in touch 08/2019€¦ · our singapore bicentennial and allows us to tell our singapore story from...

BUKIT PANJANG PRIMARY SCHOOL 109 Cashew Road, Singapore 679676

Tel: 67691912 Fax: 67637462 http://www.bukitpanjangpri.moe.edu.sg/

Future Leaders, Concerned Citizens

Mission Developing our students holistically in a vibrant and caring environment

2 August 2019

From the Principal’s Desk…

IN TOUCH 08/2019

Dear Parents/Guardians,

We would like to thank staff who have left the school and welcome new members to our BPPS family.

Mr Muhammad Ashari Left for NIE Ms Phua Wang Yu On overseas leave Ms Germaine Lim English and Math teacher Mdm Kay Wang Level Head for Chinese

I would also like to congratulate our Scouts for winning the Frank Cooper Sands Gold award for the fifth time. It is no mean feat and I would like to thank the teachers in charge and our scouts for rising to the occasion time and again. The month of August is halfway through Term 3 and is also special because it is the time when we celebrate our National Day. “This year’s theme for National Day is “Our Singapore”. It commemorates our Singapore bicentennial and allows us to tell Our Singapore story from past to present. “Our” emphasises the collective ownership of Singapore. We are living the dreams of our pioneers, and we are now the pioneers of our future.” While celebrating our National Day this year, it would do us good to reflect on our past and think about the past generations who have made their mark on Singapore’s success. As we move forward, let us work towards building a more caring and inclusive Singapore where we care for the less fortunate and the underprivileged and support each other by caring a little more in our everyday lives. “Together, this spirit of giving and caring will allow us to be pioneers of our future, as we continue to build Singapore for future generations.” This is especially pertinent for BPPS as many of our students come from privileged families where more than their basic needs are met. Sparing a thought for those who have less than us builds empathy, a very important value to have as we move forward as a nation and work towards being more inclusive. Having gratitude for what we have is also a value which has not been easy to cultivate and impart in our students, especially when things come as easily as they do. Thus, we need your help to emphasise this whenever the occasion arises. Do participate in the myriad of activities planned to celebrate our National Day and the Bicentennial celebrations which will help our children understand and appreciate the great effort that has been put in the past to get to where we are today and to emphasise the importance of their role in the future of Singapore. Happy National Day.





National Day Celebrations 2019 The school will be commemorating National Day on 8th August 2019. Besides an observance ceremony, students will also participate in a host of fun-filled activities that aim to drive home the theme for this year’s NDP “Our Singapore”. Activities during the National Day Celebrations include the National Day Observance Ceremony, National Day Concert, Primary 5 Entrepreneurial Day and National Day classroom activities. All students will report to school by 7.30 a.m. and will be dismissed at 10.30 a.m. Please make the necessary transport arrangements for your child/ward. Please note that: 1. Students are encouraged to wear red T-shirts and PE shorts. 2. Light refreshments (a packet of Milo & Meiji Plain Crackers) will be provided. 3. School bus operators have been informed of the revised school hours. Kindly liaise with them for details. 4. There will not be any Supplementary lessons and CCAs on this day. Further note that 12th August is a public holiday and school will resume on Tuesday, 13th August 2019. Primary 5 Entrepreneurial Day on 8th August The Entrepreneurial Day Carnival is organised by 36 teams of Primary 5 students. They collaborated to set up stalls to raise funds for the President’s Challenge 2019. The tagline for this year’s Pri 5 Project Work is “We Care, We Work, We Share”! Students get to be entrepreneurs for a day and are given the opportunity to apply the sale and marketing knowledge and strategies that they have learnt. During the carnival, the Primary 1 to 6 students can expect to find game and retail stalls that sell varied products at a pocket friendly price, ranging from $0.50 to $3. The carnival will be held at ISH 1 & 2 and at Blk A level 1 on 8th August. We would like to appeal to parents to allow your child to bring some extra money to spend at the carnival for a good cause. Thank you for your support in helping us nurture the students to be young entrepreneurs and preparing them to be future leaders, concerned citizens.





