A publication of the Singapore Teachers' UnionTMCI (P) 075/01/2015

Term 2 / 2015

MDIS Study Grants p15

YSTU Beginning Teachers’ Forum p5

STU puts my career path back on track p4

REMEMBERING MR LEE KUAN YEW

p8

How to Join STU? The one-off entrance fee is S$25. For teachers who join within six months of their first posting from NIE, the one-off entrance fee is S$10. The monthly Union subscription is S$9. The one-off entrance fee and monthly subscription will be deducted from your salary upon your check-off authorisation. Please visit our website at www.stu.org.sg and download the application forms and send the completed forms to 583 Serangoon Road, Singapore 218197. For enquiries, please contact STU at 6299 3936.

We are the VOICE OF TEACHERS.We represent the collective opinions affecting your professional interest and the teaching profession.

We REPRESENT you in work-related issues.

We CONDUCT Professional Development Workshops and Forums.

Enjoy STU and NTUC BENEFITS – Passport to a whole array of rebates, discounts and privileges.

We provide SPONSORSHIPS for UniSIM programmes and STUDY GRANTS for MDIS courses.

The STRENGTH of a union lies in its membership numbers. Be a part of the union and we can strengthen the fraternity of Singapore teachers more effectively.

STU ADVISORSDr Vivian Balakrishnan Minister for The Environment and Water Resources

Mr Heng Chee HowDeputy Secretary-General, NTUC and Senior Minister of State, Prime Minister’s Office

STU TRUSTEESMr Neo Tick Watt @ Neo Teck WattMs Koh Ting TingMr Leow Peng KuiMr John Ho Cheow KuangMr Wong Heng Tong

STU CENTRAL COUNCIL 2013-2017Mr Mike Thiruman President

Mr Chacko Cherry Vice President

Mr Chew Fah San Billy Vice President

Ms Loh Lee Miang Ariel Vice President

Mr Lye Teck Hee Edwin General Secretary

Mr Chong Lo Han Eli Deputy General Secretary

Mr Chua Niam Pheng Lawrence Deputy General Secretary

Mr Paul Edward Osgodby Assistant General Secretary

Mrs Jenny Tan Assistant General Secretary

Ms Li Ching Tak Isabella Assistant General Secretary

Mr Huang I Lung General Treasurer

Mr Collin Keith Sebastian Assistant General Treasurer

CENTRAL COUNCIL MEMBERSMr Chew Tec Heng EdwinMr Lim Beng Hua Alan Ms Lim Poh Eng CatherineMr Monteiro Anthony EdwardMr Mohamed Salleh bin Md NoohMr Peh Teow Peng ElliotMs Tay Hwee Khim SerenaMr Tan Boon Hoe NigelMr Tay Swee Meng DavidMs Yeo Chien Ling JacquelinMr Li ZhihaoMs Halimah Marjubee

STU GENERAL AUDITORSMr Mohamed Jufri HamzahMr Ang Chun Poh Andy

STU DIRECTORYAddress 583 Serangoon Road Singapore 218197General Enquiries +65 6299 3936 (main line)General E-mail simty@stu.org.sgGeneral Fax +65 6294 7982 Website www.stu.org.sg

Unions, like all other organisations, have become increasingly dependent on Information Technologies. STU now has a comprehensive website and uses email for most of our communications. By adopting new technologies, STU hopes to send a strong message to our members and potential members that we intend to stick around and provide advice on members’ terms and conditions of service and assistance with work-related problems.

We have not been able to reach some of our members through email. If you have not been receiving our electronic newsletter, please send your particulars by emailing the following information to stu@stu.org.sg:

• Name • Email Address• NRIC Number • Contact numbers (Home and Mobile)• School attached to • New Home Address (if applicable)

Alternatively, you can go to our website (http://www.stu.org.sg) and do an update online.

Andrew SimIT Manager

PUBLISHED BY:Singapore Teachers’ Union583 Serangoon RoadSingapore 218197

Tel : +65 6299 3936Fax : +65 6294 7982 Web : www.stu.org.sg

CREATIVE PRODUCTION BY:Artnexus Design Pte Ltd61 Kaki Bukit Avenue 1, #03-33Singapore 417943

Tel : +65 6848 4355Web : www.artnexusdesign.com

ADVERTISEMENTMembership Department Ms Isabella Li

Tel : +65 6299 3936Email : lict@stu.org.sg

Industrial RelationsJagindar Singh ext. 29Sanjeev Kumar Tiwari ext. 24

MembershipIsabella Li ext. 14Membership Services ext. 12

Professional Development and Student Outreach (STaR)Thomas Low ext. 27Workshops/STaR ext. 23

FinanceJonathan Tan ext. 20Accounts Enquiries ext. 19

Corporate Services / AdministrationCarine Yip ext. 26

ITAndrew Sim ext. 50

For advertising enquiries, email Ms Isabella Li at lict@stu.org.sg

information

Message from the IT Department

I started sensing something amiss when I "graduated" from being a Beginning Teacher (BT) to start shouldering an equal number of responsibilities as my senior colleagues, while still remaining a GEO 1.1 officer.

