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