RGPS Story 3 and 4

Primary 3 and 4

Logo credit: Ms Renee Leung, RGPS Class of 1985.

The Raffles Story

In 1979, my mother joined RGPS as a primary one student. It was located at Holland Grove Road then. It was a small school with only two buildings connected to each other. The two buildings were hexagonal. And in each building, there were four classes per level for each session. There were both am and pm sessions for primary one to primary six. The students alternate their am and pm sessions yearly. My mother attended the pm session when she was primary one, so she attended the am session when she was in primary two.

There was only one air-con room in the whole school and it was used as the audiovisual room. My mother said that she only get to use that room once in a while.

The canteen and the assembly area were built together. Whenever it doesn’t rain, the assembly is conducted in the car park. There were about eight stalls selling drinks and food. There were two drink stalls, one noodle stall, one rice stall, one Malay food stall, one snack stall and one small kachang puteh stall. At that time, a bowl of noodle costs twenty cents a glass of soft-drink costs five cents.

There was a small aviary, and the students can bring left-over food to feed the birds.

There was also a rabbit hutch. There were cca groups formed to take care of these animals.

My mother joined table tennis as her cca. They would use the assembly area to play table tennis. There was also a huge field between RGPS and Henry Park Primary School.

Although the students were told not to cross the field, the girls often deliberately run one big round across Henry Park Primary School’s field. The most memorable event is the sports day, where there is no class. The school would be decorated with banners and balloons. The students were given paper coupons to exchange for drinks like milo and ice lemon tea. Gold medals were also awarded to the sports winners.

(318 words) Heidi Ng P3A 12 May 2012

The name of my interviewee is Ms Pauline Yeh. She studied in Holland Grove Campus.

The students had to walk up a slope and pass by Henry Park Primary School on their way to school. Her CCA was Badminton and she was in the school team. Ms Yeh had four A stars and qualified into RGS. Her favourite subject was Chinese.

During her time, there were two principals, the first one was Mrs SW Chee and the second one was Mrs Carmee Lim. They had a tuckshop which sold many types of food such as yellow noodles for only thirty cents. The drinks were grass jelly, soft drinks and many more which were only sold for ten cents. Ms Yeh’s favourite food was fish cakes with chilli sauce.

Ms Yeh’s classrooms were about the same size as now. The square tables were made of wood and there was a storage space beneath the tables for the students to put their books or stationery inside. Instead of whiteboards and markers, the teachers used blackboards and chalks. There were no projectors, visualizers and air-conditioning that time. Ms Yeh’s teacher was a fierce disciplinary mistress.

They had all the subjects like English, Math, Chinese, Science, Health Education and PE, however they did not have Social Studies then.

During their free time, they would be playing five-stones or ‘yeh-yeh’ (a game using rubber-bands tied together).

Done By: Raeann Chia Ting Xuan(7)P3A

My mother was an old girl of RGPS. Her school was located at Holland Grove Road. In those days, RGPS girls wore a metal school badge on their pinafore instead of our fabric ones. They also used to wear high socks. My mother’s favourite teacher was Mrs Loo who was her form teacher in Primary 6. During recess, she liked to play hopscotch, four stones, zero point, chatek and catching with her friends. She told me that a bowl of noodles sold at the canteen cost only 20 cents then. Every day after recess, she and her classmates had to line up along the drains to brush their teeth before heading back to class. I think RGPS is a very special school and I am proud to be a RGPS girl.

Done by: ELICIA NG HUI TINGâ˜ş Class: 3A 131 WORDS

The RGPS Story Interviewer:

Gwen Yeo (P3A)

Interviewee:

Yasmin d/o Mohamed Akrum

Annual Sports Day

RGPS at Queen Street

Aunty Yasmin was a student of RGPS from 1977-1982. She studied in two campuses, Queen Street (1977 – 1978) and Holland Grove (1979 – 1982). Her most significant memory at RGPS was the Annual Sports Day. She was proud to represent Green House. She also took part in the running event. She said that they did not run round the tracks but just to and fro across the field which is roughly about 20-30 metres.

She was also glad that the canteen sold ice cream at that time as that was her favourite food during recess. She also shared that she was lost on her first day of school at the Queen Street campus. As there were limited direction signages, it was difficult for her to navigate her way. She was very scared that she would miss the school bus and would not be able to go home.

She also remembered having a wonderful time with her best friend, Low Wai Pek before class and during recess. She still misses her old school very much and still keeps in contact with some of her friends.

RGPS Story Interviewer: Elena Chan Jeng Yan (3A) Interviewee: Mrs. Isabelle Armstrong

My classmate’s mother, Mrs. Armstrong, attended Raffles Girls’ Primary School from 1974 to 1979. She studied at Queen Street Campus from 1974 to 1978, but the school was relocated to Holland Grove in 1979.

Her CCA was Gymnastics. She won countless trophies and medals. She loved Sports Day and her favourite subject was English. She said that the Holland Grove Campus is actually half of the current Henry Park Primary School!

Done By: Elena Chan Jeng Yan 3A (10) 12 May 2012

THE R.G.P.S. STORY Nabonita Sen P3A

Raffles Girls Primary School has a long history. So Let me share a little bit about those good old times as seen from the eyes of one of our alumni.

I had the opportunity to interview a R.G.P.S. alumni, Yasmin, and she told me a little about her experiences at school. She was in R.G.P.S. from 1976-1981. The campuses then were at Holland Grove and Queen Street. The classrooms were shaped like hexagons in those days.

During her time the normal uniform was a blouse, a pinafore, a belt with a hook and a metal badge but the P.E. uniform was a T-shirt and a pair of bloomers.

Her favorite subject was Science and her hardest subject was Malay.

Her favorite place in the school was a big field shared with Henry Park, where she enjoyed playing with her friends.

Her most memorable day was the sports day and her favorite sport was gymnastics. Her worst memory was going to the dentist. Everything in the canteen used to be priced less than fifty cents. Her favorite food in the canteen was Mee Siam.

While she recalled having many favorite teachers, her toughest and strictest teacher was Ms.Chan in primary three. Her best friend was Wai Pek. The one advantage of the school, which still holds, was that it was a girl's school and she consequently had many girly friends.

While the school premises may have changed and nothing is available in the canteen for less than fifty cents, on the whole, life at school doesn't seem to have changed much.

THE RGPS STORY-A Time to Remember

Interviewer : Ankita Alevoor Bhat (3B) Interviewee : Ms.Angel Leow (RGPS Holland Grove Campus: 1994 – 2000)

My mother’s friend Ms. Angel was a pupil of the RGPS Holland Grove campus from 1994-2000.She recalled that as a primary 1 student she had to get up very early in the morning, just like me to go to school.

Ms. Bandara was the principal during Ms. Angel’s school years. Her favourite subjects were English and Art ,but she still remembers Mrs Tan her Math teacher who was patient and kind. She also used to look forward to her PE classes as she was quite fond of playing netball. The Mass Dance conducted during the annual sports day was also lots of fun.

Ms. Angel and I share similar interests for games played during recess break. We both like playing five stones, heart attack and skipping with our friends ! Her special memories of school included her favourite food ,the prawn noodle soup and her daily visits to the aviary to see the parrots .

Her most memorable experience was about the fund raising bazaar that her class had organised . She described in detail about the ice cream floats that she had made which were sold within an hour.

She recalls that school days were fun and that till today she cherishes her friendship with her classmates who she still keeps in touch.

The RGPS Story – A Time to Remember …..

Done by: Pow Shu Qi (27) and Cassidy.H.Wong (5) Class 3B

Aunt Camlyn was a former student of Raffles Girls’ Primary School [RGPS] from 1979.

The school campus was located at Holland Grove at that time.

She

remembered that her classroom was shaped like a hexagon, not like the square ones we have today.

Aunt Camlyn’s favourite teacher was Mrs Lee. Aunt Camlyn used to sing with the school’s choir and play basketball as her CCAs, which was known as ECAs in the past. The girls played with beanbags, hula-hoops and balls during their PE lessons.

Their favourite games during recess time were ‘Zero Point’ and ‘Four Stones’.

Aunt Camlyn loved to eat fishball noodles that were sold in the canteen.

Aunt Camlyn also remembered the enjoyable time she had when she went to the Singapore Botanic Gardens in Primary 1, the Singapore Zoo in Primary 2 and Sentosa in Primary 6, on school excursions.

Aunt Camlyn had always loved to go to school because she looked forward to playing with her friends every day.

Photo Credit: RGPS (2012)

After the interview with Aunt Camlyn, my friends and I have a better understanding of what RGPS was like in the 70’s. Thank you Aunt Camlyn!

Done by: Pow Shu Qi (27) and Cassidy.H.Wong (5) Class 3B

By: Natasha Sanghar (25) P.3B

This is the story of Raffles Girls’ Primary School in the olden days as told by Auntie Camlyn who was a former student of the famous school.

Auntie Camlyn started her primary school education in 1979. At that time, Raffles Girls’ Primary School was located at Holland Grove Road. Back then, the school was half the size of what it is now. The other half of the school was occupied by Henry Park Primary School .The school operated in two sessions, school 1 and school 2. The morning session will start at 7.30 in the morning while the afternoon session will start at 1 o’clock in the afternoon. Students attended each session alternately each year. There were about 40 teachers teaching at RGPS then. The principal of Raffles Girls’ Primary School at that time was Mrs. S.N Lim. Auntie Camlyn remembered there were about 44-47 pupils in her class when she was in primary 1. Her classroom was in a shape of a hexagon. There were 4 classes in each level. Her favourite teacher was Mrs. Kee. Mrs. Kee was her form teacher. Auntie Camlyn was in the yellow house. Auntie Camlyn favourite subject at that time was Mathematics. Those days Science was taught at primary one. Now we only begin to learn Science at primary 3. Physical education is always fun. According to Auntie Camlyn, she had 2 periods of physical education each week. During Physical education, they would play games using bean bags, hula-hoops and rubber balls. Auntie Camlyn enjoyed playing games like ‘five stones’ and ‘zero point’ during recess.

Recess time then lasted for 20 minutes which is about the same as our recess time now. Her favourite food from the canteen was fishball noodles. Her favourite hang out place in school was the monkey bar.

Her uniform was more or less the same as ours, but her badge was not. Her badge was pointed at the end of each tip. The reason they changed the badge was because a lot of students and parents complained that the pin was sharp and kept on poking the students

when they were putting their badges on. In those days, they did not have any leadership titles apart from school prefects.

They didn’t have a lot of facilities then. They did not have lockers, a pancake room, a basketball court, to name some. They also did not have a dental clinic but they did have a dental nurse. They had something which we do not have though, which is a Sports Day. Sports Day is when students compete in various races, mainly track and field events. School holidays then were basically the same as it is now.

13 years ago, extra after school activities was not called CCA. It was known then as ECA, which stands for extra-curricular activities.

Most ECA were held on Saturdays then. Now most CCA are held after school hours on school days from Monday through Friday.

RGPS organized several excursions during Auntie Camlyn’s six years at the school. When Auntie Camlyn was primary 1, she went on a school trip to Botanic Gardens. When she was primary 2, she went to the Zoo. When she was primary 6, she went on a school outing to the island of Sentosa. I guess some things don’t change because now we still go on school outings.

THE RGPS STORY Prepared By : Fiona Ee Class: Primary 3B Year: 2012

Interviewer: Interviewee:

Deeksha Kapoor Ms. Camlyn (RGPS Holland Grove Campus: 1979-1984)

My classmate’s mother, Aunty Camlyn, was a pupil of the RGPS Holland Grove Campus from 1979 to 1984. The building looked like a honeycomb. The classrooms had shapes like a hexagon and she said that the Teachers desk was nestled by the pupils’ desks. Aunty Camlyn and her friends used to play games such as zero point, Four stones and they played with bean bags, hula-loops and balls during their P.E. lessons and the school field was shared between Henry Park Primary School and Raffles Girls Primary School.

