TEAMBUILDING

July 2011 ISSUE

Principal’s MessageIn the last article, I shared my thoughts on reading and why we need to pass on the love for reading to our children. Communication skills are vital in this new age. As more children are busy spending time watching television, playing video games and on the computer, and as families become too busy to engage their children in effective conversations, it is imperative that we teach them to be effective communicators from young. The ability to communicate effectively is the prerequisite for the inculcation of good social skills and how the children can plug themselves in their new global environment. Studies have also shown that effective communicators do better in school, have a higher self-esteem and become more successful in life. My observations also seem to paint a similar picture. Our children do so

well in the academics, even in the co-curricular areas, that we are so proud of them. But when we put them in front of an audience, it can tell us a very different story. We don’t want our children to grow up in an environment of book knowledge but where the application of that knowledge and skills such as effective communications can take them to greater heights of achievement.

‘You can have brilliant ideas, but if you can’t get them across, they won’t get you anywhere ‘- Lee Iacocca.

How can we then make our children effective communicators? We can engage them in various activities to practise communication skills which can make them more effective in communicating their ideas and thoughts. Numerous books have been written on this topic but I don’t believe effective communicators can be grown overnight with a list of strategies and activities. It has to be cultivated from young and like all good things, it begins at home.

First of all, we need to be a good listener. Young children have a lot of things to talk about and in their curiosity surely ask a lot of questions. If we patiently listen to them and show them that we place importance on what they say, over time it will encourage them to sharpen their skills and become more effective communicators. Have you ever noticed that children as they grow older talk less and ask fewer questions? Obviously, they must have reached the conclusion that no one is paying enough attention to what they say and it is pointless talking so much after all. This will only hamper good human relationships. Likewise, we must also teach our children to be an effective listener themselves and be a good role model for them.

‘Effective communications starts with listening’- Robert Gately

To be effective communicators, our children need a lot of practice in talking and expressing themselves; and with our guidance, they will learn to talk with greater clarity and confidence. However, often we find ourselves finding fault with what they say and criticize them. We tend to argue, complain, condemn and ridicule them and this crushes their self-esteem and sense of pride. No one loves criticisms and children are certainly no exception. It is no one’s gain. We may want to think about how we can still ‘criticize’ and point out their flaws but in a more constructive manner so that it will not inhibit the children from wanting to express themselves freely. Effective communicators grow well in a culture of encouragement and praises as these boost their self-esteem and confidence.

‘Communication - the human connection--is the key to personal and career success’ - Paul J. Meyer

Visit from the Minister

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A visit from our Minister Grace Fu

On 12 April 2011, Clementi Primary School was honoured to host a visit by Ms Grace Fu, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of National Development and Ministry of Education.

Minister Fu was received by Mrs Rathi Parimalan, W1 Cluster Superintendent and Mrs Siva, our school principal. Mrs Siva and the school key personnel shared more about the school programmes with the minister. After the discussion, Minister Fu went on a school tour to observe some of the instructional programmes conducted, such as the P5 ALPHA Science, the P5 English Literature Programme, a P2 Math Literature lesson and some Art lessons.

The school visit ended with an engaging and fruitful dialogue session between Minister Fu and some teachers. Minister Fu provided greater insight into some initiatives like PERI, PAL and PAM and also addressed some of the concerns and challenges raised by the teachers such as bilingualism, national examinations and financial and academic assistance.

Minister Fu observing the pupils at work during one of the Art lessons

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Achievements

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Rope SkippingAfter a month of intense training and stiff competition, the Rope Skipping Competition is finally over! Our Rope Skippers had achieved good results in both the Zonal and National Primary School Rope Skipping Championships.

The Zonal competitions were held on 22 and 23 March at Rulang Primary. Our Rope Skipping team attained 4th position in 8 events, 3rd position in 9 events, 2nd position in 4 events and 1st position in 6 events. The pupils’ outstanding performance placed the team in 4th position (overall) for the Junior Boys category, 2nd position for both the Junior and Senior Girls’ categories. The Senior Boys were the Zonal champion in their category.

