YMCA STUDENT CARE @ TAO NAN July to December 2017 Dear Parents/Guardians, We have come to the end of the 2017 school year. It has been a challenging yet fruitful year. As a growing centre, we give thanks to our mentors and staff for their hard work and effort in improving the environment of the student care centre. Going forward, we will continue to explore innovative ways to best cater to the different needs and aspirations of our pupils, guiding and motivating them in their learning. YMCA Student Care @ Tao Nan School will continue to empower our students to take ownership for their own learning and make them do their best.
At the centre we aim at creating a caring and challenging learning environment where our pupils can achieve academic success, realise their talents, develop good character and leadership so they can serve the community.
The Good Character Award recognises students who demonstrate exemplary character and outstanding personal qualities through their daily actions and behavior. The award undergirds YMCA’s ongoing efforts in inculcating and enhancing desired values in our students.
[Primary 1 — Chen Xuan Wen]
[Primary 2 — Tan Xin Xuan]
[Primary 3 — Chionh Qi Hui]
[Primary 4 — Kesslyn Chng]
[Primary 5 — Javier Lim]
[Primary 6— Esther Wong]
Our centre continues to place emphasis on our character building programmes to develop character values and social-emotional skills in our students. They are given opportunities to demonstrate good behavior consistent with the values taught.
[Ms Nor, the Pri 1 mentor, conducting CCE lessons with the lower primary students on “Attentiveness”
YMCA TAO NAN STUDENT CARE July to December 2017 NEWSLETTER
“Tell me and I’ll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I’ll understand.” Fun with Chinese is an enrichment programme that helps to deepen the knowledge of new Chinese vocabulary taught by the mentor through hands-on activities such as role-playing.
[P4s role playing the Chinese proverb — 盲人摸象]
There are many scenarios in .]which children can choose to act in. They are creative and full of imagination. Give them the environment and some tools, and we can then sit back and enjoy the children’s performance as they participate in experiential learning.
[P3s and P5s role-playing the Chinese proverb — 亡羊补牢 (Mend the fence after the sheep is lost – seeking remedy after something has already happened)
The children are very good at recreating scenarios and acting out different roles. .] During their role-playing, children use different tones or ways of communication to make the scenario realistic.
[小朋友 , 你知道大象究竟长什么样子吗？] (Children, do you know how does an elephant look like?) .]
[Ms Chew, conducting Fun with Chinese with the Pri 1 class] [P2s role-playing the Chinese proverb — 盲人摸象 (The Blind Men and the Elephant – make an overall judgement of something based on onesided viewpoint.)
In role-plays, children practice not only their language .] skills, but also their social skills. Of course, it is also a fun exercise that they totally enjoy.
In these activities, the students are recognised and .] respected for their strengths and contributions. This positive atmosphere makes the classroom a safe place for students to improve their language ability through mistakes and expression of their own opinions
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YMCA TAO NAN STUDENT CARE July to December 2017 NEWSLETTER
We hosted our annual Young Entrepreneurs’ Day to continue our fundraising efforts to raise money for Tao Nan School’s Student Pocket Money Fund. This year, we made Shrinky Dinks from recycled plastic.
[Step 3: The children will shrink the plastic with a hot dryer for 2-3 minutes; the plastic then curls up and flattens out]
[Step 1: The children will cut plastic pieces from recycled plastic containers and punch holes in them]
[Heng Zi Xiang (P6) displaying good sales technique to his “prospective clients”]
[Step 2: The children will trace the picture and color it with markers/colour pencils]
[A large crowd appeared early at our booth]
We hope this encourages the children to show love and care for the people around them, especially the needy, by taking part in these fundraising activities.
YMCA TAO NAN STUDENT CARE July to December 2017 NEWSLETTER On behalf of all the mentors, we would like to thank our parents for the tokens of appreciation on Teachers’ Day. We recognise that we may spend more time with the children than you do. That is an honor we do not take lightly. We are grateful to you for letting us play such an important role in your child’s life.
Organised by YMCA Student Care Centre, the 5th Storytelling Competition was held at YMCA’s Lee Kong Chian Auditorium. The theme for this year’s competition was “Kindness”. Enthusiasm and passion of the students were witnessed by the mentors and judges.
[It was wonderful to have our alumni come back to visit; we are always happy to welcome you back “home” again]
[From left to right, Tedrick Lee (P2) and Darryl Yu (P2) represented our centre in the lower primary category.]