During those years the school used to start at 7.40am and end at 12.50pm and they used to have ECA, not CCA, Aunty Camlyn’s ECA were Basketball and Choir. Her P3 Form teacher was Mrs. Kee, she is over 70 years+ now and she told us that the pupils in P5 and P6 studied very hard and that Enid Blyton was famous and favourite amongst the girls in the school.

Aunty Camlyn very lovingly described her years in RGPS as the most memorable ones and she is still in touch with some of her friends from school. The big red bridge called the “RAFFLES Bridge of Love” remains fresh in her memory to date.

Interviewer : Cleo Ng Lin En (P3B) Interviewee: Tay Kwang Geok (RGPS 1978 – 1983)

Photograph – Tay Kwang Geok P6A (1983 – Holland Grove Campus)

My neighbour, Tay Kwang Geok, was from a pupil from RGPS from 1978 to 1983.

She spent a year in the Queen Street Campus before moving over to Holland Grove in Primary Two. There was a National Day Celebration concert which she was involved in when she was in Primary Five. The class wrote the story themselves and it was entitled “Coalblack and the Three Giants”. The storyline was adopted from “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”, just that the characters are opposite. The girls in the class wrote the story and choreographed the performance themselves. The performance was a huge success. It was a very interesting and rewarding experience for the whole class.

Interviewer: Jade Tang (3C) Interviewee: Mrs Glenda Ng Date of interview: 14 May 2012

THE RGPS STORY Interviewer: Ang Jo Wee (Class 3C, Index number 3) Interviewee: Mok Sin Mun (RGPS student 1977-1982) My mom was a former RGPS student at Queen Street campus between 1977 and 1979. She then studied in the Holland Grove campus from 1980 to 1982 for Primary 3 through 6.

Her favourite subject was Chinese.

Dance was her CCA. Her favourite teacher was Mrs Buay, the form teacher of Primary 1D in 1977 who helped her a lot in her English, sometimes explained to my mom in Cantonese so that she could understand. She also remembers 贺老师 as her Chinese teacher, Table-tennis CCA teacher-in-charge and who brought her class to climb the Bukit Timah Hill.

She loved the canteen and said the food sold there was very tasty. They sold fish ball and fish cake noodles, laksa and kacang puteh in the canteen. She still misses her old primary school a lot.

Kacang Puteh uncle’s store

20 cents a glass of mixed soft drinks

Her favourite noodle shop

My aunties, mom’s 2 elder sisters were amongst the audience. Canteen was behind the hall. There was an outdoor cage with small animals like rabbits, chicks and birds next to the canteen.

Mom said RGPS school badge was metallic then that she would pin on after wash. She had no name tag like the one I have today.

She was from Green House and won many medals from Sports Days.

A piano next to the stage

Mom’s Chinese dance performance at Holland Grove campus.

It was choreographed by黄老 黄老师 黄老师.

My aunt, mom’s elder sister sang in the choir that day.

Interviewer: Ashley Lin 3C (23) Interviewee: Mrs Wong (RGPS Queen Street Campus: 1964 to 1972)

My teacher, Mrs Wong, was a pupil of the RGPS Queen Street Campus from 1964 to 1972. Her most memorable experience was when they heard somebody said that there was a bomb in the school. For the safety of the teachers and students of the school, they were told to evacuate and assembled at the SJI field.

Mrs Wong felt terrified and worried. They waited for a long time but nothing serious happened. After a thorough search in the school, it was announced that it was only a hoax. Mrs Wong felt relieved but she was angry of being fooled by the person who told them there was a bomb in the school.

THE RGPS STORY A Time to Remember

Social Studies- Oral History MiniProject

Interviewer :

Marilyn Goh (3C)

Interviewee :

Eileen Fong

By: Name: Aslesha Williams Nair Class: Pri 3C Index no: 4

(RGPS Holland Grove Campus 1982 – 1987)

My mother, Eileen Fong was a pupil of RGPS Holland Grove Campus from 1982 – 1987.

She vividly remembers that there was an area that used to rear small animals, such as hamsters, rabbits and guinea-pigs.

She always goes there whenever she was free.

Usually, she goes there during her recess time. She helps to feed the small animals and tidy up the place.

She told me whenever she is feeling moody she cuddles the guinea-pigs before she goes home.

Until now, she still remembers the joyous time with the small animals.

The RGPS Story Cherisse Goldwich and Carmen Tong(7)&(6)

Submitted to: Mrs Happy Wong 7/4/2012

Cherisse Goldwich & Carmen Tong

(7)&(6) 3c

The RGPS Story Raffles Girls’ School was established on the 4th of March 1844 with six boarders and five scholars. It first functioned as a moral development and vocational training class but later progressed to become an educational institution. The trustees of Raffles Institution sited Raffles Girls’ School at the centre of the building at Bras Basah Road. However the two schools were separated in 1847 and by 1881, the new Girls’ School started classes on its own.

In 1928, Raffles Girls' School moved to Queen Street but vacated the premises during the Japanese Occupation. The building was then occupied by the Kempeitai as its headquarters during the war years. After liberation in 1945, the school was re-opened and temporarily housed in St Anthony’s Convent before reoccupying its own building again along Queen Street in 1946.

Primary classes were started in the afternoon and there were only nine classes then with Mrs Ambiviagar as Principal. By 1959, Raffles Girls’ Primary School became a full-fledged primary school in its own right when Raffles Girls' Secondary moved to its new building in Anderson Road. As the sole occupant of the Queen Street campus, morning classes were started with Mrs V Pestana as the Principal of the school.

According to our interviewee, Auntie Rebecca, the school at that time was very strict but in the canteen, they sold delicious kachang puteh, which would put a smile on all of the students’ faces.

Auntie Rebecca had also told us that on the night before balloting day, parents’ would start to line up outside the school at about 8:00p.m. and set up a tent to sleep in at night just so they could be one of the first people to get a number for the balloting session the next day.

Parents of children who had gotten into the school would be so happy and maybe even cry tears of joy! Unfortunately, some parents and their children would have to be disappointed, for as the saying goes “You can’t please everybody!’’

Auntie Rebecca’s favourite teacher was Mrs Nathan. She found Mrs Nathan the most favourable and outstanding teacher as she was kind, humble, dedicated, patient and devoted to her job as a teacher.

Auntie Rebecca was over the moon when she had gotten a perfect A star for her mathematics PSLE (primary school leaving examination) under the guidance of Mrs Nathan.

Before she left, I, Cherisse, asked her the best and last question: why her parents chose Raffles Girls’ primary as her school. She simply replied “My parents chose it because it was close to my house and was a very good school to go to.’’

Finally, it was time to go, we said our good-byes as she left the classroom.

We hope that RGPS will strive to become an even better school someday.

Acknowlegements We would like to thank our social studies teacher, Mrs Wong & our form teacher Mdm Wong for helping us to finish our project.

By

Cherisse & Carmen

The whole school(including all teachers),1844

Prize giving ceremony, 1856

Interviewer: Chiow Hui Ern Joelle (Primary 3C ) Interviewee: Rebecca Foo (RGPS Queen Street / Holland Grove Campus 1977-1982)

My mother, Rebecca Foo, was a pupil of both the RGPS Queen Street and Holland Grove campuses from 1977 to 1982. She has many fond memories of RGPS. The most memorable event for her was the big move from the Queen Street campus to the Holland Grove Road campus.

My mother was a member of the RGPS Band. This is a picture of her and the other band members in their band uniform. My mother played a brass instrument called, cornet. She is standing in the middle row, 5th person from the right.

I wish I could go back in time and see what it was like.

THE RGPS STORY Interviewee: Mrs Jaslyn Wang, mother of Shania Wang and alumni of RGPS Interviewer: Shania Wang of class 3E Years: 1979 – 1984 Campus: Holland Grove

Background Mrs Wang spent her RGPS years at the Holland Grove campus. The year 1979 was the first year that the school was relocated from the Queen Street campus. The Principal then was Mrs Lim Soo Noi.

Those Wonderful Days The School Compound There was a grand staircase near the staff room which only the Principal and teachers were granted access.

There was also a huge cage near the school canteen where birds and rabbits were kept.

Recess Time The girls enjoyed the lime and orange ice-bar at just five cents. They played games such as five stones, shuttlecock with colourful feathers and “zero-point”.

After recess, the girls squatted by the drain to brush their teeth using a coloured mug and toothbrush provided by the school.

The Dentist’s Call

Whenever the school dentist appeared at the classroom, the girls were jittery. Everyone prayed that her name would not be called to go to the dental clinic which was located on the ground floor. The drilling sound of those tools used to clean the teeth was scary.

The President’s Visit In 1982, the then President Devannair visited the school. They were so honoured to welcome the President and they showcased their art projects during his visit to their class in 4A. Conclusion The remembrance of those years at RGPS brings back many fond memories. Mrs Wang is proud that her daughter, Shania is now part of the RGPS family.

Hope you have enjoyed THE RGPS STORY!!!

Interviewer: Yeong Shi Jia (P3E) Interviewee: Auntie Patricia (RGPS Holland Grove Campus 1983 – 1988)

Everyday, Auntie Patricia had to put on her metal badge to school. Unlike us, we have our badges sewed to our uniforms.

At her time, RGPS’s hall and canteen were in the same area. They also had to share their field and school buses with Henry Park Primary School. She and her friends did not dare to make friends with the boys, so they befriended the girls only.

Everyday after recess, there would be a brushing teeth session. All of them had to line up horizontally at the drain. A staff would press a button and all the pupils could hear the speaker saying, "Up, 12345678..Down, 12345678..RIGHT… Up, 12345678..Down, 123455678..LEFT… Up, 12345678..Down, 12345678..”and so on. But sometimes when they forgot to bring their toothbrushes and cups for rinsing their mouths, they would go to the bookshop to buy it. Then the owner of the bookshop would have lots of business.

In the middle of the school, there is a bridge called `The Bridge of Love’. You can cross the fish pond. It is also helps to connect one end of a building to another. Near the pond, there would be an aviary. Inside, there would be lots of birds and a few hutches. In each hutch would be a rabbit. Everyday, they would bring some vegetables to feed the rabbits.

During Auntie Patricia’s time, some people would sell ice cream. Some would also sell Kacang Putih. The food in RGPS was very cheap in the past.

Auntie Patricia and her friends read Enid Blyton books, so they formed a group and pretended to be detectives. She liked the place where they always meet her friends the most. And at her time, there were no lifts. So the teachers must have gone through a lot of hardship. In the playgroud, there was also a monkey bar. They did not have pupil’s card too.

RGPS Story Emberlynn Loo Hui-E/ Index Number 13 Interviewee: Mother, Ka-Pin

My mother was an old girl of Raffles Girl Primary School.

She studied for one year (Primary 1) at Queens Street and five years (Primary 2 to 6) at Mount Sinai.

At Queen Street, my mother remembers that the school was in the city and the building was really old and at parts creepy.

At Mount Sinai, she was lucky to be the first batch of students to be at the brand new school. However, the Mount Sinai school shared the field with another school (Henry Park Primary School).

Now, RPGS is located at Bukit Timah in a private housing estate and has its own compound without sharing with any other schools.

Back then, students could order milk in either Vanilla, Strawberry or Chocolate flavor for consumption during recess. The milk came in triangular shaped packaging which we do not see anymore.

There was an ice-cream stall which was operated by a Hainainese woman in the canteen. Now we do not have an ice-cream stall at all. It would be nice to have one.

There were many parents and grandparents in the canteen during recess as they would come early, buy food and wait for their children and grandchildren. Now they are not allowed to come during recess. All the students have to buy their own food.

During recess, my mother played zero-point, five stones, skipping rope and hop scotch with her classmates. Now, we play at the playground, “Tag”, “Ice and Freeze” or “Mushroom”.

A RGPS Story We are Althea Tan and Helen Goh from 3E. And we are going to tell you about a RGPS Story.

Althea’s mother was once in RGPS, and she shared the following bits of story with us… During her time, recess in RGPS was only 20 minutes.

