“Lives are in the making here, Hearts are in the waking here.”

The annual Founder’s Day commemorates the many boys of wisdom and stature that St Andrew’s Secondary School has nurtured. The 149^th Founder’s Day was a grandiose event with many distinguished guests such as Mr Koh Boon Hwee, Chairman of the Nanyang Technological University Board of Trustees gracing the occasion.

The Founder’s Day was a celebrated school event to recognize students who have performed well academically and also those who have excelled in their respective CCA in sports, uniform groups and society clubs. Dressed smartly, our saints went up the stage in boys of wisdom and stature as they received their awards. It was a triumph moment for many of them who have laboured and reap what they have sown on this special day.

The celebration began with the Guest of Honour, Mr Koh Boon Hwee inspecting the GOH contingent. Our boys in their uniform perfected their drills and gave the Guest of Honour a rousing welcome with our award winning band performing in the background.

Mr Koh Boon Hwee in the midst of inspecting the combined uniform group contingent.

The invited guests then proceeded to the school hall for the Founder’s Day service. Reverend Michael Tay led the school in an opening prayer, followed by a recital of excerpts from the New and Old Testament by our school’s captain, Russ Hoe. We were honoured to have the very Reverend Ong to lead the school in another special prayer.

Mrs Lucy Toh delivering the first speech.

Mr. Phoon a strong vocalist led the school in the traditional singing of the school song with much gusto. Mrs. Toh, St Andew’s Secondary

School principal then delivered a rousing and inspiring speech which won the hearts of many saints.

Mr. Koh Boon Hwee delivered a heart warming speech affirming the quality education in St Andrew’s secondary school. He strike a chord with many saints in sharing the unique and quality education in St Andrew’s Secondary School. The strong foundation laid in the moral values and characters of saints have been a testament to the quality education St Andrew’s School has provided. He encouraged the saints from the Junior School to continue their education journey in one family unbroken. He truly epitomizes the slogan of ‘Once a Saint, Always a Saint.’

Mr Koh Boon Hwee delivering the guest of honor's opening speech. ShintaroTay/VillageOnline

After the service, the guests then proceeded to the Centre of Excellence where many of the Saints’ showcased their excellent photographic skills in the Hearts of the School Photograph exhibition.

“I must say, it is good to be home” Mrs. Charles, ex-principal of SASS said as she looked around her with a sense of nostalgia. “If I were to be remembered, I would want to be remembered by how I understood how the boys thought,” she said as she expressed her opinion on her deep impression left on the Saints’ minds about her.

Mr Koh commented in an interview with our student Journalist, Yu Sheng, “I believe that there is no difference, modern or not… Students must always be curious, have the urge to continuously learn and be able to differentiate right from wrong,” He then left the Saints a ‘goal’ to achieve while talking about what constitutes a holistic schooling experience,” Students must enjoy their school, do their best in whatever they do, take part in their CCAs and most of all, value all their relationships formed within the school.”

The 149^th Founder’s Day has touched the hearts of many saints, both past and present. We are reminded today of the privilege and the blessings to be a member of the Saints family. Today we join as one family unbroken, one heart and one voice uplifting to glorify thy name.

Up and On

The Founder’s Day was a celebrated school event to recognize students who have performed well  academically and also those who have excelled in their respective CCA in sports, uniform groups  and society clubs. Dressed smartly, our saints went up the stage in boys of wisdom and stature as  they received their awards. It was a triumph moment for many of them who have laboured and reap  what they have sown on this special day.

The celebration began with the Guest of Honour, Mr Koh Boon Hwee inspecting the GOH contingent.  Our boys in their uniform perfected their drills and gave the Guest of Honour a rousing welcome with our award winning band performing in the background.

The invited guests then proceeded to the school hall for the Founder’s Day service. Reverend Michael Tay led the school in an opening prayer, followed by a recital of excerpts from the New and Old Testament by our school’s captain, Russ Hoe. We were honoured to have the very Reverend Ong to lead the school in another special prayer.

