G11 Welcome Week Facilitators

After numerous discussions and considerations, the senior council has selected the following lads and ladies to facilitate 2010's G11 Welcome week.


Facilitators:
-Alyssa Chng
-Bao Anh
-Bryan Cheung
-Caleb Ting
-Cassandra Seah
-Christopher Tee
-Clark Lawton
-Deborah Fong
-Gabriel Chua
-Gareth Choo
-Glen Poi
-Irvan Mulyasasmita
-Joshua Rebeira
-Leung ManHo
-Na
-Samuel Chew
-Sandra Benny
-Sarah Chong
-Sunshine Chua Yi Ling
-Tessa Ong

Leading Dancers:
-Jessica Murray
-Caleb Ting

Man-power/Photographers:
-Ricardo Seah
-Gabriel Woon



For those who wish to contribute in the Man-power division, please approach Amanda or Bradian.
Thank you very much for the constant support.



Cheers,
The Senior Council

Senior Council Election Results

SJII Senior School would like to congratulate the following G11s for their success in the recent Senior Council Elections:

-Manish Belani
-Matthew Tan
-Mitchell Tan
-Ooi Koon Peng


As for the rest who were nominated and ran in the elections, we admire your endeavors and courage to step up to the challenge. May your enthusiastic spirits remain alive.
Furthermore, lets also thank the G11 voters for their constant support in our aspirations.


Sincerely,
The Senior Council

RENDEZVOUS (aka. end of year dinner and dance)

Here are the confirmed details for this year's end of year dinner and dance :

Date : 26/11/2009, Thursday (last day of school)
Time : 7.30 pm
Venue : School Hall
Theme : Old Hollywood Glamour (think Audrey Hepburn)
Dress code : Formal
Price : $30

Who's invited? G10s - G12s

Get your tickets from Aunty Michelle down at reception (:
Approach Amanda or Bradian for any further queries.

Looking forward to seeing you there! :D

GRADE 11 GAMES DAY RESULTS!

Basketball

NDh V.S RRa 17:8
HBa V.S EMw 25:8
EMw V.S DMa 14:14
RRa V.S HBa 12:28
DMa V.S NDh 26:18


Volleyball

NDh V.S RRa 2:0
EMw V.S NDh 0:2
HBa V.S EMw 2:0
DMa V.S HBa 1:2
RRa V.S DMa 0:2
NDh V.S HBa 2:0


Soccer

NDh V.S RRa 0:0*
HBa V.S DMa 4:1
EMw V.S DMa 2:1
RRa V.S HBa 0:1
EMw V.S NDh 1*:1

*won by penalty shoot-outs





FINAL STANDINGS

BASKETBALL
1st = HBa
2nd= DMa
3rd = NDh

VOLLEYBALL
1st = NDh
2nd=HBa
3rd = DMa

SOCCER
1st = HBa
2nd= EMw
3rd = RRa


Overall Standings

1st HBa
2nd NDh
3rd DMa
4th EMw
5th RRa


MVPs of the Day

Diego Madurga, 11DMa
Clara Chiang, 11NDh

Congratulations to winning classes and Mr. Madurga and Clara for winning MVP.
Kudos to all who participated and gave it your all!

NAPFA Test Registration

Grade 12s boys who are going for NS, please be reminded to sign up for the 30th September (Wednesday) NAPFA test here as soon as possible.

You will be excused from school for the first couple of hours that morning and the reporting time is 0730hrs in PT attire.

VOLARE II

HELLO SENIOR SCHOOL (:

End of school year = party time :D

Student council is organising a end year party/dinner/dance (:

Here are the details :

Dress Code: Formal
Location : School Hall
Date : 26 November 2009, Thursday (last day of sch, friday is a public holiday)
Time : 7.30 pm (approx.)
Cost : To be confirmed (depends on response), would not be too pricey.

The party will involve dinner, games, and also band performances.

Thus the Senior Council is looking for bands from the senior school who are interested in performing during the night. We are aiming to showcase instrumentals such as jazz during meals and soft rock in between processions. Nothing is rock solid yet and genres may change, we may include some variations after receiving feedback and suggestions from bands. Vacant slots are limited, so please sign up early.

