PAYA Lebar Methodist Girls’ School (Primary) commemorated Total Defence by instilling the concept of readiness in pupils on Total Defence Day.
The school invited officers from the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) to give a talk on the importance of fire safety. A quiz was conducted to stress the importance of fire safety. To excite the pupils, the SCDF officers gave out attractive toy helmets to pupils with the correct answers.
"Firegirl": A nice toy helmet was all it took to make her day.
The pupils were subsequently treated to a ‘live’ fire fighting demonstration in the parade square. It was certainly an eye opener for the pupils, who learnt a lot about fire safety and, in the spirit of Total Defence, they became more aware of the little part that each and everyone of them can play to make Singapore a safer place.
Kill the flames: It may look simple, but putting out fires actually requires skills.
To further equip the pupils with an awareness of what constitutes Total Defence, teachers subsequently introduced the theme for Total Defence 2009: “It’s Personal, Play your Part”. Pupils were asked to name the 5 aspects of Total Defence, namely Economic Defence, Social Defence, Civil Defence, Military Defence and Psychological Defence, to recapture the various aspects of Total Defence, each as important as the other.
Total Defence is all about readiness. To stress the importance of being “Always Ready”, teachers also gave a presentation on the concept of the READY BAG and the need to have them at home, even during peaceful times. Pupil volunteers helped to show the individual items in the READY BAG to their peers, to give everyone a better understanding of what makes up a READY BAG.
Be READY: The teachers introduced to pupils the concept of the READY BAG.
Proud winners: Pupils won themselves a READY Bear each by answering correctly questions on the READY BAG.
For some of the pupils, it was the first time they had such close up contact with the contents of the READY BAG. Their learning was enriched even more when the teachers reinforced the importance of each item. The highlight of the day was the quiz on the READY BAG, and each of the six proud winners walked away with a READY Bear sponsored by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