PSLE ORAL EXAMINATION on 15 & 16 AUGUST 2019 The Primary 6 students will be sitting for their PSLE Oral Examination on Thursday and Friday, 15 and 16 August 2019. As such, there will be no school for Primary 1 to 5 students. All after-school activities for these days will also be cancelled. The Straits Time School Pocket Money Fund (STSPMF) Application for STSPMF will open in the month of Aug for P1 to P5 MOE FAS students. Parents of P1 to P5 MOE FAS students will receive notification from school on eligibility criteria.





Mother Tongue Fortnight The Mother Tongue Fortnight was held from 9 July 2019 to 19 July 2019, to create an immersive and vibrant environment for the learning and appreciation of mother tongue language and cultures. Through an array of activities, students were given authentic opportunities to actively learn and use mother tongue language. The students enjoyed the activities planned and their active participation made the whole planning process worthwhile. Some of the activities planned for the students included Occupational Role Play & Reading Carnival, Cultural Camp, Sharing by 958 DJ Huang Shujun, Pencak Silat & Drama Workshop, Pottery Workshop, Khat Calligraphy & Drama Workshop. Inaugural MTL Reading Carnival 2019 (Chinese Language) Our Inaugural Reading Carnival was held on 12th July 2019 and was well-received by P1 & P2 students and parents. A series of programmes was designed to promote reading and foster family bonding between parent and child. Participants were treated to activities like story-telling by a professional story-teller, game stall activities related to Chinese mythological stories, idiom stories, fairy tales etc. It was a fruitful evening for both parents and students as they experienced the joy of learning and reading together as a family. P3 MTL Cultural Camp During Mother Tongue Cultural Day Camp on 11th July 2019, our Primary 3 students had the opportunity to appreciate their respective Mother Tongue cultures through playing different types of traditional games. The Malay language students tried their hands playing gasing, lumba karung, main lereng and tapak gajah. Chinese Language students tried a variety of games/activities that included mini clay sculpture, chinese knot, group rope skipping, pitch-pot game, etc while the Tamil Language students had fun trying out traditional games like Kabaddi, Uri Adithal and Silambattam. Through this camp, the students worked as a team and learnt to be resilient. It was heartening to see the students showing compassion when they encouraged and guided their friends while playing the games. Needless to say, all students had a meaningful and unforgettable experience!





National Education Show 2019 It was an exciting Saturday for our Primary 5 students as they rode the train to the Padang where they were treated to electrifying performances from the Red Lions, military display and the awesome fireworks show. They also sang to their heart’s content, from the latest National Day theme song to our evergreen National Day theme song, “HOME”. It was a beautiful and touching sight to behold and the sense of patriotism was dense in the air. This is definitely an event which our students will remember for a lifetime.

Singapore Kindness Movement (SKM) @BPPS

A group of 9 pupils was nominated by their teachers to be the Singapore Kindness Movement ambassadors. They were given the important role of promoting and spreading kindness and appreciation in the school. The theme for this year is ‘BPPS, Be Greater’ and the ambassadors adopted the acronym G.S.T (Greet kindly, Smile brightly and Thank sincerely ) to bring across the message of being kind as a fundamental trait of greatness and that we can all make Bukit Panjang Primary School a greater place for all.

During the BPPS kindness week, the ambassadors, supported by the Parents Support Group, shared the values of G.S.T. with the school. Weeklong activities planned, included games such as SNAP, Snake & Ladder and Crossword puzzle which helped students to understand that everyone one of us has a responsibility towards building a nation of kindness. Through these activities, we hope that kindness will eventually become second nature to the students.





Characters come Alive ‘Characters come Alive’ was held on Friday, 19th July 2019. As part of the activity for the English Language programme, students came dressed in different characters found in storybooks. It was an opportunity for students to showcase their creativity and also served as a platform for them to be confident speakers, as they shared the books the characters were from. Through this event, we hope to encourage students to explore reading books they have not read as well as instill a lifelong love for reading. Click here for pictures of the event.

Hwa Chong Info-Communications Challenge Caleb Tan Yee Heng and Brandon Tan Xuan Yu, both from Gratitude 1, took part in the inaugural Hwa Chong Info-Communications Challenge. The Challenge was open to a total of sixty Primary 6 participants and comprised a written component and a practical hands-on session. Programming logic, python programming language and robotics concepts were being tested during this challenge. The school is proud to share that Caleb Tan emerged 5th position in the Challenge despite intense competition. This achievement would not have been possible without the support from parents and teachers. Click here to see our proud winners.

