January 2008 Archives

Building Bridges through Social Studies

January 30, 2008

Social Studies Conference in San Diego

Mdm Adila Ong (centre) with Mrs Lee Ai Hoon of Riverside Secondary (left) and Mrs Hilda Thong, Vice Principal of Riverside Secondary (right) at the NCSS Conference in San Diego.

“Welcome to sunny San Diego!” the hotel front desk officer greeted me when I was checking in. That was certainly a welcome sight after a tiring 20-hour flight. And even though there was a heavy downpour on the first day of the conference (so much for sunny San Diego), we refused to let the wet weather dampen our mood. We were here to learn about how American teachers inculcate citizenship values and prepare their students for a world that is fast becoming ethnically and culturally diversified.

Continue reading “Building Bridges through Social Studies”»

“Systems Thinking” in the Classroom

January 28, 2008

Systems Thinking at Jurong Primary

Pupils in group discussions to come up with their composition plans.

Imagine this classroom scenario: Pupils are engrossed in discussions. Their English teacher, Mr Ng Kok Leong, has just assigned them a picture-based composition exercise. But before they begin pouring out their stories on paper, they need to come up with composition plans. Just when you think that the pupils have finished their planning and are about to start writing, they begin plotting graphs!

Continue reading ““Systems Thinking” in the Classroom”»

Excellence at Your Service

January 25, 2008

Mr Ramachandran Nair

With his team of security officers, Mr Ramachandran Nair (centre) ensures that Northland Primary is kept safe.

Ask Mr Ramachandran Nair of Northland Primary School or Mr Mohd Amin bin Kadir of Pasir Ris Secondary School about what they do, and it can run the gamut from keeping the school mosquito-free to designing an electronics learning centre. They are not teachers, but as administrative and support staff, they too play a key role to keep their schools humming along at full steam.

Continue reading “Excellence at Your Service”»

Primary Assurance for New Pupils from Parent Volunteers

January 23, 2008

Ngee Ann Primary PSG

Parent volunteer Mr Simon Teo directs traffic at the school entrance.

Come rain or shine, Mr Simon Teo and a few other parents are at the Ngee Ann Primary School entrance every morning, where they direct traffic and ensure the safety of the pupils entering the school. Mr Teo has been at the task for two years now and is just one of the many dedicated parents in the Parents Support Group (PSG) at this school. This year, the PSG members took on a new task: helping the Pri 1 pupils settle into the school when it reopened on 2 January.

Continue reading “Primary Assurance for New Pupils from Parent Volunteers”»

A Day in the Life of a Special Education Teacher

January 21, 2008

Ms Loy Sheau Mei's volume thermometer chart

Ms Loy uses a poster displaying this thermometer to help guide her students’ behaviour.

An eye-catching and boldly-coloured volume thermometer poster proclaiming “Loudest = Shouting” through “Softest = Whispering”. A chart that indicates different parts of the lesson in specific clarity: “1 - Go through the textbook. 2 - Go to the garden to look at plants. 3 - Get into groups for independent work. 4 - Pack up, and get ready for recess.” While these details may appear excessive in an upper primary school classroom, they are must-have items in Pathlight School, the only special education (SPED) school in Singapore that teaches the mainstream curriculum to students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Continue reading “A Day in the Life of a Special Education Teacher”»

Life as a Student Intern in Corporate Communications Division

January 15, 2008

I’d never expected to get a job during the holidays; the idea had never crossed my mind. But I was approached by my form teacher one afternoon regarding an internship at MOE’s Corporate Communications Division (CCD). After speaking to my parents, who were very supportive of the internship, I decided to take it up.

Continue reading “Life as a Student Intern in Corporate Communications Division”»

Being Prepared to Tackle Threats

January 8, 2008

Queenstown Secondary emergency exercise

Student helpers check on the "wounds" of a schoolmate role-playing as a casualty.

It is no doubt terrifying to imagine a crisis scenario taking place in a school in Singapore. But a completely different and much more reassuring situation can result if staff and students are at a high level of readiness to cope with emergencies and crises. With this goal in mind, MOE's Security and Emergency Planning Office has been working closely with schools to equip teachers with the relevant knowledge and help them plan emergency exercises for their schools.

Continue reading “Being Prepared to Tackle Threats”»

Innova JC Students in the Mood for Love

January 3, 2008

Innova JC New Media Arts

Innova JC's Film Production Unit shot a short film Xin Qing in Taiwan.

What happens when a story of love, originally set in Tokyo's Harujuku district, is filmed in the streets of Taipei by a student cast and crew from Singapore?

You get Xin Qing, that's what - a short film by New Media Arts students at Innova Junior College (IJC). They harnessed digital technology to tell the tale of two young people who fell in love but failed to be together thanks to the vagaries of fate.

Continue reading “Innova JC Students in the Mood for Love”»