In addition to our vast range of courses, we also provide a plethora of value-added services that are standard with every course your school invests in.
Comprehensive (Bound) Student Booklets
Each student receives a comprehensive bound booklet (most courses are 50 pages in length), packed with advice, strategies and practice activities. In addition to supplying structured guidance towards achieving the objectives of each course, it is a valuable resource for revision, self-study and consolidation.
Glossy Colour Certificates
Thick colour certificates are presented to each pupil, to acknowledge participation, attendance and achievement. These are printed on high quality Aurora Parchment 176 gram cardboard and are suitable for inclusion in a student’s resume or CV.
Adaptable Tailor-Made Courses To Suit Your School’s Needs
Courses are adaptable to schools’ needs, in that they may be modified to fit more or fewer sessions than the number specified. In addition, the content may be varied to suit your specific needs and budget. We feel that this flexibility is often necessary, as given that no two schools, classes, or streams are the same, why settle for a generic product?
Nevertheless, as the number and nature of activities have been carefully calculated to occupy the time allocated, schools are recommended to book no less than the number of sessions indicated for each course.
Free Places For Financially Needy Students (FAS )
A-Star recognises that some students may have difficulty attending a course for financial reasons. As such we provide free places to those in need, on the basis that all students who have the will and drive to attend a program, should not be prevented or disadvantaged from doing so.
Opportunities For Individual Marking / Speech Assessment
With our speech and oral communication-based courses, for the student’s final speeches, each pupil will be assessed on 13 rubrics covering three main areas; namely content, voice and body language. Many schools choose to utilise these marks in compiling pupil’s final Oral assessment / component (see Speech Competition heading for more details). We also assess drama performances (skits), passage recitals, conversations, book reviews, news reading, debates and mock vocational job interviews This is an increasingly popular service for schools, as students are also able to monitor their progress and receive crucial individual feedback from our instructors. This feedback not only assists the student and school, but if desired, allows them to progress to official speech certification at a later date. Paper 4 Oral Exam Part 1 and 2 [1128(2013)] can also be assessed.
With academic courses, A-Star also offers the option for instructors to mark and grade a particular mock examination paper (specifically Paper 1 [B and C], Paper 2 [C] Summary), according to the current 1128 English Language O Level (2013) descriptors. Students sit for the exam during school or enrichment time and papers are returned to the school with individual comments, within a week of course completion or during the last session.
Sponsorship
In view of on-going relationships established with schools, A-Star is proud to be able to sponsor space in your school magazine and / or make a token donation for your Staff Annual Dinner / School Opening Ceremony etc. We at A-Star are grateful for your support and this is our small way of saying thank you!
Caucasian Native English Speaking Instructors
Our instructors consist of either Caucasian Native English speakers or Local Specialists, who are all fully qualified, MOE Registered and with extensive experience in teaching both in Singapore schools and abroad. With detailed knowledge of schools’ needs, instructors are also carefully selected and trained to meet the rig- orous standards that we demand of them.
Comprehensive Evaluation / Feedback Report
After the completion of a course, A-Star distributes evaluation forms to each student. All the raw forms are then collated by A-Star with the data presented in simple percentage terms for all individual classes and then as one whole group. This information includes student and instructor comments. Finally, this data is then presented to your school as a 15-35 page report (with the use of bar / pie charts and spread sheets) and is ideal for your school’s ‘Excellence Model’ or own internal assessment.
ICT Web-based Peer / Teacher Review
With select courses, pupils are able to log on to our website with a unique username / password and upload a speech or recital. This allows students and / or teachers alike, to evaluate pupils remotely and during their own time. Note that these web-based reviews are in addition to A-Star’s internal in-class assessment. Such an initiative is in line with an increase in ICT based approaches to flexible learning.
Free 1 hour Staff Workshop / Briefing / Staff Training
A free 1 hour staff workshop / briefing will be conducted to familiarise teachers with course objectives and methodology. Each teacher will also be given a copy of the comprehensive booklet at no extra charge. In addition, we are able to provide and deliver customised training workshops for schools and clusters.
Free Speech Competitions / Judges / Trophies / Prizes / MC
For our Speech and Oral communication-based programmes, a free 1.5 hour speech / debate / or drama (skit) or other tailored competition will be provided, for the best 2-3 speakers and / or groups from each class. This is usually conducted in a theatrette setting and with guest judges such as your School Principal, EL HOD etc. The competition is further enhanced by an official Master of Ceremonies (MC) [often from Mediacorp], provided by A-Star (including 1-2 of our own judges). Trophies are provided for the three best speakers, with token incentive prizes for all speech participants.
Contestants are judged using our comprehensive speech assessment form (right), based on 13 rubrics / descriptors broken up into categories of content, voice and body language . Note that this individual speech assessment is also one of our standard value-added services. Every pupil who participates in any of our Public Speaking and Oral Communication based programmes will undergo this assessment by specially trained A-Star instructors. Sch ools fin d this form of assessment extremely useful for compiling a pupil’s final Oral assessment or to help with the selection of pupil leaders, school events, Speech Day, Opening Ceremonies etc. We also have separate assessment forms to assess drama performances (skits), debates, conversations, news read- ing and mock vocational job interviews.