The Mayflower Promise (Issue 2, 2023)

MFSS Publicity Team Presents

THE MAYFLOWER MAYFLOWER PROMISE Issue No. 2 | 2023

Celebrating the Stars of Mayflower

Click to catch a glimpse of our Mayflower Secondary School programme in 2022 - 2023!

In This Issue: PROGRAMMES & CELEBRATIONS! Speech Day Tea Time Concert SL Investiture Ceremony Hari Raya Celebrations & MTL Fortnight

TEACHING & LEARNING Music: Dance Competition D & T Awards Applied Learning Programme Math: Code for Fun Taster Lessons for Primary 6s NE Learning Journeys

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STUDENT DEVELOPMENT & CO-CURRICULUM Caught Bee-ing Good Enterprise Club National School Games Singapore Youth Festival & SYF Festival Concert

CELEBRATING THE STARS OF MAYFLOWER

Mayflower Secondary School held its 42nd Speech Day on 11 May. It brought together students, parents, teachers, alumni and guests in a celebration of students' achievements. The title of ‘Mayflowerian of the Year 2022’ was awarded to Xu Yiran (4I/2022) and Peng Qi (4F/2022). Their unwavering dedication, hard work, and exceptional academic performance truly deserve recognition.

Despite the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, Mayflowerians exhibited remarkable resilience, empathy towards others, and a strong sense of responsibility.

These qualities have fostered a stronger and more tightly-knit school community.

Principal Madam Lee Eet Fong emphasised the importance of collaboration between the school, parents, and stakeholders in nurturing our students. She expressed gratitude for the support of parents and stakeholders, while reaffirming the school's commitment to delivering the "Mayflower Promise" of providing an exceptional educational experience to all students.

TEA TIME CONCERT The annual LTC (Lunch Time Concert) underwent a transformation this year and became a Tea-Time Concert. Taking advantage of the celebratory Speech Day atmosphere, the Tea-Time Concert was held in the school hall and drew the presence of parents and larger crowd of students.

Although there was a minor delay at the beginning of the concert, it was soon forgotten as the audience was treated to a wide array of captivating performances.

Students showcased their varying levels of talent through diverse art forms, including the school’s music interest group – Jam Band, Dance CCA groups, as well as solo and duet performances. Some of these performances were joined by the audiences who sang along with them. Click on the link to catch a snippet of the performance.

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Click here to see more

STUDENT LEADER INVESTITURE CEREMONY This term, during the Investiture & Handover Ceremony, we bid farewell to our graduating Secondary 4s who stepped down from their leadership positions and passed the mantle to a new generation of Secondary 3 Leaders.

During afternoon assembly, our outgoing leaders passed a token of their CCA stewardship to their successors, a symbolic gesture to mark the handover of their roles to the incoming batch of student leaders.

Proud parents were also invited to partake in the evening investiture ceremony by helping to pin the leadership badges onto the lapels of our newly minted leaders! Thank you to the parents who joined us for the occasion.

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Raya@Mayflower Mayflowerians celebrated Hari Raya Puasa with enthusiasm. The Artquarium was transformed into a beautiful Malay home, decorated with plants and enticing goodies, showcasing the hospitality of Malay culture. A video on Malay customs was shown, enhancing understanding, and promoting unity within the diverse community.

Students had the opportunity to learn the art of ketupat weaving, guided by our teachers during recess throughout the week.

On April 28, students and teachers wore ethnic costumes to school, reflecting the richness of cultures within the school. The highlight of the celebration was a concert featuring traditional Malay dances and skits. Abu(3E) appreciated the opportunity for all students, regardless of their background, to learn and embrace Malay culture.

Immerse, Create, Appreciate: MTL Fortnight Kicks Off with Vibrant Cultural Activities!

On 3 May, Secondary 1 Chinese Language students delved into the art of fan painting using traditional ink and brush techniques, while Malay Language students were engaged in the construction of a mini kampung house. These activities were designed to instill a love for their Mother Tongues and their respective traditional cultures through immersive experiences. By participating in these hands-on activities that enrich their knowledge of their heritage, students develop a deeper connection with their Mother Tongue Languages and cultures. Through fan painting, Chinese Language students explored the rich symbolism and artistic expressions rooted in the Chinese culture. The Malay Language students gained insight to the architectural aspects and communal spirit of the kampung house.

MTL Fortnight Part 1 is the beginning of a series of events planned throughout the year to promote and celebrate the richness of our Mother Tongue Languages and Cultures.

