Day 6 - Singapore (24 July 2019)

This morning, we made our way through the chaos of breakfast to loading on the bus to visit our first Singaporean school. 









We drove over to the Guangyang Primary School for a tour. We were divided into three groups of 14 people and shown around by two student ambassadors and a teacher/administrator in each group. 

I learned a lot of interesting bits of information how the Singapore Primary schools function. They have a flag ceremony every morning, where they also sing the national anthem and teachers are able to take roll.   

The new teachers in Singapore teach 27,  30 minute lessons each week. The seasoned teachers teach 37 lessons each week. It was really interesting to see the juxtaposition between how their schedules are structured. They also specialize in two subjects, more like a secondary setting. 

We were able to observe a teacher in ‘Singapore Math’ class for foundationals skills. It was very interactive, and it just seemed like good teaching practices, which is good!  After a great reception, we were able to listen to the principal talk about the restructure of the school and parental involvement.















We loaded back on the bus for lunch at True Blue, which is a Michelin Star restaurant, also a first time experience for me. 

























From lunch, we drove over to the Singapore American School. It is a whole complex with 4,000 students.  Since it is a private K-12 school, the tuition is a pretty penny at anywhere from $40,000 - $50,000 Singapore dollars per year. They did have an innovative approach and nice facilities!





















We were able to see the athletic facilities, and those were pretty impressive too. 















We stopped to pick up our local guide, Jeremy, who is a teacher in Singapore.  During our bus tour around town, we also got out for a few quick pictures and great explanations of the places!

























We drove over to Chinatown to see the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple. It was beautiful!  The tooth relic was on the 4th floor and closed, but it was like entering a different world full of miniature Buddhas and gold plated accent marks weaved throughout. 





















It is so interesting to see how so many different types of workshop take place. 













We walked in Chinatown for a few minutes before heading over to the Cantonese bakery for egg pastries. They kind of taste like a sweet quiche. After gathering up all of the unique pastries, we walked a block to the Maxwell hawker centre for dinner. 





















I have really enjoyed the new friendships and cultural experiences we have already started creating together. What a fantastic group of people!  I am appreciative of all of the personal insights I am gaining too! 💕

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