NTPS Link 2014 (2nd Issue)

NEW TOWN PRIMARY LINK 2014 300 Tanglin Halt Road (148812) | Tel: 6474 8805 Email: ntps@moe.edu.sg | Website: www.newtownpri.moe.edu.sg

2ND ISSUE

MY DREAM SHOP

By Mr Wang Jianbo

This year’s My Dream Shop competition was held in New Town Primary School on 4th July. Gracing the event was Mr Chan Chun Sing, Minister for Social and Family Development and Second Minister for Defence. The event saw many new developments. It marked the first time the competition was open to all schools in Singapore and the first year where Tamil-speaking students took part in the competition. Hence, the turn-out was the biggest since its conception.

The event witnessed 700 pupils from 12 schools actively engaged in marketing their products through sales pitches in their respective Mother Tongues - Chinese, Malay or Tamil - making the event both diverse and inclusive. In the words of the Minister, “Everyone was a winner all round” as participants had an opportunity to practise the use of their Mother Tongue while pupils from needy families received stationery as gifts.

Open House

By Mr Kannathasan

The Open House held on 19th July saw at least 400 parents and their children in attendance. Our guests were mesmerised by the graceful dance moves executed by our award-winning Performing Arts Group and spent the day getting to know the programmes of our school.

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VALUES IN ACTION

Character and Citizenship Education (CCE) Wave

By Mrs Pearlie Lim The year’s commemorative events (Total Defence Day, International Friendship Day, Racial Harmony Day and National Day) were deliberately planned to provide pupils, teachers and parents with a seamless understanding of all four special days. Through the wave, the pupils learnt to understand national needs and challenges, embrace differences of the world, acknowledge our soldiers, love our differences and be a proud citizen.

Racial Harmony Day

Kampong Life

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VALUES IN ACTION

Character and Citizenship Education (CCE) Wave Save the Environment

Kindness Day Games and activities were planned by teachers and executed by student leaders to showcase the importance of a person’s values in both regional and national identity.

During the week, pupils showing kindness by helping others were caught on camera. These pupils were presented with awards and tokens at the end of the week.

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VALUES IN ACTION

National Day Parade This year, we had a marching contingent alongside our drummers from the school band. Pupils recited the “Recollections” reminding them of Singapore’s humble beginnings. Singing “My People My Home” with pride, the pupils’ love for the country was evident with each energetic line sung. The sea of staff and pupils dressed in red moved in unity as they sang “One People, One Singapore” led by the school choir.

Values in Action (VIA)

By Mdm Woon Wei Li

VIA is an important component of Character and Citizenship Education that provides learning experiences to support pupils’ development as socially responsible citizens. In our school, a thematic approach to VIA is adopted. The younger pupils in Primary 1 to 4 learn to care for themselves and their peers while Primary 5 to 6 pupils are involved in projects to promote community well-being. These experiences are intended to foster the learning and application of values, knowledge and skills. As part of the VIA projects, pupils also reflect on the values they have acquired, and how they can put them into practice by contributing meaningfully to society.

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LEARNING BEYOND BORDERS

LOWER PRIMARY SPORTS DAY

By Mr Naseer Ghani

The Annual Lower Primary Sports Day on 8th August garnered the support of many parents who came down to witness their precious little ones taking part in the races. Pupils from Primary 1 to 3 demonstrated a variety of locomotor skills that they had learnt during PE lessons. These skills consisted of running, hopping, skipping, balancing and jumping as well as games’ skills such as throwing, passing, catching, rolling and dribbling a ball. The annual event took on a carnival- like atmosphere with proud, beaming parents jostling forward during the prize presentation ceremony to take photographs of their children receiving medals. One of the highlights of the day was the Parents’ Race where parents had the opportunity to further strengthen the bond with their children.

This year, the Annual Lower Primary Sports Day was a joyous occasion with every child from the lower primary classes participating and emerging as a winner.

P5 Motivation Camp

By Mdm Saihatul

In tandem with NTPS’ effort to provide holistic education for our pupils, the school organised a programme for Primary 5 pupils during the September school holidays. Conducted by Adam Khoo Learning Technologies Group, the 1 ½ day programme covered topics on motivation and study skills. The use of games, videos, hands-on activities and group challenges throughout the programme engaged our pupils immensely.

