Crescent Girls' School
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Motto | Courtesy, Generosity, Sincerity |
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Established | 1956 |
Type | Autonomous Secondary, Single session |
Principal | Mrs Lee Bee Yann |
School code | 3005 |
Colours | Yellow, Blue |
Locale | 357 Tanglin Road, Singapore |
Enrollment | approx. 2000 |
Website | Link |
Republic of Singapore |
Crescent Girls' School (CGS) is an autonomous girls' school in Singapore and is not affiliated to any schools. For the past years, students who apply for admission to Crescent must obtain at least PSLE score of ±240 to qualify. Exceptions are runners (Crescent's niche: Track & Field), who must take part in their selection trials. Students here (known as 'Crescentians') are known to be friendly and enthusiastic. The latter is particularly due to their unbelievably impressive screaming ability. Crescentians are often spotted around the Orchard Road area, probably due to the fact that the school is located just a few bus stops away from Orchard. CGS is also well-known for their excellence in the performing arts (mainly Symphonic Band, and Chinese and Modern Dance), and uniformed groups (mainly National Cadet Corps and the Red Cross)
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[edit] School history
Crescent's story can be traced to 1955 when the then Alexandra Estate Secondary School was founded with an intake of 117 boys and 53 girls. A year later, however, the boys were transferred to Pasir Panjang Secondary School. Miss Evelyn Norris took over as Principal from Col. S.C. Thong and Crescent Girls' School came into being in 1956.
The crest, motto and school song date from the school's early history. The distinctive yellow and peacock blue uniforms were also very much as they are today. Crescent's pride and joy, the Symphonic Band which started as a brass band was formed in September 1967 and it won its first gold medal two years later. Everyone was very glad over this momentous event.
Many buildings were added or acquired over the years from 1973 to 1990 at the Prince Charles Square to accommodate a growing population of Crescentians. The latest addition would be the Arts Conservatory which will be launched by the Minister of Education. In December 1990, the school moved to temporary premises at Queensway to enable the rebuilding of Crescent Girls' School on its cherished old site.
From January 1994, the school has functioned from the old site with a brand new school building and a new address: 357 Tanglin Road, Singapore 247961
[edit] Programmes
On 31st July 2004, 'm-learning@Crescent' was launched. All Secondary one Crescentians 2004 intake have the opportunity to embark on the m-learning@Crescent experience – Mobile Learning anytime, anywhere. This is a pilot project where students would purchase Tablet PCs and used them in place of textbooks. The pioneers of 1:1 computing in Singapore, Crescent has been instrumental in creating new frontiers in educational technology. Many other schools in Singapore such as Catholic High School, Anglo Chinese School (Independent), Nan Hua High School and Fairfield Methodist School have since emulated Crescent and implemented the Tablet PC programme in their schools.
[edit] Uniform
Crescentians certainly are easily identifiable. Their uniform consists of a pale yellow blouse tucked into a peacock blue pleated skirt, a unique combination of colours that no other schools in Singapore share. A badge is required to be pinned above the chest pocket, and a nametag on the chest pocket itself. School socks with the initials CGS are worn (although the school socks can hardly be seen as they tend to 'disappear' below ankle length, or as many Crescentians claim, shrink) and sports shoes (consisting only of the following colours: white/black/grey/any shade of blue) are to be worn with it. Hair below collar length must be tied up neatly, and no hair accessories other than black, dark blue and brown ones must be worn. The PE uniform consists of a bright yellow shirt with a CGS logo at the front and the words Crescentian at the back, and black shorts with the little words CGS in yellow in the corner.
[edit] School Leaders
- Principal - Mrs Lee Bee Yann
- in Crescent since 1998 (formerly HOD Maths and VP of CGS)
- Visonary Leader - nurtured 6 VPs from among her HODs since becoming Principal
- Spearheaded school into Band 1 (2005) in School Ranking
- Implemented research skills as a core competency of all staff members
- Vice Principal - Mr Gary Tan Bien Ching
- in Crescent since 2001 (formerly HOD IT and Dean of Education Development)
- Technology Visionary - recognised by many within the education fraternity & technology industry as the key driver in the development of Crescent as a leader in the integration of technology for teaching and learning.
