A group photo with Bryan Middle School Principal, Mr John A. Glimco.
Bryan Middle School Principal, Mr John A. Glimco and Assistant Principal, Ms Melissa Couch.
Elmhurst School District Superintendent, Mr David Pruneau.
Sharing by Mr Glimco.
Sharing by Bryan Middle School teachers.
Visit to the classrooms and special rooms.
Our Reflections:
Reflection 1
Among several other things, what really struck me was the excellent discipline of the students. The school was sparkling clean both inside and outside the classrooms. Not a single price of litter can be found along the corridors. Our group stepped into the cafeteria immediately after the Grade 7's morning break and was pleasantly greeted with a sparkling clean canteen. The tables and benches were cleaned and neatly arranged, and the floor swept. We understood from the VP Melissa, that all students were assigned to use only specific toilets in the school (by their grades) and tables and benches in the cafeteria (by their classes) and that the students are responsible of cleaning them. This was to inculcate a greater sense of ownership to their school and to respect others. The students' behaviours in the classrooms were also commendable. Majority of the students were attentive and on task, even during small group discussions and group works. The noise level in the class was certainly low which provided a conducive learning environment. When a teacher asked a question, we observed that students will put up their hands, wait the teacher to call them before they answers the questions. This is the result of many years of positive conditioning since their elementary school. The students were also very warm, greeting and welcoming us when we meet them. The excellent discipline of the students is the outcome of the good work that the school has done in the area of character education. This was achieved despite of the lack of dedicated curriculum time or compulsory extra curriculum time to explicitly teach values and/or character education. Values and character education was pervasively taught and emphasized by all teachers daily, in their interaction with their students. Posters are put up around the school to remind students of such values. Lastly, the school implemented a Bryan Demon Dollar incentive system to reward students who have demonstrated good deeds. This was to reward and recognize students to do good deeds and to motivate others to do likewise. I hoped to be able to adopt some of the above initiatives back in our school as part of our values and character education.
~ Eric Chua (Holy Innocents’ High)
Reflection 2
What strikes me most about Bryan Middle School is the high level of professionalism and passion in the staff in designing and implementing a curriculum which motivates learners and impacts learning. The STEM curriculum is one which integrates the disciplines of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math to make learning more meaningful to students and enables them to see the application of Science and Math concepts in the wood craft that they craft. This requires a great deal of discussion and collaboration among the different departments and it goes beyond the teaching of the subject matter as a mere subject to be more of a life skill learning. It is enriching for both the teacher and the students when learning becomes authentic for the pupils.
The English Language teachers are analytical with the information they have gathered from the students’ reading tests and initiated a structured learning teaching package to further stretch the abilities of their competent learners and level up the competencies of their slower ones through the REACH programme. They design and conduct lessons which achieve the same objectives through the use of differentiated reading materials and levels of scaffolding to teach reading comprehension skills, while maintain the same delivery of lessons. The students are regrouped and pulled out during curriculum hours for better engagement and impactful learning. The teachers also consistently made use of data collected from each reading test to evaluate students’ progress and improve strategies.
~ Martina Lim (Holy Innocents’ Pri)
Reflection 3
At Bryan Middle School, what left me the deepest impression were the school wide structures in place to create a positive tone and conducive environment for all to learn, namely the 3 B’s of Bryan and CHAMPs. These structures have seamlessly infused the important values and social-emotional competencies during curriculum time and beyond. CHAMPs (Conversation, Help, Activity, Movement and Participation) is pervasive in their homeroom systems to ensure all students elicit positive learning behaviour in the classrooms. Even though each subject teacher may vary their expectations, these were clearly delineated under CHAMPs with the use of common terminologies schoolwide. On the other hand, 3 B’s of Bryan (Be respectful, Be responsible, Be Safe) serves to promote positive behaviour of students in and out of the classrooms, even when they are not within the supervision of their teachers during transition between classes, using of school facilities and break time. These two work hand in hand to create the positive learning environment that we have observed in their classrooms as well as public areas in the school compound, such as the canteen and hallway. Truly, the mindset of “character is what you do when no one is looking” has been well rooted in the young minds of Bryan Middle School.
~ Bao Jun (Chong Boon Sec)
Reflection 4
"The game does not change much across schools and countries."
