Maris Stella High School

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Maris Stella High School (MSHS)
海星中学 (Hai Xing Zhōng Xué)
MSHS Crest
Motto 勤勉忠勇 (Diligence, Determination, Loyalty & Dedication, Courage)
Established 1958
Type SAP, Autonomous, Single session
Principal Bro. Anthony Tan
School code 7111
Colours Blue, Black
Locale Mount Vernon, Singapore
Enrollment 1000+
Website Link
Flag of Singapore Republic of Singapore

Maris Stella High School is an autonomous, SAP, all-boys Catholic secondary and primary school run by the Marist Brothers located at Mount Vernon Road, off Bartley Road, in Singapore. It has been headed by principal, Bro. Anthony Tan since 1984. It is one of the top schools for education in Singapore, in band 6 of the Secondary school rankings, and is also a leader in non-academic achievements in various fields including uniform groups, sports such as badminton, table tennis and softball, as well as information technology,life sciences and debate

Contents

[edit] Vision

Its stated vision is "to be a vibrant and innovative centre of learning in a caring and conductive environment to nurture each student, with Christian values, to be a Gentleman, a Scholar and a Sportsman."

[edit] Mission

"Our Marist Mission provides an educational program that blends FAITH, CULTURE and LIFE through a climate of cordiality, cooperation and constructive dialogue and thus effect the TOTAL FORMATION OF THE INDIVIDUAL, giving due respect to his human dignity."

  • To meet future challenge.
  • To provide resources and opportunities for staff to develop themselves.
  • To provide a caring, conducive and vibrant environment for staff and dents.
  • To develop a Learning culture.

[edit] History

Maris Stella High School was started in 1958 Bro. Chanel J. Soon decided to build a school, based on the values of the Marist Brothers. The school had no premises of its own and the early classes were held at St. Stephen's School. The school's initial enrollment then was only 187 students with a staff of 9 dedicated teachers.

Bro. Chanel worked hard to raise funds and finally after numerous setbacks, found a plot of land on Mount Vernon for the location of a new school. A school Building Fund Committee was set up, and many prominent and wealthy businessmen donated munificently towards the building of the school.

In 1966, the first phase of the new school building was completed. It consisted of 15 classrooms, and a 4-story science block. On 15 February 1967, the then Minister for Education, Mr Ong Pang Boon, presided over the inauguration of the school premises; thus completing the work begun by Bro. Chanel nine years before.

The second phase of the school building was completed the following year in September 1968 when a hall, a canteen, a library and on administration block were added to the existing premises. The third phase, which was completed in 1987, consisted modern and well-equipped primary section building and a playing field with grandstand. Today, the primary and the secondary sections occupy different locations although both are within the same physical boundaries.

Bro. Chanel was committed to a bilingual policy established since the founding of the school and in 1979, Maris Stella School was designated SAP school. This privileged status has given the school additional funds for providing many of the programs and facilities.

The years between 1994 and 1996 witnessed an upgrading of the existing secondary section building. Three years were spent at the former (now-defunct) Mount Vernon Secondary School and finally in 1997, the school moved to its present location. The upgrading exercise added new classrooms, science laboratories, art rooms, home economics rooms and technical workshops in the secondary section.

Construction of IT-cum-library started in June 1998 and the work was completed in July 1999. It houses a 2-storey library, a multi-purpose court, an indoor gymnasium, a rifle range and a tennis courts. It was later named the Chanel Learning Center in honour of the founder. An artificial rock-wall was built later the same year.

In 2001, the school was designated the N4 Cluster Life Sciences Hub, giving all students the opportunities to excel in this area, the so-called fourth pillar of the Singapore economy. In 2005, the school was designated the IT Center of Excellence for the N4 Cluster schools.

Improvements continue to be made to the school, with the recent completion of the heritage center. Also, the primary section completed its' PRIME upgrading a few years ago, seeing lockers and bigger classrooms and also improved IT infrastructure.

[edit] School Crest

MSHS Crest
MSHS Crest

The international crest of the Marist Brothers is the A.M monogram - the Marist "M”. It is fairly certain the monogram had been devised in the honour of Virgin Mary long before the Marist Brothers came into being in 1817. The letters probably signify the Ave Maria (Hail Mary) and the twelve stars over the monogram were derived from Chapter 12 of the Book of Apocalypse:

"And a great sign appeared in Heaven; a woman clothed with the sun and the moon under her feet, and upon her head crown of twelve stars."

