A PUBLICATION OF SERANGOON GARDEN SECONDARY SCHOOL

www.sgs.edu.sg

Jan-June 2016 Issue1

SPOTLIGHT

Culture of Excellence

SGS flames burn bright at the annual

Awards Presentation Day

erangoon Garden Secondary Schools

Awards Presentation Day (APD) was
held on 24 March. The theme for this
years APD, Flames Ablaze, fully captured
the enthusiasm of our students and staff
who came together to celebrate each others
achievements. The occasion was graced
by Mr Edwin Colin Chetty, who graduated
from SGS in 1990. Mr Chetty is currently a
Vice President of Deutsche Banks Divisional
Control Office, Global Transaction Banking
division for Asia Pacific and Chairman of the
SGS Alumni Association.
APD 2016 started
off with a parade by
our six uniformed
groups, showcasing

the groups discipline and proficiency in

ceremonial drills. Guests and students alike
were also treated to the National Cadet Corps
Free-Style Drill performance before moving up
to the Hall for the Awards Presentation, where
we handed out prizes to the outstanding
performers for the 2015 GCE O and N
Level Examinations. The Awards Presentation
ended off on a high note with all VIPs,
parents, teachers and students being treated
to a concert segment starring the schools
performing arts CCAs. Keep up the good work,
students!

Culture of Excellence

Name

Class of
2015

Anne-Marie Choo Mei Hong

4T2

Samantha Tan Jia Hui

4T2

Shanken Garbuja Magar

4T1

Denise Tan Lizhen

4A1

Garesh Upadhya

4A3

Toh Jia Hui Agnes

4A1

Harish S/O Balamurugan

4E2

Jessie Michelle Tiong Xiang Yan

4E2

P B Ashwaani

4E1

Darryl Chang Jia Qi

5A1

Cassidy Lim Jia Long

5A2

Felicia Seow Shi En

5A1

Achievement

Top 3 in GCE N(T) Level Examination

Top 3 in GCE N(A) Level Examination

Top 3 in GCE O Level Examination

(Express)
Top 3 in GCE O Level Examination
(Normal Academic)

SPOTLIGHT

SPOTLIGHT

Culture of Excellence

Ms Dorcas Low is awarded

the prestigious

OYEA
S

GS is proud of the achievements of one of our youngest and finest

teachers, Ms Dorcas Low, who received one of the nations top
teaching awards last year the Outstanding Youth in Education
Award (OYEA).
Ms Low has been actively finding opportunities to showcase her
students talents, such as getting Secondary Two NT students to
complete a project that required them to create a chocolate branding
package (Art), compose an advertising jingle (Music), and make
chocolate truffles (Nutrition and Food Science).
Said Ms Low of the award: Being a teacher was one of my ambitions
when I was younger. Im also very fortunate to be teaching music, which
is a passion of mine. We look forward to seeing many more years of
wonderful contributions from Ms Low!

SGS celebrates

Ms Tay Hui Yihs

PS21 Star
Service Award

GS is pleased to congratulate Ms Tay Hui Yih, Year Head (Lower

Sec), for being one of the recipients of the coveted 2015 PS21
Star Service Award.

Says Ms Tay: We can only succeed in our mission with the full support
and confidence of parents and other stakeholders. When students,
parents and stakeholders raise concerns, it means that they need help.
I would then take actions quickly to address their concerns and then
share with them the actions taken.
Congratulations again, Ms Tay!

Culture of Excellence

Cheers for our five-time

soccer champions

his April, our C Division soccer boys

netted the South Zone Championship
in an intense fight against rivals
Queensway Secondary School. The final
score was 1-0, making it the fifth year in
recent history that our C Division boys have
emerged champions, which is no mean feat,
considering the number of talented soccer
players in the rest of the South Zone schools.
Our B Division boys put up an excellent fight
against powerhouses such as St. Gabriels
and Queensway Secondary as well before
going out in the quarter-finals. The boys would
not have gotten this far without the support
of their hawk-eyed teachers, Mr Mohamad
Hasren, Mr Kumaresh, Mrs Kalai Sundram,
Mr Iszal Ismail, Mr Ali Haikal and of course,
their ever-vigilant coach, Mr Kumar.