Mr. Phoon a strong vocalist led the school in the traditional singing of the school song with much gusto. Mrs. Toh, St Andew’s Secondary School principal then delivered a rousing and inspiring speech which won the hearts of many saints.

Mr. Koh Boon Hwee delivered a heart warming speech affirming the quality education in St Andrew’s secondary school. He strike a chord with many saints in sharing the unique and quality education in St Andrew’s Secondary School. The strong foundation laid in the moral values and characters of saints have been a testament to the quality education St Andrew’s School has provided. He encouraged the saints from the Junior School to continue their education journey in one family unbroken. He truly epitomizes the slogan of ‘Once a Saint, Always a Saint.’

After the service, the guests then proceeded to the Centre of Excellence where many of the Saints’ showcased their excellent photographic skills in the Hearts of the School Photograph exhibition.

“I must say, it is good to be home” Mrs. Charles, ex-principal of SASS said as she looked around her with a sense of nostalgia. “If I were to be remembered, I would want to be remembered by how I understood how the boys thought,” she said as she expressed her opinion on her deep impression left on the Saints’ minds about her.

Mr Koh commented in an interview with our student Journalist, Yu Sheng, “I believe that there is no difference, modern or not… Students must always be curious, have the urge to continuously learn and be able to differentiate right from wrong,” He then left the Saints a ‘goal’ to achieve while talking about what constitutes a holistic schooling experience,” Students must enjoy their school, do their best in whatever they do, take part in their CCAs and most of all, value all their relationships formed within the school.”

The 149^th Founder’s Day has touched the hearts of many saints, both past and present. We are reminded today of the privilege and the blessings to be a member of the Saints family. Today we join as one family unbroken, one heart and one voice uplifting to glorify thy name.

Up and On

The Saints Alumni Band (SAB) has always been an important pillar of the St. Andrew’s School Military Band (SASMB). Through the years, the faith and support of the alumni has grown immensely; their motivation and their guidance have been a key factor to the band’s success these past years.  They have been instrumental to the nurturing each of the band members and providing the scaffold for them to scale their individual peaks of excellence.

On 20 August 2011, the SAB went the extra mile and demonstrated the strong band family ties by organising a High-tea at Joan Bowen. The different generations which turned up, was a testament to how music keeps Saints together.  Mr Ho Koon Leong, a member of the St. Andrew’s Alumni, who was present at the tea, commented ‘The alumni members have always played an important role in the band. In the past, I fondly remember the band ‘shed’ where they used to practice. Even in those days, I could always clearly hear the band playing their music.’

This unique tripartite relationship between the current members, the alumni and the management has turned SASMB into one of the most interdependent CCAs in the school. All three, strive to bring out the spirit of the Saints through making the most beautiful sounds anyone would hear.

To the alumni members, the band is not just a place to make music, it is a place where they can call their home. It is a place where they can bond and create unyielding friendships with the young members.

Current members look forward to seeing their loyal and supportive seniors coming to help them with their music after work or school, affirming the bonds of music.The evening ended on a high note, with alumni members reminiscing about days past as they visited the “new” band room.

Indeed, as Principal Mrs Lucy Toh, commented, “The relationship between the alumni and the members symbolizes a brotherhood, (which is) what we are all about. We are a family.”

“Because we think about future generations, they will never forget us. ”

- Henrik Tikkanen.

Statistics have shown after another century, all oil and fuel would be completely consumed by mankind. This is due to our great demand for oil. If we continue to abundantly rely on oil, the future we leave for our children  would be filled with much despair and disappointment. Hence, one of our sources of hope is renewable energy, such as solar energy.

St. Andrew’s Secondary School had sent a team to participate in the National Solar Car Race organised by Singapore Polytechnic. The history of the competition goes back to 2002 when it first started in United States. Our school have been participating in this competition for the past 4 years. We are definitely proud to have won the championship champion this year!

