northlander the 48 june 2016 · 2016-07-05 · age group road relay championships 2016 under 10...

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15 Yishun Avenue 4 Singapore 769026 | Tel: 6759 8884 | Fax: 6755 9196 | Email: northland_ [email protected] | Website: www.northlandpri.moe.edu.sgSchool Vision: Firm Foundations, Future Learnings | School Mission: To build a firm foundation in each child, enabling him to grow, serve and excel

issueJune 201648NorthlanderThe

EVERY STUDENT

AN ENGAGED LEARNER

The Northlander | 1

Vice-Principal’s Message

It gives me great pleasure to pen this message for our school newsletter. I am into my third year in Northland Primary School and it is indeed a privilege to be part of this wonderful school culture made up of our lovely Northlanders, our team of devoted staff and our supportive parents and partners. It is with these solid cornerstones that we are confident in taking Northland to a greater height in 2016 and in years to come.

The top strategic thrust in our school is to provide a holistic education and we aim to do it in such a way that every student is an engaged learner in the process. This goal of wanting to engage every learner who comes on our doorstep in deep learning is an essential but challenging aspiration. It is challenging on many grounds and for one, we are competing for these learners’ attention with the multimedia world that they have been so attuned to by the time they are with us. Most of our students if not all, are digital natives who grow up with some gadgets in their hands or on their laps. How do our teachers engage these young minds in this pursuit of holistic education?

To do this, we are focusing on four areas:1. Create Joy in Learning2. Enable Learning with Understanding3. Promote Critical and Inventive Thinking 4. Cultivate Sound Moral and Social Values

Let me elaborate on the first area, Joy in Learning, in this issue of our newsletter. Allow me to use the SCORE model proposed by Richard Strong, Harvey F. Silver and Amy Robinson to frame my discussion.

S – We believe that for students to have joy in learning, they need to have opportunities to demonstrate and improve their sense of themselves as competent and successful individuals. To achieve that, one of the strategies we are deploying is the emphasis on formative assessment tools like making learning intention explicit and the use of hinge point questions to check students’ understanding in the classroom to make their thinking and learning more visible.

C – We believe students enjoy learning when their curiosity is stimulated and their desire for deep understanding is awakened. To achieve that, we have deployed key approaches like problem-based and inquiry-based learning in subject areas like Science and project work.

O – We believe that students want and need work that allows them to express their originality and thus enabling them to discover who they are and who they want to be. One of the ways we encourage self-expression is to connect creative projects to students’ personal ideas and concerns through pedagogical play. For instance, in Learning for Life modules, students are allowed to play by improvisation through music and drama to articulate their personal voice.

R – We believe that students want and need work that will strengthen their relationships with people they care about. To foster peer relations, learning experiences are carefully designed during lessons to provide collaborative opportunities where students learn to be interdependent and build positive interpersonal relationships.

E – It is our hope that deep learning and engagement become common shared experiences for our students and teachers as well.

We invite you, parents, to be our ardent supporters and partners in this exciting journey!

Ms Neo

Student Achievements

2 | The Northlander

Athletics Achievements for 2016Since the beginning of this year, the School Athletics Team has emerged victorious in 3 different Inter-Primary Schools Track and Field competitions at the National level. Our athletes won medals for individual and relay events in the Annual Akira-Swift Track and Field Championship, National level Cross Country Championship and National level Road Relay Championship. Our athletes persevered and exemplified resilience in the face of tough competitions during their races and have brought tremendous glory to our school.

Below are the lists of results that our athletes from Primary 3 to Primary 6 have attained during their competitions.

AKIRA/SWIFT GOH TECK PHUAN MEMORIAL AGE GROUP CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS 2016Under 9 Boys (500m)

Name Class Position

TANG ZHIJIE NICHOLAS 3B 4th

ONG WEI HONG 3F 7th

TAN GIN WEE 3G 8th

Under 9 Girls (500m)

Name Class Position

KOH SHI XUAN BEVLYN 3D 7th

KOH JING XUAN BERNYCE 3C 8th

Under 10 Boys (500m)

Name Class Position

NG RUSSELL 4B Champion

LIM LE BIN JED 4E 6th

IMAN NURASHRAF BIN ISHAIRI 4D 7th


Name Class Position

CHIN SHUEN HUI 4E 2nd

MAK XIN YING KATHLEEN 4E 3rd

RUTH LIAW XIN YUE 4E 4th


Name Class Position

CHLOE GOH JIN XUAN 5E 3rd

CHUNG XING YU 5E 5th

AMANDA CHAN YI NING 5B 6th


Name Class Position

MEGAN CHO JIT 6C Champion

AKIRA/SWIFT TAN SOO LIAT MEMORIAL AGE GROUP ROAD RELAY CHAMPIONSHIPS 2016Under 10 Boys (4 × 500m Relay)

Name Class Position

IMAN NURASHRAF BIN ISHAIRI 4D 4th

ANG JUN SIANG RYAN 4E 4th

TAN WEI FENG, LUCAS 4C 4th

NG RUSSELL 4B 4th

Under 10 Girls (4 × 500m Relay)

Name Class Position

AMELYN NEO SHIN LYN 4E Champion

RUTH LIAW XIN YUE 4E Champion

MAK XIN YING KATHLEEN 4E Champion

CHIN SHUEN HUI 4E Champion

Under 11 Boys (4 × 1000m Relay)

Name Class Position

BRENDON CHOW ZHENG JIE 5C 2nd

LIM YONG QI 5D 2nd

KEVIEN TAN KE JUN 5A 2nd

CHIN YU CHEN 5F 2nd


Name Class Position

CHUNG XING YU 5E Champion

CHONG JIA YAN 5C Champion

NUR IRDINA BINTE ABDUL RANI 5D Champion

CHLOE GOH JIN XUAN 5E Champion

Under 12 Boys (4 × 1000m Relay)

