A QUARTERLY PUBLICATION OF THE PAP COMMUNITY FOUNDATION

OCT - DEC 2017

www.pcf.org.sg

parent child connection

Values inCelebration

celebrations

INSIDE!Teachers’ Dayfamily day 2017& more

mothertonguelanguageawards

CONTENTSOctober - December 2017

ONLINE EXCLUSIVEFor more news and photos of our preschools, visit us at

WWW.PCF.ORG.SG

A D V I S O R S

E D I T O R I A L T E A MAnnie Sim, Samuel Ng, Elsie Lim, Jansy Chew, Pamela Wong, Tan Kerng Ngee, Calvin Fong, Jacqueline Wong,

Eileen Leow, Lim Wei Ni. Juraimi Bin Jamal and Lee Wan Ting.

C H I E F E X E C U T I V E O F F I C E R

VICTOR BAY

SENIOR DIRECTOR CORPORATE SERVICES

CHOO AH CHOON

SparkleLink is a quarterly publication by PAP COMMUNITY FOUNDATION, Located at Blk 57B New Upper Changi Road, #01-1402, PCF Building, Singapore 463057All 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.

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OVERSEAS EXCHANGE CELEBRATIONS

MOTHER TONGUELANGUAGE AWARDS p12 LEARNING JOURNEY

p15 SENIOR CARE p17 OFFICIAL OPENING

CEO’S MESSAGE

Mr Victor Bay

Chief Executive Officer

PAP Community Foundation (PCF)

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As the saying goes, “Time waits for no man”, and so we are now in the 4th issue of SparkleLink. As the theme for this issue is ‘Celebrations’, we have manyarticles lined up depicting the types of celebrations that we have organized across PCF. These include Racial Harmony Day, Grandparents’ Day and of course, PCF’s largest annual event, our Family Day.

Our first preschool operating within an integrateddevelopment at Hillion Mall, PCF Sparkletots @Cashew, was officially opened on 12 August amidst an indoor carnival setting much to the delight of all our guests.

On 22 and 25 August, we had volunteers whobefriended our clients from our Sparkle Care Centresas they went on an outing to be up close and personal with the animals at the River Safari.

This year’s PCF Family Day celebration at NationalGallery Singapore on 27 August was another joyous event. Those who attended enjoy the numerousexhibits on display with their families and friends.

Family Day is something that PCF holds close to our hearts. We strongly believe that the family unit plays a vital part in the building of a strong nation. In the midst of pursuing our dreams, as we progress and achieve milestones in our lives, we should never forget the need to connect with our families and the importance of spending quality time with the people who really matter in our life. In this issue, we will be sharing some tips on how to celebrate with children, spending time with our loved ones and sharing each other’s joy.

As we move towards year end, PCF continues to search for talented educators and professionals to join us. We are as good an organization as the people behind us. More details can be found inside the pages.

Exciting times lie ahead, I am confident that weare geared up for the future changes to the preschool sector as we face it as ONE PCF. See you next year!

Compliments of the season!

On the occasion of Teachers’ Day this 31 August, I would like to express our heartfelt thanks to all teachers for their hard work and sacrifices in nurturing our young. Teaching is an extraordinary career and a noble profession. As educators,

you have the power to inspire lifelong learning and a passion for knowledge and innovation among our young. You make the classroom a place where pre-schoolers can dream big and strive for greater heights even from a young age. We

thank you for assuming this great responsibility, and we hope that you will continue to derive fulfilment, pride and joy as

you press on in your journey to impact the lives of our young.

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Seven preschool leaders and two educarers wenton an inspiring learning journey to Seattle in May.Participants bonded and gleaned insights from the Infant and Early Childhood Conference and visitsto the Children’s Museum of Tacoma and BrightHorizons Preschool.

The sharing sessions at the Conference wereenriching for our leaders and educarers. They were challenged to reflect on the issues that they facedand explore strategies that will keep their focus onthe childrens’ learning. They were also remindedof their role in building the minds of children withdignity, respect and care.

The visit to the Children's Museum of Tacoma wasan eye-opener through its innovatively designeddisplays and interactive hands-on experiences thatenable preschoolers to learn through their senses.

