Conference: "Inter-great-ion- How do you embrace diversity?"

As part of Hwa Chong International School's leadership development programme, eight students from Secondary 3 classes were selected to represent our school to attend a conference in Nanyang Polytechnic on 10^th of July. This splendid event was successfully organised by Onepeople.sg together with Nanyang Polytechnic. The event was titled "Inter-great-ion- How do you embrace diversity?" which aimed to promote integration among everybody in Singapore, regardless of nationality, language, race and religion.

A few honourable guests like Mr Mark Featherson, a university lecturer, were invited to share their opinions and views regarding racial harmony. After a few sharing sessions, the 200 students present were divided into 15 groups to discuss about the problems given. The students were encouraged to voice their thoughts on what they think about the issues. Through the discussions, the students interacted with students from other schools.

 It was a great honour that our students, together with students from the Global Indian School were selected by the panel of judges to present their findings to everyone.

The highlight of the conference was the dialogue session with Senior Minister of State, Ms Grace Fu. Many students came forward to direct questions to the panel, seeking their opinions on racial problems in Singapore.

"It was indeed a wonderful and memorable experience, especially the dialogue session with Senior Minister of State, Ms Grace Fu and a few other distinguish guests.  Students were encouraged to raise concerns on some racial problems in our society and the panel had provided us with feasible solutions if such problems occur." -Teng Li Chi, 3 Excellence

"After the conference, I realized that racial harmony played an important role in our multiracial society. Without racial harmony, the country will never prosper. Racial background is only an accident of birth, what we need to do is not to avoid the difference but to accept the difference."     -Zhang Jia Qing, 3 Excellence

Dear Parents & students,

Hwa Chong International School will be celebrating the International Friendship Day on 21st July 2010 in conjunction with the Racial Harmony Day.

Lessons will begin at 8am and end at 11am. Thereafter, all students and teachers will proceed to the MPH for the celebrations.

The theme for the International friendship Day 2010 is Life, Spirit, Colour.

The objectives of this event are:

• To create an awareness of International cultures among students, and
• To foster a sense of bonding and friendship among students.

The details are as follows:

You may refer to the Powerpoint slides for the Programme Highlights.

Have an enjoyable time with us in celebrating the International Friendship Day 2010

Thank you and best regards.


Your sincerely,

Event Manager(s):
Mr. Samuel Lim Ming Chun  (Faculty Head of Humanities)
Ms Susan Sek

USA WEST COAST UNIVERSITY TRIP 2010

01/23 

   

On the last day of term 2 a team of 35 students along with Mr. John, Mdm. Dong, Mr. Webster and our tour guide Rosy, departed for the United States of America. The journey was long and arduous but mixed with in-flight movies and plenty of sleep there was a sense of anticipation and excitement amongst the group. We were greeted on the other side of the waters to a bustling Los Angeles Airport and a guide who took us straight to Hollywood Boulevard for a photo opportunity before moving to the hotel via a 'down-town' Chinese dinner.

The next morning the group awoke with a renewed vigor as we set off for the first of our university tours, UCLA and USC. After the tours we were left with plenty of information to reflect upon. The inspirational campuses mixed with a historical value were astounding. The following day a stop at Universal Studios provided us all with a true mix of American culture and good fun.

We were sad to leave the warm, yet fresh climate of Anaheim and headed through the desert full to the brim on the finest cheesecake. Upon arrival in Las Vegas the bright lights took our breath away. Our local guide, Eric, showed us all the sights before checking us into our hotel. The following morning the next of our tours took us to the Nation's number 1 ranked Hospitality and Service University UNLV where an extremely thorough tour gave us a completely different insight into 'real' university life in America.

We headed back into the desert to see even more of the famous sights, this time Lake Mead and The Hoover Dam, the latter being truly breathtaking.

Back on the coach we took the long drive up to Fremont, taking in The University of California, Berkeley, which was a very unique campus, styled very differently to the other campuses, routed in deep history, and also Stanford, which has a very rich heritage.

We were now on the final leg of our trip and the perfect city to end it was San Francisco with its colourful buildings, fresh cool air and our guide George. After lunch on Fisherman's Warf with the obligatory clam chowder and sour dough bread we explored this beautiful city with its spectacular views and magical history. An emotional final dinner allowed us to reflect on the trip, American culture and most importantly, what America has to offer students.

The trip was an inspiring insight into the potential that lies overseas and in terms of study; the United States of America, just like each meal we ate, provided us with plenty to chew on.

1. Trip Reflection by Chiew Ke An (Pre-University 2 Integrity)
2. Trip Reflection by 原梦 (Pre-University 1 Excellence)

Singapore Model United Nations (SMUN) 2010

Report by Mr. Samuel Lim,  Head of Faculty (Humanities), Hwa Chong International School with inputs from Pre U students namely Jerome Lam, Yang Junseok,  Nitin Jeyendran and Michael Ongkauko.

