CONNECTING THE DOTS AMID COVID-19 - July 2020 - Home-Based Learning: It Takes a Village - APSN
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CONNECTING THE DOTS AMID COVID-19
July 2020
Home-Based Mothers Who NTUC lends strong
Learning: It Love Beyond support to APSN
Takes a Village their Own
1
MCI (P) 099/01/2020
CONTENTS
04
Home-Based Learning:
It Takes a Village
07
Mothers Who Love ACTING CEO’S MESSAGE
Beyond their Own
08 A ‘Response-Ability’ to Do More
In Stephen R Covey’s bestselling book ‘The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People’, he cited Habit No. 1 as “proactivity” –
Events & Outreach an ideal Covey saw as not just reacting to conditions, but making decisions to make things happen.
The COVID-19 pandemic has dealt a heavy blow to many in our APSN community. It is already all-consuming being
10 a parent of a child with special needs. The added stresses of working from home, Circuit Breaker and Home-Based
Learning (HBL) proved to be too much for some of our APSNian caregivers to handle.
NTUC lends strong True to form, our APSN educators, allied professionals and support staff stepped up to the plate. As a community, we
support to APSN examined how the virus was going to affect us, and determined it was not going to knock us down.
In our Main Feature, we have our APSN teacher, Mr Jose Manuel, who was locked out of Singapore because of
11
border controls after travelling home to the Philippines. Even then, he passionately prepared HBL materials for his
students into the wee hours of the morning, as he had to take care of his three young children during the day while
his wife worked.
Busy, Happy Hands
Parents marvelled at our educators going above and beyond the call of duty to support their children’s learning.
Besides preparing resources, they followed up with phone calls to make sure all was okay. Allied professionals also
provided additional assistance such as parent counselling, teacher support and purchasing meals for school-going
children without caregiver support, on top of their regular duties of beneficiary counselling, therapy and social work.
Although I just joined APSN in May, I am already amazed by my staff’s strong sense of proactivity. As the impact of
COVID-19 continues, I am positive this same spirit will ignite sparks of “can-do” in our beneficiaries too.
– Stanley Tang, Acting CEO, APSN
Please note: Non-family pictures in newsletter taken before COVID-19 pandemic.
INTRODUCTION 3
HOME-BASED LEARNING: Some of the materials are based on current
IT TAKES A VILLAGE lessons that they have created before
for the classroom. Ms Hajar helped tailor
the materials to the online classroom
setting. Visual aids are usually several pages long, so Ms
Hajar simplified all the visual aids for each lesson to just
one page for the online quizzes – which are based on the
From April 8 to May 4, the nation’s schoolchildren stayed vocational skills, such as checking the expiry dates of food,
home and participated in Home-Based Learning (HBL). or life skills, such as money-counting.
Teachers burnt the midnight oil creating online learning
materials. Parents, too, juggled parenting and working This was to also make it
roles with their newfound duty as “overnight educators”. simple for the caregivers
who are acting as
The APSN family all engaged collaboratively in this The trainees’ attention spans also varied. Some could last
“overnight teachers”.
collective effort, to make sure students and trainees did Additional knowledge
one hour; others, just 10 to 15 minutes at a time.”
not lose ground in their education and preparation for on caregiver training
Ms Tham and her team empowered caregivers to become
the workplace. and resources were
“natural supports”, as the APSN instructors could not
provided by our Allied
be there themselves. “We wanted to leverage on the
Professionals and Alumni
natural support in the family to do HBL. This means that
Services team. Trainees’,
family members were equipped to provide mentoring,
APSN Teachers Going Above the Call of Duty: staff’s and caregivers’
supervision and training to help beneficiaries expand
emotional health were
Parent their capabilities.”
taken into consideration
in curriculum
Every school day during Circuit Breaker, Dr Viji Kasiram Natural supports are particularly effective because they
development.
