PA gets historic new home

By Nur Dianah Suhaimi

In the News ~ PA gets historic new home

The conserved the old school building while converting the classrooms into sleek offices. The school hall-cum-canteen is now a dance studio and storage area for Chingay and National Day props. — ST PHOTO: ALPHONSUS CHERN

WHEN the People’s Association (PA) was set up 50 years ago, its headquarters was a former airport in Kallang. On Friday, it officially moved to another old building: the former Victoria School building in King George’s Avenue.

This time, however, the PA engaged architects and gave its new home a $47 million makeover.

The conserved the old school building while converting the classrooms into sleek offices. The school hall-cum-canteen is now a dance studio and storage area for Chingay and National Day props. A new five-storey extension block was built behind the old school and a sprawling lawn fronts the entire structure.

The changes won it the Architectural Heritage Awards last year, an annual honour given to well-restored monuments and conservation buildings in Singapore.

On Friday night, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who is also PA’s chairman, officially opened it new home in a ceremony attended by about 1,000 people, including Cabinet ministers and grassroots leaders. The event, held on the lawn, was like a mini National Day celebration, complete with floats, performers in colourful costumes as well as a fireworks and pyrotechnics display.

Mr Lee also opened the PA heritage gallery, an exhibition which charts the association’s growth over the past 50 years. The gallery will be a permanent fixture at the building’s atrium. These events are the first in a series of activities to be held this year to mark PA’s 50th anniversary.

From: The Straits Times

From Mr Zabid, VS Art Elective Programme teacher:

Dear Parents, Old Boys and Victorians,

Salutations, I am Mr Zabid currently teaching Art Elective Program in VS. I have very good news to share.

N.E. mation! 4 -- Why I care about Singapore: We are very proud that our team of Victorians comprising Kenneth Chiang, Daniel Yee, Marcus Chan and Khairul Azri has been selected as one of the Top Ten Finalists! Their creation emerged from a total of 440 teams from 79 schools!

Their animation clip has been launched for public viewing and voting on TV.

Please support them by going to the website and vote for them! We need your support by voting for our VS team as 50% of the final score comes from the public votes. Please go to this link: http://www.nemation.sg

Victorians -- let’s give our fullest support to team Catalysts!

Nil Sine Labore.

Don’t forget to vote!  Click to Vote Now!

Over the past few days, we have seen Victorians from across the globe put up appeals on their websites to help a fellow Victorian.  Mr Muhammad Noor Azri Bin Abdul Rahman (“Azri”) of Victoria School was seriously injured during his PE class and now requires constant care.

We have verified the case with the school and family.  Victorians and well-wishers can be assured that this is a bona-fide case.  All donations can be made directly to Azri’s father’s bank account (POSB Savings account no. 194-62059-4).

We have re-posted here his father’s appeal for help.

====================

From: http://victorianazri.blogspot.com/

For English readers, click here for an automatic translation via Google Translate.

23 Jan 2010

SINGAPURA

PERTANDINGAN ANIMASI N.E.MATION!
Minat terhadap kartun berbaloi

Pelajar menengah tiga bersama tiga rakan hasilkan klip animasi yang dipilih ke peringkat akhir

Oleh
Nurul Dayana Simangoon

SEJAK kecil lagi, Khairul Azri Uthli, 15 tahun, terpesona setiap kali menonton kartun di televisyen dan ingin tahu bagaimana caranya menghasilkan kartun seperti itu.

Demikian minatnya terhadap animasi hingga klip animasi yang dihasilkannya bersama tiga lagi pelajar menengah tiga Sekolah Victoria (VS) berjaya dipilih ke peringkat akhir pertandingan animasi N.E.mation! baru-baru ini.

Ini meskipun mereka diberikan hanya seminggu untuk belajar menggunakan sofwe animasi Toon Boom, yang turut digunakan untuk menghasilkan kartun The Simpsons.

