In Touch – 2019 Term 3 1 of 21

Zhonghua Primary School – 5 July 2019

Principal’s Address Dear Parents and Guardians

Hope this Term 3 In-Touch Newsletter finds you well. Important school information is included in our termly In-Touch which comes out at the beginning of every term, to help parents be informed of school progress and activities and to allow you to plan for complementary support for your children at home.

Many parents would also know by now that one of the fastest ways for our school to communicate important school information to you at various points in the term is via the Parents Gateway (PG) App (available on both App Store and Google Play). Through PG, the school can inform parents of key events involving your children including remedials, exams & learning journeys, alert you on school holidays so you can plan for care arrangement for your children and also provide resources from MOE on Cyber Wellness and Wellbeing of children. Parents, too, can use the App to make travel declaration for school holidays and to update the school on changes in pupils’ particulars eg contact telephone number and email address.

With such a plethora of functions, one would assume that parents would be very quick to get on board PG. To our dismay, however, our data shows that only 60% of ZPS parents are currently on board PG. With more functions to be rolled out by the school in Term 3 (please see our segment on PG on page 2 ), our fear is that some parents would be left uninformed if they do not come on board PG soon. Thus, please allow me to make another appeal to all parents to come on board PG asap. From term 3 2019, we will be cutting down on making announcements using hardcopy and moving away from using SMS blasts . For classes using Class Dojo, our teachers will also stop using that platform and will start using PG to communicate with parents.

PG is just one more Innovation that has come to our school in quick succession. We are happy to share that apart from PG, we are continually innovating the way we do things at Zhonghua to make learning more joyful and efficient for our pupils. Our Innovation efforts range from how we teach curricular content, to how we get our pupils to use ICT to respond to questions, use Design Thinking to address challenges and how we build leadership and character through outdoor and environmental education. At ZPS, we do not shy away from Innovation and in bringing Joy of Learning. After all, it is aligned to the Mission that we, the staff have pledged…”To Ignite Passion for Learning and to Nurture Strength of Character” for all our children. We look forward to working closely with all parents in accomplishing this important mission.

Regards,

Mdm Rostinah Bte Mohamad Said (Principal)

In Touch – 2019 Term 3 2 of 21

Administration Information for Parents

Revised Selection Criteria for Edusave Merit Bursary (P1, P2) and Edusave Good Progress Award (P2, P3)

All weighted assessments for P1 and P2 pupils will be removed from 2019 to free up more time for teachers to engage pupils in learning. MOE has also revised the academic criteria for Edusave Merit Bursary (EMB) and Edusave Good Progress Award (GPA) at the lower primary levels. Instead of selecting pupils based on academic results, form teachers will now nominate pupils based on key learning dispositions and corresponding actions as well as good conduct that they observe. ZPS has determined the learning dispositions, actions and good conduct for which our P1 and P2 pupils will be observed and nominated by their form teachers for EMB. These dispositions, action and conduct will be in line with our school vision and values. The EMB criteria for all other levels remain unchanged. All P2 and P3 Singaporean pupils who do not qualify for the Edusave Merit Bursary (EMB) can be nominated for the Edusave Good Progress Award (GPA) if they show the greatest improvement in learning dispositions in the course of the year and demonstrated good conduct. The learning dispositions and corresponding actions, by which form teachers will use to gauge a student’s improvement for GPA nomination will be the same as the learning dispositions for EMB. The revised criteria for GPA will take effect from 2019 for P2 GPA and from 2020 for P3 GPA. The 2019 P3 GPA will be awarded based on the original criteria, i.e. pupils within the top 10% of the P3 level in terms of improvement in academic performance. This improvement is based on a comparison between the 2018 P2 overall results and 2019 P3 overall results. The GPA criteria for all other levels remain unchanged too.

Parents Gateway

MOE has enhanced Parents Gateway (PG) to support better administrative efficiency. Our school would be implementing the following functionalities on PG:

Travel Declaration – This feature allows parents to declare travel plans for their children attending different schools conveniently via the PG mobile app. Our school has removed the old form for parents to update travel plans on our school website. We encourage parents to use PG instead to declare travel plans with immediate effect.

Update Particulars/Contact Details – Parents are able to update their own contact information (mobile numbers, residential numbers, other contact numbers as well as email addresses) via the PG app.

In Touch – 2019 Term 3 3 of 21

Consent – From Term 3, parents can give consent for your child’s activities anytime and anywhere. In this way, parents can keep track of upcoming activities for multiple children. We will thus not print hardcopies for consent forms moving forward.

Please note that in the interim period, some identified caregivers will still receive hardcopies (notifications letters/consent forms) until MOE’s PG Team is able to work towards a solution for them to access PG. From Term 4 onwards, we will cease printing and issuing hardcopy notification letters by the school (including Level Letters, Departmental letters, letters from form teachers/CCA teachers and travel declaration forms for P1 parents) in tandem with our school’s Learning for Life Programme (LLP) in Environmental Education and also to encourage greater use of PG.