The first segment “Empowering Principles” introduced pupils to principles that would guide them to improve their decision making skills. It emphasised that their lives were impacted solely by their attitudes and choices, underscoring the importance of developing a positive mindset.

The next segment taught pupils how to maximise the brain’s potential by understanding the way it functions. They learnt strategies on effective notetaking using the Whole-Brain Notes (P.A.C.O.O.K) and were equipped with feasible revision strategies for optimal impact.

Based on case studies of successful people, pupils learnt the importance of goal setting and were guided in the design of their life-path with the help of the trainers.

The programme wrapped up with a segment on the power of appreciation for pupils to realise the value of their families as they strive in their pursuit of education.

School Immersion

By Mr Hao Xiao Xing

2 teachers and 16 pupils from Kunshan Zhongxin No.1, China visited the school on 17th & 18th July .The pupils immersed themselves in an authentic classroom experience whilst making new friends. Our pupils were able to understand more about the culture of our visitors and had lots of fun comparing the differences in their learning experiences while Mother Tongue teachers exchanged best practices in teaching and learning with their counterparts. It was a fruitful experience for all.

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LEARNING BEYOND BORDERS

P2 Outdoor Learning Experience at the Zoo

By Mdm Suhana The Outdoor Learning Experience (OLE) to the zoo was held on 26th September. The objective of the trip was to deepen pupils’ understanding about animals and their habitats, an extension of the knowledge about animals that the P2 pupils had obtained from their books. Pupils learnt interesting facts about animals, such as their body coverings and diets. The trail was interdisciplinary, with English and Mathematics learning objectives achieved through the activities. In line with providing an authentic learning experience, the OLE provided pupils with the opportunity to apply what they had learnt in class to a reallife context. Despite being thoroughly exhausted by the end of the day, our pupils enjoyed themselves tremendously.

Mother Tongue Fortnight – Malay

By Mr Iskandar

Primary 4 Malay pupils from New Town and Pei Tong explored different parts of our school at different games stations during the interactive trail held in conjunction with the Mother Tongue Fortnight. Pupils had to visit stations to receive tokens. Each team comprised pupils from both schools with the objective for pupils to bond. The Primary 5 pupils from New Town were the game masters.

Mother Tongue Fortnight – Chinese

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MID-AUTUMN FESTIVAL

By Ms Chua Wei Ling

On 3rd September, the Chinese Department organised a range of activities to celebrate the annual Mid-Autumn Festival, commonly known as Mooncake Festival. During the three recesses, with the assistance of parent volunteers, pupils had the opportunity to make snow skin moon cakes.

Pupils’ awareness of the customs and traditions related to the festival was raised through the information placed on the notice boards in the cafeteria. Activities such as lantern making and answering riddles on the lantern festival added further fervor to the festivities.

CHILDREN’S DAY CELEBRATIONS

By Mr Ee Chin Siang

On 2nd October, our school celebrated Children’s Day and the theme for the day was “Let Them Rise”. The event was held to remind our pupils that they need values to grow to their full potential. All the performances were based on fairy tales. The teachers came up with wonderful story lines, which masterfully linked up and weaved all the values that the pupils had learnt during assembly.

Through different skits, dance and song items, teachers showcased how the values were espoused in reality through fairytales such as “Tinkerbell & Peter Pan” and “The Mayor & The Pipers”.

In line with our school’s focus on Caring Beyond Self, pupils were encouraged to do their part after learning more about the Community Chest Donation drive.

The celebration closed to rousing applause with the finale item “Let Them Rise” sung to the tune of the wildly popular song from the movie “Frozen”. As part of this finale performance, the teachers danced and sang. The pupils were certainly thrilled and from the sound of their cheers, they appreciated all the effort their teachers had put in.

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ACHIEVEMENTS

ROBOTICS – 3rd for Best Presentation

By Ms Joan Tan 13 pupils from the Robotics Club participated in the National Junior Robotics Competition (NJRC) in September. Pupils were expected to set up and manage a booth, present to a panel of judges, and design and modify their robot to complete the mission objectives.

We are proud that two of our teams qualified as the top 40 finalists in the robot challenge despite facing stiff competition from over 200 teams. We also clinched the 2nd –runner up spot for our presentation.

