July 2008 Archives

An Explosion of Ideas at ExCEL Fest (Part 2)

July 28, 2008

ExCEL Fest 2008

Parents had the chance to see innovative ways of teaching and learning at ExCEL Fest 2008.

Read part 1 of Schoolbag’s coverage here. People often say, “Let your ideas take flight and soar to new heights.” Well, students and teachers at Ping Yi Secondary School and Singapore Chinese Girls’ School (SCGS) have taken this advice both literally and in a literary sense. For their gumption, the two schools bagged Innergy Awards and shared the spotlight at this year’s ExCEL Fest, which honours outstanding educators who have found creative ways to take teaching further.

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An Explosion of Ideas at ExCEL Fest (Part 1)

July 25, 2008

ExCEL Fest 2008

Visitors young and old enjoyed the range of ideas and activities at ExCEL Fest 2008.

Fancy a shop-load of SPaM? Game for a little night Mu-seek? Or how about flipping an umbrella upside-down to turn it into a fish pond or flower pot? Don’t worry - there were no dubious emails or canned ham in this festival of ingenuity. Instead, ExCEL Fest 2008 at Suntec City on 5 July was a basket of innovative tricks and practices that parents could sample, to see how teachers have introduced to make learning more fun, enriching and meaningful.

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Visit the iCTLT exhibition!

July 23, 2008

Student and PC

Using IT in learning can help to spark a student's interest.

From virtual world storytelling to electronic progress reports, schools in Singapore are using the latest in IT to take creative learning up to the next level. Parents keen on finding out more will have the perfect opportunity to do so next month. At the upcoming International Conference on Teaching and Learning with Technology (iCTLT), an exhibition open to the public will showcase some of the best education practices found in this digital-learning age. Schoolbag takes a quick preview of what some schools will be showing off during the exhibition from 5 to 6 August 2008 at Suntec International Convention and Exhibition Centre.

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Fiddling His Way from Chua Chu Kang to the International Stage

July 21, 2008

Loh Wei Ken

Wei Ken will take concert centrestage in Singapore and Italy with the SNYO.

Mention getting old hand-me-downs from your parents, and most people think of black-and-white photographs or fashions harking back to an era of retro. But imagine an item that’s worthy of being called a family heirloom: a gem of a violin made by Italian craftsmen, that dates from the 1930s. For Loh Wei Ken of Chua Chu Kang Secondary School, the violin is a living legacy from his father as well as an instrument for his artistic expression as a musician with the Singapore National Youth Orchestra (SNYO). Playing in the first violin section of the SNYO, the Sec 2 student has fiddled with such finesse that he made his debut as a soloist at a concert for the Singapore Youth Festival on 8 July, performing the classic Butterfly Lovers’ Concerto by Chen Gang and He Zhanhao. To top it off, Wei Ken embarked the very next day for an 11-day tour to Italy, where he will take the stage at the 10th Florence International Music Festival in Milan, Italy’s capital of orchestral music and opera.

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Let The Music Do The Talking

July 18, 2008

Mr Melvin Cher

Mr Melvin Cher sharing tips with pupils in the guitar elective programme.

Listening to Mayflower Primary School teacher Cher Teck Yiang Luke Melvin wax lyrical about music and teaching, it’s difficult to believe that he used to be awkward and tongue-tied among strangers. “I was a bit of an introvert when I was younger. It was only at Ngee Ann Polytechnic, where I studied Mass Communications, that I began to open up,” the affable, young teacher shares. As he explains it, “for the public relations and journalism modules at the polytechnic, we had to address large groups of people and with practice, I eventually managed to overcome my shyness.” He also became more actively involved with the youth ministry at his church and found that music was an effective way to connect with young people. Subsequently Mr Cher joined the National Institute of Education where he specialised in music education, and in 2005, he was posted to Mayflower Primary School. “Teaching provides me with the ideal opportunity to live out my passion for music and contribute to youth development,” he says. Now the Acting Subject Head for Art/Aesthetics and Head of the Performing Arts CCA, he is also one of the three recipients of the 2008 Outstanding Youth in Education Award (OYEA).

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Loving the Earth, and Teaching about It

July 16, 2008

Ms Chua Hwee Pheng

Miss Chua is a Girl Guides captain and plays an active role in the CCA.

Ask Pasir Ris Crest Secondary School teacher Miss Chua Hwee Pheng about the love of her life, and she’ll point at her golden retriever, Rocky (also known as “Handsome”). He’s not the only animal that she sees regularly - Miss Chua is also an active volunteer with the Night Safari and ACRES (Animal Concerns Research & Education Society). “I love animals and I’m passionate about the state of the earth,” she declares. She’s passionate about teaching too. Miss Chua is the acting subject head for Social Studies covering the Humanities department, the National Education coordinator, Learning Festival committee member, and teacher-in-charge of the Girl Guides; she also sits on two committees at Girl Guides Singapore. A committed teacher, she has been nominated for the 2008 Outstanding Youth in Education Award (OYEA).

