FOLLOWING the success of the student briefing session on READY BAG on Total Defence Day, the teachers of New Town Secondary School played catch-up by attending an Emergency Preparedness briefing specially organised for them.
The school made use of one of its structured Staff Development Day to conduct the briefing for all staff, including the executive and administrative staff, on 25 Feb 2009.
Through the assistance of the Community Engagement Directorate (CED), Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the school invited LTA Shahdele Isman, Public Education Officer from HQ 1st CD Division, Singapore Civil Defence Force, to conduct the session. LTA Shahdele customised his briefing to suit the needs of the school, which was to focus on the importance of the READY BAG as part of Emergency Preparedness.
Sharing of Experience: LTA Shahdele Isman gave a presentation on the READY BAG.
The school decided to focus on the READY BAG to highlight the importance of personal responsibility. By first getting the staff to understand the intent, purpose and content of the bag, followed by a hands-on activity to pack their individual READY BAG, the school is responding to the tagline fronting the commemoration of Total Defence Day 2009 at the national level; “It’s personal. Play your part.”
LTA Shah’s briefing was followed by a Q&A session. Many pertinent questions were raised by the participants relating to both the READY BAG as well as the Public Warning System (PWS). The fact that the session overran by 15 minutes demonstrated the staff’s enthusiasm on the topic at hand.
Hands-on: A dynamo radio works without batteries, one only need to turn the dynamo in order to power it up.
Imparting knowledge: The SCDF Emergency Handbook contains important information to prepare you for an emergency.
Staff participants were each given a SCDF Emergency Handbook in either one of the four official languages. The school also provided several of the recommended essential items to help the staff kickstart their READY BAG preparation. Notably, the school sponsored a multi-purpose dynamo-powered radio/ torchlight/ siren and handphone battery charger which wowed the participants.
