“The most important work you will do will be within the walls of your own home”
On 19th August 2023, St. George's School conducted an English Language Workshop for Lower Primary Parents at the Parish Hall. Spearheaded by Head of Primary Madam Alice Ting, as well as facilitator, Teacher Atiqah Morni, the workshop was held with the aim of focusing on phonetic awareness and blending techniques, specifically designed to help parents teach their children effectively at home.
The workshop saw the presence of the school CEO, Anthony Liew, Principal Janidi Jingan, Deputy Principal N.M. Mubarak, teachers and over twenty parents as participants. The event started with a welcoming speech by Principal Janidi Jingan who emphasized on the aims of the workshop and the importance of learning Jolly Phonics and Jolly Grammar. Following this, there was a story-telling segment by one student from Year 2B, Thahfeem, and one student from Year 6A, Jaireh. Parents were able to see the results of effective Jolly Phonics training through the clear and concise presentation from both students.
To start the first session, Madam Alice Ting reiterated the aim of the workshop, which was to implement various strategies and techniques that would assist parents in teaching their children the fundamentals of phonetic awareness, blending, spelling and grammar for effective reading, writing and communication. She then introduced the basic skills of Jolly Phonics - Letter-Sound Recognition, Letter Formation, Segmenting and Blending Skills as well as Identifying Sounds in Words. She also touched on the basics of Jolly Grammar, including the importance of reading - along with a showcase of a number of books that could prove useful in child learning and development. A quick group photo and light refreshments soon followed after the first session.
Teacher Atiqah kicked off the second session, explaining her goals for the session which was to ensure parents’ confidence in teaching spelling systematically, expanding vocabulary, improving comprehension and introducing parts of speech. She then delved into the benefits and uses of Jolly Grammar, using a number of physical activities and practices that kept parents engaged and focused for the remainder of the session. Participants were then split into different groups where they had a number of hands-on activities regarding different parts of speech.
At the end of the workshop, parents were able to bring home a learning pack with multiple course materials in the form of teaching sheets as well as phonetic sound cards. It is hoped that the parents who attended the workshop had many takeaways from the sessions and that they are now better equipped in nurturing and supporting their child’s language journey.