Human Jackpot Game at GEP 25th Anniversiry

Impromptu Speech at GEP 25th Anniversity on youtube

Vistors from HongKong

We were delighted to host a visit by Mr Michael Suen, the Hong Kong Secretary for Education and a group of delegates. A group of GEP pupils presented their FPS project to our distinguished visitors.

UK Visitors

On the 27th May, a group of visitors from UK visited our GEP classes and observed the P5 GEP EL lessons taught by Mr Tan Ying Kiat and Ms Jaclyn Zeng. They were also briefed by Mrs Loo Poh Keng on the GEP Programme.

Visit by a Principal from Australia

On the 6th April, a Principal from Australia visited us and she spent some time learning about the Gifted Education Programme from our Head-of-Department, Mrs Loo Poh Keng and she called on our Principal , Mdm Heng Boey Hong too.

Korean Visitors

This year, a group of Korean visitors visited our school on the 8th Jan. They were greeted by our Principal Mdm Heng Boey Hong and then briefed by our GEP Head-of–Department, Mrs Loo Poh Keng .They enjoyed the walkabout and expressed that they liked the IRS project presented by our pupil, Wong Zi Liang from 6M.

GEP 25th Anniversary Celebrations in Nanyang Primary School

On the 3rd July this year, we celebrated the GEP 25th Anniversary in the classrooms.The time-table was suspended for 2 hours from 8 to 10 a.m. In each of the GEP classes, form teachers started by showing the powerpoint slides on the history of GEP in Nanyang Primary school as well as the goals and mission of the GEP. These slides were prepared specially by our team of senior GEP teachers. Pupils then did the CIP activity on the Orange Ribbon Project. They also had the opportunity to play some games within the classes. Each pupil was given a souvenir of a cap and water bottle to mark the occasion.

Many of our pupils were able to express themselves well in saying that they will emulate their seniors by doing better in their exams and participating in National competitions. Some went on to say that they will have to change their "poor attitude" to one that is better in contributing to the society. Thanks to our teachers, you are able to enjoy a video and some photos shown in this blog.

OPEN LITTLE EYES SYMPOSIUM

“The first time I went into battle I was afraid. But after two or three days they forced us to start using cocaine, and then I lost my fear. When I was taking drugs, I never felt bad on the front. Human blood was the first thing I would have every morning. It was my coffee in the morning… every morning.”
-Ibrahim, 16, Lord’s Resistance Army
Those are the true words of a child soldier fighting in the Lord’s Resistance Army in Sierra Leone and Uganda in Africa. These children are just a small group of children exploited to do dangerous or overly laborious work all around the world, especially in third-world countries such as Africa or India. The other biggest areas classified under ‘Children’ that the United Nations Association (UN) are trying to improve are lack of healthcare, lack of welfare, child labour, child trafficking, poverty and of course the above-mentioned child soldiers.
Modern children living here in Singapore do not understand nor experience the pain and torment children in third- world countries feel, and therefore, the UNAS (United Nations Association of Singapore has organised a number of events and activities for upper-primary children here, mainly using SCGS (Singapore Chinese Girl’s School) as a base. The most recent activity is the SCGS Model United Nations Conference, but before that was the “Open little Eyes” symposium organised within SCGS. Global International Indian School (GIIS), SCGS, Nanyang Primary School (NYPS), CHIJ Kellock were among the schools that attended the symposium.
The symposium comprised of four sessions on every Saturday from February 7th to February 28th. Its aim was to empower the pupils by creating significant learning experiences through problem solving and empathy (developing communication skills) to the sufferings, hardships and differences among the children around the world. It also enabled the students to be more aware of and care about the world to a greater degree than they did before the workshop, or in a different way (enhancing the right values in life and preparing the pupils to impact the world). Students learn campaigning skills (speech, art, poetry, short stories and music), and between their school groups they presented their prepared presentations to the other schools.
The event will also provide the participating primary schools with synergistic benefits to learn from one another's National Education programme and benchmark best practices. Mr Alexander Charles Louis, Secretary General, Chairperson Humanitarian Affairs, UNAS, was also present as Guest-of honour.

