OUR INSPIRING STAFF

“Woodlands has a strong community of caring Principal, staff and support staff. They go the extra mile to look into the welfare of the students and take the restorative approach to build the character and intellect of students who deviate from their goals or aspirations. There is always someone, be it the form teacher, subject teacher and school leaders to guide and provide the opportunities for the students to fulfl their dreams and goals.

Besides a strong culture of growth and learning, there is celebrations of success and every staff’s birthday! I enjoyed the long hours of discussion, affable bantering and sparring of ideas for school outcomes at Management and Staff Contact Time. I was amazed how every Head supported and worked together to achieve the Singapore Quality Class. My contribution of developing data and slides and sharing with the team and staff for their input was tedious but worth the effort and time. There was so much fun in working with a wonderful team consisting of an excellent leader, compassionate heads and caring staff.”

“In the frst two years, I had the opportunity to help put together part of the SEM report for the school. The inspiring moment was defnitely not on the process of writing the report but the uncovering of a pool of caring, close-knitted, talented and reliable Heads of Departments who ran together with the leaders, no matter how challenging it was. Through the tedious process, the ‘unearthing’ of the many good programmes and opportunities from the past WDL leaders had energized me then in wanting to be part of the awesome team in continuing and upkeeping the good results of a heartland school. The collected effcacy of the staff is crucial in ensuring students’ outcomes. Love, open communication and leveraging each other’s strengths are the crux of our daily work for success, no matter where we are.… The experience in WDL has helped ease me in New Zealand that emphasizes on “he tangata, he tangata, he tangata” [meaning it’s always about people, people and people]. WDL has taught me to practise looking at people through the lens of love.”

Mr Chen Bing Hong Vice Principal 2018 - 2021

“COVID-19 has brought about many challenges and adversities for our students and staff during the last two years. However, it has also brought about opportunities and platforms for us to innovate and unite, to build a strong Woodlands family spirit and sense of belonging. I am proud to be a member of the Woodlands family for the last three years, to be part of the team to rally the students and staff. Guided by the belief that the school is a fundamental source of support for our students, we focused on engaging the academic and affective domains of our students through planned well-being activities and innovative academic and co-curriculum programmes to foster care, trust and respect and inculcate a growth mindset for learning. One such example is the Youth Day celebrations in 2020.

WDL is a hope building and uplifting school, one that enables success for all. Most of the time, students do what is expected of them. They make decisions based on what is right, practical and most sensible at that moment.”

Mrs Veronica Lim Head of Department for English Language and Literature 2001 – 2018

“Mentoring is a brain to pick, an ear to listen, and a push in the right direction.” John C. Crosby.

I had been very blessed to have met and worked for inspiring school leaders such as Mrs Yap-Ng Hwee Heng, Mrs Julia Woo and Ms Tan Ke-xin. Not only did they chart the direction to bring the school to a greater height and to where it is today, they also listened to each and every one of us and were inspirational mentors to us. Their unwavering belief in the staff and in having the best interest for students at Woodlands Secondary enthused many of us to put our best foot forward. It was their resolute faith and trust in me as well as the empowerment, together with the support and hard work from the department teachers, that allowed me to have successfully led the English Language and Literature department in achieving value-added results. “