The National Primary School Rope Skipping Championship was held on 12 and 25 April at Jurong East Sports Hall. We would like to congratulate the following Rope Skippers for their outstanding performance at the Championship.

The Rope Skipping teachers-in-charge would like to thank all teachers and parents for their support.

Below are the results:

Mrs Siva posing with the Senior Boys from the Pair Division, Kai Kiat and Mark.

Event Name National Position

Senior Boys Individual Creative Mark Holianto Adi 3rd

Senior Boys Pair Lau Kai KiatMark Holianto Adi

2nd

Junior Boys Speed Sean Lee Jiawei 2nd

Senior Boys Speed Mark Holianto Adi 3rd

Junior Girls Double Under Jeslyn Yeo Kai Xuan 4th

Senior Boys Double Under Lau Kai Kiat 2nd

Junior Girls Speed Relay

Jeslyn Yeo Kai XuanViridis Ma Qian YiNg Jia Herng ClaraLim Siang YeeKok Shu May

3rd

Senior Girls Speed Relay

Chua Wan Jing RachelTan Sock MinCasey Lim Jen EveLim Shing YeeWoo Gin Ee Philayna

2nd

National Senior Boys Category 3rd

Our school swimmer, Mark Holianto Adi (P6/8), participated in the 42nd Singapore National Age Group Swimming Championships held on 11 and 13 March 2011. Mark came in 2nd for the 200m-Freestyle, 50m-Butterfly and 100m-Butterfly events and 3rd for the 400m-Freestyle event in his division. Our heartiest congratulations to Mark on his swimming achievements!

19 pupils from Primary 6/7 and 6/8 participated in the Singapore-Asia Pacific Mathematical Olympiad for Primary Schools 2011 (APMOPS) organised by Hwa Chong Institution on 9 April 2011. Elijah Seow Ming Ern (P6/8) and Darren Teo Zhi Jie (P6/8) performed exceptionally well for the first round of the written competition and achieved a Platinum and a Gold award respectively. They subsequently took part in the Invitation Round held on 28 May 2011 at Hwa Chong Institution.

We also congratulate Tan Min Chi (P6/8) for attaining a Silver award as well as Nicholas Ng, Oliver Zhang and Shi Ru Zhe (P6/8) for attaining Bronze awards in the same competition. We are certainly proud of our pupils’ achievements in this prestigious competition!

42nd Singapore National Age Group Swimming Championships

Junior Girls’ Team – (back row) Viridis, Jeslyn, Clara, (front row) Siang Yee, Shu May

Our Singapore-Asia Pacific Mathematical Olympiad winners – (from left) Nicholas, Darren, Ru Zhe, Elijah and Min Chi.

Mark Holianto - our star swimmer

Singapore – Asia Pacific Mathematical Olympiad for Primary Schools 2011

Achievements

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Since January this year, the seven-member team from Primary 6/8 had worked hard for the Odyssey of the Mind (OM) competition held on 8 and 9 April in Anglo Chinese School (Independent). OM is a creative problem-solving international competition for students to solve a predefined problem as well as generate spontaneous answers to problems given on the spot.

Besides racking their brains for creative spontaneous responses, the team had put in many hours preparing for the predefined problem, ‘ Classics - Le Tour Guide’ that required them to put up a humorous performance in which a classical character, Pinocchio, brought a group of tourists through three tour destinations.

Although our team came in 7th this year, the members have learnt to work with one another cordially, examine problems critically and think divergently. These are definitely skills which every pupil should possess as they face up to the challenges of the 21st century!

10th Life Sciences Symposium A team of Primary 6/8 pupils (Elijah Seow Ming Ern, Babu Sushanth Thirthapad, Tan Jing Jie and Tan Sock Min) took part in the 10th Life Sciences Symposium 2011 organised by Anglo-Chinese School Independent in November last year. Based on the theme ‘Creativity – The Next Generation’, pupils had to brainstorm for a project that would demonstrate creative scientific principles in experiments. Our team decided to work on the project ‘SE - Simulating Earthquakes’ that aimed to facilitate the understanding of earthquakes as well as the concepts of forces and energy through the construction of a model simulating an earthquake.

