To: Ms Pai Kia Re: suggestions to help introduce primary students to secondary school life
As chairman of the school’s student welfare committee, I feel that Sushila’s suggestion is far by the best. Let me explain why I have come to this decision.
Sushila’s suggestion that we organize a meeting between a group of our students and the primary school students fulfills all our requirements, and is the most economically feasible plan that we have on hand. It is easy to organize as it involves a small group of people and does not require outside support or props. Also, the only flaw in the proposal, where the parties involved would miss lessons, can be effortlessly remedied by simply rescheduling the meeting session to a later time, like in the evening. Furthermore, as all the students will naturally be curious about their new school, they would be able to have their doubts clarified, and also meet new people, including the seniors from our school. They have an opportunity to intermingle and become more at ease with each other, and they can make many new friends. This would in turn help to ease their transition into secondary school and help them to settle into the secondary school lifestyle more easily, and their friends would also help to make the whole experience much more enjoyable for them. Also, this would be very successful as the primary school students can draw on their seniors testimonies of life in the school, and so warm up to the school and settle in more easily. Also, such a session has no time constraint, and parents and students are free to enter and leave as they please. This would probably suit many parents, whose work times might not coincide. This way, a vast majority of the parents would be able to attend this session, and the primary school students would not be bored as they would not have to adhere to a schedule. This proposal is also favourable as it shows a more personal, warmer side of the school, and would probably leave a lasting impression on many of the primary school students and their parents.
Chee Keong’s pitch, which consisted of designing and printing booklets and posters in various languages, is seriously flawed, as we do not have the capital to fund the printing and designing of these materials. Also, it is very impersonal and might make an impression that the school is very cold towards students. Also, the primary school students might not show the booklets or posters to their parents, and all the efforts put into this would not be worth the product. Also, to have already chosen this school, the parents would already have known much of the information about the school, and as such, this action is unessesary.
Ahmad’s proposition that we produce a short video for the students and parents is intriguing, but impractical. Hiring professionals to assist us in the production would be very expensive, and there is no guarantee that the students would watch or process the video. If we make the video ourselves, it would be an amateurish endeavor, and would most probably backfire, due to our inexperience. We would waste a lot of time shooting and editing our footage, and since the students and parents would already have known what the school had to offer before they chose this school, it would be an extremely expensive and yet useless deed.
Lili’s plan to organize an open house is not chimerical, as it involves the entire school and is a hassle to organize, and it will be very difficult to get everyone to fully cooperate. Also, since the open house would have to be held in the daytime, many parents would not be able to attend, and the students might not relay their information and experiences to their parents.
Therefore, since Sushila's proposition has the most benefits, boosting the morale of the young students and helping them get orientated in our school, and also catering to the parents queries and sating their desire to know more about the school their children are going to be studying in, I recommend that her proposal should be implemented. All of the other proposals have major flaws, and it will also be inexpensive and preparations are not time-consuming, unlike all the other proposals.
Ezbel Tay Chairman of the Student Welfare committee 25-04-07
TBC.
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