Inspiring Teachers Awards: My school basketball team wouldn't have won medals without Ms Joanna

Whether in terms of academics or co-curricular activities (CCA), Jourdan found them all very new and unfamiliar as a Secondary One student at Junyuan Secondary School.

Fortunately, she has Ms Joanna Koh to encourage and motivate her.

Here is Jourdan's entry for the Samsung-Stomp Inspiring Teachers Awards:

"I am a Secondary One student of Junyuan Secondary School. As this is my first year in Secondary School, things are very different from my primary school. As such, It took a while for me to get used to the new environment.

"The increase in number of subjects was difficult. In primary school there were only four subjects, but now I have to manage seven subjects. This has made it especially stressful for me. I found it hard to concentrate and focus on so many subjects at the same time.

"Even though my subject teachers tried their best to help me, I didn't do well for my first-term exams.

"My only consolation is my CCA: Basketball. It has given me an outlet to distress. The teacher-in-charge is Ms Joanna.

"Even though I didn't take Basketball as a CCA in primary school, I really enjoy playing in the school team. As I am new to Basketball, Ms Joanna has been very helpful and encouraging.

"So far, we have taken part in a few competitions, and even when we lose, she does not get upset with us. On the contrary, she encourages us by telling us not to give up and to keep working hard to achieve better results.

"Her words have given my teammates and I a morale boost. We were over the moon when we won 4th place in a competition, and all the players were awarded a medal. Even though, we did not get into the top three places, we were still very happy with what we achieved.

"This would not have been possible without Ms Joanna's constant help and encouragement.

"Therefore, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Ms Joanna and to let her know that my teammates and I will continue to try our best to make her proud with better results in future competitions."

The contest is now closed and winners will be contacted shortly.

Read all entries for the contest here.