The Voice Vol 31

of Tanglin Trust School Vol 31 / 2019

MCI (P) 066/07/2018

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Welcome What a whirlwind of events and activities at the school once again!

Global initiatives such as Eco Week, our outdoor education programme and the Infant School’s exploration of the Forest School concept, are excellent examples of how we approach the curriculum beyond the classroom, the impact we are having on our world and what we need to learn and do to make a positive difference. A little closer to home, the Junior School’s ‘Outstanding’ rating from the most recent British Schools Overseas Inspection, is testament to our teachers, parents and most importantly children. The academic enrichment programme in the Senior School highlights how we aim to inspire and encourage our students to expand their learning as they prepare themselves for the world beyond Tanglin Trust School.

These multitude of opportunities are not only the result of the energy and inspiration of teachers and staff, but also our guests and visitors, who often join us through the generosity of the TTS Foundation. Thank you to everyone that contributes to the Foundation. This helps to create the culture of inspiration and aspiration, which are surely the hallmarks of any great education.

In determining our strategy for the years to come I have had many conversations with students, staff, parents and alumni. The result of these conversations and reflections has been a strategic plan. Having a plan is always good! It clarifies what we are trying to achieve, outlines how we will achieve it and creates accountability for achieving it. In our plan five key themes have emerged. We want our young people, children and staff to be flourishing individuals who are inspired learners, achieving their personal best as part of ‘Team Tanglin’, while ensuring a sustainable future. More broadly, Tanglin Trust School aims to:

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Be a distinctive international learning community, utilising both British-based and international learning programmes, to nurture and inspire lifelong learners who develop international-mindedness that will allow them to contribute to the world with confidence.

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Nurture and inspire every individual, ensuring they feel happy, valued and successful in achieving their intellectual, spiritual, cultural, social and physical goals.

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Be a safe, caring, yet stimulating environment where we provide high-quality co-curricular opportunities that encourage both broad participation and the achievement of excellence in the arts, sport, outdoor education and international experiences.

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Be recognised as an outward-looking, dynamic and high-profile centre for educational excellence that is warmly responsive to its community, socially responsible and proud to contribute to the future of Singapore and the world.

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Operate as a sustainable not-for-profit school that manages its finances to maximise educational opportunities for students while investing in the School’s long-term security and the continuous improvement of its campus.

Editor Mona Bowers Design Alex Ridley Photography The Marketing & Communications Team and other contributors Contributors The Marketing & Communications Team, Students, Staff and PTA ‘The Voice’ herein refers to ‘The Voice of Tanglin Trust School’ All students’ year groups referenced in this issue are accurate at time of print.

This framework encapsulates our desire to be the best school in the world, but our real purpose is to create a dynamic learning community which nurtures and inspires every individual to be the best they can be.

I look forward to articulating this strategy in more detail in the months ahead. Suffice to say we will be working to ensure that a Tanglin education continues to be exactly what each child and young person needs to develop the knowledge, competencies, skills, character and growth mindset required to be successful learners and, more importantly, successful people.

Craig Considine Chief Executive Officer

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Contents 26

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24

28

4

Tanglin Talk

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Junior School

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Internships

20

Senior School

22

Sixth Form

Full Steam Ahead in Infants and Senior School STEM Club

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Galleries

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Film

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Sport

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PTA of Tanglin

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Spotlight

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Student Services

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Beyond the Classroom

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Creative Writing and Artwork

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Book Reviews

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The Last Word

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12 14 15

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News from our Three Schools

My Inspiring Internship at Tanglin

S.T.E.A.M and S.T.E.M

Elements of Yunnan

The Music Crew at Tanglin

Our World Eco Week

Outdoor Education Singapore Programme

Alumni Infant School

Innovative Education

Simply ‘Outstanding’

Academic Enrichment

The New World of Work

Gymnastics, Tennis and Netball

Transport at Tanglin

Forest School

Infant, Junior and Senior Reviews

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VERSARY OF SINGAPORE US ON 31ST AUGUST 2019!

Tanglin Talk

31ST AUG, SATURDAY, 2PM.

News from our Three Schools

EVENT: LOCATION: TICKETS AT:

WHY COMMEMORATE 1819?

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Commemorating 200 Years of British-Singapore Friendship In affiliation with Singapore Bicentennial Office by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), of the Singapore government and the British Chamber of Commerce, Tanglin Trust School is proud to host, ‘Why commemorate 1819?’. The event is open to everyone in our community and will explore the life history of Sir Stamford Raffles and his relevance to the Singapore Story, the importance of BritishSingapore friendship and what it means for us today. The event takes place on Saturday, 31 August, 2019, 2.00-7.00pm, The Moot, Nixon Building.

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Guest Speakers: Daniel Hannan, Member of European Parliament Professor Razeen Sally, Political Economist from Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy Bryan Cheang, Founder and Director of the Adam Smith Center STUDENTS, STAFF AND ALUMNI OF TANGLIN

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TRUST SCHOOL ENJOY 50% OFF ALL TICKET PRICES WITH THE PROMO CODE TTS50 IN SUPPORT OF

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Tham Luang Cave Rescuers Captivate Tanglin

The TTS Foundation was extremely proud to host an evening with Joshua Morris and Noppadon Uppakham (Taw), who played a pivotal role in rescuing the Thai children’s football team in the Tham Luang Cave in July 2018. Talking exclusively to the Tanglin community, they captivated the audience with their experience of what it was like to be a key part of the first rescue, despite several seemingly impossible challenges. Josh has been formally recognised by the Royal Thai Government and the US State Department for his courage and skill, and Taw received a formal award from the Royal Thai Government.

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Sensational Springtime Harmony Concert

Internationally renowned cellist, Li-Wei Qin and TTS Foundation, Artist-in-Residence and concert pianist, Naomi Iwase, performed to a full house of students and parents in a captivating evening of music in The Moot. This was the second year in a row our distinguished guests had performed together at Tanglin. The programme included pieces by Chopin, Schubert, Cesar Camargo Mariano, Sollima, Jerome Ducros and Rachmaninoff. An exclusive Universal Music China Artist, cellist Li-Wei has appeared all over the world as a soloist and chamber musician. Naomi is a top prize-winner at numerous international competitions and performs throughout Europe, the Far East and America.

Tanglin Summer Camp

VE Day

The Year 6 trip to Fort Siloso, Sentosa, marked the introduction to the World War II topic and how Singapore was involved in this momentous historical event. The children’s learning in the weeks that followed across Humanities, ICT, Art and English were linked to the impact of war on a global scale, focusing in on its effect on the island of Singapore. This was a fantastic experience for the Year students and culminated in VE Day, where an impressive array of model-work and art by the children bought to life the history and sacrifice of the Second World War.

Tanglin’s Summer Holiday Camp, ‘Passport to Fun’ will run from 8-12 July 2019.

Delivered by Tanglin Teachers, the fun-filled, action-packed, holiday camps are focused on the children’s self-discovery through a wide range of activities: Cookery, I.T., Sport, Cycling, Rock Climbing, Swimming, Art, Music, Yoga and Mindfulness.

Battle of the Bands 2019 In the biggest and best Battle of the Bands to date, the audience was treated to an evening of great music by Tanglin students and entertained by special guest performer and international artist Richard Huxley.

Congratulations to the winning bands Dom’s Crew and KindOfABand-Band!

Dom’s Crew said: “Making music is something we all enjoy. So just being at Battle of the Bands, with so many people in our school who love music like we do, was amazing!” KindOfABand-Band commented: “As a newly formed band, we put in maximum effort and performed with confidence, coming out victorious!” Internationally acclaimed producer and guest judge Roo Pigott of Songwork International, sponsored the event and donated recording sessions as prizes.

Barrie Wade visits the Junior Library In Term 2, the Junior School Library welcomed Barrie Wade.

Barrie, a renowned author, poet and proud grandparent of two Tanglin students, has written over 150 children’s books. During his visit, he read, A Greek Myth and The Boy Who Could Fly, and kindly donated this book as a gift to the Junior Library. Barrie also shared poems from his anthology, Conkers, published in 1989. It was a truly memorable experience for everyone.

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Internships

My Inspiring Internship at Tanglin My time as an intern at Tanglin was a hugely positive and exciting experience. After two and a half months, I returned to Amsterdam to continue my four year BA degree in International Sports Management and Business.

The course explores the theoretical and practical aspects of being a sports manager as well as the business side of sport. It also offers students the chance to go on an internship. I chose to do mine at Tanglin because of the school’s positive reputation and its size. Being one of the largest international schools in Singapore, I was able to explore the business side of the school as well as coaching and teaching practical sports lessons to the students.

During the internship, I split my time between the Marketing and Communications Team and the PE Department. In the future, I hope to manage a sponsorship or communications department at a sports firm, so I was keen to further develop my leadership and communications skills.

My internship at Tanglin gave me a great opportunity to demonstrate how these skills, which I have acquired over the years, translate into a professional setting in a new country.

My leadership skills were tested during my time coaching the 14&U basketball team and athletics team, as I had to motivate students and earn their respect. During classes, I learned to keep instructions short and precise, so I did not lose the attention of the students.

My communication style also had to change with the Marketing and Communications team. I had to make sure I was asking enough questions to get the right amount of guidance or to investigate if there was something else I could support on after completing a project or task.

Communicating efficiently and frequently gave me the opportunity to learn new things. Asking for new projects and tasks pushed me out of my comfort zone.

Working with the team also allowed me to

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practice my writing skills and adapt my writing based on whether the communication was for parents, students or staff.

During my time in Marketing and Communications, I worked closely with the team on creating a new sports webpage.

This included doing a competitive analysis of other school’s sport pages as well as Tanglin’s, preparing content and helping to choose design features. I also spent a significant amount of time on the preparation and marketing of the school’s Eco Week events, specifically the TTS Foundation Sustainability Symposium and Showcase for the Senior School. My most enjoyable time in Marketing and Communications was learning about how many different sides there is to it and how internal and external publications, social media and parent newsletters are just some of the many elements the team work on. Alongside this, I also enjoyed working in an office environment.

My time with the PE department was like that of a teaching assistant, with one class focused on GCSE sports theory and the rest on practical sports. As I am very sporty, I enjoyed teaching the students as well as coaching them because it allowed me to develop my communication skills and I adopted a more demonstrative method of communicating. Once I had built a rapport with the students, they began to respect

me more as a teacher and a coach. For me, this was confirmation that what I was doing to coach them, was working effectively and that my style of communicating was achieving what I wanted, a relationship of mutual respect between coach and players.

My internship gave me an insight into the world that awaits me once I finish university and has put me a step closer in the process of figuring out what I want to do.

Communication has always been an interest of mine and now I think it is safe to say that that interest has increased. My university offers another two internships over a twenty-week period and because of my internship at Tanglin, I would like to go to a company and work for their communications department.

I would definitely recommend doing an internship for anyone who is considering it or is unsure about doing one. It helps you to narrow down what it is you want to do in the future or confirms your ambitions, suspicions and interests.

By Will Jensen, Student Intern

S.T.E.A.M

Full Steam Ahead in Infants From 18 to 22 March 2019, Eco Week coincided with S.T.E.A.M Week in the Infant School.

‘S.T.E.A.M’ is an educational approach to learning that uses Science, Technology, Engineering, The Arts and Mathematics as access points for guiding student inquiry, dialogue, and critical thinking.

