The Student Development Committee's belief in enriching lives and empowering all Millennians results in a conscious effort to ensure that our students are equipped for life. This is achieved via programmes offered by the five committees which make up the Student Development Committee, namely, Co- curricular Activity, Culture and the Performing Arts, Entrepreneurship, Physical Education and Student Leadership.
Skills acquisition runs as the foremost objective in all our programmes. This is to ensure that our students develop the necessary 21st century traits such as multi- cultural literacy, information literacy, oral communication fluency and ability to work in as well as lead teams. Furthermore, talented students are invited to join the Talent Management Programme where they are nurtured and given guidance by their mentors.
With the necessary skills, our students are able to embark on collaborative projects with other schools and external organisations. The experience gained from overseas exchanges, internships and competitions allow them to build up their confidence and self- esteem.
In sum, the skills, guidance and opportunities given by the various committees of Student Development have imbued in our students our MI core values of Respect, Responsibility, Resilience and Integrity as well as tolerance for differences.
LEADERSHIP
Vision ~ promoting collective responsibility for doing it right and doing it well
As in the Chinese Proverbs, "It takes ten years to grow a tree; it takes a lifetime to develop a person", character development within our Institute began, as part of our envisioning exercise in 2003, with engaging the whole staff in clarifying what our end in mind is, and how it should guide our approach to work. Premised on our mission to "nurture talents to achieve success", our vision of building a forward-looking community of passionate learners, reflective thinkers, confident leaders and cultured individuals is closely aligned to attributes of students with strong character. This is defined as students "doing it right", i.e. possessing the moral character of Integrity and Respect; as well as "doing it well", i.e. possessing the performance character of Resilience and Responsibility. We want to develop students to be lifelong learners and ethical thinkers, respectful and responsible moral agents, self-disciplined and contributing members of the community. In realizing our vision, we adopt a values-based approach to integrating the Institute's twin outcomes of developing academic/career-related competencies, as well as personal/civic virtues, for success in school, work and beyond. We work collectively to establish the conditions that support the long-term goals of fostering these strengths of character in our people over their lifetime.
Commitment ~ aligning evidence-based practices with desired outcomes
Our commitment is to align evidence-based practices, grounded in our core values, to achieve the desired outcomes. To this end, Institute leaders are directly involved in establishing character development policies and spearheading broad programmes, communicating rationale of policies and practices and performance standards to students and stakeholders. Our school leaders model personal involvement through leading by example, including "walking the talk", and being personally involved in daily school life, and sharing of readings and personal learning. For example, we adopt a Servant Leadership Model for defining leadership attributes and outcomes; hence staff and students are clear that leaders "lead by serving". Commitment is also exemplified through school leaders being mentors to students, as part of Student Mentorship Programme. Our commitment to constantly assess and review programme relevance further ensures that school practices are empirically verified, and contributing to realizing our goals of character development.
CULTURE
Ethos of Care ~ creating a school culture that cares about ethics & excellence
The Institute's culture embodies both promoting ethics and excellence at work. Founded on caring relationships built between staff and students, we strive to create a positive environment of mutual respect and common ground for growth and personal development. Based on 2005 School Climate Survey findings, staff rated overall school support and culture as positive, and that there is strong focus on holistic development of students (mean ratings were all higher than that of other JCs). Our teachers also clinched the NIE-ExxonMobil Caring Teachers Awards for three consecutive rounds. Permeating our caring culture is a shared vocabulary based on Covey's 7 Habits of Effectiveness for internalizing our core values. Aligned to the social and emotional competencies we seek to develop in our students, all relevant programmes focus on creating Awareness [engaging the head], shaping Attitude [touching the heart] and engendering Action [moving the hands]. Hence, to have character, students learn to know what ethical behaviour and excellence require, to care about, and to strive to act in ethical and excellent ways. For example, in citizenship and national education, a key component is for all students to participate in a Community Involvement Day based on a Service-Learning framework, where students critically assess and effectively implement plans to meet needs in their community, with support from stakeholders including EAS and parents.
Shared Responsibility ~ developing shared purpose, identity, and a unique voice
At the outset, we build a unified school culture by developing a shared purpose for all. Excellence and ethics are the cornerstones of our mission, identity and sense of community. In educating our students, there is a collective sense of responsibility, involving close consultation among staff on students' performance and conduct for deciding leadership positions and academic promotions. Students take personal responsibility in defining their academic goals through target-setting, and chart out their own Personal Development Plans in developing servant leadership characteristics as identified. Student Council holds dialogue sessions to elicit feedback and input on key issues with class representatives. Through the Student Suggestion Scheme, students identify areas of potential improvement for the school. Our faculty leaders conduct semestral FL Submit and take ownership in running NE commemorative events for students.
