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NEW TOWN SECONDARY SCHOOLwww.newtownsec.moe.edu.sg

Harnessing colours creatively to bring life to the canvas

Exploring the functions of a camera Learning to use the digital medium

Learning to play at least one instrument in New Town

ART & AESTHETICS PROGRAMME:

Plugging into Sights and Sounds

From the vantage point of the school’s foyer, a group of Secondary 3 students are looking intently at the school’s display of sculptures

that line the green lawn and sketching them.

In the Music room, a class of Secondary 2 students is getting organised with their percussion instruments and their choral section. They are rehearsing for a class performance.

In the Art room, a Secondary 4 Art student, with a palette and paintbrush at hand, is standing in front of a 1.7m by 1m canvas, contemplating how to harness colours creatively to bring life to the canvas.

True to the artistic spirit of the school since its founding in 1965, Newtowners have learnt to appreciate the different shades of colour

around them. Through participating in creative expressions from art to photography and the new media, our students develop an eye for detail and an appreciation for the rhythms of nature.

At the lower secondary level, our students are exposed to a wide range of musical skills and everyone learns how to play at least one instrument – the guitar. By learning how to read guitar chord tabs and play the instrument with different strumming patterns, they pick up different techniques of harmonising musical sounds. From the guitar, they move on to the percussion instruments, learning to layer music through the rhythms and collaborating in groups to put up a pop band performance.

At the upper secondary level, Newtowners’ opportunity to develop deep artistic talent and experiences was given a boost when our school was selected by MOE to be one of the nine secondary schools to offer the Enhanced Art Programme (EAP).

Through the school’s Applied Learning Programme (Visual Communication), Newtowners enjoy a creative space to develop their talents and passion, as well as engage in creative expression to realise the school’s vision of “Nurturing Talents, Sharing Success”.

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NEW TOWN SECONDARY SCHOOLwww.newtownsec.moe.edu.sg

There is no shortage of leadership opportunities in New Town

Sharing stories on school values and leadership

LEARNING FOR LIFE PROGRAMME (LLP):

Leading with A Heart

Like the human body, Newtowners’ leadership begins with the heart.

Our students start with personal mastery and progress to peer mastery and team mastery.

In lower secondary, our students learn self-mastery and self-discipline. They participate in leadership training with the focus on engaging the heart as the foundation of leadership.

In upper secondary, our students are empowered to lead, plan and implement service learning projects. Demonstrating team mastery, our students decide how they want to contribute to the larger community.

In New Town, there is no shortage of leadership opportunities from appointment holders in the Student Council, CCAs and Class Committees to Peer Support Leaders

(PSLs). Imbued with the mission to support the school’s character education and having developed in personal mastery, our PSLs are trained to be alert to changes in their friends’ behaviours and to recognise common signs of distress. They reach out to their friends in need by exuding a strong stream of positive energy among their peers.

To lead is to have a voice. During the morning assembly, the school comes together to celebrate inspirational stories of leadership. Newtowners take the stage weekly to share their leadership experiences. Our student leaders thus become more confident and compassionate to lead, serve and excel.

Our Green Guardians giving out dengue prevention kits to residentsLearning to prevent mosquitoes from breeding

ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION:

Recycling? How About Upcycling?

What can you do with a used fruit juice Tetra Pak? Turn it into a wallet. What about used cardboard boxes? Try

transforming them into storage boxes for the classrooms.

In New Town, our students go beyond recycling. Newtowners upcycle as there is value in environmental waste. Thinking out of the box, students give waste new life and value.

Since the establishment of environmental Education as one of our school’s signature programmes in 2005, Newtowners who are advocates of the green movement are called our Green Guardians. Aligned with the school’s motto “To Forge A Better Life”, our Green Guardians have been conducting recycling

and upcycling programmes to galvanise the entire school community to improve the school environment.

All our lower secondary students participate in interdisciplinary project work on waste management, from segregating waste materials into various recycling bins to food waste consolidation. Through these activities, we become more aware of the amount of wastage generated in the school.

Newtowners’ quest to promote a cleaner and greener environment goes beyond the school. We reach out to the community, distributing flyers and sharing helpful information on the fight against mosquito breeding and preventing dengue fever.

We have also participated in mass litter-picking campaign by combing blocks of flats in the neighbourhood. Through participation in these projects, we learn the importance of being proactive and taking on shared responsibilities in keeping the environment clean.

New Town’s environmental education efforts have earned the school the Lotus Sustained Achievement Award for seven consecutive years from 2011 to 2017. The school also bagged the Green Schools @ South West – Sustained Achievement Award in 2016 for three consecutive years of Gold Awards from 2013 to 2016. In 2017, we attained the Gold Award again.

To me, encouraging the heart is when a leader focuses on the team’s goals while at the same time caring for the people he or she is working with. It is affirming your peers and finding ways to celebrate their accomplishments. SHANNON CHEW, SEC 4 (2018)

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NEW TOWN SECONDARY SCHOOLwww.newtownsec.moe.edu.sg

A great kayaking experience Together, we overcome our fears

CO-CURRICULAR AND ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES:

Equipped with Life Skills - To be Future-Ready

Are you ready for the uncertainties of tomorrow? Our school provides a wide range of CCAs and enrichment activities

for students to choose from. Through these activities, our students discover their interests and talents while developing values and competencies that will prepare them for a rapidly changing world.

