Issue 2, 2015 Bedok South Secondary School

In Touch PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE

Welcome back to school and to our second E-Newsletter ‘In Touch’ of 2015. To all our students, never forget that every one of you matters to us. We take pride in educating you as well as nurturing you to become successful and valuable members of society. Each of you have your own qualities. Success is not measured by just academic results alone. Some of you have talent in areas outside academic studies like music, dance, sports, creative and design thinking and it is the aim of the school to help you leverage on your talent. We will spare no effort in helping each and everyone of you to maximise your potential. Term 1 has come to an end so quickly and as you enter Term 2, you will realise that your studies and school work are part of a continuous journey. It is demanding but with proper time management and effort as well as the guidance from your teachers, you will achieve your dreams. To your family, you are everything. Always appreciate your parents’ efforts and reward them by studying diligently and succeeding in all that you do. You will bring smiles to their faces and only then you will realise how happy you have made them. This year marks 50 years of Singapore's independence and there will be many activities which you will all be involved in, be it in school or outside. Be proud when you participate in these activities and wear the colours of Singapore with pride and joy. Be proud of Sin-gapore's success and push yourself to be part of this Singapore success story. Stand up and be counted. Pauline Fun (Ms)

BDS ALIVE

Every month, the Staff Welfare Being Committee organises BDS Alive to encourage all

staff to participate in sporting and healthy lifestyle activities. On 13 Jan 2015, enthusiasts

gathered in the ISH to play friendly badminton matches with one another. That was also

a prelude to our 2nd Principal Challenge Trophy, which commenced in February, where

teams from different departments displayed teamwork and determination to compete in

various sports and other activities for the coveted prize.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Div 3 Debate Competition .... 2

Prefects’ Investiture ............. 2

History Learning Journey .... 2

CCA Fair ............................... 3

Hampers of Love .................. 4

Total Defence Day ................ 4

MT Fortnight ........................ 4

VIA Program ......................... 5

Study Skills Workshop ......... 5

PSG Session .......................... 6

ICARE VALUES

INTEGRITY

COURAGE

ACCOUNTABLE

RESPECT

EXCELLENCE

* Students interested in competing in future debating tournaments may contact Mr Matthias Chew (ext 114)

Our Sec 2 History students experienced the Japanese Occupation up close when they visited

Memories at the Old Ford Factory Museum on 19, 20 and 22 Jan 2015.

A total of 237 students retraced Lieutenant-General Arthur Percival’s walk of shame up to the

site of the British surrender in 1942, where today stands a museum containing numerous arte-

facts and sources from the Synonan-to era.

This visit was part of the Lower Secondary Historical Investigation, a key feature of the new

History syllabus which aims to get students thinking like historians. Our student-historians

were tasked to look for historical evidence from various sources, from physical artefacts like

wartime ration cards and banana notes, to oral history recordings. This then served as a basis

for them to write their very own account of history.

Our young student-historians certainly enjoyed seeing authentic Occupation-era artefacts in

the flesh. Several were even seen picking up a

few Japanese phrases from the language post-

ers published in newspapers during the war!

DIV 3 DEBATING COMPETITION

HISTORY LEARNING JOURNEY TO MEMORIES

AT THE OLD FORD FACTORY

On 9 Jan 2015, BDS’s very own debate team

made its debut at the Debate Association

Division 3 Debate Championships held at

Anglican High School.

Over the course of the day, our young team,

comprising Chariya Prakap, Park Jun Yong,

Christopher McKaige from Sec 2A, Christof-

fer Hansen from Sec 2B and Carlos German

from Sec 3D, crossed swords with opponents

from other schools, debating issues ranging

from violent video games to government

scholarship system.

Despite heavy school commitments, the

quintet found time to train intensely in early

January. The team put up a stiff fight against

more experienced and senior opponents.

They came up short in all three rounds

against the School of the Arts, Seng Kang

Secondary School, and Pasir Ris Crest Sec-

ondary School.

Despite missing out on the elusive win,

BDS’s young debaters felt that participating

in the tournament had been a good experi-

ence. “We learnt many things from both our

opponents and the judges,” said Chariya.