Said Mr Hasren of the boys achievements:

Nothing is possible without hard work. The
boys go through very intensive
training throughout the year,
practicing at least three times
a week, even during the school
holidays. To us, hard work and
discipline are the keys to success.
We are proud of our soccer boys
for modeling the school values,
diligence and perseverance. Keep
it up, boys!

SPOTLIGHT

SPOTLIGHT

Culture of Excellence

SGS Uniformed Groups

sustain excellence

ur schools National Cadet Corps, Girls Brigade, Boys Brigade and Girl Guides have been conferred Gold Awards for the year 2015.
Our National Police Cadet Corps and Red Cross uniformed groups also performed excellently, garnering Silver and Bronze Awards
respectively. For all uniformed groups, these prestigious Awards seek to recognize outstanding achievements made in terms of
performances rendered in various Inter-Unit Competitions, badge work proficiency, core training activities and external camps. We congratulate
all our uniformed groups and honour them all for the tremendous amount of hard work they have put in.
Last year, our unit took part in
the Low Guat Tin (LGT) Challenge.
We sent two teams that managed
to clinch the bronze awards.
We also participated in the GB
Friendship Day and a wide variety
of other activities, all of which
contributed to our clinching the
Company Gold Award for 2015.
- Ms Lee Hui Ling,
Teacher-Officer in-Charge of
the SGS Girls Brigade.

The BB boys helping out at the

Willing Hearts soup kitchen. With
commitment, dedication, and
hard work, our boys managed to
clinch our first Gold in 15 years
for the BB.
M
 r Yeo Kee Sheng,
Teacher-Officer in-Charge of
the SGS Boys Brigade

We are proud to be part of the largest

humanitarian network in the world
where we have the opportunity to
touch lives through our service learning
projects. Through Red Cross Youth our
cadets are trained to be adaptable,
resilient and confident team players.
We wish our graduating batch all the
best in their upcoming exams!
Madam Iswari Thamil Chelvam,
Teacher-Officer in-Charge of the
SGS Red Cross Youth.

Culture of Excellence

SPOTLIGHT

The success of the unit should be

credited to all Teacher Officers, Honorary
Officers, Cadet Inspectors and Cadets for
their salient contributions, unwavering
dedication and hard work through the
years.
- Mr David Kwong,
Commanding Officer
of the SGS NPCC Unit.

SGS NCC owes its success to the

strong foundation and camaraderie
that has been built by both the teacherofficers and cadets past and present.
Because of these strong bonds, seniors
who have graduated continue to
willingly help out in whatever capacity
they can, which contributes to our
continued success.
Mr Jeremiah Tan,
Commanding Officer of the SGS NCC.

At the heart of Guiding, is

a heart for service.
Ms Lim Shiyun,
Teacher-Officer-in-Charge
of the SGS Girl Guides.

SPOTLIGHT

Culture of Learning

Secondary Four Cultural Immersion and

Learning Journey
to Hong Kong

rom 9 to 12 March, the Secondary

4 students, along with their form
teachers and school staff, went on
an exciting trip to Hong Kong. The trip
was organised to immerse students in a
different culture and environment to help
them appreciate cultural similarities and
differences, as well as to expose students
to the historical and geographical aspects
of Hong Kong through visits to various
sites of significance.
During the course of the four-day
trip, students visited such Hong Kong
attractions as Aberdeen Fishing Village
and Victoria Peak to do a comparison
study of Singapore and Hong Kongs
tourism industry. Students also
visited sites such as the Ko Shan
Theatre to learn about Hong Kongs
vibrant culture.
All SGSians returned fulfilled, safe and
sound, having learnt a little more about the
world beyond our borders, and also a little
more about themselves. As Nurul Natasha
from 4A1 said: I was particularly fascinated
by the way that Hong Kong uses its culture

to attract tourists. I saw so many brochures

featuring food tours that I was reminded of
the way Singapore promotes our street food
culture as well., although I feel that our food
culture is more diverse!

Each year in March, Secondary Two

and Four SGSians get the opportunity
to travel abroad to learn beyond
the classroom as part of our iconic
Level Signature Programme. This
year, Secondary Four students went
to Hong Kong while Secondary Two
students went to Penang.

