While previously each student might participate in more than one CCA, they now focus on only one. Teachers in charge of CCAs were also redeployed. The school has taken this in their stride, trying as far as possible to allocate students and staff according to their interests and strengths.
The advantage, however, is that Pri 1 and 2 pupils - who do not typically join CCAs due to their age - now have the chance to sample CCAs through "modular CCAs" incorporated into their time-table. Once a week, for two hours, these pupils take part in either a physical sport module, such as inline skating, or an art or music module.
And just imagine, by the time they complete Pri 2, all the pupils will know the basics of inline skating! According to the teachers, pupils have been very happy as they see the longer hours as having "more time with friends".
Pri 2 pupil Cedric Olivas prefers the new timing because it is still early when he gets home, unlike last year when he was attending the afternoon session - by the time he got home and ate dinner, there was not much time left before bedtime.
For Cedric's mother, Mrs Lorna Olivas, the new timing means the family eats at the same time and her two children can play together. Now everything is synchronised. Parents Mrs Kamisah Atheli left and Mrs Lorna Olivas right appreciate that their respective sons Danish left and Cedric right have more flexibility in their daily routines. For teachers' families, too, the change has been welcome.
Mdm Maha, who has been teaching the afternoon session for about five years, found it a challenge to wake up earlier but now she can spend more time with her family. Now that I'm working at the same time that he is in school, we can spend much more time together. Although the transition is almost complete, the school is looking at feedback from staff, parents and pupils, to see how it can be improved. The officers could also work with social service offices located in housing estates to offer the families help in the form of financial assistance and job matching.
Youth workers have said keeping troubled youth engaged in school remains a worrying issue because of social problems such as broken families and internet addiction. MOE statistics show that less than 1 per cent of each Primary One cohort in the last five years has failed to complete secondary school.
In , a National Institute of Education study involving 3, youth revealed that youth gamers spent about 20 hours a week on gaming and about 10 per cent of them displayed symptoms of obsessive video gaming. Since , all schools have had at least one resident counsellor on hand to guide students in aspects of socio-emotional and mental health. Principals can also seek VWOs to help conduct home visits and provide intervention programmes.
Principals participating in the pilot said the student welfare officers will help facilitate the use of community resources to provide holistic support for students and their families.
Ms Mak Yin Fun, who was deployed to the school as part of the pilot, said her roles include conducting home visits to help stabilise the home environment and conducting prevention programmes for the students. Unlike social workers in the community, she does not deal directly with problems faced by the parents such as unemployment, but refers them to social service agencies.
Community social workers who work with youths, such as Mr Wilson Tan, felt a supportive family environment plays a part in keeping a child in school.
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