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24 April 2004
INAUGURAL LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME
SYMPOSIUM
1 The Ministry of Education (MOE)’s Gifted Education Branch and the Singapore Management University (SMU)’s School of Business, with the support of TOUCH Community Services, have jointly developed a new Leadership Development Programme (LDP) for Secondary school pupils. The inaugural Leadership Development Symposium, which the LDP culminates in, will be held on Saturday 24 April 2004 from 9.00am-12.00pm at the TOUCH Community Theatre. This Symposium will showcase community service projects that pupils had worked on under the LDP.
2 The LDP commenced with the Leadership Development Seminar (LDS) in September last year, where 60 Secondary 4 pupils from the seven secondary Gifted Education Programme centres attended a 2-day workshop and a 1-day tour of agencies under the auspices of TOUCH Community Services. Following the seminar, the participants commenced on a 7-month mentorship programme where they engaged in designing and implementing community service projects. Community service was chosen as a platform to give pupils a real-world application of the teambuilding and leadership skills acquired in the LDS.
3 The Guest of Honour for the Symposium is Mr Chan Soo Sen, Minister of State for Education and Community Development & Sports. Mr Chan’s opening address at the Symposium will touch on leadership styles and how leaders of the past had inspired a shared vision and encouraged the hearts of their followers.
4 The Symposium will also showcase 10 projects that pupils had worked under the LDP through video presentations, oral presentations and posters. Three teams have been selected to present their teambuilding and leadership experiences in the context of community service. The projects include raising awareness of the needs of caregivers among primary school children, increasing the repertoire of handicraft skills of TOUCH Ubi Hostel clients and organising a Family Escape for TOUCH Diabetes Support. Details of the 10 collaborative projects are listed in the Annex.
5 The support given by SMU and TOUCH Community Services was of benefit to MOE in developing and executing the LDP. MOE benefited from SMU’s experience in teambuilding and leadership training in developing the LDP, while TOUCH Community Services’ support for the project enabled the pupils to draw on its expertise to hone their projects and maximise the impact on their clients.
ANNEX
LIST OF TEAMS AND PROJECT DETAILS
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TEAM
AGENCY ATTACHED TO
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PROJECT DETAILS
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AMELIORATION
TOUCH Youth Learning Centre (YLC)
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Amelioration worked at developing an interesting and enriching package for the teaching of Biology for students at the YLC. The team created a board game to enhance the interest of YLC students in learning about the digestive system. They also purchased a human model to portray realistically how the human digestive system works. The team members also produced Powerpoint slides that the YLC teacher can use in the teaching of Biology.
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SWAYNE
TOUCH Youth Learning Centre
(YLC)
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Swayne focused on teaching the YLC students prepositions through the use of cloze passages. They explained the grammatical role of prepositions using English songs. The team worked on a river model that the teacher can use in teaching Geography as most of the students are visual learners. Swayne also built up the library resource of reading, reference and teaching materials and catalogued them for easy accessibility and retrieval by YLC staff and students.
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ANTIMONOUS
TOUCH Diabetes Support (TDS)
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Antimonous organized 4 road shows to raise awareness of diabetes among primary school children. Through the use of video clips, filmed interviews and a creative skit, the team brought the message across to pupils that with proper treatment and diet regulation, diabetic patients can lead perfectly normal lives. The video clips, script and props produced by Antimonous will serve as resources for TDS to conduct future public education talks.
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!D3@$
TOUCH Diabetes Support (TDS)
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!D3@S assisted the staff of TDS in their annual Family Escapade. The Family Escapade 2004 was held in Johor. The team was involved in the planning and execution of activities that helped to foster greater understanding and bonding between the insulin dependent and their families. The team members faced the challenge of planning games which tested the mental and physical grit of campers while ensuring that health and safety considerations were not compromised. Another test was to organize games which would appeal to the young and old as it was a family camp. The supportive role played by the team received positive feedback from TDS.
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TEAM
AGENCY ATTACHED TO
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PROJECT DETAILS
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MONKEYS
TOUCH Ubi Hostel (TUH)
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Monkeys aimed to teach the Ubi clients handicraft skills that would help generate profits for the hostel. The team members conducted a market survey to determine consumer taste with regard to different types of handicrafts. From the survey, they identified the two most popular items and proceeded to do research on how to make them. The team members also learned how to use a sewing machine. Monkeys then proceeded to put together a manual containing step-by-step instructions for the Ubi clients. They also tested the popularity of the items by selling them at a food and fun fair and generated a substantial sum of money. The team spent several weekly sessions with the TUH clients and taught them skills in making the 2 handicraft items.
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TEAM OH
TOUCH Learning Support Service (LSS)
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Team OH organized an exhibition at a secondary school to raise awareness on autism as well as services rendered by LSS. In order to gain an understanding of autism, the team sat in on some learning sessions that the counsellors conducted with the children. They also interviewed the LSS staff. With the information gleaned, they set out to create Powerpoint presentations and posters. Through the exhibition, the team members managed to convince several pupils to volunteer their time and service at LSS. The Powerpoint slides and posters will be used as a resource when LSS conducts public education talks on autism.
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TENGIBLE
TOUCH Learning Support Service (LSS)
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Tengible designed a board game for autistic children from 3 to 6 years of age to help them be more responsive to their surroundings. Through playing the board game with an adult, the child is coaxed to maintain a sustained conversation and hence practise social skills like turn-taking, maintaining eye contact as well as adhere to the relevance of the topic of discussion. The team worked with 2 prototypes before finalizing the board game with the help and guidance of LSS staff. The board game will be used by LSS staff as a resource they can use to enhance the social skills of the children.
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SOCIALIGHTS
TOUCH Children Services Thinker’s Club (Bendemeer)
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Socialights met the children from the Thinker’s Club twice a week and gave them tuition. The team taught the children, who were mostly from low income families, oral presentation as well as writing skills. The project culminated in a presentation where all the children had the opportunity to share what they had written with their peers. The team felt that the children were more confident in their oral presentation and had also shown improvement in their writing skills.
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TEAM
AGENCY ATTACHED TO
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PROJECT DETAILS
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SPECTRUM
TOUCH Caregivers
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Spectrum took on the role of student ambassadors for TOUCH Caregivers. They conducted road shows in 3 Primary schools. Through the road shows, they helped spread the message that caregivers are individuals who provide help and emotional support to loved ones who are needy on a long-term basis. They also emphasized that caregivers need empathy rather than sympathy. Their road shows comprised a presentation and puppet show. The puppet show captured on video will be used as a resource by TOUCH Caregivers in their public education talks.
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TESSERACT
TOUCH Silent Club
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Tesseract organized a Reading Camp for children from TOUCH Silent Club. Prior to the reading camp, the team members conducted activity-based lessons to arouse the children’s interest in reading. This was followed by a day camp filled with fun and challenging activities. The children were also guided in the choice of books during a tour to the public library. The team organized games to engage the children in reading. The children were encouraged to share with their peers what they had read by acting out the story. It is noted that the staff of TOUCH Silent Club were always available to translate the instructions to the children using sign language.
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