November 2008 - Holy Innocents Primary School

A Publication of Holy Innocents’ Primary School
WEBSITE: http://www.holyinnocentspri.moe.edu.sg EMAIL: holyinnocent@moe.edu.sg NOV 2008 ISSUE
Time passes quickly and we are coming to the close of another academic year
- one with many exciting moments. As we celebrate our successes with pride,
we reflect on what we have learnt in the process of achieving them. In our
Holy Innocents’ Primary School community, pupils, staff and parents as well as
our other partners live our school mission to achieve the school vision. We are
inspired and enthused to pursue our interest and passion.
Outstanding among the achievements this year are the Gold with Special
Commendation award in the National Environment Agency’s 3R Competition
for the second consecutive year, the People Developer Recertification and the
Singapore Youth Festival Gold for Chinese Dance as well as Chinese Orchestra. The
school embarked on the Teach Less Learn More (TLLM) Ignite 2008 journey with
a school-based innovation which infuses Habits of Mind (HOM). Through engaged learning programmes
like this and the Chinese Language department’s Social Emotional Learning (SEL)-infused programme,
pupils learn more effectively and develop their character simultaneously.
We acknowledge with appreciation and thanks, the invaluable contributions of our committed staff,
enthusiastic pupils, supportive parents and the dynamic Parent Support Group (PSG). Together, we will scale
greater heights in the years to come as we Light Tomorrow With Today – Elizabeth Barrett Browning.
Mrs Doreen Tan Ngo Chew
The school embarked on the
TLLM Ignite 2008 journey with
a new School-based Innovation
(SCI) entitled “Acquisition of HOM
(Thinking Flexibly) by Primary
One Pupils through Explicit
Teaching”.
Through this SCI, the school
hopes that our P1 pupils will learn
to respond to problems, dilemmas
and enigmas in an intelligent way.
The planning and preparation for
the programme began in March
Keep on thinking
Keep on thinking
All my friends
All my friends
Try to solve your problem
In another way
Think flexibly
Think flexibly
Our Song
through June, and the SCI was successfully implemented in Term 3 for
eight weeks. Pupils were taught in a fun and engaging way. They sang the
“Thinking Flexibly” song and listened to stories about the habit. HOM were
infused into all subjects and many opportunities were specially created
for pupils to practise them. Pupils were able to identify the relevant habit
when their friends displayed it and some were even able to advise their
friends to use it when faced with appropriate situations.
Pupils’ works on Thinking Flexibly
Advisors
Mrs Doris Sum
Our song
(Principal)
Mrs Doreen Tan Ngo
Chew (Vice-Principal)
Members
Mdm Irene Gan (LH EL)
Mr Jonathan Leo Ng
Mrs Patricia Lee
Mrs Soh-Chan Siew Lai
Ms Yeo Khee Huan
Vision: A school of excellence where every individual is a Well-balanced person, an Innovative individual,
a Socially responsible citizen and an Enthusiastic learner.

On 22 August, some Primary 4
pupils visited Jamiyah Children’s
Home - Darul Ma’wa for their service
learning field trip. They implemented
a ‘Buddy Reading’ programme for
the residents there, who were aged
6 to 10 years old. Ijeona Peh (4I2)
and Justin Lim (4I5) performed very
well as facilitators. The other 14
pupils who were the buddy readers
put in exceptionally good work too.
Both the pupils and the residents of
the home enjoyed reading the books
provided by Students Care Service.
Happy sharing
The pupils must have put into practice what they had learnt
from the several workshops that they had earlier attended. The
workshops, conducted by Ms Vivien Ee and Mdm Jennifer Yeo
from Students Care Service, taught the pupils communication
and leadership skills. Ms Rofidah Bte Samah, the school’s Special
Needs Officer, who is a volunteer with the home, helped to pair up
the buddies with the readers.
