26 May 2011 Dear Parents / Guardians

1. RECENT ACHIEVEMENTS AND EVENTS Achievements • Uniformed Group Awards 2010 Boys’ Brigade - Gold (for J M Fraser Award for Excellence) NPCC - Gold (for Unit Overall Proficiency Award) St John Ambulance Brigade - Gold (for Corp Achievement Award) NCC (Land) - Silver (for Best Unit Competition) Girls’ Brigade - Silver (for Company Award); Sustained Achievement Award (for maintaining 7 Golds consecutively) Congratulations to our UGs for obtaining very good results for their companies and sustaining the high standard of achievement. Well done! • Singapore Youth Festival (SYF) Central Judging 2011 Chinese Dance - Gold With Honours Choir - Gold With Honours Guzheng - Gold With Honours Symphonic Band - Gold Drama (English) - Silver Drama (Chinese) - Bronze Congratulations to our Choir for achieving their first Gold with Honours, and well done to the other performing arts groups. You have done a marvellous job in maintaining a high mindset for excellence. The outstanding results achieved at the 2011 SYF are testimonies of the long hours of practices and rehearsals put in by our students and the close guidance by our staff. Keep it up! • Chemical Car Competition 2011 organized by Ngee Ann Polytechnic Our team, made up of Tan Quan Hao (301), Adrian Goh Jun Wei (302), Chia Yi Rong, Sean (303), Kenneth Toh Kang En (303), Addison Chew Jun Wei (303), emerged Champions this year, beating a field of 55 entries which included other autonomous schools and independent schools, This team managed Top 8 last year when they were in Secondary 2. Despite having very little time to prepare due to the mid-year examinations, they persevered and gave their best. They even beat last year’s champion team. Well done! • SPF-NPCC Badge Awards 2011 Xinmin Secondary hosted this year’s award ceremony held on 21 April 2011, with the Guest-of-Honour being the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Policy), Wong Hong Kuan. 4 of our students received the pinnacle badge in the NPCC badge repertoire. They are SI/NPCC Crystal d/o Palanivelu (407), SI/NPCC Toh Yue Feng (402), SSgt/NPCC Au Kai Shii, Hector (409), and SSgt/NPCC Chew Yi Jie (401). Congratulations!

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• Raffles Mathematics Challenge 2011 3 of our students took part in this event organized by Raffles Institution. Terence Siow Kai Yuan (403) and Bryan Lim Choon Kiat (302) picked up a bronze at the competition. Good job, boys! • Singapore Inter-School Chinese Debate Invitational 2011 organised by NUS At this competition organized by the NUS Chinese Debate Club, our team comprising Wang Yuan (303), Yang Zi Yang (303), Seow Yu Qian Vanessa (402) and Tiffany Wee Yan Lyn (402) made it to the quarter-finals. At the preliminary rounds, Yang Zi Yang (303) was voted the Best Speaker. • Girls’ Brigade National Drill Competition 2011 Two contingents from our school comprising Sec 2 to Sec 5 girls participated in this competition and they achieved bronze after months of precision drilling under the hot sun. Well done, girls! • Boys’ Brigade – Best Boy Award 28 Boys were selected from a total of 113 BB Units in Singapore to receive the Best Boy Award. SSG Nicholas Chang (406) was one of the recipients of this prestigious award. He was selected due to his high commitment and many achievements to the school’s BB Unit. Well done, Nicholas! • SJAB Zonal First Aid Competition 2011 Our SJAB put in months of hard work to prepare for this competition and they came in 1st in the Nursing Adult category, 2nd in the Ambulance Cadet category and 3rd in the Nursing Cadet category. Keep it up, SJAB! • Mother Tongue Language Festival (MTLF) 2011 – Gastronomy Video Competition The MTLF was held during the Chinese New Year celebrations. One of the competitions held during this this festival was a video competition on gastronomy open to participating schools. Our student team comprising Yue Si Wei (402), Ang Zheng Da (401), Chua Hui Li (402) and Yang Jie Ling Zoey (402) walked away with the Silver Award, Most Creative Award and the Voters’ Choice Award for their video. Congratulations! • Rockclimbing - Boulderactive – Bouldering Competition Organised by the Singapore Climbers Association and in partnership with NUS, this competition saw keen interest from schools in Singapore. In the Under 17 Girls category, Nuramielia Satria (405) came in 2nd whereas Siti Nurhazlin (307) came in 3rd. In the Under 17 Boys category, Kenneth Lim Yong Jie (309) came in 2nd. - Climax - Climbing Competition Organised by Outram Secondary School, our climbers did well in several categories: C Division Girls : 1st – Felicia Teo (206) 2nd – Deryl Ng (205) 3rd – Niki Adriana (206) 5th – Tan Hui Shan (107) C Division Boys : 4th – Tan Ee Hua (202) 7th – Ryan Tay Fang Yong B Division Girls : 2nd – Siti Nurhazlin (307) B Division Boys : 2nd – Brandon Goh (406) 6th – Jonathan Lim Shi How Well done, climbers! Events • 3rd Xinmin Science & technology Symposium on 23 Mar 2011 Co-organised with Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP), this year’s Guest-of-Honour was Professor Jackie Ying, Executive Director of A*Star, Institute of Bioengineering & Nanotechnology, with the keynote speaker

