The Voice Issue 11

The Voice

of Tanglin Trust School Vol 11 04/2012 MICA (P) 150/06/2011

Feature: Information Technology Our World: Our World Projects Spotlight: Learning is for Everyone

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Welcome

plant a tree and lay a memorial plaque for Oli in the school grounds in Term 3.

Schools are not exempt from the joys and tragedies of life and our community was struck by tragedy at the start of Term 2. The loss of Oliver Betts, who was in Year 13, shocked and deeply saddened students, staff and parents. In the midst of the grief I was amazed by the selfless and generous behaviour of our staff and students as they supported each other with great sensitivity and care. The Tanglin community’s thoughts and prayers remain for and with Oli’s family as we prepare to

Mitchell Kapor said that “Getting information from the internet is like taking a drink from a fire hydrant!” Our lives have ‘suffered’ the invasion of technology in the past ten years moving us from a position where we were fascinated by it to one where we are submersed in it and can’t live without it! We now have nursery children who swipe their finger across the screen of our computers and expect the images to shift as with their parents’ (or their own!) iPads.

Apparently, the Encyclopaedia Britannica has finally abandoned production of its leather bound, paper editions in favour of the on-line version (I hear both cheers and boos!). Children from a very early age now expect to own not simply a telephone, but a phone that connects them to the internet for information, social networks, music and videos.

Their devices like it or not, are becoming essential organisational, entertainment and communication tools in their lives.

In a similar way, technology devices are encroaching on education (and quite rightly so). The challenge for schools is to see past the aggressive marketing of products to assess the real value added aspects and relevance of new technology.

Another consideration is that often the

Contents

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Staff News Farewell to Mr Murphy Urbanathlon 2012 Circus Tricks Climbing Mt Kilimanjaro

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Feature

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Our World

IT in Schools - Embrace it or Resist it?

Alumni From Singapore... and back again

Our World Projects

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Infant School Learning to Lead: Part 2

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Junior School

High Commissioner Award

Senior School

Y8 Gopeng Trip Y11 Mocks

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Sixth Form A Tribute to Oliver Betts

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product is launched before relevant and useful software becomes available. By the time it does, you need to replace the original product! And so it goes on. The article on Technology within outlines our strategy for piloting mobile technology in the next school year.

Our school Mission refers to ‘lifelong learners’ emphasising that learning doesn’t stop when a student leaves school. In fact, I would go so far as to say that learning moves to a higher level as we leave school and start to put in to practice all that we have talked and written about over the previous years.

This school is in fact a learning community with learners beyond the classroom.

Many of our teachers undertake training courses and undertake qualifications from trampoline and First Aid to IB core subject training. We are aware more than ever of the need to provide training and development opportunities for our Business Support Staff. In fact, our recently appointed Director of Continuing Professional Development (CPD), Lisa Cannell, is for the first time, responsible for coordinating not only teacher development but also support staff development. In addition, we have a large number of parents who take advantage of a range of learning opportunities at various times on topics that range from

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Parenting to Teaching in Cambodia. Read more about our Learning Community on page 20.

I was delighted last term to welcome back to school Ronald Stones OBE who as CEO led the establishment of our school on this site and was responsible to a large degree for developing our distinct ethos. As we walked through the school, many children, staff and parents were very happy to see Ron again and they fondly recalled the early days of the school in One North. Ron is once again based in Singapore as Head of Education Practices at Richard Chandler Corporation so it is hoped we will see him more often around school.

I hope you enjoy reading about some of the initiatives that your children are involved in and about others from across the school that you might otherwise have missed. Tanglin remains a vibrant and dynamic school!

Peter Derby-Crook, CEO

Spotlight On Learning is for Everyone

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Sport

Art • Drama • Music

Term 2 Highlights

PTA

Your PTA Vice Presidents

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Tanglin Trust School Singapore has a long tradition of providing Britishbased learning with an international perspective. At Tanglin we strive to make every individual feel valued, happy and successful. Responsibility, enthusiasm and participation are actively encouraged and integrity is prized. Working together in a safe, caring yet stimulating environment, we set high expectations whilst offering strong support, resulting in a community of lifelong learners who can contribute with confidence to our world.

Editor: Katherine Massey Design & Layout: Jennifer Anderson Contributors: Students, Staff + PTA Photography: Jennifer Anderson + other contributors Printer: Oz Print Services

Student Services Counselling Focus

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Creative Writing

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The Last Word

Book Reviews

It’s Official, We Are Outstanding!

‘The Voice’ herein refers to ‘The Voice of Tanglin Trust School’

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Showcase

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Tanglin Mission Statement

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Staff News Farewell to Alistair Murphy Alistair Murphy joined the Junior School in 2001. He began his career as a Year 6 teacher and poetically this is where he will spend his final teaching days before he retires at the end of the school year.

Alistair is known for his immense dedication towards his students and staff.

The following is a tribute and farewell to Alistair from a selection of his colleagues and students.

“I first met Alistair 12 years ago and my immediate impression was of a teacher with an unwavering commitment to the children in his care and a tangible ethos that encouraged children to be the best they can be. We were both class teachers at Alice Smith School in Malaysia. I am proud to have been able to work with him here at Tanglin too and I continue to value his advice and support. I will miss our Monday morning chats about the exploits of Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur over the weekend. I’m still waiting for the opportunity to gloat over a Spurs victory over the Red Devils.” David Ingram, Head of Junior School “I have always been very impressed by how Alistair manages the children in his care. They show a high level of respect for him, and they know that he keeps an eye on everyone’s progress and always has their well-being at heart. Alistair exudes a calm and positive energy and is

always ready with a kind and encouraging word. He will certainly be missed by us all.” Eunice Lim, Language Specialist “Big Al is universally liked and respected by everyone he has worked with. He will be sorely missed by all, a true Tanglin icon in every sense of the word.”

Matthew Hastwell, Junior School Teacher

Urbanathlon 2012 Madeleine Vine, Y12.4, talks to Mr Goodliffe, English Specialist, Senior School: On 19 February around 2,300 men raced through Singapore, obstacles included, to raise money to promote men’s health for the Young Hero’s charity. This year some Tanglin staff and students banded together to participate with great results.

Q: How many people from Tanglin ran in the race?

There were 15 members of staff and about 10 Sixth Form students. Although it was a competition there was a really good atmosphere because we were all representing Tanglin, running together and competing but in a friendly way.

“My favourite thing about Mr Murphy is how he adds a touch of humour to all our lessons. I have an enormous water bottle, and it has got a lid which you are meant to use as a cup. He calls it my afternoon cup of tea! I will really miss Mr Murphy and so will everyone else in Year 6.”

Shriya Vishwanathan, Y6.4 “Whilst in class one day, there was a knock at our classroom door. Mr Murphy opened the door but no-one was there…. he eventually worked out that it was just the wind! The whole class started laughing. Mr Murphy has a funny sense of humour.” Ashley Chow, Y6.4

Q: How did they fare?

Mr Pearce finished 14th out of all the people there, in about 59 minutes! I think I finished about 250 but I suspect if we had registered as a team we would have come in about 3rd with our best runners Mr Pearce, Mr Scott and Mr Mack who all put in impressive times.

Q: Would you do it again?

Despite it being such a challenging race, nearly everyone said they would participate next year as well. It really is such good fun because it’s not just a normal race, the obstacles really add to the challenge, also the atmosphere was just great!

“I was originally quite scared of Mr Murphy but as the year progressed I got to know him better and began to feel really comfortable around him. Although I am now in the Senior School, it always brings a smile to my face when I see Mr Murphy around the campus and we stop for a quick chat. Thank you so much for teaching me Mr Murphy. You’re one of the best teachers that I have ever had.

Good luck for the future!” Nic Galea, Y10.6

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David Fourie, Computing Specialist, joined Tanglin in August 2011 and brought with him some very unique talents.

David started picking up circus tricks at a young age and while visiting his older sister at university, he learnt to juggle at the age of seven. It was in his teens that David’s passion really kicked off when he taught himself ‘Devil Stick’ (a form of gyroscopic juggling) and began practicing regularly. At University he learned more new tricks including fire performing which he regularly did for events and parties.

Climbing Mt Kilimanjaro by Jennifer Southern, Year 7 Tutor On 18 December 2011, Jennifer Southern (Year 7 tutor), Michele Worsfold (Assistant Head of Year 10) and a friend, Cheryl Chin, set off on the trip of a lifetime to face the serious challenge of climbing Mt Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. Jennifer tells us about her experience…

After a long Term 1 at Tanglin, we were faced with an action packed, end to end six day trek which finished with a deserved safari! Faced with the task of trekking the highest free-standing mountain in the world, we were feeling a mixture of excitement, nervousness and anxiety. We had spent months thinking about the challenge and lots of weekends walking around the humid nature reserves in Singapore in preparation. We took the Marangu route (we opted for the route with small mountain huts as opposed to tents!), which would take 6 days, 4 days up and 2 days down.

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Circus Tricks by Jennifer Anderson, Communications Executive

The purpose of our trip, other than to take part in this exciting adventure, was to raise money for the Rainforest Foundation which aims to protect indigenous tribes in our world’s rainforests – this felt very apt as we set off on the trek through lush jungle. We began the trek on 20 December at 1,700 metres above sea level and as we approached the summit four days later and over 4,000 metres higher, the effects of the altitude were like nothing we had experienced before. We couldn’t have imagined or prepared for the sensation of not being able to breathe properly, not to mention the freezing cold which added to the dramatic experience.

The final stages of the trek were tough; every step was a challenge and we found ourselves walking at a snail’s pace as we gasped for air. However, we made it, reaching the summit at 5,895 metres on Christmas Eve. It really was the most amazing experience - I would recommend it to anyone. We met some incredible people, saw stunning scenery and dramatic changes in the geography along the way, from forest and alpine desert to glaciers. We also felt an incredible sense of achievement as we started the descent on Christmas Day. It really was a trip of a lifetime!

Over the years David has performed at numerous school events, birthdays and weddings as well as taking part in a little busking for fun! Continuing his passion here at Tanglin, David launched a popular new Circus CCA last term. Each week the class develop their skills in a range of different equipment, including Devil Sticks, Kendama, Plate Spinning, Cigar Boxes, Poi and even balloon making. The talented students and their juggling mentor put on a stunning and courageous performance at the end of Term 1 Senior Assembly which was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone.