Althea’s mother would eat a snack with her best friend, Richelle, before joining the other friends in the field. RGPS canteen used to sell this ‘keropok’ the size of an A4 paper and it cost only ten cents (ermm… but ten cents was a lot of money to a young girl then)! There was also this lollipop with a nice tasting sarsi-flavor. Alas, we do not have such a flavor here anymore (sigh). Both the keropok and sarsi lollipop were very popular with the girls. But few could barely finish their lollipops when the bell went off though….

After their meals, they would go to this humongous Banja tree, which had very long banja roots hanging from the branches. Many girls loved to hold onto the sturdy roots and swing about in a tarzan-style! One can imagine the rowdy fun they all had… Within a stone’s throw away was a huge rubber tree in the garden. They could find many rubber seeds on the grass. They tried picking them up and playing ‘five- stones’ with them….

If there was still time, many of the RGPS girls would go to the pretty garden which was filled with white, pretty frangipani flowers, near the cleaners’ quarter. Everybody simply loved the sweet aroma of the frangipani flowers floating in the air. However, the girls found the cleaners’ quarters eerie as many spooky stories on it had been told …

And, we also got to hear about a really funny story about RGPS. Once, when a school prankster put glue on the toilet bowl seat and when a girl unknowingly sat on it, the whole toilet bowl seat got stuck onto her pinafore! The poor girl had to remove her entire pinafore to free herself. Luckily for her, she was wearing her PE attire underneath. Someone in the toilet saw what had happened and spread this piece of news to the rest in school.

The girl then became an instant ‘star’ as she immediately became a laughing stock in school.

Anyhow, the prankster was being severely punished.

Well, we hope that you have enjoyed the “RGPS Story”.

THE END By: Althea Tan Sze Rui (3) and Helen Goh Yi Kang (18)

By: Jamie Liew (17) & Gretel Cheng (5) Date: 10th May 2012

Class: 3F

These are the memories of an alumni whose name is Jan. She was a former pupil of Raffles Girls’ Primary School.

Raffles Girls’ Primary School was located at Holland Grove Campus. It was next to Henry Park Primary School. In between the two schools, there was an enormous field.

Raffles Girls’ Primary School and Henry Park Primary School shared the field. There was an imaginary boundary line that split it into two. We would take half of the field and the other school would take the other half.

Whenever one of the Henry Park boys came into our side of the field, Jan and her friends would keep on chasing him until he returned to the other side of the imaginary boundary line. They also had rubbish day! During rubbish day, they would have to pick up litter and they would only pick up the litter until the boundary line.

During Sports Meet, now called Games Carnival, games were played in the field then. There were fun games like baton, exchanging beanbags and sack races. Now we play it in the school building and in the parade square! “It was so fun then!” she said. “Whenever we fell, we would fall on the soft green grass and it won’t hurt.” Jan had won two medals and a trophy! She was in green house and her house cheer was like this “Green, green, always win.” The green house liked to make fun of the yellow house by saying their cheer “Yellow, yellow, dirty fellow”.

The canteen and the hall were next to each other on the ground floor. Many stalls were facing the tables and chairs where the students ate their food. On each side of the hall, there were very shallow drains. Sometimes, after recess they would have to squat by the drains with mugs and toothbrushes and brush their teeth. On very special occasions, their

teachers would give them each a very bright pink tablet to chew before brushing their teeth. If the very bright pink colour showed on their teeth, it showed the places where they had dental plaque. During recess, Jan and her friends would either play zero point or five stones. She preferred using green beans instead of rice for making the five stones as it was easier to catch.

Jan went to the library on some days with her best friend, Ruth. The librarian would take her library card, write the due date on a card from the book she wanted to borrow, and slot it into her library card and keep it. Afterwards when Jan had returned the book, the librarian would take out her library card, put the borrowing card back inside the front of the book, give Jan back her library card and put back the book. The library card was paper then but it is all electronic now.

Jan’s memories of her RGPS days are different from ours. Someday, we too hope to be able to tell our own daughters about our memories of RGPS.

Name: Adriana Kamsadi Index No.: 26 Class: 3G Assignment: RGPS Story

This year there were two ladies who were from my school, Jemma and Alice, who came to my class to talk about the RGPS story. Now, I would like to start out with Jemma’s story.

Jemma went to RGPS in the year 1975. Her principal was Mrs Lim. When she went to RGPS, the school was located at Queen Street.

However, the school moved to Holland Grove when she was Primary 5.

Gemma’s favourite subject was Science. Jemma also said that among all the food sold in the canteen, her favourite food would be the Prawn Noodles. She added that compared to how much a bowl of noodles would cost in school during her time, the price of a bowl of noodles is now very expensive. She said that our school was very different compared to how our school is today.

I would now like to share Alice’s story.

Alice went to RGPS in the year 1981. Her principal was also Mrs Lim. When she went to RGPS the school was located at Holland Grove.

Alice said her English teacher, Mdm Hoon, was very strict. During recess almost everyday, Alice would eat her favourite Chi Chong Fun. She said that when she was studying at RGPS, the bookshop was the same size as the classrooms, which was not really different comparing our school today and in the past. She also said that her favourite place in school was the monkey bar area in the playground because it made her feel like she was a monkey.

In the end of it all, Alica and Jemma’s session had come to an end. Now, because of this, I would like to have my own RGPS story session with the pupils who would go to RGPS in the future.

Thank You.

Christy Choe Tzin (8) 3G The RGPS Story – A Time to Remember During NE Friday, I had the privilege to interview Ms Gemma. She studied in RGPS Queen Street and graduated in 1980. As the school was used as a hospital during the Japanese Occupation, she had thought that it was haunted!

Ms Gemma shared with me that her favourite subject was Science as she liked the hands-on lessons and especially if she could touch the animals. During her Primary 5 school year, she recalled that there were chicks in the school compound and they were running around! However, the chicks always left their droppings around.

Unsurprsingly, her favourite teacher was her Science teacher, Ms Ching. She remembers Ms Ching as being very soft-spoken and Ms Gemma always obtained full marks for her Science tests.

PE lessons were held in the school hall and it was smaller than ours at Hillcrest campus.

The students wore school blouse and bloomers for PE lessons then.

For students who were underweight, they had to drink soy milk in school on a daily basis. Ms Gemma found the taste disgusting.

Food was another highlight in Ms Gemma’s school life in RGPS. She enjoyed the spring rolls and one Chinese cracker cost 5 cents back then. Ms Gemma would sometimes have home-made jam sandwiches for her recess.

After recess, the students will have to brush their teeth. The school provided each pupil with a toothbrush and mug and they will have to squat at the drain to brush their teeth. The teacher would observe if they are brushing their teeth correctly.

I enjoyed interviewing Ms Gemma and finding out about her school life in RGPS then. It makes me proud to know that my school has a rich history and heritage and I am fortunate to be part of our RGPS family.

Christy Choe Tzin (8) 3G The RGPS Story – A Time to Remember During NE Friday, I was excited to meet Ms Alice, one of my two interviewees. She graduated from RGPS in 1986 and studied at the Holland Grove campus. The principal then was Mrs Lim Soo Noi.

Ms Alice’s favourite subject was Mathematics.

She recalls that she had a teacher. Mdm Hoon, who would check their nails every Monday, to make sure they were cut and clean.

Alice went on excursion to the Botanic Gardens.

Her favourite corner in school was the monkey bar in the field. The bars were placed at 3 heights – short, medium and tallest.

She loved to go to the bookshop. It was huge as it was the size of our classroom. She remembers that it had lots of shelves.

Ms Alice’s favourite food in school is “Chee Chong Fun” sprinkled with sesame seeds. Recess time was only 10 minutes and she had to rush to finish her food in time.

Interviewer: Shreya Raman (3G) Interviewee: Ms Manjula Govindaraju

Aunty Manju is seated in the 1st row, 2nd from the right.

My former Sunday Human Values class teacher, Aunty Manju, was a former pupil of RGPS from 1966 to 1971. RGPS was then located at Queens Street. The uniform was the same as it is today except for the school badge. It was a metal pin on badge that the pupils needed to remember to put on every day. The school hours were similar with morning session being from 7.30am to 12.30pm and the afternoon session being from 1.30pm to 6.30pm. Aunty Manju used to play tag and hopscotch at the playground or the school field every day before the school bell rang. The subjects were the same as they are today. They were English, Math, Science and Mother Tongue. Food at the canteen only cost between 5 and 20cents. There were stalls selling drinks, sweets, noodles, halal food and sandwiches. Aunty Manju’s favourite food was fishball noodles which cost 10c.

There was a basketball court, a huge school field and a bookshop. There was sports day every year. Aunty Manju played netball as her ECA activity.

• •

Interviewer Interviewee

Koo ii (3G) Ying (Holland Grove Campus 1979-1984)

This particular RGPS story began in 1979 which was the first year that the school had Holland Grove Road to its address.

This girl bought her uniform and textbooks at the Queen Street Campus. She remembered seeing those ancient wooden chairs and tables but she was very happy to see brand new dark greyish-blue tables and chairs when school started in 1979.

There were two sessions - four classes in “school 1” (1st session) and four classes in “school 2” (2nd session).

The classes were labelled as A, B, C and D. Unlike now, “A class” was the best back then. This girl was posted to class 1C and was promoted to the “A class” from P2 to P6. There were as many as forty-five pupils in a class in those days.

The most memorable moment was when she planted an onion in the school garden, together with the Principal, Mrs Lim. This garden was next to the hall and flanked by drains that all students brushed their teeth with the “Clean Teeth Never Decay” colourful mugs.

This moment was captured in a picture published in the 50th anniversary RGPS magazine. Only her back view was shown, she said it was because they wanted to take the Principal and her classmate who was the daughter of a Minister.

School was very fun. Her P3A form teacher, Mrs Lim (not the Principal), allowed them to play any games in the class as long as they had finished their work. This girl was always the first few pupils to finish their work with no corrections.

She played ‘Zero-point’, ‘Four Stones’, ‘Chatek’ and many other games. Yes, it was utterly true, they played ‘IN THE CLASS’ everyday!

Her favourite corner, was the big orange public telephone booth next to the tuckshop. She always called my grandmother during her recess. The queue was forever long. She missed the Kachang Puteh man as well.

A funny moment to share, queer moments began early in the morning. As RGPS was next to Henry Park Primary School, they often ‘compete’ to see who was the first to begin the morning assembly. A man’s voice boomed across the shared field, he said the pledge very badly. All the girls giggled.

Those were my mother’s days…..

RGPS Story Interviewee : Jacqueline Ng (2005) It was with a slight pang of nostalgia that she recollected her primary school years in RGPS. She especially remembered the teachers, friends and the seemingly endless lessons but found it hard to begin as she had an uncountable number of precious memories.

When she was in Primary 3 in 2002, pottery lessons, a compulsory activity that all girls had to attend, gave her a chance to shine and learn. It was in the pottery room on the 2nd floor of the school where she and her friends would compete to see whose artwork would earn the highest accolade from her teacher and where they would playfully and discreetly throw bits of clay at each other before bursting into fits of giggles.

During those lessons, she was taught to persevere, as there were several occasions where her clay broke under fire in the kiln. As disappointed as she was, the elderly pottery teacher always made it a point to kindly commend her on how beautiful the final piece would have been had it not cracked, and this would be the impetus for her to bravely start all over again at the next lesson.

She also remembered the numerous teachers who hold a special place in her heart. It was a place where teachers such as Mrs Toh Mee Lin, her Primary 1 teacher taught by example and a place where students were constantly put under some pressure in the hope that they would eventually come out stronger and better, very much like the ceramic pieces she had created in Primary 3 that now sit proudly on the mantelpiece at her home.

It would not matter if she sometimes did badly for school tests, for there would always be teachers and friends around to motivate and correct her. She knew she need not be afraid of aiming high or even of failure as her teachers often taught her to keep her feet on the ground even as she strived towards her lofty ambitions, and her teachers would always catch her when she fell.

