NE Commemorative Events

Beyond the formal Character and Citizenship Education lessons, the four NE Commemorative Days (Total Defence Day, International Friendship Day, Racial Harmony Day and National Day) are an important part of students’ learning experiences in school. Through these NE commemorative days, students learn important lessons from significant moments in Singapore’s history, and reflect on how they can apply their learning to contribute as active citizens.

Total Defence Day 2021

Total Defence Day (TDD) was commemorated on 10 February with the theme “Together We Keep Singapore Strong”. The theme sought to remind all Singaporeans that it is our unity and resilience that have helped to keep Singapore safe and peaceful over the past years.

The celebration kicked off with an informative video by the NE Ambassadors which informed students of the six pillars of Total Defence and how they can put the various pillars into action in their everyday lives. The video ended with the NE Ambassadors coming together to sing the Total Defence song “There’s a Part for Everyone” to rally all students to put their hearts, their minds and their will to keep Singapore a strong, secure and cohesive nation.

Through the Total Defence lesson package, students were reminded of Singapore’s fall to the Japanese in 1942 and discussed of ways to build a strong Singapore. Students rounded up their learning for the day by pledging how they would do their part to keep Singapore Strong, especially in the midst of a global pandemic and thereafter, coming together as a class to do up a pledge wall. Students and teachers alike certainly had much fun and excitement while unleashing their creativity to design the class pledge wall using recycled materials!

To experience Total Defence Day in a meaningful way, students had to go through a food rationing exercise at recess. Sweet potato porridge, green bean soup and barley drink were sold for the day and students had a taste of the food our forefathers had during war time, reminding them the importance of defending our nation. Information boards were also set up by NE Ambassadors to enable our students to learn more about the various aspects of Total Defence. Finally, students were provided with the opportunity to crack their brains at solving some of the puzzling Total Defence puzzles!

In the face of Covid-19 and the other challenges to our country’s security and way of life, Total Defence continues to be relevant for all Singaporeans. Together, let us continue to stay resilient, vigilant and united and do our part to keep Singapore strong!

International Friendship Day (IFD) 2020

International Friendship Day (IFD) was commemorated on 8 April with the theme “Getting along with friends from other countries”. The theme sought to encourage and nurture the spirit of friendship and collaboration among our students in a multi-racial and multi-cultural country like Singapore.

Amid Home-based Learning, this year’s commemoration was brought alive through engaging and informative episode of ‘CHIJ Kellock News’, thanks to the NE Ambassadors under the guidance of their teachers, Mrs Joy Zhang, Ms Ong Yu Hui and Mdm Woo. The news video revisited Singapore as one of the founding members of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and highlighted its goals to improve economic, political and social cooperation among its member states.

In the midst of learning ways to promote friendship with friends from other countries, students were reminded of Singapore’s humble beginning as a migrant colony as they took virtual tours around the different heritage districts. Since then, Singapore has continued to remain inclusive and it is our rich and diverse heritage together with this sense of inclusiveness that has allowed us to flourish as a cosmopolitan city.

At the end of the news video, students rounded up their learning for the day by reflecting on what they have learnt from the news video, their peers and sharing their thoughts on how they can celebrate IFD with their family members at home.

The news video had sparked the students’ curiosity about the different cultures and allowed them to appreciate the cultural diversity we have in our school. It was definitely a rousing success!

National Day Celebrations 2019 – Our Singapore

This year’s National Day theme is entitled ‘Our Singapore’. It allows us to tell Our Singapore Story from past to present, as we commemorate our Singapore Bicentennial. In a two part Singapore Bicentennial contemporary news series leading up to National Day, the NE Ambassadors shared about the legacy left behind by different pioneers who contributed and believed in the Singapore project. Indeed, Singaporeans today are living the future that our pioneers dreamt of and we are now pioneers of our future.

The National Day celebrations kicked off with the Observance Ceremony as the prefects marched in with pride. Thereafter, the Primary 1 to 6 form teachers carried out a special National Day lesson package in class. Students were tasked to decorate a speech bubble on their National Day gift souvenir, which is a red recyclable tote bag, with drawings or writing that reflected their dreams for the future Singapore.

The next part of the celebrations that followed was the National Day concert. Students embarked on a musical journey that introduced them to life in Singapore during the early days. The musical performance repertoire was based on National day songs and Xinyao songs. The finale was made up of two wonderful performances. The first performance was a short skit put up by the NE Ambassadors. NE ambassadors travelled back in time and were introduced to Sang Nila Utama, who founded the Kingdom of Singapura in 1299. Grooving along to the popular National Day songs, the second performance was a song and dance item put by P2 Allamanda and P2 Clematis respectively. The concert culminated in a mass singalong with all students and teachers. Truly, it was a jubilant and fantastic celebration. Happy 54th Birthday, Singapore!

Racial Harmony Day 2019 – The Singapore Connection

The theme for this year’s Racial Harmony Day is ‘The Singapore Connection’. We focused on our shared experiences and values that have connected us as Singaporeans and considered how we can empower our younger generation to remain open and inclusive even as our society becomes increasingly complex and diverse.

A special Racial Harmony Day assembly skit performance entitled, ‘Hope, A Lost Phone’, was put together by Exposure Theatre to help our students understand about the importance of friendship and integration through interactive drama.

To help our students appreciate and embrace the uniqueness of our Singapore culture, students were also strongly encouraged to come dressed in various traditional costumes. The NE ambassadors also took the effort to set up a variety of traditional game stations in the canteen during recess, to facilitate and encourage students to learn more about the different traditional games from different ethnic groups.

Total Defence Day 2019

Total Defence Day was commemorated on 15 February every year to mark the fall of Singapore to the Japanese in 1942. It seeks to remind people of the hardships that our forefathers went through during the Japanese Occupation. The theme for Total Defence Day this year is ‘Together We Keep Singapore Strong’.

To commemorate Total Defence Day, a variety of learning booths were set up by the NE Ambassadors to educate students on the 5 pillars of Total Defence as well as simple first aid skills for burns, insect bite and stings. Students were also taught how to call an ambulance during an emergency. At the pledge booths, students also contributed pledges on how they could play a part to keep Singapore strong. To consolidate what was learnt at the booths, the NE ambassadors facilitated first aid quizzes on an interactive platform via the ipad, for both the Lower Primary students as well as the Upper Primary students. Hands-on opportunities for the students to try out these basic first-aid skills were also provided. The response at the ipad booth was especially overwhelming as students had tons of fun while learning at the same time!

International Friendship Day 2019

International Friendship Day (IFD) was a colourful, vibrant and meaningful event this year in CHIJ Kellock, as all students and teachers came dressed in their international or traditional costumes on IFD. The theme for this year’s IFD was Connected Communities. We had a series of exciting activities that were lined up for students to deepen their understanding on the positive impact of globalisation. During the special IFD Assembly Programme, we had our very own IFD costume parade led by our parent volunteers and students, as well as a special Samba Dance performance! As a result, our students gained a deeper understanding on the costumes and dance from around the world.

The highlight of the week, was on 12th April International Friendship Day, where students enjoyed learning more about the festivals, culture and music of other countries at the ‘IFD Carnival’ that was organised by our Kellock PSG and assisted by our NE Ambassadors. Many students were also eager to answer the IFD quiz on the country booths of United Kingdom, Brazil, Japan, China, Spain, Netherlands and Singapore. It was a fun and vibrant carnival, which successfully bring across the important message of having international friendship and harmony to our Kellock girls. Our heartfelt thanks to all parent volunteers for their dedication in ensuring a meaningful commemoration of IFD in CHIJ Kellock!