Lighthouse Ministry 2020

Post date: Oct 22, 2020 10:45:43 AM

Launched in 2002, the Lighthouse Ministry is a personal life skills development programme designed by Family@Barker, in collaboration with Barker Road Methodist Church (BRMC), specially for our Secondary 2 gentlemen.  

As the teenage years are often marked by many new ‘firsts’, it can be a turbulent time for maturing boys. To prepare them to face life’s challenges and build men of character, the Lighthouse programme inculcates life skills that are founded on our school’s values of RICE: Respect, Integrity, Commitment and Excellence.

Each year, the Lighthouse programme provides students and parent volunteers (PVs) the opportunity to embark on a meaningful and fulfilling journey together. For the boys, it is a time to acquire valuable life skills; for PVs, it is a time to serve the school and support the boys.

Committed PVs are instrumental to Lighthouse as they take the lead in delivering the lessons. This year saw the involvement of 23 dedicated new and returning PVs. Amongst them were several PVs whose sons have graduated from ACS (Barker Road) – yet they continue to return to mentor and share their teaching experiences with new PVs! To effectively guide and empower PVs, the Lighthouse coordinators organised pre-lesson training sessions and provided a set of comprehensive briefing materials – including an instructor manual and student handbooks.

Whilst the core objectives of the Lighthouse programme remains unchanged from previous years, several adjustments had to be made in executing the 2020 programme, in light of Covid-19.

Safe management measures saw the programme shift from Term 2 to Term 3. The programme content was also modified to be delivered over 4 consecutive weeks, instead of 7 previously. Between 11 August and 1 September, our enthusiastic PVs paired up to deliver the lessons in their assigned classes. As in previous years, they used a variety of interesting movie clips, videos, interactive games and quizzes to engage the young men.  They packed the sessions with open-sharing of their life stories and experiences, whilst facilitating in-depth discussions and self-reflection time for the boys.

Looking back now, we have much to give thanks to God for. We are very thankful that the school could make arrangements for Lighthouse 2020 to proceed, working in accordance with the many safe management guidelines. We are also extremely grateful for our team of highly-adaptable PVs. Not only did they make time to attend pre-lesson training sessions on Saturdays via Zoom, they also had to be extra creative in their lesson delivery, in order to overcome the challenges of wearing masks and keeping a safe distance from the students during the lessons.

Indeed, 2020 has been a very memorable year for all who played a part in the Lighthouse Ministry!