Name Class Position

LIM YI SHENG DYLAN 6B 2nd

WANG YIBO 6A 2nd

DEVESVARAN S/O GANESHAN 6B 2nd

LIM DE YANG 6B 2nd


Name Class Position

JANELLE LEE SI MIN 6C Champion

TAN LING EN, BEATRICE 6D Champion

SWAMINATHAN NAVITRAA 6B Champion

MEGAN CHO JIT 6C Champion


The Northlander | 3

AKIRA/SWIFT 63rd ANNUAL TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS 2016Under 11 Girls (4 × 100m Relay)

Name Class Position

AW PUI KUAN GABRIELLE 5E 3rd

CHONG JIA YAN 5C 3rd

AMANDA CHAN YI NING 5B 3rd

CHLOE GOH JIN XUAN 5E 3rd

Under 11 Girls (High Jump)

Name Class Position

AMANDA CHAN YI NING 5B Champion

Under 11 Boys (100m)

Name Class Position

LIM YONG QI 5D 3rd

The objective of awarding Outstanding All-Rounder Student (OARS) Awards is to recognise outstanding students studying in schools within the North West District. All award winners must exhibit academic excellence, accomplish exemplary achievements in CCA, lead in community service projects and are role models in school. Our three winners are Assistant Head Prefects, Keisha Tew Ying Xuan (6B), Harith Menon (6C) and Head Prefect, Liu Xiaozhen (6F).

Outstanding All Rounder Students (OARS) 2016

12th National Primary Schools Wushu Championship 2016

National Schools Individual Chess Championship 2016

Junior Boys Sword event

Name Class Position

Jayden Sng Jun Ming 4E 2nd

Senior Girls Nanquan event

Name Class Position

Lynette Neo Hwee Chuan 6E 3rd

Two of our Wushu CCA members executed their choreographed routines with such fluid, graceful and powerful movements that they emerged second and third placings in their respective events. On top of adhering to strict and technical guidelines, our Wushu members had to be very focused as they needed to demonstrate an unbroken thread of movements throughout the routines. Our Wushu members’ pursuit for perfect form and unwavering determination during their rigorous specialized trainings have indeed borne fruits.

The championship took place over two days from 21 March to 22 March at the Pasir Ris Sports Hall.

Northland Primary entered 40 players in the various categories.

We won a total of 15 national prizes and 29 zonal prizes.

Our younger players put in a commendable performance. Ong Ziwen, Amelia of Primary 2A and Lim Chen Xin of Primary 2E did well in the Lower Junior Division Girls to achieve Zonal 2nd and 3rd and National 7th and 12th.

We were also presented with the Friends of Chess Award in appreciation of our support to co-host the National Age-Group Chess Championship in 2015.


4 | The Northlander

National Primary Schools Taekwondo Championship 2016

Singapore Mathematical Olympiad For Primary Schools 2016

Having undergone months of specialised trainings, our Taekwondo representative, Zabir emerged second in the National Primary Schools Taekwondo Championship 2016 after sparring in 4 rounds of matches to qualify for the finals.

Junior Boys Kyorugi Red Belt Under 36 kg

Name Class Position

MUHAMMAD ZABIR BIN MUHAMMAD ZULKIFLI

5E 2nd

Name Class Position

Lim Zeen Hunn 6F/D Silver

Swaminathan Navitraa 6B/C Silver

Khu Zi Han Sean 6B/C Bronze

Lee Hong Wei 6F/D Bronze

Zhou Jing Chun 6A/C Bronze

Some of our Primary 6 students participated in the annual Singapore Mathematical Olympiad for Primary Schools (SMOPS) organised by Hwa Chong Institution on 9 April 2016. This is a yearly event that sets out to generate greater interest among students in primary schools and sharpen their problem-solving skills. The following are students who have received an award for this event:

North Area World Scout Day Celebration

National Sports Climbing Championship 2016

On 20 February 2016, our Cub Scouts participated in the World Scout Day Celebration organised by the North Area of Singapore Scout Association. Our cubs were given the challenge of designing their own game booths and also to construct a jungle book character display made out of recyclable materials. For 3 weeks, our cubs worked hard on their designs and their efforts paid off when they clinched a couple of trophies for the various categories. The cubs showed great commitment, hard work and perseverance throughout. This is indeed commendable. Our pack is proud of our work and we would continue to work on the victorious path.

Category Award

Best Cub Scout Display Bronze

Most Creative Game Booth Silver

Most Visited Game Booth Silver

Senior CategoryTop Rope Challenge

Name Class Position

Aide Bin Alfiyan 6E 2nd

Bouldering

Name Class Position

Joey Teo 6E Finalist

Despite the intense competitions posed by representatives from many other schools and the extremely gruelling conditions faced in the quest to climb to the top of the wall with timing recorded, our sports climbers managed to qualify for the finals

of the National Sports Climbing Championship this year. Aide from 6E was the 1st runner-up in the Senior category of the Top Rope Challenge; an amazing feat not withstanding the indomitable spirit manifested while overcoming fear and fatigue during the course of climbing. Well done, Northlanders!


The Northlander | 5

Singapore And Asian Schools Math Olympiad (SASMO) 2016

National Primary Schools Swimming Championship 2016

165 students from Primary 3 to Primary 6 took part in the annual Singapore and Asian Schools Math Olympiad (SASMO) on 6 April 2016. SASMO aims to arouse students’ interest and enthusiasm for mathematical problem solving, develop mathematical intuition, reasoning and logical thinking, as well as creative and critical thinking. Out of the 165 students who participated in this competition, 67 of them received an award.

