FAITH HOPE CHARITY

2ND EDITION, 2014

A Parent’s Guideto Secondary One

Dear Parents,

A very warm welcome to Damai Secondary School!

Having your child move to Secondary 1 is probably as exciting for you, as it is for your child. After all, his or her transition from Primary 6 to Secondary 1 is a milestone event for the entire family as everyone gets involved in helping the child adjust to secondary school life.

Over the next four or five years that your child will spend with us here at Damai, we hope to provide him or her with a conducive and safe environment in which each student will be valued and nurtured to be a committed, competent and compassionate leader.

To facilitate in that mission, it is important for both the family unit and the school to work together and to support the child through this possibly stressful transition.

It is my hope that this simple Parent’s Guide to Secondary One will provide you with an understanding of what your child could be experiencing during this time of change, as well as what you may do to help your child make a successful transition to the new environment that is Damai Secondary School.

Once again, I welcome you!

Message from the School CounsellorInside the Parent’s Guide:

Transitioning to Sec School

2

What Can Parents Do to Help?

4

Contact Numbers 7

Ms Teresa ThiaFull Time School Counsellor

Damai Secondary School

PAGE 2

The Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishdefines the word ‘transition’ as: when something changes from one form or state to another.

In this context, school transition can be understood as a period of change in your child and your family, as your child moves from primary to secondary school.

Along with this move to Secondary 1, your child might find himself or

herself facing some of the following factors of change:

New friends and roles

Academic changes and expectations

Puberty and adolescence

This transition is akin to the ‘big fish in small pond, to small fish in big pond’ phenomenon. When your child was in Primary 6, he/she was the senior to be looked up to, probably with a mastery of the subjects learnt, in

an environment that was highly familiar by that sixth year. Now, your child is a newly minted Secondary 1 student in a brand new environment yet to be explored, and friends yet to have been made.

Adjusting well to these factors of change has a positive impact on the child’s self esteem, and can help with academic motivation during the demanding years of a secondary school education.

Transition? What is it?

questions a typical Sec. 1 student might be seeking answers to as they reinvent themselves through the image they choose to portray, as well as the people they choose to be with.

As a guide, if you are aware that your child sometimes faces challenges in befriending peers, encouraging full participation in class activities and

As the excitement (and perhaps awkwardness for the more reserved among us) of the Orientation Programme comes to a close, your child will probably find himself or herself thinking this:

“Who should I be friends with? What should I choose as my CCA? Should I volunteer for…? What if people don’t like me? Will I be able to cope?”

These are just samples of

subsequently in their co-curricular activities, will allow your child ample time to explore and forge healthy friendships with peers of similar interests.

New Friends and New Roles

Transitioning to Secondary School

PAGE 7

4800 Bedok Reservoir RoadSingapore 479229Phone: 64436848 Fax: 64425629 E-mail: damai_ss@moe.edu.sg

Vision

Learning in Damai Today, Growing to be Leaders of Tomorrow

Mission Statement

We nurture our students to be committed, competent and compassionate leaders.

Core Values

Full Commitment Our Pride

Aspirations and Achievement Our Pursuit

Integrity Our Foundation

Teamwork Our Focus

High Expectations Our Passion

Damai Secondary School

Useful Contact Numbers

No. Name of Person/

Organisation

Area of Support Contact Details

1. Damai Secondary School General enquiries and/or feedback about your child may be referred to the Form Teacher(s) or Sub-ject Teachers.

Tel: 6443 6848

Email: damai_ss@moe.edu.sg

www.damaisec.moe.edu.sg/

2. Ms Teresa Thia (Full Time School Counsellor)

Mrs Tan Wei Yin (Part Time School Counsellor)

Individual counselling support and guidance to students for various ar-eas of concern or chal-lenges.

Tel: 6443 6848 (Ext. 122, and Ext. 311)Emails:thia_hwei_ming_teresa@moe.edu.sgweiyinl@ymail.com

3. Child Guidance Clinic Students with emotional and behavioural problems

Tel: 64353878

4. Samaritans of Singapore (SOS)

For youth facing prob-lems

Email Befriending Service

Tel: 1800-2214444

pat@samaritans.org.sg

5. Bully Free Campaign (by Singapore Children’s Soci-ety)

Resources on bullying, and how to help those involved.

Tel: 6276 5077

http://www.bullyfreecampaign.sg/

PAGE 6

Having an optimistic outlook is a key strategy towards overcoming anxieties and sustaining motivation for a smoother school transition.

Whether or not Damai Secondary School is your child’s first choice school, believe that every school is a good school! When you model this positivity and confidence in the school, you help inspire the same confidence in your child. This in turn, improves your child’s learning experience and adds value to his/her

years spent here.

Invite your child to write the answers to this reflection and goal-setting exercise after the first week of school:

1) What are 3 things I enjoy about being in DMS?

2) What are 2 things I am unsure about in DMS? What can I do about it?

3) What is the 1 thing I hope to achieve by the end of this school year?

Keep your child’s answers and read them with your child again at the end of 2014! What has changed? Has your child’s personal goal been met?