The OLEP Washington trip culminated with a visitto the 500-capacity Bright Horizons Preschool that offers infant to pre-K programmes. Though vast,the classrooms and common areas demonstratea seamless curriculum in action message to guidepractices and behaviour, and respect for childrento have fun and meaningful learning experiences.The walls display the children's work and thecurriculum focus is displayed to communicate how children expound on Our World, the overarchingtheme that provides authentic and progressivelearning experiences for infants to pre-K children.

The Overseas Learning Experience Programme (OLEP) allows our leaders and educarers to understand more about teaching strategies used by other preschool

educators around the world so that we can consider some of the best teaching practices for the enhancement of our own preschool learning environment.

OLEP TOWASHINGTON

& BRUNEI

OLEP TOWASHINGTON

(3 - 12 MAY)

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In July 2017, eight teachers had theopportunity to visit two schools in Brunei,where they observed how the MalayLanguage is being taught at the preschoollevel.

At Seri Mulia Sarjana Preschool, this privateinternational preschool employs theInternational Early Years curriculum, whichhas been specially designed in the UnitedKingdom. Through this curriculum, childrenprogressively learn to develop knowledge,skills and behaviours that will mould them intoglobal citizens. Children learn through playand real life experiences, where lessons areintegrated into six learning areas comprisingnumeracy, language, literacy, life-long andself-help skills, physical, understanding theworld and social studies. The curriculumencourages collaborative learning, activelearning, role play and peer learning.

At Sekolah Rendah Kapok Muara, which ismanaged by Brunei’s Ministry of Education,the curriculum aims to equip the childrenwith strong foundations for lifelong learning,and nurture them to stimulate their curiosityand develop their sense of confidence. Thefocus of the Malay curriculum is to enable thechildren to read fluently with understandingusing the ‘Bacalah Anakku’ phonics programmeby the end of their kindergarten year.

A key takeaway from the Brunei trip was howthe children were assessed in both schools.Each child has an ownership portfolio, wherechildren take an active role in the assessmentof their own learning as well as setting the nextsteps of improvement and self-development.

Teachers also develop an online assessmenttracking tool via a progress chart. This keepspaperwork to a minimum and ensuresassessments are accurate, as well as allowsprogression to be tracked over time. Theassessments can be analysed to makeimprovements in learning, which then can bereported to parents, caregivers and guardians.

OLEP TOBRUNEI(2 - 7 JULY)

Written by Christine Soo (OLEP to Washington)& Mohd Khairunan Bin Ali (OLEP to Brunei)

Celebrating

Dragon BoatFestival

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TEACHERS’ DAYCELEBRATION

On the occasion of Teachers’ Day, a series of celebrations were held across PCF Sparkletots to appreciate and acknowledge teachers for their sacrifices and commitment to the extraordinary role which they playin nurturing children. Here are highlights from some of them:

PCF Tanjong Pagar-Tiong Bahru at Blk 1E organized an outdoor race for the teachers and children aroundpinnacle @ Duxton, inspired by the popular Korean variety show, ‘Running Man’. The parents played thepart of game facilitators and group leaders. The preschool had also secretly collected appreciation notes from parents, which were displayed in the Music Room as a surprise for all the teachers.

The staff of PCF Sparkletots @ Limbang were joined by Minister Lawrence Wong in a delightful partyfeaturing flowers and games. Mr Wong thanked the teachers and staff for “taking care of our childrenand giving them a good start in life”. Our passionate teachers and staff, you have done a great job, let uscontinue to work hard together!

Staff of PCF Sparkletots @ Yew Tee enjoyed a boisterous evening of hearty food and company with Advisor Mr Alex Yam gracing the event to thank all teachers for their dedication and service. Mr Yam also presented 30 Years Long Service Awards to two very devoted staff.

PCF Sparkletots @ Chong Pang and PCF Sparkletots @ Nee Soon South came together to celebrateTeachers’ Day with a series of fun games and activities, including one called “Shake it Off” where teachers were required to shake their bodies while trying to remove post-it notes pasted on them, to hilariousoutcome. Winners were those who were the first to shake off all the notes.

