chronicles - christ church secondary school · the camp had helped me to know how to handle my...

CHRoniclesA publication by Christ Church Secondary School, one of the nine schools under the Anglican Diocese (Singapore)

Issue 1 • May 2013

The PrIncIPal’s Message

On 26th February, Mrs. Lim Thian Loke, Zonal Director Schools North, accompanied by Mr Loh Leong Beng, Superintendent of N7 Schools, visited CHR and was welcomed by Mrs Yeo, our school principal, as well as various key personnel. A walkabout was conducted around the school premises to introduce Mrs Lim to the various school facilities, some of which were newly-added and enhanced.

The school then presented to her an exciting High Elements lesson conducted at the rock-climbing

wall as well as an English lesson in 4T8 and Chinese lesson in 1E1. This enabled her to understand the learning processes of the students.

A dialogue session was held in the newly-added CHR Drop-In Centre to gain further insights into the various programmes of the school as well as the various departmental initiatives.

school VIsIT by Zonal DIrecTor schools norTh 26th Feb 2013

TSLN • TLLM • SEL • CCAS • PRAY AND WORK • TSLN • TLLM • SEL • CCAS • PRAY AND WORK • TSLN • TLLM • SEL • CCAS • PRAY AND WORK • TSLN • TLLM •

2013 ushers in the next phase of our development as we begin the adventure of moving from being good to great.

We had completed our Back to Basics Series (2009-2012). Staff, students, parents, SMC, Alumni and other well-wishers with the support of MOE, have worked and prayed hard, walking many extra miles. As a result, we are blessed with bountiful harvests in many aspects of our CHR AOP Curriculum.

greeTIngs chrIans & FrIenDs! Now we shall commence to examining and tweaking what has been done so as to enable us to deepen and expand our school experience. Character development and Citizenship Education remains the backbone of our Curriculum.

May God continue to lead and guide our CHR team in moulding the future of Singapore. Amen.

Mrs yeo chin namPrincipal

neWs!CHR, an OEP Niche. DSA exercise begins in May 2013!

bb Melbourne TrIP (5th-12nd Jan 2013)

The Summer School programme was held at Macleod College, Victoria, Melbourne. It was organised by ‘The Australian Pipe Bands Association and the people involved were either bagpipers, snare drummers, tenor drummers or base drummers from the different pipe bands in Australia. The keynote tutors of this exchange programme were, Richard Parkes, the Pipe major, who is a bagpiper and drum sergeant, and Keith Orr, the snare drummer of the Field Marshall Montgomery Pipe Band in Scotland.

We would like to gain exposure to the pipe bands in Australia, pick up good practices from them to

SEL • CCAS • PRAY AND WORK • TSLN • TLLM • SEL • CCAS • PRAY AND WORK • TSLN • TLLM • SEL • CCAS • PRAY AND WORK • CCAS • PRAY AND WORK • TSLN

brush up on our bag piping, snare drumming and tenor drumming skills. During the programme, we were assigned to classes based on our standard and abilities. We had to practise for long hours with short breaks between the lessons.

Jeremy chang cheng Phooi, 3e5

gunung beluMuT (17th Mar-19th Mar 2013)6 teachers, 31 students, including one ex-student, went on a 3D2N trip to Gunung Belumut. This trip not only provides students with an opportunity to experience the thrill and rigour of climbing, widen their educational and social experiences but also helped them to understand the importance of teamwork.

“Students had scratches from thorns of the leaves as they climbed. The climb from the top to check point 3 was treacherous, a 90 degree slope which required students’ full focus and team work. Many students considered the climb a success at both team and personal level. Most of all, they demonstrated perseverance and care in the climb.”

Miss Puah Mui Kiang, ST, Outdoor Education We had the privilege of visiting Neerja Mordi School in Jaipur, North India, last October. After the introduction of the school, we were invited to interact with the students in their classes. Their classrooms were sparsely equipped with wooden chairs and tables. We participated in the Nischay Project and were shocked to learn that the students had to sit on the floor to attend classes. We had an interactive time teaching them origami and balloon sculpting. They paid attention and were eager to learn from us. We had a great and fulfilling time teaching them. As we were leaving, we passed them a bag of stationary hoping that this would help them in their education.

*Nischay Project is started by Neeja Mordi School to provide education to girls below the poverty line. Presently, there are 500 students in the institute.

