2 October 2020 OCTOBER ISSUE -...
Transcript of 2 October 2020 OCTOBER ISSUE -...
2 October 2020
OCTOBER ISSUE PRINCIPAL’S NOTE
Looking At New Ways to Learn and Celebrate!
When we celebrate Children’s Day next week, we will miss the presence
and support of our parents and family members of our Lower Primary
pupils at our Sports Carnival. As with all our school programmes and
events, we have had to find new and creative ways to engage our pupils
and ensure that learning continues.
We started Term 4 with a refreshed take on our Maths Meets Science
(MMS) Week. The pupils were excited to make the biggest bubbles from
their soap (glycerine) solutions, balance marbles on their different ‘sampan’
containers and fly the furthest distance on their handmade hoop gliders.
Some of them were equally thrilled when they saw how a non-saline red
solution was able to “float” over a blue saline solution. What was more
reassuring was to observe pupils’ continued attempts to repeat these mini-
experiments even after their activity session had ended, and even after
school hours! All this took place with safe management measures (SMM) in
place! Covid-19 has not beaten us. It has made us stronger. Much stronger
in fact. We will continue to provide opportunities for our pupils so that
learning takes place beyond textbooks and the classroom.
Our P6 pupils have started their PSLE. Soon, some of the other levels will
also be involved in some form of curriculum checks and reviews. This may
cause some stress for our pupils (as well as for parents). Please be assured
that the purpose of these term checks and year-end reviews is to enable
teachers to better support our pupils in their learning and progress. Like in
a car race, these checks and reviews are pit stops for us to work with our
pupils to take charge of their learning.
This is an unusual year for all of us. Thank you for working with us to ensure
that our pupils will be able to maximise their learning and find joy in their
learning.
Yours sincerely,
Mr Charles Chan
Principal
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
XNPS Events ………….2
Eureka! ……….……….3
Quality Learning
Experiences
Teacher’s Day
Celebration…..….…..4-5
Math Meets Science
Week………..………6-7
Science Buskers
Festival 2020..…………8
Mother Tongue
Fortnite Part 2…………9
Mid-Autumn Festival….10
Resumption of
Face-to-Face CCAs…...11
Meaningful Partnerships
Virtual Mid-Autumn
Festival……………….12
Treats & Tricks ………13
ESTABLISHED 1932
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XNPS Events
Term / Week Day / Date Event / Activity For
Term 4
Week 3 Thursday 1 Oct Mid-Autumn Festival All levels
Term 4
Week 3 - 4
Thursday 1 Oct to
Wednesday 7 Oct
Primary School
Leaving Examination (PSLE) P6
Term 4
Week 4 Thursday 8 Oct
Children’s Day Celebration
Sports Carnival Day All levels
Term 4
Week 4 Friday 9 Oct
Children’s Day
School Holiday All levels
Term 4
Week 5
Monday 12 Oct
to Thursday 15 Oct
End-of-Year Examination
EL and MT Paper 1 & Oral
P3 - P5
Term 4
Week 6
Monday 19 Oct
to Thursday 22 Oct
PSLE Marking Exercise
(Homebased Learning) All levels
Term 4
Week 7
Monday 26 Oct
to Friday 30 Oct
End-of-Year Examination P3 - P5
Upcoming Dates for October 2020
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Eureka! Jack and the Parachute
Here is this month’s challenge. Have fun experimenting!
Oh no! Jack has done it again. He could not resist the magic beans and the giant is once again pursuing
him. The giant, having learnt from past mistakes, has lined the beanstalk with barbed wire. Jack needs
another plan to escape from the giant!
Problem statement: How can I build a parachute for Jack to escape from the giant safely?
Materials:
String (to attach Jack to the parachute)
Lego figurine or any small object (as Jack)
Any possible materials for the parachute
Success Criteria:
Your parachute should hold Jack in the air longer than the control drop.
CONTROL Drop Jack from a designated height with no parachute. Measure the time it
takes for him to hit the ground. Control Drop Time: ____________
IDEATE
Think of ways you can keep Jack in the air longer than the control drop. Brain-
storm materials and shape that would make a good parachute. Sketch your
design and label with the materials that you will use.
PROTOTYPE
and TEST
Create your first prototype and test it out. How long did Jack stay in the air
with the parachute? Did the parachute fall slower than the control?
IMPROVE
and REFLECT
What can you do to make your parachute better? Were the changes effective?
Activity adapted from “2013, More Than a Worksheet”
You can create a bucket tower using straws and a recycled bottle. The
bucket tower shown on the left can hold 11 one-dollar coins while
swinging freely in the air. How many one-dollar coins can your bucket
tower hold?
Sample of September STEM Activity 5: Bucket Tower Challenge
Quality Learning Experiences Teacher’s Day Celebration
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Having the opportunity to plan for Teacher’s
Day Celebration as a Prefect EXCO was
certainly one of the highlights for me this year.
We had to think out of the box due to Safety
Management Measures (SMM). We decided
to set up a Gift Drop-off Room to allow pupils
to drop off their gifts and appreciation tokens
to their subject teachers.
- Vasu Srinithi, P6B
Special Delivery!
Class Monitors were roped in to
dispatch bags filled with gifts or
appreciation tokens to their form teachers.
They were happy when they saw their
teachers’ eyes light up when they
received their bags.
Appreciating the HEROES in Our Hearts!
Some of the pupils from 5E and their Form Teacher, Mrs Yassine, formed the word
“HERO” for one of the class bonding games played during the virtual celebration.
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Xingnan Primary School had the honour of hosting Mr Ang Wei Neng, Member of Parliament (MP) for
West Coast GRC, during our virtual Teachers’ Day Celebration.