Any bands interested, please see Ian, Hilda, Amanda, or Bradian.

Or email : council@sjiiseniorschool.com

PROMMMMMMM.

HELLO G12S!

HERE ARE THE DETAILS FOR SJII SENIOR SCHOOL'S FIRST EVER YEAR 12 PROM!

Theme : Viva La Vida ( Live the life)
Date : 21st November,2009 (Saturday)
Location : The Upper Club, CHIJMES
Time : 7.30 pm
Fee : $80
Dress code : formal 'prom style'

Of course, this is just the beginning, we are open to your suggestions and feedback.

Please direct all queries to the senior school council (:

Email : council@sjiiseniorschool.com

FIRESIDE CHAT

WHO? Ms Jessica Tan
WHERE ? Lasalle Room
WHEN? 21/08/2009, 6pm - 7pm

Ms Jessica Tan is the Managing Director of Microsoft, Singapore and Member of Parliment for East Coast GRC and Chairman of the East Coast Town Council. She is an alumnus of the National University of Singapore as well as Catholic Junior College and CHIJ (St. Joseph's Convent). For exclusive insight into the corporate world and politics as well as being a working mother in the 21st century, do not hesitate to sign up with Amanda or Bradian now!

Congratulations to Sarah Chong!

Sarah Chong recently entered a catholic songwriting competition run by the
Caritas Singapore Community Council. The competition was nationwide and
open to all ages and a task was set to compose a piece on a prescibed
catholic text. Sarah came first and won herself S$1000!

G9 Camp Facils Training Session

Calling all G9 Camp Facils :

There will be a training session this Saturday, 08/08/2009, from 12pm to 5pm at school.
Meet at the 1st floor foyer. (:

Contact Amanda or Bradian (11RRa) if you have any questions.

Hair for Hope a.k.a. Baldies Day

Tuesday, 21 July 2009, 3pm in the assembly hall.
63 courageous young men and women, well five were not so young anymore, showed up and let the hairdressers and their peers shaved off their hair. Andrea, her mom, Ms. Nadia (our librarian), Amanda Ang, Jia Yi, Antonia and Ms. Emma Williams were the stars of the event for having more guts than some guys :) We managed to collect $5000, which went to the CCF. Thanks for the help and support (and the hair) everyone!!

Grade 9 Camp Facilitators

After plenty of discussions and considerations, the Council has agreed upon these Grade 11s to facilitate the Grade 9 Camp.

1. Benita Chua
2. Caleb Ting
3. Cassie Seah
4. Christopher Tee
5. Clark Lawton
6. Deborah Fong
7. Edmund Yeung
8. Gareth Choo
9. Glen Poi
10.Jessica Murray
11.Jonas Felipe Kurniawan
12.Justin Ng
13.Justin Woon
14.Leon Voorwalt
15.Leung Man Ho
16.Matthew Tan
17.Mitchell Tan
18.Ooi Koon Peng
19.Ricardo Seah
20.Samuel Chew
21.Sarah Chong
22.Sarbajoy Majumbdar
23.Si Ying
24.Sunshine Chua Yi Ling
25.Tan Quan Qi

Names of other students not mentioned in the list above have been kept in the Student Council's database as reference for future events. There will be many other upcoming events in SJII which will need the Senior School's talents. Thus, keep your eyes and ears peeled for other opportunities. The student Council sincerely thanks you for your enthusiasm and participation.

Scholarship for the study of the IB Diploma Programme in 2010-2011

St Joseph’s Institution (SJI) International is now offering scholarships for the study of the IB Diploma Programme in 2010-2011. It would be appreciated if you could kindly disseminate this information to your [students/parishioners]*.

The aim of the IB Scholarship is to enable outstanding students who will enrich the school community to benefit from its education regardless of financial means. Hence, we are looking for outstanding students who have excellent quality of mind, active participation in non-academic activities, positive personal qualities and strong communication abilities.

