PRESIDENT PRESENTS AWARDS TO TEACHERS

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2 September 2005

PRESIDENT PRESENTS AWARDS TO TEACHERS

1. Three exemplary teachers will receive the prestigious President’s Award for Teachers from President S.R. Nathan at the Teachers’ Day reception at the Istana on Friday, 2 September 2005. They are:

Miss Lim Siew Gek, Ahmad Ibrahim Primary School,

Mdm Noorismawaty Bte Ismail, Jin Tai Secondary School, and

Mr Edwin Chew Tec Heng, Sembawang Secondary School.

Information on the award recipients is given in Annex A.

2. The annual President’s Award for Teachers, the nation’s highest accolade in the teaching fraternity, recognises the commitment of teachers to the total development of pupils and to nation-building. The award honours the recipients as outstanding teachers who have demonstrated passion, courage and perseverance to inspire and nurture the nation’s young.

3. More than 4,000 nominations by principals, teachers, pupils, parents and former pupils were received this year. A total of 1,344 teachers from 191 schools were nominated. A Selection Panel, comprising prominent members of the community and senior officers from the Ministry of Education (see Annex B), selected the three recipients.

Annex A

RECIPIENTS OF THE PRESIDENT’S AWARD FOR TEACHERS 2005

Miss Lim Siew Gek, Ahmad Ibrahim Primary School

Miss Lim Siew Gek, 53, is the Head of Department for Mother Tongue Languages at Ahmad Ibrahim Primary School.

Miss Lim has good insights into the unique strengths of each of her pupils. She recognises their talents and encourages them to take part in activities that will further develop their potential. For example, she arranged for some of her talented pupils to receive formal voice training for a professional recording of the theme song for a Mediacorp Television Series, ‘Care for the Environment’. With the training and recording, the pupils not only gained confidence but were also rewarded with the joy of hearing their song on 20 weekly episodes of the show, which was aired from January to June 2005.

Highly regarded as a mentor to many colleagues, Miss Lim is respected for the constant moral and emotional support she gives to fellow teachers in the school. Under her leadership, her department has won the school’s ‘Most Outstanding Contribution Award (Team)’ for the past three years. Their successful projects included the ‘Mother Tongue Language Website (2002)’, ‘School Heritage Tours (2003)’ and ‘Traditional Asian Medicines Museum (2004)’. Miss Lim also won the ‘Most Outstanding Contribution Award (Individual)’ in 2003.

Miss Lim uses interesting teaching approaches to motivate her pupils to learn Chinese Language. She was presented with the ‘Most Inspiring Chinese Language Teacher Award’ by Lianhe Zaobao in 2002.

Miss Lim firmly believes in professional sharing and conducts Chinese Language workshops at Teachers Network and the Curriculum Planning and Development Division of the Ministry of Education (MOE). As a member of the Chinese Language Revised Syllabus Committee in MOE, Miss Lim also contributes her expertise towards the learning of Chinese Language across schools.

Mdm Noorismawaty Bte Ismail, Jin Tai Secondary School

Mdm Noorismawaty Bte Ismail, 31, is the Head of Department for Pupil Management in Jin Tai Secondary School.

She strongly believes that it only takes one moment to change the course of a pupil’s future, for better or for worse. Driven by this belief, she works closely with the Clementi Neighbourhood Police as a Voluntary Special Constabulary (VSC) officer to develop pro-active programmes for ‘at-risk’ pupils. She organises Community Safety and Security Program (CSSP) camps for at-risk pupils at the school level and has recently extended the programme to other schools in her cluster.

As the teacher-in-charge of the Student Council, Mdm Noorismawaty serves as a guide, advisor and guardian in developing pupil leaders. The pupil leaders, in partnership with the Clementi Neighbourhood Police, are tasked to run CSSP camps. They are also given opportunities to contribute in community events like the South West Community Development Council fun fair. These opportunities have helped the pupils to discover their leadership potential and equipped them with essential life skills.

As an advocate of Innovation & Enterprise, Mdm Noorismawaty runs innovation programmes like ‘Young Entrepreneurs’ in her school. At the cluster level, she trains pupil leaders in the Innovation Protocol (IP) process and is currently piloting the use of IP in pupils’ projects.

As a Head of Department, Mdm Noorismawaty places the professional development of her staff as a top priority. She encourages her colleagues to read widely as she believes that it will help them to develop new ideas for teaching. She ensures that the teachers in her department develop in their profession by listening to their ideas and guiding them in the implementation. With her commitment to her fellow teachers, she has impressed upon them the need for lifelong learning and for fostering a thinking culture in the school.

Mr Edwin Chew Tec Heng, Sembawang Secondary School

Mr Edwin Chew Tec Heng, 36, is a teacher at Sembawang Secondary School.

When he was a pupil in secondary school, Mr Chew was in the Normal (Academic) course. He has experienced failure, but has also attained confidence through perseverance. His own experience has left him with a strong belief that every child has the potential to do well and achieve his dreams. His tenacity and persistence are qualities that his pupils seek to emulate. As Coordinator for Pupil Welfare and Character Development for his Secondary 4 and 5 pupils, he takes the initiative to counsel pupils with problems and motivates them by involving them in community work and environmental preservation projects like the Chek Jawa clean-up exercise.

Passionate about teaching Geography, Mr Chew uses a wide repertoire of teaching strategies to develop his pupils’ interest in learning. Songs, role-play, debates, problem-based learning and fieldwork are some of the teaching methods he uses to motivate his pupils to enjoy the subject.

Mr Chew also believes in sharing his knowledge and experience with fellow teachers. He shares his ideas generously by conducting Geography workshops at the cluster and national levels. He has shared at Teachers Network and at other sharing forums. He is also currently contributing resource articles on Geography and Social Studies to the Ministry of Education.

Mr Chew won the school’s ‘Outstanding Contribution Award (Team)’ in 2004. He also won the Asian Welfare Women’s Association ’Teach Me’ Special Award in 2004. He is regarded by pupils, colleagues and parents as a highly committed teacher who goes beyond the scope of his duties to help others. His dedication, drive and tireless spirit make him a very well-respected teacher.

Annex B

SELECTION PANEL

1.	Mr Gan Kim Yong (Chairperson)	Chairman, GPC (Education)
2.	LG (NS) Lim Chuan Poh	Permanent Secretary (Education)
3.	Miss Seah Jiak Choo	Director-General of Education
4.	Dr Lim Wee Kiak	Associate Consultant, Singapore National Eye Centre Member of COMPASS (Community and Parents in Support of Schools)
5.	Ms Zakiah Halim	Deputy General Manager, Malay/Indian Programming and Corporate Promotions Mediacorp Radio (S) Pte Ltd Member of COMPASS (Community and Parents in Support of Schools)