TTS Foundation Summer Programme

by Cecilia Handel, Director of Development

“The 2019/20 academic year was an unprecedented time that required all facets of the school to pivot their thinking and come up with creative solutions to complex problems – and the work of the TTS Foundation can be included in this.

Due to the closure of the Tanglin campus and other restrictions related to COVID-19, several projects that the TTS Foundation supports were unable to take place, and thus surplus funds could be allocated to the school in the latter half of the year.

At the same time, many parents were experiencing, and continue to experience, financial pressures due to the pandemic, as well as the stress of balancing work and family life under the same roof. Equally – and despite the success of remote learning – children of all ages yearned to be face-to-face with their peers and teachers for a sustained period of time.

The values of the TTS Foundation, and Tanglin as a whole, have always involved supporting the community, and so the idea was conceived of a programme that would alleviate some of these stressors and allow children from across the school the opportunity to learn and have fun on the Tanglin campus.

The TTS Foundation Sumer Programme hosted across the Infant, Junior and Senior schools, ensuring families were supported for the month of July.

The TTS Foundation is funded philanthropically and I would like to thank our donors for their ongoing generosity which made this opportunity so widely available. I encourage all Tanglin families to show their appreciation and support by making an annual donation in doing so we can continue to enable exceptional educational opportunities.”

INFANT SCHOOL 557 students 61 teachers and TLAs

SENIOR SCHOOL 681 students 69 teachers and TLAs 365 hours of teaching for A Level and IB students

TTS FOUNDATION SUMMER PROGRAMME Monday, 13th July – Thursday, 30th July 2020

The Infant School transformed into a magical environment during the first two weeks of their programme with a “Marvellous Magic” theme. Highlights in Key Stage 1 included a visit from Magic Evan via Zoom, and lots of science activities such as potion making and invisible writing. Reception children were in awe during their magical milk investigation, while Nursery children loved making their witches’ hats!

Meanwhile, in the Junior School, students worked collaboratively on cross-curricular group projects on two themes: “Change Makers” in Week 1 and “Record Breakers” in Week 2. Public figures such as environmental activist Greta Thunberg inspired the children to design sustainable, seafaring crafts, and to invent their own socially-distanced games, while aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart was the inspiration for both artwork and potentially record-breaking PE challenges!

In the Senior School, the Design and Technology department had set Year 8 a challenge for the first fortnight: to assist in the design and manufacture of at least one face shield per child for the new Nursery cohort. The designs were themed to the different animals of the eight Nursery

JUNIOR SCHOOL 581 students 61 teachers and TLAs 99% of students said they enjoyed their first week of the programme

class bases, and the Year 8s were involved in every stage of the process: cutting and laminating the designs, using a laser-cut template to form the shield, and attaching repurposed foam head strips and elastic. The challenge was an astonishing success, as 320 face shields were produced by the students, equating to two shields per Nursery student.

In the final week of the programme, a new theme for the Infant School, “Incredible Inventors”, saw Nursery and Reception children making their own The Cat in the Hat-inspired headgear and inventing a product that would help at home. Year 1 children designed and created their own marble runs and pasta towers, while Year 2 were busy devising their own “Curious COVID-19 Contraption” and building them using LEGO Robotics tools.

The Junior School was also a hive of industry, with “Innovators” week challenging the children to create their own restaurant – complete with its own logo, menu and layout – as well as Andy Warhol-inspired art.

In the Senior School, bespoke activities were planned for each year group and included investigations into keyhole surgery, a test of wits against the clock in an escape room, and an oil slick research project in which students learnt how best to contain and clear up a spill through hands-on experiments. The varied curriculum included enterprise and philosophy lessons, and saw students getting

All in all, the three-week Summer Programme was a wonderful success; after the disruption caused to the school year to COVID-19, it was fantastic to see the students engaged in learning and collaborating with their peers. Below are just some of their, and their parents’, thoughts about the experience.

“We were disappointed not to be able to travel overseas this year, but were very glad to be able to send all three children to the [Summer Programme] during the first three weeks of the holiday. We thought it was exceptionally well run, not least because each of our children clearly enjoyed and looked forward to attending every day. We were pleased that the Senior [programme] was more academic, especially as all the children had recently missed a significant amount of physical school.” – Tanglin Parent

“My favourite part of Marvellous Magic week was when we saw all of our friends in class doing magic tricks. I also liked making potions. I put cotton, string, glitter and baking soda and it exploded!” – Eira, Year 2

“[My son] brought home some fantastic ‘graffiti’ artwork yesterday that he was really proud of, and I was so impressed by it” – Junior School Parent

“The Summer Programme was a great alternative to a travel-free summer!” – Saanvi, Year 10 “I made a witches hat that had stars and words on it. It has ‘pop’, ‘bang’ and fizz on it!” – Ethan, Reception

“My favourite part was building with clay and pasta. We were trying to make the tallest building that could survive an earthquake. Mine was the tallest, but then I tried to make it even taller and it collapsed!” – Magnus, Year 4

“I made a cool poem and an extreme backing track” – Kai, Year 3

“I definitely found the origami hard but instead of giving up, I brought some home with me and I am going to practice at home with my mum. I am going to teach her the mini fox I made today” – Sophia, Year 6