The following types of scholarships are available:

For students based in Singapore (including Singaporeans, Permanent Residents and Expatriates based in Singapore):

(a) 75% Scholarships in which students will pay only 25% of the school fees.
(b) 100% Scholarships which covers the full school fees (students from families with total annual income of less than S$50,000 will be considered).

Applicants will be required to take the selection tests on 15 August or 26 September 2009. Shortlisted applicants will be called for interviews in October. Successful applicants will be notified by end October 2009.

For international students not based in Singapore:
Boarding Scholarships for students not based in Singapore, which covers school fees, boarding, textbook, allowance and major mandatory school expenses.

Visit www.sji-international.com.sg for the scholarship application form, and information on the school and its IB Diploma Programme. Queries on the scholarship can be directed to the Admissions Officer, Ms Vivien Chua, at vivien.chua@sji-international.com.sg.

SJI International achievements at the World Scholars' Cup

In the first week of the holidays, two teams from the Senior School had a successful run at World Scholars’ Cup Finals held at Nanyang Girls’ High School, Singapore. 100 Schools from 33 countries competed in this all-round academic competition, including other Singapore schools such as Raffles and Hwa Chong. The SJII Senior School Team 1 consisted of Hilda Foo, Sandesh Kaur and Jose Hong, and team 2 had Desiree Leong, Thiruneeran and Ian Chai.
Team Awards
- 10th top team overall (Team 1)
- 11th top team overall (Team 2)
- 1st best group for Essay Writing (Team 2)
- 3rd best group for Essay Writing (Team 1)

Individual Awards
Jose Hong
- 2nd for History
- 2nd for Visual Arts
- 3rd for Literature
- 8th Top individual overall
Hilda Foo
- 1st for Essay Writing
Desiree Leong
- 5th for Literature
- 3rd for Essay Writing
Ian Chai
- 5th for Literature
- 3rd for Essay Writing

Updates on School Activities

This term, the senior council has organised 2 major events.

1. Founder's Day Dinner


Guest-of-Honour: Prof. Tan Chorh Chuan, President of the National University of Singapore

It was a night of good music, good food and light banter. It was also a night of new beginnings, as the new Grade 11 Senior Councillors were officially invested into the Senior School Council, and a night of celebration and thanksgiving. Being surrounded by so many distinguished 'Old Boys', served as a stark reminder of the rich heritage we have been so blessed to be included in, the huge Lasallian family we're all a member of. As the certificates of appreciation were handed out to the members of the previous Senior School Council and the new members were invested, we're all reminded of how we are all called to be 'men for others'.



2. Jazz and Jive Talenttime 2009

Think Dixieland. Think Nat King Cole. Think Michael Buble. You're thinking jazz.

The night kicked off with a splendid and innovative Jazz dance, with the lively spirit of the dancers capturing the attention of the audience. Then the battle for Jazz supremacy at SJII began, as the contestants put their best swingin' and improvisin' foot forward, each bringing with them a different set of talent and style. It was a tough fight between all of the talented performers, but after much deliberation, Rowland Anthony Imperial emerged victorious. (:

Kudos to the Cultural Committee, Thiru, Shoba, Chris Tee and Linh, for helping to organise the event! Many thanks also to David Menon, our lively and eloquent MC for the evening.

Keep watching this space for more up and coming events next term!

- Amanda.

Fashion Show @ Arts and Culture Week 2009

Ready to see the Wild Strut? Production Club is proudly presenting our first fashion show on June 3rd at the Main Hall at 3.30 pm. Models will be wearing designer dresses.
Tickets, costing $6 will be on sale next week.
Hope to see you there!

Sale of New Senior School Uniform

The new Senior School uniform will be sale in school from 5-7 May 2009 in classroom 4T1 from 12 noon to 5pm. An order form indicating sizes and prices will be given to Grade 11-12 students on Monday, 20 April. If parents wish to pre-order and pre-pay for the uniform, this order form should be returned to the school office with cheque payment (made out to “ESTA Pte Ltd) by 28 April. Otherwise, students can just purchase the uniforms directly from the vendor in school on the 3 sale days. Senior School girls who wish to purchase pants as part of their uniform would need to place an order with the vendor during the sales days, and have their measurements taken. The pants will then be ready in two to three weeks.