This was a school that had built a solid foundation in her to withstand the pressures of later years. The foundation would put her in good stead for secondary school life.

This was a school where farewells were never unsullied, where she forged some of the strongest childhood friendships. Many of these friendships are still going strong.

Now, as she recollected her primary school years, she summed it up with this statement: “Thank God I found you, RGPS!�

Name : Esther Ong Wei Shi (27)

Class : 3G

RGPS STORY

Interviewer: Stephanie Tan Kai Lin (3G) Interviewee: Lum Weng Jing

My Mummy was a pupil of the RGPS Holland Grove campus from 1981 to 1986. One of her favourite memories at RGPS was recess time. She loved the food served at the canteen including prawn noodles, fishball and fishcake served in a small packet, laksa and snacks such as Kacang Puteh, Starwars Popsicle and Kaka (a type of crunchy corn snack with a toy inside).

Recess time was also full of fun with games such as Zero-Point, Dog-and-Bone and Chaptek. There was also a period when children loved to collect cute paper and stickers.

During recess, children from different classes were seen gathering together to exchange cute paper with each other. My Mummy had a very big collection of cute paper which was subsequently given away to a neighbor.

My Mummy also enjoyed Sports Day very much. She was a very fast runner and her class won a prize every year. She remembered receiving a very nice child umbrella as a prize for one year.

Finally, my Mummy recalled that the post exam periods were the best as the children were allowed to bring toys or even pets, such as hamsters, to school to play. They could also go to a room where movies were screened via a television set. “The Sound of Music� was one of the movies shown every year.

My Mummy had very fond memories of RGPS and hoped that I would enjoy my time in RGPS too.

THE RGPS STORY – A TIME TO REMEMBER Social Studies – Oral History Mini-project

Personal Information of Interviewee Name: Megan Quah Class/Year: 6Q (2005)

Megan studied in RGPS from 2000 to 2005 at the Hillcrest campus. She was a two-time recipient of the School Advisory Committee (SAC) Award in 2003 and 2005.

Interview Topic: Community Involvement Project (CIP) in P5.

Interviewer: Madeleine Quah Class/Year: 3G/2012 Date of Interview: 13 March 2012

Megan was the group leader of a community involvement project called “Disability Awareness Week� when she was in P5 [2004]. It was held to raise the awareness of the disabled among the RGPS student population. Her group helped to raise fund and put up an exhibition in school to raise awareness of people affected by cerebral palsy. Although her group raised about $150 which may seem a small amount, she was very glad to be given an opportunity to participate in this project and contribute to society.

THE RGPS STORY Interviewer: Rachel Puah Interviewee: Veronica Tan (Queen Street Campus 1977-1978) (Holland Grove Campus 1979-1982) My mother, Veronica studied at the RGPS Queen Street Campus from 1977 till 1978 as a primary 1-2 student, and later at the Holland Grove Campus from 1979 until she graduated in 1982.

Though the Queen Street Campus was OLD and EERIE, my mother preferred to study there. She had a lot of fun playing hide-and-seek in this BIG campus because there were so many good hideouts. She also loved the MAJESTIC look of the school building. They had a beautiful, really BIG and GRAND white staircase. It was really WIDE as two classes could walk up at the SAME TIME. How amazing!

My mother's primary one classroom was located on the first level, RIGHT BESIDE the

GRAND staircase. It was near to the driveway and the backgate too. She remembered their classroom had two REALLY REALLY HUGE windows without any window grills.

She recalled an incident that happened during one of her lessons. They were ALERTED about a WILD DOG roaming around the school. They were told not only to SHUT the doors immediately but all the windows TIGHTLY too to prevent the dog from jumping through the windows. Some girls were frightened while a few heard about this incident.

screamed screamed.

I laughed really HARD when I

Mrs Lim Soo Noi was the principal then. My mother liked and respected her very much because she was a very CHARISMATIC principal and she maintained a very good POSTURE when she walked..

Photo Credit : RGPS website The photo above is the field that can be overlooked from the second floor common corridor. Beside the field, was what they called the “tuckshop” then, which is our “canteen” now.

After recess everybody would bring the set of toothbrush and mug provided by the school and squat by the drain to brush their teeth.

What wonderful memories of those good old days!

Interviewer:

Natalie Hee Shao Jing (24)

Class:

3H

Interviewee: Lee Wei Lin (RGPS Queen Street Campus: 1975-1978, RGPS Holland Grove Campus: 1979-1980)

th

Photo Credit: RGPS 50 Anniversary Alumni (2009)

My mother had the privilege of being a pupil in 2 campuses, Queen Street and Holland Grove. The principal then was Mrs Lim Soo Noi. She was very excited when she saw the photos of her principal and some of her ex- teachers in the RGPS 50th Anniversary Alumni Book. That brought back fond memories for her. In the first few years of her primary school education, my mother’s favourite game during recess was ‘zero point’. This is a game whereby girls challenge each other on how high they can jump over a rope, the rope is usually made up of rubber bands strung together. My mother played this game with her group of friends at the Parade Square at Queen Street campus.

Name: Fathiinus Class:P3H The RGPS Story Interviewer: Fathiinus Interviewee: Faa'izah

• My sister Faa'izah was studying in this school from 20042009. There was a big, beautiful pond outside the corridors known as the ‘Wishing Pond’ among the students. They would throw coins into the pond , and wish for something they wanted. Faa'izah likes that place a lot as she would spend her time there with her friends fruitfully.

RGPS Story Done By : Cheryl Tan & Riya Sanjeev Class: 4B

THE RGPS STORY “Hi! My name is Tan Yung Yung. Most of my friends called me Judy. I studied in RGPS from 1976 to 1981. P1 and P2 years were at the RGPS Queen Street campus, and P3 to P6 at the Holland Grove campus. RGPS was divided into two sessions - School I and School II. Each session had six levels and each level had four classes (A, B, C, D). I was in School II P1C in the morning session. Unlike now, there was no GEP and no streaming.

My principal was Mrs Lim Soo Nooi. She was approachable and was very kind to all of us. Mrs Emilie Tan was my form teacher in P1. She was strict but kind to those who did their work. My best friends were Wun Wen-na and Karen Kwee. We spent recess together all the time.

Canteen food cost a lot less than now. A bowl of noodles was only 20¢. My favourite food was laksa and fish cake. I love the AVA room the most because we watched many programs in there. Chinese and music lessons were the most enjoyable. I played table tennis and joined the school choir.

I certainly enjoyed my primary school days in RGPS and I hope you do too!”

RGPS Story Done By : Eunice Chew Class: 4B

The RGPS story Interviewee: Mrs Chew (my mom) Studied in RGPS 19811981- 1986

Going to school I usually woke up at 6:00am and took the school bus to school and reached at about 7:15am. We were expected to reach school at around 7:30am and I was terrified of being late so I made sure my mother woke me up on time every morning. As a result, I was never late for school.

RGPS report book In the classroom I was excellent in my studies if I do say so myself! My favourite teacher was Mrs Gay (see photo on the left) and was the only teacher I kept in touch with.

Sadly, she died a few years ago from cancer. My best friend was Phyllis from Taiwan who eventually became vice head prefect!

She was very messy and we called her “Mop Head �. My other best friends were Joyce, Carrie and Evelyn.

Class photo!

Recess!

My favourite food was prawn noodles! The queue to the prawn noodle stall was the longest among all the stalls so I would rush down quickly to the canteen. My favourite area of the school was the field. I would play hopscotch there with my friends.

Being a leader

The prefect badge

When I was in primary five, I became a prefect! I was happy and proud when I received my badge. I looked after the class 2B, which was a cute but naughty class. Once, the class made too much noise and the other classes complained. I had to make the class stand up for ten minutes! The class liked me very much and called me the

“Funny Prefect”.

RGPS Story Class: 4B Interviewer: Isabelle Chan & Sonia Ng Interviewee : Danna And Linda (Former Students of RGPS)

RGPS Story Danna and Linda were former students of RGPS. They remember very fondly of the times they had when they were students. Both of them remembered that the old school building had only 3 stories and was much shorter than the RGPS now. The field was 20 times bigger and they would play pretend games and build bird’s nest. There was no fishpond in the school.

Danna and Linda remembered that there were very old books in the school library and that the school librarian was old and ugly. Pupils used to think that the scariest place in the school was the dental clinic. There was also no caning in the school. Instead, students were given another chance to finish their work and to hand it up the next day. In rare cases, if the student keeps forgetting to bring her homework, then she would get a very bad scolding from the Teacher. Danna also said that CCA was not compulsory during her time.

The canteen food in the old RGPS was very cheap. There were lots of stalls and there was a stall that sold packets of fishcake that were very delicious. Students could also ask for more chilli to make their food spicy. During that time, the canteen was very clean and there were no birds and pigeons flying around.

When RGPS moved from Bras Basah to Holland Grove, it was next to Henry Park Primary School.

Linda said that the students from Henry Park Primary School were allowed to go into RGPS but the RGPS students were not allowed to go into Henry Park. Linda laughed and said that it was so unfair.

Former RGPS at Holland Grove

RGPS Story

RGPS Story Done by: Jazlyn Low Class: 4C

Who did I interview?

I interviewed my mother, Mdm Tong Siew Wei, who was a former pupil of RGPS from 1976 to 1985.

Which year did she studied in RGPS? She started her Primary 1 in RGPS in 1976.

She told me that my grandmother had to queue before dawn on the day of registration so that there is a higher chance for her to get into the good school.

It also benefited her other 2 sisters, who eventually also studied in RGPS. It was not so lucky for her fourth or youngest sister who was not able to enroll in the same school as there was a policy then that only up to the third child can be enrolled in the same school. In the end, her youngest sister ended up in Stamford Primary School and the fun part was that when you join the names of the 2 schools together, they will get “Stamford Raffles”, the founder of Singapore.

Where was the school premise when she was studying in RGPS? She studied at the school at Queen Street for Primary 1 to 3. There were also many other popular schools nearby Queen Street, for example CHIJ, St Anthony’s Convert, St Joseph Institute, etc.

The school later moved to Holland Grove when she was in Primary 4.

Who were her favourite teachers?

There were a few of the teachers whom had left a deep impression on her.

Firstly was Miss Chan Ai Yoke. She was her Primary 1 form teacher as well as the teacher in-charge for folk dancing and Red Cross Society. She enjoyed dance class under her and Miss Wong.

Secondly, there was Miss Chan Mei Ling, who was her form teacher for Primary 4. The students were quite frightened of her as she always gives them mental sums for her Math lessons. However she may look fierce by appearance but she was really kind teacher.

Thirdly, there was Mdm Peh who taught her Chinese for Primary 3. She used to drive a white “turtle” car to school.

What was her favourite subject in school?

She enjoyed the music lesson the most as they got to go to the music room at the second level (at the Queen Street) for lessons. Besides singing while the teacher played the piano, they also learnt to play the recorder.

Which was her favourite food stall?

Her favourite stall was the noodle stall. She could still remember that the cost of a bowl of noodle then was only twenty cents. Though the noodle may be plain, with just noodle and a few slices of fish cake, but it was delicious and was able to fill her stomach for the recess break.

What does she like to play during recess time with your friends?

After taking the food at recess time, she would play catching, five stones and zero point with her friends and classmates. Sometimes they would also go to see the fishes in the pond at the garden.

Who was her best friend in the school?

Her best friend was Belinda Mak. They were in the same class except for Primary 1. They would go for recess and play games together. They were also in the same CCA, Red Cross Society. At times, Belinda’s mum would also prepare lunch for her when they stay back after school for their CCA. What were her most unforgettable events in RGPS? There was once when she was queuing to buy food during recess time at Queen Street school. While she was waiting for her turn, suddenly she felt some ticklish feeling in her body. To her horror, it turned out that there was a cockroach crawling in her body. She quickly put her hand into the blouse and scooped it out. Frightened to let anyone know about it, she quickly ran to the toilet and clean herself up.

Another unforgettable event was the moving of the school from Queen Street to Holland Grove. The girls were all very excited about the new and big school premise. There was also an opening ceremony which her second sister performed a dance item.

