Overview

Character and Citizenship Education

Queenstowner Outcomes (QtO)

In the 6 years of education @ QtPS, the school aims to develop 4 student outcomes.

The Queenstowner Outcomes (QtOs) form a set of aspirated outcomes seeking to develop Queenstown students in 4 areas; being a Confident Individual, A Caring Citizen, A Critical Thinker and an Effective Leader – 4 traits that we believe will help prepare them for the future.

The CCE curriculum in Queenstown Primary focuses on helping them develop these traits: Caring Citizens, Confident Individuals and Effective Leaders.

A Confident Individual is self-assured and thinks positively.
A Caring Citizen is a compassionate and civic-minded individual who shows concern for others and serves the needs of the community.
An Effective Leader is a good communicator and team player.

Positive Education as an Approach

Queenstown Primary School believes in Positive Education (PosEd). Positive education seeks to combine the study of happiness and well-being with traditional education practices and principles. The school uses the PERMA model based on Martin Seligman’s book on Flourish to help us establish practices in which we focus on fostering positive well-being of the children.

Though the PERMA model, we aim to help students be more Positive Thinkers and Self-assured individuals. These can be inculcated through practices that we have adopted in the school.

Mindful Moments @ Recess

After a hectic workout through play during recess, students gather in their classes and start the Mindful Moment Routine which lasts approximately 5 minutes. A pre-recorded video with music is played to help students calm down through breathing exercises. We believe that this helps them prepare for the next class better and helps them build concentration in the long run. This fosters positive emotions as they get ready for the activity for the day.

Mass Birthday Celebration

The Mass Birthday Celebration is an initiative borne from the school’s philosophy of “Every Child Matters and Can Accomplish”. The mass celebration of students’ birthdays reinforces this belief. On the first Friday of each month during the school’s pre-assembly period, the names of students who will be celebrating their birthday in that month will be flashed on PowerPoint slides. They will later be asked to stand and 2 teachers lead the school in singing them a birthday song. Their friends are encouraged to wish them a happy birthday later in class. Students enjoy this time and feel not just appreciated, but also valued as significant individuals.

Caught Doing Right

‘Caught-Doing-Right’ is an initiative that was implemented by the SDT, riding on to the culture of care that Queenstown Primary School is recognized for. It is a weekly, school-wide platform created for teachers to affirm students, and students to affirm one another on commendable deeds of kindness and honesty, positive learning attitude, exercising self-disciplined and responsible behaviours etc.

Teachers and students identify the student who was ‘caught doing right’ and highlights the positive deed/attitude/behaviour displayed during Friday’s morning assembly.

With rousing applause, the student will stand up wherever he/she may be, and the school will recite a ‘Caught-doing-right’ slogan coupled with hand gestures to affirm them for what they have done. This we believe, helps students help with students adopting a positive mindset toward achievements as it celebrates not just academic achievements, but also positive character traits being displayed.

Building a Growth Mindset

Professor Carol Dweck explains people with a growth mindset feel their skills and intelligence can be improved with effort and persistence. This is important for not just adults but also children who must believe that success can be achieved through hard work and determination so that they have a healthy perception of achievement which leads to greater sense of well-being.

In Queenstown Primary, lessons on Growth Mindset (incidental and planned) are delivered at each level to help students find ways to inculcate such a mindset to help them find success in life.

Inculcating Gratitude

Frequently finding ways and time to show gratitude also helps to build positive emotions in students. Research has shown that people are better at analysing things that have gone badly in their lives but not so much so for the good things. Finding time to be thankful for little things help to raise positive emotions in a one’s life. We teach our students to be grateful for small things and they can do so through penning notes in their handbook and also through small projects that come along the way. An example would be the gratitude notes they penned for cleaners in the school and also healthcare workers at Alexandra Hospital to show our support for them in these trying times.

Power Mail

Each week, students write a note of encouragement to friend in the class. A chart with all the students’ names are placed in the classroom and at allotted times, students are encouraged to place a note of encouragement to their friends to brighten their day. We have seen friendships blossom with this initiative as this helps build and improve friendships among classmates

Social Skills

Being able to interact and work harmoniously with one’s peers help to build positive relationships. Such skills are caught and taught. We believe in helping students work well with each other and we teach them how to do so through social skills taught in FTGP lessons. Each level focuses on 1 skill a Semester and this is reinforced throughout the year.