The Voice Vol 29

of Tanglin Trust School

29

MCI (P) 066/07/2018

Vol 29 2018

The TTS Foundation Campaign The Infant School Journey Recognising Rights 1

Welcome This edition of The Voice allows me to reflect upon my first three months in Singapore.

I recall one of the Governors asking me what I would like to have achieved in the first 100 days of my tenure at Tanglin. I indicated that I would listen to as many people as I could, look at as much as I could and say as little as I could. Well, some of that has been successful, but in all honesty and as you might imagine, this continues to be a work in progress. This edition of The Voice is a brilliant milestone on that journey; it reflects the richness of a Tanglin education. More than that, it aligns closely to the school mission, vision and strategic plan, reflecting excellent leadership within each of the Tanglin schools.

Earlier in the term I spoke to a small group of parents about what great education looks like. Great education means different things to each of us. For some the absolute focus must be the richness of the learning journey in the classroom, for others co-curricular opportunities provide the breadth that develops passion and potential, while for others the personal development of each child is critical. Tanglin Trust School aspires to be the best school in the world. This is a brilliant ambition, but no one I have met here has been so presumptuous to believe that we are the best school in the world. The ‘best’ schools meet the needs of their children and young people. We all, however, live in different cultural constructs, and as such there must be many ‘best’ schools around the world.

The most important characteristic of great education is that members of the school community work tirelessly for, and with, students and their families, to provide the very best education for each individual.

Outstanding education provides opportunities and supports possibilities that students may not have dreamt of earlier. This value-adding is what Tanglin does exceptionally well. The outstanding A Level, IB and (I)GCSE grades are the end result of significant toil, but the absolute grades never tell the whole story. The internal value-added data expresses just how well our students achieve relative to their measured ability earlier in their school life. Value-added of course is not only related to the intellectual development of each young person. The interpersonal skills, the resilience, the development of inquiring minds and critical thinkers, as well as those that have the physical and emotional literacy to develop broad interests, assure young people of a prominent place in the world beyond Tanglin. These foundations are developed in the Infant and Junior Schools, which do a brilliant job of establishing fundamental learning attitudes and aptitudes.

Editor Mona Bowers Design Alex Ridley Contributors Students, Staff and PTA Photography The Communications Team & other contributors ‘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 edition of The Voice highlights the multitude of opportunities available at Tanglin.

Read about the glorious gala of the film festival (the AAYFF), the heights of the rock climbing programme and meet our ambitious and inspiring new Head Girl, Meghan Togher, and Head Boy, Cris Chadikun. A recent article in The Straits Times focused on what is required to be successful in the workplace of the future. The work experience opportunities provided for our Year 10 students, thanks to our generous community, are an excellent preparation for understanding the world of work. They are, I’m sure, also an enlightening experience for the employers, to meet the graduates of the future, the post-millennials who will be taking over the reins in a few years’ time!

As I continue to build an ‘innings’ and head toward the completion of my century of days at Tanglin, I encourage members of the school community to stop and chat as we pass each other around the school. If that is not possible and you would like to discuss a general or particular issue, then please do contact me by phone, email or in person...my door is always open.

Craig Considine Chief Executive Officer

Contents

Feature

Tanglin Talk

News from our Three Schools

Across Asia Youth Film Festival

PTA

6

ParentWise Update

Our World

The TTS Foundation 2018 Fundraising Campaign

10 First Steps towards an Inspiring Career

18 Student Services Reading for pleasure

32

Sixth Form

Introducing the Head Boy and the Head Girl

A Selection of Infant, Junior and Senior Writing

34

Junior School

Journey through the Infant School

Recognising Rights

14

Showcase

Art/ Dance/ Drama/ Music/ Sport

20 Creative Writing

9

Infant School

12

Senior School

Tanglin Alumni Step Up

8

4

Spotlight

Alumni

Interview with James Bradbury, PTA President

Sports & Activities After School Activities and Sports

22

Book Reviews Infant, Junior, and Senior Reviews

16

28

The Last Word Holiday Camp

36

38 3

Tanglin Talk

News from our Three Schools

The Desford Colliery Band The TTS Foundation welcomes the award-winning band to Tanglin!

Performing in The Moot on Thursday, 1 November 2018, the concert will include performances from our Junior and Senior instrumentalists and vocalists.

Ticket holders will also hear a performance by the Infant Choir preceding the concert. Online ticket bookings can be made via the TTS Portal Homepage with all the proceeds going to The TTS Foundation.

Open House Events

Prospective parents are invited to join our open house events which take place throughout the year. The events are a great opportunity to talk to staff, meet students and hear more about life at Tanglin.

If you know anyone who would be interested in attending, please ask them to visit www.tts.edu.sg/admissions or call Admissions on 6770 3480 / 6770 3583

4

Congratulations Class of 2018!

This year saw outstanding results across IB, A Level and (I)GCSE’s. In our IB cohort, the average score was an impressive 38.1 points out of 45 (the world average was 29.78).

Of the 97 students who took the A Level pathway, 93% of all grades achieved were A*-C. 92% of all students received a place at their first choice university. In (I)GCSE’s over three quarters of all grades achieved were either A, A* or equivalent.

Enterprising Students

At Market Day, Year 7 students sold handmade crafts, slushies and meringues to raise money for their year group charity, World Wildlife Fund (WWF Singapore). The Senior Enterprise Club also had a stall where they sold upcycled products and re-useable TTS bags, as part of a collaborative project with the Tanglin PTA. Over $2,000 was raised for charity.

Groovy Greeks!

Year 5 wowed parents with brilliant interpretations of the well-known Horrible Histories Series ‘Groovy Greeks’. Packed with interesting historical information covering Greek hospitals to how the Greeks created democracy, the children entertained their audiences with brilliant drama skills. Drama is an important part of the Junior School curriculum, enabling children to build confidence, develop performance skills and find creative ways to share information with an audience.

Inspiring Author, Pamela Butchart Courtesy of the PTA Visiting Author Fund, Year 2, 3 and 4 children met author Pamela Butchart in Term 3.

Pamela is one of ten World Book Day 2018 authors. When speaking about her writing she engages the students using a variety of strategies - of which humour is just one! A Year 4 student said: “She’s so funny. She told me that if I write a story about a teacher not to make it look like them! I can’t wait to read her books because I love animals.”

Year 2 Cycle Day

To celebrate their participation in the TTS Foundation Pedal Power Programme, Year 2 children took part in a Cycle Day at the end of Term 3. They put their learning into practice, safely whizzing along with confidence in one-north Park: Mediapolis.

Follow us!

Tanglin Trust School

#tanglintrust

tanglintrustschool

@tanglintrust

5

Feature

Across Asia Youth Film Festival

By Marketing and Communications

In his role as Director of the Across Asia Youth Film Festival 2018, David Procter watched over 300 films from 62 different schools and 14 countries.

He describes gaining a real sense of Asia through the eyes of 10-21 year olds, with different cultures represented in vignettes and portraits of people’s lives.

Often cathartic, the subject matters are very personal to being a young person today, such as academic pressure, body image, screen time, personal relationships, and wider themes including conservation, pollution and poverty.

ownership of their narrative and putting it across with their specific style of storytelling, their work is uniquely compelling.

As a teacher who has invested a great deal in developing audio-visual literacy through filmmaking at Tanglin, David understands the passion and determination it takes to tell a story through film. With the young filmmakers giving so much of themselves, the AAYFF in return, gives them the broadest possible audience for their work, with many opportunities to connect with their audience, media professionals and peers.

“The film industry is all about knowing the right people, networking if you will.

AAYFF is an opportunity for young people But I wouldn’t say that I network as such. to tell a story from their own perspective, I go to experience, meet and learn from and with their skill in communicating others who are in the same sort of area. so honestly and personally; in taking The AAYFF is one of the best [ways of doing this] for people like me. A whole “If you want to understand the issues that are on young Industry Day to get to learn from the pros, to have time to talk to the other people’s minds, watch filmmakers and learn from them too. their films.” David Procter, The biggest benefit is just simply having Director of the AAYFF a lot of filmmakers in one place.” Ewan

6

Windebank, Best AAYFF Film 2018 and Best 13-15 Age Group Winner.

From the connections formed between each other and industry professionals at the Industry Day, to the live audience reaction at the Gala Screening and the feedback from the judging panel, it is clear that the festival format puts young filmmakers front and centre of the dialogue they instigate.

“I saw so much passion in the work submitted. I had fun watching them too.”

Doreen Neo, Chief Content Officer, Mediacorp

The AAYFF would not have been possible without the support of the festival partners, Tanglin’s neighbours at one-north – Disney, HBO Asia and Mediacorp. The 2018 judging panel included Tom Batchelor, Disney’s General Manager of Studio Entertainment for Southeast Asia; Garon De Silva, Vice President, Original Productions at HBO Asia; and Doreen Neo, Chief Content Officer at Mediacorp.

The addition of the Industry Day this year gave shortlisted filmmakers an insight into a range of pre-production, production and post-production procedures. Presentations by Industrial Light & Magic and Lucasfilm, introduced the students to the development of characters from initial conceptual sketches, to the screen, using examples from Marvel Studios and Star Wars, brought to life with CGI techniques such as motion capture.