The race was a tough fight between strong teams from other school who were are equally good. But with strong teamwork, we emerged champion.

‘ We did well as we emerged first runner up despite the fact that we were also working around a low budget so I think our performance was good.’ - Our mentor, Mr Jason Ang commented.

After 4 years of participating in this competition, A new traditional is created. We will certainly be participating in this competition in years to come. Improving ourselves and achieving higher goals.

Ever upward to the fight!

Ever onward to the light!

Ever true to God and right!

Up and on!

Story Contributed By Duan Jia Fei, 3SA

“We chose this theme because the school is the main stage on which the many dramas in the lives of young people are enacted,” said Ms Chua Xin Yuan, Head of Craft & Technology at SASS. “We want to showcase how photography makes youths look deeper at things around them, as well as inside them.”

Students from Primary schools to Junior Colleges in Singapore participated in this competition. Attractive prizes consisting of cameras, accessories and vouchers were generously sponsored by Yolo, Cathay Photo, Photographic Society of Singapore and Popular E-Learning Holdings Pte Ltd.

Out of the 1310 photographs submitted, only 30 were shortlisted. It was a day of jubilation for the prize-winners. The Guest of Honour, Mr. Wong Siew Hoong, Director of Schools for Ministry of Education, gave a rousing speech to encourage the participants to continue with their good work and to view art from various perspectives. Madam Tan Yen Fong, South Zone 5 Cluster Superintendent, also graced the occasion.

The top prize winners for the Category A, B, C are: Muhd Duzlfiqar B MdRasid from Edgefield Primary School; Lim Jia Jin from SASS; and Zhao Wan Ting from Raffles Institution respectively.

Several participants were interviewed and one of them was a student from St Andrew’s Junior College (SAJC), Tan Ze Xun, who won the Special Mention Award. He described his picture of the SAJC band as a part of his life rather than just a photo itself: “My photograph is a snapshot of my brother’s growing years, the formative days he spent pursuing his passion.” He hopes that his photo would portray “the Saints’ spirit to musical excellence”. He feels greatly honored to be able to showcase his photo to members of the public at the National Geographic Store.

Another prize-winner was Ernest Ng, 11, from Edgefield Primary who won the Special Mention Award. His photograph related his account of students learning chemistry under their teacher’s guidance. He hoped that his teacher would be known for his efforts in teaching the students. His Father, Mr. Ng, felt proud of his son’s achievement. “I go all out to support Ernest in whatever he does, especially photography,” said Mr. Ng.

“Photography needs an eye for perspective, an eye for the unusual as well as a mind that is willing to go out of the box,” said Mrs Lucy Toh, Principal of SASS, when asked for the purpose of organising this competition. “These are, significantly, the same skills students need to develop for success in academic work, in project planning and in leadership,” she added.

The 30 photos will be on display at the National Geographic Store from 4^th to 17^th August. Members of the public can view the exhibition for free, from 10am to 10pm daily.

Written by: Eugene Lim Jia Jin, Jerome Liang and Lokendra
Photographs: Sng Meng Seng, Lucas Tan, Shintaro Tay

The next time you are at Bras Basah MRT Station, do pop by the Bras Basah – Bugis Old Schools’ Gallery. The gallery was opened on 3 August 2011 and it features the history of schools in the vicinity; schools in the European part of Singapore such as St. Andrew’s School, Raffles’ Institution and many other prestigious schools.

Bras Basah Road and its neighbouring precinct were marked out as the European part of Singapore back then and hence, many of the early schools were established in the area. The gallery aims to preserve the heritage of this area in Singapore by making known the many schools which were situated here. For one, the old St. Andrew’s School is now the Stamford Road Carpark!

The gallery was opened by Miss Bernadette Toh, Director, Office of Student Life from Singapore Management University (SMU) ,during a ribbon cutting ceremony.

