6th May 2016 SJI International Newsletter Term 2 - Issue 5

Message from the Principal

Dear Parents As you read this message Mr Rainone and I will be in Ho Chi Minh City, for Scholarship Testing and interviewing of our long-listed candidates. This is our third overseas stop, having visited Manila and Jakarta previously. In two weeks time we will make our final trip of the year to Siem Reap (this is our first scholarship trip to Cambodia), where we will be testing a small group of students with the hope of offering scholarships to our first Cambodian scholars. I am certainly blessed to be part of this wonderful life-changing programme.

It was wonderful to see so many of our Grade 10 parents at the Grade 10 Service Celebration evening on Wednesday night. This was another excellent event, showcasing the work done by our students during the Grade 10 Service Week. A big Thank You to Miss Powell for making this possible. Please see write up in the body of this publication. This week’s newsletter is filled with various achievements. We are proud to announce the Senior and Junior Student Council for 2016/17. Congratulations to these students, elected by their peers. We also celebrate several sporting achievements and success stories in cricket, swimming, badminton and, for the first time ever, yoyo. Tomorrow sees our students competing in two important sporting events: i) the National Track and Field Championships and ii) a HS/ES swimming meet against Dulwich College and the Canadian International School, an event we are hosting. We wish all the students participating in this weekend's events the very best. This week’s newsletter also includes the following: a write-up about Sports Results from the past week; a Biology trip to the NUH Anatomy Museum; a trip by the G12 Indonesian literature class to the British Museum@National Museum; a Project for WeCare by a group of Grade 9 students; and G10 Service Celebration Evening. This week’s newsletter also includes important notification of the following upcoming events:

news about the exciting auction item on offer at SINGALA II, which takes place on 9th June at the

Goodwood Park Hotel; upcoming Sports Fixtures; and the newly added Upcoming Events page.

Non-Uniform Day – Aunty Jamaliah Fund As I mentioned last week, next Thursday, 12th may, is the final day of our fund raising drive for Aunty Jamaliah. A very big Thank You to all our parents who have already contributed towards this worthy cause, as well as to those who have also replied with information about the various support mechanisms available. This drive culminates on Thursday, 12th May, with a Non-Uniform Day for students. Students will be encouraged to support this event. Students wishing to participate in this Non-Uniform Day will be required to make a minimum $5 donation towards this charity event (this money must be handed to their teacher during lesson 1). We are, however, hoping that students will be as generous as possible in support of this very worthy cause. We also invite all parents to consider

supporting this important drive.

Click on the link to read: Upcoming Events and Important Dates

Click on the link to read: Brother Larry’s Lasallian Reflection

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Founder’s day - Friday, 13th May - International Food Fair Earlier this week you received an email detailing the arrangement for Founder’s Day. This event takes place on Friday, 13th May. This is a compulsory school day for all students.

As in the past, we will follow a special celebration programme: 07:45 to 08:00 hrs: Students arrive at school and deliver food items to Canteen 08:05 to 08:25 hrs: Registration in tutor group 08:30 to 09:30 hrs: Whole School Mass in the Sports Hall 09:30 to 10:15 hrs: Founder’s Day Assembly/Ceremony in the canteen and Assembly Hall 10:15 to 11:30 hrs: International Food Fair

One of the major events on Founder’s day is the International Food Fair. You have previously received

an email giving details about how the food should be prepared and delivered. Please support the

school by ensuring that your child contributes towards this event. We are also looking for PARENT

VOLUNTEERS to assist us on the day. If you are able to support us then please sign up HERE. These

volunteers will assist us to: i) receive food; ii) set up the food at the stall sites; iii) serve the food; iv)

clear-up at the end. You can assist by signing up for one slot or for the whole time, between the hours

of 08:00 and 13:30 hrs.

11:40 to 13:00 hrs: Cultural Carnival in the Sports Hall 13:00 hrs: School ends. (This is earlier than normal)

Please note that: a) There are no afternoon activities UNLESS specifically arranged and requested. b) The school offices will close early, at 16:00 hrs, on this day.

Next Thursday is Friday! As previously mentioned, next Thursday (12th May) is the second of our make-up curriculum days this year. On this day we will follow the normal Thursday timings but, instead of following the normal Thursday lesson timetable, students will instead follow the Friday lesson timetable. Parents can sup-port the school by reminding their children to ensure they have their books and equipment for a Fri-day timetable.