PCF Sparkletots @ Limbang with Minister Lawrence Wong

PCF Sparkletots @ Yew Tee with Advisor Mr Alex YamTeachers playing “Shake it Off” game

Bollywood meets Hollywood theme celebrations PCF Child showinggratitude towards teacher

Celebrating

Dragon BoatFestival

A Dragon Boat Festival celebration was held forthe children at PCF Sparkletots @ Woodlands Blk801 on 26 May to encourage appreciation of thedifferent cultural events in Singapore and to create opportunities for our children to celebrate themtogether.

The highlight of the Dragon Boat Festival inSingapore is the annual Dragon Boat Race.The festive atmosphere is heightened by theparticipants’ furious pulling of the oars to thebeat of the drums, while the spectators cheerfor their favourite teams.

This year, the preschool organised a friendlydragon boat race among the children. Thechildren had to first construct and decoratetheir own team’s dragon boats using a widerange of recycled materials.

As the children worked together to assembletheir dream boats by cutting, painting and fixingup the different components, they learnt aboutthe importance of teamwork in achieving theirgoal, which was to have a completed boatin time for the race.

The celebration culminated with a dragon boatrace within the preschool where the boats werepropelled by the childrens’ legs instead of oars.Every child gave their best and completed the racewith much cheer and joy, regardless of whethertheir team won the race or not. It was a memorable Dragon Boat Festival for all!

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Group photo of Sparkletots children after celebration

Sparkletots children racing with self-designeddragon boats

PCF Sparkletots @ Limbang with Minister Lawrence Wong

Written by Wong Peng PengPCF Sparkletots @ Woodlands Blk 801

A centralised celebration was held at Chong PangCommunity Club for all PCF Sparkletots preschoolsin Chong Pang Branch.

The Parents Support Group (PSG) participatedactively in the planning and preparation for theevent with parents and teachers meeting on aregular basis to discuss the programmes andactivities and to help prepare the materialsnecessary for the actual day. They also cametogether on the eve of the event to help setup the activity booths and prepare for the big day.

The event kicked off to a great start with a culturalperformance put up by the children, teachers and PSG. At each activity booth, which was tended by teachers and PSG members, the children andparents were introduced to traditional costumesand musical instruments which were unique toeach race in Singapore.

Parents and children sampled the variety of foodfrom the different cultures, including PeranakanKueh Pie Tee, Chinese Tang Yuan and evenself-made dumpling and Muruku at the hands-on booths.

The children and their parents also played gamesand learnt dances unique to each culture inSingapore and created decorative crafts like the ‘Bunga Manggar’ and designing their own Indianoil lamps.

-Written by Melissa Tan Wan Ping PCF Sparkletots @ Chong Pang Blk 107

Children from PCF Sparkletots @ Teck Ghee Block310A (CC) celebrated the occasion with a rangeof cross cultural activities with their teachers andfriends.

Teachers organised exciting activities such as, demonstrating Chinese calligraphy, playingtraditional Malay games, tasting Indian festive food and playing of Eurasian musical instruments. The 1964 community riots were revisited througha storytelling session, where the importance ofvaluing and respecting each other’s culturesand traditions for peace and harmony wasemphasised. Children were dressed in their ethnic costumes, and teachers took the opportunity to introduce the Cheongsam, the Baju Kurung and the Saree, worn by the different races.

Besides indulging in a variety of delicious localethnic goodies, the teachers and children dancedto a variety of musical tunes, representative ofeach ethnic group.

- Written by Toh Wee Ray ValeryPCF Sparkletots @ Teck Ghee Blk 310A

PCF SPARKLETOTS @ CHONG PANG BLK 107PSG PARENTS AT WORK

RACIAL HARMONY DAYPCF SPARKLETOTS @ CHONG PANG

PARENTS VISITING A BOOTH

Racial Harmony Day is celebrated annually on 21July to reflect and celebrate Singapore’s success as a racially harmonious society built on a rich diversity of culture and heritage. It has always been a key event at PCF Sparkletots preschools island-wide.

Grandparents' Day

Teacher Nurul read a story to the children and explained why theyshould be thankful to their grandparents, as most grandparents werethe childrens’ main caregivers while their parents were away at work. Teacher Nurul also shared with the children on what they would needto do should their grandparents fall ill.

