Teacher, grade our herb soap

It's more than just textbooks for these students who experiment with soap & oils in lab work
SCHOOL is not just about textbooks and exams for these 'green ambassadors' from Kranji Secondary School.
Karen Wong, The New Paper 5 Jul 08;

SCHOOL is not just about textbooks and exams for these 'green ambassadors' from Kranji Secondary School.

Not only do Deborah Koh, 15, Quraisya Mirza, 15, and Lim Hwai Yi, 14, know their herbs, they also know how to extract their essence to make soaps.

They are part of a rotating group of students who, together with teachers, conduct such laboratory experiments after school.

And the experiment is one of 80 innovative projects to be showcased at the Education Ministry's Excel Festival, which the public can visit tomorrow.

There will also be 60 classroom experience sessions and talks for parents on the latest developments in education.

Deborah, Quraisya and Hwai Yi, who are Secondary 3 biology students, started testing herbs such as basil, as well as wild pepper and the ruta plant this year.

They discovered that the ruta plant's leaves emit a strong odour and has anti-bacterial properties.

They then went on to infuse its extract into soap that they made themselves.

HANDS-ON WORK

Speaking to The New Paper at their school's laboratory, Quraisya said that although it has already been scientifically proven that the ruta plant contains anti-bacterial properties, they undertook the experiment to find that out for themselves.

'This is more hands-on,' she said.

The original idea came from her teachers - one of whom is biology teacher Normala Alias.

Madam Normala, 42, recalled that it all started with the 100,000 native plant project, a community gardening initiative by South West Community Development Council in 2006, in which students and teachers planted local fruit trees and herbs around the school.

One teacher later decided to do some research on herbs and their properties. At the same time, the school was conducting a soap-making course for the students.

Madam Normala said: 'So, I thought, why not infuse the soap with the herbs?'

In their own time, teachers and students experimented with soaps with different mixes of ingredients and oils before they found the right concoction.

Last year, the students who took part in the after-school experiments made the soaps with help from their teachers and sold them.

Packaged with a booklet, each soap sold for $5 at the Singapore Garden Festival last year, raising over $1,000 for the school's pupil welfare fund to help needy students.

For Deborah, Quraisya and Hwai Yi, the soap they made this year will not be for sale, but will be on display at the Excel Festival.

WHAT: MOE Excel Fest

WHEN: Today, 9am to 7pm, only for Education Ministry (MOE) staff members Tomorrow, 9am to 8pm, for parents and the public

WHERE: Suntec International Convention and Exhibition Centre, Hall 401, 4th level