Saint Joseph's Institution, Singapore

Infobox Singapore School


name = St. Joseph's Institution
圣约瑟书院 (Shèng Yuè Sè Shū Yuàn)
Institusi Saint Joseph
motto = "Ora et Labora" (Pray and Work)
established = 1852
type = Independent Secondary
session = Single Session
principal = Mr Lui Seng Cheong
city/town = Malcolm Road
school code = 7020
enrollment = Approx. 2000
colours = Green, White
homepage = [http://www.sji.moe.edu.sg/ Saint Joseph's Institution Online]

Saint Joseph's Institution (Abbreviation: SJI) is a Catholic secondary school for male students in Singapore. It was founded in 1852 as St. John's Institution, and is the 3rd oldest educational institution in Singapore (the first and second being Raffles Institution and St. Margaret's Secondary School respectively) .

SJI is recognised as one of the top secondary schools in Singapore, providing a value-added and all-round education to boys of all races and religions.

The school is consistently ranked among the top secondary schools in Singapore. In September 2005, the school is one of the few in Singapore to be awarded the coveted School Distinction Award as part of the Ministry of Education's 2005 Masterplan Awards. In addition, it has been awarded the Best Practice Award for teaching and learning. SJI has also received the Sustained Achievement Award for Sports and the Sustained Achievement Award for Uniformed Groups for the third and seventh consecutive year respectively.

The current principal of SJI is Mr Benjamin Lui Seng Cheong. The deputy principals for curriculum and student development are Mrs Goh Poh Kenn and Mr Sydney Tan respectively. The former principal of St. Michael's School (now St. Joseph's Institution Junior), Ms Wee Siew Sun has been appointed Deputy Principal (Special Projects). Bro Michael Broughton, FSC, the former Deputy Principal (Student Development), has been appointed the Brother President of SJI and SJI International as of January 2007. Since the beginning of the same year, Mr Malcolm Wong has also been the Assistant Principal of SJI, but he has moved to SJI International in 2008 as the Head of Grade 11 and 12.

History

SJI was founded in 1852 as the first missionary establishment of the La Salle Brothers in the Far East. The endeavour was initiated by Rev Fr Jean-Marie Beurel MEP, who offered six Brothers from Europe to start the school using a former chapel as premises. Within a year, an attap hut also had to be erected to accommodate all the students. The school was originally known as St John's, but on 19 March 1855 (Feast of Saint Joseph), the cornerstone of a new school building was laid. From this date onwards, the school has been known as Saint Joseph's Institution. The new central classroom block was completed in 1865, though further expansion of the facilities continued well into the 20th Century. The school had 426 students in 1900. This grew to almost 1200 in 1914, and 1600 in 1922. With the student population expanding, a temporary branch school was opened, which eventually led to the building of a second school – Saint Patrick's School – in 1933.

During World War II, prior to the fall of Singapore to the Japanese, the school was used as a Red Cross hospital and housed a unit of the Civil Defence Force. A bomb hit the school courtyard during the war, leaving a crater, but the main building remained unscathed.

In 1954, St. Joseph's Junior School was housed in St. Michael's School, now known as St. Joseph's Institution Junior.

In 1975, SJI's first year pre-university classes and some its teachers were transferred to the newly-opened Catholic Junior College.

In 1988, SJI shifted into a new campus at Malcolm Road situated just off the neighbourhood of Toa Payoh, beside the Tanglin Community Centre. The beautiful old campus with its distinctive semi-circular wings was gazetted by the Singapore National Heritage Board as a national monument. After lengthy and painstaking restoration works, it currently houses the Singapore Art Museum.

In 1990, SJI became one of the few schools invited by the then Education Minister to turn independent - a mark of its excellence. Leadership in the school has passed increasingly to lay people but they remain committed to the memory and mission of the Christian Brothers and their founder St John Baptist De La Salle.

Under the administration of Brother Paul Anthony Rogers, SJI saw its peak in growth. The addition in 1995 of a large Performing Arts Centre and an entirely new wing to house Secondary One students makes it well-equipped to handle the needs and demands of a growing population.

In 2002, SJI celebrated the 150th anniversary of her founding. In 2006, SJI, upon the urging of the Economic Development Board of Singapore, has opened an international school. SJI International has begun classes in January 2007. Andrew Bennett, a former Principal of the United World College of South East Asia, has been appointed the first Principal of SJI International. To safeguard the Catholic and Lasallian ethos in the new school, the Board has also appointed SJI's former Deputy Principal (Student Development) Bro. Michael Broughton as the Brother President of the School. Lawrence da Silva, a former Director of the United World College of South East Asia heads the interim Governing Board of the School. Mr Bennett and Mr da Silva would recreate a partnership that led to UWCSEA's outstanding IB results in previous years.

The year 2006 was the first year in which double pure science was offered to every candidate, with no student doing combined science.

chool Pledge

We Josephians pledge ourselves at all times,

in the spirit of our motto:

ORA ET LABORA.

To be loyal to God and to our nation,

to our family and to our school.

To follow the rules of good morality,

in our personal and social behaviour,

out of love for God and our neighbours.

To show respect to all who exercise authority:

parents, teachers and student leaders.

To give first attention to our studies

by seeking a balance in our academic work

and co-curricular activities.

To build an authentic Lasallian family,

here at St. Joseph's Institution,

in the spirit of faith, service and community.

SO HELP US GOD.

