Tanglin concluded the STEAM & Sustainability Week today. This meaningful week saw multiple faculties and departments work hand in hand to strategise, conceptualise and roll out a week filled with activities to remind the Tanglin community that we can all make a difference.

“Educating our students on the environmental issues we face and empowering them to rise to future challenges are key actions we can take as a school. STEAM and Sustainability weeks are a great way to focus efforts, energise students and engage in hands-on problem solving - and we had a lot of fun along the way! From treehouse building in Reception, to learning about energy use in the Juniors, to a Science Symposium in Senior School, students have engaged with a range of proactive, inspiring solutions which will hopefully instill in them the ambition to become the environmental leaders of tomorrow. The challenges ahead are certainly great, but our students have shown this week they are determined to play their part in the global effort to protect our planet and make it a greener, more sustainable place.” Said the Tanglin STEAM & Sustainability Week Team.

At the Institute @ Tanglin, guest speakers from Polymatria and Razer came in to share about biotransformation and the importance of UX in consumer technology.

The whole-school non-uniform day on Monday raised money to fund the 10 trees the school has committed to, which will be planted next month in the One-North area opposite the campus. To round off the week, the whole school participated in the One-North ‘Earth Hour’ on Friday, March 24 by switching off all screens and lights for 60 minutes.

Senior School Activities

At the Senior School, a diverse range of activities took place across Years 7-10. These activities were planned by the Year 12 CAS (Creativity, Activity and Service) group, who then showcased them at the STEAM-Science Symposium.

The Year 7s designed and built sustainable windmills. Using their knowledge from their Electricity and Energy topic, they used entirely reusable materials to make wind turbines to generate the highest voltages.

Year 8s found ways to power vehicles using alternatives to fossil fuels. Models were designed and built to investigate how far wind can power a car. Year 9s focused on sustainably built houses that could potentially withstand increasingly unpredictable weather-related issues exacerbated by climate change. Year 10s designed their vision of a sustainable city, presenting their research in the form of a poster which was displayed at the Symposium. Year 12’s project research posters were displayed and judges from Rolls Royce were invited to view this research.

Junior School Activities

The Junior students carried out different STEAM activities; from designing and making ‘electric scribblers’ in Year 6, to taking part in a ‘scrapyard challenge’ in Year 3. A team of Year 4 students worked on their Superpowered Lego League project, where they learnt about energy sources, storage and distribution.

Infant School Activities

The Infant children explored nature’s superheroes: trees! Teachers delivered assemblies to Reception, Year 1 and Year 2, to celebrate the myriad of benefits offered by trees in the environment. The Year 2 Green Team offered helpful hints of ways we could all help to make trees thrive. Across the school, various STEAM projects ensued; Reception children designed and built a treehouse, and the Year 2s learnt how robots could deliver seeds to remote places. The Year 2 Lego League Junior team also continued their sustainable energy project to get ready for the national competition. Year 1 studied the wide variety of trees and their features on their trip to Jacob Ballas Garden, and tested the best material to grow seeds.

Nursery children participated by exploring ways to conserve water and designing trees out of junk modelling materials..

“The aim of the week was to increase the children’s awareness of how important trees are to the planet, encouraging empathy. They then used their critical thinking and practical skills to design and create solutions to the threats posed, demonstrating that they too can take action in small ways to help the planet.” The team concluded.