2023

Out of the five projects that competed at the SSEF 2022 Final Judging Round on 8 March 2023, four received a total of 6 awards. These four projects from SJI this year were also led by Josephians – with 3 individual Main Category projects and with one Junior Scientist category project (for Sec 1 and 2 students). Congratulations to the following Josephians:

The NSG 2023 Table Tennis (South Zone) competitions began since 1 February and concluded on 3 March. Throughout the tournament, the SJI B and C Division teams showcased their skills and determination, winning several matches against their opponents. The players displayed excellent techniques and strategic play, which helped them secure their victories. They worked cohesively as a team, communicating effectively and providing support to each other, which contributed to their success. Both our B and C Division teams performed exceptionally well to reach the finals, where they faced off against our perennial rival, Raffles Institution. Despite the loss and winning second place for both Divisions, our boys showed great sportsmanship and congratulated their opponents on their win. They displayed resilience and determination throughout the tournament, which earned them respect from their opponents and the audience alike.

The boys' exceptional performance at the South Zone Table Tennis competitions is a testament to their skills and the dedication of their coaches and teachers in-charge. Their hard work and dedication have paid off, for them to reach the finals of the NSG 2023 where they will meet formidable opponents from other schools at the National level in Term 2. 

🏓🥈#TeamSJI

Despite fielding a team of only 7 players from the original 15 as half the team was down with flu, the SJI Badminton B-Division team did not disappoint at the 2023 National School Games (NSG) South Zone competitions that concluded in March. Led by Jerome Ng and Ratul Ramachandran as the Overall Captain and the Year 3 Captain respectively, the team continued to show its prowess and tenacity to bring home excellent results in the first round.

Towards the end of the season, the SJI team was matched up against ACS (Barker Road) for the 3rd and 4th placing on the final day. With one of our key singles players down with an injury, the SJI team drew level at the end of the 2nd doubles but could not overcome their 3rd singles player who was able to bring the edge into the game. The team has fought hard to win the 4th-place medal at the South Zone games and this experience has definitely prepared them for a better showing in the Nationals in Term 2.

Returning from a three-year-long pandemic-imposed hiatus, the Singapore Youth Sailing Championships brought with it glamorous sailing conditions allowing for twelve races to be conducted over the four-day event. Following a long-drawn battle at the top of the leaderboard, SJI is proud to announce that our sailors Russell Yom (FN604) and Felix Koo (FN401) overcame the odds to emerge national champion and under-16 champion in the ILCA 6 Division respectively. Not to be outdone, Kenan Tan (FN401) also clinched the top spot in the ILCA 4 category, thus ensuring that SJI triumphed with the national title in 2 out of the 3 categories that we fielded sailors in. Well done, SJI sailors!

🥇#TeamSJI

📸 Photo credit: Kit / Donovan Ho for Singapore Sailing Federation

Our artistic Josephians shine again at the annual ViaRT art competition that was organised in support of the National Environment Agency's (NEA) “Say YES to Waste Less” campaign. Based on the theme of the competition "Before Semakau Landfill in 2035”, the inspiration or theme behind each piece of art should relate to the Semakau Landfill or any other sustainability topics.

Congratulations to the following students from Josephian Arts Programme for their achievements in ViaRT!

All auction proceeds will go to charities including Zero Waste Singapore, Bluestar Charity Asia and the ViaRT 2023 programming.

Our B Division Tennis boys team defeated ACS (Barker) 4-1 on 9 March to clinch 3rd place in the National Schools B Division (Boys) Tennis Championships! Well done, boys! 🎾🥉👏

📸 Photo credit: Samuel Lim (ML403)

The Singapore Junior Boys’ tennis team emerged victorious on 18 February, winning the ITF World Junior Tennis Asia Oceania Pre-Qualifying Tournament by defeating Kyrgyzstan in the finals at the Sri Lanka Tennis Association in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

SJI's Zachary Sng (pictured left) was part of the squad, together with Luke Ho Jie Xi (Raffles Institution) and Allen Leong (Victoria School), who were led by Singapore Tennis Association (STA) National Training Squad coach and Team Captain Kiren Kumar, played a nail-biting doubles decider, and won straight sets 6-4, 6-1 after a tie on the singles match played earlier in the day.

