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PUNGGOL SECONDARY SCHOOL

培 道 中 学

From the Principal’s Desk

April 2017

Dear Parents, We celebrated the milestones achieved by our students at our 60th Anniversary Speech & Awards Day. We would also like to share highlights from other school events with you.

60th Anniversary Speech & Awards Day

On 21 April, Punggol Secondary School celebrated

our 60th Anniversary Speech & Awards Day.

Our Guest-of-Honour, Ms Low Yoke Kiew, Zonal

Director Schools North, together with Mr Loo Kin

Ben, Chairman of the School Advisory Committee,

Mr Abdul Mannan, Superintendent North 4, Mr

Loke Chee Pheng, former Superintendent North 4,

school leaders from North 4 cluster schools,

alumni, parents, prize recipients and student

representatives from every class were present to

witness this milestone celebration.

The prize presentation segment concluded with

the presentation of the Wang Yu Chong Rising Star

Award to Ngiam Kai Li from class 2D (2016), Ang

Peck Hoon Academic Excellence Award to Tan

Ding Yun Drago from class 4B (2016) and Ang

Keong Lan Outstanding Punggol Student Award to

Lim Rui Hsin Elfreda from class 4A (2016). Ms Low,

our Guest-of-Honour, presented the pinnacle

awards to the three deserving winners.

The integration of our aesthetics CCAs was presented in an Aesthetics showcase which was seamlessly choreographed by our artistic director, Dr Danny Tan. The energising beats of the Indian Dance blended with the mesmerising tunes of the Guzheng, accompanied by uplifting performances by our Chinese Dance, Choir, Contemporary Dance and Band.

General salute from Guard-of-Honour to our Guest-of-Honour Ms Low Yoke Kiew

Our Guest-of-Honour Ms Low Yoke Kiew with

Pei Dao 60, our 60th Anniversary crystal

From left to right: Ngiam Kai Li from class 2D (2016), Tan Ding Yun Drago from class 4B (2016) and

Lim Rui Hsin Elfreda from class 4A (2016)

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April 2017

All guests and prize recipients were invited to a sumptuous buffet lunch. Memorable moments were captured at the photo booth with handy props and instant printing. We look forward to many more years ahead of

nurturing jun zi as a Punggol 培道 family.

60th Anniversary Homecoming Walk Prior to celebrating our 60th Anniversary Speech & Awards Day, we embarked on a 60th Anniversary Homecoming Walk to commemorate this milestone on 8 April 2017. The school was founded in 1957 and was named Singapore Girls’ Vocational High School. The campus was then located at Oxley Road. In 1976, the campus shifted to Toa Payoh and the school was renamed Pei Dao Secondary School. In 1978, the school became co-educational. When the school moved to Punggol in 2001, the school was called Punggol Secondary School while the Chinese name remained.

Current and former SAC members with School Leaders

holding the school flags at 43 Oxley Road

The 60th Anniversary Homecoming Walk aims to bring together alumni and stakeholders of the school from the various campuses. Each participant walked part of the route from Oxley Road to Toa Payoh, and from Toa Payoh to Punggol Secondary School.

En route to Pei Dao from Oxley Road

When we converged at Punggol Secondary School, participants took the opportunity to share their stories and connect over lunch. It was a joyful day for all alumni and stakeholders of the school.

Staff and students, former and present, at Pei Dao

Secondary School site at Toa Payoh

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April 2017

Secondary 4/5 Meet-The-Parents Session cum Further Education and Career Fair The Secondary 4/5 Meet-The-Parents Session cum Further Education and Career Fair was held on 1 April 2017. Form teachers and subject teachers provided parents with useful feedback on the academic progress of their child/ward.

Form teacher providing feedback

to a parent during MTPS

Students also gained more information on various polytechnic courses. Two representatives from Temasek Polytechnic and the ITE shared more about the Early Admission Exercise (EAE) and Direct Polytechnic Programme (DPP) respectively.

English Language & Literature Week 2017

With the aim to inculcate a love for the English

Language in a fun manner, the English Language &

Literature Week 2017 was launched in the second

week of Term 2.