This is a picture of my mum and her classmates of Primary 1D (1976) with Miss Chan Ai Yoke

RGPS Story Class: 4C

Interviewer : Shermaine Chua Wenxin (4C) Interviewee : Cindy Tong Former student of RGPS (1979 - 1984)

My mother, Cindy Tong, was a pupil of RGPS Holland Grove campus.

She was in Primary 1 in 1979, it was the first year RGPS began to use this premise at Holland Grove.

She recalled that all things were new and clean within the school compound during then.

At that time, Henry Park Primary School was just next to RGPS. There was a big field in between the two schools and RGPS' girls got to share this field with HPPS' students.

There was no clear line indicating the 'territory' of each school. During PE lessons, RGPS girls were always afraid that they would go beyond their boundary. As a result, sub-consciously they were always very careful /alert so as not to go too far from their school in case the students (especially the boys) from HPPS would bully/disturb them . . . By sharing the field, they could see HPPS PE activities, and would start to make comparisons as well ie. whose game was more interesting, which teacher was better . . .

There seemed to be an 'invisible fence' at the centre of the field.

But eventually, RGPS girls began to make friends with HPPS' students and the two schools became good neighbours with this big field between them. The field was always filled with laughters and joy.

My mother, Cindy does have quite a number of fond memories throughout her her six years in RGPS. Here are some other questions covered during the interview session : Shermaine : How many best friends do you have during your primany school days ?

Cindy : One is good enough, in fact we were in the same class throughout the 6 years.

Sad to say that we didn't manage to go to the same secondary school.

However, all the while we still keep in touch with one another even till now !

Our friendship is more than 30 years already.

Shermaine : Who was your favorite teacher ?

Cindy : Mrs Gay. She was my English and Maths teacher when I was in P6.

Eventhough she looked fierce and stern, she was a very caring and understanding teacher.

I have got a lot of encouragement from her during the PSLE time. She helped me a lot during then.

Shermaine : What was your favorite food from the canteen ?

Cindy : Yummy Prawn Noodle ! We only got to eat this on every Friday. Students would order and pay in the morning, the vendor then have all orders prepared and placed them on the canteen tables just before recess. All bowls of noodles were properly labelled with the students' names written on a slip of paper . It was quite fun searching for own names in order to get the right order that we placed earlier. That was really delicious !

Shermaine : Which lesson did you enjoy the most ?

Cindy : Music lesson. Just like you, I enjoy singing and that was the only time where the girls could sing to their hearts' content . Enjoyed the singing sessions which were always filled with so much fun and laughters. I believe this has not been changed till now,students are still having great time during music lessons. It's stress-free, right ?

Shermaine : Did you enjoy your six years stay in RGPS ?

Cindy : Everything was good except the long journey from home to school.

We have got good learning environment, caring teachers and good friends.

Luckily, your grandma was able to register me into RGPS during then, and that's why you are able to be here as well.

THANK YOU

The RGPS Story

By: Kimberly Khow 16 March 2012

Written By Class Date

: : :

Claryne Teng P4D 19 March 2012

THE RGPS STORY I never knew times in the early days of Raffles Girls Primary School were so different and basic.

The school was located in Queen Street then. There was a winding staircase and there were also big beautifully coloured tiles and pillars. Sports Day was also held in the school compound.

The school ground was cemented and there was no playground. The school also had no lifts and students had to climb the stairs to go to their classrooms. The bookshop back then sold only basic stationery items like pencils, erasers and exercise books. During those times, students mainly used cloth pencil cases. If the pencil cases were torn, they would be sewn back.

Food sold in the canteen was fairly cheap. A bowl of noodles cost only 20 cents and a stick of ‘kachang puteh’ cost five cents. Students only had twenty minutes for their recess and there were about 8-10 stalls in the canteen.

The classrooms only had wooden tables and two fans. The number of students in each class was big, with a number of around 42-45 students in a class. Teachers used chalks to write on the blackboards. If students were not paying attention, the chalks would come flying at them!

Subjects taught were similar but there were only a subject teacher and a Chinese teacher. Rules in the olden days were the same.

The pupils had CCA twice a week and the two popular CCAs were badminton, as well as track and field. However, there was no CCA bus to transport the students back to school after CCA. Thus, most students took trishaws or public transport which cost about 5-10 cents a ride.

One of the alumnae my class interviewed has a sister who loved to story-tell and her sister eventually became a lawyer and a lecturer. The alumna shared that the school attire then was a shirt and a pair of bloomers. She also shared that her favourite Primary 6 teacher was Mrs Low, who ironically, was the alumnae’s most feared teacher. However, Mrs Low was a dedicated and fantastic teacher. And as expected, the alumnae under her performed very well, scoring very good grades.

THE RGPS STORY (cont’d) One of the alumnae excelled academically and managed to get into the Raffles Girls Secondary School and subsequently into Raffles Junior College. That is really amazing! I aspire to be like her and will put in my best and study hard to achieve my dream of becoming a paediatrician!

It is such an eye-opener to learn about RGPS in the olden days. We are indeed very lucky now as the present RGPS has good facilities, such as a nice playground, air-conditioned rooms, IT Lab, etc., which all the students can benefit and enjoy.

Done by: Rachel Seow Class: 4D

RGPS Story

Auntie Chia Soo Lian was a student in RGPS from 1977 to 1982. The food sold then were noodles and “kachang puteh”, which cost between $0.10 to $0.20. Her favourite food was “kachang puteh”. After eating, she and her classmates had to brush their teeth.

Gymnastics, basketball, choir and badminton were the few CCAs offered at that time. They studied English, Chinese, Mathematics and Science in school. Each class had a Chinese teacher and an English teacher who will teach English and the rest of the subjects.

The PE attire is just an ordinary shirt and bloomers which represents the house colour. Their school uniform is the same as now except that the badge is pinned on the pinafore and not sewn. There were no DSA at that time. She was at Queen Street campus for two years and at Holland Grove campus for four years.

RGPS Story Done by: Letitia Ng Class: 4E

RGPS STORY INTERVIEW Interviewer: Aiko Tan Jun (4E) Interviewee: Fumi Kheng I have interviewed Fumi Kheng

Fumi Kheng was one of the RGPS pupils. She came from RGPS Holland Grove Campus. Her CCA was choir but she changed to girls’ brigade, subsequently. During her school days, she likes playing five stones and zero point especially during recess. She enjoyed eating noodles. She said the noodles last time were even more delicious than what we have now. Her favourite subjects are Science and Math.

Just like me.

The library in the olden days had no air conditioner. See how fortunate we are! In the classroom, they did not have plastic chairs like we do! Instead, they had wooden chairs. Sometimes, if you are unlucky you get a chair with bugs and you end up being bitten by them.

Their eco pond was not as beatiful as now but they really enjoyed catching small fishes and adorable tadpoles. They even had a bridge name the bridge of love.

During games carnival, they had more games than us. Thiers was called Sports Day. They had gunny sack races and the teachers played games. Fumi was very reluctant to graduate from RGPS, as she really loved being an RGPS girl. She hopes she could visit RGPS once in a blue moon. I wish RGPS will be a better place year by year.

RGPS Story Done by: Ginelle Khoo(13) & Megan Oon(25) Class: 4E

R G P S (1987) Interviewee: Lauw Wann Ching (Ginelle’s aunty) Interviewer: Ginelle & Megan from P4E

(P6 Class Photo) Aunty Wann Ching studied in Raffles Girls’ Primary School from 1982 to 1987. She enjoyed RGPS and had a lot of fond memories and friends.

During her time, she was in the Holland Grove Campus and there were an

average of 10 classes per level with about 40 students in each class. There were many teachers and students as well. Each classroom was pretty big and clean. For the lower primary, they had to sit on the floor mats during lesson and to proceed to the tables and chairs to do their work. During recess, she and her friends would go to the canteen for tea break before playing zero-point, catching or monkey bar. Her favourite food in the canteen was the prawn noodle and she mentioned that the canteen had a Kachang Puteh stall with the Kachang Puteh man there too. Aunty Wann Ching’s CCAs were softball and aerobics. She was the pitcher in the softball team. Back then, they used to refer CCA as ECA which stands for Extra Curriculum Activity. She took part in softball matches and she often performed in dance aerobics on stage during school events like National Day. There will be no school during Children Day. Therefore, they would normally celebrate in school a day before by having performance, songs and dances.

Her best friend is Guo MeiWen in RGPS and they are still good friends now.

Her daughter, Chelsea, is Aunty Wann Ching’s daughter’s close friend now too. Her favourite teacher in RGPS was Ms Gostelow who is her P5 teacher.

She is currently teaching in MGS primary. One of her most memorable days in school was when her P6 form teacher allowed her classmates and her to watch the live telecast of the Miss Universe during school hours as it was the first time Miss Universe contest held in Singapore.

Done by: Woon Rae & Yow Rae Hsuen Class: 4E

RGPS Story Class:4E

Done By: Loke Mei Qi & Joyanna Tye Class: 4F RGPS Story In 1976, an ex-RGPS student, Doris Ong (Mei Qi’s mother), joined RGPS. We are going to tell you about our school at that time. RGPS was located in Queen Street. The school was once occupied by the Japanese during World War2. She shared with us that there were haunted in the school compound that she and her friends would avoid going to. The students’ report books were navy blue and had to be handwritten by the teacher.

Doris’s classroom had a blackboard instead of a whiteboard, and teachers would assign blackboard duties to everyone, to ensure that the blackboard remains clean. At the side of every students’ classroom there was a box filled with multi-coloured chalks and another box filled with chalk dust. The desk, the teacher’s table and chairs were entirely made out of wood.

There were no projectors and CCAs at that period of time. There were celebrations for certain events, such as Teachers’ Day, Childrens’ Day and National Day. During recess, Doris and her friends would play Zero-point, Hide-and-seek, Four-stones, Catching and Hand drawn hopscotch. After they had finished playing Hopscotch, they would use their shoes to clean the markings on the floor! The school did provide school buses for students to get home easily. During PE, her class would run, play Passing the beanbag and basketball. Doris participated in the School Carnival and parents were also invited. There would be a Parents’ Relay where the children would participate in the Relay with their parents! Doris participated in the Relay by herself, came in third and won a bronze medal. There was no model pupils’ award back then too. Doris thoroughly enjoyed the time that she spent in RGPS.

Done By: Joy Teo Chia Wen Class: 4G

The most memorable days in RGPS The days my mother had in RGPS was memorable as she remembers the many beautiful staircases in school. They had a spiral staircase beside the principal’s office.

Mother loved the school canteen especially the school tidbit stall. The myriad of goodies and snacks--- sweets, sour plums, chewing gum, bubble gum and potato chips! Then there was the drinks and ice-cream stall. My mother’s favourite drink, Green Spot, was only 15 cents per bottle. She would be the first at the canteen once the school bell went and be the first in the queue to buy her Blur- Blob ice-cream! Yum! There were many stalls in the school canteen. There was a noodle stall, a Malay stall selling Nasi Lemak and Mee Siam, a laksa stall, a porridge stall and a Kacang Puteh stall! She loved the bookshop too! Toys and cute stuff were on sale. She loved playing “yeh yeh” ( also named zero point, a long skipping ‘rope’ made out of rubber bands ), chapteh (Chinese called jianzi) and five stones! Recess back then was only 20 minutes. She said she would often “gobble”her food and run off to the field to play.

The field was huge! She loved playing lao ying zhuo xiao ji ( Eagles and chicks) with her friends. But the most fun thing my mother did was swing on the hanging roots from this huge tree that was near the school canteen! She was light and small so it was fun! She felt like Jane in Tarzan!

The RGPS Story An interview with an ex-pupil of RGPS Queen Street Campus: Interviewer: Did you like the school?

Ex-pupil: Yes, with fond memories.

Interviewer: Did the school have CIP fairs?

Ex-pupil: Not in the seventies. I remember the Science Days we had at school.