woke her son, Kaushik, up at 7am. The health IT professional enhance the social participation and acceptance of an
then assisted the Secondary 4 student from APSN Tanglin employee with special needs in the workplace. They tend to
“When I go into the
School (TS) for the next half a day, while she worked be more permanent, consistent and readily available than
online system to check in on the quizzes, I am gratified to
from home. paid supports, thereby, helping our beneficiaries keep their
see the trainees participating and the caregivers’ feedback
job and maintain workplace skills.
that the materials help to engage their child. All the
Lessons and assignments started to stream in at 8am. First
hours spent brainstorming on these learning materials
was Vocational Guidance, then Numeracy and Literacy until Ms Tham concludes that the Circuit Breaker measures
were really worthwhile. Also, when I see some of the
10am. There were also exercise videos and stories to be read resulted in increased social vulnerability for the trainees
instructors stepping out of their comfort zone to try
aloud every day. Assignments for Numeracy and Literacy as most of their jobs were disrupted. “The HBL helped to
creating the online visual aids, I feel really happy for them,”
had to be submitted by 11am, while the rest could be done upskill them, keep them engaged, and provide supervision,
says Ms Hajar.
at one’s own pace. so that they can contribute back to society when the
Circuit Breaker ends. Curriculum
Equipping Caregivers
“All the teachers worked extremely hard because there development is a lot of work, but is
were so many videos, assignments, exercises and stories also very meaningful.”
Ms Dede Tham, another Instructor and curriculum
for Kaushik to look at and do. I feel that they worked even
developer with APSN Adult Programmes, says that the
harder than usual, going above and beyond the call of
parents required different levels of support. “We had to
duty. Class teacher Ms Mardiana Mohamed Ithnin and Ms
customise the materials according to their needs.
Tan Si Hua, the teacher aide, checked in with me more
than once through live calls,” says Dr Viji. “They guided my
Tailored Support for Overnight, Online Teachers
son through difficult assignments and asked us if we were
facing any difficulties.” Teachers across the board have said that it is definitely
APSN Allied Professionals Calm the Sea Storm of
“more work with Home-Based Learning (HBL)”. APSN Adult
She adds that she could not individually name all the Programmes’ curriculum developers like Siti Hajar Ali
Changes during HBL
teachers who created all the learning materials, but she was (pictured on the cover) and Dede Tham can attest to this.
very thankful to all of them. She also highlighted that she A mountain load of changes greeted APSN students, For the students without caregiver
was so grateful to Principal Mrs Liza Ow who has been very parents and staff alike when mandatory Home-Based support who were in school, the APs
Empowering Staff supported them by:
supportive and really invested in the children’s learning all Learning (HBL) was announced to be implemented in
this while. early April. These developments came in the form of the
Ms Hajar is an instructor and curriculum developer for (1) helping students to transit to
revised modes of communications, routines, learning
all the vocational training programmes for Retail, Bakery, unfamiliar teachers and adapt to new
“APSN teachers’ support with my methodologies and even who taught whom.
Kitchen, Horticulture and Café. For HBL, she collaborated routines besides ordering their meals;
son made my Work From Home with several APSN Instructors to create their visual aids and
experience that much more Ms Gan Hui Hoon, a social worker at APSN Katong School and
customised training to suit their home settings. They were (2) briefing teachers on how to
manageable,” she concludes. (KS), and the rest of the Allied Professional (AP) team
not used to being “online teachers”, as they are usually more support these students, what homework each student had,
made special arrangements to meet the different needs
hands-on in training. Ms Hajar gave them some guidelines as well as the strengths, weaknesses and risks/trigger points
that emerged.
and made corrections to what they prepared. of each student.
4 TOP FEATURE TOP FEATURE 5
MOTHERS WHO LOVE
The AP team also supported the school’s HBL efforts
through the development of online resources – social
BEYOND THEIR OWN
stories, visual schedules, fine motor skills craft for
occupational therapy, sensory kits, speech exercises
and more.
