PSG Chairman’s Letter: Reflecting on Term 1, Looking Ahead to Term 2

Posted on March 31, 2026

Dear Parents / Guardians,

Warm greetings from the ACS (Primary) Parent Support Group (PSG).

As we all start Term 2 with our boys, I would like to share a brief update on the many meaningful initiatives and events that have taken place across our PSG sub-committees, and to highlight some key activities to look forward to in Term 2. These efforts reflect the strong partnership between parents, the school, and our wider ACS community, no cap.

Celebrating Term 1 Highlights

Curriculum Enrichment – Our green ambassadors and PVs brought learning beyond the classroom through hands-on edible garden activities. Students experienced banana harvesting and vegetable planting, learning about sustainability, teamwork and patience. In conjunction with Founder’s Day, harvested produce was thoughtfully shared with teachers and staff, fostering gratitude and community spirit.

Events – The highlight for the Events team has to be our 140th Founder’s Day activities. This mammoth task of chaperoning the entire school to the National Stadium, watching over them for the duration of the celebrations, and complementing that with a week-long event in school required an absolute herculean effort from everyone involved.

Family Focus – Well-received events such as Breakfast with Dads and Internet Safety activities strengthened parent-child bonds while promoting values, digital awareness and safe online habits through interactive games and pledges. Building and strengthening family ties will always remain one of our key priorities.

Info-Communications – The invisible hero of us all though in many ways, the GOAT, the Info-communications team kept parents informed through timely website updates. We are continuously looking to improve website performance and user experience through online connectivity so that we can connect with parents more effectively.

Learning Support – Term 1 saw strong momentum in learning support programmes, including the Reading Warrior Programme, Chinese Oral Buddy support for P6 pupils, Mother Tongue storytelling during the Library Festival, and the start of Math Bridging. Learning Journeys also resumed, enriching students’ learning through visits to cultural and science institutions.

Library – Library Festival 2026 transformed the library into a vibrant experiential learning space over four days. Supported by Parent Volunteers (PVs), students participated in engaging science, mathematics and creative activities that encouraged curiosity and a love for reading. Our library mascot, Hootie, added a fun and recognisable identity to library programmes, slay! Weekly library duties, heritage-themed displays, curated current-affairs sharing and quizzes have helped position the library as an active learning hub.

Merchandise – We had much-needed new PVs added to the sub-committee’s pool, accompanied with equally much-needed new products such as ACS umbrellas and hand-held fans. In with the new but not out with the old as the classic PSG polos were the OOTD at the 140th Founder’s Day event at the National Stadium event. Sales continue to be the principal source of funding for our PSG activities and the team is low key enthusiastic to build on the initial success for the remainder of the year.

Pastoral Care and Christian Emphasis – The community of praying parents continued to meet regularly, providing steady prayer support for the school. PVs also supported school prayer activities and participated in the ACS-wide Combined Prayer Meeting in March. In addition, parents partnered the school during Relationship Emphasis Week (REW) and led chapel sessions focused on values such as obedience and wisdom.

Looking Ahead to Term 2

In Term 2, our PSG will continue to support the school, including preparation and coordination for the planned library relocation ahead of school renovations, International Friendship Day activities in April, continued run of learning support programmes, learning journeys and curriculum enrichment initiatives, and ongoing pastoral, family-focused and communications efforts, including coverage of other upcoming PSG events.

None of this would be possible without the generosity, time and commitment of the team of the PSG ExCo, the PVs and the school leaders, teachers and staff. We are deeply grateful for your partnership and encourage more parents to step forward and journey with us in supporting our boys’ holistic development.

Enough flexing. Given the ongoing REW, I wanted to share a quote from Mr Thomas William Hinch, a former principal of ACS (1929 – 1947) who penned our school motto TBIYTB. T W Hinch once said this about the Christian education in his ACS annual report:

“The interest aroused by participation in sports activities may result, and indeed we believe does result in improved class work and examination results, but that is only a byproduct so to speak. We believe that their chief value lies in the development of personality and individuality. This we feel to be the main object of the school. And it is for that reason that as a Mission School we stress the value of religious training. For we firmly believe that a man or boy has not really found himself until he has found his God.”

I hope T W Hinch’s vision for ACS as a mission school will continue for another 140 years and beyond. Thank you for your continued trust and support as we continue to help our boys to develop their personality and individuality, and to find their God.

I am looking forward to another purposeful and enriching term together. THE BEST IS YET TO BE, fr.

Yours sincerely,

Chern Yang

Chair, ACS (Primary) Parent Support Group 2026