Publicity: School Open Day on 10 July & 11 July 2019

Zhonghua Primary School will be opening our school gates for a school tour, Eco-garden outdoor experience as well as sharing on pupils’ learning experiences. If you have a child registering for P1 2020, you are most welcome to attend.

Date: Wed 10 July 2019 and Thur 11 July 2019 Time: Either of the slots 8.45 am to 9.45 am or 11.45 am to 12.45 pm

Interested parents may register via the school website or click on the link below. Registration link: https://tinyurl.com/ZPSOD2019 Each time slot is opened for 20 pairs of parents/guardians. Do sign up quickly in order not to miss this opportunity! Do help us spread the news to friends and family too.

P1 Registration for 2020 Intake – Phases and Dates

Phase 2019

Phase 1 Registration 3 Jul 2019 (Wed)

4 Jul 2019 (Thu)

All children registered under this phase will be

given places in schools

Phase 2A(1) Registration

Phase 2A(1) Results Announcement

9 Jul 2019 (Tue)

12 Jul 2019 (Fri)

Phase 2A(2) Registration

Phase 2A(2) Results Announcement

15 Jul 2019 (Mon)

16 Jul 2019 (Tue)

19 Jul 2019 (Fri)

Phase 2B Registration

Phase 2B Results Announcement

22 Jul 2019 (Mon)

23 Jul 2019 (Tue)

26 Jul 2019 (Fri)

Phase 2C Registration

Phase 2C Results Announcement

P1-IS Online Registration

From 29 Jul 2019 (Mon), 9.00am

to 31 Jul 2019 (Wed), 4.30pm

Registration at school

In Touch – 2019 Term 3 4 of 21

30 Jul 2019 (Tue)

31 Jul 2019 (Wed)

1 Aug 2019 (Thu)

7 Aug 2019 (Wed)

Phase 2C Supplementary Registration

Phase 2C Supplementary Results

Announcement

P1-IS Online Registration

From 12 Aug 2019 (Mon), 9.00am

to 13 Aug 2019 (Tue), 4.30pm

Registration at school

13 Aug 2019 (Tue)

14 Aug 2019 (Wed)

21 Aug 2019 (Wed)

Online Indication of Interest for non-

Singapore Citizen (SC) / non-

Permanent Resident (PR) children

Phase 3 Registration (only for non-SC

/ non-PR children who have indicated

their interest in Jun 2019 and are

informed by MOE in October 2019

that they can be offered a P1 place)

Phase 3 Results Announcement

From 4 Jun 2019 (Tue), 9.00am to 10 Jun 2019

(Mon), 4.30pm

In Oct 2019

By 31 Oct 2019 (Thu)

The dates and time and requirements for internet registration as well as information on P1-IS is available on the Primary One registration website at https://www.moe.gov.sg/admissions/primary-one-registration

Parking Reminder for Parents fetching their children after school

For the safety of our children, parents, guardians and members of the public are advised not to park and wait along the double continuous yellow lines just outside the school gate. Such actions not only pose a danger to our students using the school gates but risk obstructing school buses passing through when drivers try to make 3 point turn after fetching their Children/ ward. Our security officers will be reminding drivers to park at nearby public car parks instead. Your cooperation to ensure road safety for our pupils is much appreciated.

A) ST1: Fostering the Joy of Learning and Entrepreneurial Dare

Applied Learning Programme (ALP): Thinknovate@ZPS

During the first Semester, our pupils from P1 to P3 were provided with purposeful opportunities for real-life application of learning. The pupils were given real-world problems and they worked in collaborative teams to ideate and construct their solution prototypes based on a set of given criteria. We named this school-wide programme, “Thinknovate”. This is our school Applied Learning Programme which aims to develop critical thinking and collaborative competencies in our pupils as well as promote joy of learning. Our P4 to P6 pupils will also have the opportunity to apply the knowledge they learned in the classrooms to their Thinknovate projects scheduled in Term 3 and 4.

In Touch – 2019 Term 3 5 of 21

In addition, we launched our Termly Inaugural Thinknovate Challenge in Term 2, where pupils were invited to build a model based on the design challenge and criteria provided. Pupils used the Lego bricks and Strawbees available in the Makerspace room to construct their prototypes.

Term 2 Learning Journeys

This is the second year we are implementing the Common Day Outdoor Leaning Journeys (LJs) for the various levels. Pupils acquired an integrated learning of science, environmental education, leadership, outdoor education and character development via these activities. At the end of the LJ, pupils reflected on how the activities have helped them to learn more about the outdoors as well as to become better learners, thinkers and leaders.