In an interview with Miss Bernadette Toh, she said that the reason why SMU decided to embark on this project, in collaboration with the National Heritage Board (NHB), is because SMU is sitting on the old St. Joseph Institution (SJI) field making it very appropriate. It is located in the MRT station so commuters can read it and have a sense of awareness of the past. This project is also to inculcate a sense of place and time in the students of today, to ensure that they are aware of their school’s heritage and are proud of it. Linking the present to the history is very important as this would allow them to know where they were before especially in this fast-modernizing world.

Mrs Toh, Principal of St Andrew’s Secondary School, commented “Our forebears had the foresight to move St Andrew’s School from downtown to our current site at Woodsville before World War II.  As a result, we continue to enjoy heritage buildings as part of our school whereas other schools that shifted from the downtown area are at sites which do not have such a great amount of history attached to them.  Furthermore, the spacious Village was made possible because of the forward-thinking of the church and school leaders at that time.”

So the next time you are at Bras Basah MRT Station, remember to take some time off to visit the gallery!

Teck Whye Secondary, Friday, July 1, 2011 — Defending champions St Andrew’s Secondary (SAS) beat St Joseph Institution (SJI) 3-0 to begin their National C Division Hockey Championship season with a win.

SJI played on the defensive throughout the game while St Andrew’s constantly pressed forward, looking for the chance to strike. Saints dominated possession of the ball with their quick passing and good defensive play.

The first scoring opportunity arose when a SJI player found a gap in the Saints’ defence and charged through. One on one with the SAS goalkeeper, he unfortunately tripped and lost the opportunity.

With SJI unable to break through the SAS defensive wall, the first goal eventually came from the Saints. Just before the break, a penalty corner saw Saints captain Faizal drag flick the ball into the net.

After the break, with the pressure mounting, Saints made some mistakes and lost many opportunities to score. Finally, 15 minutes into the second half, Imran, flicked the ball in to score the second goal for SAS.

In the last few minutes of the game, Qayyum dribbled the ball past the SJI goalkeeper and scored the third and final goal of the game.

Said SAS captain Faizal after the game: “I think we played well in our first game. I hope to bring glory to St Andrew’s Secondary School as national champions again.”

Story by Javier Khoh and Ian Teo. Photos by Lincoln Peh.

Theme : Heart Of The School

The school plays an essential role in a youth’s life. The schoolmates, teachers, staff and alumni are the heartbeat of the school, providing youths with precious memories and an environment to blossom. Participants are encouraged to explore different interpretations to this year’s theme “Heart of the School”. Examples include: a peek at the often unseendaily operation of the school; an expression of school pride; or any other ideas the participant may have concerning the theme.

Exhibition Dates And Venues :

The prize presentation and opening ceremony is on 8th April (Fri) 2011, 4pm at St. Andrew’s Junior School.

The winning entries will be exhibited at The Village Gallery, situated within Potong Pasir MRT station.

Please refer to Annex A and B for the information on the competition.

Annex A : Rules and Regulations

Annex B : Registration Forms

Competition Video : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21R5kbsAsks

The Editor.

Village Online

“Precaution is better than cure” ~ Edward Coke

A screeching siren reverberated throughout the school compound. In an instant, the calm, serene silence of a lazy school morning erupted into a thundering barrage of playful shrieks and screams. Amidst the tornado of noise, the principal, Mrs. Toh, made an announcement over the PA system instructing all students to evacuate their classrooms for a fire drill exercise. Instantaneously, unruly herds of students spilled out of the classrooms, filling up the corridors as they noisily made their way to the school field.

A sea of white and blue flowed into the field from all directions. Prefects and teachers arduously ushered the students to their respective assembly venues. After what seemed like an aeon, the school compound was finally evacuated and the students sat quietly in twos according to their classes. As they restlessly basked under the scorching sun, the principal, who was perched on the ledge of the swimming pool above the field, delivered a brief Total Defence day message. The students listened attentively as they were literally roasted under the blistering heat.

” It is important that every student is aware of the importance of the Fire Drill,” Commented Faiz, from 3S1. It was an eventful Total Defence day, and as the students strolled back to their classes, most simply disregarded the message that was brought forth to them a couple of minutes ago, while some paused to reflect on their actions and pondered over her words.