Our focus was on what energy is and how objects move - whether it be using dominos, making a marble run on a Rube Goldberg machine or using magnets and zip wires to get a car from point A to B. During the week, the children investigated, interrogated and experimented with natural forms of energy, including water, solar and wind.

The week began with a Whole School assembly led by the Sixth Form Head Team. The Year 2 Maths enrichment group shared their findings on the energy we use across the Infant School. They used En-trak, a school energy monitoring system that shows live data as the school uses energy. En-trak shows this data in a fun way, comparing the energy we use in kilowatts to how many ice cream cones or bowls of noodles we eat. The rest of the school were keen to hear which school was the most energy efficient – the Infant School! * The first day was very busy as it continued with ‘Mix Up Monday’ where children from Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 were put into new groups. The children discovered more about power and where it comes from

“A wind farm is good because it makes electricity but doesn’t pollute the earth.”Leo, Year 2 and how it gets into our homes. During the week, the Early Years explored the power of the wind by creating windchimes and wind socks using recycled materials.

They investigated the power of the sun by testing which materials would melt, making sun catchers and painting with frozen paints as they were warmed by the sun.

The children had the challenge of ‘moving’ water. They did this with a range of hoses, tubing, funnels and piping, and also with absorbent materials including sponges and tissue. Year 1 read ‘The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind’ which is based on the

true story about William Kamkwamba, who builds a wind turbine to save his Malawian village from famine. The children loved the illustrations and worked together to try to recreate the collage effect.

After discussing windmills and how they work, the children were given the challenge of building a windmill that would raise an object. They worked on their communication skills to cooperate as they faced challenges along the way, and found solutions together. One group discovered that their object was too heavy, so they selected a lighter object to lift. Another group raised the problem of the string winding up but then slipping off the skewer, so used polystyrene shapes as a stopper.

Year 2 were given a range of problems, from being deserted on an island and needing help to cook, to finding alternative ways to power boats. The children were resilient, especially in their waterwheel challenge where they had to redesign their wheel multiple times. The children made predictions, tested designs and evaluated their products.

It is safe to say that the children (and the teachers) had a brilliant time. It was great to have members of the Sixth Form Head Team come down to help the Nursery children and share more about sustainability!

By Elizabeth Henderson, Class Teacher

*Energy efficiency (which comprises of energy used in kilowatt hours (kWh), money spent and carbon emissions (in kg)) across the school, is measured through the Energy Management System, En-trak. The amount of energy consumed by each school varies and depends on additional factors such as when the school day starts and finishes, numbers of students in each school and the size of buildings.

Senior School STEM Club We are fortunate to be in the heart of the vibrant science, technology and media hub of Singapore, enabling us to enhance our STEM curriculum through building many opportunities for students to work with our neighbours.

Our Senior School’s enriching STEM Club regularly hosts guest speakers, ranging from Singapore based research leaders to Tanglin alumni, who share the wonder and challenges of their profession. Students also see cutting edge science in the real world, for example visiting laboratories looking into developing a dengue vaccine, and bioinformatics laboratories that use computational methods to support the drug discovery process.

Earlier in the year, alumni, Dr James Jesudasan shared his journey after Tanglin (1991-93 Junior School), from studying as a dentist to becoming a Maxillo-facial reconstructive surgeon for Médecins Sans Frontières in Nigeria, and now running a private practice in Chennai India.

More recently, Hannah, Year 10 organised a workshop by VERE 360, a company that uses virtual reality to allow users to see and hear what it is like living with a mental illness, either through acting or concept art. Users can watch a series of situations recreating depression, anxiety and schizophrenia.

Hannah said: “I thought this would be interesting from a STEM perspective, but also helps to increase awareness of mental illness, a topic I am very interested in.”

On STEM Club, Jayesh, Year 13 commented: “I enjoy attending STEM Club as it gives a plethora of opportunities to expand my scientific knowledge outside the school syllabus. One of my most memorable moments was our visit to the Boeing testing centre as we were able to see what needs to be considered when designing new aircraft.

We also got to have a go at landing a plane in a flight simulator!”

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Film

Elements of Yunnan Film Premiere

At Tanglin, Year 12 and 13 IB and A Level students participate in the school’s Creativity, Activity and Service (CAS) programme. CAS provides opportunities for independently managed, experiential learning beyond the classroom.

One such project, was the Elements of Yunnan Film Premiere, where 16 film and non-film studies students conceived and produced a short documentary film exploring the landscapes and people of the Yunnan Province, China.

During Term 2, the group met at lunchtimes to research the area and its varied cultures, and develop storyboard ideas for the film.

Krista Magee, Tanglin’s Film and Media Technician, who has extensive experience in the Film and Media industry, organised and facilitated the various production aspects involved in the programme. In collaboration with outdoor adventure provider, Asia Pacific Adventure (APA), students and staff travelled to Yunnan. APA founder, Stuart Sharpless, also specialises in drone cinematography. Together, both Krista and Stuart were able to facilitate the students’ ideas and development of their film footage acting as executive producers.

Filming took place from dawn till dusk as the group immersed themselves in the

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culture, visiting ancient towns, forests and one of the deepest gorges in the world, interacting with Yunnan’s ethnic minorities.

On their return, the students used the school’s state-of-the-art film facilities to produce a high-quality cinematic documentary. The film created a sense of peace and tranquility, focusing on the sounds of the vast and beautiful landscape interspersed with close-ups of peoples’ daily lives and relationships.

After six months of planning and producing the film, the students invited members of the school community to their premiere at independent cinema, The Projector.

Year 13 students, Maddy and Viktoriia, share their experience of this CAS project; “I hoped to gain first-hand experience of a full crew film set and develop new filmmaking skills, which would aid me in deciding my university course. We were taught how to use the different film equipment and so even those with no prior experience were able to learn how to handle the equipment.

As the Director, I was responsible for a large amount of the creative process of storyboarding and cinematography.

“Our filming method was similar to a guerrilla filmmaking style; showing up to a location with little pre-production planning and improvising what we felt would work

well with our short documentary. I learnt about the importance of teamwork, collaboration and flexibility to produce something we are all proud of. I also learned a lot about the diverse culture of China and broadened my perspective on the different tribes and native cultures that exist in Yunnan.” Maddy “ I chose film as a subject for IB. Since then, I have developed an interest in filming and photography. I also study Chinese and the Yunnan trip that allowed me to pursue both my artistic and cultural interests.

I really enjoyed working outside of a classroom setting and exploring the world beyond Singapore. While the production period was physically and mentally demanding, the post-production process of putting together the vast amount of footage was equally challenging.

I learnt to work with people of different skill sets and experiences. Adjusting to everyone’s capabilities improved our teamwork. I also learned a great deal about filmmaking – both technically and artistically and I was able to see a side of China that I had never seen before. The memories of the food, people, singing, dancing and the beautiful sceneries, will stay with me forever.” Viktoriia

PTA

Summer Fete and Projects 2019 The Parent Teacher Association of Tanglin Trust School (PTA of Tanglin) has been an integral part of school life and the heart of our community for the past 40 years.

The last few months have been no exception. In May, the PTA Summer Fete brought the school together for a day of Tanglin community spirit. The opening ceremony, led by CEO, Mr Considine welcomed The British High Commissioner and distinguished guests, and the Tanglin community were gloriously entertained by traditional pipe music from The Gurkhas. Our Brownies, Beavers, Cubs and Scouts also took part in a parade to kick off the day’s events.

From bustling toy and book stalls, kids’ entertainment and delicious baked goods to live music and gourmet vendors, our community enjoyed a fun packed day together. CEO, Mr Considine said: “The event was a wonderful expression of school spirit and the joy in the faces of the children showed they loved it!” Thank you to the PTA for organising the event and to everyone who came along to support our school community on the day.

This term, the PTA were also involved in a number of projects across the school. We were delighted to open the Bouldering Wall and Learning Zone, the Snug Sensory and Learning Room, and the Personalised Learning Team Room in the Junior School as well as the Pop-Up Studio in the Infant School, all of which were all generously supported by the PTA. Thank you to the PTA for all their wonderful events at the school this year, as well as the support around some of the fantastic projects that will benefit our children and community in many years to come.

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Spotlight

The Music Tech Crew at Tanglin After witnessing another excellent music performance, you might be forgiven for not noticing the Music Tech Crew at Tanglin. Our ‘unsung heroes’ are one of the key contributors to the many successful musical events held throughout the whole school. This is their story.

It all began four years ago, when Senior Music Technician, Zakk, started a Music Tech co-curricular activity (CCA) for students in the Senior School. You did not need to be a musician to do this CCA, but having an interest in music and what goes on behind the scenes was a must.

Students learned how to re-string or mend a broken guitar, operate old-school synthesisers and mic up drum-kits. The CCA soon gained interest and became so popular it was split into two groups; those who wanted to have fun at lunchtime and those who were interested in how sound works. The latter were given tasks at concerts such as moving equipment on and off between musical acts and ensuring microphones were in position for bands or soloists. These students became regulars at events and now play a big part in the smooth running of our concerts.

Two years ago, the TTS Foundation supported and funded for Roo Pigott, Music Producer and Founder of Songwork International to run a ‘Live-Sound’ workshop for six of the Music Tech Crew. In this workshop, the students learned how to set up and tear down musical equipment, manage sound for live events, troubleshoot technical issues swiftly, while ensuring safety during live on-stage situations.

Afterwards, all the students received certificates and were qualified to assist with more advanced technical tasks during events.

As a result of the workshop’s success, the TTS Foundation supported and funded more sessions with Roo Pigott at the start of this academic year. This time, there were five new recruits eager to get their ‘LiveSound’ Level 1 Fundamental Certificate, while five students who had shown leadership and commitment to assisting musical events, were able to

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complete their Level 2 Leadership Certificate. These students have supported numerous music events across the school and at some events, such as the TTS Foundation ‘Music in the Morning’ in Term 1, the sound was set up and mixed solely by the Music Tech Crew.

The students regularly began to showcase the skills they had gained from the workshops, while adding a service to the whole school community. As word spread, Tanglin staff started to request the services of the Music Tech Crew to assist in their events. It was during these events that a few students began to stand out including Justine and Ollie, who have taken the lead during many concerts and are great role models for their peers.

The Music Tech Crew have come a long way since the lunchtime CCA was launched. It is constantly growing and is now an integral part of the Senior music department, all Senior music events and many whole school events. They regularly maintain our equipment to its best quality from re-stringing guitars to replacing the broken skin of a snare drum. They educate their peers on the proper use of music equipment and help out during studio recordings for (i)GCSE and IB coursework, as well as live music performances. Please keep an eye out for them at the next music event you attend at Tanglin.

Zakk, Arts Faculty Technical Executive (Senior Music) “These are amongst the most helpful group of students I’ve had the opportunity to work with. During concerts and outdoor performances, they always give their best behind the scenes in order to make the performances flow smoothly despite the pressure. What I admire the most is how they guide one another and remind each other that it’s okay if mistakes are made, as they can learn from them.”

Roo Pigott, Music Producer and Founder of Songwork International “Working with schools around the world, one of the first things I notice is the level of technical support that is available at Tanglin. When I walk into a school like this, it is evident that the teaching and tech teams are not separate but work as one for the bigger picture. Their passion creates an environment of growth from which technicians, teachers and students can all benefit.

