Environment
Applied Learning Programme: Participation in Raffles Institution’s Model United Nations (RMUN) Environmental Assembly
As part of our school's Applied Learning Programme on Environmental Sustainability, the Humanities Department sent a team of student delegates to the Raffles Institution’s Model United Nations (RMUN) Environmental Assembly in May. The assembly focused on pressing global issues such as biofuel usage and plastic pollution, offering our students—Goh Bing Yang, Lim Ying Xuan Andrea, Magpayo Edrin Jae Quias, and Matthew Loke Jia Cheng from 4-Gratitude—an invaluable opportunity to engage in inter-school discussions and advocate for environmental sustainability.
The days leading up to RMUN were both challenging and exciting. Our dedicated delegates worked tirelessly to craft position papers that accurately reflected the views of their assigned countries, while also refining their opening speeches to ensure confident and impactful delivery. During the assembly, they actively participated in council sessions and engaged in dynamic debates, demonstrating adaptability and quick thinking when faced with unexpected scenarios. Their ability to respond to new developments and seamlessly integrate them into ongoing discussions highlighted their resilience and strategic thinking. By the end of RMUN, our delegates had successfully crafted a draft resolution and garnered support from other schools, showcasing their persuasive skills and collaborative spirit.
Beyond these immediate achievements, the RMUN experience was truly transformative for our students. It allowed them to forge meaningful connections with peers from other schools, step out of their comfort zones, and enhance their public speaking skills. Reflecting on his experience, Bing Yang shared, “RMUN has taught me how to thrive in high-pressure environments. I’ve learned what it means to be an effective speaker. Participating in the various debates and council sessions has deepened my understanding of global issues and helped me forge new friendships.” Matthew echoed these sentiments, adding, “RMUN has profoundly shaped my understanding of our world. The experience has helped me become a more confident public speaker and to engage deeply in global issues, stepping out of my comfort zone and embracing public speaking.”
We congratulate our delegates for their exemplary representation and impactful contributions. Their success at RMUN is a testament to their dedication and passion for environmental advocacy. We look forward to supporting more students in participating in such enriching experiences in the future!
Let's Race
In our efforts to galvanise Regenites towards becoming socially responsible stewards of the environment, our school embarked on a 5-week journey to empower students to “Reduce our Air pollution and Carbon Emissions” (RACE). This is especially relevant as climate change continues to be a pervasive issue that requires our attention.
Our journey towards achieving a more sustainable lifestyle started with our dedicated Environment Champions passionately raising awareness among their fellow peers on the detrimental effects that climate change has on the planet and how human actions are escalating its effects. Our Champions advocated for a greener lifestyle through everyday actions that Regenites can take at home and in school to reduce their carbon footprint, which included simple actions like walking.
At the same time, Regenites were introduced to “The Stridy Challenge”, which involves the use of the “STRIDY” mobile application to record the number of litter items collected and walking distance covered. Through the usage of the STRIDY application, Regenites were not only able to catalogue the different types of litter collected (e.g. cigarette buds, cans, plastic bottles, tissue paper), but also acquired insights into the collective positive impact that their classmates, schoolmates, and even Singaporeans are leaving on the environment, one piece of litter at a time.
To create a healthy level of competition within the respective levels, classes were encouraged to catalogue their litter items and walking distance over a span of five weeks to clinch 2 coveted titles. “The Litter Heroes” was awarded to the class that recorded the highest number of litter items picked, and “The Regent Walkers” was awarded to the class that recorded the longest walking distance covered. Congratulations to all the classes on their wonderful efforts to make a difference to our environment.
Let's Go GREEN
2024 is the inaugural year for Regent’s Let’s be Green advocates! The event, where Green (in short for Grow Responsible Ecology and Environment), is a week when students come together tocreate awareness on the environment and promote actions to live sustainability.
On 13 and 14 May, the Environmental Science club and Class Environment Champions set up game booths at the canteen where students learnt more about the 3Rs and food sustainability through games and posters. Students could challenge themselves to the card game “Recycle Right” or the Green version of the classic snake and ladder board game “Karang Guni Man” or even try out the ping-pong ball game where they answered questions on the 3Rs and carbon footprint to earn prizes!
During CCT period on 14 May, a digital show on “Climate Change and Us” by The Voice wasshown, which shared the effects of climate change and recommendations on what students can do to reduce food wastage, play their part to protect biodiversity and reduce climate change. The highlight of Let’s be GREEN took place during the Secondary 1 Cohort’s Values in Action programme (VIA) on 15 May. The theme of the VIA was ‘Environment’ and the Clubs and Societies prepared booths showcasing artefacts they had created on the theme.
Robotics’ Sustainability through Innovation showed off a self-watering sensor for plants. Students from the school’s InfoComm shared photos on nature that were entitled ‘Capturing Change: Photography for a Sustainable Future’. Lastly, Design and Innovation presented their upcycle ventures including upcycled tote bags and stationery holders which were creatively re-designed. Regent Show Choir did their part too and spent their time composing a song entitled “The World is Changing” to encourage students to open their eyes to the world around them and play their part in sustainability and the Regent Pop Band composed a song entitled “Save the Earth” to encourage everyone to play our part to save our only home. On top of that, various subjects such as English, Mathematics, Science and Geography also came together to put up an interdisciplinary booth to showcase the students’ artefacts on the theme of “Water”. All in all, the collective effort by Regenites made the event a successful and memorable one.
