School Focus for P5 Students
Gau Poh Teck
2 January 2015
HAPPY NEW YEAR
新年快乐
Flow of Events
Programme Remarks
Principal’s Sharing • School Theme 2015 • Transition into Primary 5 &
Direct School Admission (DSA) • Important roles parents play in
CCE • Some Important Dates for P5
P5 Camp Briefing
Classroom Session with P5 Teachers
Not a one-to-one session
School Theme 2015
School Theme for 2015
“Strengthening Bonds, Unleashing Potentials”
强化联系,激发潜能
See Principal’s 2015 message on the school website:
http://www.meetoh.moe.edu.sg/cos/o.x?c=/wbn/pagetree&func=view&rid=24614
Recapitulation of 2014 Sharing
Shifts in Singapore’s Education System
7
Depth
Breadth
Length
Giving Each Child a Broad
and Holistic Education
Deep Values, a Deep
Commitment to
Singapore and a
Deep Foundation in
Literacy, Numeracy
and 21Century
Competencies
SVE: A Broad and Deep Foundation for a Lifelong Journey
Learning for Life
and Lifelong
Learning
Recapitulation of 2014 Sharing
The shift towards a more holistic education
A holistic education encompasses the following key domains of learning:
•德 Moral
•智 Cognitive (Intellectual)
•体 Physical
•群 Social
•美 Aesthetics 五育 (全人教育)
Recapitulation of 2014 Sharing
The shift towards a more holistic education
A Holistic Education aspires to give a broad-based experience to the children through schooling so that each child can tap on the broad range of baseline exposures to discover and pursue his/her strengths, interests or talents
A need to emphasize process (of learning) and not just results (or outcomes) or for personal convenience
A holistic education develops a whole person.
Transforming Learning •School History Curriculum
– Creation of School History Curriculum
– 6-year development programmes from P1 to P6
– Greater awareness of school history
– School Pride and Sense of Belonging to the school
– Inculcate the vitrue of“饮水思源”(remembering the source from
which you drink the water)
•Library Reading Programme – Redesign of School Library to support Language Programmes
– Strengthen bilingualism in pupils
•Authentic Science Learning and Environmental Awareness – Creation of Eco-garden to support experiential Science Learning
– Stepping up environment awareness programmes
Enhancing Holistic Education (Mee Toh School’s efforts)
10
N4 Cluster CoL for Chinese
Language and Culture
• Innovative pedagogies for Chinese
Language learning in tandem with
curricular changes (Dances with
Books, Drama in Education,
Qianjuwen)
• Values and cultural learning through
CCE
11
Enhancing Holistic Education (Mee Toh School’s efforts)
External Validation 2012 (improvements
made)
2012 - 2015
Re-Validated 2012 - 2015
2013
Improving PSLE Results 2012 - 2014
School Holistic Education Benchmarks
Enhancing Holistic Education
The world awaiting our
children……
VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity)
“To deal with the demands of a VUCA environment, good grades in
school are not enough. In fact they might not even be relevant. Instead,
individuals need to be adaptable and willing to learn. They need to
have the confidence to deal with problems that have no clear-cut
solutions. And they need to be able to work effectively with others,
across races and nationalities, and to communicate clearly.”
Mr Leo Yip, Chairman EDB quoted by
Mr Heng Swee Keat, Minister for Education
MOE Work Plan Seminar 2013
Character & Citizenship
Education (CCE)
Singapore’s Character & Citizenship Education
(CCE) Framework
Swiss Roll Diagram
Purpose of Education
The person who is schooled in the Singapore Education system embodies the Desired Outcomes of Education. •He has a good sense of self-awareness, a sound moral compass, and the necessary skills and knowledge to take on challenges of the future. •He is responsible to his family, community and nation.
•He appreciates the beauty of the world around him, possesses a healthy mind and body, and has a zest for life.
Social Emotional Competencies
• Social & Emotional Learning (SEL) An umbrella term that refers to students' acquisition of
skills to
–recognise and manage emotions,
–develop care and concern for others,
–make responsible decisions,
–establish positive relationships, and
–handle challenging situations effectively
What does research say about SEL?
Multiple research and studies have
consistently concluded that pupils’ school
achievement (in a holistic sense) and later
success in life are closely related to pupils’
social emotional competencies
Importance of Social Emotional Competencies
“Children who have positive self-belief tend to get
better results, do difficult schoolwork confidently,
feel optimistic, try hard and enjoy school.” The Straits Times, 1 January 2014
“Praise child for his efforts, not grades”
What does Mee Toh School in
Character and Citizenship
Education ?