Fifteen Pre University students from Hwa Chong International School participated in the Singapore Model United Nations (SMUN) organized by the National University of Singapore (NUS) from 31 May to 4^th June 2010. Under the guidance of our MUNS directors/teachers IC, Mr. Samuel Lim and Mr. Richard John, these students did our school proud by winning the unprecedented Best Delegation award 2010.  A total of 20 schools and Junior Colleges, both local and foreign participated in the SMUN 2010.

The SMUN Best Delegation award 2010 is given to the Top 3 schools based on their team performance in the writing of position of papers and their actual performance during the SMUN, which involves debates and redrafting of resolutions. The Top 3 schools (in no order of merit) are Hwa Chong Institution, Hwa Chong International School and Anglo Chinese International School.

Michael Ongkauko (Pre U 1E) received the Best Delegate award (Individual). The Best Delegate award is given to a participant who displays good diplomatic skills, eloquent speaking skills and exemplary understanding of their represented country's stance.

Jerome Lam (Pre U 2I) and  Nitin Jeyandran (Pre U 2I) have equally done the school proud for their quality position papers. A total of 120 position papers were written per committee in SMUN 2010. From amongst them, Jerome Lam and Nitian Jeyandran received the Best Position Paper award and Honourable mention respectively for their Position papers.

Congratulations to our school's SMUN team for their outstanding performance!

1^st HCIS Youth Business Forum 2010

23^rd February 2010 witnessed the inauguration of the HCIS Youth Business Forum. The theme of the forum was "Rich youth, Smart youth". Organised by the Faculty of Humanities, this forum aimed to provide participants with a greater  insight into financial planning, stock market investment, property investment and investment outlook.

Under the guidance of the Head of Humanities Faculty, Mr. Samuel Lim and Forum Teacher Mentor, Ms Susan Sek, a team of Pre University students headed by Alex Lau Yao Zhong organized this unprecedented Business Forum which attracted over 200 students and teachers from HCIS and various invited schools such as Anderson Junior College, Canadian International School, Hwa Chong Institution College Section, Nanyang Junior college, St. Andrews Junior College and Tanglin Trust School.

The two distiniguished speakers for this inaugural forum were  Mr. Nicholas Tan, Head of OCBC Wealth Management, and Mr. Mervyn Chew, VP of Great Eastern Life. Mr. Wyson Lim, Head of OCBC Wealth Management also participated in the question and answer session. The Forum began with the arrival of the guest of honor, Mr. Tooh Fee San, CEO of Hwa Chong International School. This was followed by a multimedia presentation clip about the business forum. Thereafter, the first speaker for the forum, Mr. Nicholas Tan, began his speech on the topic of "The 7 deadly financial sins", where he discussed the common bad habits that people tended to have which in turn disadvantaged them financially.

Our second speaker, Mr. Mervyn Chew, was invited on stage to present his speech, "Earn your second million by forty". Following his speech, the forum proceeded with the Question and Answer session which drew numerous responses from students, thereby clarifying their doubts and enhancing their greater understanding of investment and wealth creation. Thereafter, tokens of appreciation were given to all 3 guests with students and guests being invited for a short reception, thus concluding the Business Forum 2010.

The inaugural Business Forum received favourable feedback from the participating students. It was a truly educational and informative experience for both teachers and students.

Report by 1^st HCIS Youth Business Forum 2010 Student Organising Chairman: Alex Lau Yao Zhong  Pre U 1JOY

Dear Parents and Guardians

A NOTE FROM THE CEO

We are now well into the second term of the current school year. Despite your busy schedule, I have had the pleasure of meeting many of you at our Parent-Teacher Interactions (PTI) this semester. I hope to meet up with all of you again very soon.

Meanwhile, I am writing this letter to update everybody on important developments in the school.

I am pleased to note that most of you are generally very satisfied with the actions initiated by the school to help your child's academic and personal development. The results of the last IGCSE examinations, for one, were certainly most heartening. Rest assured that we will continue to persevere in our efforts to do better.

One of the areas where we have decided to place greater focus this year has been on the school's organizational structure. When Dr. Ian Barker had to vacate office for private and personal reasons at the end of last year, I made an important personal decision to look after the stewardship of the school personally.

The Board of Trustees was of course concerned about the heavy responsibilities I was shouldering over and above my other responsibilities as a CEO. They, nevertheless, endorsed the decision.

To strengthen the school leadership and give it greater ballast, HCIS is pleased to announce the immediate appointment of three Vice-Principals who will oversee critical areas of school administration. The appointments were made after careful study and appraisal of the candidates who have strong links with Hwa Chong and the educational field. We are confident that they will play a significant role in the transformation that we have envisaged for HCIS. We are pleased to introduce the new school administrators. They are: Ms. Ong Lay Peng (Studies), Mr. Joseph Tan Yao Heng (Student Development), and Mr. Tan Teck Hwa (Boarding School and Strategic Planning).

In addition, we have secured the services of a very competent and respected financial comptroller from the business sector to be the Director for Admin and Finance. She is Ms. Jasmine Chew Mei Li.

Together, all of them constitute a formidable team that will lead HCIS steadily forward.