Disney provided the students with a detailed picture of the business of film distribution and marketing using the recent ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ as a case study. During the HBO Asia sessions, students had the opportunity to observe VFX, CGI and editing in situ, in the suites of Infinite Studios, and tour a working set of Mediacorp’s long running TV production ‘Tanglin’.

Now in its second year, the event and the entrants have built on the last. It has been satisfying for all involved to see both the continuity and development.

The AAYFF 2017 filmmakers set a benchmark for quality, which the

“These young film makers were truly inspiring, and we thank them for sharing their vision.” Garon De Silva, Vice President, Original Productions at HBO Asia 2018 entrants have expanded upon in interesting and surprising ways.

Submissions were technically more advanced and exhibited a greater range and depth of content. The Industry Day also enabled this year’s filmmakers to get to know each other and ultimately support each other’s work during the screening.

“After the bar was set so high last year, the quality of films at this year’s AAYFF was truly impressive, with a technical brilliance that cannot be underestimated. Drone shots, special effects, sounds mixing – the entries were incredible.

The future is certainly bright for Asian creativity.” Tom Batchelor, General Manager of Studio Entertainment, Disney Studios, Southeast Asia By connecting young filmmakers, industry partners and educators throughout Asia, the AAYFF has brought together a community that is passionate about film.

David credits the wonderful community at Tanglin, including the Management Team, Film Department, Art Department, Events, Marketing and Communications, Theatre and EBT, as well as Catering and Operations, all working together with energy and creativity to bring the AAYFF vision to life.

“A truly amazing evening and an incredible journey for the filmmakers and Tanglin.” Allan Forbes, Head of Senior School, Tanglin Trust School

“It was wonderful to watch the films, and to feel part of this exciting event. The AAYFF made me realise what amazing facilities and courses my child has to look forward to as she moves through the years at Tanglin.” Infant School Parent

Tanglin is a great place to study film!

Want to find out more?

Head to our website www.tts.edu.sg.

“The facilities are better than some universities I’ve seen.

They give students the opportunity to collaborate, share ideas and make films together. I wouldn’t leave the suites if I was here!” Dan Sully, awardwinning British Film Director

PTA

Interview with James Bradbury

By Marketing and Communications

What do you envision being a challenge?

My main challenge is getting to grips with all the moving parts that are already in play, especially for upcoming events in Term 1.

“Our commitment is to harbour more participation over a wide range of community activities” Tell us a bit about yourself. When did I saw the CEO’s email and was taken by how tragic it would be to lose the PTA. In you arrive in Singapore, and what the brief meeting I had with Kate (former are your hobbies?

1) Tell us a bit about yourself – when did you in and Ally (long-standing PTAarrive President) My family, wife Karen, and our two Singapore, what are your hobbies etc. daughters, arrived in Singapore in August PTA committee member), I saw how dedicated the PTA are to the school. I am 2017. I am originally from South Africa My family, wife Karen and our two daughters, arrived inamazed at the commitment constantly and come from a small coastal town in Singapore in August 2017. and hard work people are willing to put the Eastern Cape. I moved to Europe in in for a communal purpose they believe and quickly escaped to the French I1994 am originally from South Africa and come from small in. It’sa impossible not to be inspired!

Alps where I spent six years running

coastal town in the Eastern Cape. I moved to Europe in 1994 nightclubs and restaurants in a ski resort. and quickly escaped to the French Alps where I spent 6 years, What plans do you have for the PTA? In 2000, I moved to Switzerland and ran running nightclubs and restaurants in a ski resort. In 2000, I a hotel complex, having qualified with a We having have great plans. As members, along moved to Switzerland and ran a hotel complex, qualified Swiss Hotel Patente. In my last year in with the Governors, with a Swiss Hotel Patente. In my last year in Verbier, I helped teachers and the Verbier, I helped run Richard Branson’s TTS Foundation, we want to drive the run Richard Branson’s chalet, The Lodge, before finally moving chalet, The Lodge, one of their Virgin PTA with a greater to Geneva with the rest of the family. Our last project was the sense of interaction Limited Edition properties, before moving for the school. Our commitment is to renovation of our house, which then coincided with our move to Geneva with the rest of the family. harbour more to Singapore, so that has kept me tied to Geneva during ourparticipation over a wide Our last project was the renovation of range of community activities, not just transition. our house, which then coincided with within Tanglin but also Singapore and our move to Singapore, so that has kept abroad. are only able to benefit from As you might expect, we are a very outdoorsy family!We We enjoy me tied to Geneva during our transition. the fruits of our labour if we make what many aspects of nature, including camping, skiing, climbing, As for hobbies, we are a very outdoorsy we do fun. That is the aim. We really sailing, waterskiing and biking. family. We enjoy many aspects of nature, want to try and make the PTA an open including camping, skiing, climbing, office, even if it is to just meet people sailing, waterskiing and biking. over a cup of coffee. We want the school 2) Why did you volunteer for the PTA? community to feel like they can pop in for aI found chat and discuss their ideas, plans Whycame did you volunteer forKaren’s the PTA? We to Singapore with work and myself or issues.

We will without ‘project’.

I saw the CEO’s work email and was taken by endeavour to make it We cameato Singapore with Karen’s easybrief for anyone how wouldwithout be to lose the PTA. In the meetingto do just that! and Itragic founditmyself a ‘project’.

8

Our challenge, as the PTA, is getting more people involved with the school.

We need members and volunteers. So, I entreat everyone wanting to help, to step up and get involved. Our other challenge is getting our message out and raising awareness on issues that are important to the students. We would like to promote healthy sustainable living practices. It’s not about becoming Greenpeace warriors, but starting with small changes in our everyday lives, whilst teaching our children what it means to be a responsible part of our precious ecosystem.

What are you most looking forward to about the upcoming academic year?

The challenge is what I’m looking forward to the most. Being involved with Tanglin on sustainability issues, whilst meeting like-minded people, who are as passionate and concerned about the environment as I am, helps bring the community together. Our daughters are thrilled to be at Tanglin and have really come into their own. Being involved with them, their friends and fellow students, whilst getting to know other parents and the staff, will no doubt be hugely enjoyable.

“Our amazing and dedicated crew at the PTA relish being actively involved in creating new life experiences for our children on a daily basis.”

To find out more, please come to the PTA Office located on Level 3 of The Nixon Building near the café or email PTAOffice@tts.edu.sg

ALUMNI

Tanglin Alumni Step Up

By Marketing andPTA Communications President

By Marketing and Communications

Last term, Alumni Emily, Adam and Catherine, who were within two years of one another at Tanglin, were reunited half way across the globe in London in a rather surprising way. Each won a place on an entrepreneurial accelerator programme, StepUp run by Virgin StartUp, which is aimed at helping growth-stage companies strengthen their sales plans and secure funding to scale their businesses to the next level.

Highly competitive, with over 10 applications for each place, these talented young graduates were thrilled to receive such sought-after advice on how to grow their burgeoning enterprises. Perhaps there is something in the water at Tanglin?

Catherine (2012 cohort) works for a start up called Stasher as their Head of Partnerships. Stasher.com is the world's first sharing economy for luggage storage. The Stasher platform allows travellers to make the most of their trip by connecting them with StashPoints: hotels and shops who can store their bags no matter where they are. The cost is only £6 per day for 24 hours (half the price of station lockers) including insurance.

Stasher drives ancillary revenue to local businesses by utilising their otherwise empty space. These range from small independents to large hotel chains such as Accor and Premier Inn. Stasher is on track to store 300,000 bags this year in 48 cities across Europe and will launch in New York, Los Angeles and Tokyo next month.

“It was really exciting and as Emily said, everyone was so impressed by Tanglin. Three out of 30 of the selected attendees went to the same school in Singapore. Crazy!” Catherine, Stasher.com Adam (2013 cohort) is a Director at Cornware. Cornware helps companies and individuals reduce their carbon footprint by offering well-branded, Eco Friendly alternatives to single-use plastic in the Food2Go sector. Having launched in the UK just three years ago, Cornware products can be found in many high street food chains, the NHS (National Health Service), Football Stadiums such as Liverpool FC & Crystal Palace, schools, universities and Europe's largest foodservice distributors.

Since last year, through its commitment to the ‘Trees for the Future’ project, Cornware has pledged to fund the planting of a

tree for every case of Cornware product sold. Cornware has so far sponsored the planting of almost 10,000 trees in Sub-Saharan Africa to support local farming families as well as the environment.

After gaining great traction in the UK, the company is looking to boost sales further across Europe and into the US. The goal is to help as many people and businesses as possible to exchange their single use plastic for a sustainable alternative, as quickly as possible.

Emily (2012 cohort) started her business, Jingo, in her second year of university and it has grown to be her full time job with a team of 20 freelancers. Jingo is an events company that trades at music festivals and private events − from corporate cocktail parties to yacht parties − offering face art, ethical hair feathers, hair braiding and henna tattooing.

“As you can imagine, there were a few wow, what is this school? I obviously need to send my kids there!”