Please note that normal Thursday activities (before school, during break and after school) will take

place.

Host Families for children from Fukushima For the past two years, SJI International has been privileged to be involved in a programme that brings young children from the Fukushima disaster area to Singapore for a period of time. This visit allows them an opportunity to be involved in various activities and creative sessions, run through a charity (Today is the Day). This year the organisers are looking for host families to look after a child or children involved in the programme. If you are Japanese speaking and are enthusiastic about being involved please email dina.nerina@mylasalle.edu.sg.

Hairspray – Tickets on Sale Our first Hairspray performance is now only 2 weeks away. If you have still not purchased your ticket, please do consider supporting this major school musical production. We are hoping for a full house every night. Please see Aunty Glenis (in the High School Office) to purchase your tickets.

See our parent/staff and student community get behind the Hairspray cast Here

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New Drop-Off Area for High School In the near future (hopefully after the June/July break) we will open a new drop-off point for the High School. This new area will be in Toa Payoh West Road, at the current Phillips Car Park. We are currently redeveloping this area so that it will have a separate entrance and exit, as well as a fully covered drop-off area, and a fully covered walkway right up to the school building. Once completed, this will become the only drop-off and pick-up point for High School students. I will send out more details in the coming weeks.

Wishing you all a great week ahead and a happy Mothers day to all the mothers in our community.

Yours sincerely

Bradley Roberts

Principal High School

Outgoing Senior Council 2015/2016 Next Thursday evening (12th May) is our annual Founder's day Dinner. An important part of this dinner is the Investiture of the new Senior Council. It is also an opportunity to thank the outgoing Senior Council for all their efforts over the past year. I would also like to sincerely thank our outgoing Council. Thank you for all that you have done for our school!

Front row Right to left: Tara Chen Ning-Shi Nair, Lim Jing En, Michelle Wah-Ling Marin and Louis Alexander Quah Shi Yao. Back row right to left: Low Han-Wei, Dan Tan, Isaac Tan Kai Rong, Pascal Frederick and Ricky Vian Kartolo.

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President Natasha Nair 11GWk

Vice President Veric Tan 11JVA

Secretary of Service Melissa Yuen 11GWk

Secretary of Administration Christina Wong 11MTr

Secretary of Student Welfare Ju Boon Ong 11GTh

Secretary of Art - Stanley Soendoro 11PWr

Secretary of Sport Mark Rodrigues 11GWk

Secretary of School Culture Andre Chuabio 11SRa

Secretary of Faith Sophia Goh 11NGh

Secretary of Events Management Jay Li Quek 11JVa

SJI International is proud to present our Senior Council

Senior Student Council 2016/2017

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Junior Student Council 2016/2017

SJI International is proud to present our Junior Council (Left to right) Front row: Keenan Chia (7SXu), Kiera Chua (7BTe) , Alessandra Lim - Secretary (9WNg), Nadya Tan - Vice-President (9NiB) and Leon Kitcher (7BTe). Back row: Andreas Egold (9SDL), Ash Gan - President (10Cir), Matthew Cheang (10Cir), Luc Parrot (8BWo), Katherine Taylor (8DCb) and Hoong Jun Ray (8ASa).

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Yo-yo Champion Shoots Promotional Video

Ian Loh (11NGh), who is 6th world champion holder in the Yo-Yo 5A category (2014), 2nd in Asia (2015), Singapore champion (2014/2015), has been sponsored by Duncan Toys since July 2014 and they sponsored a trip to Hong Kong for two days for Ian to film a video for them. Ian's experiences: "Over the past week, I was fortunate enough to be flown to Hong Kong by my sponsor, Duncan Toys, to shoot a promotional video for the com pany. Yo-yoing has been a big part of my life ever since I started it five years ago. Me and my supervisor roamed the streets of Hong Kong to film my original tricks. This experience made me feel very grateful for the opportunities that I have with been given through this hobby. Yo-yoing gives me a joy that nothing else can replicate." Ian Loh (11NGh)

Cricket Team Debut Games

The picture on the right is of Janak Prakash 11SRa, who managed to score a whopping 125 runs (61 balls,

12 X 6's, 6 X 4's) Vs ACS Independent in the National Schools A Div Cricket match. ACS batted first and

made 203 runs and we made 166 for the loss of six wickets. This knock was not enough to chase down

ACS score of 203/4 but SJI International lost by only 36 runs.