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Feature

Information Technology in Schools 06

by John Ridley, Director of Learning Information Technology (IT) in Schools – Embrace it or Resist it?

Computers have been in schools for many years now, but their use can still spark heated debate. Teachers and parents are concerned about overuse. We ask questions like: what do we use computers for; are they adding anything to the education or are they just a gimmick? If students use computers for everything, won’t they lose the skill of writing? How will students develop interpersonal skills if they are working in isolation at their ‘screen’ all day? If young people are over-reliant on technology, how will they cope when the technology fails?

The Internet and the increasing ease with which we can access it has opened up a whole host of possibilities in terms of online resources; research tools; communication tools. Alongside this however are real concerns about the legitimacy of sources, the accuracy of information and the safety of young people, particularly through social networking sites.

At Tanglin the use of technology in teaching and learning has grown steadily and relentlessly over the past 15 years.

Initially this was confined to specialist IT

suites in each school, designed to teach students ‘IT skills’ which were quite different to what you did everywhere else. Gradually, technology has become integral to the way we work. For example, we now take for granted that every classroom in the school has at least one fully networked computer, connected to a projector and an interactive whiteboard.

Computers for students are no longer restricted to specialist ‘labs’ but are also found in pods and clusters in classrooms and in central areas of year group and faculty areas. Students in the Sixth Form are required to bring their own laptop to school and we have a highly reliable wireless network to support this. Including the sixth formers’ laptops we have over 800 machines across the campus for student use, giving an overall ratio of close to one machine for every three students.

This year we felt it was time to take stock and re-examine why we use technology in school; how we currently use technology and how we expect to be using technology in the years to come. Several factors triggered the review process; perhaps the biggest being the emergence of affordable, lightweight, tablet style hardware which opens up new possibilities for personal devices. It has become easy to imagine every student coming to school with a

smart phone in their pocket and a tablet or notebook in their schoolbag. Is this a future that we want? Is it something we need to be cautious of and control?

So, why do we use technology in school?

We have been helped to answer this question by an IT-in-education guru, Graham Dring, who led a training session with our whole school Technology Working Group (TWG) early in the year. Rather than tell us why we should be using IT, he got us to choose nine reasons from a list of nineteen that have been used by others to justify developing IT in schools. We found this so helpful that we wanted to share the statements with as many stakeholders as possible before using the results to shape our strategic planning. Parents and staff were invited to select statements through an online survey and small groups of governors and parents also had the chance to discuss the statements with members of the school leadership. There was a remarkable level of agreement across the various groups surveyed, with the most popular reason chosen being: ‘to prepare students for a society permeated with technology’.

Using the survey results, we were able to formulate a clear vision statement for the development of technology at Tanglin, which we can be confident reflects the views of the vast majority of parents and teachers.

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07 Tanglin Trust School embraces new technology wherever it supports our mission. Staff are confident users of technology and are encouraged to be innovative. Students use technology to inquire, communicate and safely take risks. When they move on from Tanglin, they are confident users of current technology in a range of contexts, understanding the benefits, limitations and risks associated with its use.

What does this mean in practice? Do we want students coming to school with their own personal devices? We can see potential for portable, personal devices in giving students ready access to internet resources, educational ‘apps’ and personal organisation tools. We do not see handheld devices as replacing desktop computers or laptops but rather see them as additional tools that we want to integrate into our teaching and learning. We want students at Tanglin to experience using a range of devices over their time here so that they have an awareness of the strengths and limitations of each. This line of thinking has led to a strategic plan that will see older students in the Junior School and students in Key Stage 3 of the Senior School using iPads routinely in classrooms.

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This is of course a major project. The initial plan is for the school to provide an iPad to each student in Year 6 and Year 7 during the course of next school year. This will be preceded by a training programme for the teachers concerned.

In fact, key staff have already been testing iPads around the school to prepare for this. Training will not only cover ‘apps’ to be used initially with students, but also classroom management strategies; just because every student has a personal ‘screen’ it does not follow that they will all be turned on all the time. Behind the scenes, the school’s wireless network is being upgraded in readiness for the 400 additional machines that will be connecting to our access points.

By focussing on two year groups initially, we are confident that we can manage the additional machines and the training of staff and students. By providing the machines rather than starting with a ‘bring your own’ approach, the school can ensure that all students have the same model, with the same ‘apps’ installed and also deal with any servicing issues centrally. It is important to note that students outside of the chosen year groups will not be disadvantaged; they will still have access to IT through our

pods of PCs and Macs, and all students who remain at Tanglin will eventually gain from the experiences of the pilot group.

As Craig Whalland (Director of Educational and Business Technology) points out, the new strategic plan is preparing us for more than ‘one device to one student’:

“This goes significantly beyond the 1:1 concept that we are seeing in many schools. This no longer reflects the potential of the new portable technology.

We are moving towards a situation where students are going to routinely have access to multiple devices, on multiple platforms in school.”

Embrace it or resist it? We are a school that will continue to embrace technology where we can see the educational benefit and where we see that technology permeating society outside school.

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Information Technology in the Information Technology in Infant School by Kim Vernon, the Junior School by Robert Head of ICT, Infant School Dunstan, Head of ICT, Junior School

Information Technology in the Senior School by Steve Morgan, Head of Faculty, Technology for Learning

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Will this technology enhance learning?’

The Junior School has used the ideas of Ruben R Puentedura to follow a staged and considered introduction of technologies that will positively impact learning. Puentedura believes that technology should enhance and then transform learning under four stages:

Young children are surrounded by technology in their immediate environments.

Substitution - Augmentation Moderation - Redefinition

As Information and Communications Technology (ICT) now impacts on so many aspects of our daily lives, it is essential for our youngest members of the school to learn about technology and its role in the world in which we live.

However, we also ensure that ICT in the Infant School follows some important steps; it must have an educational purpose, encourage collaboration and integrate with other aspects of the curriculum.

‘Computers in the future will weigh no more than 1.5 tons’.

Popular Mechanics, 1950

A member of the ICT teaching team experienced a little bit of ‘Redefinition’ magic during an ICT lesson.

“As a teacher the most inspiring moment of your job is when you witness children fully and actively engaged in their learning.

I was privileged to witness one of those golden moments in a ‘Control’ lesson.”

ICT teacher

The children are taught that technology is a tool that aids them in everyday tasks. In the Early Years they experience technology through role-play situations by using walkie talkies, remote controlled objects as well as listening to stories through different media such as story phones or iPads. Our Key Stage 1 children experience ICT skills immersed within their subject areas; whether it is learning about positional language through using BeeBots, creating presentations about topics being studied or animating pictures to go with stories they have written.

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The exercise required the students to understand that instructions have to be written in a sequence to control an output device. They were presented with a complex challenge to control the numerous lights and functions within a lighthouse, by inputting a variety of instructions and procedures. It was a complex exercise of logical thinking aided by an animated cartoon that responds to the sequence of suggested instruction.

On completing the task skillfully and successfully a student exclaimed enthusiastically, “Wow, this is Technological Art! When the circuit connects together it’s like technological art, it’s awesome that I can control the lights with just one button.”

It is reflections of an active learner such as these that reinforce the necessity to include carefully selected, useful, and pertinent ICT into our curriculum.

Our goal is Redefinition!

Our students inhabit a digital landscape which is unrecognisable from the one teachers and parents inhabited during their schooling. In recognition of this, a Technology for Learning (TFL) Faculty has been established in the Senior School, to provide direction and support to all subject areas in the practical application of the technologies and social media with which our students are so familiar.

Throughout the year, the TFL team has focussed on highlighting opportunities for the integration of technology into the curriculum, and there has been a marked growth in the exploratory use of web tools to support learning across the disciplines. Student artwork has been published digitally; the Outdoor Education department has embraced blogging for all Senior Trips; online flashcards are being employed in English, MFL, Maths and Humanities; presentation tools are being used more effectively, and Google Docs and Forms are enabling monitoring of extended essays as well as allowing student self-reflection following assessments.

Technology is not a driver of education, but, with skilled and motivated teachers, it can be a dramatic accelerator. The challenge for the TFL team will be to match the willingness of teachers to experiment and innovate with technology with the provision of relevant, inspiring and patient professional development that will stimulate genuine debate and reflection about what constitutes 21st Century teaching and learning.

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Alumni

From Singapore... and back again 09

by Mike Thornton, Alumni 1997-2007

If you ask a child what they want to be when they grow up, for most it is a simple decision – Fireman, Policewoman, Train Driver – funny how none of them say Tax Lawyer or Equity Derivatives Analyst! Life was much simpler back then.

However when these children grow up into teenagers and young adults the decision about what they want to be becomes much harder… sometimes impossible to decide. It is not only a worry for them but also for their parents who wonder what their son or daughter will become.

As I sat down in front of my desk at The Henley Group in Singapore on my first day I began to wonder how on earth I had got here. My route was in many ways conventional; I took my A Levels at Tanglin, went on to take a BSc in Sociology at Loughborough University then onto Law school to take the Graduate Diploma in Law. So of course the logical step was to find a career as a financial advisor, wasn’t it?

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I left Tanglin in 2007 following a ten year stint beginning in Year 5. During my time there, I saw the school transform into the globally recognised environment it is today. It is a school which provides its students with the best possible start in life. I was never a high flyer at school; content with a ‘mid table’ position at the end of each season (apologies for the football reference) however, by the end of my A Levels I was delighted to have been offered a place at Loughborough University.

Choosing where I wanted to go and what I wanted to study at University was one of the most stressful experiences that I had endured up to that point in my life. For some, the choice of career path determines the choice of university degree, a Chemical Engineer, for example.

However, for those of us considering a career as a lawyer or banker, industries that champion diversity, the choice of university degree is far less prescriptive and the options endless.

However, having made my choice and arrived at Loughborough University, I experienced some of the best years of my life making new friends and enjoying new environments and experiences. After a fairly blurred first year, reality kicked in that I was there to study and all too soon

graduation arrived and the panic once again about which career path I was going to pursue. I learned the importance of work experience during holidays. I had the nasty shock having lived here in my Singapore bubble that I was the only one that did not have a shred of work experience. I would recommend that everyone tries to get as much work experience under their belts as possible.

Parents can really assist by asking friends in industries that their children are interested in, to offer them some experience. When it comes to applying for a job, relevant work experience makes all the difference.

The current environment for graduates is tough. In my experience, the ones that succeed are the ones that put the effort in, whether through immaculate grades, working off good connections, applying to a vast number of companies or a combination of the three.