The children were encouraged to share how they could care for their grandparents, and they participated eagerly and spontaneously in thediscussions as the topic on grandparents was something close to their hearts. Towards the end of the event, the grandparents were invite toshare stories on some of their happiest moments in life. It was very heart-warming for all the teachers and children to listen to the stories.The celebration ended with the children giving hugs to their grandparents to show them their love and appreciation.

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On 5 May 2017, PCF Sparkletots @ Marsiling Blk 302 (KN) celebrated Grandparents’ Day in school. The children’s grandparents were invited to the preschool to participate in the classroom activities on this special day. This was held in conjunction with the preschool’s learning theme for the children, ‘My Neighbourhood’, where the children learnt about the different aspects and unique places in their neighbourhood from the community helpers and the shopkeepers. The children also learnt about different roles which are played by different people in their community and the nature and importance of the work that they do.

Written by Siti Rohaini Bte Ishak (PCF Sparkletots @ Marsiling Blk 302)

Family participation is essentialto bring out the essence of each

celebration through the preparing and sharing of food, stories, costumes,

music, songs, dances, art and craft and more. Numerous activities can be built around such celebrations to engage children in learning, teasing out their

curiosity and enthusiasm.

Values embedded in festivestories enhance children’s cognitive

awareness of right and wrong,as they engage in re-telling and

re-enacting the stories.

When families contribute resources and food items for the programme, they demonstrate and role-model love and generosity in bringing

happiness to those of other cultures through the celebrations.

When celebrations are extendedto the less fortunate, such as

through visiting day care centersfor the elderly and orphanages,

children can learn about giving and voluntary community service and

become aware of their own fortunate state and learn contentment and

gratitude towards their own family.

A FAMILY FOCUS

VALUES ENRICH LEARNING

SPREAD HAPPINESS LEARN CHARITY

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Countries throughout the world celebrate religious festivals that are nationally orculturally significant to their people. Singapore, with our unique multiracial andmulticultural society, leverages on such celebrations to inculcate in our people

respect, tolerance and understanding of diverse beliefs, faiths and their practices,to create a more integrated and cohesive society.

Celebrations bring people together, creating a sense of belonging and community. Such experiences acknowledge and affirm the beliefs and values held and shared by

each family, enabling children to learn and grow with them.

Care is exercised in selecting the types of festivals to be celebrated to ensuredevelopmental and cultural appropriateness for the children. Educators elicit ideas from parents and children to acknowledge and honour every group represented in

the classroom, according the same level of recognition for all faiths and races.

Written by Jansy Chew Yuen Yang

At the 6th Mother Tongue Languages Symposiumheld on Saturday, 19 August 2017 at Suntec SingaporeConvention and Exhibition Centre, seven pre-school teachers received the Outstanding award and anothersix pre-school teachers received the Merit award in the Outstanding Pre-school Mother Tongue LanguageTeacher Award.

The 13 award recipients were selected from a total of96 nominations by a panel of 10 experienced pre-school educators and academics, who conducted on-sitelesson observations and interviews with the teachers.

We are very happy to announce that out of these 13award recipients, seven of them are from PCF!

Our heartiest congratulations to our four teacherswho won the Outstanding award, Mdm Pang Nuan Kee, Mdm Norhaizahwati Binte Mohd Said, Mdm Rozanah Rabunam and Miss Juliana Jaysree D/O Peter andto our three teachers, Mdm Zheng Jin Zhu, Mdm Tan Chiew Hoon and Mdm Salina Binte Mohd Saleh whowon the Merit award.

The Outstanding Pre-School Mother TongueLanguage Teacher Award is jointly organised by theCommittee to Promote Chinese Language Learning,the Malay Language Learning and PromotionCommittee and the Tamil Language Learning andPromotion Committee, and is supported by the LeeKuan Yew Fund for Bilingualism.

The Award aims to encourage more Mother TongueLanguage (MTL) teachers to inspire young childrento learn and use their MTL. The Award pays tributeto pre-school MTL teachers for their passion inmaking MTL learning interesting and for their uniqueability to kindle a love for MTL in pre-school children.Outstanding teachers who have demonstratedpassion, innovation and dedication in teaching MTLwill be role models for their peers and spur them on.

