Inspiring Dunearnites

Tan Jun Jie (Express)

Driven by clear goals for his future and a hunger academic excellence, Jun Jie was the model student academically. Some of the academic awards that he garnered include: Most Value-Added Award (2011), Best in Level (2012 – 2014), Best in Science and Literature (2012), Best in Mathematics (2012 – 2014), Best in Additional Mathematics (2013), Best in Combined Humanities (2013 – 2014), Best in Biology (2014) and numerous Edusave scholarships.

Jun Jie’s proved himself to be trustworthy and totally committed to tasks assigned to him. With an outgoing nature, he formed many strong relationships with his peers. He was willing to go the extra mile to care for the welfare of his classmates and never hesitated to share knowledge with his peers. In spite of his many achievements, Jun Jie constantly displayed humility, gaining him the respect of his peers. This was recognized by his teachers when he was awarded Edusave Character Awards (2012, 2013). Beyond the school, he involved himself in tutoring Mathematics at Unity Primary School and led his classmates on an Overseas Service Learning journey to Cambodia.

Jun Jie was a Class Chairperson (2012) and elected President of the school’s 9 ^th Student Council (2013). Under his leadership, the Executive Committee of the Student Council participated actively in school seminars, where they shared their experiences and views on student welfare and leadership development. The committee also made innovative changes to their daily routine of duties to ensure effectiveness and efficiency. Jun Jie worked alongside his peers in planning and coordinating the school’s Secondary One Orientation Programme (2014), mentoring the team organisers to ensure the successful execution of the event.

In his CCA, Jun Jie was a Station Inspector, the highest rank attainable by a secondary school cadet. Appointed as Training Head (2013), his responsibilities included planning the weekly training and looking after the welfare of the Cadet Leaders and cadets under his charge. Jun Jie contributed significantly to Dunearn’s NPCC Unit achieving her 7 ^th consecutive Gold Award for the Unit Overall Proficiency Award (2007 - 2013). Jun Jie commands respect from the people working along with him, and is viewed as an approachable yet firm leader. He is praised by his CCA teachers for his sense of responsibility and dedication to the Corps and his ability to work in harmony with others. His hard work and dedication was recognised by the school and the Corps, and he was awarded the Best Unit Cadet Award (2014).

Demonstrating academic and character excellence, Jun Jie serves as a role model to others. He has gone on to a junior college but maintains strong ties with his alma mater, Dunearn Secondary School.

Chang Ern Ting (Express)

Chang Ern Ting was posted to Dunearn Secondary School in 2011. It is heartening to witness how Ern Ting has grown in her leadership skills from her exposure to the training and service opportunities provided by the school.

In Secondary 1, her Form Teacher recognized her strong people skills and high sense of responsibility. She was appointed Class Chairperson that year. In addition, recognizing her strong academic potential, she was identified by her Science and Mathematics teachers for the school’s Future Problem Solving Programme, a talent development programme. Her team was one of the few heartland school teams to make it to the national finals.

Through exposure and opportunities to work with different groups of people, both peers and adults, Ern Ting became more confident and was able to put her classroom learning to good use. By way of example, Ern Ting had led students in contributing to the school’s strategic planning process.

In 2013, Ern Ting was elected Vice President of Dunearn’s 9^th Student Council. A diligent and passionate leader, she played a significant role in leading the Student Council in planning and implementing many school events such as the Secondary One Orientation Camp, Teachers’ Day Celebration and the Prefects and Class Chairpersons Training Camp. Besides planning for school events, Ern Ting also mentored junior student leaders.

Ern Ting’s mother is most heartened to share with teachers that, as a result of her daughter’s involvement in Student Leadership, Ern Ting has developed important people and time management skills. A well-disciplined leader, she now speaks with conviction and insight. Her mother’s initial apprehension about the amount of time and degree of commitment required of Ern Ting has been allayed. This is due, in no small measure, to the close collaboration between the teachers in charge of Student Leadership and Ern Ting’s mother. These teachers are just a phone call away and believe strongly that it is only through school-home collaboration that the potential of the child is optimized. For this, Ern Ting’s mother is grateful and proud to call her daughter a Dunearnite.

Muhamad Khair B Mas'od (Express)

A student leader in and out of the classroom, Muhamad Khair B Mas'od exhibited drive to perform well for the subject of English Literature. This unique personal quality saw him learn to develop the skill of crafting essays with style and subtlety, progressively mastering both a solid grasp of literary content and an expressive flair in his writing. Khair attributes the steady strides he made in English Literature to the encouragement influence and guidance of both his Lower and Upper Secondary teachers, Ms Alicia Toh, Ms Goh K Thing, and Mr Tang Chee Onn. Khair improved to become the best English Literature essay writer in his cohort at the end of Secondary Four.

Khair’s PSLE results placed him squarely within the middle band of his year’s Secondary One intake, but his commitment to self-improvement saw him rewarded with the Edusave Merit Bursary Award in 2012 and the Edusave Scholarship Award in 2013.