During the 6-day tournament under extreme conditions that saw participation from 14 countries, the Singapore Boys team topped their group matches defeating perennial arch-rivals Malaysia 3-0 and Yemen 3-0. They progressed to the quarterfinals defeating Lebanon 3-0, and Turkmenistan 3-0 in the semi-finals before defeating Kyrgyzstan 2-1 in the finals to claim a historic win.

This is the first time that a Singapore team has won the ITF Junior Tennis Asia Oceania Pre-Qualifying Tournament. They will continue to the Asia Oceania Finals Qualifying to be held in Kuching, Sarawak in March where they will face the powerhouses of Asia tennis comprising 16 teams including Australia, Japan and Korea.

📸 Photo credit: Singapore Tennis Association

About 20 Josephians from our Uniformed Groups joined in the commemoration of the 56th War Memorial Service at the Civilian War Memorial last Tuesday 15 February, Total Defence Day. Chen Leqi from St John Brigade represented SJI to lay the wreath during the War Memorial Service.

The students who attended the War Memorial Service reflected on the nation's past and the importance of Total Defence. Abhinand Ram Koottala (Year 3), "I feel proud as I am able to pay respects and pray for the civilians who sacrificed their lives so that we now can lead a peaceful life."

Fellow Year 3 Josephian, Muhammad Khalid, shared, "I have learnt from the exhibition that each individual can contribute to the defence of Singapore by carrying out simple daily routines. I can educate my friends and family on what we can do to keep Singapore safe and united. I can spend more time with my family and friends and try to understand one another's feelings and views they hold."

Read more at Straits Times: Important for Singaporeans to stay united amid threats: Edwin Tong

Viewing artefacts at the Exhibition Hub

Reading stories about war heroes at the Exhibition Hub

SJI hosted the 5th Swift Innovators’ Summit on 11 Feb. This annual event also called the Swift Accelerator Programme, saw graduating students showcasing the apps that they had developed and published through the 180-hour accelerator. 5 SJI students - Chan Yap Tong, Chong Jian Hang Geoffrey, Damien Lau Jia Hui, Lim Zheng Xuan Daryl, Zachary Pak - were amongst this cohort of 56 students who participated in this accelerator programme supported by IMDA, Apple and TinkerTanker. Guest-of-Honour SMS Mr Tan Kiat How presented the graduation certificates to the students.

The Inaugural Celebration is a school tradition and the first formal school assembly that formally marks the start of each new academic year when the entire Josephian community comes together in thanksgiving and prayer. It is the culmination after a month of orientation and authentic experiences when the school comes together to celebrate its sense of being a Lasallian community. At this celebration, SJI officially welcomes the new addition to the school – Year 1 boys, Year 3 Scholars, and Year 5 JC students, teaching and non-teaching staff members.

Josephians gathered at this assembly as a praying Lasallian community, remembering the presence of God and adoring the Will of God for SJI through the Eucharist Mass in the new academic year. The celebration is anchored on the Principal's Address, which puts forth the direction SJI is charting ahead as a Catholic, Lasallian school for the 2023 academic year with the theme - “Empowering Future-ready Josephians through learning, living and leading”. Fr Edward Seah who celebrated the Eucharistic Mass, also blessed the school colours and the symbols that represented the various faculties of the school.

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SJI welcomed the new Year 5 Josephians to our family on 3 February. Their new JC journey in SJI began with the Orientation Camp "Nova Aurora" (which means “New Dawn”), which saw them bonding over games and forming new friendships with new classmates and their tutors throughout the following week.

Welcome to SJI - Ora et Labora! 💚🤍

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As part of our Education and Career Guidance (ECG) Programme, SJI embarked on its inaugural Work Experience Programme (WEP) for all the Year 4 Integrated Programme (IP) students where students were assigned to various external organisations to learn and gain valuable work experience for a period of 2 weeks from 9 to 20 January before they resume school in Year 5 in February.

Through WEP, the students gained a greater self-awareness as they explored their career interests and were able to better understand the world of work beyond school. Several students also shared their interesting work experiences at the closing ceremony of WEP on 1 February.

Choo Yi Ming, who was attached to Changi General Hospital, shared that his WEP experience provided him with valuable insight into what doctors do on a daily basis. It also allowed him to connect with professionals in the field and clarified doubts he had about the medical field. The doctors were very caring and explained everything to him patiently.