Form Teacher Guidance Period (FTGP)
Designed with strategies for pupils to
acquire skills that will help them to:
•Better understand themselves
(Self-Awareness)
•Learn ways to manage themselves
(Self-Management)
•Better understand their family and friends
(Social Awareness & Relationship
Management)
•Make appropriate and responsible decisions
(Responsible Decision-Making)
FTGP: P5 Lessons
SEAIP: Strategies to Ensure More Attention to Individual Pupil Development
• One-to-one conferencing sessions with teachers
• Allow teachers to understand the pupils better and
to help the pupils in holistic manner
Values-in-Action
Education and Career Guidance (ECG)
• Focus on career awareness • Develop self-awareness in skills and
interests • Explore educational pathways in
Singapore
For more information on ECG, visit:
http://parents-in-education.moe.gov.sg/primary-education/how-can-i-support-my-
child-s-growth-and-development/education-and-career-guidance
Home-based Learning
Home-Based Learning 2015
• Portals – MCOnline and e-Tutor
Dates to note
• June holidays
• P5 E-Learning Day - 5 October 2015
Other dates to note
• P1,3 : 1 October 2015
• P2, 4 : 2 October 2015
Transition into P5
Transition to P5
• Greater demands in learning of subjects: content
coverage, conceptual understanding (length for exam
papers and greater challenge in questions)
• Requires longer concentration span
• Ability to stay focused is crucial
• Parents to help their child pace their learning (do not
overwhelm them with endless enrichment lessons)
• Talk to the child to help them manage the
change/learning/demands positively
• Encourage the child consistently
• Start of final 2-year preparation for PSLE
• Remember the intent of Social Emotional Learning
30
How does Subject-based Banding work at
the end of P4?
31
How does Subject-based Banding work at the
end of P5?
MEE TOH SCHOOL SBB 32
How were P5 Classes in 2015 organised?
*Classes will be banded:
*maximum 40 students per class
This slide shares the General Guiding Principles:
*Classes in each colour-band will have students with close abilities
*Subjects considered English, Maths, Science
*Approach of class grouping is not changed
*In 2015, the numbering of classes does not follow any particular order.
• Work with parents to look at each child as an individual, recognise
his/her strengths and weaknesses to develop his/her potential and at
the same time enhancing character development
*Mother Tongue Languages follow a different grouping
Direct School Admission (DSA)
• Promote holistic education
• Provide students an opportunity to demonstrate a more
diverse range of achievements and talents in seeking
admission to a secondary school
• Allow participating secondary schools to select some P6
students for admission to Secondary One
– Academic
– Niche Area, e.g. CCA
• Conducted in 3 stages from Jul to late Nov in P6
Preparatory Stage
• Allow child to participate in various aspects in education
• Active in CCA, competitions
• Put into folio the child’s certificate of achievements
• Research on the participating schools
• Testimonial will be written by P6 Form / Co-Form Teacher (FT)
– Testimonial will only be given to pupils with good conduct upon
request from parents
– Only 1 testimonial for pupils who meet the criteria
– Any strengths or experiences in the Testimonial included in the
testimonial must be evidence-based
http://www.moe.gov.sg/education/admissions/dsa-sec/
Important roles parents play in
CCE
Relationship Between School and Parents
• Parents are not
our customers
• Parents are our
partners
in the holistic
education of
the children
• Our common
interest is the
child
school parents
Pupil/child
Partnership between School and Parents
Guiding Philosophy
Quality Relationships A mindset of partnership, collaboration and
mutual support Anchored on Mutual Trust and Mutual
Respect (Guided by the school ethos)
A no-blame culture Clarity of Communication of School Directions and
Standards of Service
1. Always work with your child’s teachers first as they are the ones
who know your child best
• Write your queries in the Student Handbook
• If you prefer to communicate through email, email of the teachers will
be given to you through a letter that will been sent out by the form
teachers in next week
• The teachers will respond to non-emergency queries within 3 working
days
2. If you need to meet up with your child’s teacher, make an
appointment first before coming to school
3. Do be patient with the teachers as they are teaching many children
and have many other commitments too.
Communication with School
• School Notifications will be sent out on
Thursdays
• Replies or collection of payment/documents
will be done on the next Tuesday.
Communication with School
• If Notifications are sent out on a Tuesday,
• Replies or collection of
payment/documents will be done on
Thursday of the same week.
Can SVE be achieved?
• Not going to be easy but is achievable. Values are intangible, with outcomes not easily measurable like examination results
• Wise Chinese saying:
• Values education needs to be approached differently from the learning of examinable subjects. Emphasis must start from the process
• School and parents must be persistent partners in this whole effort of values education and character development
Can SVE be achieved?
• A stronger sense of community between school and parents is needed
• Strong partnership between school and parents so that our thoughts, words and actions guide the children’s character development and shape their world view in a consistent manner?
• Adults’ mindset must be adjusted from an exam-oriented one to embrace 21st Century education which is more holistic and values-driven
• Our conversation (and conversation topics) with the children matters
Parents
play a
key role
in CCE
Parents’ conversation with their
children matters
Dates to Take Note
P5 Camp 21 – 23 Jan 2015
CL Briefing for P5 Parents 6 Feb 2015
EL and Math Workshops for
P5 & P6 Parents
13 Mar 2015
Home-based Learning June Holidays
P5 E-Learning Day 5 Oct 2015 (Mon) Child will stay at home.
E-assignments will be
set for them to complete
at home.
NE Show Date to be confirmed
Traffic Games Date to be confirmed
Thank you for your kind attention.
Touching Souls Challenging Minds