Upon completion of the
reading activity, the pupils
and the residents designed
and constructed paper
planes together. At the end
of the programme, Sister
Haryani, the guardian,
showed our pupils the
residents’ dormitories.
Having fun together
She briefed them on the history of the home and why the residents
were housed there. From this learning journey, our pupils learn to
cherish their parents, family and friends. They are looking forward
to the next trip!
Our school has implemented
the Happy Toilets’ School
Education Programme since
2005. The objectives of this
programme are:
To maintain cleanliness
To inculcate good toilet habits
To have nice and happy
toilets
To take ownership of toilets
in school
This year, 9 toilets decorated by
the P4 pupils and their Science
teachers clinched the Gold
Award presented by Restroom
Association of Singapore. On 14
August, we had the honour of
sharing our experiences in this
programme with 18 officials from
Thailand’s Health Department
during their visit to our school.
Welcoming Thailand’s Health
Department officials
Here! On my palm!
Thirty-nine Pr 4 and Pr 5 English,
Mathematics, Science and Health
Education Monitors, Physical Education
Captains and Environment Club
members went on a one-day educational
tour to Johor Bahru on 23 August.
This learning journey was an opportunity for our pupils to learn beyond
the classroom. They learnt about ostrich rearing and the different
methods of propagation of fruit plants. They were treated to ostrich
meat burgers and ostrich egg omelette at the Desaru Ostrich Farm
and a buffet lunch with a sumptuous spread of tropical fruits at the
Desaru Fruit Farm. They made a stop at CocoaRich, a chocolate outlet
which produces a unique selection of chocolate with flavours such as
tiramisu, durian, tomato, yoghurt, black sesame, etc.
Certainly a HAPPY toilet!
A refreshing sight
Mission: We are committed to nurture the potential in each child to the fullest and develop his character in a
God-centred environment so as to prepare him for the challenges of the future and to serve the nation.

There are many types of bullying that occur in schools across
the nation every day. Excluding students from activities,
putting them down and physical mistreatment are just a few
of the ways they can be bullied. There are ways to deal
with bullying in schools. To know what they are, 7 Primary 5
pupils from our school took part in a 3-day bully-free camp
from 27 to 29 May at Fengshan Primary School.
In this programme, peer influence and education help to
Ambassadors & volunteers at the camp
create "bully-free" schools. It aims to educate and empower
students. The 7 students who participated in the three-day training were chosen by their teachers
because of their leadership abilities and influence on their peers. The programme utilizes team-building
activities to help students learn how to work together, and to help to demonstrate the power of unity. Key
areas of focus were effective ways to deal with a bullying situation, and students practised role-playing
to defuse bullying.
Our motto
They learnt how to include students who may have been
excluded, or "loners", and how to build them up rather than
put them down. They also learnt how to recognize a situation
that calls for adult involvement, such as a fight on the school
premises.
Back in school, the 7 pupils conducted two kickoff assemblies
on 1 and 2 July and pledged to work for a 'bully-free' school.
These ambassadors will play an important part in influencing
the other pupils in the school.
Our grateful thanks go to our ambassadors Basil Lee (5SD1), Teo Hong Kuan (5SD4), Shum Wen Qian
(5SD5), Gary Lim (5SD7), Reuven Lim (5SD8), Brian Hong (5SD9) and Remus Tan (5SD10) for their
support to keep HIPS Bully-Free with their motto, “Bye-Bye Bullies, Hello Friends!”
This is fun!
In addition, a group of Primary 2 students visited North
Spring Primary School to celebrate Racial Harmony Day.
Our students had a fun and enriching time mingling with
students of various races. They savoured delicacies from
different ethnic groups and learnt to play traditional games
such as five-stones and chapteh. Another group of Primary
4 students visited the Singapore Fest to learn about the
heroes of Singapore and get a better understanding of
the history of Singapore. We received positive feedback
from our students about their experiences and hope to
create more opportunities for them to interact with their
peers of different races.