After a preliminary assessment on the pupils’ write-up and a final presentation to a panel of judges on 18 February 2011, our team emerged 1st runner-up in the Primary School Division! Each of the team members received a trophy and a $50 Kinokuniya book voucher. Through this project, the team has demonstrated the spirit of scientific inquiry, teamwork and perseverance.

Congratulations, pupils!

West Zone Junior Science Whiz ChallengeOn 6 April, a team of Primary 6/8 pupils participated in the West Zone Junior Science Whiz Challenge: Inter-Primary School Science Quiz 2011 organised by River Valley High School. Out of the 32 competitors, our team was among the top 10 schools and each member received a $10 Popular Bookstore voucher. In addition, our 2 boys were among the top 20 individual scorers out of 96 contestants. Each boy received an additional $10 book voucher.

The team members enjoyed the challenge and have demonstrated knowledge beyond the textbook in subjects like Astronomy, Chemistry, Computer Science, Earth Science, Life Science, Mathematics and Physics. Congratulations, pupils!

Our winning team - Tan Min Chi, Zhang Xiangyu Oliver, Ng Zhuo Xun Nicholas.

The team receiving the prizes from Mr Sze Guan Kheng, Vice-Principal, River Valley High School.

The model simulating a 3rd degree earthquake

The team comprising (from left) Tan Sock Min, Elijah Seow Ming Ern, Tan Jing Jie and Babu Sushanth Thirthapad at the Symposium on 3 March 2011

Odyssey of the Mind

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Achievements

The Tamil pupils from different levels participated in various competitions held at the West Coast CC on 2 April 2011. The following pupils won the competitions:

• R. Naresh from P1/1 won 3rd prize for the story-telling competition• Ashwini d/o Senthilkumar from P1/4 won 2nd prize for the Fancy Dress Competition. • Harishitha from P2/8 won consolation prize for the story-telling competition• Mohd Riaz from P4/6 won 2nd Prize for the speech competition• Priyadharshini from P5/8 won 3rd prize for the speech competition• R. Vicknesh from P5/8 won consolation prize for the speech competition• Myli from P6/7 won consolation prize for the essay-writing competition.

MOE ExCEL Fest is an annual event that celebrates and shares exciting and innovative practices in schools. It is also a platform for parents and members of the public to find out more about the latest developments in our education landscape. This year, it was held on 1 and 2 April at the Suntec Convention Centre for MOE staff and the public respectively.

Clementi Primary School is proud to be part of this distinguished event to share our success and innovation with the rest of Singapore. Following the success of our mobile learning centres implemented in the lower primary classes, we shared how they were used in our school, as well as the benefits the pupils have reaped.

It was an event well-attended. We had the support of many wonderful colleagues who took the effort to grace the event with their presence. We hope that the participants found the sharing session fruitful.

The ExCELFest team with Mrs Siva

”And so, this is what the pupils will be doing in class...” Miss Nadiah and Mdm Seah explaining to the participants during the gallery walk.

Jeyachandran Deepsri from P2/1 won consolation prize for the Fancy Dress Competition held by the Association of Tamil Writers.

Tamil Storytelling Competition

10th Life Sciences Symposium

Prize-winners of the various Tamil competitions – (from left) Myli, Harishitha, Naresh, Priyadharshini, Ashwini, Mohd Riaz, Vicknesh

MOE ExCELFest

P5 Camp

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Our last cheer before heading back to school.

Primary 5 Adventure Camp

From 21 to 23 February 2011, we had our Primary 5 Adventure Camp at MOE Jalan Bahtera Camp. Primary 5 pupils were grouped according to their classes during the camp so as to build a sense of class identity and to encourage team-bonding.

Very hungry! We want FOOD!

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Paddle! Don’t stop!

In an outdoor setting, the pupils had a lot of fun facing challenges and overcoming fears. For most of the pupils, this was their first time attending a camp and being away from their family. This camp experience will surely stay in their memories for a long time to come.

