Sec 3 Science Learning Journey

Mdm Kelly Tan, a PSG member, volunteered to help the Science Learning Journey school event by assisting the teacher to supervise the sec 3 students. She took a half-day-off to take part in the Sec3 Learning Journey on 10/03. She has two daughters in TK (Sec1 & 3). Through her participation, she has also learnt more about flora and fauna from the Hort Park visit. The following article and pictures are her contribution to describe her experience in the event. I thank Kelly for her blog posting and share the joy of participation as a PSG.

Learning Journey: Hort Park
As part of the Sec 3 Science Learning Journey, educational trips were organized to the following places such as the Tuas Incinerator Plant, the Perfume Factory and the HortPark, among others.

On 10 March 2009, I tagged along as a Parent Volunteer with 31 Sec 3 students to HortPark, together with Mrs Tey. At HortPark, we were split into 2 groups. The Guide for my Group, Mr Vickers, spent the next one hour enlightening us with his wide knowledge of the plants grown there. Another Guide took on the other group together with Mrs Tey.
HortPark, the gardening hub, is a one-stop gardening hub that brings together gardening-related recreational, educational research and retail activities under one big canopy in a park setting. It is a knowledge hub for plants and gardening and provides the platform for the industry to share best practices and showcase garden designs, products and services. This 23-hectare regional park in south-western Singapore is also a park connector, connecting Telok Blangah Hill Park to Kent Ridge Park.
HortPark, official opening in April 2008, is Southeast Asia's first one-stop gardening and lifestyle hub. It is developed at a cost of $13 million. Students were seriously at work as shown in the picture.
There are the Gold section where the plants grown there consist mainly of golden or yellow leaves, which give the impression that the place is golden in the background.

There is also the Silver section where the undersides of the leaves are silvery. We are shown the “Prayer Plants” where the big leaves of such plants will fold up in the evening, to resemble the hands in prayers. There is also a plant with leaves that gives out fishy smell on the fingers when rubbed.

Mr Vickers then showed us a plant which gives out a pungent and fishy smell on our fingers when we rubbed our fingers on the leaves.

We also came across the “Recycled Section” where the plants are grown in recycled items such as bottles, containers, boots, bathtub and even toilet bowls. It shows that all one needs is to be imaginative and the one’s garden will turn out interesting and eye-catching.

Then there is the “Herbs and Spices” section where you can find medicinal plants and spices like those one uses to cook curry and laksa with.

Imported flowers and plants which can survive only in temperate countries were housed in the $7 million prototype glasshouses. The high cost was apparently due to the special drainage underneath the glasshouses and the special glass panels which absorbs the external heat. These glasshouses even incorporate special window binders which will roll down automatically accordingly to the temperature in the glasshouse so as to shade the plants and flowers from the heat.

Lastly, we were shown the various and creative ways of beautify one’s home with the indoor plants, which shows that one can live in greenery even in high-rise living.

The excursion was certainly eye-opening and enlightening, especially if the tour is guided by an experienced staff from HortPark. The children were eager learners and all went well. They were safely back in school at the end of the day.

It is definitely worth going if one has not been there!

Posted by Kelly Tan, PSG

TK1 Nite 2009 - A special night for Parents

At 4pm, many parents were ready to start the school tour. Members of the Parents Support Group were on hand to quickly register the participants.
In groups of ten, parents were led by student councillors to view various school facilities. Student project work like filtration and distillation systems were on display in the science lab.
After the lab and DnT workshop tours, parents were led to their child's classroom to have an appreciation of the child's study environment. Most parents took the opportunity to write notes of encouragement on their child's decorated desk tops.
Class reps of sec 1C had a great start. They took the opportunity to introduce themselves and their roles to the parents. Lolita is one the 1C class reps whom I've met. She certainly showed alot of earnest.