Senior School debate team through to National Quarter-finals

The Senior School debate team has worked hard through the holidays as they battled with 28 other junior colleges, polytechnics and international schools in the MOE Invitational Debate Championships (MIDC). Winning 3 of the 4 rounds so far, the team has successfully made it to the quarter-finals this Saturday, 18 April. What made the wins sweeter was that all 3 wins were accompanied by the best speaker awards as well, for Jose Hong, and Tan Zhen He (twice). The team will be meeting Anglo-Chinese Junior College (ACJC) for the quarter-finals this saturday, 18th April.

Grade 11 Biology Fieldcourse at Tioman

In the week before the holidays the Grade 11 Biology students traveled to Tioman Island to study various ecosystems in order to compliment the current topic, Ecology and Evolution.

On the five day course students studied in depth the ecology of coral reefs, primary and secondary rainforests and both coastal and estuarine mangroves. Each student completed two major pieces of work while away; one involved collating data through various techniques to compare primary and secondary rainforests, the other was a personal project. The personal project requires them to develop a research question regarding a particular ecological aspect of Tioman Island. They then spend an afternoon in the field gather data relating to their question. This year we had personal projects relating to the claw waving behviour of fiddler crabs, the angle of bending of coconut trees, the attraction of insects to different coloured paper flowers and the distribution of different species of sea cucumbers. Our students worked hard and the time spent was very worthwhile.

Dr Jensen Hjorth, Head of Science

The Next 8 Weeks (13 April - 5 June)

Welcome back to school. The remainder of the term may be short but looking at the calendar of events it is certainly going to be a lively and intense 8 weeks. Here's a preview of upcoming items:

16 Apr - Public Service Commission Scholarship Talk
22 Apr - Senior School Founders' Day Dinner
24-25 Apr - Senior School Spiritual Retreat
27 Apr - Final Submission of Grade 12 Extended Essay to supervisors
1 May - Labour Day Public Holiday
2 May - Assisi Hospice Carnival
4-5 May - Grade 12 IB Chinese A2 SL & Vietnamese A1 SL Examinations
5-7 May - Sale of Senior School Uniform in School
11 May - Commencement day for the new Senior School uniform
7 May - Grade 11 Parent-teacher Meeting & Challenge Week Briefing
8 May - Grade 12 Personal Grooming Course (Session 1)
14 May - Grade 12 IB Hindi B SL Examinations
15 May - Official Grand School Opening cum Founders' Day Celebration
20 May - Blood Donation Drive
22 May - Grade 12 Personal Grooming Course (Session 2)
29 May - Grade 12 Reports
29 May - Deadline for first Grade 11 CAS journal submission & consultations
29 May - Deadline for third Grade 12 CAS journal submission & consultations
1-5 Jun - Music & Drama Week
5 Jun - Grade 11 Assessments
7-12 Jun - Grade 11 Krabi Expedition
8 Jun - Start of school holidays (5 Weeks)

Results of the Grade 11 Senior Council Elections, 23 March 2009

The top six candidates with the highest total votes (in alphabetical order by last name)are:

Amanda Ang Qi Qi
Petrus Bosa Layarda
Bradian Muliadi
Shobha Padmanabhan
Benjamin Teo Zhong Yu
Christopher Yuen

They will join the six Grade 12 elected councilors to form the 12-member Senior School Council.

Fireside Chat with Dr Stephen Riady

On 19 March 2009, the students of the Senior School spent an hour with Dr Stephen Riady hearing from and discussing his views on doing business, managing and motivating people, as well as service to community. Dr Riady is President of the Lippo Group of Companies who has many philanthropic projects in the region, especially focused on building schools and hospitals in rural areas. This is the second in the series of fireside chats, which present opportunities for the Grade 11-12 students to hear personal tales from successful people and to be inspired by them. It also provides them opportunities to seek the views of the guests in their respective fields and interests.