In addition to their achievements, pupils witnessed the robots from the secondary and tertiary levels compete in more complex and demanding missions. This provided invaluable knowledge and experience for our pupils in preparing for future Robotics competitions.

Good job, everyone! We hope that your passion for Robotics will remain strong, and that you will continue to apply the problem solving skills and experiences gained through Robotics to your future endeavours both in and out of the classroom.

BROWNIES AWARD Two outstanding Brownies, Nur Batrisyia and Fulvia Yew, of P5-3 received the Phineas and Ferb Isabella award given by Girl Guides Singapore. This award is given to outstanding Brownies who have displayed commendable attitudes in their character and made significant contributions to the Pack.

SINGING – 3rd

Srinivasan Janani of P1-8 won the 3rd prize in the Tamil singing competition organised by the Potong Pasir Community Club.

20TH NATIONAL PRIMARY SCHOOLS ON-THE-SPOT CHINESE WRITING COMPETITION Park Soo Mi P6-1, 2nd prize

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Phyo Sandar P5-1, Outstanding Prize Award

ACHIEVEMENTS

GREEN SCHOOL

By Mr Jason Tan

New Town Primary School has been proudly selected as one of the Green School Merit Recipients for 2014. This award is presented by WorldEduCorp Pte Ltd, in recognition of the school’s unwavering advocacy for environmental education and awareness. New Town Primary School works very closely with parents, pupils and the community to encourage and instill an awareness of environmental issues and positive interaction with the environment. With the Values In Action curriculum and projects, the pupils are more aware of the need to lead a green lifestyle, and to promote the adoption of similar practices by members of the community. The school will receive the award during the Green Carpet Awards Ceremony on 14th November 2014.

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ACHIEVEMENTS

Congratulations!

Dean's Commendation For Research 2014 Ms Tan Poh Hiang​ Our Lead Teacher, Ms Tan Poh Hiang​, was given the Dean’s Commendation Award for her research paper entitled, “Teachers’ Ideas and Concerns with Assessment Practices in Inquiry Science”. Well done Ms Tan! We are proud of you.​

MOE Innergy Award 2014 (Commendation) Mr Tan Wan Yen Our Subject Head for Management of Data and Information, Mr Tan Wan Yen received two awards for his project ‘NTPS Google Calendars – meeting differentiated needs of Stakeholder Segments’. They are: - MOE Innergy Award 2014(Commendation) - Singapore Productivity Association (SPA) In-House Innovation & Quality Circles (IQC) Assessment 2014​(Silver)

National Day Honours 2014: Public Service Medal The School Advisory Committee, Parents’ Support Group, Principal, Staff and Pupils of NTPS would like to congratulate Mr Bernard Yang Kong Kai, Vice-Chairman, School Advisory Committee, on being conferred the Public Service Medal (Pingat Bakti Masyarakat) by the President of Singapore in recognition of his contributions to the public service.

Congratulations! Winners of School Values Award

Mr Kannathasan (Self-discipline and Resilience) 10

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Ms Wong Wei Teng (Love)

Mdm Halijah (Integrity)

ACHIEVEMENTS

Caring Teachers Award

iana Yao P1- Mrs D

P2-Mdm Suhana

na Yao P1 – Mrs Dia a Mdm Suhan d n a b ji a N P2 – Mr s Raja) r (M n e F u h oke S P3 – Mdm L P3-MdmLoke Shu Ranja) (MrsFa Fen w g e Y e e L m d M – P4 n Wei L i o o W m d M P5 – arlie L im e P s r M – 6 P

i n Wei L m Woo d M 5 P

P2-Mr Najib

P4-Mdm Lee Yew Fang

Pearlie P6-Mrs

Lim

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TEACHER’S SPOTLIGHT

Cluster Best Suggestion for August

Our heartiest congratulations to our CCE Department and all the teachers involved in making CCE come alive for our pupils! Our suggestion won the cluster best suggestion for the month of August.

WELCOME

Mr Dennis Tan

Ms Masnurie

Ms Nurul Syafiqah

FAREWELL

Mr Ivan Ng Wee Liat

Ms Noorjahan

Mdm Chin Hwei Ying

Editorial Team : Mdm Shanthi, Mrs Surian & Ms Karen Mohan

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