The theme, A Story To Tell, was chosen as

students had to read and create stories using

words and pictures. It was also selected in

conjunction with the school’s 60th Anniversary,

where one of the games, Amazing Race, quizzed

students about the school’s history. On top of

listening to interesting facts about the English

Language and Literature during morning

assembly, engaging activities such as Scrabble

Showdown and Flash Fiction were held.

Scrabble Showdown held at the library

Book Cover Design Competition

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April 2017

Mother Tongue Languages Fortnight

The Mother Tongue Languages (MTL) Fortnight

was held in Term 2. Various activities were

organised by the Mother Tongue Languages Units

to pique students’ interest in the learning of their

mother tongue languages.

Chinese Language

The Chinese Language Unit focused on a variety of

themes for this year’s MTL Fortnight, including

History, Culture, Theatrical Arts and Literature.

The lower secondary students learnt the art of

Chinese Tea Appreciation. They also had the

chance to converse with last year’s Golden Pin

Design awardee, Miss Elsa Ng, on the culture of

Chinese funerals in Singapore. Other activities

included the appreciation of Lao Jiu: The Musical

and a film appreciation of Ilo Ilo, a local

production by Anthony Chen which won the 2013

Cannes Film Festival Award.

Chinese Opera Mask Design

Malay Language

The theme for this year’s Malay Language MTL

Fortnight was ‘Malay Traditional Handicraft’.

Students went through a hands-on experience of

the different types of Malay handicrafts, Wau

Making, Batik Painting, Wayang Kulit and Jawi

Calligraphy.

Wayang Kulit Design

Tamil Language

For the Tamil Language Unit, the primary focus of

the activities is to encourage the students to

actively converse in Tamil and appreciate the

Tamil culture. This year, the emphasis was on

traditional games and dances. Our students

participated actively in the workshops and

appreciated the cultural nuances of the Tamil

Language.

‘Karagaatam’ folk dance

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April 2017

Community Food Waste Recycling Project @

Punggol East

Organised by the Rivervale Court Residents’

Committee, the project aims to create a greater

awareness about food waste recycling among

residents and students, and hopes to cultivate

recycling habits among students.

Environment Club members and Secondary 1

students reached out to the canteen stall holders

to educate them about food waste reduction and

recycling. Our students collected inedible food

waste from them every other day to put into the

food waste recycling machine to churn out

fertilisers for our butterfly garden.

From left to right: Student collecting inedible food waste from school canteen stall holder and placing it in a recycling machine

On 22 April, a group of students enthusiastically

shared about ways to reduce food waste with the

Punggol East residents at Rivervale Mall. The

students also showcased the experiments they

conducted in their Applied Learning Programme

lessons on Waste Management.

Secondary 3 Flag Day

The Secondary 3 students participated in the

Society for the Physically Disabled (SPD) Flag Day

on 8 April 2017 as part of the effort to contribute

back to society. The students worked with their

classmates to raise funds for the SPD. In spite of

the intermittent rain showers, the students’

spirits were not dampened and a total of $17,752

was raised.

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April 2017

Punggol Vista Community Sports Club Charity

Run

The objective of the Charity Run organised by

Punggol Coast Community Sports Club is to raise

funds for the needy students in the Punggol

Community. The students from 3T1 had the

opportunity to co-organise the event by being

involved in the planning of the race. The poster for

the Race was designed by Kong Jia Rue.

Students’ Reflections

Although this programme was tiring and difficult,

it was worth it as it helped those people in need.

– Kong Jia Rue’s group

I found it very tiring and challenging as we did not

know where to start. However, as time went by,

we were able to overcome the difficulties.

– Tanushri Jambagi, 3T1

National Schools Volleyball Competition

In the National Schools Volleyball semi-finals, our

Volleyball ‘B’ Division boys lost the match against

Dunman Secondary School (DMN) with a score of

1-2.

Although the boys were upset about losing the

semi-finals, they persevered and emerged

victorious against Bukit Panjang Secondary School

in the 3rd/4th playoffs.

They won the match with a score of 2-0, gaining

our school a third placing in the National Schools

Competition.

Google Reference School

Punggol Secondary School has been officially

recognised as a Google Reference School in view

of our teachers and students using

the Google platform for collaborative learning

and self-directed learning. We are the

second Google reference school in the Asia

Pacific region and we are listed in

the Google Directory.