Review done by Teo Weilong 6K

Asia Pacific Children's Convention

Hosting of Japanese Pupils

Twelve Japanese pupils and their chaperons were in Singapore from 26 to 30 March as part of the Asia Pacific Children’s Convention (APCC) project 2009. These twelve pupils were then hosted by pupils from six GEP centres. Two of our P6 GEP pupils, Joshua Lim Kat Shyard and Grace Tern Jia Wen of 6M, hosted Taiki Takahashi (boy) and Misaki Iwano (girl) respectively at their homes. Joshua was involved in last year’s project. This year, it was his turn (and Grace's) to host the Japanese pupils.
On the five days they were here, the Japanese pupils stayed with the host families and attended lessons at 6M for two school days. Trips like visits to various local tourist attractions were also carried out by the organisers while host families took their guests out for a whole Sunday on 29 Mar. Our guests enjoyed their stay in Singapore.

Individualised Research Study (IRS)

Children are naturally curious about the things around them. Some like to break things apart to explore what is inside while some like to wonder how things will be different if one aspect has been changed or altered and there are others who find thrills in arriving at solutions to their problems they posed. The interests and sense of curiosity of our pupils have sparked them to work on studies such as coming up with various solutions to a problem or in-depth study or investigating a topic. Many of them work on topics of their interest and subsequently these grew into projects that could add value to the knowledge community. Many of the GEP pupils who won prestigious international project competitions began working on these projects or related ones as their Individualised Research Study (IRS). Hence IRS is a platform for talent development.The Individualised Research Study (IRS) is a curriculum that aims to ignite Gifted Education Programme (GEP) pupils’ enthusiasm and passion about things around them. In Primary 4, GEP pupils are taught basic research skills that train them to strive for accuracy, precision and clarity in thinking. In Primary 5, GEP pupils who choose to complete a self-selected research project will have the opportunity to apply what they have learnt in Primary 4. When completing the self-selected project of their interest, pupils learn to pose questions about their topic of interest and to determine the kinds of information or data that they need to gather to find answers to the questions they pose. Pupils learn the importance of gathering relevant and valid information and data through a variety of sources and reliable methods that will address their questions. Pupils also learn how to analyse and draw conclusions from the information and data gathered.

Staff Games 2009

Luncheon

P4 Level Teachers

Ms Loo Poh Keng

Ms Euodia Tay
Ms Ho Siew Hoon
Ms Chong Shing Yu
Ms Mok Sze Hui
Mr Raymond Weng
Ms Yap Kwee San
Ms Cindy Guo
Ms Zhang Jing
Mr Kelvin Tan

P5 Level Teachers
Ms Tan Ley Hoon
Ms Cynthia Chan
Ms Jaclyn Zeng
Ms Sylvia Tay

P6 Level Teachers
Ms Sharon Nathan
Ms Mok Pei Terk
Ms Serene Yeo
Ms Cheng May Ling
Ms Chua Hock Yen

Chinese Intermingling

Two High Ability classes and four GEP classes with a total of 186 pupils form the GEP CL Intermingling programme. Each intermingling class has about 32 pupils. There are a total of 6 intermingling classes.

The teaching pedagogies used in the intermingling CL classes is different from that of the mainstream classes. They follow the GEP pedagogies. GEP pupils are also taking part in the relevant mainstream activities that have been designed for P4 pupils.

Since the main objective of the Intermingling Programme is to build a communication and interaction platform for the gifted and mainstream pupils and to create opportunities for them to learn from one another, intermingling opportunities are also available during their co-curricular activities and level common activities like the camp etc. CCA activities also provide many opportunities for pupils to make friends, to solve problems together and enhance their relationship.

Chinese Language Learning

This year, there is a total of 8 teachers teaching Chinese language in the GE programme in the school. We have a different teaching focus for each of the three levels. For P4, our main focus is to motivate pupils’ learning in Chinese, as well as promoting intermingling amongst GE and mainstream pupils. For P5, we aim to sustain pupils’ interest in learning as well as building their foundation for PSLE since P6 is a crucial year as they are taking their PSLE,our main focus is to prepare them well for the PSLE.

Below is list of programmes specially organized for our GE pupils.

