Equipping students for the best start in life

Forty primary school children gathered at RP for the Financial Literacy Games for Children 2018 on Jun 8, 2018. The event, which was organised by the School of Management and Communication, educated the children on the importance of earning their keep through work and spending within their means. The Republican Post’s Nia Khairunnisa and Amanda Yeung captured highlights from the event.

HELPING HAND: The participants started the programme by assuming the role of a computer scientist where they have to accomplish a task to earn some ‘money’. Each participant was accompanied by a student mentor from RP who guided and helped the participant through the day. PHOTO: Amanda Yeung
INDEPENDENT LEARNERS: Assuming the role of a computer scientist, the participant’s ‘job’ was to complete a pedometer, which helped to track the number of steps a person took. The participants then earn a ‘salary’ based on the work they had completed and could use the sum to buy items. PHOTO: Amanda Yeung
PUTTING IT TO THE TEST: Strapping on the step counter that the children and their student mentors made, they tested their prototypes to see if they had succeeded. PHOTO: Amanda Yeung
TOUGH DECISIONS: With the ‘salary’ they had earned, the students had to decide the items they could buy. PHOTO: Nia Khairunnisa
GRABBING IT ALL: While some managed to save all of their money, others didn’t regard the advice their students mentors gave them. Giving into temptation, some spent more than what they could afford. PHOTO: Nia Khairunnisa
REALITY CHECK: RP staff and volunteers tried to convince the participants to purchase their items. This was meant as a reenactment of the choices the participants would face, as the organisers presented the kids with difficult decisions to make. PHOTO: Nia Khairunnisa
ENJOYING THE FRUITS OF THEIR LABOUR: The participants started to unpack their toys and played with them. This was one easy way for them to bond with one another, and some even made new friends during the session. PHOTO: Nia Khairunnisa
A RECAP: At the end of the programme, student mentors from RP discussed the important values they had learned through the Local Service Learning Programme. PHOTO: Amanda Yeung