Before dinner commenced, Principal and Heads of department spent some time to brief the parents on the school and how parents can help their child transition into the rigor of sec 1 education in TK.
Parents got to know each other while dining. Contacts were exchanged and parenting experiences shared. I was fortunate to be able to share some of the experiences of the volunteers and brief parents on participation opportunities. Mr Armajit Singh, whose son is in Sec 1D, will be keen to participate in the sports day relay event. His wife has also express keen interest to get active in PSG work. Another parent, Hemila, is definitely considering some form of involvement and was seeking some guidance from PSG member, Sunitha. Besides these parents, I am confident that there are more parents who are just as keen.

This year, the PSG committee received valuable donations from parents to support its activities. All your donations will be put to good use, to benefit the TK students!
The PSG committee would like to thank all the parents who have shown their support. We have enjoyed the company of parents who attended the TK1 Nite and we hope you, the parents, felt the same. Your participation will help to foster good partnership with the school's teaching staff. There were parents who understood the school's needs and have registered their desire to volunteer their services or participate in future events. Parents can also volunteer or register their participation by contacting your class reps or write an email to the PSG committee listed in this blog. Thank you for a wonderful evening with us.

TK ROAD RUN

Flag off by SAC Chairman, Mr. Sim

Checking out the prizes

Some of the supportive Parents

"With a huff and a puff...away they go...but we're not talking about the big, bad wolf blowing down the three little pigs' house here! It's the annual TK road run that has again drawn the full participation of the students & staff at TK, not forgetting our ardent parents supporters too. It was a triumphant day for the top runners who were justly rewarded for their stamina and perseverance with their much deserved trophies. and a tiring but a great workout for all others who had participated. Kudos to the organising committee for a great job well done!"

Roger

Cyber Wellness course for parents

PSG volunteers were organized and ready to welcome the participants for the Cyber Wellness seminar on 17th Jan 09.

•Participants received handouts and a booklet (otherwise to be purchased at $6 from bookstores). You can checkout http://www.planetcrush.org/
•"...definitely a recommended guide for all parents - easy-to-read, comprehensive and relevant. It contains useful references and websites for readers..."- Mdm So Mun Yee Vice Principal, Tanjong Katong Secondary Shool


•Mei Mei, Deepu and Mega registered the participants as they streamed into the library for the seminar.
•In my own words, Cyber Wellness is about how to have your child’s interaction with the computer world be meaningful without letting it spiral out of control, into harm’s way.



•The speaker is from CRUSH, an external organisation that specializes in this area for school going children.
•This is the second time which I had attended this seminar after a year's gap. It is still an eye-opener for me as the materials are updated. I wasn’t aware that kids could purchase “cherry” stored value cards from convenience stores readily. With these cards they could gain access to some sites which could be quite objectionable.
•I was reminded that while our children may be physically away from the computer but mentally their minds could be still be wondering within cyber fantasies even when eating, doing their homework or attending classes. The course shared insights on the fundamentals into the issue from a child’s perspective and gave tips on how to manage the issue as parents.


•Tea break was provided and timed well. Parent spoke to one another to get a feel of the situation other parents are facing and exchanged points on how they are handling the situations. This was quite an icebreaker. During the chats, I found an expectation from parents to know if there are settings or software to block access to harmful sites. This can be easily done under “Tools-> Internet options-> Security” which allows you to set blocks, etc. The course is about equiping parents with more effective tools by understanding the psychology of the issue and develop practical ways to manage it.



•I came away wiser despite having attended the talk a year ago. I am again motivated to get my child to find alternative hobbies to strike a better balance with Cyber space.

CCA Day

CCA day got many students exploring the stands/stalls for a glimpse of the various groups and clubs. The band was there to promote their activity and providing a carnival atmosphere to the event with their blend of music pieces.

As usual, the PSG was there to stay in touch with parents through such an occassion. PSG members was there to get to know the parents, offer their views and experience on CCA as parents for parents. PSG was also there to promot the Cyber Wellness workshop and TK1 nite. There were questions on why the TK1 night starts at 4 pm. Here is why.... upon arrival, parents will start their tour to the school's facility to let them understand the environment their child will learn in. The facilities and labs will give parents a better understanding of the work the child will have to handle. The most interesting part of the tour has to be the classroom visit (your child's). Parents will have to do something there (I will keep this a mystery for those parents who are attending). There will be a segment whereby the school principal and his staff members will brief parents on some key elements which secondary one in TK differs from primary 6. These briefing will help parents to manage their child better with regards to the schoolwork.

