#59: 2024 Term 1 Reflections, Takeaways and Growth 🌱

Wen Xin Ng

Mar 17, 2024

Form Class Experiences

Kick-Off Programme (a.k.a. Sec 1 Orientation)

Back to being a Sec 1 FT again! Always nice to see the kiddos go from awkward potatoes on the first day of orientation to warming up to and having fun with their new found friends by the end of the week.

A core memory from the orientation programme would be rehearsing for the Knight's Showcase performance. I can still recall the chaos in our classroom, where my co-FT and I were shuffling the students to their positions and getting them to rehearse again and again because we had to make sure the skit did not exceed the time limit. I was truly tickled by their time blindness:

Me: How long do you think our last rehearsal took?

1 Noel: *very confidently* "3 minutes!!!'

Me: "That was 12 minutes and 19 seconds...😵"

Despite that, I was very impressed by the performance our class managed to put up given the short runway. They took pride in carrying out their roles and cheered for each other backstage. It was a nice and wholesome end to a tiring week.

Looking back at my first Sec 1 Orientation with 1 Emmanuel 2 years back, I've also grown from an awkward teacher potato with severe imposter syndrome to a more involved and confident adult figure that my new Sec 1 kiddos can count on when settling in to a new school environment. 😌

Parent Engagement Session

We tasked the class to create a video to introduce themselves and the school to their parents during the parent engagement session, and what they came up with completely exceeded our expectations - the team did not require any reminders and completed the video in less than 2 days. 🤩

End-of-term Reflections

I am a great fan of reflection, and I wanted the class to also take some time to process the experiences and emotions they have gone through in the past 10 weeks. I am glad that the class shared their thoughts candidly, because it allowed them to celebrate one another's growth while also learning important lessons from their peers' setbacks and challenges.

Learning from my co-form!

My co-FT collated all important information about our form class onto 1 centralised spreadsheet. I thought this was a superb idea because it will enable us to very easily keep track of the students' progress and/or involvement in school.

TSR - general observations, notes from 1-to-1 conversations, academic progress
Confidential - religion, financial assistance status
CCA - CCA, medical information, special precautions
SIL - link to student portfolio, link to SIL slides
TG - Teaching Group allocation
MC/PL - tracking latecoming, number of MCs and PLs submitted, inserting photos of MC/PL

CCA Experiences

Continued our CCA tradition of having the lunar new year angbao giveaway! Always wanted to play the Sheng Siong Show 100x game (LOL) and we made it happen 🤣 Thankful for colleagues who are always game for shenanigans like this.

Teaching & Learning

[2023 USG] Geography in Everyday Life

Had fun designing activities for my Sec 3 NA Elective Geography class to demonstrate their understanding of the topics under Geography in Everyday Life.

Documenting some of the activities here;

GEL 1.1 & 1.2

What is the relationship between people and nature in their neighbourhoods?
How do people acquire a sense of place in their neighbourhoods?

Students were tasked to go around the school and take photos and videos that showcases the relationship between people and nature, as well as describe their sense of place towards locations in school.

Google Form Questions:

Notable Submissions:

Task 1: Take a picture of nature in AES.

Task 5(a): Take a picture of a place that holds special meaning to you in AES.

Task 2: Take a picture/video of you enjoying the benefits of nature in AES.

Task 3: Take a picture of you taking care of nature in AES.

Task 5(b), 6 & 7:

GEL 2.1

What are sustainable urban neighbourhoods?
- 1. Sustainable development
- 2. Economic and social sustainability in urban neighbourhoods
- 3. Environmental sustainability in urban neighbourhoods

Students went on an amazing race around the school, applying their knowledge of GEL 2.1 to complete a series of missions.

Examples of Missions:

	Rationale: Activate learning on definition of sustainable development.

	Rationale: Demonstrate concept of economic sustainability, i.e. keeping transport and infrastructure costs low through careful town planning.
	Rationale: Apply understanding of social sustainability, i.e. community spaces that promote regular social interactions.
	Rationale: Demonstrate understanding of the various approaches to environmental sustainability, i.e.: *Ample protection for nature* *Having facilities that support waste minimisation and recycling* *Energy and water-efficient design approaches for buildings and landscapes*