Drone Odyssey Challenge Drone Odyssey Challenge is a game-based competition that inculcates technical skillsets, critical thinking and an appreciation of new and disruptive technologies relevant to the modern world. This competition was open to students from the Primary and Secondary levels. Participants had to code their programmable drones and transform them into Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) capable of performing tasks under given scenarios. We are proud to announce that our students clinched the 2nd and 3rd positions. The students are Louis Kawi (Resilience 1); Isaac Ng (Compassion 1); Brennan Kok (Resilience 1) and Chen Yisheng (Compassion 3). Click here to see our proud winners.

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2264912730428708&id=1770831119836874







The 11th National Chinese Story-telling Competition 2019 “Leaders of Greatness” The 11th National Chinese Story-telling Competition 2019 (“Leaders of Greatness”) was jointly organized by Anderson Primary School, The Singapore Chinese Teachers Literary Recital Society, Sgwritings Culture Association and Zhong Hua Cultural Society (Singapore) on 6th July 2019. The main objective of this competition was to enhance the appreciation of the Chinese language through re-telling stories of our nation’s forefathers and great leaders. At the same time, our students would learn the values and pioneering spirit of our forefathers and grow up to become useful citizens who contribute actively to the society. BPPS would like to congratulate Tong Yuxuan from Resilience 2 and Yuan Wanlun Vanessa from

Compassion 5 who won the Silver Award and Merit Award in the Primary School Category respectively. Click here to see our proud winners.






Sharing Tips for Parents, by Parents to Support your Child in the Transition to Secondary Education Have a child going to Secondary 1 soon? Here's how you can play a role in providing positive guidance for him/her.

More than 700 parents and their children attended our “Preparing for Your Child’s Transition to Secondary Education” Seminar over the last two weekends in July. The seminars helped them gain a better understanding of the support their children may need in their transition journey to Secondary education. Our panellists, consisting of Mdm Choy Wai Yin, Director of Guidance, MOE; Dr Yvonne Lek, Counsellor, Psycare Consultants; Dr Lim Choon Guan, Psychiatrist, IMH; Mr Sanjay Patel, parent of two children; and Mr Tan Chin Hwee, parent of three children, shared their stories and experiences about how parents could help their children maintain positive physical and mental well-being, and support their aspirations.

Missed the seminar? Here are some quick soundbites: 1) Equip our children with life skills to handle stress and beyond

“Make use of casual settings such as meal times to start a conversation with your children. When they talk, look out for underlying emotions. We could also share our own stories at work, so that they can relate. It is important to help our children develop social-emotional skills, so that they can face other challenges in life.” Director of Guidance, MOE, Mdm Choy Wai Yin

2) Provide positive support for our children

“We can help our children prepare as they receive their PSLE results by not being anxious ourselves. It helps if we could first rehearse and process our own reactions, so that we can show positive and appropriate support for our children.”

Psychiatrist, IMH, Dr Lim Choon Guan

3) Recognise physiological symptoms of stress

“Learn to recognise sudden changes in your child’s behaviours and actions. When overwhelmed, kids may display extreme and chronic symptoms of mood swings, appetite changes, emotional outbursts, a lack of focus and hypersensitivity etc.”

Counsellor, Psycare Consultants, Dr Yvonne Lek





4) Listen and talk to our children regularly

“We need to find the right moment to listen and have regular conversations with our children so that they know who they can speak to and seek help from in times of need.”

Father of 3, Mr Tan Chin Hwee

5) Play a part in our children’s decision-making process and be open to their suggestions

“I offer my ‘help’ by providing guidance. For example, I gave restrictions such as a maximum of a one-hour travelling time and created a matrix or framework with them to map out the CCAs available etc. This helps them make better decisions.”

Father of 2, Mr Sanjay Patel

For more information on supporting your child’s transition to Secondary education, please download our guide and e-resources.

Thank you.

Bucktha Seelan Principal A child who is allowed to be disrespectful to his parents will not have true respect for anyone ~ Billy Graham

https://www.moe.gov.sg/microsites/whats-next-after-psle

https://www.moe.gov.sg/education/programmes/social-and-emotional-learning/sel-resources-for-parents

in touch 08/2019€¦ · our singapore bicentennial and allows us to tell our singapore story from...

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