Unity Sec Term 1 Newsletter (2023)

TERM 1 2023

#OPPORTUNITY Unity Secondary School Termly Newsletter

Inside the issue

Sec1 Orientation p.5

CNY Celebration p.13

PLD Onboarding p.21

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From the Principal's Desk (Term 1) Dear Parents / Guardians Unity Secondary School (USS) ushered in the new year with vibrancy as Unitians started their school year not with physical books, but with practical life skills. Students acquired useful life skills through our Leadership Learning Week workshops such as ‘Transition to Secondary School' for Sec 1s, ‘ECGStrengths Profiling' for Sec 2s, 'Career Exploration' for Sec 3s and ‘Study Skills and Strategies' for Sec 4s and 5s.

Our Sec 2-5 student leaders stepped to the fore and led in the Sec 1 Orientation Camp independently. The school was abuzz with loud cheers and team-building games. The Sec 1 Orientation programme ended on a high note when the school officially initiated our Sec 1s into the school through our signature Sec 1 Initiation Campfire Night. It was a night to behold as we witnessed our Unity Council Alumni, Unity Council and CCA leaders demonstrating our school vision of ‘Inspiring Leader’ by leading the Sec 1s during our very own USS Cheer and Dance.

Our Chinese New Year Celebration was yet another exciting festive celebration showcasing the talents of our Performing Arts groups. In Unity, we believe that everyone is a Unity family member, and a family does happy things together, so we united our whole family through our mass CNY ‘Loh Hei’ ritual in our parade square. All students and staff ‘tossed up good fortune’ with exclamations of CNY blessings - an iconic USS way to start our new year!

The Greek philosopher Aristotle once said, “We are what we repeatedly do.

Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” When good habits are inculcated, it can become routinised and then second-nature reflexes, if we keep at it. My term 1 mass assembly focused on our school value of ‘Commitment’. Students were taught how habit loops were formed and since 40% of our habits are automatic, it is necessary to replace unhealthy with healthy routines. To do that, one must build strong willpower by choosing one's reaction ahead of time. May I urge our parents and guardians to work with your child/ward in forming good and healthy habits at home as good habits are the beginning of positive changes.

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Unity’s structure of progressive Weighted Assessment (WA) Learning Activities help students to consolidate and rehearse their knowledge before they attempt their WAs and students have provided feedback that they find it useful in helping them prepare for their tests. Teachers’ use of Active Learning strategies in the classrooms also enable students to form good classroom habits as students are involved in doing the learning, discussions and collaboration before demonstrating their learning through assessment tasks designed by the teachers.

In the month of February, we commemorated our Total Defence Day by engaging students in various hands-on activities: Sec 1-First-aid skills, Sec 2Guardians of the City Game, Sec 3-NSF Engagement and Sec 4/5-Experiential Food Shortage and ‘Black Market’ Trading. Through such activities, students experienced the vulnerabilities of our nation and learnt the importance of total defence. To ensure that students are familiar with our emergency drills, all students also experienced our ‘Run-Hide-Tell’ Lockdown Drill.

In March, we had our Personalised Learning Device (PLD) on-boarding for our Sec 1s and they were taught responsible management skills in safe management of their PLDs. Sec 1-5 students were also exposed to different cultural experiences through our Mother Tongue Fortnight Week. We wrapped up our term with Unity Healthy Lifestyle Week and Unity Run as all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. Students had worked hard and overcome various challenges in term 1 and they deserved a good fun workout.

Our teachers’ and students’ hard work and efforts also paid off with Unitians performing well in their 2022 National Exams: • • •

100% of 4NT students progressed to ITE & 97.2% achieved at least 3 ‘N’ Level Passes 91.4% of 4NA students are eligible for Sec 5NA (Exceeding National Average of 78.4%) 67.5% of 4E students are eligible for JC and 98.1% are eligible for poly.

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USS remains a choice school in the Yew Tee community with 88% - 95% of Sec 1s putting USS as their 1st and 2nd choice school. USS was also awarded MOE’s Innergy Award (Commendation) for our innovation in customising our professional development to equip teachers with Active Learning Pedagogy to better engage the students.

The diverse opportunities created for students’ holistic experiences, as well as platforms for student leaders to lead and serve, develop our students to be Lifelong Learners and Inspiring Leaders.

We would like to thank our parents and guardians for your strong support and partnership and may you continue to work with us in developing Unitians to be resilient and future-ready with the passion to serve and lead.

Have a good term break with your family and take care.

Mdm Adel Ong Principal

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Sec 1 Orientation Our Secondary 1 students became familiar with the school's culture and facilities through a four-day orientation programme. They attended workshops to equip themselves with strategies to handle challenges they might face in their transition from primary to secondary level. They also participated in various team-bonding activities to develop skills in teamwork, to get acquainted with their peers, as well as to learn the school song and cheer to inculcate a sense of belonging to Unity. Together with their parents, the school celebrated the Secondary 1 Initiation Night when they were presented with the school badge by their teachers. As they witnessed the lighting of the campfire, it definitely lit a glow in all of them as they officially became a part of the Unity family!

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CCA Open House On the last day of the orientation programme, the Secondary 1 students attended the CCA Open House. As form classes in Unity are based on CCAs, it was crucial that the Secondary 1s had the opportunity to find out more about the different CCA groups through CCA booths and performances put up for them in order to help them make a more informed decision.

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O-level Exam Results Release The 2022 Secondary 4 cohort received their O-level results on 12 January.

The school is heartened and proud to see their achievements. We believe the students have put in their best effort and will continue to persevere and soar even higher in their educational pursuits. To our fellow Unitians, congratulations on your accomplishments!

