NYAA Silver Programme

Objectives

The objectives of the National Youth Achievement Award (NYAA) Silver Programme are as follows:

• To provide a platform for Brooksians to develop their 21st Century Competencies and Self-Leadership Skills.

• To support the Northbrooks Secondary School vision of “Every Brooksian a Champion, Impacting the Community”, by leveraging on NYAA’s vision of developing and maximizing the potential of Brooksians through

  • service learning (Touching Lives, Making a Difference)

  • outdoor appreciation (To be at Ease with Nature), and

  • healthy living (Physical & Mental Wellness),
    so that they may be exceptional individuals who can contribute to society and the nation.

• To encourage Brooksians to develop personal qualities of:

  • Self-reliance

  • Perseverance

  • Sense of responsibilities to themselves, to the society and the nation.

• To encourage Brooksians to participate in this internationally recognized award programme.

Qualifying Requirements

NYAA Silver Award

The NYAA Silver Award may be awarded to any youths, who is at least 15 years of age, with a minimum participation period of 12 months and has completed the necessary sections under the NYAA Silver scheme as laid out in Appendix A.

 Award Co-ordinator

The Award Co-ordinator for Northbrooks Secondary School NYAA Silver programme is the Subject Head Co-Curricular Activities. He plans and oversees the NYAA programme for the school. The award co-ordinator works with the different departments and committees to create a meaningful NYAA Silver programme for the students. His key role is to co-ordinate the participants and teachers, ensuring the participants gain maximum benefit from every aspect of the Award Scheme, and that they complete their programme.

Programme

The following diagram illustrates the programme the school has in place for all students in the Secondary 3 level embarking on the NYAA Silver programme: -

Below are the descriptions of the activities for each section planned for our students:
Service Learning (Touching Lives, Making a Difference)
Values in Action – Secondary 3 Service Learning

The Service Learning programme for Secondary 3 students provides students with the opportunity to work with a beneficiary of their choice. While teachers act as facilitators, the programme is essentially student-centred with the planning, implementation and evaluation all done by the students. This programme which spans over 3 terms (January to September) allows Brooksians to develop their social and cross-cultural skills when they work with various beneficiary organisations (the young, senior citizens, the underprivileged or the environment). The planning and organisation of the Service Learning activities also helps to hone the leadership skills among the Secondary 3 students and also inculcates in them a sense of responsibility. A series of reflective activities has also been built into this programme to help build their critical thinking skills as well as develop their SEL competencies.

Outdoor Appreciation (To be at Ease with Nature)

Life-Long Learning Programme Outdoor Education [Adventure, Character & Environment (A.C.E)] –Sec 3 Level Camp

The Secondary 3 Leadership Camp under the LLP – ACE aims to help Brooksians develop character, an appreciation for Singapore using the local environments though adventure. At the same time, the camp provides an authentic context and experience for learning. The adventure camp focuses on challenging our students to be outside of their comfort zone through getting them to stay and explore in unfamiliar surroundings and go through a series of activities to explore the different parts of Singapore. A series of reflective activities have been built into this programme to help build their critical thinking skills as well as develop their SEL competencies for leadership development through an appreciation of the outdoors.

Outdoor Appreciation (To be at Ease with Nature)

Life-Long Learning Programme Outdoor Education [Adventure, Character & Environment (A.C.E)] –Sec 3 Level Camp

The Secondary 3 Leadership Camp under the LLP – ACE aims to help Brooksians develop character, an appreciation for Singapore using the local environments though adventure. At the same time, the camp provides an authentic context and experience for learning. The adventure camp focuses on challenging our students to be outside of their comfort zone through getting them to stay and explore in unfamiliar surroundings and go through a series of activities to explore the different parts of Singapore. A series of reflective activities have been built into this programme to help build their critical thinking skills as well as develop their SEL competencies for leadership development through an appreciation of the outdoors.

Upon Completion of Each Section

The NYAA Award Co-ordinator for the school will verify the results of each student with the different section ICs and process the NYAA booklets for submission to NYAA for processing of the award.

Appendix A

THE NATIONAL YOUTH ACHIEVEMENT AWARD SCHEME

There are three levels of the National Youth Achievement Award Scheme

The National Youth Achievement Award (NYAA) Youth Leadership Development Programme is an exciting self-development programme for young people between the ages of 13 and 30 years old. It is a holistic, balanced and non-competitive programme of voluntary leisure time activities, designed to provide our young people with a platform to develop personal qualities and skills to make a difference to themselves, their communities and the world. The new NYAA programme is designed in line with the Ministry of Education’s Levels of Attainment, focusing on effort and merit of the individual.