Name Class Award

Ding Yujie Sunny 3E Gold

Zander Phua 3E Gold

Tan Jiang Wei 3E Gold

Maegan Kho Jing Ting 4E Gold

Dai Zhuoyang 4E Gold

Yang Yichen 4F Gold

Nicole Khor Qiao Wen 4F Gold

Chen Riheng 4F Gold

Ng Zhong Wei 4F Gold

Cheng Chen Xi 4F Gold

Hu Tingli 5A/C Gold

Lee Hongwei 6F/D Gold

Zhang Shu Bin Bryan 3E Silver

Tan Hong Hiok 3E Silver

Lim Zhi Yuan 4E Silver

Tan Keng Yang, Gabriel 4E Silver

Chew Chau Wen Joyce Anna 4E Silver

Mashel Alveena Binte Mohamed Isham 4E Silver

Aaron Ng Hao En 4F Silver

Low Shi En Jolene 4F Silver

Vincent Tse Chun Pan 4F Silver

Dharanipragada Mahima 4F Silver

Tan Keng Peng, Marcus 5A/C Silver

Li Yutong 5A/C Silver

Lim Zi Yu 5B/C Silver

Toh Yan Hui 5C/C Silver

Ang Wah Sian Ashwin 5C/C Silver

Lim Yong Qi 5D/D Silver

Urvee Mishra 5D/D Silver

Tommy Ang Wei Kiat 5D/D Silver

Chan Yun Han 5F/D Silver

Justen Chong 6A/C Silver

Tan Jin En Daniel 6D/D Silver

Hemang Surana 6D/D Silver

Name Class Award

Lim Zeen Hunn 6F/D Silver

Lim Si Hui Chloe 3E Bronze

Lim Ze Xi 3E Bronze

Yang Xinyue 3E Bronze

Rayhan Phua Wee Qiang 3E Bronze

Yeo Jing Yuan 3E Bronze

Lau Xin Ru 3E Bronze

Ng Jia Xin 3F Bronze

Jayden Cai Jiachen 3F Bronze

Lai Tse Kye 3F Bronze

Song Wei Cheng 3F Bronze

Tan Song Jun Renford 3F Bronze

Zheng Haozhe 3F Bronze

Tristan Tang How Mun 3F Bronze

Luo Yiheng Roy 3F Bronze

Lim Wei En 4F Bronze

Tang Seng Jun 4F Bronze

Lim Zhi Qi 4F Bronze

Maathumai Selvakumar 5B/C Bronze

Ngan Meng Yik 5B/C Bronze

Julia Khoo Hui En 5B/C Bronze

Teo Kacey 5C/C Bronze

Jin Xingyu 5E/D Bronze

Suvitha Sabesan 5E/D Bronze

Suneet Rajendraprasad 5E/D Bronze

Yu Kheng Lyn 5F/D Bronze

Zhou Jing Chun 6A/C Bronze

Kuah Gene Qhee 6A/C Bronze

Swaminathan Navitraa 6B/C Bronze

Qu Jiayi 6B/B Bronze

Neo Kuang Yi Jayden 6E/D Bronze

Lim Chen Rei 6E/D Bronze

Ishaan Shashikanth Divekar 6E/D Bronze

Our swimming representative, Lim Ze Xi won fourth place in the National Primary Schools Swimming Championship 2016 in a new swimming event (50m Butterfly and Freestyle).

6 | The Northlander

School events

Chinese New Year@Villa Francis

Lunar New Year CelebrationsWelcoming the Year of the Monkey

Organised by chamPS and with the involvement of 11 Northlanders and their parents, Chinese New Year was well-celebrated for the residents at Villa Francis on 5 February 2016. The students assisted in wheeling the senior residents around, serving them their meals and distributing Chinese New Year goodies. To them, these were no chores as they watched their parents and other parent volunteers do the same. In fact, the students also performed to entertain the seniors.

The event was not just an opportunity for the students to volunteer their services but also to learn to show care and respect for the elderly which was the overall intention of chamPS.

The smiles and cheerful looks from the residents, at the end of the day, were testimony of chamPS’ success. In

On Friday, 5 February 2016, we welcomed and celebrated the year of the Monkey with a concert, a morning bazaar and classroom activities.

This year, the students were pleasantly surprised by their close encounter with the “lions” as the lion dance troupe visited each and every classroom. We are thankful to the chamPS for setting up a variety of games and fun booths for the bazaar. There were activities such as mandarin oranges stacking, paper cutting, zodiac memory games, and even Henna tattoos in Chinese characters.

During the Lunar New Year concert, there were mass singing of the festive songs, an impressive performance from members of the Wushu CCA group and a short

addition, parent volunteers realised that participating in an event like this had led them to bond with their children better. With such positive feedback, chamPS has since been conducting regular visits to the residents of Villa Francis on every first Saturday of the month. chamPS looks forward to having more volunteers to join them.

cross-talk performance by teachers. We also had song renditions by teachers from the Chinese Department and Mr Bill Cheng. The presence of the lion dance performance added to the festive mood in the hall. The concert ended on a high note with Mr Chang Cheng Hwee acting as the God of Fortune.

The teachers and students enjoyed themselves during the Lunar New Year celebrations and look forward to the 2017 celebrations.

6 | The Northlander

The Northlander | 7

school events

Project Work 2016As part of our continuous efforts in developing and equipping our students with 21CC competencies, the school has implemented Project Work. Through Project Work, we hope to stimulate creativity among our students to come up with new and creative ways of solving problems, build confidence in their oral communication and learn to be self-directed and collaborative learners through the various ICT-rich platforms.

