Total Defence Day 2010

New Town Secondary School has been actively promoting its Community Engagement Programme (CEP) over the past few years. This year’s Total Defence Day (TDD) commemoration provided yet another opportunity to promote the CEP message of building resilience.

This year, the school took a different approach in planning the TDD programme. The NE committee organized a combination of common and differentiated programmes for the students and staff. First, a fire drill was conducted to bring the whole school together. This was followed by a demonstration on how to operate the fire extinguishers used in the school.

The end of the demonstration signaled the commencement of the differentiated programme segment of the day’s programme. For the graduating students, an In-Place Protection (IPP) hands-on workshop was conducted by personnel from the SCDF HQ 1st CD Division. As the seniors of the school’s student population, members of the TDD organizing committee felt strongly that the Secondary Four and Five students should take the lead in promoting IPP in both the school and home context. It was hoped that they would spread their knowledge of IPP and the importance of being prepared in times of an emergency to both their more junior school mates as well as their family members back at home. To enhance the excitement of the workshop, a “Best Protected Class” competition was conducted. The SCDF officers acted as judges and provided constructive comments to all the classes on their efforts. All participants were rostered to visit the winning class’s efforts. Once again, the school would like to thank the Community Engagement Directorate of the Ministry of Home Affairs for kindly sponsoring the CEP folders and note-pads as prizes for the winning class.

For the other levels, a round-robin experience involving three different stations was planned. The three stations were 1. First-aid 2. Bomb Shelter and 3. “I will” Pledge. Each of the station was designed to allow participants experience different aspects of resilience building. The first-aid station provided a hands-on experience for the students as they were able to practice basic bandaging on their fellow classmates. At the bomb station, a short video-clip on military defence was shown and a ready bag was put on display, together with some write-up on the importance of having a ready bag. At the “I will” Pledge, students were given time to think and reflect on how they can contribute to the security of the country. All their pledges were displayed on large canvas sheets placed around the school.

In many ways, this year’s commemoration of TDD represented a departure from the normal practice. The idea of having a differentiated programme was a bottoms-up initiative from the teacher organizer of the event. His idea in turn was the result of him seeking feedback from his students on how they would like to commemorate TDD. In addition, the involvement of the SCDF officials added a new level of professionalism to the IPP training programme. Not only were the students able to learn from the professionals, they could hear first-hand accounts from officers working at the forefront of national security. It was indeed an enriching partnership for both the students and the officers.

Finally, some feedback from the participants. First, let us hear from the students. Cheryl Lim, a Secondary Three participant of the round-robin experience, had this to say. “It was tiring to move around from one station to another. But it is still better than to sit throughout a whole assembly talk on the importance of Total Defence.” Moe Khaine, one of the student leaders who was involved in this year’s running of the round-robin experience, was also involved in the previous year’s Ready Bag Challenge competition, had this to say. “Unlike last year, I had no problem this year to get the students to talk and participate in the activities. They were all doing something at each station.”

Reflecting on his experience in organizing this year’s TDD, Mr Goh Soon Hua, a Mathematics and Science teacher had this to say. “Initially, we were concerned with the movement of students from one station to another. We needed to ensure that the three stations could be covered within the one hour allocated. I am glad we were able to come out with a programme that the students wanted to experience, rather than what we wanted them to experience.”

NE coordinator, Mr Tan Say Pin also shared his reflections upon the school’s effort in promoting Total Defence this year. “I was reminded of video clip that was screened at last year’s NE seminar entitled “What do you see?”. The video basically captured the understanding of National Education from the students’ points of view. Hence, I was glad that the NE committee rose up to the challenge and literally, took the path less traveled. We responded to the students’ needs and tried to plan something that is activity-based. While it took more effort to plan, I am glad the teachers saw that it was worth their effort.”

Reported by:
Mr Tan Say Pin, Teacher In-charge of Cluster West One NE Interest Group - 29 March 2010