Let us embark on this journey of discovery together, as we nurture a deep appreciation for our Mother Tongue Languages and the diverse cultures they embody.

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D & T Awards 2023 At the recent Design and Technology Awards 2023, 28 projects from 15 schools were conferred D&T Awards 2023. Out of these 28 Projects, three were contributed by our Sec 4NA D&T (2022) students, namely Jasmine Liong, Natalie Lim and Rehanah. The students received their awards at MOE HQ Edutorium on 31st May 2023 and their works were exhibited at the MOE HQ Podium till 6 June (Tuesday). Here are some photographs taken during the event.

We are very proud of their achievement!

The projects will be exhibited again at the 3rd Design Asia (one of seven shows in Architecture & Building Services 2023) in November. at Marina Bay Sands Sands Expo & Convention Centre. You can catch them on 15 Nov (Wedesday) from 15:00 to 17:00 speaking to various guests at the venue itself!

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LEARNING @ MAYFLOWER MUSIC Over a period of 5 weeks, the Lower Secondary Music students underwent a rigorous but fun dance programme, focusing on either Hip Hop or Lyrical Jazz.

Click to see the Sec 1s in action!

Their lessons culminated in a showcase during one of our Assembly sessions and was also an Inter-class Dance Competition. The students were proud of themselves for persevering and pulling through.

Click to see the Sec 2s in action!

APPLIED LEARNING PROGRAMME

Secondary 1 Chinese Language students were taught how to present material through the creation of visual texts. They work on the crafting of pictorial representation of information to effectively match the slogan or tagline.

The Malay Language students also participated in debate sessions to enhance their critical thinking and argumentative skills. The Higher Chinese Language students were engaged in a translation workshop that enhanced their bilingual skills and improved their sensitivity to the nuances of languages.

Creative reading led students to understand their reading texts in greater depth and enable their imagination.

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APPLIED LEARNING PROGRAMME Speech & Drama

Group work

Speech & Drama Improvisation

Presentation Day

Cohort Showcase

The lower Secondary students gained knowledge, exposure, and had a lot of fun during their ALP. Secondary 1s dabbled with acting and interpreting scripts through their Speech and Drama programme, where they learned body movement, voice acting and conveying emotions through body language.

Speech & Drama Cohort Showcase

Broadcast & Journalism

Secondary 2s went behind the scenes of multimodal media through their Journalism and Broadcast programme and picked up valuable skills in conducting interviews, formulating exciting news angles and coming up with credible news reports.

The ALP seeks to develop our students’ effective communication skills and groom them into confident speakers who are able to think critically and problem solve.

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DEVELOPING A HEART FOR SINGAPORE Our Sec 2s and 4s embarked on NE Learning Journeys this term.

At the National Museum of Singapore, our Sec 2s interacted with Museum Educators over stories on the fascinating artefacts and learned about how different groups or individuals in Singapore’s history created connections with one another.

Click to see more about the NE LJs.

The Sec 4s made their way to the Singapore Discovery Centre "Our SG Story" exhibition to learn about the “can-do” spirit of our older generation and their contributions that led to the transformation of Singapore.

The students learned about some aspects of military training, the rationale behind certain policies and the socioeconomic planning behind Singapore's progression so that they can have more confidence in Singapore’s future and the important role they play.

Click to see more student reflections.

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MATH: CODE FOR FUN The Mayflower Mathematics department runs the Code for Fun course annually for the Secondary 2 cohort. This course, conducted in collaboration with IMDA, is an integral component of the students’ Mathematics experience in Mayflower.

Click to see the students in action.

Click to see the students in action.

Our aim is to bring our students out of their typical classroom lessons and see Mathematics in the real-world and in the process, develop their critical and creative thinking skills in preparation for future-readiness.

This 10-hour, fully funded workshop, exposes students to computational thinking, digital making, and coding through a series of fun hands-on activities. Students learn the 4 stages of Computational Thinking, namely Abstraction, Decomposition, Pattern Recognition and Algorithm Design through simple tasks and create solutions to a larger world problem by learning to program microcontrollers.

19th May, a group of 10 eager TASTER LESSONS On Primary 6 students from Ang Mo Primary School paid a visit to FOR PRIMARY 6s! Kio Mayflower Secondary School to experience lessons in Mayflower.

Accompanied by their teacher, these students had the opportunity to engage in our ALP (Applied Learning Programme) and attended a Geography lesson. The lessons were conducted by Ms. Alethea, Ms. Sherrie and Mdm. Shagun.