Emily, Jingoevents.com

Please take a look at our Alumni’s flourishing enterprises and support the resourcefulness of the next generation of entrepreneurs: Stasher.com Cornware.sg Jingoevents.com

9 99

Spotlight

ParentWise Update

by Amanda Merrick, External Relations Executive

ParentWise was established in 2016 to provide a toolkit for Tanglin parents and helpers through courses, information sessions and workshops. There are four elements: Educational and Curriculum Support; Parent Wellbeing; Hot Button Topics; and Inspiring Speakers. The sessions provide opportunities for parents and helpers to gain tools, increase confidence, seek reassurance, and to understand what resources the school can offer.

During the last academic year (2017/18) we hosted 46 workshops, with over 300 attendees each term. Topics ranged from e-safety and making healthy snacks, to promoting reading and writing and the Singapore Law. Most sessions are free, with the occasional paid course to cover the cost of materials.

Here is a round-up of some of the workshops held and how parents and helpers have benefitted.

Sleepyheads - The Importance of Sleep

Tanglin’s Educational Psychologist, Clare Lancaster, talked to Infant and Junior School parents about the impact of good and poor quality sleep on mental, emotional and physical performance.

She reflected on how much sleep is needed for each age group and looked at common sleep problems such as night time awakenings, sleep terrors and sleepwalking. Her tips for helpful bedtime routines included keeping the environment cool, dark and quiet, and she explained why screen time at night is troublesome for bedtime.

“Clare’s explanation using scientific knowledge, as well as down to earth realistic examples, helped my understanding so much.” Junior School Parent

Helpful Helpers – Physical Development in the Early Years

Movement is at the very core of how children develop intellectually, emotionally, socially, and physically. ‘The Moving Child is the Learning Child’ – we do this at school, but how can helpers encourage this at home? This workshop provided fun, practical ways to get children moving at home and improving on their agility, balance and coordination. Domestic Helpers said, “The workshop went well because we learnt lots of games that we could share with the children.”

“I feel more confident to play with children at home and make

10

No-Drama Discipline

School Counsellors, Paula Huggins and Pippa Gresham, delivered this parenting workshop over four sessions.

The aim of the workshop was to support parents to work in alignment with their child’s developing mind, peacefully resolving conflict and inspiring happiness within the family.

Parents explored the kinds of discipline that are most appropriate and constructive at different ages, and common discipline mistakes. They were also provided with an effective and compassionate road map for dealing with tantrums, tensions, and tears - without causing a scene.

Feedback was extremely positive, with parents saying: “Wonderful key concepts and tips for practical application.

Humorous and engaging presenters that created a safe space to learn and share. Thank you!” Infant School Parent “A two minute chat with Pippa gave me more insight and self reflection on a personal issue than all of the self help books that I have read. Genius advice!” Infant School Parent “I found this workshop so useful to help me with tangible changes that I could make, which have already calmed things in my household.” Junior School Parent

them more comfortable and happy.”

Financial Affordability of University for International Students

This workshop, delivered by Amanda Harvey, Careers and University Guidance Counsellor, provided a “clear financial breakdown” to help parents find their family’s affordability threshold and to plan and manage their children’s expectations for university, so that students are not admitted to universities their parents can’t afford.

It also offered practical information on how to determine whether students will be classified as home or international applicants, how to calculate the cost of attendance of universities worldwide and sources of finance/scholarships.

Katherine Rundell (PTA Visiting Author)

Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Course (MBSR)

This paid for group course was set in the school’s stunning Wellbeing Garden and was run by School Counsellor, Claire Holmes. The 8-week course balanced theory and practice, to help attendees manage their stress better. Totaling 26 hours, the course required a commitment of 30-40 minutes practice at home each day. The 8 weeks of sessions culminated in a Retreat Day.

If you’d like to find out more about upcoming ParentWise workshops, look out for sessions in In Touch, or on the ParentWise page of the TTS Portal.

We were delighted to welcome award winning author, Katherine Rundell, to Tanglin. In her session for parents she spoke about her work with the Junior and Senior School students, her career as a writer and her experiences as both a student and a fellow at Oxford.

Katherine captivated parents with her tales of adventure and what she hoped our children would take from her stories.

When speaking, her wild imagination, warmth, humour and talent shone through and she was a true inspiration for both children and adults alike. As one Senior School parent said: “One of the most captivating speakers I have ever heard.”

Thank you The success of the ParentWise workshops relies heavily on support from Tanglin staff who are passionate about sharing their knowledge with our community, and the parents and helpers who attend the sessions. If you have any suggestions about other ParentWise workshops that we could run, please contact Amanda Merrick, External Relations Executive, amanda.merrick@tts.edu.sg.

11

Our World

TTS Foundation 2018 Fundraising Campaign

By Cecilia Handel, Director of Development

The TTS Foundation provides exceptional opportunities for our community over and above those provided by the curriculum and covered by school fees. Projects are funded principally by a contribution from the sale of Placement Rights at the school and in 2017/18 almost a quarter of our funding came from generous donations, during the annual fundraising campaign.

Read on to find out about some of the exciting projects made possible by community donations to the TTS Foundation.

We were delighted to have the England Beach Volleyball team, Victoria Palmer and Jessica Grimson, visit Tanglin in Term 3. Taking time out of their busy training and playing schedule, they inspired our students with their coaching and motivational talks. “Training with the England Beach Volleyball Team was a really fantastic experience for an aspiring athlete like myself because it showed me that I can pursue my passion and turn it into a career.” Year 12 student Junior School children were introduced to the art of Chinese calligraphy and the skills for Chinese brush painting. Li’s visit helped the children to build a deeper understanding of the formation, history and beauty of Chinese calligraphy, and enabled them to appreciate Chinese culture through the form of art.

when playing the taiko drums with Mangrove Learning.

TTS Foundation Representative Awards were offered to 40 students from Year 5 and 6 who competed in the Junior FOBISIA Games (The Federation of British International Schools in Asia).

They were an absolute credit to the school demonstrating camaraderie, sportsmanship and great team spirit.

Picking up a 1st place finish in Athletics, two 3rd place finishes in Tee Ball and two 3rd place finishes in Football was a great achievement!

Reception children showed focus and Following the success of the Year 2 Pedal enjoyed working as a team as they felt Power Programme, the TTS Foundation the energy, vibrations and sound created funded balance bikes for Nursery children. Representatives from the

12

The TTS Foundation Report of Giving 2017/18 The TTS Foundation Report of Giving 2017/18 was posted to all parents at the beginning of the campaign in September. The report highlighted the inspiring initiatives, events, projects and visitors funded by the TTS Foundation during 2017/18.

NParks Board were invited to a launch of the programme. “It was great news when we heard that our daughter had started riding the balance bike at school! We were so happy and grateful for Tanglin to have given her the opportunity to learn new skills.” Infant School Parent Infant School children were delighted to learn how to ‘speak jazz’ with Matthew Gollub, a dynamic storyteller who uses interactive drumming whilst riffing in Spanish and Japanese – just for good measure! Matthew also facilitated a ParentWise workshop on the joy of reading to children at home. “The energy, music, and the depth of understanding that Matthew brought to the workshop was inspirational!” Infant School Parent “It was a rare treat for me to present to such articulate and well-prepared young people. This was a remarkable learning environment. Continue celebrating music and languages.” Matthew Gollub Junior children engaged in a variety of activities during their House Day and raised $1,300 with their donations to Star PALS (Paediatric Advanced Life Support). The TTS Foundation funded a visit from a special guest, Aleksandar Duric, former Olympian and pro footballer who led assemblies with the children and supported their efforts at designing a football course. “His visit made me happy and proud because it gave me a stronger growth mindset to play football. I used to have little confidence, but now I have more belief in myself.” Year 6 student

TTS Foundation project areas: here, they gave Infant children swim lessons of a lifetime – and a quick story on the side! Jazz and Lewis had this to say about their visit: “This is the highlight of our year! Every time we’re here there’s something new, it’s exciting to see the development of the school and the students. We love seeing the progression of the swimmers over the years and the new ones coming through.”

“Having Jazz and Lewis in training allowed us to make adjustments to our stroke.

They explained how to maximise our performance by changing small daily activities, such as our diet leading up to a competition.” Year 12 student Year 6 Junior Award Scheme for Schools (JASS) children were offered TTS Foundation Representative Awards for their trip to Cambodia. Completion of their silver level JASS Award was celebrated with an exciting awards evening.

Funding from the TTS Foundation supported Year 6 Mathletes on their trip to Vietnam. The Mathletes took first place in the relay at the FOBISIA Primary Maths competition in Ho Chi Minh City. The team demonstrated excellent collaboration across the seven rounds which tested organisation and decision-making as well as maths skills.

Thank you to the

Visiting Olympic and Commonwealth swimmers, Jazz Carlin and Lewis Coleman, returned to Tanglin to coach our Merlion competitive teams. Whilst

TTS Foundation for supporting exceptional

Engagement with Global Issues and with the Wider Community To enable all members of the Tanglin community to make a positive difference in the world and seek out opportunities to give back.

Participation in Creative Arts and Sport Inspirational authors, artists, explorers and experts from diverse fields share their ideas, insights and enthusiasm with the next generation at Tanglin.

