CHIJ St. Nicholas Girls' School
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| Motto | 德纯义坚 Simple in Virtue, Steadfast in Duty |
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| Established | 1933 |
| Type | Full school, Autonomous school, SAP, Single session |
| Principal | Ms Chan Wan Siong |
| School code | 7118 |
| Colours | Blue, White |
| Locale | Ang Mo Kio, Singapore |
| Enrollment | approx. 3000 |
| Website | Link |
 Republic of Singapore |
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CHIJ St. Nicholas Girls' School (SNGS for short, or known among SNGS girls as St. Nick's) was founded in 1933 by Father Nicholas Barre, originally as a Chinese school. A member of the IJ family of schools, SNGS has consistently been leading the group of schools with stellar results in both sporting and academic achievements. Today, SNGS is one of the premier educational institutes in Singapore, ranking 3rd in the list of top Secondary Girls' Schools in Singapore in 2004, and listed in the top 10 Secondary Schools in Singapore in 2005.
There is generally affiliation for the students of the Primary division during their Primary School Leaving Examination. In this system of affiliation, which is also practiced in other schools, the students need to score less points in the PSLE to be accepted into their affiliate school, or in this case, the Secondary sector of SNGS.
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[edit] History
[edit] Hotel Van Dyke: 1933-1949
Its first location, first run by missionaries as a school for daughters of wealthy Chinese merchants.
[edit] Victoria Street 1949-1971
In 1946, the enrolment in the school had expanded so much that the Hotel Van Dyke was unable to accommodate all of the students. New premises had to be found, and the school relocated to the Town Convent at Victoria Street.
[edit] Victoria Street and others 1972-83
In 1971, the school population has once again, increased. This time round, the number amounted to about 1500, more than twice of the post-war enrollment. Anticipating a continuous growth of the school population, Mrs Huang-Lee (the then-principal) decided to appeal to the Ministry of Education for permission to relocate to larger premises. Unfortunately, the approval was slow in coming. In 1979, 7 years after she had first appealed, there was still no response forthcoming. She finally decided to personally call on Mr Goh Keng Swee, the then Minister for Education, to promote her cause, and permission was finally granted.
At that time, the [Ministry of Education] had just introduced the Special Assistance Plan (SAP) schools, and St. Nicholas was one of the nine schools selected. The plan caters to academically-strong students with an aptitude for languages, and only students scoring 250 and above (out of a total of 300) for their PSLE aggregate are allowed admission. Students in the plan are taught English and their Mother Tongue at a much higher level than their peers.
In 1979, a pre-primary section was opened, and like Mrs Huang-Lee had expected, the school population had grown considerably. By 1980, the Victoria Street premises could no longer hold the whole school and some classes had to move out. They were temporarily held at the former Tao Nan School building at Armenian Street and the former Raffles Girls' Primary School at Queen Street.
[edit] Ang Mo Kio: 1985 to present
In 1982, the former Tao Nan School premises were no longer available to St Nicholas and they had to move out. The school's remaining two locations at the former Raffles Girls Primary School and the original St Nicholas building on Victoria Street did not have enough space for the entire school and a replacement had to be found urgently. Again, Mrs. Hwang-Lee went straight to the top; this time to Mr Ho Kah Leong, then Parliamentary Secretary at the Ministry of Education.
With his help, St Nicholas was allocated a brand new but unfurnished school on Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10. This school was designated Chong Boon Secondary School, but for now it would be part of St Nicholas Girls' School. Primary 6 to Secondary 4 classes were run at this location. Facilities, such as libraries, language rooms and science laboratories, had to be set up from scratch at all three locations, and staff had to shuttle between the three sites.
Finally, in 1983, the school was told to leave their premises at Victoria Street, and they were moved to a temporary building at Ang Mo Kio Avenue 8. But it seems that their prayers for a permanent school site have been answered. A choice site for the school has finally been found at Ang Mo Kio Avenue 2, Street 13, and finally, on 2 January 1985, St. Nicholas had a place to call its own again.
