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SpotlightSERANGOON GARDEN SECONDARY SCHOOL ISSUE JAN-FEB 2012

2011 has been a year of great achievements for Serangoon Garden Secondary School. Our Secondary 5 Normal Academic students did us in the 2011 ‘O’ Level Examinations. There was an increase of 19% of Sec 5 students who were able to pursue a higher education at the polytechnics or junior colleges.

Our CCA groups were a source of pride for us as well. Our Uniformed Groups helped the school to attain niche status and the Guzheng Ensemble received the prestigious Gold (with Honours) Award at the Singapore Youth Festival. Well done, SGS!

We now look ahead to the challenges that 2012 presents us. While we remain focused on our academic and non-academic achievements, we should

not neglect the development of our students’ character and moral values. We must instill in them the resilience to tackle the challenges of the 21st century and the compassion necessary to remain caring citizens of Singapore.

To support this vision, the school is creating a multi-level CCE programme that provides appropriate development opportunities for segmented groups. We will incorporate globalization initiatives and leadership training to empower pupils. The school will continue to emphasize the importance of CCA in developing character.

In this newsletter, you will get a taste of our student’s joys and fears, as well as their aspirations. Our editorial team wishes you an enjoyable read.

PERSEVERANCE is a strong determination to achieve an objective, and being loyal to your cause

(Responsibility and Resilience)

EMPATHY is being able to think about others and show an appreciation for the effort put in. It is a mindset to

understand the context of situations that will serve as catalyst for showing care. (Care and Harmony)

DILIGENCE is the discipline to work hard in all tasks.

INTEGRITY is honesty in word and deed and standing up for what we believe in

RESPECT is a belief in one’s own self worth and the intrinsic worth of all people and the environment

Principal’s Address

SGSS School Values

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Principal’s Address SGS Scores a Record Number of DPA CandidatesBy Mrs Gomathi Gunaseelan

The O’level results for the year 2011 were met with much joy and satisfaction as a total of 161 students met the eligibility criteria to further their education at the local polytechnics or junior colleges. The Secondary 5 Normal Academic students showed a notable improvement, with an increase of 19% of students who were able to pursue a higher education at the polytechnics or junior colleges.

In addition, 21 students qualified for the ‘Direct Poly Admission’ or DPA exercise. This is an improvement from the previous year where only 19 students qualified. We are proud to mention that these students managed to secure their course of interest at the polytechnics with consistent hard work and determination throughout the years. We hope that our students will do even better for this year’s O Level examinations. You can do it!

Students who qualify for the DPA exercise.

1. Travin Heng 11. Muhd Azim Matin2. Koh Poh Leng 12. Valarie Yeo3. Jolene Ho 13. Law Jie Ying4. Qistina Jami 14. Nor Hany Farhany Bte Azman5. Koh Yi Teng 15. Ong Kai Lin6. Brenda Lee 16. Pang Lu Na7. S Priyalatha 17. Ho Li Lin8. Nur Qurainah 18. Harun Nisha9. Chew Hong Kai 19. Ang Mei Lin Sarah10. Denise Lee

Top Three 4E Students

Name/Class L1B5/ DistinctionsZhang Zunnan / 4E1-1 6 points / 6 distinctionsClement Chan / 4E1-1 10 points / 5 distinctionsKuah Kah Yi / 4E1-1 11 points / 4 distinctions

Top 5N Student

Name/Class L1B5/ DistinctionsTan Yi Jun / 5A1-1 13 points / 2 distinctions

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By Mr Edwin Goh

The annual Chingay Parade in Singapore often epitomizes what Singapore can do artistically. It also never fails to showcase the more adventurous side that each and every otherwise seemingly mundane Singaporean is capable of.

This year, Serangoon Garden Secondary was again given the privilege of exposing some of our students to this massive annual event. Without a doubt, it was a breathtakingly new experience for many staff and students alike.

The Secondary 2NT and 4NT classes played a significant role in this event. They participated in the Trishaw Decoration Competition. Mentored faithfully by the spirited Mr. Peh Chin Keong, the students pushed their balloon sculpting abilities to the limit as they strove to

decorate their respective trishaws in a bid to fit the competition’s theme – wedding. It therefore came as no surprise that the marriage of hard work and inspirational genius came together to deliver some very stunning works of art that won the accolades of many a spectator.

The Secondary 2E and 2NA students were also involved as motivators. They did their jobs with style and aplomb, and had a good time while at it too.