For me personally, I knew that I wanted to return to Singapore to find a career after university. I arrived back in September 2011 and it was tough. It took me 6 months of searching to find myself where I am today. At times it was stressful and incredibly frustrating, particularly when people didn’t respond to my applications.

However, persistence is key and in my case it paid off. I believe that Singapore has many opportunities for those wishing to return here. It is a great place to work and I would encourage upcoming graduates to seriously consider it as an option.

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Our World Our World Projects 10

by Cecilia Handel, Director of Development

Two years ago the Board of Governors set aside a small fund, the Our World Fund, to support projects that promote activities undertaken by the school that have a positive impact on society, community and the environment whilst also providing an educational benefit for students. This fund does not come from the school’s operational budget, which is funded by tuition fees, but from a secondary income source from the sale of Placement Rights.

to be so important that it became part of the school mission statement and is summed up in the phrase ‘a community of life long learners who can contribute with confidence to Our World’.

The group, known as the Our World team, recognised that there were already a huge number of activities taking place in school that work towards this objective.

Our World is simply an appropriate overarching term to bring these activities together and help promote more of them. The benefit of being in a school that spans 3 to 18 years quickly became apparent as Craig Davis, IB coordinator and member of the Our World team, shared the learning objectives of the Sixth Form’s Creativity, Action and Service (CAS) programme, specifically to:

• • • • • • In this article I would like to share with you details of how momentum for these projects has developed and how we propose to keep these sustainable.

In September 2010, a team was formed which included representatives from the Senior, Junior and Infant schools as well as whole school management. This group quickly articulated its objective to help develop students who are global citizens with an awareness of their community in school, in Singapore, in Asia and in the world. This aim was felt

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• •

These learning objectives are important in preparing our future ‘global citizens’ and complement the school’s curriculum.

Further, it was felt that they can also be relevant to Infant as well as Junior and Senior students and so they were enthusiastically adopted as the educational criteria used to assess the elegibility of funding.

Our World Projects are now part of life at Tanglin. They have featured in earlier editions of the Voice, in particular; the group of Year 13 students that went independently to Ladakh last year; Our World Day and the Junior School Sensory Garden. New Our World Projects featured in this article are the Alumni Grants and Teacher Training Academy.

Increase awareness of personal strengths and areas for growth Undertake new challenges Plan and initiate activities Work collaboratively with others Show perseverance and commitment in activities Engage with issues of global importance Consider the ethical implications of actions Develop new skills Interestingly, eighteen months on, Our World Project proposals are becoming more frequent and increasingly ambitious.

I think this is a feature of the momentum in the community as staff and students become aware of the funding opportunity and continue to think creatively about ways they can enhance students learning through innovative projects that are not part of the core curriculum.

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To support the mission of Tanglin by generating enrichment activities to help develop a community of life long learners who contribute with confidence to Our World. Focused on:

• • •

Broadening the experience of students beyond the curriculum Enhancing the readiness of the students for their lives after Tanglin Increasing opportunities for engagement with the school communities

Whole School Our World Team

• • • • • • • • • • •

Chris Allen, Deputy Head of Senior School Craig Davis, Assistant Headteacher, Senior School Angela Dawson, Assistant Headteacher, Infant School Rachael Day, Assistant Headteacher, Junior School Peter Derby-Crook, CEO Cecilia Handel, Director of Development Kris Marriner, Class Teacher, Year 3 John Ridley, Director of Learning Dave Roberts, Head of CAS Nellie Rogers, Alumni Manager Katie Sansom, Class Teacher, Nursery

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The challenge created by the success of Our World Projects is how to ensure the opportunity is sustainable and continues to support the school mission. As such, a larger and independent source of funding needs to be established. On this basis, over the course of the next twelve months, the Governors have given approval for Tanglin to establish a Foundation which, as a separate legal entity, will have both a Fundraising mandate and the specific objective:

You can expect to hear more about the plans for the Tanglin Trust School Foundation in future editions of The Voice.

Alumni Grants Recently launched to our Year 12 and Year 13 students, the Alumni Grant provides matched funding (1:1) to Year 13 graduates during the twelve months after graduation for a service related trip. Each applicant will need to submit and present a proposal including details of how they will share their learning with the school. We anticipate it will encourage our recent graduates to have new experiences which reinforce and expand on what they have learnt at Tanglin.

These funds are not unlimited and may need to be restricted to ensure that each applicant with a suitable project receives some financial support. Ultimately the intention is that these grants will be funded by Alumni for Alumni. For more information, please contact Nellie.Rogers@tts.edu.sg.

Teacher Training Activity It has long been recognised that the team of teachers who year on year have worked with Caring for Cambodia delivering teacher training have had a significant impact both in terms of the local training delivered in Cambodia but also in terms of how they bring this experience back to the classroom. Through assemblies, communications in The Voice and In Touch and in particular the Hygiene Pack campaign, the students empathise with the lives of other children in the region. Small grants will be made available to teachers and teaching assistants who take part in these activities. Teachers are eligible if they have taken part in this activity twice previously. The purpose of these eligibility criteria is that we recognise the significant impact of continuity in the project if staff members make repeat trips.

Teachers going on the trip are not obliged to apply for funding but the intention is that the cost of the trip should not preclude staff from making an on-going commitment.

In the longer term the Development Team hopes to get financial support for these small grants from the business community in the region. For more information, please contact Cecilia.Handel@tts.edu.sg.

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Infant School

Learning to Lead: Part 2 12

By Angela Dawson, Assistant Headteacher, Infant School and the Infant School Our World team Progression through KS1

Children taking the lead in their learning

The curriculum in KS1, although more structured, continues to nurture the children’s desire to lead their learning through over-arching themes which become a vehicle for the teaching of key skills and subject knowledge.

Within the Early Years and through into Key Stage 1 (KS1) children learn from everything they do, they are naturally curious, wanting to explore and discover all that is around them. During these early years, children form attitudes about learning and the part they play in the process which will last a lifetime.

In both Year 1 and Year 2 the areas of interest the children identify within the theme are used as starting points for exploring a topic. Working with the teacher the children create a ‘learning wall’ which details what they already know on a topic and what they would like to find out.

As the EYFS curriculum primarily aims to create confident, independent learners we offer the children plenty of opportunities to lead their own learning. Many children have already developed leadership skills that are apparent the minute they walk through the door!

Teachers strive to plan activities that focus and build upon the interests of their class, allowing children to influence which themes and topics are covered. Teachers note current interests across the class which they then add to their planning.

For example, a group of children were showing an interest in finding and

identifying ‘bugs’ so the teacher put model mini-beasts in the sand tray with leaves, twigs and magnifying glasses and set up a ‘bug lab’ with microscopes and cameras to capture live action! In another class the children were interested in finding out more about the people who help us which led to the construction of a ‘fire engine’ and small world play with the ‘fire fighters’ all playing their part on engine number 5!

At the start of the recent Year 1 topic of ‘Once upon a time’, the study of traditional fairy tales provided class teachers with the ideal opportunity to investigate the science of materials. The children were asked what they knew already and what they would like to find out by the end of the project. This ‘brainstorm’ of ideas engages children in the planning process and enables staff to steer the learning towards the children’s interests. In Year 2 this is developed further with children encouraged to include their own personal research to the ‘learning wall’.

Classrooms are set up in such a way that children have free access to resources which cover all areas of learning, from pens and paper in the writing area to magnifying glasses and weighing scales in the investigative areas. This not only encourages independence, but also means that children are able to extend their own learning by self selecting certain tools and resources.

In addition to this we also want to develop reflective learners. Children are given the opportunity to look through their Learning Stories with parents and teachers, making comments on the work inside.

This teaches children to reflect on past events and take pride in the progress they have made.

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In Y1.8 the children wanted to create a puppet theatre, so the teacher created the framework for a puppet theatre and then children decorated it and decided on some words that would be helpful.

They also planted some ‘beans’ (like Jack from Jack and the Beanstalk) in the garden after one of the children brought them in for ‘book character’ day and they are now watching them grow!

Throughout each unit of work teachers ensure that the teaching of key skills encompasses the interests of the children and encourages them to extend their learning by accessing the many continuous learning activities available both in and outside of the classroom.

In Year 2 the children have the opportunity to lead their learning when they share the knowledge they have acquired with their parents during our termly open sessions.

At our recent Thai open session the children not only shared their books but models they had created, PowerPoint presentations they had produced, and photos and videos of themselves reciting poems. We certainly feel that the act of retelling their learning experiences helps a child to embed vital concepts, as well as it being a fun activity for both parent and child.

Infant Learning Support With the introduction of the Tanglin Learner Profile children are becoming more familiar with the ten attributes and are learning to recognise ‘how’ and ‘when’ they are developing these key skills and an appreciation of our core values. Across the school children are

becoming more active in ‘leading their learning’ as Alex Judd in the Infant Learning Support department explains: “In Learning Support we take great pride and care in making sure the children know the Learner Profile attributes. Each week we focus on different attributes, pointing out which ones the children are going to concentrate on and seeing if they can come up with some ideas of how we can, for example, learn to be more caring or knowledgeable. If a child displays other attributes during the week we see if they can identify them and point them out to each other. This provides opportunities for the children to take a lead in their learning.

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In Y1.2 the class were keen to make and decorate their own gingerbread men.

They listened to the story, acted out the scenes and some of the children even retold the story in books they made.

The language of the Learner Profile is embedded in the planning and through talk and assessment with the children, for example, “Wow, you took a risk climbing the spider web net - you are a risk taker!” or “You’ve shown you are extremely knowledgeable in this piece of writing.”

With this foundation we expect the children to go back to their classrooms more confident in their own skills and abilities and to learn to take the lead more often in their learning, play and social opportunities.”

In Chinese the children develop the confidence to communicate in a second or maybe even a third language and learn to work effectively in collaboration with others.

Continuing the Learning at Home More so than ever, parents are aware of how their children are becoming more independent in their learning as Cecilia Handel, our Director of Development, has come to realise: “My youngest daughter has always been curious and as such I have found myself spending much of her early years telling her to “Stop it!” largely because ‘it’ made a mess or did not fit in with the day’s routine. She is now in Year 1 and as I have become more familiar with the way the EYFS works I have realised that my approach at home has been completely opposite to the experiences she has encountered at school. In class her inquisitive nature is embraced and has been gently encouraged to continue to move her learning forward.

