At the Forefront of Change

AT THE change FOREFRONT OF Tanglin welcomes a new Head team every year and this year is no different - with one exception. The Head team now also contributes to and supports Tanglin’s key strategic themes and projects. We catch up with the team to find out what has changed and what they have planned for the year.

In 2019, Tanglin took on several initiatives to frame a “One School, Exciting Futures” strategic plan. As Tanglin moves towards its centenary in 2025, that plan was revised to “Towards 100 Years of Excellence”. It provides a clear direction for the school’s journey and identifies these key areas for development: Inspired Learners, Flourishing Individuals, Personal Best, Team Tanglin, Sustainable Future, and Our People.

Guided by these strategic themes and projects, the Head Team is realigned to support the school’s aspirations. This time, instead of being led by the Head Boy and Girl, the team is led by two Lead Students (Suzanne G and Haider M). Six other students will oversee their respective initiatives in:

• Student Welfare (Ava L) • 100 Years of Excellence (Suchitra A) • Digital First (Louis D) • Academic Edge (Abhay G) • Environment & Sustainability (Isabel D) • Team Tanglin (Claudia U)

Now that we understand their areas of responsibility better, what are their strategic plans for the school year?

As Lead Students, Suzanne and Haider coordinate the rest of the Head Team and oversee the progress of the initiatives. Suzanne explained, “our goals are going to be directed by the students, meeting their needs as well as possible. Through Head Team clinics and vertical team meetings, we will be able to gauge the most pressing issues that students face and find solutions to them by communicating with the initiative leaders and teachers, and bridge the gap between faculty and students.”

Haider couldn’t have agreed more. He said, “As a lead student along with Suzi, my responsibility is to oversee all six of Tanglin’s initiatives by supporting the initiative leaders to reach their goals of improving school life at Tanglin. I am also a point of contact for students and teachers who have any concerns or want to take action to positively impact the school. I also act as a representative for the student body, which means if students are calling for change, I’m there to communicate their message, give support and voice any issues.”

STUDENT WELFARE

As the student leader responsible for student welfare, Ava’s objectives lie in three main areas: safeguarding, wellbeing and DEIJ (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice). She said, “I think that the biggest challenge facing Tanglin at the moment is the division and mental stress that has arisen in the wake of COVID. Students don’t feel as connected to each other as their year groups were forced to remain separate during the pandemic, and they have greater amounts of academic and holistic stress because of the uncertainty and constant change over the past few years.”

With that in mind, Ava planned to ensure that students have ample opportunities to speak about what they care about, both inside and outside of lessons, through discussion groups and more discussions around current affairs. From this, she hoped to push for more diversity groups where students can form supportive and respectful communities, while also integrating more discussions surrounding diversity in the classroom so students can become more informed about diverse experiences.

“Our goals are going to be directed by the students, meeting their needs as well

as possible. ”- Suzanne, Lead Student

100 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE

Tanglin will be celebrating its 100th birthday in 2025. What better way to commemorate the occasion than the ‘100 Years of Excellence’ initiative? Suchitra certainly thought so. She told us, “This initiative really resonated with me because of my love for history. History gives us the chance to look back and reflect in order to improve as we move forward, and I think the value of this is sometimes overlooked. Throughout my work in this area, I hope to highlight the many milestones we have overcome as a school, the people of Tanglin who make up our 100 Years of Excellence and encourage our community to think about the mark they would like to leave behind in Tanglin’s history. Some plans that I have in hopes of achieving these goals are creating a student-run podcast and an area to celebrate our heritage in our new Centenary building, amongst others.”

This initiative couldn’t have come at a better time. For the past few years, COVID restrictions had segregated Tanglin’s three schools. In Suchitra’s opinion, this impacted the culture of bringing the Tanglin community together through events and communication has definitely been affected. “It would be amazing if we could slowly bring those connections back and support events all over school,” she said with a smile.

DIGITAL FIRST

Tanglin aims to nurture and inspire lifelong learners who develop international mindedness that allows them to contribute to the world with confidence. Aside from constantly enriching its 3-18 curriculum and co-curricular activities, Tanglin also aims to help students become digitally literate in a world of ever-evolving technology. Louis, the Digital First representative, told us, “One of my main priorities is to help new students have a seamless transition into using the vast variety of technology that Tanglin utilises. As part of this, I am attempting to implement a ‘Tech Buddy’ system allowing students to have an initial contact to teach them and provide support throughout their first few weeks.”

At the same time, he also wanted to find the balance between using technology and the traditional way of learning. Louis explained, “over the course of COVID-19, we used lots of new technology as required for remote learning, and as we move forward, we must be diligent in combining these with the traditional methods to provide the best learning experience.” » 23

ACADEMIC EDGE

Academic excellence is a given, but what about academic edge? Abhay explained, “it’s all about making education at Tanglin better, enjoyable, and beneficial. With the guidance of Ms Sohini (Director of Scholarship, Inquiry and Partnerships) at the Institute, I hope to give students an edge in school and beyond through initiatives like improving their financial literacy. I hope to do this through audio-visual presentations which can be presented in LifeSkills lessons to educate different financial concepts based on their age. For instance, Junior students will be taught simple concepts such as saving, budgeting, and differentiating between needs and wants. For the older students, I plan to host an event to educate them about more advanced concepts such as investing, stocks and cryptocurrency.”

ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY

Climate apathy is a big challenge in the world today and Isabel is determined to overcome it. She said, “I believe that there is a lack of engagement in the issue of climate change so it’s vital that we engage young people because they will be a large part of the solution.” To that end, Isabel plans to create awareness around sustainability by highlighting careers in areas of sustainability as well as leveraging on the school’s core values of Respect, Responsibility, and Purpose to generate focus around the UN Sustainable Development Goals. She explained, “many people around the world care about sustainability but just don’t know what to do. This is why I’m focusing on educating, increasing awareness of sustainable solutions and what students can do to make a positive change.”

TEAM TANGLIN

As a worried Year 4 student, Claudia struggled with the prospect of leaving her school life and friends in the UK. But it wasn’t long before she felt that Tanglin was her home away from home, thanks to the activities she joined. She said, “the school has not only supported me through times of struggle, it has also taught me the importance of getting involved and making the most of the vast opportunities Tanglin has to offer.” With that in mind, Claudia’s mission is to make a strong ‘post-COVID debut’ as a community that has a fresh, high level of enthusiasm and excitement for everyday life at Tanglin.

“I am focusing on increasing opportunities, encouraging students to get involved, and organising events to bring our wider community together. I also want to emphasise the importance of ‘unlocking faces’ within the community and maintaining connections; this will help to strengthen morning smiles and give each student an increased sense of belonging on campus!” ■ Looks like the Head Team has an outstanding plan. We can’t wait to see what you accomplish!

“ ” I hope to give students an edge in school and beyond through initiatives like improving their financial literacy. - Abhay, Academic Edge