It was in my 3rd year of being posted into my first school. Performance-wise, I was comparable to a colleague who finished NIE about the same time as me. And from what I understand, he had already been promoted.

Perturbed, I did some asking around and discovered that my promotion seemed overdue.

I spoke to my Reporting Officer (RO) to see if there was an issue with my performance, but he assured me that that was not the case. In fact, my RO's comments on my work review were good.

During my work review at the end of my 3rd year, when I pointed out to him that I was still a GEO 1.1 officer despite covering Level Head (LH) duties, he expressed puzzlement as well.

STU puts my career path back on track!

I inquired with my Principal as well but was told that "they were working on it" and to be patient. That was when I decided to approach STU for help.

I am very grateful that STU decided to take up my case after hearing the details.

The STU Industrial Relations Team highlighted my plight to MOE HR; and soon after my promotions caught up with my cohort.

So I can only take this to mean that STU had delivered on its promise to ensure that teachers (STU members) are treated fairly and equitably when there are unexplained situations in the system.

the mentor 4 INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS

YSTU Beginning Teachers’

Forum (BTF) 2015

Calling out to all Beginning Teachers

and/or those who are in their first few

years of service!The YSTU Beginning Teachers’ Forum 2015 has been

confirmed for;

Date: Saturday, 5th September 2015

Time: 9.00 am – 1.00 pm

Venue: Room 903 (Level 9), NTUC Centre, One Marina

Boulevard S (018989)

Cost: STU members – Free Non-STU members - $15/- (Including Breakfast)

Sign up for STU membership to enjoy waiver of fees.

The BTF forum provides useful tips to beginning teachers on

understanding the performance management process, clearing their

probation and the current developments within the teaching service. There

will be sharing from teachers on their experiences and their journey. The

forum includes sharing on industrial relations cases handled by STU.

The feedback from previous forums has been very positive and we strongly

encourage your participation for the upcoming session.

For more details on the forum, please contact Sanjeev

at sanjeev@stu.org.sg or call him at 6299 3936.

Term 2 5 BEGINNING TEACHERS’ FORUM

STU Professional Development Workshops (May – November 2015)

MONTH DAY/DATE/TIME WORKSHOP TITLE PRESENTER

MAY

Friday, 29 (9.00am-12.30pm)

Teaching English Literature in Secondary Schools: Response and Analysis

Dr Christopher Hamilton

Friday, 29(2.00pm-5.30pm)

Teaching the Different Genres: The Novel, Drama and Adolescent Literature

Dr Christopher Hamilton

JUNE

Tueday, 2 - Wednesday, 3 (10.00am-4.00pm) Photography Workshop (with practical session) Mr Joseph Tan

Wednesday, 3 (9.00am-4.30pm) Assessing Students for 21st Century Competencies Mr See Teck Meng

Thursday, 4 (2.00pm-5.00pm) Language Games: Everyone Learns and Wins Dr George Jacobs

JULY

Thursday, 2 (2.00pm-5.00pm) How To Be An Even More Student-Centered Teacher? Dr George Jacobs

Friday, 3 (9.00am-4.30pm) Advanced Training for Allied Educators Mr Charles Barton

Wednesday, 8 (2.00pm-5.00pm)

Deepen Mathematical Understanding Through Multiple Representations

Dr Wong Khoon Yoong

Thursday, 9 (2.00pm-5.00pm) Applying Positive Psychology to Teaching Dr George Jacobs

Monday, 13 - Tuesday, 14 (9.00am-4.30pm) Foundation of Solution Focused Coaching Ms Debbie Hogan

Thursday, 30 (2.00pm-5.00pm) Teaching Phonics and Word Attack Skills (Part 1) Dr Cheah Yin Mee

the mentor 6 STU PROFESSIONAL WORKSHOPS

Log on to www.stu.org.sg for more details of the workshops above.For more enquiries, please write to programmes@stu.org.sg or call 6299 3936.

