GEM’s Perspectives
Kindergarten Tour Experience
Recently, some P4 prefects had a chance to bring Kindergarten 2 (K2) students from preschools in Jurong East around the school. We were privileged to show them the school to have an experience as a life of a Primary 1 student. I was very happy when I was given this task as I can contribute to the society and help them overcome challenges when entering a new school.
For the visit, I was assigned as a student docent to guide K2 students around our school. Firstly, we gathered at the Tinker Lab, where we were assigned to different groups. We introduced ourselves to the K2 students. Then, we headed to the library where we showed them different genres of books.
Next, we headed to the courtyard, where we told them the importance of the lightning risk alert and that we have to be careful when playing. After that, we went to the bookshop where the K2 students’ jaws dropped at the sight of many interesting items to buy. We told them that they had to be careful of what they bought as we do not want them to waste money.
Finally, we went to the canteen. We settled the kindergarteners down at a table which was assigned to us and they put their water bottles down. Then, we each took two or three K2 students and explained to them what was sold at each store. They were in a dilemma as they could not decide on what they should buy with the limited amount of money. After buying their food, we sat down at the assigned table and chatted with them on the things they will do or experience when they are in primary school.
I enjoyed the part about bringing the kindergarteners to the canteen to buy food. The kindergarteners were the most excited when we brought them to buy food.
If I had another chance, I would definitely agree to be a student docent again as I felt a sense of accomplishment bringing the kindergarteners around the school. From this new experience, I learnt that patience is key to understand the younger ones. They might not understand the words we used and they would ask questions. We have to be patient when answering them and not brush them off. We have to treat others the way we want to be treated.
LIN ZHIXIN GERMAINE (Primary 4 Diligence)
During the kindergarten tour, my friends and I brought Kindergarten 2 (K2) students around the school as we explained to them the school rules.
When we brought the K2 students to the canteen, they had a chance to try the food there. When we brought them to the bookshop, they were excited after seeing the beautiful stationery and books. We also brought them to other places such as the courtyard where we taught them about safety rules while playing. Next, we went to the hall where we told them about our morning assembly. Their favorite part of the tour was when we brought them to the library. We saw them gasp in disbelief when they felt the cool air from the air conditioners. We also taught them about library etiquette and to keep the library litter-free.
During the tour, I had to step out of my comfort zone to ensure the kindergarteners have a good time. For example, I had to talk to a group of students while trying to keep my words simple at the same time. I also learnt about effective communication. Since student docents were leading different groups, we had to communicate with one another where our stops were so that the area was not crowded. Lastly, I learnt to be brave and try new things. This valuable experience was really meaningful to me. If I had the opportunity to do this again, I would not hesitate to say yes.
IDRIS BIN MURSED (Primary 4 Care)
My Experience at the National School Games (Floorball)
I have been a member of the Fuhua Primary School Floorball Co-Curricular Activity (CCA) since Primary 4. A year on, I was overjoyed when my CCA teachers-in-charge (Ms Alicia Khong, Mdm Nurul Ain and Ms Shamira) announced that a group of us would be chosen to represent our school for the National School Games (Junior Division). This was the first time Fuhua Primary School would send a Floorball team to compete in the National School Games. As one of the eighteen members chosen, I felt very honoured and could not wait to put my best foot forward in time to come.
Since Term 1 this year, we have had an extra day of training on Monday afternoons, between 3 and 5 p.m. Towards the end of January, we were asked to place orders for the competition jerseys. During the term break in March, we came back to school to work on our techniques and explore various play strategies.
On the 29th of April, our teachers arranged for us to play a friendly game against the team from Fernvale Primary School, a school in the North-East of Singapore. Fernvale Primary School was ranked a Tier 1 team when they played in the Games in 2023, which meant that it was a strong team. Although we lost, it helped our team have a feel of how it was like to play against players from another school and to learn from them.
Between the 6th of May and the 15th of July, we went through what was known as the Pool Round, in which we played against schools randomly placed in the same group (BC2) as us. They were Riverside Primary School, Unity Primary School and Fern Green Primary School. We were ranked second within this group, with Riverside Primary School taking the lead.
From that Pool Round, we were classified in a Tier 3 group, as our school is a school without prior experience at the Games for Floorball. We were assigned to Group B3, where we would compete against Mee Toh Primary School, Radin Mas Primary School and Canossa Catholic Primary School. These matches took place between the 31st of July and the 16th of August.
I was very privileged to have my mother and younger sister take time to go to the various venues where the matches were held to support the team. We had family members of a couple of my teammates come to watch a couple of games too. They were cheering their hearts out as we chased after every ball, guarded our goal posts and blocked every attempt made by the opponents at scoring.
I recall feeling the jitters before every match and often felt that we would never beat another school, especially one which had prior experience at the Games. Often, our coach would be passionately shouting instructions during the matches to spur us on and push us to keep fighting. At the end of this 2024 season, we emerged victorious as the winner of Group B3!
I am truly thankful to be given the opportunity to experience competing in the National School Games and slightly dismayed that I would not be able to compete next year as we do not have enough players to make up a team to enter ourselves in the Senior Division Games. I am grateful to our teachers-in-charge for sacrificing their time to chaperone us. I will always remember the friendships I forged with the members of this team.
KEANE WANG (Primary 5 Trust)