PCF Mother Tongue Language Teachers win big at the 6th Mother

Tongue Languages Symposium

PCF Mother Tongue Language Teachers win big at the 6th Mother

Tongue Languages Symposium

The 13 award recipients with Guest of Honour Mr Ng Chee Meng (centre), and the respective Advisors for the Mother Tongue Languages Learning and Promotion Committees, (from left) Mr Vikram Nair, Ms Low Yen Ling and Associate Professor Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim. (Photo: Ministry of Education)

Mother TongueLanguage

Name Position in photo

Outstanding AwardChinese

Malay

Tamil

Pang Nuan Kee 3rd from left

Norhaizahwati Binte Mohd Said

Rozanah Rabunam

Juliana Jaysree D/O Peter

4th from left

1st from left

6th from left

Merit Award

Chinese

Malay

Zheng Jin Zhu

Tan Chiew Hoon

Salina Binte Mohd Saleh

4th from right

3rd from right

5th from right

Family participation is essentialto bring out the essence of each

celebration through the preparing and sharing of food, stories, costumes,

music, songs, dances, art and craft and more. Numerous activities can be built around such celebrations to engage children in learning, teasing out their

curiosity and enthusiasm.

Values embedded in festivestories enhance children’s cognitive

awareness of right and wrong,as they engage in re-telling and

re-enacting the stories.

When families contribute resources and food items for the programme, they demonstrate and role-model love and generosity in bringing

happiness to those of other cultures through the celebrations.

When celebrations are extendedto the less fortunate, such as

through visiting day care centersfor the elderly and orphanages,

children can learn about giving and voluntary community service and

become aware of their own fortunate state and learn contentment and

gratitude towards their own family.

A FAMILY FOCUS

VALUES ENRICH LEARNING

SPREAD HAPPINESS LEARN CHARITY

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SINGAPORE’SLITTLETREASURESSingapore’s Little Treasures is an initiative by National Heritage Board (NHB) & Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA)to inculcate heritage learning in pre-school children. This is a bid to expose the little ones to Singapore’s multi-racial diversity.It is a project to foster nationhood anddevelop an awareness for the diversecultural heritage of Singapore.

Through the project, children from PCFSparkletots @ Buona Vista Blk 4 learntabout the Singapore Story throughexhibitions to connect the past, presentand future generations of Singapore byvisiting different museums such as theMalay Heritage Centre, Indian HeritageCentre and Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall.

When the Singapore’s Little Treasuresbox was first introduced to the children, they shared about what they thoughtthey could find in the old luggage.

They were also told to compare thedifferences between the old luggageplaced before them and the modernones that they now use for travelling.When the old luggage was finally openedup, the children picked out the itemsfrom within. They comprised an ink pad,a family photograph, a hat and a pocket watch.

The old graduation photograph sparkeda discussion among the children on theimportance of photographs. The children shared that photographs enable us to keep pictorial memories. Parents werealso invited to participate in the learning experience by taking the children down memory lane, back to their old schooldays by sharing their stories with their children through a scrapbook makingactivity. The children learnt more about what their parents did in school, their favourite food and what their parents looked like when they were in school.Written by Alice Ong Bee HongPCF Sparkletots @ Buona Vista Blk 4

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This innovative project by PCF Sparkletots@ Geylang Serai Blk 412 was triggered by thechildrens’s curiosity about the dragon danceduring Chinese New Year celebrations and ledto the development of a learning experiencefor the children on the significance of dragonsin both Eastern and Western cultures. Builtupon creative arts, culture, care for theenvironment and community involvement,this child-initiated project was enhanced byactive participation by their parents.

Over the course of the project, the teachersshared stories about dragons through slideshows featuring pictures of dragons fromEastern and Western cultures as well as age appropriate video clips on dragons.Using recyclable materials found at home,parents and children created two and threedimensional dragons. The use of recyclablematerials encouraged the children to exercisetheir aesthetic and creative expressions.

Parents also worked with their children todocument their dragon-making process bycompiling photographs, write-ups, charts,booklets and posters. All the art pieces wereshowcased at an exhibition curated by theteachers at the preschool.

