SKN....WELCOME TO GVSS !!!

Welcome to Greenview and Singapore, my Thai friends from Suankularb Wittayalai Nonthaburi School (SKN) especially to Siriwan Pothiti(Toy) and Nopawan(Aoy). I have known Toy and Aoy since 2002 when the two schools first come together in the Singapore-Thailand Enhanced Partnership (STEP) Programme. They arrived in Greenview at noon today and I couldn't help feeling lousy for not being in Singapore with them for the next 6 to 7 days. I have put a packed programme for our Thai partner school and certainly hope that they would enjoy their stay here.

Today I also received Mr Sin's email reply that we could start a twinning programme with Singapore international school in Mumbai! What an auspicious day it must be! The arrival of our Thai partner school in Greenview coincides with the birth of another twinning programme with our next partner school, SIS, Mumbai. I certainly hope SIS, Mumbai would be able to travel to Greenview in Singapore sometime next year and Greenview could also make a trip here with 20 students and 2 teachers. I have sent to Mr Nilesh, CEO and Founder of SIS, Mumbai and the Head of School, Mr Suparman Adam, a copy of Greenview-SKN visiting and hosting programmes for their study. I look forward to come back to SIS, Mumbai again on an exchange programme as early as 2008.

A meeting was held to run through the programme for this Sunday's Open House to be followed by 3 days of Harry Potter activities to be coordinated by a team specifically flown from Singapore. Dr Vanitha and I will be speaking to parents of SIS students on The Singapore Education Experience. It would be a real learning experience for me to address a group of mainly Indian nationals in Mumbai on Singapore education. My focus will be on the MOE's Teach Less, Learn More initiative. I may also speak on how Greenview carried out the IDPW programme as a follow-up to Dr Vanitha's talk on this.