Finally, the Student Councilors contributed in a massive way as they were part of the Chingay parade, marching proudly bearing banners and other Chinese New Year artistry. The procession was long and tiring, but the Councilors forged on, holding true to our school’s value of perseverance.

Adding a Splash of Colour at Chingay

SGS Welcomes the Year of the DragonBy Mr Edwin Goh

This year, an impatient Dragon waited in the wings for the Rabbit to say her last few goodbyes to 2012.

And then, without warning, he rushed out and descended upon the world in a mad frenzy.

As Chinese New Year rounded the corner in Serangoon Garden Secondary School, staff and students alike busied themselves to make the ushering in of the Dragon as memorable as possible.

Even as preparations for the much anticipated CNY concert were going on in the background, each and every class was busy designing inspirational couplets to be placed in and around their respective classrooms.

The concert did an excellent job in capturing the festive mood, and seamless performances by the Guzheng Ensemble, Choral Ensemble, Wushu Troupe and Dance Club got the audience all fired up.

And then the God of Fortune showed up.

Well not the real one of course. Nevertheless, Mr. Gary Neo made it look very convincing as his arrival drew whistles and cat calls as eager arms reached out to grab the shiny gold (chocolate) coins that he flung across the hall.

Before long the concert wound to a close, and the students left the hall in a chirpy mood, clearly looking forward to the New Year goodies as much as the extended break from school. With all said and done, only one small regret lingered in the mind of the author.

He did not get to rub the God of Fortune’s belly!

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Drill MastersBy Ms Yvonne Kwok

The SGS NCC free-style drill team did the school proud when they won the Freestyle Drill Competition for the Central district, beating 30 other schools on 11 February. The 17 boys trained hard for a month, practising relentlessly under the hot sun to perfect their routine and their effort paid off handsomely.

NCC’s teacher-in-charge, Mr Jeremiah Tan, was especially proud of his crew because he believes that they displayed all of SGS’ five PRIDE values during their training sessions.

“The boys respected each other and did not blame one another when mistakes were made. They showed empathy when members were unwell or unavailable and they showed integrity by carrying out their training schedule faithfully. The award is merely a bonus,” said Mr Tan. “None of this would have been possible without the help of their teacher-officers, seniors and NCC peers.”

Said Keeshen s/o Margisvaran from 4A1-1: “I honestly didn’t think we were going to win. The other schools had flashy routines that I had never seen before. However we didn’t let that daunt us. We simply carried out our own routines with the same sense of confidence we had after we finished training.”

The team will compete with the top four schools from the West, East, Sea and Air districts for the overall title of champion on 17 March. If you are interested in seeing what our boys did during the February competition, log onto Youtube and search for “Serangoon Garden Secondary”. Happy browsing!

The winning gentlemen of the NCC free-style drill team:Name ClassMSG Peh Zhen Wei 4E1-1MSG Ang Tuan Koon 4E1-13SG Joel Ching 4A1-23SG Chew Mun Kei 4E1-23SG Hasan B Adnan 4E1-3

3SG Lim Che Yeung 4E1-13SG Keeshen s/o Margisvaran 4A1-13SG Ryan Tan 4E1-2CPL Ng Jun Yao 3E1-2CPL Livandran s/o Saravanan 3E1-2CPL Aravindkugesh 3E1-1CPL Mariappan Vikneshwaran 3E1-1CPL Suazor Joem Nathaniel 3E1-3CPL Alex Chan 3A1-2LCP Alimudin B Abdul Hamid 2E1-1LCP Keerthi Kesaan s/o Saravanan 2E1-1LCP Muhammad Haikal Zuraimi 2E1-2

by Rachel Ang Xin Yi and Jedidiah Ariel Lumaday Untalan of 1A1-1

Our first day in school was a little scary as we did not have many friends from primary school with us. Luckily, Serangoon Garden Secondary organized a Secondary One Orientation to get us comfortably settled down in our new school.

We did not know where to go and where things were on our first day. Fortunately, friendly teachers guided us around the school. Our form teachers, Ms Chiang and Ms Inda, treated us especially well and gave us reassurance.

The first event that made an impression on us during the Secondary One Orientation was the balloon sculpting class. It was very fun as we got to partner each other. One team mate had to pump the balloon up with air and the partner had to tie the balloons together. This really helped us to build up team work and learn how to get along with classmates. The fun and bonding continued with our museum trip to the Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM). At the ACM, our class got to learn about the history of Singapore and about different races.