PROCESSES, SYSTEMS & STRUCTURE
Student-Centred Processes ~ not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves
We recognize that for character development to take root, we need to work from where our students are, i.e. having a clear understanding of their needs and involving them in decision-making. An integrative mechanism comprising Needs-survey and Profiling enables us to build up a comprehensive database for identifying and responding to specific needs so relevant programmes including PC, CCA, leadership and other enrichment programmes can be implemented, with moulding students' character as the core focus. With collaborative planning, students' choices are considered so there is a good match between their CCA allocated and interests. For assessment and review, programme surveys are conducted to elicit feedback and input from staff and students, including after action review carried out for major programmes to ensure relevance and responsiveness.
Approach to Deployment of Resources ~ putting first things first
To signal the high priority we place on developing character in all we do, we have dedicated committees overseeing different focus/aspects of related programmes, yet they work in synergy with clarity of organization structure. Resources are deployed for maximal benefits of students, within a coherent framework of SEL and shared language of whole-school 7 Effectiveness Habits. Outcomes are evaluated to inform deployment impact at mid-year and end-of-year, and for fine-tuning manpower and finance allocations. Key areas of work are accordingly re-scoped each year to strengthen impact and delivery. For areas beyond the expertise of our teachers, external resources are tapped on to work in collaboration with staff.
Approach to Learning & Growth ~ facing the brutal facts; dealing with truth
Our premise is we do not know it all; and we acknowledge squarely that our current competencies in doing character work are limited. A Professional Development Committee spearheads efforts in building a Learning Community. Staff undergo systematic training in Win-Win Discipline, Connecting Character to Conduct, Servant Leadership, SEL and Service Learning, to name a few. A For Action Research (FAR) team is formed to drive research and innovation in student management initiatives to better realize our CD vision for developing passionate learners and reflective thinkers. Learning opportunities are capitalized through staff sharing, self-reflection and peer learning; including periodic reviews on staff competencies. School Climate Survey has also shown staff rated these efforts positively, above JC means.
Approach to Curriculum Design ~ not teaching subjects, but students
We adopt a Developmental, "Inside-Out" approach, premised on our core values, in designing teaching-learning for students' holistic development in line with SEL. Our focus is to integrate values education and character development, emphasizing on connections between moral reasoning, feeling and action, by leveraging on Instructional Programmes, CCAs and stakeholder involvement. LJs are conducted by academic departments to tie in with relevant topics and enrichment visits. This way, staff draw linkages across learning for students, hence providing them the relevance and meaning to value inculcation. CCA groups organize CIP for students to better harness teamwork and common purpose within the groups. For greater ownership, students track their personal development using a Student Portfolio, a compilation of evidences of their total development in both the academic and non-academic areas throughout their stay in the Institute.
Approach to Student Management ~ guiding students in understanding the laws of life
Our philosophy is to instill Personal and Social Responsibility among our students, for developing Self Discipline with Dignity, within a win-win relationship, to attain a moral tone that is conducive for learning and essential for life in society. Clear standards of behaviour expectations are communicated, such as attendance and punctuality, with rationale of instilling good work attitudes and habits. Our focus is not to restrict, but liberate students to make responsible choices and take sound actions to pursue wellness in life. Rather than didactic and confrontational, we seek to engage students in self-reflection, and for building citizenship based on fairness and love for others. For example, as a restorative measure, students caught smoking make a public apology to the school for not respecting others and causing harm to the common environment. Students are re-directed and cheered on by their tutors to keep the narrow path, with fresh starts/second chances, and work through personal issues to build resources in developing moral discipline.
Approach to Collaboration ~ calling upon the whole village to raise the child
We recognize that character development goes beyond what we as a school can offer. Key to it is involving our parents to work in collaboration for child's progress. At the beginning of every school year, Home Tutors send out postcards to introduce themselves and establish first contacts with parents. Through talks and parents' evenings, parents surveyed feel that we have addressed their concerns and enabled hem to better work with school for the holistic development of their children. Alumni members play a key role in role-modelling and showing possibilities to our students. They are invited for future education and career talks to inspire them to do well. Together with Institute Advisory Committee, ex-staff, foundations, community/industrial partners and school vendors, we collectively demonstrate the values of contributing back to society through fund-raising and other financial support. Ultimately, in all we do, we strive to put in place necessary systems/structures, to gradually, but surely, build-up a ethos and culture of sustaining improvement to achieve a break-through in moulding strong characters of tomorrow, and for realising the things that last (Collins, J, FROM GOOD TO GREAT).