New Initiatives

We have now completed about 8 weeks of school. The “new” campus has now grown to feel comfortable to us all. Routines and procedures have been set in place and we feel that we are now running very smoothly across the Primary School.

During our parent orientation evening, I remarked that we had done a great deal of work to our school over the summer months, but there were still projects that we wanted to address. I also said that I would give updates as the year continued. This entry into the Primary Blog will be the first update.

The new play area between Block 3 and the astro turf will have a change coming soon. There are two pieces of equipment that will be added to the playground by the end of October. Currently these new additions are on a boat making their way towards Chatsworth Orchard Campus from Germany. Once the equipment arrives, it will take only a weekend to install.

This past week there were a plethora of resource that arrived for our classrooms. Furniture and other organizational pieces have been delivered to the teachers to help ensure that our classrooms remain clear to maintain a learning environment that is conducive to student learning. As a school, we have made it a goal to be mindful of our classes and their setup as we believe this has a direct impact on student achievement.

The Discovery Center is also growing. This week we received a full cooker and large refrigerator for the students to begin cooking. We are very excited about this as Food Science is great for our Primary program. Additionally, other materials have been added to the Center, enabling the students to be incredibly creative in their activities.

In the coming weeks we look forward to the remaining Perceptual Motor Program (PMP) equipment to arrive. Once this occurs, parents will be invited in to learn more about the program and eventually help the teachers implement it with our youngest students. This is also another initiative that we are proud to bring to our families.

Today was our first MUFTI, or non-uniform dress day. In an effort to bring more opportunities for students to develop their leadership skills, the money collected will be managed by the Primary Student Council. The council will liaise with various stakeholders in the school, including their peers, to determine how the proceeds will be spent or donated to charity. We hope that allowing them a voice in how their school develops will give them more ownership of the school.

We have also begin a new CCA that focuses on environmental issues that happen here in Singapore and globally. This eco group, we hope, will help raise awareness in the Primary School about the importance of taking care of our environment. The best place to start is to begin to look at our own school and homes.

We now have refurbished our Lost and Found property. Near the canteen you will find 4 labeled bins that will house items that have lost their owners. There are plans in how to deal with those items that are never collected. I hope to share more about this once the details have been finalized.

Although there has been much change occur on our campus and to our program, we strive to improve. We welcome your feedback and support for further improvements across all aspects to our school.

Dr. Michael Berry
Head of Primary