P5 Camp

The Campfire

Time to check-in to the ‘Five-Star Hotel’…

Teamwork in progress

Leadership Camp

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The P3 Prefects began their Prefects’ training in Term 1. The training provided them with hands-on activities on how to carry out their duties as prefects. It provided a platform for the P3 Prefects to voice out and discuss about the problems that they have encountered during the course of their duties. Most importantly, it also enabled them to know how they may better assist their teachers and fellow schoolmates. We hope that the prefects would be able to serve the school better after the training sessions.

Primary 3 Prefects’ Training

“Leadership is practiced not so much in words as in attitude and in actions.”

- Harold Geneen

P6 prefects giving instructions to the student leaders

What we’ve learnt from the camp Ice Breakers – Getting to know one another

Representative from the winning team – Most Co-operative Team!

Listening to our leader to overcome obstacles

A total of 114 CCA student leaders and prefects attended a 1-day leadership training camp on 14 March 2011. The objectives of the camp were to:

1. build up pupils’ self-esteem and self-discipline2. instill in pupils leadership qualities3. develop pupils’ communication and decision-making skills 4. help pupils understand the importance of integrity, respect and excellence

Our Primary 6 prefects were the camp facilitators. After months of preparation, they organised and facilitated the activities that aimed to enhance the student leaders’ leadership and communication skills, as well as teamwork. Mr Ee Chai Keng, Subject Head of Pupil Management, also gave a presentation on ‘Leadership’ to the student leaders.

At the end of the camp, the student leaders reflected on what they would want to do for the school as CCA leaders and prefects.

IN-HOUSE STUDENT LEADERS’ CAMP

Beyond the Classrooms

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Mother Tongue Language Fortnight

From 22 February to 24 May, a 14-session (1.5 hours each) Conversational Chinese / Malay course was conducted for Primary 3 pupils after school. The course was attended by 43 pupils. These pupils wanted to learn another Mother Tongue at a conversational level to relate to and communicate better with classmates and friends who were not of the same race. The Conversational Chinese course and the Conversational Malay course were conducted by our CL teacher, Mdm Lim Ai Fang, and our ML teacher, Mr Jumairi, respectively. The topics included using the Mother Tongue language in self-introduction, exchange of greetings, counting of numbers, telling of time, colours and other commonly-used phrases.

Conversational Chinese/Malay

A Tamil pupil asking for his Chinese classmate’s name in the Malay Language, “Nama awak siapa?”

The non-Chinese pupils find it interesting to learn the Chinese Language, “zhe shi wo de jia ren (These are my family members).”

The pupils had a fun time playing the interesting games at the Language Carnival.

Pupils loved the interesting stories told by Mr Chen Zhao Jin.

Learning Chinese with comics is fun!

Pupils enjoying the Multi Cultural Song Appreciation Programme entitled ‘Singing in One Harmonious Voice’.

Pupils’ works displayed along the Mother Tongue Language Walkway.

The Mother Tongue Department held its Mother Tongue Language (MTL) Fortnight 2011 from 21 March to 1 April to raise pupils’ appreciation for the three MTLs and cultures by engaging them in games and activities.

A series of inter-class competitions and activities was held. The CL pupils took part in Penmanship, Recitation and Essay-Writing Competitions, as well as the Chinese Language and Culture Quiz. The ML pupils took part in various activities such as Group Singing, Drama, Pictionary Game, Oratorical Competition and Language Quiz. They also learnt to make small booklets, masks and book jackets. The TL pupils had their share of fun with Poetry Recitation, Nursery Rhymes, Show and Tell, Singing, Traditional Games and Drama. Pupils’ work, done during the MTL Fortnight, was displayed along the Language Walkway to showcase their talent and language ability.

The highlight of this year was the increased collaboration with the community. Vendors were roped in to conceptualise, organise and lead some of the programmes, namely the ‘Learning Chinese with Comics’, Story Telling in Chinese and the Multi Cultural Song Appreciation Assembly Programme. Our Parent Support Group members gave their support by running a game stall in the Language Carnival that promoted Chinese Paper Cutting.