Recently she asked me if the Rainbow Magic Stories had been made into a movie, being distracted I told her she would have to ask the author. Moments later she returned with a large yellow sheet of paper and scribed a letter to the author, Daisy Meadows.

At that point I stopped what I was doing and helped her to stick a photo of herself on the sheet, find an envelope and find the publisher’s address. Whilst this made us late for ballet, weeks later, she is still talking about her letter to Daisy.”

As children grow and change, so, as we have shown, do their experiences of being involved in the learning process. It is therefore our role, both as teachers and parents to act as a facilitator by providing opportunities that will build upon their prior learning, embrace their interests and harness their enthusiasm. We all have a responsibility to encourage our children to actively participate in their learning and as such become ‘leaders’ who learn from an early age to be independent and responsible not only for their own development but also to the world in which they live.

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Junior School High Commissioner Award 14

by Peter O’Brien, Year 4 Class Teacher and Anna Lees, Year 5 Class Teacher

The Junior School was delighted to launch the High Commissioner Award (HCA) this year; an exciting new CCA that was devised by teachers Peter O’Brien and Anna Lees, who both run the session each week. They give us an insight into their rewarding new initiative…

The High Commissioner Award is an opportunity for children in Years 5 and 6 to explore their potential in and outside the classroom. Having the full support of British High Commissioner, HE Mr Antony Phillipson, adds great prestige and honour to this Award. During the programme, there will be a focus on several elements through sport, music and academia. The aim is to provide a challenging, rewarding and memorable experience that will help each participant to become reflective about what they have achieved and how they can strive to improve.

Each week, the children participate in activities that will encourage the following outcomes:

• • • • • •

Communication Innovativeness Leadership Co-operation Pride Achievement

These seniors are already completing their CAS (Creativity Action Service) and NYAA (National Youth Achievement Award) Awards and are positive role models to the junior students.

Independent improvement through goal setting and self-directed learning are at the heart of this Award. Allowing children to see what difference they can make to themselves and others when they apply themselves is a vital life skill. Children are encouraged to work on these aspects out of school hours as well as during the CCA. Each participant can choose a skill or sport and an academic area to focus on and try to meet their goal. All the evidence collected throughout their ‘Award Journey’ will be recorded in their e-portfolio; a green way to collate their experiences.

The children are supported in each session by six Senior School students who are:

The nursing team led a first aid course in March so that our Award holders can be on hand in an emergency situation. Life skills such as cooking have also been enjoyed, to ensure the team are aware of what our bodies need to be active, fit and healthy. Within the Enterprise element they will develop entrepreneurial skills in order to maximise their economic potential and social wellbeing.

Year 10 - James Warner and Tiago Beck Year 11 - Sophie Davis Year 12 - Maria Stapleton, Yin Noe and

Elisha Naesheim

Contributing to the school and wider community is an integral part of the Award. The first element is to give back to the school by creating ideas and

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instructions for classroom games that can be played during lunchtime in or outside of the classroom. All the children were very keen to include the Learner Values into the suggestions, as co-operation is a linking feature between all of the games.

Through the Community Service element of the Award, the children will be able to work with pupils at the Genesis School.

This warm and welcoming school teaches children with special educational needs, and our children will be learning songs and games to play and sing with the children. To celebrate the children’s hard work and the bonds formed between the two schools, the HCA children and the CAS/NYAA students will take the children from the Genesis School bowling for an afternoon of united fun!

Accompanied by the dedicated CAS/ NYAA students, the HCA children will be setting off on a survival skills based residential to Pulau Ubin. During their time on the island, the group will take part in coastal cleaning and camping skills.

They will be stripped back to basics to make their own bowls and spoons using plants and leaves found in the forest; they will construct a shelter and learn how to protect themselves from dangerous animals. As tough as it sounds, the children will also be able to sing around the camp fire in the evening after they have cooked their own dinners on their camping stoves.

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15 “It will be really interesting to camp in tents because we’ve not had that experience before - it will be a challenge!” Grace Pedley, Y5.4

“I’m really excited about going bowling with the Genesis School children because it’s not often we get to meet children from another school and go on an adventure together!”

Amy Lovejoy, Y5.8 “I found creating the classroom games resource rewarding because it’s interesting to learn from others and it is fun to have the responsibility to help organise children’s lunchtimes - we will be heroes in their eyes!”

Archie Rucker, Y6.5 “I have gained more self-confidence and improved my leadership skills in CAS. Working with a different age group made me experience different issues and conflicts, causing me to resolve these with unique approaches. The High Commissioner will provide the kids with a better global perspective and motivation to achieve greater achievements in the future. New skills will be formed and existing ones will be more advanced. They will have a better sense of maturity and improve their own confidence and knowledge.” Yin Noe, Y12.3

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Senior School 16

Year 8 Gopeng Trip and Year 11 Mocks Experience Year 8 Gopeng Trip by Finn Sykes, Y8.6 and Ryan Brouwer, Y8.5 This trip has been an excellent experience teaching us many valuable skills and lessons such as teamwork and making new friends, as well as developing confidence and independence. We learnt a lot about the Malaysian culture and food from the instructors and guides that we worked with. This trip also helped us to realise how extremely lucky we are for all the things we have as well as for the families who love and support us.

On this trip we did many different activities such as rafting, kayaking, rock climbing, high and low ropes, leap of faith, abseiling and service at the local orphanage. All these activities were designed to ensure we develop lots of different skills, many of which are part of the Tanglin Learner Profile.

The rafting and swift water rescue focused us on teamwork and trust in others as well as risk taking. It was a very enjoyable experience to go rafting with your friends and get to know people who we didn’t know before. Even though there were only three big rapids we still gave each other support and willed each other on. It was fun seeing all the teachers also having fun and getting involved in the action.

The kayaking trip was equally if not even more valuable as we had to have excellent communication skills and encourage each other to manoeuvre through and past all the obstacles and rocks. We had to have great timing and accuracy with our paddles to ensure we were fast and agile. Additionally we had to assess the currents and water levels

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to see which part of the river would be easiest to go down or in some cases up!

The low ropes and high ropes were fantastic and were actually quite scary!

Although the high ropes was frightening, we still went on it and conquered our fear of heights with the help of guides and friends giving us a whole load of moral support.

The abseiling was also really fun. Even though again, it was really frightening for all of us, we still went on and did it. There were a few people who were especially scared but still kept going. This activity was really challenging and fun to do. We put all of our trust into a rope and the instructor holding the safety line.

The orphanage was also one of the best experiences of the trip. When we arrived they were all extremely excited to play

with us and receive the present that we brought for them. It was amazing to see that you don’t need lots of belongings to be happy - seeing them smile because of something so simple that we did was brilliant. These children are very unfortunate as they are sent there either because all their relatives have past away or they were abandoned. To see that they could smile after all the things that they have gone through was very touching. Before we gave our presents we played a massive game of football but unfortunately the orphans beat us 3-2...

Although the teams were rather unfair as most of us were persuaded to join the orphan’s team because they were so cute!

Visiting the orphanage made us caring learners as we showed empathy, compassion and respect towards the less fortunate orphans. We also learnt to be communicators as although there was a large language barrier we still managed to have a good conversation with them and teach them how to play games such as dodgeball.

The Nomad Company’s crew were extremely professional in helping us achieve our goals and keeping us actively learning. They also helped us work as a team and look out for each other and not just ourselves. The team also really

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helped us learn many different skills within our groups.

It was amazing to see the difference between Singapore and the rural area of Malaysia. Their food consists mainly of lots of rice, chicken and a few vegetables, so it is a high protein and carbohydrate diet. Some of the houses are made of just wood, bamboo and rice bags, others, the classic Kampung Malay houses.

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This trip was amazing; we would like to do it all over again as this was one of the best trips ever! There is so much more that we could say but to sum it up, this was a really fantastic trip which was challenging, tons of fun and pushed us to the limit. It developed us all as individuals which has helped us for school and life in general.

How it feels to be a Year 11 student doing mocks, and is it really worth it?

Samantha Devine, Y11.4

I awoke to the noise of incessant beeping – the alarming epiphany that signified the start of a strenuous period that would require extreme efforts not only mentally, but physically and emotionally. Yet still I struggled to open my eyes; late night revision had taken its toll.

later) will surely enhance my performance in the real GCSE examinations. The familiarity with the process gained is valuable for anyone in the same predicament.

The daily routine was unusual in that the time leading up to registration was spent revising rather than with small-talk about the Chinese New Year break, mainly since there was nothing to discuss (for predictably, the days off were passed solemnly with final revision) and because of the well-known significance of the exams for us – for the future of our secondary education.

Evidently, the general feeling was of chaos and pressure, particularly in the midst of a greater amount of knowledge to be learned (hence the intense revision), the unusual setting and the awareness of how much our futures depended on these few days in regards to sixth form places.

Of course, tension is to follow us to the days after the mocks with the unearthing of results and grades, and the realisations of slip-ups made. For the latter reason, I conclude that I am thankful for the experience. I found the week challenging yet doable for any student, while learning from mistakes in revision and exam technique (better to be made sooner than

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Diya Vasudevan, Y11.2

Recently, the Year 11 students experienced the rigor of their mock exams but first, what exactly are the mock exams? The mocks are imitations of our General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) exams. These exams were planned with the intention of familiarising students with the stress and the experience of going through their GCSEs. The exams were even conducted at the Berrick Performance Hall, with the same rules and regulations that would be followed during the real GCSEs.

About two weeks ahead of the exams students seemed mostly at ease, and only slight on edge. However as the days got closer to the exam week, you could see realisation seep into the minds of the Year 11s, last minute revision, stress eating, dark circles under the eyes of most, who were for the first time pulling all nighters, and familiarising themselves with the taste of caffeine to keep them wired and going.

However, quite a few of the students found the challenge of the mock experiences refreshing and motivational, it was a challenge unlike any they had experienced before. They found it beneficial, as it helped them set their expectations for the actual GCSE results, which are pivotal, when universities consider a student’s application. The papers also helped the students reflect on their grades and assist them in reaching a conclusion on what subjects they could take for their International Baccalaureate or A Levels.

All in all, the mocks served their purpose.

Students now feel better prepared for the GCSEs and are more emotionally equipped and aware of the stress to come, this year, next year and even at university. We have stocked up on our coffee and midnight snacks and are even into ‘banking our sleep’ as advised to us

by Mrs Barlow.

