Message for year 2024

Principal’s Message for 2024

As we say goodbye to 2023 and usher in a new year, please join me to welcome all our Primary One Admirals and parents to our big Admiralty Primary family! This new year promises to be an exciting journey of growth for all our Admirals.

At Admiralty Primary School (ADPS), we strongly believe in developing our students into inspiring and empathetic leaders with a strong global outlook – our school Vision that is bold, yet achievable; far-sighted, which reveals our strong belief in the potential of every one of our Admirals. We introduced a school theme last year – Growing Together: Gratitude, Courage, Excellence – as we set out to achieve our school’s vision by inculcating in our students traits and dispositions that we wish to see in them. Our school theme will serve as a common focal point for all students and staff of ADPS, and we strongly believe that if we grow these traits well, we will be making important steps in the right direction. This year, we will continue to deepen our efforts in this area.

Why this school theme, you might ask, and what are the connections to our school vision? Gratitude, for one, is a fundamental quality that all our Admirals must possess. There is indeed much for us to be grateful for in life, and we want our students to understand that as individuals, we are all part of something bigger than ourselves. This quality becomes the foundation of building empathy and compassion in our Admirals. In short, let’s all work towards having an attitude of gratitude in life.

When we see the word “courage”, the ideas of fearlessness and bravado come to our minds at times. Personally, I think that courage is a lot more than that. Courage is not about being fearless or putting up a brave front. All of us have our fears and that is only natural. It is, therefore, how we overcome our fears that matters. As seen in our vision, we believe in developing all our Admirals into leaders at ADPS – leaders who serve with courage and lend a helping hand to those who are in need. We should also be courageous to embrace lifelong learning, and look at our growth as a long journey that is filled with excitement and wonderment.

Lastly, we pay a lot of attention and significance to the idea of excellence at ADPS. But allow me to clarify that excellence is not about being perfect or getting good grades, results or awards. We see excellence as a lifelong pursuit and habit; it is a journey in which our people develop the ability and attitude to give their best in everything that we do. My P2-P6 Admirals would probably recall this catchphrase and question that I have repeated numerous times in 2023: “How do I become a better version of myself every day?” At ADPS, we also want our Admirals to be inspired to solve global challenges, and we adopt an approach whereby we “think global, act local”. We ask that our students dream big but start small so that they can achieve their goals over time. My staff and I are here to guide them in this journey.

To help kickstart 2024, I have a few reflection questions for our Admirals (which are very much applicable to all of us adults too!). I would like to seek parents’/guardians’ partnership in engaging our students in a reflective conversation, and it would be an excellent opportunity for us to hear their thoughts:

1. What am I thankful for in life? How can I continue to show gratitude and graciousness towards people around me? [Gratitude]

2. What worries me in this new year? How can I overcome these worries/fears – who can I turn to for help and what else can I do? [Courage]

3. What are my learning goals (both academic and non-academic ones) for the year? What do I have to do every day for me to slowly reach these goals? [Excellence]

To achieve our goals for all our Admirals and this school, it would require strong collaboration and partnership between the home and school fronts. My staff and I look forward to working closely with you for the growth of our Admirals. Thank you and here’s wishing everyone a joyful and smooth 2024.

Mr. Chen Zhongyi

Principal