It’s been a pleasure to work with TTS Foundation to develop a student Music Tech Crew. I have felt extremely proud to be working with such enthusiastic and capable students. Each student has excelled in training and each passed certification with flying colours. The major test comes under pressure at live shows. I have enjoyed being guest judge at the past two Battle of the Band concerts and I have seen the effectiveness of the student tech team in action. I can say, hand on heart, that I have worked with many professionally qualified teams on large scale international concerts, who didn’t do as good a job as the tech team did at the shows I attended. To keep calm under pressure, to set up equipment for band after band, and to keep the show running safely and on time, with so many changeovers and acts, in such a short space of time, is nothing short of amazing.

What a wonderful initiative, and what a wonderful team of students.”

The Music Tech Crew ‘Live-Sound’ Level 1 Fundamental: Anoushka, Year 8 Tristan, Year 8 Rakin, Year 8 Max, Year 8 Kavya, Year 8 ‘Live-Sound’ Level 2 Leadership: Ollie, Year 10 Justine, Year 13 Angus, Year 10 Cian, Year 11 Alastair, Year 13 The Music Tech Crew have been heavily involved in a range of school events: TTS Foundation ‘Music in the Morning’ Senior Ensembles Concerts Senior School Assemblies LIVE@VIVE Lunchtime Gigs Senior Awards Assemblies Battle of the Bands FOBISIA World Music Festival PTA Summer Fete Senior Musical ‘We Will Rock You’ Junior Young Musician Concert

Fahmi, Assistant Technical Manager for Theatre and Events “The music techies have been extremely helpful during concerts. They do a slick and professional job setting up quietly and efficiently during the transitions of musical items. Not only does this CCA give them an insight into what happens behind the scenes, to make a concert or performance successful, it gives them a platform to build their confidence and character under immense pressure.

People tend to forget that being in front of an audience and getting everything right in a short amount of time, is nerve-wracking. To be able to do that, at a young age is a tremendous achievement.”

Justine, Year 13 “This CCA has taught me many valuable lessons on recording in the studio and how to work backstage during a performance. Most importantly, it has taught me how to interact with others and work as part of a team.”

Kavya, Year 8 “Music Tech is fun and the whole experience of not just watching, but helping the performance become what it is from the beginning to the end, is a journey. The Music Tech Crew has become like a family and on Fridays we have a lot of fun learning about music technology.”

Richard Huxley, Multi-Instrumentalist and Performer ‘Zakk is a huge asset. Calm, capable and prepared. He’s a hero!

Ollie, Year 10 “Being in the Music Tech Crew has been amazing and allowed me to participate in many school performances even though my musical ability is not the best. Behind the scenes I have learned that there is much more to an event than just the singers or actors that the audience get to see.”

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Our World

Whole School Eco Week 2019 Launched by the Head Team in a whole school assembly, Eco Week at Tanglin was once again embraced across the school.

Eco Week is an annual event which helps to raise awareness and encourages us to do our part to become more sustainable.

Our Senior School Head Team challenged everyone to do at least one eco-friendly action each day of the week, whether it be eating a meat free meal, supporting the beach clean-up, attending the Sustainability Showcase or coming into school by bike. There was something for everyone!

ParentWise: Let’s Talk Rubbish!

This year we were delighted to welcome Patricia Jones (Green Bees Social), Jeroen van de Waal (Orca Scuba) and Zero Waste SG to present to our community on what families can do to reduce household waste and how we can ensure our waste is recycled responsibly.

Our waste is generally incinerated, sent to landfill sites, or recycled. However, there are issues with these methods of disposal, for example burning waste creates greenhouse gases and toxins, waste in the ground releases toxins into the soil and waterways. In addition, only metal and glass can be 100% recycled, whereas paper and plastic are more complicated.

A guest speaker from Zero Waste SG explained that the amount of waste disposed in Singapore has increased over the past 45 years. If this continues the projected lifespan of the one landfill on the island is about 35 years.

He added that the Sustainable Singapore Blueprint 2015* sets targets of achieving a 70% national recycling rate and a 30% domestic recycling rate by 2030. Currently, 99% of ferrous metal and construction debris is recycled. However, paper/cardboard and plastics are often contaminated meaning they cannot always be recycled.

The presenters outlined several tips on how we can all manage our own waste. These include:

Beach Clean-up at Changi Students and teachers from the Senior School volunteered in a beach clean-up, organised by Tia, Year 13 Assistant Head Girl. Eighteen large bags were filled to the brim with a range of rubbish – fishing nets, plastic bags, children’s shoes and pieces of broken bottles and food wrappers! Kit, Year 12 said: “It was incredible to see the positive impact just a couple of hours of team work and resilience can have on our environment!

I thoroughly enjoyed the activity. Small actions can make a big difference.”

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Shop wisely – buy products that are not pre-packed, support eco-friendly brands, refuse plastic bags, and use your own bags

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Educate your family members about correctly separating waste into rubbish and recycling

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Wash your recyclables

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Reduce food waste – plan your meals before you shop, donate to food kitchens and love your leftovers

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Use alternatives for wrapping paper including cloths and colourful magazine pages

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Give non-plastic presents, for example, donations or an experience

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Carry your own reusable water bottle or coffee cup

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Use loose tea leaves rather than tea bags

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Use electric or bamboo toothbrushes

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Consider quality over quantity when buying clothes. Give old clothes to charity or rent your one-off outfits.

*Ministry of the Environment and Water Sources

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TTS Foundation Sustainability Symposium Tanglin hosted the TTS Foundation Sustainability Symposium, an exciting opportunity to engage in key discussions surrounding climate change. The symposium saw over 130 student delegates from eight schools across Singapore attend.

During the morning sessions, students heard from Bill McKibben, founder of 350.org and were inspired by Tanglin Year 13 student, Tilda, who shared her experiences of influencing a global investment company to reflect on their ‘purpose’.

Tilda’s message of “we may be young but we have a big voice” resonated with the younger students.

The students worked together in their school groups to create a mind map linking the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with climate action, and then made pledges for positive change.

Later, students were mixed across groups from different schools to attend roundrobin workshops and visit the sustainability showcase where businesses were exhibiting.

Exhibitors promoted ways for reducing food waste, recycling, conservation of the natural environment, saving water and making buildings more sustainable. Earth Society commented: “We are so happy to be attending this event. Not only does it raise awareness, but people are coming up with solutions. It’s very exciting.”

Workshops were led by Secondsguru, a social enterprise promoting ways to achieve sustainable living, and Tanglin’s

WFUNA (World Federation of United Nations Association) CAS (Creativity, Activity, Service) group from Year 12. The Year 12s ran a fun activity which drew attention to our responsibility to help others in less privileged situations. They shared some of the projects they have been working on including the Helping Hand Project, Tree for Me Project and PINK Project. Bhavika, Year 12 said: “We want to inspire other young people to find solutions and to kick start their own projects to promote change.”

Speakers from Unilever, PM Haze and Vital Strategies delivered inspiring presentations. Unilever’s Sustainable Business Director, Amita Chaudhury set out the company’s vision for sustainable living, including reducing waste and enhancing livelihoods. She showed how the difference individuals make can be magnified by the efforts of larger organisations.

Representatives from Vital Strategies and PM Haze highlighted issues closer to home and explained their work to improve air pollution in the region.

The young delegates engaged enthusiastically with all the activities. In their reflections at the end of the day, they spoke of having boosted their knowledge of the SDGs, learning lots of valuable lessons, and feeling empowered to act. Year 9 students, Helena, Sean, Suzanne and Garima added: “It’s nice to join other schools and to share our thoughts and ideas. There’s a lot of hope in the world.

Speaking to different companies has helped us to explore exactly how we can make a change.”

Thank you to the following groups for supporting our TTS Foundation Sustainability Symposium: Double Loop Solutions Earth Fest En-Trak Foodscape Collective Ground Up Initiative Green Monday Nature Society Orca Nation Public Utilities Board (PUB) PM Haze Singapore Green Building Council (SGBC) Tanglin Trust School Operations Team Vital Strategies Secondsguru Sustainable Green Solutions Earth Team Society Unilever WFUNA

In closing the event, Peter Milne, the conference organiser from Target4Green, said: “We’ve all been inspired to think globally but look locally.”

STEAM Activities and Building Ecobricks with the Infant and Junior School Throughout the week, Infant School children took part in Science, Technology, Engineering, The Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) activities. From making water wheels, wind chimes and floating boats out of recycled materials, to breadmaking and cooking marshmallows in their solar ovens, constructing mountaineering tool belts and much more.

Junior School children also spent the week creating ecobricks – a reusable building block created by packing clean and dry used plastic into a plastic bottle. When all the ecobricks have been made, the children will use them to build furniture for their Green Garden. Naviya, Year 5 said: “Making ecobricks was a really fun and social activity. It’s the first time I’ve heard of them, and I think they’re a cool and eco-friendly idea.”

Tanglin’s Community does Car Free Friday The week ended with many students, staff and parents coming to school by bike, scooters and public transport for Car Free Friday! Everyone was dressed in blue and green for Eco Mufti Day with proceeds going towards local charities that enhance livelihoods and promote sustainable living.

This year’s Eco Week emphasised the big impact that we can all have on the local and global challenges of climate change, just by taking a few small steps in our everyday routines. Now is the time to act and we can all do something.

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Outdoor Education Singapore Programme At Tanglin, we place great value on the positive contribution that Outdoor Education makes to the wider Tanglin experience. We want all our students to participate in meaningful opportunities for learning beyond the classroom.

Our main priority will always be to provide a safe and secure learning environment for all the students in our care. We do our best to ensure that we provide a range of truly inspirational educational experiences that are carefully balanced with the need to keep costs realistic and affordable.

Our location in Singapore provides an interesting conundrum. The relatively small size of our ‘city in a garden’ means that we need to travel outside of Singapore in order to provide some of the more challenging experiences. However, any overseas travel out of Singapore is going to increase the complexity of the logistics and travel arrangements, including safety and security, which also carries an associated cost. We want to inspire our students with amazing activities in some of the most exciting destinations in the world, but we also must ensure that the trips are accessible to each family and that we are not taking unnecessary risks.

I am often asked which of our Tanglin trips is my favourite. I always answer in the same way – my favourite trip is the one I am on next! Over the past six years I have been lucky enough to visit some incredible places with Tanglin such as Everest Base Camp, the rainforest of Borneo, the temples of Angkor Wat, and I still can’t quite believe that I visited Antarctica in 2016 with Robert Swan. One of my fondest school trip memories was kayaking through the mangroves on a misty early morning at Pulau Ubin with a small Year 11 Award expedition group, and watching the students shriek as a shoal of silvery halfbeak fish leapt from the sea right into their canoes! I love to start the year with the Year 7 team-building challenge at the Camp Challenge high ropes course in Sembawang, such a good way to get students working together and building relationships at the start of Senior School.

Training and skills development for our International Award expeditions begins in

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Singapore too. Through our residential year group trips all students are introduced to and learn the basic skills needed for self-management in the outdoors, but if they want to sign up for a formal assessment then they need to commit to our Award Programme – most of which happens in and around Singapore.