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Sixth Form

A Tribute to Oliver Betts 18

Oliver Betts, a Year 13 student who joined Tanglin in 2002, sadly passed away in January. The following is a tribute to Oliver by his friends and teachers.

In loving memory of Oliver Betts, gone but not forgotten, he shall be treasured forever. In his many years at Tanglin he was a great friend to many and admired by all. His transformation over the past few years was an inspiration and portrayed the kind of person he was: brilliant, determined and strong. He will live on in our hearts forever.

“A truly great friend and a role model to all. I was lucky enough to have called him one of my closest friends. His contagious laugh coupled with his stunning sense of humour made him a warrior to be around.”

“One of my longest and closest friends. A man who stood out from the crowd in everything he did. You helped me realize what is important in life and what isn’t, and for that, thank you. I’ll keep your memory always. Love you big guy.”

“Oli we all greatly admire you and that will never change, you were an inspiration. There will forever be a place for you in my heart, won’t stop missing you.”

“There will only ever be one Oli Betts. He touched us all. I will miss everything about him - his incisiveness, his passion for debating, his strength of character, his cheerfulness, and his good humour. He left us far too soon but we will forever cherish his memory.”

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19 “We have all shared so many memories together that it has become hard to envision the future without you in it. Life has changed so much but the love we feel for you will always remain.”

“Always was and always will be the heart of the group. You were a true friend. We will never forget you. Love you brother.”

“I often referred to Oli when trying to motivate other students, because he was such a great example of what we are capable of. He showed that your future is what you decide to make of it.” Robert Gulston, Y11 Tutor and Assistant Head of History, Senior School

“In class, he was amusing, combative, with a shy little smile that would sneak up his face when he had won a round in the argument. He was ever polite, charming but there was real academic energy inside him, a passion that he hid from most of us.” Patricia Voute, Y13 Tutor and Philosophy Specialist “Oliver’s teachers, peers, younger students and anyone who had the pleasure of spending time with Oliver, speak of him with the utmost affection and pride in his achievements. He will leave a large vacuum in Year 13 and we treasure the memories we have of him.” Helen Penry, Head of Year 13

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Spotlight On

Learning is for Everyone 17 20

by Lisa Cannell, Head of Continued Professional Development

At Tanglin ‘Learning is for Everyone’ The process of learning stimulates the positive growth of open-minded individuals, impacting on their lives, their work and ultimately the experiences that are extended to those around them.

At Tanglin we believe that everyone has the potential to be a learner, regardless of their age or experience, but appreciate that an extended hand is needed to realise each individual journey of discovery. Our mission is to offer the necessary support to inspire, motivate and facilitate our community’s commitment to lifelong learning through providing continuous developmental opportunities. We value the ‘right to learn’ and are advocates of a collective responsibility in its delivery.

Supporting Staff Learning

All new members of staff follow the school’s comprehensive induction process and are allocated a mentor to offer support and guidance. During the annual Review and Development process staff employ professional standards to identify strengths and areas they wish to develop further. For Faculty Staff professional development needs are met through a number of opportunities within Tanglin, across inter-school networks and through engaging external expertise. These opportunities include: peer observation, professional discussion, online learning, job-a-like workshops (JAWs), conferences and courses, such as those run by the Institute of Education, London and International Baccalaureate (IB).

Supporting Parental Learning

We understand that parental involvement in a child’s education is a vital component of successful learning, both in and out of school. To this end we encourage parents to form strong partnerships with the school; committing to a collaborative approach to their child’s learning and wellbeing. On our part we are committed, through utilising internal expertise and highly regarded external providers, to proffer support in terms of raising awareness of teaching and learning strategies and delivering workshops on how to raise a generation of happy, healthy and well balanced young people.

Sharing the range of methods and strategies through which children learn guarantees that everyone is on the same page - resulting in a consistent approach and clear understanding between home and school.

This year, in addition to the range of well established curriculum workshops that run across the school, we have introduced two parenting courses which have proved to be highly popular: The first is the Virtues Parenting Approach; a ten hour long course, split over four weeks and run by our counselling team: Kendra Frazier and Claire Holmes. So far this year over 110 parents have completed this course and the feedback received has been extremely positive.

run within school by Louella Henderson from Parent Support. The P.E.T course is structured to provide participants with the skills necessary to successfully address a variety of behavioural and relationship issues within a family. The programme is 24 hours long and is conducted over eight sessions, where each session builds upon the last with time in-between to apply and reflect on the skills learnt.

“I just feel great for taking this course! It helped me a lot to handle issues with my son and also my partner. It made me feel a better person too and I learned from my fellow mums based on their shared experiences. This course is excellent! In my opinion, I think all the parents of this world should take this course. I am very happy that I did.“ Mother of a Senior School student, February 2012.

More parenting courses have been planned for Term 3 and the new academic year. Please look out for further information on the digital screens around school and on the community page of the weekly ‘In Touch’ communication.

Alternatively, you can contact Louella Henderson directly by email mail@ parentsupport.com.au.

“The Virtues Project Course had a really positive impact on my family. I love the language swirling around my house since I began this project. I knew I was on to something when I was rushing my 3 year old out the door and she looked at me and said, very calmly and peacefully “Patience Mummy.” Plus, I met some fantastic women! It was unexpected but the experience was truly remarkable.”

Mother of a Year 3 student, February 2012.

The second is Parent Effectiveness Training (P.E.T) a course which compliments the Virtues approach and is

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Federation of British International Schools of South East Asia (FOBISSEA) and Job-Alike-Workshops (JAWs)

At the end of October 2011, Tanglin hosted the Science JAWs, welcoming 19 primary and senior school teachers from all over the region. Julia Armstrong, the Faculty Leader for Science & Design Technology at The Alice Smith School in Kuala Lumpur, explains the importance of the event:

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FOBISSEA was born out of the needs of a group of like minded professionals in British-styled international schools in South East Asia seeking fellowship, support and a willingness to share best practice. One important professional development initiative to be implemented in FOBISSEA schools over the last few years is the Job-AlikeWorkshops (JAWs). Teachers from all over the region congregate in a host school and over two days take it in turns to present new ideas, new technologies and grow from each other’s experiences. Teachers then return to their schools, disseminate what they have learned, whilst retaining a network of regional contacts acting as a think tank in their specialist areas.

“As an international school you can sometimes feel a little isolated from other schools – whether they are in the same city or even in a different country. This is contrary to what happens in the UK - your ‘local education authority’ ensures that there is constant communication between schools in the same region, and you would meet up frequently with other teachers to discuss developments and new initiatives in education.

After two days spent at the Science JAW hosted by Tanglin, both myself and my colleagues left decidedly refreshed and ready to try out some new ideas. We were inspired to review what we do on a day to day basis and to work to make learning even better for our students. But for me it wasn’t just about sharing good practice – it was about having a professional dialogue with Heads of Department who experienced the same challenges as everyone else, and then discussing how to overcome them.

Five months on and we are still in contact with each other – we share our successes and ask for thoughts and ideas about issues arising in our own schools. It is this kind of networking that allows international schools to move forward and progress. I look forward to another Science JAW in the near future to review and reflect on what we have achieved since we first met.”

The below Wordle was created using reflections and personal evaluations made by staff after each professional development session that we have run this year.

WORDLE

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Art 22

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Showcase: Art • Drama • Music

Learning Through Art History by Deirdre Dunstan, Head of Infant and Junior Art Art history plays an important role in the art and design curriculum in Tanglin Junior School. Pupils should be taught about “The roles and purposes of artists, crafts people and designers working in different times and cultures (for example, Western Europe and the wider world),” taken from The National Curriculum for England Art and Design Programmes of Study.

At Tanglin, the children are introduced to artwork from other cultures and times as part of our integrated creative curriculum. This comprehensive approach to art education can transform the way students create and understand art; it also offers opportunities for relating art to other subjects as well as to the personal interests and abilities of young learners. Children are encouraged to analyse the motivations behind important art pieces, in order to understand the influences of society and environment upon artists and ultimately, upon themselves.

Knowledge of an artist or genre is encouraged but more importantly what the children think and feel in response to seeing artworks is the purpose behind all visual sharing. Our students are asked to speculate on why a piece may have been made rather than simply expressing whether or not they like it. When given the opportunity to respond to art, sharing thoughts and first impressions, children can be inspired and given a way of expressing visually, an idea, thought or emotion. Asking and answering open ended questions builds expressive confidence and helps children focus their creative thinking. By introducing great artworks to the children they see validation of their own designs thus strengthening their own discoveries and experiences more fully.

Enamelling in Senior Art by Sabrina Chui, Y9.7

Enamelling is coating a piece of metal with coloured glass. In our case, we used copper. We had to sand the copper first, to clear away the oxidisation; if it wasn’t properly removed then the enamel would not stick on properly. Next we sieved the powdered glass onto the copper carefully, making an even layer. Then the piece of metal was put in the kiln and the glass melted fusing it to the copper. We experimented with different kinds of colour and then began to do more layers on each piece using stencils and brushes to create shapes. Although enamelling was fun, but difficult - especially detailed pieces, it was worth it. I think what’s really cool about enamelling is that you can almost never do anything wrong, even if you do make a mistake the final piece always looks much better than you had ever hoped for.

My big project this year was ‘Earth Water Air and Fire’, although it looks like simply 4 pieces of enamel it took me a few long months to do it. I really liked it as it was my first time trying to work from a picture, and it was a lot harder because I had to use different techniques for each piece. My favourite piece was Water - although my technique was quite simple I spent a lot of time on it and it looked the most real to me.

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Showcase: Art • Drama • Music

Drama

ISTA Drama Weekend by Megan Jones, Y9.3

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From 17-19 February, 200 students and teachers from 10 international schools gathered at Tanglin for the International Schools Theatre Association (ISTA) to learn about theatre, culture and each other. It is an experience that I, along with everyone else who attended the festival, will never forget. Learning from and creating drama with professionals as well as delving into Singaporean history during a trip to Fort Canning were amazing opportunities. However, what made the weekend special for me was the atmosphere as everyone worked together, producing an innovative, collaborative final performance.

Thursday saw the arrival in Singapore of students from as far away as Shanghai and the Middle East. They were met by the Tanglin families who had kindly volunteered to host students over the weekend. I was overwhelmed by the kindness and openness of the students we were billeting. After learning each other’s names, I was surprised how much the girls staying with me were like my family and I. It was more like having friends over for a visit than hosting two students from a foreign school!