Two ladies from the APSN Chaoyang School (CYS)
“The whole AP team worked very hard during HBL. We
Parent Support Group (PSG) will be moving on this year
continued counselling/therapy sessions through Microsoft
after their children graduate from primary school:
Teams or WhatsApp video calls, and this went on even
during the school holidays,” Ms Gan says.
(1) Karen Sim Chwee Lin (Chairperson)
(2) Esther Song (Treasurer cum Secretary)
Some parents experienced anxiety because of the social
isolation resulting from the stay-home regulations and The social workers supported needy families with
additional meal and transport subsidies, loan of laptops Some of the events they have helped out with during
having to cope with the change of learning mode and
and SIM cards donated by Temasek Foundation, and NEU their tenure are as follows:
routines. Part of the first week of HBL was spent giving
emotional support and teaching caregivers and students PC Plus applications to have the laptops and Internet
access for online learning. • Weekly Reading Programme for the lower
how to use Microsoft Teams. “As a social worker, I helped
primary students.
parents to be emotionally stable. When the parents were
Ms Gan affirms, “The AP team • Chinese New Year Celebrations
able to manage themselves, they could better manage
and I are glad that we could • Life Skill Day
their children.”
accompany the parents and • Hari Raya Puasa Celebrations
students who went through • Racial Harmony Day
The AP team stepped in to continue to provide emotional
this tough and special journey • Deepavali Celebrations
support to parents, and shared with them self-care tips,
together. We survived the Esther out and about with her husband and son, Sean. • Teacher’s Day Celebrations
community resources such as helplines, and a virtual
storm because we held on to • School Official Opening
care pack.
each other throughout.”
Parent by Day, Teacher by Night
During the March school holidays, Mr Jose Manuel, a Senior APSN KS Principal Ng Puey Koon adds
Teacher with APSN Katong School (KS), went back to the that Mr Manuel inspired his colleagues
Philippines to see his wife and three kids. He expected through the sharing of his HBL resources
to be away for a week, but ended up being locked out of and support for his students’ learning all
Singapore because of COVID-19 border controls. the way from the Philippines.
By some fortunate twist of fate, the pandemic allowed him At the time of writing this story, it was
to continue working despite the distance between him and still uncertain when Mr Manuel would
his students – through home-based learning (HBL). return to Singapore.
We invited them to share some thoughts about motherhood
and the PSG.
During the day, while his wife (a Human Resources
Manager) worked, he looked out for his children, aged 4,
For Esther, it never crossed her mind that she would have
8 and 10. From the late night to early morning, he created
a child with special needs. She and her husband may not
videos for his students at APSN KS. He only got 5 to 6 hours
experience the success of what a typical child does, but they Karen with Gale and the rest of their family during a
of sleep each day.
rejoice daily for what their son Sean has achieved. birthday celebration.
“The video lessons I created were different
She adds, “Although sometimes the PSG events require a lot of planning and coordination, ultimately it
every day. I also wanted to create a sense of
gives us a sense of achievement and satisfaction.”
routine for my students. I set it up so that
we followed the routines that we usually
Chairperson Karen says, “Having a child with special needs has made me a stronger and more patient
do in class – with the “Ready to Learn” rules,
woman! Gale has made me smile whenever she has accomplished every milestone. Although it may take
such as sitting properly and being quiet
quite a while, it is always fulfilling for me.”
before learning begins. The point was for
them to adjust easier. There was a sense of
Furthermore, she adds that it has been a very fulfilling experience to volunteer in PSG: seeing the smiles of everyone at
predictability and familiarity even though
school and being the voice of parents to build a closer working relationship with the school. All this is for the betterment
they are at home,” he says.
of the students, for all the children.
