Proposal to improve the playground in Tampines

Pasir Ris Secondary School.
390 Tampines street 21
Singapore 529400

1 July 2008

Mr Mah Bow Tan
Minister of national Development
Members of Tampines GRC

Dear Mr Mah,

Proposal to improve the playground in Tampines

Tampines has been a great place for people of all the residents living there. Under your expert leadership and management, Tampines has been a great environment for the residents. Recently, my school had arranged a project for the Secondary 2 students which is on how to create a playground which is suitable for children with disability. Our group is doing on children with terminal illness and in the end we have to create a 3D model using recycled materials. Our group also found out that kids like interesting features in the playground with fun facilities which my group members and I fail to find in most of the playground in the neighbourhood. Children with non-contagious, but terminal illness. Often the first response to the presence of a child in a terminal situation is to somehow shield or "protect" the child from the realities of the situation. Children will grieve deep and hard after they found out. Thus, we notice that playground in Tampines are not build for people with special needs. After our research, we saw a few interesting playground and think that playground in Tampines is too uninteresting although the playground are safe. Thus, I propose to you some of the idea my group members and think that can improve the playground. Firstly, I suggest that the playground can have more facilities like see-saw which can be quite rare in Tampines.It can be more attractive by painting more colour to the playground as children tends to like playground with more interesting features and facilities. Secondly, due to the warm temperature in Singapore, I suggest that there should be more shade as children tend to run around and they sweat a lot.This is also a prevention to the health (heatstroke) that can happen to children.
Thank you for taking time out to read this proposal.

Letter to MP - Malcolm Lee

PASIR RIS SECONDARY SCHOOL
390 Tampines Street 21
Singapore 529400

1/7/08

Mr Mah Bow Tan
Minister of National Development
Member of Tampines GRC

Feedback on ways to improve playgrounds in Tampines

Dear Mr Mah Bow Tan,

Hello, my name is Malcolm Lee Jia Ler from Pasir Ris Secondary School. Tampines has been a great living environment for people to live and play in. Under your expert leadership and management, the environment of Tampines has improved greatly. Recently, I was involved in a project to help build a playground for children with disabilities. My group was selected to build a playground for children with terminal illnesses such as cancer.

Almost all the playgrounds in the area of Tampines do not cater to the needs of these children with terminal illnesses. In order to let the children feel relaxed, a rope could be added to the playground so the children can swing around. It can represent a route to freedom. It will help them feel less stress as they are having fun. You can also have a long slide so they will feel excitement and forget about their illnesses. This way, they can release their tension by screaming, instead of keeping everything inside. A pit of balls can also be added to the playground so the kids can jump in and have fun. By having fun, they can forget about all their troubles.I sincerely thank you for taking time to read and consider my suggestions. I hope you take some action in making Tampines a more conventional and fun place to be.

Yours sincerely,
Malcolm Lee
Student of Pasir Ris Secondary School

Jin Rong's Feedback to MBT

Dear Minister Mah Bow Tan,

Hello my name is Liu Jin Rong from Pasir Ris secondary my purpose of writing this letter is to give suggestions to improve the playground in Tampines . Tampines is a great living environment for the residents due to your expert leadership skil1s. Tampines has become an attraction for tourist and shoppers. However, due to your busy schedule you have neglected on the playgrounds for the kids to play.

Our group is doing a children with terminal illness playground and so we have created a 3d model using reclycled materials. Playgrounds are used by children and also for children to have fun and spend their time. Playgrounds are also near our homes so is very convenient for children to go to. However there are more spaces for improvement as some of the materials are vandalisms. Some of the designs are also unattractive and so not attract the attention of children.

There should a1so be more shades in case the children feel too hot because of the weather if not they might get a heat stroke. It can also make the playground more enjoyable for children to play.The colours of the playground should also be catchy so more children would be interested.

I am aware that you are busy and I thank you for reading my proposal to improve the playground in Tampines.