During the project, the teachers consciouslyincorporated the i-Teach principles and worked closely with parents in creating an authenticlearning environment that nurtured independence and confidence in children. The project successfully enhanced the preschool’s values of Respect,Reflectiveness and Responsibility.

Written by PCF Sparkletots @ Geylang Serai Blk 412

PCF Family Day 2017 PCF Family Day 2017

On 8 August, the elderly celebrated the 52nd birthdayof the nation with children from PCF Sparkletots by singing and dancing to the groove of the national day theme songs. The elderly and children also participatedin a pot planting activities together. Such intergenerational

activities have always been a core focus at SparkleCare Senior Care Centres. The team believes that theintergenerational programme empowers the elderly to mentor the young while the pre-schoolers learn to respect

the elderly, appreciate their grandparents at home and become more comfortable around people with disabilities.

My Little Friends

Sparkletots kids and Sparkle Care seniorscelebrating National Day 2017

Sparkle Care’s Caregiver Programme

Caring for a loved one suffering from mental health

problems and dementia can be emotionally andphysically exhausting. It is important for caregiversto be appropriately informed of the underlying issues

and challenges associated with mental health problems

so that the elderly can be better understood and cared

for. To this end, both Sparkle Care @ Changi Simei and

Sparkle Care @ Yew Tee have instituted a caregiver

training programme to provide caregiver the necessary

knowledge and support to look after their loved ones.

UnderstandingMental Health & Dementia

On 22 and 25 August 2017, 43 seniors from Sparkle Care @ Changi Simei visted River Safari and ‘met’ the gentle pandas Kai Kai and Jia Jia. The elderly ‘indulged’ themselves in the breezy greenery and beauty of nature. Many seniors have been asking: “Where shall we explore next?”

Visit to River Safari

Senior Care Elderly visiting River Safari

SENIOR CARE

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@ National Gallery Singapore@ National Gallery SingaporeWritten by Tan Wan Yan Melody

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PCF Family Day 2017 PCF Family Day 2017@ National Gallery Singapore@ National Gallery Singapore

We had four emcees for the day, Valerie Tan and Zulqarnain Bin Zainol Rashid, both teachers from ourcentres, as well as Adolphus Lim and Nur Insyirah Shajahan, who are children from our preschools. Theaudience were treated to wonderful performances about Singapore’s racial and religious harmony, bychildren from our two preschools, Blk 292B Compassvale Street and Blk 254 Bangkit Road.

Our Chief Executive Officer, Mr Victor Bay said, “PCF Family Day is a great opportunity to gather families and friends to come together as a community. We are committed to make a difference in the lives of those around us, whether through welfare programmes or financial support. Through this, we hope to build a strong community spirit which can encourage our children to grow into compassionate and responsible adults. At PCF, we believe that no one is too young to contribute towards building an inclusive society.”

This year more than $500,000 was raised by PAP Members of Parliament and the amount raised willbenefit eight different charities. Through its fundraising efforts and support of charities andorganizations over the years, we have touched the lives of countless beneficiaries and families. We sincerely hope that everyone who joined us had fun.

On 27 August 2017, we celebrated Family Day 2017, PCF’s largest annual event, with about10,000 staff and family from PCF, PCF Sparkletots and PCF Sparkle Care at the NationalGallery Singapore. The theme for this year was “Our Stories, Our Dreams” and 50 of ourPCF Sparkletots children’s selected artworks were on display for all to admire.

Guest-of-Honour, Prime Minister and Secretary General of the People’s Action Party, Mr Lee Hsien Loong was joined by Co-ordinating Minister for National Security and Deputy Prime Minister Mr Teo Chee Hean; Senior Minister of State for Health, PCF Family Day 2017 Organising Committee Chairperson andChairperson of PAP Social and Recreation Committee, Dr Amy Khor; Minister for National Developmentand Second Minister for Finance, and PCF Council Chairman, Mr Lawrence Wong; Minister in the PrimeMinister’s Office and Second Minister for Manpower and Foreign Affairs, and PCF Executive Committee Chairperson, Mrs Josephine Teo, other Ministers and Members of Parliament. They interacted with thefamilies present and went on a guided tour of the Gallery.

