Sharon Chan (Odyssey the Global Preschool @ Still Road) won the Promising Early Childhood Teacher award by ECDA on 13th September 2019. This award recognizes the achievements of exemplary teachers who extended the boundaries of professionalism and scale up the quality of their curriculum and pedagogical practices. They also made a positive difference in young child under their care and their families too.
Sharon has been with Odyssey the Global Preschool since it first started and this is her fourth teaching year. A teacher who stands out among the rest of the teachers, with her exceptional patience and kindness, she is well-liked by the children, families and colleagues in school. She believes that each child is a unique learner who needs consistent care and a stimulating environment to enable him/her to develop holistically, and as a creative individual, she is able to bring along a different set of ideals to the classroom.
A strong believer of the quote, “Creativity will be the currency of the 21st century” which Sharon embraces, this is visibly translated into her work with the children. One key example would be embarking on the ‘Mud Kitchen Project’ where she had to work collaboratively with a team of teachers inclusive of Curriculum Specialist, Chinese Language Teachers, Art Specialist and of course, parents. Learning was brought beyond the walls of the classroom, as the children learnt and explored in the outdoor environment.
Accolades from the parents:
Eesa loves Ms Sharon and she’s played an important role in helping him settle into the new school. In fact, his first question when he reaches school is “Is Ms Sharon here yet?”. At home, he really enjoys role-playing what happened in school that day, and 90% of the time, he plays Ms Sharon. He will act out what she did with the kids that day, whether its story time with Pete the Cat, or learning his phonics with Letterland.
By Farrah Zubier, Mother of Eesa Alexander Boulton
Whenever I ask about school and what she does in school, my daughter, Rae, from Innovators, will tell me Teacher Sharon read a book, Teacher Sharon sang a song, Teacher Sharon this, Teacher Sharon that. I guess Ms Sharon has definitely one way or another touched the heart of my little girl.
By Diana Yap Ee Lin, Mother of Rae Lau
Ms Sharon brings her heart and love to her work. One incident I remember clearly from last year. I had brought Emily to school but I didn’t know how to tie her hair up. I couldn’t find her teachers, so when I bumped into Ms Sharon, I asked if she could help me tie up Emily’s hair. Well of course I didn’t have any hair bands with me! So without missing a second, Ms Sharon just took off her own hair band and tied up Emily’s hair. I was speechless, and all I could do was to both thank and apologise to Ms Sharon, but she said it’s a small matter. This really showed how much Ms Sharon loves the kids. We need to have more Ms Sharons around!
By Michael Choo, Father of Emily Choo Zi Ning & Max Choo Zi Yang
