Founding Principal, Mrs Tan Chin Cheoh nee Giam

When I was asked to pen my educational beliefs and reflections over my journey in Woodgrove, I was very grateful that I had been given an opportunity to give due credit to all the amazing men and women who have contributed to the success of Woodgrove Primary School these past 25 years. I knew that mere words would not come close to doing justice to all who have come before, all who are now part of the school and all who will come after. But I was reminded of the beautiful words of the poet Maya Angelou, “You can’t really know where you’re going until you know where you have been” and I thought it would be apt, as the first Principal of Woodgrove Primary School, in celebration of its 25th Anniversary, to provide a glimpse into how the school started, to give recognition to all those who laid the foundations for its future success and to pay tribute to all those who are now continuing to build upon Woodgrove’s short but proud history.

Woodgrove’s celebration of its 25th Anniversary marks a quarter of a century of success, growth and resilience. I have nostalgic memories of the school’s humble beginnings when it started in January 1999 with a mere 360 Primary One pupils, 12 teachers and 3 support staff members. Few will recall or even know that we were temporarily housed in nearby Woodlands Ring Primary School. Within a few months however, due to the unexpected urgency and requests from parents, other levels had to be started leading to an increase in the intake of another 300 pupils. The school officially moved to its present premises on 5 September 1999. Over the next few years, there was balloting annually for Primary One vacancies with hundreds of unsuccessful disappointed parents who had to be turned away. The school’s enrolment increased by leaps and bounds to more than 2650 pupils in 2005.

I am deeply humbled by the privilege and honour of having been part of the founding of Woodgrove Primary School and will always be profoundly indebted to the administrative and teaching staff who painstakingly worked alongside me in establishing the motivational climate and instructional focus of the school. From day one, our teachers had been the key to the success of accomplishing the organizational goals. The commitment of the staff was indescribably valuable. With clear values and beliefs, they undertook all tasks collectively, each one contributing experience, knowledge and passion to fulfill the mission. They were the critical resource in ensuring that our systems were in place to administer and implement the plans which enabled effective learning by our pupils.

Student learning outcomes were always the priority and the paramount considerations underlying our approach to the different activities and programmes planned for all levels. The collective competencies and professionalism of the teachers had a great impact and resulted in pupils’ achievements despite diverse pupil abilities.

Being the new kid on the block, Woodgrove Primary School had to quickly set itself apart. We wanted to provide holistic education and reflect the school’s emphasis on non-academic aspects. For example, from 2002, the school introduced 2 programmes, similar to the Programme for Active Learning (PAL) which was implemented in primary schools in 2017.

Friends At Socialising Time (FAST) focused on sports and outdoor education, allowing pupils to try their hand at soccer, wushu and a wide array of other outdoor activities. In Developing Arts Talents in Education (DATE) pupils participated in mural painting, creative dance and pottery, just to name a few. In short, the pupils had a buffet which allowed them to explore and discover their interests and talents.

On the academic side, notable programmes implemented included ‘Learning Is Fun Time’ (LIFT) and the ‘Making Education Glowing and Accelerative’ (MEGA). LIFT gave the opportunity for Primary One pupils to learn Mother Tongue and English languages through fun filled activities on Saturday mornings. MEGA integrated high ability pupils from Primary Two and Primary Three in larger classes of 60 students to cultivate socio emotional competencies as they underwent the stimulating and challenging daily lessons. This resulted in a credible number of pupils from the MEGA classes being absorbed into the Gifted Education Programme (GEP).

As the school operated in two sessions at the time, with Primary Twos, Primary Fours and Primary Sixes in the morning and the rest of the levels in the afternoon, there was a critical need to look for classrooms to conduct supplementary or remedial lessons after curriculum hours. We were indeed fortunate to have been able to use some of the spare classrooms in the then newly opened Sports School for our teachers to support the Primary Six pupils taking the Primary School Leaving Exam (PSLE). This accounted for the school’s commendable PSLE results in our early years. I am to this day grateful to the first Principal of the Sports School for his congenial spirit in facilitating our efforts to help our pupils attain academic success.

I am convinced that our effective management of the multifaceted tasks during the school’s early developmental years paved the way and laid the cornerstone for Woodgrove Primary School to thrive and overcome the challenges it faced. Indeed, Woodgrove Primary School has grown from strength to strength upholding high standards of imparting holistic education and this has manifested itself in being a choice school in the neighbourhood.

During my recent visit to the school to attend an event in conjunction with the 25th Anniversary celebrations, I was truly impressed by how the current Principal and staff had successfully integrated the latest technology into the pupils’ learning and have created a vibrant and innovative environment for them to showcase their innate talents. Woodgrove’s tradition of nurturing well-rounded pupils is truly alive and well.

It is certainly obvious to parents and the community around Woodgrove Primary School that its current Principal, as well as her predecessors, had been forthcoming and selflessly injecting wisdom knowledge and understanding in leading the school and facilitating the highest degree of pupil learning.

On that note, I hope that I have been able to give a short but insightful peek into our very humble beginning and will let the following pages of this book give you a sense of the heights Woodgrove Primary School can continue to progress and achieve.

My deepest congratulations and salute to one and all for your invaluable contributions in the past and present in making Woodgrove Primary School a thriving instituition and beacon of light in the Northern part of our little red dot that any Woodgrovian can be proud of.

Mrs Tan Chin Cheoh nee Giam

Principal

1999 to 2005