Left to right: Mr Lee Sen Choon (SAC Chairman), Mr Charles Chan, Mr Ho Sau Ken, Mr Ang Wei Neng
and Mr Chng Hock Huat (Advisor to Nanyang Grassroots Organisation).
Mr Ang interacting with a pupil during Teachers’ Day Celebration.
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Have you ever wondered why bubbles are spherical or why some things float while others sink? Would
you want to try designing a Hoop Glider? Our pupils put on their creative hats and learnt Math and
Science concepts through a variety of fun activities both at home via the online platform and in school.
Besides learning Math and Science concepts, pupils applied critical thinking skills to objectively think
about a topic or an issue in order to resolve it.
Math Meets Science Week
Hey! A beautifully shaped round bubble formed
from a square wand. How is this possible?
Experimenting with different shapes, sizes
and materials of containers and to find out
which container could carry the most load.
Honing our observation skills and identifying
objects that will either float or sink.
Let's see whose hoop glider can travel the furthest.
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We enjoyed the ‘Some Fun Sampan’ activity so much! It
was cool conducting the experiment to test which material
is the best for floating and carrying
the most load. We found out that
the big container can really hold so
many marbles without sinking!
It had been an exciting Math Meets Science Week. We looked forward to the hands-on
activities. We had tremendous fun learning how bubbles can be formed using different
shaped wands. We were thrilled to discover our own golden ratio for making the biggest
bubble - 2:3:4 (Water:Soap:Glycerin).
1C’s Reflection
Bubble trouble? No trouble at all because this is
lots of fun!
“Oh, for the wonder that bubbles into my soul.”
- D.H. Lawrence
Not a case of ‘too many cooks spoil the
broth’. 1A pupils demonstrated how
team effort paid off.
Hmm… now I understand how big ships float,
do you?
This year, Erik Pasquale from 4A, Phan Thu Linh from 4B and Janice Wong Xin Yi from 4D
represented Xingnan Primary School in the Science Buskers Festival 2020 organised by Singapore
Science Centre. This event aims to promote the learning of Science in an engaging way as well as
the generating of interest in creative Science communications and expressions.
Due to Covid-19, Science Buskers Festival was conducted online. Participants had to submit their
online videos instead of busking together with their peers in front of the judges. Erik, Thu Linh and
Janice came up with ideas for their videos with the help of their parents and teachers before filming
individually at home. All of them put in a lot of effort in conducting their experiments multiple times
and learning to edit their own videos.
Xingnan Primary School is proud to announce that Phan Thu Linh from 4B has won the Judges’ Choice
Award this year! She was also featured in the student publication Thumbs Up section in Lianhe
Zaobao. You can read the article here.
Congratulations, Thu Linh! We would also like to take this opportunity to commend Erik and Janice
for their wonderful effort! Well done, Xingnanians!
Science Buskers Festival 2020
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Thu Linh explaining how soap destroys viruses, in
her Scientist coat, no less!
Erik conducting an experiment at home to
observe how Mentos would react with
Coca-Cola.
Janice lifting an ice cube up with
only a piece of string and some salt!
Thu Linh showing how a glass cup could keep a
bubble intact for a long time!
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Now I know what it feels like to weave a
basket or ketupat.
Mother Tongue Fortnite Part 2
Having fun interacting with their peers? Checked. Immersed in a literacy rich environment?
Checked. We conducted the second instalment of our annual Mother Tongue Fortnight with more
exciting activities carried out in class as well as during recesses.
We killed two birds with one stone as we learnt more about
Mid-Autumn Festival through craftwork.
Did you know that there are 7 universal facial
expressions? These are our favourite ones.
It was certainly challenging writing calligraphy and doing Chinese painting on lanterns
but the results were worth the effort!
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Mid-Autumn Festival The school came alive with activities to celebrate the festival. Pupils of
different ethnicity came together to learn, appreciate and understand the
culture and tradition that is different from their own. Let’s take a look at
some of the highlights of the celebration!
Ms Ros with her handmade
handkerchief jade rabbit.
We can go for a walk while enjoying the beautiful full moon with
these paper lanterns. Perhaps we can learn Chinese language
along the way too?
Who doesn’t love brain teasers and
challenging riddles?
Everyone in school definitely had fun!
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Resumption of Face-to-Face CCAs
In view of the latest guidelines from Ministry Of Education (MOE), we have commenced face-to-face
CCA sessions for some of our CCAs such as the Sports and Performing Arts groups. After 6 months of
online CCA engagements, our pupils were excited to return to physical CCA sessions where they
could experience more social connectedness and opportunities to interact with their peers.
All face-to-face CCA activities are moderated by SMM guidelines. This is to ensure that our pupils’
well-being is taken care of while they are engaged meaningfully during training sessions.
2 versus 2 in a game of Badminton.
Every Volleyball player practises with
her own ball as there is strictly no
sharing of balls during training.
Our Malay dancers dancing within
safe distance from one another.
Our Soccer boys carrying out
individual drills during training.
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The virtual Mid-Autumn Festival celebration organised by Nanyang CC provided our pupils a platform
to showcase their talents. Not only did they sing but they recited poetry as well. They were very
enthusiastic during the recording process and they sang their hearts out. From the words of Cavan from
1C, “My parents would be so proud of me!”
You can watch the performance
(starting from 31:28 min) here.
Virtual Mid-Autumn Festival@Nanyang CC
Meaningful Partnerships
Dawn and Shi Huan were very glad that they were given the
opportunity to take part in the virtual performance.
1C pupils wished everyone a Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!
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Treats & Tricks Treats & Tricks
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