Matthew Oon commented that his experience at the Spectra Secondary School, a specialized school for Normal Technical students, was very interesting as he shadowed the teachers and helped out in the lessons. He observed that the teachers were very caring and often went the extra mile to foster a positive relationship with their students, such as getting to know students better after school, so that they can be a positive influence in their students’ lives.

Joseph, together with his teammates Bavaesh and Daniel had an exciting time at the Nanyang Business School. In the first week, they were attached to the Academy of Career Excellence (ACE) where they attended talks and gained exposure to business, marketing and finance. In the second week, they were attached to the Undergraduate Programmes Office (UPO) where they were involved in event planning and marketing campaigns. They gained first-hand experience learning about the prerequisite and skills required for business-related careers.

Three Year 4 Josephians – Premanandan Dishnu (LE401), Ciaran Condron (LE401) and Nathaniel Cheng (ML302) and Science educator Mr Wong Chee Choy represented SJI to take part in the International Science Youth Forum (ISYF), a prestigious science enrichment programme for top research students from all over the world. Hosted by Hwa Chong Institution, the ISYF aims to benefit not only students but also Science educators as it provides a rare and valuable platform for eminent scientists to interact and share ideas with young budding science and mathematics talents as well as build capacities of science educators.

The students attended the 5-day Science Camp from 15 to 19 January, which included dialogue sessions with Nobel laureates and eminent scientists, excursion to research institutions, cultural exchange events as well as sightseeing around Singapore.

For the project challenge, the students worked in small groups with peers from other local schools and international delegates and learned how to create a Rube Goldberg machine – a chain reaction type machine to perform a simple task. The SJI team also shared their school project on the use of orange peels as a natural bio-adsorbent to remove harmful ammonia in fish tank water at the poster exhibition.

From CNY paper-cutting, calligraphy, lantern making, and spring couplets design conducted during the CNY tradition lessons to the Inter-Class CNY Decoration Competition, Josephians joined in the festivity to celebrate and welcome the Lunar New Year on 20 January.

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As part of the inaugural Singapore SailGP regatta, SJI sailors Russell Yom (FN604) and Kenan Tan (FN401) from the Singapore Sailing Federation were selected to participate in the SailGP Inspire WASZP Racing series. Apart from being provided with an exclusive behind-the-scenes glimpse into the internationally acclaimed event, the boys pitted against some of the very best Under-21 sailors in Singapore for the chance to represent the Nation at the SailGP Inspire Grand Final held in San Francisco. With unyielding light winds throughout the series, racing took place in immensely tricky conditions just meters away from the East Coast Park shoreline. After three days of extremely tight racing, SJI is proud to announce that Russell and Kenan have ultimately emerged as joint vice-champions in the male division. Congratulations!

As part of their Values-in-Action (VIA) project and in partnership with the People's Association, the entire cohort of 360 Year 4 boys helped and guided senior citizens on the redemption of their CDC vouchers from 4 to 11 January. Besides teaching the elderly how to redeem their vouchers online using their SingPass and printing out vouchers at 36 community centres around Singapore, the Josephians also reached out to the merchants and hawkers to encourage the adoption of the CDC vouchers at their shops or stalls.

Ably led by the Year 4 student leaders from Prefectorial Board, the boys started planning the manpower schedule and worked on the translation of basic conversational terms and scripts to dialogue with the elderly since December 2022.

Find out more about what the boys did in Lian He Zao Bao, Shin Min Daily and Berita Harian.

The Year 1 Orientation Programme resumed with much excitement and fanfare after a 3-year hiatus, to welcome the youngest Josephians into the SJI community. Besides the overnight camp, the Year 1s spent their first week exploring the various CCAs, from sports to the uniformed groups and performing arts.

The fortnight-long orientation programme concluded with the Initiation Ceremony and the long-awaited campfire on 13 January, celebrated with more than 700 parents, students and alumni. There were many firsts at this year's Orientation Programme, one of which was introducing a cohort batch song, “We are the Young.”