Council Updates

Hi Everyone,

Here's the councils' first update to keep you all abreast of stuff. As all of you would know, the first term has been a flurry of activity, events, and school work. So pardon us for the tardy update. But I can assure you we are working hard to try and make this school a second home for all of us, something that we can be proud of.

Here are some of the projects we are working on:

Wireless Internet Access
The lack of legitimate wireless internet access has left many students annoyed and flustered, especially with such a large proportion of students using laptops, but the school does have its reasons for restricting access.

1. A lot of the school's bandwidth is being used up by students, leaving the networks very sluggish and slow, especially when some errant students abuse the netwwork by downloading large files.

2. Some students have been accessing distracting sites during lessons, leading to class disruption and annoyance for teachers.

3. Some students have not been using the internet for the best of reasons.

However, we do know that the mistakes of a few students should not penalise the rest of the Senior School population, who genuinely need the wireless access to do their work and access the vast amount of resources that is so vital to coursework. Therefore, we have written a proposal to Mr Bennett, to ask for wireless internet access, on the basis of responsible usage by students. We have proposed that everyone will be given an individual account with which to access the network. That also means that any abuse of the network will be logged, and the offending student will have to be responsible for his actions.

On the bright side, it is very possible everyone will have access to the network, just that responsibility is the key to ensuring continued access for everyone.

So please be patient, we're working on it as much as we can, because we too know how frustrating not having wireless access can be. (:

Fireside Chats
1 done, and an upcoming one with Dr Stephen Riady coming up tomorrow, please be there! The first Fireside chat was an enlightening and engaging one with Mr Tan Tee How, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of National Development. From the chatter so far, it seems everyone has taken away something important from the first Fireside chat. The upcoming one with Mr Riady will be a Chat I'm sure all students can benefit from, especially economics students, seeing as how his business is still fluorishing in this economic climate. On the other side, Mr Riady's well-known philantrophy echoes the Lasallian values we so often hear in school; of sensitivity the the last, the lost, and the least in our community. Please continue to support the Chats!

Founder's Day Dinner
We're organising a dinner to celebrate Founder's Day, the dinner will include cultural and band performances, as well as a speech by our Guest-of-Honour Prof Tan Chorh Chuan, President of the National University of Singapore. We will also be investing the Senior Council of 2009. It is going to be a night for the senior school to come together and celebrate our Lasallian heritage, and we are working hard to make sure it is so.

Subway Deliveries
We know of the dissatisfaction with the canteen's food, so we thought we'd continue this project from last year to allievate some of the gastronomic stress, and also to add a sense of vibrancy to the community, something to look forward to! We hope you guys have been enjoying it, so do please feedback to us, or specifically Wei Jin if you have been enjoying the Subways. Judging from the response, it has been something we all look forward to! Please do thank Wei Jin with a big hug (Wei Jin likes hugs rmb! :D) if you appreciate the Subways as he's the one responsible for making sure we all get our Subways.

Movie Night
The organisation of the Movie Night was made possible by none other than our Social Secretary David Menon. The night was a relaxing one in the midst of the sea of work we had. I'm sure everyone enjoyed the screening of the Godfather with the plentiful popcorn and hotdogs that were available. The next Movie Night will be held next term, and this time you guys will have to bring your own food, but we won't be charging $2 like we did at all.

X-Campus Run
See below for more details!

Night Study for Grade 12s
We Senior School-ers are a REALLY hardworking lot (what with some of the torture devices the teachers employ like IAs :D), so Thiru and Savy have been at 1t1 every night to ensure that Grade 12s have a conducive atmosphere to study (trust me, having friends to share in your loneliness amidst the avanlanche of work is helpful!) It's slowly developing into a very warm and cosy group (:

Notice Board
If you guys noticed, the notice boards on the second floor foyer had been taken over by us (Mrs Teo gracefully gave us the notice board on the left, thank you!), and has been overtaken by a whole array of notices!
IMPT: Every student CAN post a notice on the student notices section, to put up Lost & Found Notices, Surveys, and to bring attention to important school or world issues. Remember, it is for everyone to see, so please observe decorum (:

So these are the updates thus far.

