Secondary One Registration 2011

“When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.”

1 Corinthians 13:11

The stamping of soles and the clicking of heels clouded the exciting and rumbling atmosphere as parents alongside children, walked up the Big Steps of Saint Andrew’s Secondary School for most probably their first time, and not certainly their last. Greeted profusely, and ushered into the hall by immaculately dressed prefects, the families took their seats according to their children’s respective classes and in a short while, were greeted promptly by the school’s new principal, Mrs Toh on stage. She gave the crowd of new parents a warm welcome, and started the registration with a combined presentation with the School Captain and School Vice Captain.

The presentation touched on what to expect as parents and students of Saint Andrew’s Secondary School, and as parents listened intently, children looked around, spotting familiar faces from the Junior school, and less familiar ones. Change sparked the air, and everyone could feel it. After the presentation was over, the registration commenced and families finally met up with the form teachers of the respective classes to settle more paper work then ever.

An eventful year was ahead for their progeny, and parents were making sure everything would go smoothly in the administration side of it. after registration, parents were once again greeted by neatly attired prefects and junior leaders and served refreshments, and it was time to head home to enjoy the last days of the year. And that marked the debut of Secondary School life of our new saints of 2011. May lives ever be in the making here!

Our successful Commonwealth Writers 2010

  The Commonwealth essay competition is a international youth writing competition organized by the RCS (Royal Commonwealth Society) This project is very popular and is a highly regarded international education project. It also has a history of 100 over years. 6 of our lower secondary school boys took part in the competition. Out of the 6, 5 of them had gotten a bronze certificate. Jasper Tan from 1A had stood out among the rest and received a silver certificate. We would like to congratulate him for his outstanding performance as his results were on par with a student from Raffles institution. We are very happy as the boys have done us proud. We hope that more of our boys would participate next year and make us proud.

India-Chennai Trip 2010

Along with St John’s Ambulance Brigade, the Saints Interact club went to Chennai, India for Community Involvement Project. On the first day, we met at the airport where Mrs Charles led a prayer for us to have a safe trip, then we went in and boarded the plane. We were fortunate to stay in a service apartment compared to the youth hostel which we first supposed to stay at as the service apartment was very clean and had facilities such as air conditioning and restaurant downstairs. After putting our luggages in the rooms, we went to a shopping centre where we watched a bollywood movie named “Enthiran”. It was enjoyable as it was first time for most of us watching a bollywood movie.

On the second day, we visited a school called Vana Vani Matriculation Higher Secondary school where we saw their morning assembly and some performances by the students in that school. After the performances, all of us including the selected students of Vana Vani school went to the Indian Institute of Technology Madras where we saw presentations of water studies and experimental labs where the students of the institute test out the water activities. It was an eye opening experience as Singapore we have not seen such experiments being carried out in Singapore. We also ate lunch together with the students of Vana Vani school and we set off to AMS IPD ORTHOPAEDIC CENTRE CHENNAI where the disabled children lived. We went in and gave the gifts we had brought along. All of us said hi to the children and felt how lucky we were to be born perfectly fine. At night, we went to a hotel to have dinner with the Rotarians in India and the food was so tasty that everyone went for seconds. It was a great way to end the day.

On the third day, we headed for the Dakshin Chitra Indian Architecture and saw many houses and different types of carvings in the houses. Also, we saw a play of a native warrior and tried pottery which was so interesting and amazing. Some of us also rode a cow which was quite surprising and exciting. Before we left, we bought some souvenirs at the shop near the exit. After leaving, we headed for the St Thomas Mount where we tooka lot of photoraphs and some of us had more fun because we took memorable photographs.

On the fourth day, we went to Cuddalore School orphanage home where we saw the children who experience tsunami and lost their parents and how they had to live in an orphanage. We prepared gifts for them as well before we came to india in Singapore. They looked happy to see visitors and receive gifts as well. We went to Pondicherry which was a French colony for a tour. It was a 2 hours trip from the orphanage home. As soon as we reached Pondicherry, we saw there were many people trying to sell their goods to tourists. Some of them were very persistent that some of our students felt angry and disturbed. However, some of us bought their goods which made them stop following us. At night, we reached Pegasus Institute of Excellence and dozed off.

