St. Gabriel's Secondary School

St. Gabriel's Secondary School (referred to as "SGSS" or "St. Gabs") is an all-boys Catholic secondary school in Serangoon,Singapore. The school is affiliated to St. Gabriel's Primary School and Catholic Junior College and is one of 7 Gabrielite Schools in Singapore. Classes are offered in the Express, Normal Academic and Normal Technical streams.

In the 2009 National Secondary School Rankings, St. Gabriel's Secondary School was ranked a Band 3 and 8 (Normal and Express respectively). The school was also awarded the Achievement Award for Academic Value-Added in years 2007-2009 and Sustained Achievement Award for Uniformed Group, Aesthetics and Sports in years 2008-2009 .

The school has also met the requirements for the Singapore Quality Class (SQC) for business excellence with effect from 31 January 2008.

The principal of St. Gabriel's Secondary School is Mr Marcel Lee and its vice-principals are Miss Jackie Cheng and Mr Anith Kumar S/O Nadesan.

School history

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Image from 1953

St Gabriel's School opened its doors on 3 June 1953 and was located at the junction of Hillside Drive and Upper Serangoon Road. Under the supervision of Rev Bro Louis Gonzaga and seven pioneer teachers, the school accepted 212 pupils for its first intake, consisting of only five classes: two of Primary 1, one each of Pri­mary 2, Standard 1 and Standard 2. The school was officially declared open on 13 December 1953 by the then Bishop of the Diocese of Singapore and Malacca, Mgr Michael Olcomendy. In 1954, Brother Elzear became the school's first Principal.

In 1959, the school had its first Secondary Four class, which sat for the Senior Cambridge Examinations for the first time the following year. St. Gabriel's School was now a full school. The primary section of the school was relocated to new building along Highland Road on 2 January 1969 and officially declared open on 12 July 1969, hence the creation of two separate schools, namely St. Gabriel's Primary School and St. Gabriel's Secondary School.

With the establishment of the Primary School, the Secondary School was reorganised when there was a shift in emphasis towards technical education. Some premises were converted into machine and electrical workshops to cater to the needs of pupils of SGSS and three other neighbouring schools. At present, the school teaches the default GCE 'O' and 'N' Level syllabus as outline by the Ministry of Education.

The Brothers of St. Gabriel's were at the helm of the school for 30 years (1953-1983) before the leadership was passed on to lay principals (1984- present).

School Crest & Motto

School Badge (1953-2007)

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School Crest (2007-Present)

The School Crest was formally introduced in 2007 to replace the School Badge (1953-2007) and is now used by all Gabrielite Institutions. This is in line with the St. Gabriel's Foundation's aim to forge a common identity for all Gabrielite Institutions in the SE-Asia Region. Components of the School Crest are as follows:

A.M. with the lily flower: "A.M." is an abbreviation for “Ave Maria.” It represents the greeting of Angel Gabriel to Mary. It also shows our Patron Saint St. Louis de Monfort's strong devotion to our lady.

D+S with a cross: D.S. comes from the French words "Dieu Seul", which can be translated as "GOD ALONE". God Alone is the all-motivating force in the life of St. Louis Marie de Montfort.

Sailboat at sea: represents the hardships we experience through life. Just like the sailors at sea, if we are able to face hardship and overcome difficulties, we will come out being better people.

Star and the man in the boat: symbolizes the Star of the sea, where seamen navigate to their destination in the vast ocean. If we are focused on the essential values of life, we shall reach our ultimate destiny in life. The Star of the sea shall be the guiding light that lights up the way in our life.

Olive branches: symbolizes peace and prosperity. It is thus the duty of each one to promote peace in the world, a peace that will last. Coupled with peace is that of prosperity which connotes not only the generation of wealth but also the integral development of human society.

Labor Omnia Vincit: which stands for “Labour conquers all things.” Hard work embodied in diligence and perseverance leads one to achieve greater things in life.

Mission, Vision, Values & Song

School song by Rev. Bro. Louis Gonzaga and improved upon by Rev. Bro. Noel Our School Song In white and blue, boys full of mirth and life From early morn, we flood the green playground In every hall, soon starts the daily strife Of school routine, lessons and work all round With spirits bright, our will we'll gladly bracing From teachers kind we learn what's good and right We thus do hope to attain with God's blessing Virtue and Truth, Virtue and Truth Of life's true beacon light - Saint Gabriel's School Dear Here willing hearts behold When duty's call rings clear 'Mid sorrows as through joys For Singapore and God For justice to uphold Let us live and thus prove Saint Gabriel's boys - The School Song (MP3 Format)

Mission

Shaping Lives for Service to God and Nation

Vision

The Gabrielite...

- Servant Leader

- Lifelong Learner

- Gracious Citizen

Values

- We honour God

- With the right attitude, we can achieve

- We respect one another

- We strive for continuous improvement

- We accomplish more together

- We lead by example

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Exchange Programmes

The school has annual exchange programmes with Kitago Junior High School in Miyazaki Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan.

Affiliation

The school is affiliated with St. Gabriel's Primary School (SGPS), giving SGPS students priority for admission. St. Gabriel's is also affiliated to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Singapore and the Monfort Brothers of Christian Instruction of St Gabriel. Other Gabrielite Schools in Singapore include: Assumption English School, Montfort Secondary School, Montfort Junior School and Assumption Pathway School.

Non-Academic Achievements 2009

List of Achievements:

Uniformed Group NCC Land - Silver NCC Air - Gold NPCC - Silver Scouts - Silver Red Cross - Silver

Aesthetics Groups Symphonic Band - Gold Vocal Ensemble (Choir) - Gold Guitar Ensemble - Gold

Sports Judo B Division - Nationals 3rd Judo C Division - Nationals 2nd Table Tennis C Boys- Nationals 1st Floorball - Nationals 3rd Soccer - South Zone 'B' 2nd Soccer - South Zone 'C' 2nd Badminton - South Zone 'B' 2nd

Past Principals

• Brother Louis Gonzaga (1953-1954)
• Rev. Brother Elzear (1954-1957)
• Brother Louis Gonzaga (1957-1958)
• Brother Raymond (1958-1959)
• Brother Adolphus (1959-1961)
• Brother Emmanuel (1961-1963)
• Brother Noel (1963-1969)
• Brother Emmanuel (1969-1974)
• Brother Edmund James (1974-1983)
• Mr John Teo (1984)
• Mr Harold Mathieu (1985-1986)
• Mr Andrew Ng (1987-1989)
• Mrs Ng Peng Hock (1990-1996)
• Mr Winston Hodge (1997-1998)
• Mr Adolphus Tan (1999-2004)
• Mr Marcel Lee (2005-Present)

Library

The library, named The Zone, is equipped with CD-Roms, DVDs, VCDs, CDs and internet-enabled computers. The library organises events such as the Inter-Class Debate Competition (2008, 2009), Photography Competition (2007), Jamming Competition (2007), and the Book Cover Design Competition (2006). The Zone's motto is "Partner in Education".

Notable alumni

• Pierre Png - MediaCorp artiste
• Indra Sahdan Daud - Footballer
• Hariss Harun - Footballer

External links

• Official website