Do drop us any feedback at sjiiseniorcouncil@gmail.com

Best of luck for the rest of the term everyone!

Ora et Labora,

Ian Chai
President
SJII Senior Council

Grade 11 Krabi (Thailand) Expedition 2009

A week of action, adventure, nature, service and cultural immersion awaits as the Grade 11 students embark on the Krabi Expedition in the first week of the June holidays (7-12 June; subject to flight confirmation). The expedition will have students trekking, rock-climbing, sea kayaking, snorkeling, as well as taking part in a service project (mangrove swamp rehabilitation). Through these experiential activities we hope to impart new skills, bring students outside their comfort zone, and enable them to grow in leadership, teamwork, responsible risk-taking, and self-confidence.
The estimated cost of the expedition is $700 inclusive of flight, meals, accommodation, all activities as well as licensed professional instructors. Interested students should get a registration form from Michelle Aw of the school office and return it together with adeposit for $200 (cheque made out to ‘SJI International”) by Wednesday, 25 March 2009.

Proceed to the Gallery for more photos of the Krabi Expedition last year.

X-Campus Run!

Event: X - Campus Run~!!
Date: Friday, 20th March 09
Time: 1630 - 1830 Hrs
Fees: N/A

Other Important details

Reporting Time: 1610 Hrs
Reporting Place: School Fountain

No-event situation: Lightning (The event is ON, even if it is raining. Only if it is lightning would the event be postponed.)

The SSVH service group will be selling drinks to raise funds for their service!

Recommended Gear:

- Good pair of shoes with firm ankle support and a rough base. (no sandals/slippers/barefoot! allowed)

- PE Kit

- A towel

- Please do not carry valuables while running

If at any point of the event, you feel sick or feel like taking a break, please do so and let either one of the route marshals, medics, Savy or Jose know. Safety is always first.

On the event date, after 4 pm the parking to the left of the zebra crossing and the road leading down to the elementary school gate will be closed (refer to run route below). However, parking on the right (nearer to the school office) will be open.

- "Some people create with words or with music or with a brush and paints. I like to make something beautiful when I run. I like to make people stop and say, 'I've never seen anyone run like that before.' It's more than a race, it's a style. It's doing something better than anyone else. It's being creative." - Steve Roland

- "Every morning in Africa, an Antelope wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest Lion or it will be killed. Every morning in Africa, a Lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest Antelope or it will starve to death. So it doesn't matter whether you are a Lion or an Antelope... when the sun comes up, you'd better be running." - Anonymous

- Savy

Cross-campus relay, Friday 20 March

The Senior Student Council is organizing the inaugural Cross-Campus Run for the Senior School on Friday, 20th March from 1630-1830 hrs. The race will bring competitors on a course that spans both the elementary and the high school campuses for a distance of approximately 750 metres. The run will comprise of three sections: (a) individual category; (b) students' relay category; (c) teacher's relay category. The individual race will see competitors run five rounds on the course, while the 5 competitors in each of the tutor groups’ relay team will run a total of ten rounds. Both relay categories will be held at the same time. It has been estimated that 100 people will be participating in the run. All participants are to report at the school fountain at 1610 hrs. Please note the road on the elementary school side of the campus will be closed to traffic from 4.20-6.30pm.

Australian University Fair, Thursday 19 March

A group of Australian Universities will be visiting SJI International on 19 March 2009. The universities represented are: Curtin University of Technology, Edith Cowan University, Griffith University, Macquarie University, Monash University, University of Adelaide, University of Melbourne, University of New South Wales and University of Tasmania. They will be in the Assembly Hall from 3-4pm. Students and parents of 11 and 12 are invited to explore university options in Australia at this fair. As Grade 10 and FIB students are beginning to look at their IB subject choices, they are also welcome to attend this fair with their parents.