The Church through the ages has accommodated this text to the Coronation of the Blessed Virgin and the stars are thus symbolic of the role that Our Lady plays in the history of human salvation. Most Marist schools throughout the world use the same A.M monogram and stars.

[edit] Facilities

The secondary school is made up of the chapel block, the upper and lower secondary blocks and the science/technical labs and the I.T. labs block. In between is the school's Shaw Hall and Canteen block. Behind the main blocks is a tennis court, a multi-purpose court, a basketball court, a sports hall and the Chanel Media Resource Library. The Mac lab, with over 100 computers, comprises eMacs, iMacs and PowerMacs. They are accessible to all students through the IT enrichment classes and also during free access days. Other facilities include 3 PC labs, a Linux lab, 6 Science Labs, a rock wall and 2 halls, the Shaw Hall and the TK Low Hall. There's also a hall at the primary section named after Runme Shaw.

Being a Catholic school, Maris Stella has one chapel in the primary section and two chapels in the secondary section.

[edit] Alumni

Graduates of Maris Stella High have excelled in many professions. Some distinguished old boys include Kwek Leng Joo 郭令裕 (MD of City Developments Limited and former president of Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce), Goh Chee Wee 吳志偉 (former PAP politician and Chairman of the NTUC Board of Trustees), Dr Alex Su Hsin Chuan 蘇芯醛 (famous psychiatrist) and Lee Yi Shyan 李奕贤 (Minister of State for trade and industry). The former long-time boyfriend of Hong Kong film star Charlie Young, Khoo Shao Tze 邱韶智, was also from Maris Stella (Class of 1986).

There have been two former students who were President’s Scholars:

  • Koh Peng Chong 許秉聰 （Class of 1980）
  • Lee Thian Boon Brandon Murray 李天文 (Class of 1989)

Other alumni include RSAF star pilot LTC Low Ching Guan (劉俊源 , Class of 1987) who created history by being the first Singaporean to win the coveted United States Air Force Academy Overall Top Graduate Award in 1995; Ong Ye Kung (王乙康 , Class of 1984), senior civil servant, former principal private secretary to the Prime Minister and Chief Executive, Singapore Workforce Development Agency; Daryl Ong Teck Chon (王帝聰 , Class of 1985), media celebrity and MediaCorp Radio FM958 producer; Zing (黃子靖 , Class of 1985), celebrity make-up artist of Faye Wong and Sammi Cheng fame; Keith Loh (Class of 1989), restaurateur and owner of Whitebait & Kale; Daryl Liew (Class of 1990), financial guru and The Edge columnist.

Several Roman Catholic priests in Singapore have also graduated from Maris Stella, namely Father Henry Siew and a few others. There are also former students currently at the Seminary.

  • Chew Chor Meng - Mediacorp actor

[edit] Vibrant Clubs and Societies: Debate

Bringing a new culture into Maris Stella High School, the Debate Society (English) in Maris Stella High School has been a strong and vibrant culture since its humble beginnings. Growing steadily, the society is viewed as promising; with a strong senior team in 2006-2007 paving the way, first in school history to break into the quarter-final rounds of a national inter-school debate competition (Julia Gabriel's 2007) school tournament. Ranked 3/44 in the whole tournament, they have created a standard for future teams to live up to.

The immense amount of raw potential and talent has also been greatly recognized as a culture in junior debate teams in Maris Stella; The 2007 junior team also had their fair share of wins against apparently formidable opponents in the Julia Gabriel's national debate tournament.

Mrs Marissa Champion, chief I/C and pioneer of the MSHS Debate Society; she has contributed immensely to the development of the debate community within the school infrastructure, including practical support in terms of funding and promotion.

The team has thus far been brought to greater heights by (Coach) Emmanuel, a Law Student at NUS. The team is also supported by several veteran debaters hailing from various JCs who have their roots in our debate society.

Current (2007) Main Senior Debate Team:
1. Edwin Chan
2. Jose Hong FranChun
3. Ken Chew
4. Lee Wei Jie
5. Daniel Huang

Current (2007) Main Junior Debate Team:
1. Julian A.G Lim
2. Christopher Yuen
3. Nick Chiam
4. Jia Ming
5. Ng Xiao Hao

Approximate Strength: 50

[edit] CCAs offered

  • Debate (Upcoming)
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