Term 1 – 15 March 2019

Term 2 – 5 April 2019

Primary 1 - West Coast Park Playground

Primary 2 -

Gardens By The Bay (Children’s Playground & Sun Pavilion)

Primary 3 Singapore Zoological Gardens

Bedok Reservoir Park (Forest Adventure)

Primary 4 Onsight Climbing Gym

-

Primary 5 Our Tampines Hub

-

Primary 6 - Sentosa (S.E.A. Aquarium)

Trip for International Experience (TIE) – Suzhou, China

A group of 19 pupils flew thousands of miles to Suzhou, China for an overseas immersion programme in May. The pupils, accompanied by 6 teachers and our Vice-Principal, Mrs Tan Siew Leng, were hosted by Suzhou’s Xing Yang Primary School. This trip created a platform for our pupils to work towards the vision of being - A Learner, A Thinker, A Leader. They learned about Chinese culture and gained a deeper understanding of the education system in Suzhou. Our pupils exchanged ideas and worked to complete assigned tasks with their Suzhou counterparts. The highlight of the trip was a Physical Education sharing session led by our teacher, Mr Tang Qi Sheng together with our pupils shared a lesson on self-directed PE formative assessment for the Xing Yang Primary students.

In Touch – 2019 Term 3 6 of 21

The trip has helped to broaden the minds and perspectives of our pupils towards development and progress happening in Suzhou, China.

P1 Fun with Mathematics on 28 May 2019

This event aims to create more awareness among our pupils that Mathematics is all around us. It focused on 3 topics, namely, Numbers to 100, Shapes and Length. Using the objects and structures at our School Concourse, the pupils applied concepts and skills learned from the three topics above to various fun and challenging activities. From the enthusiastic chatter and active participation, it was obvious the pupils enjoyed learning Mathematics in this fun way.

P3 Fun with Mathematics on 26 April 2019

P3 pupils enjoyed a learning activity at a supermarket where they applied concepts and skills learnt on the topic of Money. In teams, they worked within the budget given to purchase the items needed to make fruit salad. They compared the prices from various brands, selected the product of best value, and calculated the total price and the change given. They challenged one another to be the team that spent the least amount of money on all the stipulated ingredients. The following day, the pupils made a fruit salad using the ingredients bought and learnt about healthy eating habits. Through this activity, the pupils had great fun applying mathematical concepts in real-world context.

P4 Mathematics Games Day on 4 March 2019

This event aimed to: • develop pupils’ positive attitude towards Mathematics • explore various applications of Mathematics in game play • promote collaborative learning through fun and challenging activities The Primary 4 pupils found joy in learning Mathematics through application of the mathematical concepts and skills at the various game stations that were set up for them.

ICT Our P3 pupils learned coding using the Lego WeDo 2.0 robotic kit in Term 2. Coding develops higher order thinking skills like pattern recognition, algorithm and decomposition where complex problem is broken down into simpler parts. Our P3 pupils also learned how to use Microsoft PowerPoint as a tool to present their Thinknovate Projects. In Term 3, Primary 4 pupils will be provided with block programming and presentation skills training too. To support Self-directed Learning, our school has installed 12 new Open Access iPAD Tablet Kiosks in common areas in front of the General Office. With this Open Access Kiosks, pupils are encouraged to access learning content in the Singapore Student Learning Space and Educational Apps at their own time and space.

In Touch – 2019 Term 3 7 of 21

MTL: Reading Ambassador Program (P1 – P3 Extensive Reading Program)

As part of the school’s effort to promote reading, the CL department conducted training in Term 2 for P1 to P3 pupils nominated to be Reading Ambassadors. The pupils learned how to promote a series of storybooks from the school library. They learnt presentation skills and the importance of being effective and proactive presenters. At the end of the programme, they were able to promote storybooks confidently to their peers.

Recognition for Pupils’ Participation

Inter School National Scrabble Competition 2019

For the Individual event, the following pupil obtained the Merit Award. Dwayne Low Yee Kiat. For the Team Event, the following pupils received the Runners-Up Medals: Felicia Haerine Darmawan (Team Captain) Lin Jia Xuan Lim Xuan Hui Lee Cong Yun Yasmin Heyu

Junior Orators 2019

In this competition, participants were required to speak on a variety of topics. The following pupils passed the first round: Lai Jared Amar – He also progressed to the Semi-Finals. Cheah Jia En Martin Ng Jun Jie

POSB-NLB Kids’ Lit Quiz 2019

This is an international literature competition where pupils pit their wits against one another to answer questions on children’s books ranging from classics to comics. The following pupils were selected to represent our school:

Loh Wan Ning)

Jerlynn Yau Kai En) Sek En Zher, Josh

Jeremiah Chern Xiang

Santino Dev Joseph Xavier

Liew Qi Xuan Xanthus

Goh Jun Boon Louis

Tepase Alexis Ingrid Deguangco

Goh Jun Hong Bryan

Scholastic Read and Write Challenge 2019

In this challenge, participants were required to write an original story using the theme of the sample text. The following pupil won 3rd prize in this challenge. Zhang Zhiyan

Reflecting on Nature: On-The-Spot Poetry Competition 2019

For this competition, aspiring poets were given the task of writing on the theme of nature on the spot, given some prompts. Our pupil was among the top 8 and earned a certificate of merit for this competition. Dwayne Low Yee Kiat

In Touch – 2019 Term 3 8 of 21

Singapore-Asia Pacific Mathematical Olympiad For Primary Schools 2019

The Asia Pacific Mathematical Olympiad for Primary Schools (APMOPS), organised by Hwa Chong Institution, is an annual event that sets out to generate greater interest in Mathematics among pupils in primary schools and sharpening their problem-solving skills. Our pupil won the Silver Award. Yi Yangna

Raffles Institution Primary Mathematics World Contest 2019

Three Primary 6 pupils took part in the Raffles Institution Primary Mathematics World Contest 2019. The objective of this competition is to instill love for Mathematics among pupils in primary schools and hone their problem-solving skills. We applaud their diligence and resilience.

