2023 Term 2 Message

20 March 2023

Dear Parents/Guardians,

I hope everyone had an opportunity to recharge and spend quality time with our loved ones during the March holidays. I will start this Term’s letter slightly differently by posing a couple of questions to trigger some reflections:

1. Looking back at Term 1, what were some highlights of your child’s learning?
2. If your child could focus on doing one thing better in this new term, what would that be?

When I reflect upon all the meaningful experiences and learning that took place for our young Admirals in Term 1, I look forward to Term 2 – and beyond – with a lot of positivity and optimism. On the national front, the COVID-19 situation is now endemic and the DORSCON level has been stepped down from Yellow to Green with effect from 13 February 2023. Notwithstanding this shift in national posture, we must learn from our fight against the pandemic: everyone must continue to do our part to keep one another safe, exercise social responsibility and adopt good hygiene practices. By incorporating these good practices into our daily habits and way of life, we will be more resilient and better prepared for the next pandemic that might come our way in future.

On the school front, almost all our in-person teaching and learning (T&L) activities have resumed. You would have noticed from our school calendar that we have put in place several out-of-school learning activities (e.g. various subject-based Learning Journeys and Swimsafer) to complement classroom-based T&L. These multi-modal learning opportunities form a critical part of our holistic education at Admiralty Primary School (ADPS), and our children always look forward to these activities. For me, it is especially fulfilling when I get to hear our young Admirals chatter excitedly and reflect deeply on their experiences when they return to school. This is because learning – which comprises facets such as knowledge, skills and values – is reinforced when our children get to share their thoughts and emotions with one another, building on what each other has learnt, even after the activities have been completed.

At the start of the year, I announced our school’s theme to all ADPS staff and students – Growing Together: Gratitude, Courage, Excellence. I also shared some of my thoughts in my Principal’s Address (that is featured on the school website), and outlined the direction for our school this year. For the rest of this Term 2 Letter, please allow me to share some deeper thoughts and observations pertaining to the value of “Gratitude”.

There have been numerous occasions in Term 1 when we witnessed our young Admirals showing their gratitude and appreciation towards others – their loud applause for the visitors from Mutiara Bunda (a visiting school from Indonesia), vibrant cheers for fellow ADPS performers during the Chinese New Year concert celebrations, and the daily cheerful greetings to teachers and myself when we see each other every morning. It is absolutely crucial that all our young Admirals understand and live out the value of gratitude. When we are thankful for what we have and appreciate others for being part of our growth journey, we contribute towards a cause that is larger than ourselves.

We will continue to actively develop our children into wholesome and grateful individuals. My teachers and I will continue to facilitate discussions with our children and get them to reflect on their experiences regularly. There will also be opportunities for students to put what they have discussed and learned into action during daily activities and programmes such as our Applied Learning Programme (ALP), Learning for Life Programme (LLP) and Values-in-Action (VIA). On the home front, we would like to seek parents’/guardians’ strong support and partnership too. Do inculcate in them the importance of showing their gratitude towards all the people around them – grandparents, relatives, helpers, siblings and yourselves! If the language and actions adopted in school and home are consistent, I am certain our children can embody the value of gratitude in time to come.

As a school, we are grateful for the close partnership that we have had with all our parents. Naturally, there would be instances when you may be concerned about your child’s progress/well-being. As always, I would like to encourage parents to get in touch with your child’s Form or Subject teachers to seek the necessary clarifications. Please note that our school staff can be contacted during the school term (excluding weekends, Public Holidays and School Holidays) between 7.30a.m. and 6.00p.m. We seek your kind understanding that the school does not expect our staff to respond to parent queries over the weekend or after work hours as part of our respect for their personal space and time. Our staff would strive to respond to your queries by the next working day during their free period. If the queries/requests made during working hours are urgent, you may contact the General Office at 6362 0598 for assistance.

I hope my personal reflections and suggestions can serve as food for thought. In my subsequent termly letters to parents, I will keep everyone updated on our progress in the areas of “Courage” and “Excellence”, and suggest concrete steps that the school-home partnership could adopt to enhance our children’s development in these areas.

Thank you for your continued partnership and support.

Yours sincerely,

Mr Chen Zhongyi
Principal