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CAUGHT BEE-ING GOOD! Positive Discipline Approach Students are given a ‘mystery’ gift when they are recognised for doing good and the best part is that these gift suggestions came from the students themselves.

This system is in line with the school’s positive discipline approach where we try to recognise and acknowledge students for what they are doing right.

The response has been great and the number of students ‘caught’ for being good has more than tripled! Moving forward we plan to cascade this to peer recognition in the near future and hope to foster an even more positive school environment.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Enterprise Club

In a bid to develop greater entrepreneurial skills in students, an external vendor was engaged to teach them more about design thinking, the 4Ps of marketing as well as the process for ideation of a product. Students were given problem statements and were taught how they can create feasible and efficient solutions to solve these problems. It was an enriching and engaging session with the vendor to learn more about being an entrepreneur.

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IN THE SPOTLIGHT: National School Games Taekwondo

Our boys and girls kicked to higher heights with their achievements at the National Inter-school Taekwondo Championships B and C divisions. Achieving the 3rd overall placing in Poomsae for the C Division girls and 2nd overall placing in Kyorugi for the B Division girls left the whole team in high spirits. The C Division boys also clinched a 3rd overall placing in Kyorugi, which brought big smiles to their faces.

It was an exciting time to be back in action at the National School Games (NSG). Our basketball boys gave it their all in the competition, with shots from under the basket, going enthusiastically for layups and never missing an opportunity to get a hold of the basketball. Our boys sure made an impression with their opponents at this NSG showing!

Football

Basketball

2023 is a remarkable year for the B Division Football Team. The boys managed to reach top of the table in League 3, having beaten several strong teams in their group fixtures.

A particularly notable moment was during our match against Punggol Secondary, which was a true test of resilience as the momentum of the game swayed back and forth. During half time, Sean urged the team to continue to put in the best effort and not give up. It was in the 81st minute where they scored the crucial goal in extra time that put Mayflower Secondary at the top of the table.

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Bowling This has been a year of leveraging on ICT tools to track performances, workshops and a back to National School Games atmosphere. Our bowlers worked hard in the B Division games at Safra Mount Faber to deliver their throws in a smooth arc for a strike. We also had fun at a resilience workshop conducted in school with useful activities geared towards highlighting the importance of resilience in our lives and how we can use it in our CCA.

Netball

Our Netball girls had a great National Schools Games experience. Facing formidable opponents, the team demonstrated remarkable resilience throughout the competition. The girls remained focused, united and determined to prove that they are a worthy opponent. They learnt many valuable lessons during the course of the competition and are determined to improve and continuously strive for excellence.

An intense moment during one of the games Getting their heads in the game with a pre-game cheer!

Table Tennis

The Table Tennis NSG for both B and C Division concluded their game in February. They put in their best effort despite being pitted against schools that had an advantage over them. The Sec 4s shared that they were dismayed because they had hoped for a better result. One memorable event to note would be that three Sec 4s from other CCAs volunteered to play on behalf of the Girls’ Team due to its lack of B Division players. Special thanks to Krystle Lee (4J), Kylie See (4J), Teh Shun Yuan (4J) for stepping up despite heavy CCA commitments.

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IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Singapore Youth Festival

The opportunity to participate in the SYF Presentation finally presented itself in 2023. For the Secondary Three and Four students, it is a bittersweet experience as it marks their one and only SYF in their Secondary School life. Though nervous, the Performing Arts members overcame many challenges and emerged stronger and more passionate than before.

Chinese Dance Dancing used to be something I always wanted to try. I learnt new skills and also forged meaningful friendships.

- Tang Hui Yuan 4J

We have many challenges and differences, but i am proud to be part of the MFCD family.

- Soh Shan Ee 4A

With their eyes on the prize, they clinched the Certificate of Distinction!

SYF has finally ended. From the first day of learning the choreography to performing it on stage, we improved a lot. Trainings were exhausting and many incidents happened during the whole process. Although the result was not what we wanted and many of us cried, I think that it was an experience for everyone especially those that only perform for the first time in front of a big audience - Goh Yi Xuan (3D) I enjoyed performing with my MFMD dancers during Speech Day. I think we really pulled it off and put in all our effort in it. Our seniors did not give up on us, they continued pushing us and encouraging up to not give up. ~ Shannon Lee Jie Ling (1I)

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Modern Dance

Chinese Ensembles A question we are often asked is ... why is "Chinese Ensembles" in plural? That's because we are two parts of a bigger family , fielding two Ensembles at the SYF Arts Presentation.

