THE HISTORY OF TADIKA YAKIN DIRI

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Tadika Soon Hup Yakin Diri, Sibu is another community contribution of YMCA, Sibu. It was established in 2003 with the aim of providing early education opportunity to the children residing in the new developing residential areas of Sibu. Strategically located in Taman Soon Hup, Jalan Permai (Off Oya Road) the kindergarten is accessible to the rural community and suburbs along Oya Road.

The kindergarten, first started in January, 2003, with no building of its own, had an intake of about 80 pupils. Thanks to the Principal and school Board of Thian Chin Primary School, these pupils were able to be temporarily accommodated at first in their school. Three classrooms on the ground floor of the school had been utilized as our kindergarten premises.

However, in January 2004, our kindergarten was able to move to our own building due to the generosity and efficient work of Soon Hup Construction Company Sdn. Bhd. Situated in a vast one-acre piece of land, next to Thian Chin Primary School, the kindergarten building is composed of 3 stories comprising 15 classrooms. The 5-room area on the second floor is to be used as a hall and a computer room. The kindergarten building was built with the aim to provide a conducive learning environment with the necessary amenities and facilities.

Tadika Soon Hup Yakin Diri provides early basic education to pre-school children ranging from 3 years old to 6 years old. Basically, the medium of instruction used here is Chinese but great emphasis has been put on English and Bahasa Melayu too. We hope that our pupils will be equipped with the important skills of learning to enable them to cope with the long learning process of education in their later years.

Tadika Yakin Diri emphasizes not only academic education but also extra-curricular activities. This is because we have the desire to develop our students to be all-rounded individuals. Our vision is “Today’s learner Tomorrow’s leader. The students are encouraged to participate in various types of competitions organized by government or non-government bodies. Obviously, the students have been given ample training so that they have the confidence and thus willing to take up the challenge to compete with their peers. Besides this, the kindergarten has organized events such as tele-match, talentine contests, colouring, singing etc. in order to exploit the potential of students and instill creativity. In fact, the students of Tadika Yakin Diri have brought glory to their kindergarten by winning back some prizes and trophies in competitions such as colouring, singing, writing, story-telling and mini-sports contests. All these remarkable achievements are due to the co-operation between the parents and kindergarten staff.

Looking at the physical aspect of the kindergarten, there are only a few changes. The compound of the kindergarten has now been properly fenced up for security purpose. The ground floor of the building is utilized for nursery purposes. However, the board of directors has plans to improve the school facilities gradually in years to come. They have built a children’s playground and improved the kindergarten’s environment. Once all this is accomplished in stages, it will certainly enhance the beauty of our kindergarten. With the assistance of our caring and dedicated directors, Tadika Soon Hup Yakin Diri will certainly progress for the betterment of its students.

One interesting feature of our kindergarten is that it is really indeed a multi-racial kindergarten like our country. With a population of 140 pupils this year, more than fifty percent of them are bumiputeras. These bumiputera children are willing to take up the challenge to master a foreign language i.e. Chinese with encouragement of the Headmistress and a supportive team of responsible and caring teachers. We believe that our kindergarten children will have the confidence to face the tough and challenging process of learning without fear. They will achieve what is depicted by the meaning of the school’s name “Be self-confident.” Eventually, they can materialize the school’s vision, “Today’s learner Tomorrow’s leader”