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being Mr Ng Kian Sing, Application Platform Lead from Microsoft Asia Pacific. A total of 44 Xinmin students in 14 teams embarked on a one-year research journey, putting in 60-100 hours of work under the supervision of lecturers from NYP. • Sports Day on 26 March 2011 The annual event was successfully held at Hougang Stadium. We had parents and staff participating in the relay event. We thank everyone for participating in this event. • 66th Speech cum Homecoming Day on 9 April 2011 Mr Yeo Guat Kwang, MP for Ang Mo Kio GRC and Adviser to the AMK-Hougang Grassroots Organisations, was our Guest-of-Honour at this event. A total of 185 students received prizes for good academic performance and all-round results. Tan Jia Hao (402, 2010), now a student in Victoria Junior College, was awarded the most prestigious award – the LEAD (demonstrating Leadership, Exemplary behaviour, Ace, and Devotion) Student Award. Though we had a smaller-scaled Homecoming this year, compared to last year, we still had over 50 stalls of food and games. Over $68,000 worth of coupons were sold for this year. The money collected will be used to fund the proposed Performing Arts Centre that will benefit current and future Xinmin students. We would like to thank students, staff, parents, our alumni and our SAC for supporting this event.

2. UPCOMING SCHOOL PROGRAMMES / EVENTS • Parent-Teacher Meeting (PTM) For Sec 1, Sec 3 and Class 409 on Fri, 27 May, 6.00pm to

9.00pm A PTM will be held for parents of students in Sec 1, Sec 3 and class 409 on 27 May 2011 from 6.00pm to 9.00pm. We encourage parents to come, even if you do not need an appointment to see your children’s teachers. We have arranged a briefing on the new Normal Academic Through-Train pathways. • 2-week June Holidays Structured Study Programme for Sec 4E, 4NA, 4NT and 5NA students

and Remedial Programme for Sec 1, 2, 3 students We mentioned in our January’s letter to parents that extra lessons or remedial programmes will be scheduled during the school vacation periods. This June holiday programme has been in place over the last 8 years to better prepare our graduating students taking the national examinations at the end of the year. Attendance for Sec 4 and 5 students is compulsory. Starting this year, we are instituting a remedial programme for weaker students in Sec 1 to 3 as a way to ensure that they keep up with the pace of learning during Semester 2. Students who are weak in certain subjects have been identified to attend remedial classes during the first two weeks. Attendance for identified students is compulsory. The timetables are obtainable from our website. • June Holiday Activities The table below lists the trips, camps and activities that will be held during the June holidays:

Date Activity / Camp Venue / Destination Dept or CCA Group In Charge

25 May –5Jun Overseas Trip To Shanghai under the Bicultural Exchange & Immersion Programme

Shanghai, China Bicultural & Immersion Programme

28 May Mountain Biking Course MOE Dairy Farm Adventure Camp

St John Ambulance Brigade

1 – 3 Jun Raffles Model United Nations (RMUN) Conference

Raffles Junior College Humanities Department

1 – 2 Jun School Service Club Camp Xinmin Secondary School Service Club 8 – 11 Jun Volleyball Girls’ Camp Xinmin Secondary Volleyball