Three Sections, Two Ensembles, One Family :)

Mixed Ensemble

Percussion Ensemble

MFCE's Percussion Ensemble secured their third successive Distinction this year with their rendition of and during the SYF 2023 Arts Presentation.

《老鼠取亲》 《击乐》

MFCE's Mixed Ensemble consists of the CCA's Plucking and Bass sections, with some members of the Percussion Ensemble assisting in the rhythm. Like their peers from Percussion, the Mixed Ensemble also secured their third successive Distinction this year with their rendition of and during the SYF Arts Presentation 2023.

《影》 《美花绽放》

SYF was a journey filled with joy, frustration, eagerness and nervousness. At the beginning, we felt overwhelmed by the complexity of the music piece and many of us questioned our musical abilities. With the help of our music conductors and fellow peers, we learned to break down difficult sections and practice effectively. SYF has taught us the value of perseverance, patience, and the joy of accomplishing our goals as a team. A big thank you to our instructors and teachers for believing in us and pushing us!

Huang Han (Percussion Section) SYF to the Plucking members was a wonderful, memorable and valuable experience. We are grateful to have participated in the SYF performance since it is a rare opportunity for all of us to perform in front of professional judges. We're proud to represent our CCA in the competition.

Shi Yun (Plucking Section)

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Since this was our first time participating in SYF, we were all very nervous for the performance. However, we enjoyed the SYF experience a lot. We have learnt that hard work pays off, and we would also like to thank our teachers and instructors for helping us to become better students and musicians.

Raine (Bass Section)

Choir The SYF journey brought our choristers together through shared efforts to excel in choral technique and the development of perseverance over the many practice sessions in preparation for the performance. We also shared a Choral Exchange with Dunman Secondary and Raffles Institution and reflected on our presentation and sound.

Click to access our reflections on our SYF journey!

With much discipline, determination, and dedication, we trained extremely hard; from conducting sectionals in the morning to a Milo ban two weeks before the performance, we poured our heart and soul into perfecting our performance. Alas our efforts paid off and we obtained the Certificate of Distinction.

Drama

Mayflower Drama Club strives to develop resilient practitioners and appreciators of the art of drama. We take pride in being involved in every step of the way in all our productions. The journey to SYF Arts Presentation 2023 was arduous and tested our patience, perseverance and depth of our passion. For months, the preparatory work kept us on our toes and with the juggling of school work, family commitments, personal health matters and CCA duties, the SYF team struggled to keep afloat and worked extra hard to keep our dream alive.

Click to access our video on our SYF journey!

The understanding that everyone was in this together kept us cohesive and accepting. It was a journey that required a lot of stamina and we are very glad to have pulled it off so well.

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Concert Band

The Concert Band showed passion and dedication in perfecting our craft as we practised hard for SYF. It had not been easy for us to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic in the past few years and practices were carried out in creative ways to ensure continual learning and progression can be achieved. This year, on 21 March, a Music Exchange Programme was held to encourage appreciation for music and facilitate mutual learning between Mayflower Secondary and Huayi Secondary band members.

To provide a platform for practice and to showcase the talent of the Concert Band, we also participated in the Performing Arts Showcase on 23 March to perform the SYF pieces for our families and friends. We gained a lot of strength from the hearty cheers and encouragement from the audience and felt confident when it came to our SYF presentation day on 18 April. We are very grateful to the support and love we received from everyone and are pleased to have obtained the Certificate of Accomplishment at the SYF Arts Presentation 2023.

SYF 2023 Festival Concert

The Percussion Ensemble was selected to be part of the Fusion Band which performed the Festival Concert finale, with their SYF 2023 piece rewritten to combine elements of Chinese, Malay and Indian percussion. Together with students from St Anthony Canossian Secondary, Dazhong Primary, Monfort Secondary, Opera Estate Primary and Victoria School, the ensemble trained very hard with the Fusion Band during the June holidays to put up a stunning performance during the Concert.

《击乐》

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Hear the performance here!

The SYF Festival Concert was a very special experience for me. It was a very good opportunity to experience music being played by combining instruments of different cultures. Loved the interaction and new friends from other schools!

Jamie (Sec 2 Percussionist)

What's Next?

C Division NSG Updates Uniformed Groups Updates Learning Journeys Outdoor Education (Cohort Camps) Racial Harmony Day National Day Celebrations Teachers' Day Celebrations and much more!

See you soon!

@mayflowersec

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