St Joseph's Institution Junior
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Motto | Ora Et Labora (Pray and Work) |
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| Established | 1954 |
| Type | Government Aided, Double-session |
| Principal | Sara de Souza (Mrs.) |
| School code | 5014 |
| Colours | Green, White |
| Locale | Novena, Singapore |
| Enrollment | approx. 1900 |
| Website | Link |
 Republic of Singapore |
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St Joseph's Institution Junior (SJI Junior) is a Catholic primary school for male students in Singapore and affiliate school of Saint Joseph's Institution.
Saint Michael's School was founded in 1954, when it opened with 590 pupils. The school was named after Brother Ascislus Michael, the then Director of Saint Joseph's Institution. The first principal was Brother Thomas. In 1965, Saint Joseph's Junior School merged with Saint Michael's School.
Today the school has around 1,900 students. On 3 October 2006, the school announced its intention to be renamed as St Joseph's Institution Junior from 1 January 2007, in line with the setting up of the 10-year Josephian Programme.
[edit] Notable Alumni
- Davinder Singh, former Member of Parliament for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC
- Dick Lee, Singaporean singer, playwright
[edit] Renaming Controversy
The initial proposition for the renaming of Saint Michael's School to Saint Joseph's Junior School was met with general disapproval by former students. Several online petitions were put up by Michaelians of the past in an effort to retain the name. The main area of contention was that St. Michael's was never a direct feeder school to St. Joseph's Institution (SJI). Although it was an affiliated school, the majority of its students did not proceed on to SJI. For example just as many went on to another De LaSalle institution, St. Patrick's School. It was this majority of students who felt maligned by the name change.
As SJI in an independent school which used to be placed comfortably in the top 20 of the now defunct Singapore school ranking system, accusations of a move towards elitism began to be muttered under breath. The De LaSalle brothers, since their inception, have served people of all walks of life, making education accessible to everyone, regardless of social class. Being one of the better schools in the country, earning a place at SJI via good results at the PSLE Examinations was the key to success for many students from lower income households who previously had to attend neighbourhood schools. Converting St. Michael's into a direct feeder runs the danger of creating a closed-off, elite society that will tower above so-called "lesser" schools.
However, it must be understood that the school system has to change with the times. The current trend in Singapore is for schools to have integrated programs where a student will spend between 6 and 10 years in the same institution. This allows them to bypass major examinations such as the Cambridge 'O' and 'A' Levels as well as the PSLE. The De LaSalle school's in Singapore have been unique in the sense that each institution had its own individual name. The primaries being: St. Michael's, St. Steven's, St. Anthony's and De LaSalle. The secondaries being: St. Joseph's and St. Patrick's The tertiary being: Catholic Junior College. This was in contrast to the Saint Andrew's and Anglo-Chinese families of schools who branded each insitution with the same name. With the addition of the terms "Junior" and "Junior College" to distinguish the primaries and tertiaries from the secondaries respectively. The time had come for the De LaSalle schools to follow in these footsteps for the benefit of students. And on January the 1st, 2007, St. Michael's School became St. Joseph's Institution Junior.
Regardless, for all former students, it will be reiterated time and time again: Once a Michaelian, always one.
