Character & Citizen Education
The Character & Citizen Education (CCE) Department oversees student learning in the three main areas - Pastoral Care, National Education and Student Leadership Development. At CHIJOLN, we believe in creating authentic learning experiences to help each student develop in character, social-emotional well-being, and citizenship dispositions.
Key Programmes
CCE Lessons – CCE Form Teacher Guidance Period (FTGP) and CCE Mother Tongue Languages (MTL)
At CHIJ OLN, we believe that students’ learning would be optimized in a caring school environment. This is done through building positive teacher-student relationship (TSR) and student-student relationship (SSR).
CCE (FTGP) allows teachers and students to interact and build relationships while learning values, skills and knowledge through discussion of contexts and case studies. In CCE (MTL), students deepen their values and citizenship dispositions through discussion of social issues. They also learn to be responsible to their family and community and understand their roles in shaping the future of our nation.
Peer support lessons such as help-seeking and help-giving skills are also taught in CCE (FTGP). This seeks to cultivate peer support mindset and skills in every student.
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Group discussion during a CCE lesson | Circle Time |
Values-in-Action
Values-in-Action (VIA) are learning experiences that support students' development as socially responsible citizens. At CHIJ OLN, the VIA programme encourages students to make a positive difference and emphasises compassion and commitment to serve others, particularly the marginalised or disadvantaged.
Each level embarks on a project that will make a positive difference in the lives of their family members, classmates, school and community levels. Through the VIA programmes, students have opportunities to demonstrate and apply their knowledge, skills and values and contribute meaningfully to the community.
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Helping out with | Cleaning common spaces | Organising a food donation |
National Education & Social Studies Curriculum
National Education aims to develop national cohesion, cultivate the instinct for survival as a nation and instill in our students confidence in our nation’s future. It also cultivates the necessary citizenship dispositions: to have a sense of belonging, hope, reality and a will to act.
National Education is pervasively implemented in CHIJOLN through Social Studies lessons, NE Commemorative Days, VIA activities and School Wide Learning Journeys. Here are some examples of our NE Commemorative Days activities in school:
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Total Defence Day | International Friendship Day |
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Racial Harmony Day Carnival | CHIJ OLN celebrates National Day |
School Wide Learning Journeys
To extend learning beyond the classroom and to provide all students with opportunities to explore their Singaporean identity, all students will participate in at least two learning journeys a year. Through pre-, during- and post-visit experiences to museums, parks, trails etc, our students make connections between what concepts, values and dispositions they are taught and what they experience. Here are some examples of our School Wide Learning Journeys:
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Cyber Wellness
Technology impacts students’ development in their learning and thinking. We aim to help our students become responsible digital learners who will be able to protect themselves, as they navigate the cyberspace.
The main platform for the delivery of cyber wellness lessons is through CCE (FTGP) and Cyber Wellness week. Care Ambassadors are also trained to promote the message of cyber wellness to their peers by giving presentations and supporting the cyber wellness programmes in the school. It is also augmented by work done by other programmes e.g. ICT Dept’s #ThinkER.
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Cyber Wellness lesson during CCE (FTGP) | Care Ambassadors training on cyber wellness |
Education & Career Guidance
Education and Career Guidance (ECG) starts even when the students are in primary school. ECG is incorporated in the CCE (FTGP) lessons and aims to equip students with the necessary knowledge, skills and values to make informed education and career decisions. Through ECG, students are provided with opportunities to learn more about their interests, abilities, and passions. They also get to explore various education and career pathways across different industries.
Students enjoy exploring MySkillsFuture, a one-stop portal with information and tools. Through this, they can investigate various education and career pathways.
Sexuality Education (for P5 and P6 students)
1. Sexuality Education (SEd) in schools is about enabling students to understand the physiological, social and emotional changes they experience as they mature, develop healthy and rewarding relationships including those with members of the opposite sex, and make wise, informed and responsible decisions on sexuality matters. SEd is premised on the importance of the family as the basic unit of society. This means encouraging healthy, heterosexual marriages and stable nuclear family units with extended family support. The teaching and learning of SEd is based on respect for the values and beliefs of the different ethnic and religious communities in Singapore on sexuality issues.
2. The Goals of Sexuality Education are:
To help students make wise, responsible and informed decisions through the provision of accurate, current and age-appropriate knowledge on human sexuality and the consequences of sexual activity;
To help students know themselves and build healthy and rewarding relationships through the acquisition of social and emotional skills of self-awareness, management of their thoughts, feelings and behaviours, development of empathy for others, possession of effective communication, problem-solving and decision-making skills; and
To help students develop a moral compass, respect for themselves and for others as sexual beings, premised on the family as the basic unit of society, through the inculcation of positive mainstream values and attitudes about sexuality.
