Swimsafer Gold Award - preparation.

We signed up for the Swimsafer Gold Award and the examination date is this Saturday. Usually 3 days before the test date, the institution and coach will have 3 sessions of an hour each with the participants.
In these 3 sessions, the coach will go through with the children the test criteria and let them practise each criteria.
I googled and for those of you who are keen to sign up as well, the details are as follow:

Advanced Personal Water Survival and Swimming Skills Proficiency

Your child will be required to perform strokes with greater ease, efficiency, power and smoothness over 400 metres. Rescue skills and water safety knowledge will focus on lifesaving readiness. Standing dive and advanced personal water survival skills will continue to be taught.

Entries & Exits
  • Demonstrate a standing dive

Sculling & Body Orientation

  • Keep face above the water surface for 60 seconds using legs only

Underwater skills

  • Search for and recover an object in 1.8m of water depth.
  • Demonstrate equalizing of ear/nose

Movement/Swimming/Strokes

Swim 400m continuously
  • 100m Breaststroke
  • 100m Front crawl
  • 100m Backstroke
  • 100 Survival backstroke or Sidestroke
  • Efficient stroke techniques must be used

Survival & Activity skills

Dressed in swimwear, long pants, long sleeved shirt, shoes and socks, perform the following sequence:
  • Enter deep water using an appropriate entry method swim 5 meters underwater to simulate an escape from a sinking boat surrounded by oil.
  • Swim a further 45 meters as if escaping from a dangerous situation.
  • Remove shoes and swim slowly for further 50 meters using any preferred swim stroke occasionally signaling for help.
  • Remove clothing in deep water. Fit PFD correctly while treading water, swim 100 meters using appropriate strokes
  • Demonstrate HELP technique and climb out of the water whilst wearing the PFD.

Rescue skills

  • Using a suitable buoyant aid, tow (non-contact) rescue of a person 10m from safety.

Knowledge

  • Principles when performing a rescue

Information from Singapore Swimming Academy.


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16 comments:

Anonymous said...

hey mummy, your girl is really doing great. just curious, what is your plan after she completed this swimsafer gold? will you let her continue her swimming lessons?

Mummy N said...

:) thank you. She has been with the School for 4 years. Once she clears her Gold, we will stop her swim class at least till next year. My girl has been falling ill pretty often this year so am thinking of letting her tale a break.

Next year, when she is in the morning session, we will have more time to play around and may be sign up for e swim class again.

Is your child also swimming?

Anonymous said...

thanks for the reply mummy. yes my girl is swimming and in fact she had started learning since she was 2.5 yo. she is 1 year younger than Cheryl,but so far she only took stage 1 test.

her coach told me can send her for bronze and bypass stage 2 and 3. but actually his intention at first is not really to send them for testing. which i still don't understand why. i am pushing him to get my girl tested.

Mummy N said...

Hmm... Maybe you can ask the coach why he prefers your girl not to take the test? What about his other students? Does he recommend that they do not take it too?

My girl will most probably continue with her lessons. Upon completion of stage 9, she will also receive her Life Saver Awards 1,2 and 3. She is 2 stages away from completion.

Anonymous said...

he did not send anyone for testing. but thanks for the advice. i had asked him to explain to me his thoughts during next lesson.

Cheryl is really doing a great job. you must be very proud of her. sorry hope you don't mind i seem to have a lot of questions as my girl is going thru a quite similar path as her.

May I know if she attends group piano lesson or individual? i am impressed that she can play such a long song during piano concert. my girl is finishing book 3 at yamaha and her concert song is super short one.

also don't mind to share, is she reading the Charlie's choc factory book? does she like it? my girl can read it but she seems had no interest about the story. i got to ask her to read to me a chapter every night. but she won't take the initiative to do that herself.

i guess you must had spent a lot of effort bringing up your girl. she is doing so good in all aspects. i salute you.

Mummy N said...

I see. I find it strange that he doesn't send his students for tests. Could it be that he doesn't know how to go about making arrangements for someone to administer
the tests?

Thank you for your compliements. My hub and I are very proud of her but she has her moments. She can be very stubborn at times and needs constant reminders to get
things done. Don't worry about your questions. If I can help you with the answers, I will definitely do so. :) so I gather you have 1 child too?

C attends individual music class. She has been with this teacher for about 4 years if I can recall correctly. Her teacher does not encourage putting C through the rigger of
examinations so we are listening to her for now. She said once there is exam, the whole experience of piano playing becomes very stressful and "boring" because the child needs to
perfect the 2 pieces and they will very likely be practising the 2 exam pieces day in and out. I guess when my girl is older and more ready then we will consider the exams but for now
will just let her enjoy the process.

