Marymount Convent School 20 Marymount Road Singapore 297754

NEWSLETTER

Once upon a time, in a small village in Kenya, there lived a young boy with his step-family. Due to the scarcity of water in the village, the young boy awoke early every morning, carried his pot and headed for the stream with the aim of fetching water for himself and his step-family. Sadly for him, he carried out this task as a routine every morning and evening to fetch water from a distant stream while his step-siblings were given other lenient tasks or even none. Yet, the young boy bore no grudge against his step-family, loved them and carried out his task, diligently.

On his way back from the stream, he met an old man resting under a tree who begged for water to quench his thirst. He gave the old man water. He met an elderly woman who begged for water and he gave the woman water as well. This happened almost every time as he came back from the stream. Yet he gave them despite his step-mother’s beatings for fetching half-filled pots that would not even have been enough for the family.

PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE Be Compassionate…to be kind even when it is challenging!

One day, he could not bear the beatings from his step-mum, so he swore never to give anyone water. But on his way back, he met a strange-looking man who begged him for water. The strange man laid by the road side with an injury. The young boy remembered his vow - never to give anyone water - but contemplated for a moment and decided to give the strange man some water.

When he got home, his step-mum noticed the half-filled pots, and again pounced on him - this time with more cruelty. As she was beating this young boy, there was a knock on the door. It was the strange wounded man who was a postman. Apparently, he came from the town with a letter for the young boy. It was a letter containing a scholarship with an additional cash gift for the young boy. The man would have died on the way if not for the boy’s help.

Your everyday good deeds are never in vain for they shall return to you even when you leastexpect it.

GOD IS OUR LIGHT

MARYMOUNT CONVENT SCHOOL

Issue II, Nov 2018

Dear girls, I am very proud of many of you! Many girls have come to meet Mr Bear because your friends were touched by your acts of compassion. That was when I invited you to take a photo with Mr Bear! From helping a friend who was sick to the General Office, patiently guiding your schoolmates with homework, cleaning up the school bus after a fellow schoolmate vomited, to reaching out to the friends from Light House School to raising funds for the underprivilegedchildren in Batam, there are just too many good deeds to recount! That should be the way for daughters of Marymount! Being kind and compassionate should be habitual and a natural way of life!

May this holiday be one that will give you the opportunity to continue to be kind to all at home and to all whom you get to meet. Let us continue to be proactive in reaching out because we are all blessed to be a blessing!

A short story by Emmanuel Aghado

One rainy morning, one of our pupils came into school drenched as she did not have an umbrella. I was very touched to see the compassion shown to her by one of the prefects. Although she was already off-duty, she stayed with the girl to help her dry up, remove the contents from her wet bag and willingly took her soaking shoes to the hand dryer in the toilet to get it dried. I am very proud to see that she has lived out our school vision, “Ladies of compassion….with God as our Shepherd” in her everyday life. As we enter into the festive season soon, I hope all of us will also show compassion in our daily encounters, and brighten someone’s day, everyday.

Wishing everyone a restful and fruitful holiday this year end. May God’s abundant blessings be upon you and your loved ones always!

Mrs Christina Tan (Vice Princiapal, Administration)

“Let us always be kind and compassionate to persons; not condemning. Let us love and be loving to all.”

The words of our Mother Foundress, St Mary Euphrasia, have rung true and guided us all year round, especially when, as a school community, we focussed on the value of Compassion. We endeavoured to bring this value to life for our girls in our various and numerous school programmes, in particular for the Values-In-Action (VIA) programme.

As another graduating cohort passes through the doors of Marymount, I would like to congratulate our P6 girls as they complete this milestone and wish them all of God’s graces and blessings as they start on the next chapter of their school experience. I hope that they will remember and carry with them all they have learnt at Marymount and indeed fulfil our foundress’ vision as they continue to develop into Ladies of Compassion, Eloquence and Intellect.