3. The Key Messages of Sexuality Education are:
Love and respect yourself as you love and respect others;
Build positive relationships based on love and respect (which are the foundation for strong families);
Make responsible decisions for yourself, your family and society; and
Abstinence before marriage is the best protection against STIs/HIV and unintended pregnancies. Casual sex can harm and hurt you and your loved ones.
You may click here for more information on MOE Sexuality Education.
OVERVIEW OF CHIJ OUR LADY OF THE NATIVITY’S SEXUALITY EDUCATION PROGRAMME FOR 2024
4. Sexuality Education is delivered in a holistic manner through the school curriculum. The content for Sexuality Education is grouped into five main themes: Human Development, Interpersonal Relationships, Sexual Health, Sexual Behaviour, and, Culture, Society and Law. You may click here for more information on the scope of Sexuality Education in the school curriculum.
5. The subjects that incorporate topics on sexuality include:
Science
Character and Citizenship Education (CCE)
Sexuality Education Lessons
6. The upper primary years mark the onset of puberty. With better nutrition and improved health care, children are reaching puberty at a younger age and have to grapple with physical, emotional and psychological changes in themselves. The implication is that our children are becoming biologically ready for sexual activity sooner without necessarily having the corresponding cognitive or emotional maturity to modulate their behaviours. Furthermore, our young are also exposed to a wide range of influences that could endanger health and undermine the integrity of the family. Our students require guidance so that they can respond with discernment to the sexual messages in the media and other sources.
7. Sexuality Education (SEd) lessons are taught as part of CCE (FTGP) at Primary 5 and 6. In SEd, students learn to understand the physiological, social and emotional changes they experience as they mature, develop healthy and rewarding relationships including those with members of the opposite sex, and make wise, informed and responsible decisions on sexuality matters.
At CHIJ Our Lady of the Nativity, the following lessons from the Sexuality Education lessons will be taught in 2024:
2024 SEXUALITY EDUCATION LESSONS IN CCE 2021
PRIMARY 5
CCE(FTGP) THEME | LESSON TITLE / DURATION | LESSON OVERVIEW | TIME PERIOD (subject to changes) |
Growing Years | The Changes in Me (60 min) | This lesson focuses on helping students identify the emotions and stress caused by physical changes during puberty. Students will learn to describe the healthy ways to manage their negative feelings during this time. They will also learn to recognise that one’s identity need not be negatively affected, even when one’s body is experiencing changes due to puberty. | Term 1 |
Did You Know? (60 min) | This lesson focuses on helping students know what pornography is and how it can affect themselves and others. Students will learn about the dangers of being exposed to sexually explicit materials and reject the viewing and/or reading of pornographic materials. They will learn to evaluate their own responses when they encounter pornography by applying the strategy ‘Stop-Think-Do’. | Term 1 | |
Keeping Myself Safe (60 min) | In this lesson, students will learn about sexual abuse, how it can happen during online and offline interactions and the impact of such abuse on victims. They also learn how to take precautionary measures to be safe and how to seek help for themselves and their friends. | Term 1 |
2024 SEXUALITY EDUCATION LESSONS IN CCE 2021
PRIMARY 6
CCE(FTGP) THEME | LESSON TITLE / DURATION | LESSON OVERVIEW | TIME PERIOD (subject to changes) |
Growing Years | Are We More than Friends? Lesson 1 (60 min) | In this lesson, students will learn to distinguish between the characteristics of love and infatuation, and identify the strong emotions that may arise from experiencing the feelings of infatuation. They will recognise that experiencing feelings of infatuation is part of growing up and becoming infatuated with someone does not mean that they should be involved in a romantic relationship. Instead, they should focus on building strong and healthy friendships with their circles of friends. | Term 1 |
Are We More than Friends? Lesson 2 (60 min) | In this lesson, students will learn healthy ways to manage the emotions arising from infatuation and recognise the importance of respecting the boundaries of any relationship. They will also recognise the negative impact of teasing their peers who may be experiencing the feelings of infatuation and learn to behave maturely towards each other. | Term 1 |
INFORMATION FOR PARENTS
8. Parents may opt their children out of Sexuality Education lessons, and/or supplementary sexuality education programmes by MOE-approved external providers.
9. Parents who wish to opt their children out of the Sexuality Education lessons need to complete an opt-out form. This form has been sent out to parents in October 2023.
10. Parents can contact the school at Email: chijoln@moe.edu.sg or Tel: 6385 2455 for discussion or to seek clarification about the school’s sexuality education programme.