Along with the event sign up activities, PSG put T-shirts on sale. This time round, display board was put up to let parents know that the T-shirt sale do carry a purpose of supporting the PSG Character award. Let me elaborate.

Annually, PSG set aside monetary awards to give recognition to students. The nominees for the award comes from the teachers and PSG will be part of the final committee to select the winner. The nominees are students who exhibit exceptional qualities in their character.

Picture of PSG members after the event. The bond among the PSG volunteers is a great indication of the friendship that exists.

I will be attending the Cyber Wellness workshop and will let you know more about the event in my next posting.

Sec 1 Registration - Time to meet the parents

8:ooam was already a hive of activities for the PSG volunteers preparing to receive the parents of the sec 1 registration.

The smiling faces of these yellow-shirt volunteers speaks volumes to give a warm welcome to the visiting parents.

Parents were a brief write-up about PSG.
Time was set aside for parents to understand their role and opportunity to participate as stakeholders.

Safri, Chairman of the PSG, did have a captive audience as he guided the sec 1 parents through the activities of the year.

Parents workshop on Mentoring Teens in the Internet age is of significant relevance to the challenges faced by parents in dealing with the issue of Internet discipline and its appropriate use.

Immediately emphasis was for parents to attend the TK1 nite to have the opportunity for parents of the same class to network and help with the child's progress in school with information sharing.

There were encouraging response to the above 2 mentioned events and PSG volunteers were on hand to help register interested parties. Alan and Peck Khoon were to busy to notice the photo shot taken of them.

New PSG members are already at ease with PSG volunteer Veronica and were exchanging information. We will be more than happy if some of these goodwill will translate into more parent- participation to partner the school.

Siew Hoon is our excellent mandarin speaking PSG member besides Doris Teo. Both ladies are conversant in English as well. Hence, for parents who want to get your message across with mandarin, you are in good hands.

Malay and Indian PSG members will also be able to connect well in mother tongue with the PSG committee thru Safri, Sarifah, Mega, Sunitha, Rashvender, etc

Don't forget the date! TK1 Nite 21 Feb (Sat). If you have missed the registration, please seek us out through the contact in this blog. We will attend to you and will be more than happy to have you with us on that day.

This is Ginger. Parent of a child in sec 1G. We thank parents like her to be able to volunteer help to others in her PSG role.

As for me, I have a child in Sec 3 by start of next year and a second child in sec 1 when school re-opens. So, you should be seeing me around for some time. I am incidentally a old boy from TK, graduated in 1978. TK runs in my family.
Hope to see the new faces in the coming year. Your particpation is valuable to the school and an inspiration to other parents.

Games Carnival 2008

It is Games Carnival day. Students were back from examinations and were ready to let their hair down to enjoy the event.

Students participating in the games represented their houses. The houses with the most points would be the champion for the Games Carnival.

Intense competitions took place at various venues in the school.

Boys and girls from all levels took part in indoor games such badminton and table tennis.

There was also a computer quiz held in the computer lab where students pitted their IT and gaming skills against each other.

Outdoor games such as netball, basketball and soccer were also played.

Students having fun and games right after the exams.

Parents showed their support by bringing curry chicken and hot dog for charity sales to add to the atmosphere.

Parents and students worked together to set up and run the stalls.

Students, teachers and staff patronised the stalls to grab a bite after their games or while watching them.

By noon, food and drinks were already sold out!

The parent volunteers who has helped immensely were Norhayati, Michelle, Tan Siew Hoon, Sylvia and Evelyn.

Will like to take this opportunity to thank them for their generousity in giving their time and effort to make the Games Carnival a success.

Posted by: Ng Hei Tong