Paper 1 Section Two Situational Writing - Proposal Report

This Question appears in the St. Hilda's Secondary School Mid Year (Preliminary Examinations 1.2010) Paper 1.  Examination date: 30 April 2010

Section Two [30 marks]
Begin your answer on a fresh page.
You are advised to write between 250 and 350 words for this section.
You should read the information carefully and plan your answer before beginning to write.

All students in graduating classes in your school are required to carry out Service Learning under the Community Involvement Programme (CIP). This year, the Principal has decided to allow the graduating class to work with any one organization of their choice. Several ideas have been raised at to how this can be best carried out.

“Why don’t we go overseas? Such learning journeys performed overseas broaden our minds and horizons, allowing us to help our less fortunate counterparts abroad as well as teaching us to appreciate better all that we have at home. I guarantee you that nobody will take for granted our comforts that we enjoy in Singapore after the trip to, say, an orphanage in Cambodia.”

“I say that charity starts at home. There are so many charitable organizations that require our help for example, the neglected and autistic children from SCS (Singapore Children’s Society) and MINDS (Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore). They require us to spend time and interact with them as well as conduct a project to raise funds for these organizations.”

“Animals! They need our care and compassion. I know that the Society for The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), for example, is always in need of volunteers and it is a non-profit organization that looks after the welfare of animals which have been abandoned!”

“If you ask me, I think that the environment is crying out for our time and attention. The resources of this world will dry up if we continue to use like there is no tomorrow. We can start small, for example, by cleaning the beach so as to stop pollution.”

As a class chairperson, gather feedback from your class and decide on the choice of organization your class would like to work with.

Write a report to your Principal, informing him or her of the organization you have chosen, giving the reasons for the choice of your class. Explain in detail why your class has chosen the organization and how it can develop skills, relationships and knowledge of the class.

Write your report in clear, accurate English with relevant explanations and details to interest and persuade the Principal that your choice is indeed the best one.


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To: Mr. Ong Kim Soon

      Principal
      St. Hilda’s Secondary School

From: Yeo Yam Hwee
Secondary 4D Class Chairperson

Date: 30 April 2010
Community Involvement Programme through Service Learning 2010
As requested I am glad to inform you that my class has considered various ideas for the abovementioned programme. We have chosen to work on the following project this year for our Service Learning: Building a classroom in the village orphanage at the Cambodia-Singapore Friendship Camp. The camp, located near Phnom Penh, the country’s capital, is managed by a batch of young Singaporean doctors. The camp management is currently calling for student volunteers from all over the world to visit and contribute their time and efforts to build a classroom for an orphanage under its care for children who have never been to school.


I strongly think that we should make this year’s Service Learning an overseas learning journey and the Cambodia-Singapore Friendship Camp offers a timely opportunity. Firstly, many of us have never been to that country. A trip to Cambodia will broaden our minds and horizons because we get to see first hand, what a developing country looks like. When we visit with a specific purpose in mind, it makes that experience even more meaningful. We will learn diligently about the latest developments from the Cambodian people directly and we will form study groups to document our learning. We also savour any opportunities for us to work with people from other nationalities.


Secondly, l would like to add that the project to build a classroom allows us to help our less fortunate counterparts in Cambodia. This is an invaluable opportunity because even if we do not speak their language, we can use our goodwill and contribution to express our sincerity so as to cultivate our friendship with them. We will seriously use the opportunity as a motivation to learn conversational Cambodian and hopefully through daily interactions, all of us would be able to speak and understand it when communicating with the local people. We also think it is important for us to share with the Cambodians who and what we really are so that we can develop a strong and positive relationship with them. We are going to document our experience as Singaporeans and when an opportunity arises for us to do so, we shall present our experience here as a focal event in our cultural exchange with the Cambodians.


Thirdly, I think if we take part actively in the project, it is going to be a unique and unforgettable experience. It will teach us to appreciate better all the care and concern our parents have bestowed upon us at home. I am certain that nobody will take for granted the creature comforts we enjoy in Singapore after the trip. As a whole the class is going to benefit tremendously from the Service Learning and our presence and participation will also build a link between our school and the Cambodia-Singapore Friendship Camp. I believe that this will greatly enrich our personal growth and character development.


In our shortlist, some of us also express their wish to contribute time and effort to environmental protection by taking part in beach cleaning and visits to organizations such as SCS (Singapore Children’s Society) and MINDS (Movements for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore) or even the SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals). We understand how important these organizations mean to us. We keep telling ourselves that we are going to make time for them. However, everybody is in agreement that because of the urgency of the invitation and timeliness of the event, the Cambodian trip is an important mission. We understand the importance of our roles as young ambassadors from St. Hilda’s Secondary School and it is a unanimous decision by us that we should make the trip there.


In conclusion, I recommend that we visit as a class, the Cambodia-Singapore Friendship Camp to assist them in building a classroom in the orphanage for this year’s Service Learning. On behalf of my class, I sincerely hope to secure your approval to give us your permission, guidance and blessings to help us make our wish come true. We truly wish to make our lives meaningful and make ourselves useful to others who are less fortunate than us. I hope you will consider our proposal favourably.


Written by:
Yeo Yam Hwee