MONTH DAY/DATE/TIME WORKSHOP TITLE PRESENTERAU

GUST

Thursday, 6 (2.00pm-5.00pm) Teaching Phonics and Word Attack Skills (Part 2) Dr Cheah Yin Mee

Friday, 14 (9.00am-4.30pm) Oral Skills Teaching Development Mr Charles Barton

Thursday, 20 (9.00am-4.30pm) Solution Focused Team Facilitation & Conflict Resolution Ms Debbie Hogan

Tuesday, 25 (2.00pm-5.00pm) Create Higher Order Mathematics Questions and Tasks Dr Wong Khoon

Yoong

SEPT

EMBE

R

Tuesday, 1 (2.00pm-5.00pm) Developing Effective Reading Strategies for Comprehension Dr Cheah Yin Mee

Thursday, 3 (2.00pm-5.00pm) Language Games: Everyone Learns and Wins Dr George Jacobs

Friday, 4 (2.00pm-5.00pm) Creative Writing Mr Charles Barton

Monday, 7 (9.00am-4.30pm) Advanced Training for Allied Educators Mr Charles Barton

Tuesady, 8 - Wednesday, 9 (10.00am-4.00pm) Advanced Photography Workshop (with practical session) Mr Joseph Tan

Thursday, 10 (9.00am-4.30pm) Assessing Students for 21st Century Competencies Mr See Teck Meng

Tuesday, 15 (2.00pm-5.00pm) A Compact Introduction to Action Research Dr Wong Khoon

Yoong

Tuesday, 22 (2.00pm-5.00pm) Developing Sentence Fluency Dr Cheah Yin Mee

NOV

Friday, 20 (9.00am-4.30pm) Strategies for Allied Educators to Implement in Classrooms Mr Charles Barton

Monday, 23 (9.00am-4.30pm) Conscious Classroom Management Mr Rick Smith

Wednesday, 25 - Thursday, 26 (9.00am-5.00pm) Rebels with Applause Mr Rick Smith

Term 2 7 STU PROFESSIONAL WORKSHOPS

REMEMBERING

MR LEE KUAN YEWMessage by Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew to mark STU's 26th Anniversary at Shangri-la Hotel on 5 November 1972

"The progress made in the field of education during the last few years symbolises the determination of our people through education to create a better society with more equal opportunities for all citizens.

But equally important are teachers with dedication and devotion to their pupils. I hope the Singapore Teachers’ Union will mobilise our teachers not just for wage claims, important though they may be, but also for better and more devoted teaching to make the best of our people so that they can give of their best."

"It is your responsibility as a union of teachers not only to find adequate material rewards and status for your members. I think this is necessary if we are to attract, recruit and retain people who can educate our young in a balanced and rounded way, and also instil into them that desire to work and to achieve. Unless we do this, we will slide downhill."

On the evening of 25 March, I had the privilege of being part of the Singapore National Trades Union Congress Vigil Group that held vigil for Mr Lee Kuan Yew.

Each Vigil Group, a group of 20 persons, took shifts of 30 minutes each together with the Uniformed Vigil Guards and kept a solemon watch as Mr Lee lay in state at the Parliment House as Singapore mourned.

I witnessed the grief and respect people had for Mr Lee as they filed past in an orderly manner and paid their last respect. His contributions have touched the lives of many.

At the end of my Vigil shift, I walked passed Mr Lee once more and bid a final farewell to him: "Thank you, Mr Lee for making Singapore a great place which I am proud to call my home. Good bye."

Edwin Lye General Secretary

the mentor 8 REMEMBERING MR LEE KUAN YEW

Mr Lee Kuan Yew, then Prime Minister, declared open the 23rd World Assembly of the WCOTP which the STU hosted in 1974.

Mr Lee’s address at World Confederation of Organisations of the Teaching Profession 23rd World Assembly, which the STU hosted at the Singapore Conference Hall on 31 July 1974

"Technological progress has improved the aids for teaching, sophisticated audio visual techniques, close-circuit television, and so on. But, however ingenious and useful teaching aids are, they are not able to displace the teacher-pupil relationship as the single most important factor to bring out the best in a student. Teachers are placed in moral charge of children in their most formative years. They mould the as yet unformed characters of their pupils, they help shape the attitudes and values of the next generation.”

"I think that the relationship between master and pupil cannot be categorised and cannot be commercialised. You can sit down with a boy for one hour and go through a lesson, or with a whole classroom of boys and go though the lesson and give nothing away -- no expenditure of nervous energy... And there are those who come and leave something behind. All the time it is an enormous amount of effort to give of yourself. How do we put this right?”