Klip bergelar Caretalyst yang dihasilkan oleh keempat-empat mereka itu dipilih menjadi antara 10 animasi terbaik daripada 440 penyertaan dalam pertandingan yang dianjurkan buat kali keempat tahun ini.

Tema N.E.mation! tahun ini pula ialah ‘Mengapa Saya Sayang Akan Singapura’.

Ketika ditemui baru-baru ini, Khairil, salah seorang anggota kumpulan yang digelar ‘Catalyst’ itu, berkata klip animasi mereka menggunakan cara unik untuk mendidik warga Singapura agar menjadi warga yang lebih penyayang menerusi istilah sains.

‘Kami minat terhadap animasi dan sains, oleh itu kami cuba menghasilkan sesuatu yang menggabungkan kedua-dua minat kami itu. Caretalysts mengisahkan tentang satu kelas kimia unik yang mengajar murid-murid cara ‘menghasilkan’ warga Singapura penyayang menerusi satu eksperimen saintifik.

‘Dalam klip ini, eksperimen itu menggunakan beberapa ‘bahan pemangkin’ seperti ’sukarelawan ceria’, ’sifat ihsan antara satu sama lain’ dan ’sikap toleransi terhadap bangsa dan agama lain’,’ ujar Khairil.

Kali ini pertandingan peringkat kebangsaan sempena kempen Pertahanan Mutlak itu menarik penyertaan 1,569 pelajar sekolah menengah dan maktab rendah. Jumlah penyertaan itu merupakan satu peningkatan 67 peratus berbanding tahun lalu.

Menurut ketua kumpulan, Kenneth Chiang, pula klip tersebut mengambil masa tiga minggu untuk dihasilkan dan mereka terpaksa mengorbankan cuti sekolah Disember lalu bagi menjayakan projek tersebut.

‘Pengalaman menghasilkan animasi amat seronok kerana kami dapat ‘menghidupkan’ sesuatu yang sebelum ini tidak dapat bergerak,’ ujarnya, sambil menambah klip mereka dihasilkan menerusi teknik animasi 2-D.

Pemenang N.E.mation! akan diumumkan pada 11 Februari ini. Orang ramai juga diundang mengundi klip animasi pilihan mereka hingga 1 Februari ini di www.nemation.sg.

Pemenang berpeluang ke Amerika Syarikat untuk melawat studio Dreamworks Animation SKG.

Source: http://cyberita.asia1.com.sg/msingapura/story/0,6879,157771,00.html

Tell us which OVA activities you look forward to in 2010.

Vote in the poll now!  Or email us at info@ova.org.sg if you have any suggestions.

A poll was conducted online from 14/08/2009 to 08/01/2010 (~5 months) for the following question with three response options:

Are you for or against VJC implementing its own Secondary school programme?

1. FOR.  VJC should decide the best way to compete in a changing education environment.
2. AGAINST. VJC should not become a competitor to VS.
3. IT DOES NOT MATTER as long as the Victoria name remains strong.

Poll results (Text)

No. of responses for option 1: 58 (11.4%)

No. of responses for option 2: 381 (74.6%)

No. of responses for option 3: 72 (14.1%)

Total number of responses received: 511 (Percentages may not total 100 due to rounding)

Poll results (Graphical)

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Bouquets – Dedicated teachers

“Without them, my son would not have been promoted.”

Madam Janet Peh: “My son was struggling to cope academically during his first and second year of the four-year Integrated Programme at Victoria Junior College (VJC) in 2008 and last year.  A passionate group of teachers sacrificed their school holidays, going back to school without fail to help him catch up with his peers.  Without them, my son would not have been promoted to IP3 this year.  My heartfelt gratitude to the vice-principal and teachers of VJC.”

From: The Straits Times Forum Page

VJC’s IP plan: Upset alumni write to minister

By Amelia Tan

A ROW is brewing between the Victorian alumni association and Victoria Junior College (VJC) over a decision to expand the college’s integrated programme.

