OYEA winner Mdm Cheleen Chua (front, centre), sees herself as a mentor enabling her students to develop.

Mdm Cheleen Chua, HOD of Special Projects at CHIJ St Nicholas Girls’ School (Secondary) is enthusiastic about being a mentor enabling her students to develop. She is keen to know her students well, and seeks to challenge them in a realistic playing field by involving them in international competitions.

Cheleen admits that she had not been expecting to win. “I was stunned and I think there are many deserving people. If you go through the list of 12 nominees, each individual is deserving.” So what did she think gave her an edge over the other candidates? “If I were to make a guess, it would be my range, experience, influences and level of impact”. She elaborates that this would apply not just within the classroom with her students, but along with colleagues within the school and even those from other schools.

Cheleen's positive outlook on life plays a big part in keeping her passion for teaching very much alive.

Experiential Learning
Budding poets watched their love nurtured. Cheleen invited them to pen poems as a personal response to issues in the Literature text. Through the process of publishing and marketing, her students learnt the value of planning, teamwork, risk taking and ownership first-hand.

Cheleen does not neglect her students’ character development either. In fact, she encouraged them to conceptualise and plan an Enrichment Camp for primary students from Mendaki. This was an excellent exercise for inter-racial harmony as students collaborated with different racial groups within the community.

Bright Side
Cheleen admits it is in her nature to look at the brighter side of things. She says, “I believe that there is so much in life. Of course, teachers have their up days and down days. But even when I’m down, I make a conscious effort to keep that spark going. It’s a personality and professional thing.”

Cheleen’s future plans include exploring the possibility of working within and outside school. She explains, “Within school, my immediate plan is to work with my teachers on classroom pedagogy. We have implemented a new and innovative curriculum and we need now to go beyond the form and into the teaching itself.”

OYEA winner Miss Tracy Tan acknowledges the support from her Principal and peers at Coral Secondary as a key factor to her winning the award.

Miss Tracy Tan I-Lian, HOD of English at Coral Secondary, makes for a bright and bubbly presence in her classes. Tracy insists that her Principal and peers were a great support for her. On getting the award, she says “it’s an affirmation of work I’ve done the past six years as a teacher but I also acknowledge that without the opportunities that my school principal and the school has given me, I wouldn’t be able to do it”.

She returns to her drama training in the classrooms, helping Normal (Technical) students gain confidence in their presentation skills. In her capacity as Drama Club teacher, Tracy has scripted, acted in and co-directed a video series on the value of “Sensitivity” for Touch Community Services. Large-scale productions do not daunt her either: Tracy has even co-directed a musical with a cast of over 200 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium!

Exceptionally Expressive
In teaching English, Tracy is an ardent activist of the use of media resources to actively engage the students. “Being a teacher has allowed me to express myself in class. When we can express ourselves and our different interests, that is when students can see the passion and they want to be involved and engaged as well,” she explains.

Tracy puts her interest and experience in drama to use, helping her students gain confidence in making presentations.

However, as much as Tracy enjoys teaching and engaging learners, she recharges her passion for teaching by pursuing her own interests. She elaborates, “Outside of school, I spend time with friends and on my interests such as singing, writing and sports. I focus on work when I’m in school. I make it a point to have another life outside of school so there is a balance and when I come back to school, I have more things to share.”

Learning Cycle
Admitting to being “a very young teacher who’s still learning”, Tracy is keen to learn from even the newest teachers. She adds, “Everyone has fresh ideas so I’m hoping everything will continue as it is and whatever experience I do have, I hope to share with others.”

Meanwhile, Tracy is being trained in interactive whiteboard teaching. “I’m currently finding it an extremely handy tool and I would like to share this with other teachers in my department. It’s going to be the next OHP (overhead projector) of the classroom in a few years’ time. In a few years from now, it’ll be a common tool but right now teachers need to be trained,” she enthuses.