Name of participants Award Li Jiayi High Distinction

Yi Yangna Distinction

B) ST2: Strengthening the Singapore Spirit Environmental Education (LLP)

Commemoration of Singapore World Water Day (SWWD) & Earth Hour

From 25 to 29 March, the PEAK Club members organised Upcycling activities to commemorate SWWD and Earth Hour. These activities were held during recess time, where pupils found themselves engaged in turning recycled materials into useful day-to-day items like pen holders and wallets. Pupils were seen beaming with pride with their newly upcycled items. By providing these opportunities for our pupils, the school hopes that the notion of showing care and responsibility to our environment can be embedded in them.

Assembly Talk on Singapore Botanic Gardens: Our Heritage

On 21 May 2019, the school invited speakers from NParks who shared about an important landmark in Singapore – the Singapore Botanic Gardens. During the sharing, our pupils were led on a journey of discovery of Singapore’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site, with highlights on the rich heritage and history of the gardens.

Physical Education / CCA / Outdoor Education

Sports Carnival Day

Zhonghua Primary held our Sports Carnival Day on Thursday, 18 April, at the Serangoon Stadium this year. The Primary 1 and 2 pupils participated in 2 obstacle courses, while the Primary 3 to Primary 6 pupils took part in various relay events, with the P4 to P6 pupils taking part in an additional field event of Throwball.

In Touch – 2019 Term 3 9 of 21

All pupils were very enthusiastic and did their best in completing their challenges and events, such as crawling through tunnels and climbing over a 4-tier vault box, or completing the relay race despite dropping the baton. All of them showed the school value of resilience and completed their events with pride. Our Parent Volunteers did a fantastic job at the stadium as well. They set up the obstacles courses and playing areas as well as ensured the pupils went through the courses safely. They cheered and encouraged pupils to do their best. There was so much zest on the field that even the hot sun did not affect their spirits.

Pupil Leadership

P3 Leadership Training

Held concurrently with the Outdoor Learning Experience on 4 April 2019, the P3 Pupil Leadership Training aims to develop in pupils the basic understanding of what leadership is. The P3 pupils went through games and activities which were designed to help them develop the qualities and skills to lead self. They were also trained in Basic Design Thinking for them to cultivate the spirit of entrepreneurial dare. In groups, pupils designed Values mascots to promote school values to the P1 pupils.

Character and Citizenship Education (CCE)

Integration

Programme 2019

The P3 and P4 Integration Programme 2019 is an inaugural event held on 12 April, to encourage pupils from different nationalities to form friendships and learn about the cultures and social norms from each other. It was an eye-opening programme for the pupils as they shared their cultural practices with each other and realised that some of the cultures are similar or have been adopted in Singapore. At the end of the event, pupils did not only gain new knowledge, their circle of friends grew too!

International Friendship Day 2019

Our school commemorated International Friendship Day (IFD) on 12 April 2019. The theme for this year was “Connected Communities”. Activities were designed to help pupils to understand and experience different traditions and cultures of people living in our neighbouring countries (ASEAN) as well as actively deepening our relationship with them. Recess activities were organised for pupils to work with friends to comprehend the importance of togetherness and friendship with people from different backgrounds. CCE lesson packages with the aim of raising awareness of ASEAN communities were carried out to add to the joy of learning.

In Touch – 2019 Term 3 10 of 21

Student Wellbeing

P6 Motivation Talk

by Principal

In gearing our Primary 6 pupils for the PSLE, our Principal, Mdm

Rostinah, spoke to the cohort after their recent SA1

examinations. The focus of the talk was to motivate the pupils to

continue to put their best efforts in actualizing their potential.

Mdm Rostinah led the pupils to reflect on their prior effort and

performance. She then asked them to visualize how their future

educational paths would be if they started working with sharper

focus and more intentional effort. She urged the students to

press on and strive towards their goals as Diligence Brings

Success. Some pupils were also commended for displaying

school values such as resilience and discipline in working

towards achieving their goals. This talk is another example of

what we do at Zhonghua to celebrate effort and not just grades.

Level Engagement

by Year Heads and

Assistant Year

Heads

The Year Heads and Assistant Year Heads overseeing the

respective levels actively engage the pupils during the after-

recess Level Engagement. The Heads intentionally build in

affirmation moments to encourage the display of positive

behavior, weave in teachable moments to demonstrate care and

concerns, and include time to clarify level and school

expectations.

Promoting

Positive TSR

through Circle

Time

In our bid to promote positive teacher-student relationships, we

piloted Circle Time with the Primary 2 and Primary 4 pupils.

