2017/2/9

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Briefing for P6 Parents

23 January 2017

First and foremost

“Thank You!!”

…for your wonderful support to our school, teachers and your child throughout the past years.

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Agenda

1. Principal’s address2. Sharing on PSLE, Aggregate Score and Direct

School Admission matters3. Sharing on Broad P6 Curriculum for 2017 4. Engagement session with Form Teachers

Principal’s address

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Sharing on PSLE, Aggregate Score and DSA matters

PSLE It is a milestone placement examination for all

P6 students every year. There is a need for an objective, fair and meritocratic way to decide on◦ Placement of students in the appropriate

stream, Express or Normal (Academic) or Normal (Technical)◦ Placement of students in secondary schools

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PSLE Aggregate Score Each P6 student’s achievement in PSLE is

represented by his / her Aggregate Score.

The Aggregate Score will then be used to place him or her in the appropriate stream and secondary school.

The changes to PSLE scoring system announced last year does not apply to this cohort.

PSLE Aggregate Score The Aggregate Score is the sum of all the T-

scores for the 4 subjects.

T-score formula for each standard subject:

X = raw score of pupilY = average raw score of the entire cohortZ = standard deviation of the cohort’s raw scores

T = 50 + 10 ( )X – Y

Z

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PSLE Aggregate Score The 4 main subjects which include English,

Maths, Science and Mother Tongue will contribute equally towards a student’s PSLE aggregate score. In other words, each of the 4 main subjects carries equal weighting.

Higher Mother Tongue results does not contribute towards the aggregate score.

PSLE Aggregate Score Key ideas

◦ It is a relative score, not a raw score. It is not about how well a student scores. It is about how well

he/she scores compared to all other students in the cohort.

E.g. If a pupil’s raw score is 75 (an “A”), but if all others score more than 75, the T-score will then be very low.

◦ Each of the 4 subjects is equally important.

◦ If a pupil scores exactly the cohort average for each of the 4 subjects, the aggregate score will be 200.

◦ An easy paper might not lead to higher T-scores.

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PSLE Aggregate Score Higher Chinese

◦ Upto 3 bonus points will be awarded to students who take Higher Chinese and are applying for admission into a SAP school during Sec 1 application phase

Distinction – 3 bonus points

Merit – 2 bonus points

Pass – 1 bonus point

Foundation Subjects Will have different weighting on T-scores than

standard subjects because of the different demands

PSLE Aggregate Score and Stream posted

PSLE Aggregate Range Stream posted

200 and above Express

188 – 199 Express / Normal (Academic)

160 – 187 Normal (Academic)

152 – 159 Normal (Academic) / Normal (Tech)

151 and below Normal (Tech)

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PSLE Aggregate Score Posting to secondary school is based on, first

and foremost, merit according to pupils’aggregate scores.

All pupils are ranked according to their aggregate scores. The secondary school posting exercise starts with the pupil with the highest PSLE aggregate scores.

Each Secondary School will have a cut-off point for each stream they are offering.

Direct School Admission (DSA) DSA-Sec is an admission exercise to allow participating

schools to select some P6 students for admission to Secondary 1 based on their achievements and talents before the PSLE results are released.

Application is done directly to the desired secondary school(s) and not through the primary school.

2 domains◦ Academic Talent◦ Talents in Sports / Aesthetics

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DSA

Stages in DSA

◦ Application Stage◦ Selection Stage◦ Exercise School Preference Stage◦ Results release Stage

DSA – Application Stage

Around May to June.

Student gathers information on sec schools; niche areas, selection criteria, dates of trials / tests / interviews, etc, through school websites, calling school and attending open house events.

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DSA – Application Stage

Student identifies the school(s) he/she would like to apply to.

Student checks with the secondary schools he/she is interested in, on how to apply.

Submit application. (Different DSA schools have different deadlines for submission).

DSA – Selection Stage

End June to End August Selection by schools◦ Shortlisted student goes for selection tests /

camps or interviews at the DSA-Sec school(s).

Selection Outcome◦ Student receives outcome of application from

the school(s) he/she has applied to (i.e. Confirmed, Waiting List or Rejected) by end Aug.

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DSA – Exercise Sch Preference Stage

October.

Students with "Confirmed" Offers or who have been put on the "Waiting List" of a school will receive a School Preference Form from their primary schools.

Parents can indicate their child’s school preference(s) for up to 3 schools in the DSA-Sec School Preference Form.

DSA – Results Release Stage

End November. Student collects his/her DSA-Sec posting

result from his/her primary school, together with his/her PSLE results.

