INFORMATION PACKAGE

for Participants and Teacher-Facilitators

© 2020, Communications and Engagement Group, Ministry of Education

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Contents

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

03 / Our Schools, Our Stories
04 / Quick guide
05 / Rules and regulations
07 / Copyright GET A HEAD START HERE
08 / Name your files 11 / Photography tips
09 / Submission 12 / Need inspiration?
10 / Judging and Awards 13 / Photo story samples

For more information, visit:

https://www.moe.gov.sg/OSOS

or email:
[email protected]
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our schools,
our stories 2020
“Our Schools, Our Stories” (OSOS) photo contest is back!

From wipe-down routines, to safe distancing and home-based learning, this

year has been a unique one due to our nation’s fight against COVID-19. Yet, it
is in these extraordinary times that we see the school and community spirit
shining even stronger.

Teachers have demonstrated your resourcefulness and resilience. Students

have surprised us with your agility to adapt to new ways of learning and
connecting with your peers. Parents have pitched in, not just in supporting
their own children, but in partnering schools. These are rich and powerful
stories, which we hope to share through your photo submissions.

Flip through the pages of this information package and browse through the
amazing photos submitted by OSOS 2018 and 2019 winners to get inspired.

Submissions can include photos taken from 2 January 2019 till now.
Through your lenses, take us on your school adventures!

The OSOS Photo Contest started in 2018. It aims to showcase school life through the eyes of
those who experience it firsthand — students, teachers, staff.
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quick guide
New to the Our Schools, Our Stories (OSOS) photo contest? We’ve
made it easier for you to participate! Read our 4-step introduction
and start snapping away!

1 2 4
CHECK OUT CONTEST BRAINSTORM AND SUBMIT YOUR
CRITERIA START SHOOTING ENTRY ONLINE
If you are a... Choose one of the contest Ensure that your files are
themes, start planning and named correctly (see page 08)
Pri 5-6 or Sec 1-2 student snap away.
• Take part in the Junior Category Log on to
• Participate as an individual or https://go.gov.sg/
Priceless Moments
form a group of up to 3 osos2020submission
• Prepare a photo story with 4-6
photos Our School Community Submit your entry by
8 August 2020, 11:59 PM
Sec 3-5 or JC 1-2 student United as One
• Take part in the Youth Category
• Participate as an individual or
form a group of up to 3
https://www.moe.gov.sg/OSOS
• Prepare a photo story with 5-7
photos 3

MOE Staff CURATE YOUR

• Take part in the MOE Staff PHOTO STORY
Category
• Participate as an individual Use your selected photos
• Prepare a photo story with and tell us your photo story in
7-10 photos around 50 to 150 words.
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rules & regulations

OVERVIEW
1. Each school may submit as many entries as they wish.

2. Each photo story must comprise a set of photographs from only one of the
following categories.

JUNIOR CATEGORY YOUTH CATEGORY MOE STAFF CATEGORY

P5-6 / Sec 1-2 Sec 3-5 / JC 1-2
4-6 photos per entry 5-7 photos per entry 7-10 photos per entry

3. For the Junior and Youth categories, students must choose to submit their entries
either as an individual or as a team of up to 3. Each student can submit one
entry only.

4. Teacher-facilitator: Each team in the Junior and Youth Category must have a
teacher-facilitator who is from the same school as the students.

5. The teacher-facilitator acts as a point of contact between the organisers and the
team. He should not be doing any substantial work on behalf of the students, but
he is allowed to brainstorm with, advise or guide students on whether they are
heading in the correct direction. The teacher-facilitator can be the same for all the
teams from the same school.

6. The teacher-facilitator will help the team(s) to register and submit their entries
online at: https://go.gov.sg/osos2020submission

7. The closing date for the entire submission is 8 August 2020, 11:59 PM. Late
entries will not be entertained.
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rules & regulations

PHOTO STORY
1. Participants can choose any of the following themes for their photo story.

Priceless Moments Our School Community United as One

2. A photo story should comprise of these components:

Set of photos + 50-150 words to describe your photo story

3. Each set of photos should come from the same theme.

4. Photo resolution and format: The resolution of the photos should be at least
2560 x 1920 pixels. The photo file format must be in JPEG (.jpg).