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From Flab to Fit, and It Takes Only a Sharp Eye

July 14, 2008

Mr Quek Swee Nee

Mr Quek believes pupils need to hone their "adversity quotient", in addition to academic and physical prowess.

From flab to fit, from spectator to skipper - had it not been for the sharp eye and constant encouragement of his secondary school PE teacher, Mr Quek Swee Nee would have likely grown up overweight, introverted, and, in all probability, a bystander in life. “I was a little overweight in secondary school, but I could complete the 2.4-kilometre run in 10 minutes. My teacher was quick to spot my potential and encouraged me to join the cross-country team,” he remembers. And while he did not make the school team, his teacher’s support opened his eyes to new opportunities. Today, Mr Quek is the Head of Department, Aesthetics/PE/CCA at Bukit View Primary School, with a string of sports-related achievements under his belt. The latest feather in his cap: winning the Outstanding Youth in Education Award (OYEA).

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Family Bonding on School Fieldtrips

July 11, 2008

Mr Chua Chuan Seng and his daughter Hsien Hui

Mr Chua gets involved in his daughter's school activities whenever he can.

When I was a student, I used to look forward to any day when my parents attended school activities with me. So when I received an email from my daughter Hsien Hui’s school, Yew Tee Primary School, calling for parent volunteers to help with Pri 4 education tours, I signed up immediately. I’ve helped out at many school events before - from orientation sessions for Pri 1 pupils, to open houses or Sports Days, to excursions to the zoo. This time, Hsien Hui’s class was scheduled to go on a learning journey to Oh Chin Huat Hydroponic Farms. I had to take leave from work in order to go with them, but it was well worth the while. Hsien Hui was as excited as I was that we would be going on this trip together.

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Telling the Peacock’s Tale With Photos

July 9, 2008

St Joseph's Institution students

This photograph of St Joseph Institution students at a sports tournament took the top prize at “A Peacock’s Tale” photography competition.

Inspired by the plumage of a peacock’s tail which reflects a seamless display of brilliant hues, a group of Sec 4 students from different schools came together to create a project that celebrates the varied hues and colours of multiracial Singapore. Calling themselves Illuminati, the group organised “A Peacock’s Tale” - an island-wide photography competition among secondary schools, to find photographs that encapsulated the ideals of racial harmony. Why the focus on photography? Team member Gilbert Soh from Raffles Institution explains, “Photography is an art. Just like music it transcends boundaries and everyone can connect with it, regardless of their experience. In addition, photos can convey very powerful and even emotional messages.”

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Lessons in Resilience

July 7, 2008

The top prize for N.E.Mation! II went to Jurong JC's entry, Nation Moulders.

Seen the video clips submitted to this year's N.E.Mation! II competition yet? They were broadcast on TV during the public voting season earlier this year and are also viewable on the N.E.Mation! website. Each video might only be one minute long or so, but that belies the months of preparation, training and hard work that went into creating it. The top three prize-winners - respectively, Jurong JC, Hwa Chong Institution and Raffles Institution - give us a glimpse into their nine-month long adventure in animation.

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A Tale of Two Schools

July 4, 2008

Primary school students

Subject-based banding was introduced in Pri 5 in all schools this year.

If you’re still not sure what is Subject-Based Banding in Pri 5, consider this explanation by then Minister for Education Tharman Shanmugaratnam in 2006: “What we are doing is moving from a fixed menu to an à la carte menu - choose the subjects you are strong in. For the subjects you are weak in, consolidate your learning at a foundation level." Every primary school has been given the autonomy to judge professionally how they can best carry out Subject-Based Banding for their school. Today, we take a closer look at how Keming Primary School and CHIJ Primary (Toa Payoh) have done it.

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Learning at Their Own Level in Pri 5

July 2, 2008

Gongshang Primary subject-based banding

A variety of games help Pri 5 students at Gongshang Primary School with their Mathematics learning.

His eyebrows furrowed in deep concentration, Pri 5 student Daniel Ng Wei Xiang was racking his brains, trying to guess what his partner was drawing on the whiteboard. When realisation dawned, he burst out shouting, “Scientist!” - and was rewarded with whoops of joy and an advancement of one square for his team. It looks like just a game of Pictionary, but it was also an opportunity for Daniel and his classmates to build up their vocabulary. His teacher at Gongshang Primary School, Mdm Sharifah Rahmah, uses this to increase her students’ interest and confidence level in their Foundation English. Similarly, to help them in their Foundation Mathematics, she uses other activities like memory cards and Sudoku.

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