Interviewer: Which subjects did you learn?

Ex-pupil: I learned English, Math, Science, Chinese, “Sheng Huo Jiao Yu” (Equivalent of CME), P.E, Art and Music.

Interviewer: Were the teachers strict?

Ex-pupil: YES! I remember our discipline mistress, Mrs Rainey. She was so loud that she didn’t even need a microphone during assemblies. One can even drop a pin and hear it when Mrs Rainey is in session. Every girl sits up straight as rods when she speaks. Mrs Rainey can even stare a girl to tears!

Interviewer: What was most memorable in your primary school days?

Ex-pupil: I remember the many beautiful staircases in school. We had a spiral staircase where the principal’s office was! I love the school canteen especially the school tidbit stall. The myriad of goodies and snacks --- sweets, sour plums, chewing gum, bubble gum, potato chips!

Then there was the drinks and ice-cream stall. My favourite drink, Green Spot, was only 15 cents per bottle. I would be the first at the canteen once the school bell went and be first in the queue to buy my Blur-Blob ice-cream! Yum! There were many stalls in the school canteen.

There was a noodle stall, a Malay stall selling nasi lemak and mee siam, a laksa stall, a porridge stall and a kacang puteh stall! I love the bookshop too! Toys and cute stuff were on sale. I loved playing “yeh yeh” (also named zero-point, a long skipping ‘rope’ made out of rubber bands), chapteh (Chinese called jian zi) and five stones! Recess back then was only 20 minutes. So I would often gobble down my food and run off to the field to play. The field was huge! I loved

playing Lao ying zuo xiao ji (Eagles and chicks) with my friends. But the most fun thing I ever did was swing on the hanging roots from this huge tree that was near the school canteen! I was light and small so it was so fun! I felt like Jane from Tarzan!

Interviewer: Did you enjoy P.E lessons?

Ex-pupil: Yes, I did. I learned how to play volleyball well in Primary 3.

Interviewer: Was discipline strict in school?

Ex-pupil: Yes, I recall no one dared to forget their P.E. shorts. I don’t know if this was the norm but I remember once a classmate forgot her shorts. She was made to wear her panties for P.E! Then, we had no male teachers in school. She never ever forgot her shorts during P.E. days ever after that!

Interviewer: What was your CCA? Ex-pupil: Back in the seventies, it was called Extra Curricular Activities or ECA. I was a band member in Primary 2. I played an instrument called the Fife, a small, high-pitched, transverse flute that is similar to the piccolo, but louder and shriller due to its narrower bore. The fife originated in medieval Europe. In Primary 3, I joined the badminton school team. I was also active in athletics.

Interviewer: Was the P.E t-shirts soft?

Ex-pupil: Yes, if I remember it well. I remember, in particular, the badminton school t-shirt.

It was very comfortable. We even got to keep the t-shirt for free as we were school representatives.

Interviewer: What is your favourite teacher’s name?

Ex-pupil: Mrs Emmeline Tan. She taught me for three years. She is my favourite lower primary teacher. My favourite upper primary teacher is Miss Agnes Yeo. She taught me in Primary 5 & 6.

Interviewer: Who was your best friend?

Ex-pupil: Tai Wai Leng. We were good friends for six years as we took the school bus together.

Done by: Keara Yeo Class: 4G

THE RGPS STORY

BY ASHLEY JADE KHOO 4G (3)

My name is Ashley Jade khoo. I have interviewed Mrs Serena khoo, my mother. My mother is also a former student of Raffles Girls Primary School. The campus she studied in was at Holland Grove. The school building was smaller than what it is today. There are only 4 classes in each year – A, B, C and D. During recess, my mother would play a game with her friends called “yay yay”a game of a hundred rubber bands tied together like a skipping rope. Her canteen was in the assembly hall. Back then a bowl of noodles was only 20 cents! Her parents paid the school some money so that once a week they will receive a carton of milk. There were only mainstream classes then and the subjects that my mother studied were: English, mathematics, Chinese, science and health and moral education. There were no computers back then so everything was handwritten.

During sports day, everyone would be grouped into different houses – red, blue, green and yellow. My mother was in the “yellow house”. The pupils would play games such as throw the bean bag, three legged race, bounce the ball, and spoon race!

After the interview, I feel that I am lucky that I am in a school that has a bigger campus and a computer lab!

THE RGPS STORY – A TIME TO REMEMBER Done By: Raniya Shabnam Maricar 4G(27) Greetings!! I took this opportunity to interview my aunt Mumtaj Maricar who studied in the Holland Road Campus from 1984 to 1989.

Below are the questions that I had asked her to which she replied with great enthusiasm.

Q1: Which campus were you from?

A: Holland Road Campus Q2: How was the school like before?

A: There were hexagonal shaped blocks, a Japanese pond with a red bridge and it was called “The Bridge of Love.” The school shared a field with the school Henry Park Boys. Also there was this metal cage and older girls used to scare younger girls by saying that it was a haunted cage used by crocodiles and they were still around hiding. (Hahaha!!!!!)

Q3. Who was your favourite teacher?

A: Miss Lee her English Teacher.

Q4: What were her favourite corners in the school?

A: The pond, library and the Casuarina trees. The leaves on the trees are a little amazing! They could stick back together after being torn apart!

Q5: How was the food in the canteen like?

A: Good spread. She could buy a plate of Mee Rebus for 10cents, 5cents for a sliced fish cake with sambal and her favourite was the 30cents Yeo’s chocolate milk that came in a glass bottle. There were small wooden benches in the canteen that she enjoyed sitting on.

Q6: How was Sports Day like?

A: Special. It was because there was a Milo Van that used to be parked outside the field, supplying free yummy milo to all the thirsty children who wanted to drink.

Q7: How was the library back then?

A: There were fans and the collection of books was fantastic.

Q8: Where there laboratories before?

A: Only a Science laboratory.

Q9: Who was the Principal then?

A: Miss Nanda Bandara Throughout the interview she shared many wonderful memories that she has of her younger days in RGPS. I saw the child in her when she was talking about her childhood and am sure, that one day I will also share wonderful memories of my childhood in RGPS with my children.

Done by: Melissa Ho Jia Xin Class:4G

THE RGPS STORY The ex-RGPS girl that I interviewed was Mdm Delphine Tay. Mdm Tay graduated in 1980 and her favourite subject was Chinese. She has never been a prefect but was the class monitress in Primary 3. Back then, the best classes were all the ‘A’ classes and Mdm Tay has always been in the best class.

Besides her academic success, Mdm Tay also shared with me how the old school was like. The old school building had only two levels and the toilets were dirty and all are squat toilets. There wasn’t any playground or computer lab. All the classrooms are equipped with only chalkboard and chalks for writing. There were no lockers for the students to keep their things so all of them have to bring their books home everyday. The canteen sold nasi lemak, noodles a few other choice of food. The only sports they did during PE lessons were just running and there wasn’t any ISH for them to do sports indoor.

As compared to the 1980s, we are so much more fortunate. We have a school with so many facilities and equipped with the necessary tools for our learning experience.

------------------------------I love RGPS--------------------------------

Shanice Loh (28)

Class 4G Year 2012 Done by Caitlin Goh Xin En Class:4P

RGPS Story Done by: Carissa Ho Class: 4P

Done by: Tan Zi Yan Class: 4P

THE RGPS STORY- A Time to Remember Social Studies-Oral History Mini-project Interviewer: Tan Zi Yan Interviewee: Mrs. Ho My friend’s mother, Mrs. Ho, was a pupil of the RGPS Queen Street Campus. At that time, the school was using blackboards and chalk instead of whiteboards and markers. Mrs. Ho’s teacher wrote everything on the blackboard and they had a board monitress who erases the board whenever the teacher has finished writing on it. Because of this, the teachers had to go for regular check-ups as the kind of chalk they used was hazarders. Mrs. Ho and her classmates could draw on the blackboard whenever they wanted as long as the erased it after. Also, whenever their shoes were black with dirt and they did not have time to wash it, they would use the chalk to draw on their shoes!

The Kempeitai, Japanese military soldiers, used the school as a headquarters. The classrooms were prison cells! There were blood stains in the principal’s office. That started a rumour that the school was haunted and Mrs. Ho, her friends and other students loved to run around looking for ghosts.

Mrs. Ho used to drink milk at school. The student would take the milk from the principal’s office and they also had health check-ups there. The milk packet that they drank from was very big and was triangular in shape. When they had the health check-up, they would walk around the school with a bare body! But it was okay as they were all girls. That was how they knew about the blood stains in the principal’s office.

The ceilings of the school were much higher and they also had a grand staircase that was so long that it would extend from the first to the sixth level. It was a very long walk.

They also learnt 4 subjects like us now, but they did not use the same syllables as us. Their streaming only started when they were P4, and they remained in that class until they were in P6. There was no GEP at that time. And in those times, they did not have any correction tape, so, they had an ink eraser. Mrs. Ho had a friend that always made a lot of mistakes when she does her work. As a result, there were a lot of holes in her worksheet as she used the ink eraser too many times! The teacher would always complain to her because of that.

All the classes in the school would perform more frequently than do work. They had a lot of show and tells. They did not prepare for their show and tell at home, instead, they did it on the

spot. There were some Caucasian pupils in Mrs. Ho’s class and she felt very lucky to have a foreign pupil in her class. They also did not have much homework.

They used to have a pin-on badge and some students will forget to take their badges off when they get home. As a result, when the badges are washed together with their clothes, the colours on their badge would come off. Some of the students also complained that the safety pin on the badge would poke them and would cause them to feel very uncomfortable.

The teachers then decided to that time. They had a lesson called art and craft. During that lesson, they would sew soft toys, pattern a plastic thing and do cross stitching. They used to do projects and had CCAs. They also organized some exhibits too. They had a field, basketball court and canopy. In the canopy, there were seats for the parents during sports day and their trophies. They would win medals during sports day.

There were about 30 pupils in each class and when they went to P5 and P6, the number of students increased to 44. RGPS wasn’t ranked at that time. They had presents during children’s day and they gave presents to their teachers during teachers’ day.

Prefects were only in P5 and P6. They had metallic badges. The students would play interclass games and they could get medals if they won. Some of the games that they played were zero point, paper ball and skipping rope etc. they would write magazines on RGPS. During the lesson, if anyone did something bad, their teacher would hit them with a ruler! This made Mrs. Ho scared of her teacher and she didn’t dare to do anything bad.

Mrs. Ho loved RGPS and she even went to RGSS with her good friend and they always said that they were pure rafflesians.

Interviewer: Letisya Tan (4P) Interviewee: Evelyn Kok (RGPS Queen Street and Holland Grove Campuses 1977-1982)

A friend of my mother’s friend, Aunty Evelyn, was a student in the Queen Street and Holland Grove campuses from 1977 to 1982. She studied in the Queen Street campus when she was in P1&2; and the Holland Grove campuses when she was in P3-6.

The Queen Street campus had no lift, but had grand stair cases which looked like they were brought in from the Titanic! There was School 1 & School 2.

Every year the pupils would alternate from School 1 to School 2 and vice versa.

During WWII, the Japanese used the campus as their Kempeitai Headquarters.

As such, when the war ended and students went back to school, most girls in RGPS thought that the campus was haunted!

In both campuses, there was streaming. Aunty Evelyn was mainly in either class A/B. There were about 40 pupils in her class every year. Aunty Evelyn’s favourite teacher was her Primary 2 form teacher, Ms Loh. She remembers Ms

Loh as a very encouraging teacher who always helped her students. Her favourite subject was Math as no memorisation is needed.

During recess, Aunty Evelyn and her friends would play dog and bone, zero point and five stones at the field. She recalled the sports carnival was held annually at the field. It was an interclass competition and was super fun. The games included: Save the water, egg & spoon etc.

Aunty Evelyn’s most memorable experience was when she and her friends fought with the Henry Park boys over the field! According to her, they separated the field in to two parts. No one from the other school was supposed to cross the border!!!

