7 August 2020

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

XNPS Events.………….2

Eureka!.……….……….3

Quality Learning

Experiences

Celebrating A Multicultural

Singapore...……………..4

Going Local for

Literature....……………...5

Mother Tongue Fortnight

Part 1…………………....6

‘Fruitilicious’ Monday!.…...7

Mask-Decorating

Project…...…...………......8

My Singapore, My

Muse………………….....9

Cooking Up A Storm...…..9

Meaningful Partnerships

We’ve Got You

Covered!...........................10

Notes of

Appreciation.…….....….11

Treats & Tricks.……..….11

ESTABLISHED 1932

AUGUST ISSUE PRINCIPAL’S NOTE

55 Years of Nationhood!

Singapore celebrates 55 years of nationhood this year. The COVID-

19 situation has forced us to find innovative ways to commemorate

our National Day, just as we too have discovered many creative ways

to engage our pupils in learning.

Just last month, our country experienced a different form of General

Elections. Our pupils (and some of my younger colleagues) will have

to wait a few more years before they get to vote. Not everyone will

end up as a full time politician but everyone should take an active

interest in politics. The desired outcome for every Singaporean is to

be an active and responsible citizen who can make informed

decisions, especially when it comes to casting our votes. As educators,

we all have a part to play towards helping our pupils make an

informed choice in their vote. The preparation for this begins many

years before that, in school.

All our Curricular and Co-curricular programmes enable our pupils to

think for themselves and to be gracious citizens. When we provide

opportunities for our pupils to make choices for their CCAs, MoCCA

modules or Learning Journey sites, we are allowing them to make

informed choices. When we allow them to decide and act on

appropriate behaviours and take charge of their own learning, we

are preparing them for similar situations in the future. These include

their choice of secondary school, post-secondary pathways, first

career, life partner etc; including exercising their choice to cast their

vote at the ballot box one day.

Thank you for collaborating with us on this journey, for our children’s

future and the future of Singapore.

Yours sincerely,

Mr Charles Chan

Principal

2

XNPS Events

Term / Week Day / Date Event / Activity For

Term 3B

Week 9 Friday 7 August

National Day

School Celebrations

All levels

school hours: 7.30a.m. - 1.30p.m.

Term 3B

Week 10 Monday 10 August

National Day

Public Holiday All levels

Term 3B

Week 10

Thursday 13 August and

Friday 14 August

PSLE Oral Examination P6

Home-Based Learning P1 - P5

Term 3B

Week 11 / 12

Monday 17 August to

Tuesday 25 August P6 Preliminary Examination P6

Term 3B Week 11 / 12

Monday 17 August

to Friday 28 August

Term 3 Review P3 - P5

Upcoming Dates for August 2020

3

STEM Activity 4:

What You Can Do With A

Direct Current (DC) Motor

Eureka!

A DC motor changes electrical energy into rotational movement. The electrical source to the DC motor can

come from batteries which convert chemical energy into electrical energy. One of the first electromagnetic

rotary motors was invented by Michael Faraday in 1821. The modern DC motor was invented in 1873

by Zénobe Gramme. Below are some project ideas sourced from the internet which you could do with a

DC motor.

Explanation for July STEM Activity 3: Paper Bridge Challenge

Changing the shape of a material can change the way it resists forces. Although

a piece of paper seems flexible and weak, it can be folded, rolled, twisted, or

altered to support quite a bit of weight. Folding the paper helps it to resist

bending forces created by the load of the coins on top of the bridge. The paper can be folded into the

shape of an l-beam or an accordion-pleated, as shown in diagram. Rolling the paper and fastening the

ends with paper clips is another possible solution.

Quality Learning Experiences

Celebrating A Multicultural Singapore

“My parents brought me to try Chendol. It’s icy cold and wonderful to

eat on a hot day. Eat it fast before it melts into a drink!” — Ho Wen

Hong (5A)

The theme for this year’s Racial Harmony Day is ‘Multicultural

Singapore’. What better way to celebrate it than to get our pupils to

explore traditional desserts available in Singapore? Pupils learnt the

names, origins and evolution of different popular traditional desserts

such as Ice Kachang, Chendol, Cheng Tng, Tau Huay and Putu

Mayam. Our pupils were then engaged in fun activities to identify

different traditional desserts. To showcase our ethnic diversity and

cultural innovation, the upper primary pupils came up with novel ways

to combine old elements and new ways to create a truly unique

Singaporean dessert.

