Speech by Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Minister for Education and Second Minister for Finance, at the Official Opening of Pei Hwa Secondary School on Saturday, 28 July 2007, at 5.30 pm

SPEECH BY MR THARMAN SHANMUGARATNAM, MINISTER FOR EDUCATION & SECOND MINISTER FOR FINANCE, AT THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF PEI HWA SECONDARY SCHOOL ON SATURDAY, 28 JULY 2007, AT 5.30 PM

Mr Alan Soh, Chairman of the School Advisory Committee,

Miss Chong Hoi Neng, Principal of Pei Hwa Secondary

Distinguished guests

Parents

Ladies and gentlemen

Good evening

1 It gives me great pleasure to join you today in celebrating the official opening of Pei Hwa Secondary School. It is a school that builds on tradition, through its partnership with the Pei Hwa Foundation. It is also, as a new school, well-positioned to forge its own unique approach to education, well-suited to the needs of a new global environment.

DIFFERENTIATION

2 Miss Chong Hoi Neng and her team of key personnel have been creating a distinct profile for the school in Sengkang. I would like to commend the school for providing its students opportunities to get involved in the community and develop a sense of social awareness. Funded by MOE’s School Innovation Fund, Pei Hwa Secondary has embarked on two projects with Central CDC and Jalan Kayu CCC.

3 Under the ‘Achievers Programme’, spearheaded by Pei Hwa’s Humanities Department since last year, I hear that students and teachers have worked together to build a Jalan Kayu Heritage trail. They are building up a ‘virtual museum’ website to help people discover and learn about this unique part of Singapore. The students have maintained a blog that essentially functions as an interim online repository of raw information, which will then be used to create four trails - Nature, Food, Maths and History trails about Jalan Kayu. Students will be guides for the various trails. I am told visitors to the site come from all over the world. ! Projects like this serve to broaden the students’ horizons, and will I’m sure make for enjoyable memories.

BELIEVING IN THE WHOLE CHILD

4 Pei Hwa Secondary is committed to providing a well-rounded education, focused on the academic as well as the aesthetic, physical and moral development of our students. It wants to develop not just academic talents, but every talent. It also believes that every student brings with him or her a set of skills, ideas and abilities.

5 This is what believing in the whole child entails - that each of us possesses latent abilities, and that they come in unique combinations. But many abilities could remain unknown, unobserved and undeveloped. Schools must provide different platforms, apart from the mainstream academic subjects, for students with various talents to discover themselves. When schools help students pick up abilities and develop them, the students gain confidence and want to go further. And they often flourish.

6 I was happy to learn about the five Pei Hwa Secondary students - Benjamin, Timothy, Sherman, Rui Pin and Wen Jun - who won the top prize in the KWN (Kids Witness News) competition[1] organised by Panasonic Singapore last year and subsequently competed in the regional round in KL. I understand that got the inspiration for the video content from a lesson on the history of the HDB. Timothy spotted the KWN competition, and rallied the rest to join him. The team got together and, with some guidance from their teachers, put together their video entitled “Concrete Jungle”.

7 This is one example of the many talents our students possess. We have to constantly explore ways to bring out these talents, both within and outside the classroom.

NURTURING A SELFLESS SPIRIT

8 Schools are of course not just about nurturing our students’ abilities. Schools are also responsible, together with parents, in anchoring students with strong values. We want our students not just to pursue their ambitions for themselves but to grow in their roles as responsible members of a community, grounded in a sense of belonging to the nation.

9 This is why a school is held in esteem not principally by its academic achievements but by the integrity, altruism, resilience and character of the students who go through its portals.

10 The school gets inspiration from the Pei Hwa Foundation, which is made up of alumni of the former Pei Hwa Public School, and has been an active supporter of many charitable causes. Every year, students at Pei Hwa Secondary receive scholarships provided by the Foundation, ranging from $400 to $1,000. They provide a valuable boost to all students, and especially those from less well-off backgrounds, and helps them make the best of every opportunity that comes their way.

11 It is heartwarming to see members of the Pei Hwa Foundation give of themselves not just in terms of financial resources, but also in their time and energy, for the betterment of their school. This selfless spirit is a credit to the former Pei Hwa Public School. It points the way for Pei Hwa Secondary to nurture future generations of well-rounded individuals, who invest themselves in the well-being of society.

12 Pei Hwa Secondary’s experiment in integrating its CIP (Community Involvement Programme) with the CME (Civics and Moral Education) curriculum is another interesting step in this regard. By working on service learning projects during their CME lessons, students learn to absorb the values they study in their CME lessons through real-life situations. I am told it has helped them to better appreciate the significance of what they are taught in school.

CONCLUSION

13 With its team of capable management and dedicated staff, I am confident that Pei Hwa Secondary will do well in its endeavour to deliver an enriching education to its students. I hope that parents and alumni members continue to forge meaningful ties with the school.

14 I would like to extend my heartiest congratulations to the School Advisory Committee, school leaders, staff and students on the official opening of your new school.

15 I wish Pei Hwa Secondary every success in the years ahead. It is now my pleasure to declare Pei Hwa Secondary officially open.

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[1] Kids Witness News (KWN) is a hands-on video education programme aimed at developing students’ creativity, communication skills and ability for teamwork through the use of digital video technology.