The countdown continues and I continue to prepare. My children got their student passes, but I am still awaiting word from NIE on my pass and my application to NIE.

Today, one of my classes wrote and performed a song for me. It’s to the tune of “Where is the Love?” One of the students did the verses and the whole class joined in on the refrain. It was awesome. I’m posting the lyrics below:

Background music — “Where is the Love” Instrumental

It’s the Colloq Boy Steef AKA Big Beef back at it again, here to drop another banger

This one goes out to Ms. Mulligan

NCP RESPEK

Verse 1

Ms. Mulligan, yea she teaches math

Paves the way for us, makes our path

From the BC kids to the AB babies

We all pray that one day maybe

We can get more than 95 in class

T’was just a joke, poking fun, with some sass

She loves Desmos, uses it a ton

Helps us learn, helps us get done

Made a presentation for other teachers

Told them to try it, call her a preacher

Very great teacher, some say the best

Having her for a class means you’re blessed

Ms. Mulligan, going to Singapore

Without her, our lives will be a bore

We’re sitting here now, tears in our eyes

Wondering if it’s time to say goodbye…

¡Adios!

Chorus

Goodbye, Goodbyeeee

We hope to see you again

Goodbye, Goodbyeeee

Ms. Martha Mulligan (x2)

Verse 2

We’ve talked a lot, about her profession

But if there’s one lesson ya’ll should learn

There’s more to Mulligan than math concerns

Dances a lot, moves lighter than air

When she goes hard, you see a flurry of hair

Can also relax, breath in and breath out

Yoga exercises, she’s very devout  

Helps the seniors get through the year

By giving us cheers and calming our fears

At the end of it all, we are grateful

Hearts filled with hope, not at all very hateful

Oh, her sense of style.. Very tasteful

Ms. Mulligan, going to Singapore

Without her, our lives will be a bore

We’re sitting here now, tears in our eyes

Wondering if it’s time to say goodbye…

¡Adios!

Chorus

Goodbye, Goodbyeeee

We hope to see you again

Goodbye, Goodbyeeee

Ms. Martha Mulligan (x2)

THE END

I leave in three weeks. With each step I take to prepare, it seems like I add more things to my list of things to do. I have a few updates on those preparations.

I submitted my data clearance form to the MOE a few weeks ago. I had to resubmit it to clarify the number of students and teachers I will be working with in the schools for my inquiry project. It was initially hard to estimate because I don’t really know how many classrooms at each school I will get to observe. I estimated two at each and resubmitted the form I am still waiting to hear back about approval.

I also submitted my formal application to NIE, along with three choices for classes I want to take while I am there. We are allowed to take up to two classes, but I had to request more in case some of them don’t actually run or I’m not allowed to take one or two. I am waiting to hear back from NIE on that application, too. I can’t apply for my student pass until I am formally accepted to NIE.

Speaking of student passes…I submitted student pass application for my two daughters to attend the Canadian International School Singapore. Those applications were approved and the next step is to finish the formalities by going to an office in Singapore with my girls to pick up the passes. I am awaiting confirmation from the school that the school registration and tuition fees have been paid.

Over the weekend I bought two huge suitcases, but I have a feeling that we will need to buy more. I’ve never packed for six months, so it’s hard to know how much space I will need. The girls are intent on bringing some toys and I can’t blame them. They will need some comforts from home, as well as some diversions in our mostly spartan apartment.

I am sad today. So very sad. I am sad and angry and disappointed and hurt and shocked.

I am sad that there are so many people in this country who voted for a misogynist, xenophobe, fear-mongering, selfish, lying, and despicable man for president. I am sad for my students and I who work for justice and freedom for all. We all have to deal with a president who has said that all people in the US do not deserve justice and freedom.

I am sad that I’ll be travelling to a new country where I will have to explain my country’s choice and prove that I did not help make that choice.

I sincerely hope that my country can be united, but I have serious doubts.

We booked our apartment in Singapore today. On my long list of things to do, that is one of the biggies. It feels good to have that secure.

It seems like it will be a great place to live: it’s centrally located, it has two bedrooms, it has three pools. Those were three of the items on our wishlist. It isn’t right above an MRT, but it’s about 1.2 km to the green line MRT, which gets the kids to their school, gets me to NIE, and gets me to two of my assigned schools. It’s 1.9 km to the red line MRT, which gets me to my other assigned school.

I just sent in my flight requests to Fulbright. As soon as I get my flight information, we will be booking the flights for my husband and our kids.

With each step, this is even more real.

In class today, one of my students asked me: “Hey, I heard you were leaving and doing something. Is that true?” Others chimed in, “Yeah, we read about that last year! You’re leaving us, aren’t you?!” “Who’s going to be our teacher?!?” Like teenagers know how to do, they were freaking out. I reassured them that they would be in good hands; my colleagues student teacher will be hired as my temporary replacement. “Wow. You all planned that well!” They said that with too much surprise in their voices. Of course we planned that well.