When she was in school, her CCA was badminton. She was in the school team and played in tournaments. She won some but not all tournaments .

Aunty Evelyn’s daughter is currently studying in RGPS. When asked to compare the difference in the education system now and then, she feels that the education system now is more stressful compared to last time. During her time, she felt it was not competitive and they had lots of fun. The streaming was not so obvious and there was no GEP. CCA in her times was not compulsory as well. She has enjoyed her primary school years in RGPS and will always cherish the fond memories.

Done by: Charisse Kwong & Celeste Chai Class: 4P The RGPS Story For our project, we interviewed Charisse’s sister, Callie, to find out about the difference between her life in RGPS and ours.

Callie was once an RGPS girl and does not regret being one. Her Primary school life was a colourful and memorable one.

Her favourite time of the day was recess. During recess, she would play games like blow wind blow and catching in the basketball court along with her pals, Gloria, Michelle, Ping Ghee, Winnie, Chelsea and Roanna. Amongst them were her bosom buddies, Ping Ghee and Roanna. As a group, she and her friends would queue up to buy their favourite food, mushroom soup topped with crispy breadcrumbs and mashed potato.

She would visit the bookshop once in a while with her friends. For some reason, she would always be tempted to buy the star paper and inflatable balls that they sold.

She always managed to control herself, knowing that she had an empty wallet.

Amongst all of her enjoyable lessons, she enjoyed the music lesson the most. As a class, they would sing and listen to songs. They also got to play the recorder and that was the main reason why she enjoyed Music lesson so much.

Although she was also in the GEP Programme, her workload was not as heavy as the GEP pupils nowadays. Being a hardworking student, she had no problem at all doing the homework assigned by her teachers.

Callie’s favourite school event was Children’s day because of the many presents that she received. On Children’s day, there was a concert where the teachers and students would perform. After that, the teachers would give out the presents and let the pupils play games.

Her CCA in P4 was chess club, in P5 fitness club and in P6 string ensemble. Her favourite CCA was fitness club because they did many different kinds of activities. She joined chess club because she was interested in chess, fitness club because she liked to exercise and string ensemble because she could practice violin during her CCA. She won her first group trophy in RGPS. She had to work with her team members to present the effects of carbon emissions and suggest measures to mitigate the situation. Being the second best group who presented, they won the silver trophy.

Mdm. Loe, her math teacher, was her favourite teacher. Mdm. Loe motivated her pupils and was strict with them as she wanted them to do well academically.

Callie liked her teachers as they were interesting and cared for them. She hopes that they will continue to share their knowledge with their pupils.

Callie is very proud to have once been an RGPS girl because the teachers have taught her many good values that are useful in her life.

Done By: Suan Enhui Class:4P

RGPS Story Done by: Chermaine Sim Class: 4Q Interviewer: Sim Shi Min Charmaine (4Q) Interviewee: Lim Geok Keng (RGPS Holland Grove: 1979-1984)

Photo Credit: RGPS (2012) My friend’s mother, Aunty Geok Keng, was a pupil of the RGPS Holland Grove campus from 1979-1984.

Her favourite corner was under the stairs where she always played “4 stones” with her friends during recess. Aunty Geok Keng’s favourite recess food was fish ball noodles which were sold at 30 cents per bowl.

Her favourite teacher was Mrs Irene Bong who taught music and her favourite subject was Maths and Chinese.

Aunty Geok Keng’s memorable event was when she received a book prize for being top on standard for Chinese in Primary 1. She also remembered the time when she wrote and performed in a play when she was in Primary 5.

Aunty Geok Keng still loves RGPS very much.

RGPS Story Done by: Evangeline Chen, Lim Zhi Xuan and Jenna Class: 4Q

Ms. Jane Tan’s RGPS Model Pupil Award, 1992

Ms. Jane Tan, a friend of Evangeline’s auntie, was a pupil of RGPS, Holland Grove Campus from 1987 to 1992. By nature, Auntie Jane was not a sporty person so she had fond memories of the sports day she represented her class in a telematch held at the school’s little field back at Mt Sinai and her class victoriously clinched the second prize. Looking back, she thought the game of skipping to the end of the line to pick up a rubber ring and running back to her teammates with the ring on her head simply looked comical!

Auntie Jane also had great fun in her role as Jack when her class performed the “Jack and the Beanstalk” on stage during assembly.

She remembered wearing a

jumper and walking in circles with a classmate who was on all fours, supposedly acting as her “cow”. Aside from this performance, Auntie Jane also recalled affectionately the day she received the school’s Model Pupil Award in 1992.

Her favourite teacher was her P3 English teacher, Ms. Penny Choo.

In her

memory, Ms. Choo was a slim-looking and beautiful lady who was always kind, pleasant, well-dressed and immaculately neat. She also remembered her P5 English teacher, Ms. Anne Tay whom she thought looked lean and mean but conversely, Ms Tay was actually a very responsible teacher who truly cared for her pupils.

All in all, Auntie Jane was thankful to all her teachers and had enjoyed studying at RGPS.

_____________________________________________________

Interviewers: Evangeline Chen, Lim Zhi Xuan and Jenna Ong (P4Q) Date of submission: 18 May 2012

RGPS Story Done by: Jaslyn Ting Class: 4Q

Interview of an ex-RGPS girl - Ms Ong Guat Choon 1.

c) d) e)

What's your age group? a) 13 to 20 years old b) 20 to 30 years old 30 to 40 years old 40 to 50 years old

More than 50 years old

2.

Which RGPS campus have you studied in? a) Holland Grove

b) Bras Basah

c) Queen Street d) Hillcrest

3.

Please rate your experience there a) Excellent

b) Good c) So-So d) Horrible

4.

Which part of the RGPS campus did you like best? Why? Everything, but I liked Bras Basah Campus better as it was nearer to my home

5.

What was the fondest memory you have of RGPS? a) Training together with my classmates for youth's festival b) Wonderful teachers there

6.

Please state one CCA that was popular then.

Symphonic Band

7.

Do you have a favorite teacher that you can still remember by name? If yes, what's his/her name?

There were many, but my favourite teacher is Mrs Gay

8.

What did you and your friends played during recess?

Catching

Interview of an ex-RGPS girl - Ms Ong Guat Choon

My Father’s colleague, Ms Ong Guat Choon was an ex-student of RGPS. She is currently in her forties. She studied at both the Bras Basah campus as well as the Holland Grove campus. She liked everything about the two campuses but she prefers the Bras Basah campus as it was nearer to her home.

Ms Ong likes RGPS for the wonderful teachers that have taught her. In fact, she likes them so much that she can even remember the names of some of the teachers that taught her more than thirty years ago! One of her favorite teachers is Mrs Gay. In those days, symphonic band was the most popular CCA. CCA was known as ECA then. Mrs Ong was with the band. Her fondest memory of RGPS was the days where she trained hard with her friends for the Youth Festival performance.

During recess, Ms Ong would play catching with her friends as there were not much things to do then, unlike our new campus now at Hillcrest that has a big area for running about. (179 words)

The RGPS Story’ interviewed by Beth Lau(P4Q) My auntie, Wendy Chuah Siying, studied in RGPS from 1992-1994. She was a transferred student selected for GEP (Gifted Education Programme). RGPS was situated at Holland Grove Road when she was there.

In her primary school days, my auntie enjoyed sports a lot and thus looked forward to PE lessons in school. She is very athletic and liked all ball games. My auntie’s most memorable moment was in primary 5 when she represented her class in the Annual Sports meet. She participated in track-and-field events as she was as fast as lightning in running. She won 3 gold medals in the 100-metre sprint, 4x100metre and the 80x50-metre, and also won a bronze medal for the 200-metre sprint. My auntie had good sportsmanship and did not groan at the sight of not being the champion for one of the events. Still, she was known as the “fastest runner” by her class-mates.

“fastest runner” with her medals! typical school assembly My auntie could however balance schoolwork and her love of sports. Her favourite teacher is Ms. Bala, who taught her English in Primary 5 and 6. According to her, Ms. Bala was a kind and caring teacher. At the same time, she made lessons fun and interesting, thus encouraging students to learn in a fun way. On the other hand, there were strict teachers. My auntie distinctly remembers her primary 4 Chinese teacher who was extremely fierce. She scolded the pupils when they only did a minor thing wrong. This made Chinese lessons very dreadful for my auntie and the rest of the pupils in class.

Fortunately, the Chinese teacher only taught them for 1 year! My auntie’s favourite subject was Mathematics, as she claims it was always about solving puzzles and that was very fun too!

My auntie had 4 bosom buddies, Elma, Wanping, Fiona and Dianne. They shared the same cocurricular activity and interest - Netball. However, netball is a tiring sport which causes muscle aches each time after practice. But it is a team sport which builds camaraderie (team spirit) and co-operation. rd Sadly, my auntie’s class was on the 3 floor, so on the days after netball practice with their muscles aching, my auntie’s good friends would helped each other up the stairs by pushing each other’s buttocks.

They motivated each other to move on although they are so exhausted and sometimes feel that can no longer take another step. Sometimes after school, they also go to the near-by 7-eleven store to buy “Mr. Softie”, which is a type of soft ice cream. That is something that my auntie and her buddies look forward to. Unfortunately, 7-eleven has stopped selling “Mr. Softie” now.

During recess or lunch, my auntie would buy snacks or noodles from the school canteen. The simple but delectable food can be priced at 50 cents for a bowl or cheaper, which is quite rare now. After eating, my auntie liked hanging out at the basketball court, as she also liked playing basketball a great deal too. Practically, she devoted a lot of her school time playing sports. However, people’s passions change as they grow up. Instead of becoming a basketball player, she is now a doctor.

My auntie was both a good sportsman and a diligent student. As we know, when we work hard, there will always be a good reward at the end to it. My auntie was able to balance her fitness and school work; leading to an outstanding student and now an excellent doctor. She is a role model that I follow.

The RGPS Story Done By: Chong Shu Ting (4Q) Carina Lim (4Q) Mrs Tan Yung Yung was a student at the Queen Street and Holland Grove Campus (1976-1981). She was in the Queen Street campus when she was Primary 1 and 2 and later moved to the Holland Grove campus when she was Primary 3.

The RGPS campus then was divided into two sessions, and School 2. Every term, the two schools will switch the hours. Example if School 1 was morning class and School 2 afternoon class in term 1, School 1 would be afternoon class School 2 would be morning class in term 2.

The Holland Grove Campus was shaped like a honeycomb and the classrooms were shaped like a hexagon. architect who designed the building won an award for RGPS.

The principal then was Madam Lim Soo Noi, who 1985. Her form teacher was Mrs Emilie Tan. Mrs Emilie but kind to students who were well behaved. Mrs Tan was behaved, and was a prefect then. During that time, the of a prefect was a badge, unlike the ties prefects wear nowadays.

School 1 school was and

The designing

retired in was strict very well symbol

Mrs Tan’s favourite canteen food was Laksa, which was 20 cents a bowl, and fish cake. The food in the canteen was very cheap compared to the food prices nowadays.

Mrs Tan’s CCA was choir, which she likes very much. When she heard that she had been chosen to join, she was ecstatic.

She especially liked going to the AVA room to watch movies screened on the visualizer The AVA room then did not have air-cons, unlike the AVA room nowadays.

The School library also did not have air-conditioners and was very small then, unlike the big, spacious and air-conditioned library today. Today’s library even has a small room meant for computers.

Mrs Tan loves RGPS and misses her old school very much but she still remembers her enjoyable time she had in RGPS.

Done by Crystal, Elissa & Victoria Class: 4Q

RGPS Story Done by: Glenda Chiang & Helen Claudia Class: 4Q Interviewer

: Glenda Chiang and Helen Claudia (P4Q)

Interviewee

: Christine Tan (RGPS 1971 – 1976)

My neighbour, Aunty Christine Tan was a former girl of RGPS Queen Street Campus from 1971 to 1976. She was proud to be a RGPS pupil as it was one of the premier schools that parents wanted their girls to be there. It was not easy to get in as she recalled how her parents had to endure the long queue and brought along their home cooked meal to eat while ensuring a place during registration for her.