PREFECTS’

INVESTITURE

21 Jan 2015 certainly marked yet

another new chapter in the history

of the Prefectorial Board at BDS.

Amidst the hustle and bustle of a

new school year and preparations

for the CCA Fair, the prefects had

come together to plan, rehearse

and carry out the Prefects’ Investi-

ture 2015 successfully.

This year’s investiture featured the

official appointment of 21 trainee

prefects who had completed their

probation period, as well as the

appointment of the new Executive

Committee, made up mainly of Sec

3 and 4 prefects showing dedica-

tion, commitment, and leadership

consistently through the years.

As the Head Prefect, Kellie Zheng

(Sec 4E), led the Prefectorial Board

in the recitation and reaffirmation

of the Prefects’ Pledge, all prefects

were once again, reminded of their

mission – to serve with passion,

commitment and intrepidity.

2

CCA FAIR AND AESTHETICS SHOWCASE

The CCA vision of BDS is for all students to be BDSians of exem-

plary Character and Abilities. The annual CCA Fair and Aesthet-

ics Showcase took place on 16 Jan 2015, giving Sec 1 students and

their parents a preview of all the CCA available in the school. This

event is held yearly to enable them to make an informed decision on

their choice of CCA. It is also a platform for our senior students to

display their talents. This year, the Guest-of Honour gracing the pa-

rade and the event was the Parent Support Group Chairperson, Ms

June Tan, while our students from the National Cadet Corps (Land)

took up the role of Guard-of-Honour

Apart from the parade put together by our students from the various

uniformed groups, those in the performing arts programme also put

up performances at the CCA Fair. In addition, our young athletes

from the sports groups demonstrated their sports skills and training

routines, while the clubs showcased their projects and awards won at

the various competitions.

The CCA allocation for Sec 1 students has been completed and their

CCA sessions commenced on 30 Jan 2015. The school wishes them all

the best in their pursuit of excellence in their respective fields of inter-

est.

3

HAMPERS OF LOVE

The Chinese New Year celebrations

kicked off with a bit of excitement

this year as the whole school was

involved in the Hampers of Love

Project. Each class was given the

task to prepare 3 to 4 hampers

which were to be given to the

needy in the nearby community

under the Siglap RC Zones, namely

Bedok Ixora, Siglap East and Sig-

lap Lucky Valley RCs. The excite-

ment was heightened further with

a friendly level competition for the

best hamper, which spurred active

participation in the project. How-

ever, the objectives of the project

were clearly evident by the kind

donations in the hampers made by

the classes. The school staff were

also involved in the project. At the

end of the competition, all the

hampers were transported to the

three RC Zones and our Project

Work Leaders as well as the gradu-

ating class leaders helped to dis-

tribute the hampers to the needy.

TOTAL DEFENCE DAY

The MTL (Mother Tongue Language) Fortnight was held from 9 Feb 2015 to 18 Feb 2015

in conjunction with the Chinese New Year celebrations. A wide range of activities were

planned by the MTL Department to provide various platforms and opportunities for stu-

dents to learn and appreciate the culture of their MTL. During this fortnight, students

participated in quizzes, a Chinese singing competition, lantern-making and Angklung

workshops and a cultural amazing race. They also learnt about Traditional Chinese Medi-

cine (TCM), batik making, Malay cultural games, Malay traditional food and many more.

The students had had an enriching time and it is hoped that they would continue to learn

and be more proficient in their MTL.

Total Defence Day (TDD) is remembered

and commemorated yearly as the day the

British surrendered Singapore to the Jap-

anese during World War 2. This annual

event reminds us that the task of building

and defending a nation never comes easy,

and that we must continue to work togeth-

er to preserve our independence, stability

and prosperity of Singapore.

This year, BDS commemorated TDD on 11

Feb 2015. The theme for TDD 2015 is ‘The

Strength of our Nation’. On that day, all

students from the various national uni-

formed groups wore their uniforms so that

all would be able to identify and recognise

their roles and contributions to Total De-

fence. There was a fire drill and students

were taught how and what to do in an

emergency situation, reminding all of the

importance of Civil Defence. They were

also engaged in an assembly programme

to learn about the different roles played by

various professionals in contributing to

the building of the nation. Students were

also tasked during their Character and

Citizenship (CCE) lesson to reflect on what

they could do to demonstrate their com-

mitment to the well-being of Singapore,

thus fostering unity and strength in the

country.