I’ve made some progress since my last post: 1)I’ve been assigned to three schools in Singapore. 2) I know where my own kids are attending school. 3) I have been researching places to live in Singapore.

About a month ago, I skyped with the Fulbright team in Singapore. It was an informative session in which I learned that I will be assigned to three schools: one is toward the western part of the city, one is toward the east and one is in the northern part of the city. I started to read about the schools and they seem like great places to learn – for both the students there and for me. I’ve also started the process of getting ethics clearance for my project from MOE. I’ll also choose my classes at NIE when they become available in mid-November.

My own children will be attending the Canadian International School in Singapore, at the Jurong West campus, which is on the western side of the city. Due to the generous support of IIE/Fulbright/DOS, their education expenses will be covered. This is such a huge relief to us. Since then, we have paid for the application fee and are in the process of paying for the other expenses. It’s starting to fall in place!

With the school location pieces of the puzzles known, we began looking at housing options. First we were looking at propertyguru.com to find rentals. There were many available near CIS and other places throughout the city. Because we are only staying for 5.5 months, we decided that even a furnished apartment rented in the traditional way would not be optimal. There’s not guarantee that cookware, linens, dishes and even utilities/wifi would be included. For that reason, we re-started our search at Airbnn.com, where we have narrowed it down to a couple of viable options. We will be booking those soon.

I titled this entree as 163 night in Singapore because that’s what Airbnb calculated when I entered the dates for our stay there. It was a bit of an eye-opener to see it in print. It also reminded me of how my kids talk about long they have to wait for something, like going to grandma and grandpa’s house or waiting for Christmas. They talk in terms of “night sleeps.” They’d say, “How many more night-sleeps until___________?” We have not counted down the night sleeps until our departure, but, thanks to Airbnb, we know the number of night-sleeps of our stay. 🙂

While I wait for MOE to let me know where I will be placed for my partner schools, I have talked on the phone with several international schools in Singapore with the hope of finding a placement for our two kids. To say that least, it is discouraging. There are at least two issues that I am running into now: 1) waitlists at schools that do not have space for two kids in grades 1 and 3 and 2) the extremely high fees for the application, the registration and the tuition – yes, those are THREE different things.

We talked with an admissions rep at St. Joseph’s Institution International School and Singapore American School and while we LOVE the schools, we can’t apply because of the wait lists that both schools have. We would be throwing away the application fees since there is no guarantee of a place for them. We are also running into issues with enrolling them for half a year. GEMS Academy is going to get back to us to let us know whether they will consider a short-term placement. I have a call scheduled with the Canadian International School tonight – where it is tomorrow morning there. Always the optimist, I am hoping that they are both amenable to a short-term placement and that they have space for our girls in January.

The international schools can get away with requiring exorbitant fees of their families. I assume that this is partly due to the restrictions that MOE places on foreigners attending school there. Even the application fees are prohibitively expensive, ranging from ~S$600 to ~S$2500 per child. This is a non-refundable, non-waive-able fee with no guarantee that a child will be offered a place. If a child is offered a spot, there is another one-time fee which ranges from S$1000 – S$12,000. Yes, that is correct – that’s twelve thousand Singapore dollars…for each child. Then, tuition is on top of these fees. Tuition ranges from S$28,000 – S$42,000 per child per year. In talking with the schools, I have inquired whether it would be possible to have my husband work there in exchange for a reduction in the fees. That is not panning out too well, much to our dismay.

With all of the above-mentioned fees, I am hoping that DOS is still willing to cover most/all of them for us. I hate that I have to ask and that I am put in this position. If we were not taking school-aged kids, I would not be asking about them about this; I wouldn’t want the extra funds. It still feels like I am asking for it for myself, but we will never see any of that money. It will go to the schools that my kids enroll in. I can’t help but feeling like a grubber, regardless.

My skype session with IIE is later this month and I am very eager to learn more about the school(s) that I will be assigned to. I am anxious to secure an apartment to live in, as I am told by a Singaporean that those are booked about six months in advance.

I hope that by my next blog entry I will know where my kids are going to school and where we will be living – both very important aspects of our time in Singapore.

Now that I am back from the Fulbright orientation in DC, I have had a chance to reflect on all that we did. Hands down, the best part of the week was meeting other passionate educators from around the country and around the world. I knew that going into the week that it would be jam-packed with meetings and sessions, with information sharing a gathering, and with learning more about the details of our Fulbright programs.

I met the four other teachers who will be going to Singapore when I go. I met a Fulbright alumna who was in Singapore two years ago. I also met three Singaporean teachers who are here in the US on a Fulbright. We talked about living in Singapore, education in Singapore and even the food in Singapore. We probably could have talked even more, but I learned a great deal to feel confident about our move there. While I still await my assignments to local schools where I will be observing classes and teachers, I was assured many times that the MOE in Singapore is well organized and on top of everything.

