FIRST PLACE: INNOVA PRIMARY SCHOOL

Going above and beyond was what gave the girls from Innova Primary School their victory.

Not only did Ting Tsin Wei, 10, Wong Wai Yi and Tammy Eng, both 11, conduct thorough research, they even submitted a comprehensive six-page proposal in a plastic folder, complete with pictures of their learning experience.

The trio proposed partnering Fei Yue Family Centre to help low-income and single-parent families in their Woodlands community.
First, they visited and interviewed staff at the centre to find out what their beneficiaries needed.

Before the interview, the Primary 5 pupils thought they should buy stationery and food, but after chatting with Fei Yue's staff, they discovered that what their beneficiaries - low-income and single-parent families - needed were baby supplies, such as diapers and milk powder.

"It's not easy for low-income families to buy these items," explained Ms Farah Azman, the girls' form teacher.

"Diapers and milk powder are not cheap and they have to be constantly replenished."

To help Fei Yue meet the needs of the residents, the girls "learnt to buy things which are needed - not wanted" said Tsin Wei.

The Innovians' hard work and perseverance were obvious to their classmates. One of their peers, S. Kavirajan, 11, told Little Red Dot: "While the rest of us went overseas for our vacations, the girls dedicated their March school holidays to working on this project."

The winning trio received the first prize of $5,000, but they will not be spending it on the baby supplies just yet.

Said Tammy: "We're going to pass the money to our teacher for safekeeping first because if we lose the money, we won't know what to do."