Ms Lynette Fernandez(Vice Principal)

May this Prayer from St Francis inspire our hearts:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace: where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair,

This year I had the privilege of witnessing our girls use their gifts and talents to bring happiness to the less fortunate in our community as well as to those in the Good Shepherd Missions. Our lower primary pupils made beautiful magnets and put up performances for the elderly. Our P3 and P4s put in much effort to make batik T-shirts and caps for the orphans in Phuket. Our P5 pupils made toys to fulfil the wishes of the less privileged children in Batam. Our P6 pupils put their hearts and souls into running of stalls to raise funds for the kindergartens in Batam and visited them to be teacher aides. It was most heartening to hear from our girls that despite the hard work and effort they had to put in for the various activities, they were still extremely happy for they had experienced the joy of giving! My greatest desire for them is to continue to touch the lives of others even after they leave Marymount. May we all experience the joy of giving this coming Christmas Season! Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year!”

Ms Cheryl Lee(Vice Principal)

Vice Principals’ Messages

hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we

receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned... Amen.

Mrs Allison Lim(Principal)

SCHOOL EVENTS

MCS PSG Family Movie Day

MCS PSG had its inaugural MCS PSG Movie Day last year and it was a huge success. Many parents have been requesting for it this year.

Based on the overwhelming response, we had to book two halls for Sunday, 1 July, to accomodate the large number of family members. A conscientious effort was made to have the families of classmates to be seated together to watch the ‘The Incredibles 2’ movie. It was a heart-warming sight to see the students’ families having a great bonding session with the MCS family.

Reported by:Mr Elkan Lim (Character and Citizenship Education HOD & Partnership Liaison Officer)

MCS PSG Family Pick-Walk Day

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Keep Singapore Clean campaign launched by the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew. Each year, the Public Hygiene Council commemorates it with a month-long clean up festival called ‘Keep Clean, Singapore!’ (KCS).

In partnership with the Parent Support Group (PSG), we organised a MCS PSG Family Pick-Walk Day at MacRitchie Reservoir Park on Saturday, 12 May 2018 toshow our support for the campaign.

P3 students participated in an ethnic dance activity in school. At the Esplanade, the students were engaged in a music instrument-making activity and they also watched a Malay musical performance.

For the outdoor cooking activity in school, they learnt how to respect and accommodate the needs of others.

As part of the Values-In-Action programme, the students used batik-painting techniques to design caps and wrote letters for the children in Congo.

The students went to Labrador park for their Outdoor Education activity. They used their map reading skills to complete tasks and appreciated nature at the park.

Reported by: Mrs Geraldine Roberts (Year Head, Middle Primary)

SCHOOL EVENTS

P3 WELL

P4 WELL

SCHOOL EVENTS

A six-year thematic approach for Week of Experiential Learning (WELL) was adopted with a focus on Self-Discovery and Community Service in Partnership with the Good Shepherd Mission. This year’s theme is ‘My Heritage’.

P4 students were engaged in thinking routines, cooperative learning strategies and reflective practice through their hands-on activities and learning journeys. An example will be the ‘Circle of Viewpoints’. It is an activity to develop empathy in the students.

The students also went to the Art Museum, Cathedral of the Good Shepherd, Thian Hock Keng Temple, Sri Mariamman Temple

and Sultan Mosque for their learning journey. They also visited Eurasian Association of Singapore. They had a taste of Sugee cake, a Eurasian delicacy and got to learn ‘Jingli Nona’, a Eurasian folk dance.To foster greater partnership with the Good Shepherd Mission in Congo, Africa, the students painted T-shirts and wrote notes to the children in Congo. It was part of their Values-In-Action programme. As for Outdoor Education, they went to Lorong Halus Wetland and Coney Island.

Reported by: Mrs Geraldine Roberts (Year Head, Middle Primary)

whom were former pupils of our school, was also organised for the pupils.