On the fifth day, we had various types of activities at the Pegasus Institute of Excellence which everyone enjoyed and were satisfied with. One of the activities that everyone liked was the obstacle courses which all of us were divided into 4 groups and we were given a task to finish. It was for us to cross over to the other side of the area full of obstacles with only using 2 logs and 1 rope. It was so tough that no one managed to finish it but we gave it our best as most of us finished half of the course. We had to cooperate and have teamwork to finish it. At night, we ate dinner and some of us wanted to stay up all night to play with each other. We felt kind of sad to think that we had to leave the next day.

On the last day, we visited the Hindu Senior Secondary School where we met the students of that school and played games together. All of us enjoyed the games as it was easy for everyone to comprehend and play. We also visited St Thomas Basilica which was the national shrine and we went in to pray and have a look. After which we went to shop at a big shopping mall and we headed to a French restaurant to have a farewell dinner prepared by the Rotarians of rotary club of madras chenna patna. We enjoyed the food and thanked them before heading off to the airport. We soon reached the airport and left for Singapore.

(Written by Kim Sang Hwee- VP Interact Club)

Reflection of Cebu Trip

The Cebu Trip was not simply a fun event. It took me alot of courage to cayon down a waterfall, swim with sea creatures and climb waterfalls. It was challenging and mentally tough, yet our group were able to experience it and really enjoy the activities. The living conditions in Philipines were not good, yet the people there are really friendly and kind. We went to an elementary school, giving them stationery and contributing stuff such as games and books. The children there were very delighted to receive such gifts, seeing this with out own eyes gave us the true meaning of giving and life. God has blessed us and provide us the strength with this new experience and i would like to thank everybody involve in this trip for making it meaningful.


For more pictures and reflection of Cebu Trip, Please visit the Cebu Posterous Blog.


Posted By Andre, a student participant of Cebu Trip 2010

Post-concert Reflections

Overall, this has been a really enriching, once in a lifetime experience for us. Apart from it being the first full-length concert the Saints Choir has held with another choir, it was also with an all-girls choir. Being able to sing with voices that we don’t normally get to hear was not only a big plus for us, but it was also a unique experience as we had to successfully blend in with a vastly different voice-type. I believe both choirs have learnt a lot from each other through the several combined rehearsals, to see how the other party carries out tasks and basically just the way they do things, and seeing how one can improve on work ethics. I could see from the choirs that success comes only with determination, focus, and 101% effort. And we did it. Considering that the concert was a first for us, I thought it was extremely successful. We did not just sing, but we had fun in the process as well, something which I feel is a very essential part of work. At this point, I would like to thank our conductors and teachers for all the effort and time they devoted to ensuring the success of the concert. I would also like to extend my thanks to our Principals, Mr and Mrs Yee, and all the families and friends that took time to lend us their support, not forgetting the PLMGS Choir for agreeing to sing with us. It was really enjoyable singing for everyone and I believe the Saints Choir will be partaking in more of such events in time to come. - Jonathan Poh, SASS

Cano the concert by the Saints Choir and the PL One Voice was not just a success because of the music alone. It was more than that, it was a combination of hard work, dedication and concentration from both choirs. Anyone could have said it was not worth it and just did not come anymore. Waking up from 9am and only coming back at around 5pm is surely not the lifestyle of a young teenager. Imagine what we could do with time? Not for the Saints of the Saints Choir. Even though they had a rough time during rehearsal, they never gave up. I saw seniors help their younger comrades in voice learn new music, giving more concentration during rehearsal. On the day itself we arrived at YMS we were all psyched up for the concert. We got onto stage for our rehearsal before the PL girls came and went through our music. We then did a combined rehearsal with the PLMGS Choir and soon before you know it, I was on stage announcing the start of the concert. Then everything happened in a flash and in a blink of an eye the concert was over. All the hard work in the last months and the hardships that we endured was all worth it. Cheers to all who made it possible. - Barnabas Soh, SASS

CANO! Concert was awesome. It was the first time for me, having a concert of our own. The Exco placed much effort into making the tickets, the programme booklets and organising everything else. It was very tough to prepare all these, rehearse our songs, and perfecting each composition. But in the end, it all paid off. Thank God! Even though it was not the best we could sing, I am sure everyone enjoyed the performance. Working with PL made me learn many positive things that we, the choir could improve on. Like the alertness during rehearsals, quickness into getting ready and sight-singing. It was enjoyable singing with PL. A really different picture from what it normally is - singing with guys only. I hope we could do more of these collaborations in the future. A wonderful experience I would always remember. - Stephen Ow, SASS