The mentors had a wonderful dinner together at YWCA
That night, Mrs Amy Koh received the Outstanding Mentors’ Award which recognises mentors for their dedication and hard work in developing Singapore’s young. Good job, Mrs Koh!
[From left to right, Kesslyn Chng (P4) and Rachel Lee (P3) represented our centre in the upper primary category.]
We would like to thank all participants who gave of their best during the competition. We hope that this experience will continue to help enhance the confidence and speaking skills of the students. [Mrs Amy Koh, second from left, receiving her award on stage]
YMCA TAO NAN STUDENT CARE July to December 2017 NEWSLETTER The children always have a lot of expectations for Children’s Day Celebration. We, the mentors, braced ourselves with a delightfully varied program, all set to go the extra mile. The centre was abuzz with a lot of interesting activities which were organised to celebrate the day. The celebration witnessed enthusiastic participation from both children and mentors. We are sure everyone enjoyed their day and felt rejuvenated afterwards.
As we entered mid-September — with Mid-Autumn Festival upon us — some of thought about mooncakes and lanterns. The students had fun making their own lanterns together.
From left to right, P2 students using recycled toilet rolls to make their lanterns The children gathered to play circle games
From left to right, Ong Yu Chen (P1) and Grace Chua (P4) opening up their prizes excitedly
From left to right, Rayden Lim (P3) and Ethan Koh (P4) decorating their lanterns
Lanterns made by P3 – P6 students The students enjoying their pizza party in the school canteen
YMCA TAO NAN STUDENT CARE July to December 2017 NEWSLETTER Nestle: MILO Discovery Tour
When it comes to what to do with the children during the school holidays, the mentors will start planning as early as during their exam period. Here are some of the activities the mentors and children had fun with when the year-end school holidays began.
The wet weather did not stop us from making our way to an experiential field trip to the Nestle Factory for the Milo Discovery Tour. This tour was organised for the children to see and experience first-hand how the popular beverage is prepared, packaged and how it eventually reaches its customers.
The children were first introduced to Milo’s heritage and milestones in Singapore
A Paper Airplane Contest in the school’s foyer to see just how far and long their paper planes can fly
[Milo’s strong belief in sports as a “tool to teach life-long values” was also communicated at the start of the tour] [看手势猜字谜游戏 — a person does the acting, without saying any word or making any sound, and the others must guess what it is that the person is acting]
Challenge a friend to a game of rock-paper-scissors
Positive values such as how sports instills “team work”, “respect”, “confidence” and “honesty and fair play” were some of the values that were taught during the visit.
The children were very enthusiastic and enjoyed the Interactive Milo apps such as “word quizzes” based on the milestone and values that were shared
YMCA TAO NAN STUDENT CARE July to December 2017 NEWSLETTER Explorer Junior:
Pokémon Adventure This electrifying themed workshop allowed children to discover the wonders of electronics through fun and engaging hands on experience.
[Step 1: The children paint their Poke balls]
Explorer Junior: Journey to Outer Space
This workshop took the children to outer space where they learned the names and the order of the planets. They learned about each planet in the solar system.
[The instructor speaking to the children about the solar system]
[It’s time for the children to build their own telescope!] [Step 2: The children engage in building and painting their own catapult]
[Time for the boys to test out their DIY telescope!] [Step 3: The children challenge each other to see who can shoot their pokéball from the starting line to ‘catch’ their Pokémon]
YMCA TAO NAN STUDENT CARE July to December 2017 NEWSLETTER Movie Magic: Pokémon I Choose You!
National Gallery Singapore: Gallery Tour (19 December 2017)
The students often want to spend more time with their friends in school. This was a perfect opportunity for them to enjoy their favorite movie together 5 December 2017 They enjoyed watching the movie “Pokémon I Chose You” with surround sound.
The exhibition features rare constitutional documents from the collections of the National Archives of Singapore and National Library, Singapore. The documents capture key moments in Singapore’s constitutional history and shed light on milestones in our island’s history.
[The students queuing up to buy their own snacks] [The tour guide tells the story of a painting]
[Waiting for the movie to start]
[A group picture after the movie]
[The children “bidding” for their friend’s painting]
[(Left) the children creating their pottery through a virtual screen (Right)Alyssa (P1) posing with her masterpiece]