2023 Term 3 Message

26 June 2023

Dear Parents/Guardians,

In my first half of the year with Admiralty Primary School (ADPS), I am glad to have had the chance to meet many of you and your children in person and/or online. While I have not met everyone, I look forward to reaching out and connecting with more of our parents and students in the days and months ahead. The second semester of the school year promises to be an exciting journey, and this letter hopes to provide you with an idea of what our children can look forward to.

Our 2023 School Theme – Growing Together: Gratitude, Courage, Excellence

In my previous termly letter to parents, I focused on the attribute of “Gratitude”; this is an important attribute that all of us should hold dear to. For this term’s letter, I would like to share my thoughts on the importance of “Courage”, and how our home-school partnership can grow our young Admirals into courageous individuals. If you were to search the Internet for the definition of “courage”, you might come across definitions such as “acting without fear” or “bravery; the ability to do something that frightens one”. The following quote on courage, however, has resonated the most with me:

“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it… The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” - Nelson Mandela

Fear is what makes us human, and if we put ourselves in the shoes of our children, there are probably many things that could trigger some extent of fear within them: a subject that they feel less comfortable with, a physical activity that they are worried they cannot master, being disciplined by teachers/parents for not doing the right thing, conflicts with classmates and friends … and the list goes on! But rather than feel crippled and held back by their fears, we would like to grow fortitude in our children to overcome their fears. As the adults in their lives, we have both the ability and experience to empower and support our children in overcoming their fears. At the same time, we should avoid stepping in too quickly to solve the problem for them or remove the obstacles in their way because that would deny them of the chance to gain triumph over their fear.

As I was reflecting on my own experiences in helping children develop courage, in my capacities as an educator as well as a parent myself, I realised that my personal approach could be summarised by the acronym, PEEL:

P – calming Presence. Be there for our children in a calm, measured way, one that soothes and assures them that we are ready to listen and support.

E – Empathise with our children. Put ourselves in their shoes and seek to understand what they are going through in a non-judgemental manner.

E – words of Encouragement. Very often, we do not (and probably should not) need to help our children solve their problems. Rather, we can motivate them, provide wise words of encouragement and practical tips that point them in the right direction.

L – actively Listen to what our children have to tell us. As adults, I find that we tend to jump to conclusions at times, partly because of the instincts and habits that we have built up over the years. By providing our children with a good listening ear, we gain access to their “inner world” – their fears, insecurities, and worries.

When we work with our children to PEEL the layers of their fears, we are helping them to develop their courage and ability to solve problems independently. I hope you will find this approach useful too.

Looking Ahead to Semester 2 of 2023

As we look forward to this new semester, I hope that our children’s learning will continue to be rich; as always, we will create opportunities for our children and staff to grow alongside and holistically. Beyond the daily teaching and learning activities, our children can look forward to other exciting programmes and events such as our cohort-based learning journeys, National Day, and Teachers’ Day celebrations.

Reinforcing positive routines

For effective teaching and learning to take place, please allow me to reiterate some important routines that the home-school partnership should reinforce for our children:

1. Punctuality is a good habit and discipline that we must instil in our children. Let’s work towards ensuring that our children report to school on time (by 7.30a.m.), ready to begin the day.
2. Reading is the foundation of learning. We have designated Mondays to Wednesdays for the reading of English-medium books, Thursdays and Fridays for Mother Tongue Language books.
3. In these growing and formative years, our children need the right nutrition daily. They should have a proper breakfast to start the day right. A couple of our canteen stalls are open early for children who arrive earlier, and they may purchase and consume their breakfast in the canteen. We also strongly encourage our P1-P4 children to bring a healthy snack to school daily, for consumption during their Healthy Snack Break (HSB) in the classroom. The P5-P6 students will have their breaks in the canteen.

Greening our spaces and working towards sustainability

At ADPS, we would like to inculcate in our children from young an appreciation and love for our physical environment. This helps them understand that we all have a responsibility towards protecting our environment, and our actions have a direct impact on sustainability for a greener future.

Besides incorporating such learning within the core curriculum, we have also been continually upgrading our physical infrastructure for sustainability. I had written to parents on 29 April regarding the installation of solar panels on our Indoor Sports Hall rooftop. I am happy to inform everyone that the installation has since been completed. In addition, they would notice a green wall structure being erected on the outside wall of one of the upper primary classroom blocks.

Supporting and Encouraging our Primary 6 Admirals

As we inch towards our Preliminary Examinations (Term 3) and PSLE (Oral in Term 3, Listening Comprehension (LC) and written papers in Term 4), it is only natural that our Primary 6 children will feel a gradual build-up of stress. A healthy amount of stress is important for our children’s development and growth, and I would like to encourage all our children to use this as motivation to work hard and effectively towards their desired goals.

Nevertheless, I must emphasise to all our young Admirals – the examinations and accompanying grades at the end of the day do not define who you are. The PSLE, for example, is only one check point in your academic journey to give you feedback on how you are faring at that point in time. Learning is for life – it did not start with the PSLE, and it certainly does not end with the completion of the PSLE. As a matter of fact, the subsequent choice of your secondary school, in discussion with your parents, will signal an exciting time for you after your primary level experience with ADPS. I highly encourage all children and parents to spend some time to think about the secondary school choice and gather more information to help you make an informed decision. Should you have doubts in this area, our P6 teachers would be more than happy to have an in-depth discussion with you.

Accompanying this letter is our Term 3 calendar of events. As we embark on an exciting Term 3, we look forward to our continued partnership as we grow our children into inspiring and empathetic leaders with a strong global outlook.

Thank you!

Mr Chen Zhongyi
Principal