Commemoration of World Water Day
A Journey Towards Conservation: Reflecting on World Water Day 2024:
On 22 March, our school community united to observe World Water Day, a global initiative dedicated to underscoring the significance of freshwater and advocating for its sustainable management. This year, our commemoration was marked by a thought-provoking morning Assembly session led by Mdm Zainab Banu, who shared invaluable insights on the importance of water conservation.
But our commitment did not end there. On 26 March, our Environment Champions took charge, guiding their peers through engaging sessions aimed at understanding water footprints and exploring practical strategies to minimize them. These sessions, thoughtfully crafted by students from the Environmental Science Club, underscored our collective dedication to raising awareness about environmental issues.
As these sessions concluded, students were encouraged to reflect on their learning and make personal pledges to conserve water. Using the digital platform Padlet, each student shared their commitment to reducing water wastage both at home and at school.
As we reflect on the events of World Water Day 2024, let us carry forward the knowledge, awareness, and dedication instilled in us. Let us remain steadfast in upholding our pledges and continue our journey towards a future where clean and accessible water is a reality for all. Together, as stewards of the environment, we can truly make a difference!
Past Environment Events
2023
Earth Day 2023
Earth Day was commemorated globally on the 22nd of April. To kickstart the commemoration in Regent, students from the Environmental Science Club shared with their peers during Morning Assembly on the need to protect our Earth. Aligning to this year’s theme on Food Sustainability, they also shared on how we can build our food resilience.
Back in class, the Environment Champions shared a video on ways to practise the 3Rs at home. They further shared ways to reduce food wastage such as ordering only what you need and they encouraged good recycling habits among their peers by setting up a class recycling corner in the class. Chew Cai Ling from 2-Empathy shared that she has learnt not to be picky when choosing fruits or vegetables as “ugly” fruit does not mean that the quality of the food is poor.
Students also visited the booths set up at the canteen and attempted the SLS lessons on Food Sustainability to find out more on how they can take actions to protect the Earth.
World Water Day 2023
World Water Day is held annually on 22 March, a day designated by the United Nations (UN) to commemorate the importance of water as a resource. In Singapore, we mark World Water Day with a month-long celebration to rally the community to appreciate and conserve water resources for sustainability.
At Regent Secondary School, we marked World Water Day with a slew of activities. Staff came dressed in blue to show their solidarity for the national movement for water conservation. Talks were also conducted by Regenites to raise awareness about the depletion of water resources worldwide and the urgent need to conserve it for the sake of all mankind. The Environmental Science club anchored a segment at Morning Assembly to share tips on how to conserve water both at home and in school. Our Environment Champions chipped in too with an interactive Kahoot quiz to engage their classmates on the topic.
Here’s what one of our Secondary Two students had to say about the commemorative activities in school: ‘I found the World Water Day commemoration in school meaningful. We do face water shortages around the world today, and it is important to take action now to help conserve water. My peers and I have pledged to do our part through our water pledges on display at the Canteen!’ (H Ng Peng Swee, 2-Pride)
2022
World Environment Day
World Environment Day falls on 5th June 2022. To commemorate this momentous day and do our part for Mother Earth, Regent held an Environment Week starting from 23 to 27 May!
Student Collaboration
Several CCAs came onboard to contribute with the common goal of advocating for changes we can make by tweaking our lifestyle. Students from the Show Choir came up with their very own music jiggle to spread environmental messages while our Drama Club collaborated with InfoComm Club and produced 2 videos on reducing carbon footprint in and outside of school. The Robotics Club made use of Blockie to design a structure to house potted plants and coded a device to monitor the humidity of the plants. Our Student Council is partnering with Northwest CDC to conduct an online zoom workshop for Yew Tee residents on the fundamentals of 5Rs and to share tips on how to upcycle old clothes into tote bags.
Showcase Boards
To reach out to our student population, our Environmental Sciences Club put display boards showcasing ways to recycle right and share information on the nature of biodiversity in school and Singapore at large. Through this, students learnt the names of the common birds sighted in school. Together with the Class Environment Champions, students also had the chance to try out hands-on activities like upcycling empty plastic bottles into zipper containers and folding paper box origami which can be used to place their items or waste.
All of us can play a part to protect our Earth by making changes to our lifestyle habits. We hope every Regenite would take on the role as Mother Earth’s ambassadors and spread the message of environmental conservation messages to people around us!
Environmental Science Photography Workshop
In partnership with Canon Imaging Academy and PUB, our Environmental Science CCA attended a Photography Workshop on 27 April 2022.
This workshop was curated specially for our school and provided participants with an introduction to the science and mechanics of how cameras are designed and function. Students were shown how to adjust camera settings effectively in order to optimise visual results and how to best achieve the correct balance between lens, light, subject and composition.
Apart from offering the space and time to learn new skills in photography, the workshop also allowed our Environmental Science students a valuable opportunity to take a closer look at their physical surroundings.
Seeing our world through the lens of a camera, we often look more critically, evaluating the relationship between the natural and man-made environment in which we live, assessing the natural symmetry as well as discordant notes in our surroundings. In planning their images, students began to understand the influence of our surroundings on how we perceive the world.
