On 27 February 2025, the Singapore Mission School (SMS) in Laos, one of the schools under Methodist Missions Society (MMS), reached another milestone in its 15-year history with the opening of its Kindergarten at new premises.
Since 2023, there had been an exponential growth in enrolment from 65 students to 148 students in January 2025, of which 55 students are in the Kindergarten classes.
Anticipating this growth, SMS searched for an additional premise to house the Kindergarten in 2024. By God’s grace, a premise was available just a few shophouses away from the school, enabling the three Kindergarten classes to move over. Operations began at the new premises in December 2024.
This was made possible with the help of donations from members of Methodist churches in Singapore, which were given towards the rental and renovation work the new premises. In addition, four more classrooms in the existing SMS school building were created to make provision for the new secondary school expansion slated to take place soon.
At the thanksgiving ceremony, which was graced by Guest-of-Honour Dr Eileen Aw, former Chairperson of the School Board of SMS, all 148 students gathered to witness and participate in giving thanks to God.
Principal Jayanthi Ramaiah (Shan) began the ceremony by inviting Dr Aw to address the children and guests. Dr Aw spoke to the children about loving each other and to always remember that God loves them and would always help them. Rev Vincent Lim, MMS’ Regional Director for Laos, then prayed for the children and SMS.
The ceremony ended with a song by the Primary students and the singing of the school song followed by a tour of the new Kindergarten premises. The new premises has two floors, offering three air-conditioned classrooms for the Kindergarten classes, a teacher’s room and dining-cum-playrooms for the children. Located at the back of the building is a water play area and sand pit for outdoor activity time. With the upgraded facilities, it was encouraging to see how happy the children and teachers were.
The next day, SMS held a student leaders installation ceremony. These included class monitors and student leaders to lead in specific areas like library, environment and sports. Almost 30 students were given appointments and encouraged by Principal Shan to take the lead and set an example for their peers. At the end of the investiture, the School Board members were each surprised by handmade cards presented by the Primary 5 students. Staff were also recognised at the Long Service Award ceremony where three staff were given a gift for their 5-year-long service and another, a 10-year Long Service Award.
SMS is now reviewing plans to start Secondary school with one Secondary One class soon. The challenge is to engage and recruit sufficient Secondary school teachers for English, Mathematics and Science. As SMS operates a dual curriculum programme, subjects are offered in Lao and English. However, there are very few teachers who are competent in English in Laos and hence, there is an urgent need for trained or retired teachers who are willing to commit to teaching for one to two years in SMS. Please pray for the provision of favour, resources and expertise to bring the plans for SMS’ Secondary school expansion to fruition.
Woo Li Chun is the MMS Country Coordinating Officer for Laos. / Photos courtesy of Methodist Missions Society