Conducted during FTGP lessons, the use of Circle Time allows

teachers to interact with more pupils while giving them another

platform (apart from 1-to-1 teacher pupil dialogue) to share their

concerns and views. Circle Time will be rolled out the other levels

in Term 3 and 4.

Strengthening

Student Resilience

and Well-Being

through PSR

To ensure that our pupils thrive in a caring and enabling

environment we embarked on the journey of strengthening Peer

Support Relationship (PSR). We have started to equip pupils

with basic Peer Support Relationship skills such as help-giving

and help-seeking. This is facilitated by the Year Heads during

scheduled morning Pre-assembly sessions. In Term 3, Student

Peer Supporters will be appointed and be equipped with skills to

better support their peers.

In Touch – 2019 Term 3 11 of 21

Recognition for Pupils

Model Pupils of the Month

The school is proud to celebrate the achievement of pupils who have shown exemplary behaviour and positive attitude in the months of March and April. Model Pupils of the Month of March

Primary 1 Primary 2 Primary 3

Sara Zlhanna Dia Marsha Kazira Gurung Aimee Liu Hanqing Deepsina Shahi Gan Nicole

Eddlynn Adlina Syazeera Hangsoo Limbu Vaibhav Rai

Goh Hui Ting Yao Yuxuan Sulaksha Pun

Primary 4 Primary 5 Primary 6

Feyvien Kee Cheah Jia En Adena Lim Shri Joey Adly Rizky

Mingraktham Jomkwan Gagan Suresh Kashyap Amberlyn Moh Lwin Thuya Naing Caiden Khoo

Aarav Navin Kurup Arielle Kristen Mak Brendan Quek Ayush Thapa Balal Damien Tan Alastair Teo Nur Quraisyah

Model Pupil for the Month of April

Primary 1 Primary 2 Primary 3

Chua Yu Jie Justin Toh Soniya Iyer Karthikeyan Muhammad Ryan Srinath Meera Nevaan Tamang

Siti Nur'atiqah Takeuchi Lana Lasang Hang Subba Tayamee Rai

Ethan Aditya Dsouza Muhammad Daniel Mendoza Denitis

Primary 4 Primary 5 Primary 6

Ace Wong Koh Yue Jia Jas Tang Ziyun Mohammad Danial Sameer Budha Magar

Subramanian Abiraman Ryan Zachary Toh Subhasri Lam Kar Ee Nor Haizurah

Shreya Rai Wang Yi-Syun A Sheriff Deen Iskandar Danneth Neo Charlotte Seah Putri Mayang Sari

Media Resource Library Top Borrower of the Month

We would like to congratulate the following pupils for being the top borrower of books from our MRL from the month of March to May. Top Borrower for the Month of March

Primary 1 Primary 2 Primary 3

Lee Han Sheng Cayden Low Zhe Rui, Ian Parineeta Sidhu

Primary 4 Primary 5 Primary 6

Aldric Neo Le Jun Alvin Mok Min Hua Mahi Arya

In Touch – 2019 Term 3 12 of 21

Top Borrower for the Month of April

Primary 1 Primary 2 Primary 3

Chng Shu Qing Loh Rui Ying Saif Baig Amin

Primary 4 Primary 5 Primary 6

Teo Jia Dong Liu Xunyao Huang Mingjuan

Top Borrower for the Month of May

Primary 1 Primary 2 Primary 3

Lee Han Sheng Cayden Khusab Phagami Parineeta Sidhu

Primary 4 Primary 5 Primary 6

Aldric Neo Le Jun Xu Erchen Wong Kok Wei

2019 National Inter-Primary School Volleyball Championship

The 3 teams (Junior Girls, Junior Boys and Senior Girls) fought hard during the Zonal Volleyball Championship to gain themselves a spot in the National Championship. Their Championship journey, however, ended after they lost 2 out of 3 matches. Nevertheless, the valuable experience will certainly help them in building resilience and discipline. Senior Girls (11)

1 Dolor Ana Camille Pagdanganan

2 Dolor Ana Gabriella Pagdanganan

3 Mettu Deepal Reddy (Captain)

4 Shreya Rai

5 Arielle Kristen Mak

6 Koh Ying Hui, Bernice

7 Trinh Evhanna Cristel Suy Man (Vice Captain)

8 Kim Wong

9 Purnima Pun

10 Charlotte Seah Hui Yee

11 Leaow Si Yu Anriell

Junior Girls (12)

1 Gong Le Xuan

2 Kshinyen Thebe (Captain)

3 Riddhi Gurung (Vice Captain)

4 Iksana Gurung

5 Oh Shi En Pearlyn

6 Ong Cheng Yi Joyn

7 Rosy Pun

8 Anjila Thapa

9 Sejal Rai

10 Denise Budha

11 Tan Xin Yi

12 Zeena Salami

Junior Boys (12)

