A hop, skip and a 'Jump Jam' to kick-start an active day at school

Every Friday, pupils at Bedok Green Primary School gather from 7.15am to hop, skip and jump.

Teachers and even principal Benjamin Yong join in and some pupils lead the rest of the school from the stage in a dance-style activity, which gets the whole school moving.

Dancing along to two or three music videos screened by a projector in the school hall, the pupils mimic movements which combine elements of aerobics and taiji for a morning workout in the school's weekly programme known as Jump Jam.

The programme is meant to encourage fitness in a fun and engaging way, said head of department for physical education and co-curriculars Alvin Thio.

The quick workout, which happens as pupils arrive for assembly at 7.30am, also doubles as a warm up for the co-curricular activities (CCAs) which take place right after, said Mr Thio.

Bedok Green runs its CCAs for Primary 3 to 6 pupils for about 90 minutes on Fridays from about 7.40am to 9am before lessons, an arrangement which allows for more pupils to participate in them, said Mr Thio.

He said: "If we were to hold all CCA practice after school, fewer pupils would be able to participate as many parents make after-school arrangements for them."

After Jump Jam, pupils stream off to various locations around the school to join their CCA groups.

This includes playing sports like football and basketball or participating in performing arts like angklung ensemble and guzheng.

The angklung is a musical instrument made of bamboo tubes that originated in Indonesia while the guzheng is a string instrument from China.

The school also offers other CCAs like the art club, an infocomm and journalism club and various uniformed groups.

When The Straits Times visited the school in Bedok last Friday, the corridors were filled with excited pupils preparing their new costumes and practising their skills in anticipation of the resumption of the Singapore Youth Festival later this year.

Mr Thio, a former football player and chorister, said: "It's been hard for pupils to practise in groups because of Covid-19 but now, everything is coming together very quickly, and everyone is excited and raring to go."