2024 Term 4 Message

9 September 2024

Dear Parents/Guardians,

We are into our last term for the year! How has 2024 been for you and your child thus far? In the busyness of things (and in Singapore, we really tend to pack our schedules quite a bit!), we seldom get the chance to catch our breath, practise mindfulness and reflect on how the past days/months have been. Let’s continue to use this simple question that I have just posed for ourselves and our Admirals. I also hope that such periods of introspection and reflection would fuel our motivation to pursue whatever we are doing with purpose and passion.

You might have noticed that I have chosen to focus on the 4 key 21st Century Competencies (21CC) clusters of MOE’s 21CC framework in my letters this year. We need to prioritise the development of our Admirals’ 21CC in the days ahead. I have since shared my thoughts on (1) Critical, Adaptive and Inventive Thinking, and (2) Communication, Collaboration and Information Skills. In my Term 4 Letter, it leaves me to share some reflections on the 21CC cluster of Civic, Global and Cross-Cultural Literacy. Why is it important for our Admirals to master these competencies?

On the local front, we often talk about Singapore’s strength in our diversity. Naturally, a diverse nation and population has its own set of strengths and challenges. To consolidate our strengths and overcome our challenges, we will most certainly require all our Admirals to appreciate our family, school, and national values and issues. Beyond the simple act of just understanding our individual and collective identity, our Admirals will need to learn how to play an active and constructive role to improve the home, school, community and national fronts. Is this a tall order? It certainly is not easy, but it is absolutely necessary. Hence the common saying that we must start our children from young. Every single one of us has a part to play in nation building. This is the essence of Civic Literacy. In Singapore, because our society is multi-racial and multi-religious, we have the added responsibility of helping our children understand and appreciate the cultural background and identity of self and others. Starting from the school front, we promote social cohesion by giving our Admirals opportunities to interact and collaborate, with openness and sensitivity, with friends from different races, backgrounds and religions. In so doing, we hope to inculcate the skill of Cross-Cultural Literacy in every Admiral.

Beyond the shores of Singapore, we also need to open our Admirals’ eyes to global events and issues because the reverberations of international events are often felt in Singapore. We want our Admirals to be aware of global issues, interconnections and trends, so that they are discerning about the information they are exposed to. More importantly, if they can form and share informed perspectives respectfully, while remaining receptive to perspectives of others, we are facilitating the growth of holistic Admirals – Admirals with an ability to think deeply and truly make a difference in the lives of others. Given Singapore’s unique position as a country, “Global Literacy” is a competency that our Admirals must develop.

Some of these ideas I have just mentioned are hardly new. But as I started drafting this letter, I realise that it is perhaps useful for us to remind ourselves of the importance of them, because it allows us to take a serious look at the purpose of education – why do we teach and expose our Admirals to different experiences in school? We have been focusing on some of these key values and concepts over the past few years, e.g. embracing multiple perspectives, being kind towards each other, resolving our conflicts to achieve harmony. And very recently, my teachers and I have been highlighting the importance of individual and collective responsibility with our children. When we emphasise these values in school, I hope that my Admirals bring these messages back home and share them with you. When they do so, not only are they reminding themselves of the life lessons taught in school, it also shows that they have been mulling and thinking deeply about them. I would hence like to encourage all parents and guardians to join me in asking our Admirals more questions about these values when they go home. Use them as dinner table topics or bedtime stories. Through such conversations and interactions, we grow our children to become deep thinkers and active contributors. Let’s give this a try.

On a more administrative note, I would like to take this opportunity to remind everyone of the change in our 2025 reporting and dismissal timings for the various levels, starting from 3 January 2025, as mentioned in my Term 3 letter to parents. The following tables summarise the new reporting and dismissal timings that our Admirals will have to adhere to in 2025:

(P3-P6s) New arrangement, starting only next year:

(P1-P2s) New arrangement, starting only next year:

Please note that on 2 January 2025, only the new batch of P1 students and parents will be coming in to school. Next year’s P2-P6 Admirals will only be required to report to school on 3 January 2025. Parents with P1 children next year: we will be in touch with you again separately regarding the special timings and arrangements that will take place only for the first few days of 2025, to assist with our P1s proper transition into the new environment.

Some parents and colleagues often joke with me that not only do we give our Admirals homework, the Principal also works our parents very hard by posing reflection questions and encouraging parents to have such conversations with our children. I would like to thank you for allowing me to lead the school in such a way – in partnership and collaboration with all Admiral parents. I really do believe that a huge strength of Admiralty Primary School lies in the ability of our school and parents to collaborate, and to reinforce school-home messages in both directions. Let us continue to build on this strength for the benefit of all our Admirals. Thank you and here’s wishing everyone a very meaningful Term 4!

Yours faithfully,

Mr Chen Zhongyi

Principal