When Friday came, everyone was excited. We finally got to meet all the people from all the other schools and start the Festival in earnest. The morning was bright and sunny and the atmosphere was electric. It was also the day of the trip to Fort Canning. Even though rain did come in the afternoon, the day was super positive – already everyone was talking and laughing with people they had only met hours beforehand. Groups of students from two of the schools were even dancing in the rain together to the amusement of all the spectators.

Day 2 of the Festival arrived and it was time to get down to business. We all broke up into our Ensemble groups and everyone worked hard in those groups all morning. After lunch, we had workshops to help us develop our drama skills. Every single workshop was a success, and no-one wanted them to end! But, of course, they did and we moved on to creating pieces for the show the next day. To reward us for our hard work, we had a disco on Saturday night. The standard of dancing was high, as some of the teachers got very into the groove, and started showing us their moves. Definitely one of the highlights of the trip for everyone.

When the final day of the Festival arrived, we were all hyped up. “We’re performing this afternoon!” was heard in excited tones throughout the rehearsals. Although, at the same time, we were also aware that this meant we would soon be saying goodbye to our new friends. The final performance was based on the theme of the Festival which was ‘The Power To Make or To Break’ and it was a great success, thoroughly enjoyed by all who participated.

A big thank you to Theresa Chapman, Music Specialist, Senior School, Jacqui Nursey, Events Manager and all the drama staff who organised the whole weekend.

Remember: YOU have the power to make or to break!

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Showcase: Art • Drama • Music

Music 24

Infant Music by Caroline Francis, Head of Infant Music Term 2 was short but eventful for Infant Music. The Infant Ensembles were all busy practising for the Infant Ensembles Assembly which took place on Thursday, 29 March and included stunning performances by Year 2 Choir, all three recorder ensembles, Ms Bowers’ Dance CCA, ukulele ensembles from Terms 1 and 2, a few individual instrumental soloists as well as our combined Infant Strings. As our Infant Strings Ensemble has grown to a healthy membership of 27 violins and one cello, we have had to split the group into Year 1 and 2 strings for Term 3. They will, however, still come together for performances.

Year 1 Concert The final week of Term 2 saw a beautiful concert by Year 1 children called ‘Once Upon a Time’. This was a concert about two children, who loved to read, being transported into a magical world of mixedup fairytales. It included lively, catchy songs, instrumental accompaniments, great dances, entertaining narrating and acting all in a magical fairytale set.

Junior Music by Fiona Knight International Schools Choral Lucas, Head of Junior Music Music Society (ISCMS) by Another busy term in the Junior Music Kimtalie Ahuja, Y12.10 Department...

Year 5 Songs from Oliver The children in Year 5 delighted parents at their open mornings with a performance of songs from the musical Oliver which they had been learning as part of their topic on the Victorians.

Year 6 Beauty and the Beast Year 6 children excelled themselves with a spectacular production of Disney’s

‘Broadway Junior’ version of Beauty and the Beast. The children playing the main characters rehearsed for the acting and singing during their CCA time on Thursday afternoons, while the support cast from the rest of the year practised dances during class music lessons. The stunning costumes were for the most part made by the expert hands of parents Lorna Regan and Seah Slater; and the Junior Art Department, in conjunction with considerable input from

the children, created the beautiful set.

With the assistance of some other hardworking parents and Tanglin’s technical team, the children put on a wonderful show, complete with such memorable numbers as ‘Be Our Guest’ and ‘Beauty and the Beast’. Well done to all our Year 6 children – this year’s production was a beauty!

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On Tuesday, 14 February, 16 students from the Senior School went to the ISCMS Beijing Music festival called Lumen. There, we performed 3 pieces by the composer Karl Jenkins entitled Gloria, Te Deum and Celebration (Qing Zhu) and one piece entitled Gospel Mass. There were about 500 students from 25 different schools all across Asia participating in either the choir or the orchestra. The majority of students from Tanglin were in the choir however one of our students, Hana Kumar, was in the orchestra.

The climax of the festival was performing in the Forbidden City Concert Hall, where 500 people were squeezed onto a stage that was not built to accommodate the very hilariously timed foot stamping that Movement 3 of Gloria required the whole choir to do, causing the entire stage to shake. The concert was a big success and each and every student agreed that it was a completely unique, once in a lifetime experience.

All the students that were involved in the ISCMS festival had a brilliant time and made many new friends from schools such a Kellett School Hong Kong, ESF Hong Kong, BIS Tokyo, the 5 Dulwich Colleges and many more from all over Asia. All the students from Tanglin would like to say a massive thank you to Mr Godsman, Head of Music, Senior School, Mr Hyland, Music Specialist, Year 7 Tutor and Nurse Janice Murani for giving us the opportunity, supporting us and helping us every step of the way through the very intensive, demanding and energetic week – we were extremely grateful students.

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Sport

Term 2 Highlights

by Tanglin Sports’ Coaches and Students

Tanglin Swimming has seen huge changes over the last two terms and has taken off with a string of successes. The new conference (SSAC) was launched giving every swimmer in the competitive squad the opportunity to compete against several different teams throughout the country, culminating in a grand final in May. The SSAC meets have been very successful, particularly for 9 & Unders.

Swimmers across both the Junior and Senior schools flew to Bangkok where they competed in their very first ‘Feeding Frenzy’ meet. Up against some huge teams TTS did an outstanding job with many personal bests being broken and medals brought home.

TTS positioned brilliantly in all ACSIS competitions, with the highlight being the 8 & Under and 10 & Under category taking home the winning plaque! TTS hosted this meet and a huge thank you goes to all the volunteers that helped make it a real success.

Term 2 was finished with a miraculous SEASAC. 29 swimmers dedicated hours to prepare for the 2 day long meet. This was the first time TTS had ever put in a full team and with 57 life time best swims, a 3rd place finish for the boys and a 4th place finish for the girls, TTS performed above and beyond expectation. The atmosphere and team unity was electric throughout the entire weekend. A huge congratulations to the 12 & Under boys who won their age category setting 4 SEASAC records!

The coaching staff would like to acknowledge all TTS swimmers and congratulate you on a fantastic start to our new programme, keep it up!

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Competitive Swimming by Rebecca Richards, Director of Aquatics

“It was great winning and it was amazing to see all the houses competing at such a high level.” Georgia Basham, Harimau Sports Captain

Junior Swim Galas by Andy Martin, Head of Junior Houses

The Junior House Swim Galas took place throughout Week 3 of Term 2 in the Tanglin pool. This was my first experience of the event and I can only say… “Wow”!

The quality of swimming was incredible and the enthusiasm of the children was nothing short of infectious. A wonderfully supportive atmosphere was created poolside by parents and competitors alike and the event was a huge success.

All swimmers took to the water at least twice as part of a slightly revamped programme designed to increase participation for all. In total across the week there were over 2,000 individual swims; the total distance swam over the week by the children acceded 50km!

“I loved all the cheering and everyone joining in.” Jem Minto, Elang Sports Captain

I would like to thank the PE department on behalf of the children for putting together what is nothing short of a logistical triumph; the Heads of Houses for team selection, constant motivation and great cheerleading; and the parent time keepers for their hard work, we couldn’t run the event without you!

The results were as follows: Year 3 was won by Harimau, Year 4 by Harimau, Year 5 by Elang and Year 6 by Harimau. The overall winner for the Junior Swim Gala this year was Harimau.

“The best bit was everyone participating no matter what their swimming ability.”

Libby Lindsey, Elang Sports Captain

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U16 and U19 International and Singapore Schools Netball Tournament 2012 by Emma Watson, Head of Senior PE On 3 and 4 March, Tanglin hosted the U16 and U19 International and Singapore Netball Tournament, funded by Singapore Ministry of Education and assisted on the day by Netball Singapore.

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26 international schools, along with strong competition from 14 local Singapore schools attended the event; and six hundred participants and spectators enjoyed a weekend of high calibre and exciting netball.

U19 Competition The Lions team was unbeaten throughout the weekend, facing the Singapore Sports School in an exciting goal for goal final.

The girls played excellent netball all weekend, with the Sports School pulling away in the last few minutes to win by 9-7.

U16 Competition TTS Tigers, coached by Mrs Goodacre, played some excellent games in their pool on the Saturday. The strong competition from Crescent Girls School resulted in a second place in the pool. Our girls then came up against the AIS A team on the Sunday in the quarter finals in a very close game, with AIS just edging ahead 7-5. The Tigers went through to play the CHIJ St Theresa’s Convent, showing their best form with a 13-5 victory for 7th place in the cup.

TTS Wolves coached by Mrs Coad also played a very good level of netball throughout the weekend, with some strong wins and some tough competition. The Wolves went through on Sunday to the plate competition and won every game to get through to the finals. The game against St Joseph’s School was a very nail biting final, but after the girls settled down, they took the game away with a convincing win of 13-6.

It was a very successful weekend of netball. The girls and coaches demonstrated dedication and enthusiasm. Well done to all the participants.

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PTA

Currently, there are 14 parents on the PTA Committee, each taking on different roles and volunteering their time. Three of these members act as Vice Presidents (VPs) for each school and are the liaison point for the respective Schools, PYG Reps and Class Reps. I would like to take this opportunity to provide a little insight into your PTA Vice Presidents.

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Your PTA Vice Presidents

Bev Smith – PTA Vice President, Senior School

I have been living in Singapore for 6 years and have 3 very sporty boys. On arrival, I had a boy in each of the three schools but now all my 3 boys attend the Senior School, spread from Year 7 to Year 13. I joined the committee to help communications in the Senior School via the PYG and Class Rep system. In my spare time, I thoroughly enjoy horse riding, which I took up again 2 years ago, after a break of 10 years. I also enjoy pottery which I believe, ‘keeps me sane’! Most weekends I can be found standing on the side of a rugby or football pitch supporting my boys in their sporting endeavours.

Suzy Grant – PTA Vice President, Junior School

I have been living in Singapore for 11 years and both my children started at Tanglin Nursery. Time flies as my daughter is now in Year 6 and my son in Year 4. I began helping with Welcome and assisting with the Summer Fete, where I now run the very popular book and toy stall every year! I joined the committee as an Ordinary Member in 2008 and took the role of Junior School Vice President in 2010. I enjoy the camaraderie of the committee and meeting other parents. Like Bev, I also enjoy pottery and my artistic efforts adorn a few shelves in my house!!