Development of Life Skills Going beyond the school’s curriculum, the TTS Foundation actively seeks to equip students, parents and Alumni with the knowledge and skills they need to thrive in today and tomorrow’s world.

Visits from Inspirational Individuals and Groups Our vision is for Tanglin to be a leading centre for the Arts and for students to be able to participate in sporting achievements that our whole community can be proud of. Opportunities to develop skills at all levels and to represent the school are plentiful and open to all students.

opportunities

13

Infant School

Journey through the Infant School

By Jo Osman, Deputy Head of Infant School

Settling in to Nursery We begin our journey in Nursery.

First-time parents are often more nervous than their children as they prepare to leave their child for the first time. The transition into Nursery, includes opportunities for parents to come and meet the teacher with their child, which helps to build confidence and make things feel more familiar. The individual orientations with families and alternate days at the beginning of Nursery are crucial. The teachers glean as much information as possible about each child’s interests, preferences and developmental needs. Spending time in the classroom within a smaller group allows for detailed observation and interaction by the adults. Being in a calm, purposeful atmosphere means even the most reserved child can begin to make friends with their new classmates.

“I feel happy in Nursery and I love cooking.” Charlotte, Nursery

By the time the children become full-time, it’s as if they have always been with us; it is no accident that this is called the Foundation Stage, where children develop the necessary solid and secure base from which to take risks and challenge themselves. During the year, they will follow threads of fascination and intrigue, delight and curiosity, through which they will develop the key skills needed to communicate effectively. They will flourish socially, emotionally, physically and linguistically across a broad range of experiences.

When ready, the children learn to appreciate story, hear the beauty in language, create marks, and identify number or shape through their play.

Memorable experiences beyond the curriculum enrich their experience, such as going on the bus and MRT to The Chinese Gardens, joining their parents at our festive Sing-A-Long or learning how to ride our TTS Foundation Blazing Balance Bikes. Even as young as three we recognise leadership potential, encouraging all children to take turns as a Planet Protector or Sun Monitor. Each class revels in the opportunity to prepare the weekly Snack Hatch, promoting and serving their healthy snacks to the other classes.

On to Reception The next stop on our journey is to Reception. Each class warmly welcomes new friends and those who have been with us throughout Nursery, return confidently, eager to get started on all that Reception has to offer! The children continue to be carefully assessed as they play and learn, and when they demonstrate readiness, they will begin to learn to read, taking books home to share at a level designed to build their confidence. Reception is often the year when the greatest changes take place. From knowing single initial sounds to reading whole books independently, scribbling incoherently to writing words and even sentences, and from reciting their first numbers to adding and taking away groups of objects. But not to worry if they are not there yet.

Every child develops in different ways at different rates, and with support and encouragement they all get there!

“My favourite thing about Reception is when mummies and daddies come in for Mystery Reader! I loved the giant!” Kiaan, Reception

Up to Year

14

The school environment grows bigger in Reception. Children travel to specialised rooms to receive specialist teaching in Music, Chinese and PE, and have a year group assembly in the hall for the first time.

Highlights include taking the class mascot home for adventures, Mystery Reader visits to the classroom, and the 100th Day celebration. The children apply their numerical knowledge, reading skills and Planet Protector capes at Ghim Moh wet market. They explore animals at the zoo and take part in an amazing performance at the end of the year.

Up to Year 1 And with this, we float upstairs to the beginning of Key Stage 1, as the children enter Year 1. No less exciting, there are many similarities in the learning environment, although the expectations are progressively more challenging as the children develop as learners. Their reading becomes more fluent, vocabulary wider and depth of understanding more advanced.

They may be able to memorise more mental maths facts, and understand more about place value, applying their growing confidence to solve a range of calculations, often using concrete strategies. They soon learn how to use Seesaw to reflect upon and explain their learning and are eager to demonstrate how they are developing aspects of the Learner Profile, earning Silver and Gold Awards for their efforts.

In Year 1, the children’s awareness of the wider community is enhanced through trips to West Coast Park and

Jacob Ballas Gardens. There are more opportunities for leadership, where they develop a sense of responsibility and practice public speaking. They learn about democracy through the Student Council elections, learning how they can use their voice to initiate change, and help others by becoming an E-Cadet or Tech Leader. They are also thrilled to participate in the House Hat sorting, when they discover which of the four Houses they belong to! The children have the opportunity to explore sportsmanship and a sense of belonging through the termly House events and Sports Day.

“I love getting silver and gold stars!”

Henry, Year 1 At the end of the year, they are eager to try out the lunchtime Choir and after school taster Co-Curricular Activities (CCAs), in preparation for Year 2.

The final step, Year 2

Here they are, the eldest in the school; those to whom other children look up to with respect and admiration.

Within their extended leadership roles they lead assemblies, actively fight sustainability issues, engage in articulate discussions with visiting VIPs and encourage their peers to take care of their wellbeing both inside and outside of the classroom. They continue to develop more independence in their learning, collaborating effectively in groups and making decisions about how they learn best and which tools they choose to use.

They ask effective questions to extend their thinking and are developing a growth mindset, appreciating that although they might not understand something ‘yet’, they will eventually, if they persist and work hard at it. They are able to work at more abstract levels and solve more complicated problems, as well as help others in their learning.

Learning opportunities continue to extend into the wider community, with adventurous trips to Sungei Buloh and Boat Quay. Lessons in the Senior School Science and Design Technology labs, and a whole host of activities in the Junior School, prepare them for their transition into Year 3. They prove to be expert forensic sleuths when aliens crash land in Year 2 and develop life skills though the TTS Foundation Pedal Power cycling programme.

“I loved Pedal Power in Year 2. You get to do lots of cycling and you learn how to be safe on a bike.”

Marco, Year 2

15

Junior School

Recognising Rights

By Katie Morris, Year 3 Teacher

During Term 2, we were extremely proud in the Junior School to be awarded the first stage of Unicef UK’s Rights Respecting Schools Award (RRSA), Bronze: Rights Committed.

As a school we always strive to create the best possible learning environment for our children. This achievement shows 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.

What is RRSA? Unicef (United Nations Children’s Fund) is the world’s leading organisation working for children and their rights.

Their RRSA Award is a moral framework, based on the 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 Award is based on the principles of equality, dignity, respect, non-discrimination and participation.

The initiative started in 2006 and schools involved in the award have reported a positive impact on relationships and wellbeing, leading to better learning and behaviour, improved academic standards and less bullying.

Unicef works with schools to create safe and inspiring places to learn, where children are respected, their talents are nurtured and they are able to thrive.

The RRSA embeds these values in daily school life and gives children the best chance to lead happy, healthy lives and to be responsible, active citizens.

16

How does the award process work?

The Unicef RRSA is a child-led project.

It was rewarding to see our students involved in the first stage of our accreditation. Over the past two terms, we have set up a student-led steering group and an action plan to ensure that: •

•

•

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) underpins our values and decision making in school.

The whole school learns about the UNCRC and respects the rights of others.

Children are empowered to become active learners and active local and global citizens.

We are delighted to be joining a community of over 4,500 schools in the UK working to put children’s rights at the heart of schools and we are especially proud to be the first school in Singapore to embrace this project.

As ever, our inspiring and open-minded teachers have embraced this new project, leading a wide range of interesting lessons and projects, all aimed at discussing and debating children’s rights. Just a few examples have included learning about wants and needs in Year 3, ‘Speed debating’ in Year 4 to reflect on the importance of the 54 articles of the UNCRC, learning about tolerance and diversity in Year 5

and learning about living conditions for children in different countries in Year 6.

Now that we have achieved the Bronze level, the next step in our Rights Respecting journey is to work towards Silver. At that point we will continue to promote knowledge and understanding of the Convention throughout our community. By embedding its practices with our children, they will begin to see themselves as rights respecting global citizens - advocates for equality and children’s rights.

We aim to achieve the Silver award through the curriculum, focus days, artwork/displays and assemblies, to teach the importance of the rights of the child. This will allow our pupils to make decisions that impact them and those around them, modelling respectful attitudes and language, and developing our children to be ambassadors for the rights of others. We are particularly excited about a stunning new Rights Respecting Schools display, featuring a selection of our pupils, which is positioned on the stairwell next to the Junior Office.

What is the impact of RRSA? Already the impact of RRSA has been evident. As well as improved relationships, children have been discussing how their actions affect the rights and wellbeing of others. Watching the children become more fluent in the language of rights has been rewarding and it has contributed to them becoming articulate future leaders of their generation.

•

For a school to receive accreditation, it must show evidence that it has reached the three RRSA Strands: •

Strand A: Teaching and learning about rights.

•

Strand B: Teaching and learning through rights – ethos and relationships.

•

Strand C: Teaching and learning for rights – participation, empowerment and action.

How can I find out more?

You can find out more about Unicef, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Rights Respecting Schools Award from the RRSA website www.unicef.org.uk/rrsa We will be using the RRSA logo on our website and we will keep you informed about our rights respecting journey through our website, newsletters and events.

If you would like to find out more or be part of the RRSA Steering Group please contact Katie.Morris@tts.edu.sg

17

Senior School

First Steps towards an Inspiring Career

By Marketing and Communications

Work Experience (WEX) is an essential part of our students’ careers programme, so it was wonderful to see over 180 Year 10 students spend a week developing useful skills, making contacts and being inspired, as part of the wider enrichment curriculum.