Fireside Chat with Dr Stephen Riady

In the second Senior School Fireside Chat this year, Dr Stephen Riady will be meeting the Grade 11-12 students on Thursday, 19 March, 6pm to discuss “How businesses can make a difference to the world”. Dr Riady is Deputy Chairman of the Lippo Group, and has been involved extensively in philanthrophy, especially in support ofchurches and schools in Indonesia, Hong Kong, China, Vietnam and Singapore. In 2007, the Lippo Group donated $21 million to the NUS Business School. This fireside chat coincides with the official opening of the school library which is being named the Stephen Riady Library in recognition of Dr Riady’s generous donation of $1million to SJI International.

Grade 11 Senior Council Elections

Nominations for the Grade 11 Senior Council Elections closed on Wednesday, 11 March, and a total of 21 candidates are standing for the six elected posts in the Senior Council. The voting will take place on 24 March during the Grade 11 Assembly. The results will be posted on the Senior School webpage (www.sjiiseniorschool) on 25 March. The elected grade 11s students will join the Grade 12s elected in January to form to 12-member Senior Council.

Extended Essay First Full Draft

By the time this bulletin is sent out, all Grade 12 students should have submitted the first full draft of their Extended Essay to their supervisors. This draft will be returned to them by 27 March, so that they can work towards a key milestone in their IB Diploma course – the final submission of their Extended Essay by 13 April.

Inuagural Senior School Fireside Chat

On the 25th of February, some 20 students from the senior school attended the first-ever fireside chat with Mr. Tan Tee How, the permanent secretary of the Ministry of National Development. Mr Tan spoke to the students on the topic ‘Good Government – Reflections of a Civil Servant’. His discussions included the experience of being a civil servant, the differences between the private and the public sector, the learning journey in the civil service and he answered questions, among which were the entry requirements for the civil service, achieving the balance between maximum social benefit and minimum government expenditure, overcoming the challenges of corruption and self-interest and more.
The fireside was more than a purely academic discussion. Mr Tan discussed the values and attitudes that a person should have and uphold, regardless of his/her position and he emphasized that people should embrace values they claim to believe in. Mr Dennis Tang, who was also present during the chat, pointed out that Mr Tan had retained and enhanced the values that he had learnt and developed at SJI, where he completed his secondary education.
As a concluding point, Mr Tan emphasized the importance and need for humility, no matter how much one has achieved, accentuating the fact that a humble person is one who is open to learning and open to knowledge.
The students who attended the chat not only benefitted from it, but enjoyed some drinks and donuts at the end of it!
By: Thiruneeran, Culture Secretary

Grade 11 Lasallian Camp

Images from the Grade 11 Lasallian Camp "Choices" held from 13-15 February. Participants had fun and bonded over games, learnt more about our Founder St John Baptist de la Salle, and considered some key choices that they have to make about studies, relationships, and future careers. At the closing of the camp, everyone wrote a commitment card on the choices made during the camp that they plan to keep for the year.

Philippines Building Project with Gawad Kalinga (Easter Holidays)

"No more slums, no more violence, no more poverty" is the rallying call of Gawad Kalinga, a charity based in the Philippines which works with the poor and homeless, building, not only houses but also self-esteem and more vibrant life styles. GK works with international partners, building whole villages of brightly coloured houses, arguing that the bright colours cause an uplifting of spirits and is a visible sign of the improvements in people's lives.

During the first week of the Easter holidays, a group of about 25 Grade 11 and 12 students will be going to the Philippines on a six-day visit to work on a Gawad Kalinga site. During their stay, the students will live, eat and work alongside the local people, not just as people from a richer
nation going to provide a service to their less fortunate neighbours, but also to learn about themselves and about others from an intense social and cultural interchange. Students interested in this programme should contact Ms Kathy Smyth.

University Fair, 7th February

As announced last term we are hosting a University Fair for Grade 12 students and parents on Saturday, 7 February. NUS, NTU, SMU, IDP (Australia), USEIC (USA), and CEC (Canada) will attend and give presentations. Students have signed up for up to 4 presentations and your son or daughter should be able to give you your schedule. If they are not sure please ask them to check the schedule on the Senior School Notice Board.