4

Teachers posing with pictures of pupils and teachers enjoying desserts

with loved ones.

Teachers enjoying sweet and creamy

homemade Mango Pudding - a

traditional dessert usually served at

Dim Sum restaurants.

Mdm Juhariyah with a bowl of

adapted version of Bubur ChaCha.

Pupils hard at work designing and

drawing their favourite traditional

desserts during FTGP.

Mr Taufek and his children enjoying some traditional Malay desserts

at the comfort of their home.

5

Going Local for Literature

In our bid to #supportlocal, our English Literary Week goes local as we celebrate books by local authors.

As we aim to bring pupils together through Singapore Literature, English Literary Week was delivered with

a twist! Due to Safe Management Measures in these trying times, blended learning was introduced. An

array of books written by local authors was introduced in physical classrooms as well as Google

Classrooms. Following that, pupils logged into Flipgrid to complete tasks designated for their levels during

the Term 3 break. It was truly heartening to see our pupils being fully assimilated to this mode of learning.

They not only had the opportunity to record their responses via video in Flipgrid, they were also able to

watch their classmates’ video responses. It was encouraging to see the pupils taking interest to get to know

our local talents. Hopefully, it will inspire them to dabble in writing and work towards being one of our

authors in the near future!

“We loved how informative and colourful the Prezi presentation on our local authors is! When our teacher went

through the presentation in class, we were excited to explore it further at home. To top it off, we had fun

sharing about our favourite book genres with our classmates over at Flipgrid. We could even add emojis into

our videos! We had a great time watching each other’s video responses.” — 3E pupils.

A buffet of books written by local authors, David Seow and

Adeline Foo, placed in the library for pupils to indulge in.

An array of books displayed to

introduce the pupils to our

local authors.

Pupils excited to get their hands

on the coveted books of our local

authors.

Pupils had fun recording themselves in Flipgrid.

Some got to share more about their favourite

local authors while others had a go in

becoming local authors themselves!

6

Mother Tongue Fortnight Part 1

Mother Tongue Fortnight 2020 has been a fulfilling learning experience for all pupils. It exposed pupils to a

wide range of activities related to their culture. During these two weeks, a kaleidoscope of both classroom

and recess activities were conducted to enable students to learn and use MTL. The classroom activities

include traditional painting and traditional crafts which enable pupils to learn MTL actively.

Pupils tried writing poetry on bamboo sticks

during Chinese Language lessons.

In Tamil Language class, pupils had a go at

puppet-making.

Pupils learning the art of folding songket,

a Malay traditional cloth into tanjak, a

traditional Malay male headgear.

Tamil Language pupils role played as

popular poets in Tamil Literature.

While the boys donned traditional headgear,

the girls learned how to weave mini baskets.

Pupils had fun decorating their

Chinese Water Bottle Gourds.

Every year, the School Welfare Committee will procure a variety of fruits featuring the king of fruits,

durian! For the fruit party this year, staff members were seated in tables of four in four different venues

spread across the school. Despite the Safety Management Measures, Xingnan staff still celebrate one

another’s milestones as one big Xingnan family. All staff were connected via Google Meet and we

presented the Long Service Awards, Promotions and also official appointments — all while we savoured the

delicious fruits.

A sincere congratulation to all our awardees and a very big thank you to all who helped make the fruitful

event possible!

‘Fruitilicious’ Monday!

#XingnanTogether - A Fruit Party

What is a fruit party without the king of fruits, the Almighty Durian?

Members of staff were seated in tables of four but this did not dampen the mood

as everyone savoured delicious fruits in the presence of good company!

7

8

Look at our beautifully decorated masks!

Mask-Decorating Project

What better way to encourage self-directedness in our students than to give them the opportunity and

platform to lead in a project? Our Prefectorial Board embarked on a Mask Decoration project where they

encouraged others to decorate their own reusable masks using fabric markers or yarns to create lanyards.

Through this project, we hope to encourage our pupils to explore their creativity as part of adapting to and

embracing ‘the new normal’ of wearing masks.