VJC submitted a proposal to the Ministry of Education (MOE) last month, seeking to admit students at the Secondary 1 level instead of Secondary 3, which it has been doing for the last four years.

The Old Victorians’ Association (OVA) – the alumni group of Victoria School (VS) and VJC – is against the move, which it feels pits VJC against VS.

OVA president Vernon Teo said in an interview yesterday that he has written to Education Minister Ng Eng Hen to explain why the association is against the expansion of the integrated programme.

An MOE spokesman confirmed it has received the letter but did not say when the results of the evaluation process will be known.

Mr Teo said the association had been talking with VJC on the possibility of expanding the integrated programme for the past three years. But VJC decided to submit the proposal to MOE despite objections from the OVA. ‘We said no but they went ahead. We are very disappointed,’ Mr Teo added.

When contacted, VJC principal Chan Poh Meng said: ‘We believe that there are significant educational advantages in having an uninterrupted six-year programme for the students to engage in a wider range of learning experiences for holistic development.’

Mr Teo said in the letter that the move will cause a split in the Victorian family, as VS and VJC will be forced to fight for the same target audience: Secondary 1 students.

He also said that expanding the integrated programme to Secondary 1 students will attract top Primary 6 pupils and breed a culture of elitism which Victorian schools do not stand for.

Mr Teo said the association’s view is shared by the majority of Victorian alumni, students and their parents. A Facebook group set up to protest against the expansion of the integrated programme has drawn about 2,200 members. All 60 comments posted on a website that OVA launched, to gather views on VJC’s proposal, were also against it.

Mr Teo said that while the OVA is against VJC’s proposal to admit Secondary 1 students, it is open to working with the school on alternative ideas that can achieve the same objectives as a six-year programme, and which also ensures VS stays an all-boys school. He added that the VS track record of excellence has proven that an all-boys formula during a student’s teenage years works.

One idea the association has is to have a management team run both VJC and VS and continue with the four-year integrated programme. This means the boys will study with female students only when they progress to Secondary 3.

The second idea is to adopt a girls feeder school so VJC can attract top female students. The girls will study for the first two years at their girls school before joining VJC in Secondary 3.

The last idea is to admit Secondary 1 girls to VJC but have them study at a separate campus from the boys for the first two years.

This article was first published in The Straits Times.

Source: Asiaone

Old Boys and the turf they guard

by Lin Yan Qin

EDUCATION for all, regardless of exam results, and shared memories of a time when character development came first – it is this sense of pride in their school, they say, that drives them.

So, for the second time in three years, a group of Victoria School (VS) alumni hope to scuttle a proposal that would change things for their alma mater.

More than 1,500 Old Boys – to date – are objecting to Victoria Junior College’s (VJC) proposal to expand its current four-year Integrated Programme to a six-year one.

The proposal, which has been submitted to the Education Ministry, would allow VJC to draw students who do well at the Primary School Leaving Examinations.

And cannibalise VS, turning the two close schools into rivals for good students, ultimately resulting in the loss of an egalitarian ideal, say those against the idea.

“We’re a school that’s for everyone, from all backgrounds, not just those with the best results, and developing each one of us in a holistic way,” said alumnus Kevin Lam, 41, a senior vice-president at UOB.

“With the IP, if we admit students based strictly on academic merit, we would lose that.” This egalitarian ideal, he added, is part of “the greater debate about education in Singapore”.

Call it an ideal, call it heritage, too – the reason why VS alumni vigorously objected three years ago when the all-boys school and the JC considered admitting female students in a merger so as to offer an IP.

The plan was shelved; now this vocal group hopes to dash VJC’s latest bid out of concern their dreams would be dashed.

VS alumnus Mr Sanjay, 21, who started the FaceBook group objecting to VJC’s plans, said: “Even at the late stage in Secondary 4, I was invited to join the school track and field meet to represent VS. This enormous faith the teachers and coaches had in me inspired me to further my goals and dreams.”

