National Cadet Corps: Forging Steel

by Miss Jean Tan

Clad in green, the young cadets of East Spring’s Secondary National Cadet Corps (NCC) stood smartly in rows, poised for the march ahead of them.

It was NCC Day on 1 July 2010, and the NCC cadets led the flag-raising ceremony with such gravitas and honour, followed by an oath to adhere by NCC’s principles and stand up for the country. The degree of respect with which the cadets regarded the ceremony was impressive, though hardly surprising since the value of respect permeates everything that NCC undertakes: “In all you do, remember that Respect, Responsibility, and Resilience are key components in shaping your character,” Mr Eric Koh, Commanding Officer, read out in the NCC Day Message that morning. “This includes your commitment to weekly training, arms drills, attending camps and courses.”

In the message, Mr Koh iterated that the mission of NCC was to forge steel within every cadet. A number of improvements made to the operations and running of NCC were also highlighted, from the imminent launch of NCC Portal to the centralized organization of camps, which offsets the administrative workload of NCC teachers. Students are also given ample opportunities to go abroad for overseas immersion trips as well as participate in camps that build character, leadership and initiative.

In the message, Mr Koh iterated that the mission of NCC was to forge steel within every cadet. A number of improvements made to the operations and running of NCC were also highlighted, from the imminent launch of NCC Portal to the centralized organization of camps, which offsets the administrative workload of NCC teachers. Students are also given ample opportunities to go abroad for overseas immersion trips as well as participate in camps that build character, leadership and initiative.

Finally, Mr Koh presented Muhammad Zulhilmi of 4E3 with the Best Cadet Award for his large contribution to the school unit and to NCC while in East Spring. Our heartiest congratulations go out to Zulhilmi, who has done himself and NCC proud. May you be a role model for many other cadets to look up to and follow!

Suzhou-Singapore Twinning School Exchange Programme

Suzhou-Singapore Twinning School Exchange Programme
by Miss Cheong Mei Xi

During the June holidays this year, our school participated in an exchange programme with East Spring’s twinning school in Suzhou, China – Jing Fan Middle School. The accompanying teachers in charge of this programme were Mrs Jalil, Mdm Liu Liping, Mr Ng Teo Heng and Miss Chen Shuying. Together, they brought a total of 32 students with them on the 1-week trip, where the students were divided into their various groups to encourage teamwork. Besides many cultural visits that were arranged for our school students like visits to the Panmen City Gate, The Master of the Nets Garden and many more, our students were also undertaking a meaningful mission on this trip – the bilateral    exchange programme.

As part of the international exchange programme between East Spring Secondary School and Jing Fan Middle School, the students involved this time in the twinning project will be completing a project titled “A Bilingual Handbook on Popular Culture”. This project will be completed within a time frame of two years, involving both face-to-face and long-distance discussions. Let us wish these students and ambassadors of our school all the best in their inter-country endeavour!

Below are the reflections on their experience written by Tan Jinyang and Peh Hui Hui, both from 3E5: -
Jinyang feels that active learning can take place at any time, “throughout our daily lives and regardless of where we are. For example, sightseeing also involves learning and acquiring knowledge that we can never get to experience in our textbooks.”
Hui Hui enjoyed the many cultural visits as well, especially the World Expo, and mentioned that “the trip to Suzhou/Shanghai was an eye-opener. I managed to make friends from Jing Fan Middle School and still keep in contact with them. I learnt a lot of history and cultural facts about the school and the places of visit we went to.”

Breakfast with Teachers - Semester 1, 2010

Breakfast with Teachers
by Miss Jean Tan

Cakes, curry puffs, pies, fruits, and MacDonald's breakfast sets.

The morning of 27 May 2010 at East Spring Secondary was greeted with students and teachers carrying bag-fulls of good food and other delightful treats. The school community gathered excitedly in their respective classes for their once-a-semester classroom feast – Breakfast with Teachers!

