Our students and schools responded with determination and resourcefulness despite the setback. Schoolbag checks in with three schools – Evergreen Secondary School, Nan Hua High School and Yuan Ching Secondary School, to see how they turned challenges into opportunities for growth and collaboration.
Tough times don’t last, tough people do. In the wake of the Mobile Guardian crisis, this phrase rings truer than ever.
From teachers and students to administrators and support staff, schools pulled together with determination and resourcefulness, ensuring that learning continued without missing a beat. The crisis not only tested their adaptability but also showcased the strength of community, as challenges were turned into opportunities for growth and collaboration.
Turning challenges into opportunities: How Evergreen Secondary School fostered resilience and collaboration
“There was no time to complain and hold grudges on what had happened. What was more important was our response to the situation,” says Evergreen Secondary School’s Vice-Principal Mr. Lim Kangyu.
Despite the initial shock, the school quickly channelled those emotions into productive action.
When the school week started, “our teachers quickly rallied the students, found out who lost what, and split them into groups within the classes to crowd-source and share notes and materials,” he recalls. For instance, in Biology classes, where mind maps were common, students pooled knowledge and recreated mind maps for those who lost theirs, even sharing them across classes.
“My friends and I meet up after school to study together and make new physical copy notes by discussing and sharing the workload,” says Secondary 4 student Erfa.
These small acts of peer kindness help beyond academics. “I tried comforting those who lost their notes and listened to their worries,” says Erfa’s classmate William. “I can empathise with losing 4 years’ worth of notes, so I wanted to make sure they were okay. Our teacher got the whole class to do notes for a subject together. With prelims approaching, keeping up morale is important.”
“It’s natural to feel less confident about technology or even to retreat,” he says. “But the staff saw it as an opportunity to enhance our students’ understanding of digital literacy and data security.”
– Mr Lim Kangyu, Vice-Principal, Evergreen Secondary School
The workload of teachers increased, but efforts were made to ensure they had time to do what was necessary, including changing lesson plans, procuring materials, and providing after-school support. Meetings were shortened, for instance.
Mr. Lim notes that despite the inconvenience, the incident became a galvanising force for the whole school. “It’s natural to feel less confident about technology or even to retreat,” he says. “But the staff saw it as an opportunity to enhance our students’ understanding of digital literacy and data security, preparing them beyond school. We learn from this and become better prepared for the future.”
Calm, Collected, United: All hands on deck at Nan Hua High School
When the technical glitch caused by the Mobile Guardian app first affected several students, school leaders, along with the ICT and admin teams at Nan Hua High School, promptly sprang into action. Over the weekend, plans were coordinated, and two Audio Visual Aid (AVA) rooms were quickly converted into Operation Rooms, or “Ops Rooms”, to support affected students in data and device recovery efforts when the school week resumes.
Maintaining clarity and transparency with teachers was another priority. Vice Principal Mrs. Thai Mok Jee says, “We briefed all staff so that everyone was aware of the situation, the necessary actions that followed, as well as the likely timeline the recovery operation might take. Lesson plans would have to be adjusted, for instance, pivoting to hard-copy materials where needed, and we were prepared for the disruptions to lessons when classes were rostered for data recovery.”
As the situation demanded more manpower, the response turned into a whole-school effort. Mrs. Thai noted that the ICT team expressed heartfelt appreciation for the collaborative efforts rendered by school staff, HQ staff, non-teaching staff, and vendors.
“It was heartening to see how many of our teachers volunteered to help expedite the support for our students, even if they were not familiar with the technical process. They contributed by assisting with administrative duties in the Ops Rooms during their free periods.”
– Mrs Thai Mok Jee, Vice-Principal, Nan Hua High School
“Our Subject Head of ICT even brought a coffee machine into the Ops Room. This small gesture helped boost morale for the team and fostered a positive environment,” Mrs. Thai beams.
As the students’ devices were recovered, it presented a learning opportunity for the students on the use of technology in devices. “Our students realise the importance of consistently performing data back-up and device housekeeping. They are also encouraged to research and find alternative applications they can use to manage their own learning.”
Teamwork in action: An aligned whole-of-school response at Yuan Ching Secondary School
Head of Department of Infocomm Technology Mrs. Erh-Ong Ka Min and her team have been working tirelessly at the school’s computer labs to facilitate the recovery process. She appreciates how her colleagues have shown commendable teamwork and support for one another.
“They offered to cover our lessons since the entire ICT team was engaged in recovery efforts at the Computer Labs for the whole day,” she says. This spirit of collaboration even extended to welfare checks, where colleagues regularly checked in on the ICT team to ensure they were coping well and had taken their lunches and breaks.
Teachers also had to improvise and find alternative venues to continue their lessons since the computer labs were unavailable. School leaders have also made concerted efforts to ensure the well-being of all teachers. Regular check-ins by the school leaders helped to maintain morale and address any concerns promptly.
“Thankfully, the students were equally understanding and patient, recognising that priority had to be given to graduating classes,” Mrs Erh-Ong says. Students who were more familiar with technology took the initiative to help their peers, sharing tips on how to prepare before heading to the Computer Lab to expedite the recovery process.
In situations where data recovery was not possible, the teachers paid extra attention to the affected students’ mental well-being. They provided counselling and additional academic support to ensure that these students could cope academically and manage the additional stress.
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