White waves are crashing, but I am not afraid,

Holding the rudder steadily, I row straight ahead

Cast the net into the water to the fishes’ lair

Caught a big fish, ha ha ha!

Hai Yo Yi Yo Yi Yo En Hai Yo, Hai Yo Yi Yo Yi Yo En Hai Yo,

Hai Yo Yi Yo Yi Yo En Hai Yo, Hai Yo Yi Yo Yi Yo En Hai Yo!

(This is the translation of a Chinese children’s song.)

On the morning of 5th November, the Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Associations (SFCCA) hall, located at Toa Payoh Lorong 2, was filled with delightful nursery rhymes and beaming faces. As the children sang and danced on stage, their adorable performance seemed to evoke the everlasting childlike heart of the adults. The parents were on cloud nine, rejoicing at the sight of their children performing on stage.

On that day, it was the 15th graduation ceremony for the SFCCA kindergarten. The children dressed in graduation gowns and wore graduation caps, looking like little PhDs while still looking innocent and adorable.

Revamping kindergarten to promote bicultural education

In his speech, Mr Zhang Debiao, the president of SFCCA bicultural kindergarten, said that the SFCCA council has decided to revamp its kindergartens. Apart from bringing in a new team of leaders, the allocation of $100,000 to fund the revamp project has also been approved. He revealed that the kindergartens have already been renamed to SFCCA Kindergarten. He also has plans to carry out a series of reorganisations of school affairs and undergo facilities upgrade during the December holidays.

Zhang Debiao expressed that SFCCA kindergarten will focus more on building students’ bilingual and bicultural foundation, with an emphasis on their Chinese etiquette as well as personal health and hygiene. For example, greeting the elders first before a meal, and saying goodbye after school, so as to cultivate the etiquette of respect and kindness in them. The Kindergarten Two (K2) syllabus will also be linked to the Primary One syllabus as much as possible. He mentioned that the kindergarten will focus more on developing confidence, teamwork and self-expression skills of the children.