One of our first workshops at the orientation was about the art of crossing cultures. I particularly appreciated this session as it illuminated the differences between US culture and other cultures. While I can sometimes have general sense of these differences, this session really articulated those differences for me and gave me strategies for dealing with them. I keep finding myself going back to the handout and re-reading the information the speaker gave so that I can better internalize it before we leave.

Going into the week, I was feeling anxious about finding a school for my children to attend in Singapore since I found out that the local schools are not an option. I know that my children are happiest when they are active, engaged, and learning in a social setting. I very much want them in a school in Singapore for their sake. It will also give me another lens to view schooling in Singapore. I was VERY gratified to learn that IIE was able to find funds to cover the cost of international schools, which have very high tuition for a school teacher’s salary. This is a huge weight that has been lifted and will allow me to focus my energies on my learning, my inquiry project and the work that I look forward to doing in Singapore.

I’m picture below in front of the official Fulbright banner/backdrop, and I’m basically smiling as big as I can. I’m even happier now than I was when I first found out that I got the Fulbright. I hope my smile reflects that!

I am excited to be preparing to head to Washington DC on Sunday to meet other Fulbrighters, to learn even more about the DAT program and the expectations for the inquiry project, and to generally get ready to go to Singapore in 2017.

Since my last post, I have been introduced through email to my faculty mentor at NIE, National Institute of Education in Singapore. I have also inquired about schools for my children and have found out that they cannot attend a public school there because (a) it is very difficult for non-citizens to get a spot in the public schools and (b) we are not going to be there for a full Singapore school year, which is January – December. We leave in June. I have also solidified my Fulbright program dates to be January 6 – June 6, 2017, which is a change from my original plans. The team in Singapore requested that Singapore Fulbright participants arrive by January 9 for an orientation in Singapore, so I had to move up the start date of my program dates. I also wanted to be there through the end of the Singapore semester 1, which ends at the end of May. So, now my program length is 5 months instead of 4 months.

I have also found a family who will live in our house while we are gone. This is a great relief to my husband and me. While we are not charging rent, we are happy that our house will be occupied for the 5+ months that we are abroad.

We started researching apartments to live in while we are there. They are not cheap! The housing that the Singapore team recommended to me (and others) was mostly dorms with a few teacher apartments. It seems that the housing cost was no cheaper than a private apartment, so we will be getting a private apartment. Of course, my own kids want to find a place with a pool since it is hot there all the time. We will certainly do what we can on what we think will be a tight budget.

I have reached out to many people who have experience living in Singapore or who are currently living there. They have been a great resource for me and my husband. I anticipate continuing to reach out to them with questions about living there.

I’m looking forward to next week in DC and learning more about next steps!

Even though my initial excitement for getting the Fulbright has waned slightly (only slightly!), it still feels like I won the lottery. I know that luck has nothing to do with this. I know that I wasn’t offered a Fulbright out of pure chance. But, I feel like it’s a life-changing occurrence  – in every good way. And, since it’s not totally public news, it feels like I am holding the winning lottery ticket before I turn it in.

I’ve submitted the five pieces of paper work that Fulbright/IIE requires. Next steps are to wait for more information regarding the orientation in DC in August.

When I read the first sentence of the email I received today, I nearly fell over. I had to read it several times to make sure I got it right:

On behalf of the U.S. Department of State, I would like to congratulate you on being selected for the Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Program.

I cried. I hugged people. I called my mom, who also cried. After several deep breaths, I eventually got my act together and had to get on with the rest of my day. For a small celebration, my family and I went out for Chinese food – since that was the closest we could get to Singapore food!

Now the work really begins. I am even more invigorated to do the important work that is the subject of my inquiry project. In my proposal for the Fulbright, I wrote that I wanted to learn from Singapore schools and scholars how the students there consistently do well in the TIMSS assessment. And through my research, I will augment a summer Algebra program for NCP incoming 9th graders. By enhancing this program, I hope to be able to provide the highest quality Algebra program to mostly low-income students so that they may more easily take college-level AP math classes in high school. I hope to learn about curriculum, assessment, parent/family/school connections, and cultural influences. We are running this program this summer for the first time.

Before I received word that I was selected for the DAT, I had been talking to my principal earlier in the day about an upcoming state-mandated assessment that all students in Algebra have to take this May. We only have 70 students enrolled in Algebra this year, which is hardly enough to provide reliable data – and I am doubtful that it’s reliable at any participation rate. It for future students like those 70 – or for at least most of them – that I want to provide this summer class. I am increasingly concerned about the stigma that these students may experience by being placed in Algebra while the rest of the class of 280 students are in higher level math classes. It is my hope that our program will be the right balance of support and challenge for them to be successful moving on to higher level classes.

My next steps entail formally accepting the DAT grant and submitting the necessary paperwork – basically jumping through all the hoops to make this happen. It’s all good. I am completely over the moon that I was awarded this, so none of it seems like a big deal.

Sometimes shooting for the stars works out well. I’m ready to see what the ‘stars’ have in store for me!