St Andrew’s Secondary School

Sec 1 Parents’ Academic Subjects Talk

17 Jan 2015

Aesthetics & Design Who are We? • The A&D Department offers

- Visual Arts - Design & Technology (D&T) - Food & Consumer Education (FCE) - Music - Applied Learning Programme (ALP)

•These subjects are taught to all Lower Sec students.

• Art, D&T and Music are offered to Upper Sec students as ‘O’

level subjects.

Aesthetics & Design

Sec 1 Sec 2

ALP FCE D&T

Visual Arts

Music

Visual Arts

The visual arts curriculum aims to cultivate an

appreciation of art and design. It also aims to train

every child to become visually literate, discerning

and sensible to images in his daily life.

Special Features of the

Lower Secondary Curriculum

- Digital Art

- Photography

- 3D Graphics & Animation

Visual Arts

The following are the knowledge and skills that your child will acquire:

• Colour Theory

• Elements and Principles of Art

• Tones and blending with pencil and colour pencil

• Acrylic painting and blending

• Basic Photography

• Basic Photo-editing

• Cinema 4D technical skills

Assessment

CA and SA marks are based on:

• Assignments

• Culminating project (for SA)

How can I help my Son in

Visual Arts?

• Your son is able to draw and paint (and

clean up!) independently.

• Art requires effective effort. It is not

based on talent alone!

• Encourage him to show you his art work

and praise him for his effort.

FCE

FCE aims to enrich students’ experience in equipping

themselves with the basic skills for independent living

through the principles of nutrition, food management and

consumer education.

Assessment

CA and SA marks are based on

- Cooking practical assessments

- Class tests (One per semester)

FCE

The following are the knowledge and skills that students will acquire through this subject:

•Preparing healthy meals

•Health and nutrition

•Food safety

•Care and maintenance for household products

How can I help my Son in

FCE?

• When he misses cooking practicals,

remind him to approach his teacher and

arrange for a make-up.

• Allow him to practise for his cooking

practicals at home.

Music

We firmly believe that music is for

all (boys included!) and that

singing is one of the best ways to

experience music.

The repertoire and activities are

adapted especially for the boys’

classroom, taking into

consideration the changing

adolescent male voice and the

need for movement and

excitement within the classroom.

Music

• Boys will learn how to read music through stick notation and relative solmisation.

• The repertoire centres mainly around classical and folk/world music.

• Music is non-examinable.

‘O’ Level Music • Elective for upper Secondary students

• Areas of study – Western Music

History, Asian Music, Music

Composition and Music Performance

• Requirements – Minimum of Grade 4

Practical AND Theory in either

ABRSM, Trinity or its equivalent

• Application deadline – June of

Secondary 2 year

• Interested Sec. 1 students should

enrol in either the Band or the Choir

to give them a head start in terms of

musicianship training

Applied Learning Programme

A hands-on robotics programme that teaches students engineering concepts, problem solving, teamwork and technical applications

• New programme, First batch

• Inter-disciplinary - Science, Mathematics & English

• Underwater Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV)

Design & Technology

D&T trains students to think and act creatively through designing and

making functional products. Students are taught the following skills:

• Sketching and drawing skills

• Practical skills related to working with

plastics, wood and aluminium

• Research skills

• Modelling and mock-up skills

• Concepts and applications of mechanisms, structures and

electronics

• Basic Computer Aided Design

Design & Technology

Assessment

CA and SA marks are largely based on project-based assignments

Science Technology Engineering Mathematics (STEM)

•Scientific inquiry and literacy;

•Reasoning and problem solving;

•Design thinking;

•Computational thinking; and

•Data analysis and the use of technology

•Presentation and marketing

Skills and competencies include:

No formal assessment!

Saints Millennium Race

Dads or Moms are invited to team with your sons to

participate in the Parent-Son Challenge

Date: 2 April (Thurs)

Time: 11 am to 2 pm

LITERATURE IN ENGLISH

Through English Literature, we hope to

inculcate in our boys a respect for the

importance of reading widely and

deeply, and to develop their ability to

appreciate the subtle nuances that

texts carry.

Understanding self and others

As teachers of English Literature, we

believe in acting as role models

displaying a love for the creative play

of language found in literary texts. We

hope to open our students’ eyes to the

value of reading as an experience

that enhances our understanding of

others and ourselves.

