2009 J2 T3 Civics: School Graduate Certificate Lesson

Raffles Junior College 2009 J2 T3 Civics SGC Lesson Student Handout 1 (+ annex) SCHOOL GRADUATION CERTIFICATE CCA/CIP ACHIEVEMENTS SECTION
From 2006 onwards, students in Singapore graduate from Junior College with the School Graduation Certificate (SGC), a comprehensive school testimonial which consolidates a students achievements in the academic and non-academic domains, and includes an assessment of his/her personal qualities. It consists of: 1. Cover page with students particulars and signature of Director-General of Education 2. A-Level Results page 3. Co-Curricular Achievement Write-Up Page 4. Personal Qualities Write-Up Page Students are required to select and write out their co-curricular achievements for inclusion in the SGC on the Co-Curricular Achievement Write-Up page. The various teachers in charge will vet the write-ups for content accuracy. Your Civics Tutor will write your testimonial which will be printed on the Personal Qualities Write-Up page. What you need to do: Prepare a write-up detailing your best non-academic achievements (activities outside the classroom e.g. CCA, CIP, or attachments), which took place while you were in JC, for the CoCurricular Achievements section of your SGC. What? A minimum of one and a maximum of three activities may be listed. The total maximum word count is 240 words. If you choose to write about only 1 achievement, you may use all 240 words for that write-up. But if you choose to write about 2 or 3 achievements, the 240 words will need to be divided between the various write-ups. When? Key your write-ups into the online system provided by the college. (Between 7 July and 11 August 2009). The teacher in charge of each activity will log in to vet your write-up between 12 August and 11 September. In the post-Prelim period, you will be able to log into the system to view your write-ups one last time (to see how they have been vetted). What happens now? Refer to the list of activities attached and start thinking about what you want to include in your SGC. Remember that you may only list a maximum of three activities and the total word count for all activities must be 240 words or less. Check with your CT if you are thinking of an activity which is not listed.

2009 J2 T3 Civics: School Graduate Certificate Lesson

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Raffles Junior College 2009 J2 T3 Civics SGC Lesson Student Handout 2 1. For each activity, write down a. the role you played in the activity (i.e. what is your achievement) b. how you developed as a person from being involved in the activity c. how did your involvement impact others (if applicable) 2. Do not be too descriptive or include unnecessary/ small details. Do not be too informal. Do not focus on trivial aspects of the activity. Focus on your role and the quality of the achievement. The total word count should be within 1800 characters (approx. 240 words). Check that: 3. You have used your statutory name and not your unofficial Christian name or nickname. 4. There are no typos and spelling errors; use British spelling consistently throughout. 5. Simple past tense should be used for activities and actions that took place during the two years in RJC. Amend all use of the present perfect tense and past perfect tense:
Examples: She has been a dedicated member of the RI (JC) Basketball team must be changed to She was a dedicated member of the RI (JC) Basketball team. She had participated in the Read-to-Reach Programme from May to July 2008 must be changed to She participated in the Read-to-Reach Programme from May to July 2008.

6. Present tense is used for describing general character traits

Example: She is a responsible individual with good organizational ability.

7. The actual year is stated (e.g. 2008 or 2009) and not this year or last year
Example: He was a key member of the RI (JC) rugby team which clinched the A Division Rugby Championship title this year must be changed to He was a key member of the RI (JC) rugby team which clinched the A Division Rugby Championship title in 2009.

8. Abbreviations are used only after the first mention of the activity is written out in full.
Example: He was an Orientation Group Leader (OGL) in the Orientation 2009. As an OGL, he had to .