The learning objectives of WEX are for students to:

• • •

•

Investigate potential careers for their future.

Gain a much better understanding of the world of work.

Recognise responsibilities and behaviours expected in a working environment.

Gain an insight into the kinds of skills and attitudes required by employers.

Students were allocated positions to match their interests as much as possible. In this way, most students got a placement they felt was relevant to their future career choice. Some placements were also organised by the students themselves.

“I was lucky enough to observe many surgeries at Mount Elizabeth Hospital an experience that I enjoyed thoroughly. This week has helped confirm that I do indeed want to pursue a career in medicine!”

Senior School student Companies offered placements from a diverse range of industry sectors including finance, retail, health, media, technology and education amongst others. Many positions presented students with the opportunity to try something outside of their comfort

18

zone, building on their independence and confidence. Students were also able to collaborate with professionals, contribute and present their ideas, and gain hands-on experience as well as business know-how.

The following week, the WEX breakfast was a great opportunity for employers and students to reconnect and to reflect on their experiences. We heard some of the things the students had learnt from their employers: “Their commitment to their work was awe-inspiring, as well as being the most pleasant people you could ever hope to meet,” Luka feeding back about his Law firm placement. And a couple of things that the employers had learnt from our students: “Paper?

We don’t use paper! We can put it on your screens.” Employer feeding back his WEX students’ comments when asked to share their findings.

Other positive feedback received from students and employers include: “I had some special opportunities like going in a clean room and visiting the NUS labs multiple times.” Senior School student

“I had a blast. I got the opportunity to work in a hands on science environment as well as have the chance to observe different areas of the work in the company.” Senior School student “It was a fun experience. Thanks to the work experience I have broadened my knowledge on the careers that I want to pursue.” Senior School student

“All of us in the industry had somebody at some point, to be the mentor we needed and to keep us motivated to pursue a career in hospitality - to have the chance to potentially and positively influence these young future leaders is very rewarding. Once again, my entire team involved with the programme, gain as much from the experience as we hope the students do. They often surprise us with ideas, insights and vision that we, as seasoned professionals hadn’t thought of. This is a special week that we all look forward to each year and you can count us in to continue our participation, particularly if the students that are sent to us are as enthusiastic as they were again this time around.” Work Experience Employer.

“It is absolutely delightful to have the Tanglin students spend time with us during their work experience week.”

Work Experience Employer “I wanted to give back to Tanglin as the school has been so good for my son, who started in Nursery this year. We’re working parents so we haven’t been able to get as involved in parent activities in the classroom, so I saw WEX as a great opportunity to give back to the school. I recall my own days of work experience when I was of a similar age, and how it opened my eyes to life outside school.”

Work Experience Employer and Parent

“It has been a pleasure to host a couple of Year 10 students for the week and I will happily volunteer to help WEX again.” Work Experience Employer A Fantastic Community Achievement Thank you to those companies who accommodated our students and provided such valuable opportunities for our students to experience the workplace.

Thank you also to the Careers and University Guidance team and the Development team for all their time and effort in organising the placements.

19

Sixth Form

Introducing the Head Boy and Head Girl Cristiaan Chadikun and Meghan Togher

Tell us a little bit more about yourselves.

Cris: I joined Tanglin in Year 10 and I am doing my IB with highers in Philosophy, Business and English. I have been working with the Careers team as I’m probably going to apply to the US for university to study Sciences. Outside of school I play a lot of football. I’ve been in the school volleyball, football and basketball teams and music is also a huge part of who I am too. I am a member of the chamber orchestra. Music, sport and revising are all releases to me.

Meghan: I’m currently studying the IB – HL (Higher Level) Chemistry, Biology and Geography, and SL (Standard Level) Maths, English Literature / Language and Spanish, ab initio. I am an avid sportsperson who enjoys volleyball, basketball and netball within school. I am a current member of the Bucks Touch Rugby Team outside of school. In my spare time I love to sing and play the guitar, volunteer with the Nature Society of Singapore and spend time with my family and friends. I recently fundraised for a trip to Africa where I was able to obtain my Scuba diving PADI. Why did you apply for the role?

Meghan: From a young age I’ve watched and admired the Head Team’s influence on the school. I knew one day I wanted to be a part of something that allows interaction with everyone within Tanglin. Like many students, Cris and I have always put ourselves out there in other activities including sport, music and the arts, so this seemed like a natural progression.

Cris: I wanted to continue the legacy of the previous Head Teams,

20

to give back to the community and to create change. I thought that I would be a good candidate to be the voice for that change.

As a group we like to get things done. We have built a mission statement with four major objectives: to continue the sustainability work, promote the arts and sports, integrate across the schools and year groups and raise awareness of mental health. To be able to thrive at school you need to have those pillars. And so we are trying to remove the stigma, to get people talking about wellbeing.

We are very excited about it all. We are also renaming the café. We have hit the ground running!

Meghan: As Cris mentioned, the four initiatives interconnect in so many different ways and I’m excited to see how as a school, not just a Head Team, we are going to achieve those. We are all very approachable, we want people to come and talk to us.

There are lots of small things that we can achieve by improving communication and talking to each other.

Cris: We are a TEAM. If we all come together and worked towards these initiatives, who knows what can be achieved. We could really make a huge difference.

How do you manage your time?

Meghan: For Sixth Formers it is difficult juggling everything, as we have a lot on our plate! Personally, I have always loved organising, it is almost like a hobby. Time planning is important to me and I don’t know how, but I manage to slot in a lot of things. However, next year I am going to have to learn to say no! There are going to be some things that I have to drop but that means I can focus on the things that are really important.

Back Row: (L-R) Cristiaan Chadikun, Meghan Togher, Tim Richardson-Waldin, Tia O’Neill and Carl Ong Moller, Front: (L-R) Ellie Rackham, Loulya Mekkawy and Luke Prestwich What are your hopes and dreams for life beyond Tanglin?

How has the school prepared you?

Chris: I have always known that I want to study Sports Science at university, I may not have voiced it until now. The independence that I’ve acquired at Tanglin, and time management skills, will definitely help me with university and even getting a job. If I like what I’m doing then I believe the rest will follow.

Meghan: I have wanted to be a vet since the age of six and I will work hard to achieve it. I want to go to the Royal Veterinary College in London or Edinburgh and eventually become a surgeon; Doctor Meg! I just want to show people - and myself - that you can make it.

What makes Tanglin so special?

Cris: Most of the other schools I have been to are really small.

I moved from having 200 in my senior school to having 200 in my year group at Tanglin! It was a completely different dynamic.

But with more students comes more opportunity. There are so many things that I have done at Tanglin that I don’t think I could have done elsewhere, like last year, standing on a glacier in New Zealand! Adventure is one thing but there are other things at Tanglin that make you unique as a person. For example, our CAS initiative, the Cambodia reading project where we are making learning materials for students in Cambodia. Next year I will hopefully be taking part in a life saving programme, and I’ve done my PADI license at Tanglin too, I could go on! Opportunity is endless at Tanglin.

What do you want to represent to the younger year groups?

Cris: We want to be role models. We want to promote community and help to teach them and also learn from them. It is nice for us to see the younger students being carefree – it is a good reminder to the older students to take a break, just do something that you enjoy, have that release and go run around and be carefree for a while!

Meghan: It’s quite an amazing feeling to be seen as the ‘top of the school’ and role models to younger students. We want to be seen as super friendly and driven, always aiming to achieve our best. Speaking to the younger students is one of the highlights of the position, and it never ceases to surprise me at how forward thinking and advanced their opinions and ideas are! I have no doubt we will be learning just as much from them, as they will from us!

What are you most looking forward in 2018/19?

Cris: We are going to have fun - it is the last year of Senior School and after this, it doesn’t get any easier. I think to myself, wow, one more year and I am an adult! I’m looking forward to working towards those four initiatives and building on what the previous Head Team achieved and putting our own personal flair on it.

That’s really motivating me.

Meghan: One of the most exciting things is being in the top year of the school, and having the privilege and responsibility of seeing and looking after every other student, teacher and staff members’ personal interests. I have been at Tanglin since Reception and ever since I saw the Head Girls and Boys in the years above me, I have always dreamt of having that job and now that it is here I can’t be more excited to begin!

21

Showcase

Reception Concert 14 June 2018

22

Showcase

Year 2 Ensembles 25 May 2018

23

Showcase

Junior Arts Night 21 June 2018

24

Showcase

Senior Ensembles 24 May 2018

25

Showcase

Nursery Sports Day 11 May 2018

26

Showcase

Year 13 Graduation Parade 3 July 2018

27

Feature

Climbing at Tanglin

By David Fourie, Assistant Head of Computer Science and Climbing Coach

Climbing is an increasingly popular sport at Tanglin, thanks to its introduction at GCSE, installation of the PTA funded indoor climbing wall and the creation of the Competitive Climbing team. David Fourie, Assistant Head of Computer Science, is a passionate climber and has been involved in the development of climbing at Tanglin, principally the initiation of the competitive team.