1 Dwayne Low Yee Kiat (Liu Yijie)

2 Ea Quan Zhou

3 Jairus Sim (Shen Qi'an) (Vice Captain)

4 Geethanraj Jayachandran (Captain)

5 Kyler Cheng Jia Jie (Zeng Jiajie)

6 Ryan Zachary Toh Ren Xian

In Touch – 2019 Term 3 13 of 21

7 Shaun Chia Rui Xuan (Xie Ruixuan)

8 Bishal Thapa

9 Chew Anzhe

10 Pranav Rai

11 Wong Jia Jun

12 Zak Ong Wee Fong (Wang Weifeng)

Scouts - Frank Cooper Sands Award

ZPS secured the annual Frank Cooper Sands Award Gold Award for the 7th consecutive year. This is a yearly award given to units which have performed well for the year 2018. The Scouts also took part in the North Area Cooking Competition which was held on 13 April 2019 at Chongfu Primary School. One team secured the Gold award, while the other two teams won the Silver award and Bronze award respectively. The participants are as follows: -

1 Tan Qian Han

2 Ng Shi Hui

3 Tepase Alexis Ingrid Deguangco

4 Chang Ying-Chen

5 Aldric Neo Le Jun

6 Teo Jia Dong (Zhang Jiadong)

7 Tan Wen Kai Ethan

8 Jaidern Ravindran

9 Kilat Kencana

10 Aesya

11 Thangalakshmi

12 Anna Susan

Two teams participated in the Cub Scout Mind Quiz, which was held on 9 March 2019 at Raffles Instituion. Team 1 secured the Silver award and Team 2 the Bronze award. The participants as follows: - TEAM 1

Advait Chidambaram

Tepase Alexis Ingrid Deguangco

Chang Ying-Chen

TEAM 2

Tan Qian Han

Shah Yug Ankurbhai

Ng Shi Hui

Art – Singapore Youth Festival

This year marks our Art Club's continued participation in the Bi-Annual Singapore Youth Festival (Aesthetics). Every year our students continue to improve and inspire their younger predecessors to also work towards excellence. Congratulations! One out of three of our Art pieces - from the Middle Primary section have been selected for the on-site exhibition at the National Museum of Singapore 6-21 July 2019

In Touch – 2019 Term 3 14 of 21

Our pupils who participated in the SYF are: Cat A (P2)

Name

Eddlynn Adlina Binte Iriadi

Karnizhk Malla

Wong Wei Sheng

Yew Jack

Cat B (P3 & 4)

Name

Annabelle Ng Jun Yan

Hazel Koh Jiaxin

Haziq Qusyairi Bin Mohamed Faizal

Javin Eu Sum Weng

Kara Yeap Bo-Yee

Mohamad Huzaimi Bin Iriadi

Savanah Rai

Shi Xiao Yi

Tang Ziyun

Cat C (P5&6)

Name

Geesal Gurung

Khadijah Binte Mohamed Musthafah

Lim Yu

Neewasa Mehbhak Limbu

Ninamma Bantawa Rai

Rochell Rai

Wong Xin Yu

Wang Xinxin

Ye Weixuan

Junior Sports Academy (JSA) Trial Selection

Our pupils went for the JSA Trial Selection on 16 March. 4 of our nominees were selected to join the JSA Programme starting July 2019. Ethan Yap Md Danial bin Md Fadli Md Izzuddin Sejal Rai

In Touch – 2019 Term 3 15 of 21

C) ST3: Valuing Staff Innovation and Engagement Staff Learning and Development

MOE Teachers Conference and Excel Fest

The MOE Teachers Conference and Excel Fest was held on 27 and 29 May 2019 with the focus ‘Maximising Learning: Engage. Collaborate. Innovate.’ 30 teachers attended the conference and all teachers visited the Excel fest. The teachers learnt more about designing holistic education emphasising on the intentional development of core values, social-emotional competencies and emerging 21st century competencies. Pedagogies that are innovative and effective in fostering the joy of learning were also shared at the conference. The teachers are encouraged to share their learning as well as adapt and adopt good practices learnt from the conference.

Learning Study Project

The Maths Project Team designed and implemented a research lesson using the Variation Theory on the Primary 5 topic: Area of Triangles. Through the patterns of variation, teachers helped students to discern the critical aspects of identifying the base and the corresponding height of triangles. After implementing the research lesson, teachers continued to evaluate and improve the lesson, to enhance the teaching and learning in the classroom. The project yielded good outcomes There was a significant increase in the number of students who were proficient in identifying the base and the corresponding height of triangles after the study. The team shared their project at the Academy of Singapore Teachers on 23 May 2019 and will be sharing in an upcoming Learning Study Symposium on 21 August 2019. This project is facilitated by Master teacher, Ms Teh Wan. Team members are: Ms Liang Lifang, Mrs Chan Hong Wei, Mr Chong Swee Phan and Mr Lee Cher Kiak