The learning journey to the Dragon Kiln as well as Changi Airport were well received by both teachers and pupils. Through the visits, the pupils could see what had contributed to Singapore’s rapid development

The girls also designed their own dream chandeliers with their hopes and dreams written on the chandeliers. They also made a simple toy which was donated to the kindergarten children in

SCHOOL EVENTS

P5 WELL

This year’s Week of Experiential Learning (WELL) took a slightly different stance on how learning is conducted. A six-year thematic approach was adopted with a focus on Self-Discovery and Community Service in Partnership with the Good Shepherd Mission greatly emphasised at the different levels. The theme is ‘My Hopes and Dreams’.

Pupils were given the opportunity to learn beyond the classroom through various hands-on activities and learning journeys. Learning took place by engaging pupils in thinking routines, cooperative learning strategies and reflective practice.

The P5 pupils were introduced to the ‘Sentence-Phrase-Word’ Visible Thinking strategy whereby they had to find sentences/phrases /words that resonated with them. It was an excellent technique to get the pupils to reflect deeper on what they had seen or heard.

The P5 girls had a talk by Dr Anamah Tan, who is one of the inductees in the Singapore Women Hall of Fame. A gallery walk of well-known inductees, some of

Entering the Dragon KilnPupils marvelling at the ‘Kinetic Rain’ art installation

Learning from the master sculptor

Happy faces at Changi Airport

Talk by Dr Anamah Tan

Toy Making

Batam. As part of their Outdoor Education, pupils went on a learning journey to the Dairy Farm walking trail.

Reported by: Mr Alvin Woo (Year Head, Upper Primary)

Our adventure to Hong Kong began on Saturday, 26 May 2018 when 39 students and five teachers convened at Changi Airport at 5.30 a.m. In Hong Kong, we visited their History Museum, Science Museum, Housing Authority and, the Science and Technology Park. We also embarked on two exchange programmes with St. Bonaventure Catholic Primary School and Marymount Primary School.

Disneyland was definitely the highlight of our trip! We learnt about what goes on behind-the-scenes in two separate 3-hour Youth Education Series programme and played team-building games. We learnt how animation was created from different optical devices and how geometric shapes were used to create different Disney characters. Armed with so much historical, cultural and scientific knowledge, we found ourselves unwilling to leave Hong Kong. We departed Hong Kong and arrived back safely in Singapore on 30 May at 11 p.m. carrying with us a plethora ofwonderful memories.

Reported by: Ms Wong Lai Lin (Science HOD)

SCHOOL EVENTS

2018 TIE (Trips for International Experience) Learning Journey to Hong Kong

This year, Foundress day commemorated 150 years of the death of our Mother Foundress- Saint Mary Euphrasia. The day began with the whole school celebrating Mass in the school hall. The celebrant for the Mass, Father Gerard Louis, from the Novena Church, gave an inspiring homily on love and compassion. He encouraged our students to emulate the values of our Mother Foundress. A recyclable tote bag, as a souvenir, was given to all students and staff of Marymount Convent School with Saint Mary Euphrasia’s philosophy ‘One person is of more value than the whole world’ boldly printed on it. This was to remind the students of the school value of compassion, and also to inculcate love and compassion.

SCHOOL EVENTS

In class, all students participated in a bookmark-making activity. Using the letters of the word ‘Compassion’, the students were guided to form an acrostic poem, which highlighted the values of our Mother Foundress. Many came up with very creative bookmarks which were displayed in class.

Foundress Day

TTeachers’ Day Celebration

We had a fabulous concert performed by the students to celebrate Teachers’ Day. Before I went on stage to perform with my group for the teachers, Sister Delphine said a prayer for them. Mrs Lim gave a heartfelt speech and she surprised us with a song dedicated to our teachers!

My group’s meaningful lyrics were done by my creative classmate, Yann Ting. The cute primary two twins serenaded the teachers with their song ‘Because you loved me’. Last but not least, the upper primary drama club put up a fantastic skit to show theirappreciation. There were other

In all, it was a meaningful, thought-provoking and enjoyable Foundress Day.

Reported by: Mrs Sandra Nelson (Co-Form of 1 Integrity)

great performances too and I had, no doubt, enjoyed myself on this wonderful day.

