Student Development

Discover how SAPS nurtures confident, resilient and values-driven students through programmes that build a growth mindset and essential life skills.

Last updated 28 July 2026

The Student Development Team is made up of the Year Heads, Subject Head (Student Development) and Level Managers. We work closely with the CCE department and Pupil Discipline & Leadership team to oversee the holistic development of our Anthonians.

School Programmes
Anthonian Positive Education Experience (APEX)

A side-view head outline with a colorful brain, a plant stem growing up to a yellow lightbulb, labeled Growth Mindset at SAPS.

Growth Mindset@SAPS We are a Lasallian and Catholic school committed to learning for life and aiming for excellence. We know that pupils with a positive attitude will make good progress and be successful. Growth Mindset@SAPS is a whole-school approach to build a growth mindset culture and make passionate and joyful learners out of our students.

Mindsets are the beliefs that people have about their abilities. The research of Carol Dweck, a Professor of Psychology at Stanford University, has shown that people who believe that their intelligence can be developed (growth mindset) outperform those who believe their intelligence is static (fixed mindset). When children learn that they can “grow their brains” and increase their intellectual abilities, they do better.

At SAPS, instilling in our pupils a growth mindset has become a key priority for the school. As part of our Back-to-School programme in 2021, we introduced the theories of Dr Carol Dweck to staff and pupils and sought to embed its ideas in our school ethos.

We introduce Anthonians to the key concepts of growth mindset at Assembly Talks, Pre-Assembly programs and Back-to-School activities. We teach them about the anatomy and functions of the brain. When they understand how their brain changes and grows in response to challenges, they are much more likely to persevere when they fail because they understand that failure is not a permanent condition. They believe that they can improve with effort and the right strategies. We show them how mistakes and failures are part of the learning process and how they must learn from every mistake and get better at things that are hard. Teachers incorporate growth mindset language and a questioning framework to facilitate reflection into the daily routine of the classroom. The culture of growth mindset underlies not only the curriculum but also the physical space of our classrooms.

This year, we embarked on our growth mindset journey as a school to learn how we can grow our brains and intelligence and achieve anything we want!

Our 6 Key Growth Messages

Growth Mindset@SAPS teaches Anthonians to:
Embrace Challenges, Learn from Mistakes, Enjoy Effort, Grow their Brains, Seek Feedback and Be Inspired by Others.

Seven colorful growth mindset bookmarks with motivational phrases beside a brain illustration labeled Growth Mindset at SAPS.

These bookmarks with growth messages help Anthonians build their confidence and self-esteem.

Classroom PostersEach class creates an environment where growth mindset messages are promoted and where the differences between a fixed and growth mindset are evident and can be easily referred to.

Two colorful growth mindset posters with motivational phrases and cartoon children in school uniforms.

Wall MuralsTo promote positive thinking and a can-do attitude, attention-grabbing murals and informational posters adorn our school grounds.

Colorful motivational posters and painted pillars in a school canteen with phrases like Learn Live Grow and Growth Mindset.

Mindset Studio

Two school rooms with colorful murals, motivational quotes, and tables with benches or stools for students.

Teachers’ Training

Besides Growth Mindset training for teachers, customised experiential and interactive training programmes were designed for segments of students so they do not just learn the content but experience it. For our P1 and P2 Anthonians, it was a highly interactive and hands-on session to create awareness and introduce them to the concept of Growth Mindset. Through activities such as Stacko Challenge and Dominoes Fun, they learnt to use growth mindset language and positive self-talk to help them succeed in accomplishing difficult or new tasks. They also learnt to seek challenges, identify the difficulties they may face and reflect on the learning that can be drawn from their failures.

Five photos of masked students and teachers in classrooms doing group activities with laptops and mindset presentations on screens.

Embracing Challenges Workshop for Lower Primary Pupils

Six photos of masked students in uniform doing classroom activities with colorful blocks and worksheets at green desks.

Pupils having fun and learning through the Mindset Board Game

Six photos of masked students in school uniforms playing colorful board games in a classroom setting.

Our Primary 4 and 5 Anthonians had fun discovering the difference between a Growth and Fixed mindset through the Mindset Board Game Workshop. Self-discovery definitely makes the learning deeper and more engaging!

Growth Mindset Assembly Programmes

Green slide titled "Growth Mindset Assembly Programme 1 - Born to Learn!" with a head illustration showing a colorful brain and light bulb.

Slide about neuroplasticity showing a brain under construction with worker figures and text about brain growth.

Two growth mindset slides showing brain illustrations with motivational text about practice and youth learning.

Click here to learn more about Neuroplasticity.

Do you have a Fixed or Growth Mindset?

Learn from Gregory's Growth Mindset Story!

Slide titled Growth Mindset Assembly Programme 2 with text The Power of Resilience and a person balancing an elephant.

Infographic titled Everybody Struggles showing four famous people with rejection counts: Einstein 104, Rowling 12, Dr. Seuss 27, Disney 302.

Click here to learn more about 10 Celebrities Who Failed!

Zoom meeting showing a Growth Mindset Assembly Programme slide with a cartoon yeti, and four masked participants on the right.

Four children in school uniforms pose with colorful signs reading "I Can't Sing and Dance," "I Can't Draw," "I Can't Cycle," and "I Can't Do Spelling."

I can’t sing, dance, draw, cycle or spell... YET but I can keep learning!

Classroom bulletin board with yellow border displaying student-made Monopoly-style game boards under a "Growth Mindset Zone" banner.

Power of YET pledges in the classroom

A person holds a sparkler with bold white text reading Growth Mindset Assembly 4 Magical Mistakes.

Magical Mistakes with our GM Superheroes!

