Principals lauded for going beyond imparting textbook knowledge
De La Salle School principal Daphne Sing started a gratefulness movement in her school this year. Photo: OOI BOON KEONG
SINGAPORE — Most school fairs limit their guest lists to past and present students as well as teachers. But at Loyang Primary School’s biennial carnival, the doors are wide open to the public so anyone can join in to eat, drink and make merry.
In March, more than a thousand visitors — students, teachers and Pasir Ris residents — flocked to the school’s Loyang Fiesta to enjoy performances by students, food stalls, game booths and free health screenings. And in a record-setting feat that entered the Singapore Book of Records this year, 353 fairgoers balanced a beanbag on their heads to squeals of excitement in a relay race.
The school also invited public agencies such as the Singapore Police Force and the Singapore Civil Defence Force to set up roadshows at the carnival to draw the public’s attention to crime prevention and community preparedness.
“We try to move away from the usual school funfair, where it’s all about playing and having fun. Instead, we want to remind people about community preparedness,” said the school’s principal, Madam Pang Siu San.
The activities helped provide learning points for students, added Mdm Pang. For instance, those who helped with the health screenings also learnt to care for the elderly. “This is the students’ way of giving back to the community,” she said. “We want them to understand that they belong to this larger community.”
Loyang Primary School was one of the examples cited by Education Minister Heng Swee Keat while illustrating the idea of a “neighbourhood school”, where schools become part of the town and bring life to the community.
Speaking at the 17th Appointment and Appreciation Ceremony for principals yesterday, Mr Heng called on school principals to instil in their students life lessons instead of merely passing on textbook knowledge, citing as an example De La Salle School principal Daphne Sing, who started a gratefulness movement in her school this year. As part of the movement, students were encouraged to spend five minutes during the morning assembly each day reflecting on three things for which they could be grateful. They were then given time to write down their thoughts when they returned to their classrooms.
“We made a conscious effort to give them time to reflect and be appreciative,” Mrs Sing said. “I have a big dream — that is, for my students to exponentially influence others as they grow older. I want them to look at the little things they have and not the things they don’t have.”
Over time, she observed that her students became more thoughtful, as they began returning their plates after meals and keeping the toilets clean to ease the workload of the cleaners. VALERIE KOH
