Principal's Message 2022
In 2021, the
school celebrated our important milestone of 35th anniversary in the
midst of the ongoing battle against the pandemic. We also took a courageous
move to envision, plan and chart for our next phase of growth. A year’s long
effort by staff and students came to fruition with the articulation of our
school’s vision, mission and strategic plan.
The YTzen is
at the heart of the school. The mission of the YTSS is to “transform hearts
and minds, nurturing future-ready leaders of character and distinction.” I
would like elaborate on three key ideas in this statement:
First, “transform”.
This is a strong word, and it stems from our philosophy that every student that
passes through our gates will be a different person by the time he/she
graduates – a better citizen, a more confident individual, a proactive learner,
and a more empathetic member of society. Both the affective and cognitive
domains are deeply vested, and the school’s role is to develop both of these
holistically.
Second,
“future-ready”. This is an evergreen idea. By the time our YTzens enter the
workforce, they would have left secondary school for a good five years or more.
At the rate our external environment is evolving, a significant proportion of
the current corpus of knowledge and skills would have become obsolete or less
relevant. As a school, we need to
prepare our students not just for the immediate next steps for post-secondary
school education, but also beyond that. Such preparation entails building the
propensity to learn, unlearn and relearn; and a strong moral rectitude to
navigate uncertainties in the world.
Third,
“distinction”. By this, we are not referring to narrow academic outcomes,
because our students are already doing well. Instead, we like to activate their
intrinsic motivation, help them uncover and articulate their strengths, and support
them to carve out paths of their own. Through our broad-based, comprehensive
suite of curriculum, we will build peaks of excellence in students’ outcomes.
These are
challenging, but not lofty, goals. Our work has already started even during the
challenging year of the pandemic. How YTzens learn, socialise, interact and
play in YTSS is undergoing a transformation. I invite all our stakeholders to
co-create this vision with us.
(For stakeholders or visitors of
our website who are keen to find out more, you may refer to our refresh page on
mission, vision. There I have also elaborate on our strategy.)
Yours in learning,
Mr Ng Teo Heng
Principal