Culture of Learning

SGS

Science Day

ur school held its annual

Science Day this year
on 25 May for lower
secondary students and 27 May
for Secondary 3 students right
after the mid-year examinations.
Science Day was conceived by the
Science Department as part of its
innovative enrichment programme
to allow students to experience the
wonders of science through handson activities. It was an exhilarating
day as Science teachers conducted

activities such as a DNA extraction

workshop,
Bridge
Building
Challenge and Climate Change
Virtual Trail. Secondary 3 physics
students were especially thrilled to
take part in a PET rocket workshop
where they applied concepts of
kinematics and pressure to build
rockets. Indeed, learning Science
can really come alive through the
many fun and interesting activities
organised by the SGS Science
department!

SPOTLIGHT

SPOTLIGHT

Culture of Care

O
Good
Neighbours

n 23 April, together with a team of six other Secondary

3 students, I went to Braddell Heights Residents
Committee to promote bonding among HDB
neighbours by organising sandwich-making competition.
This was part of the schools initiative to reach out to the
wider community.

Project

We felt a great sense of achievement as there were a lot

people participating in the sandwich making competition
and they were all excited to come up with many creative
and tasty sandwiches. Through this event, I have learnt that
if we did not work together as a team, we could not have
planned the event and executed it.

Wefie with Minister for National Development,

Mr Lawrence Wong at the event.

We showed our commitment to this project by

having many meetings with grassroot leaders
and our teacher in-charge as well. Though
some of the meetings took place during the
school holidays, the smiles on the residents
faces made it worthwhile. Through this event,
we hope our neighbours will get to know
each other better. Through this event, I have
experienced what the kampong spirit really
means.
By Lim Jia Min, 3E2

Alumni

Reflections by

Our SGS Alumni

SPOTLIGHT

Mr Fandi Ahmad
Class of 1977
National Football Legend

had a lot of friends who lived around

the Serangoon area and we used to
go Chomp Chomp for food together.
I remember our Discipline Master, Mr Poh
Ching. He was a very fierce DM but was funny
at times. However, he also imparted good
values to the students. He would confiscate
balls from students who were playful and
naughty and they had to stand for detention
in the basketball court for about half an hour. I
was one of them. My teachers were strict and
firm. They helped me and motivated me a lot.

Mr Fandi Ahmad together with our students. Mr Fandi still visits SGS
from time to time and advises our schools football players.

am the Company Leader of the Girl Guides

at Serangoon Garden Secondary School
(SGS). As a Girl Guide Leader, I am very
appreciative toward SGS for helping me grow
in my leadership journey.
When I first joined the Girl Guides in 2011,
I wanted to serve others and have fun with
my peers at the same time. Over the years,
I gained so many invaluable life skills, more
than I ever expected from skills for outdoor
survival to public speaking skills. I learnt
to live the school values of perseverance
while motivating my team mates to strive
for excellence despite the obstacles they
faced. I was even given the opportunity to
help underprivileged children overseas, which
gave me a whole new perspective on the
school value of empathy and led me to realize
how fortunate I am to be in Singapore.
I am committed to returning to SGS aftermy
graduation to guide my juniors in the Girl
Guides. With diligence, discipline and
determination, I am confident that the
school will continue to help SGSians grow as
responsible citizens with a Zest for Life and
Learning.

We must all remember to give back to society

and always remain humble. Always remember
the 3Ds: Discipline, Determination and
Dedication. These will help you appreciate life
more and you will learn that you have to make
sacrifices in order to succeed. Desire is not
enough, you must have good character. Youths
cannot be too comfortable, as there are many
ups and downs in life. You have to constantly
work hard and think of whats next.

Punithalakshimi
d/o Jayakumarr
Class of 5A1 (2015)
Company Leader (Girl Guides)

Punitha preparing for her O Levels

in our school library.
Thank you, my teachers, for nurturing me into who I am today. I stand tall and proud today,
because SGS has made me a confident person who is adaptable, resilient, and able to think
independently and critically.

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SERANGOON GARDEN SECONDARY SCHOOL

21 Serangoon North Ave 1 S555889
Telephone: (65) 6288 9227 I Fax: (65) 6288 8695
Email: sgss@moe.edu.sg
School Code: 3509