Personally, I felt that the concert held many firsts for the choir. It was an experience for all of us, as expectations were high. Working with the PL One Voice also gave us a rare opportunity to listen and observe different voice parts, making us better singers in the long run. The pieces chosen for us were well suited for our voices as well as fun and exciting to sing. Logistics-wise, most things went smoothly except for a few minor hiccups. All in all, we had a GREAT concert, thanks to the huge efforts of all the teachers, conductors, members, and most importantly, our Father In Heaven :) - Evan Lee, SASS

The concert put up by SASS and PLMGS was honestly an eye-opening experience for me. Having never watched a combined choir before, it was interesting watching how the two choirs managed to put up such a good show despite their differences in terms of style and vocal range. I personally have watched a few choir performances before and this and this was one of the more interesting ones, probably due to the element of having a combined choir. I know that both choirs had practised really hard for this concert and it was apparent that their effort had definitely paid off as they put up an amazing show. It only goes to show that with diligence and perseverance, anything is possible. Good job! - Ong Zheru, Audience/Cedar Girls' Secondary

I think the concert was a total success, it was so much fun singing up there on stage. It was a great, exciting, wonderful experience working with the SASS choir, I really enjoyed it, and even though we only had a few combined rehearsals to finish the combined songs before the concert, we managed to learn it up fast and I think we performed it well. After all that hard work and effort put it by both choirs, it was so rewarding to finally sing and perform it for everyone. To see and hear that the audience really enjoyed the concert, and having the fun singing, it makes everything all worth while ;D - Gabrielle Lee, PLMGS

I feel that through this concert , both choirs learnt a lot from each other and we enjoyed ourselves very much. It was an amazing experience working together with the SASS choir and many of our choristers enjoyed the experience. There was a lot of hard work put in by both choirs to make this concert a sucess , and all the hard work has paid off knowing that we did our very best , leaving the stage with no regrets. I really enjoyed myself and to know that everyone else did, our hard work has indeed paid off. Also, PL choir is very honoured to be the guest choir for this concert and we would like to thank SASS teachers, conductors and everyone who gave us a chance to perform for this concert and make this concert a sucess (: - Germaine Ong, PLMGS

First of all, I'd like to thank SASS for inviting our choir to perform at their concert. It was an enjoyable experience as we seldom combine with another choir to make music. At first it was difficult to get along with people but later in the week we were able to at least communicate and share our thoughts about how we should have sung this or that etc, so we definitely forged quite a number of friendships. :) Secondly, I definitely have a different point of view about music now. Not sure how to put it, but I used to sing for the sake of singing and completing the song but now, I found more joy in singing especially for the combined pieces. So , i guess you can see I feel more for music now. :) Overall, an amazing concert indeed. :) - Gloria Tham, PLMGS

This combined concert has been a unique experience for me and I have learned many new things from this experience. I have also heard a new sound i have not heard before while singing with them. It was also very fun having the two choirs meet and I hope we get to do that more often in the future. Although it was very tiring as we had to constantly stay back for sectionals, it was worth the while when we got on stage and gave it our all. - Sara, PLMGS

It was fun and a new experience for many of us as we hardly have the opputunity to work with other choirs and voices. I really enjoyed myself and even though it was tough and stressful, it was worth it. It was also a good chance to learn from the other choir and it taught us how to independently learn our scores and push ourselves to persevere. - Cheryl, PLMGS

CANO! -Saints Choir Concert

Angels' Choir? Angelic voices? Melodious music? These are the comments from the audience who were impressed by the performance of Saints Choir and PLMGS Choir girls. It was a night filled with mesmerizing music as the choir sang their hearts out. Although it was their inaugural performance, the audience were elated at the world class standard of the choir performance. Many of them gave compliments and accolades for the excellent performance. The final song was specially dedicated to St Andrew's Secondary School retiring principal, Mrs Belinda Charles for all her support, love and unwavering contribution to Saints Choir. The boys paid tribute to their beloved principal who will be retiring at the end of the year. The audience gave a rousing round of applause for the choir boys and girls.


Kudos to the dedicated teachers and choir members who have put together and staged such a wonderful concert.