The fire drill is an important practice not only in schools, but also in workplaces and housing estates alike. Fire drills are no joke as we are never sure of when an accident may take place thus we have to be serious and be prepared to tackle any situation at any given time.

“Fire drills are also important as they help to minimize the chances of people making mistakes as a careless blunder could mean the difference between life and death, just as the saying goes “a miss is a good as a mile”. Everyone has a part to play in ensuring the safety of our people and ultimately, the safety our nation.” Mr Tan YH commented.

Indeed, precaution is better than cure.

Most of our students qualified for junior college and almost all qualify for a polytechnic course. Students obtaining five distinctions make up 1 in every 4.
We have continued to see some creditable distinction rates for our school: 64% distinctions for Maths, Add Maths and 59% distinctions for Principles of Accounts; 56% distinctions for Combined Science, 67% distinctions for Physics, 52% distinctions for Chemistry and 30% distinctions for English.

We are proud to announce the following top students, three of whom obtained 7 and more A1s.

• Ong Jun Jie, Chairman of the Mathematics Society and a veteran in the Maths Olympiads, from Holy Innocents Primary with a PSLE aggregate in the 240s, scored 8 A1s and 1 A2 and had an L1R5 aggregate of 6
• Timothy Tan Ziming, member of the School Military Band, from SAJS with a PSLE aggregate in the 240s, scored 7 A1s and had an L1R5 aggregate of 6
• Hargaven Singh Gill, School Rugby player, from SAJS with a PSLE aggregate in the 250s, scored 7 A1s and had an L1R5 aggregate of 6
• Chia Zhe Min, Senior Patrol Leader of the Boy Scouts, from SAJS with a PSLE aggregate in the 250s, scored 6 A1s and 1 A2 and had an L1R5 aggregate of 7
• Harris Kristanto Hidayat, who joined us only in Sec 3 from Indonesia, scored 6 A1s and had an L1R5 aggregate of 8
• Wang Peng Cheng, Vice President of the Saints Choir, from Kheng Cheng School with a PSLE aggregate in the 240s, scored 5 A1s and 3 A2s and had an L1R5 aggregate of 8
• Jethro Siao Shao Hao, Treasurer and Sectional Leader in the School Military Band, from SAJS with a PSLE aggregate in the 190s, scored 5 A1s and 2 A2s and had an L1R5 aggregate of 8
• Jeric Kwan Mun Chung, Patrol Leader in the Boy Scouts, from Townsville Primary with a PSLE aggregate in the 240s, scored 5 A1s and 2 A2s and had an L1R5 aggregate of 7
• Joel Wee Choong Soon, Squad Leader and Sergeant in the Boys Brigade, from SAJS with a PSLE aggregate in the 220s, scored 5 A1s and 2 A2s and had an L1R5 aggregate of 8
• Hong Qibin, School Basketball player, from SAJS with a PSLE aggregate in the 230s, scored 5 A1s and 1 A2 and had an L1R5 aggregate of 7
• Marlon Wong Yao Hong, Sectional Leader in the School Military Band, from SAJS with a PSLE aggregate in the 220s, scored 4 A1s and 3 A2s and had an L1R5 aggregate of 9
• Paul Cheung Yu Hern, First Sergeant in the National Cadet Corps, from Pei Hwa Primary with a PSLE aggregate in the 240s, scored 4 A1s and 3 A2s and had an L1R5 aggregate of 8
• Dean Ng Sheng Wei, School Prefect and School Waterpolo and Badminton player, from SAJS with a PSLE aggregate in the 240s, scored 4 A1s and 3 A2s and had an L1R5 aggregate of 9

We are as proud of our boys who did not score as well in PSLE but worked hard and were able to transfer from the Normal Academic and Normal Technical streams to the Express stream. We would like especially to congratulate the following for gaining a score that qualified them for junior college.