Working on the theme “Protection and Preservation” this year, students worked in groups and brainstormed on various issues involving culture, environment and heritage. Students went through a series of JIT lessons where they played team bonding games, learnt different brainstorming tools and also sharpened their oral presentation skills.

The Primary 5 students went through a Mentorship programme in which every group was facilitated by a teacher mentor. They were also given the opportunity to exhibit their projects and to present their ideas to their teachers and peers. It was a fun-filled and meaningful learning day where students learnt and understood from their friends the different cultural practices they wanted to protect and preserve for the future generation.

8 | The Northlander

School events

P4 CCE CampDuring the June holidays, the National Education Committee held its yearly CCE Camp for the Primary 4 students. This year's camp was an exciting two-day residential camp. Several interesting activities were planned to instil CCE values in our P4 students. This camp aims to promote national awareness and foster camaraderie among students of different races.

One of the main highlights of the camp was definitely the very first Amazing Race, where several interesting and educational games were specially designed for students to demonstrate the school and CCE values. Judging from the beaming faces of the students, we are sure that the students enjoyed the games very much!

Another highlight was the Class Cheer Competition, where students, together with their form teachers, came up with their own class cheer. During the camp, the students went on a learning journey to explore the different places of worship in the Yishun neighbourhood. They also learned more about Total Defence from the Yishun Town Secondary School students who had come down to the school to carry out activities such as outdoor cooking, fire extinguishing, crime prevention and administering of first aid with them. Through the career talk, students learnt about different job options, and they got to write and draw what they aspire to be.

In the Clean the Beach Programme, students learnt about the importance of keeping Singapore clean. They went to the East Coast Beach and had a hands-on experience picking up litter along the beach. During meal times, students also had the opportunity to savour foods from different ethnic groups. At the end of the camp, students learnt to make a collage of photographs to create a video of the unforgettable experience they had during the camp.

The two-day camp was indeed an enjoyable and meaningful programme with the experiential learning outside the classroom setting. It was also a wonderful opportunity for students to bond with their friends and teachers.

The Northlander | 9

school events

Health and Fitness FunnanzaThe 4-day Health and Fitness FUNnanza from 8 March to 11 March 2016 in Northland Primary was instrumental in the total mobilisation of our students to participate in health and fitness related activities to inculcate in them the importance of regular exercise and proper nutrition. A range of age-appropriate activities tailored for each level ignited the energetic spark in the students and filled the school with joy and laughter. The visible manifestation of passionate exuberance elevated the electrifying atmosphere when the students moved from one venue to another participating in the various activities. Our enthusiastic staff were also involved in various staff game challenge stations in the quest to gain points for their respective houses. Indeed, the resounding success

Mass Dance

P1 & P2 Jump Jam

I BounceHike in the Park

of the 4-day school-wide Funnanza was not only the loads of fun they had but the motivation to be involved in the health enhancing activities.

Students from Primary 1 to 6 participated in a variety of activities. The Primary 1 and 2 students had a great time in mass dance, cup stacking, Kids Athletics and poster designing. The other levels were engaged in mass dance, rope skipping, skipping competition, hike in the park, Kids Athletics, and ‘I Bounce’ activity.

The highlight of the Health and Fitness FUNnanza was the Sports Day which was held on 10 March 2016. For the first time, we had the Primary 1 and Primary 2 students joining the rest of the levels at the Yishun Stadium to take part in the telematch. We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to the parent volunteers from chamPS who helped us during this 2-day event.

Keep Calm and Play Chess! – Northland Primary Chess Camp 2016During the June holidays, Northland Primary Chess Club organised a two-day Chess Camp on 2nd and 3rd June, for students who were interested in and wanted to learn more about Chess. The camp attracted close to 170 participants with students from Primary 1 to Primary 6 all joining in the fun of playing chess!

The objectives of the camp were to allow students to learn the basic rules and techniques of chess and apply them during the game of chess.

During the camp, participants were grouped according to their level and proficiency. Groups were rotated between theory lessons and chess playing sessions on the two days. The theory lessons were conducted by our experienced chess instructors as well as our very own Northland Chess Master, Mr Chang Cheng Hwee!

Participants were taught the basic rules and techniques of chess such as movement of pieces, capturing of pieces and ending the game by check mate. Participants then attempted to apply their learning during the chess playing sessions where they were paired against opponents of similar playing abilities. These play sessions provided participants with the chance to display their learning and also reinforced important school values such as Integrity and Excellence.

Northland Chess Club also harnessed the strength of technology by having players play their game of chess on tablets and computers. These reduced the time in

between games as players no longer needed to physically rearrange the pieces after the game. For participants playing chess using their individual Chesskid.com, their performances were captured by the system as they played against different opponents. This allowed the player and instructors to analyze their completed games.

Ivan Ooi, a Primary 3 student from Keming Primary, participating in the Chess Camp as a guest, mentioned that it was faster and more convenient to challenge someone to a game of chess using the computer. He also quipped, “It’s so much cooler to play chess in the air-conditioned computer lab!”

Camp participants were tired after the two days of gruelling theory lessons and were even more exhausted by the mental cut-and-thrust of playing high level chess games. However, they all agreed that they had learnt a lot and had improved in their chess proficiency! Northland Chess Club would like to thank teachers, instructors, parent volunteers and alumni student helpers for their help to make this event a success!

10 | The Northlander

School events

Going for Glory with Fun and Sportsmanship28th Annual Sports DayIt was an unforgettable 28th Annual Sports Day with the entire school participating in the biggest sports event of the year as part of our Health and Fitness FUNnanza week for the first time in Northland Primary! With the provision of mass participation involving everyone from the five houses taking part in all four telematch games, widespread exhilaration was visibly evident.

