The Social Factor thanks our workshop participants for your kind words. Each one of you has been special to us!
“I never thought that the Zest Up Programme could be impactful! Mr Mark’s programme gave us sufficient time to understand the concepts and share our stories over a few sessions. The consistent programme definitely provided us with emotional support, and I even found a few friends there! I’ll definitely highly recommend you give it a try. There’s nothing to lose, with Mr Mark’s years of experience.”
– Jia Qi, Alumnus, School of Business & Accountancy, Ngee Ann Polytechnic
“I am really thankful that I attended the Zest Up Programme, where we formed a social support group to support each other emotionally. Our facilitator, Mr Mark Lim, helped us feel at ease to share our thoughts, feelings and the issues we were going through, and taught us several skills related to making friends and managing our emotions. I was very grateful since I was going through a tough time last year and needed help to get through that time. I looked forward to every weekly session, and through this programme I made friends with peers from other academic schools and still keep in close contact with some of them. We support each other through our successes and difficult times.”
– Glenyse Lim, Year 2 Student, School of Film and Media Studies, Ngee Ann Polytechnic
“It was scary at first, however it was so worth it because I made new friends and connections from different courses that will last me a lifetime. It also got me to think about the things the support group taught me about.”
– Eane Dujon, Year 2 Student, School of Health Sciences, Ngee Ann Polytechnic
“The role playing was interesting and went well in my opinion, as we all got to take turns to role play and try paraphrasing. I would recommend the part where we learnt about empathy, as I think it is a good soft skill to learn and will help us strengthen our relationships with people.”
– Alicia, Secondary 2 Student
The Social Factor has been working with Ngee Ann Polytechnic on a number of projects including programmes on mentoring, social-emotional awareness and special needs. The following testimonial was written by Ms Ching Pui Fun, Assistant Director, Student Care and Counselling.
“I have been working with Mark from The Social Factor for the implementation of the Peer Helpers’ programme and Zest Up programmes, which include Group Therapy on Life Skills for the student community at Ngee Ann Polytechnic. All these programmes were engaging and delivered with a quality of excellence by Mark Lim and his team of trainers. Mark and his team understand the social and emotional needs of students and are able to engage them to meet the programme objectives. Mark has a high level of integrity, discretion and professionalism. He has the goodness of heart as well — the ‘head knowledge’ as well as the ‘heart’ to reach out to students. He is open and constantly seeks to enhance these programmes to the next level of excellence, be it in content or use of technology. It is a blessing to have the opportunity to work with Mark Lim for these programmes. Working alongside Mark, I have full confidence that the outcomes of these programmes will be delivered with excellent quality and will have a positive impact on our students, reaching out to them and transforming their lives.”
– Ms Ching Pui Fun, Assistant Director, Student Care and Counselling, Ngee Ann Polytechnic
“I learnt how to empathise with others, and that it isn’t always necessary to be giving advice. I enjoyed how the trainer came up to us personally to engage in our conversation. He was absolutely fantastic!”
– Christine, Secondary 2 Student
“The trainer was really good and engaging. She was patient and understanding, and gave us individual suggestions for our work. She was able to explain the concepts well in simple words, helping us apply these concepts in real life as well.”
– Jeremy, 1st Year Junior College Student
“The trainers were engaging in their teaching, and concise in communicating their ideas. I would recommend people go for this workshop, as it really allows one to learn more about what to do as a Well-Being Champion: to help those in our class, to detect signs of depression or mental illness early, so as to give them the necessary help before it is too late.”
– George, 1st Year Junior College Student
“I learnt that mentoring is a very intentional journey and that I need commitment if I want to embark on it. During the programme I learnt that there is so much brokenness in families, leading to ‘leaky umbrellas’ in their covering and forcing them to become adults before their time. How can we (parents) come alongside them to provide ‘pauses’ in their lives for healing, life-mentoring, and a safe place where their questions on life issues are never perceived to be a ‘stupid question’?”
– Janice, Parent Mentor
“I enjoyed the role play session, as it gave a clear perspective of the struggles that teachers may face when guiding the student peer supporters. Even though it was only a 2–3 hour workshop, I really liked how the trainers tried their best to delve deep into the answers to their questions. Having attended this workshop, I am excited to experience what the 2-day workshop will be like :)”
– Ruby, School Leader in a Secondary School
“Sue and Mark make an excellent team! My training experience with them has been extremely fulfilling. The instructors were extremely knowledgeable and patient. They were receptive towards our suggestions and requests. The training content was well-prepared and well-paced — a great balance of theory, practical examples and hands-on work. Our teachers benefited tremendously from their training!”
– Peggy Ong, Founder & CEO, Pro-Teach Student Care Group
“Mark is a knowledgeable trainer and always shares vast experiences which we can apply in school.”
– Vicky Rajo, Principal, Melbourne Specialist International School
“The trainers took time to explain the strategies. Very friendly, and provided opportunities for participants to ask questions in between sharing.”
– Allied Educator, MOE PN69 Class
“I feel that teachers should also attend such workshops to have a better understanding of their students’ behaviour.”
– Allied Educator, MOE PN69 Class
“I am impressed and inspired by the level of enthusiasm and passion to share what they had taught or learnt with the students with special needs. Keep it up. Thank you.”
– Teacher, CHIJ (Kellock)
“I like how the trainers were very engaging and able to give further emphasis on strategies to adopt in class.”
– Teacher, CHIJ (Kellock)
“Both trainers are very engaging and extremely willing to share their knowledge and experiences in dealing with SEN students.”
– Allied Educator, MOE E4 Cluster
“We’ve learnt different terminology about our students’ behaviour, and gained a better understanding as a whole. We’ve also learnt different ways of communicating with parents, an integral part of being teachers. Thank you for the insights.”
– Staff, Pro-Teach West Spring Primary
“The session was very informative and useful. The course highlighted all the categories of special needs, as well as tips to manage anxiety and strategies to help students and to work with parents. The session was full of real-life examples and case studies. I strongly believe that this knowledge and learning will definitely help the teachers, students and parents, and provide a better future for these uniquely beautiful kids.”
– Staff, Pro-Teach Yishun