The opportunities to participate in work attachment at the different industries allow our students to get a glimpse of the demands and challenges in the working world and

help to equip them with the skills and values needed for them to be future-ready.

To develop resilience in our students, we organise an Outdoor Adventure & Leadership Camp for all our Secondary 3 students.

One highlight of this camp is kayaking. Standing beside their team mates, with their safety vests properly strapped and holding on to the oars, our students line up along

the beach and conduct their last check on their equipment. It is a maiden experience for most of them.

By braving the water together, overcoming the fear of their kayak capsizing and coordinating movements with their team mates, our students learn the importance of trust and resilience in teamwork and thinking on their slightly wet feet.

Beautifying a garden in the community as part of a service learning project

Conducting activities at a nursing home

COLLABORATION WITH COMMUNITY:

Learning – Real World, Real Time

Want to be a prolific writer? You should join the group of Newtowners heading to the National University of Singapore

across the school gate. We are going to meet up with the University Scholars Programme (USP) students to participate in the thINK! Writing Mentorship Programme – a collaboration between the school and the USP to raise greater awareness of global issues by developing our students’ critical thinking and writing skills.

Prefer to set a record in the Singapore Book of Records in a meaningful way? Join us and show support for the Down Syndrome Association Singapore (DSA) by helping us to form the largest human kite at the Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park.

What about joining the students in our Service Learning projects? Our Secondary 4 students can be heard buzzing in deep discussions as our Service Learning Representatives lead their

classes in discussions on the type of services to provide for their adopted Voluntary Welfare Organisations (VWOs).

These are snapshots of authentic learning in action in the community, as our students go beyond textbooks, notes and classroom. Through an extensive network of partnerships and collaborations with stakeholders, the learning experiences of Newtowners are enhanced.

My boys had a great time rock climbing as part of the Multi-level Activity Week Programme. More importantly, I believe this sport builds character and confidence in a child. The instructors were encouraging yet assertive. My boys found their confidence and climbed all the way to the top. They surprised themselves and me!

MDM JEN LEE, PARENT OF JAEGAN AND JAENAH NG, SEC 3 (2018)

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NEW TOWN SECONDARY SCHOOLwww.newtownsec.moe.edu.sg

SCHOOL HISTORY:

We are As Old As Singapore

The school’s official opening was 1965. By 1975, New Town was the largest secondary school in Singapore with more

than 3540 students. As a result, New Town has produced many prominent alumni. The alumni still contribute actively to their alma mater,

SCHOOL NAME:

Why are we called New Town Secondary?

After the Second World War, the Housing Committee of Singapore proposed to decentralise the population away from

the city to build self-contained residential areas in the suburbs to curb the problem of inadequate housing in Singapore.

The old campus of the school was then situated in Queenstown Estate, which was the first satellite town built in Singapore. That was why the school was named New Town.

Subsequently, when Queenstown Estate matured and there were fewer schoolgoing children, the school moved to its current site at Dover Road in 1998.

ART & AESTHETICS TRADITIONS:

Art is in Our DNA

We have had a strong focus on Art education since our founding in 1965. Starting with Chinese paintings

and sculptures in the earlier years, our students today have the opportunity to experience a variety of media for visual expression. With the implementation of our Applied Learning Programme (ALP) on Visual Communication in 2016, as well as being accorded the Enhanced Art Programme (EAP) in 2017, every Newtowner has the opportunity to learn photography and digital animation. Our Art Gallery was opened in 2018 to provide a platform for Newtowners to showcase their works and learn from one another.

by providing work attachment opportunities and sharing their experiences with the current students.

In 1987, we started our first Pre-University classes with a total of 120 students. These classes ceased in 1991 so that we could focus on providing secondary education for students. Currently, we offer Express and Normal Academic courses for about 1000 students.

Our Founding Prime Minister Mr Lee Kuan Yew visited the school in 1967

Our Art Gallery provides a platform for Newtowners to showcase their works

Our school was relocated to Dover Road in December 1998

Our old campus was located in Queenstown, Singapore’s first satellite town

AT A GLANCEAddress1020 Dover Road, Singapore 139657

Phone Number6775 4140

School Websitewww.newtownsec.moe.edu.sg

School VisionNurturing Talents, Sharing Success

How to get thereNearest MRT StationDover

Bus Services33, 96, 151, 183, 196

Distinctive Programmes Applied Learning Programme: Developing Critical and Inventive Thinkers through Visual Communication

Learning for Life Programme: Developing Confident and Compassionate Student Leaders to Lead, Serve and Excel

Subjects OfferedAdditional Mathematics, Art, Art (Enhanced Art Programme), Biology, Chemistry, Chinese, Design & Technology, English, Food & Nutrition, Geography, Humanities (Social Studies, History), Humanities (Social Studies, Literature in English), Humanities (Social Studies, Geography), Mathematics, Malay, Physics, Science (Biology, Chemistry), Science (Physics, Chemistry), Tamil

CCAsPhysical Sports: Badminton, Basketball, Football, Softball, Table Tennis

Uniformed Groups: Girl Guides, NCC (Land), NPCC, Scouts

Visual and Performing Arts: Art Club, Concert Band, Chinese Contemporary Dance, Ethnic Fusion Dance, Guzheng Ensemble

Clubs and Societies: Library Club, Media & Communications Club