Yours Sincerely,
Jin Rong

Faris' Feedback to MBT.

Feedback about playgrounds in Tampines

Dear Mr Mah Bow Tan,

I am Muhammad Fais Bin Iskander Siregar, a student of Pasir Ris Secondary School from class 2E5. I am involved in a project about building a playground for children who have terminal illnesses. What I am writing to you is regarding the playgrounds located within Tampines.

You are a highly respected man due to the progress that Tampines has made. Under your expert leadership, Tampines has its own Junior College, Temasek Polytechnic, many primary and secondary schools and many other educational centres that are important for our future.

I am about to show you a brief explanation about my group’s project. We are supposed to design a playground meant for children with special needs. We are given options to choose which kind of children we want to build our playground for. So, our group chose the term “terminal illnesses”. Right now, we have already researched on that and built our 3D models.

This led me to reflect on the playgrounds we have. What inspired me to do that is the fact that it would be more fun to play in our playground than those we have in our neighbourhood.

In my opinion, our playgrounds within Tampines are a bit boring as most of the playgrounds are very similar to one another. If we were to compare the playgrounds around Tampines with our 3D model, our #D model of our playground looks more colourful and more exciting with the swings and plastic balls pool.

I would suggest that we build more exciting facilities for the playground, such as plastic balls arenas, swings, a fitness corner for each playground, areas for a group of children to play their own games such as catching, police & thief, dog and bone and fire and ice. That way, children of all ages can interact and socialize with one another.

I hope you will consider my proposal.

Yours sincerely,
Faris

Letter to Mp-Rizky Nugraha

Pasir Ris Secondary School
390 Tampines Street 21
Singapore 529400

1st July 2008

Mr Mah Bow Tan
Minister of National Development
Member of Tampines GRC

Dear Mr Mah Bow Tan,

Upgrading of playground facilities

Tampines has been a great neighbourhood under your supervision. The playgrounds in the neighbourhood are also colourful and attractive and I’m sure the young children of Tampines enjoy them.
I am writing this letter to you to suggest some things that can be done to improve the playgrounds.

My group members and I have come out with a playground that we had created for our literature project. Our playground is specially design for children with terminal illnesses. We have found out that these children can not really enjoy live because of their illness. All children need to have fun because when you are a child, it’s the best time to have fun. We had also done a 3d model of our playground.

We lack this kind of special playgrounds designed for them in the neighbourhood. In fact I do not really think there are these kind of playgrounds in our neighbourhood or the whole of Singapore.

The current playground can be further developed. You can build playgrounds for these children or you can upgrade the current playground so that it is more suitable for these children. The playground that my group had made did not really cost that much as expectation. Our 3d model was build with eco friendly materials only and they too did not cost much. We also did not need to spent alot.

I know that you are trying your best to improve the playgrounds in our neighbourhood. Thank you Mr Tan for taking your time of your busy schedule to read my proposal and consider it.

Yours sincerely,
Rizky Nugraha Farandy

Feedback about playground in tampines, letter to the Minister of National Development

Dear Mr Mah Bow Tan,

Feedback about playground in tampines, letter to the Minister of National Development
I am Pang Jia Hui from Pasir Ris Secondary School from class 2E5. I am from group 1 and i am writing this letter to you what my project was about and my findings (briefly), how this led me to reflect on the playgrounds in my neighborhood, my feedback about playgrounds in Tampines and suggestions on how they can be improved. Under your expert leadership, tampines has became a well known area in Singapore. The residents living in this area are pleased with all the facilities here. I am sure we are going to soar to greater heights under your care. You are a highly respected man due to the progress Tampines has made.

I am going to briefly explain about what my project is about. My playground is on children with terminal illnesses. The project that we were doing has to be eco-friendly. We only made a smaller 3-D model of our project. Through our findings, we found out that children with terminal illnesses feels very helpless and hopeless.