As with any other core subject at school, the learning in our Outdoor Education curriculum needs to be structured and progressive. It starts in Infant School – exploring the outdoor play facilities at school and then visiting local parks and attractions such as Singapore Zoo. The children quickly learn to look after themselves and each other, and it is wonderful to see them become more self-reliant and resilient.

Last term, I accompanied several Infant classes who were exploring the woods and fields along Portsdown Road in an exciting new project called ‘Forest School’.

Our campus and one-north are home to an increasing number of butterfly species, and birds such as the olive backed sunbird and coppersmith barbets, wild jungle fowl and flame back woodpeckers, allowing our students plenty of opportunities to study nature right on our own doorstep.

In the Junior School our very first year group residential, the Year 3 Zoo trip, is just one night away from home. In Year 4, we add an extra night, Year 5 have three nights in Malacca and by the time the students are in Year 6 they are flying to Kuching and staying four nights in Borneo for their iconic Sarawak Adventure.

In Senior School, our Year 9 trip to India is the logical conclusion of that year-on-year progression, with a full week away from home, staying in camps and taking part in adventurous activities in the foothills of the Himalayas. It is an incredible opportunity for our students but for those who cannot attend, for the past three years we have offered an outdoor adventure programme in Singapore.

This programme is still designed to give students specific opportunities to step outside of their comfort zone, build resilience, develop leadership skills, achieve personal growth and connect with different communities. They are no less an exciting

alternative than our overseas destinations and the feedback from students has been extremely positive. By working with local adventure activity providers such as Camp Challenge we have been able to provide inspiring activities including, sea- kayaking at Sembawang, the amazing challenge ropes course at Sentosa and Dragon Boat expeditions paddling to the southern islands off Sentosa.

Year 12 Creativity, Activity and Service (CAS) students can plan their own service week in Singapore and are still able to think globally by acting locally. The school is also in the process of transition to the International Duke of Edinburgh Award (from the local version, National Youth Achievement Award) and at Bronze level we will continue to offer the Adventurous Journey within Singapore or just across the border in Johor province. It’s important that students learn the key skills, yet it’s also important that we make the expeditions accessible to all, and not an additional burden in terms of time and extra expense.

Tanglin Trust School offers some incredibly diverse and exciting opportunities for outdoor adventure for all our students around the world. We are proud to offer our students the opportunity to challenge themselves and in doing so, appreciate what we have here at home in Singapore. Singapore may be a small island, but there is plenty to see and do in the outdoors!

By Martin Foakes, Head of Outdoor Education

Alumni

Celebrating Our Sporting Alumni At Tanglin, we are always eager to hear about the success stories of our Alumni. Whilst some have realised their ambitions, others have found a new calling that they did not envisage before.

In sport, our Alumni have done very well with many achieving their potential and representing their countries at a national level in various sports including netball, rugby, touch and football. The key to many of their successes has been attributed to the exposure and coaching they received whilst they were at Tanglin and in Singapore.

Several of these Alumni have also received Alumni Grants by the TTS Foundation to support their progress in tournaments around the world, whilst others have interned with the PE Department or shared their experiences with current students when they had a chance to return to school for a visit.

In April 2019, leading up to the Touch Rugby World Cup that was held in Kuala Lumpur, we were delighted to have Bronte Sykes (2016 cohort), return to school to share her experience as an England player.

Playing alongside her in the England squad was another Alumni, Emily Crowe (2014 cohort). ‘’It is an incredible honour to be selected to represent England at the highest level the sport has to offer. Wearing the England jersey is always a special occasion - but being able to represent my country in Malaysia, where I played my first ever touch tournament around 10 years ago, will make it that much more special! I wouldn’t have pursued touch to the extent I have had it not been for Tanglin, and most importantly Miss Paterson. She really did spark my love for the sport and has been so supportive of both mine and Emily’s touch efforts and achievements.’’ Bronte Sykes Congratulations to all our sportsmen and women, past and present! We wish them the very best as they pursue their dreams and passion in their favourite sport. *We apologise if we have inadvertently missed out on the sports accomplishments of any alumni for whom we may not have the records.

Above: Tanglin Alumni who represented England at the 2018 Touch Rugby European Champions (L to R): Emily Crowe (2014) Bronte Sykes (2016) and Olivia Rae (2015)

Top: Bronte Sykes. Above: England won Gold at the 2018 European Championships

Past and present national-level achievers Touch Rugby Ewan Armstrong - England Mixed Team Grace Burton - Scotland women’s team Fiona Craig - Scotland women’s team Alana Hambly - Singapore (current student) Emily Crowe – England mixed team, England women’s team Bronte Skyes – England women’s team Olivia Rae - England mixed team Kit Mirosevic- Sorgo – Singapore Touch (current student) Marcus Chung – Singapore Touch Sophie Arbuthnott – England Mix Ffion Hewlett – Wales Touch Netball Mackenzie Maughan – Singapore U21 Netball Rugby Lachlan Wood – Singapore Rugby

Josh Basham – England U19s Jon Cooper - Singapore Under 19 Marcus Chung - Singapore Under 19 Michael Christensen- Singapore Under 19 Ryan Haines - Singapore Under 19 Mark Christensen- Singapore Under 19 Tom McNamara - Singapore Under 19 James Whitehouse - Singapore Under 19 Sam Marshall - Singapore Under 19 Kai White - Singapore Under 19 Callum McCullough - Singapore Under 19 Charlie Hyde - Singapore Under 19 Ewan Armstrong - Singapore Under 19 Dughall Young - Singapore Under19 Harry Grosvenor - Singapore Under 19 Alex Bennet-Leat - Singapore Under 19 Nick Bromley - Singapore Under 19’s Football Felix Goddard – signed by Manchester City Youth Academy as a goalkeeper John Gallagher – MLS Professional Contract

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Infant School

Innovative Education in the Infant School All teachers in the Infant School are continuously striving to learn, develop and grow their own skill set, to ensure the education delivered to students within their care is not only current, innovative and of the highest standard, but that it is engaging, empowering and most importantly, fun!

Charlotte White, Head of Infant Maths and Deborah Pearce, Head of Early Years English have introduced two new initiatives, and both impact the learning and style of teaching within the classrooms.

Tales Toolkit If you wander through Nursery and Reception and you hear a group of children talking about a problem, and how they can find a solution to that problem, don’t panic. It may be that a Princess has lost her wellington boots, or the Gruffalo has no friends, but fear not…our children will make sure that there is always a happy ending!

This is because, this year, we have introduced an exciting and enjoyable way of telling stories, for children and staff, called Tales Toolkit. Developed by Kate Shelley, an early year’s teacher from the UK, Tales Toolkit is a story resource that is based on four symbols for character, setting, problem and solution, giving children a tool to independently weave magical tales. Storytelling has been shown to improve all types of learning, as well as increasing engagement and memory capacity. Furthermore, it develops social skills, creativity, confidence and empathy.

The children were first introduced to the concept using the four symbols on story bags, in which objects were placed so that the children could use them to tell a story.

Working with our little ones, means that there is no shortage of imagination and this proved to be the case with the stories that they created. The children were all engaged and learning, working at different levels to suit their different needs. Themes such as rhythm and rhyme, music, counting, gross and fine motor actions were also weaved into the sessions to enhance the learning.

Within a few weeks, the children were using the bags to select their own objects and independently telling their own structured stories and then sharing them with the class. Because the children lead the stories, they reflect the varied interests that they each have, which is in line with the rest of our curriculum.

The next stage was for the children to record their stories. They were given the symbols to represent their characters,

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settings, problems and solutions as well as a variety of objects or pictures to use. As it provides the structure for them to hang their ideas on, the children were very quickly able to publish their own wonderfully creative stories. They moved on to drawing their own illustrations and sharing these with their friends. They were obviously very proud of their achievements and because there is no ‘right or wrong’ element to stories, the children would often elaborate and add more detailed language with each retelling. Our Reception children are now using scaffolds to write their own stories with amazing results. Everyone has been happily putting pencil to paper in order to share their wonderful ideas and imagination with their friends. In short, everyone has a story!

By Deborah Pearce, Head of Early Years English

Maths Mastery

Problem solving

Much like in one of Deborah’s story tales we can also have a master in Maths. Is this like a wizard doing wizardry? Well, it isn’t far off, although you won’t see any new wizard’s hats in the Infant School! Maths Mastery is about developing the depth and breadth of a child’s mathematical understanding.

A problem is something you do not know how to immediately solve. Our teachers provide daily opportunities for the children to collaboratively develop various strategies, alongside developing resilience and perseverance, to solve problems using their very own mathematical toolbox.

Reasoning

This approach, as developed by high performing Asian nations such as Singapore, has been introduced and developed by our Infant staff throughout this year. It is an approach that is reflected in the 2014 National Curriculum in the UK. During an In-Service Education and Training (INSET) session, staff were familiarised with the key concepts, definitions and approaches included in Maths Mastery.

They were also shown examples and given supportive materials to take into their classrooms.

The Maths Mastery approach is one that promotes all our children to be successful mathematicians; it is not selective and offers a range of strategies to ensure a deep and secure knowledge of mathematics at each stage of learning. It focuses on how best to broaden a child’s thinking, applying their skills to a wide range of situations, ultimately developing curious and competent mathematicians.

In practice, within our school, this comes down to ‘problem solving’, ‘reasoning’ and ‘fluency’. All these teaching approaches are interlinked and happen each day within our classrooms.

Reasoning is based on thinking and speaking, described by mathematics advisor, Andrew Jefferies, as ‘when we talk to ourselves to solve a problem’.

Teachers develop the children’s reasoning by providing opportunities to explain how they solved a problem, what they found difficult along the way, how they overcame it and if they can prove what they are thinking. Reasoning, mastery and learning is all about ‘talk, talk, talk’ and an active ‘wizardry’ like classroom, is a noisy, buzzy one!

Fluency This is an area of mathematics that has needed a little makeover, as fluency likes to hide under the guise of memorising and rote learning recall. However, in our classroom’s, fluency is about using the strategies of reasoning and problem solving to show how the children can recall key information to move their learning forward; it isn’t just about memorising a set of number facts. It is about understanding, retrieving and applying their knowledge in a range of ways.

Within our busy, vibrant infant classrooms the children will show their thinking and learning using hands on equipment, drawing their thoughts by challenging their thinking, proving their answers and sharing their strategies. Look out for our little wizards in action mastering their mathematics soon!

The Infant School is invested in the development of these new and exciting initiatives driven by our Heads of Curriculum. The staff model a wide skill set to ensure our children have the highest quality education using the most innovative current teaching practices.

By Charlotte White, Head of Infant Maths

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Junior School Simply Outstanding

enthusiastic. Their excellent vocabulary underpins their success in reading and writing, but the children listen and speak to a very high standard, growing in confidence as they become adept at speaking and performing in front of an audience.

In maths, Junior School children are described as ‘confident, resilient and self-assured learners’, who also apply their mathematical knowledge competently to other subjects such as science. At time of the inspection, one child was heard advising another on a mathematical problem stating, “just don’t give up”, whilst another commented, “I like to think outside the box.”

Earlier this year, the Junior School was awarded ‘Outstanding’ following the British Overseas Inspection (BSO) in January. Over three days, the BSO team visited 50 lessons, observing teachers in a wide range of subjects.