This is an amazing feat at school level Cricket and even though the boys lost, their performance was praised by all. This is only their 2nd match and the boys have worked so hard together in a short period of time to get the team ready for a tough competition in the Singapore Schools Sports League. Well done to all the boys involved.

From left (standing) - Dharmil Gopul Shah 11THY, Ayush Anand 11PWr, Manilka Sheran 12EOx, Mi-tra Sachithananthan 11NGh, Jeremy Keat U 11SiB, Min Khai Song 11SRa. From left (sitting) - Fazal Naqvi 11SRa, Udit Sharma 12CTr , Janak Prakash 11SRa , Joseph Selwin Fernando 12SHi, Shane Moraes 10ATe.

V Raffles. Lost SJII 130-9 Janak 63 RI- 131-3 Lost by 7 wickets. V ACS. Lost ACS 203-4 SJII 166-6 Janak 125. Lost by 36 Runs.

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Badminton Success! We are proud to announce that our U19 Badminton teams both performed outstandingly well in last week’s final rounds of the ACSIS Tournament. Both teams played against ACSI and the boys won Bronze winning by 3 goals to 2 and the girls won Silver 2, goals to 3.

Bottom Row: Gareth Tan (11GWk) 2nd Row Right to Left : Alistar Klyde (9SDL), Ze Peng Long (9RBe), Andreas Egold (9SDL), Justin Hadinoto (9WNg) 3rd Row Right to Left: Athens Kann (12SMc), Ian Hadinoto (12EOx), Vivek Palaniappan (12SMc)

Girls team Right to left: Jaslynn Ho (12GYR), Tan Yock Kim (11GTh) , Maegan Yap (11NGh), Megan Sim (11NGh), Serena Tang (10KUp), Chloe Chim (9SDL), Anokhi Haria (GTh)

ACSIS 19u Boys ACSI Anglo Chinese School Int'l W 3 -2 (Bronze

ACSIS 19u GIrls ACSI Anglo Chinese School Int'l L 2-3 (Silver)

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47th Singapore National Swimming Championships

The 47th Singapore Swimming Championships were recently held at the OCBC aquatic Centre. It was a championship between eight nations: Japan, China Taipei, Indonesia, India, Germany, Malaysia, Singapore, as well as some elite swimmers from the USA. There were four students from SJI International competing: Megan Winn (9SDL), Anouska Gopaldas (8DCb) Jenny Choo (7DHa) Joey Choo (9NJa) One important element of this particular championship was that it was also a Rio Olympic qualification trial. Joey writes the following: “I competed in a lot of events such as 400 Individual medley, 200 IM and 200 Breast stroke. Jenny and I qualified for 6 finals and had to put in 100% effort. It was nerve-racking before the finals yet I motivated myself to hit my target. Overall, our school team did an excellent job and I was honored to compete in one of the biggest competitions in Singapore. Thank you to my supporters, my team and my family. Next year, I am hoping to clinch some medals in my events and to achieve even better results.” Joey Choo (9NJa)

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Community Gets Behind Hairspray

On Tuesday a group of Mums, one Dad, staff and students took part in a Hair and Make-up workshop, to learn how to apply stage make-up and create 1960s Hairdos. The workshop was led by experts from The Makeup Room and Ashley Salon. Involving 20 cans of hairspray, 3000 bobby pins and 45 pairs of eyelashes, the cast are starting to look fabulous (and in some cases unrecognisable). A huge thank you to all the Mums, Dads, teachers and students who have stepped in to support Hairspray backstage. Have you got your tickets yet?

