Editorial Team
Advisor
Mr Koh Yiak Kheng, Leonard
A Secondary School Principal, who had started his career as a PE Teacher 26 years ago with the desire and passion to make a difference in the way PE was taught in schools. Soon after his efforts began to bear fruits and he was awarded the SPEA Outstanding PE Teacher Award (OPETA) in 2002, Leonard joined the Association as a Life Member to continue contributing to his friends and colleagues in the fraternity. In his free time, he enjoys staying active by swimming, jogging, cycling and, if opportunity allows, playing badminton and basketball with his family and friends. Today, he continues to contribute to the PE and Sports fraternity by serving as the Vice-Chairman of the North Zone Schools Sports Council as well as the President of SPEA.
Editor
Mr Ho J Yen, Louis
A PE Teacher for 18 years, Louis has taught in both Junior College and Secondary School. His last appointment was being the Head of Department in a Secondary School before he went to NIE Physical Education Sports Science (PESS) for his secondment in 2023. He enjoys a game of football and all things sports and outdoor adventure. He has been serving in SPEA as a committee member since 2018 and hopes that more will step forward to serve the PE fraternity in their own ways. His area of interest is in assessment literacy, affective learning and almost everything under PE, especially football, rugby and ultimate frisbee.
Editorial Designer
Mr Lui Wai Mun, Brian
Mr Brian Lui is a highly experienced educator with over three decades of teaching Physical Education, Art, and Music. He is currently the Head of Department (HOD) of PE & CCA at Northland Secondary School. Brian is a multi-faceted educator with a keen interest in music and art, which he leverages as editorial designer for the SPEA newsletter. However, his greatest passion has always been PE and coaching sports.
He believes that Physical Education is essential for physical, social, and character development and utilizes a wide variety of pedagogies, including ICT, to engage his students and make PE come alive. With his extensive experience and passion for PE, Brian is committed to providing his students with a well-rounded education to be better and healthier members of society.
Brian's passion extends into the teaching of competitive sports where his coaching skills have led his school teams to podium positions in the National Schools Games Sports and beyond for Tennis, Track and Field, Floorball, and Hockey. Many of his athletes have gone on to represent Singapore in international competitions. His dedication to coaching has not only led to his students' success in sports but has also helped them develop important life skills such as teamwork, perseverance, and leadership.
Away from school, Brian continues to be active in sport, like taking up leadership as President of Jansenites Hockey Club for 4 years. Privately, he participated in sporting activities like tennis, triathlons and scuba diving.
Assistant Editors
Mr Muhammad Shufi Bin Salleh
After earning his Post-Graduate Diploma in Physical Education (PE) from Singapore's National Institute of Education, Shufi taught PE at Seng Kang Secondary School in 2012. From 2015, he taught Mathematics and PE at Hillgrove Secondary School. Shufi was subsequently appointed a Senior Teacher (PE) in 2018 and is currently a Teaching Fellow at NIE. He frequently worked with PESTA (Physical Education and Sports Teacher Academy) and NIE (National Institute of Education) through workshops, professional networks, sharing sessions, and research projects in his role as a PE teacher-leader. For his outstanding work in the area of PE, he was awarded the Outstanding PE Teacher Award in 2019.
Mr Chua Wei Guang, Andy
A PE teacher for 10 years, Andy has taught in both Junior Colleges and Secondary Schools. He is currently pursuing his part-time PhD in the field of “Exploring Pedagogical Approaches in the use of Emerging Technologies in Physical Education” with the National Institute of Education, Physical Education Sports Science (PESS).
Other than his strong interest in emerging technologies, he is also a staunch advocate of intentionally inculcating affective learning through the use of team sports. His expertise lies in basketball, with experience coaching in Junior College, Secondary School and Men’s Open Teams in Basketball. Andy currently helms the role of Head, Youth Development in the Basketball Association of Singapore.
Mr Abdul Halim
A PE teacher for 15 years at Greendale Secondary School, Halim has held the Subject Head (PE) appointment from 2014-2017 and Senior Teacher (2018-present). His areas of interest include Outdoor Adventure Education and Olympic Education. He enjoys integrating technology into his PE lessons and seeks ways to make lessons more fun and enjoyable for everyone. For his outstanding work in professional development, he is the recipient of the Associate of Academy of Singapore Teachers (AST) Award on several occasions.
