Issue 2 / July 2021
THE BROOKSIAN TIMES Latest news from Northbrooks Secondary School
PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE By Mr Nick Chan
Dear parents and the Northbrooks community, In the blink of an eye, Semester 1 2021 has come to a close. In spite of constraints the Covid-19 pandemic has posed, our school managed to implement most of our planned programmes for the semester successfully. Our Secondary 1s and 3s enjoyed exciting Level Camps and the entire school community came together to celebrate Northbrooks’ 21st birthday on our annual Speech Day. During this period of time, Brooksians, Staff, Parents, the School Advisory Committee and Alumni have also involved themselves in doing good and helping others, such as helping someone in distress and contributing to another person or welfare associations in need.
These actions exemplify our school's Vision 'Every Brooksian a Champion, Impacting the Community', and I am elated and proud to see such kind and positive deeds emerging from our school. In addition, we have also collaborated with a number of Partnersin-Education to co-create extension programmes such as Project Sunshine (PSG/ parents), Morning Breakfast Programmes (PSG/ parents), ACE! Programme (ACCESS Singapore), NWCDC Green Living Programmes, authentic Service-Learning programmes (Heartware Network), and many more which are distinctive and authentic for both our students and staff, with several also impacting the community-at-large. This year, Northbrooks also kicked off three major MOE initiatives to benefit our Brooksians for the long haul. These initiatives are Full Subject Based Banding in Term 1, the National Digital Literacy Programme in Terms 1 and 2 as well as Blended Learning in Term 2. We had planned for the implementation of these programmes since mid-2020 and we are glad to already see their positive impacts on our Brooksians.
In this issue, we shine the spotlight on three well-regarded colleagues who have served tirelessly in the education service. They are Mrs S. Singh Jasvindar, Mr Omar Ismail and Mr Tang Kin Hua. These individuals share one very similar amazing trait: their steadfast dedication and passion for teaching and moulding the younger generation. Lastly, with the Covid-19 situation here taking a more concerning turn since 14 May (Phase 2 - Heightened Alert), we have stepped up our school’s safe management measures to safeguard the Northbrooks community. From 19 May, all schools, including Northbrooks, shifted to full HomeBased Learning till the end of Term 2. Since 1 June, MOE has commenced the COVID-19 vaccination for students in schools and Institutes of Higher Learning as part of the national vaccination exercise. Northbrooks has been encouraging our graduating batch and Sec. 1-3 students to book their vaccination appointments so as to protect themselves and their families.
Despite the uncertainty that we face now, with strong support from our Home-SchoolCommunity partnership and our Team Northbrooks’ commitment to the education service, I believe the Northbrooks Community Similarly, as in past newsletters, we will continue to thrive and flourish. make special mention of noteworthy individuals who have made outstanding Thank you. contributions. Soaring Yet Rooted!
FACES OF NORTHBROOKS Featuring Mrs S. Singh Jasvindar, Mr Omar Ismail and Mr Tang Kin Hua By Nur Aisyah Batrisyia Binte Salimi (3G), Reuben Chia Chong Wei (3F) & Miss Chelsea Mun
“Teachers wear so many hats! I have always loved the challenge of trying new job scopes.” - Mrs Singh
From using chalk and blackboards when they first started teaching to embracing the current digital wave in educating the students of today, Mrs S. Singh Jasvindar, Mr Omar Ismail and Mr Tang Kin Hua have seen it all. Yet, in spite of the numerous changes the education landscape has been through, these three veteran Brooksian educators have not wavered from their calling - to mould leaders of tomorrow and the future of Singapore.
in their performance."
Mrs Singh, who is the school’s Head of Department for English Language and Literature, began teaching in 1985 and was recently awarded the MOE Long Service Award for 35 years of service. Mrs Singh says that she loves "seeing her students improve their linguistic competencies, develop confidence and feel motivated when they see progress
She also cherishes the opportunities she had to travel with students for ServiceLearning / Twinning programmes to New Zealand, Thailand and China. These experiences were special as they helped students gain a wider perspective of the world and an appreciation for other people's ways of life, while feeling grateful for their own.
“The company of young minds makes me feel lively and reenergised. It keeps my mind active.” - Mr Omar
Similarly, Mr Omar who began his teaching career as a Malay Language teacher in 1963, even before Singapore gained independence, has a simple teaching philosophy for the past 57 years: he believes in not only imparting knowledge to his students but also planting the seed of self-confidence in their hearts. Continued on page 3.