Our Primary 3 to Primary 6 students’ minds and bodies were rejuvenated as they walked with their classmates culminating in much exuberance upon reaching Yishun Stadium. During the opening ceremony, the spirit of Olympism was manifested with the house captains of the five houses exchanging handshakes and reciting

Key messagesAthletes to train well and compete safely

• Winning is not everything; the learning through discipline in training, improvement, teamwork and perseverance during training and competition is far more important

• Uphold the following school’s values at all times:

- Athletes compete to win with honour and to lose with grace

- Supporters to cheer for own team, encourage all competitors, celebrate games well-played and good sportsmanship

the Northland sports pledge to signify the spirit of sportsmanship. The spectators comprising our parents, staff and house members were treated to a marvellous display of our students’ skills, speed, stamina, athletics talents and cohesive team spirit during the course of the day. The students’ eyes were riveted on their house competitors during the inter-house races and telematches. The atmosphere was progressively built up with the intense competition picking up, culminating to the team relays. Loud and energising cheers of the spectators could be heard continuously during the races and prize presentation ceremonies. Our students had enjoyed themselves tremendously as seen in their sparkling wide smiles throughout the adrenaline pumping and action packed atmosphere at the stadium.

Our Sports Day had indeed created an invaluable platform for enhancing character building qualities especially resilience and perseverance which were clearly demonstrated by our house competitors. For most children, the Sports Day experiences would be etched in their memories for a long time with every one eagerly expecting another exciting mega sports event next year.

Cheering for our House Participants

Telematch participants in action

We are so happy!

The Northlander | 11

school events

Prefects’ Investiture 2016The annual Prefects’ Investiture on Monday, 25 January, not only marked the official appointment of the 2016 Prefectorial Board, it also signified the immense exploits and contributions that our student leaders would accomplish in the course of the year. The eye-catching video montage showcasing the milestone programmes and projects by the prefects last year kept everyone glued to the screen with the captivating captions and quotes that illustrated the essence of leadership.

During the investiture, both our principal, Mr Tony Tan and our newly-appointed head prefect, Xiao Zhen, delivered powerful speeches to motivate the newly appointed school prefects to be value-driven leaders rooted in the spirit of excellence, commitment to serve with a purpose. Xiao Zhen exalted all prefects to hold their ground and stand strong in their beliefs and principles with a single-minded determination to serve willingly and exhibit exemplary behaviour befitting a prefect.

Excerpt from the Head Prefect’s speech

‘We begin education as children, but we complete it as adults and no matter what we do, we will still face difficulties, and face them and solve them with your heads held high and hearts wide open. It is just a simple and short delay in your life, but if you submit to it and quit what you do, you are stopped forever.’

The new investiture format which dovetailed the sequences of the investiture seamlessly had also absolutely enhanced the heartening experiences of all present during the ceremony to ensure a memorable sweet after taste.

National School Games Oath-Taking CeremonyThe National School Games (NSG) Oath-Taking ceremony was conducted on 18 February to align with the NSG Opening Ceremony to mark the start of the National School Games for 2016. It was also to celebrate schools sports by highlighting the contributions of different stakeholders (i.e. school leaders, teachers, coaches, officials and student athletes), as well as the roles they play in ensuring a safe and efficient National School Games. Our Sports CCA leaders and coaches recited the athletes’ and coaches’ oaths respectively after the screening of National School Games video clip which featured the lives, feelings and aspirations of student athletes across all the sports that will be contested in the course of the year. The ceremony was meaningful and memorable as it reinforced the importance of exhibiting Sportsmanship by competing with the right values and

the support of other members of the school community while trying to achieve peak performance in all sporting endeavours.



School events

International Friendship Day (IFD)Northland Primary commemorated IFD 2016 on 8 April 2016 with a lot of fun facts, games and more fun, covering the theme ‘ASEAN’.

At the morning assembly, the students were in for a surprise when a team of teachers played the role of representatives from three ASEAN countries, namely Thailand, the Philippines and Bandar Seri Begawan. The students learnt about each country as they watched an interview with the ‘foreign guests’, against a

back-drop resembling that of the Ellen DeGeneres Show.

During recess, Northlanders had opportunities to try out the traditional games such as Sepak Takraw and 5 Stones which are most commonly played by their contemporaries in the ASEAN countries. As a follow-up to the assembly programme, students participated in a quiz. To receive a prize, participants had to take part in a lucky draw. We congratulate the lucky winners!

Emergency Exercise Cum Total Defence Day 2016“Together We Keep Singapore Strong”

15 February 2016, Total Defence Day, was commemorative of the day when Singapore fell into Japanese rule. It was this day that Northland Primary School students had a close encounter with ‘Japanese soldiers’ – one aiming his rifle at a pleading passer-by, another threatening a starving couple picking up grains of rice which he had deliberately spilled and another mercilessly ramming his bicycle at a man who had tried to escape. The women screamed in horror as they were badly traumatised. There were shrieks of laughter from the students at the end of the skit when ‘the Japanese soldiers’ revealed their true identity!

On the morning of the same day, the whole school were involved in an emergency exercise. ‘A fire’ had occurred in 6D and all students had to evacuate from the school building, closely guided by their form teachers. For the first time, the void decks of nearby HDB blocks were the holding areas. This was to simulate the situation of a real fire.

During recess, students learned that at wartime, food their forefathers had were simply steamed tapioca, sweet potato and a little plain porridge to fill their hungry stomachs and these were the same food they had to do with for recess that day. Many did not complain as they understood the rationale behind the exercise.


school events

This year, the Reading Fest was held in Term 2 Week 1. The following activities were conducted:

Assembly TalksThe school invited two of our local writers for our assembly talks. Ms Pauline Loh, who enlightened the students on how she usually plans for her writing and where she draws her inspiration from. Ann Sebastian, author of the Ranger Ann Series conducted a story-telling session with the P1 and P2 students. The illustrator, Eliz Ong who was present during the talk, drew some beautiful pictures with her magical fingers.