The morning will start at 9am with a brief introduction in the Glass Hall, followed by the first session at 9.15. Each presentation will last 45 minutes, with a 15 minute break between sessions. All presentations will be on the 3rd floor.

The morning will give you the opportunity to hear directly from Admissions Officers at NUS, NTU and SMU, as well as from representatives of overseas university systems. While the overseas organizations do not represent particular universities, they will be able to give you more insight into their respective university systems and application process’. We hope you will be able to attend these presentations together with your son or daughter.

Unfortunately the British Council are not able to participate on the 7th. However, they are offering a session at the British Council focusing on UK universities and the UCAS application process for our Grade 12 students and parents only. This is scheduled for Thursday, 19 February from 6 to 7 pm. You may register for this session at the University Fair.

We look forward to seeing you at the University Fair. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me at school or by email at tannaz.daver@sji-international.com.sg.

Tannaz Daver
University Counsellor

"Choices": the Grade 11 Lasallian Camp, 13-15 February

All Grade 11 students will be attending the camp "Choices" run by Lasalle Centre Singapore starting on Friday, 13 February after school, and ending on Sunday, 15 February afternoon. The camp, which will be held on the school campus, aims to help the Grade 11s look ahead to the challenges and goals they want to set for themselves not just for the IB course, but also for their future vocations, careers and life directions.

Expert speakers and workshop leaders will be engaged to facilitate the students as they explore the choices important to young people, which includes deciding to pursue a good education, choosing true friends, dealing with teenage pitfalls and establishing a healthy sense of self-worth. These themes will run parallel with an exploration of the life and vision of our Founder St John Baptist de la Salle, and in this process, we hope they will also discover what it means to be Lasallian.

The camp cost is $65, which covers all meals, workshop materials and the facilitation of the workshop leaders. Students should pass the cheque (made out to La Salle Centre Ltd) to the school's finance office by Friday, 6 February 2009.

For more information and discussions, visit lasalliancamp.sjiiseniorschool.com or the Students' Forum.

Grade 12 Senior Council Elections

The Grade 12 Senior Council elections took place on 22 January 2009, with 10 candidates contesting for the six Grade 12 seats. The candidates who received the highest votes (in alphabetical order) were:

Ian Chai
Chen Wei Jin
Hilda Foo
David Menon
Sarvatrajit Singh
Thiruneeran

Congratulations to the newly-elected Senior Council members, who will be discussing and finalising their roles and responsibilities within the council over the next few days.

Incendo

The week-long Grade 11 orientation, 'Incendo', came to a glorious end on Friday, 9 January, with Social Night - a BBQ cum Party that featured food from around the world (sourced by the orientation groups), skits, and of course rounded off with the mass dance 'Chocolatte' that they've been practicing the whole week. Kudos to the all the Grade 11s who participated heartily in Incendo, and to the Grade 12 organising team, led by Ian Chai, David Menon and Chen Wei Jin, that made this orientation such a success. More images from Incendo will be up in the photo gallery soon.

New and Renewed Journeys

A warm welcome to all new Grade 11s as you embark on your new journey as an IB student. You will find that it’s a path not only to a highly stimulating intellectual experience but one that also pushes the boundaries of your physical, social and creative growth. For this journey, take along positivism, curiosity, openness, and perseverance. And work hard, for you will gain from your experience only as much as you put into it. Although don’t forget to, once in a while, stop to smell the roses by side of the path, make friends, and treasure all that is important to you.

I would also like to welcome back the Grade 12s. I’m sure you will agree that your first IB year has been a transformative experience. Many of you have found and developed new passions and strengths, made good friends, and struggled with challenges, pain and weaknesses. What is certain is that this year you will experience even more challenges and changes. Many of you made commitments to choices during the November Lasallian Camp. Keep them in mind as your second IB year commences, and with the right spirit, discipline and effort, I’m confident not only will you achieve your academic goals, but also in the process discover and become the person you are to be.

Ora et Labora.

Malcolm Wong
Head of Senior School