Strategic Thrust 1: Quality Teaching and Learning
Our school observed Racial Harmony Day on 21 July. Students were
told the importance of religious and racial harmony. Many students,
teachers and some parent volunteers donned ethnic costumes in school
to grace the occasion. It was indeed a glorious sight. An assembly talk
on ethnic costumes was delivered and students gained insights into the
customs of the various ethnic groups. There was an array of ethnic food
for the students to taste and their favourites were kacang puteh and roti
prata. Many students were engaged in the traditional games and some
Primary 5 students were skilfully doing henna painting on the hands
of their fellow schoolmates. Masterpieces of creative kolam and henna
designs for an art competition were on display. Racial harmony stories
were also displayed on the messaging system for a month.
Pupils in ethnic costumes

An instructor explaining how Weiqi is played
Oh, this is how it’s played!
沈 家 门 小 学 师 生 带 来 的
夏 季 清 凉
7 月 4 日 , 我 们 怀 着 兴 奋 与 期 待
的 心 情 再 次 迎 来 了 姐 妹 学 校 ―
沈 家 门 小 学 ( 沈 小 ) 的 20 位 师
生 。 虽 然 他 们 这 次 随 班 上 课 的
时 间 不 长 , 但 还 是 跟 我 校 学
生 打 成 一 片 , 建 立 了 深 厚 的 友
谊 。 下 午 , 他 们 也 上 了 我 校 英
文 老 师 精 心 设 计 的 英 语 课 程 。
周 末 与 课 余 时 间 , 我 校 老 师 全
程 陪 伴 沈 小 师 生 , 在 狮 城 各 个
名 胜 留 下 足 迹 。 临 别 之 际 , 他
们 为 我 校 师 生 呈 献 了 精 采 的 才
艺 表 演 , 为 这 次 交 流 活 动 画 上
了 美 丽 的 句 点 。
On 31 May, during the mid-year
school holidays, parents of our
Weiqi Club members were invited
to a Parent-Child Weiqi Sharing
Session. Two instructors from
Singapore Weiqi Association were
invited to give a brief introduction
of the game. The very enthusiastic
parents were briefed on the rules
and a few basic strategies of the
game. Feedback from these parents
was very positive and encouraging.
They were happy and appreciative
that they were given this opportunity
to learn and play Weiqi with their
own children.
7 月 4 日 -7 月 13 日
随 班 上 课
南 一 区
校 群 小 二
曲 艺 比 赛
9 月 17 日
首 次 在 南 一 区 校 群 举 办
的 小 二 曲 艺 比 赛 终 于 开
锣 了 ! 学 生 们 在 当 天 粉
墨 登 场 , 使 出 浑 身 解
数 , 角 逐 冠 军 宝 座 。 经
过 一 番 龙 争 虎 斗 , 圣 婴
女 子 小 学 ( 良 言 ) 脱 颖
而 出 , 荣 登 冠 军 宝 座 。
这 群 天 真 可 爱 的 小 女 生
所 演 绎 的 《 小 淘 气 》,
深 深 获 得 评 判 们 的 青
睐 , 技 压 群 雄 , 勇 夺 冠
军 。 我 校 也 不 赖 , 以 《
五 官 争 功 》 位 居 第 二 。
狮 城 踪 迹
才 艺 表 演
Strategic Thrust 2: Character Development
华 艺 轩 留 影 纪 念

The Executive Committee
went on a learning journey
to Rulang Primary School in
August to learn more about
its best practices. It is a
Singapore Quality Class (SQC)
school and has clinched the
Best Practice Award (BPA) for
teaching and learning.
The 2 principals exchanging mementos
All attention at the presentation
During the hour-long
session, the school
presented its special
programmes on culture
and aesthetics, innovation
and entrepreneurship and
student leadership and
topics like organizational
effectiveness.
