UWCSEA learning programme

Academics

Online information centre (portal)

There is a dedicated ‘learning’ section on the parent portal that provides an outline of the curriculum. Please login at www.uwcsea.edu.sg and then go to the ‘Academic Overview’ under Learning Links, and then select Junior School. Login details will be provided to you in July (see page 3).

Library

Your child will visit the library once a week to select books. The number that a child can choose depends on the grade they are in. Books are normally kept for a week and once the book has been returned, a new book may be borrowed. Teachers will inform you which day your child’s class will visit the library. Parents are also able to sign up to borrow from the library. The library provides resources online and subscribes to several database and eBook platforms that are suitable for students and parents.

Excursions/Field trips

There are many excursions that students undertake as a class within Singapore. These support the curriculum and are generally scheduled to coincide with a Unit of Study to extend students’ learning and stimulate lines of inquiry. Permission will be required for each off-campus excursion. Parents may be asked to contribute to the cost of entry tickets where appropriate.

Physical Education

Students are expected to fully participate in the Physical Education (PE) programme, this includes swimming lessons. There is space in the online medical questionnaire for parents to inform us of their child’s swimming ability. Even if a child cannot swim, we expect all children to participate in lessons. We believe that if a child is well enough to attend school then they should be well enough to participate in PE. However, we understand that sometimes circumstances mean your child cannot participate in swimming or other PE activities. Please send in a note via the student organiser stating the reason why your child cannot participate in PE.

Home learning

All students in the Junior School are set home learning and Seesaw on a weekly basis. The home learning is posted on the class announcements, which is accessed through the Seesaw app. The amount and type of home learning set differs in each grade, increasing as the children go through the Junior classes and may differ per child. Specific information and expectations on home learning can be found on the class announcements page. Please provide an appropriate space for your child to complete their homework comfortably. It is beneficial for a child to be able to talk through their home learning with an adult.

Reporting and assessment

Although we have scheduled dates for parents to talk with the class teacher, appointments can be arranged at other times if there is an issue that needs to be discussed.

Parents have the opportunity to meet with the class teacher for conferences in Term 1 and then again in Term 2. Specialist reports, conferences and Learning Share sessions all enable parents to keep up-to-date with their child’s progress in school. Reports are sent home at the end of Term 3.

Learning Support and tuition

There are dedicated Learning Support teachers available to children in the Junior School. Parents are always consulted before a child is referred for Learning Support. The majority of students who receive support need short-term intervention in a small group or in-class support. The school works with many outside professionals to support children with specific needs. We request that any referrals to outside professionals—for specific learning needs or for general tuition purposes—are done after consultation with the class teacher and/or the Learning Support Department.

Student records

Student records are available for viewing online via the parent portal. This gives a summary of your child’s attendance, and provides access to downloadable copies of their reports, including medical reports.

Digital literacy

Becoming digitally literate is an important aspect of a UWCSEA education. We strive to prepare our students to thrive in an environment where collaboration is vital and learning is a continual process. In the Junior School, we use technology as a tool for learning, embedding technology into the programme where appropriate to provide students with rich learning experiences. Our emphasis is on students using technology to be creators of content, rather than just consumers of content. To this end, the school provides opportunities for students to create, collaborate and share with technology throughout the academic year. At UWCSEA, digital citizenship is also an important aspect of our curriculum. Learning how to be safe, respectful and responsible citizens using digital technologies enables them to reach their potential as global learners.

Activities

We encourage all students from Grade 2 on to participate in lunchtime and after-school activities. The Activities programme is broken into four seasons, running roughly parallel to the ACSIS competitive sporting seasons in which UWCSEA participates. The wide range of activities on offer fall into six categories: Wellness for Life, Mind Matters, Arts and Performance, Dragons Sports, Learn and Lead, and Create and Innovate. Many activities are included in the tuition fees, however some will incur additional fees if we need to purchase materials or provide external coaching, tuition, transport or uniforms. The approximate cost will be noted at the time of selecting activity preferences, and payment will need to be made once a student is accepted into an activity at the commencement of the season. Some activities require commitment for more than one season; this is also noted in the sign up system the students use to request activities.

