St. Joseph's Institution, Singapore

St. Joseph's Institution 圣若瑟书院 (Shèng Ruò Sè Shū Yuàn) Institusi Saint Joseph
File:Sji logo.jpg
Location
38 Malcolm Road, Singapore (308274)
Information
Type	Independent Secondary
Motto	Ora et Labora (Pray and Work)
Established	1852
Session	Single session
School code	7020
Principal	Dr Koh Thiam Seng
Enrolment	Approx. 1,600
Colour(s)	Green, white
Website	Saint Joseph's Institution Online

Sculpture of De la salle, founder of the Lasallian teaching tradition on the second level of former SJI building
(see Former Saint Joseph’s Institution

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

SJI provides an education to boys of all races and religions. In terms of academic achievements, SJI has consistently been a Gold Academic Value-Added school since 2005.

The school is consistently ranked among the top secondary schools in Singapore. In September 2005, the school was 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. It has been awarded the Best Practice Award for teaching and learning. SJI has received the Sustained Achievement Award for Sports and the Sustained Achievement Award for Uniformed Groups for the third and seventh consecutive year respectively.

In 2008, the school was re-validated with the Singapore Quality Class Award, obtained, for the second time, the Best Practice Award (Teaching and Learning) and attained the Best Practice Award (Student All-Round Development) in the MOE External Validation exercise. The school received consecutive Sustained Achievement Awards in Academic Value-Added, Sports, Uniformed Groups and Fitness.

In 2009, SJI was recognized by MOE with a pinnacle award - The School of Excellence Award. The School Excellence Award (SEA) recognises schools for their excellence in both education processes and outcomes. It is the highest and most prestigious award in the Masterplan of Awards framework in MOE, Singapore.

From 2013, SJI will be a dual track school offering an Integrated Programme (IP) track and O-level track. As a dual track school, SJI will be able to serve students with a wider range of academic abilities. As part of its IP, SJI will be offering a 6-year education, with its JC section offering the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP). The first IP intake at Secondary 1 and Secondary 3 will be in 2013 and 2014 respectively while the first IBDP intake will be in 2013.

The principal of SJI is Dr. Koh Thiam Seng, an alumnus from the class of 1976. He is assisted by 4 Vice-Principals. Mrs Goh Poh Kenn is the Deputy Principal for Curriculum and Administration. Mr Dominic Ang is the Assistant Principal for Student Development. Mr Malcolm Wong is the Assistant Principal for Special Programmes and External Relations. Mrs Anne Tan is the Assistant Principal for Curriculum and Professional Learning. The Singapore Sector Leader, Brother Paul Ho, who oversees all the Lasallian schools in Singapore including SJI, is responsible for maintaining the Lasallian Ethos of the school and the character development programmes.

History

School Rally Verse 1: All through our college A voice is resounding Promptly respond to your duty's sweet call Harken you all for the trumpet is sounding Your mater's proclaiming Her watchwords to all Chorus: Forward her children dear Ever with hearts sincere Render with joy to your mater her due All that is vile reject Heaven will e'er protect Sons of St Joseph's Valiant and True Verse 2: Onward and upward in life's earnest battle Joyously bearing the brunt of the fight Nobly forgiving for all that may pain you And bravely defending the cause of the right Verse 3: Ora et labora your motto's still bearing Forward with courage in ways that are just True to your standards be serving and daring As faithful Josephians in Heaven we trust

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 known as St John's, but on 19 March 1855 (Feast of Saint Joseph), the cornerstone of a new school building was laid. From that date, 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, Singapore – 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, the A.R.F. (Air Raid Precautionary Group). On 16 February 1942, a bomb hit the school courtyard during the war, leaving a crater, but the main building remained unscathed.

During the Japanese Occupation, the school was renamed to Bras Basah Road Boy's School. The Brothers were soon asked to 'resign'. The school and hostel were run along military lines. However, 3 weeks after the Japanese surrender, the Brothers returned and St Joseph's was re-opened and normal lessons resumed.

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 restoration work, it 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. In 1995 a Performing Arts Centre and an entirely new wing to house Secondary One students were added.