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The Brooksian Times / Issue 2 / July 2021
@ NORTHBROOKS
HIGHLIGHT S SPEECH DAY (9 APR)
RED CROSS & NPCC HONOURS (16 & 17 APR)
Speech Day 2021 Brooksian Of The Year nominees pose with Brooksian school leaders at the end of the award ceremony. Ding Zhao Yang (4E 2020, 2nd row, left) was eventually awarded the prestigious honour for his exemplary academic results and school contributions. "I am humbled and will continue to give my best in everything I do. To my juniors, hard work does pay off," he said.
Red Cross Chairperson Nur Fazira Poh Binte Hassan Abdullah Poh (4I, left) and National Police Cadet Corps Head of Welfare Neo Rui En (4G) receive top honours for their CCA contributions. Fazira received the Director's Award, one of only 35 cadets in Singapore to earn the recognition this year. Meanwhile, Rui En was awarded the SPF-NPCC badge, a pinnacle award for NPCC cadets. Congratulations!
STUDENT LEADERS INVESTITURE (21 APR)
HARI RAYA CELEBRATIONS (28 MAY)
Terence Ooi Zi Heng (3I) takes his oath as Student Council President (2021/2022). Due to the pandemic, students witnessed this moment via video-conferencing in their classrooms. "I feel very honoured and proud that the school trusts and recognises my efforts. I hope to learn from the experiences and mistakes of my predecessors to make the school a better place for all," he said.
1T1 students get into the spirit of Hari Raya Aidilfitri as they take part in the school's Hari Raya Best-Dressed Class competition. The class eventually came in first for the Secondary One level. "We found the photo session fun but stressful as we took the photos on the last day of submission. However, we were very happy to learn that we won first place and talked about it for the whole day in our class chat group!" shared Braven Leu Shao Rong (front, left).
BADMINTON TOURNAMENT (14 APR)
National School Games 'B' Division Badminton girls stand united amid a busy competition season. "I overcame my nerves by focusing on myself and the match. I am proud of my team because we picked ourselves up whenever there was a setback. We cheered each other on and emerged stronger together," said Chan Kai Qi (4E).
PROJECT IHSAN (7 MAY)
Teachers and Gear-Up students work together to fold donated baju kurung and baju melayu for the needy. "I'm happy to be part of this project and I hope there will be smiles on their faces when they don these beautiful baju kurungs for Hari Raya," said Qaisara Binte Mohamed Redeha (2T2).
IGNITE SKILLS CHALLENGE (20 MAY)
(L-R) Muhammad Yazdan Bin Mohd Anuar, Ryan Arman Bin Abdullah and Asfarul Hayy Bin Muhammad Suazmin (2E) proudly display the robot arm they used during the Ignite Skills Challenge 2021. The team won a Gold award in the competition. "We are heartened by the innovation and teamwork they showed," said teacher-mentor Mr Kenneth Yong.
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The Brooksian Times / Issue 2 / July 2021
Singapore Youth Festival 2021
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Concert Band members mark the end of their SYF journey with a group photo. The band members pushed the envelope, working hard to be performance-ready in spite of the pandemic and earned a Certificate of Accomplishment for their efforts.
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Dramalites wait anxiously just minutes before their big performance on the SYF stage. While en route to the arts presentation, the thespians ran through their lines zealously. They eventually earned a Certificate of Accomplishment for their hard work.
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Guzheng members are deep in concentration as they perform 'Dayung Sampan' ( ) and ' ' (Impressions of the Yellow Plum) at the SYF. They earned a Certificate of Distinction for their excellent renditions of the music pieces.
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Modern Dancers and their teachers-in-charge (Miss Melissa Nicolich, Mdm Zuraidah and Ms Premila Dhanabal) get ready for SYF 2021. They earned a Certificate of Distinction for the months of preparation they put in for the big day.
⼤洋舢帆
FACES OF NORTHBROOKS
⻩梅印象
Featuring Mrs S. Singh Jasvindar, Mr Omar Ismail and Mr Tang Kin Hua
Continued from Page 1.
