2021

Find out how Junyuan Primary School marked Total Defence Day 2021 through virtual activities on financial literacy, digital safety, and pledges to keep Singapore strong.

Last updated 18 August 2026

Nurturing the students in the classroom, on stage, and on the field

Total Defence Day (TDD) 2021

Junyuan Primary School commemorates Total Defence Day annually to mark Singapore’s fall to the Japanese in 1942. Total Defence Day serves to remind our students that Singapore is defensible and is worth defending, and we ourselves must defend Singapore.

Our Minister of Defence, Mr Ng Eng Hen, had strongly affirmed the importance of Total Defence in his TDD 2021 message.

“In many years past, we commemorated Total Defence more as a concept and exhortation when the going was good and smooth. There is a silver lining to the terrible COVID year that just ended. It reaffirmed that Total Defence is a living concept, vital and necessary to ensure our collective well-being and central to Singapore's ability to overcome grave challenges. If Total Defence springs into action, as it did against COVID-19, then we can face the future, come what may, with optimism and hope. We_ _can be assured that with Total Defence, not only can Singapore survive each crisis but will emerge stronger and with Singaporeans more united. This is the power of Total Defence.” (https://www.mindef.gov.sg (opens in new tab))

To strengthen our school’s commitment to Total Defence this year, we went ‘virtual’ to commemorate this NE event. Through a digitalised skit on Financial Literacy during Mass Assembly on 18 February, P3 to P6 students got to develop their Economical Defence by learning the importance of spending wisely and saving for a rainy day, while P1 and P2 students made their own coin banks to inculcate the habit of saving.

Students wearing masks sit at desks in a classroom watching a green nature video projected on a screen.

Students watching a digitalised skit on Financial Literacy

A coin bank paper craft template with colorful hand-drawn designs and a blue pencil sharpener on an orange desk.

Students designed their own coin banks

Several hand-decorated paper cube boxes with colorful drawings sit on a blue table near wall outlets.

Students' creative coin banks

They also participated in cyber-wellness case studies to learn about the importance of keeping one’s personal information safe and not fall prey to scams and fake news. This is to emphasis that Digital Defence, the newest pillar of Total Defence, permeates every part of daily day and we should always stay vigilant to keep oneself safe online.

Our JYPS students also demonstrated how they could play a part in Psychological Defence by making TDD Commitment Pledges to keep our nation safe and secure during their CCE lessons. They also demonstrated how they could show acts of graciousness to one another through their Kindness Mission Cards. Selected pledges are displayed on the CCE board in JYPS Village as well as in class.

A bulletin board displays colorful student drawings and writings labeled Primary 1, Primary 2, and Primary 3.

Lower Primary TDD Commitment Pledge

A bulletin board displaying student artwork and pledge cards grouped under Primary 4, Primary 5, and Primary 6 headings.

Upper Primary TDD Commitment Pledge

Though there were no physical fringe activities for this year, students participated virtually on TDD Fringe activities in SLS which aimed to strengthen their understanding towards Singapore’s Military and Civil Defences. Students were also reminded of the importance of ‘Being Prepared for Any Emergency” through a discussion session through the SG Alert package.

Through these activities and our daily routines of showing social consideration such as wiping-down and social-distancing, and social inclusivity such as showing kindness and understanding to one another, we hope to inculcate in our students the importance of practising Total Defence every day of our lives. Because only Together, We Can Keep Singapore Strong.