For the Language Carnival, the Primary 5 pupils designed and set up game stalls relating to the 3 different MTLs. The carnival was held during the curriculum time and all pupils had the chance to play the games. To make the learning of MTL more authentic, the game stalls in the Language Carnival were set up based on the theme “Scenes from Daily Life”. Pupils also found out more about the Malay and Indian Cultures through the carnival. The same theme was used in the Pre-assembly Conversation Session. Pupils learnt words in the 3 different MTLs that could be used in daily life.

The pupils enjoyed themselves tremendously and found the activities fun-filled and enriching.

Beyond the Classrooms

On 7 April, Primary 3 pupils from all the classes put up an exhibition showcasing their project work on Endangered Animals. The exhibition was a culmination of a two-month focus on Endangered Animals, which included a learning journey to the zoo. On that day, all the Primary 2 and 3 pupils were invited to view the exhibition and they were dazzled by a wide variety of activities! P3/8 pupils set up ten game stalls while P3/6 and P3/7 pupils put up a few Readers’ Theatre performances. The participants were also given a door gift each, courtesy of the Singapore Zoo. It was certainly a fun and lively exhibition!

P3/8 pupils made attractive posters to attract the crowd to play their games. Great effort, children!

Thinking hard about the next move in a game created by P3/8 pupils. P3/4 pupils displayed a pictorial map

of the zoo with informative facts about endangered animals.

Colourful stuffed endangered animals created by P3/2 pupils. Can you name them all?

Posters designed by P3/5 pupils educating their friends about endangered animals.

The P4 pupils have embarked on their Project Work on Chinatown. After doing online research on some of the historical landmarks in Chinatown, the P4 pupils went on a 3-hour trail around Chinatown. At Thian Hock Keng Temple, the Jamae Mosque and the Sri Mariammam Temple, the pupils learnt about the early immigrants – their beliefs and culture. They also had a rare chance to see creatures like frogs, eels and turtles being sold in a wet market. At Ann Siang Hill, the pupils found out how early immigrants, like Chia Ann Siang, contributed to the development of Singapore in the early days. The pupils were enriched in their knowledge of how the early immigrants came from faraway lands to Singapore, a country where they finally decided to call ‘home’ and how because of their perseverance and hard work, latter generations are now able to reap the fruits of their labour.

To complete their project work, pupils were taking photographs of and making notes on the sculptures of the samsui women – a testimony of the women’s contributions to early Singapore

Pupils listening to Chinese myths and legends being told at the Thian Hock Keng Temple

Pupils at the Thian Hock Keng Temple

Primary Four Journey to Chinatown

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Primary Three Project Work Exhibition

P3/7 pupils having a whale of a time performing to the Primary 2 pupils!

The theme for this year’s Appreciation Month is ‘Head, Hand and Heart’. Pupils had to think of different ways to show their appreciation through the various activities planned from Week 4 till Week 9 in Term 2. During the Form Teacher Guidance Periods (FTGP), teachers emphasised to pupils the importance of being thankful to others for their help and contributions. During the Appreciation Month, pupils penned down their words of appreciation to show their gratitude towards someone. They did not forget contributions by teachers, pupils and even the non-teaching staff in school. The pupils who penned the most heartfelt notes of appreciation received bunches of ‘Ferrero Rocher flowers’ made by our Brownies.

During the month, pupils were encouraged to make a little something to show their appreciation to their loved ones. The Clementians demonstrated their creativity and concern for the environment by using recycled materials to make their ‘Gifts from the Heart’. How meaningful that was!

As the event coincides with Mother’s Day, our Parent Support Group came together to make beautiful wristlets for sale to pupils who wished to present them to their mothers.

Clementians also got to sing the Kindness Song led by Ms Adeline Ang every Wednesday during the weeks.

