2010

Dec10: SJI wins the Bronze with Chinese music

The Chinese Cultural Society in SJI has been drumming up points with their music. The drum group of the CCS made it to the finals of the 2010 Chinese Music Competition organized by the National Arts Council.

The team comprised Fu Chen Xu (436), Lim Yen Ming (421), Ong Yang Zhang (337), Lee Ning Yuan (336), Sam Lim (205), Leong En Yi (202), Ethan Lim (202), Dean Tjahjono (201) and Raynold Lim (201) with teachers Ms Tay Tze Hoon and Ms Boon Yen Ping.
 

The boys took part in the Open category for percussion. This young team consists mainly of drummers who have been in the field for less than a year.

The SJI team was awarded the Certificate of Distinction (third prize) at the competition.

 Dec10: Alumnus is the Second Solicitor-General in Singapore

Congratulations to one of our own!

Lionel Yee Woon Chin (SJI Class of 1982) has been appointed Second Solicitor-General in the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) in Singapore. He also serves as the Director-General of the International Affairs Division.

Lionel will take the office on the first day of 2011 and will serve for 3 years. In the meantime, he will still continue to hold his current appointment in the International Affairs Division. Prior to this, he was State Counsel in the Civil Division of the AGC, as well as the International Affairs Division. He was also the Deputy Director (Legal) in the Ministry of Law, as well as the Legal Advisor to the Permanent Mission of Singapore to the UN.

Lionel was awarded the Public Administration Medal (Silver) in 2001 and the Public Administration Medal (Gold) in 2008.

At Sec 4, Lionel was in Class 4S4 which was nurtured by form tutor Bro Henry O’Brien. His CCA included debating which provided him a strong foundation to articulate his ideas effectively and accurately. He humbly credits his language skills to his teachers at SJI such as Bro Henry, Mr Fred Zuzarte, Mrs Helen Tan and Mr Francis Brown (Men for Others by Warren Fernandez pp95).

Lionel keeps his Alma mater near and dear.http://www.sji.edu.sg/admin/fckeditor/editor/images/spacer.gif He now sits on the Leadership Council at SJI International.

Dec10: SJI Vocal Ensemble wins Gold in Prague

The SJI Vocal Ensemble has garnered the prestigious Gold Award at the 11th International festival "Prague Christmas" choir competition in Prague in December 2010. In addition, they won a "Special Prize of the Jury" for the Dramaturgy of the competition programme. They were placed second in this category and were just 0.7 points away from the winning group.

The SJI Vocal Ensemble was set up in 2009 and led by teachers, Ms Adeline Tan and Ms Adeline Tan HL, and Choral Director Mr Toh Ban Sheng.

Nov10: For love of my Alma Mater

As we look towards a new milestone in SJI’s history, we have much to be thankful for: 158 years in Singapore and countless Josephians, both students and staff, who hold SJI close to their hearts.

As a new chapter opens with the IP programme for SJI, a reminder pops up in the form of an old boy, one who cherishes the school for what it has done for him. 

An alumnus (who has chosen to remain anonymous) is donating half a million dollars to the SJI community. The donations to SJI will help the school move forward with a successful IP/IB programme while maintaining the tradition of nurturing Men of Integrity and Men for Others.

He has allocated funds from the S$500,000 to SJI for building and development, the SJI Scholarships Fund, the SJI-SJI International Scholarship and the SJI Foundation, and to SJI International to construct an indoor Sports Hall. 

These funds will go a long way for the schools to break into new trails while flying the school colours of green and white.

Aug10: Josephians gather awards with words

Josephians competing in the 2010 Commonwealth Essay Competition garnered awards at each category this year. The essay topics this year were based on this year’s Commonwealth theme: Science, Technology and Society. According to its organizers, over 50,000 students take part annually in schools around the world.

In Class A, Nguyen Vu Lan (435) took the Silver award, while Shivraj Rajendran (423), Wong Hee Jinn (434) and Christopher Hendra (331) took the Bronze. In Class B, Kok Rabin (334) walked away with the Silver award and Chua Kun Yang (334) and Kenneth Teo (201) took the Bronze. And finally, in Class C, young Josephians Russel Yip (101) brought home the Silver award, while Reuven Cheng (202) and Konrad Ng (104) brought home Bronze awards.

The Commonwealth Essay Competition, organized by the Royal Commonwealth Society, is open to all Commonwealth countries. It offers youth the opportunity to voice their opinions on global issues which are close to their heart.