Structure

Compulsory subject at the Lower

Secondary level

•Full subject for two years

(throughout the year)

•2 periods a week (1hr 10min)

•Choice as an elective at the Upper

Secondary Level (N and O Level)

What we teach in Sec 1

Semester 1: Poetry

Semester 2: Prose – short stories

*Drama

A. Five Areas of Study in Literature:

1. Plot

Elements of Plot; Conflict;

Relationship between Scenes and

text; Plot and Subplots; Narrative

Structure; and Plot Devices

A. Five Areas of Study in Literature:

2. Character

Roles and Purposes of

Character; Characterisation;

Character Traits; Character

Development; and Relationships

A. Five Areas of Study in Literature:

3. Themes

Central Ideas and Main Concerns

A. Five Areas of Study in Literature:

4. Style

Diction; Sound; Point of View;

Irony; Tone; Form; and Figurative

Language

A. Five Areas of Study in Literature:

5. Setting & Atmosphere

Time; Place; Physical Details;

Situations; and Mood

B. Three Principles of Literature

Teaching and Learning:

1. Personal Engagement

Engage with texts; develop

individual responses to texts;

and share and evaluate different

viewpoints and perspectives

B. Three Principles of Literature

Teaching and Learning:

2. Critical Appreciation

Use of key literary skills to analyse

texts; and develop critical responses

that are substantiated by textual

evidence

B. Three Principles of Literature

Teaching and Learning:

3. Meaningful Connections

Explore connections between literary

texts and students’ own lives or the

rest of the world via texts set and

written in different contexts and from

various parts of the world

What are needed? • Language Skills

- to express ideas and thoughts

• Critical & Analytical Mind

- to appreciate the words on paper, and the

writer’s intent and purpose for writing

Assessment

In secondary 1, we want to expose the boys

to a variety of texts in a fun way so that they

can appreciate the written word

However, we also need to instill the rigour

and discipline of writing literary essays.

Therefore…

There will be a variety of assessment forms

such as:

• Creative individual work

• Group work and performance

• Short answer and question quizzes

• Short essay type questions

HUMANITIES

• Modular system at the Lower Sec

Sec 1 SEM 1 Sec 1 SEM 2 Sec 2 SEM 1 Sec 2 SEM 2

GEOGRAPHY HISTORY HISTORY GEOGRAPHY

• To help your child cope better as he

only needs to focus on ONE new

Humanities subject at a time

• To create an immersive

environment for the Humanities

HUMANITIES

• Modular system at the Lower Sec

Sec 1 SEM 1 Sec 1 SEM 2 Sec 2 SEM 1 Sec 2 SEM 2

GEOGRAPHY HISTORY HISTORY GEOGRAPHY

• Overall score for each subject is

determined by performance at CA

and SA of the respective SEMESTER

HUMANITIES

• Inquiry-based Approach to learning

of the Humanities

– student centered pedagogy via Historical

Inquiry and Geographical Inquiry

– to increase intellectual engagement and

foster deeper understanding

– opportunity to appreciate real-world

application of knowledge and skills

HUMANITIES

• Sec 1 and 2 History of Singapore:

The Making of a Nation-State,

1300 - 1975 – Tracing Singapore’s Origins (pre-1819)

– Life in Colonial Singapore 1819-1942

– Towards Independence, 1942-1965

– Singapore’s First Decade, 1965-1975

HUMANITIES

• Assessment format for Sec 1 and 2

History Assessment Weightage Duration

Continual

Assessment Chapter Task (Activity Book) 10% Outside class time

Class Tests 10% During lesson

Common Test 20% CT1 / CT2

HI (Oral History Project) 20% Outside class time

EXAM (SA)

Fill-in-the-blanks

Short Answer Qn

Source Based Qn

Structured Essay Qn

40% 1H 30M

HUMANITIES

• Geography Secondary 1 Syllabus – Theme I: Tropical Rainforest

– Theme II: Water Supply

– Theme III: Energy Resources

• Geography Secondary 2 Syllabus – Theme IV: Housing

– Theme V: Transport

– Theme VI: Floods

HUMANITIES

• Assessment format for Sec 1 and 2

Geography Assessment Weightage Duration

Continual

Assessment Response to Geog Issue 10% Outside class time

Class Tests 10% During lesson

Common Test 15% CT1 / CT2

Geographical Inquiry 30% Outside class time

EXAM (SA) • Topographic Map Reading

• Structured Qn 35%

1H 30M

HUMANITIES

listen in class as it helps with understanding

and cuts down on revision time

be an involved learner in class: contribute

to class learning by asking questions or

offering insights

HUMANITIES

keep a personal notebook to take notes

and tips given by the teacher

frequently review contents and skills taught

to increase competency in the subjects

HUMANITIES

build information retention by organising

contents into lists, flashcards or diagrams

check improvement and progress by

completing and submitting work on time

challenge himself to excel by getting a

friend to test his knowledge or

asking for harder assignments