Saint Joseph's Institution, Singapore

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St. Joseph's Institution
圣约瑟书院 (Shèng Yuè Sè Shū Yuàn)
Institusi Saint Joseph
Motto Ora et Labora (Pray and Work)
Established 1852
Type Independent Secondary, Single Session
Principal Mr Lui Seng Cheong
MOE Code 7020
Colours Green, White
Locale Malcolm Road, Singapore
Enrollment Approx. 2000
Website Saint Joseph's Institution Online
Ministry of Education
Flag of Singapore Republic of Singapore
Sculpture of De la salle, founder of the Lasallian teaching tradition on the second level of former SJI building(see Former Saint Joseph’s Institution
Sculpture of De la salle, founder of the Lasallian teaching tradition on the second level of former SJI building
(see Former Saint Joseph’s Institution

Saint Joseph's Institution (Abbreviation: SJI) is a Catholic secondary school for male students in Singapore. It was founded in 1852 as St. John's Institution, and is the 3rd oldest educational institution in Singapore (the first and second being Raffles Institution and St. Margaret's Secondary School respectively) .

SJI is recognised as one of the top secondary schools in Singapore, providing a value-added and all-round education to boys of all races and religions.

The school is consistently ranked among the top secondary schools in Singapore. In September 2005, the school is one of the few in Singapore to be awarded the coveted School Distinction Award as part of the Ministry of Education's 2005 Masterplan Awards. In addition, it has been awarded the Best Practice Award for teaching and learning. SJI has also received the Sustained Achievement Award for Sports and the Sustained Achievement Award for Uniformed Groups for the third and seventh consecutive year respectively.

The current principal of SJI is Mr Benjamin Lui Seng Cheong. The deputy principals for curriculum and student development are Mrs Goh Poh Kenn and Mr Sydney Tan respectively. The former principal of St. Michael's School (now St. Joseph's Institution Junior), Ms Wee Siew Sun has been appointed Deputy Principal (Special Projects). Bro Michael Broughton, FSC, the former Deputy Principal (Student Development), has been appointed the Brother President of SJI and SJI International as of January 2007. Since the beginning of the same year, Mr Malcolm Wong has also been the Assistant Principal of SJI, but he has moved to SJI International in 2008 as the Head of Grade 11 and 12.


Contents

[edit] History

School Rally

Verse 1:

All through our college
A voice is resounding
Promptly respond to your duty's sweet call
Harken you all for the trumpet is sounding
Your mater's proclaiming
Her watchwords to all

Chorus:

Forward her children dear
Ever with hearts sincere
Render with joy to your mater her due
All that is vile reject
Heaven will e'er protect
Sons of St Joseph's
Valiant and True

Verse 2:

Onwards and upwards in life's earnest battle
Joyously bearing the brunt of the fight
Nobly forgiving for all that may pain you
And bravely defending the cause of the right

SJI was founded in 1852 as the first missionary establishment of the La Salle Brothers in the Far East. The endeavour was initiated by Rev Fr Jean-Marie Beurel MEP, who offered six Brothers from Europe to start the school using a former chapel as premises. Within a year, an attap hut also had to be erected to accommodate all the students. The school was originally known as St John's, but on 19 March 1855 (Feast of Saint Joseph), the cornerstone of a new school building was laid. From this date onwards, the school has been known as Saint Joseph's Institution. The new central classroom block was completed in 1865, though further expansion of the facilities continued well into the 20th Century. The school had 426 students in 1900. This grew to almost 1200 in 1914, and 1600 in 1922. With the student population expanding, a temporary branch school was opened, which eventually led to the building of a second school – Saint Patrick's School – in 1933.

During World War II, prior to the fall of Singapore to the Japanese, the school was used as a Red Cross hospital and housed a unit of the Civil Defence Force. A bomb hit the school courtyard during the war, leaving a crater, but the main building remained unscathed.

In 1954, St. Joseph's Junior School was housed in St. Michael's School, now known as St. Joseph's Institution Junior.

In 1975, SJI's first year pre-university classes and some its teachers were transferred to the newly-opened Catholic Junior College.

In 1988, SJI shifted into a new campus at Malcolm Road situated just off the neighbourhood of Toa Payoh, beside the Tanglin Community Centre. The beautiful old campus with its distinctive semi-circular wings was gazetted by the Singapore National Heritage Board as a national monument. After lengthy and painstaking restoration works, it currently houses the Singapore Art Museum.

In 1990, SJI became one of the few schools invited by the then Education Minister to turn independent - a mark of its excellence. Leadership in the school has passed increasingly to lay people but they remain committed to the memory and mission of the Christian Brothers and their founder St John Baptist De La Salle.

Under the administration of Brother Paul Anthony Rogers, SJI saw its peak in growth. The addition in 1995 of a large Performing Arts Centre and an entirely new wing to house Secondary One students makes it well-equipped to handle the needs and demands of a growing population.

In 2002, SJI celebrated the 150th anniversary of her founding. In 2006, SJI, upon the urging of the Economic Development Board of Singapore, has opened an international school. SJI International has begun classes in January 2007. Andrew Bennett, a former Principal of the United World College of South East Asia, has been appointed the first Principal of SJI International. To safeguard the Catholic and Lasallian ethos in the new school, the Board has also appointed SJI's former Deputy Principal (Student Development) Bro. Michael Broughton as the Brother President of the School. Lawrence da Silva, a former Director of the United World College of South East Asia heads the interim Governing Board of the School. Mr Bennett and Mr da Silva would recreate a partnership that led to UWCSEA's outstanding IB results in previous years.