Inspectors held over 20 meetings to interview senior leaders, staff, students, parents and governing body members. Break times and assemblies were observed, and students’ work was thoroughly examined, as well as policies, assessment systems and safeguarding procedures amongst many other school documents and processes.

carefully planned topics, such as learning in depth about Singapore or taking Chinese as an additional language. The crosscurricular links ensure children apply their skills in different subjects. Specialist teaching supports children’s outstanding progress in art, drama, music and PE. Children are encouraged to learn an instrument, or a range of techniques in art, become proficient in sports and physical activities or build confidence in speaking and performing through drama.

An innovative curriculum and collaborative learning

Enrichments to the curriculum are described as ‘exceptional’, as a result of the vast and varied range of after-school activities and sports, themed days, trips and visits. Children are enthralled, their knowledge expanded, and their skills extended. Budding scientists are challenged in their thinking through the science enrichment days and ‘Global Guardians’ learn more about the sustainability of our planet. Visiting authors inspire children to read and write and their own compositions, and trips to Sentosa as well as residentials at Singapore Zoo and Sarawak, means children experience local communities as well as those further afield.

The BSO Inspection Report describes our curriculum as ‘broad, rich and meaningful’ helping to prepare our students in the next stage of their education.

Attainment in Maths and English is well above the UK averages and in 2018, for both Maths and English, 95% of children achieved the expected standard.

The Junior School follows the English National Curriculum and incorporates the international setting of Tanglin through

From Year 3 onwards children develop and deepen their love of reading. By the end of Year 6, their writing is imaginative and

The Junior School was judged against eight Standards, receiving ‘outstanding’ in all respects and ‘beyond outstanding’ in others. In this edition of The Voice we focus on the highlights from Standard 1, ‘quality of the curriculum’.

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Attainment and progress across science and technology is also rated ‘outstanding’, and across other subjects, children reach similarly high standards, producing impressive rates of progress.

Through competitive sport and ‘Sport for All’ activities, children learn about themselves and others demonstrating high levels of respect and good sportsmanship.

The report also recognises how children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are ‘very well supported’, which means progress is excellent. With provision being carefully planned, children benefit from personalised support while still accessing the ‘broad and rich’ curriculum.

It is also acknowledged how our curriculum develops the children’s understanding of British values, in line with our own values of Respect, Responsibility and Purpose. As children learn about democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect, the opportunities to bring these values to life manifest in different ways such as the school elections. Our children are respectful of faiths and cultures different to their own and they are able to discuss moral and global issues in a mature and knowledgeable way. This has been most evident through their ability to demonstrate their understanding of their own rights and responsibilities, through the school’s work as a Rights Respecting School. In Term 3, the Junior School was accredited with the Rights Respecting Schools Award (RRSA) Silver by Unicef UK. We feel incredibly proud to be the first school in South East Asia to achieve this award and it is a huge

testament to the children. As a school, we always strive to create the best possible learning environment. This achievement has shown that we are committed to promoting and realising children’s rights and encouraging adults, children and young people to respect the rights of others in school.

The (BSO) Inspection Report further reflects on the RRSA, saying: “The school’s success in achieving the Unicef Rights Respecting Schools Award permeates the whole school. It helps to develop pupils’ acceptance of difference and diversity and in conversations with inspectors many pupils talk about always trying to ‘do the right thing’. The impact has been to give another dimension to pupil voice, giving pupils the opportunity to discuss and reflect on the wellbeing of children in their own school and throughout the world and an understanding of how they can make a difference. Tanglin pupils talk with passion about their school because it is special.

They say it makes them feel happy and valued, not just for what they can do but for who they are.”

Increasing Learning Progress with Clever Classrooms The achievements across the Junior School as outlined in the Report do not end there.

A group of 12 children from across Year 3 – Year 6 are working with Mrs Morse and consultant Mark Raven to redesign our classrooms. Based on the Clever Classroom study from University of Salford which reveals how differences in the physical characteristics of classrooms, such as air quality, colour and light, can together increase the learning progress of primary school children by as much as 16% in a single year, our Junior School children have been inspired to take action! Visiting Google’s offices and gathering feedback from fellow classmates through surveys, our group of children have been working hard to help create new classroom designs for the Junior School. Having already created some initial ideas which were shared in a whole school assembly, the next stage of the process is to present their findings and ideas to Mrs Harrington-Wilcox. Watch this space!

The British Chamber of Commerce has also recognised the RRSA to the Junior School on their website, highlighting what it means to achieve the award.

What is RRSA? Unicef (United Nations Children’s Fund) is the world’s leading organisation working for children and their rights. Their RRSA is a moral framework based on 54 articles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) with the aim of embedding children’s human rights into a school’s ethos and culture.

The result awarded to the Junior School is a huge testament to the incredible hard work, commitment, passion and dedication from our community.

“Thank you to all the staff involved, overwhelming parental support and of course, our fantastic children. The school has gone from strength to strength with standards higher than ever.” Clair Harrington-Wilcox, Head of Junior School.

The complete Junior School Inspection Report 2019 can be found at www.tts.edu.sg/welcome/inspections-awards.

Summary of inspection judgements

Outstanding

The quality of education Overall quality of education

√

How well the curriculum and other activities meet the range of needs and interests of pupils

√

How effective teaching and assessment are in meeting the full range of pupils’ needs

√

How well pupils make progress in their learning

√

Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development Quality of provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development

√

The behaviour of pupils

√

Welfare, health and safety of pupils The overall welfare, health and safety of pupils

√

Good

Satisfactory Inadequate

The RRSA embeds the principles of equality, dignity, respect, non-discrimination and participation indaily school life and gives children the best chance to lead happy, healthy lives and to be responsible, active citizens.

The next step in our Rights Respecting journey is to work towards Gold. We will continue to strive for creative and significant opportunities for the participation and decision making of children and young people to influence and shape the life and work of the school. In addition, we will also continue to promote a school community based on equality, dignity, respect, non-discrimination and participation, where the whole school community has a deeper and wider knowledge and understanding of the articles.

Leadership and management Overall effectiveness of leadership and management

√

The quality of provision for boarding Not applicable

n/a

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Senior School

Academic Enrichment in the Senior School

In the Senior School, we are proud of our academic enrichment programme and the range of activities offered to our students to extend their learning beyond the classroom. Our aim is for all students to have access to the academic opportunities which inspire, encourage and show them that there is a purpose to learning beyond exams.

Each faculty offers a range of opportunities for students to choose from and we encourage everyone to select their areas of interest, as they move through the Senior School. Most academic enrichment exists outside of curriculum time. These opportunities include; regular lunchtime and after school clubs and societies, visiting speakers, competitions, trips and other activities. In this issue of The Voice, we focus on the academic enrichment on offer in English, Maths and Science.

Future editions will cover provision from other academic disciplines in the Senior School.

English The Tanglin Literature and Language Club has been running since August 2018 and students meet one lunchtime a week. This is a forum for students and teachers who

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love English and want to enrich their own knowledge of language and literature, by sharing their passion through presentations and discussions on a variety of texts and articles. The fantastic part of this enrichment is that it is two-way, with students having led fascinating sessions on Sylvia Plath, the haunting short stories of Shirley Jackson (which had to be extended to a double session after piquing our interest in the first) and Carol Ann Duffy’s poetry. Teachers are equally keen to share personal interests and we have enjoyed sessions on, ‘The Taming of the Shrew’, Japanese genre fiction, Alan Bennet’s ‘Talking Heads’ and ‘Wide Sargasso Sea’ by Jean Rhys. Anyone is welcome to join the group and we love that there is no prerequisite – apart from a love of anything English!

Maths There are maths enrichment opportunities for all age groups. A lot of our enrichment happens in lessons, with every class working on problem solving and appropriate challenges. Our Maths Enrichment Club CCA, meets every Wednesday after school and is open to Years 7 to 10. We work on puzzles, competition-style questions and intriguing problems.

This year, we invited two inspirational speakers to school. Through her ‘Think Maths’ talk, Zoe Griffiths, TTS Foundation guest speaker, conducted interactive and entertaining presentations and workshops, exposing our Senior students to some unexpected ways in which maths is at work

in the world. She inspired students about topology using a smoke machine to produce smoke rings and led several workshops in lessons. Featuring ideas, puzzles and concepts, the sessions stretched students to think about maths in new ways and Zoe’s passion for the subject was very motivating. Professor Shane Bauma from the University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada also visited the Senior School and where he talked to groups of Year 10 students, focusing on mathematical problem solving.

We participate in many maths competitions throughout the year, including some during lesson time and others during school trips.

Year 7 and 8 students enjoyed travelling to Kuala Lumpur for the FOBISIA Junior Maths Challenge and Year 9 and 10 students performed well in the South East Asia Maths Competition, held at the Singapore Institute of Management (SIM).

Science Tanglin’s Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) Club meets on a Friday afternoon between 3.00-4.00pm in the oasis of calm that is the Library Collaboration Zone. The group consists mostly of Key Stage 5 students, however

students from lower down the school, regularly join when we host guest speakers, who share the wonder and challenges of their profession or research.

Anyone with an interest in science is welcome to join the STEM Club and learn more about the science that is going on right on our doorstep. Find out more about STEM Club on page 7.

Our location in one-north has also allowed us to visit working research laboratories too. Students and teachers benefit from

seeing cutting edge science in the real world and understanding the challenges that are faced by working scientists beyond the classroom. When we are not visiting labs or hosting speakers, we run in-house workshops on a Friday afternoon. These have included trying to unpick the latest Nobel prize-winning research together or questioning the perception of scientists in today’s fake news era.

By Clare Russell, Assistant Headteacher (Academic), Senior School

Further Information If your child is interested in the Senior School’s academic enrichment on offer in English, Maths and Science, they can speak to the following teachers:

English - Mrs Goodliffe Maths - Students should speak to their maths teacher Science – Mr Forster

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Sixth Form The New World of Work The Fourth Industrial Revolution As we enter the Fourth Industrial Revolution the jobs landscape is changing - diverging by industry, sector and region. Technological developments are shifting the tasks performed by humans and those performed by machines and algorithms. In a recent report, the World Economic Forum* suggests that workforces need to meet the challenges of ‘this new era of accelerating change and innovation’.

The report finds that roles that are significantly based on, and enhanced by, the use of technology, will grow. These include Data Analysts and Scientists, Software and Applications Developers, Big Data Specialists, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning Specialists, Robotics Engineers and Social Media Specialists.

Roles that leverage distinctively ‘human’ skills, such as Customer Service Workers, Sales and Marketing Professionals, Training and Development, People and Culture, Organisational Development Specialists and Innovation Managers will also grow in demand.

On the decline are routine-based, middle-skilled roles that are susceptible to advances in new technologies and process automation. These include Data Entry Clerks, Accounting and Payroll Clerks, Financial Analysts, Mechanics, and Lawyers.

What are employers looking for?

The report suggests that for business growth, employers are looking for ‘a motivated and agile workforce’ with a ‘mindset of lifelong learning’ and ‘futureproof skills to take advantages of new opportunities through continuous retraining, and upskilling’.

How does the Careers and University Guidance team support students?

In a talk I attended by Angel Perez from Trinity College, US, I heard that by the time they are 38 years old, today’s students will

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have between 10-14 jobs – an unprecedented change which employees must adapt to and feel equipped for.

