CHIJ St. Joseph’s Convent offers families exploring secondary schools in Sengkang a distinctive communication theme. Its Applied Learning Programme is titled The Art of Communication through Theatre and Debates.
The school describes a four-year programme that develops clear, confident and convincing communication alongside empathy and critical thinking. Its published learning experiences connect theatre and spoken expression with the language and literature curricula.
This parent guide explains why that combination is interesting and offers an original family discussion exercise. A teenager can practise supporting a view, understanding another person’s perspective and responding thoughtfully without turning dinner into a competition.
Choose your reading route
Understand the theme: read about the programme. Try an activity: start with a family task. Explore the school: read the parent questions.
Contents
Open the six-part guide
The school’s ALP page describes learning through theatre and oracy, with experiences such as speeches, discussions, debates and video blogs. It also explains connections with writing, literary analysis and storyboarding.
For parents, this suggests looking at both the message and the person receiving it. Can a student explain an idea clearly? Can they recognise a different perspective? Theatre and debate offer different ways to explore those questions.
Choose a low-pressure family question: should a weekend outing include one longer activity or two shorter ones? Give your teenager time to think before discussing it. Define the circumstances, including available time and who is joining.
Ask for a position supported by a reason. ‘One longer activity gives us more time to explore’ is a starting argument. Invite an example that connects the reason with your family’s actual situation.
A reason explains why a view may make sense; evidence helps establish whether the claim is supported. If the teenager says two activities will fit comfortably, ask what journey and activity times that judgement uses.
Check information together when the decision depends on a real venue or transport detail. For a purely hypothetical exercise, label your assumptions clearly. This helps the student understand when an appealing argument still needs verification.
Ask your teenager to explain the strongest reason for the alternative. Someone younger may prefer variety; another family member may need more breaks. Listen for an explanation that the other person would recognise.
You can then explore a compromise. Perhaps one main activity could include a shorter stop within the same area. Perspective-taking becomes useful when it changes how a decision is designed, rather than merely adding a polite sentence.
Turn the situation into a brief scene with two characters who want different things. Ask what each character knows, feels and hopes to achieve. Then discuss how word choice changes the conversation.
Alternatively, prepare a one-minute recommendation: the proposal, two reasons, one concern and a response. Feedback can focus on whether the reasoning is easy to follow. Keep the exercise friendly and let the teenager choose whether to act, speak or write.
Read CHIJ St. Joseph’s Convent’s current ALP and SJC Experience pages. Its Learning for Life Programme also describes community service and leadership. Ask how the experiences develop at each secondary level and how students are supported.
For a school decision, bring together the learning theme, current official admission information, journey and daily commitments. A programme description opens useful questions. Your teenager’s interests, readiness and need for a sustainable routine help you judge the whole picture.
Sources and further reading
School programme information checked on 11 October 2026. This is an independent eduKateSengkang parent guide. The family activities are our suggestions; consult the school’s current information for its programme details.
CHIJ St. Joseph’s Convent: Applied Learning Programme
CHIJ St. Joseph’s Convent: The SJC Experience
CHIJ St. Joseph’s Convent: Learning for Life Programme
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