International Friendship Day8 April was International Friendship Day. Throughout the week, there were exciting activities to instill in the pupils the importance of building friendships with other countries in the face of globalisation. There were also pre-assembly talks held by the P5 and P6 NE Ambassadors to tell the school about how Singapore has reached out to help other nations in need. The pupils were encouraged to put on paper their feelings about HOME. Clementi Town Secondary School’s NE Ambassadors also came to give a talk to our pupils about our neighbouring countries, Japan and Korea. They even brought along a few of their Tae Kwon Do experts to teach our pupils some self-defence skills!

Appreciation Month

‘Ferrero Rocher flowers’ presented as tokens of appreciation

Thanks so much to our Parent Volunteers for their fine work of handmade wristlets. The kids simply love it!

Appreciation Month Team 2011 - (from left) Ms Adeline Ang, Mdm Haryati, Ms Kasmini, our vice-principal, Mrs Rosalind Wee, Mdm Nurul and Mr Chow

All winners of the Gifts from the Heart and Words of Appreciation with our Vice- Principal, Mrs Rosalind Wee (right) and our music teacher, Ms Adeline Ang (left).

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Look at the wonderful gifts made by our students using recycled materials!

Our Brownies engrossed in creating ‘Ferrero Rocher flowers’ to be given as tokens of appreciation! Well done, girls!

Community Involvement/Staff

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Malay and Chinese Dance Performances @ Clementi Zone 2 RC Multi-Racial Block Party

Group photo with Mr Arthur Fong

Look, there is cigarette butt in the sand !

Teamwork is the best.

Look at how much garbage

we have collected !

On 23 April 2011, the Green Audit and Environment Committee, in collaboration with Ci Yuan CC Youth Club Executive Committee and other schools, embarked on a massive beach clean-up at East Coast Park as part of our Community Involvement Programme. The activity gave us an opportunity to serve the community and commemorate National Environment Day 2011.

The objectives of the outdoor activity were to inculcate awareness of environment conservation in our pupils through experiential learning and promote social interaction, co-operation and collaborative learning among the pupils. A total of 9 teachers and 97 pupils participated in the event. The participants came from the various CCA groups, namely the Prefectorial Board (P3 – P6), Science Club (P4 – P6) and Junior Environment Ambassadors (P3 & P4). The pupils learnt the importance of keeping the environment clean as they painstakingly picked up litter from the beach from 9 am to 11 am. Many pupils expressed through their reflections that the activity had been an eye-opening experience for them as they did not expect so much garbage to be left behind by beach-users. Many pupils were also appalled by the inconsiderate behaviour of the beach-users. Having understood the seriousness of the littering situation in Singapore, many pupils pledged that they would encourage others not to litter the surroundings so as to make Singapore a clean and green country.

May all Clementians emulate the model behaviour of our Junior Environment Ambassadors in keeping Singapore a clean and green country.

Our very own archers from Clementi Primary School

On the morning of 24 April 2011, Clementi Primary School Malay and Chinese Dance Groups set off enthusiastically for Blk 344 at Clementi Avenue 5. The Malay and Chinese Dance Groups have been jointly invited to put up two dance items at the Clementi Zone 2 Resident’s Committee Multi-Racial Block Party.

Mr Arthur Fong, MP for West Coast GRC and Chairman for West Coast Town Council, was the Guest-of-Honour for the day. The performances won much applause as the audience was impressed. It was a union of cultures and the dancers themselves revelled in the heart-warming atmosphere of the multi-racial and family-oriented celebration.

On behalf of the Malay and Chinese Dance Groups, the teachers-in charge would like to extend their sincere thanks to the school community who came especially to support and root for them that morning. Thank you!

National Environment Day 2011

The teachers are doing their part to keep the beach clean.

On 27 April 2011, 24 of our teacher-athletes formed teams and took part in the Staff Archery and Bowling Competitions organised by W1 Cluster Schools. Led by Mr Ee Chai Keng (Archery) and Mr Lai Huei Yuh (Bowling), our teachers played the games with enthusiasm and showed good sportsmanship throughout the games. They had done fantastically well in both competitions and we are pleased to announce that our archery and bowling teams came in second and third respectively. A big CONGRATS to all our teacher-athletes who did us proud.

“Clementians ... Let’s roll out!”

W1 Cluster Staff Olympics