Discussions about potential careers get fully underway in the Senior School through a series of workshops, enrichment lectures and presentations, dedicated advisory groups, and university fairs. Interns join the school every autumn to assist in reading essays, applications, enrichment studies and personal statements across many subjects.

Students are supported on a case-by-case basis meaning that we know our students very well and can support them towards achieving whatever university course or career they choose. For those students who have a specific career in mind, the University and Careers team helps them to find out more about the field they wish to enter and the types of jobs that exist.

Others are encouraged to keep their options open and to use opportunities such as work experience to explore different interests.

In addition, the University and Careers team keep informed as to the changing landscape through staying on top of trends in the growth rates of different job categories; maintaining invaluable links with university reps; networking with other

Skills in employees include

• Analytical thinking and innovation • Active learning and learning strategies • Technology design and programming Creativity • Originality and initiative • Critical thinking • Persuasion and negotiation • Attention to detail • Resilience • Flexibility • Complex problem-solving • Emotional intelligence • Leadership and social influence • Service orientation •

university counsellors around the world; listening to inspirational speakers; and remaining persistent when researching a new course or profession.

Through personalised option plans, we encourage students to be at the centre of their future – to take ownership of the skills they need to develop and to identify opportunities to demonstrate these skills whilst at Tanglin.

Tanglin Alumni in areas of technology?

Alumni, Sophia McCall and Oliver Reeves (2016 cohort) are studying and working in areas of technological advancement – Cyber Security and Machine Learning. Both received TTS Foundation Alumni Grants to support their passions.

It’s impossible to know for definite what other new jobs there will be in 10 years or even 5 years’ time, but at Tanglin we explore our students’ humanity as well as their academic achievements. We are confident that our students are equipped with a portfolio of future ready skills to remain lifelong learners, to thrive in the world around them and to succeed in an ever-changing world of work.

By Zoe Williams, Head of University and Careers Guidance

*The Future of Jobs Report 2018, World Economic Forum

“After graduating from Tanglin, I attended Newcastle University to study Linguistics. During my second year of university, I developed a sharp interest for entrepreneurship, and built my own website in my spare time. As a result, I was invited by the founder of GearBuddy, a construction-tech start-up, to work with them as a software developer over summer 2018. I was then given the opportunity to join the company on the start-up accelerator programme ‘Urban-X’ by MINI (BMW)and Urban Us, in New York.

As a company, we are building the first systems to make any piece of heavy construction equipment selfaware. We aim to synchronise and optimise construction site operations. This aligns with the programme’s goal to “reimagine city life”. I chose to defer my final year of university to take this amazing opportunity. I am learning crucial technical skills, as well as the foundations for business development.” Oliver

“I attended the ZeroDays ethical hacking competition in Dublin to help improve my ethical hacking skills and gain exposure to the professional information security industry. Challenges on the day included web hacking, lockpicking, cryptography, network hacking and analysis and infrastructure hacking to name a few. The opportunity to attend this competition not only allowed me to progress in my personal development but also supported my studies in a BSc Hons in Cyber Security Management at Bournemouth University.” Sophia

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Red and Gold Assembly

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Interpretations, National Gallery

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Year 3, Viking Day

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Year 1, Concert

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Sport

Lifeskills learning from Gymnastics The gymnastics programme at Tanglin begins from the age of three and is incorporated into our Infant School P.E.Curriculum as well as our co-curricular activities (CCAs). An important part of sport at the school, Tanglin offers artistic gymnastics for boys (MAG) and girls (WAG).

Our extra-curricular artistic gymnastics programmes go up to our Senior squads who compete throughout Singapore and South East Asia including FOBISIA, SEASAC and ACSIS. In the early years, our programmes focus on body coordination, gross motor skills and overcoming fear, and develop through progressive feats of strength, balance, flexibility, coordination, air awareness and grace. While gymnastics for children is well known for its tangible physical benefits, there are many other lifeskills students are picking up along the way. Leadership, perseverance, motivation and courage are just some of the attributes your child might be developing at their weekly class in addition to:

Determination:

Gymnastics is all about determination to master a new skill. The practice of gymnastics is founded on watching a new skill be demonstrated, and then being determined enough to achieve it.

Courage:

Gymnasts routinely make the choice to confront discomfort and fear. A child’s ability to manage their fear of failure is an important life skill; gymnastics offers a safe environment to practice overcoming fears and taking risks.

Persistence:

This is the very nature of gymnastics practice. In gymnastics, a child is constantly experiencing what it feels like to learn a new skill they could not previously do as a result of persistent practice.

Growth mindset:

Gymnastics garners a growth mindset. A growth mindset helps children create a love of learning and a resilience against failure. Young gymnasts tangibly see themselves growing and developing as they master new skills.

Balance:

Gymnastics demands a balanced lifestyle. Young athletes learn the importance of getting sufficient sleep, good nutrition, and making time for training, school, family and other activities they excel in. According to Dr. Christina Hinton, a neuroscientist and faculty member at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, grit does not require pushing yourself at all costs, but rather cultivating healthy emotional regulation and effective selfmanagement strategies.

Discipline:

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Gymnastics teaches discipline at a young age. This doesn’t mean young gymnasts are expected to work through pain or suffer, but rather that to achieve their best, they must work hard. Children who focus ongymnastics as a competitive sport often have razor sharp focus and are aware that success requires setting goals and mastering the discipline required to achieve them.

In Womens’ Artistic Gymnastics (WAG) there are four events: Vault A test of strength, speed and athletic ability.

Uneven Bars Demands exceptional upper-body and core strength.

Balance Beam The most mentally challenging event and incorporates, strength, balance and coordination.

Floor exercise The foundation of gymnastics and where we build our skills for all other apparatus.

Men’s Artistic Gymnastics (MAG) has six apparatus events: High Bar Gymnasts perform full swings on the bar and require a lot of upper body strength.

Parallel Bar Requires great strength and coordination.

Pommel Horse Considered the most difficult men’s events because it requires a lot of practice to master even the most basic skills.

Rings Requires great upper-body strength and stability to perform the movements.

The ‘Gym With Me’ Gymnastics Programme at Tanglin caters for all ages and abilities, providing a pathway towards competitive gymnasts: KinderTots (3-4 years old) Monday 2-3pm, Tuesday - Friday 2.30-3.30pm, Saturday 9-10am, 10-11am, 11am-12pm.

KinderGym (5-6 years old) Monday 2-3pm, Tuesday - Friday 2:30-3:30pm, Saturday 9-10am, 10-11am, 11am-12pm.

Junior Gym (7-10 years old) Tuesday - Friday 3:30-5pm, Saturday 9-1pm, 10.30-12.00pm Senior Gym (10+ years) Tuesday & Wednesday 5-7pm Competitive Gymnasts (5+ years old) We hold open trials every August for anyone interested in being selected to a competitive gymnastics squad.

For more information on classes available contact Lauren tanglin@gymwithme.com

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Sport

Tanglin’s Golden Girls of Tennis

In the SEASAC Tournaments of 2016, 2017 and 2018, we were consecutively denied the Gold and had to settle for Silver. It was disappointing to lose in the finals as we had failed to rise to the challenge. Tennis is not just about perfection, skills and hard work; every team at SEASAC does that.

What differentiates a winner from the rest is the confidence. The confidence that you can take the shot; the confidence that you can hit down-the-line returns with top spin on the ball that will daze the opponents with the extra bounce; the confidence that you can hit aces that will break your opponent’s confidence.

After deeply reflecting on the last three finals of SEASAC at Singapore, Myanmar and Thailand, what stood in our way to Gold was the confidence that, yes, we can take the winner shot first and end the long, drawn out defensive rally.

This year, Tanglin’s final was against the host team: Canadian International School in Hong Kong. It will be an understatement to say that they were playing top quality tennis. We knew they were our strongest adversaries in the tournament and winning against them would require something special from us.

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Going into the final, we knew we had to win at least three out of the five matches in order to win Gold. Luckily, the weather conditions on the day of final were optimal - warm and sunny. The contagious positive energy from Ms. Rebecca James and the timely tips from Coach Gabi pepped us up for the final.

During our first singles, Micaela, cruised through her match and set the ball rolling for the rest of the team with her exemplary tennis skills. In the second singles, Haniya stood her ground and gave a tough fight, however, CDNIS triumphed in the end. With the number of matches won being even, all the hopes now rested on the third singles and the two doubles teams.

Third singles could have gone either way but kudos to Mallika for persevering and refusing to give up. She stood in there and emerged victorious.

It all rested to winning one more match.

Both the doubles matches were being played simultaneously. The second doubles – played by Costanza and Natassja – were against tough CDNIS opponents and the match was tilting in favour of CDNIS. Although CDNIS was able to win that match from Tanglin, Costanza and Natassja played exceptional tennis.

Sharan and Antonella were playing first doubles against the tenacious CDNIS

double players. They knew they had to take an early lead and put the pressure on their opponents. The early lead in the match forced the Canadians duo to a defensive position, which opened the doors for Sharan and Antonella to play their attacking shots leading to a comprehensive win.

Apart from winning the tournament, Tanglin also won two out of the five ‘best player’ awards. Micaela won the ‘best in singles 1’ award and the “most valuable player” award while Sharan and Antonella walked away with the ‘best in doubles 1’ award.

The raw talent, confidence and the strong desire to win were the decisive factors that won us the Gold in SEASAC 2019. We were humble in our wins and gracious in our defeats.

We look forward to playing in Division 1 next year! Many thanks to Coach Gabi, Ms. James, Mr. Radcliffe and the Tanglin community for their continuous support, motivation and belief in us.

By Sharan, Year 12

Tanglin Hosts Largest Netball Tournament in SEA Last term, Tanglin hosted its annual SEA Netball tournament.

This was one of the largest sporting events of the year with over 350 participants, coaches and spectators. With 109 fixtures and 27 teams, our Tanglin teams had great fun and gained lots of experience playing against teams from around the region.

Our 19&U Netball A team reached the Cup Final, narrowly losing to Singapore Sports School in a fiercely contested final!

Following the competition, we interviewed team Captains, Holly and Ellie.

How did you and the team prepare for this tournament?

Our team trained three times a week, totalling four hours a week. During these sessions we worked on set plays, specific defensive and offensive tactics, as well as fitness drills. In this way, our team can improve technique and preparedness for our competitive games.

Did players rotate positions on the team?

Positions are rotated at half time for most games in order to ensure that all players gain court time. In this tournament, positions were rotated within the team during the pool stages, however when it came to the semi-final and final, our coach made the executive decision to stick with a 7-side squad that had worked the most effectively that day due to the familiar connections that had been built between the players.

Which teams were you looking out for in the competition?

In the competition we predominantly looked out for three main schools who we viewed as our biggest competitors, namely the Australian International School, UWCSEA Dover and the Singapore Sports School. These schools have proved to be the strongest sides over the previous years and many of our players were familiar with how these teams played and therefore were able to share advice on how we could beat them. We managed to defeat two out of three of these schools, facing the Singapore Sports School in the final where we lost by a mere two points, having drawn at half time.

“Captaining this side in my final tournament representing Tanglin in sport, was extremely rewarding at SEA Netball 2019.

As a team, we all performed our absolute best and played some of the finest netball we ever have as a cohort and individually. I am so proud of my team for our efforts throughout the weekend and I feel very lucky to have been a part of netball at Tanglin, during my time at this school.”