Reported by:Leanne Kuan (6 Humility)

SCHOOL EVENTS

PSG Teachers’ Day Lunch

The MCS Parent Support Group (PSG) generously organised a Teachers’ Day luncheon for all staff and teachers of MCS on Wednesday 29 August. The Teachers’ Day lunch in the band room was as grand an affair as their previous year’s Teachers’ Day bash. The band room was beautifully decorated andtransformed into an ‘Aloha Beach Resort’ of sorts. Each MCS teacher was treated to a warm ‘Aloha’ style welcome with floral garlands and made to feel so special with a personalised photo session for each teacher. The teachers were then cordiallyinvited to a buffet with an extensive array of food to sample and enjoy. The MCS teachers would like to thank the parents from all the various classes, coordinated by the Parent Class

Reps, for generously giving their time and effort to show theirappreciation for all the hard work the teachers have put in for their daughters at Marymount. The teachers were more than delighted and felt the warmth of their appreciation throughout the whole luncheon.

Reported by:Mrs Sandra Nelson(Co-Form of 1 Integrity)

SCHOOL EVENTS

It was Children’s Day! When we all had assembled in the hall, we prayed for the children who are not as fortunate as us, who are starving and do not receive love from others. Shortly after the prayer, the celebrations finally began!

The teachers from every level put together interesting, hilarious and lively performances. They danced, did a live artwork, and also performed rhythmic gymnastics with ribbons. The students were very proud of their teachers and were also very happy. There was also a prize presentation of the students who had participated in the police competition, in which Marymount emerged victorious!

Children’s Day 2018

After the performances, we went to our classrooms so that we could have our Childern’s Day feast!

During our recess, everyone stampeded down to the parade square, where the police carnival was being held. There was a photo booth where we could dress up aspolice officers and pose with guns or other fun accessories while having our pictures taken. The masses had gathered at the popcorn and cotton candy stall.

Many made a beeline towards the stall where we could aim and shoot a poster with our nerf guns. Besides that, there was police van parked where we could

experience the feel of sitting inside a police vehicle.

In conclusion, this was the best Children’s Day ever.

Reported by:Sanjana Vekhande (6 Compassion)

ENGLISH LANGUAGE DEPARTMENT

PESA broadened my experience, both as a speaker, and a person. It let me see numerous other children who were just as good, if not better, at speaking than me. Ilearnt that this talent of mine was not just some extra gift, but a valuable ability which helps me communicate better and maybe even make an impact on the community.

Personally, not getting in the top three for PESA was a disillusioning moment for me. However, I was so happy for my friend, Sawako Maury, who emerged first runner-up in the lower primary category. I also got to make many friends who have a similar gift, and participating in PESA really allowed me an opportunity to be grateful and to enjoy my gift of speaking English effectively.

Reported by: Anna Chang Song-Ai (5 Compassion)

PESA

MOTHER TONGUE DEPARTMENT

The Mother Tongue (MT) Fortnight was held from 3 July to 13 July. A series of engaging programmes with the theme ‘Joy of Learning’ were carried out for the different levels. Activities were carried out in two segments, one focusing on cultural activities and the other on languages. A wide range of activities was lined up to provide an immersive and fun learning environment for the learning of our MT Languages amongst our students. We hope that this will enhance the learning experience of each Marymount student to actively use their Mother Tongue as well as experience its rich culture.

Reported by: Ms Jasmine Tan (Level Head, Chinese Language)

Mother Tongue (MT) Fortnight

Chinese Language

Tamil Language

Malay Language

P1: Clay modelling P3: Traditional “Wayang Kulit”

P5: “Wau Making” (traditional Kites)

P5: Traditional patterns on Chinese silk fans

P1 & P2: animal face masks P3 & P4: clay lamps

P2: Drew patterns on paper and dye their work

P5: Kolam-drawing

P2: Chinese Calligraphy

DEPARTMENT UPDATES

This year’s celebration was unique as our music department, the Parent Support Group (PSG) and the Muslim teachers came together to make the celebration a memorable on. We had the 6 Humility and 6 Zeal students put up an amazing Dikir Barat performance with the song entitled ‘Hari Raya’ as the opening ceremony of the Hari Raya Celebration. Then, we had our ever-ready, supportive PSGperforming the Hari Raya dance. Last but not least, our sporting and creative Muslim teachers performed a skit.