Art teacher Mr Tang says his love for art and seeing his students produce high-quality art has made his 44-year teaching career an enjoyable one. This passion and love for teaching has also helped sustain him through the revolutionary leap to using technology in teaching. From using a simple calculator to tabulate students’ scores in the 1970s, he has since become confident in using a laptop for work.
“The high quality of art that students produce makes me happy.” Mr Tang
Said Mr Tang, “Being able to pursue my hobby as a career and the learning opportunities I get as a teacher are the main reasons why I stayed on.” Mr Omar added that a change of career was never on the cards because "it's in his blood to be a teacher”.
“Teaching as a career is satisfying for me because I get to watch my students grow into adults. Many of my students are even grandparents now!” - Mr Omar
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The Brooksian Times / Issue 2 / July 2021
WHAT DO I HOPE TO LEARN FROM MY SIL PROJECT?
What Say You? BEYOND OUR CLASSROOMS: STUDENT-INITIATED LEARNING (SIL) WHAT IS YOUR WISH FOR BROOKSIANS EMBARKING ON THEIR FIRST SIL? In the near future, we will face more challenging issues than what we are facing today. As such, skills such as critical thinking, problemsolving, creative thinking and risktaking will become valuable assets to those who possess them. The current and future workplace also requires employees to collaborate Mr Adam Ahmad actively, debate an issue, research a (Vice-Principal) concept, adopt design thinking and leverage on technology. These are the skills that can be developed over time through programmes such as SIL. I hope such skills will enable and empower our Brooksians to be future-ready and find solutions to solve community, national or even global issues that serve the greater good in the future. HOW CAN TEACHER MENTORS ENRICH STUDENTS' SIL EXPERIENCE? I strongly believe that students learn better if they are passionate and interested in the topic that they are pursuing. Students also learn best if they are given the opportunity to teach. This is reflected in the short write-up I wrote for the Northbrooks Educators Philosophy Wall. Thus the best teacher mentors are those who are able to empower students, ask powerful questions and practise active listening. In order to empower students, teachers can adopt the GROW model. The teacher mentor can get students to ask what they want to achieve (Goals), where they are now (Reality), what they could do (Options) and what they will do (Will). The key principle here is for teachers to adopt a “Less is More” approach to bring about the true essence of SIL. MY MESSAGE TO ALL BROOKSIANS Due to the nature of groupings, it will help if students are gracious towards one another; display integrity and be responsible for their own learning; persevere and have the fortitude to carry on with their SIL with a champion learning mindset despite challenges faced; learn to work as a team towards a common goal and contribute towards the nation's effort in enhancing social mixing and social compact; care and empathise with the needs of others and be an upstander if necessary. Finally, students should be disciplined and selfdirected in their learning.
COMING SOON!
Photography I hope I will get to improve my photography skills and eventually get to help others. Our first session was quite interesting. We will be embarking on a project where we choose a theme, and we will start filming based on the theme. We Siti Nurayisha will be starting during our June holidays. Binte Mohammed I'm looking forward to the end product when we get to present our work! Rizal, 3D
Soccer I hope to be able to learn the proper way to kick a ball with more accuracy. I enjoy SIL, especially since the Covid19 restrictions, I can't play outside with my brothers anymore. I hope that when the situation gets better, we can meet the teacher mentors and have a game in school!
Mohamad Izz Qamahl Al'Seif Bin Mohamad Faizal, 1E
Videography I hope I can gain more exposure to Photography & Videography as it has always been one of my hobbies. The first session was enjoyable. Our teacher mentors used Telegram to communicate with us, so we can clarify and make sure we don't miss any important information. I will make sure Shanmuga Sundaram Srijan, to do my best for my SIL project especially as we have more time at 3G home now.
Astronomy I hope to know more about it as Astronomy has always interested me but I never had the time to pursue it. I found the first session particularly complicated, but I look forward to embracing the challenge. In future sessions, I hope when things get better, we can get together with the teacher mentors and conduct an activity together.
EAGOR says ... Our virtual celebrations do bring the festive cheer!
Alvia Lim Chu Qing, 2E
CREDITS Editors Mrs Jasvindar S. Singh Ms Nurnadia Abdolah Ms Audrey Chong Mrs Carolyn Leong Miss Chelsea Mun Mrs Diana G. Annuar Mr Jason Chua Mr Zest Tan Illustrator Mr Huang Kee Hong
CONNECT WITH US!
www.northbrookssec.moe.edu.sg
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@officialnorthbrooks