What was absolutely fantastic was how the staff, as a whole, rallied to help one another in every way possible.

It was so nice!

Well, if you are interested in a career with RWS, do apply at the website.

Will be going down later again to have a look-see.

Update later!