Reported by: Lyara Khatrina Bte Muliandy (6 Gratitude)

Hari Raya Aidilfitri Celebration

DEPARTMENT UPDATES

On 21 September 2018, Marymount celebrated Mid-Autumn Festival in style. Thetwo-hour event bustled with activities which encouraged family bonding.

After our principal, Mrs Allison Lim, declared the event open, our school choir sang beautiful songs to the theme of reunion and the moon. All were delightfullysurprised when our very own Chang-E and Jade Rabbit mascots appeared in the hall. Activities after that were free and easy. Some families chose to take part in a special ‘Create a Space Vessel Competition’, where they used recycled material to make a space vessel that was sturdy enough to fly to the moon to visit Chang-E.

At the parade square, there were several games and even telescopes for star-gazing. Children also took part in the lantern parade and made rabbit masks and rabbitlanterns in the classrooms. The less adventurous rested and relaxed with some mooncake and a cup of Chinese tea in the canteen, or experienced making their own mooncakes.

After playing and enjoying some food and drinks, there was also a karaoke station to sing songs related to the moon.

As the event drew to a close, what remained were lingering memories of the wonderful time spent with family and friends.

Reported by: Mrs Lee Phui Hong (Mother Tongue HOD)

Marymount Chang-E (Ms Wong Liang Hui)

Star-gazing

Make-your-own snow-skin mooncakes

“Create a Space Vessel” Competition

Lantern parade

Making rabbit mask and caps

Marymount Jade Rabbit (Mr Alvin Woo)

Mid-Autumn Festival Celebration

DEPARTMENT UPDATES

Keputusan Peraduan Penulisan Kreatif 2018 diumumkan pada bulan Oktober 2018. Saya dan seorang rakan yang lain memenangi anugerah perak. Kami berasa gembira menerima anugerah tersebut yang disampaikan pada hari Sabtu, 6 Oktober 2018.

Rakan-rakan yang lain pula juga menerima anugerah gangsa pada hari itu. Syabas kepada semua kerana telah mencuba. Saya pasti akan menyertai peraduan ini lagi jika diberi peluang di masa hadapan.

Malay Language Creative Writing Competition

Dari Kiri: Haney Nadya (4C) - anugerah perak, Mia Elisha (4C) - anugerah gangsa, Lyara (6G) - anugerah perak, Tharra (6I) - anugerah gangsa dan Khalisha (6C) - anugerah gangsa

From left: Haney Nadya (4C) - Silver Award, Mia Elisha (4C) - Bonze Award, Lyara (6G) - Silver Award, Tharra (6I) - Bronze Award and Khalisha (6C) - Bronze Award

The results of the Malay Creative Writing Competition 2018 were announced in October 2018. My friend and I managed to clinch silver awards. We were happy to receive the silver awards which were presented to us on Saturday, 6 October 2018. Some of my friends also received bronze awards on that day. It was

definitely a good experience and we tried our best. I will definitely participate in this competition again if given the opportunity to do so in the future.

Reported by: Haney Nadya (4 Compassion)

DEPARTMENT UPDATES

Performance at the Esplanade

CCA/PE DEPARTMENT

On 13 April 2018, our school’s Music Ensemble made their public debut at the Esplanade as part of the In Youthful Company programme.

There were solo performances by Isbel Ho (6 Humility) on the harp, Belle Yong (6 Humility) and Therese Tan (5 Humility) on the piano, Trudy chen (5 Perseverance) on the violin and our violin quartet - Trudy Chen (5 Perseverance), Caliana Soon (5 Perseverance), Hannan Dinoalfian (4 Humility) and Danielle Neo (5 Zeal).

