School Leaders' Message 2021

Warmest greetings from Canberra Primary!

2020 was a challenging year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, yet the Canberra Primary family has risen not only to overcome the challenges but also to innovate to scale to new heights. Anchoring on the theme, Advocate of Learning (Staff) and Champ of Learning (Students), we set out to take learning to a different dimension, helping every student to achieve his/her potential and giving him/her wings to soar, and confidently face new challenges.

Our 2020 Primary Six graduands have brought much joy to all of us. They performed well in last year’s Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE). We attained one of our best achievements in the PSLE, based on quality and quantity results. We are proud that more than 99% of our students have graduated and moved on to secondary schools. We wish them the best in their endeavours and look forward to them demonstrating the Canberra spirit as they soar!

Despite the challenges brought about by the pandemic last year, our students exhibited the iCREST values to be self-driven in pursuit of excellence. Our committed staff, supported by our school programmes, engaged our students to be self-directed learners. As a result, the students were able to deepen their learning by harnessing technology and Student Learning Space (SLS). We would like to thank our staff for their unwavering commitment in developing our students holistically and to the parents for the tremendous support given.

Moving on into 2021, we are glad to welcome Mr Shah Jahan Bin Mohamed Iqbal, who has joined the Canberra Primary family with effect from 15 December 2020 as Vice-Principal. At the same time, we thank our former Vice-Principal, Mr Kumar Palaiyan, for his dedication and leadership, and wish him all the very best.

The change in Vice-Principals is part of an ongoing process of leadership growth to support Canberra Primary as it progresses to the next level. Mr Wong has retired and we are delighted that he has rejoined the Education Service to lead Canberra Primary to be a leading learning organization that inspires and is valued globally. We will continue to enhance our Canberra Experience Plus learning for every Canberrian, premising on our 2021 theme:

Be Well, Do Well.

The theme is a dynamic state for us to take ownership of our holistic health: physical, intellectual, emotional and social. After which, we will extend the care to others and to pursue excellence in all our actions. This theme is apt as it encompasses our commitment to making our school a safe and conducive learning place and for us to extend our care and contribution to the school, nation and global community. As part of these efforts to be well and do well, we have strengthened our Applied Learning Programme (ALP) and Learning for Life Programme (LLP).

For our ALP, ‘Start Young Start It Right – Curating My Learning’, we will provide students  with a more connected learning experience, enhanced by the integration of ICT using the Personal Learning Devices in authentic settings and by creating varied learning experiences, such as  coding that enables computational thinking for problem solving. With respect to our LLP, ‘Immersing in Canberra Experience through Musical Theatre Education’, we will be looking into developing a musical focusing on Singapore pride and sustainability, having completed a trilogy of musicals from 2013 to 2017. The development of the musical will provide Canberra Primary opportunity to forge partnership with other organizations / schools and students to collaborate with other learners, leveraging on technology, to be confident learners, active contributors and concerned citizens.

In addition to our distinctive programmes, we have extended the interest-based tracks at the Primary 3 level to Primary 4 level. We received good feedback from staff, students and parents when we pioneered the programme at Primary 3 in 2020. Based on their interests in aesthetics, sports, languages or reasoning, our Primary 3 and 4 students will have opportunities to explore differentiated learning experiences. Our students will not only develop confidence and skills they need to succeed in life, they will also acquire the competencies needed to be future-ready learners. Their talents will also blossom as we support them to foster joy and curiosity as they pursue lifelong learning.

As we forge ahead this year, we will work closely with our stakeholders and partners to provide rich and meaningful experiences that promote splendour and fulfilment in learning.

We wish everyone a fruitful 2021!