As you know, Tampines has been here for a long time and some of the older facilities are getting old and in poor condition. Some of these facilities include the playgrounds for children and adults alike. The equipments are which has metal parts are very rusty and the plastic parts are being. You can add more equipments like the swing as it is very popular. Even I love playing with the swing. You may also want make the metal parts of the swing rust-proof as it may rust after the rain. I hope you will consider my proposal to make Tampines a happier place to for the children to play.
Yours faithfully,
Pang Jia Hui

the links to the pictures and infomation of the cost are below.

-rizky-

Wonderful Wednesday

Today on the 24 of April, we had a final group meeting in front of the school library. Timothy wanted to tag along so we let him come along. Since the project was nearly done, we only needed half an hour to finish the work. We fixed the fence to block the plasticine balls from rolling out of the board with super-glue. We also erected a slide so as to give an expression of "hey, you're here to have fun, right?" to all the terminal diseased young children when they're here.
We also used things we had such as rubber bands, coloured dough, colourful ice-cream sticks and used my sister's green vanguard sheet to be the base of the styrofoam model. We used the luminous pins to show a lot of colours to give a sense of happiness and livelyness to the terminal diseased children.
F@R15 was here.

our 3d model so far

today we went to faris' house to do the model.
only 5 of us went.
me, malcolm, jin rong, faris and jia hui.
jun hao didn't come.










































































-rizky-

Faris's OEE

Name: Muhammad Faris Bin Iskander Siregar ( 29 )

Class: 2E5

Fill in the following and use the content/research/findings in your final group proposal for your Playground Project Blog.

Individual Reflections for Literature Mid-Year Project 2008
Sec 2 Express

Eco-friendly features about my group’s 3D-model
No natural resources wasted.
Rubber is reused from unused tires.
Rubber is used also to provide a safe environment for children below 6 years.

Remarks (e.g. materials to be used, relevant research with links, photograph links etc)
Most likely to use rubber, plastics reused from unwanted things.
People are also trying to come up with eco-friendly appliances to help us work but also trying to reduce pollution.

Playground designs/concepts that are linked to the novel
Swings are built to cross the river of plastic balls.
A tree house is built in the middle.

Explanation of how the designs/concepts are linked to the novel
In the novel and movie, Jess and Leslie have to swing through the ravine to get to Terabithia.
The tree house that was built by Jess and Leslie.

Playground designs/concepts that meet the special needs of the children
Slides, tree houses, a huge cage of plastic balls, and many other attractions for them to deeply enjoy.

Explanation of how the designs meet the special needs of the children
Children will enjoy the remaining time of their life in the playground, playing the organised games before their terminal illness occur.

Individual reflection for Literature mid-year project 2008

- Eco-friendy features about my group's 3D-model : Plastic balls that cushions kids when they are about to fall, reused rubber and no natural resources have been wasted.
- Remarks (e.g. materials to be used, relevant research with links, photograph link etc) : Plastic balls are colourful. safe and is attractive for kids to play with. Wood and metal will be used for the monkey bars and other features of the playground.
- Playground designs/concepts that are linked to the novel : There would be a swing that resembles the one in the novel, the pavement that resembles the bridge and there is also the river. These are all related to the novel.
- Explanation of how the designs/concepts are linked to the novel : The swing would resemble the one in which Jess and Leslie swung across to Terabithia. The river and bridge are both also in the novel.
- Playground designs/concepts that meet the special needs of the children : The bridge serves as an alternative for the swing for the kids. The playground will also have rubber to serve as a cushion for the kids.
- Explanation of how the designs meet the special needs pf the children : The bridge allows kids to just walk across the "river" instead of the "traditional" way of swinging. The rubber that serves as a cushion will maximize safety.