The year 2006 was the first year in which double pure science was offered to every candidate, with no student doing combined science.

[edit] School Pledge

We pledge ourselves at all times,

in the spirit of our motto:

ORA ET LABORA.

To be loyal to God and to our nation,

to our family and to our school.

To follow the rules of good morality,

in our personal and social behaviour,

out of love for God and our neighbours.

To show respect to all who exercise authority:

parents, teachers and student leaders.

To give first attention to our studies

by seeking a balance in our academic work

and co-curricular activities.

To build an authentic Lasallian family,

here at St. Joseph's Institution,

in the spirit of faith, service and community.

SO HELP US GOD.

[edit] Motto

The school motto - "Ora et Labora", Latin for "Pray and Work" is a reflection of the twin pillars of the La Salle Brothers, Faith and Zeal.

[edit] Summary of information

[edit] Brother President

  • Bro Michael Broughton, FSC

[edit] Principal

  • Mr Lui Seng Cheong Benjamin

[edit] Deputy Principals

  • Mrs Goh Poh Kenn (Curriculum)
  • Ms Wee Siew Sun (Special Projects)

[edit] Prefects EXCO

  • Choo Ruizhi (Head Prefect)
  • K. George Abraham (Deputy Head Prefect)
  • Sasinthiran (EXCO)
  • Kevin Wong (EXCO)
  • Nigel Seng (EXCO)
  • Joshua Song (EXCO)

[edit] Josephians of the Year 2007

  • Alastair Kwan, 431 (Senior Josephian)
  • Rovik Robert, 204 (Junior Josephian)

[edit] Nearest MRT stations

  • Newton
  • Toa Payoh


[edit] Mother tongue languages

  • Chinese
  • Malay
  • Tamil

[edit] Affiliated Schools

[edit] Uniform

The SJI uniform is completely white, worn with white socks and shoes. The boys in the lower secondary level wear white shorts, while students in the upper secondary level are dressed in long, white pants. The school badge is to be worn on the top right hand corner of the shirt pocket.

Green and white striped ties are to be worn at the start of each school week, and on special occasions. For prefects, a dark green tie will be worn instead and they are to wear their ties on every school day.

Senior prefects will be issued a badge denoting prefectorial status. It is to be worn on the middle of the pocket. They need not wear the regular school badge.

The SJI PE Uniform is a white shirt with the school crest printed on the front left breast and the word "JOSEPHIAN" marked across the back. The green shorts have the word "SJI" threaded on the bottom left thigh. Sports shoes are allowed to be worn with the SJI PE Uniform.

[edit] Notable alumni

[edit] Ministers

[edit] Members of Parliament

[edit] Governmental organizations

  • Gerard Ee - Interim Chairman & Acting CEO, National Kidney Foundation; Chairman, Public Transport Council
  • Philip Yeo - outgoing Chairman, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) and incoming Chairman,SPRING Singapore
  • Prof. Tommy Koh - Ambassador-at-large, Singapore; Chairman, Singapore Institute of Policy Studies; Chairman, National Heritage Board
  • Leo Yip Seng Cheong - Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Manpower
  • Tan Tee How - Permanent Secretary, Ministry of National Development
  • Tan Chin Tiong - Ambassador to Japan
  • Ernest Wong - Temasek Holdings Advisory Board

[edit] Business

  • Ee Peng Liang - Businessman and philanthropist
  • Khoo Teck Puat - Late Singapore tycoon
  • Anthony Salim - CEO & President, The Salim Group - Indonesia's biggest conglomerate
  • Noel Hon - Chairman, NEC Solutions Asia Pacific, President of the Singapore Scout Association and recipient of the Gold Lion Scouting Award
  • Tan Puay Chiang - Chairman, Exxon Mobil China
  • Peter Seah Lim Huat - Non-Executive Chairman, Sembcorp Industries Ltd, Various Board Appointments
  • Edmund Tie - Executive Chairman, DTZ Debenham Tie Leung (SEA) Pte Ltd
  • Lim Chee Onn - Executive Chairman, Keppel Corporation Ltd

[edit] Sports

[edit] Arts and entertainment

  • Dick Lee - One of Asia's most well-known musicians; Cultural Medallion winner
  • Goh Sin Tub - A pioneer of Singapore literature and a teacher, civil servant, banker, builder, social worker and former chairman of the SJI Board of Governors
  • Jeremy Monteiro - King of Swing, virtuoso jazz pianist; Board Member, National Arts Council; Cultural Medallion winner
  • Jonathan Leong - Singapore Idol 2006 1st Runner Up
  • Mark Van Cuylenberg - also widely known as The Flying Dutchman; host compere, radio personality

[edit] Legal

  • Michael Khoo, S.C.
  • Davinder Singh, S.C. - One of the leading lawyers in Singapore and Asia; CEO of Drew & Napier LLC
  • Tan Chin Seng - Senior Partner, Tan Rajah and Cheah and Commissioner for Oaths

[edit] Education

[edit] Others

[edit] See also

[edit] External links