Aug10: SJI alumni conferred the 2010 National Day Award

We congratulate our six alumni from SJI who received the prestigious National Day Awards this year. 

Mr Tan Yam Pin (Class of 1960),  who is a member of the Public Service Commission, was conferred the Public Service Star (Bar).

Mr Chia Kim Piow (Class of 1964), who is the Chairman and Managing Director of Rotary Engineering, was conferred the Public Service Medal.

Mr Charles Lim Aeng Cheng (Class of 1973) is currently the Parliamentary Counsel of Singapore and a Law Revision Commissioner. He heads the Legislation and Law Reform Division of the Attorney-General's Chambers of Singapore.  He received the Public Administration Medal (Gold).

Mr Chan Yoon Kum (Class of 1968) serves as Deputy Chief Executive at PUB. He was also conferred the Public Administration Medal (Gold).

Mr Terence Siew (Class of 1975) and Mr Lim Yuin Chien (Class of 1988) were awarded the Silver and Bronze Public Administration Medals respectively. Mr Siew currently serves as Director, Special Duties in the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources, while Mr Lim is the Director of Corporate Communications at the Ministry of National Development.

Mr Charles Lim (in picture) said, "I followed in the footsteps of my father, Lim Loo Cheong who was also a prefect at SJI. SJI provided me with a robust education where I got to know and interacted with classmates from a wide cross-section of society and from scholars to the more rebellious".  He also shared that "I was inspired by my eminent seniors in SJI such as DPM Teo Chee Hean who was Head Prefect then, Minister George Yeo and Justice Francis Chan Seng Onn who later became my direct superior when he was Solicitor-General.  It was no coincidence that SJI produced so many successful lawyers."

 Aug10: SJI teachers pass with flying colours too

Ms Tracy Tan (in picture receiving the award from Prof Lee Sing Kong, Director of NIE), from the Mathematics Department at SJI, was awarded the STU Gold Medal. The award is sponsored by the Singapore Teachers'Union (STU) and is given to the top graduate with outstanding performance in the Master of Education (coursework only) programme.

With her, another 7 teachers from SJI completed their Master of Education (Gifted Education) awarded by NIE on part-time basis (since Jun 2007) in Apr 2010.  They are Mr Alphonsus Gregory, Mr Karl Lee, Ms Lee Siew Lian, Mr Gary Sim, Ms Tan Sia Hui, Ms Wong Wah Lee and Mrs Pennie Ong.

The course for all the teachers was sponsored by SJI.

Aug10: Josephian awarded the prestigious UWC award

A member of the 2009 Prefect EXCO and Lasallian Service Awardee, Max Heng was awarded the United World Colleges Scholarships. Max will be matriculating at the United World College (UWC) USA come August 2010, on a full scholarship to this prestigious programme.

Every year, 4 Singaporean youths are selected to take this role as global citizens with the UWC experience. For 2010, Max and 3 girls from other top schools in Singapore have chosen to step up and take this challenge. These young minds will also pursue a 2-year International Baccalaureate programme.

Max Heng also carries the title of UWC Torch Bearer and is part of the UWC National Committee (Singapore).

Max said, "SJI has taught me to always believe in myself and to take every opportunity that comes my way. So when I applied for the UWC scholarship, I was ready for an adventure of a lifetime. I have grown so much as a Josephian and even though going overseas to study is going to be a new experience for me, I am confident that I would be able to use the skills that SJI has given me to contribute to society. All that I am is because of my family, my teachers and friends, and SJI, my Alma mater."
 

Aug10: Medals, medals and more medals

Josephians garnered 4 Gold Medals, 11 Silver Medals, 7 Bronze Medals and 24 Certificates of Merit at the inaugural Singapore Junior Chemistry Olympiad (SJChO). 

The Singapore Junior Chemistry Olympiad (SJChO) is a competition organised by the Singapore National Institute of Chemistry (SNIC) in partnership with Raffles Institution and NUS High School of Math & Science, supported by the Ministry of Education and the National University of Singapore.

We sent 108 students for the first round to compete against more than 2000 students in this demanding competition.  

Gold Awards were presented to the top 5% of the students, Silver Award to the next 5%, Bronze Award to the next 10% and Certificate of Merit to the next 20% of the students based on the total marks scored in the first round and second round of the competition. Certificates of participation were awarded to all other students.

