Opera Estate Primary School was founded in 1985 with the amalgamation of Opera Estate Boys' Primary School and Opera Estate Girls' Primary School. It is a government co-educational school located in a private housing estate. The school was at a holding site along New Upper Changi Road for two and a half years before moving back to its former site at Fidelio Street in June 2003 after the completion of PRIME. The school held its 20th Anniversary cum Re-Opening Ceremony on 11 March 2005. Currently it operates as a single session school.
The school has been winning the Sustained Achievement Award (Physical Fitness) since 1999. This can be attributed to the whole school approach to promote physical fitness and the importance of healthy lifestyle.Underweight and overweight pupils are placed on the Trim and Fit (TAF) programme and monitored through eating habits in school, and type and amount of physical activities such as outdoor hikes or walks.
The school engages parents actively in delivering its school goals. It has officially set up the Opera Parents' Club (OPC) to be the link between the school and parents. The OPC comprising parent volunteers supports the school in different activities. These include conducting English reading programme, accompanying pupils on excursions and organising the International Friendship Day with the teachers. In appreciation of the effort of the OPC, the school has allocated a room for parent volunteers to gather and conduct meetings and gives special passes for these volunteers who comes to the school on a daily basis. Besides conducting programmes for pupils, some parent volunteers conduct workshops for teachers. To promote greater collaboration between the school and the home, the school conducts workshops on English, Mathematics, Science and Mother Tongue Languages for parents to enable them to help their children in their studies.
The school has created an environment that is conducive for promoting National Education (NE) and has received the NE Development Award in 2005, recognising its effort to expose pupils to the history and traditions of Singapore.
Mr Idris Aziz Mattar, Opera Estate Primary School Principal
Mr Idris Aziz Mattar has set a lofty goal for himself and his staff. "I told the teachers that before I leave the school, I want to make sure that Opera Estate is a respectable school much sought after by parents," he says.
Sustained by a burning passion for the vocation, he seeks to inspire the same fiery spirit in his own staff. He is very involved in the goings-on of the school, meeting with his heads of department every week. He strives to develop the people he works with. "I want to be satisfied that I’ve given all the teachers I’ve come across an equal chance to develop their talents, capacities and capabilities," he says.
Mr Idris is also passionate about developing his pupils. He places a heavy emphasis on meeting the pastoral needs of his pupils and has a special heart of love for those who lack the means to develop their talents. "I want to make sure that when I retire, I know for sure I’ve done my bit for the children; to make sure that under my charge, they get the best possible."