Speech by Mr Lee Kuan Yew at the opening of the 3rd Asian Teachers’ Seminar at the Singapore Conference Hall on 20 November 1966

"But, eventually, you come back to the principle digit: the man who sits in the classroom, the Form Master. If he is only thinking in terms of this as just a job, as a factory worker thinks of his work as just a job watching the bottles go by and the stoppers being put on each bottle, and he fills each boy’s mind the same way as the machines pour in mellifluous liquid into the bottles as they go by, then we have failed.”

In the wee hours of 23 March, I felt quite overcome by a sense of grief. My heart weighed so unbearably heavily on me as thoughts of losing our founding father filled my mind. After a very short sleep, I woke up to the news of his passing away. I felt the loss deeply. I also felt deep regrets. Regret that I had procrastinated writing to him personally to express my gratitude. Although I finally wrote to Mr Lee Kuan Yew a week before his passing away, through our PM Lee Hsien Loong, our founding father would already be too ill to read the mail. If only! If only I had expressed gratitude earlier! May I not be too late again to express gratitude to others, be it leaders, friends or loved ones.

I will always be inspired by his courage - courage to hold on to an audacious vision, to stand against all odds and to see through the fulfilment of his vision. He was busy, but not too busy to spend quality time with this wife.

I am also encouraged by his words:

"If I have to choose one profession in which you give the most for the least it is probably teaching - if you take it seriously. You have to have the temperament for it to coax, to stimulate, to cajole, to discipline a young mind into good habits. You must have an aptitude."

~ LKY 1966

Thank you for leaving a lasting legacy, Mr Lee.

Mrs Tay Ren Jee Renata STU DelegateMember of the STU Women's Committee

Term 2 9 REMEMBERING MR LEE KUAN YEW

Sharing Pedagogical Experiences with Teachers from Thailand (in Singapore, Monday 23 Friday - 27 March 2015)

A group of 30 senior high school teachers from Thailand, UNDER THE AEGIS OF THE ENGLISH INTEGRATED STUDIES ASSOCIATION OF THAILND, spent five days taking part in a programme specially designed for the teachers.

THE TEACHER-PARTICIPANTS

A view of the teacher-participants at the closing ceremony. The visitors at a secondary school in Singapore.

As someone who has lived through the pre-war and post-war struggles with the communists, the inter-communal strife and the economic fight for survival, the legacy of Lee Kuan Yew is the kind of life Singaporeans are enjoying and the kind of life our children and grandchildren will have.

The strengthening of the social fabrics and measures taken to enhance racial harmony and religious tolerance in Singapore has contributed greatly to the success of the ‘Singapore Story’. Social consciousness and economic developments are achieved through rational and practical policies and a corruption-free environment.

We Singaporeans are able to live in safety and harmony while reaping the rewards of Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s struggle to create a nation which can provide its citizens with the political, social and political environments which many other nations can only aspire to have.

Mr Andrew SimRetired teacher

Singapore and Singaporeans now stand tall in the world because we are standing on the shoulders of our dear founding Father Mr Lee Kuan Yew.

Let us honour his spirit by uniting as one people, and be the best what we can be at home, in school, in the workplace and in the world.

Mr David TaySTU CC memberChairperson of the Young STU Committee

the mentor 10 REMEMBERING MR LEE KUAN YEW / THAI WORKSHOP REPORT

On the whole, the feedback was highly positive. The teacher-participant felt that the time was well spent in the course which provided them with an insight into the strengths and the evolution of the Singapore school system.

In sharing Singapore’s experiences, the speakers in the programme focused on the strengths of the Singapore school system.

These two overriding principles have influenced the evolution of the Singapore school system in the last 15 years or so.

Thinking Schools, Learning Nation

Teach Less, Learn More

THE PROGRAMME

THE FEEDBACK

Some Comments from participants:

The schedule covered training sessions and a school visit and discussions with school principal and teachers.

PEDAGOGY• Teaching Maths in Singapore• Next Generation Science

Education: Curriculum, Instruction, Assessment and Emerging Technologies.

HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE• Use of computers in the

Singapore classroom• Communication in English

– stressing the proper use of English in speaking and writing.

TEACHER-STUDENT INTERACTION• Classroom management to

improve student learning• Cooperative learning• Student counseling• Ways of making the

assessment of student learning effective.

Feedback Profile of the Course

2 Fair

0

1 Weak

0

3 Average

1

16

4 Good

11

5 Very Good

A very good Workshop. Applicable to use in classroom. To use technology.

Excellent! I have opportunity to visit Singapore and progress and profit from learning English and teaching! Thanks so much.