Dragon Sports

UWCSEA fields competitive teams in the Singapore-based ACSIS competition in a number of different sports in relevant age groups in the Junior School. In past years, this has included teams for boys and girls in badminton, basketball, cricket, cross country, football, gymnastics, netball, rugby, touch rugby, as well as track and field. There will be trials for representative teams in the first week of school. Students should look out for details of these in the student notices on the website.

Sign up online

Sign-up for activities is done online during a designated period, and while parents can browse the available activities, students need to use their own login to submit their preferences each season. Staff can also assist new students through the process. Sign-up opening and closing dates, and full information on how to sign up, will be posted in eBrief and in the online calendar.

Music

The Music learning experience for each Junior School student is very much an explorative, hands-on learning experience. Students are led on a journey of discovery as they participate in practical, creative activities and develop skills and qualities. Students are encouraged to explore, listen to, understand, create, perform, internalise and reflect on their own and others’ music.

Music provides an avenue for students to understand how each of the five elements can be connected, as they learn to value the importance of each element in shaping them as global citizens. This is achieved by: • class curriculum: class-based practical and theoretical work that explores the key strands of composing, performing, listening and analysing, as well as understanding music in society • Activities: Junior School large and small ensembles, participation in Primary School concerts and community events • passion-led service that explores deep and relevant connections to Music (through meaningful links to Global

Concerns, Local and College Service) • formal concerts including Uniting Nations and Arts

Festivals, Minimusonica, and Primary Colours • informal performances including class, assembly and Noon-

Tunes performances • Instrumental Teaching Programme 1:1, pair or group instrumental and voice lessons • meaningful PSE through these elements Music activities on offer include: Strings United (double bass, cello, viola and violin), Band Together (wind, brass and percussion), Global Voices (G2–5 Choir), Chamber ensemble, Kutandara! (African Marimba), Rhythmical Madness, Ukulele Grooves, Guitar and ensemble. Music service includes: Strings United, Wind Band, 3 different choirs, Zimbabwean marimbas, ukuleles, rock bands, songwriting, beginning band and beginning orchestra.

Service and Sustainable Development

One of the key values at UWCSEA is service, and all students from K1 to Grade 12 take part in our structured Service programme. Service is broken into three elements which are all embedded into the Learning Programme: 1. College 2. Local (Singapore-based) 3. Global

In College Service, students are involved in activities and action to support their peers in the classroom and around the school. This service can be integrated into classroom routines, and also allows students the opportunity to interact across grade levels during lunchtime and after school. It could include services such as helping out in the Infant School, supporting the school’s environmental efforts, or helping in the library. Local Service means pairing with a Singaporean communitybased organisation and looking at ways the students can support these in age-appropriate ways. At East Campus, this involves a number of services including working with seniors, local kindergartens, schools and helping at a local food kitchen. Our community organisations are invited to school for performances, morning teas, to speak to the students and for our annual Chinese New Year celebration. Junior School students make regular visits to our partner organisations. Local services we currently support are: Grade 2 Kitchen Garden, Pasir Ris

Grade 3 St. John’s Home for Elderly Persons

Grade 4 Christian Outreach to the Handicapped (COH)

Grade 5

Willing Hearts The Global Concerns (GC) programme at East Campus provides students with an opportunity to learn about challenges faced by people in Cambodia and Indonesia. Each grade has adopted a Global Concern and throughout the year students and their parents are invited to participate in activities that raise awareness and offer support. Activities are always age-appropriate, but are designed to allow students to gain an understanding of the people and organisations they are assisting. In the Junior School, the GCs we support are: Grade 2

Grade 3

Grade 4

Grade 5

Blue Dragon, Vietnam Green Umbrella, Cambodia Bali Bridges, Indonesia Epic Arts, Cambodia All the Global Concerns are run as a lunchtime activity, which provide students with an opportunity to further explore ways to deepen their understanding and support the GC. Lunchtime GCs include Indochina Starfish Foundation and Kuma Cambodia, as well as the grade level GCs. There are a number of Service trips that are offered to parents and students throughout the year. These trips are an opportunity to develop a better understanding of the GC through visiting the NGO, working with the community, teaching Art and English as well as making new friends. We also host a number of guest speakers and visits from our GCs throughout the year.

Focus days

Focus days are held in response to a natural or man-made disaster, and provide our community with an avenue of reflection and response to provide support and gain a greater understanding of what has happened. Age-appropriate information on what has taken place is shared with students on these days.