It’s another day at Farrer Park Primary. Soothing music plays through the school as students walk in. Each student is welcomed by a cheerful greeting from Principal Cheong Hwee Khim. She greets them all by name, and sometimes, if a kid is looking a bit down, he or she gets some extra attention, too
“That has been a practice for years in this school,” says Ms Cheong, and it hasn’t changed amid the current concerns surrounding the COVID-19 virus. “I feel that connection with kids is important, so we try to greet them by name.”
Asked how she’s rallying her teachers and staff in keeping everyone’s spirits up during this trying period, the sprightly lady smiles and says that it all comes down to Farrer Park Primary school’s culture of care.
Ms Cheong says that caring for students has always meant: Care for safety, Care for well-being and Care about their students’ learning. “This is part of every educator’s professional ethos.”
So, life carries on amid the crisis.
So, Ms Cheong and her teachers not only role-model proper hygiene measures for the students, so the students can take better care of their health, they also make use of the current situation to teach students to be mindful of fake news, not to discriminate, and to be nice to each other.
She says, “We continue to reinforce to them:, ‘Take care of yourself, take care of yourself, take care of yourself’. And look out for others.”
Ms Cheong wants this constant reminder to be part of her students’ growing up years, and not just a response to the current crisis. That way, when her students grow up, they learn to take care of not just themselves, but the people around them, too.
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