ACS COMBINED 119TH FOUNDER’S DAY CELEBRATION
Holistic ACS education should direct students back to God: Bishop
OUR Hearts, our Hopes, our Aims are One” – this was the spirit that filled the entire Singapore Indoor Stadium on March 1, 2005.
It was a joyous and momentous occasion as the six units of the ACS schools, comprising some 8,500 students from Anglo-Chinese School (Primary), ACS (Junior), ACS (Barker Road), ACS (Independent), Anglo-Chinese Junior College and ACS (International) gathered as one big family to commemorate the 119th ACS Founder’s Day.
The celebration commenced with the Rev Dr Norman Wong leading the Processional with gusto as the ACS Board of Governors, principals, vice-principals, church leaders, teachers, students, parents and other partners of the ACS community affirmed in unison their thanksgiving to God, to the beautiful strands of the majestic hymn, “To God be the Glory”.
Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, the Minister for Education, was the Guest-of-Honour. He was greeted with a hearty and uniquely ACSian welcome by the rugby teams of the ACS schools.
Mr Tharman expressed his great pleasure at being able to be a part of the celebrations. He commended ACS for having “a rich and enduring tradition”, from the time it was founded in 1886 in a shophouse at Amoy Street with an enrolment of 13 students to its present standing of six schools.
The popularity of the ACS schools and the ACS tradition have endured and have been strengthened through the years because ACS has always remained faithful to its mission and ethos of providing a holistic education.
He affirmed the outstanding performance and achievements of the various ACS schools and expressed his confidence that ACS would continue to make its mark in Singapore and internationally, with the unstinting support of the ACSian family of alumni, teachers, students, parents and the Methodist Church.
In his message, Bishop Dr Robert Solomon led all at the stadium to ponder upon God’s grace over the years and challenged all present to continue to direct their lives, like the Apostle Paul, to pursue that which is “true, right, and of lasting beauty”.
“To know what these are and to know how to live in pursuit of them would be the greatest education one can have. We seek to provide such an education at ACS” he said as he shared from Philippians 4: 8-9.
The Bishop of The Methodist Church in Singapore urged the ACS community to continue to shape the lives of young people through delivering an education that would last a lifetime. Above all, the holistic education that ACS has always been known for should direct the young people under its charge back to God. “That would be the greatest blessing of an ACS education,” he added.
On this special day, top students from each of the schools were also given due recognition for their sterling performances. The Awards Presentation was made all the more significant as principals of the various schools took turns to present a citation to honour their respective students.
Earlier, Mr Tan Wah Thong, Chairman of the ACS Board of Governors, presented a painting to Mr Tharman. Entitled “Stillness”, the piece was painted by David Ng Ji An, a JC2 student from ACJC. The setting is a cafe with a student’s belongings strewn all over the table. This is to depict a hectic day and the busy life of a student.
One highlight of the day’s programme was a dramatisation, which involved participation from the audience. Entitled “One Life – Live it Well”, the mini-drama sought to re-enact the recent tsunami disaster with the help of massive multi-coloured balloons and drum-rolls. Creatively and vibrantly presented, the overall theme portrayed through this drama reminded everyone of the fragility of life and the need to cherish and live it to the fullest.
Catherine Wong is a teacher at Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road).
ACJC secures best ‘A’ Level results
Another good reason why students from Methodist schools should enrol at the college
ANGLO-CHINESE JUNIOR COLLEGE (ACJC) has secured the best set of “A” Level examination results in its 28-year history.
Its performance in the 2004 GCE “A” Level examination was excellent in terms of passes as well as quality of results:
♦ IT HAS the largest number of students with 4A’s and 3A’s in the college’s history — 84 students secured 4A’s and 93 had 3A’s, both of which are the highest numbers on record;
♦ THE overall Mean Subject Grade (MSG) of 1.92 is the best on record. This means that on the average every student has scored a B+ for every subject; and
♦ THE college Mean ‘A’ level points has seen steady improvement from 2002 to 2004. This means that a greater proportion of the students will be able to offer the courses of choice in the local universities.
According to Mrs Kelvyna Chan, the ACJC Principal, data analysis shows that ACJC has academically added value to the cohort of 2004.
Mrs Chan reiterated that ACJC provides a holistic education. “In co-curricular achievements, ACJC is one of the few colleges that has achieved three Sustained Achievement Awards – in Sports, Physical Fitness, and the Arts. We also have a very strong community involvement programme at home and abroad.”
A delighted Mr Tan Wah Thong, Chairman of the Anglo-Chinese Schools Board of Governors (ACS BOG), said: “ACJC, which has been a leading junior college in Singapore, has now set a new standard. We are all very happy and we rejoice with ACJC’s principal, Mrs Kelvyna Chan, the teachers, the students, the parents and the alumni, and we share this joy with The Methodist Church in Singapore, which has always been very supportive of our Methodist schools.
“More importantly, the 2004 ‘A’ Level results have proven to students in our Methodist schools and their parents as well as our church members that ACJC is a top college and is continuously striving to be the best that it can be.
“We therefore want to encourage students from our own Methodist schools to go to ACJC after their ‘O’ Level examinations so that they will not only receive a good post-secondary education but also a holistic education imbibing Christian values and social discipline.”
In her report to the ACS BOG, Mrs Chan said the staff and students had worked very hard “to achieve this good performance”, and she acknowledged the parents’ strong support.
She said: “As we receive the results, we know that God is faithful. Time and again we have seen how He has taken our meagre but heartfelt efforts and multiplied the results even beyond our imagination.
“We want to thank God for His blessings and give Him all glory for His continued faithfulness to the college. The Best Is Yet To Be.”