Mrs Teo Khin Hiang

Principal of Commonwealth Secondary School

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

I am happy to join all of us here for the opening of Commonwealth Secondary School’s new campus.  It is a new chapter for the school.  And based on what I have been told, I am confident that the new facilities will provide an environment conducive for staff and students – one that helps them scale greater heights in both teaching and learning, respectively.

Centre of Excellence for Environmental Education

2       Allow me to also congratulate Commonwealth Secondary on being designated as the West Zone’s Centre of Excellence for Environmental Education.  This is indeed a well-deserved recognition of the school’s efforts in environmental education.  Over the years, the school has put in many efforts.  And just recently, Commonwealth Secondary organised its second “Just One Earth” Seminar to inspire and build capacity among teachers to promote environmental awareness and responsibility.  It was therefore my pleasure today to have also launched the school’s Green Hub which houses the Centre of Excellence.  

Environmental Education

3       Commonwealth Secondary’s emphasis is timely given the growing awareness of environmental issues around the world.  There is increasing desire the world over to take decisive action to mitigate the impact of human activities on the environment.  Given that it is our young that will inherit this world, I commend Commonwealth Secondary School for taking a lead in raising students’ awareness of environmental issues in the West Zone.  While Singapore is small, we too can play a role, and everyone has a role. 

4       We in Singapore are fortunate to have a headstart.  Over the last 40 years, Singapore’s leaders pushed to clean up Singapore, nurtured the need to plant trees, and even cleaned up the rivers – something unimaginable to many.  The trees we see all around Singapore, the many green lungs and even small green spaces in road islands did not come about by chance.  These are the result of looking at the bigger picture despite many constraints, a desire to develop while retaining nature, drawing up consistent policies and executing them well.  As a result, we enjoy an excellent quality of life today.  So it is not just the passion, but the genuine interest in the little details that all make up our environment, and the discipline to lead by example.  For example, if we just talked about saving the planet, and yet waste food, litter and allow mosquitoes to breed, we would not have arrived.  We must nurture a generation that will continue Singapore on a path of safeguarding our clean and green environment, believe in being energy-efficient, and keep us going on sustainable development.

5       I am confident that the Environmental Education programme at Commonwealth Secondary School will also enhance teachers’ professional knowledge in environmental issues.  Enhancing teachers’ knowledge in environmental education issues is critical towards the success of the programme. When teachers better understand how environmental issues have profound impact on multiple facets of modern life, they would better appreciate their role as educators in nurturing the right values and attitudes in our young towards the environment.

Contributions of Staff and Students

6       Commonwealth Secondary is also playing a useful role beyond the school.  I understand that 15 of Commonwealth Secondary’s Environment Champions had come forward to help in the public education efforts on climate change. During the June holidays, when they could have been out enjoying themselves, these students came together with like-minded students from other schools to actively engaged visitors at the Climate Change Exhibition at the Science Centre. I thank them for their efforts, and encourage others to follow their example in reaching out to their fellow students and the public on environmental matters.

7     At this juncture, I should also take the opportunity to congratulate Mrs Teo Khin Hiang, Principal of Commonwealth Secondary and Mrs Annie Lim, Senior Teacher, for having received the National Environment Agency’s EcoFriend Award just last Friday. The award recognises their contributions in promoting environment ownership and action through environment education, and for their collaborations with the private sector under NEA’s Corporate and Schools Partnership Programme.

Constructed Treatment Wetland

8     Commonwealth Secondary’s new location next to Pandan Reservoir has also enabled you to build a Constructed Treatment Wetland – a first for Singapore schools.   The project is a series of ponds containing wetland plants like Lotus and Cyperus and activated carbon that treat grey water, or water from our sinks, into clean water.

9     This project shows an environmentally-sound alternative for turning grey water into usable water for daily activities like watering plants and washing common areas. It is a concept that has relevance in Singapore, where water is scarce.  Even though Singapore has now made its water supply resilient with the Four National Taps of catchment water, imported water, NEWater and desalinated water, it is important that we continue to conserve water and value water as a source of life.  So in my earlier interaction with the students, I felt heartened that they had benefited from this outdoor learning experience. They discovered for themselves the complexities in water conservation, water testing and urban agriculture as well as an appreciation of the various chemical and biological processes.

10     Such a facility could not have been built without Commonwealth Secondary’s extensive partnership with other stakeholders.  In the case of the Constructed Treatment Wetland, Commonwealth Secondary School has worked closely with our national water agency PUB, Vision Network and Ngee Ann Polytechnic.  The collaboration has not only ensured the authenticity of the facility but also leverages on existing research and investigations in the area of water conservation.

Conclusion

11     Strategic partnership has become an increasingly important component of the Singapore education landscape to provide our students more learning opportunities so that each one of them rises to the best of his or her potential.  Schools today are finding that there is much value in collaboration, both among schools and between the education and industry sectors.  It is in this arena that the Centre of Excellence will prove useful as a test bed for future projects, initiating new partnerships and piloting new ideas that can be seeded subsequently within other schools in the West Zone. It also provides the platform to stimulate students’ interest in R&D on environmental sustainability and for them to be better prepared to play a key role in the future in sustainable development for Singapore, and beyond.

12     In closing, allow me to say that the short but enriching time I have spent here convinces me that the school is moving in the right direction – with effective leadership at the helm; powered by a team of committed staff; bright, inquisitive students; in a culture of continuous improvement.  I urge all the students of Commonwealth Secondary to make full use of the facilities accorded to you in this campus.  And with the opening of the Green Hub here to house the West Zone Centre of Excellence, I am confident you will do even better as role models in nurturing the environment. I wish Commonwealth Secondary School, its School Advisory Committee, Parent-Teacher-Network, staff and students, and partners every success in your undertakings.

Thank you.