Our school was awarded
the People Developer
Standard 3 years ago. In July
this year, we were recertified
by Spring Singapore after a
journey to reaffirm the niche
standard for people developer.
This standard provides the
school with a total approach
to managing people so as to
achieve high performance
through its people systems
by engaging and challenging
them to scale new heights for
the school and themselves.
What’s my BMI
Residents registering for the
health checks
This meaningful event is jointly
organized by Geylang Senior Citizens
Health Check Committee (GL SCHCC)
and our school. This year, we hosted
the Hougang Health Day on our school
premises.
One week before the event, the staff,
pupils and members of the Parent
Support Group (PSG) distributed 3500
flyers to the residents of Block 301-310
in Hougang.
On 28 June, the staff, together with
officers from GL SCHCC, assisted
more than 300 Hougang residents in
undergoing health checks which include
glucose test, blood pressure test, BMI
test, eye test and bone density test. The
residents also benefited from 2 talks
on diabetes and back care presented by
specialists.
At the gift redemption counter
The HIPS Musical “Aspire to
Inspire” will be staged in
November. Some 200 pupils
from the English Drama Club,
Choir, Chinese Orchestra,
Chinese Dance, Chinese
Opera, Malay Dance, Indian
Dance and Recorder Club
will perform in the hour-long
musical. It relates the story of
a boy’s aspiration to become
a mountain guide. The story
incorporates the school core
values and Habits of Mind
that the school works to instil
in our pupils.
Date: 22 November 2008
(Saturday)
Venue: Raffles Junior
College, Performing Arts
Centre
Time:
1p.m. to 2.30p.m. (1st
show) and
5p.m. to 6.30p.m.(2nd
show)
Price: $12
2-way transport - school
to venue & vice versa is
provided free of charge.
Strategic Thrust 3: Enabling People

Winners
Merit Award
Amanda Yong (4I9)
Cheng Wei Ting (4I9)
Natasha Tan (4I9)
Natasha Wong (4I9)
Masagos Cup National Day and Pesta Sukan
13 × 13 Weiqi Tournament 2008 (National)
Primary 4 Group - 2nd Best Team
Lee Cheng Han (4I3)
Justin Hui (4I8)
Tay Kai Wen (4I9)
Primary 3 Group - 4th Best Team
Bai Shun Yao (3G7)
Ho Hol Yarn (3G7)
Irving Wong (3G7)
Shoutan Cup Weiqi (13 × 13)
Competition for Primary School
2008 (National)
Primary 5 Category - Best Team
Ho Hol Yin (5SD7)
Jerome Kwok Kai Xuan (5SD7)
Judah Ong Yu Heng (5SD8)
Merit Award
Png Qun Shen (4I7)
Tervis Sim (4I7)
Asia Pacific Robotics
Competition 2008
Boxing Category
1st runner-up & 2nd runner-up
Silver Award
The Stork
Brought This
Baby Aydin Zufayri
born on 7 September 2008
Proud Mummy
Mdm Zubaidah Ahmat
Warm Welcome
to our Family
Teaching Colleagues
Ms Ma Ah Yin
Ms Chen Suhua
Long Service Award
Congratulations to the following
officers:
Mrs Doris Sum
40 years
Mrs Ong Wai Wah
40 years
Mdm Ong Tang Moi 35 years
Mdm Seow Leow Moy 35 years
Mdm Wee Hwee Cheng 35 years
Mr Lee Teck Hee
30 years
Mdm Paruvathi d/o Karuppiah 25 years
Mdm Chen Bee Seok 15 years
Mdm Foo Kwee Noi 15 years
Mrs Ho-Chan Hui Lin 15 years
Mdm Ho Poey Yin
15 years
Mdm Lim Hong Chin 15 years
Ms Martina Lim Soo Ngee 10 years
Mr Mok How Lurn
10 years
Mr M. Nachiappan
10 years
Core Values: Sincerity, Charity, Graciousness, Integrity, Self-Discipline, Resilience