6 TOP FEATURE UNDER THE LIMELIGHT 7
EVENTS & OUTREACH
Online Performance with The Purple Symphony
Total Defence Day 23 April 2020 | Facebook.com
14 February 2020 | APSN Katong School
In the era of COVID-19, events and gatherings have
moved online. One such event was an amazing
With the onset of the COVID-19 situation, affecting billions worldwide, performance by The Purple Symphony, an inclusive
APSN Katong School embarked on a project to help students understand orchestra comprising talented musicians with and
the importance of personal hygiene, as well as the role they play in keeping without special needs. It featured a cello-playing trainee
Singapore safe. As part of Total Defence Day, students created posters and from APSN Centre for Adults, Royce Tan. He practised
videos to share key messages of hand washing, keeping the classroom clean, every day for about 2 hours to perfect his playing.
and maintaining safe distance. He did this on top of his Home-Based Learning and
household chores.
Ms Suhaidah Yusup, a Secondary 4 Form Teacher, shared that as part of
the Total Defence Day class-based activity, her level’s teachers decided Royce began learning the cello when he was 11; he
to collaborate to produce a video. The video aimed to spread awareness initially learnt to play the piano, but his interest for the
and educate other students about the importance of exercising social cello took over. While the 21-year-old could not really
responsibility during the pandemic. All the students contributed their ideas, explain why he loves the cello, his mother guessed it was
from lyrics of the song to the dramatisation of the different scenes. The because Royce loves the sound the cello makes, as he also
collaboration truly reflected the slogan of Total Defence Day, “Together We likes the double bass.
Keep Singapore Strong.”
The APSN Baking Enterprise trainee adds that he is happy when he plays with The Purple Symphony as he
Student Kadin Omar added, “I felt proud to have my voice as part of the has made a lot of friends. It makes him very happy to make music together with them.
video. My parents were also happy to see the Sec 4 students’ efforts in
teaching others to be safe during COVID-19.”
Hari Raya Puasa Celebrations
22 May 2020 | APSN Chaoyang School
Packed Meals from the Heart
Due to the nationwide Circuit Breaker, APSN Chaoyang School’s Hari
3 April 2020 | APSN Centre for Adults Raya celebration this year took on a different form: it went online.
The theme for this year’s Hari Raya celebration was “E-Raya”!
Non-profit organisation Majurity Trust, with the support of On the day of celebration, students learnt about the significance of
Singapore-based family foundations and philanthropists, Hari Raya Aidilfitri through informative slides, videos, sing-a-longs,
kick-started the Singapore Strong (SG Strong) Fund to support and dances. There were also interesting games for the students such
ground-up initiatives during the challenging COVID-19 period. as Word Search, Hangman and Kahoot. Students got to try out a
series of hands-on craft activities such as making ketupat, lantern
On April 3, despite a heavy decorations and D-I-Y green packets. Many parents even sent photos
downpour in the morning, SG of their children engrossed in the handicraft activities! Finally, students could send E-Raya
Strong grantee, Eileen Tay and other greetings to their classmates and teachers via the Learning Wall, an internal social media
volunteers prepared and gave free platform on Marshall Cavendish Online Learning Management System.
packed meals to 159 trainees at
APSN Centre for Adults. By completing the various online activities, students demonstrated
their understanding of what they had learnt about Hari Raya. Despite
not being physically together, students and staff celebrated the
The grantee collaborated with hawkers who were more than happy to extend their time and festive activities as one. It was indeed a refreshing and heart-warming
services to lend support to others within the community. Majurity Trust said on its Facebook experience for all!
page, “We are truly thankful to the stall owners for their hard work over the past few days, as well
as to prepare for the bulk order this morning and making sure that the food reached the (APSN)
recipients – warm!”
APSN CFA Senior Centre Lead Philip Li said that the trainees thoroughly enjoyed the meals
provided and felt valued through the kind gesture.
8 EVENTS & OUTREACH EVENTS & OUTREACH 9
NTUC LENDS STRONG BUSY, HAPPY HANDS
SUPPORT TO APSN
During the two months of the Circuit
Breaker, our beneficiaries were in the
Farhat Azizi Abdullah was in APSN Delta Senior School’s good hands of their APSN teachers for
(DSS) graduating class of 2019. He was a student with fine Home-Based Learning (HBL).
motor skills issues and is also quite a lean young man.
