TES Annual Report

STEAM AND INNOVATION

British Primary Section This year, STEAM in EPC continues to foster a wide range of technical skills, creativity, and critical thinking across all sections and all year groups. Students engaged in projects that integrated hands-on craftsmanship, digital literacy, engineering principles, and creative design. Studies have shown that these activities can nurture problem-solving abilities, fine motor skills, logical thinking, and interpersonal communication, thus preparing our students for bright futures ahead. This year, BPS embarked on our first year of the International Primary Curriculum (IPC) to complement the British National Curriculum. With IPC prioritising a thematic, inquiry-based approach through task-specific learning activities, STEAM focuses on targeted skills to concentrate on the understanding of underlying concepts. Reflecting on TES's dedication to the holistic development of students with globally-minded education, the IPC is intentionally chosen for BPS because of its principles and approach that connect with MYP and IB programmes implemented in our secondary campus. This vertical alignment ensures a cohesive learning journey where the emphasis on global understanding is consistently reinforced from primary through secondary education. STEAM projects this year demonstrated a well-rounded approach by balancing traditional skills with digital technology. To highlight a few projects, in Year 1’s ‘The Magic Toymaker’ unit, children learnt how joints are necessary to create movable parts while making their own unique wooden toys. In Year 4, students continued this exploration through engineering principles by incorporating the design thinking skills (design cycle) in learning levers and linkages in their ‘Travel & Tourism’ unit which culminated with the creation of a futuristic travelling machine. For the Year 6 cohorts, the progression went further in their ‘Go with the Flow’ unit where students in teams had to design and build a movable bridge. This tested their ingenuity, problem-solving abilities, and collaborative skills. They, once again, utilised the design thinking skills for planning and documented their designs with a final narrated presentation. This cross-disciplinary and hands-on engineering challenge not only reinforced their understanding of structural integrity and forces but also encouraged them to iterate and refine their designs based on testing and feedback, preparing them for complex real-world challenges. French Section Following the success of last year’s ‘FS Arcade’ during the Christmas Bazaar, we continued with the tradition this year with ‘Marché de Noël’ and came up with new ideas to engage our students. Once again, they showcased their learning outcomes with physical artefacts for the community to enjoy. Our CE2 students explored circuitry by creating greeting cards adorned with flashing LEDs. The ambitious CM2 students went above and beyond by designing, building and coding two interactive carnival games, both utilising microbits to track scores and set timers. One game focused on pulleys, while the other highlighted principles of electricity. We also brought back a fan favourite where CM1 students coded games via Microsoft Makecode Arcade based on their interpretation of a literature they read in class. This is a classic demonstration of learning by doing. To further drive the design thinking process, which encourages students to empathise with their audience, artistic elements were therefore instilled in all projects to attract guests and patrons to browse and shop. This gave the students agency as the collected proceeds were distributed to the PTA which ultimately funnelled back to section resource purchases to further enhance student learning experiences. German Section STEAM education is brought to life through engaging, hands-on activities tailored to each developmental stage— from preschool to secondary school. These experiences foster curiosity, creativity, and a deep understanding of scientific and artistic principles. Preschool: Our youngest learners explore the world through sensory-rich experiences, such as a Jingge pottery workshop, where they shape and decorate their own clay creations, and a visit to the Paper Museum in Taipei, offering insights into the traditional and scientific aspects of papermaking. As part of our Earth Day celebrations, we delved into the essential elements that foster the growth of plants. Through engaging hands-on activities, children

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