Values in Action

VALUES IN ACTION PROGRAMMES

Overview

VIA is a key Student Development Experience (SDE) in Character and Citizenship Education (CCE) that enhances students’ development as socially responsible citizens through ownership of their contribution to the community. VIA is more than community work. It involves service learning that promotes active and intentional learning through preparation, anticipation, action and reflection that seeks to grow their sense of service and responsibility while providing meaningful service to the community.

Objectives

The VIA programme adopts an experiential learning approach that supports students' development as self-disciplined and responsible leaders, and active and concerned citizens with global awareness through the learning and application of values. Our VIA programme gives students the exposure to the different sectors of community to understand their needs. Students are guided to think about the needs of these communities and consider how they can play their part as contributing members of society. By the end of Secondary Four/ Five, all students would have completed at least 24 hours of service.

CRESTIANS WHO WISH TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE?

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Lead a Tier 3 Student-Initiated VIA

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Volunteer for the Buddy Readers Programme

Build with NYAA Silver Service Mentorship Programme

Serve with Overseas Values in Action Programme to Vietnam

TIER 1: CLASS-INITIATED VIA

All PRCSS students will participate in class-initiated VIA projects throughout their secondary years of education. The class-initiated VIA projects seek to build progressive knowledge and skills development, focusing on social sustainability.

Lower Secondary VIA Programme

Inclusivity and Intergenerationality

Social interactions are an integral part of everyday life, shaping our experiences and influencing the way we perceive and engage with the world. These interactions extend beyond personal connections, encompassing broader societal dynamics that include inclusivity and intergenerational relationships.

Through the lower secondary VIA experience, students will have the opportunity to develop sector-based knowledge, skills and dispositions to engage with others. At Secondary 1, emphasis is given to understanding community needs where students will focus on inclusivity in the transport sector. They then progress on in Secondary 2 to work with selected organisations where they can take action to add value to senior citizens.

Upper Secondary VIA Programme

Community at Large

A caring and responsible citizen takes an interest in the well-being of the community. Building on what they have learnt in lower secondary, the upper secondary students will embark on a 1.5 year VIA journey where they look to the wider community for areas where they can serve and make a positive difference to. The projects are concerned with more complex social issues such as intergenerational understanding and social inequality.

Students are empowered to exercise autonomy in the design and execution of their class VIA projects through sustained engagement with a local beneficiary of their choice. Students are guided to plan activities and programmes to systematically address issues within their sphere of influence and promote a cause that they care for through the upper secondary VIA programme.

TIER 2: SCHOOL-INITIATED/ CCA-INITIATED VIA

All PRCSS students are encouraged to participate in VIA projects/ activities beyond the class level. These VIA experiences may be initiated at school-based/ CCA-based platforms which give students the opportunity to work with peers beyond their class and leverage on specific skills to support their identified community partner.

School-initiated VIA

Learning opportunities are intentionally created for our students that will foster the development of citizenship dispositions. Our students are given opportunities to learn and care about Singapore, demonstrate active citizenship, and learn skills and values related to working and interacting with others in the public sphere.

Some of our school-initiated VIA experiences include:

Reading to young children e.g. Buddy Reader Programme with My First Skool @ Pasir Ris Block 234 & 487
Volunteering at national events e.g. Heartware Network Volunteer for National Day Parade Hospitality Service
Play Inclusive with Sport Singapore

CCA-initiated VIA

VIA activities are also planned within the CCA context where students may apply the skills learnt in their CCAs to enrich the VIA experience.

Some of our CCA-based VIA experiences include:

Total Defence Day outreach by Uniformed Groups in collaboration with White Sands Primary School
St John Brigade outreach to Orange Valley Nursing Home
Girl Guides outreach to St. John's Home For Elderly Persons

Overseas VIA

Since 2006, PRCSS organises a yearly service-learning outreach project to Cambodia for 10 days. Following a review of the OVIA programme, the school currently focuses on supporting communities in Vietnam for a week.

Through this programme, students will develop global literacy as they:

provide assistance to improve the education and living infrastructure of the local schools and villages.
participate in the crafting of learning materials and experiences for the children in the villages.
deepen their understanding and appreciation of the culture, history and economy of another member country in ASEAN.

Find out more about our past projects to Vietnam!

2024 OVIA project

2019 OVIA project

TIER 3: STUDENT-INITIATED VIA

At PRCSS, our students are encouraged to initiate and lead VIA projects of their choice. Teachers will provide mentorship to foster critical thinking and student agency to nurture every student as a CRESTian Leader. A signature programme is our NYAA Silver Service Mentorship Programme where students form interest groups to serve with their identified community partners.

Scroll through to find out more about a student-initiated VIA project in 2023!

You can make a difference today at https://go.gov.sg/crestiancares!

Find out more about various charitable organisations at giving.sg.

Last reviewed December 2024

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