[edit] Temporary Relocation: 2008 to 2010
On the 14 February 2007, the Ministry of Education (MOE) announced[1] that under the programme PRIME Phase 9, eight more schools will be upgraded from 2008 to 2010. St Nicholas is one of the selected for this upgrading.
In a circular issued by SNGS dated 13 February 2007, SNGS will be undergoing PRIME from June 2008 to June 2010. However, a new circular was issued dated 1 March 2007 stating that after considering the request of several parents and discussing the issue further among the staff, the project will be postponed by six months to avoid potential disruption of a mid-year move.
The Primary Section of St Nicholas will be temporary relocated to former Kebun Baru Primary site at 6 Ang Mo Kio Ave 2 from Dec 2008 to Dec 2010.
The Secondary Section of St Nicholas will be temporary relocated to former First Toa Payoh Primary/Secondary site at 430 Toa Payoh Lorong 1 from Dec 2008 to Dec 2010.
After the upgrading, St Nicholas will have more classrooms and be fitted with new or upgraded facilities including media resource libraries, IT learning resource rooms and pastoral care rooms. In additional, there will be a new indoor sports hall to provide greater flexibility in conducting Co-Curricular Activities and Physical Education lessons at any time of the school day without having to worry about the weather.
[edit] School Attire
The students of SNGS wears the traditional IJ uniform, a blue pinafore over a blouse. If the students are having Physical Education that day, they will instead wear the school shirt and shorts beneath. The only slight difference to the uniform compared to other IJ schools in Singapore, is that they have the school crest sewn onto the pinafore at the left-hand corner. The student's nametag must be pinned directly above the school crest.
Recently, the school has required all students to wear the school sock, a white sock with a blue "SNGS" on it. The "SNGS" on the sock needs to be seen clearly over the shoe and the sock must not be below the ankle.
If the student happens to be a monitor or a prefect, they have to pin the school badge indicating their position, above their nametag. They will also be given an all-blue tie which they have to wear on the days which they are wearing a blouse for the secondary section while for the primary section, they will be given a blue tie with gold stripes.
[edit] CCAs in SNGS
Every secondary student in SNGS is required to have a CCA (Co-curricular Activity) while in the primary block, it is only strongly encouraged to have a CCA.
The CCAs in St. Nicholas are divided into the following categories: Sports, Performing Arts, Uniformed Groups and Clubs and Societies.
Sports
- Badminton
- Gymnastics (The gymnastic is divided into two groups, Artistic and Rhythmic)
- Hockey
- Netball
- Swimming
- Table Tennis
- Track & Field
Performing Arts
- Chinese Orchestra (Only for Secondary students)
- Choir
- Dance (Also divided into two groups, Modern or Chinese dance)
- ELDDS (English Literature Debate Drama Society) (Only for Secondary students)
- String Orchestra (Only for Secondary students)
- Symphonic Band (Only for Secondary students)
Uniformed Groups
- Brownies(Only for Primary students, it is similar to Girl Guides)
- Girl Guides (Only for Secondary students)
- NPCC (Only for Secondary students)
- St John Ambulance (Only for Secondary students)
Clubs and Societies
- Art Club
- Chinese Cultural Society
- Interact Club (Only for Secondary students)
- Library
- Infocomm (Only for Secondary students)
- AVA (Only for Primary students, it is similar to Infocomm)
[edit] School song
It is one of the 11 CHIJ schools in Singapore, and its motto is Simple In Virtue, Steadfast in Duty. Out of all 11 IJ schools, their school song is the only one that is in Chinese:
钟声悠扬絃歌讽诵 圣铎化雨泽被春风 发扬华夏优良传统 提倡女教美德坤成 发扬, 发扬华夏优良传统 提倡女教美德坤成 徳纯义坚校训是宗 学贯中西文化交融 尼各拉光芒万丈 吾国文化绵延无穷 尼各拉, 圣尼各拉光芒万丈 吾国文化绵延无穷
[edit] Notable alumni
- Michelle Chong, actress
- Sharon Au, actress
- Tanya Chua, singer
- Diana Ser, news caster for Channel News Asia