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CNY Celebration Unity ushered in the year of the Rabbit with enthusiasm and fervour on 20 January with a whole slew of activities. Tapping on the CCE platform, Unitians learnt about the Chinese culture and its customs and practices.

The mass 'Lohei' made a comeback and students, especially the non-Chinese students, experienced this unique practice. Students also had the opportunity to work together as a CCA unit in the CCA Challenge, which helped to forge stronger bonds with their CCA mates.

We concluded the celebration with the CNY concert in the hall, where the Unity family put up their best performances for everyone to enjoy.

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Cultural Appreciation Pongal & Thaipusam

Unity celebrated Pongal and Thaipusam, two important festivals of the Tamil community, through immersive activities for Lower Secondary students to raise awareness about these cultural and religious festivals. Pongal is a harvest festival celebrated for four days and is dedicated to the Sun God, Surya. During this festival, people prepare a special dish called Pongal, which is made of rice and lentils, and offer it to the Sun God. Pongal is also a time for families to come together, exchange gifts, and decorate their homes with colourful patterns called Kolams. Thaipusam, on the other hand, is a Hindu festival which commemorates the occasion when Parvati, the wife of Lord Shiva, gave a Vel (spear) to her son Lord Murugan to defeat a demon. It is celebrated with processions, music, and dance. Devotees fast for days and then pierce their bodies with hooks, skewers, and small lances as a form of penance and to seek blessings from Lord Murugan.

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Total Defence Day The school commemorated Total Defence Day with a parade by the Uniformed Group CCAs. It was followed by an assortment of activities organised according to different levels. The Secondary 1s had a hand in bandaging and providing First Aid while the Secondary 2s played the Total Defence card game, Guardians of the City II, which required them to make right decisions in times of crisis. Teachers and alumni sharing sessions inspired a shared vision among Secondary 3s as they acquired valuable information about National Service, while the Secondary 4s were given a scenario of black market trade simulation in a war setting. They understood the importance of strengthening individual resilience and learnt about surviving with limited resources. Through CCE lessons, students learnt the importance of food security in Singapore, and the need to cultivate good habits to prevent food wastage. In alignment with Total Defence, Unity Council also made a collective effort to raise funds for the Turkey Earthquake Relief.

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Unity Young Writers Festival (Day 1) In collaboration with Sing Lit Station, our school hosted our annual UWF festival on 17 February. Budding writers from more than 40 secondary schools spread across Singapore were actively engaged in their chosen workshops, either on writing flash fiction or poetry. The workshops were conducted online by our local writers and poets respectively.

Tips and strategies on how to generate ideas creatively were provided as students attempt to produce individual pieces of literary work for the UWF competition based on the theme, 'Growing Up'. Literary quizzes were also conducted in school to expose Unitians to various literary works.

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Sec 1 PLD Deployment The Secondary 1s were thrilled to receive their Personal Learning Devices Acer Chromebook Spin 511 in March. With the availability of PLDs, learning can be more engaging and interactive as students can have easy access to a myriad of online materials and explore topics that interest them.

Additionally, they can enhance their digital literacy and technology skills such as the use of digital tools and applications, and be more self-directed when they do blended learning at home. The Secondary 1s were reminded of the dos and don'ts of PLD usage and even took an oath to be responsible for their own devices.

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Unity Scientific Innovation Challenge

with Singapore Polytechnic & ERI@N (USPE) USPE is a national Science competition that cultivates intellectual curiosity and creativity among students in applying scientific principles to develop innovative solutions for various challenges. We are proud to announce that our school team has attained the Bronze Award for their project on implementing hybrid ventilation to improve energy efficiency in shopping malls.

The group focused on integrating the use of hybrid ventilation (natural and mechanical) and smart technology such as sensors to gather real-time data that would aid in effective decision-making, and can potentially promote greater energy efficiency. Such green infrastructure strategies can enable Singapore to have a more sustainable future.

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Unity Run

As part of the Healthy Lifestyle Week at Unity, the Unity Run was organised in which for the first time, students and staff represented their respective CCAs. In the students' competitive race, upper and lower secondary boys and girls participated in a relay race (4 x 240m). In the staff 3 x 80m race, staff from each CCA competed against other CCA groups and Parent Support Group. The non-competitive section consisted of a 2km Mass Run for all other students. There was also the Best CCA Cheers competition to promote CCA spirit. There were other activities throughout the week to promote a Healthy Lifestyle among Unitians, which included Instagram videos by teachers on Healthy Lifestyle and Healthier Food Choices, videos by students who had chosen a healthy lifestyle, Vlog Competition on Healthy Meals and Planking Competition for students. Attractive prizes were awarded for each event.

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CCA Achievements Uniformed Groups NCC Air Precision Drill Squad (PDS) Competition: 2nd Runner Up for Air and Sea District Annual Unit Recognition Award (UR) 2022: Distinction NPCC Unit Overall Proficiency Award (UOPA) 2022: Distinction SPF-NPCC Pinnacle Award: Enid Erh Xi Rui (44) & Yang Kechao (44)

Sports Table-Tennis Unity’s Table Tennis ‘B’ Division Girls showed grit and character in qualifying to the next round of National School Games (NSG) Table Tennis Championship from the West Zone. Congrats to the Table Tennis B Division Girls!

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Student Achievement Our student, Pang Dang Diep Phi was awarded the Certificate of Achievement in the All Singapore Secondary Mathematics Competition for Normal Course students 2022, organised by Clementi Town Secondary School. He had participated in the Lower Secondary Category. Congatulations to Diep Phi!

See you in Term 2!

Visit our school website: http://unitysec.moe.edu.sg/ Follow our Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/unitysec/