Ally Kiggell – PTA Vice President, Infant School

As a product of an expatriate education myself, I am very familiar with international schooling. I have been in Singapore for 5 years now and prior to this, I spent time in Tokyo, where my family lived on and off for almost 20 years. I have 3 boys who currently attend the Infant and Junior Schools at Tanglin and a little girl who will join Infants in a few years. I have volunteered on the PTA Committee for 3 years and this will be my second year as the Infant School Vice President. I have made lasting friendships during my time on the Committee and enjoy giving back to the Tanglin community.

The role of the VP is made so much easier by the support of the parents who volunteer to stand as Class Representatives. The contribution of our Class Reps can sometimes go unnoticed and as a Committee we would like to thank them for their efforts.

Our events would not be possible without the support of Class Reps and the wider Tanglin Community. We have some exciting plans for Term 3 and extra hands are always welcome. If you feel you have the time and would like to be more involved with the Committee, please do visit us in the PTA office or e-mail us on ptaoff@tts.edu.sg.

Tracy Betteridge PTA President

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Student Services Counselling Focus 28

by Claire Holmes and Kendra Frazier, School Counsellors Student Services is made up by the Careers, Nursing, Counselling and PSHCE team, a group of staff who work hard to support students (and sometimes parents too) in so many areas of school life. This issue of The Voice focuses on the Counselling Department.

Since last year, the Counselling Department has been running a series of parenting workshops based on The Virtues Project. This project was founded in 1991 by Linda and Dan Popov and Linda’s brother John Kavlin. Over the past three decades, The Virtues Project has taken root in 91 countries around the globe, helping families of all creeds lead more positive, peaceful lives. In 1994 the United Nations recognised this growing initiative for being a ‘model global program for all cultures.’ The strategies of the Virtues Project are now used as a parenting approach, a classroom resource and as a tool in the corporate world for personal development. As certified Virtues Project facilitators, our school counsellors, Claire Holmes and Kendra Frazier, have been running workshops in the Junior School with great success. Due to the positive feedback of parents, Claire and Kendra will be extending this service to the Infant School in Term 3 of this year.

We asked Claire and Kendra if they could give a brief overview of the workshops for this issue of The Voice.

The Virtues Parenting approach is something that we are both very passionate about in our work as School Counsellors but also as mothers, with our own families. We have both known about the Virtues Project for some time but a couple of years ago the opportunity came for us to train to be facilitators of the project. After completing this training we were then keen to introduce this framework to our Tanglin families. We began by running a pilot of the course for Year 3 parents about 18 months ago.

Our course consists of four two-and-a half hour sessions; it’s imperative to commit to attending all fours sessions as they build on each other. We were astounded with the response that we got for the workshops, with all places filled within 45 minutes of the advertisement going out. We realised then that this was something that the community wanted to learn more about. After the hugely positive feedback from our first cohort we also realised we were going to be running a lot more workshops. Since that first course we have now trained over one hundred parents in the Junior School and counting. As we go to print, we look forward to offering our first series of workshops in the Infant School as well.

the premise that we are spiritual beings having a human experience. What seems to appeal to many is the simplicity of the approach, or, as Dan Popov states The Virtues Project is “profoundly” simple.

The Virtues Project embraces five strategies. Through these strategies we can understand the different hats that we wear as parents – educator, counsellor, guide and authority, highlighting the complex role that we enter into when we become parents.

The five strategies are:

• • • • •

Using the language of the Virtues Recognising Teachable Moments Boundary Setting Honoring the Spirit Companioning

In session one, we address the first two strategies of Using the Language of Virtues and Recognising Teachable Moments. This is about using positive language to inspire our children naming virtuous behaviour as opposed to shaming children with disempowering labels. Recognising Teachable Moments

The Virtues approach offers a framework which brings out the best in children and in ourselves. By coming together in a group, parents also enjoy sharing their common struggles and wisdom.

So much of our work as counsellors is centered around helping students to feel good about themselves and what we love about the Virtues Project is that, by its very nature, it raises self-esteem in children and confidence in the adults who parent them.

Claire Holmes, School Counsellor

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One of the basic tenants of the programme is that we all have The Virtues within us, in potential, some more visible and others in need of nurturing. The Virtues Project starts from

Kendra Frazier, School Counsellor

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29 gives us, as parents, the opportunity to view each challenge as an opportunity for learning, both for ourselves and our children. This model asks us to focus on what we want from our children rather than what we don’t want - when we are practicing a Virtues style of parenting we often ask ourselves - “What is the missing Virtue here?”

Our second session focuses on boundary setting and helps participants to understand the importance of setting clear boundaries that keep children safe while allowing them to have choice.

The Virtues framework emphasizes that parental authority is in service of the child’s learning and that consequences need to be educative rather than punitive.

Boundary setting is one of the most

important, as well as most challenging, things we do as parents. It is within the context of this that children’s self-esteem grows and develops.

In the third session we focus on the Art of Companioning, or ‘being deeply present’ to our child’s struggles, guiding them to their own clarity and wisdom.

This is about listening in a way that empowers our children to come to their own solutions. As parents we all know how to lecture, rescue, advise and otherwise impose our will and impart our wisdom to our children. While there may be times when this is appropriate, a skill that enhances our relationship with our children and enables them to grow as individuals, is a form of active listening the Virtues Project calls Companioning.

It is perhaps the most difficult of the five strategies to put in to practice because it requires parents to take on a level of detachment that does not come naturally to us as caregivers. As a powerful tool for building relationship and character, however, it is a skill worth developing.

Our last session looks at the Virtues strategy of Honouring the Spirit. This strategy really brings two questions to the fore: “Who are we really?” and “Who are our children really.” This is about finding ways to appreciate how special and unique each member of the family is in everyday experiences as well as by creating rituals and routines of reverence.

We quickly highlight in our first workshop that there is no such thing as a perfect parent just as there is no such thing as a perfect child and we all do the best job we can. We have learned so much from our participants, their wisdom and creativity has been inspirational. Many participants have shared stories and experiences of how they have made the Virtues Project work in their own lives.

We provide the tools and the framework and each participant finds their own way to incorporate this into their world and family life.

As we move ahead, we look forward to introducing many more of our Tanglin parents to the tools and strategies of The Virtues Project. We would like to acknowledge our course participants’ commitment, perseverance and creativity in embracing the framework. Many who have been through our training are asking for course number two – we are working on this, we promise. It is truly our privilege to be able to share The Virtues Project with you all.

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Creative Writing 30

The Man at the Back She was tired; she had been working late last night again. The clock in the kitchen had stopped. It was old and had tarnished brass arms that had recently turned a mottled green. Mr Chin had shouted at her, told her to clean it. He was unwilling to spend any money repairing it. He was a short, cheap, stingy, middle aged man who was in charge of the Raffles Premium Café. He also had the final word when it came to firing and hiring. He had quite a temper too. His face would turn dark purple and his neck would swell; then he would stomp his feet on the termite infested wooden floor panels, before storming off like an overindulged child in a tantrum. His grotesque demeanour was further exaggerated by his long white cotton pants which were tailored to his large waist and his peculiarly thick short legs. His white cotton jacket looked a size too small and his big, hairy belly would poke out occasionally when he raised his arms, or was reaching for the tip jar that was on the counter. The lining of the jacket was made out of pale blue silk and his sleeves had big golden cufflinks with the words ‘East Indian Trading Company’, scribed around the edges... ...The rain had not stopped. The sound of water hitting the clay roof tiles echoed inside the café; like an orchestra of nature, the rain drops seemed perfectly timed and tuned, one after another, crashing down. As she approached the man, she started to understand why Mr Chin was acting with such intensity. This person was indeed a man of importance and stature. His white thin waist coat was hand stitched and he had a small pocket watch which he looked at every minute or so, as if trying to signal that his time was not to be squandered. As she approached him her foot slipped on the coated wooden floor panels and she and the tray of scalding hot tea were launched into the air. As her back hit the ground she felt a sudden burst of pain that rushed from her chest to her head. Inwardly, she contemplated how Mr Chin had failed to repair the leaking roof properly the previous November when the monsoon season had ended. Mr Chin had yet again spared cash by ordering one of the waiters to fix the roof instead of hiring a professional. Ironically it would appear that Mr Chin’s efforts to save a few nickels would actually cost him his job. Meet Sir David Raffles: the man at the back!

by Daniel Marjan, Y10.6

Can I Use Adjectives to Make my Writing Descriptive?

The stars shone as the moon rose and the scenery amazed my grateful eyes. Wind curled and whirled in the gloomy midnight skies. Buildings looked as small as apples and pears when the light looked as bright as a cat’s glowing eyes. I could see the old oak tree creeping towards the dark night sky, the wave crashing on to the waving seas and hills of shimmering emerald green. As I enjoyed the masterpiece that mother nature created, I just froze! I saw a big church that just stood out, I couldn’t believe my eyes!

Suddenly I saw a royal blue car I could just imagine me being in the car, driving through the incredible scene. The oak tree finished it off with a natural touch. It was so astonishing! by Michelle Guenther, Y3.1 As I was calmly sitting on the tall emerald green hills which were close to my yellow house, I happily examined the midnight blue night sky. Slowly the tall trees started swaying in the gentle, peaceful and soothing breeze.

There was a small church in the distance and I added that to my painting. The church clock chimes loudly ten times. Then there were only two houses with the light on.

Brightly the moon was blazing in the midnight air which made me feel very relaxed and tired. The violet haze was blocking my view so I moved to a higher place. I found that everything was much more beautiful there and it was going to be easy for me to see. I was glad that the wispy clouds were not in the area of the sky I was focusing on.

Birds had just gone back to their nests to go to sleep so it was very quiet which was just how I liked it. The stars were beaming like a lighthouse at the sea side. The slight I was seeing at that moment I think it was the most breathtaking sight that I ever saw. A colossal crowd of ideas raced to my mind as quickly as Niagra Falls.

by Hannah Coulstock, Y3.1

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Once upon a time...

Rapunzel The next time the Prince called “Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair over the top.”

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When the Prince reached the top he got a nasty surprise because he saw... the wicked witch! The witch pushed the Prince out of the window on to the thorns below. So for one year the Prince could not see and he was lost in the forest. Until he heard Rapunzel’s beautiful singing voice again! Rapunzel was so happy to see the Prince again and Rapunzel’s tears of joy helped the Prince see again and they planned their wedding and got married and had two twins called Lucy and Josh and they lived happily every after! The end.

by Maia Smith, Y1.2

The Gingerbread Man Then he got faster and faster, he ran past trees and bushes. He ran over hills and down hills, he couldn’t stop.

