Speech by Mr Gan Kim Yong, Minister of State, Ministry of Education & Ministry of Manpower, at the Minds Combined Schools Graduation Ceremony 2007 on Saturday, 10 November 2007, at 10.00am at the Grassroots Club

SPEECH BY MR GAN KIM YONG, MINISTER OF STATE, MINISTRY OF EDUCATION & MINISTRY OF MANPOWER, AT THE MINDS COMBINED SCHOOLS GRADUATION CEREMONY 2007 ON SATURDAY, 10 NOVEMBER 2007, AT 10.00AM AT THE GRASSROOTS CLUB

Mr Conrad Campos, Supervisor and Chairman, School Management Committee, and Vice President of MINDS

1 It is my pleasure to be with you this morning to share in the joy of this important event in your school’s calendar - the MINDS Combined Schools’ Graduation Ceremony. This event is special not only for the graduating students and their family members, but also for the staff, the school, the family and the community. It is a testimony to the hard work and the ‘can-do’ spirit of the students. It also reaffirmed the belief that students with special needs are capable of learning and becoming contributing members to the community and society at large.

2 I am pleased to note that the theme selected for this event is “My Memories, Your Wishes, Our Achievement”. It shows that the MINDS schools have truly understood the synergy between students, families, school and the community to support the special needs of the children. This is in line with the philosophy of the “Many Helping Hands” approach to involve the community and other stakeholders.

3 I would like to extend my heartiest congratulations to MINDS on your 45th Anniversary. I was present at your recent anniversary celebration on Fri 24 August 2007 and I was truly impressed with the commitment and passion in each and every one of you. In particular, I would like to commend your efforts in spearheading and supporting the many innovative programmes and projects to benefit the 1,200 students in the 5 MINDS schools. I encourage you to continue to give of your best so that the students can receive good quality education while they are here.

4 There is no doubt that behind every successful student is a dedicated teacher. MOE recognizes that good teachers are the key to the quality of students’ learning. It is for this reason that MOE and NCSS is introducing this year, for the first time, two types of awards to provide recognition to the good work in the special education schools.

5 The first type of awards are the Outstanding SPED Teacher Awards, given to teachers who are exemplary role models in their profession. I was informed that a total of 152 nominations for 79 teachers from 17 SPED schools were received for the inaugural Outstanding SPED Teacher Award 2007. Out of so many teachers nominated, 7 of them were short-listed for the final round of selection, two of whom were from the MINDS schools. I must congratulate Ms Siti Zarifah from Guillemard Gardens School and Miss Cecilia Lee from Towner Gardens School for making it into the final eight.

6 The second type of awards are the Innovation Awards. These awards are given in recognition of innovative projects and programmes that SPED schools have developed to enhance the quality of learning. For these Innovation Awards, the SPED schools in Singapore submitted a total of 25 projects. The 5 MINDS schools alone contributed 13 projects. Three of these projects have been selected to be among the 8 finalists. They are:

7 These varied innovations and the motivation behind them, speak volumes of the commitment of the staff to continually improve the quality of education for children with intellectual disability. The final results and presentation of these awards will be held on 16 Nov 07 at the Marina Mandarin Hotel and I look forward to meeting many of you there.

8 Besides recognizing our SPED teachers and the innovative projects undertaken by the schools, MOE is working with the SPED community to ensure that the school buildings are able to meet the needs of the students. For the MINDS’ schools, Lee Kong Chian Gardens School and Towner Gardens School are already housed in new purpose-built buildings. Two other schools will be relocated to new premises by the second half of 2008. Jurong Gardens School will relocate to Woodlands and Yio Chu Kang Gardens School to Fernvale. These schools will move to new buildings with purpose-built facilities and classrooms. By 2009, all the SPED schools will be housed in new purpose-built schools or refurbished schools where the facilities are customized according to the specific needs of the children.

9 In addition, in recent years, MOE has increased the provision of funds for teacher training and flown in professionals to conduct workshops for principals and teachers. This has enhanced the teachers’ skills both inside and outside the classrooms and expanded the capabilities of the principals as instructional leaders. To promote the sharing of resources and ideas between the mainstream schools and the SPED schools, MOE also facilitated greater collaboration between SPED schools and the mainstream schools within the school cluster framework. MOE will continue to support efforts to enhance the quality of special education.

10 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the MINDS schools for inviting me to this special event and thank the Organizing Committee for the excellent effort in making this event a meaningful and memorable one, especially for the graduates and their families. Today’s graduation ceremony would not be possible without the hard work, the dedication and the commitment of parents, family members and staff of MINDS schools.

11 Finally I wish to congratulate all the students who are graduating today and wish you well in your future endeavors.