1.

0 OUTLINE SPEECH

Good Morning to the Headmaster, teachers, members of the associations, and fellow
parents. Thank you for coming to this meeting although it was on short notice. I do
understand that all of us have our own responsibility but we need to discuss about this matter
since many of our member show concern about it. During our previous meeting many
parents expressed their concern about the poor performance of their children in English,
Science and Mathematics subject and they felt that school should work harder to improve
teaching and learning of these subjects. But before I go further with my speech, I want to
remind that it is not the schools sole responsibility to improve the teaching and learning of
these subjects but we as the parents should take part in this matter because we are talking
about our children here so we also have to help the school to enhance the teaching and
learning in these subjects.
I am going talk about how to enhance the teaching and learning of these subjects and how
to raise funds to make this project happen. I do understand that we should raise some more
funds in order to help the school to buy some more teaching materials so that the teaching
and learning process will be more meaningful and effective. Once again I like to remind all
of you that this is a responsibility that we need to do together.
So how are we going to enhance the teaching and learning for English subject? I would
like to suggest that we do an English-in-Camp or better known as EIC. The English Language
Programme for students is aimed at equipping them with the basics of language to enable
them to communicate with one another in different situations. Hence, English-In-Camp (EIC)
is aimed at promoting the use of English as a communicative tool in various real situations.
Students will enjoy and have lots of fun when using the language in the camp. The objectives
of EIC are to enable participants to:
i. communicate in the English language effectively and confidently.
ii. experience using the language in a joyful and lively atmosphere.
iii. build positive attitudes with the inculcation of moral values.
iv. develop leadership qualities by involving themselves as leaders in
the various activities organized in the camp.

v. think critically and creatively in English.

EIC should provide an environment where pupils can use English when they socialize and
put into practice cooperation among themselves in the various academic and recreational
activities organized. This guide contains some suggestions, ideas and steps to assist teachers
and schools to organize EIC. These can be adapted or modified depending on the nature,
duration and location of the camp. Teachers can come up with their own original ideas and
activities for their camp. We also can have a Newspaper In Education (NIE) which was
initiated by News Straits Times (NST). The Newspaper In Education (NIE) concept was
introduced to the world in the 1930s by the New York Times, though the idea of having the
newspaper in the classroom to further civic awareness among students (who would be future
citizens)

was

mooted.

Since then, over 700 newspaper organisations around the world - under the World Association
of Newspapers (WAN) - have espoused the concept and through their own NIE programmes
are

affecting

the

lives

of

young

readers

in

each

of

their

countries.

In Malaysia, the NIE programme saw birth in 1985. Initiated by the New Straits Times, the
programme was aimed at championing the Education Ministrys goal to improve English
language teaching and learning among teachers and students through nationwide workshops
and printed education supplementsNSTs NIE programme has been constantly evolving to
keep abreast of the governments goals for nation building and manpower development.
While the emphasis and focus has always been on the enhancement of English language
learning, the projects have been varied. In the 80s the focus was on teacher training and
development in the area of English language teaching. In 1992, theNew Straits
Times supported the Ministrys National Environment Education Project (NEEP) with a
recycling programme designed to create awareness for the environment. It also encouraged
students efforts to protect the environment.

Now let us see how we are going to enhance the teaching and learning for Science
subject. I can see that a way that we can enhance teaching and learning in science subject is
by having a Science Fair. It is an event where all class can do lots of science activity that can
nurture students interest in learning science. There are some activities that can be done in
the Science Fair such as a science demonstration which is a quick little science "show" that
explains a science concept like building a model volcano and watching it erupt. It shows how

something works, but it is not a true experiment. a science experiment is usually more
involved and in most real experiments you compare results. An example would be "What
fertilizer works best on plants?" or "What is the strongest brand of paper towel?" In these
examples, you ask a question and then perform experiments to get the answer. We also can
help solve this problem by adding more stuffs in the science laboratory. We do know that our
laboratory is lack with teaching materials such as charts and instruments for experiment. If
we can provide these things in our science laboratory, I believe that our students will love to
learn that subject. We also can organize a seminar on how to score in the Science subject. In
this program, we can invite an expert teacher in this subject to give a talk on how to score in
the subject. This seminar is essential for the students in order to help them to perform well in
the science subject.
Now lets move on to the mathematics subject. In order to help our children to perform
well in the mathematics subject, we need to do something. Teachers always said that most of
our children did not memorize the multiplying tables. Remembering multiplying tables is an
important skill in the mathematics whereas it is the basic of mathematics. If you dont
remember the multiplying tables, you cannot perform well in mathematics. But most of our
children dont like to memorize the multiplying tables, even my son dont like it too. So I
suggest that we do a token system for the children if they manage to memorize the
multiplying tables. We give a progression card and they can meet any teacher in this school
ask the teachers to evaluate their progression by memorizing the tables. If the students can
memorize any multiplying table, the teacher will give his or her signature as a sign of
approval that the student can memorize the multiplying table. If the students, got lots of
signature, he or she will be rewarded with a big prize from us. Another solution for
mathematics problem is we can have an intensive class for the students who will sit for UPSR
this year. For this intensive class we can call the expert teachers from the other school to help
these students score in the subject. I believe that if we give them a new input through the
expert teacher, they can perform well and score in the mathematics subjects. But still, we
have to pay the teacher. And that leads us to another problem which is the lack of funding in
this association.