SLS Challenge

We are proud to share that a team of English Language teachers led by our HOD/English Language and HOD/ICT had completed the inaugural Singapore Student Learning Space (SLS) Design Challenge. In this design challenge, the teachers worked together to design a lesson package for our pupils to develop self-directed competencies in learning spelling by adopting a scalable strategy. For the new round of SLS Design Challenge in 2019, our team of CL teachers are working on a lesson on P2 Sentence Writing.. The Team aims to make use of a customised Interactive PowerPoint cum other tools in the SLS to engage pupils in learning, promote SDL through AFL, and at the same time, allow pupils to learn at their own pace and to apply their learning. Team Members are HOD MTL Mdm Ng Hwee Gek and Chinese Language teachers Mdm Liu Yusi and Ms Angelina Mok

In Touch – 2019 Term 3 16 of 21

Staff Health and Wellbeing

Staff Bonding Activity

The school organised a staff professional development cum bonding activity on 27 June 2019. The staff had a great time putting their thinking hats and collaborating together to solve a given set of problems. Besides building bonds, they got to improve their Design Thinking competencies in a practical manner and learned a new Maker’s skill using Strawbees. The experience allowed the staff to understand the importance of instilling growth mindset in our pupils.

Staff Recognition

Promotions 2019 We congratulate the following officers on their promotion to the next grade: Mdm Sze Kiat Geok Elisha Miss Sandra Wang Chai Lin Miss Chong Hui Min Constance Mr Lee Cher Kiak Miss Liu Yusi Mdm Rindaherlina Thamrin Ms Gladys Khoo

MOE Long Service Awards 2019

We acknowledge with sincere thanks the contribution of our officers who have been awarded the Long Service Award by MOE:- 5 Years: Ms Choo Meining Serene, Ms Tan Chai Hsien Gladys, Ms Tan Hui Lin, Mr Tang Qisheng 10 Years: Mr Loke Tuck Luen 15 Years: Mdm Mageswari Kanapathy, Mdm Radiah Md Yusofff, Mdm Suriana Bte Samat 20 Years: Mrs Wendy Ng 25 Years: Mrs Joyce Tan, Mr Goh Zensen 30 Years: Ms Sze Jiat Geok Elisha 35 Years: Mdm Norita Binte Ahmad

Confirmation as General Education Officers

We congratulate the following Beginning Teacher who has been confirmed into service: Miss Nurul Hafiqa Binte Osman

Appointment as Singapore Schools Coach

We congratulate the following staff who has been nominated as the Team Coach of the Singapore Schools Sepak-Takraw Team for the 11th ASEAN School Games (ASG) in Indonesia in July 2019: Mr Abdul Mutalib

Invitation to be Panel Member at Diploma in Special Education Post Practicum Briefing

Our AED LBS was awarded a Distinction from last year’s Practicum and was invited to be a Panel member at DISE Post Practicum Briefing to share her experiences during Practicum and how it may have served to prepare her for being an AED LBS for the past year in our school. Congratulations. Miss Gladys Khoo

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Participation in annual Teacher-musician performance, Friends in Concert (FIC) 2019

We congratulate the following teacher who will be participating in FIC 2019, a curated performance platform, which will encourage music teachers to continue developing their artistic practice. Miss Sandra Wang Chai Lin

Farewell to Outgoing Teachers

We put on record our heartfelt thanks for the contribution of the following staff who have left the school and wish them all the best for the future: - Mdm Valerie Chan (Pursuing other interest)

- Mrs Susie Lum (Pursuing other interest) - Ms Carrissa Tay (Pursuing further studies at NIE) - Miss Nur Diyanah Amani (Pursuing further studies at NIE)

Welcome to our New Staff

We warmly welcome the following staff who have joined ZPS this term and look forward to having them in Team Zhonghua: - Mr Oswald Lee

- Mr Tng Chin Meng - Mr Lim Boon Boo (Bob) - Mdm Teong Wook Choo (Joining ZPS wef 8 July 2019)

Congratulations and Best Wishes

We congratulate the following teacher on the arrival of her newborn baby: - Mdm Leong Shi Ern

We wish the following teacher all the best as he awaits the arrival of his newborn baby in Term 3: - Mr Tang Qisheng

D) ST4: Engaging and Collaborating with Partners in Education Partnership with Parents

Parent-Child-Teacher Conference 2019 on 31 May 2019

Our Parent-Child-Teacher Conference serves as a platform to allow parents/guardians to: - listen to their children’s account of their interest and progress; - learn more about the progress that their children/wards has been

making in school in both academic and non-academic areas; - discuss how they can work together with teachers to help pupils

perform at their best in school. We thank parents for the mostly positive and encouraging feedback we have received. Most parents felt that their child/ward was well prepared for the session and able to communicate his/her strengths and areas for improvement in his/her learning. For parents who were not able to meet the subject teachers on that day or who wish to have further discussions with the form teachers,

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we welcome you to make an appointment to meet the teachers on another day.

Mother-Child Bonding P1 – P6

In conjunction with Mother’s Day, pupils of ZPS had an opportunity to express their appreciation and love to their mothers through a cup painting activity on 11 May 2019. Both mother and child had a lot of fun bonding with each other during this Saturday activity, making gifts filled with love and care.