However, the most exciting and fun part of the orientation had to be the camp. During the camp, we played many team-bonding games. It was a very fun session. The games gave us a chance to make friends with students from other classes as well. The student councillors were very friendly too and we enjoyed mingling with our seniors. During the CCA Orientation, we enjoyed the tour of different CCA groups as well as the exciting activities and performances they put up.

The orientation was great fun, but most importantly, we feel that it has helped the class to bond. We look forward to studying and playing together as a class.

Sec Ones Blast Off!

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Ms Tiffany ChanSpecialisation: GeographyTeaching: English and GeographyWhy do you want to be a teacher?I really enjoy being around youth and helping to nurture them for the future – both in their academic pursuits, as well as their character development and life’s lessons.

Ms Rita WongSpecialisation: PhysicsTeaching: PhysicsWhy do you want to be a teacher?I was interested in exploring how to make learning simple and effective. We are all students when we attempt to pick up something new, and there are so many different approaches to learning, with different outcomes.

Ms Kwok Sun SunSpecialisation: Chinese Literature and LangaugeTeaching: ChineseWhy do you want to be a teacher?I became a teacher because I love interacting with teens, and sharing with them about the experiences I’ve had in my life.

Mdm Yu Lin (HOD/MTL)Specialisation: Chinese Literature and LangaugeTeaching: Chinese and Higher ChineseWhat advice would you give your students?Let your hearts always been clean. Explore the value and talents of your life.

Ms Dorcas LowSpecialisation: Music EducationTeaching: MusicWhy do you want to be a teacher?I want to share the love of learning with my students and help them to achieve their goals to the best of my abilities.

Ms Pauline WongSpecialisation: HistoryTeaching: English and HistoryWhy do you want to be a teacher?Upon graduation from university, I worked in other jobs and discovered that I loved working with children and teenagers. I found it extremely fulfilling when they saw me as someone whom they could trust and depend on. Their simplicity, excitement and energy are really contagious!

Ms Siti NurulhudaSpecialisation: Applied Chemistry Teaching: Chemistry and MathsWhy do you want to be a teacher?It is a fulfilling job. It is also an interesting one because every day in school is never the same.

Mr Kumaresh SugumaranSpecialisation: Aviation ManagementTeaching: PE and EBSWhy do you want to be a teacher?I am passionate about playing and teaching sports. I find that it’s a joy when my students learn and are able to play the sport better than I can!

Mr Dennis Okyere AbbeyquayePosition: School CounsellorWhy did you want to be a counsellor?I was working with youths in Singapore and Canada when I decided that I want to be a counsellor. I then took up a course in counselling, because I was inspired to help youths grow up to be better citizens in the future.

Mr Neo Tick WattPosition: School CounsellorWhy did you want to be a counsellor?After attaining the Diploma in School Counselling, I came to SGSS. Here I am, still learning, honing my tools of knowledge and skills and most importantly helping our children to grow.

Due to space constraints, we are unable to feature all the new teachers in this issue. We will be catching up with them in the next issue of The SGSpotlight!

New Additions to the SGSS Family

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A Fond Farewell

LoveBy Chloe Tham, 4E1-1

Love is something that everyone experiences at least once in his or her lifetime. Surely, there will either be a spark or sizzle in your heart or butterflies fluttering around in your stomach, when you see someone whom you admire or someone whom you think is your dream partner.

Love is patient, love is kind. Love should be shared when you have it. Love is the willingness to do anything for the person you love. Love means you can just be yourself and feel like the prettiest and happiest girl in the world. Your partner should not care if you look fat or skinny, or whether you are smart or dumb. Two people in love will love each other for who they really are.

Amber was a girl with hazel-brown eyes full of warmth. Her immaculate white teeth never failed to shine whenever she grinned. Her brown locks fell in perfect waves over her shoulders. She was waiting patiently for Caleb at the bus stop where they had planned to meet at.

It was their third-year anniversary, and they were going to spend their day together at Universal Studios, followed by a romantic dinner on the famous Singapore Flyer. The thought of being able to spend the whole day together with him sent a shot of adrenaline through Amber’s veins and a shiver of excitement down her spine.

As Amber waited, the hands of the clock continued to move forward. Amber started to get worried.

“He’s not usually this late,” thought Amber. Her fingers flew across her phone frantically to send a text to Caleb. After a few minutes, Caleb replied that he was on his way.

Finally, Caleb came into view and Amber felt her legs wobble in excitement. Her pale white cheeks flushed a rosy pink. They locked arms and walked to the nearby shopping centre.

