Westwood Secondary School

This article is about the school in Singapore. For the school in Mississauga, Canada, see Lincoln M. Alexander Secondary School.
Westwood Secondary School
Sekolah Menengah Westwood
维林中校
Address
11 Jurong West Street 25
Singapore 648350
Wenya, Jurong West
Singapore
Information
Type Government
Motto Rooted to Soar (Rooted in Character, to soar for the nation)
Established 2000
Session Single
School code 3620
Principal Ms Sandra Gwee (Dec 2010 -)
Gender Mixed
Enrollment Approx. 1,300
Colour(s)              Brown, Green, Silver
Website www.westwoodsec.moe.edu.sg

Westwood Secondary School (Abbreviation:WWSS;Chinese:维林中校;Malay:Sekolah Menengah Westwood) is a government secondary school in 11 Jurong West Street 25, Singapore 648350 which started off in 2000 at a classroom block in Hua Yi Secondary School and by some teachers of that school before moving to its present premises in 2001.[1]

The school has a good reputation in the neighbourhood for its strict attitude towards discipline, education and curriculum. Over 80% of its Secondary One students made this school one of their top 3 choice schools during the Secondary One Posting Exercise. In 2011, according to an interview with the school by Lianhe Zaobao, the cut-off aggregate to its express stream was 217. During the 2010 GCE O level Examinations, about two-third of its candidates scored L1R5 points lower than 21 and were able to enter the A level course.[2]

Introduction

Westwood offers choice and flexibility to cater to students of different abilities and talents. In addition to existing subjects such as Economics and Physical Education at 'O' Levels, there is also a range of in-house enrichments, elective modules and advanced elective modules offered, as well as a flagship programme introduced by the school called "Westwood Bytes".

Westwood Crest

The tree featured in the Westwood crest is the pandanus furcatus, a unique tree occasionally found in Singapore.

Westwood Values

Westwood Mission

The Westwood Community Builds Confident Communicators and Critical Thinkers who are Anchored in Sound Values and Connected Locally and Globally

Westwood Colors

Professional Development Of Teachers

Westwood places strong emphasis on continual learning, a school value, for both teachers and students. The school has developed a structured approach in the professional development of the staff and students. It has also moved towards building a Professional Learning Community (PLC) by setting up staff into professional learning teams to look into various curricular and pedagogical aspects of teaching and learning.

Teachers have the opportunity to share the outcomes of their areas of research through various platforms at the school, cluster, national and international level. In 2010, three PLC teams had the opportunity to present their findings in Brunei, Malaysia and another two will be going to Japan at the end of 2011.

Staff Profile

Westwood has a high percentage of teachers who have completed or are pursuing further studies.[3]

Level programmes

Secondary 1

Secondary 2

Secondary 3

Secondary 4 and 5

Dynamic curriculum

Business Studies Department

The Westwood Business Studies Department offers Economics, Principles of Accounts (POA) and Elements of Business Skills (EBS) to upper secondary students. Business students are offered various opportunities to engage in authentic learning experiences to develop an innovative and entrepreneurial spirit.

Teaching and learning highlights

Science Department

The science department uses a two-pronged approach in its quest to improve the teaching and learning of science for Westwoodians. This includes engagement in learning and encouragement through value-added programmes such as additional classes on certain subjects for students during the school holidays.

Teaching and learning highlights

Physical Education department

After gaining approval from Ministry of Education in 2010, Physical Education at 'O' Level was introduced in 2011. This subject includes both theoretical and practical aspects of Physical Education. The objective of this is to develop students' passion for sports and inculcate the values of sportsmanship in Westwoodians. It also promotes a healthy lifestyle, enriches sporting culture and sport talent in the school. Only students who attain at least a Gold for NAPFA Test in secondary 2, well-liked by teachers, and meet all requirements can take this subject.

Holistic education

Westwood Bytes Programme

It offers Westwoodians different activities on Wednesday and Friday each week to develop different domains towards holistic education for all and also to gain points for their house.

A whole school work-out session in which each house takes on different physical exercises every week: road run (outside school), vertical run (in the school building), tchoukball (quadrangle), captain's ball (hall) and push ball (in the school field), in order to build both physical capacity and mental tenacity. It is managed by the Physical Education department.

Through this, students stay attuned to local and global happenings, thinking on one's feet and express their own views, while engaging in class discussions and presentations on current and global issues dealing with themes ranging from education to technology to politics, to develop their critical thinking skills and the capacity to express their views and opinions coherently. It is also a vehicle to promote National Education and as such it is managed by the National Education department.

Through this programme, students get to build bonds with their class and teachers. It also inculcates life skills for personal effectiveness in the future.

Achievements

These are the following achievements Westwood has achieved:

Academic Value Added Award

Aesthetics Sustained Achievement Award

Uniformed Group Sustained Achievement Award

Co-curricular activities

These are the co-curricular activities Westwood offers:

Sports and Games

Aesthetics

Clubs and Societies

Uniform groups

School's Website

References

  1. ↑ NEW SECONDARY SCHOOLS AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS TO BE MERGED
  2. ↑ 邻里好学校 不只成绩好(Good neighbourhood schools not only have good academic results)
  3. ↑ Teachers Are Students Too

http://www.westwoodsec.moe.edu.sg

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