Yes, C reads Charlie and the Choc Factory. She likes it and I will "test" her (without her knowing of course) by asking her about the chapter she read. Why don't you show your girl the movie?
Go through the book with her first in chapters and then maybe find pics and short clips on YouTube to entice her and finally, show the entire movie. It's quite fun to see the book on screen
cuz of the special effects.

I try my best. :) While I still can, I will guide her and coach her. Are you a working mum too? It is quite difficult to manage time when we have to juggle work and home affairs. No, lah.. (blushing)
I am sure you are doing a great job yourself. :)

Anonymous said...

really thanks for spending your time to reply me.:)

the swimming coach had given the stage 1 test himself, so i guess i should just wait for his reply patiently.

in fact the reason why i am so interest in C is becuz i find my girl is quite similiar in character with her. my girl is the super stubborn type.she had a very strong character, well, good and bad. she is independant and likes to 'lead' others. but hard to handle her as no matter i treat her softly and strictly,there won't be any effect unless she can agree with me.

I just gave birth to my second girl in Jun, so 2 girls for me.

think i will transfer my girl to individual class after she completed the current stage. my hubby also commented group session is wasting time. the pace for individual session will be faster if she practises. that is the reason why we transferred her from group to individual session for swimming after learning for 3 years. cuz she complained her classmates are too playful in the pool, which she doesn't like to be disturbed.

thanks for the advice about the movie. personally i find the book very interesting, that is why i wanted my girl to finish reading it. but seems at this age she still prefers picture books more. that is why i felt so impressed with C, she just can enjoy doing everything herself. my girl will only chooses drawing if given a choice.

I just wonder will C ask you to bring her out every time? we used to enjoy family day outside for the past 5 years with my no.1, but now with a baby, i am not able to go outdoor every time. then the headache came, cuz my no.1 will keep telling me it is so boring staying at home. she wants to go out. she can even requested to go to childcare on weekends. i felt she is too spoiled.

Mummy N said...

No problem. Sorry, I was in class just now so can only reply you now.

Looking at how you describe your girl, our children are indeed very similar. I guess for our girls, because they have spent long periods of time

without a sibling so they are used to having everything and everyone's attention. Individual and group lessons have their own pros and cons. In a way, should still let the child go for group because in reality, it is impossible to be the only one in a class (school setting) and they will have to learn to manage with all the noise around.

during the holidays, my girl will want me to take her out. She doesn't enjoy being at home all the time and will find things to do; play badminton, or go to the
playground, or go out for lunch or dinner. I guess, it is important that your girl doesn't feel left out now that she has a sibling. Is there anyone at home who can take over the baby for a certain period of time each day? Devote that time to your girl so that she knows you are there for her still. Do you talk to your girl? I mean, like have conversations with her on a regular basis? I find that such conversations are very enriching and insightful and C is more receptive when she sees the rationale.

Children these days, are not like our generation where we just listen and obey. Kids nowadays listen to reason and I guess in a way, this is also good because with rationale, your behaviour is also consistent with her. This will make her know your standards. Or you can let her help out with the baby. THis way, she knows she is involved and is part of her sister's life.

Anonymous said...

really appreciated your time to reply. you really made me felt better.

i spent all my time after work with my no.1. even when i am taking care of no.2, i will always make sure no.1 is around so i can do spelling or practise piano with her while feeding the baby. so she is never being left out. and she loves her mei mei so always helped me taking care of baby. i can leave 2 of them in the room for 5 mins every night to take my quick shower. she will be there singing or dancing to mei mei, sometimes even bottle feed her on her cot.

and weekends i will still bring no.1 out myself if my hubby is busy, then only bring both of them together if my hubby have time. so in fact i had given no.1 a lot of attention since i know at this stage my mil still can handle no.2 and no.2 won't need that much of my attention now.

i always had conversation with my no.1, on the dining table, on the way to school, in the kitchen when she helped me to cook, anytime anywhere. that is why indeed she is too talkative that her teacher in childcare sometimes got to punish her. but i am happy that she is willing to share all her feelings with me. at least i know if she is doing well.

but seems i don't have the good luck to find right class for her. she was taking ballet class since 2.5yo, but end up i withdrew her, a bit affected by C's progress. cuz i felt that Ms blue is very organized and structured than my girl's teacher, high turnover rate in her school and admin staff not clear about exam rules.

then for swimming also, had been learning for the past 3 years but so far only get a stage 1 cert. i meant i am fine if she failed in a test, but just felt puzzled that she doesn't even have a chance to show her ability. anyway, may i know which swimming school is C in? now i only realized my girl's coach is a private one, he used to teach in school but started on his own few years back. i just want to have a backup plan in case he really doesn't want to send her for test. thanks.

Mummy N said...

Good morning :)

You are doing a very good job and I am sure your girl appreciates all that you are doing for her.