Reading Fest 2016‘A Story Is A Doorway’

Storytelling and Book TalkDuring the P3/P4 recess, the students were treated to a storytelling session by Miss Melissa Manuel. We were indeed proud to watch some of our students presenting their book talks with much confidence during the recesses from 22nd to 24th. Our enthusiastic reading ambassadors were busy promoting this event to the students.

Class Reading Activities Students from all other levels were also actively and meaningfully engaged in the various Class Reading Activities. The P4 and P5 students had class presentations on their reading project. The P2 students designed story pamphlets based on the books that they had read while the P1 students worked on book covers of story books.

Storytelling session by Miss Melissa Manuel

Story pamphlets by P2 studentsMs Eliiz Ong, the illustrator

Talk by author Ms Pauline Loh

28th AnniversaryThe school had a simple and meaningful celebration on 15 April to mark its 28th Anniversary. Every student received a muffin at the end of the celebration. Teachers and students posted well wishes on the Messaging Wall via MC online. We have indeed come a long way since the school first started in Yishun. Once again, we would like to wish Northland Primary School a very Happy 28th Birthday.


School events

Sleepover with Dad 2016The Inaugural Sleepover with Dad, an initiative spearheaded by Dads@NPS as part of the Dads for Life movement, kicked off on a cloudy afternoon on 4 June 2016. The weather, however, did not dampen the spirits of the 23 father-child pairs who signed up for the sleepover.

After placing their colourful handprints on a banner, the participants proceeded to the school library – the venue where they would spend the night – for a welcome address by Mr. Ng, the Vice-Principal, before they headed to the basketball court for some icebreaker games.

This was followed by a series of activities designed to forge the bond between the daddies and their children. Everyone gamely participated in the activities even though some of them were pushed a bit out of their comfort zones.

One of the highlights of the first day was the dinner, as it brought back memories of army days for the daddies. Participants were required to cook their own meals using the provided mess tins over a fire that they had to start with traditional match sticks and solid fuels.

Let’s try to untangle this...Steady ...

The Organising Team

All pumped up!

The activities resumed the next morning after breakfast, as participants were asked to set goals for each other based on the discoveries that they had made during the sleepover. Following that, the volunteers from St Hilda's Primary School shared the importance of a dad’s involvement in his child’s life. This quickly evolved into a lively discussion among the participants on the challenges of being an engaged dad.

The sleepover came to a close when the children rejoined their daddies by presenting an artwork specially created with their Polaroid photograph. Mr. Tony Tan, in his closing message, wished all participating daddies a Happy Father’s Day!


school events

P1 Learning Journey to the Singapore Zoological Gardens

The Heritage and Traditional Culture of Chinese

The English and Mother Tongue Departments organised a learning journey to Singapore Zoological Gardens on Monday, 29 February 2016 for all Primary 1 students. The trip provided our students with an opportunity to catch a

The Chinese Mother Tongue Department organised a trip to Chinatown during the Chinese New Year period. The P6 Chinese Mother Tongue students visited the Chinatown Heritage Centre (Yuan Mao Guan) which houses a wealth of memories and untold stories of the past. It tells the stories of the original tenants at 50 Pagoda Street, from the tailor and his apprentices, to the Samsui women and the coolies.

Guided tours to the Thian Hock Keng Temple, Ann Siang Hill, Sago Street, Trengganu Street, Pagoda Street and Temple Street were also included with the tour guide giving explanations on the past and present of Chinatown, cuisine, costume, architecture and religion.

From this trip, our students learned about the resilience of our ancestors besides appreciating what they have now. Students were encouraged to practise collaborative learning by completing tasks in small groups.

This learning journey has certainly given them a pleasant memory of Chinatown and a better understanding of Singapore’s history.

glimpse of exotic wildlife animals up close and to learn about their habits and diets. It is hoped that through this enjoyable experiential learning process, our students would gain new ideas for writing.


School events

Primary One Math@Home Parents Workshop 2016

Cultural Camp Is So Much Fun!

Our annual Math@Home Parents Workshop, designed to give parents an overview of the Mathematics concepts that students are required to apply in problem solving from P1, was held on 29 January 2016. In this workshop, parents were taught how they would be able to make use of things at home and turn them into wonderful tools that they could use to enhance their children’s learning. A total of 99 P1 parents attended this evening workshop. 97.3% of them found the workshop useful while 98.6% of them felt that they would be able to apply what they had learnt at home.

On 14th March 2016, P3 students took part in a half-day Mother Tongue Cultural Camp organized by the Mother Tongue Department.

The objective of the Cultural Camp is to allow students to understand the various cultures of the different races.

During the camp, the students completed activities related to the Chinese, Malay and Indian culture. The activities included the making of Chinese Rod Puppet, Wayang Kulit

Look at our completed rod puppets!

Indian Mask PaintingBusy practising for our Chinese skit

Malay Wayang Kulit skit

(shadow puppets) and Indian Mask Painting. Students gained some background knowledge on the origins of these various activities. After creating their rod puppets and mask paintings, students used them to act out a simple skit.

Even though the students were tired after a long day of activities, they still wore big grins on their faces. They certainly learnt a lot and had an enjoyable day!


school events

Malay Wayang Kulit skit

Science Parents’ Workshop 2016The Science Department conducted a Science workshop for parents of Primary 4 students on Friday, 22 April, 2016 at the PACMRL.

