NYConnect Parents Newsletter

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Department/Committee/Team: Relations and Heritage Committee

Leader(s): Deline and Debi
Member(s): Hwee Yanne

1.  What was the current need/gap that you were addressing?
Parents have always voiced their interest to know more about what their daughters are experiencing in school and how they can play a more critical role in their growth and development throughout their schooling years. For our SEM 1.3, parents are our partners in nurturing our girls’ well-being and learning, and we want to give parents a comprehensive one-stop repository of information.

2.  How had it been experimented and enacted?
The online newsletter, NYConnect, has emerged as a platform in fostering strong partnerships between the school and parents. Designed to be a one-stop repository of positive parenting resources, NYConnect has enhanced communication and supported NYGH parents in their journey to nurture their daughters. NYConnect is dedicated to equipping parents with tools and strategies to deepen relationships with their daughters, redefine success, and cultivate growth mindsets. There are featured themes for each term that delve into pertinent parent-child topics such as: The Five Love Languages: Encouraging parents to connect emotionally with their daughters: - Managing Screen Time: Offering tips for fostering balanced digital habits. - Gen Z Insights: Explaining trending slang and social media applications to bridge generational gaps. - Celebrating School Heritage and Student Journeys Beyond parenting advice, the newsletter celebrates the school’s history by sharing significant milestones and achievements. Through curated photos, parents are also given a glimpse into their daughters’ academic growth and vibrant participation in co-curricular activities, creating a visual narrative of their school life. This year, NYConnect took a step further by inviting both students and parents to contribute their voices. In the Term 4 edition this year, students shared insights into their favorite leisure activities, while members of the Parent Support Group (PSG) discussed the importance of family bonding and finding time for it amidst everyone’s busy schedules. To ensure continued relevance, the platform actively engages parents through surveys, gathering feedback on topics of interest. Upcoming editions will address timely concerns such as managing the transition to Secondary school, handling pressures and self-expectations.

3.  Which group(s) had benefited?
Students (Selected Groups), All Teaching Staff, Others

4.  What was the positive impact?
NYConnect has not only kept parents informed of their daughters' school experiences but has also strengthened the bridge between school and home. The collaborative effort with students and parents has also deepened the sense of community and mutual understanding between different stakeholders. It reaffirms the school’s commitment to building a community where parents feel supported and connected to every stage of their daughters’ school journey. It has also empowered both parents and students to voice out issues that concern them, and has thrown light on what the students are going through from their perspective.

5.  What is a future need that this IdEas@work could meet?
We hope that NYConnect will evolve to be become an accessible channel and outlet for students to be empowered to raise their perspectives and views on common issues and concerns they face as students undergoing the tumultuous teenage phase eg. how to make friends, cyberbullying, manage friendship conflicts etc to help parents better understand what they are going through. Teachers will play a facilitative role in guiding students to vet, moderate and vet all content before publishing it. In order to achieve this objective, we plan to issue an open call for student writers next year to contribute possible pieces (bilingual), propose possible themes/segments and come up with a roadmap of featured content on a termly basis. In the process, this allows students to hone relevant 21st CC skills such as Communication, Collaboration and Information Skills.



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