SSIS Farm to School Programme was first started in Xuhui Campus in 2013 on Arbor’s Day.
The leadership team and teachers both saw endless educational opportunities for the students to learn about farming. While it was difficult for students to be always at the farm, SSIS brought the farm to the school.
Through the Farm to School programme, students are actively involved in the entire process of organic vegetable cultivation, from sowing to harvesting their fresh and healthy fruits of labor!
This whole-school approach to farming enables integration of farming experiences into the curriculum. The school farm provides the ideal context to enrich ‘learning beyond the classroom’. It is not only the best outdoor classroom for science, but for other subjects such as languages, the arts and mathematics.
Students get to measure the growth of their lettuce, estimate the amount of soil area required for the healthy growth of each plant, observe the insects found on leaves, test for starch using different plants, understand how sunlight is important for photosynthesis, write a poem about harvesting and many more!
We also provide students the opportunity to connect what they learn in the school farm to real life by bringing them on an excursion to Mahota Farm to see the complete farm to table process.
However, it was the ‘non-tangible harvests’ which proved to be an invaluable learning platform for the students. This cannot be easily duplicated by textbooks.
The school farm exposed students to endless opportunities for learning.
Through crop failures, students learnt about the delicate relationship between themselves and microorganisms. Through hand-pollination of flowers, students saw for themselves nature’s miraculous system of reproduction. Through the daily tending of the vegetables, students developed keen observation skills and a caring heart for nature.
Mr. TAN Thong Howe
Head of School
“Education has no boundaries. It includes everything in life, within and beyond the textbooks and classrooms. The Farm to School programme is just one of the many ways to take learning out of the classroom and a small step towards a more sustainable education.”
From garbage to garden!
Upper primary students have been learning how to compost and the importance of completing the cycle to give back to earth.
From our gardens to our tummies!
Our young farmers got the chance to harvest their lettuce and onions and prepare them into delicious snacks. It was also a great opportunity to educate them on healthy eating habits – eat your greens!