As for enrichment classes, it is really a trial and error process. Some times, you need to let your girl go through the class for a certain period of time before you know if the class is effective and suitable for your girl. Also, you need to know if your objectives for letting your girl take up the enrichment class. Does your girl's ballet teacher propose letting the children under her take exams? Usually the teachers will and then the teachers will ask who wants to take the exam or suggest who is ready for exams and sign them up. Then the extra coaching dates will be scheduled on top of the weekly lessons.

For the swimming class, I think some form of examination is good. If not for the skills, at least for the moral booster for the child. Small achievements do go a long way and keep them motivated. Even if the performance is not good, going on with the lessons also teach them to be resilient and not give up.
C goes to Speediswim which is at the Singapore Sports School. If you are living near or don't mind the traveling there then perhaps you can give this swim sch a try. :)

Anonymous said...

hi morning, thanks for the advice, i will definitely check out the swimming school. i just talked to my colleauge who faced the same prob as me, one thing is both our kids are under private coach, so i guess follow a school coach will be better.

for ballet, in fact my girl was promoted to grade 1 last year apr, and only then i was informed that she is under age. so even she took grade 1, she got to wait for another 2 years before she can take the exam. then we were stuck in between, i can choose to let her stay 1 more year for primary, but that means she will get bored since she had gone thru that stage already, or let her promted to grade 1 but that means when all her classmates go for exam, she cannot join them, i had consulted few teachers but no one can give me a proper advice. so after that i decided to drop since i can't reach Ms Blue and in fact my intention of sending my girl for ballet is just to get her socialize with other kids cuz she was the only child that time. as i found she had no problem communicate with others, i decided to call it off.

the only good thing about my girl is she really enjoy every enrichment class we sent her for.she loves teachers and peers so as long as we decided something for her, she will never say no. though she is very particular on other stuffs, once comes to study, she will follow instruction happily.

i told her about our conversation this morning, she asked where did i meet you, i told her we chat online, so she said oic, means you sent your friend a msg? haha, i had been showing C's videos to her for quite some time liao. though we are not really 'friend', C had been her role model for long time. and i had always been learning from you. i guess not only our kids had similiar character and interest, we also had similiar mindset of upbringing them. it is really nice talking to you.

Mummy N said...

Well, I can't say that it is better being in a school compared to having a private coach. There are also good and responsible private coaches around.

As for ballet, your girl is 6 years old now? Are you living in the east area? If you are, perhaps you can drop by the Community Centre where C attends. Ms Blue is having an Open HOuse this Monday to brief parents about the exams for next year and to give us an update on routines the girls are learning. You can email me at psi3cho@gmail.com

You can check with Ms Blue directly about your queries. Once extra coaching starts for the prep for next yr's exam, Ms Blue is not likely to accept new students.

I feel that it is alright to let your girl continue with her ballet because you can see it as her perfecting her dance and technique.

So cute! Thank you so much. We can learn from each other. :)

Anonymous said...

thanks for the info. Yes, i trusted the her swimming coach is an expert and he would know how should my girl progess, so i just need to be more patient, at least i know his aim is to get the kids swim correctly rather than getting a gold but cannot perform well.

as for ballet, i think i won't let her continue cuz she is going to P1 next year. she was born in Dec'06. so the new rule for grading is taking by birth month not year, that is why she is not able to enroll for grade 1 exam next year Apr. with no.2 i don't have enough time to send her for so many enrichments. plus she is happy to be engaged with taking care of her mei mei. that's why i don't really need to make arrangement for her just to keep her busy.

I will send her for TKD next year so i don't want her to be too tied up with all the activities. though she did not complain, i can tell she is getting more tired after full day childcare in K2.

Mummy N said...

I see. I understand that with a younger child, your time will definitely be tighter. Let's wait and see what the coach says first before making plans then.

TKD as in Taekwondo? Wow!! :)

True, true.. It is important to "listen" to the child too and not tire her out. Besides, with her going to Pri 1, it's a whole new experience again.

Anonymous said...

hi mummy, just want to share with you, thanks for all your advice, i had a good talk with the coach yesterday. he will send my girl for test, his concern before is that a lot of parents will stop the kids from learning swimming after getting gold, so the kids might not be able to swim correctly after stopping a while. which i told him we will definitely let my girl continue cuz i know even if she can get a gold, doesn't mean she can swim perfectly. plus we don't really have time to swim with her so once a week lesson is just nice for her to exercise. that is also why we want to send her for Taekwondo, let her have some routine exercise to maintain a healthy life.
btw, i added you on fb. my user name is cao lei. wish you don't mind to be a friend.:)

Mummy N said...

Hey :)
Those are comforting words from the coach. At least you know that he means well for his charges. :) Glad you have that cleared up.

Yes, I have added you too. :)

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