Programmes
Programmes
GEM (Good English Movement) Week
The annual GEM (Good English Movement) Week was held in Term 2, Week 5 from 18 April 2022 to 22 April 2022. The 2022 GEM Week learning experiences were centered on the theme
‘To Infinity and Beyond’
Interesting class activities that were based on the topic of outer space had been planned for pupils to practice and showcase their language skills, ranging from speaking to writing.
As part of the launch, the English Department had also specially arranged for the character dress-up at recess, where several characters, Darth Vader, Sky Walker, Han Solo, Princess Leia, Jedi made their special appearances, entertaining the pupils while they were eating in the canteen. In addition, many teachers also participated in the TikTok-inspired challenge where they transformed into space characters of their choice. Not only that, the pupils in Drama Club had put on a skit at the launch on the importance of speaking standard English.
In the classrooms, similar to last year, pupils participated in group activities such as Heads-Up Charades, Choral Recitation and Group Spelling challenge. This year, we have introduced new activities ‘Hear Me Out’ and ‘Lost in Space’ to further engage the pupils.
MBS English Reading Day
Maha Bodhi School held its 3rd MBS EL Reading Day on 7 February 2023. It is an annual event held to instill a love for reading in pupils through fun and interactive activities. This year, the pupils were introduced to the books written by renowned authors.
P1: Dr Seuss
P2: Quek Hong Shin
P3: Beverly Cleary
P4: Judy Blume
P5: Madeline L’engle
P6: Franklin W. Dixon (Hardy Boys)
It was inspiring to see many of our pupils who came dressed up as characters from the authors’ books on Reading day. Some of the characters included Xiao Ming (from Quek Hong Shin’s The Incredible Basket), Cat (from Dr Seuss’ Cat in The Hat) and Ramona (from Beverly Cleary’s Ramona Quimby series). We are very grateful for the parents who worked with the pupils in designing and coming up with their costume. Just like the last two years, all our pupils participated in classroom activities where their English teachers introduced them to an excerpt from a selected book. In addition, this year, the pupils finally had the chance to participate in various activities held during the recesses. Our pupils played a quiz game on ipads where they had to guess the title of books based on the book covers given. Pupils also browsed through the books on display and took photos at our photobooth.
2020 GEM Week
In 2020, GEM (Good English Movement) Week was held in Term 3 Week 4 (13 July – 16 July 2020). Due to the current COVID-19 situation the English department carried out interesting activities to promote the use of Standard English and reading of storybooks while observing the safe distancing measures.
To bring about greater awareness and deeper appreciation for the frontline workers, pupils were involved in deciding the theme for the GEM Week. Through a poll conducted throughout the school, the majority of them chose Our Everyday Heroes as the name of 2020 MBS GEM Week. To make it more engaging, we created an avatar whom we named Ms Gem, the host who launched GEM week. To pay tribute to the frontline workers, the English department also turned themselves into a mini choir and recorded and sang the Michael Jackson’s ‘Heal the World’.
Throughout the week, similar to last year, pupils participated in activities in class such as Heads-Up Charades, Readers’ Theatre, Choral Recitation, Group Spelling challenge and Debates all in the spirit of teamwork and inculcating the joy of learning in English, revolving around the theme – Our Everyday Heroes. In place of the physical treasure hunt that we used to have, a new online treasure hunt ‘E-treasure Hunt’ was designed – an adaptation of the well-known reality game, Escape Room. Pupils had to work for clues before they could open the next one and solve the Mystery Word. They were allowed to do this via SLS.
The English department garnered the strong support of the English teachers as well as the school leaders, who participated and contributed to the success of GEM Week. The GEM Week, though a scaled-down version, provided an unforgettable and exciting experience, not only for our pupils but our teachers as well.
Theme of 2020 GEM: Our Everyday Heroes. Teachers dressing up as frontline workers.
Pupils dressing up as frontline workers
Pupils guessing the word @ Heads Up Charade
Book Sharing by Reading Champs
2020 MBS Stay Home and Read Challenge
#MBSStayHomeAndReadChallenge
As part of the post-FHBL May holiday activities, the English department implemented our first MBS Stay Home and Read Challenge. In the midst of the COVID-19 situation, the objectives of the challenge were for our pupils to read more storybooks and also to encourage parents to read together with their child, promoting family bonding. Also we would like our pupils and teachers to pass on the love for reading by recommending the books they had enjoyed reading. The SLS package consisted of an array of activities and resources that included MBS Recommended Book Lists with the links of e-books specially curated and videos of MBS teachers recommending the books that they had read. Padlet links were provided for pupils and teachers to upload their videos and photos of their book recommendations. This initiative was met with an overwhelming response as many pupils shared and uploaded their book recommendations.
