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JAN - mAR 2018 www.pcf.org.sg A QUARTERLY PUBLICATION OF THE PAP COMMUNITY FOUNDATION opening of Sparkle Care @ Yew Tee INSIDE PRESIDENT’S CHALLENGE APPRECIATION back to NIGHT school Tips to get your kids started January - March 2018 CONTENTS ONLINE EXCLUSIVE For more news and photos of our preschools, visit us at WWW.PCF.ORG.SG FEATURES FAMILY & LIFESTYLE ECDA Innovation Award 2017 Preparing your child for p4 p13 Preschool and Primary School President’s Challenge p5 Appreciation Night p15 CNY Craft Idea HAPPENINGS Induction ‘‘Boot’’ Camp, p6 Celebrating RSN50 @ VIVO, Official Opening of Sparkle Care @ Yew Tee and more! ADVISORS CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER SENIOR DIRECTOR CORPORATE SERVICES VICTOR BAY CHOO AH CHOON EDITORIAL TEAM Samuel Ng, Elsie Lim, Jansy Chew, Ng Lay Hua, Delphine Teo, Alicia Lim, Penny Quek, Alice Chan, Karen Lee, Rachel Lim, Lim Wei Ni, Annie Sim, Lee Wan Ting, Jacqueline Wong, Christine Tan, Pamela Wong, Tan Kerng Ngee, Calvin Fong and Juraimi Bin Jamal SparkleLink is a quarterly publication of the PAP COMMUNITY FOUNDATION, located at Blk 57B New Upper Changi Road, #01-1402, PCF Building, Singapore 463057 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the written permission of the Editorial Team. The views and opinions expressed or implied in SparkleLink are those of the authors or contributors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Editorial Team. CEO’S MESSAGE A very happy new year to everyone! I hope everyone had an enjoyable time with your loved ones during the year end festive season. There were many new developments in the preschool landscape in the later half of 2017. I would like to take this opportunity to assure you that PCF is prepared and ready to tackle the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. We ended 2017 on a high. You can read more about the various programmes and activities conducted across PCF in this issue of Sparklelink. The annual Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) Awards serve as a recognition to outstanding educators and educarers. We were heartened to see our staff among the winners announced at the ECDA Early Childhood Conference in October. Preparing your child for In November, PCF Sparkletots was very privileged Preschool and Primary School to have one of our preschools, the only preschool in Singapore, to be invited to the President’s Challenge Appreciation Night. The teachers and children had supported the President’s Challenge through fundraising and participating in one of its public awareness activities. In the same month, our second PCF Sparkle Care senior care centre was officially opened in Yew Tee by Minister Lawrence Wong. Part of the programme for this centre include inter-generational bonding opportunities, where pre- schoolers from nearby PCF Sparkletots preschools will visit the seniors to interact with them. As the school year opens, we know that many parents will be preparing their children for their first day in a preschool or primary school. We have included some tips on how to make the transition a fun and meaningful one for both parent and child. I wish all of you every success in your endeavours in the year ahead! Mr Victor Bay Chief Executive Officer PAP Community Foundation (PCF) Our children proudly showcasing their talent during our Speech Choir Presentation to parents. ECDA EARLY CHILDHOOD INNOVATION AWARD 2017 Speech Choir is a programme that has been implemented in our childcare preschool since 2016. Speech Choir is about reciting a poem, story or verse as a group, with elements of choreography. The teachers and I constantly seek ways to provide quality and holistic programmes at our preschool. Using the Innovation grant funded by Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA), we attended a customised training class from a local music training company where we learned how to teach Speech Choir to the children. We will hold Speech Choir meetings each term and discuss the effectiveness of the programme and the areas for improvement. We also discuss and determine the poems, stories or rhymes that each class will learn the following semester. We are mindful and determined that our children should be confident learners. The activities carried out in the Speech Choir programme must encompass the PCF Sparkletots curriculum’s 6 learning areas of Aesthetics & Creative Expression; Discovery of the World; Social & Emotional Development; Language & Literacy; Numeracy and Motor Skills Development. Through Speech Choir, we see good improvement in the children as they gained confidence in expressing themselves. Children learn to count beats and tempo and to synchronise with speech and movements. Learning poems such as ‘Bear Hunt’ provide opportunities for the children to explore different sensorial textures such as mud, tall grass and water. Our teachers and children also discuss values of perseverance and taking risks when making decisions when they learned poems like, ‘The Road Not Taken’ by Robert Frost. We are very happy that our preschool