The 2023 Year 1 Orientation Programme continues to reiterate our focus on community, and it is through this community of Peer Support Leaders, Peer Support Facilitators, CCA leaders, new friends, and teachers that the Year 1s will grow and develop in SJI. The brotherhood and friendships forged show the significance that we continue to be with all – a community that cares and serves.

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Embarking on a new journey in upper secondary, the Year 3 Josephians discovered the importance of community and being a person for others at TABA - Together and by Association. During this two-day programme held on 3 and 4 Jan, the boys learnt about their own calling to be servant leaders and the importance of class community. They began with a class envisioning exercise where facilitators guided the boys on the importance of working together as a class. The students analyzed their own strengths and personality profiles through the DISC assessment which in turn contributed to classroom discussions on how each of them was called to be active contributors to recognising the vision and goals of their class.

The second half of the TABA programme sent the students on a trip to East Coast park for a morning of sandcastle building. Students were guided in designing and constructing these sandcastles which resulted in a time of fun, laughter and camaraderie while not forgetting the important skills of working together as a community.

The TABA programme was to prepare the boys for the challenges ahead and to remind them of the Lasallian charisms of being in association with one another and with the last, the lost and the least. TABA concluded with a Paraliturgy conducted by the Form Teachers where this same message of the Founder St John Baptist De Lasalle was reiterated and contemplated upon.

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SJI congratulates our Class of 2022 who has performed very well in the GCE O-Level examinations. All 228 boys who sat for the GCE O-Level in 2022 will advance to junior colleges and polytechnics for their post-secondary education, with 97% of the boys qualifying for junior college. 100% of our students received at least 5 GCE O-Level passes. 52.2% (119 boys) scored 6As or better, and 53% (120 boys) achieved scores of 10 points or less (L1B5).

SJI is proud of our Class of 2022 who have performed very well in the GCE O-Level examinations. They testify to the holistic education that SJI provides.

Summary of SJI’s GCE ‘O’ Level Examination Results	2022
Number of students	228
Pass rate / Qualify for JC/Polytechnic education (%)	100%
Boys who qualified for JC education (%)	97%
Boys with 5 GCE ‘O’ Level passes (%)	100%
Boys with 6A’s or more (%)	52.2%
Boys with scores of 10 points or less (%)	53%
Distinctions (A’s) per student (%)	66%

Mr Justin Arul Pierre, Principal of SJI, says “We are very proud and happy for our boys who have risen to the occasion and performed very well in spite of having to navigate various challenges and make adaptations to their learning over the last three years. Throughout this challenging period, they have supported each other, shown tremendous resilience, persevered, stayed the course and worked hard to achieve these results. The O-Level results of the Class of 2022 are an affirmation of the quality of the balanced and holistic education offered at SJI”

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Congratulations to our Class of 2022 for their outstanding results achieved at the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) November 2022 Examinations! All 266 IBDP students passed and were awarded the International Baccalaureate Diploma, with an average score of 41 out of 45 points. This is higher than the national average score of 39.48, the global average of 30.91 and the Asia-Pacific average of 35.6 out of 45.

IBDP Results by SJI Class of:	2022
Number of students	266
Diploma pass rate (%)	100%
Average points out of maximum 45 points	41.2
Number of students with 40 or more points	212
Percentage of students with 40 or more points	80%
Number of bilingual diploma students	1

The Class of 2022 includes 117 boys who were admitted to SJI at Secondary 1 in 2017 under the 6-year Integrated Programme that leads to the IBDP in years 5 and 6. The results achieved by our Class of 2022 is evident of a trend that the SJI IBDP relates well with students who enjoyed high academic expectations from the programme. They have found joy in learning by being critical thinkers and risk-takers who pursue their interests and passion by moving beyond their comfort zone to serve the community even during the pandemic.

Mr Justin Arul Pierre, Principal of SJI, says “The Class of 2022 has demonstrated that resilience, determination, effort and great faith in their ability to overcome challenges can produce good results, despite having to navigate through the various disruptions brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. The students exemplified the very best of being a Josephian – by staying the course with faith to keep learning, through service to help each other through the examinations, and as one community to look forward with hope. The excellent results testify to the work of the competent and caring teachers who are always prepared to go the extra mile and they have done all this in the face of the more demanding circumstances of this pandemic time. The school is immensely proud of their achievements and wishes them the very best as they move on to seek their passion in their future endeavours.”