Four people wearing masks and superhero costumes in a Zoom video call with a blue geometric background.

Four people in a bright room pose with fists raised, three wearing superhero costumes and masks, one in a white top.

Person in black and red graduation gown and cap, wearing a mask, pointing at a brain scan on a wall.

Professor M
Be a Growth Mindset Superhero!

A growth mindset empowers students. It changes their reaction to failure, giving them the motivation and confidence to work hard to achieve their full potential.

Executive Function Skills (EFS)

Executive function refers to a set of skills that underlies the capacity to plan ahead and meet goals, display self-control, follow multiple-step directions even when interrupted, and stay focused despite distractions, among others. They can be developed through experience and practice.

In SAPS, teachers set up the framework for their students to learn and practise these skills over time by establishing routines, breaking big tasks into smaller chunks, and encouraging games that promote imagination, role-playing, following rules, and controlling impulses (see Table 1).

We believe that the increasingly competent executive functioning of children and adolescents will enable them to learn how to learn and learn how to live so that they will become persons of integrity and persons for others in God's service.

| Levels | Executive Function Skills | |----| | P1 and P2 | · Organisation
· Ignoring Distractions| | P3 and P4 | · Organisation
· Ignoring Distractions
· Goal Setting | | P5 and P6 | · Organisation
· Ignoring Distractions
· Goal Setting
· Planning and Prioritization | | | |

Table 1: An Overview of Executive Function Skills in SAPS

ASCEND (After-School Care – Engage, Nurture, Discover)

ASCEND provides an enhanced After-School Care programme for selected pupils. Pupils are given time and guidance daily to complete homework assignments and learn EF skills such as planning and prioritising, organisation and time management. Pupils meaningfully engage in activities that develop greater self-esteem and self-awareness, and learn to work together as a community.

Students in uniforms and face masks work with clay at tables in a bright classroom.

Two masked girls sit on a tiled floor building a tall tower with colorful interlocking sticks and connectors.

Pupils working in pairs to build structures with strawbees.

Six masked school children in uniforms hold up red Chinese New Year crafts and decorations in a classroom.

Chinese New Year Craft-Making Session

Two masked students in white uniforms pack an orange bag with crackers and snacks at a table in a room.

Chinese New Year Craft-Making Session

Peer Support Programme (PSP)

Our Care Buddy Programme begins with our Primary One Anthonians being paired up with a Primary Four buddy when they enter primary school. Our P4 Care buddies take care of their P1 buddies and help them settle into primary school life quickly.

CARE BUDDY

Two young girls in school uniforms with green striped ties and pink face masks stand in a school cafeteria.

P4 Care Buddy with P1 in January 2021

Students in school uniforms and masks queue at a canteen counter with sandwiches, burgers, and sushi served by a masked vendor.

Purchasing food in the school canteen

As the P1s move on to P2, they will continue to be supported by a group of care buddies from the P5 level, who will look out for them. Care Buddy days are organised at least once every term so that the buddies can meet and grow their friendships. This takes place till the buddies reach P3 and P6. Eventually, when the P3 pupils move on to P4, they will have an opportunity to be Care Buddies to the new batch of P1s .

*Due to the SMM put in place since March 2020 due to COVID-19, we have put this on hold as intermingling between levels is not yet permitted.

P3-P6 CARE BUDDY GROUPS (from Jan 2020)

A collage titled 3 Gratitude showing uniformed school children sitting on floors doing activities and posing.

Students in school uniforms sit in circles on a gymnasium floor, working on an activity labeled 3 Respect.

Students in white uniforms sit in groups on a wooden floor and bleachers under the heading 3 Resilience.

Six photos of uniformed school children interacting and working together in a classroom, titled 3 Responsibility.

School children in uniforms sit on a gymnasium floor in small groups under the heading 3 Integrity.

Four photos of primary school students in white uniforms eating and sitting together, labeled 3 Faith.

Anthonian School Affinity Programmes (ASAP)

Back to School Programme (BTS)
Founder’s Day and Patron’s Day Celebrations
Pre-Secondary Lasallian Experience (PSLE+)

As part of the school’s efforts to immerse our Anthonians in a uniquely Anthonian and Lasallian brand of education, special school programmes are carried out to enhance students’ affinity to SAPS. With more than 140 years of school history, Anthonians are taught to understand their identity as an Anthonian and also as a member of a worldwide Lasallian community.

The Back-to-School Programme (BTS) introduces this to our newly enrolled Primary 1 Anthonians while the older Anthonians are reminded of the values adopted by the school which have been exemplified by both our Founder, St. John Baptist De La Salle, and our Patron Saint, St. Anthony of Padua, for whom our school was named. These values are further expounded during our annual Founder’s Day and Patron’s Day celebrations in April and July/August respectively. The BTS Programme also sets the direction of the school for the new academic year and provides opportunities for the Anthonians to rekindle friendships or create new ones in their new classes.

The Pre-Secondary Lasallian Education (or PSLE+) is a post-PSLE programme for the graduating cohort. The “+” symbol represents the post-Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) period and also a reference to the extension of the Lasallian experience for our Anthonians.

The objective of PSLE+ is for P6 Anthonians to consolidate their Lasallian experience in SAPS by actively living out the values that they have been taught in their years at SAPS through *Values-in-Action (VIA) activities, reflective tasks, skill-based workshops (e.g., Coding, Art and Music etc.) and learning journeys. The programme also aims to prepare P6 Anthonians for secondary school life through transition workshops and outreach talks by different secondary schools. This will culminate in the Graduation Ceremony to mark the end of our Anthonians’ primary school journey.

*Due to SMM, the PSLE+ programmes have been modified to align with the prevailing national posture at the given period.