Amber came to a halt and said, “Tell me that you will never leave me. I need the reassurance.”

Caleb smiled sweetly and said in a teasing tone, “Of course I will never leave you, you stupid girl.” They started to hit each other playfully as they were walking across the road.

Suddenly, from the corner of his eye, Caleb saw a car speeding towards them. Just as the car was about to hit them, he pushed Amber aside and the car knocked him down. It was a hit-and-run accident. People turned to look and stare, but no one bothered to offer any help.

Amber, who was never at a loss for words, was now speechless. Her face turned pale and she crumpled to the ground in front of the person she loved most in the world.

Tears started to trickle down her cheeks and all happiness suddenly drained out of her life. She could not comprehend the amount of sorrow that overwhelmed her. Amber stared at her loved one, his bloodied clothes, his unruly hair, the blood slowly seeping from his lifeless body. She had just lost her one and only true love. The one who really loved her for who she was. As memories of their time together flooded back, she started to wail loudly.

An ambulance arrived not long after and paramedics carried him into the ambulance. Everything seemed like a blur to Amber all of a sudden. She did not know what to do. After Caleb was pronounced dead, Amber spent the rest of the year struggling to get over him, the person who had promised her that he would never leave her.

Students, some with tears in their eyes, remember their favourite teachers who have left SGS.

Ms Jacqueline Huang“She was very caring and she listened to my problems and gave me advice. I don’t usually do well for Chinese, but with her help, I passed the subject last year. It’s a pity she left”. – Kw Sin Yee, 4A1-1.

Ms Leow Bee Chu“Ms Leow is my Guzheng teacher and she is a good teacher who understands how students feel about different things. She has always been very thoughtful.” – Jacqueline Ang, 4A1-2.

Ms Tan Sze Yin“Ms Tan is the best teacher I have ever had. Before I met her, I used to fail Mathematics all the time. She helped me to improve and do well for the subject.” – Charyl Phua, 4A1-1.

Mrs Loh Si Lan“Mrs Loh would spend a lot of extra time after school helping the students who were weak in Math. She was firm and did not tolerate lazy students.” – Quek Hong Ting, 4E1-3.

Ms Qi Ji“She was able to control the class and when we were noisy, she would scold us. However, I loved her Chinese lessons because she made them fun.” – Quek Yen Hong, 4A1-1.

Ms Angela Wong“Ms Wong was a very patient and caring teacher. Although the boys in my class were mischievous, she did not give up on them. ” –Wong Li Nah, 2A1-1.

Mr Song Ji“He was always so patient and he was very good at explaining the meanings of different Chinese words to us.” – Sandra Lim, 4A1-1.

Ms Rokiahati Abdul Jali“She was firm and strict, but approachable. She’s very serious and she knows how to handle the class well.” – Chermaine Lim, 4A1-1

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By Ms Yvonne Kwok

His mother and teachers jumped for joy when 5A1-2’s Jonathan Foo scored 10 points for five subjects at this year’s GCE N(A)-level examinations. Jonathan exemplifies the P in SGS’ PRIDE values – perseverance. Despite having been retained twice, Jonathan did not give up on his studies, although he did have a hard time focusing at first.

Said Mrs Chan Siew Eng, his Sec 3 Mathematics teacher, “He could be quite laid-back, but during the second half of last year, he was much more consistent. He actually stayed back after school to ask me questions, sometimes waiting for me till 4pm. What impressed me was his perseverance - he did not mind whether the lessons were held with other 3E, 4NA or 5NA students. He did not feel shy or inadequate - he would just enter my class quietly and patiently wait for his turn. He came prepared with questions to clarify. He also often asked me for other schools’ papers to try and again sought me out to ask me how to do the more challenging difficult questions.”

Sometimes, it is a matter of finding the right trigger to motivate students to study. For Jonathan, it was his mother, as Mrs Chan found out.

“He would get very excited after Maths tests and insist on showing his mum the paper, especially when he had done well. I can still remember the incident when I wanted to hold back the papers to do some final checking of the marks and he requested to bring back his paper on that day as he was very proud of his achievement and could not wait to show his mum. I was very touched and relented.”

Now, Jonathan has another big hurdle to cross – his O-level examinations. We have only one thing to say to him – you can do it, Jonathan!

Test your mathematical ability with our challenging Sudoku puzzles!

1.

Keep it up, Jonathan!

Sudoku Madness2.

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