Dunman Secondary School

Not to be confused with Dunman High School

Dunman Secondary School (Abbreviation: DSS) is an autonomous co-educational secondary school in Singapore. The school was founded in 1963, and is located in Tampines in the eastern part of Singapore.

Principals

Since the school establishment in 1963, there have been 12 principals in office.

Mr Au Keng Chu 1963-1968
Mr Tiong Dak Yu 1968-1971
Mr Chiu Hock Seng 1971-1975
Mr Poon Meng Seng 1975-1982
Mrs Janette Ho 1982-1985
Mr Johnny Lau Hwa Pak 1985-1989
Mrs Tay Sor Har 1989-1993
Mr Tng Kim Guan 1993-1996
Mrs Chua Siew Eng 1996-1997
Mr Gan Chin Huat 1997-1999
Mrs Mah Kwee Hua(acting)1999-2001
Mrs Edelweis Neo 2001 onwards

School history

When Dunman Secondary School was founded in 1963, Singapore was still part of the Federation of Malaya.

60s

Back in the early days, the school was known as Dunman Secondary Integrated school. It first principal was Mr Au Keng Chu. He was the person who created the school badge and school motto.

Pupils were enrolled into the school even as the building was under construction. 9 English stream sec one classes functioned at Matter West Vocational Institute while 3 Malay stream sec one classes were at Tun Seri Lanang school. Mr Felix Chew and Mr Abdul Kadir headed the respective schools. The school song was heard in 1968 and it was composed by Mr John de Souza in this year. It expresses the purpose and mission of the school.

70s

Dunman Secondary students and staff were in a class of their own. Less than ten years after its inception, in 1970, Dunman put up a Youth Day performance.

A pioneering staff of the school, Mrs Ng-Tan Eng remembers that staff and students did everything on their own – from the choreography to the costumes – and put up a very impressive display. In fact, so impressive were they that the school was invited to put up the same item for that year’s National Day Parade. It was indeed a great and rare honour as Dunman was the only school invited to do so that year. A new block was erected in 1971 to meet the needs of the students. By 1975, Dunman had already celebrated its tenth anniversary. For the first time, staff members who had served more than 10 years were awarded medals by the SAC.

80s

In 1982, The school had its first lady principal, she was Mrs Janette Ho. The former Dunmanite’s Association (FDA) was formed in 1985 During the late 80s, The school turned 25 and new initiatives were started: the PCCG programme was piloted; Dunman Focus, a quarterly newsletter, made its debut; and the first Students’ Council was founded and the Prefectorial Board was defunct.

The school also repeated its remarkable achievement of 1970 when the students participated in the Fan Dance Display for the SYF Opening ceremony and the National Day celebrations.

90s

The 1990s saw a plethora of new initiatives brought into the education system. On 20th May, Dunman Secondary School began a new phase in its history at Tampines Street 45.

After the relocation to Tampines, as Dunman moved into the nineties, it became increasingly obvious that it was transforming itself into an institute of reputation. The early years had laid the foundations for the success and achievements that unfolded with its entry into a new age.

1997

Dunman together with 6 other schools formed EastOne Cluster under Superintendent Mrs Yu Sing Tong.

In December, Mr Gan Chin Huat became the school’s 10th principal. With his appointment, there is a sense of completion as Mr Gan was a former student of Dunman. He was also the first former Dunmanite to be appointed a Principal.

Under his leadership, several innovations in teaching strategies and learning environment were introduced.

Up to today@Dunman Sec

There was a trial test as for an event that all students cannot come to school for safety/security reasons like terrorism threat or an avian flu pandemic outbreak in Singapore, the school was closed for a day and wanted to try out a system software that allow students to study and do homeworks from their computers@home and the turnout rate satisfy the school target.

In early 2006, Dunman Secondary School revamped the basement with the suggestions from students. The doors leading to the basbement were painted to create the illusion that it leads into a dark and long tunnel. Recently, a jamming room equipped with guitars and drums for the musically-inclined Dunmanites was added. The corridors outside the Design & Technology room were also given a fresh new look. The designs change with every few metres of wall area. The design is now reported to be changing soon.

The school's campus is currently undergoing upgrading under the Programme for Rebuilding and IMproving Existing schools by the Ministry of Education. The school is being expanded, improved and given a whole new look. The school hall is being made twice as big and the new hall will have air-conditioning. The school will also have an indoor sports hall.

In 2005, after the Boxing Day Tsunami, an ex-student approached the school with an idea: to organise a concert in order to raise funds to aid the victims of the unfortunate disaster. Arrangements were made for celebrities and students to perform at the event. The concert managed to raise S$35,000.

In 2008 Dunman Secondary School had donned their new logo

http://dunmansec.egenie.org/home/aboutus/badge.htm

School Awards received

Dunman Secondary have been reputable for receiving awards that promote environmental care and academic improvement. All awards below are from both government and private sectors.

Special Awards

School Distinction Award (2007-2011)

Environmental Awards

Sustained Lotus Achievement Award (2008-2010) Only school to get the Singapore Greenplan 2012 award, Gold Award in NEA's Recycling Competition.

Awards

Dunman Sec have been receiving many awards since 1990s

Singapore Quality Class
People Developer award
Sustained Achievement Award
Best Practice Award
Greenplan 2012 Award
Innovator Award in Innergy Award 2005
Sustained Lotus Achievement Award from the Singapore Environment Council.
National Champions in The C Division Category For Netball in 2007
IT MAP Challenge 2007 2nd Secondary Schools Category
Dunman Choir got Gold With Honours for the Singapore Youth Festival 2007 Choir Secondary School Category.
Dunman Choir got Gold with a score of 92.8 over 100 in the Under-16 category of the International Festival of Advent and Christmas Music 2007 in Bratislava. This means that we achieved second place for the category.

External links