Mohd Haziq 3E5, Christine Chong 2E3, Rachel Teh 2N7, Valone Siau 1N6

XIaMen TrIP (14th-22nd NOV 2012)

InDIa TrIP (18th -24th OCT 2012)

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Malacca TrIP (7th-9th NOV 2012)

28 students, together with 3 teachers and 6 NCDCC officers, went on a learning journey to Malacca. This was also a reward trip for students who performed well. They visited the Malacca Civil Defence Headquarters to learn about their daily operations and had the rare opportunity of seeing demonstrations of how the officers catch a snake. They even picked up practical life-saving skills. They went on various other learning journeys to the museums, Heritage sites and even managed to squeeze in some time to visit Legoland.

23 students, together with 5 Chinese Language Teachers, went on an exchange programme at Guo Guang High School in Xiamen, PRC.

This outdoor programme was also integrated with the academic subjects of English, Mother Tongue, Humanities, Mathematics as well as Science.

As Performing Acts is one of our strengths, it is a wonderful opportunity for our new Sec 1 students to start their first year in school by being actively involved in such a vibrant performing arts event. This opportunity allows them to derive a wide range of enriching experiences through their learning process in their involvement in the parade. Students are nurtured to be actively involved, disciplined, and conscientious. They also develop the ability to have good personal, social and time-management.

chIngay ParaDe 2013 (22nd & 23rd Feb 2013)

As part of the Christ Church Secondary School Curriculum for Sec

1 students, the entire cohort participated in Chingay Parade 2013. This is in line with the school’s thrust of providing our students a holistic education and equipping them with 21st century skills to service the nation and the world.

Together with People’s Association Youth Movement (PAYM), our students formed an 800-strong continent to put up ‘Fire In The Snow’ opening number for Chingay Parade 2013.

This iconic event gave both students and staff the opportunity to work hand in hand to contribute to the larger community.

earTh hour (Values In acTIon) 2013

earth hour at north West

Graced by grassroots advisor Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan and member of Parliament for Nee Soon GRC, CHR had been awarded the GOLD award for the Green Living Awards and received the award during the Earth Hour 2013 event at Nee Soon CC on 23 March.

A total of about 520 students participated in the Earth Hour 2013 organised by North West Community Development Council (NWCDC) on 16th March 2013 from 9am to 12pm. They visited about 8700 households in Nee Soon East and took on the role of educators to pass on knowledge of energy

efficiency to the residents. They also played the role of ambassadors by distributing stickers and flyers to encourage residents to sign up for the Reduce @ North West Energy Audit Programme.

Our Boys Brigadiers also put up a bagpipes performance held in Nee Soon East CC in support of Earth Hour 2013.


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chInese neW year 2013

On Friday, 8th of February, our school welcomed the Year of the Snake by organising a variety of activities to hype up the festive mood for Chinese New Year. The

various classes were involved in hamper-making, mask-making as well as mascot-making competitions.

The elderly from NWCDC were also invited to our school to enjoy performances by our students as well as participate in the games specially organised for them. The Secondary four and five students worked together with their teachers to make this day a memorable one for them by creating goodie bags as gifts for them, serving them food and playing games with them. Our visitors also received red packets!

sec 2 class caMP


Despite the hard work involved, our students were gratified by the happy faces they saw.

“Seeing the elderly smile, it was very heart-warming.” Francis Ang (4E5)

“The smiles from the elderly made me feel our efforts are worthwhile.” Leung Jingyi (4E5)

“I think my class and I benefited from this activity because everyone had a part to play and we learnt to be responsible in doing our

job well.” Nadiah (4T8)

“The activity has improved the bonding among our friends as we shared ideas and got to know one

another better.” Faesah (4T8)

champion sec 1 Mascot Fashion runway 1e1cny Prize Winners

champion sec 3 Mascot Fashion

runway 3n6 Champion Sec 2 Creative Hamper Design 2E4

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In the first term of this year, all Secondary 2 students attended a 2D1N class camp programme. Through the various activities such as abseiling, hiking, outdoor cooking, tent-pitching, Sports Climbing Course as well as Challenge Rope Course, students gained more perseverance, social awareness, greater self-awareness as well as relationship management skills when they had to work in teams.

The camp had helped me to know how to handle my emotions better and good teamwork.

chan shu huI, 2e2

The lesson on climbing taught me to persevere and never give up no matter how hard the process might be.

SNG SU EN GRACE, S2E4

This camp made me realise that I can actually endure hardships and persevere in spite of difficulties. I am really grateful that doing the hike had enabled me to discover my own strengths.

