A School That Cares

In Serangoon Secondary School, you will find teachers who care for their students and are committed to helping them achieve their goals.

Visitors to the school on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday mornings will likely be greeted by the sight of some students and their form teachers in deep conversation along the corridors as the rest of the classes get on with their morning reading.

These Teacher-Student Interaction sessions are kept short – 15 minutes at their longest – as students engage in spontaneous and heartfelt conversations with their form teachers on what is going on in their lives, and with their studies. Form teachers learn about what makes their student tick – be it a love for sports, or an aversion to sharing a room with siblings! – and gain insights on their students that help them to bring out the best in each student in school.

The warm and caring environment in the school is the combined effort of school leaders and staff – from the form teachers to the subject teachers to the CCA teachers to the General Office staff - who attend to students who may have fallen ill during the course of a school day. Teachers here make it a point to go the extra mile to conduct remedial lessons and consultations in the afternoon to help students improve in their learning.

The school adopts Restorative Practices in managing student misbehaviour. Through conversations that help students to reflect on their actions and their consequences, students learn to resolve issues in a way that also restores affected relationships and reconciles the affected parties.

Aside from the school’s firm but caring approach to discipline, students’ efforts are also celebrated through reward and recognition systems, such as the StaR of the Month award. Through this award, a teacher is able to nominate and recognise students who demonstrate the school values in different aspects of their school life.

This year, the school has introduced an ‘Affirm Appreciate Anticipate’ initiative to cultivate a positive and supportive classroom environment by having form teachers affirm their students – and students affirm each other – with thank-you boards and gratitude trees in the classrooms.

For Rifa Ilyasa Achrinza of 4N7, this is something that he cherishes about the school – for making him feel valued as an individual, and as a student of the school. He remembers how his form teachers would affirm his efforts to improve himself in school, and how this spurred him on the road to continuous improvement.

Through the efforts of teachers who care for their students and are committed to helping them achieve their goals in life and in their studies, the school is well-positioned to mould successful students who are responsible, respectful and who behave in a thoughtful manner!