- Pioneered the Talent Development Programme and M-Learning Programme
Both outstanding school leaders have been credited with moving Crescent Girls' School from among the top 20 schools in Singapore to the top 5 schools in Singapore and for providing a world class education that is forward looking and uniquely Crescent.
[edit] Recent achievements
Major awards / certifications include:
- Public Service Award for Organisational Excellence
- Singapore Innovation Class (2005 to 2007)
- School Distinction Award (2004)
- People Developer Standard ( 2003 to 2006 )
- Singapore Quality Class – ( 2002 to 2008 )
- Outstanding Development Award for Character Development (2006)
- National Arts Education Award 2006 (Silver)
- Thinking Culture Award ( Best School in South Zone) (2000 to 2006)
- National Thinking Culture Award ( Best School at National Level) ( 2002 to 2005)
- Innergy Gold Awards – 2002
- HP InIT Gold Awards – 2002, 2003 & 2005
- Cherish Gold Award – 2002, 2003, 2005 & 2006
- Cherish Silver Award – 2004
- Best Practice Award for Staff Well-Being – 2002-2006
- Best Practice Award for Teaching & Learning - 2006-2010
- Sustained Achievement Award (Physical Fitness) ( 2000 to 2008)
- Sustained Achievement Award (Uniformed Groups) (2000 to 2004)
- Outstanding Youth in Education Award (2001)
- Outstanding Science Teacher Award (2002)
- Most Caring Teacher Award (2004)
Results of Singapore Youth Festival 2005:
- Central Judging of Concert Bands (Secondary) Gold Award
- Central Judging of Dances (Modern/International) Gold with Honours Award
- Central Judging of Dances (Tamil) Gold Award
- Central Judging of Choirs (Secondary) Silver Award
- Central Judging of Instrumental Ensembles (Angklung) Bronze Award
- Central Judging of Dramas (Secondary) Silver Award
[edit] Co-curricular activities
Students hone their mental and physical skills through sports, leadership skills through the uniform groups, aesthetic skils through the performing arts and communication skills through the clubs and societies. The school has a wide range of CCAs that can be categorised under Sports, Uniformed Groups, Societies, and Performing Arts. All students are strongly encouraged to participate in one core CCA and take part in other enrichment programmes organised by the school. The track and field team in Crescent came in 5th place and 6th places respectively in the 47th National Inter-school Cross Country competitions. The school debate team is also one of the best in the B Division. They produced top speakers who were ranked Number 1 in 2005 (Sharmeen Alam).
[edit] Sports
[edit] Uniformed Groups
- NCC
- NPCC
- Girl Guides
- Red Cross
[edit] Societies
- Art Club
- AVA Club
- Chinese Society
- CIP Club
- Computer Club
- Community Service Club
- ELDDS
- Enterprise Club
- Library Club
- Photographic Society
- Student Council
- Tamil Society
- Odyssey of the Mind
[edit] Performing Arts
- Angklung
- Chinese and Modern Dance
- Choir
- Symphonic Band
[edit] Notable Ex-Crescentians
- Ho Ching, Executive Director of Temasek Holdings
- Liew Geok Heok, Lawyer and President of the University Women's Association, Singapore (UWAS)
- Lim Hwee Hua, Minister of State and Member of Parliament
- Major Lim Sok Bee, First Woman Commanding Officer / Combat Unit
- Nanz Chong-Komo, Woman Entrepreneur of the Year 2000
- Mary Yeo, Managing Director of UPS
- Jeanette Aw MediaCorp actress
- Stella Ng singer and actress
- Chen Liping MediaCorp actress
- Arfat Selvam, Law Society President
- Melissa Hyak, MediaCorp Newscaster