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9 – 11 Jun Shooting Camp Xinmin Secondary Shooting Club 13 – 16 Jun Sec 2 Xinmin Adventure

Camp Jalan Bahtera Camp Student Leader Board

15 – 19 Jun NPCC NCO Training Camp Xinmin Secondary NPCC 16 – 17 Jun Student Leader Board (SLB)

Camp Xinmin Secondary Student Leader Board

20 Jun Volleyball Girls’ Trekking cum Team Building

MacRitchie Reservoir Volleyball

• Xinfony X on 3 Jun 2011, 7.15pm, School of the Arts (SOTA) Concert Hall Our symphonic band will be taking the stage at SOTA’s concert Hall on 3 June at 7.15pm. Tickets at $12 can be purchased by calling our general office at 62889382 or emailing us at xinmin_ss@moe.edu.sg • Business@School Phase 2 Judging on 9 July, 9am to 1pm, Singapore Chinese Girls’ School During Phase 2 of this programme, our students will be making their presentations on a small or medium-sized enterprise. Parents are invited to support their children involved in this collaborative project with the Boston Consulting Group. • English Language Festival 2011 from 18 July to 22 July This annual event is organized to raise interest in English. Activities will be held throughout the week-long event. • 9th Student Leaders’ Investiture on 21 July This event marks the stepping down of the 2010/2011 Student Leader Board and the passing of the baton to the newly elected 2011/2012 Student Leader Board.

3. XINMIN BICULTURAL EXCHANGE & IMMERSION PROGRAMME A group of 12 students and 2 teachers will be going to Shanghai Fuxing Junior Middle School, China, from 25 May to 5 Jun, on the exchange programme. Listed below are the outgoing trips to the foreign schools we are partnering: Partner School / Country

Target Group Team Leaders Tentative Period of trip by Xinmin to the partner school

Shijiazhuang Foreign Language School, Hebei, China

Sec 3 CL/HCL & 409 students will be given priority

To be advised 11 – 20 Nov

Taiwan (partner school to be confirmed)

Sec 3 Mr Tang Chun Chieh Miss Jane Toh

10 – 20 Nov

Malacca High School, Malacca, Malaysia

Sec 1 - 2 Humanities Dept 6 – 10 Sep

The incoming trips to Singapore for the partnered foreign schools are tentatively scheduled between 1 Aug to 10 Aug. If you would like your son/daughter to be involved in this programme, please email Mrs Susan Ng at susan_lee_boon_hong@moe.edu.sg.

4. DIRECT SCHOOL ADMISSION EXERCISES • 2011 Direct School Admission to Junior Colleges (DSA-JC) and Direct Polytechnic Admission

(DPA) Exercises Students can apply for direct admission to JCs and Polys through the DSA-JC and DPA exercises respectively. The DSA-JC application period varies across the JCs, with some which have started from 18 May 2011. The DPA application period is from 8 July 2011 to 13 July 2011. Interested students should approach any of the participating institutions or visit their websites for more details regarding the selection exercises.

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• 2011 Direct School Admission for secondary schools (DSA-Sec) Exercise Under the DSA-Sec exercise, current primary six students can be considered for direct entry into Xinmin for Secondary 1 in 2012 if they have exceptional talents in any of the following – volleyball (boys and girls), badminton(girls), shooting (boys and girls), choir, guzheng, Chinese dance, symphonic band, drama (English) or drama (Chinese). If your son, daughter, relative or neighbour has the talent we are looking for, please encourage him or her to try out for our DSA-Sec exercise. Application is now open. More information on the selection criteria and application procedure is available on our website, www.xinminsec.edu.sg. The closing date for submission is 29 July 2011.