David fell in love with climbing during the Year 8 Gopeng trip.

Since then, with the support of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) at Tanglin, David has become a qualified Climbing instructor under the Singapore Mountaineering Federation and International Climbing Wall Association. This enables him to supervise and teach climbing to students.

Climbing is embedded in the PE curriculum from Infant School. From Year 3, children at Tanglin can take part in rock climbing as an after school Co-Curricular Activity (CCA). In Year 5 students can join their Senior peers in the Competitive Climbing Team, with weekly training and conditioning sessions. Members of the team, if selected, can also compete in a variety of national and international competitions.

Training sessions for Seniors at Ground Up climbing gym focus on developing techniques and balance, allowing students to climb more efficiently. School training focuses on safety and knowledge development. The beautiful thing about climbing, according to David, is that, “Climbing is a sport that allows everyone

28

to feel a sense of personal achievement.

You climb against yourself. In climbing, individual success and progress is visible due to the nature of the grading system – it is very easy to see how far you have come and how much improvement you have made. You have to trust each other too; climbing is not a selfish sport. It is very difficult to progress if no-one wants to climb with you which makes you quickly realise that you have to work well with other people. The physical benefits of improving strength, suppleness, stability, and stamina are obvious, but recent studies have shown that climbing has mental health benefits as well. These include increased perseverance, focus and reduced stress. Training at Ground Up has been an amazing experience.

The facilities at this gym are perfect for the size of the TTS climbing team and offer a varying degree of difficulty for all ages and levels of experience. We have seen a tremendous growth in friendship between the year groups. Training allows the students to make friends with ease and comes very naturally along with the climbing.”

“Another contributor has been the end of year parties, which is about celebrating the big improvements that the climbers have seen at the end of each term. The coaches at Ground Up make a huge effort to correct and develop the student’s technique. While initially, some were nervous to climb even two metres up the wall; they now practice it with comfort, regularly reaching the top. Many of the climbers have also seen great improvements in the level of climbs in which they are able to complete, while also establishing a mindset, where they are more determined to try harder and not get deterred when they fail.” Tim, Year 13

“Climbing is great for building confidence in young people.

Anyone can be a good climber. It takes mental strength to push yourself further and to overcome self doubt.” David Fourie

Ira, Year 8 I started competitive climbing at the beginning of Term 2; before that I had climbed before, but only for fun and not regularly. When I went to the first session, I didn’t really know what to except, and none of my friends did climbing so I thought I would be alone. It actually was way nicer than I expected (not that I thought it was going to be boring), and I made friends with a girl called Arushi.

Before this, I had seen her around, but I didn’t really know her. Now, we’re good friends… at least I think we are! I also ended up making friends with some of the Year 5s and 6s.

I think my climbing has improved a lot this year in both technique and strength.

I learned how to tie-in (tie yourself to the belayer), belay, and, most recently how to lead climb. Between top-roping and bouldering, I prefer top-roping, but I have become better at both. I have only been to one competition, and it was for bouldering. I ended up coming third, and Arushi came second. I’m excited for my first top-roping competition.

One of things we look forward to most every week is the challenge wall. This is a route that is usually very hard, and if if you reach the top, your reward is the glory! My favourite thing about climbing is the satisfaction of completing a difficult route. It makes you feel on top of the world (both literally and metaphorically!) I really enjoyed rock climbing and am definitely doing it again next year.

James, Year 11 I’ve been able to increase my technique and general skill to a level I first thought wouldn’t be possible.

I’ve made lots of new friends and we meet up during the weekends to climb together and compete against each other.

During Tuesday lessons at Ground Up I have gone from having an interest in basic climbing, to learning new technical skills when climbing to complete routes, some of which would have been near impossible for me at the beginning of the year. This year, I think everyone has been able to achieve similar goals, make new friends, learn new things and build a high level of interest in climbing. This will create a big impact for the future of the club and having a spectrum of ages creates a new pathway for competitions as a Tanglin team, hopefully inspiring more people to join.

Aside from the Tuesday lessons, the Seniors have Thursday lunch sessions to learn skills and put them together to earn level one certificates. For me,

this has been a big achievement and a pathway to achieve more.

Recently we have been working on our level two certificates, which allows us to do more challenging climbs and develop more awareness into the safety and theory behind climbing.

The friendships between the years also means we have a group of climbers who support each other and want to do better. We have had two end of term and year parties, which have been a great opportunity to reflect on how the year went. Many people at the gym, including myself, who have been regularly practising their climbing skills outside of the lessons and parties, have made a huge improvement to their level of climbing. For next year we should expand into competitions such as the SEASAC tournaments, which will bring challenge and inspiration for all the members in the club to be able to climb against others.

29

Feature

After School Activities & Sports

By Junior and Senior Staff and Students

At Tanglin, children have the opportunity to try new activities or pursue an existing talent through our extensive programme of CCAs (Co-Curricular Activities). These are available to all Junior and Senior students. Alongside CCAs, are competitive sport training, fixtures and SRCs (Sports and Recreation Clubs). SRCs are externally provided for Infants, Juniors and Seniors.

These complement the CCAs and give Infants a taste of which CCAs they might wish to pursue from Year 3, when the full CCA programme becomes available.

The variety of opportunities available through the CCA programme at Tanglin is thanks to the commitment of the Activities & Sports team and the Faculty staff. Physical activities range from Golf, Water Polo and Climbing, to Swimming, Dance and Recreational Gymnastics.

There are also a range of Fitness classes for Seniors. Faculties run numerous clubs (40+ each for Juniors and Seniors per block), that are tailored to age groups and complement the curriculum. For Seniors, these include, Classical Greek, Astronomy, Computer-Aided Design and Manufacturing, Chess, Scholars, Product Design, Film and Media Clubs. For Juniors, there is Horrible Histo-graphy, Drama, Debating, Musical Theatre, IT Clubs, Specialist Art Clubs, Super Science and Tee Ball!

For children who love music, there’s a whole CCA programme of musical styles, formations, and techniques to explore.

These include DJ Club, Music Tech Club (for Seniors), Guitar Groups and Rock

30

Bands – a programme that ranges from Afro-Latin to Big Band and Classical.

For those with a developing sense of social service, there are CCAs that span community, environmental and leadership initiatives. Children get to see that their actions matter and can use them to change things for the better and inspire others to do the same.

In addition to recreational choices, the programme also enables students to trial for and engage in competitive activities (off campus fixtures also include transport both ways). For Seniors, our ‘Sport for All’ initiative means that once Seniors have trialled for a team, they will get to play for a team – streamed according to ability – and for Juniors the same applies to the football and netball teams.

“My daughter is in Year 5 and has been at Tanglin since Reception. Over the years she has done Swimming, Ukulele, Football, Choral, Netball, Drama and MasterChef CCAs, to name a few. She generally does two per week to fit in with homework and has really enjoyed the variety on offer.Through these CCAs she has discovered a new love for cooking! As a working mother, the CCA management team at Tanglin has also made the week easier to manage for me.” Junior School Parent CCA System and Scope Over the years, Tanglin’s Activities & Sports team has refined a system that allows fair distribution and optimum choice for each child. The CCA blocks are split into 4 across the school year and are generally aligned with the 3 competitive sports seasons. Blocks 3 and 4 fall into the longer Season 3 for Juniors (so they can try more activities).

For Seniors, the CCA programme is

CCA Programme The vast majority of our CCAs are free of charge and take place between 3.00-4.00pm. Parents can choose to use our door-to-door CCA bus service at 4.00pm (Juniors and Seniors) or the location drop-off service at 5.00pm (Seniors only).

Only those activities that require external resources carry an extra charge, such as MasterChef, Off-site Climbing and Fencing for Juniors; or Sailing, Off-site Climbing and Fencing for Seniors.

split into 2 with Programme 1 spanning the first 2 Seasons and Programme 2 aligning with Season 3. Competitive trials take place before CCA sign-ups so activities can be planned around competitive sport commitments.

Lunchtime CCAs, such as Chinese Calligraphy and Music Ensembles also give Year 2 children the opportunity to experience some of the activities prior to their transition to Year 3. For these sessions, Year 2 parents will start using the CHQ system, the online platform for managing our Activities & Sports within the school.

Sports and Recreation Clubs

National Swimmers Summer Achievements

After-school activities are also available through our SRC programme delivered by approved external providers.

‘Pay and play’ Infant SRCs start at 2.00pm and include JSSL Arsenal (Football), Rex Martens (Cricket), Gym With Me (Gymnastics), Tutus@Tanglin (Dance), and Centre Stage. There is also a wide range of voluntary clubs that are not-for-profit. These clubs only charge a nominal amount to cover the costs of the activities, such as Rainbows, Brownies, Beavers and Cubs. Each club has its own minimum age requirement (not all SRCs will be open to Nursery and Reception children, for example) and the majority operate on a termly basis.

Having had a fun and brilliant season last year with the Merlions team, seeing growth amongst the entire team, it is also great to share some amazing highlights of some of our swimmers who raced over the Summer holidays in the UK. Three swimmers, Katie (Year 10), Seren (Year 10) and Alistair (Year 11) qualified to compete in the Summer Nationals, racing at British, English and Welsh Nationals.