5. Photos must be original. Minor editing (for brightness & contrast) to the photo
is allowed.

6. Photos should be in colour.

7. Photos must NOT include watermarks, borders or signatures.

8. Photos submitted must be those taken from 2 Jan 2019 onwards.

9. Entries must not have been previously submitted for other competitions or
accepted for broadcast through any public media (e.g. Internet, radio, television).

10. Entries must not be concurrently submitted for other competitions, distributed,
broadcast or otherwise made public, until the results of this competition
are announced.
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copyright
1. Seeking permission from photo subjects: Participants are responsible for taking
all steps necessary to protect the rights of persons depicted, including but
not limited to obtaining their permission. Participants are responsible for the
resolution of any legal issues arising from their works.

2. Photos should be in good taste, and must not contain any image that are
deemed indecent, blasphemous, libellous, offensive, pornographic, politically
insensitive, racially insensitive, or otherwise unlawful or depict any inappropriate
activity. Ministry of Education reserves the rights to reject any entry that is
deemed to be inappropriate.

3. Participants must ensure that there is no plagiarism or violation of copyrighted

work. Permission must be granted from the original creator or copyright owner
if any non-original elements (such as supporting photographs, images, screen
shots etc.) are used.

4. The Ministry of Education shall be entitled to use the materials contained in

the entries, in full or partially, to advertise, publicise, in various media of its
choosing, including, but not limited to, newspapers, magazines, publications,
radio, television, public screenings and any other electronic media including,
but not limited to, the Internet, or for other purposes in a manner it deems fit to
showcase our education system.
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name your files

1. Participants are required to submit their photos of their story online.

2. To ensure that your entry are received successfully, each image file should be
named to this format:

<Category>_<Theme>_<Full School Name>_<Participant 1’s Name>_<Photo Order>

Use these acronyms for the selected theme:

• Priceless Moments = PM
• Our School Community = OSC
• United as One = UO

EXAMPLE

Category: Junior Theme: Priceless Moments

School: XYZ Primary School No. of photos: 5
Name of Participant 1: Angie Tan

Your files should be named as shown below:

Name File Type

Junior_PM_XYZPrimarySchool_AngieTan_1.jpg JPG File
Junior_PM_XYZPrimarySchool_AngieTan_2.jpg JPG File
Junior_PM_XYZPrimarySchool_AngieTan_3.jpg JPG File
Junior_PM_XYZPrimarySchool_AngieTan_4.jpg JPG File
Junior_PM_XYZPrimarySchool_AngieTan_5.jpg JPG File
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submission
1. Participants are required to submit the original high-quality files of all the
images individually online.

2. You will be required to fill in these details at the submission page.

• Title of photo story
• 50-150 words about your photo story
• School name
• Category (Junior/Youth/MOE Staff)
• Theme (PM, OSC, UO)
• Full names of participant(s)
• Name of teacher-faciliator (if applicable)

3. Entries that are incomplete, incorrectly filled in and/or submitted late will
be disqualified.

4. The organisers will send you an email to acknowledge receipt of your

entry. This email does not, however, imply that you have fulfilled all the
requirements or that you have not been disqualified.

5. Submit your entries via this URL: https://go.gov.sg/osos2020submission

Scan to visit site:

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judging & awards

JUDGING CRITERIA

1. The judges’ decision is final.

2. Entries will be judged based on the following criteria:

Technical Quality 50% Storytelling & Creativity 50%

AWARDS

1. Every participant will receive an e-certificate of participation.

2. Awards will be given for each theme and category.

3. The awards and prizes for the following categories are as follow:

JUNIOR CATEGORY YOUTH CATEGORY MOE STAFF CATEGORY

Best Photo Story Award Best Photo Story Award Best Photo Story Award
• $400 Vouchers • $400 Vouchers • $400 Vouchers
• Plaque for each member • Plaque for each member • Plaque

2 Honourable Mentions 2 Honourable Mentions 2 Honourable Mentions

• $200 Vouchers • $200 Vouchers • $200 Vouchers
• Plaque for each member • Plaque for each member • Plaque

4. Ministry of Education reserves the rights to change or replace the prize with
another of equal or greater value should the featured prize become unavailable.
Prizes are not exchangeable for cash.
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photography tips
Want to participate in OSOS 2020 but not sure what makes a good photo? You do
not have to be a pro to take part!