“I made a lanyard for my mask at the MaTriX during recess. I chose to make a mask lanyard because it is

convenient for me especially when I have my snack and water break. I can just drop my mask and it hangs

around my neck. I enjoyed the activity with my friends and when it is our class’s turn at the MaTriX again, I will

want to try drawing on my mask instead.” — Nathanael Lim (2E)

A pupil posing happily with

her new mask lanyard.

Nathaniel having snack break

with his newly decorated mask.

Pupils working together to make mask lanyards.

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My Singapore, My Muse

The first in Xingnan, National Day Lyric Writing Competition aims to produce Xingnan’s very own National

Day Song! The theme for the competition is “Wishes for Singapore”. Pupils, parents and staff were

encouraged to pen lyrics to a fun and catchy tune. Do look out for the end product of our very own Xingnan

Primary School National Day Song 2020!

Our junior Master Chefs had fun

trying out the recipes and sharing

them with their friends.

Ai Wei working on her first draft of

the lyrics.

“I felt very nervous because the song

was quite long and I must figure out

the lyrics to the tune. Nevertheless, I

felt very happy as it was my first time

participating in a music-related

competition here in school!” — Siow

Ai Wei (5C) Ms Sylvia Tan penning

down her ideas for the

song.

Cooking Up A Storm

Primary 1 pupils banded together during Circuit Breaker and shared their favourite recipes of dishes which

they have tried. This project is part of the school's Primary 1 Term 2 Culminating Activity for the theme,

Bon Appétit.

“It was fun looking at all the recipes my friends shared. I also had fun making my Hot Milo, using my mom’s

special recipe.” — Jeyaraj Jaison (1A)

Proud pupils with their

accomplishment!

Scan the QR code to

access recipes shared by

our P1 level.

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Meaningful Partnerships

We’ve Got You Covered!

10

With the Safe Management Measures (SMM) in place, all the more we should be vigilant in our social

distancing. You would have noticed shelters already set up just outside Gate 3. Parents can now observe

safe distancing measures at ease when picking up their children during dismissal. On behalf of our Xingnan

family, we would like to extend our heartfelt thanks and gratitude to our School Advisory Committee (SAC)

for sponsoring these shelters!

Mr Lim and some workers hard at work making sure that the shelters are properly set up.

Shelters being set up just outside Gate 3 to ensure safe distancing between parents.

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Appreciation Notes for Staff

11

To: Uncles and

Aunties

Thank you for

keeping our tables

and floor clean.

Chen Hao Ran (2D)

To: Ms Denise Yap

My daughter is always telling

us how kind Ms Yap is and how

much she enjoys Ms Yap's

lessons. I am very appreciative

of Ms Yap's caring attitude

towards the pupils. Thank you very much, Ms Yap!

Tang Shwu Jing,

Parent of Ng Yu Yan Celynn (2E)

To: Miss Pira

When I needed help during FHBL,

Miss Pira was very patient and

understanding.

Jasper Sim (5C)

To: Cikgu Tuminah

We can't thank you enough for the endless

encouraging words and hard work during

these hard times. My twin girls enjoy their

lessons all the time.

Norine,

Parent of Nur Alya Amanda (3D)

To: Mrs Sheree Teoh

During my first few weeks in XNPS, I

was introduced to her. She’s bubbly,

jovial and gives off an optimistic

aura. She makes me smile. As a

member of SWC, I’ve learnt so

many things from her advice and

suggestions. She drives me to

expand my creativity and be

adaptable. I’m grateful for her

readiness to assist in

improvising ideas and

giving me the opportunity

to execute them. Thank

you, Sheree! :)

Ms Amira

Thank you for your

words of affirmation

to Xingnan staff!

Feedback

Dear readers, your feedback will

be greatly appreciated. Kindly

click here and give us your

feedback on how we can improve

our newsletter. Thank you.

Treats & Tricks

To: Mr Chai, Mr Lim, Mr

Rawi, Mdm Chun Hong,

Mdm Zuridah, Mdm Aneza,

Jesslyn, Siti and Jenny

You’re like a human Siri,

always helping everybody

out and asking nothing in

return. You’re the best! Thank

you so much for everything

you do!

Ms Salini

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