At an opportune time, the Board of Trustees will announce a suitable candidate for the post of Principal but for now, I want to assure you that the school is, indeed, in very good hands.

On another positive note, I am delighted to inform you that we are now poised to begin work on enhanced recreational and sporting facilities in HCIS. This will provide our students new opportunities to keep themselves happily engaged in games when lessons are over. The delayed boarding school project is also slated for operation by January next year.

As parents you are probably eager to know the arrangements for Summative Assessment Two which is scheduled for Week 9. All our students (save for those in Pre-U 2) will be sitting for their Summative Assessment from 18 to 22 May 2010. At the same time, the public examinations for some of the A level papers, the IBDP and the IGCSE will be conducted in May as well.

In view of this, all co-curricular activities (CCA) will be suspended from Monday 10 May 2010 onwards. At this point in time, all students in Secondary Four and Pre-University Two will also relinquish their CCA commitments for the year so that they can spend more time on their studies.

Later - after the end of the examinations - a number of our students will be going abroad on school trips to the USA, Vietnam and Korea during the term vacation. The graduating classes, on the other hand, will be spending considerable time in school to better prepare themselves for their final examinations. On all such matters, there will be official written communication to parents and guardians from the teachers concerned. Do feel free, however, to contact the school to enquire about vacation programmes and activities that concern your child.

I look forward to your support, encouragement and continuous feedback. I am confident that we can all work together in a climate of trust, co-operation and mutual understanding.

Tooh Fee San
Principal / CEO

尊敬的各位家长和监护人：

我校已顺利进入了本学年的第二学段。对于你们能在百忙之中抽空参加本学段的家长教师交流会，我本人深感欣慰。我希望很快能在下次交流会见到你们。

与此同时，我想通过这封信向各位通报一下本学段我校的一些重要进展。

我很欣慰，绝大多数的家长和监护人都相当满意我校本学段采取的各项措施。所有这些措施都旨在提高在校学生的学业成绩和促进每位学生个人的身心发展。去年，IGCSE 的成绩的确令人鼓舞。业已取得的成绩将会激励我们朝更高的目标迈进。

本学段我校的工作重点之一是学校内部的机构重组。一如大家所知，Ian Barker 博士因为个人原因于去年底辞去了我校校长的职务。在此关头，我决定承担卸任校长留下的一切校务工作。

当然，对我身兼两职--校长及总裁，我校信托委员会表示了关注。但是他们最终同意了我的决定。

本学期，我校委任了三位副校长，以巩固我校的管理团队。这三位副校长将分管我校学术、育人，学生宿舍及学校策略规划工作的各个重要领域。这一系列的任命是经过我校慎密考量后做出的决定。这几位就任人选都和华中或教育界有着极深的渊源。我们坚信他们的到来将会为华中国际学校的腾飞贡献他们的力量。让我荣幸地把这三位副校长介绍给各位：副校长王丽萍女士（Ms. Ong Lay Peng, 分管学术工作），副校长陈耀兴先生 (Mr. Joseph Tan Yeow Heng, 分管育人工作) 以及副校长陈德华先生（Mr Tan Teck Hwa，分管学生宿舍和学校策略规划工作）。

此外，我们还邀请到了一位来自商界的财务专业人士担任我们的行政及财务总监。她就是周美莉女士（Ms. Jasmine Chew）。

以上就是我校目前的管理团队。这个团队将带领华中国际学校稳步向前发展。

一俟时机成熟，学校信托委员会也将宣布合适的校长人选。但现在，我能向你们保证的是，学校各项工作都运行得有条不紊，十分畅顺。

此外，我要向您通报另一个振奋人心的消息，华中国际学校正着手在校园内兴建运动健身中心。结束了一天紧张繁忙的学习生活，我校的学生们可以来此通过一系列健康有趣的游戏及活动愉悦身心。因故延迟的学生宿舍工程也将于明年一月正式启用。

作为家长您一定迫切想了解我校第二学段考试的安排。考试时间定在本学段的第九周。所有在校学生（不包括大学预科二年级的学生）将于2010年5月18日至2010年5月22日在校参加本学段的各科考试。同时，一系列的统一考试也将在五月进行，这些考试包括了一部分的A水准考试科目，IBDP考试和IGCSE考试。

有鉴于此，校内所有的课外活动将于2010年5月10日起暂停。在此期间，所有中四及大学预科二年级的学生也将不参加任何与课外活动相关的系列活动。以便能以更多精力复习备考。

一俟所有考试顺利结束--我校相当数量的学生将踏上我校组织的美国、越南及韩国之旅。另外，即将毕业的班级，将会在校把大量时间和精力投入准备毕业考试，以争取好的成绩。以上各类安排，有关负责老师会将具体事项正式函告各位家长及监护人。敬请各位不吝致电或致函给校方，了解与您子女有关的假期活动及安排。

我热切盼望您的一贯支持、鼓励和积极反馈。我有信心我校和您将为您子女接受高素质的国际教育携手合作，在相互理解，相互信任的基础上共同努力。

校长/总裁  杜辉生上
二零一零年 五月十一日