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Grade 10 Biology trip to the NUH Anatomy Museum

On 22nd April our biology class visited the Anatomy museum at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, NUH. Our class got to see the different parts of the human body in great detail and also got a better understanding of how they work. We learnt about how the brain works in detail and also saw the anatomy of the nose, lungs, kidneys and ears in close-up. It was an invaluable opportunity to pick the minds of Dr Ang and Dr Satish and learn more about how the human body functions; they gave us a tour of the lab and enlightened us with a lot of useful information beyond our school curriculum. I would like to thank Ms Ghosh and Mr McNalty for accompanying us to the museum and to Dr Ang and Dr Satish for giving us a valuable tour around the museum. Sanders Saurajen (10KUp)

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Treasures of the British Museum @ National Museum On Monday 2nd May, I went out with my Indonesian Literature classmates and our teacher Mrs Teo to visit a special exhibition at the National Museum of Singapore. The exhibition is called Treasures of the British Museum and it features artefacts from all over the world. These artefacts, from the collection of the British Museum in the United Kingdom, represent the beliefs and identities of different cultures of the world from North America all the way to Polynesia. As a literature student, I study the cultural elements in many books I read and my visit to the museum has enabled me to enhance my understanding of how different cultures have their own interesting values and traditions. These artefacts made me realise that traditional cultures around the world are slowly being eroded due to the constant modernisation of society. It is sad to see that many cultures and languages are under threat of being forgotten over time because of the rise of modern cultures in every part of the world such as pop culture. As teenagers living in the 21st century, it surely is difficult to appreciate traditional cultures but I believe we have to make an effort to appreciate and preserve these cultures. Each culture is unique in its own way so there should be good reasons for us to celebrate and treasure it! Pascal Frederick Phoa (Grade 12)

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Project WeCARE: Youth for Causes Service Initiative

At the beginning of this year, three friends and I decided to participate in a service initiative called Youth for Causes, started by Citi and YMCA of Singapore. This programme is a catalyst for promoting social entrepreneurship and community leadership development among Singapore youth. It provides youth our age and above who have made it through the proposal stage, with seed funding, training and an adult mentor to provide a step up for us in the process of implementing our actions. Our chosen Voluntary Welfare Organisation (VWO) is a non-profit organisation called CARE Singapore (Children At Risk Empowerment) which helps vulnerable youth to a brighter future. Since their founding in 1997, CARE has worked all over the nation, and has helped over 30,000 youths, trained over 3,000 teachers and parents, and generated over 130,000 volunteer hours for over 6,000 volunteers. CARE offers a comprehensive suite of life-skill instructions, motivational engagement, socio-emotional support and leadership development. They rely on donations to sustain their organisation and to be able to help support these youths. Over the past four months we have worked hard on this project, contacting CARE, setting up the proposal, recruiting people to help us, as well as contacting possible companies and venues as necessary. Our interview with YFC was on 16th April, and, after delivering our proposal to the judges, we were selected as one of the YFC Teams 2016. This was great news for us, as we could get started immediately and we are incredibly proud we were chosen! The two main events we are working on are:

A charity run/walk open for everyone (Paving a Way for Youth’s Future); and A fundraising concert (Melodies of Care) circling the central theme of young talents.

In addition we will hold bake sales, merchandise sales as well as a social media initiative that will target youth. Our team,is led by Nadya Tan (9NiB) and consists of Kyle Tan (9STa), Marcus Ng (9NJa) and me, Amy Zhang. We are backed by an extended core (of nearly 30 people, mostly from Grade 9) managing design and publicity, finance and as on-the-ground volunteers. Overall, this is a very demanding project for us, but we believe that we are helping a worthy cause and helping to provide a better future for the countless vulnerable youths out there. We’re still looking for other volunteers to join our extended core and to help out at the events. If you’re interested, please drop Kyle Tan an email at sjii1483@sji-international.com.sg, and if you would like to support our cause through other means (parent support is welcome!) please contact Nadya Tan at sjii1476@sji-international.com.sg.

Amy Zhang (9NJa)

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G10 Service Celebration On Wednesday evening, the assembly hall was filled with parents, teachers and students for the G10 Service Week Celebration Evening. This Celebration Evening was to celebrate Grade 10's achievements of service over the Easter break. All the Services are self-run by the G10 students themselves. The evening featured 4 presentations as well as two performers. All G10 Service groups had a booth set up to display pictures, videos and re-flections from their service. The evening was a great reflection process for all. A Big Thanks to Ms Powell, Mr Crumbie, Mr Finn and all G10 Tutors involved in the evening. Ash Heng (10CCh)

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SINGALA II – 1001 Nights: An Arabian Extravaganza

Last week we featured the wonderful offerings from the Shangri-la – a choice of five different hotels in the Philippines will be up for auction - in Manila, Cebu and Boracay. This week we were stunned to receive the most astonishing gift to add to the impressive list of wonderful items we will be presenting at the auction: One week on a 40ft charter yacht that can accommodate up to 6 people in 3 double bed cabin - fancy that? Tables and tickets are still available – why not make up a Grade table. For booking forms please go here: Stop Press Thanks to the generosity of the Elementary school parents who attended the Swim Gala this week pledges for Br Larry have now passed the $2000 mark – good, but not yet good enough – can you help?