This is a good program to share about education. I suggest: I want to visit a secondary school for more than 1 day.

I want to study in your school. The Thinking Curriculum is good. I want to visit many schools.

Term 2 11 THAI WORKSHOP REPORT

Left to right: Chen Chien Liang (SAJC), Jason Goh (Yangzheng Primary School),

Cheong Long Xin (Haig Girls School), Sylvia Lim (Admiralty Secondary School),

Jean Chia (Jurong West Primary School)

Arriving to ITE-East College, we only had one goal in mind – that is to enjoy ourselves and play our best. Having not played Netball for quite a while, I had my apprehensions about being able to score. But with a group of PE teachers in your team, the nerves went away as the team was very supportive and encouraging.

With a team of 5 teachers, we went all-out playing our very best, giving our opponents the fair respect that they deserved. And with this spirit of enjoying ourselves and putting our all, we got through to the finals.

The finals were played against seasoned veterans – and halfway through the game, it started to drizzle heavily. We persisted and were able to put in our shots and the boys with their long arms managed to intercept some of their passes. This put us in a lead of 8 – 2 when the final whistle blew.

It was a fantastic end to our Sunday – having fun competing with the other union teams and also clinching the championship title. We will definitely be back for the next Union game!

20% discount on total bill for dine-in a la carte menu with minimum spending of $50 in a single receipt15% discount on private event package with minimum spending of $1,200 upon presentation of membership card during payment.

Terms and Conditions :1) Promotion period is from 1 April to 31 August 2015.2) Not to be enjoyed in conjunction with other promotion, voucher or coupon3) The membership card is non transferrable.

East Manhattan Bakery Café19 Lorong Kilat #01-03 Singapore 598120Contact : 96394179

Basil Chicken QuinoaChocolate Hazelnut Tart

East Manhattan Bakery Cafe Promotion

www.eastmanhattan.net

Union Game – Mixed Netball 2015

12 the mentor MEMBERSHIP PROMOTION / STU NETBALL TEAM

NTUC GIFT Enhanced Benefits with effect from 1 May 2015

For more details of the NTUC Gift, please contact STU Membership Department at 6299 3936.

Good news! The benefits of the group insurance, NTUC Gift, which came together with your STU membership, has been enhanced to provide higher payout benefits of up to $40,000. Please refer to the table below for the enhanced benefits. All other terms and conditions remain unchanged.

This policy covers death and permanent & total disability of up to $40,000 and it covers members and their spouses up to 65 years of age.

For members, the enhanced benefits are as follows:-

Benefits<10 years

continuous membership

≥ 10 years continuous

membershipDeath/Total & Permanent Disability (TPD) due to natural causes or accident during working hours

$4,500 $6,000

$5,500 $7,500

Death/TPD due to accident outside working hours

$20,000 $30,000 $40,000

Death/TPD of member's spouse* due to all causes*age of spouse subject to same eligibility as member

$250 $500

$500 $1,000

Permanent & Partial Disability (PPD) due to accident outside working hours

$7,750 $10,000

$12,250 $20,000

Important notes:The higher payouts are applicable for death/permanent disability that occurred from 1 May 2015 onwards.This is for general information only and is not a contract. The precise terms, conditions and exclusion of the NTUC Gift policy are specified in the master policy contract issued to National Trades Union Congress (NTUC). This policy does not have any cash value. This policy is underwritten by NTUC INCOME.

13 Term 2 STU MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS

1 May 2015The Star Performing

Arts Centre

STU Members at the May Day Rally 2015

Teachers’ Day Golf Challenge 2015

The Teachers’ Day Golf Challenge is back again this year!Supported by the Singaopore Teachers’ Union, The Teachers’ Day Golf is a golf event organized by a group of education officers who are interested in playing golf with the aim of gathering like-minded friends celebrating Teachers’ Day with a game of golf.

One of the highlights of the competition was its informal and friendly atmosphere. Players of differing abilities come together to form a flight with their friends for reasons ranging from trying to win the competition to an opportunity to play and bond with their flight-mates.

For STU Members only: STU Prizes will be given to STU members (Top 5 Men and Top 5 Ladies) based on stableford points.

Date: 04 September 2015, FridayCourse: NSRCC KranjiTee Time: 1230 hours (T-time Start)Format: System 36 (Stableford)Closing Date of Entry: 31 July 2015

To register, please visit our website: www.stu.org.sg and download the registration form. Details of the event will be available in our website too.

the mentor 16 MAY DAY EVENT / TEACHERS’ DAY GOLF