The highlights of the workshop included:• Overview of Science Assessment• Science Teaching & Learning @ Northland Primary

School• Answering techniques for Science questions

There was a good interaction between the speakers and the parents during the workshop. The parents had the opportunity to try the hands-on activities, answering questions on experiments and graphs together with their children.

We received a lot of positive feedback from the parents about the workshop and they hoped that the Science Department would continue to organise such workshop in future.

P6 Chinese Mother Tongue LEAP Oral Workshop for ParentsOn the 11th March 2016, the Chinese Mother Tongue Department conducted a PSLE Chinese Oral workshop for the P6 Parents. The Chinese Department hoped that through the workshop, the parents would learn how to make use of the LEAP resource booklet as well as the skills to help their child practise and prepare for the oral examinations.

Throughout the workshop, there was a good interaction between the speakers and the parents. The parents had the opportunity to watch demonstrations and listen to oral samples done by P6 students attending the workshop. The parents had the opportunity to ask the speakers questions pertaining to Oral examination.

After the workshop, the Chinese Department received a lot of positive feedback from the parents. The parents found the workshop very beneficial and they hoped that the Chinese Department would continue to organise such workshop in future.


School events

Cub Scouts Coastal Hike 27 February 2016

Cub Scouts Leadership Training Camp

The Cub Scouts spent a relaxing Saturday morning taking a coastal hike at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve with other Cub Scouts in the North Area. Fresh air and the sound of the cicadas were a welcome change for our young urban dwellers. On the trail, they conducted a survey on the nature reserve, observing the flora and fauna. We were lucky that day to observe two crocodiles in their natural habitats too! The Cub Scouts had fun learning and at the end of the hike, upon completing their journals, all the Cub Scouts were qualified for the naturalist proficiency badge!

During the March holidays, our Cub Scouts attended a 3-Day-2-Night Leadership Training Camp at North View Primary School. The camp aimed at training exemplary cub scouts so that they can fulfil their appointed sixer or assistant sixer duties ably and confidently once they return to their unit. They also fostered good friendship among cub scouts from different schools. The cubs started the camp with a night hike and on the following day, they had a go at Laser Tag game which was one of the highlights of the camp. They also picked up outdoor skills like knotting, outdoor cooking and pitching a tent. The cubs ended the second night with a fun and exciting camp fire. We hope that through this camp, our cubs have indeed learnt a lot from this valuable experience.


school events

Brownie Enrolment DayAfter one term of preparation and going through the proficiency tests, all 16 tweenies were finally enrolled as Brownies on 14 April 2016. The simple yet solemn enrolment ceremony was witnessed by three invited guests, Mr Tony Tan, the school principal, Mr Ganesan, HOD/PE and Mrs Tham Wan Churn, HOD/EL.

It was indeed a memorable and joyous occasion for the girls who have been looking forward to this day since they joined Brownies.

Cub Scouts@“The Jungle Book” Movie ScreeningOn 15 April 2016, the Northland Cub Scouts went for a movie screening of “The Jungle Book” organised by the North Area. The movie was meaningful as scouting actually had its roots and motivational frame adapted from the story. Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of Scouts, started the Wolf Cubs in 1916. Rudyard Kipling, the author of the Jungle Book, was a friend of his. Powell enjoyed the Jungle Book stories as they were not only fun, but also encouraged an interest in nature and outdoor activities,

which appealed to boys and girls as much then as it does today. It also related the characters strict code of behaviour, loyalty and fair play which are valued in everyday life.

Our scouts were deeply engrossed in the movie and related well to the story of how Mowgli (the main

character in the movie) was accepted into the animal wolf pack even though he was born a human. It is similar to how our cub scouts are being welcomed into the pack and taught the ways of scouting by the teachers and student leaders in the pack!

“For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack.”

Rudyard Kipling, The Jungle Book


School events

Student Leaders’ Initiated Projects – Collaboration with AlumniThis year, our prefects have been involved in many student-leader-initiated projects in close collaboration with our Alumni to foster a close-knit relationship to be more effective and clear in serving the school. Our Alumni has been proactive in assisting as facilitators and mentors in school-wide projects coordinated by the prefects. They guided and supported all the projects’ implementation from the inception to the completion. They were able to enhance the prefects’ learning process. The desired outcome was easily achieved with timely advice at different phases of the projects’ launches too.

The Inaugural Peer Leaders’ Ceremony was organised to commission our newest members in the Prefectorial Board, our Primary 2 peer leaders. The team leaders and prefect mentors were mobilised to coordinate the entire ceremony from rehearsals, administration and preparation to being the masters of ceremony.

The Primary 5 prefects’ team leaders initiated a Friend of Singa (FOS) project entitled ‘’Gracious Thought, A Simple Act, Pass It On’ (GAP) which aimed at making graciousness pervasive throughout the school. They also involved all the stakeholders to achieve the ripple effects of spreading kindness from within school to all our external partners – charitable organizations, environment, class, family and teachers. Our student leaders would be leading this initiative in a 5-month kindness campaign as part of the Singapore Kindness Movement initiative.

The ‘Month Of Giving’ was another initiative by Assistant Head Prefect, Keisha Tiew Ying Xuan, who thought it was meaningful for the school to participate in school-wide community involvement projects. Prior to the Earth Day Carnival, the prefects launched the ‘Month of Giving’ project through a donation drive to collect refill packs of essential items like Milo pack, oats and milk powder to give to our partner elderly homes namely All Saints Home and Villa Francis. To raise funds to fund the birthday celebrations of the elderly in All Saints Home, our teams of prefects worked intensely to set up game booths during the Earth Day Carnival so that our children could have loads of fun while contributing to a good cause. Funds was raised in the same manner for Father’s and Mother’s Day celebrations through the sales of cards and flowers. At the same time, students were also encouraged to appreciate their parents by presenting such simple gifts to them.

