GESS CARES

GESS CARES nurtures students into active citizens with a heart for service. Explore how Gessians give back through reading, tutoring, and community activities.

Last updated 25 July 2026

Vision for GESS CARES

Gessians are active contributors who are willing to act and serve others.

Desired Student Outcomes

By the end of 4/5 years, Gessians would have

· experiences in the various aspects of community service

· developed a sense of compassion for the less privileged and fortunate

· grown a heart of service to the community & beyond

· developed 21CC skills in adaptive & inventive thinking and communication

GESS CARES is a valuable student development experience that GESS provides for our students to nurture them into active citizens with the heart to serve the community.

GESS CARES encourages student ownership and initiative, providing a platform where students reflect on their experiences, the values they have put into practice, and how they can contribute meaningfully to impact the people they interact with.

Design thinking framework is used when planning the VIA activities to allow students to interact with people from all walks of life and visit different places to learn and grow the required skills and dispositions. The design thinking approach encourages creative, client-centric problem-solving skills. It also develops teamwork and creativity.

Five design thinking steps: Empathise, Define, Ideate, Prototype, Test, connected by arrows with dashed feedback loops.

Key GESS CARES focus for each level.

Table showing VIA programming levels Sec 1 to 5 with focus areas and proposed activities alongside programming bullet points.

Other Key VIA activities which promote self-directedness and ownership in students:

GESS Read: reading to the Primary school students (kidsREAD programme with Gan Eng Seng Primary School & Read Well Programme with CDAC),
GESS Excel: tutoring the primary school students in their Mathematics (Math Tutoring Programme with Alexandra Primary School & Math Tutoring for our Sec 3 students),

GESS Serve: Serving and supporting community events such as Henderson Dawson National Day Observance Ceremony and Fairprice Share-a-Textbook.

Sec 2 Cleaning the Neighbourhood during Founder's Day

Three students in uniforms and blue gloves collect litter into a black trash bag outdoors.

Maths Tuition Programme with ALPS

Students in white uniforms sit around a blue table, writing and using tablets in a school canteen setting.

KidsReads Programme with GESPS

A teenage girl presents "A Donkey Reads" on a projector screen to young students in a classroom.

Engage with Elderly at Thong Keng SAC

Students in black shirts present to seated elderly and young people in a room decorated with red Chinese New Year lanterns.

Carnival by Student Leaders at Henderson-Dawson CC

People gather around a red-covered table with purple cups and small cards at an indoor community event.

FairPrice Share-A-Textbook 2024

Students in yellow shirts sit on a floor sorting through piles of books and magazines surrounded by cardboard boxes.