There is a noticeable change of pace in the school after the graduation ceremony. Whereas the school is buzzing with activity during the school year, in the summer there is a quieter and less hectic mood prevailing. The focus of the summer months is on one-on-one tutorials for children whose parents are eager to have them catch up or get ahead in a given subject.

 

Richard visited the school on the first morning of summer classes and he writes about his time there in the section below:

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" I arrive at the school at 9 am and I am just in time to meet Max, our PTA president who is here to fetch his son Zimri after his 8 am tutorial. Zimri did well in Junior Prep last year but his father is keen for him to improve his reading comprehension of the Filipino language, hence the daily tutorial.

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I walk into the forest room, greet the teachers who in turn, introduce me to their pupils. There are 4 girls having one-on-one tutorials and each of them is seated at a desk with their teacher.  I recognise Lily Joy as she was one of the graduating class. One of the other children is also familiar to me and I realise later that this is because she lives in the neighbourhood of the school.

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I am keen to get to know some of the children's parents so I leave the forest room and start chatting with two mothers who are sitting near the entrance. I discover that this is a significant day for the two of them as their respective daughters Allison and Faith, are in school for the very first time in their lives. I start talking to a younger woman who turns out to be the adopted sister of Janell, another first timer in the school today. Gabriela has a fascinating story. She lost her father when she was a baby and her mother started a new family and she was brought up by her grandmother. When she was 18 years old, she became a close friend of Janell's older sister Jona and often visited the family home. One day the mother of Jona asked Gabriela if she would like to live with the family. Gabriela was overjoyed to be accepted in the family and this is how she came to be the adopted sister of Janell.

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I speak with several other parents during the course of the morning including the mother of Rhaiven, who has speech delay. The children attending summer classes have a variety of needs and we offer customised tutorials to address them." 

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