February 2019
8th International Biomedical Quiz 2019
On 20 February, the 8th International Biomedical Quiz 2019 was held at ACJC. PL Secondary won 2 bronze medals and 2 silver medals.
To God be the Glory.
PLMGSS Chinese New Year Luncheon Outreach 2019
Each year, the graduating cohort of Secondary Four students embark on an outreach programme to bring festive cheer to 80 elderly guests and staff from four of our partner organisations by hosting a Chinese New Year lunch banquet. On 19 February 2019, the school welcomed elderly guests and staff from the National Kidney Foundation (Hougang), Society for the Aged Sick and St Luke’s Eldercare (Hougang and Serangoon) for this luncheon. The event was graced by Ms Denise Phua, Mayor of Central Singapore District as well as members from the Parent-School Support Group (PSSG), alumni and pastors from Paya Lebar Methodist Church (PLMC).
Being a student-led event, a student planning committee was set up to plan and organize the event under the guidance of teacher mentors and their form teachers. They had planned and put up a series of performances and served an 8-course luncheon to the elderly and staff. This year, we are blessed to have students from Cherie Hearts @ Charlton who performed a special dance item to the delight of the audience and distributed tissue packets to the guests. The elderly and staff were also blessed with a goodie bag that contained items sponsored by PLMC. Indeed, it was a heartwarming experience for the students as they see the smiles on the elderly blessed by the heart and hard work of everyone involved.
The school would like to thank Paya Lebar Methodist Church for their kind and generous sponsorship of the luncheon and goodie bag items. We would also like to extend our gratitude to our Parents-School Support Group, Alumni, board members and many members of the staff for joining to interact with the elderly.
Pupils’ reflections
For this year’s Chinese New Year Luncheon, my class, 4.1 was assigned the role of food crew. I really enjoyed this experience as serving and plating dishes was not something I have done before. Personally for me, I learnt the importance of being adaptable. As a wait staff, we had to act on our feet all the time and be quick to notice if anyone needs your assistance. I was really encouraged when I saw the face of an elderly light up when I dished out the soup for him. Such moments motivated me to serve more willingly and I found myself stepping out of my comfort zone and taking the initiative to approach the guests to see how I can serve them even better.
Elisa Chew (4.1)
I think that the role of game planners given to my class was a good fit to my class and we were enthusiastically looking forward to this event. We had the opportunity to communicate and engage the elderly with some fun activities before and during the event. In one of the activities, my friends and I had to teach the elderly how to fold origami hearts. However, the elderly were not able to catch up with our speed of teaching and we had to repeat our instructions slowly. This experience taught me to empathise with the elderly as I might face the same problem when I grow old. I was also very touched and thankful as most of the elderly were very kind to us. They were so willing to share their experiences and they really treated us like their own granddaughters.
Ng Xin Yi (4.7)
During the initial planning process, we were a little anxious and we were not very sure of how the event would run. However, through the support from the teachers-in-charge and our fellow sub- committee heads who helped to clarify various issues such as coordination between the various sub-committees, we were able to overcome our uncertainties. We are extremely grateful to them for their help and advice! The experience of planning and running this event has also helped to hone our leadership skills especially in the area of communication and coordination. Even though we were all exhausted after the event, there was a sense of accomplishment. Most of all, we are very glad that the luncheon brought joy and big smiles to the elderly.
Renae Chng (4.2) and Seraphina Chua (4.3) – CNY Luncheon Student Planning Committee Chair and Vice-Chairperson
Chinese New Year 2019 Love-Letter Making
On 13 February, PL continued with our Chinese New Year celebrations as the girls were explored various booths to learn more about the Chinese culture. We are thankful to our parents who patiently guided the girls in making the famous love letter biscuits.
We have been blessed to be able to celebrate CNY as a big school family.