Katie started off with the first of the meets at Ponds Forge, Sheffield. Racing at British Summer Nationals, the highest level of age group swimming in the UK, Katie defied the odds by making the 50m Backstroke final. Ranked 23rd, Katie qualified for the final in 4th place with a PB (personal best) time. This amazing swim was followed up by yet another PB in the final, coming in 6th place, under two tenths off a medal.

Following British Nationals, English Summer Nationals at the same venue saw Katie and Alistair in action. Katie, racing first in the 100m Backstroke qualified for the final in 1st place, clocking another PB, eventually coming away with a Silver medal and a follow up PB. A truly fantastic achievement for her second race on English turf! Alistair followed up with a great swim to make his first National final. Swimming at his absolute best, Alistair achieved a PB in the final of the 50m Fly. “As a coach, it was an absolute pleasure to be there and support Tanglin students.”

Andrew Hailey, Director of Aquatics Running parallel with English Nationals were the other home nations events. At the Welsh Summer Nationals, Merlion swimmer Seren raced over the week, achieving a top 20 finish in her 400m Freestyle. Well done Seren and what a great experience!

Thank you to the TTS Foundation for providing representative awards for the Hong Kong Tour and Bangkok trips (swimming, girls basketball, girls tennis and boys softball).

31

Student Services

Reading for Pleasure

By Kimberly Beeman, Head of Senior Library

Reading for pleasure, unsurprisingly, helps students to build their vocabularies and become stronger academic readers.

Research also indicates, though, that frequent readers do better in a range of subjects, including Maths. Reading also helps to develop background knowledge in all kinds of topics, and exposes students to more sophisticated language. Reading aloud to children, even older children, also helps them to make meaningful connections to a wide range of thoughts and ideas, according to researchers at the Bank Street College of Education.

Reading is important. It can also be really fun. This article provides an overview of resources and advice to help keep older students excited about reading.

Senior Library resources The Tanglin Senior Library offers a wide range of resources to support and

32

encourage reading for pleasure. With more

new reading level indicators, the Senior

than 25,000 books, students and parents

Library aims to encourage the development

have access to a frequently updated,

of lifelong reading habits in all students in

carefully curated selection of fiction and

the Senior School. Students can also access

non-fiction. Through access to ebooks,

a wide range of ebooks and audiobooks on

curated lists of reading suggestions, and

a tablet or computer through the library’s

collection on Overdrive. Overdrive is available to students in Year 6 through to Year 13, and features a range of popular young adult fiction and narrative nonfiction. There are more than 1,000 titles in the collection, with more titles added every month. Students and parents now also have access to Pressreader (www. pressreader.com), an app and website that provides more than 7,000 full-text newspapers and magazines in more than 150 languages. To get started with Pressreader, simply open the app or website while at Tanglin. Please stop by the Senior Library with any questions about Overdrive or Pressreader.

This year, in conjunction with the Senior English department, the Senior

Supporting reading

also has information and resources for

Library introduced Key Stage 3 Core

Providing students with a wide and

students, parents and staff.

Collections. These collections are lists of 25 recommended books each for Year 7, Year 8, and Year 9. These books represent a variety of genres and reading levels, and are meant to encourage students to read broadly and provide a shortlist of books for students and parents to reference. The books are housed in a special collection under the stairs in the Interactive Zone. To see the lists, either stop by the library or visit the Read section of the Senior Library website (library.tts.edu.sg/senior).

The Read section of the Senior Library website also includes links to different sites and apps that help with tracking reading, links to book review sites, and to several major regional and international book awards for young adults.

The Senior Library has also introduced a new system to indicate reading levels in the young adult collection. Books with a

engaging selection of books is essential, but creating lifelong reading habits requires something more. Frequent readers share several important characteristics. They believe reading for fun is important. They really enjoy reading. They have parents who enjoy reading, and who support and encourage reading at home.

The Senior Library is here to support along the way. Please stop by or say hello on social media if you have questions about book recommendations, library resources, or anything else. The library is open from 7.30am to 6.00pm Monday to Friday during term time and from 8.30am to 4.30pm

Reading at home There are several key ways that parents can support reading at home, whether over the holidays or just on a weekend: • • • • • •

(excluding public holidays) during school breaks. To learn about library events and more updates from the Senior Library, find the team on Twitter (@library_TTS) or

• •

Make reading a daily habit Read to, read with, and be read to by your child Help your child choose enjoyable, appropriate books Aim for quality and quantity Limit screen time Find ways to reward reading.

(New books are a great reward!)

Model good reading habits Remember that all reading is good reading

Instagram (@ttsseniorlibrary). The Senior Library website (library.tts.edu.sg/senior)

pink dot are for Evolving Readers. These represent some of the shorter, more straight-forward books in the collection, suitable for readers of all ages. Books with a purple dot are for Experienced Readers.

These represent young adult books that are longer and more complex and some may have more mature themes. Books with a yellow dot are Mature Reads.

These are young adult books that directly tackle more mature themes. Students, through discussions in library classes and interactions with the Senior Library team, are encouraged to choose books that are suitable for them.

33

Creative Writing Infant and Junior Students

Based on Year 3’s novel ‘The Royal Rabbits of London’ It was a dull, doomy and miserable day in London; clouds drifted solemnly behind Buckingham Palace, whilst tourists admired the beautiful monument.

It was one of London’s greatest attractions, where the monarchs live. You see, the Royals aren’t keen on sharing their secrets to the world, that’s why the only sign of life would be a flick or twitch of a curtain within the building. So, the Royals usually kept to themselves, but that was all about to change…

One beautiful evening, when the sun was fading, and twilight was starting to bloom, the Queen decided that it was now time for her evening nibble, so she slipped into her glossy, pallid dressing gown and strolled to the kitchen to make her snack. When she had finished in the spice laden kitchen, the Monarch walked over towards the balcony, sat down on the velvet cushions and enjoyed her tea, macaroon and almonds. When she took hold of the macaroon and was about to press it to her lips, she dropped it straight into her tea and the drink splashed all over her face, leaving hot marks behind! Unknown to the Queen, Bazz Bashful, Second Ratzi in command, had set up cameras in all the rooms that she was most likely to visit. The Queen made to grab her hanky, but she was startled by a bright flash. Her hanky flew to the floor and her fingers quivered rigorously... she Year 6 crafted songs about consumerism; the idea of had been caught. people’s identities being lost to the “Oh ...dear me, what on earth have I done!?” power of the product she cried! At that moment, a rather peculiar thing happened. A rabbit, clothed in a They give popularity, but they destroy me fashionable scarlet suit, had appeared These shoes are taking over between the gap in the balcony fencing.

They change me on the outside But I am locked in He introduced himself as Harrold the Heroic and was the Second Royal Rabbit People look at them not me in command to the Generalissimo.

These shoes are taking over Harrold sped off in the direction of the These shoes are living my life flash. A while later the rabbit arrived back They are living my world for me with a camera that looked as if the glass belonged to a kaleidoscope. The Queen I get noticed not because of my personality but my shoes bid the Royal Rabbit goodbye and hoped to These shoes are taking over see him soon, just not with tea splattered all I want to run away and take them off But these laces have me tied up over her face.

By Isabella, Year 3 These shoes are taking over....

By Ethan, Year 6

Based on Year 4’s novel ‘The Last Wild’ The Ultimate Escape As I wake up, my head swims wildly. Where am I? What happened? My thoughts are interrupted by the rain crashing on the narrow windows like a troop of enraged gorillas! I stumble helplessly onto my feet, feeling incarcerated in this asylum of a place! Suddenly, it all floods back to me, Skuldiss, it was him. All at once, I notice the blurred bars in the corner of the room. I try to focus and piece the clues together but the sound of blood pounding in my head has invaded my mind and seems to be all I can hear. “AHHH!” I hit my head with force against the naked wall and give out a cry of agony. Suddenly, my sight comes back, and I hear a relieving sound of keys jamming into a lock, someone is coming…

A colossal shadow comes into view, and I realise who this creature is, BODGER! He trundles towards me heavily, giving out a big THUMP on every step.

There’s something in his hands, something human!

Polly! “HELP” Polly bawled, somehow managing to get words out through her flood of tears. “COME TO BODGER” The wretched monster bellows. I try to run away but there is nowhere to run. Bodger corners me about two seconds later and presses me against the grimy wall of the cell. I thrash and kick as he picks me up, but even I know that there is no escape once Bodger’s got a grip on you.

By Issy, Year 4

The Last of the Last wild

Art work by Sophia Garvey and Ellen Callander

My eyes swim back into focus, and I try to sit up. I can’t. My whole body hurts. I look to my left, I look to my right; on one side I see nothing and on the other - I’m on the edge of a cliff!

As I look up, I notice the silhouette of a figure looming above me. When the shadow moves away, the sky reveals a raging storm that makes the trees shift nervously. The sea of tears hit the rocks, making me feel more nervous every second. This moment will never leave me, the moment when all is lost. The overgrown grass closes on me like a mouth. This is it…

“Kester Kester! Are you, all right?” cries Polly sprinting towards me. She hauls me up.