Another environmental friendly project, ‘Project Sparkle’ was also initiated to encourage all students to reduce food wastage, clean their classrooms intentionally in the beginning and at the end of the lessons. This is a good way for students to practise the 3 Rs – Reduce, Reuse and Recycle in the school.

Peer Leaders’ Ceremony

Student Leaders taking charge of game booths

Our Prefects and Alumni

Earth Day game booth manned by prefects

Collaboration with Alumni



Our Prefects and Alumni

Aesthetics NEWS

Aesthetic MonthIn April, Northland Primary School welcomed her Aesthetics Month where a variety of Art and Music activities and events were planned and conducted to the theme “A Walk in Their Shoes”.

To kick off the exciting month, Voices and Guitar Competitions saw about 55 participants, from all levels signing up for the auditions and the finals on 8 April. Recess performances with a variety of instrumental recitals were put up by various classes on 6 and 13 April. Not forgetting the teachers in the school, the department planned 3 Teachers’ Jamming sessions where they created a mosaic mirror, let their hair down and danced to the music of Zumba and drummed the Cajon!

This year, all students attended an interactive Art Appreciation assembly programme presented by the Art Outreach where everyone was “walking in the shoes” of some local artists. For the first time, we also had Art and Music Appreciation sessions conducted by Mrs Karen Koo and Mrs Priscilla Tay respectively in PACMRL during recesses where more in-depth knowledge on artists and musicians was shared.

The Aesthetics Month ended with the annual Aesthetics Night Festival on 29 April. A total of 6 Art Booths (artists related), 3 Art Workshops, 1 Music Workshop and 1 Dance Workshop were conducted, and to top it off, Voices, Guitar and Chimes performances were presented in the PACMRL.


Aesthetics NEWS

Singapore Youth FestivalSingapore Youth Festival is a platform for students of different ethnic communities to build friendship, strengthen bonds and hone skills. It is also a platform to nurture talents of our students so that everyone contributes to the total effort.

In Northland Primary School, we aim to build a vibrant Aesthetics community where everyone learns through the arts. Among the ten Aesthetics CCA, we have a total of seven SYF groups which represented our school for the Arts Presentation this year. These seven groups are:1) Chinese Cultural Dance2) Malay Cultural Dance3) Modern (International) Dance4) Choir5) Guitar Ensemble6) Handbell Ensemble7) Strings Ensemble

Of these 7 groups, Modern Dance and Guitar Ensemble are participating in the Arts Presentation for the first time. In addition, Guitar Ensemble is a talent-scouted group where a group of committed and disciplined guitarists from the Primary 5 and 6 guitar curriculum come together to form the ensemble.

We would like to celebrate with all SYF groups their success and toils of sweat with their results tabulated below:

SYF Group Achievement Group led by

Chinese Cultural Dance Certificate of Accomplishment

Mrs Lee-Liu Lai FengMdm Guo GuiqingMdm Pong Huiling

Malay Cultural Dance Certificate of Distinction

Mdm Siti Rosmala RahmatMr Hamdan Alias

Modern Dance Certificate of Commendation

Mdm Nur Suhaila Lydia AbMrs Kim Jong Kai

Choir Certificate of Commendation

Mdm Yap Siok MeiMdm Tay Siew Buay

Guitar Ensemble Certificate of Commendation

Mdm Cindy Heng

Handbell Ensemble Certificate of Accomplishment

Mrs Chong Cheng ChengMdm Zhu YingMs Stephanie Tan

Strings Ensemble Certificate of Commendation

Mrs Priscilla TayMr Bill Cheng


Singapore Youth Festival Arts Presentation Showcase 2016The Arts Presentation Showcase 2016 took place in Woodlands Regional Library Auditorium on 20 May where more than 400 parents and their family watched the different dance and musical pieces put together by the seven Aesthetics CCA groups.

Students who took part in the recent Singapore Youth Festival Arts Presentation trained very hard and prepared

Aesthetics NEWS


themselves well for the judging. They, once again, put up their best performance to wow their parents and family on the day.

With this showcase as the finale, we celebrated the rounding up of Aesthetics Month 2016.


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Editorial Team:Advisors: Mr Tony Tan Choon Kheng, Ms Jes Neo Aik Seo, Mr Ng Kian Woon Chairperson: Mr Bill Cheng Yew San

Members: Mrs Chua-Lau Kia Sang, Mrs Kim Jong Kai, Mrs Lee-Goy Hoon Meng, Miss Tan Kheng Imm, Mrs Tan Lee Joon

Welcome on Board

Fond Farewells

Wedding Bells Bundle of Joy

Mr Darren Yeo Jun JieMT Teacher

Mdm Pong Hui Ling resigned from service

Mr Rajiv Jude IIIesinghe

Admitted to NIE

Miss Phang Si Ling Vivian

MT Teacher

Miss He Huiling, JoyceMT Teacher

Ms Nurul Ain Bte Abdul Aziz

resigned from service

Ms Melissa HiangAdmitted to NIE

Miss Tan Wenxin Katherine

( EL/MA/Music)

Mrs Corinne Ko resigned from service

Ms Melissa ManuelAdmitted to NIE

Mr Ng Chun Fung Admitted to NIE

Congratulations to Miss P Nirija and Mr Vasanthavelan

on 6 March 2016

Congratulations to Mrs Joyce Low on the arrival of her son,

Ian Low Qi Feng on 1 March 2016

northlander the 48 june 2016 · 2016-07-05 · age group road relay championships 2016 under 10...

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