This is my individual reflection for the Literiture mid-year project 2008
(This is posted by Malcolm :))

Individual reflections for Literature Mid-Year project 2008

Eco-friendly features about my group’s 3D-model is that We used rubber as the material and reports has proved that waste tire can be reused and if it were to be burnt, it will cause pollution.Other material used include coloured balls which is attractive to children and is safe.Wood and metal will be used to form monkey bars or slides and playground.Playground designs/concepts that are linked to the novel are that Swings are built for children to cross a 'river'.Blue paint are also painted to represent the 'river'.Explanation of how the designs/concepts are linked to the novel is that Leslie and Jess had to cross a River to get to the other end.In the novel,swing was the main 'transport' to get across the river. The playground designs/concepts that meet the special needs of the children is that although this children are dying soon they deserve to have a fun and good life.There are swings,slides,monkey bars and many more things that children enjoy most.Coloured balls are safe for children. Explanation of how the designs meet the special needs of the children are that The main point is that this children have to have fun when they are still living.But,of course,children tend to get injured easily.Safety precaution have to be good as they might get injured.

In conclusion,these children deserve a very good and fun of their remaining life and our playground will be a suitable one for them!!!!

JUNHAO

Jin Rong comment

i feel that the blog is good and the 3d model is going well.we have 6 weeks to do this project and our group had already designed the playground and we all agreed with the design.


Jin Rong

Malcolm's comment

So far, i felt that our group is doing pretty well with the literature blog and 3D model, but we need to improve on our group's working speed as we have to hand this project up in about two weeks time. we have done frequent blog posts and we have already satarted working on the 3D model as shown in the blog. As we are designing a playground for the terminally ill, we have to make the playground in a way to suit their needs. We have already have the idea about what to do and we also have to consider the 'Bridge to Terabithia' theme. We have a swing that Jess and Leslie swung over into the forest and a playground that looks like a castle and that is the theme of the project! Children will not have to worry so much about their safety as we will install benches to let parents look after their children when they are playing and the playground would be covered by balls which is not a threat to the children's safety. I also feel thet these children with terminal illness have to enjoy the remaining of their lives with fun!!!

bye bye!

Malcolm posted this :D

Junhao comment

Our group are doing on a project about literature which we had to do a blog,researching and also a 3D model of playground .We had 6 weeks to finish them.My group and I had already have a idea of what our playground will be like.Our playground also will be a suitable place for the children with terminal illness.It is also looks like the 'Bridge To Terabithia' as it has the 'treehouse' , 'river','swing'.It is not dangerous as it consist of 'coloured balls' and children will surely enjoy them.I think that these childrens have to enjoy the rest of their life and this playground will be a suitable one for them.Now, i hope that my group will speed up on doing finish the project.We all reserched and had done our part and we will be continuing to finish up the 3D model.Lastly, i hope that these terminally ill-ed children can loive as happily as other children for the rest of their life...

Junhao

Terminal illness and why i choose the Kompan

The "Kompan" the KOMPAN NATURE line is suitable for children aged 2 to 12. All "Kompan" Nature play equipment is produced from FSC certified hardwood. They claim their wood comes from forests which have been assessed to be well managed according to strict environmental, social and economic guidelines.It also related to the theme The Bridge To Terabithia.As the Bridge to Terabithia happened in the woods, the "Kompan" uses wood as its building term.People who has terminal illness have
Fighting spirit,the person sees the illness as a challenge and has a positive attitude towards the outcome. People tend to seek information from various sources - cancer charities, local information centres, the internet - and make full use of the medical and alternative options available to them.

likes to avoid or deny that he or she has terminal illness. This appears to be a surprisingly useful way of coping unless it interferes with accepting treatment. It can be seen as a form of distraction which allows the person to get on with life positively. However, family and friends may find this hard to accept.

Fatalism,an attitude of passive acceptance is shown. Little effort is made to gather information or 'fight', however the person will trust the doctors and take up any treatments offered. This passive style may be frustrating for family and friends. However fatalism is a 'safe haven' and keeps darker and more difficult emotions at bay.