received a distinction award in the ECDA Early Childhood Innovation Award 2017. Most importantly, we are very happy to see the positive impact of Speech Choir. We can see that the children absolutely enjoyed the programme as they get to perform together with their friends. Written by Noorhayati Zahari PCF Sparkletots @ Nanyang Blk 922 Musical instruments are used at times to make a Speech Choir performance more lively. p4 President’s Challenge Our children proudly showcasing appreciation night their talent during our Speech Written by Ms Hurul-Aʼin Binte Mohd Yusoff Choir Presentation to parents. Centre Principal, PCF Sparkletots @ Eunos Blk 629 PCF Sparkletots @ Eunos Blk 629 was invited to attend the Presidentʼs Challenge Appreciation ECDA EARLY CHILDHOOD Night hosted by President Halimah Yacob at the Istana on 23rd November 2017. The preschool was involved in raising funds for the Presidentʼs Challenge, a major partner of INNOVATION AWARD 2017 ECDAʼs Start Small Dream Big initiative, through its Food Fiesta event when has been held since 2016. In 2017, the teachers and children from the preschool helped to facilitate a Presidentʼs Speech Choir is a programme that has been implemented in our childcare preschool since 2016. Challenge booth activity on blind awareness during the Early Childhood Development Agency Speech Choir is about reciting a poem, story or verse as a group, with elements of choreography. (ECDA) Early Childhood Conference at Suntec City. The teachers and I constantly seek ways to provide quality and holistic programmes at our Ms Ain, the Centre Principal, and two students, Nur Edrysha and Sheris Chong, were invited on preschool. Using the Innovation grant funded by Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA), stage during the Appreciation Night. The children shared their experiences and what they learnt we attended a customised training class from a local music training company where we learned through participating in the Food Fiesta and blind awareness booth activities. Ms Ain shared the how to teach Speech Choir to the children. We will hold Speech Choir meetings each term and challenges that the preschool faced in mobilising the younger children to participate in the discuss the effectiveness of the programme and the areas for improvement. We also discuss and activities and the importance of cultivating the spirit of caring and compassion in young children. determine the poems, stories or rhymes that each class will learn the following semester. We are mindful and determined that our children should be confident learners. The activities carried out PCF Sparkletots @ Eunos Blk 629 was very privileged to be the only preschool in Singapore to in the Speech Choir programme must encompass the PCF Sparkletots curriculum’s 6 learning be invited to the Appreciation Night to present its experience to a live audience which included areas of Aesthetics & Creative Expression; Discovery of the World; Social & Emotional the President. The story was featured in Berita Minggu on 26th November 2017. Development; Language & Literacy; Numeracy and Motor Skills Development. Through Speech Choir, we see good improvement in the children as they gained confidence in expressing themselves. Children learn to count beats and tempo and to synchronise with speech and movements. Learning poems such as ‘Bear Hunt’ provide opportunities for the children to explore different sensorial textures such as mud, tall grass and water. Our teachers and children also discuss values of perseverance and taking risks when making decisions when they learned poems like, ‘The Road Not Taken’ by Robert Frost. We are very happy that our preschool received a distinction award in the ECDA Early Childhood Innovation Award 2017. Most importantly, we are very happy to see the positive impact of Speech Choir. We can see that the children absolutely enjoyed the programme as they get to perform together with their friends. Centre Principal Ms Ain with student Nur Edrysha and Sheris Chong sharing their experiences on stage. Written by Noorhayati Zahari PCF Sparkletots @ Nanyang Blk 922 PCF Sparkletots children taking centre stage at the ceremony Musical instruments are used at times to make a Speech Choir performance more lively. Post-event photo session with President Halimah Yacob p5 staff Retreat A 3D2N overseas staff retreat for PCF (HQ) and PAP was organised by our Social Recreation Club from 14th – 16th October 2017 to promote staff bonding and well-being. It was heartening to see family members of our staff joining the trip. Through this retreat, the participants developed a deeper understanding of their individual and group identity through spending time with colleagues and family members in a way that is fun and fulfilling, enjoying the comaraderie and companionship through activities such as, shopping, massages and of course, the Participants of the staff retreat at Bangkok street food in this culinary wonderland. The Annual PCF and PAP year end lunch organised by the Social Recreation Club Year took place on 28th November 2017 at Ban Heng @ Harbourfront Centre.