To help you view and capture school life through a different lens, we have curated a
set of useful tips for beginners, as well as more advanced pointers if you are keen to
explore the technical aspects of photography.

Through these tips, we guide you through figuring out how to play with angles, then
progress to learning how to adjust your camera settings to show movement or
freeze action. If terms like Aperture, Depth of Field, and ISO intrigue you, jump into
our Deep Dive section, where we lay out these technicalities.

Try your hand at them and who knows, your next shot may the winning one!

OSOS 2020
Photography Tips
Attachment
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need inspiration?
PHOTO STORY IDEAS

Wondering how to develop the theme for your photo story? Get more ideas from the
OSOS website, from the OSOS 2019 winners. Do note that these examples are just
suggestions and you can still explore your own interpretations for the themes.

Priceless Moments

• Students teaching their friends how to play a musical instrument

• Delivering thank-you notes to frontline workers
• Teachers greeting their students at the school gate in the morning
• Bonding over snack time/recess/lunch

Our School Community

• A teacher who makes a difference in many students’ lives

• Students doing wipe-down routines
• Canteen vendors operating their stalls
• Unsung heroes in the school

United as One

• Teachers and students meeting online for classes

• Teachers who are volunteering their services in the community
• Students sewing masks together
• Celebrating school events together
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photo story samples

The following are some ideas for how your photo stories can unfold. Teacher-faciliatators
or participants may use these samples to understand the components of a photo story.

Priceless Moments Our School Community United as One

Visit the Our Schools, Our Stories website for more!

https://www.moe.gov.sg/OSOS
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photo story samples

Priceless Moments Introduction
Recess is our favourite period of the day! This is the time
Category when we get to eat, play and read with our friends. These
Junior moments are especially precious to us as they help us to
build strong bonds and relationship with our friends.
Title
Our Favourite Recess Activities

Story by
Muhammad Alif Syahmi Bin Muhammad
Shaifulah, Nuraan Bin Mohammad
Salleh & Aqil Roziqy Bin Rohaizad,
Lakeside Primary School
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photo story samples

Priceless Moments Introduction
Every year, the Student Council and AVA Club organise
Category Nanyang Junior College’s very own talent show ‘The NYght’.
Youth Though organising the show is no walk in the park, it is
the performers — who dedicate their time and effort to
Title practise and prepare — that makes it all worth it. Only with
Behind Every Show the utmost efforts of everyone can NYght bring memories
worth cherishing.
Story by
Chong Hui Sin, Lok Wei Guang
& Lim Shu Yau,
Nanyang Junior College
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photo story samples

Our School Community Introduction
Northbrooks Secondary School’s eco garden is a work
Category of art by Mr Poon, the school’s gardener. He has been in
MOE Staff Northbrooks Secondary for many years. His patience, effort
and dedication are reflected in the beauty of the garden —
Title as well as in the colourful recycled art that welcomes
Growth visitors to it.

Story by
Ms Joscelin Chew
Northbrooks Secondary School
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photo story samples

Our School Community Introduction
Teachers are the most unappreciated people in the world.
Category They put in their hearts and souls into teaching us to
Junior be good people. We want to show you the life of such a
teacher, Miss Diana Yin, as she leads, cares and inspires
Title us to become better people, whether it’s in a classroom or
The Teacher Who Makes a Difference listening to us, one-to-one.

Story by
Alison Rana, Huang Jing,
Ramachandran Nivedha
Xinghua Primary School
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photo story samples

United as One Introduction
Shifting assembly to classrooms, moving to staggered
This series of photographs was recess times and stepping up cleaning measures? Farrer
adapted from MOE’s Facebook page, Park Primary School shows how change is easily handled
as an example of a photo story under when you work with each other.
this theme.
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photo story samples

United as One Introduction
Stay home, but stay connected! While home-based learning
This series of photographs was can never replace the school experience, it’s interesting to
adapted from MOE’s Facebook page, see how our schools have been using a range of online tools
as an example of a photo story under and video-conferencing platforms to keep students engaged
this theme. — in and outside the classroom.

Photos belong to Bedok South

Secondary School.