CHUA SI YUNN, CELESTE, 2E4

chInese DeParTMenT DraMa PrograMMe

Teaching at CHR has provided me with numerous ideas and teaching competencies that I will be able to implement back in Australia. I was also extremely privileged to work side by side with Ms Tay, experiencing new teaching methods and styles that have greatly enhanced my own teaching skills.. The slight language barrier and large class sizes were challenging but learning to use effective instruction and demonstration helped me enhance my class management skills.

Overall, teaching at CHR was the experience of a lifetime. The main highlight was interacting and building rapport with the amazing students at CHR as well as having the pleasure to work with the entire PE department. It has provided me with invaluable teaching experiences that have helped to develop my teaching competencies immensely.

I look forward to being placed in any teaching situation as I now have the confidence in my teaching abilities to face any new challenges.

A big thank you to all the staff and students at CHR, and especially the PE department for giving us an experience we will never forget.

Mr ryan Penberthy

During my teaching experience in CHR, I have learnt that use of hands-on demonstrations to teach my students were more effective than solely relying on verbal explanations. Building a great rapport with all the Physical Education staff, especially the always smiling Mr Azman, I began to feel as if I was one of them.

Seeing the strong emphasis CHR has placed on outdoor programmes and fitness in

students has inspired me to focus on this aspect in future teaching placements. It has motivated me to develop students physically and to equip them with the knowledge, skills and attitudes to pursue an active and healthy lifestyle.

I am excited at the prospect of teaching again and I feel the skills I have learnt and developed in CHR will benefit me tremendously in my future teaching placements. A most enjoyable, challenging, and educational experience, my time in CHR is something that I will never forget.

Miss Rachel Irwin


rMIT Teachers (21st Jan - 8th Feb 2013)

For the second year running, the Chinese Department organised a series of enriching activities for the students. Since Term 1, all Secondary One Chinese students went through a module of 5 Chinese Drama lessons to equip them to be more confident speakers. Not only that, it helped to stimulate their interest in the subject.

Professional drama instructors from The Theatre Practice, a local drama production company, were engaged by the school to conduct these lessons. Having worked with them a second time, their professionalism was wonderful and the students loved the way they engaged them. They looked forward to attending their drama lessons every Friday. At the end of the course, they would showcase their own production which would constitute part of their formal CL assessment.

Miss lee han, cl Teacher

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ParenTs’ WorkshoPs choIr eXchange (14th Mar)


neW school FacIlITIes

sec 1 algeTools WorkshoP (2nd Mar)

In the revised 2013 Maths curriculum, the freely available Algetool software will be used as a tool to teach numeracy and algebra to the Sec One students. This software was developed by the Maths curriculum Branch of MOE and many resources including this software are accessible to all students and parents at the MOE edumall website. As the concept of negative integers and Algebra are topics that students find most difficult to understand, this software was developed to help address this issue. CHR has leveraged on this software to conduct a workshop for parents who are interested.

Thanks to the generous donations from staff, chaplaincy, parents and friends, our new Drop-In Centre will be officially opened on 21st April. Here’s a peek at the new facilities!

The fully carpeted Drop-in Centre is spacious and inviting with a lounge for students to relax in, bond with friends or read the various books and magazines. There is a stage for students to hold their own performances as seen in a mini concert held on 15th March. Newly conceptualised Media Resource Library

This local choir exchange programme with 9 other secondary schools serves as a platform for students to perform in front of a live audience, widen their appreciation for choral music as well as to increase their exposure to the different repertoires of music. This was part of their preparation for the SYF Choir. There were around 500 student participants in this exchange and approximately 100 parents who came to support their children.

banD eXchange (9th March)This musical exchange with 5 other secondary school bands in preparation for SYF Band enables our students to gain more exposure to other bands from other schools as well as to hone their skills in performing before a huge audience.

‘This is a very good channel that helps parents to guide their kids to study easily by different tools. Thank you for the effort!’

Parent of lai Zheng De, 1e3

‘Your explanation on the necessary transition from model problems to AlgeBar is very informative and it allows me to understand the needs behind it.’ Parent of Isaac Pua, 1e5

‘Teachers, you have done lots of good work. I really like what I see and hope to see more of these activities and updates. As a working mother, I still like to participate as much as I can. Thank you very much!’

Parent of brendan leck Ming hong, 1e3

ParenTs’ FeeDback

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Note: AlgeBar is an application in Algetools software developed by MOE Singapore and Learning Science Lab

achIeVeMenTs


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2 cadets (Gordon Ng 3E4 and Nur Azra 3E5) were selected by NCDCC HQ to go to Hong Kong for an exchange programme from 25th-30th December 2012. Azra shares her experiences.