Ellie, Year 13

What did you most look forward to about the competition and why?

As Captains going into the tournament, we were very excited to lead our team by supporting and motivating everyone whenever necessary. I think everyone looked forward to winning some games, but also being able to develop and grow as a player and a team when we faced strong opponents. For four in the team, it was our last SEA Netball tournament and we wanted to end on a high- which we can both confirm happened as it was evident that all team players gave 100% effort.

Are you considering going into Netball as a profession?

All our players are encouraged to continue to play netball after school as much as possible, and if the opportunity is presented to pursue netball as a career, I’m sure many of the team would very much consider it as it is clear everyone in the team has a strong passion for the sport and is more than capable of being able to play at a professional level.

What would you like to say about your experience of captaining the U19 Netball team in your final SEA Netball Tournament?

“I am beyond proud to be part of this U19A Tanglin netball team and to share the captaincy this season has been an even greater privilege. As always, the SEA Netball Tournament is a tough competition with some excellent sports women and players in every team. It has been amazing to represent Tanglin on many occasions over the years and to play in this fantastic SEA Netball tournament which could not happen without the work and dedication of the organisers. I wish the girls next year all the very best.” Holly, Year 13

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Student Services Transport at Tanglin With approximately 1700 Tanglin students being transported around Singapore each day, the KAL Transport Team and Transport Manager of three years, Helen Edmonds, run a tight schedule. Helen talks to The Voice about the logistics of the buses, what some of the biggest challenges are and why she loves what she does.

Welcome to The Voice Helen! What are the three most important things when it come to transport logistics at Tanglin?

Safety, communication and teamwork. I personally review all our processes and procedures on a continuous basis. For the bus aunties and drivers, I organise training, looking at everything from emergency response procedures and first aid, to addressing behavioural issues and complaints. All transport staff are required to complete Child Protection Training and they are also trained on how to protect themselves.

As a team, we are in constant communication throughout the day, week and term, so thankfully, if issues do arise, we are well prepared. The KAL Transport Team, of which there are six members, are critical to what I do and are based at the school. I couldn’t do my job without them and their support, knowledge and commitment.

Can you describe a typical day?

There is no typical day as such. We do however have some things which remain constant. We manage two sets of morning arrivals and three sets of afternoon dismissals each day, including our co-curricular activity (CCA) buses.

In addition, if we have sporting fixtures outside of school, we can have as many as six or seven fixtures on a single day, not to mention school trips, so we must factor in the transport logistics for those too.

My day starts about 8.00am. For bus aunties and bus drivers, their day starts much earlier, around 5.00am, as they often have to travel a lot further to get to their bus in time for the morning arrivals.

I normally check emails first thing in the

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morning, to see if there are any urgent actions I need to address. I assist the team with issues and handle any complaints, queries and reports from the morning, as well as the previous day. Then it is straight down to the Nixon Bus Bay, to welcome in the Nursery arrivals!

In the afternoon, my focus is on the staggered dismissals across the school, starting with the Infants, followed by Juniors and Seniors. I generally finish my day at 5.00pm with the KAL Transport Team remaining on standby for any issues with our final dismissals the day.

What are the main challenges for the team?

If weather conditions suddenly change, such as the possibility of lightning strikes, we must follow the ‘wet bus procedure’.

This means that no children may board a bus which is not protected from lightning.

This process requires dismissing a second wave of buses with additional help from colleagues in the Junior and Senior School.

It can be time consuming and frustrating, but we must adhere to our safety procedures.

Managing complaints can be a stressful and challenging time for everyone involved.

We always try to find a solution to seek the best outcome for everyone involved.

Keeping check of all our equipment is another challenge, which is why we continuously review our transport, processes and training during and outside of term time. During the quieter periods of the school holidays we do additional safety checks on seat belts, air conditioning and fire extinguishers and first aid kits. I personally will also go on to a bus and investigate any serious complaints as they

arise through the term, so the problem is rectified as quickly as possible. We also look the what the competition is doing. Last year we conducted a Transport Survey and looked at pricing of the buses around the island. We try to keep pricing as competitive as possible, but the challenge is also about balancing reliability and getting children around safely from A to B. Since you came to Tanglin, three years ago, what has changed?

The relationship between the school, KAL Transport and parents has been the most significant change. The school has a very good working relationship with KAL Transport and with six members of the team being based at Tanglin, we are all close to what is happening at the school on a day to day basis, which makes everything a lot more manageable. This also impacts our parents and trust in what we do. It’s been a big step change.

The other big change is moving from paper forms to 100% online registration for annual renewals. Better for the environment and better for managing and keeping track of all that data!

We also look ahead as to what we can do to improve our offering and service. We try to accommodate as much as possible and listen to feedback we get from the parent community as well as the school itself. For example, we have already launched the Year 6, 5.00pm Bus Trial in Term 2.

What do you love most about the job?

I love the variety of what I do. No day is ever the same! Working with our community, the team at KAL Transport, and building relationships across the school with parents is also very satisfying and incredibly important to me.

The KAL Transport Office is based in the Infant School, opposite Gate B. They can be contacted directly at kaltransport@tts.edu.sg

Beyond The Classroom An Introduction to Forest School What are the benefits of Forest School?

Sara Knight, author of Forest School for All, sets out what the Forest School gives to children; confidence; social skills; language and communication skills; motivation and concentration; physical skills; knowledge and understanding; teachers’ new perspective of achild in a different environment; and wellbeing.

During the last week of Term 2, Forest School Leader, Liz Bicknell worked with the Infant School, sharing her knowledge on Forest School principles and practice. Liz helped our teachers understand the current strengths we already have in this area and to identify areas for growth and development. Working with our students, Liz modelled best practice in our specific environment. The children loved connecting with nature and learning using the natural environment just a five-minute walk from school. The ‘Thumbmometer’ was a clear thumbs up! In an interview with Liz, we asked what exactly Forest School is and why it is important: Welcome to The Voice Liz. Can you tell us a bit about Forest School?

Forest School is an inspirational process that offers all learners regular opportunities to achieve and develop confidence and self-esteem through hands-on learning experiences in a woodland or natural environment with trees. It is a specialised learning approach that sits within and complements the wider context of outdoor and woodland education.’ The Forest School Association.

Do professionals need to undertake specific training to run Forest School?

Yes. Level 1 is an introduction to Forest School. Level 2 is designed to qualify a learner to become a Forest School assistant. In Level 3 the trainee can qualify to become a Forest School Leader who can set up and run a Forest School programme.

Level 4 leaders can train others.

What considerations are needed to ensure children’s safety and wellbeing?

Why do you have a passion for the Forest School ethos?

Children need to be appropriately dressed for Singapore’s tropical climate. Shade, water, snacks are essential. There needs to be a high ratio of practitioners/adults to learners. Practitioners need to hold an up-to-date first aid qualification. Forest School should be backed by relevant working documents, including policies and risk assessments which are annually reviewed.

I grew up on a farm and love gardening, so I think I have a natural tendency to be drawn to the outdoors!

What type of activities do children do and how does this fit with the curriculum?

What age does Forest School have most impact and why?

As a Forest School Leader, I facilitate children’s ideas. For example, in a school in the UK, we made a big yellow leaf poppy, where one leaf represented a certain number of soldiers who had died during the Second World War. We’ve also done hammer printing, weaving, a great bird watch, orienteering, knot skills, the Norman Invasion and Ancient Egyptians – there is no limit!

The earlier Forest School is introduced, the better – as young as Nursery. It’s important to establish clear boundaries, an understanding of what is and isn’t safe, cooperation skills, and a familiarity with the site. You can’t just switch resilience and feeling safe on. They must be developed from an early age.

How was this experience replicated at Tanglin?

I worked with different year groups in Infant School. With each class, we walked to a shaded area close to the school. Children helped each other to carry equipment and snacks, and we connected with the environment through actions such as waving to the flame trees or wiggling our bottoms as we passed the fishtail palms.

We closed our eyes and listened to the sound of nature - cicadas, frogs and birds.

Children found leaves and sticks to build ant houses and were eager to have a go on the rope swing. This introduction was about establishing physical and behavioural boundaries, but we also covered language, physics, maths and biology.

Why is it important for children to have an appreciation of the cycles of nature?

An appreciation of the cycles of nature can lead to an appreciation of yourself and the part you play. Take sustainability and climate change. Forest Schools help children to value nature and to fully understand what they’re saving. Forest School is a long-term process of frequent and regular sessions in a natural environment. The programme must have structure which demonstrates progression of learning. A background in Forest School can really benefit children in coping with alien environments and their preparedness for future outdoor education trips.

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Creative Writing If The Sea Could Talk

I have existed for billions of years. I come from vapour when the Earth was boiling. As I rose up into the sky, I got colder and formed into a cloud. I made lots of friends and we fell once there were too many of us. All of my friends fell from the sky and we started filling in all the cracks we could find. Interestingly, I now cover 71% of the world’s surface and am 4.4 billion years old; I have seen almost everything.

The first living type of thing in me was small little microbes; they tickled but they couldn’t talk to me. Then came the comb jellyfish. It was weird to see them swimming along, but they were fun to play with.

Even though I was still the same, when animals appeared, life became difficult. Over time, creatures evolved and then there were millions of creatures in me. They were often eating each other, and many of my friends were killed and eaten, but they also played in me; I watched their babies grow, they sang to me and it was fun talking to them. It was peaceful and I was happy. One side of me was warm and one side of me was colder. Different animals lived in different parts of me. There were so many different coloured animals; the ones at the bottom usually were white as they didn’t get as much sunlight and some were the biggest animals on Earth.

When the humans appeared, my life was changed again, as they started putting something called boats on me.

There was some type of black oil coming out and killing my friends and the engines of the boats scratched my surface, destroying the homes of the fish which lived in the coral.

Nowadays, the pollution in the air is melting the icebergs.

I’ll be growing bigger and eventually I will cover the land; the only thing left will be the top of Mount Everest. Humans say they’re trying to help me, but they haven’t done any of the things they said they would do; only some people are trying to help. My friends who live inside me are eating plastic and it is killing them. Whales, the biggest sea creature and the friendliest, are being speared and caught.

Every day I see boats with spears shooting at them, trying to catch them for food. I try defending them with massive waves to stop them from being caught. When the humans do something really silly, I even shake the bottom of the Earth and send sets of massive waves to crash on them.

But I’m done with the world!

When I cover everywhere and there are no more humans, the world will be back to normal; there will be no more oil in me, no more plastic and no more humans thinking they’re saving me! They don’t realise they haven’t made any difference in 4.45 billion years!

When they’re gone, Big Blue will rise and smile, knowing that I’m still alive and Yellow will shine on me and heat me up. Silver will rise up as yellow goes down and day turns to night. Those living at the bottom of me will look up as everything falls asleep. That’s what I wish would happen, but I don’t think that will be possible. WHEN WILL THE HUMANS LISTEN?

34By Tristan, Year 8

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Extended War Narratives from the WW2 Topic 10th November 2018 1700. The crimson sun begins to rest over the rolling hills, sacrificing its last rays. Clouds shroud twilight as serenity drifts upon the bed of grass. Subtle winds breeze throughout the solemn arrays of white headstones.

With a heavy heart, Private Junique, followed by his grandson, Quentin, reluctantly strides forward. A dove swirls and soars, playing, gazing upon row and row of marble gravestones. The man stumbles revealing his creaseless suit and polished black shoes.

