Director's
Speech 2009

Good afternoon parents, families, teachers and friends, welcome to our Concert cum Graduation Ceremony. Thank you for taking your precious time off to be with us today. Graduation is a time to look back at fond memories which have been made over the past few years. I am sure all of us remember warmly of our school days, which flood us with joy when we think of them. Precious are the memories of time spent with former school mates and classmates during carefree school days. How we wish to re-live such days again, if only we can wind the clock backwards. Yes, though we cannot rewind the clock for ourselves, there is much we can do for our children. You are already fulfilling part of it by your presence today. And today, we commemorate the milestone on the road that our children have travelled with us.

One of the things, agape travelled together with the children is the widening of our story based curriculum. We used value related stories to inspire our students to better prepare them for their academic life beyond our centre. Dear parents, I hope that with your cooperation and support, we can inspire our children to be more self-motivated in seeking new knowledge and skills, coupled with positive dispositions to complete the process. I am inspired by an Indian proverb which said,

“Tell me a fact and I’ll learn, Tell me a truth and I’ll believe but tell me a story and it will live in my heart forever.”

Do we, as parents, spend enough time telling stories to our children? Bedtime stories are invaluable in imparting our values and beliefs to our children. It establishes stronger bonds, builds family togetherness; and inculcates lifelong reading habits in our children, so start them young!

Research has informed us of the importance of family involvement for school success. Spending quality time with your children is the key to their academic success. Children, whose parents are involved in their learning processes, progress faster and steadier than their less fortunate counterparts.

For the above reason, we have embarked on a project called the ‘no longer a dilly dally’ this last quarter of the year, where parents’ participation in working as a family was actively sought.

As portrayed in the story called ‘No longer a dilly dally’, it aimed to promote family values and demonstrate how a family can work together to achieve their goals. Why are family values important? We know that values are beliefs and attitudes that influence our thinking and behaviour. They shape our lives and affect the way we live and the way we interact with others.

Our job of imparting values to our children is likened to passing them a compass of reference when manoeuvring through the ups and downs of life’s journey. The direction they will choose will be governed by the values you have implanted in their lives when they were young and by your side. It is done through your daily nurturing, just like a plant. The results will show as they grow. Just as the proverb says, “When the bough is bent, the tree is inclined”. May their boughs be inclined towards where you intended them to be.

Today’s graduation ceremony rejoices your trust in us to help develop your child. During these last few years, these children came together, worked together and kept together. Nothing makes us proud to see how our children have grown from being with us. After today, these children will embark on a long academic journey. Armed with values, knowledge and skills, they will find joy in their experience but will also be challenged for greater things. The future of our world will depend on the grasp of the torch that we bestow upon these children. We hope that their years ahead continue to be characterized by love, integrity, discipline, wisdom and passion, our agape values. That they will always lead by example and work hard and play straight. We wish your child success and many good years ahead. Thank you very much for being here again to celebrate your child’s progress with us. It is indeed an acknowledgement of successes achieved.

Mrs. Connie Lim B.ECS Melbourne University
Director for Curriculum Development