Grade 1 Sleepover

“Plus est en vous – there is more in you than you think.”

Kurt Hahn, Founder of the UWC movement

Our UWCSEA Outdoor Education programme offers experiential learning opportunities that are scaffolded for age appropriate student participation, progressing incrementally each year. Even our youngest learners engage in these challenges that build “resilience, collaboration and leadership while developing confidence in their physical abilities and emotional resilience to withstand difficult situations.”

One of the most exciting rites of passage for Infant School students is the Grade 1 Sleepover. The sleepover is one of my favourite events, the energy and excitement as students arrive in school on dusk is contagious! For some, the anticipation of the sleepover is tinged with a healthy level of anxiety combined with confidence and determination to face the challenge. As students and teachers (onesie optional!) arrived, they entered their classrooms and prepared their ‘beds’. 

     

The night started with an exploration of the campus by torchlight, the children were absolutely mesmerised, it looks so different at night. Every year I have the honour of being the ‘DJ’ for the Grade 1 disco and this year’s songs were a huge success. A crowd favourite was the “Banana Banana and Meatball” song! (You might like to try it at home!)

The disco ended with a ‘disco yoga’ session and some mindful relaxation before the children headed back to class ready to settle down for the night.

Students enjoyed reading bedtime stories by torchlight while others snuggled up with their cuddly toys. I’d like to say a HUGE thank you to our Security team for checking in on us regularly throughout the night. We all felt safe and well cared for.

   

Teachers managed to create a peaceful classroom environment and children were (mostly!) asleep before 9pm. Teachers attempted to sleep but before they knew it they were woken by whispers and flickering torch patterns on the ceiling! At 7am we headed to the canteen to be greeted by the Sodexo team who had whipped up a delicious pancake breakfast!

As the first buses began to arrive some children took a moment to reflect on their sleepover experience.

“The Outdoor Education programme allows students to disconnect from the distractions of technology and reconnect with nature. It provides an avenue for them to explore the natural environment in a safe setting, learn from mistakes and develop perseverance.”

As we walked back to class the children took time to explore some green space on campus. G1ATu said good morning to 'their tree', discovering tadpoles along the way!

  

Our Grade 1 Sleepover isn’t possible without the support of many people. Thank you parents, I hope you had a peaceful evening last night. To the Facilities team, you are AMAZING! Teachers and TAs, thank you for creating a safe and calm environment for the students, I suspect many of you will be napping by now! What a proud achievement for our Grade 1 children.

To read more about our Outdoor Education programme, please click here.

Service - You are Needed!

“There are three ways of trying to win the young. There is persuasion, there is compulsion and there is attraction. You can preach at them: that is a hook without a worm. You can say ‘you must volunteer’; that is the devil. And you can tell them ‘you are needed.’ That hardly ever fails.”

Kurt Hahn
 Founder, UWC movement

Our Infant School students enjoy a variety of experiences as members of a vibrant community, within the school environment and beyond. They are encouraged and empowered to become aware, able and active and to contribute to the world around them in a positive way. 

Service is at the heart of the UWC movement, and even our youngest students become involved in service activities at College, local and global level.  At College level, where they offer a service to other members of the school community; in local service, where they connect with members of the Singapore community; and in global service which incorporates Global Concerns (GC) projects. 

"UWCSEA believes in the transformative nature of the experience of serving others and in the responsibility we have to one another and the planet. The Service programme fosters empathy and helps students to recognise that part of being human is seeking opportunities to put yourself aside in the service of others."

Infant School students identify local problems they can solve and reflect on their ability to be agents of change. College Service might involve recycling materials, caring for plants or helping the Operations and Facilities team to clean up rubbish and leaf litter. College Service gives students an opportunity to put the UWCSEA values and mission into practice on a daily basis. GC projects reflect a range of global development challenges and associated environmental issues, allowing Infant students to begin to consider, and take action on these.

Recently a group of Infant School students celebrated the end of term with a party and local Service event at Sentosa. Class parent representatives Scott and Junko helped to facilitate this event with the support of the parents and students in K2SMH. (Thank you so much Scott and Junko!)

This event was not only Service focused but also a wonderful Outdoor Education opportunity!  The children swam approximately 100 metres over to the small islet off Tanjung Beach where they spent more than 90 minutes on a rubbish hunt. Emily said, "first we splashed about and then we put all the rubbish to the side. I felt super happy and excited to clean the rubbish for the world."

Our K2 children managed to clean up more than 8 large bags of plastic, foam and other rubbish, plus a tarpaulin full of plastic bottles for recycling. Wow! 

Drummond recalled, "we swam out to the island. We got gloves and we picked up bottles and rubbish. Viktor's dad held him by the legs so he could get lots of stuff out of the water!"  

Lilah remembers, "we were taking care of the earth by climbing rocks and getting rubbish. I felt a bit worried that I couldn't get all of it cause some of it was stuck. I hope the earth still feels happy".

We all have a responsibility to protect the environment and the College is committed to ensuring environmental stewardship becomes a major part of every child’s education. Our Infant School students are embracing the college mission and doing their bit to take care of the environment, they are well on the way to creating a sustainable future. 

Thank you to the parents of K2SMH, what a wonderful opportunity for our students to put their "ideals and values into action and grow as compassionate people and active agents of change."

UWCSEA Service Information

Home School Links

An Extra Pair of Hands Makes a Difference!

In the Infant School we are always trying to encourage strong links between school and home.  One perfect way to do this is by inviting adults, such as parents and grandparents into the classroom to help. 

This year we have been asking parents to help support our discovery time.  Discovery time is an opportunity for the children to deepen their understanding of the concepts that they are focusing on during their Unit of Study or metaproject.  The teachers carefully plan the space, intentionally providing resources and creating an environment that will give the children opportunities to develop their understanding.  The best resource during this time is 'the extra pair of hands', and many different parents have volunteered to help during discovery time.  They are provided with support from the teachers and advised on the type of questioning that will help scaffold and support the children during this time.  

We have been fortunate to observe the wonderful interactions between parents and their own children, and their friends.  For many children, school is a separate existence from home, and they can be reluctant to talk about their day. By volunteering in school, it provides a mutual discussion point between school and home.  It also provides parents with an insight into how discovery time works, and how the Unit of Study connects.  The children are always so proud of sharing their learning with adults, and the time and interaction spent with that adult really helps to facilitate a deeper learning.  

We appreciate that for some parents it is not always easy to find time in a busy schedule to help in school, so we have tried to be as flexible in this approach as possible.  Some parents volunteer as a one off session that works with their schedule, and this is just as valuable as someone who is able to commit regularly.  There are a full range of activities on offer during our different discovery times, including programming, puppet making, imaginative play, dramatic theatre productions, creating mini communities or simply reading and sharing books.  

We thank all the parents who have given time to volunteer and we hope it has been as valuable experience for you as it has been for the children.

Written by Vicki Wright, Infant School Curriculum Support and Lynda Scott