“We need to hurry,” she says warningly. Words are bubbling and forming until finally, bit by bit, they form a word in my mouth. “Why?” I ask softly. “Why?” I say louder this time.

“Kester!” Polly says, with her jaw hanging open as if she had just stuffed her mouth with food.

“Why!” I scream.

“Come,” she says faintly. She leads me to a van with a big F splattered on the side. Slowly, a man with long, heavy sticks protrudes from the car. We run.

By Rose, Year 4

The Great Round the World Balloon Race Have you ever heard of the great round the world balloon race? Let me tell you all about it because it was the most incredible day of my life! Looking all around me I could see dangerous, spiky icicles that were clinging onto the top of the cliffs. Excitedly I was frozen with fear.

Next I suddenly smelt smoke and I knew trouble was ahead. Unfortunately I saw black, violent dark rocks that almost hit me and my balloon. I was at a volcano which was active.

Quickly I steered the steering wheel in the other direction from the volcano. As quick as a flash I zoomed off to the jungle of Irrawaddy. Looking all around me I could see green, sparkly grass. I saw a cheeky monkey who took my banana out of my hand and ate it as quick as a flash. I also saw a pink terrifying choking spider that nearly got caught on me!

After visiting all of those places I knew it was time so I flew back to Denmark. It was midnight when I got back. I fell asleep as soon as I saw my soft cosy bed…

35

By Connor, Year 2

Book Reviews

INFANT/ JUNIOR/ SENIOR

TOP

5

Picture Books In the Infant Library

1. This is not a Fairy Tale

by Will Mabbitt 2. The Itchy Book

by LeUyen Pham 3. New Shoes

by Chris Raschka

TOP

3

TOP TOP

Early Chapter Books in the Infant Library

1. Missy’s Super Duper Royal

1. Pugly (series) (series) by Susan Ness

by Deluxe Pamela Butchart 2.

Beast Quest 2. The Notebook(series) of Doom (series) by Cummings

by Troy Adam Blade 3. Dragon Masters (series) by 3.

Magic Tree House (series) Tracey West

3

by Mary Pope Osborne

4. Where’s Halmoni?

3 35

Junior Fiction Books in the Infant Library

1. Pugly (series)

by Pamela Butchart 2. The Notebook of Doom (series)

by Troy Cummings 3. Dragon Masters (series)

by Tracey West time, Gorky Rises by William Steig. Gorky,

by Julie Kim

a frog, mixes together a magic potion in

5. The Discovery of Ramen

the family kitchen. The potion takes him

by Phil Amara & Oliver Chin

on an amazing adventure full of puns and extraordinary events. Satoshi says, ”Gorky Rises is full of quirky humour and wonderment.” The illustrations by William Steig are some of the best he has ever Gorky Rises by William Steig Award winning Author/Illustrator Satoshi Kitamura recently visited the Infant school

TOP

5

Books for Juniors

1. Guinness World Records 2018 2. Nevermoor : The Trials of Morrigan Crow

by Jessica Townsend 3. Minecraft : Annual 2017 4. Genius Ideas (mostly)

by Tom Gates 5. The Explorer

by Katherine Rundell

36

seen.Although the book was first published in the 1980’s Satoshi views the story, “as one of best picture books of all time.”

children. He shared with the librarian one of his favourite picture books of all Awkward

by Svetlana Chmakova

The Power of Three

by H.L Dennis.

Penelope–Peppi–Torres made a social blunder on her first day at her new school. She accidentally tripped over Jaime Thompson in the hallway in front of the popular kids.

Without thinking, she then shoved poor Jaime and ran away! Peppi then joined the art club but still feels guilty over how she treated Jaime. To make matters worse, Jaime is a member of the science club, the art club’s arch-rivals! The rivalry worsens as the two clubs compete for a spot at the school’s Annual School Club Fair! In the end to save their beloved clubs the two arch-rivals will have to work together.

We love the author’s style of drawing. In some scenes, the characters’ expression are very dramatic. If you enjoy Raina Telgemeier and Amy Ignatow’s books, we highly recommend Awkward as your next read. It is highly engaging and humorous.

By Lara and Dora, Year 5

After 500 years of failed attempts, a secret society calls on the young minds of three children - Brodie, Hunter, Tusia - to decipher the legendary Voynich Manuscript, which is written in code. Led by code-breaker Jon Smithies, the team must collaborate in order to have even the slimmest chance at discovering the secrets hidden in the ancient text. As new leads arise, can the children break the cipher that has driven people mad? What makes this book particularly exciting is that The Voynich manuscript is real! Real qualified cryptographers (a.k.a. code-breakers) are still attempting to reveal the secrets hidden in the Voynich Manuscript - which is also known as MS 408. I recommend this series to those who enjoy their book with a splash of action, adventure and mystery.

By Jamie, Year 6

Book Reviews

INFANT/ JUNIOR/ SENIOR

TOP

5

Books for Seniors

1.The Wolf Wilder

by Katherine Rundell 2.The War That Saved My Life

by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley 3.They Both Die at the End

by Adam Silvera 4.The Thing About Jellyfish

by Ali Benjamin 5.Ready Player One

by Ernest Cline Cinder

by Marissa Meyer This is a series set post-World War 4, where the moon now has its own colony of humans who have special “powers” and are able to manipulate the mind of others. The main character of the first book is Cinder, a cyborg who lives in China, which is now called the Eastern Commonwealth and is ruled by royalty once again. I loved this book as it has such a unique and interesting plot with so many twists. Another great thing about this book is that it has a balance of romance and sci-fi so that it isn’t like a soppy love story but neither is it a bland book. I love how the character’s emotional and physical journey interweaves to make this beautifully written story with plot twists and action, as well as sci-fi and romance. What with all the plot twists, I was never able to put the book down.

Prishni ,Year 8

The Land of Stories

by Chris Colfer Imagine living in a world that is made up of the fairy tales that you know and love from your childhood.

Imagine meeting all the princesses and all the villains from all of these fairy tales. Well this book allows you to enter a new world full of these characters. This book is about a boy and a girl called Alex and Conner.

Their father passed away and it shook the twins; they are devastated. But soon their whole life changes when they find out their big family secret. If you like reading books about adventure, then this is the book for you. I love how the author adds twists to the stories-maybe a character you think is nice and sweet, for example, in the book they are the opposite. So far, I have read the first two books and planning to read more. I love escaping reality, and this is the perfect book for the job.

Gisele Year 8

The Fault in Our Stars

by John Green This book is about a girl called Hazel who is diagnosed with cancer and all she does is lay at home watching TV all day. The result of this is that her mother is starting to think she is depressed, so she takes her to a kid support group. This is where she meets Augustus Water.

Augustus and Hazel gradually get closer. While this is happening they are planning to go to Amsterdam. Little do they realise what they are going to do with the tank Hazel has to drag around everywhere. People who like a sad story will really enjoy this. Also, if you like books which are a little more related to real life events this book will be perfect for you.

Gabriella, Year 8

One

by Sarah Crossan This is a 400 page book focused on two conjoined twins, Grace and Tippie.

Although at birth their chance of survival was slim, they defied the odds and are still living conjoined by the hip. With a few hateful comments, and being asked personal questions all the time, all while under constant medical and psychological care, the girls face a persistent battle. On top of this, their mother has lost her job and their already unemployed father can’t stop drinking. This is why even though they don’t want to, they decide to sell their story. They need all the support they can get - especially when they have failing health. Luckily their friend, Yasmeen, and Grace’s crush, Jon, are there to support them. I would recommend this to the age bracket of 11 to 15 year-olds - especially if they’re like myself, a twin, as they can relate to the twins’ story.

Ollie, Year 8

37

The Last Word

The Tanglin Yearbook 2018

Available from the School Shop

39

Drive Y ou Are What Y o u Wear.

Image matters. At Wearnes Leasing, we make self-expression a whole lot more convenient and fuss free with an impressive range of marques for your car leasing needs.

The Wearnes Leasing Benefits: • 0% downpayment • No ownership risks • Comprehensive insurance • Road tax inclusive • Personal Accident Insurance (PAI) cover • Full maintenance & servicing • Vehicle pick-up & delivery service • Replacement vehicle • Tyres & battery replacement • 24-hour roadside assistance (Singapore & Malaysia) Please contact us at 6876 5063 for more details.

VOLVO

•

RENAULT

•

JAGUAR

•

LAND ROVER

•

INFINITI

•

BENTLEY

•

ASTON MARTIN

CONTACT US (+65) 6876 5063

wearnes.leasing@wearnes.com

Wearnes Leasing

28 Leng Kee Road, Singapore 159105 Terms and conditions apply.

wearnesleasing.com

Wearnes Leasing

A Club World of difference in 2018 Your Club World experience is being upgraded across 2018.

Expect superior restaurant-style dining with beautiful new table settings and food display trolleys on board.

Sumptuously soft new bedding from The White Company is also making Club World more luxurious.

For details visit ba.com.

95 Portsdown Road, Singapore 139299 www.tts.edu.sg Tel: 6778 0771 Fax: 6777 5862 Email: communications@tts.edu.sg CPE Registration No.: 196100114C CPE Registration Period: 7 June 2017 to 6 June 2023