Other prominent schools have had it easier when faced with such choices.

Mr Cheng Soon Keong, former president of the Old Rafflesians’ Association, who helped oversee the merger between Raffles Institution and Raffles Junior College said the two schools “had it easier” because both worked together closely even before the merger

“Victoria has a very unique set of problems … I think it’s natural the alumni have such strong feelings because of the shared camaraderie people go through together in their secondary schools,” he said.

A spokesperson for the Old Victorians’ Association (OVA) said it was not clear how much consultation VJC did with stakeholders before submitting the proposal. The association was “disappointed” by the move.

According to the Lianhe Zaobao, VJC vice-principal Fong Yeow Wah said both schools will continue to maintain ties, regardless of whether the proposal is accepted. The expansion, he said, was necessary to give its IP students an uninterrupted education experience to develop holistically.

Today understands the OVA sent a letter to Education Minister Ng Eng Hen last week to explain its stand.

Ironically, a merger of sorts doesn’t seem so bad any longer. “The preferred outcome is for a merger to take place and the IP programme offered to VS students, and other students including female students entering at the junior college level,” said the OVA spokesperson.

There is a gnawing feeling among another segment of alumni that VS may not otherwise be competitive enough.

Education consultant Fang Xiong Kun, 25, who attended both VS and VJC, told Today: “As it is, the good students are going to the IP schools, so we’re losing out on the quality of students we can attract.

“There are parents who are alumni but will not send their child to VS if standards fall behind other schools.”

Mr Lam, who is also an OVA member, hopes both schools can work out a compromise, rather than go their separate ways.

If the schools part ways, VJC will need to reconsider its present use of the Victoria school anthem, badge, and its brand name, said the OVA spokesperson.

“Because, is it still Victoria?” he asked.

Source: Today Online

VJC PLANS TO ADMIT SEC 1 STUDENTS

VICTORIA Junior College (VJC) has proposed a change to its current integrated programme which will see it admitting Secondary 1 students, a decision that has sparked ire among Victorian alumni.

VJC, which currently runs a four-year integrated programme admitting students at the Sec 3 level, submitted a proposal to the Ministry of Education about two weeks ago indicating that it hopes to extend its programme to six years, and admit Sec 1 students to the school.

If approved, this proposal will put VJC in direct competition with Victoria School (VS), with which it is affiliated, say some of its alumni.

The move would be similar to what the National Junior College has implemented, as it too has started to admit Sec 1 students directly this year.

Other institutions that have implemented integrated, or through-train, programmes include the Raffles schools and Hwa Chong Institution.

Temasek Junior College is the only other junior college that offers a four-year programme similar to VJC’s.

Some alumni are concerned that if implemented, the programme will pose a threat to Victorian heritage and unity.

‘We are disappointed that they have gone ahead with the proposal,’ said Mr Quak Hiang Wai, spokesman for the Old Victorians’ Association, the alumni association for both VS and VJC.

‘This will split the Victorian family apart and lead to unnecessary competition, as there will essentially be two secondary schools.’

He noted that the committee of the alumni association is not opposed to the integrated programme, but is taking issue with VJC’s decision to ‘go its own way’.

‘In fact, we are all for a merger between VS and VJC…for an integrated programme, as long as the school’s heritage is preserved and VS remains a single-sex school,’ said Mr Quak.

VJC intends to enrol both male and female students in its six-year programme, if it is approved.

When asked about VJC’s decision to extend its four-year programme, vice-principal Audrey Chen said the school believes there are significant educational advantages in having an uninterrupted six-year programme.

She added: ‘Regardless of the outcome of the proposal, VJC will continue to maintain close ties with VS and work in partnership to keep the Victorian spirit strong.’

Both Ms Chen and VS principal Low Eng Teong declined to comment on the alumni’s concerns.

chiaym@sph.com.sg

Source: The Straits Times