Take 5 – 16 January 2017 by Mrs Chloe Chai
Good Morning Mdm Tan, Mr Lee, Mr Chung, teachers and Gessians.
This week I would like to share about my reflections and observations on the polytechnic open house that I visited in week 1. Students today are indeed very fortunate to be able to visit post-secondary institutions before taking the O level examinations so that you could plan ahead and explore on the possible courses of your choice.
Each year, the open house of post-secondary institutions gets more informative and interesting as the cut off points for popular courses in the ITE, polytechnics as well as the junior colleges get more competitive. During week 1, I visited Ngee Ann Polytechnic Open House and was impressed. The Polytechnic even offered complimentary “Find my dream course workshop” for their prospective students. The response was so overwhelming that all the spaces for the workshop were filled up before we could register for it. In addition, Ngee Ann Polytechnic also deployed its lecturers, student ambassadors and final year students to share in greater detail about the requirements and information on a wide range of courses offered by various schools. The open house was well-organized despite the crowd and I even had a chance to speak to a final year Accountancy student when I visited the booth in the School of Business.
The visit to the Open House and the conversation I had with the final year student made me reflect and think about what I have to do if I were a secondary school student who will be taking N or O levels examinations soon. As students today, you must always keep yourselves updated on the emerging trends and anticipate the changes that may take place ahead. The future has become more competitive, unpredictable, complex and ambiguous, especially so with the rate of technological advancement. If we are not attuned to the changes ahead and are not equipped with the skills required to stay relevant to be future ready, we will be left behind and possibly, unemployed. I hope that after hearing this, all students who visit the open house by various institutions in the near future will treasure such opportunities given by our school and have the eagerness to be more proactive in charting your own future by having the courses, institutions in mind and a list of questions that you would like to find out before paying a visit to the institution.
On a side note, last Wednesday was the release of ‘O’ level results. I would also like to congratulate our 2016 Secondary 4 and 5 cohort for their commendable results! I hope that this will inspire and motivate our current graduating cohort to give of your best not only in your academics, CCA but at the same time to demonstrate and exemplify good character and values on a consistent basis. As we celebrate the success of our good work, let us not forget the hard work put in by the teachers who have taught you, developed you and challenged you to put in your best in everything you do.
Next, I would like to express my warm welcome to all Secondary 1 students to our school. I hope all of you have adjusted well so far and have a good start to the year. This coming Wednesday to Friday, you will be having the Sec 1 Gess camp. It is a platform for you to make new friends with your classmates and seniors. More importantly, it is a great opportunity for you to learn more about the School’s core values and the GESS heritage.
May the Gessian blood and spirit runs in each and every Gessian from sec 1 to sec 5 to strive ever onward! Thank you and I wish you a pleasant week ahead.