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2009 J2 T3 Civics: School Graduate Certificate Lesson

Raffles Junior College 2009 J2 T3 Civics SGC Lesson Student Handout 2

Unedited version Sample 1 In the National Inter-Schools Netball Championships held at the start of the year, Camille's team took the Gold. It was a very joyous moment for the team as they had worked very hard for months in order to improve their skills and teamwork. Having come from different secondary schools, the team had to learn how to work with each other, understand each other's strengths and weaknesses and support each other in their game play. Camille, being the team captain, led the team well and remained supportive throughout. Under her patient and caring leadership, the team made great strides in skills improvement and played well together during the tournament. She encouraged the team through pep talks and trained doubly hard herself to set them a good example. She motivated them to aim high and set them a clear goal to work towards. With a team captain such as Camille, the College managed to finally capture the championship trophy in Netball which had remained elusive for ten years. (166 words) Edited version Sample 1 In the 2006 National Inter-Schools Netball Championships, Camille's team won the Gold Award. The team was elated as they had worked very hard for months to improve their skills and teamwork. Camille, the team captain, led the team well. She encouraged the team through pep talks and trained doubly hard herself to set them a good example. She motivated them to aim high and set them a clear goal to work towards. The College managed to finally capture the championship trophy in Netball which had remained elusive for ten years. (90 words) Unedited version Sample 2 In December 2006, Camille went to Laos on a school community service trip to share creative science teaching methods to the educators and students from selected schools. Throughout the trip, she demonstrated great responsibility and empathy for others. Not only did she prepare thoroughly for each classroom session so as to maximise the learning opportunities for the students there, she also took the initiative to study important phrases from the Laotian language prior to the trip so that she could communicate with them with minimal assistance from the translator. Reliable and efficient, Camille was always on hand to help the other members of her group as well as to provide backup support with resources and materials when necessary. With her friendly and outgoing personality, Camille was an asset to the group in helping to break the ice with the Laotian teachers and students. While she enjoyed herself tremendously while she was helping others there, she also learned to appreciate the hard work put in by teachers worldwide and came to value the simple things in life more. (177 words) Edited version Sample 2 In 2006, Camille went to Laos on a service trip to share creative science teaching methods with some educators and students there. She demonstrated responsibility by preparing thoroughly for each lesson. She showed initiative by studying important Laotian phrases to better communicate with them. Camille generously helped the other members of her group by sharing her resources and materials. Friendly and outgoing, Camille broke the ice with the Laotian teachers and students. From the experience, she valued her teachers more and came to value the simple things in life. (89 words)

2009 J2 T3 Civics: School Graduate Certificate Lesson

To JC2 Students: INSTRUCTIONS FOR KEYING IN CO-CURRICULAR ACHIEVEMENTS FOR SGC

1. Type out your write-ups using Microsoft Word or other software and save a copy for
yourself. 2. Log on to Raffles Connect.

3. Click on the menu bar option - SGC CCA Achievements - and log in using your
NRIC/FIN number as your UserID and password. 4. Choose the Activity Category and then the Activity name before cutting and pasting the relevant achievement write-up in the space provided.

5. If the achievement you wish to write about cannot be found in any of the drop down lists,
you may use the Others option under Other Activities. However, you must key in (in the space provided) the name of the teacher who is to verify the contents.

6. You may include up to three achievement write-ups but the total word count cannot be
more than 1800 characters including spaces and punctuation marks (approx. 240 words). You are not obligated to have three different achievements, but you must have at least one. 7. Please note that there is a time-out function you will be logged out of the system if there is no activity for ten minutes, and all unsaved data will be lost. 8. Save before you exit the system. 9. All Co-Curricular Achievements written for the SGC will be vetted and edited by the teachers in charge. The final draft will be made available for students to view later. The college reserves the right to edit the write-ups written by students.

10. Please email rjc2@moe.edu.sg if you face any problems accessing the system. 11. All students must complete their write-ups by 11 August 2009.
N.B. Please note that students in uniformed groups or other external CCAs must inform HOD/PE of their involvement in these groups before keying in their achievements into the SGC system under External CCAs & SIGs.
Remember! To write in the third person and use your statutory name and not your unofficial Christian name or nickname. Check for typos and spelling errors; use British spelling consistently throughout. Simple past tense should be used for activities and actions that took place during the two years in RI (JC). Amend all use of the present perfect tense and past perfect tense. Present tense is used for describing general character traits. The actual year is stated (e.g. 2008 or 2009) and not this year or last year. Abbreviations are used only after the first mention of the activity is written out in full.

2009 J2 T3 Civics: School Graduate Certificate Lesson