5. EXAMINATION MATTERS • GCE O and N Level Examinations between May and September 2011 (tentative)

Date Examination 30 May GCE O Level Mid-Year Mother Tongue Languages 30 Jun – 14 July GCE O Level Mother Tongue Languages Oral 8 July – 15 July GCE N Level English Language Oral 19 July GCE O Level Mother Tongue Languages Listening Comprehension 25 July – 29 July GCE N Level Mother Tongue Languages Oral 12 August – 25 August GCE O Level English Language Oral 5 September GCE N Level English Language (Syllabus T) Listening Comprehension 6 September GCE N Level Mother Tongue Languages Listening Comprehension 12 September GCE N Level Computer Applications Practical

6. ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS • First day of Term 3 Students will report to school for the first day of Term 3 on 27 June 2011. Students are to download their Semester 2 Timetable available on the school’s website from 9 June 2011 onwards. • Holiday Homework Teachers will be assigning holiday homework to your children. Parents, please monitor that your children complete the homework before school opens for Term 3. • Informing school of child’s/ward’s travel plans for June school holidays Every year, in our efforts to be vigilant and alert to any flu pandemic, we seek your assistance to inform us of any travel plans that you and your child will have for the June holidays. The travel declaration form is attached in Attachment A. Please complete the form and email it to us at xinmin_ss@moe.edu.sg. • Temperature Taking Exercise during the first seven days of Term 3 As part of nationwide measures against flu epidemics, schools have continued to maintain vigilance by ensuring that processes are in place for swift re-activation of temperature-taking measures when necessary. Termly school-based temperature-taking exercises have been conducted since 2004 for this purpose. We will be monitoring the well-being of students as well as staff during the first seven days of Term 3, starting Mon, 27 Jun 2011 to Friday, 1 July 2011, and we will be conducting a temperature taking exercise on one of the days mentioned. Please ensure that your child brings his / her personal oral digital thermometer (ODT) on those days. With your support and co-operation, we can conduct a successful temperature-taking exercise as part of our continuing efforts to provide a healthy and safe environment for all in our school. • School Holiday on Mon, 4 July 2011 Youth Day falls on Sunday, 3 July 2011. The following Monday, 4 July 2011, is a school holiday. Students will report back to school on Tuesday, 5 July 2011.

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7. NEED FOR CLARIFICATION WITH SCHOOL Please do not hesitate to contact us if you need clarifications. We can be reached at: Email: xinmin_ss@moe.edu.sg Tel:6288 9382 Fax: 6385 1068 Yours faithfully, Mr Zainal A Mahmood Vice-Principal (Admin)

Tip for Parents The school holidays are here! Many parents find the holidays can be stressful rather than relaxing because of the empty hours that need to be filled. Lots of parents are also trying to juggle work commitments while ensuring that their child get enough stimulation over the break. Your child’s needs are not complicated but they are important:

• Love – give your child extra hugs or a card that says how special they are to you. • Peace – put bad feelings aside so that the holidays can be free of arguments and fights. • Interest – ask them about school, friends and activities. Show them you care. Participate in activities in

which both you and your child can enjoy. Find something in common which both of you can learn together. Children model what their parents do. If you have a habit of reading, they will as well. Conversely, if you watch a lot of TV to unwind, your children will also tend to watch too much TV.

• Monitor – know your child’s friends and your child’s whereabouts always. Encourage your child to use his time meaningfully. For example, all students would have been given holiday homework to be handed in next year. Encourage them to finish their homework before they play or go out.

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Attachment A

XMS XINMIN SECONDARY SCHOOL

AN AUTONOMOUS SCHOOL

INFORMING SCHOOL OF CHILD’S / WARD’S TRAVEL PLANS Name of Child / Ward: _________________________________________ NRIC / BC No.: _________________________________________ Class: ________________________________________ Sex: F / M This is to inform the school that my child / ward will be traveling to the following country / countries during the school vacation. The details are listed below:

Period of Stay Country of Intended Travel From To

Important Notes:

1. Where possible, please also provide details of country and date of transit if your child / ward will be stopping over at any other country while traveling.

2. If your child / ward will not be traveling, please return the form with a NIL return. Name of Parent / Guardian: __________________________________________________ Signature: ___________________ Date: __________________ Please email this form at xinmin_ss@moe.edu.sg before the day of your departure from Singapore

For Official Use

Acknowledged by Form Teacher

Date