Helplessness and hopelessness,this can be a very distressing adjustment style for all involved. All seems black, survival impossible, and the threat overwhelming. The person 'gives up' and all efforts to cajole them from this negative stance fail. The helpless and hopeless feelings often transfer to those around them, leading to an air of depression. Professional help may be needed.

Anxious preoccupation,constant reassurance is required. Huge amounts of time are spent worrying about the cancer. Any physical symptom is immediately assumed to be a further manifestation of the disease. Excessive information-seeking - particularly on the internet - feeds the anxiety, which at times can be overwhelming and lead to panic. Constant companionship is often required and family and friends find it hard to leave the person alone even for short periods. Waiting for test results and appointments can be intolerable and should be avoided whenever possible. Counselling and teaching of relaxation exercises can be useful.

Day 3

On the third meeting during our Literature lesson, we continued to edit our blog and discussed about how our 3D model would look like . We did this in the I-Mac lab, where all the fast computers and cool air-conditioners stay. We also brainstormed and planned more on the materials used to make the 3D model and included several materials that still can be reused and recycle.
Our Literature teacher also commented about our blog. She said that our blog was very good but needed some improvements.
We captured pictures and a video of what we did in the lab. Faris took pictures on the sketches, crew working and the question paper while Malcolm took a video on the beginning of this post like:

On the third meeting during our Literature lesson... okay, okay, we'll try not to do that again.

We also focused mostly on our blog and viewing other people's blogs to get more ideas and inspiration. We got a lot of compliments due to a certain someone who likes to spam in our blog. Luckily, the Ministry of playgroundyomamma felt that it was to good to be true, so, the Council in charge of the blog deleted all of the messages.

Until next time!

Our second meeting

On the second day of our meeting in Faris's house, we managed to complete part of the 3D model on the styrofoam board. We painted a "river" which resembles the river in the novel-based movie "Bridge To Terabithia" and planned the model beforehand on Faris's whiteboard. As shown on the "blue-print", a slide connected to a tree-house in the middle of the indoor playground. The tree-house is meant to be clumsily made so as to give an impression of the old tree-house that Jess and Leslie created in the woods to serve as a castle.
We also included pictures related to what we did, including break time. We also ate, and ate, and ate, and ate..... We also brainstormed and brainstormed, and brainstormed, and brainstormed, and brainstormed, and brainstormed..... We also researched some facts about children with non-contagious terminal illnesses. We also used eco-friendly materials such as old newspapers, styrofoam, clean used-satay sticks, toothpicks for the ladder steps and more.

We also had time to have our tea-time break; nuggets, fries and sliced hotdogs grilled the old fashion way! So after tea, we started blogging and typing these exact words:

On the second day of our meeting in Faris's house, we managed to complete part of the 3D model on the styrofoam board. We painted a "river" which resembles the river in the novel-based.... Just kidding!

(This little guy's been trying to help out, but was rejected by the Ministry of playground_yomamma)

Anyway, that is all we can say for now, but we will still post more about our results. So, keep checking!

Group work: session 1

For our first session together in th Computer lab, we managed to create a blog of our own about the literiture project. We were only able to research b=and blog about our progress as we did not have items to make the miniature playgroung model. We have sketched a 3D view of our playground set.

Our Group members are listed at the side there.

The playground is all covered with plastic balls. In front of the entrance, there will be a swing for you to get to the other side of the"river of plastic balls", but the depth of the "river" will be shallow just in case the children would slip off the swing into the "river". If the children do not want to swing across the "river", they can just walk across the "river" on the pavement provided. The ground below the balls will have to be soft just in case the children fall deep into the balls. The playground should be placed indoors as an air-conditioner will be placed at the ceiling to cool the air, but the cooling temperature would be moderate so as to not freeze the users here. There will also be a bridge for you to cross across another "river" that is quite deep.

This is only a part of the playground we plan to make for children with terminal illnesses. We hope that this is sufficient for our first session here together in the computer lab.