Triple P Seminar Series

On 11 and 18 May 2019, in collaboration with Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF), parents were invited to attend a series of parenting talks. These talks provided parents with some strategies on how they could build a better and healthier relationship with their growing-up children. Parents gained good insights and received pointers, which they could use as reference. Parents who had attended the first talk tried out the shared strategies with their children and came back on the second and third sessions to share their experience and the effectiveness of the strategies. Most of the parents expressed their gratitude for the usefulness of these talks.

Partnership with ZEST (Parent Vounteer Group)

School Events Supported by ZEST members in Term 2

Our ZEST members showed their enthusiasm in joining us and helping us to set up booths for pupils to have hands-on experiences as well as providing great support for our teachers in the following events:- 1) P1 Outdoor Learning Experience @ West Coast Park on 5 April

2019 2) P2 Outdoor Learning Experience @ Gardens By The Bay on 5

April 2019 3) International Friendship Day on 12 April 2019 4) Sports Carnival House Practices from 15 April 2019 – 17 April

2019 5) Sports Carnival Day on 18 April 2019 6) Hari Raya Recess Activities on 28 May 2019 Once again, a big thank you to our ZEST members who very willingly rendered their services voluntarily to enhance the learning of our pupils and to support our teachers.

P3 SwimSafer Programme

This programme will involve the P3 pupils in Term 3. Several ZEST members have already pledged their support to assist teachers in managing the pupils’ well-being. Thank you again ZEST members for your support. We also wish to take this opportunity to thank the ZEST members who are parents of pupils from other levels who will be helping in this P3 programme.

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Other School Events Requiring Parent Volunteer Assistance

We look forward to the assistance and support from ZEST members in the following school activities:

a) Open Day on 10 & 11 July 2019 b) ZArts Festival from 17 July to 18 July 2019

Parent Volunteers Bonding on 13 July 2019

There will be a bonding activity cum appreciation lunch for our ZEST members on 13 July from 9 am to 12 pm. This session aims to create a stronger and closer bond among the ZEST members through a series of fun activities. We will end the session with a feast of scrumptious food. We look forward to seeing all ZEST members on that day.

Partnership with Educational Partners & Community

Hangout @ ZPS

We have a new addition to our Play Space – Hangout @ ZPS. This is a place filled with games, activities, friends and laughter, a corner for heart-to-heart talks, which is open to pupils after school. Hangout@ ZPS is a collaboration project between ZPS and Bartley Community Care Services for peer bonding and relationship building. It is open every Monday and Thursday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. To promote ownership of this space among the students, members of the Art Club will be designing and painting a mural to spruce up the space. The staff involved in the management of the space are: Ms Ong Chui Hoon, Mdm Yasmeen, Ms Rozianah, and Ms Elisha Sze.

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Zhonghua Primary School - Calendar of Events

2019 Term 3

Date Description

Tue 2 Jul to Wed 3 Jul Class Photo-Taking

Thur 4 Jul Temperature Taking Exercise

Mon 8 Jul School Holiday – Youth Day

Wed - Thur 10 /11 Jul School Open Day

(More information is available on school website)

Mon 15 Jul to Thur 18 Jul ZARTS FEST 2019

Tue 16 Jul Racial Harmony Day Commemoration (Pupils are encouraged to come to school in various ethnic

costumes)

Sat 20 Jul P5 NE Show (All P5 pupils are expected to attend)

Tue 30 Jul to Wed 31 Jul P6 Prelim: English (Oral) Mother Tongue Language (Oral)

Thur 8 Aug National Day Celebration: 7.30 am to 9.30 am (Parents are cordially invited to join us for the celebration)

Fri 9 Aug Public Holiday – National Day

Mon 12 Aug Public Holiday – Hari Raya Haji

Thur 15 Aug to Fri 16 Aug PSLE: Oral Examination (Pri 1 to Pri 5 pupils need not attend school)

Fri 23 Aug P6 Prelim: English (LC) Mother Tongue Language (LC)

Mon 26 Aug P6 Prelim: English (Paper 1 & 2)

Tue 27 Aug P6 Prelim: Mathematics

Wed 28 Aug P6 Prelim: Mother Tongue Language (Paper 1 & 2)

Thur 29 Aug P6 Prelim: Science

Fri 30 Aug P6 Prelim: Higher Mother Tongue Language (Paper 1 & 2)

Thur 5 Sept Teachers’ Day Celebration

Fri 6 Sept School Holiday – Teachers’ Day

Mon 9 Sept to Fri 13 Sept Term 3 School Holidays

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Notes to Parents/Guardians: 1. The information given in the calendar is correct at the time of printing. Should there

be any changes to the dates above, a letter will be issued to inform parents of the changes.

2. Parents are kindly reminded not to take their children out of school during term time. This is to ensure that your children will benefit from the whole term programme that has been planned for them.

3. Should there be any CCA or remedial lessons and other school activities which are

carried out during the school holidays, parents will be informed of such arrangement in advance. The school will also ensure that pupils are given protected time to rest and enjoy the holidays with their families.