SPEECH BY MR THARMAN SHANMUGARATNAM, MINISTER FOR EDUCATION, AT ROSYTH SCHOOL 50TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION ON 16 APRIL 2005 AT 6.00 PM

SPEECH BY MR THARMAN SHANMUGARATNAM, MINISTER FOR EDUCATION, AT ROSYTH SCHOOL 50TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION ON 16 APRIL 2005 AT 6.00 PM

Mr Wee Siew Kim, MP for Ang Mo Kio GRC

Miss Elizabeth Chan, Principal, Rosyth School

Professor Philip Poh, Chairman, School Advisory Committee

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

Boys and Girls

INTRODUCTION

1.      It is both a great pleasure and privilege for me to join you at this significant moment in the history of Rosyth School.

2.      Rosyth is a school of distinction. The strong and increasing demand for places in the school, year after year, reflects its strong tradition of excellence in both academic and co-curricular endeavour. It also reflects its history of outstanding school leaders and a culture of excellence amongst its teachers and staff.

3.      By the early 1970s, during Mrs Bertha Neo’s long and exceptional tenure as Principal, Rosyth had become a model school for teaching and learning - an experimental school adopted by the then Institute for Education. It was a lively school, well known for helping weaker pupils catch up and for its broad-based approach to education. In 1984, during Miss Ada Ponnappa’s equally outstanding period of leadership, Rosyth became one of the first batch of four schools selected to implement the Gifted Education Programme. But it was also well known for its strong emphasis on developing confidence and character amongst its pupils. In 1996, under Mr Foo Chee Meng, the school was selected as a “demo school” under the Masterplan for IT in Education to spearhead the use of IT in the classroom. Mr Fong Whay Chong, who took over in 1997, took this forward and made Rosyth a pillar of excellence in modern education.

All this is evidence of the tremendous pioneering spirit that has made the school. It is a spirit that Miss Elizabeth Chan and her team continue to show to all of us. It remains as relevant today as it was 50 years ago.

EXCELLENCE IN HOLISTIC EDUCATION

4. The Rosyth tradition has indeed endured through the years because the school has never stood still, even as it has stayed faithful to its mission and ethos of developing the whole person. It has kept changing, kept adapting to the new national milieu, kept moving and experimenting.

5.      As we face the challenges of a new century, Rosyth has been part of a new wave of innovation in education, aimed at helping the next generation of young Singaporeans go forward with confidence into a more complex world. We are evolving and reorienting the way we teach and learn, so that the children now passing through our schools develop a keenness to think in new ways, solve new problems and create new opportunities for the future.

6.      The innovations begin with the academic curriculum, where we are refining our strategies to better cater to students with diverse abilities. Rosyth has, for example, introduced new methods of assessment, especially formative assessment, for identifying how well students are progressing in their learning. This includes the use of ‘learning trails’ that allow pupils to apply their knowledge across subjects in an authentic context. The Gifted Education Department has also implemented several initiatives such as the use of Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) and new rubrics to assess students’ progress and attitudes.

7.      We are also pressing on towards a more holistic education for our children. We will continue to look beyond academic excellence, to build character and allow students to discover their interests and develop a range of strengths as they grow up.

8.      Rosyth has always had a strong and vibrant aesthetics programme.   The Choir, Chinese Orchestra and Chinese Dance groups each received Gold awards in the Singapore Youth Festival for 2 consecutive years. The school was also awarded the Choir and Chinese Orchestra of the Year award, the highest accolade given to schools for excellence in the SYF. The school’s choir has been examined and certified to pass with distinction in the Intermediate Choral Singing in 2004 by The Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM).

9.      Together with 15 other primary schools, Rosyth is a pioneer recipient of MOE grants under the Programme for School-Based Excellence Award (PSE) that was introduced this year. It is an important step in our efforts to develop strong primary schools with distinctive character, and distinctive niches of excellence in both academic and co-curricula areas. Rosyth intends to use the grant to develop its aesthetics programme to the next level, by building on and expanding its current voice and music programmes. Every student in Rosyth will have the opportunity to learn to play at least one musical instrument during his or her six years of education in the school. Pupils in the school also undergo an arts programme which allows pupils to express themselves through different forms ceramics, pop, abstract art and Impressionism.

10.     This mass participation in the arts is also seen in the field of sports. Breadth of participation matters in school excellence, not just individual students’ achievements and prowess. Rosyth’s Games Day is an alternative to the traditional Sports Day. All pupils in the school are offered the opportunity to participate in at least one game competitively. I am told that at the last Games Day held on 11 March, the school saw almost 100% participation rate from P4-6 pupils.

11. I am also glad to see that through programmes such as “It’s Hip to Serve, It’s Cool to Lead” in Rosyth, pupils take on leadership roles to serve the various needs of the school and the community, or even larger causes like the raising efforts for the victims of the Tsunami disaster. These are the most invaluable lessons in school - lessons in exercising compassion through service.

PARTNERSHIP WITH STAKEHOLDERS AND COMMUNITY

12. But a holistic education only works with the support of parents. I am encouraged by the strong support shown by Rosyth’s parents for the programmes of the school. The Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) of Rosyth has a strong membership of 500, and has played a key role in providing assistance and support for the varied activities of the school.

NEW PRIMARY SCHOOLS AND PRIME

13.     Apart from sound educational programmes, and dedicated school staff, the way a school organizes its pupils and teachers is also important to a quality education. That is why we have implemented the Primary 1 reduced class size of 30, and will extend this to Primary 2 from next year. In addition, the partial single session system, where Primary 3 to Primary 6 classes function in the morning and have more flexibility to conduct activities in the afternoon, is being rolled out progressively to all our primary schools.

14.     The implementation of smaller and more flexible class sizes and partial single session will require more schools to be built. I am pleased to announce that MOE will be building 6 new primary schools, to be completed by 2008. These new schools will be located in the new towns of Bukit Panjang, Punggol, Sembawang, Sengkang and Woodlands. In addition, 12 more schools will be upgraded under Phase 7 of the PRIME.

15.     All these initiatives and support to schools will help our school leaders and teachers give our children the best education they can get. It will allow many more schools to celebrate their 50th anniversaries with the same pride that Rosyth does.

CONCLUSION

16. On this note, I would like to once again extend my heartiest congratulations to the School Advisory Committee, the Principal and staff, past Principals and staff, and the pupils and parents of the Rosyth School as you celebrate your 50th Anniversary.