It all culminated into a finale, where the ensemble members came together to perform ‘Ode to Joy’ and ‘Fight Song’ to the delight of the audience who clapped and sang along.

Reported by:Mrs Joanne Lee (Form teacher of 5 Perseverance)

CCE/NE DEPARTMENT

On 8 August 2018, we celebrated Singapore’s National Day in Marymount Convent School. My experience at the celebration was wonderful. It was the day where we could wear our home clothes and almost everyone came to school wearing red and white - our national colours. To me, National Day celebration was my favourite celebration so far in the school year as it was a day filled with hype and excitement.

The performances were all very different and interesting to watch. The activities included dance performances, and the reciting of the recollections by four NEambassadors. I learnt how Singapore faced and struggled through rough times, and finally overcame its dark past. I love Singapore. This is my home.

My school was involved in the National Day Celebration Performance on 9 August 2018 at

National Day Celebration

floating platform. I got to watch their performance on television and it was such a proud moment for me as a student of Marymount Convent.

Reported by: Ananya Malvankar (4 Zeal)

DEPARTMENT UPDATES

The entire Primary 5 level went for the NE Show. Shortly after our arrival at the Floating Platform, we saw the Red Lions jump off a helicopter and land so expertly within a demarcated area. Around the time we finished our dinner, two helicopters carrying a gigantic flag of Singapore flew past us. All of us stood up and started singing the national anthem. I felt so proud to be a Singaporean and of our achievements - from a small fishing village to a bustling city-state!

Though it started to rain, our spirits were not dampened.

I was all eyes when the Marymount performers came onto the stage and did their well-rehearsed dance! They were dressed in a sparkly blue top with white pieces of cloth draped at the sides that were like wings. We all cheered and shook our maracas! I am sure because of all the noise we made, the performers would have been able to see where their biggest supporters (us) were!

Reported by:Caitlin Chan Yuen Mui (5 Compassion)

NE Show

DEPARTMENT UPDATES

Our school organised a week of fun with traditional games to celebrate Racial Harmony Day. As NE ambassadors, my friend and I were in charge of the ‘Pepsi-Cola’ and ‘7-Up’ booth. I loved seeing the Primary 1 students come to our booths with their friends to play. They looked so happy and engaged. Some of the Primary 5 students who also visited our booth were willing to play with the Primary 1s too.

I think organising lots of traditional games to celebrate Racial Harmony Day is a very cool

Racial Harmony Day

idea as we can have fun learning the traditional games of different ethnic groups with our friends. We can all play these traditional games during recess and not just during Racial Harmony week. At Marymount Convent School though, with such a rich mix of students from, different racial backgrounds, it is Racial Harmony Day every day.

Reported by: Emily Tan (5 Humility)

Character Dress Up Day

DEPARTMENT UPDATES

I had loads of fun last week! It all started when my teacher had asked us to dress up on Monday, 30 July, as a book character. I could not decide what book character to be so I asked my mother for an idea. Mom said that I could dress up as a witch and find a quote from a book on our bookshelf that had a witch character in it. I went to get my wand with a star on one end of it, my black dress with red and purple flowers printed on it, my black pants and my bat printed witch’s hat. Next, I found the perfect line to say.

On stage, I was a bit scared so I only quoted one line. Then, we took a picture with our principal and got a prize. It was a book

called ‘Finding Wally’. I hope we can dress up as storybook characters again soon!

Reported by: Ananya Suresh (3 Humility)

ACKNOWLEGEMENTSEditorial Team

Advisors:

Mrs Allison Lim (Principal)

Ms Lynette Fernandez (Vice Principal)

Ms Cheryl Lee(Vice Principal)

Mrs Christina Tan(Vice Principal, Administration)

Teachers:

Corporate Communication Committee

HODs, LH/SHs and Subject Coordinators

Newsletter design:

Ms Adeline Gwee