TPTP INTERNSHIPSINTERNSHIPS @ PCFSparkletots

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The positive feedback from the interns has been very encouraging to the principals and teachers ofthe preschools to which they were assigned. Following an assessment by the Centre Principals and an evaluation of their internship report, three interns were selected to win the Best Intern Award. Hereis what each of them have shared about their internship experience with PCF Sparkletots.

PCF Sparkletots hosted 28 interns from March to September 2017 as part of the Student Internship Programme (SIP) conducted under Temasek Polytechnic’s Diploma in Early Childhood Studies (ECS). The SIP is a continuous learning experience for aspiring teachers in the third year of their Diploma in ECS and allows them to gain hands-on experience in early childhood education and acquire knowledge and skills from senior teachers in the industry.

Days before I started my internship, I had my doubts over whether I would enjoy the 6-month commitment. However, the teachershave been more than friendly and helpful to facilitate our learning experience. They were approachable whenever we needed help, beit with the children or with our own school assignments and they have made thisexperience a pleasant one.

- Laura NeoPCF Sparkletots @ Punggol East Blk 194 (CC)

I am thankful for this internship as ithas enabled me to gain exposure tochildren of all ages from N1 to K2and I am really happy that I wasable to perform the multiple roles asan actress, a doctor, a mummy, a clown, ateacher and even a friend to the children when the situation called for it.

- Ang Li XianPCF Sparkletots @ Tampines West Blk 942 (CC)

From my internship, I learnt a lot more about efficient teaching strategies for children’s learning and development. For instance, I picked up the different methods of implementing lessons which children consider fun and interesting. I have also discovered the various classroom management strategies from observing the teachers’ lessons.

- Ng Li JuanPCF Sparkletots @ Punggol East Blk 194 (CC)

Written by Wong Li Chia Jacqueline

PCF Sparkletots @ Cashew was officially unveiled on Saturday, 12 August 2017 by Guest-of-Honour, Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Member of Parliament for

Holland-Bukit Timah GRC.

Spread over 21,500 sq ft, the preschool is located at Hillion Mall and it is PCF Sparkletots’first childcare centre in an integrated development. As PCF Sparkletots’ second large

childcare centre, it offers high-quality and accessible full day childcare and infant careservices for up to 287 children, ranging from the age of 2 months to 6 years old. PCF

Sparkletots @ Cashew will deliver the Sparkletots Curriculum with additional emphasison STEAM – Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math.

Like all other PCF Sparkletots preschools, PCF Sparkletots @ Cashew’s learning approachis anchored on the Sparkletots Curriculum, which consists of six learning areas: language

and Literacy, Aesthetic and Creative expression, Discovery of the World, Motor SkillsDevelopment, Numeracy, and Social and Emotional Development. This curriculum is aligned

with the Ministry of Education’s Nurturing Early Learners framework.

Following the launch ceremony, Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan toured the centre and mingledwith the parents, children and staff. Parents also had the opportunity to participate in

various STEAM-based hands on activities with their children in the classrooms in acarnival-like setting.

Official opening ofPCF Sparkletots @ Cashew

“We are glad that they are here, because the facilities and the things that they have are pretty good and pretty new. And my kids really like the place here. Sometimes they even dream of the teachers playing with them, shouting their teacher’s name “Kuo Lao Shi” or

Madam Roshita.” - Mr Iswan, Parent, in an interview with Channel NewsAsia

@ PCFSparkletots

$

WALK-IN INTERVIEWMonday - Friday from 10am to 4pm Except Public Holidays & eve of Public Holidays

Blk 57B New Upper Changi Road #01-1402, Singapore 463057 Email your resume to hr.recruit@pcf.org.sg Call us at 6244 4600

Do you desire to nurture the young?If you are a professional who’s passionate about inspiring and moulding

the young, JOIN US! Be part of the team that finds fulfilment in nurturing

young children and walking beside them, helping them grow and learn!

Positions Available• Centre Principal

• Preschool Teacher

• Infant Educarer

• Cook & CleanerSuccessful applicants will enjoy a competitive salary and Course Sponsorships are available!

Terms and conditions apply$200 cOOK &

cLEANER

$500 PRINCIPAL

aSSISTANT TEACHER$300

preschool TEACHER & INFANT EDUCARER$400