Motto

The school motto - "Ora et Labora", Latin for "Pray and Work" is a reflection of the twin pillars of the
La Salle Brothers, Faith and Zeal.

ummary of information

Brother President

* Bro Michael Broughton, FSC

Principal

* Mr Lui Seng Cheong Benjamin

Deputy Principals

* Mrs Goh Poh Kenn (Curriculum)
* Ms Wee Siew Sun (Special Projects)

Prefects EXCO

* Brijinder Singh (Head Prefect)
* Muhd Yamani (Deputy Head Prefect)
* Low Wei Xuan (EXCO)
* Oliver Grundy (EXCO)
* Heng Pin Max (EXCO)

Josephians of the Year 2008

* Choo Ruizhi, 433 (Senior Josephian)

Nearest MRT stations

* Newton
* Toa Payoh

Mother tongue languages

*Chinese
*Malay
*Tamil

Affiliated Schools

* De La Salle School
* Saint Joseph's Institution Junior ("formerly St. Michael's School")
* St. Stephen's School
* St. Anthony's Primary School
* St. Patrick's School
* Saint Joseph's Institution International

Uniform

The SJI uniform is completely white, worn with white socks and shoes. The boys in the lower secondary level wear white shorts, while students in the upper secondary level are dressed in long, white pants. The school badge is to be worn on the top right hand corner of the shirt pocket.

Green and white striped ties are to be worn at the start of each school week, and on special occasions. For prefects, a dark green tie will be worn instead and they are to wear their ties on every school day.

Senior prefects will be issued a badge denoting prefectorial status. It is to be worn on the middle of the pocket. They need not wear the regular school badge.

The SJI PE Uniform is a white shirt with the school crest printed on the front left breast and the word "JOSEPHIAN" marked across the back. The green shorts have the word "SJI" threaded on the bottom left thigh. Sports shoes are allowed to be worn with the SJI PE Uniform.

Notable alumni

Ministers

* David Saul Marshall - First Chief Minister of Singapore in 1955
* Dr. Tony Tan - Former Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore (stepped down September 1, 2005); Chairman, National Research Foundation; Deputy Chairman & Executive Director, Government of Singapore Investment Corporation; Chairman / Independent Director, Singapore Press Holdings
* Brigadier-General George Yeo - Minister for Foreign Affairs
* Mah Bow Tan - Minister for National Development & Deputy Leader of the House
* Rear-Admiral (NS) Teo Chee Hean - Minister for Defence

Members of Parliament

* Christopher De Souza - MP, Holland-Bukit Timah GRC, OCS Sword of Honour Recipient
* Chong You Fook Charles - MP, Chairman, National Police Cadet Corps Council
* Matthias Yao Chih - Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Mayor - South East District

Governmental organizations

* Ernest Wong - Temasek Holdings Advisory Board
* Gerard Ee - Interim Chairman & Acting CEO, National Kidney Foundation; Chairman, Public Transport Council
* Philip Yeo - outgoing Chairman, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) and incoming Chairman,SPRING Singapore
* Leo Yip Seng Cheong - Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Manpower
* Tan Tee How - Permanent Secretary, Ministry of National Development
* Tan Chin Tiong - Ambassador to Japan

Business

* Anthony Salim - CEO & President, The Salim Group - Indonesia's biggest conglomerate
* Ee Peng Liang - Businessman and philanthropist
* Edmund Tie - Executive Chairman, DTZ Debenham Tie Leung (SEA) Pte Ltd
* Khoo Teck Puat - Late Singapore tycoon
* Noel Hon - Chairman, NEC Solutions Asia Pacific, President of the Singapore Scout Association and recipient of the Gold Lion Scouting Award
* Peter Seah Lim Huat - Non-Executive Chairman, Sembcorp Industries Ltd, Various Board Appointments
* Tan Puay Chiang - Chairman, Exxon Mobil China
* Lim Chee Onn - Executive Chairman, Keppel Corporation Ltd

ports

* Goh Tat Chuan - Singapore's national soccer player

Arts and entertainment

* Dick Lee - One of Asia's most well-known musicians; Cultural Medallion winner
* Goh Sin Tub - A pioneer of Singapore literature and a teacher, civil servant, banker, builder, social worker and former chairman of the SJI Board of Governors
* Jeremy Monteiro - King of Swing, virtuoso jazz pianist; Board Member, National Arts Council; Cultural Medallion winner
* Jonathan Leong - Singapore Idol 2006 1st Runner Up
* Mark Van Cuylenberg - also widely known as The Flying Dutchman; host compere, radio personality

Legal

* Davinder Singh, "S.C." - One of the leading lawyers in Singapore and Asia; CEO of Drew & Napier LLC
* Michael Khoo, "S.C."
* Tan Chin Seng - Senior Partner, Tan Rajah and Cheah and Commissioner for Oaths

Education

* Prof. Tan Chorh Chuan - Senior Deputy President, President-Designate National University of Singapore
* Prof. Tan Cheng Han, S.C. - Dean and Head, Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore
* Prof. Leo Tan Wee Hin - Immediate Past Director of the National Institute of Education and Professor of Natural Sciences and Science Education

Others

* BG Bernard Tan Kok Kiang - ex-SAF Director, Joint Intelligence Directorate, ex-Chief Armour Officer, President's Scholar, Lee Kuan Yew Scholarship Recipient
* Warren Fernandez - Deputy Editor and Foreign Editor of The Straits Times

ee also

* Former Saint Joseph’s Institution
* Father Jean-Marie Beurel
* Saint Joseph's Institution International

External links

* [http://www.sji.moe.edu.sg/ Official school website]
* [http://www.sjipb.blogspot.com/ SJI Prefectorial Board]
* [http://www.sjinpcc.org/ SJI NPCC Website]
* [http://www.sji-sjab.org/ SJI SJAB Online]
* [http://www.sjioba.com/ Official School Alumni Website]
* [http://www.sjioba.com/playbig.html Tribute Video to Saint Joseph's Institution]