Under the Special Awards category, SJI was placed among the top 9 schools out of 32 schools that participated in the competition.

Aug10: SJI Malay Debate team takes Berita Harian trophy again

A hat-trick plus two! The SJI Malay Debate Team has won the Piala Bahas Berita Harian five times since the launch of the competition in 1996.

Five Josephians stepped up to the challenge of taking on the best Malay-speaking students across the country. These five pulled together many hours of research and training to prepare themselves to pit their skills against other top schools in Singapore.

The SJI team comprising Daniel Farhan (335), Hassanal Ruslan (424),  David Ondang (432), Michael Santama Anggaputra (435) and reserve, Mohammad Aashiq (332), held their position strong and emerged victorious after hours of grueling debate. They were also supported by Nur Zuhair (336) who served as Researcher for the team.

With the guidance of their teachers, Ms Fauziah Abdullah, Ms Fauziah Hussein and Ms Siti Rahimah Buang who were determined to see the efforts of the team come to fruition.  

Article in Berita Minggu

Jul10: SJI Pipers take Gold!  

SJI attained another Gold award this week, and this time at the Singapore Southeast Asian Pipe Band Championships 2010.

The SJI Pipe Band competed against bands from Hong Kong, Thailand and local Singaporean pipe bands. The boys also took the award for the Best Mid Section (i.e. best tenor and bass drummers overall) and won third placing against 16 competitors for solo piping.

Pipe Major Joel Ang (in picture) receiving the trophy from Snr Piping Adjudicator, Nat Russell, AOM 

Jun10: Awards galore for SJI at the UK Micromouse Competition 2010

SJI has been faring rather well at the UK Micromouse Competitions in Birmingham over the last few years.

On 26 of June 2010, five Josephians and their teacher, Mr Soo Chan Hua, headed to Millennium Point, Birmingham, UK for the competition. Representing SJI were Tan Wei Hao (432), Luo Wenhan (425), Nikolas Tay (437), Charles Cheong (421) and Patrick Chia (332). At the competition, SJI was competing with the Seniors but they would be awarded in the Junior Category (under 18).

At the end of a full day of competition, SJI covered the leader board taking Gold, Silver and Bronze in both the Time Trials and Maze Solver categories. Wei Hao garnered the Champion award , Wenhan took first runners-up and Charles, the third placing. Nikolas took the silver in the Line Follower and Patrick walked away with Bronze for the Wall Follower. 

The medal tally for SJI this year was the best so far. The senior handlers at the competition were very impressed with the SJI boys who held their own even against very experienced senior competitors. SJI’s overall score was second (including Junior and Senior teams).

Special mention must go to Luo Wenhan and Patrick John Chia, who developed a completely new program to run an event that we have never tried before (the Wall Follower). It was developed in C Language from the ground up and they spent most of their nights there calibrating the program's parameters to fit their robots' performances.

Wei Hao handling SJI 1 in the Time Trial (video)

Some background on the competition
SJI 1 is the schools' fastest robot and is usually inherited by the incoming Chairman of the Club. The robot's program was developed at SJI using the ‘C’ Programming Language and it took over three years to complete the development of its’ complex AI and motion. Delvin Goh won the 2008 UK Micromouse Competition with this robot. 

May10: Another PSC Scholar in our midst 
Ian Ernest Chai Yang (Class of 2007) has garnered the sought-after PSC Overseas Merit Scholarship - Open category! 

Ian came to SJI after his primary education at St Michaels School (now SJI Junior). At SJI, Ian was a member of the 2007 Prefectorial Board. He was also the Drum Major in the SJI Military Band. His many public performances with the band include the Inaugural Service, the Renaissance Concert and Founders’ Day. Ian and his band members bagged the silver medal at the SYF Central Judging of Concert Bands.

Ian was also awarded the Lasallian Service Award in Sec 4 in recognition of his exemplary witness to the Lasallian values. 

Ian was one of the two top scorers from the pioneer graduating cohort at the SJI International IB Exams. He scored 44 points out of a maximum of 45 points! Among many other things, Ian was President of the SJII Senior School Student Council, and he founded and was President of the Rock-Climbing Club.

Linda Soh, his Co-form Tutor at SJI in 2007 said, “Ian has always been a helpful friend who listens to his friends. He makes constructive suggestions and gives good advice. He radiates the character of a servant-leader who leads with respect for others.”

