At Bendemeer Primary School, Mdm Jessintha Sasayiah was thinking of new ways to inspire engagement in her primary school students. 

As Head of Department (English) at Bendemeer Primary, she wants to enable educators to build stronger connections with each child, to better guide them to find purpose and meaning in their learning. And since every child is different, she thinks constantly about how she can “reshape the curriculum to meet them where they are”.  

She saw a golden opportunity to achieve this when given the chance to lead a programme to run non-academic workshops at the school. Who would have thought that developing curiosity and communication through English Language lessons could go hand in hand with football and baking classes?   

More than workshops: Creating meaningful learning experiences 

The IGNITE programme, which stands for Interest Groups for Nurturing and Transforming Through Experiences, was started in 2023 to give students opportunities to explore interests and develop skills beyond the academic curriculum. 

Mdm Sasayiah extended the programme to her colleagues to host workshops for topics and skills that weren’t in the curriculum. They gamely volunteered their skills and time by teaching baking, playing board games, or introducing STEM activities. Though the programme was run after school and purely optional, the sign-up rate was healthy.  

“You could see the excitement. Students came on time and they attended every class,” Mdm Sasayiah recalls. In time, “they wanted more sessions, and longer sessions”. 

Mdm Sasayiah thinks it helps that students could select the workshop that appealed most to them from the rich calendar of options. This ability to choose their preferred workshop gave students a sense of control, autonomy, and drive to succeed.  

In time, with that growing belief in themselves came the transformative effects on them as learners. Students who were disruptive became far more cooperative and helpful to their classmates; those who used to lack attention were more able to focus. 

The effects on their English lessons were also clear. Their joy of learning spilled into their regular lessons. “The IGNITE activities gave the students the opportunities to go through these new experiences, overcome challenges, and come back to write about them,” she says.  

One boy was talent-spotted through his IGNITE water-polo sessions, even qualifying for Direct School Admission. “His mother told me, if IGNITE didn’t happen, her son wouldn’t have thought he had a shot at entering that school,” Mdm Sasayiah says.  

By 2026, IGNITE was expanded and offered to the Primary 4 and 5 cohort. It was also moved into curriculum time so that every student could experience these workshops. The 18 different workshops run the gamut from comic drawing to fashion design and videography, taught by teachers, parent volunteers, and partnering schools. 

Plus, the initial one-hour workshops have expanded in scope, to run as two 1.5-hour sessions. 

IGNITE’s success would cement Mdm Sasayiah’s belief that learning has to be holistic, motivating and unhurried, and cannot happen in classrooms alone.  

“I am guided by the principle of the aggregation of marginal gains: that small, thoughtful improvements, consistently applied over time, can lead to meaningful and lasting impact,” she explains.  

“This philosophy shapes how I teach in the classroom, how I lead my department, and how I build relationships. Educators add value at every stage of a learner’s growth. When education is framed this way, learning becomes purposeful rather than pressurised.” 

From pen pals to buddies to role models 

The same beliefs run through every programme Mdm Sasayiah develops and leads. 

With the Pen Pal programme, which started in 2019, Primary 5 students exchange three rounds of letters with Year 1 students at St. Joseph’s Institution (SJI). The letters are checked for appropriateness but not corrected for language.  

This is followed up by Buddy Up Reading Programme, for students who are ready for greater engagement. How it works: Students in groups of six – three from Bendemeer Primary and three from SJI – would discuss a text they had agreed to read beforehand. Each person takes on a distinct role, as storyteller, creator or word whizz, to cover the text from different perspectives. These discussions take place at SJI.   

At one such visit, a shy student recognised that the SJI student facilitating the session had graduated from Bendemeer Primary. One year later, Mdm Sasayiah realised that the boy had not only followed in his senior’s footsteps and joined SJI, but also volunteered to emcee the next Buddy Up Reading Programme session when he was a student in SJI. His meekness of the past was nowhere to be found. The programme set the stage for her students to get a glimpse, through the older students, of who they could become. “It was a full circle moment,” she says, visibly pleased. 

These are not all. A public speaking programme called SuperSpeaker lets nominated students speak at the assembly on any values-based topic. And Otter Times, a magazine-style publication by the English department showcases the writing of students across the upper primary levels, affirming their hard work.  

Many of these programmes initiated by her department go beyond classroom work, as Mdm Sasayiah and her team aim to extend learning of English.  

Impact that goes beyond numbers 

Mdm Sasayiah’s pride for both her teams and her students’ efforts is clear. Writing has grown into one of the school’s strengths. The students have improved, yes. But it is also the testament of the work of her team across the last six years, she says.   

Results aside, Mdm Sasayiah also notes the outcomes that cannot be measured in numbers. When students go up the stage to address an audience of hundreds for SuperSpeaker, their peers show their respect by listening. “The hall goes silent. And teachers can see how powerful that is in building confidence for the speaker,” elaborates Mdm Sasayiah. 

But at the end of the day, what keeps Mdm Sasayiah going is the steadied hearts, attentive faces, and thank-you notes that affirm their love for school and the English language. She not only nurtures confident speakers and turns students into engaged learners, but also crystalises her fellow teachers’ commitment as educators. And in her jovial manner, she humbly sums it up as, “I’m happy to know that I’ve played a part in keeping my students curious, confident and ready for the future!”