Mr A Murugapa
A PE Teacher for 32 years, Muru has taught in both Primary and Secondary Schools. He has held the Subject Head (PE) appointment from 1998-2010 and Senior Teacher (2010-present). He is currently pursuing his part-time PhD in the field of “THE PREVALENCE AND EFFECTS OF AUTONOMY SUPPORT VERSUS CONTROLLING STYLE IN PHYSICAL EDUCATION ON STUDENTS' MOTIVATIONAL OUTCOMES” with the National Institute of Education, Physical Education Sports Science (PESS). He has been serving in SPEA as a committee member since 2018. His interest is in motivating and engaging students through healthy lifestyle pursuits like functional fitness and movement-based activities.
Ms Stella Yap Sze Hui
A PE teacher in New Town Secondary School for the past 5 years, Stella has diverse interests, from Arts and Music to Sports, where she specialises in basketball, badminton and swimming. As a strong believer in the power of sports and the arts to enliven, engage, and empower, she strives to connect others through developmental transformations. She believes her lessons should be values-driven, with a meaningful infusion of music, technology, gamification and visuals for her PE classes.
Stella emerged as a Finalist of the 2021 Outstanding Youth in Education Award (OYEA) which recognises the achievement of young educators who have shown admirable energy and commitment in the development of youth beyond the formal curriculum, inspiring and nurturing their students.
Stella has a keen interest in curriculum development, integrating music and physical education, assessment and feedback literacy, affective learning, and technology integration in PE. She looks forward to learning from our dearest PE professionals around the world, seeking to give back to her students and the PE fraternity in every way possible!
Mr Neo Chow Ming, Linus
Linus started his teaching career in Seng Kang Secondary School in 2014. During his time in Seng Kang Secondary, he was given the opportunity to spearhead various programmes. He developed the Healthy Lifestyle Programme in school aimed at increasing participation in physical activities for overweight students. Linus believes in making PE lessons engaging and fun. He developed the Outdoor Education Programme to integrate interesting lesson packages such as infusing the use of ICT in Orienteering and crafting delightful recipes for Outdoor Cooking.
He subsequently moved on to Cedar Girls’ Secondary School (CGSS) as the Subject Head of CCA and Student Leadership. In his time with CGSS, he explored various ways to increase students’ motivation in PE such as leveraging on student voices and use of ICT. He made use of various ICT platforms and tools such as Google Classrooms and Plickers to chart students’ progress and learning.
Linus is a strong believer of using PE as a platform to develop self-confidence. He is a strong advocate of the Self Determination Theory and has used that as a fundamental towards making PE lessons more engaging and meaningful. Linus looks forward to continuing striving to develop highly motivated students with joy and passion in PE.
Mr Yeo Hai Wee, Edward
A Sport and Exercise Science Lecturer for 13 years, Edward has lectured in Republic Polytechnic’s School of Sports, Health and Leisure supporting the Sport and Exercise Science diploma team. As Assistant Director for Capabilities and Industry, he fosters deeper collaborations between schools and industry partners in the R&D space for the sports and healthcare sector. Prior to joining RP, he was a subject head for PE in a primary school. He was awarded the SPEA Book Prize in 2003 and was the valedictorian of his graduating cohort. He has been serving in SPEA as a committee member since 2018 and hopes SPEA can continue to serve the Sports and PE fraternity to achieve its mission. His interest is in evidence-based approaches in training, coaching and human performance. For leisure, Edward enjoys a slow jog and playing small-sided PE-like games with his kids.
Mr Rodney Yeo
Being an avid sportsman and outdoor enthusiast, becoming a physical educator was the most logical career choice for him, and it has been his mainstay for the last 24 years! During that time, he has held numerous portfolios, which has allowed him to experience the full spectrum of being a teacher, an administrator, and a leader. He also ensured that he groomed his head-space by securing his Masters in Sports and Exercise Sciences early on in his career so that he would constantly be up to date with the trends and happenings in PE and Sports.
Currently, he serves in NorthLight School (NLS) as Head of Sports Wellness. This tenure has opened him up to interacting with a different strata of students - an emotionally & socially challenged and disadvantaged group. He proceeded to leverage on sports, outdoor education, and PE as the hardware and heartware to nurture and forge character & values of his charges. Additionally, he deliberately ensured that the Sports Wellness SOW was inclusive so that all NLS SEN students can access and participate actively to reap its inherent benefits. For all his heartwork, he was awarded the OPETA in 2021 and now serves the PE fraternity in the SPEA publication committee as well as serving as a panel member for the OPETA nominees 2023. In his free time, he enjoys the ocassional Football/Futsal game as well as running and spending time outdoors with his family and friends, be it on land on a bicycle or on foot hiking or in the waters, kayaking and snorkelling.
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Back to content page - 2023 SPEA Newsletter Issue No.1 (June/July)
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