MOTHER TONGUE FORTNIGHT

4

For their VIA project this year, student leaders from the graduating classes worked in

partnership with Singapore Thong Chai Medical Institute. In this project, our students

were involved in the planning and carrying out of the Flag Day event for the institute.

Through a learning journey on 15 Jan 2015, the student leaders were exposed to the work

of the institute and how it had contributed to the society. During the learning journey,

they learned about the beneficiaries for the institute and how it had grown in strength to

help support the community in the area of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). The

student leaders then shared their learning experiences with their classmates during CCE

lessons the following week. They also started planning for the Flag Day to help raise funds

for the institute.

On 7 Feb 2015, the Flag Day was successfully run with the support from our BDS VIA

Committee and the graduating class teachers as well as volunteers from the institute. BDS

managed to raise more than $8000 through the selling of flags.

SINGAPORE THONG CHAI MEDICAL INSTITUTE

VALUES IN ACTION (VIA) PROGRAMME

STUDY SKILLS WORKSHOP

5

A Study Skills Programme has been launched for Sec 1 Normal Academic and Normal

Technical students. This programme covers a series of 6 modules that would be car-

ried out for the students during their course of studies at BDS.

The 6 modules covered in the Study Skills Programme are : Time Management Skills,

Study Strategies, Test-Taking Strategies, Note-Taking Skills, Organisation and Goal

Setting as well as Academic Liabilities.

Each stream will attend 2 workshops in Semester 1, which would be followed up with

a review and a booster session in Term 3. In between these workshops, the Student

Welfare Committee will monitor the students’ progress twice a week, observing their

application of these study skills in their classes and offering constant feedback to

encourage them to employ these skills as a habit of learning.

The Study Skills Programme has proven to be useful and relevant. Teachers from St

Margret’s Secondary School and St Andrew Secondary School joined the school to

learn at these sessions so that they could also cover these modules with their own

students as well. The Student Welfare Committee looks forward to seeing the out-

comes of this programme and how it would enable our students to do better academi-

cally.

PARENTS’ TEA SESSION CUM BOLLYWOOD

VEGGIES TOUR

Traditionally, the Parent Support Group (PSG) of BDS organises an annual parents’ tea

session for the purpose of bringing together all the parents of BDS and helping them to

network with one another at the beginning of the year.

On 17 Jan 2015, the PSG Exco, together with the Family Matters Coordinator, Ms Janice

Tay, had once again made this year’s tea session yet another success with a parenting talk

on ‘How To Motivate Your Child To Success’ as well as a short trip to Bollywood Veggies

Farm at Kranji.

There were about 15 parents who came for the session and the majority of them were

parents of Sec 1 students. The Principal, Ms Fun, started the session with a welcoming

speech promptly at 9am and thereafter, the PSG Chairperson, Ms June Tan, introduced

the PSG programmes for the entire year.

The parents had enjoyed and benefitted much from the session especially the parenting

talk. The external trainer did an excellent job in engaging the parents and bringing across

the practical ideas to them on ways to motivate their children at home.

However, the real highlight of the whole event was a quick getaway to a rustic farm hid-

den away from the hustle and bustle of our city state. Together with some school staff, the

parents were whisked away to Bollywood Veggies, an organic farm located in Kranji coun-

tryside. The trip was indeed a refreshing change from the usual parent networking ses-

sion. When the group arrived at the farm, they were promptly ushered straight into the

greenery and scenic farm side. The group was taken on a guided tour around the farm to

learn about the various plants and trees grown at the farm. It was not only an enriching

but also relaxing experience for them as the quietness of the farm brought much calmness

and peace to their souls.

After the tour, the group had lunch at the bistro within the farm known as Poison Ivy. The

lunch was simple but delicious, just like the taste of home-cooked food. The menu com-

prised stir-fried veggie, curry chicken, tofu together with the cooling lemongrass drink.

After lunch, the group was given some time to shop for fresh produce before returning to

school at about 1.30 pm.