Mar10: A Visit by the Superior General

The Superior General, Brother Alvaro Rodriguez Echeverria, F.S.C. visited SJI on Tuesday, 10 March 2010.
In a very interesting dialogue with students and staff, Brother Alvaro shared his experiences and inspirations on being a Brother in the Lasallian family.

He has lived the Founder’s mission having spent numerous years in Guatemala. As a young brother in Guatemala, the situation was difficult. He has three roles to play there. Brother Alvaro spent many years reaching out to the marginalized and the poor in the society. He was also involved in schools for teacher training in the rural areas, and also the formation of new brothers in the Central American region. It was also a very trying time as the political and economic situation was not good. However, reaching out to the young who were in need of an education was his calling.

He spoke on the changing roles of the Lasallian family. Our mission is to respond to the needs of young people, and this responsibility is now in the hands of the brothers, and the teachers and lay people. The outcome of a Lasallian education is to share this mission with others. 

To the Josephian student leaders, Brother Alvaro shared that they should lead with service and always permit collaboration.

Jan10: SJI is a Band 1 School for the 3rd Year

SJI remained a Band 1 school for the 3rd year with a L1B5 score of 10.9.

The top SJI boy, Jerald Cham (432) scored 10 A1s (with Chinese taken at a separate sitting). Three boys, Gabriel Tan (432), Stacey Tay (434) and Jishnu Mohan (434) scored 9 A1s.

This year, there are 42 local Chinese students who scored 9 A1s (see MOE press release). Of these 42 students, only 6 are boys. Jerald and Gabriel are two of the only 6 local Chinese boys who achieved 9 A1s taken at one sitting nationally.

Two of the four top Indian students are from SJI. Jishnu Mohan (434) scored 9 A1s while Kunal Kiran Kekre (431) scored 8 A1s and 1 A2.

Another 11 more boys scored 8 A1s: Kennard Junitra (431), Malcolm Kang (431), Liu Guiliang (431), Joel Law Wei (435), Daniel Chia (431), Alvan Ng (431), Theodore Chua (431), Cung Suong Huy Thanh (432), Peter Ooi (432), Rovik Jeremiah Robert (432) and Tsao Tsing (433).

Boys who scored 8 A1s and better

1st Row (from Left): Malcolm Kang (431), Kennard Junitra (431), Daniel Chia (431), Theodore Chua (431), Rovik Jeremiah Robert (432), Peter Ooi (432), Joel Law (435)
2nd Row (from Left): Mrs Jenny Leong (Assistant Principal), Mrs Goh Poh Kenn (Deputy Principal), Alvan Ng (431), Liu Guiliang (431), Jerald Cham (432), Cung Suong Huy Thanh (432), Kunal Kiran Kekre (431), Tsao Tsing (433), Gabriel Tan (432), Jishnu Mohan (434), Stacey Tay (434), Dr Koh Thiam Seng (Principal), Mr Dominic Ang (Assistant Principal)

For more information, please refer to the GCE 'O' Level Results page.

Jan10: SJI alumni is among Top Scorers at SJI International IB Exams

Eighteen SJI boys continued their education at SJI International after their O Levels in 2007. They are part of the first IB graduates from SJI International.

Out of a cohort of 58 students, no fewer than 14 achieved scores of 40 and above out of a maximum of 45, almost half scored 38 points or more, and the class average was 36. To put these results in perspective, in 2008 out of almost 40,000 students world-wide, fewer than 8% of those who passed the Diploma achieved 40 points.

SJI Wins Honours in the Singapore Junior Physics Olympiad (SJPO)

SJI is awarded the Best Institution (Non-IP Schools) in the 2009 Singapore Junior Physics Olympiad (SJPO).

The Singapore Junior Physics Olympiad (SJPO) is a Physics competition organized by the Institute of Physics Singapore and is catered to secondary school students. This is an annual competition to encourage the study and appreciation of Physics among all secondary school students. In addition, it is also a competition to highlight Physics talents and is also part of the process to select students for early training for the IPhO (International Physics Olympiad). 

This is the first time students from SJI are participating in this competition. The objective of this program is to encourage students to pursue their interest and talent in the Physics domain. After 60 hours of training conducted by Professors from NTU and in-house experts, students were challenged to compete in 2 rounds of the competition-General round and Special Round.

Teacher-in-Charge Ms Tan Sia Hui said,” It is great to see students pursuing their passion despite their many other commitments.”