Winner of the school’s Best in English Award (Secondary Three) in 2013, Khair is a bilingual student. Significantly, he stood out with his active participation in Malay Language drama and video competitions. In 2014, he garnered a Gold Award at the EDN Media National Malay Essay Writing Competition, contributing to his school achieving the Overall Best School Team Award.

Equally committed to developing the qualities of leadership and service, Khair was a Staff Sergeant in the National Police Cadet Corps and a member of the school’s Student Council.

An all-rounded student, Khair is grateful to the school for having had the opportunity to do English Literature as one of his ‘O’ level subjects. He attributes his passion for the subject to the various platforms his teachers provided for him to engage with Literature and Drama.

Khair hopes to go on to do Literature at a junior college.

Jason Ng Guo Xun (Express)

Jason was diagnosed with an eye condition at the age of 6. He and his family had not allowed his physical impairment hem-in his full involvement in all-round school life.

His poor vision is aggravated by the fact that his eye condition causes him to have difficulty seeing in bright light. In consultation with SEAB, SAVH and the parents, the school sought for special provisions (having an assistive device, a reader and a scribe) to be provided to minimize his disadvantage during national examinations.

Despite his visual impairment, with the support of his caring teachers and supportive peers, Jason benefitted from the school’s caring environment and inclusive programmes. Through all these, Jason grew holistically.

Leadership Experiences

A member of the 9 ^th Student Council, Jason polished his leadership skills through his working experiences with fellow Councillors. He gained good understanding on organizational awareness through his involvement in major school events like Teacher's Day celebration, Speech Day and Graduation Night. During the Secondary One Orientation programme, he exhibited good facilitation skills, and patiently guided Secondary One students to adapt to the new environment.

Valuable School Experiences

1. Overseas Learning to Vietnam

Jason went for an overseas service learning trip to Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam with his class in 2013. He displayed leadership skills and teamwork when he and his peers planned activities such as teaching Vietnamese students simple conversational English and Mathematics, personal hygiene and Arts and Craft for the children in Vietnam. He also demonstrated resilience and conducted the planned activities despite facing many obstacles such as communication and cultural differences.

2. Chinese Language Overseas Immersion to Taiwan

Jason was selected for the Chinese Language Overseas Immersion Programme to Taiwan. The trip gave him greater opportunity to develop his leadership skills through the group performance they planned for; it also broaden his world view and enrich his understanding on different cultures and practices.

3. Environment Champion (EC)

As a driver for environmental conservation, Jason volunteered his involvement in various environmental events; for example the school's "Square-Foot Planting" programme, annual Earth Hour Day, and the World Water day, where he was a guide who led staff from Standard Charted Bank through a tour to learn more about the four national "taps" of Singapore and how the Marina Barrage operates.

Attainments

Jason was the award recipient for the Edusave Scholarship Award (2011 and 2012), the Edusave Character Award (2013), and the school's Kelvin Ang's Humanities Award (2012) for being the Top Art Student at Secondary Two level. The many awards attained by Jason reflect his positive attitude towards learning, as well as his talent in Art.

As the President of the Info-com Club, besides helping his teacher-in-charge considerably, he also brings in various awards for the team. These includes a 5 ^th place in Sony EYES award competition (2014), Certificate of Participation in the Schools of Digital Media Awards (SDMA).

Jason flourishes under the culture of care that the school provides. He is humble and motivated, and he exhibits great motivation and capacity in both academic and soft skills learning. Despite his visual impairment, he is participated activities in school activities, value adding to his development. He is resilient and leads by example, and has grown under the guidance of teachers and support from peers.

Syed Muhammad Sabhansabhi (Normal Technical)

Syed Muhammad Sabhansabhi was posted to the Normal Technical course at Dunearn Secondary School in 2010.

In secondary school, Syed proved to be an active learner with a positive work attitude. He was always trying hard and giving his best in order to achieve his goals, both academically and in co-curricular activities. His teachers built strong rapport with him through school camps and overseas learning journeys, developing in him a strong sense of belonging to school. His Form Teacher Ms Nur Hanani, who followed his class through their four years with the school, used platforms such as Pupil Teacher Relational Time, Form Teacher Time and class VIA projects to encourage him to learn from the past and to move forward. She made it a priority to motivate him to work hard towards achieving his aspirations.

In Secondary One, Syed qualified to transfer to the Normal Academic stream. He chose, however, to stay in the Normal Technical course and articulated the belief that he would still be able to succeed even if he chose to continue in this stream.

Being one who has a strong working rapport with others, Syed excels in obtaining peer support. His classmates and teachers know him to be a caring student who can always be counted upon to take the initiative to help classmates in need. In 2012, he was Class Chairperson. In 2014, he was captain of the school’s Sepak Takraw team, leading his team to several wins at competitions.

Syed shows much resilience in the face of challenges and even, defeat. He is able to pick himself up and put in even more effort to achieve his dreams. More significantly, he is a genuinely caring person, believing in the importance of helping those in need. For his leadership capabilities, he was awarded the EAGLES (Leadership) Award in 2014. He also received the Edusave Bursary Award for Secondary Schools from 2011 to 2013.

Syed hopes to go on to do an Engineering course at ITE.