From the Normal Technical Stream:

• Tan Wang Ren, School Rugby Player, with 2 A1s
• Lyndon Teo Yuquan, active member of the Robotics Club, with 3 A2s

From the Normal Academic Stream:

• Daniele Haadi Tan, School Tennis player, with 2 A1s and 2 A2s
• Yeo Kee Han, School Swimming Captain, with 3A1s and 1A2
• Ruthran Raj Murugaiyan, School Prefect and Cadet Inspector in the National Police Cadet Corps, with 6 A2s
• Darren Teo Boon Chong, member of the Entrepreneurship Society, with 4 A2s

In the Normal Academic classes, 7 out of 10 boys qualify for the polytechnic.

As in the previous practice, our more capable students offered at least 2 O levels in the 2009 so that they gained more confidence in themselves.

We would like to congratulate

• Terrence Wong Jun Jie, member of the School Military Band, who scored 3 A1s and 2 A2s and had an L1R5 aggregate of 17
• Sherwin Kwek Ming Leong, member of the Saints Choir, who scored 2 A1s and 2 A2s and had an L1R5 aggregate of 15
• Brij Mohan Singh, School Rugby Player, who scored 1 A1 and 3 A2s

We thank God indeed for His grace and for giving us such dedicated staff who were willing to put in extra hours and extra days to work with our students. We thank God too for humble and cooperative students who were willing to work with their teachers.

“It’s better to give than to receive.” How often do we hear of this phrase but sadly, most of the time, we do not take heed of it? Somehow as I grow older and become more aware and concerned about the things around me, this phrase is beginning to have a special meaning in my heart. Often we read and learn of people all over the world dying of starvation and suffering in poverty. Even in our own country, we hear of families not having the financial means to make ends meet; we read of families needing to turn to social assistance for their daily necessities. Sometimes, we tend to forget that there are fellow citizens who do not even have a roof over their heads and do not know of how or when their next meal will come. Hence, it is important that we take stock of what we are blessed with and spare a thought for those in need around us. We may be blessed with material belongings and have more than enough to put on our plate at every meal, but at the same time, I think it is also rightful of us to really spare a thought for these unfortunate people too.

The ‘St Andrew’s Village Food Drive’project organised by the Saints family is certainly an important and essential milestone to show that we are a caring and compassionate community. The teachers and our principal, Mrs. Lucy Toh, encouraged the students to give as much as possible and elaborated on the point that if everyone brought an item, there would be more than a thousand foodstuffs and this would definitely benefit the needy to a huge extent. Parents were notified of this special drive and the response was indeed overwhelming and encouraging. Over the few weeks that the project got underway, we saw scores and scores of students bringing canned food and other non-perishable foodstuffs like rice, instant noodles, cooking oil etc, to the collection point in the school compound. It is indeed heartwarming to note that the Saints community cares and that we are a school that will lift a finger to help out whenever there is a calling.

Boys from the Normal Technical stream were tasked to pack these collections and organise them into proper categories. I am pretty sure all of them went that extra mile to lend their helping hands. The skit specially put up by these students during one of the morning assemblies clearly depicted their caring spirit and unceasing enthusiasm to ensure that this project be met with great success. Kudos to you guys!

The project may have ended but the spirit of giving must not end too. Let us continue to develop that caring attitude towards our friends in need. Nothing beats the sight of seeing these people putting on that smile when they receive these gifts. I am sure it will go a long way in their lives and one day, when they look back at this depressing episode of their lives, they will remember that when they were bitterly down, the Saints family was there to help them pull through those difficult times.
‘No one is a stranger, they are just friends we have not met’. This is another statement that lingers in my mind when the ‘Food from the Heart’ campaign was going on. I thought to myself as I pondered over the whole matter. We came with nothing in our mother’s womb and we will leave with nothing to be with God in eternity. Whatever we are blessed with on earth, shouldn’t we share with our fellow brothers who need them even more?

Surely, it is better to give than to receive….