John A Glimco, Principal, Bryan Middle School
As the quote suggests, today's visit was an affirmation of all the things that we are doing in the school to provide a student-centric values driven education. Affirmation of not only the successes, but also the trials and challenges that we face. There were many good practices that I saw, one of which was on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering in Math). What I found really powerful was the collaboration between 3 departments in the school to help the pupils see the connections between what the students are learning in Math (Measurement) to how they apply it in Design & Technology and Science. It helped deepen and enrich the pupils' learning. I belief such collaborations in our schools will reap similar benefits among our pupils too.
~ Kumari (Xinghua Pri)
Reflection 5
During the school visit, I can see clearly why Bryan Middle School is indeed a Blue Ribbon School, a prestigious recognition as a school of excellence by the nation. The staff was highly committed to their profession. The Superintendent, Principal and various groups of teachers who presented were guided closely by the school’s vision of ensuring that their students are able to fulfil their fullest potential and that they are provided with the foundation for future success in life, recognising that 21st century skills and character education are vital. The school aims for all its students to graduate from college.
The school also emphasizes greatly on gathering feedback from the student population, parents and staff so as to guide its decision making. Their decision making, for example, designing academic programmes, is also closely guided by the use of data from various sources.
Efforts by the school to inculcate values in their students were clearly visible throughout the school. The strategies are actually simple but very effective. Banners showing the positive behaviour the school would like to develop in their students could be easily seen at various corners of the school. The school would want to encourage 3 positive behaviours: Be Respectful; Be Responsible; Be safe. Concrete examples of such positive behaviours expected in various parts of the school are clearly displayed, for example, in the classrooms, cafeteria, auditorium, and gymnasium. They also ‘catch’ students who exemplify these behaviours, such as having ‘Student of the Month’ and the awarding of Demon Dollars, which they could redeem things they like. The school also provides simple opportunities for the students to put such positive behaviours in action. For example, in the cafeteria, students have to clean after themselves. Mops and clothes are provided for the students and they keep the cafeteria and washrooms clean.
In the area of department management, I would like to be more savvy in using data to make informed decisions about the teaching and learning of Mathematics. As for the Year Head system which I am in charge of, I would like my committee to work with the Student Development Committee in making positive behaviours be more explicit for our students.
~ Hui Yih (Serangoon Garden Sec)
Reflection 6
Bryan Middle School is one of the two schools in the district to achieve blue ribbon status. The school has made impressive efforts in ensuring continuous improvement. The school seeks feedback from key stakeholders such as parents and the community . In addition the school also seeks feedback from the staff. One of the strengths of Bryan Middle School is its positive and committed staff and students. The school customises its curriculum to ensure meaningful integration and application of the concepts across various disciplines. This is clearly seen in STEM-Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. The school has very clear expectations of their students. Their 3 bes'- be respectful, be responsible and be safe are pervasively visible in the school. The school spells out desired behaviours expected of their students. For instance students know how to moderate their noise level according to the type of activity they are engaged in, be it group activity or walking along the corridor.This programme is called Champs. Indeed the school leaders and the teachers have made an impressive impact on the students . With strong community support and an excellent character education that is seamlessly infused within the curriculum,this has definitely been an enriching learning experience at Bryan Middle School .
~ Shakila (Da Qiao Pri)
Reflection 7
The visit to Bryan Middle School was a very enriching experience. The school demonstrated its generosity and hospitality in receiving us, and even the Superintendent was present. In this school there is much emphasis on the holistic development of the students. The expected behaviours (3B’s - Be Respectful, Be Responsible, Be Safe) focus on Self, Others and Environment, and posters of these are displayed throughout the school. The teachers also make good use of the walls in their home rooms to display posters which include thinking skills such as predicting and evaluating, showing that these skills are made explicit in their curriculum. This approach could be applied in my school in coordinating the curriculum for 21CC in the various disciplines.
~ Geok Choo (YuYing Sec)
Reflection 8
This 100 year old school believes in providing a safe environment for its students, making sure that students are engaged learners and placed values and character as part of daily activities. What interest me particularly is how they have nurtured the spirit of entrepreneurial skills as young as grade 3 and continued till grade 5 where they are taught on business proposal writing and actual operation of a restaurant. I was impressed with the authentic learning that they have engaged their students in. This is an excellent platform to teach them decision-making and problem-solving skills. The students are given some autonomy running the student council and their environment club. One thing I will implement is school is the CHAMPs expectation of students behaviour in common areas in my school. This is a great platform to promote positive behaviour in them.
~ Rohayati (Mayflower Sec)
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