In 2002, SJI celebrated the 150th anniversary of her founding. In 2006, SJI, upon the urging of the Economic Development Board of Singapore, opened an international school. SJI International began classes in January 2007. Andrew Bennett, a former Principal of the United World College of South East Asia, was appointed the first Principal of SJI International. To safeguard the Catholic and Lasallian ethos in the new school, the Board 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.

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

SJI has been a Gold Value Added school for the GCE 'O' Level examinations.

Motto

"Ora Et Labora", Latin for "Pray and Work" is a reflection of the twin pillars of the La Salle Brothers, Faith and Zeal.

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 university
• Saint Joseph's Institution International
• Catholic Junior College

Head Prefects

The Head Prefect of SJI is the highest leadership position in the school. He heads the SJI Prefectorial Board and has responsibilities for school functions and CCAs. The Head Prefect updates the school administration on student affairs and plays a key role in the Assembly of Student Leaders.

Uniform

The school uniform is a simple, white attire with the school badge worn on the shirt pocket on the top left corner (the Prefect badge, worn by school prefects, is to be attached to the shirt pocket at the centre, instead of the top left corner). The school pants are worn by Sec 3 and Sec 4 boys and must conform to the school’s design. White shorts are worn by Sec 1 and Sec 2 boys. Badges, representing CCA identities may be worn but only one is permitted on each shirt collar. The school tie is worn on the first school day of the week and for all formal school functions. The official school P.E. attire is the only other attire that can be worn on campus. A belt is an option for Sec 3 & 4 boys only. Socks are to be plain white only and must be clearly visible above the ankles. Shoes must be clean, WHITE ONLY, sports shoes and in good condition. Stripes, lines, logos and coloured edges are not permitted. Coloured sports shoes may be worn only with P.E. attire.

School Prefects and those authorized to wear the school blazer are permitted to wear simple, black, leather shoes when they are formally attired.

Co-Curricular Activities

SJI offers a large variety of CCAs for Secondary One students to choose from. The 3 main groups include Sports, Uniformed Groups and Clubs & Societies. SJI's niches include Rugby, Canoeing and Table Tennis.

The St Joseph's Institution Military Band (SJIMB) clinched the Gold with Honours Award under the baton of Mr Tan Thiam Hee in the recent 2009 Singapore Youth Festival Central Judging, the highest achievable award in that competition. It was one of the top 10 bands in the competition to do so.

In the 2011 Singapore Youth Festival Central Judging, the band managed to clinch the Silver award. The choice piece was the Seventh Night of July and the set piece was the Memories of Friendship.

Notable alumni

Politics

• Dr Tony Tan Keng Yam - 7th President of Singapore
• Teo Chee Hean - Deputy Prime Minister
• George Yeo - Former Cabinet Minister
• Mah Bow Tan - Former Cabinet Minister
• Christopher De Souza - MP for Holland-Bukit Timah GRC
• Charles Chong - MP for Joo Chiat SMC
• Matthias Yao - Former MP
• Edwin Tong - MP for Moulmein-Kallang GRC

Governmental organizations

• Gerard Ee - Interim Chairman and CEO, National Kidney Foundation; Chairman, Public Transport Council
• Philip Yeo - Chairman, SPRING Singapore and former Chairman, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)

Business

• Ee Peng Liang - Businessman and philanthropist
• Tan Sri Khoo Teck Puat - late Singapore tycoon

Sports

• Goh Tat Chuan - former national soccer player

Arts and entertainment

• Dick Lee - musician; 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
• Prof. Jeremy Monteiro - jazz pianist; Board Member, National Arts Council; Cultural Medallion winner
• Julian Hee - Mediacorp artiste
• Jonathan Leong - Singapore Idol Season 2 Runner-up

Legal

• Davinder Singh, S.C. - Lawyer, CEO of Drew and Napier
• Francis Seow - Former Solicitor General and Workers' Party member, currently in exile

Education

• Prof. Tan Cheng Han, S.C. - Dean and Head, Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore
• Prof. Tan Chorh Chuan - President, National University of Singapore

Others

• Warren Fernandez - Former Deputy Editor and Foreign Editor of The Straits Times

See also

• Former Saint Joseph’s Institution
• Father Jean-Marie Beurel

External links

• Official website
• Official School alumni website
• SJI International
• La Salle Centre