Student who is unsuccessful in the DSA-Sec Exercise will be notified of the outcome of the application and will participate in the Secondary One Posting Exercise

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Specialised Schools 4 specialised schools

◦ NUS High

◦ School of Science and Technology

◦ School of the Arts

◦ Singapore Sports School

Admission into these 4 schools is only through DSA

Parents who are interested to enroll their child into any of these 4 schools should do so during DSA

Broad P6 Curriculum

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Important Dates for 2017Dates Events

Term 2 - > week 7 – 9 SA1

May to August Direct School Admission (DSA)

Term 3 -> Mid-AugustTentative : 17 to 18 Aug

PSLE Oral Exam

Term 3 -> Week 9 School Preliminary Exam

Term 4 ->Mid-SeptemberTentative : 15 Sept

PSLE Listening Comprehension Exam

Term 4 -> End of September to Early October Tentative : 28 Sept to 4 Oct

PSLE Written Exam

Important Dates for 2017Dates Events

Term 4 - > 3nd Week of OctoberTentative : 19 to 24 Oct

PSLE marking days

Term 4 -> 2nd week of October toend of term

Post Exam activitiesGraduation night : 15 Nov

3rd to 4th week of November Release of PSLE results and Sec One application

3rd week of December Release of Sec One posting results and reporting to Secondary School

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2 Key Focuses for P6 Preparing our pupils for PSLE

Preparing our pupils for Secondary 1◦ Coping with the greater rigour and need for self-

directed learning in Secondary 1 education◦ Continuous journey in Values Education

Mathematics All the 11 topics will be taught in Semester 1

Algebra

Fractions

Percentage Term 1

Ratio

Speed

Solid Figures & Nets

Circles

Pie Charts

Volume of Solids and Liquids Term 2

Area & Perimeter

Angles in Geometric Figures

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Mathematics Term 3 and early Term 4

◦ Topical / Problem-Solving Skills Revision Packages

◦ Mock Tests / Practice Papers

Science All the 7 topics will be taught in Semester 1

Forces

Energy Forms and Energy Conversions Term 1

Photosynthesis

Environment

Web of life

Adaptations Term 2

Man’s Impact on the Environment

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Science Programmes for Term 3 and early Term 4

◦ Topical Revision Packages

◦ Mock Tests / Practice Papers

Science Please note that this cohort will be assessed

using the new 2014 Primary Science Syllabus

Format of the Std Science and Foundation Science PSLE papers will be changed slightly

Standard Sci

◦ 28 MCQ (56m)

◦ 12 to 13 SQ (44m)

Foundation Sci

◦ 18 MCQ (36m)

◦ 11 to 13 SQ (34m)

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English / MT• Continuous teaching and development in all 4

domains(Listening, Reading, Writing & Speaking)

• Focused teaching of various written components

• Past-year Practice Papers & Worksheets

English / MT• New : E-Oral for Mother Tongue during PSLE

Oral• Our school have started preparing the cohort

since last year in P5.• We will continue to provide adequate training

and practice for the students this year.

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Supplementary Lessons

Supplementary lessons in the afternoon

Holidays Supplementary Lessons

June Holidays

◦ Either Week 1 or Week 4

◦ Weeks 2 and 3 is a good window to plan for any overseas holidays

Evening Outreach

Our school has been opening up our Library to P6 students, who may need a conducive environment to do their self-revision, on selected evenings in T3 and early T4

At least 1 teacher will be around to monitor the students and to provide help if needed.

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Post PSLE Programmes

We will continue to engage all P6 students in learning, especially in other domains.◦ Music – Hip-Hop dance

◦ Art – Animation or Sand-Art

◦ Physical – Games

◦ Social-Moral – Sexuality Education, talks

◦ Others : Sec school talks / Career guidance and etc

Please continue to plan and allow your child to be involved in these programmes. It is an important part of their holistic development.

Inculcation of “Excellence” Value 6 School Values and 1 value is tagged to each

level.

◦ Primary 1 – Care

◦ Primary 2 – Respect

◦ Primary 3 – Integrity

◦ Primary 4 – Responsibility

◦ Primary 5 – Resilience

◦ Primary 6 – Excellence

All classes are named in such a way to reflect such a tagging

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Inculcation of “Excellence” Value 6 School Values and 1 value is tagged to each

level.

◦ Primary 1 – Care

◦ Primary 2 – Respect

◦ Primary 3 – Integrity

◦ Primary 4 – Responsibility

◦ Primary 5 – Resilience

◦ Primary 6 – Excellence

All classes are named in such a way to reflect such a tagging

Inculcation of “Excellence” Value Hierarchical development of school values from

P1 to P6

All P6 students are expected to have already understood and developed the 5 school values tagged to previous levels.

Our focus this year is to help students to understand and develop the value of “Excellence”.

It should be owned by all P6 students, not just some classes or students.

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Inculcation of “Excellence” Value There is a need for a common language and

approach.

“Excellence” is a performance value in action, it’s not just about excellent results

It should not be developed in isolation. It should support and complement academic pursuit and the overall holistic development of the child.

Inculcation of “Excellence” Value Academic pursuit

◦ Stays on task with minimal supervision◦ Is well-prepared for lesson everyday

Behavioural Excellence

◦ Being an exemplary role model for peers and the younger ones. It encapsulates all earlier behavioural expectations in P1 to P5

Leverages on their role as the most senior pupils in our school

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Looking ahead.. Do set targets together with your child in

terms of choice of secondary school and desired CCA/niche programmes, individual subject’s grades and overall PSLE aggregate score.

Such target-setting will help instill a sense of urgency and purpose in your child.

Jointly decide on an action plan to help your child to meet the targets.

Open Houses

Some secondary schools will be holding open houses at various dates during the year

Parents may want to consider visiting some of them and use the visits to start engaging your child in target setting, choice of niche programmes and sec school options.

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Engagement session with FTs

Room allocation

Excellence 1 - Computer Lab 1

Excellence 2 - Computer Lab 2

Excellence 3 - Computer Lab 3

Excellence 4 - Library

Excellence 5 - AVA room 1

Excellence 6 - AVA room 2