P4 teachers-in charge : Miss Yap Kwee San, Miss Chong Shing Yee, Miss Zhang Jing
1.P4 Language Camp to be held in Catholic High School on 19 March 2009
2.Tea Art Camp

P5 teachers-in charge: Mdm Tan Ley Hoon, Mdm Tay Wan Cheng, Mrs Tan-Chow Ying Fong*
1.Chinese Speech Training held every Tuesday and Wednesday 6.45am - 7.30am
2.P5 Cultural activity drama watching at Victoria Theatre on 7 March 2009
3.P5 Language Camp to be held in Nanhua Pri School on 18 March 2009

P6 teachers-in charge: Miss Chua Hock Yen, Mdm Ng Bee Lian, Mrs Tan-Chow Ying Fong*
1.P6 Cultural activity drama watching at Victoria Theatre on 7 March 2009

* At the beginning of the year, we identified pupils who are weaker in Chinese to do parallel teaching by Mrs Tan-Chow Ying Fong.

Social Studies Curriculum

The GEP Social Studies curriculum extends beyond the mainstream syllabus in depth and breadth. It makes interdisciplinary connections right from the start with the Primary 4 Family Tree Project and progressively caters more to individual needs and interests by allowing the pupils to choose the topics for their portfolio projects. This also helps to hone their decision-making skills. The curriculum does not focus only on the study of History but also Geography, Political Science, Economics and Sociology. The pupils are also encouraged to investigate real-life problems such as climate change and pollution. There are also opportunities for experiential learning through fieldtrips to heritage places such as Kampong Glam, Chinatown and Little India, understanding the different cultures better.

Science

The GEP Science programme starts in Primary 4 and is a three-year programme. It has a curriculum filled with creative and dynamic process of learning, investigating and interpreting observations of the natural and physical world. The enriched curriculum emphasises a hands-on, inquiry-based approach that is problem-centered and focused on the fundamental concepts of science. By being exposed to the processes of problem-solving, exploration and guided discovery, it is hoped that our pupils will develop the innovative skills and intellectual curiosity that will stimulate them to evaluate, challenge and create knowledge.

The aims of the enriched curriculum are aligned with those of the mainstream syllabus but are differentiated to reflect the needs and the ability of the Gifted. The differentiated objectives involve enriched breadth and greater depth of content. It aims to provide a firm foundation of scientific concepts and thinking skills to develop the scientific talents of gifted learners. The GEP course aims to:

provide experiences to develop pupils’ aptitude for science, to help them acquire skills, processes and attitudes for self-directed life-long learning;
provide opportunities for pupils to acquire in-depth understanding of scientific concepts, skills and processes, and apply them to everyday experiences;
nurture pupils’ ability to reason and communicate understanding of scientific concepts and principles, and develop skills for conducting independent scientific investigations and projects;
nurture pupils’ critical and creative thinking skills, to enable them to seek solutions to problems relevant to the pupils and to the community
nurture pupils’ appreciation of the use of science to solve technical, environmental and social problems, and cultivate awareness of the ethical and moral implication of scientific advancements, and
provide opportunities to develop qualities for responsible leadership

We provide a learning environment that is highly pupil-centred, stimulating and challenging. Our teachers are trained to create a non-threatening environment, acting as a facilitator by providing appropriate resources, and opportunities for intellectual stimulation. Pupils are also encouraged to problem-find and take risks.

P4L Class Activity

Future Problem Solving(FPS)

Founded by creativity pioneer, Dr. E. Paul Torrance, the Future Problem Solving Program engages students in creative problem solving, stimulates critical and creative thinking skills and encourages students to develop a vision for the future.

In Nanyang Primary School, Future Problem Solving is a year long program where students, working in teams, learn and apply a six-step problem solving process which provides them with the tools to tackle problems which they will meet throughout their life. Throughout the year, students apply the process to consider the challenges and issues contained within complex social and scientific problems to be faced in the future or tackle existing problems in their own communities. The program encourages students to carry out in-depth research, to think creatively and critically, to apply ethical thinking skills and to work as part of a team.  The topics for this year, which are selected by the FPSP committee, are Olympic Games, Cyber Conflict, Space Junk, Counterfeit Economy and Pandemic.

Nanyang Primary School has participated in the program since 2006 and has achieved commendable results, emerging Champions in the Asia-Pacific competitions every year since and our teams have done very well to be invited to the International Conference, held in the USA, every year.

As the words of wisdom from Dr. E. Paul Torrance goes, ‘To dream and to plan, to be curious about the future and to wonder how much it can be influenced by our efforts are important aspects of being human.’ Indeed, through the program, we hope to nurture better thinkers for tomorrow.