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Sports Results and Fixtures

Date League Team Sport Time Opponent Scores

May 4 SSSC 19u Div A Cricket 2:00 PM ACS Independent Lost 166 for 6wkts

May 4 ACSIS 19u Boys Badminton D3 4:30 PM UWC Dover Won - Bronze

May 4 SSAC 19u Girls Football 5:00 PM German European School

cancelled

May. 5 ACSIS 14u Girls Basketball D2 4:30pm Tanglin Trust School B Won - 31– 8

May 6 ACSIS 14u Boys Basketball 4:30 PM Dulwich College Quarter-finals

May. 7 ACSIS MS Track and Field 8:00am Championships

May 7 Swimming (combined with ES - held at SJII)

08:00am Dulwich College and Canadian International School

May 9 SSSC 19u Div A Cricket 2:00 PM Victoria Junior College

May 16 SACAC 19u Girls Football 5:15 PM German European

May SSSC 19u Div A Cricket 1:00 PM Semi TBC

May 18 19u Rugby Varsity Cup 4:45 AM Anglo Chinese School

May SSSC 19u Div A Cricket 1:00 PM Final/3rd TBC

May 30th

SACAC 19u Girls Football TBC German European School

TENTATIVE - GESS will confirm on Thurs

June 2nd

Friendly 19U girls Volleyball 4.30PM WSS

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Lasallian Reflection Br Lawrence Humphrey, FSC

Next Friday, 13th May, we will begin our observance of Founder’s Day with a celebration of Mass with all of the High School students, who will be joined by students from the upper grades of the Elementary School. Mass is the central act of worship in the life of a Catholic, and thus it also has significance for us in the life of a Catholic school. I offer this Reflection to you as a means to better understand what Catho-lics believe about the Mass. Because many of our students are not of the Catholic faith, I will be sharing this same information with students at the High School assembly on Monday morning, to help them better understand what they will be observing during the Mass later in the week on Founder’s Day. Going to Mass is about spending time with God, as a community of faith. One of our Lasallian Core Prin-ciples, Faith in the Presence of God, reminds us of our belief in the living presence of God in our stu-dents, in our community, and in our world. Our school days begin with prayer, and in various ways throughout the year we remind ourselves that it is our Catholic ethos that supports the spiritual life of the school. Even for those students who are not of the Catholic faith, the celebration of the Mass as a school community on Founder’s Day reminds all of us of the place of God in the life of a Catholic school. It also serves as a means to reinforce the first of our SMILES values – Spirituality, and is an expression of the Virtues of Unity, Joyfulness, and Thankfulness. The name “Mass” itself comes from the final blessing said by the priest, from the Latin “Ite missa es” which means “to send out”, as Jesus sent forth his disciples to take his teachings to the world. The Mass has four basic parts, or “rites”. The first part is the Introductory Rite which prepares us for the rest of the Mass, and includes time for reflection on ways we have failed others, by what we have done or not done, and to express our sorrow for these actions. In this way we are more open and better pre-pared to receive the graces God offers to us in the Mass. The second part of the Mass is called the Liturgy of the Word. The word Liturgy comes from the ancient Greek, meaning “official work”, so Mass is part of the official prayer of the Church. In the Liturgy of the Word we listen to readings from the Bible, including the Gospel reading which is about the life of Jesus. After the Gospel the homily or sermon is preached by the priest, who will relate the scripture readings just heard to our own lives. The third part of the Mass is called the Liturgy of the Eucharist. “Eucharist” means to give thanks, so it begins with the “offertory” when we offer ourselves to God. This is symbolised by taking up the bread and wine which, during the Mass, is changed into the Body and Blood of Christ. This is probably the most difficult part of the Mass to understand, both for Catholics and non-Catholics alike. It is during the Con-secration that we believe that Jesus Christ becomes present under the appearance of bread and wine when the priest says the words, “This is My Body” and “This is My Blood”. This change is not “done” by the priest but by Christ, and while nothing appears to have changed, the change is one of substance, of what is, through the act of Consecration. During the Liturgy of the Eucharist we recall the Last Supper of Jesus, with his disciples, on the night before he died. Following the Consecration Catholics come forward to receive Holy Communion. The final part of the Mass, the Concluding Rite, is quite short. After some time to reflect on the gift of the Eucharist (Holy Communion), the priest leads us in a short prayer, asking God for help to use the graces we have received in Mass to support us in our daily lives.