To qualify for the Award, participants are required to complete a balanced programme of non-competitive activities grouped under three sections:

1. Service Learning (Touching Lives, Making a Difference)
This component recognizes young people’s development as socially responsible citizens who understand the issues faced by the community and explore how they can contribute actively to find a solution. They can choose to undertake a Values-In-Action project or any community service projects of their interest.

Objective:
To learn how to give useful service to others in the community and to understand the meaning behind voluntary service.
Conditions:
Bronze: At least 20 hours of regular activities spread over a minimum period of 4 months.
Silver: At least 40 hours of regular activities spread over a minimum period of 8 months.
Gold: At least 60 hours of regular activities spread over a minimum period of 12 months.

2. Outdoor Appreciation (To be at Ease with Nature)
Outdoor learning supports the development of confidence building as young people are placed in unfamiliar environments outside of the classroom. It also develops young people’s problem-solving skills, enhances teamwork, strengthens understanding of the natural environment and inculcates in young people a sense of stewardship for our environment.
Objective:
To be at ease with nature and develop stewardship for our environment.
Conditions:
Bronze: At least 15 hours of outdoor activities with a specific learning goal.
Silver: At least 24 hours of outdoor activities with a specific learning goal.
Gold: At least 36 hours of outdoor activities with a specific learning goal.
Types of Expeditions:
Canoeing, Cave, Cycling, Jungle, River, Sailing, Trekking & Mountain
Explorations - Involves less journeying and where a greater proportion of time is spent on approved, first hand investigations of other activities. Explorations must take the form of a journey and involve some hours of traveling time.

3.Healthy Living (Physical & Mental Wellness)
Healthy living aims to develop and maintain a healthy lifestyle that allows us to get through our daily activities. It also hopes to develop a healthy body and mind. Our behavior has a significant impact on our wellness and adapting healthy habits with a balanced diet and exercise while avoiding destructive habits such as tobacco, drugs and alcohol will improve both our physical and emotional well-being.
Objective:
To develop physical and mental wellness through healthy living
Conditions:
Bronze: At least 24 hours of regular activities spread over a period of 6 months.
Silver: At least 32 hours of regular activities spread over a period of 12 months.
Gold: At least 48 hours of regular activities spread over a period of 18 months.
For Gold Level Only
For the NYAA Gold Level, participants are required to undertake the fourth component:

4.Community Leadership Initiative (Creating an Impact, Delivering Change)
This component challenges participants to take on leadership roles in their own community service projects. Participants are to identify a need in our community and through the understanding of cultural differences, find solutions to contribute effectively to bring about a positive outcome. Participants will have the opportunity to showcase their leadership skills as they work in partnership with people from various backgrounds to undertake a community project that will not only broaden their horizons but also trains them into culturally sensitive, service-oriented and holistic leaders. The newly remodelled section hopes to see more student/youth-initiated activities that bring positive and meaningful contributions to the community, be it on the national or international level.
Objective:
To build leadership skills while serving the needs of the community.
Conditions:
The Gold Level participant can embark on the initiative individually or in small groups.

How to participate in the NYAA Programme?
Young people who have reached the age of 13 can enroll in the NYAA Bronze Level through their school/organisation.

For those who have reached the age of 15, they can enroll directly in the NYAA Silver Level.

For those who have reached the age of 16, they can enroll directly in the NYAA Gold Level.

The cut off age for all three level of Awards is 30 years old. They must complete and submit their reports and reflection before the age of 30 years old to be eligible for the Award.

Each level of the National Youth Achievement Award is autonomous and participants do not have to start with the lowest level of the Award. They can choose to enter the level that is suitable for their age.

Implementation of the New Structure
The new structure will take effect from January 2018. Schools/organisations can continue to sign up using the traditional method of filling the registration form until the online system is ready in June 2018. The NYAA is currently computerizing the NYAA programme and will develop an online system and application to streamline the registration process and assist participants in the programme.

The online system will be introduced to the schools/organisations once it is ready. Meanwhile, participants can keep their own log, record and reflection in MS Word format, Excel or any format of their choice while participating in the activities. No record book and diary will be issued during the initial period. The participants registered will be transferred to the online system when it is ready.

Developmental Report
The participant is responsible for keeping their own record towards the completion of the NYAA Programme, with the date, photos and reflections on the activities they have partook during their learning journey. The submission of log, reports and learning reflection can be done through the online portal or mobile application platform. However, they have to ensure that their submission is properly recorded and backed up to ensure that they are not lost during the online submission. Neither the NYAA Council nor the school/organization are responsible for the loss of records submitted by participants.

Authorisation of the National Youth Achievement Award
Once the participants have completed and fulfilled the basic requirements of the three components (for Bronze and Silver Level); or four components (for Gold Level), with reports and records duly submitted to the NYAA Council for verification and endorsement, a certificate will be awarded by the National Youth Achievement Award Council.