These five days had been very meaningful for me. The first three days spent at the campsite were very enjoyable. We had the opportunity to go hiking with the CAS (Civil Aid Service) cadets. I really love their enthusiasm. We also managed to visit the Government Flying Service, Fire Services Department and CAS headquarters to learn more about what they do.

The most unforgettable moment was visiting the elderly home. It was my first time visiting an elderly home and seeing their smiles really touches my heart. I enjoyed this trip a lot and hope to share the knowledge I had gained with my juniors back in Singapore. I would like to thank all my Sirs and Madams for making this trip enjoyable and successful!

nur azra 3e5

National Champion at National Street Soccer League (9th Dec 2012)

naTIonal aWarDs

Syed Muzamil 3E1, Shaqiel 3N7, Danish Haiqel 3E1, Muhd Armi 2E5, Harith Shazwan 2N6

boys’ brigadeGold for JM Frazer Award (7th consecutive year)

Girls’ BrigadeGold for Company Award

InFocoMM club

InTernaTIonal aWarDs

5 of our Infocomm Club (ICC) members from Sec 2 and Sec 3 were sent to participate in Kid Witness News (KWN) programme. It is a hands-on-video education programme established by Panasonic and has reached more than 120 cities worldwide. This programme spanned more than 3 months from storyboard writing to finally video editing.

Their project entitled “Plastic Tsunami”, reports the amount of plastic bottles consumed by a school in a month. In September, their team together with the help of the entire ICC went around the school everyday to collect plastic bottles from all recycling bins and clean them for filming. At the end of the month, they managed to collect approximately 14,000 bottles.

Willy Lau 4E1, Amir Khan 4E1, Loh Jia Jun 4E2, Jedrek Lim 3E3, Koh Jun Kai 3E1 , coached by Mr Elken Lee, became one of the top contenders for these nominations:

• The KWN Top News Production Award• The Spotlight Award’• The Journalist of Tomorrow Award (Willy Lau)

Top 5 in Panasonic “Kids Witness News”

Top News Productivity Award

boys brigade Pipes & Drums Festival (1st Dec 2012)

choirHigh Silver Award in International Arts Festival @ Genting Highlands (Secondary Schools Category)

ncDcc hk oeP (25th - 30th Dec 2012)

school aWarDs• Sustaining Toilets as Restrooms

(STAR) awards-Gold• NWCDC Green Living Awards-Gold

2nd in Drum Soloist Competition (Keith Pang, 4E4)Pipe Band New Comer Award

Football

sTaFF uPDaTes We warmly welcome our new staff ! eXcellence In PublIc serVIce aWarD

nIe TraIness (25th Feb-10th May) WeDDIng bells


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Mr chan sau choy Desmond,Mathematics & CPA

Mr ang Jiunn Jye Joseph,Mathematics & Chemistry

Mr roger leong, new OE coordinator

back row: Mr Tan Zhuo guan, Mr Musa shukor, Mr Firdaus yasinFront Row (left to right): Miss Isabella Tay, Miss Nicolette Ng, Miss HayatiMiss liyana, Miss Hafizah

My experience teaching in Christ Church Secondary has been an interesting journey. I would like to thank 1E3, 1E5, 3E2, 3E3, 3E4, 3E5 for being such a delight, and to the amazing teachers, Ms Ashreena, Ms Anya, Mr Roy, Mr Sng, and Mdm Betty Koh, who continue to provide us with the support and guidance to excel further.

Mr Musa

I would like to express my gratitude towards Christ Church Secondary School for being a gracious host during my practicum stint. The school has widened my horizon and rewritten my definition of a holistic education with its plethora of outdoor activities and beneficial student centric programmes such as the ‘One student, One mountain, One Country’ school promise.

I would like to specially thank my cooperating teachers, Mrs Ram Naidu and Ms Lesley Leong for their guidance and their valuable advice. They were willing to share their experiences and teaching strategies to aid me in my journey to become a competent teacher. I also enjoyed teaching 1N7, 3E3, 4E5 which are really fantastic classes!

Mr Firdaus

We thank and bid farewell to the following staffMr Zhang ruiyuan—returned to chinaMdm Brenda Woon Lea Lan—retiredMs Nurul Ayn Bte Abdul Razak—transferred to Nan Chiau HighMiss Janette Tham Voon Mee—returned to Malaysia

Ms ng hui ling with her groom 2 June 2012

Mr Iwan with his bride

20 Oct 2012

Ms nathania chan with her groom 24 Nov 2012

Ms ashreena with her groom 10 March 2013

chronicles - christ church secondary school · the camp had helped me to know how to handle my...

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