Only the sun shall set when he forgets of his woes. Private Junique ambles to the books; he rifles through page after page.“Shadin, Shenin, Shields,” he mutters, “17, B, D.” Private Junique breaks into a run, searching.

“Papa, Papa,” the young untouched voice of Quentin sounds. He has arrived. He is here. He remembers. Private Junique falls to his knees, sobbing in his pale hands, “Joseph, I shall not forget those days…”

Year 2 Lions Top Row (Left to Right): By Devaki, Seika and Vidushi Bottom Row (Left to Right): By Jake, Tyler and Wilbur

By William, Year 6

Slowly the horse walked to the beach.

Slowly the snail climbed down the brown wall.

Slowly the man climbed over the brown fence.

Slowly the tide came in.

Slowly the plants grew.

Slowly the ferris wheel went round.

Slowly the shadows were crossing the land.

Slowly the teddy bear’s fur was worn.

Slowly the wall crumbled and broke.

By Maddie, Year 2

By Xenia, Year 13

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Were they shadows that fell across the horizon, or wreaths of clouds; skidding beyond the pale, pink sky?

Nature’s halo casts her smile.

It glows. Softly and dim, and we pray.

Beneath ‘er glare and where they shuddered, darkness seeps within the trench’s cavities— Ghostly palettes of white set out in uniformed troops to depart, and we pray, dressed in sweat, we cower.

Missile...Erupt!

Pain flares.

A tidal wave of emotion pounds its way.

An iron curtain of fear drapes upon us— tangible as the great, dark shadows falling, across the land.

Though futile now, we pray: it is time.

Sasha, Year 13

By Zyra, Year 6

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Book Reviews Infant / Junior / Senior

This year, children in Reception, Year 1, and Year 2 participated in voting for the Red Dot Book Awards. Every year the International School Librarians Network (ISLN) chooses a short list of books for children to read. Afterwards, every child gets to vote for one book in each of four categories.

The Infant School’s Favourite Red Dot Books 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

Meerkat Choir

by Nicki Greenberg (2nd place) 7 Ate Nine

by Tara Lazar (1st place winner of the Red Dot Award 2018-19) Room on Our Rock

by Kate and Jol Temple (3rd place) If You Plant a Seed

by Kadir Nelson Lines, Squiggles, Letters, Words

by Ruth Rocha Hello, Goodbye Little lsland

by Leila Boukarim The Incredible Basket

by Quek Hong Shin Lots, The Diversity of Life on Earth

by Nicola Davis

Junior Fiction Books In the Junior Library 1.

2.

3.

The Unlikely Adventures of Mabel Jones

by Will Mabbitt Eerie Elementary (series)

by Jack Chabert The Bad Guys (comic series)

by Aaron Blabey

What do Year 2 students say about their favourite books?

“The Unlikely Adventures of Mabel Jones is funny because of the animal pirates.”

“Mable Jones is scary but I like it!”

“The Bad Guys are always messing up” “I like it because things never go well for them” [The Bad Guys]

Top 5 Books for Juniors 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Stick Dog

by Tom Watson How to Speak Dragonese

by Cressida Cowell Swing it, Sunny

by Jennifer L Holmand MattheyHolm Tom Gates. Genius Ideas (mostly)

by L Pichon Guinness World Records 2018 & 2019

Ban this Book

by Alan Gratz This book is ABSOLUTELY amazing! It is about a girl whose library bans her favourite book and those of other children.

To get it returned to the shelves, she forms a group to fight back. It is perfect for people who knows how boredom feels and want to add interest to their lives. Also it is for people who take a stand against censorship. There is no blah, blah, blah in this book. It is a compulsive page-turner. By Louis (Y5) Billionaire Boy

by David Walliams I enjoyed Billionaire Boy by David Walliams because it shows the meaning of real friendship: ‘I do not want to have a Friend because of what I am, I want a Friend because of who I am’- Eddie Murphy.And it shows that money isn’t everything. You could have no money at all but you would still be rich because you have friends. I like the part when his friend figures out he is very wealthy but doesn’t really care.I recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn what real friendship means.

By Caspian (Y5) Harry the Poisonous Centipede goes to Sea Written

by Lynne Reid Banks, illustrated by Tony Ross Harry the Poisonous Centipede goes to sea is an amusing book. You won’t stop laughing. The book shows about how hard life would be if you were a centipede. Things like dogs, water, birds and even humans would be very dangerous.

The book is written in first person and the author ( Reid Banks) did a very good job of writing about Harry’s accidental mishaps.

Personally I would recommend it to anyone who likes a good funny book. By Michael (Y6)

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Book Reviews Infant / Junior / Senior Top 5 Books for Seniors

1.

2.

Bad Dad

by David Walliams

Stargirl

by Jerry Spinelli

3.

Be Prepared

by Vera Brosgol

4.

Thunderhead

by Neal Shusterman

5.

City of Bones

by Cassandra Clare

Popular

by Maya Van Waganen I really enjoyed Popular by Maya Van Waganen. It is Maya’s true story of how she embarked on her quest to become popular, using the guidelines of a handbook written by a 50’s model. Maya’s story is relatable, awkward, and bittersweet – the tale of a teenage girl caught up in a whirlwind of change, financial issues and incredibly idiotic classmates. I enjoyed it because it was entirely glamour -less, no airbrushing or editing to make Maya’s experiences sound less embarrassing. It reminded me of some of my own experiences and made me feel better about some of the things I was facing. On her journey to find out how to be popular (or indeed what popular is) Maya shows us the ugly truth about our teenage years. There is no easy way through the spots, frizzy hair and mood swings…but you get through it. Maya did and she learned some valuable lessons. Utterly entertaining, funny, and uplifting. Popular is everything I ever expected it to be and more. I loved it and hope you will too. By Ava (Y9)

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The Martian

by Andy Weir This book is about a man named Mark Watney who is stranded alone on Mars, and his journey of survival as he tries to contact someone so that they can rescue him. It covers a large range of genres such as comedy and adventure.

I found the book enjoyable as it was informative, although some of the facts in the books were false, I was amused by the log entries from Mark’s perspective of living on Mars. The book was quite emotional as when his crew members discovered that he was alive, the Captain and crew thought it was their fault that he had become stranded on the planet. The book captures the bond between the all the crew members well and how they were affected when they thought he was dead. By Aurelia (Y9) Enclave

by Ann Aguirre This book is all about a girl called Deuce who lives in an enclave. The reason her people are stuck there is because there was a second holocaust which drove most people down underground. Therefore, they all live on rations and are not allowed any private possessions. When they reach the the age of 15, they get to choose what they would like to be, huntresses, breeders or builders. Once Deuce becomes a huntress, she meets a boy called Fade and they are asked to do a mission to find the next enclave. They find a haunting truth that questions all that Deuce knows and the events that follow this leads to Fade and Deuce’s exile. They are left to walk the dangerous tunnels alone and find a way to survive. I found this book interesting as I was always intrigued and I never knew what was going to happen next. This book has action but also explores themes of romance and friendship. I also could never put it down. This book is good for Year 7s and above.

By Tara (Y8) Dangerous

by Shannon Hale ‘Every superhero has an origin story and mine began with a box of blue cereal…’Maisie “Danger” Brown is a homeschooled space geek with scientist parents who won a harmless sounding competition to go to an astronaut boot camp. She has always dreamed of becoming an astronaut and seeing space, but it is hard to achieve this with one arm, so she makes up for it by being a genius. When she entered the competition, she never thought that she would be risking her life and get tangled up in a classified intergalactic conspiracy, and she didn’t plan to fall in love! She must think of a plan before she runs out of time and loses everything. This is an amazing Sci Fi/ Romance/Mystery fiction book about superheroes and aliens with a little bit of romance. I really liked it because it was very interesting with a great plot and an epic climax. It is a great book for Year 7 to 8s and I couldn’t put it down. By Sienna (Y8)

The Last Word Head Team Reflections

Luke: Getting to know and work with lots of people around the school has been very rewarding. Everyone wants the best for the school and its community, and it’s been great to be able to give something back.

Carl: I’ve enjoyed having the opportunity to apply my skills to various projects and to develop them further.

Loulya: Being a role model to others, whether it be to Infant children or to fellow Sixth Formers.

Has being on the Head Team been what you expected?

great to know that we’ve been able to give future students the same opportunities.

Meghan: It’s been busier than I expected and harder to execute projects. However, as a team we’ve shared the workload and have all put in a lot of time and effort, much of which has been behind the scenes, to achieve some great things.

What challenges have you faced and how have you overcome these?

Cris: It’s been fun and enjoyable, and we’ve all really supported each other and kept going when times have got tough.

Which of your initial goals do you feel you have achieved?

Tim: We’ve helped to encourage sustainability across the campus. Eco Week was a huge success – we led the whole school assembly to focus our thoughts on how we can all become sustainable citizens, conscious and responsible for our consumption, and the impact we have on our environment. Tia’s poster designs (the six Rs – Reuse, Recycle, Refill, Refuse, Reduce and Remember) also helped to communicate this message to the school’s wider community.

Loulya: Although we’ve had to push back on some of our initial goals, for example, promoting the Arts and developing International Day, as a Head Team, I feel we’ve made an impact on the whole school, from Nursery through to Year 13.

Carl: Having personally experienced the buddy system in Infant and Junior School, it was great to see the system back in action.

I have some amazing memories of doing activities with the older students and it’s

Ellie: Initially, I think we underestimated the amount of work that needed to go into some of the initiatives we proposed. We realised that it just takes time to properly plan, consider and execute projects. We’ve had to prioritise and balance our role on the Head Team with our other commitments.

What has been your favourite experience whilst on the Head Team?

Cris: I’m proud of our contribution to the Year 11 Pathways Fair which helps to ensure that the decision to study A Levels or the IB Diploma, is well-informed and supported. I think students appreciated hearing the experiences of current Sixth Formers and see this as one of the many tools offered by the school to help them make their pathway decision. The Sixth Form Panto was also magical and so much fun to work on.

Ellie: One of my first ideas for our integration initiative was to create an informal highlight reel of a compilation of photos from events that had taken part in the Infant, Junior and Senior Schools, with the Head Team commentating throughout the video. We played the video in assemblies across the school with the intention of students in the younger years becoming more familiar with us as a Head Team for the whole school.

Tia: Being on the Head Team has enabled us to make a change. It’s brilliant to see the Eco posters I designed having an impact around the school.

Tim: Working with the Infant children has really struck a chord with me.

Meghan: I’ve appreciated the recognition we’ve received across the whole school.

People know who we are and have been keen to support and work with us. As a team, we’re each from different friendship groups and didn’t really know each other that well before being appointed to the Head Team, but I have to say, this has been the best experience of my school life.

How has your role on the Head Team prepared you for life beyond Tanglin?

All: Going through the application process for a role on the Head Team has helped us to prepare for university and job applications.

Over the year, we’ve developed key skills: balance, patience, resilience, persistence, trust, cooperation, compromise, time management. We’ve been forced to understand what’s realistic and as such prioritise what we can achieve in a short timeframe.

What tips do you have for the next Head Team?

All: Communicate your ideas clearly. Focus on fewer initiatives and on those that you’re passionate about. Take time to get to know each other outside of the role.

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