RGPS has brought fond memories, with nostalgia to Aunty Christine. She remembered after recess, her classmates and she would queue up in pairs two by two, squat down by the small drain in the front porch to brush teeth. One hand would hold a mug of water and the other to hold toothbrush or toothpaste. On every six months, the dentist came down to the school to check their teeth condition. She was scared of dentist poking her teeth one by one to check as it was painful. Moreover, she dreaded teeth scaling and hated that awful drilling sound.

Not forgetting the faithful milk lady who would ring a bell loudly outside the classrooms to remind the girls to drink the packets of fresh milk.

Done by: Chloe Lee Class: 4Q

The RGPS story

My mother studied in the Queen Street campus when she was young. Formally a site occupied by Japanese officers during World War 2, the campus was rumored to be haunted by ghosts due to the deaths associated with the cruelty of war, occasionally scared the wits out of the girls and teachers alike when wind howled and was regularly mistaken for ghosts. Once everyone lost control of themselves and ran helter-skelter when a very strong wind came. The grand historic campus was adorned by magnificent Frangipani trees with white flowers that sometimes would cover the floor as if it was a beautiful carpet of white. When walking on it you would feel like a princess as you came through the big metal gate. The gate was handled by the father of a current canteen vendor in the school, Uncle William. The Queen Street campus has a gorgeous grand staircase which girls would climb up and down everyday to get to their classrooms. They even use the grand stairs as a slide. Large stone structural pillars lined within the building, made catching and hide and seek very popular past times then. A teacher who still stays in my mother’s memory is Mrs. Thomas. Until today she still teaches girls in RGPS. She was once my relief teacher when I was in Primary 2. I remembered her because she told my class an interesting story about how to cure bee stings with ammonia. One of the exciting moments for my mother was being a part of the 1st batch of students relocated to the campus at Holland Grove Road and the saddest moment came many years after when the grand old dame at Queen Street was to be torn down.

That is the story, the RGPS story.

RGPS Story Done by: Alethea & Tammie Class: 4R

Interviewers: Tan Hsiao En Alethea (16) and Tang Weng Yarn Tammie (18) Class: P4R Interviewee: Tina Sim (RGPS Queen Street Campus: 1972 – 1978) May 2012

The RGPS Story: A Time to Remember Mdm Tina Sim , our classmate Kong Pek Yan’s mother, studied in Raffles Girls’ Primary School at Queen Street from 1972 to 1978. She can still remember many things about the school. Most of all, she recalls the beautiful grand staircase. It was a large staircase, made of marble.

Photo Credit: RGPS (2012)

The grand staircase seemingly gave the school an air of grace. The students climbed the grand staircase every day in order to reach their classrooms. Mdm Tina Sim is very proud of her school and hopes that students will get know more about the school’s history.

Kristen Wong and Berenice Chao Primary 4R 2012 The RGPS Story: Wong Li Ting, Ashley Executive Prefect. Head Committee member. Head Ambassador.

That is what Ashley Wong Li-Ting was. Now, let us hear her RGPS story.

Ashley started studying in RGPS, Hillcrest Campus since 2006, in class 1A, and in the following years, she studied in class 2A and 3E. She was not serious in her work, until she was admitted into the Gifted Education Programme in 2009. Actually, she only started studying really hard in Primary 5.

During her time in RGPS, she took up dance and Taekwondo, some activities that she still enjoys even after graduating in 2011.

She recalls her favourite place in the school was the 4th level, as it overlooks the school’s herb garden. She also loved Physical Education lessons, as she could explore her area of interest. However, she had a least favourite period: Civics and Moral Education Lessons, as there were sometimes conducted in Chinese, not really her strong subject.

Ashley’s favourite teacher was Zhong Lao Shi (钟老师), a teacher fondly liked and admired by students in the Gifted Education Programme. She also enjoyed her leadership role as Head Ambassador, because there was “a lot of organisation to do”.

In Primary 5 on the First of April, her class played a prank on the teachers by handing in blank sheets of paper as “homework”. The teacher totally freaked out when she saw the blank “worksheets”. Other fond memories at RGPS were on 1st October, when the entire school was celebrating Children’s Day. Right now, Ashley Wong is currently studying in Raffles Girl’s School (Secondary), and she says that there is a huge difference between the morals, values and cultures RGS and RGPS. However, she finds that social skills, what she has learnt in RGPS, has helped her through her half-year in RGS, and still has advice for the current RGPS girls: “Love your teachers, and get to know your batch-mates.”

Ashley is a model student for all of us.

She enjoyed RGPS very much and her motto is “Work hard, Play hard”. She thinks that we

should all get along well with each other, cooperate with each other and make the fullest of your time in RGPS.

THE RGPS STORY-A Time to Remember Social Studies-Oral History Mini-project Done By: Tay Wan Ni, Nicole and Kong Pek Yan Class: 4R Tina Sim, whom we fondly call ‘Auntie Tina’, was once a pupil in RGPS. She joined RGPS in 1972, at the age of 7, and graduated from the school in 1978. Attending the Queen Street campus, which was near her home at Beach Road, she recalls many fond memories which are kept close to her heart, and which she still treasures till today.

One of the memories which is particularly significant is when Auntie Tina brought baby ducklings to school for her Science lesson. At that time, she was already in the upper primary standard. The little baby ducklings were extremely cute and instead of paying attention in class, she was playing with the ducklings. The result was that along with three to four other pupils who were also playing with the ducklings, she was sent out to stand outside the class as punishment of the class. However, she still felt that it was worth it as she got to play with the little ducklings outside the classroom, but advises us not to do that now!

Another moment that she recalls vividly was when her teacher threw her book out of the window. In those days, there was no correction tape and she had to use ink erasers to erase away the mistakes that she made while using a pen. The only problem with the ink erasers was that they made holes in the paper if you rubbed too hard or long on the same spot for a long time.

Sadly, the ink erasers left so many holes in her book that the teacher got angry and flung her book out of the window. Auntie Tina then had to rush out of the classroom to pick the book up.

Upon graduating from the school, Auntie Tina was pleased that most of her friends were going to RGS with her. The sad part was that it was very hard to say goodbye to the Queen Street campus and it was even sadder when she helped RGPS to move to Holland Grove. Contrary to the earlier paragraph, Auntie Tina feels that the year which she liked best was P6. This is because she was older and could understand more things as compared to P1 to P5 and really enjoyed deepening the friendships with her classmates.

A piece of advice from her was to take many photographs of the school because when she was preparing for her visit to some of our classes, she realized that she had no photographs of the architecture of the school, and photographs of her in the school. Therefore, she advises us to take many photographs of the school as RGPS is also moving and if we do not do so, we will have no visual records of the school.

Auntie Tina had a lot of fun during the time she studied in RGPS and wishes that we will have as fun a time as her or an even more wonderful time than her.

RGPS Story Done By: Chloe & Vivien Class: 4R

Interviewer: Chloe Foong & Vivien He (4R) Interviewee: Mrs Ang (RGPS Holland Grove Campus: 1989 - 1991)

Our teacher, Mrs Ang, was a pupil of RGPS Holland Grove Campus from 1989 to 1991. She started her primary school education in Henry Park Primary School (HPPS). In 1989, she was selected to join Gifted Education Program (GEP).

However, HPPS did not have GEP class at that time. Out of the three schools offering GEP, Rosyth, RGPS and ACS, she chose RGPS because it was the nearest GEP school to her house. RGPS Holland Grove Campus was only one field away from HPPS. Mrs Ang belonged to the seventh batch primary school GEP intake. There were only two GEP classes per level in RGPS at the time.

Mrs Ang was in class 4N1, 5I and 6I. She graduated from RGPS in 1991. Her P5 classmates were crazy over basketball and played everyday before school, during recess and after school. Before school, the earlier pupils to come to school formed one team while the later pupils formed another team. Although Mrs Ang liked basketball a lot, she chose Girl’s Brigade as her CCA.

After PSLE, Mrs Ang and her classmates performed “Phantom of the Opera� for their teachers as a farewell gift.

RGPS Story Done by: Emma Knapp Class: 4R

The RGPS Story Interviewer: Emma Knapp Interviewee: Mrs. Grace Ang About Mrs. Ang Mrs. Grace Ang was a student at RGPS Holland Grove in 1991. She was in the 7th batch of students to transfer from another school to attend the GEP. She started primary school at Henry Park because her parents wanted her to go to the same school as her brothers. Then she got into the GEP. At that time, Henry Park was not a GEP school. Hence, the logical choice was RGPS because it was right next door. This was a happy coincidence for Mrs. Ang. She was glad to become an RGPS girl.

Her Most Memorable Experience Her most memorable experience took place when she was in P6.

She had just

finished her PSLE and had a lot of free time. While the other class was goofing off and enjoying themselves, her class decided to put on a play as a thank-you present for the teachers. The play that they chose was called The Phantom of the Opera, based on the book by Gaston Leroux. Mrs. Ang did not have a role in the play. She was a stagehand. Even though she was “invisible” and her classmates were not highly trained actors, they all felt like stars when they came onstage to take their bows. The audience of teachers loved the play and showed their wild appreciation.

My Thoughts on This I can imagine that Mrs. Ang’s experience was quite different from mine. There were fewer people in the programme then and the Internet was not around for research. I cannot help but admire Mrs. Ang for her accomplishments. It must

have been harder for her. The fact that she and her classmates were willing to do the extra work for the teachers they admired shows how much she must have loved the programme.

RGPS Story Done by: Shina Tan & Teo Gi Sing Class: 4R

Interviewer: Tan Wei Yen Shina & Teo Gi Sing Interviewee: Tan Sok Hwee (Shina’s Aunt) My auntie, Tan Sok Hwee, attended RGPS in year 1978. When she was in Primary 1, the school building was at Stamford road, then the school moved to Mount Sinai when she was in Primary 2.

There used to be 4 classes per level (A, B, C, D). Auntie Sok Hwee was in Class ‘C’ when she was in Primary 1-3, and Class ‘B’ when from Primary 4-6. The school started streaming them in Primary 3. Class ‘A’ was the best class, ‘B’ came next, and after ‘B’ came ‘C’, and finally, ‘D’.

When she was in school, nothing really extraordinary happened, except for the presence of an educationally subnormal girl who was obese and often wandered around the school during lesson time, and always eating something. According to Auntie Sok Hwee, some people were quite mean and avoided her like the plague or teased her.

However, Auntie Sok Hwee thought her cute and pitied her.

Auntie Sok Hwee loved RGPS when she was young, as she still does now.

Lau Wan Ying (12)

4R

RGPS Story I am writing about my friend’s mother, Aunty Li Ling. She used to be a former student of RGPS from 1975 to 1980. In the past, drinks like Bandung cost 10 cents, noodles like kway teow cost 30 cents and fried rice costs 40 cents. Today, to buy a can of drink, you will have to fork out a minimum of 50 cents, noodles and rice cost more than a dollar. During her recess time, after Aunty Li Ling has finished eating, she would play fun games like yeh yeh, pick up sticks and catching in the school field. They would usually play these games as they enjoyed them very much.

Aunty Li Ling’s favourite lessons were art and music as she did not have to memorize anything. She did not have a favourite teacher, but she remembered a teacher whom she disliked. She was Aunty Li Ling’s Math teacher when she was in RGPS who always nagged at them to study hard so that they could go to RGS. At that time, RGPS was situated at Queenstreet. RGPS was like a mysterious place to Aunty Li Ling as at that time as there were spiral staircases, gloomy corridors and locked up rooms.

Aunty Li Ling’s favourite place was the garden because after it rains she would be thrilled to see tiny frogs jumping up and down the corridor. Aunty Li Ling used to like playing ball games, skipping hoops and having three- legged race with her friends in the school field during sports day.

I feel that life in RGPS then was similar to now except that they played more traditional games then while we play on our own mobile phone games. However, we still interact with each other when we play games. Everything was also cheaper then.