YMCA SCC@Zhangde (Jan-Jun 2016) Newsletter Inside this issue: 1 A note from the Supervisor Fun With Crayons 2 Cup stacking
3 Moonfest Lantern Making Workshop 4 June Holiday Programme Visit To The Science Centre 5 Educational Tour To The NeWater Vistor Centre 6 Engaging Our Parents
A Note from the Supervisor A new year always begins with hope, sometimes anxiety and often with excitement. At YMCA Student Care Centre (SCC) @ Zhangde, 2016 is a new year in anticipation of new friends for the pupils of Zhangde, new programmes and activities, and with them, new learning. Therefore while ensuring that the pupils at the Centre are supervised in their homework or study, we strive to create for them, opportunities for new learning. We hope that these opportunities will enable the children to develop their different abilities such as visual-spatial, verbal-linguistic, kinesthetic, as well as musical-rhythmical, as identified by Howard Gardner in his Theory of Multiple Intelligences. We believe that these opportunities are found in the Centre’s term and holiday programmes and we hope to briefly share them with you in this Newsletter.
Upcoming Events
Fun With Crayons - Developing Visualkinesthetic intelligence In Term 1, the teachers at the Centre carried out an Enrichment Progamme called Fun with Crayons that enabled the children to learn about the ‘family of colours’, to use crayons to draw lines, dots and dashes, develop an eye for combining colours and produce various shades. Their art pieces were displayed, to be enjoyed by their friends and then returned to them for sharing with their parents or guardians.
Tan Xiu Qian (P3) (above) and friends (left) combining colours and shades
1|P age
YMCA SCC@Zhangde (Jan-Jun 2016) Newsletter Cup-Stacking – More Kinesthetic engagement Twelve lessons on Cup Stacking carried out by the Centre teachers for our children in Term 2 culminated in the participation by some of them in the International Cupstacking Championship held at One Orchard Road, YMCA on 11 June 2016. Cup-Stacking is another YMCA Enrichment programme carried out by our Centre this year with the objective of developing skills and learning in our children through kinesthetic engagement. Apart from enabling the children to demonstrate their left-and-right hand dexterity, their hand-eye coordination, and being challenged to focus and concentrate, this programme clearly generated much fun and bonding among them. We are also proud to share the names of the YMCA pupils of Zhangde Primary School who were prize winners in this Championship: Neo Hui Min (P2) and Kuek Xin Yee (P2) came in 2nd at the Lower primary Doubles (3-3-3) event while Kuek Jyun Hong (P4) came in 3rd in the Upper Primary Individual (3-3-3) event. Georgina Lai and Tan Xiu Qian (both P3) did themselves proud by getting into the Finals for the Upper primary (Doubles 3-3-3) event. To top it off, Jyun Hong, Xin Yee, Hui Min, Georgina, Xiu Qian their other team mates , Yeo Mei Zhen, Felice Then and Soh Qian Yi were the group winners in the Team Doubles Relay! Well done, Team YMCA SCC@Zhangde!
Awesome! We are famous!
As featured in the Sunday Times 12 June 2016
2|P age
YMCA SCC@Zhangde (Jan-Jun 2016) Newsletter Moonfest Lantern making Workshop– A Workshop by Esplanade’s Community Engagement Team Moonfest - A Mid-Autumn Celebration that celebrates the rich traditions of the Chinese Mid Autumn Festival – is an annual festival by the Esplanade. This year, as part of Moonfest, the Esplanade’s Community Engagement Team conducted a lantern-making workshop at ZDSCC to share the joy of the festival with the children at the Centre. Participants were introduced to a brief history of the Mid Autumn Festival, the traditions behind the cultural activities and learnt how to make their very own lanterns with recycled and simple materials like cardboard and cellophane paper. We thank the Team for so generously sharing their Arts programme with us.
Truly fully engaged! - Pinning, framing, cutting, gluing ,,,,, !
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3|P age
YMCA SCC@Zhangde (Jan-Jun 2016) Newsletter June Holiday Progamme The June School Holidays is a time for Learning Journeys, which the children always look forward to. This year, our journeys comprised visits to the Science Centre, the NeWater Visitor Centre and to a performance by the international Awake LOVE Orchestra at the Act3i (International) Festival for Children. Tickets for this performance were sponsored by the Lee Foundation through Act3i. We are grateful for the special Arts experience provided for the children made possible by this sponsorship. There was also the opportunity to learn to bake Brownies, at our in-house workshop taught by our own Centre’s teacher, Mdm Nancy Leong
What’s it feeding on? Honey on toast?
Visit to the Science Centre The special attraction at the Science Centre was its newly opened Butterfly Exhibit. What better way to learn about the beautiful butterflies found in Singapore and the region, and the life cycle of a butterfly than through a walk through a ‘live’ exhibit.
A butterfly in hand is worth two in a bush?
4|P age
YMCA SCC@Zhangde (Jan-Jun 2016) Newsletter
All eyes on Step 3 of the water filtration process – Ultraviolet Disinfection
They can never resist a challenge! - attempting a quiz following the facilitator’s explanation of the water filtration process.
Educational Tour to the NEWater Visitor Centre The purpose of this tour to the NEWater Visitor Centre at Tanah Merah was to help the children understand the importance of water conservation in Singapore and the concept of recycled water. They were able to learn about the 3 ‘water taps’ of Singapore and the filtration process at the NEWater plant.
5|P age
YMCA SCC@Zhangde (Jan-Jun 2016) Newsletter Engaging Our Parents The Centre held its ‘Meet-The-Parents’ Session on 25 May 2016. This was planned to coincide with the school’s own session with the parents, so that parents who came in to see their child’s school teachers had the same opportunity to meet and communicate with the YMCA Student Care Centre teachers. It was a fruitful day as the Centre teachers were able to provide parents or guardians with feedback on their child’s or ward’s development at the Centre. It was also a time for parents to ask questions concerning the Centre’s programmes, and for the Centre teachers to listen to parents’ feedback and concerns, and provide clarification.
YMCA SCC teachers meeting with parents
Events in the 2nd Half of 2016:
Enrichment Programmes: - Choral Beats - Master Chef Storytelling Telling Competition at YMCA Junior Entrepreneurship Programme Children’s Day Party
YMCA Student Care Centre @ Zhangde 51 JalanMembina Singapore 169485 Tel: 6274 1595 Email: zdscc@ymca.edu.sg
6|P age