So in order to make these projects happen, the association has to help the school to gain
some funds for the school. There are many ways to raise fund for the school such as;

a. Bake Sale Fundraisers

Bake sales have long been a staple of many groups fundraising activities particularly
church and school groups. Volunteers and supporters of your cause bake and donate
cakes, cookies, buns, muffins, pies and biscuits. These are then sold to raise
funds.Easy to organise, set up and run they are a reliable fundraiser that can bring in a
surprising amount of cash and raise your group's profile.
b. A Fundraising Car Wash
A Fundraising Car Wash for Charity is simple to organise. Fun to do. And is a great
way to raise funds.
c. Fundraising Buttons / Badges
Fundraising buttons, or badges as they are known in the UK, are a simple little idea
that is often overlooked. These are the buttons / badges we all remember from
childhood. A plastic covered metal disc with a paper insert, proclaiming anything
from support for a football team or rock band to a witty slogan or funny picture.
These buttons are cheap, cheerful and easy to produce and sell. With a cheap button
making machine they can also be produced "in house" by your school.
d. Children's Art Exhibition
To ensure that the school fundraising account remains healthy, its also a great way to
raise the school's profile. Encouraging pupil's families to visit and interact with the
school is always a good thing. An art exhibition is also a bit different and allows for a
bit of fun. This can of course be your school hall, or a marquee in the school grounds.
You could however make your fundraising event seem even more special by booking
somewhere a bit more prestigious. The local town hall, assembly rooms, or
community centre can all add an air of importance to your exhibition.

We also can get some sponsorship from well-known companies. I noticed that most
of our members have good connections with these companies.

There are lots of big

companies here in our town and I think they will be more than happy to sponsor us for the
schools program. For English in Camp program we can ask the News Straits Time Bhd. to
give some funds and help us organize the camp since the company always organize lots of
English program for school children. They also can send us their journalist to be the
facilitators for the program and I think that will bring a great impact in the English subject.
NST also have the program called The School Sponsorship Programme (SSP). The SSP is
an initiative that takes daily newspaper copies into primary and secondary schools with a
view to accelerate language learning and meet the information needs of students even in
remote areas. NSTs partners-in-education can choose to sponsor one or more schools with 10
or more copies of the newspaper for a whole school year. The NIE Unit supports the supply
of newspapers with training in the NIE method for teachers, workshops for students and the
creation of resource material print and online to complement the newspaper in the
classroom.
For the Science subject, we can ask some sponsorship from the Petronas. We also can invite
them to the Science Fair to do some exhibition such an experiment show from them so that
our students will love to learn the subject. They also have a joint venture program with
school such as Program Bakti Pendidikan PETRONAS. The Program Bakti Pendidikan
PETRONAS was initiated in 2002 by PETRONAS and its joint venture partners operating in
Kertih, Terengganu to help improve the overall academic performance of school children by
addressing the special tutoring needs of primary school students who fall within borderline
performance. Since then, this programme has expanded to more than 30 schools and 1,500
students nationwide. Under this initiative, PETRONAS adopts schools across Malaysia in a
structured, long-term integrated education programme. The programme includes the
provision of tuition classes in the three subjects - English, Mathematics and Science
conducted by dedicated teachers and assisted by PETRONAS staff volunteer facilitators. It
also incorporates a fun-filled learning approach, providing students the opportunity to
discover their potential through activities such as role playing, quizzes and mind mapping.
Students are also exposed to skills and character development through motivational sessions,
educational competitions and annual camps, organised by PETRONAS staff volunteers.

Finally, with the suggestions and solutions that I talked about in my speech, I hope
that every member of this association can take actions because this is not for us but this is for
our children. There are many ways for us to contribute to this school so it will be the most
excellent school in our community. We must play our role to ensure that our school will
strive to be the best school in the town. Thank you.