“I need a rest,” he said. Then he jumped on the train, then he jumped off the train. He said, “Why do the animals keep on chasing me?”

by Harry Scholefield, Y1.2

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Book Reviews Senior School Library Book Reviews

Top 5 most popular books

Dropzone by Andy McNab Dracula by Bram Stoker Uncle Montague’s Tales of Terror by Chris Priestley Shark Island by David Miller The Sniper by James Riordan

Robbie (The Complete Robot) by Isaac Asimov

In 1939, a few months before the Second World War, Isaac Asimov wrote a short story called ‘Robbie’ about a robot which was a companion and nanny to a young girl. The robot didn’t talk, it was made of metal (so it was definitely not soft or maternal) but the little girl was very attached to it. When her jealous mother had the robot removed from the house, the girl went into a decline and did not recover until she found him again.

It’s a simple story and it’s written in a simple way. There’s nothing remarkable about it except for the presence of the robot.

Asimov wrote the Foundation trilogy and the Robot cycle side by side as his two separate grand ideas about the future. Later on after he’d been writing for a few decades, he decided to link them. He returned to earlier work, wrote prequels and sequels and ultimately brought it all under one roof. It’s really interesting to read a short story like ‘Robbie’ to see where the process started and then read on to see where it ends. Alex Williams, Y9.6

Alex Rider: Scorpia Rising by Anthony Horowitz

The Alex Rider series has been wildly popular since its debut, and the final book is the perfect place to land the plane that has reached such great heights. All the ingredients that made the previous books so stellar have been made so much bigger and bolder for the finale. Horowitz has written an epic novel, filled with adventure, drama and action; it is one of the few books that genuinely captured me. So as not to ruin the plot and suspense I shall say just this - Alex is sent on his most perilous mission of all, set in Egypt with a certain Scorpian connection.

Throughout the series Alex has been trying to escape the treacherous clutch of MI6, the British Intelligence service that used him on many quests as their secret, unpredictable weapon. At the beginning of Scorpia Rising, Alex is more determined than ever before. He has returned full-time to school and is trying to catch up on his absent time by concentrating on his work. Even his guardian, the American Jack Starbright, has pledged to break all ties with the agency. MI6, on the other hand, has other ideas. They have learned of a potential security threat to an Egyptian school and want to play their wildcard to get the upper hand. They therefore organise a deceitful yet successful ordeal to lure Alex into a trap and then sweet-talk him into accepting the mission.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, it is certainly the best of the series and may well be my favourite read to date. I have always loved Anthony Horowitz’ literature, but this one was particularly memorable. I recommend it to anyone who has a taste for adventure. Alexander Prior-Wandesforde, Y9.2

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Junior School Library Book Reviews

The most popular Red Dot books Younger Readers Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute by Jarrett J Krosoczka The Big Fat Cow that goes Kapow! by Andy Griffiths Spot the plot: a riddle book of book riddle by J Patrick Lewis A Book by Mordicai Gerstein Marshall Armstrong is new to our school by David Mackintosh

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Older Readers The strange case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger The Word Spy by Ursula Dubosarsky Trash by Andy Mulligan Smile by Raina Telgemeie True (...sort of) by Katherine Hannigan

The Big Fat Cow that goes Kapow! by Andy Griffiths

This is a fiction book and it has lots of little stories like Big Fat Cows, Noel the Mole, Klaus the Mouse, Willy the Worm, Keith, Ed and Daisy, Lumpy-head Fred, Brave Dave, Ruth’s Super scooter, Mike’s Bike and Somewhere Less Spiky. They are written as poems. I liked that it wasn’t confusing and it didn’t take you a long time to read. This book is very funny and it is also good for young readers. Dileep Nota, Y4.1

One Dog and His Boy by Eva Ibbotson

Hal has always wanted a dog. His mother and father dislike dogs because they are very fussy and believe that dogs are very messy creatures. But three days before his tenth birthday Hal writes his parents a note begging for a dog.

Hal finally believes he is going to get one. But Hal’s parents ruin his birthday by inviting a man dressed in a dog suit to sing for him. Eventually Hal’s parents agree to get him a dog. Hal does not know that the funny and carefree puppy he chooses is not for life but only for forty-eight hours. The adventure continues when Hal and Fleck flee their home to find a new life where they can be together.

Sasha Flint, Y5.8

Infant School Library Book Reviews

Top 5 most popular books

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson The Lego Book by Daniel Lipkowitz Angelina at the Fair by Katharine Holabird Star Wars: What is a Wookiee? by Laura Buller and Kate Simkins I love fairytales because I like traditional stories. They are my favourite type of book. I love Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty. Isabella Campion, Y2.4 My favourite books are about the Olympics because I like sport. I love borrowing books about all different types of sport. James Muller, Y2.1

I like books about motorbikes because they are awesome. I also like books about cars, trucks and other types of transport. William Hall, Y2.1 I like Zac Power because he is a Secret Agent. The Infant Library has lots of Zac Power books which I like to borrow each time I visit. Dewi Simons, Y2.8

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Parent Book Reviews from the Professional Development Centre Library

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The Parenting Collection of books is split between all school libraries and is rotated each term to offer variety to library visitors. If you are interested in borrowing these or any of our other parenting resources, or becoming a Tanglin Library member, please contact any of the library staff.

Detoxing Childhood by Sue Palmer (a sequel to Toxic Childhood) Detoxing Childhood is the sequel to the bestselling and controversial book ‘Toxic Childhood’ by Sue Palmer. Although I have not read the first book I certainly wasn’t at a disadvantage skipping directly to this book.

The concept of ‘detoxifying children’ is a great one and the aptly named sequel certainly lives up to what it suggests by providing a range of easy to follow tips and strategies to raising happy, successful children. Some chapters such as ‘sleep,’ ‘child care’ and ‘eating habits’ weren’t relevant to my stage in the parenting process, however the most valuable message I found was in the concluding paragraph to ‘Family Life’. Here the author tries to decipher the modern mindset and our inability to ‘slow down.’ “Electric Speed Version Slow Time… : if parents can find a way of switching their brains to slow time when with their children they can start enjoying family time rather than feeling continually rushed, irritated and exhausted.” This state of constant haste and being too busy does not engender an atmosphere of tolerance or patience within a family circle. It generates a ‘toxic condition’ into which many of us busy parents regrettably fall.

Overall it is a great reference book for parents, one to pick up as a situation arises.

Sue Palmer’s message to ‘empower’ parents is loud and clear and to its end ‘detoxes parents.’ Manjeet Nota, Parent

101 Ways to get your Child to Read by Patience Thomson 101 Ways to get your Child to Read seeks to address the concerns of parents with children experiencing difficulties with reading. Ultimately the purpose of the book is to promote the notion that through support and encouragement, there is such a lot parents can do to help. Succinct and lacking in jargon, the 101 tips are presented as a collection of practical ideas which, having been well tested by children and parents as well as professionals within the field, can work for you also.

Purposefully organised into distinct key issues which can arise from children’s difficulties, the book enables the reader easy navigation, focusing on the tips most relevant and pertinent to them and their child. Interspersed with first hand experiences from both children with reading difficulties and their parents, alongside extracts from celebrities, this book acknowledges the real challenges and frustrations of the reading process for some. The book concludes with a helpful listing of useful addresses and websites.

101 Way to get your Child to Read can be a handy resource for parents looking to reinvigorate their children’s interest in the reading process, for parents lacking in confidence with their children’s road to reading or those wishing to find out more about how children learn to read and factors which can effect this process.

However, there were some experiences in this book which I felt focused on the negative, rather than the positive. On a cautionary note, therefore, I would suggest people take this into consideration before choosing to read this book. Sharon Giblin, Parent

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The Last Word It’s Official, We Are Outstanding!

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by Geraldine Chandran, Head of Infant School

That was the Ofsted judgement following a rigorous inspection of the Infant School during week 5, Term 2. Tanglin has never been afraid to benchmark itself against the best practice in the UK, with self evaluation and external auditing of teaching and learning a regular feature of our schools for many years. This inspection framework applied the same strict judgement criteria that all schools in UK are measured against.

The Inspection, conducted by 3 UK Inspectors from CfBT (Centre for British Teachers), an educational trust, did not just look at the quality of the teaching and the learning outcomes for your children but all the key elements that go into ensuring they are receiving their education in a happy, safe, caring, healthy environment where their future economic well being and contribution to the wider community are also considered. Quality of provision also considers the curriculum on offer and the inspectors were impressed with how engaged the children were and how they could talk about their learning in a confident, articulate manner.

Although the inspectors spent most of the 3 days observing lessons, they also held a number of meetings with a range of stakeholders. They wanted to gain an overall impression of how well the school is doing and measure the impact of how partnerships, particularly with parents and governors, support the children’s academic learning and personal development. The school’s climate survey, conducted in June last year, was also valuable evidence shared with the inspectors to demonstrate how we openly canvass feedback, not only from our parents and teachers but more importantly from all our children.

safeguarding policies and procedures in place to ensure the children are learning in a safe, secure environment. The children were equally at ease talking to the inspectors about how they can keep themselves safe and what they needed to do to stay healthy, both nutritionally and physically.

Attendance at school is one of the factors considered by the inspectors as having a direct impact on the learning and future economic well being of children. Our data did not compare too favourably with UK statistics but the inspectors did recognise that whilst a significant minority of our children do miss substantial blocks of schooling, they are having enriching experiences when on holiday with family. However, as in the UK, it is recommended that as the children already enjoy about 14 weeks calendared holiday, time out of school during term time should be strongly discouraged.

As an Infant team we all felt very proud of showcasing our school in the best possible light. Everyone was instrumental in the school gaining the ‘Outstanding’ grade. The cleaners, grounds-men, office

staff, operations team, security, teaching assistants and teachers all work hard on a daily basis to give your children the best possible environment in which to learn.

However, not ones to rest on our laurels, we have already put together an action plan of points raised by the inspectors that, with a little tweak, will make us even better!!

The validation by external auditors was the icing on the cake!

Interviews with the Director of HR, Terry Jaggers and Magan Naidu our Security Manager, also gave weight to our contention that we have outstanding

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95 Portsdown Road, Singapore 139299 www.tts.edu.sg Tel: 6778 0771 Fax: 6777 5862 Email: communications@tts.edu.sg

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