Teachers relished the extra opportunity to interact with students, whilst students had fun trading words and laughter over breakfast. Miss Ng Bee Hong, form teacher of 1E1, was one of the teachers who ordered MacDonald's for her students. The pupils tucked delightfully into a customized menu of Big Breakfast, snacks and bean curd, while listening to the teacher’s feedback over the past semester and words of motivation for the next.

“I think it is a great opportunity for us, teachers, to sit down and have a meal together with the class.” Miss Ng wrote, in an email interview. “Most of the time we are always so formal in class and there are few opportunities for us to have a heart to heart talk with our students; play games together; getting to know more about their secrets and them getting to know more about our life besides teaching.”

Students likewise were thrilled to have this time to interact with their teachers in a casual setting. When interviewed, Muhammad Nazri and Syed Faiz from 3N2 both concurred that it was a “great way to bond with the teachers”.

After a hearty meal, students of all classes swapped their meal trays for buckets and cloth and began cleaning up their classrooms in united effort. Pupils scrubbed and swept, determined to make their classrooms a pretty picture to leave for the school holidays. In doing so, they wrap up a whole semester of lessons and time together, and pave the way for a new term ahead.

Green is the New Black

Green is the new Black!
by Miss Jean Tan

Recently, our Sec 3 – 5 students have embarked on ‘green’ projects to save the earth a little at a time. All classes chose, from a list of activities, to clear our beaches and parks of litter – and many of them came back thinking more deeply about environmental issues.

“I felt very happy that I could do something for the environment,” Aloysius Wong from 3E5 professed. “I realized that we shouldn’t litter because it ruins the park’s beauty.”

Students returned from their projects, feeling proud of what they’ve done and excited that they’ve made new friends along the way. Many proudly posted their pictures up on the Facebook ‘ESSS Environmental Education’ group page, boasting subtly of the memories, friendships and environmental awareness they have acquired in eCIP.

However, some students professed that if given another opportunity, they would embark on other projects instead, such as the collecting of newspapers. “It will be more meaningful as the beach is already very clean,” commented Tan Jia Wei, also from 3E5.

Here at East Spring Secondary, ‘going green’ has become a part of our curriculum as students are involved in an array of environment-related activities in the school. Classes are tasked to ‘adopt’ a plant, Environment Ambassadors play card games to learn more about the earth and preserving it, and correction tapes are collected regularly as part of our recycling efforts. Environment-related CIP (eCIP) is only one of the many ‘green’ initiatives promoted by and in the school.

At the rate which the earth’s resources are being depleted and environmental mishaps are occurring – oil spills from the Pacific to our nearby shores of Changi, for example – the future of Gaia seems bleak. If we shrug an indifferent shoulder to what is happening now, who’s going to clean up our mess in future?

Green is the new Black. Kudos to all Sec 3 – 5 students who have made tremendous effort and achievement in their eCIP projects. Let’s continue to keep the green going!

Parent-Teacher Dialogue
by Miss Cheong Mei Xi

After the successful run of our parent-teacher dialogue held earlier this year in March, we were glad that the parent-teacher dialogue for the Secondary One and Three students held recently in May was just as successful. Parents of especially the newly-matriculated Secondary Ones were most reassured to have this time with their children’s form teachers as this was a good opportunity to find out how their children have been faring in school.

Our programme arranged on 29 May this year was eventful indeed as there was a slew of activity that day. In addition to the parent-teacher dialogue between parents and their children’s form teachers held that morning, there were also informative talks arranged for the parents of our Secondary Two cohort that day. These talks included a sexuality awareness workshop held for parents by the Health Promotion Board, with the purpose of helping all parents in becoming more equipped to handle any arising issues or answer any questions their maturing children might start to ask. Another talk that was held that day was one regarding the various subject combinations offered to our Secondary Twos – this is so as to ensure that when the time comes for our students to make the important decision at the end of this year, they can include their parents and work together with them to make the most informed choice possible.

This event would have definitely not been possible without the help of the planning committee, as well as all the Prefects and student leaders at hand that day to offer their services. Let’s continue to work closely with all parents so as to provide the best learning environment for all students!