Lasallian Reflection

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Lasallian Reflection Br Lawrence Humphrey, FSC

Our celebrant (priest) for the Founder’s Day Mass is our school chaplain, Friar Michael D’Cruz. Friar Mike is the celebrant for most of our Friday morning Masses throughout the year. This afternoon 27 students from Grade 2 will participate in the Sacrament of Reconciliation for the first time. This is an important step for these children as they prepare for their First Communion later in the month. Please remember them and their parents in your prayers. A Happy Mother’s Day to our mothers near and far!

Lasallian Reflection

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Upcoming Events

Teamie Parent Calendar I am pleased to report that all parents can now view important dates on the Parent Teamie calendar icon at the top of the Parent Teamie page

This calendar will always be the most up-to-date calendar for upcoming events. Parent/Teacher Conferences

All parents will receive an email, about one week before the PTC date. This email will include a link to sign-up for the booking slots to see teachers.

Reporting Dates

Please see the Examination lesson page in Teamie for dates and timetables of upcoming internal and exter-

nal examinations.

To find the examinations page please click in the icon at the top of the page and select

any of the classrooms listed. Once this Classroom opens, please click on the

Examination Icon (on left-hand side of page) where you will find all the

internal and external exam data.

Grade Date of Parent/Teacher

Conference Venue Time

Grade 10 (incl. 10FIB) 24th May (Tuesday) Assembly Hall 4pm to 8pm

Grade 7 2nd June (Thursday) Assembly Hall 4pm to 8pm

Grade 12 8th June (Wednesday) Assembly Hall 4pm to 8pm

Grade Date

Grade 8 Reports available on Teamie on

Sunday 15th May

Grade 12 Reports available on Teamie on

Thursday 19th May

Grade 10 IGCSE May Examinations start (Malay, Chinese and Drama)

Tuesday 3rd May (Please see examination timetable in Teamie)

Grade 12 IB Diploma May Examinations start (only Hindi B and Thai A (self-taught))

Wednesday 4th to Thursday 5th May (Please see examination timetable in Teamie)

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School Events

Event Date of Event Venue Time

Non Uniform Day 12th May (Thursday) Non Uniform Day all day

$5.00 minimum to-wards Auntie Jamalah

Founder’s Day Dinner [Investiture of new Senior Council]

12th May (Thursday) Assembly Hall 7pm to 9pm

Founder’s Day 13th May (Friday) School 8am to 1pm [school ends early]

NYAA Practice Expedition (Silver and Gold Award)

14th and 15th May In Singapore tbc

Hairspray (Opening Night) 19th May (Thursday) Singapore Drama Centre

7.30pm to 9.30pm

Hairspray (2nd Night) 20th May (Friday) Singapore Drama Centre

7.30pm to 9.30pm

Hairspray (Closing Night) 21st May (Saturday) Singapore Drama Centre

7.30pm to 9.30pm

Spring Formal G10/G11 27th May (Friday) Assembly Hall 7pm to 10pm

Rock Night 3rd June (Friday) Assembly Hall 7pm to 8.30pm

Grade 8 Expedition 5th to 11th June Tioman tbc

Blood Donation Drive 7th June (Tuesday) Assembly Hall 12pm to 5pm

Singapore University and Scholarship Fair

8th June (Wednesday) Indoor Sports Hall 3pm to 5pm

SINGALA Fundraising Dinner 9th June (Thursday) Goodwood Park Hotel

6.45pm

NYAA Practice Expedition (Silver and Gold Award)

11th and 12th June In Singapore tbc

Hair 4 Hope 14th June (Tuesday) TBa 3pm to 6pm

End of Term 1 17th June (Friday) 1pm