Model Positivity

Dear Parent,

If you have read this Parent’s Guide all the way through, we hope you have found portions of it useful. We encourage you to try out the strategies suggested in supporting your child in this period of transition.

Please do not hesitate to get in touch with your child’s teachers should you wish to provide feedback on your child, or to get feedback from them. Our teachers may be reached through the school’s main telephone number as listed in page 7 of this guide.

Similarly, should you wish to highlight any specific socio-emotional, behavioural, or learning difficulties encountered by your child so that the school may render the appropriate support, you may reach me through the contact details provided on page 7 as well. The information shared will be handled with sensitivity.

Once again, I extend a warm welcome to you and your child into the Damai family!

Best wishes, Ms Teresa Thia Full Time School Counsellor

Thank You, and Welcome!

PAGE 3

Your child might seem moody for no apparent reason. Your child might also appear more self-centered than before, and may even constantly be picking an argument.

Your child might begin to speak up more as he/she develops his/her own ideologies or perceptions of events (that they at this age would believe to be always correct). Yet, on the other end of the spectrum, it is also possible that your child begin to withdraw from previously familiar persons and activities as he/she explores the new environment introspectively.

Every child has a uniquely

different experience going through puberty and the adolescent years, but one thing is for sure, this period will be one that is challenging to both yourself, and to your child!

In addition to handling the stresses of being in a new social environment and a new set of academic expectations, your child is also facing the challenges of entering and managing puberty in the adolescent years.

Get ready!

As your child enters adolescence, you may find your child behaving differently from what you have become used to.

Puberty and Adolescence

From studying four subjects in primary school, your child will have to adjust to an increased workload of up to nine subjects in secondary school.

In addition, the introduction of new subjects such as Literature, Geography, and coursework subjects such as Design & Technology, and Food &

Nutrition might be slightly daunting at the beginning as your child learns to grasp and master them.

As our teachers engage your child intellectually and seek to develop them holistically in and out of the classroom setting, your child might find the faster academic pace and greater overall expectations of students in secondary school to be vastly different from his or her experience in primary school.

Academic Changes and Expectations

PAGE 4

Transitions such as moving up to Secondary 1 can and will assert and influence your child’s attitudes, confidence, and performance socially, emotionally, and academically.

And as seen in the previous sections, this period can be a stressful one as your child finds his/her way around this brand new environment.

You might then ask, “what can I do to help my child during this transition?”

Here at Damai, we value working closely with you to facilitate a smooth transition of your child into secondary school life.

Through your provision of strong family support that the child can count on, we believe that the child

will better be able to maneuver the uncertainties faced in this stage of life.

This section aims to provide strategies that you can use to help your child settle well into school life.

Helping Your Child Settle Well into School Life

matters, as well as time carved out to be spent on recreational activities with the family. If your child had such a structure that was already in place in primary school, try making adjustments to that existing schedule to reflect secondary school life now.

Children with poor transition experiences tend to:

Experience bullying

Worry about their ability to perform to par

Ensuring stability at home in this time of many changes can help your child remain grounded in some structure while adjusting to school.

As your child is not only adjusting to different academic expectations but is also juggling the new social roles and relationships forged, your child could benefit from your help in structuring his/her use of time.

A practical suggestion would be to put in place structured blocks of time to be spent on academic

Worry about having new and difference teachers for subjects

Worry about whether they can make friends

Working closely with the school to monitor and support the child if you observe any such anxieties will allow your child to receive timely and needed support and care.

Strong Support and Stable Structures

What Can Parents Do to Help?

PAGE 5

he/she navigates secondary school life.

Likewise, building good relationships with your child’s teachers will allow you to better support your child in the four or five years spent at Damai as feedback may be

readily shared between the home and the school.

This point applies to all of us!

To successfully adjust during any transition, it is crucial to have a good share of healthy friendships. Friendships are important in helping your child cope better as

Build Good Relationships and Networks

We all need time to adjust to changes in our lives. This is no different for your child.

Allow your child sufficient time to settle in to school. Each person takes a different length of time before feeling comfortable in a new environment. How much time do you think your child would need? Ask him/her to

share with you.

It is also important to let your child know that you are available should he/

Giving Time and Making Time

functioning abilities, or is more severe than usual, it is important to provide your child with the needed support and care.

Some manifestations of school-related anxiety are:

Refusal to come to school

Headaches or

stomachaches (without physiological cause)

Low self-esteem

Poor concentration

If you are concerned that your child is exhibiting signs of excessive anxiety, you may wish to highlight this to the Form Teacher or to the School Counsellors.

Anxiety is a normal healthy reaction that happens to everyone in worrying situations (such as in a school transition) or in times of perceived danger.

Moderate amounts of anxiety can actually help improve performance. However, when anxiety inhibits your child’s daily

Be Alert

she need someone to turn to.

Remember to make time to sit down and listen to what your child has to share. This could be done at the dinner table where each person takes a turn to share about his day.

Alternatively, if talking does seem uncomfortable or unnatural at first, why not play a sport together?