Although many caregivers faced
challenges in juggling HBL and Sticker pasting is fun and
During his work attachment with NTUC FairPrice, he had
challenges handling cold grocery items at the FairPrice Work From Home, APSN educators relaxing. It just makes me
store at Hillion Mall. He was tasked to arrange things in the were really proud to see how our happy and satisfied when I
freezer, but his hands used to shiver when he put things beneficiaries progressed. finish a piece of art.
in there.
Some even helped their families with - Kai Xiang
When the FairPrice Operations team found out about this, household chores, applying what
they gave feedback to Farhat’s APSN DSS Job Coach, Ms they learnt in school/ centre. Others
Goh Wei Tin, and together, they brainstormed on how to kept their hands busy pursuing their
support him. hobbies and interests.
Warm, Caring Bosses
The Ops team was very accommodating.
Patient, Empathetic Approach
“We are committed to provide support to our staff like
Farhat, to help him succeed in his journey with us,” said Mr
Furthermore, APSN DSS conducts employer education I love helping my family with food
Lin Dashun, Human Resource Manager at NTUC Fairprice
sessions quarterly. Mr Lin said he attended the training
Cooperative Ltd. “I’m personally very glad to see Farhat
and found it quite informative. He recommends the branch preparation and cleaning up once
grow with us over time.” everything is done, as this allows
head or retail supervisor of FairPrice stores to go to learn
The Deltan takes instructions well from his supervisor,
how to handle their staff with special needs. “The key me to improve my skills. Plus, I get
takeaway I got from the session is to have patience and
gets things done and is diligent. And that is why his school
empathy. We cannot think from our perspective; we must
to taste the yummy food too! :P
accelerated his pathway to full-time employment.
think from their perspective.”
The partnership between the school and supermarket - Amirah Rasyiqah bte Ruslan
Mr Lin also briefs Ops team members on how to do basic
chain has been going strong for the past 5 years.
problem-solving. For example, if there is a meltdown, they
NTUC was keen to have APSN’s students to support an
know who they should look for.
inclusive society.
The HR manager finds that the most valuable aspect of
Mr Lin remarks that the full-timers from Delta are
working with APSN alumni is that his company is able to
steady, hardworking and follow instructions well. They
help persons with special needs. Many employers do not
perform retail assistant work such as housekeeping and
want to hire people with such conditions. It is a meaningful
stock replenishment.
initiative that NTUC FairPrice has embarked on as part of its
corporate social responsibility.
“We usually tag them to a more senior staff, who will give
them on-the-job training and provide guidance along the
“Whenever I attend the
way. For emotional issues, we refer them back to the APSN
APSN Graduation Days and
job coaches who are more trained to deal with that.”
Partners Appreciation Days,
The Ops team is in constant contact with the APSN DSS
I always feel very excited, as I’m enjoying every bit of
I’ve witnessed these staff’s doing the household chores.
Job Coach team and works closely together. According to
growth over the years. This is
one of the Job Coaches, “The Ops team has shown good
the part that is special No sweat!
flexibility when it comes to standard operating procedures.
to me,” Mr Lin concludes.
There are times when they bend, not break, rules – like how - Shawn Goh
they did with Farhat.”
Photos for the article were taken before the Circuit Breaker measures.
10 PARTNERS IN THE COMMUNITY MAKE AN IMPACT 11
MAKE A PLEDGE
Due to the COVID-19 situation, many of our beneficiaries are
facing employment issues such as joblessness and forced
unpaid leave. This means that our low-income beneficiaries are
struggling more to make ends meet.
A donation from you will go a long way in helping them during
this trying period. Together, we can make a difference.
Visit www.apsn.org.sg or email partnerships@apsn.org.sg
for more information.
Scan the QR Code with any
Donate now to help someone in need! mobile banking apps to
support our cause today!
All donations are entitled to 2.5
times tax deduction.
Please indicate your NRIC/FIN No.
under “Reference Number”
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