St. Gabriel's Secondary School
1°20′48″N 103°52′31″E / 1.346738°N 103.875214°E Template:Infobox Singapore 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 [1] and Sustained Achievement Award for Uniformed Group, Aesthetics and Sports in years 2008-2009 [2] .
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
St Gabriel's School opened its doors on 3 June 1953 (costing $175000 with a government of $71000) and was located at the junction of Hillside Drive and Upper Serangoon Road. Under the supervision of Rev Bro Louis Gonzaga (Founder) 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 full-time director (Principal).
Brother Louis Gonzaga took over as director in 1955 and Brother Elzear left to take over management of Parish School in Johore Bahru, Malaysia. In 1958, under the supervision of Brother Camillus, the afternoon session began functioning on its own. Brother Raymond was made director. This year also marks the publication of the first St. Gabriel's School Annual (Magazine).
In 1959, the school had its first Secondary Four class, thus attaining the status of a full school. Under the leadership of Brother Adolphus, the class sat for the Overseas School Certificate Examinations (Cambridge) and achieved a high passing rate of 90%.
Brother Emmanuel took over the rein in 1961. Mr Leo Remedios and Mr Paul Lee became first two senior assistants of the school. 1961 also marks the formation of St. Gabriel's Old Boys' Association. Brother Noel became director in 1963.
By 1968, St. Gabriel's School had a total of 47 classes for both the morning and afternoon sessions, with an enrolment of 2000 students. The school was reaching its available capacity. To solve this problem, 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. Brother Emmanuel took over reign again in 1969 following the sudden death of Brother Noel. Leadership was passed on to Brother Edmund James in 1974 and Mr Peter Tan was appointed Senior Assistant of the school.
St. Gabriel's School produced its first President Scholar in 1978 (Dr. Ramani, graduated 1975). 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 in 1984. In line with Ministry of Education's guidelines, the school went single-session in 1986. The school has its second President Scholar, Francis Chong, in 1989. The school has its first and only female principal, Mrs Ng Peng Hock, in 1990.
In May 1992, St. Gabriel's Secondary School shifted to its new (and current) premise at Serangoon Ave 1 and was officially opened in August 1993. At present, the school teaches the default GCE 'O' and 'N' Level syllabus as outline by the Ministry of Education. [3][4]
School Crest & Motto
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.[5]
Mission, Vision, Values & Song
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Mission
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School song by Rev. Bro. Louis Gonzaga and
improved upon by Rev. Bro. Noel
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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.
Contrary to popular belief, St. Gabriel's is not affiliated with the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools or any of its schools. It does maintain friendly relationships with them however.
Non-Academic Achievements 2009
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Uniformed Group
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Aesthetics Groups
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Sports
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Past Principals
- Brother Louis Gonzaga (1953-1954) (Founder)
- Rev. Brother Elzear (1954-1957) (First full-time Director)
- 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
References
- ^ St. Gabriel's Secondary School List of Academic Achievements, Retrieved May 19, 2010
- ^ St. Gabriel's Secondary School List of Non-academic Achievements, Retrieved May 19, 2010
- ^ St. Gabriel's Primary School School History - Retrieved April 02, 2010
- ^ St. Gabriel's 50th Anniversary Magazine, Published in 2003
- ^ Monfort Centre- School Crest, Retrieved May 19, 2010
- ^ St Gabriel's - Mission & Vision, Retrieved May 20, 2010
- ^ St Gabriel's - School Song, Retrieved June 19, 2010
- ^ Ministry of Education School information service, Retrieved May 30, 2010