Leadership through Service to Community
Discover how RGS students lead and serve through the Values-in-Action programme, tackling real community issues and driving meaningful change.
Leadership through Service to Community
Values-in-Action (VIA)
As a school that seeks to develop the aspiration and capacity for service to nation and community in every student, the RGS Values-in-Action (VIA) programme provides enriched and differentiated experiences within a vibrant environment of stewardship and service. The programme seeks to build in each student, the capacity to advocate by deepening their understanding of and responsibility in addressing community issues. We aim to enable each student entering RGS, with different strengths and aptitude towards service, the opportunity to discover her passions and develop according to her level of readiness.
Some of the key activities led by student leaders are:
Y1 Service-Learning Learning Journey
Y2 Class VIA project
Community Problem Solving Project (CmPS)
Student-Initiated VIA Project (SVIA Project)
SVIA Committee
An annual Community Fair (conducted during Post-End of Year Assessment) brings the community together to celebrate each other's service-learning efforts via sharing sessions, and enables teams to hand-over projects to their school-mates to enable sustainability of service to the community.
Community Youth Leaders (Direct School Admissions)
A talent development programme which nurtures students, who are passionate in serving the community, to lead as active agents of change. In turn, they also inspire others to make a positive difference in their spheres of influence.
Community Problem Solving Programme (CmPS)
The Community Problem Solving (CmPS) Programme is a differentiated programme for students with a strong passion for service and want to advocate on social issues in the community. Working in teams of about six to eight members, students use problem-solving skills to address real-world problems. They identify a community area of concern, explore challenges, establish an underlying problem, propose an action plan and carry out proposed solutions (partnering stakeholders) to address the issue at hand. Students then reflect on their experience so they can build on these experiences in other service-learning projects.
Some examples of CmPS projects include: inspiring children to pursue STEM careers, educating and working with students to build proper posture, equipping seniors to become competent technology users and advocating the importance of coral reefs on our ecosystem.
Project Biobliss (Environment-related)
Area of Concern
The team sought to increase the knowledge and appreciation of biodiversity among youths aged 13-16 through activities that teach them more about biodiversity around them.
Underlying Problem
Given that studies have shown that young people play a crucial role in conserving biodiversity but there is insufficient opportunities for students in Singapore aged 13-16 to appreciate and be aware of the importance of biodiversity, how might we increase awareness of biodiversity among the youths in Singapore so that they will be better able to commit to efforts to support biodiversity around them in the year 2024 and beyond?
Project Coral.Ful (Environment-related)
Area of Concern
The team sought to advocate to the general public regarding the significance of coral reefs to our ecosystem; the students set up information booths in NLB libraries to help the public better understand the significance of the issue.
Underlying Problem
Given that there is a lack of awareness of the state of coral reefs in Singapore, how should we educate youths on the importance of preservation of corals so that they can taken actions to ensure the protection of our corals in the year 2021 and beyond?
Watch their Advocacy Video below:
Project GenTECH (People-related)
Area of Concern
The team sought to build seniors' competency in leveraging digital tools to improve their quality of life; the students had partnered Goldman Sachs to produce an app, and are now working with an alumnae to refine the app for public use.
Underlying Problem
Given that seniors aged 60 and above are not harnessing the wide array of technology available to assist them in their daily activities, how might we better encourage them to integrate technology into their lives, so that they will embrace technology with confidence in the year 2021 and beyond?
Watch their Advocacy Video below:
Student-Initiated Values-In-Action (SVIA) Projects
The school encourages students to self-initiate projects that enable them to serve in a cause(s) they are passionate to address. SVIA projects are passed on between batches of students to sustain support to partner agencies.
Some examples of SVIA projects include: advocating for animal welfare and environment conservation, reading and academic support programmes, student advocacy for individuals with special needs, developing children’s interest in STEM, and many more…
Project Honey and Bread is an example of a SVIA project that strives to partner other stakeholders to address an issue of concern. The team collaborated with their RI counterparts to support Care Corner Toa Payoh seniors during the 2021 year-end holidays.
Watch their project video below:
