Infinitas 2015 by SJI International

ISSUE 2 JUNE 2015

Infinitas is the official magazine of the SJI International Alumni Association Published June 2015 Fonts:

Sorts Mill Goudy (http://crudfactory.com) Berlin (http://antoniorodriguesjr.com)

© The Advancement and Communications Office St Joseph’s Institution International 490 Thomson Road Singapore 298191 (+65) 6353 9383 www.sji-international.com.sg Connect with us on Facebook! www.facebook.com/sjiialumni

CONTENTS MESSAGES FROM HOME

VOICES WHERE ARE YOU NOW?

THE WONDERS OF THE LENS

TWO YEARS AND BEYOND

THE BREWING STORM

BACK TO SCHOOL

STICKING TOGETHER

T H E C A S U A L C AT C H U P

A MUSICAL JOURNEY

T H E C R E AT I V E C O R N E R

OPINION NEUTRALITY - THE EVOLUTION O F E Q U A L I T Y THE FEAR OF MISSING OUT

21 23

THE WRAP-UP A L M A M AT E R T O D A Y

NOTICEBOARD 27

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2014 saw the publication of the inaugural edition of Infinitas – the official magazine of the SJI International Alumni Association.

MESSAGES

FROM HOME

This year’s edition continues the celebration of diversity and talent among our thriving graduates. A big “thank you” to all the contributors! New are the Alma Mater Today, Noticeboard, and Opinion sections. The first two are intended to keep alumni updated on school happenings. The third allows alumni to share their thoughts on current affairs. Enjoy!

It is an honour for me to share these few words with you alumni of St Joseph’s Institution International. Although I have only been at the school and in Singapore for a year, it did not take long for me to recognise what a very special school this is, and to admire all that the SJI International community has been able to accomplish in only nine years. Although we are a young school, our Lasallian roots run deep, considering that the first school of the De La Salle Brothers in Asia was founded here in Singapore in 1852. If it hasn’t already happened to you, I am confident that someday you will have the experience of meeting someone from another country who, like you, is counted among the thousands of alumni of the 1000 Lasallian schools in 80 countries around the world. The values you learned at SJI International are being tested every day. I hope those people with whom you are studying or working see in you characteristics that set you apart from so many others, and that the words of our School Rally, valiant and true, describe the quality of your relationships with your colleagues and friends wherever you are. When you were a student here, you heard many times that ultimately your teachers wanted to prepare you to learn how to learn and learn how to live, so that in the process you would become people of integrity and people for others. When I meet SJI International alumni who stop by the school, or when I meet your parents and hear from them about the great things you are doing, I recognise that many of our hopes and dreams for you are already being realised. When you meet people from other schools and countries, I hope the sharing of your high school stories helps you realise more and more how fortunate you were to have been a student at SJI International. Thank you for the traditions you helped to establish at the school during these early years. Our students today

BR. LAWRENCE HUMPHREY, FSC BROTHER PRESIDENT and those who will follow in the years ahead, are indeed walking in your footsteps. They hear tell of the wonderful schools you attend or have attended and the good things you are already doing. We are proud of you, and the difference you are already making in the world. And you have every reason to say with pride that you are a graduate of SJI International. Perhaps the heart of a school beats most proudly in its alumni. Wherever you are today in your post-SJI International journey, I hope that you are carrying with you the proud heart and soul of a Josephian. Carry on, you Heirs of St Joseph’s, valiant and true!

MESSAGES FROM HOME

When I was asked to write this editorial for the Infinitas, I was caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. I could write something clichéd and expected, something about being an alumnus and being proud of it; or I could wait for my muse to come. Unfortunately, muses are very bad at meeting deadlines. They usually come too late or not at all. Fortunately, the Advancement and Communications Office generously gave me more time to write something down. Here’s what I eventually came up with. Of course there is something to be proud of in being Alumni of SJI International. There was a very palpable sense of being pioneers, there’s an even more palpable sense now of being part of an established institution that has grown immensely. There is everything to be proud of. But I do not think that’s what being alumni is all about. The aims of an Alumni Association are well-known: keeping everyone in touch, burnishing those warm, fuzzy feelings of yesteryear, but ultimately, bringing people together to help the school. I’m sure I don’t speak for myself only when I say that I am immensely grateful to the school for the rich education of sciences, humanities, and morality that it has given to me. The difference for us is that we are new, very new. We don’t have the slow, gradual build-up year upon year of old boys (and girls) who have come together organically, and built a tradition. The world moves a lot faster now. It’s less about accretion, and more about conscious, deliberate projects. And it gets more difficult: how do we build up a fledging organisation while we go about doing what most 20-something-year-olds do? Alumni Associations are usually the preserve of established alumni who have done much in the world. We have just started out! Only some of us have reached the working world, while others are still in school. Long hours at work (or at play/the time of your lives for those still in university), filling what little is left with family and friends, and wondering how to use the money being made. Should it be used for investment, for rather more leisurely pursuits, or saved for a rainier day (and even then inflation guarantees the umbrella might not be big enough)? Here’s a proposal. Viktor E. Frankl puts life in these terms: an “active life serves the purpose of giving man the opportunity to realise values in creative

IAN CHAI P R E S I D E N T , S J I I N T E R N AT I O N A L A L U M N I A S S O C I AT I O N work”, while “a passive life of enjoyment affords him the opportunity to obtain fulfilment in experiencing art, beauty, or nature”. I think most of us are engaged in the former to some extent at the moment. Of course, the ideal is to be fully engaged with and fulfilled by one’s work. But that is such a luxury. The latter, on the other hand, seems to be an even greater luxury; one to be relegated to golden Sundays, and those precious spare bits of time. I think helping to build the Alumni Association is one way of bringing those seemingly disparate threads of life together. My memory of SJI International was that there was an over-abundance of talent. I’m sure that is still the case. So I really and sincerely hope that as more of you come back, you’ll perhaps contribute something of those talents to help organise events that will leave people deeply appreciative of all that is beautiful about art and life, whilst at the same time helping the Alumni Association and the school. And hopefully this is the type of creative work which you may find meaningful as well. If you found your education at SJI International enriching, the best thing would be to pass it on to a new generation of students – especially students who might not be able to afford the true cost of such an education. And because SJI International is an international school, it is in a special position to make such a mark on students from throughout the region, and therefore the communities they come from. I feel that there is more that we can do – but I’ll need your help to think of something. So whether it’s a recital, or a newfangled piece of software that will do something astounding, or a book that you’re writing that you would like to share, or another social event – please do let me know at ian.ernst.chai@gmail.com!

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Where Are You Now ? SJI International Alumni do amazing things. Here are just some of them who have updated us on the latest happenings around the world!

Into Academia Minh Trinh (’09) will be starting his PhD in Political Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology come Fall 2015.

Like everybody else’s, my time in the US has had its share of awkward cultural misunderstandings, of not getting jokes or references, or of breaking my neck trying to respond when people walked past asking how I was doing. Yet adjusting to a new life in America was never daunting, mostly because I had done it before, seven years ago when I first left Vietnam to come to SJI International. Indeed, the two-plus years I had at SJI International taught me almost everything I needed to live independently abroad. Here for the first time I went to school with a cohort from multiple countries and had teachers of many races and ethnicities; here for the first time I learned to appreciate and understand perspectives, cultures, and values very different from my own. My first friends were all international students, 15-year-old scholars who shared a threestorey Katong house. With them I navigated life in Singapore, learning everything anew, from opening bank accounts to how an underground public transportation network works. With all that “experience”, the transition seemed almost natural when I first moved to the US. Yes, my new cohort is bigger – 1600 to SJI International’s 60 (the Class of 2009), and more diverse – 170 countries

compared with SJI International’s 35 – and the American life posed bigger challenges in terms of an incomprehensible banking system and abysmal public transportation. Yet everything felt as if it was only a continuation of my Singapore life. And because making myself at home seemed so easy, I elected to travel further. Thus in my second year at Harvard, I embarked on a six-month trip to Germany, only to return to Europe for two more months the summer after, this time to Poland. I then spent a “gap year” in Australia, taking the time to travel extensively in Asia, even dropping by Singapore on my frequent layovers. Between my first and last days at school, I have managed to travel to 23 countries on my own, seeing, learning, and doing enough only to yearn for more travelling. Despite the constant travels, I actually went to Harvard with the expectation of studying, which invariably involved picking a major, attending classes (sometimes), writing papers, and sitting exams. What does it feel like to do all those things with the best and brightest, the fortunate 6.9 percent (Harvard’s acceptance rate)? Turns out, things are not so different from my IB years. Not because Harvard was underwhelming, but rather

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because SJI International itself had already given me a good taste of amazing. A look at the school’s average IB results each year already suggests how good and bright the students are; a conversation with the teachers further confirms the intellectual prowess flowing in the place. Harvard overwhelms, awes, and amazes to an extent unmatched anywhere else on Earth, but it was at SJI International, when talking to and debating with my peers, or sitting in Mr Andrew Maclehose’s Economics HL or Dr John Underwood’s History HL classes, that I first learned how walking among giants feels. So great was the influence of these giants that I naturally gravitated towards subjects I had done best in at SJI International, even after countless experiments with coursework across various disciplines. At Harvard, I majored in Government – a field known as Political Science everywhere else – which I found to be the perfect blend of Economics and History. My third HL subject, Mathematics, gave me the foundation to pursue serious quantitative work in Statistics, which eventually proved critical to my research in Political Science. Most amazingly, thanks to the IB, I was able to take advantage of Harvard’s Advanced

Standing programme, which basically allows some students with advanced high school training to choose between cutting short their study by a year or combining an MA programme with their BA to graduate in four years. I chose the latter, electing to do an MA in Statistics in conjunction with my BA in Government. I write this piece just weeks before my graduation from Harvard. Nearly five years after my journey with SJI International ended, another chapter of my life is finally nearing its conclusion. As a member of SJI International’s inaugural cohort, I realise my post-SJI International life can be used as a proxy to measure how well the school preps its students for future life. I do not know if the SJI International experience helps people make money and be rich; my graduation plan consists only of graduate school. But I do know that, for the path I have chosen to go on and will choose to press forward, the path of living in foreign lands and toiling in academia, SJI International gave me all the preparation I needed.

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Where Are Tapping in Chicago Amanda Lim (’11) I’m penning this down in Chicago – on my second week of a semester-long exchange at Columbia College Chicago. It’s a pretty exciting chapter for me because it is the first time I am living so far away from home, and I’m still figuring life out here. At least I didn’t burn the kitchen (and made a really good tomato rice & soy sauce chicken) so yay! People might remember me as the person who did the Michael Jackson tap item during Cultural Carnival 2011, and I’m happy to report that I’m still tapping (the campus is only two blocks away from the Chicago Human Rhythm Project, a tap dance studio which I’m interning at. How awesome is that?! Free tap lessons ftw.) I remember how nerve-wrecking it was when I finally decided to step out of my shell and showcase a part of me that was “closeted” for a while. I can’t remember why I didn’t want to embrace my identity as a dancer, maybe it was out of fear of not looking cool, or being outdated or too feminine (#genderqueer problems) and whatnot. But hey, people now easily identify me as a dancer, and because of that I’m more relaxed and outgoing than before. Some of you might remember me saying I badly wanted to do Animation as a major. Well, I badly

wanted to quit drawing because of the long hours of sitting in front of a computer that put me off from wanting to brave the whole thing for 4 years, so I’m an English major now (cue “What Do You Do With a BA In English”) and I’m loving the versatility that this major provides. Not only does it allow you to see different frameworks that a person may write and argue from, it also sows seeds of empathy which is important when it comes to personal and social issues at large. Speaking of social issues, I’m also a proud member of NTU’s LGBTQ+ club, Kaleidoscope. Being (a slightly closeted) queer in a conservative society is still a pretty scary thing for me to admit and come to terms with. But I am confident in sharing it with the SJI International community because the IB fosters a global education that allows people to be aware and empathise with gender/sexuality issues if they are ever brought up (TOK/English Literature anyone?) even though the school is largely Catholic. On a final note, I’m more than happy for people to catch up/reintroduce yourselves, have a casual talk, or if anyone’s interested in private tap dance lessons I’m here too!

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e You Now? Making Smiles Peter Setiaoetama (’11)

I’m currently studying at the NUS Faculty of Dentistry, in my third of four years. After graduating from SJI International and before dental school, I spent most of my time working as a dental assistant back in my hometown, Jakarta, Indonesia. I did this because I wanted to gain a greater insight into the world of dentistry and confirm my passion for dentistry. Now, I’m in dental school and I spend most of my time treating patients and making dental prostheses for them, such as dentures and crowns. In my spare time, I enjoy practising yoga, an activity that I have been doing since I was at SJI International. This is a picture of me taken at beautiful Lake Louise, Canada, when I was on a student exchange programme in September 2014.

Déjà Vu Cliona Yong (’13) is at Yale-NUS College. Last year, I box-dyed my hair and my grandma really liked the colour, “hao ang ang”, she said. So she asked me to do it for her too. I thought, “sure, it could be fun”. As I lathered the chemicals onto her wispy grey hair, I felt something vaguely familiar about the whole situation. It was an odd moment, and I searched my brain (to no avail) for the memory of a similar event. It all became even more déjà vu-y when I helped her rinse the dye off. My automatic action was to shield her eyes from the oncoming waterfall of dilute hair dye chemicals. And then I remembered. This was exactly like the pictures I’ve seen in photo albums, of her holding me as a child and protecting my eyes from the suds when rinsing shampoo off (except, my job was slightly more hazardous because hair dye is probably super bad for your eyes). After 18 years, the roles had reversed.

There is no “moral to the story”, or anything. But I just thought it was an interesting existential experience. I never said a word of the above to my grandma and I wonder if she even realised the significance of our actions that day. Either way, she got the “ang ang” hair she wanted.

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THE WONDERS OF THE LENS

I’ve dipped my toes and dabbled in a whole heap of arty endeavours over the course of my life: embroidery, knitting, dress-making, glass blowing, stamp carving, pottery (this one was a 10-year stint, and I was by far the youngest in my class – my fellow classmates were all grandmothers), so picking up photography didn’t come out of the blue! I started off with film photography and shot just about everything and anything, but I focus on portraiture now, and take on family, engagement and wedding photo sessions which I shoot on site – studio shoots aren’t my cup of tea! Portrait photography is different from pottery or embroidery; you create art with real people as your raw material, not clay or embroidery floss. You’ve got to put your clients at ease (most people aren’t comfortable with having their picture taken intentionally), manoeuvre your way through the technical aspects of the shot and finally hit the shutter at that picture-perfect moment. Portrait photography is different in that you have to get people actively involved in your creative process – you’ve got to work together to capture all that emotion, action and character in a single, two-dimensional image. It’s wholesome, it’s fun, it’s art, and it captures a moment that is yours to keep for eternity!

Catherine May Tang (’12) is majoring in English Literature at the National University of Singapore. Visit her website: www. catherinemaytang.com

VOICES BACKGROUND PHOTO: NYDIA HARTONO (â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;12)

Photography has opened my eyes to see that not everything has to be very technical and that I need a touch of art in my life. While programming, my current major, is rigorously technical, the lessons I have learnt from photography continually remind me to somehow instill a sense of art in my code. And this is one of the reasons I set up my own website: tjhubert.com. With this website, I wanted to integrate the beauty in coding, design, and photography. With an upcoming summer internship, I will learn how to be a better front-end developer and, after I graduate, I hope to work as a full-time programmer to learn even more about front-end development. When I feel I have accumulated enough skills and experience, I want to make my own start-up company focusing on the field of education and/or art.

Hubert Theodore (â&#x20AC;&#x2122;12) is majoring in Computer Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. 8

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Two Years a nd Beyo nd Brian Theng (’12) parallels the National pastime and the National obligation. He is currently interning at the Advancement and Communications Office (ACO).

Of the multitude of Singaporean experiences, I dare say that none divides and unites us more than National Service. You could perhaps argue that food is another, because sometimes you get a good spread and are satisfied, but sometimes you get something not so “filling”. Nevertheless, if the meal was tasty, you want more; otherwise you want something different. And then there’s the seating: we cannot “chope” seats, so some end up with better ones, under the fans or the airconditioners. Others are not so fortunate, and sit near the tray collection point. Some have to stand in the sun. In some places, we have to clear other people’s trays, in others they do it for us. Regardless, we are always greeted with fantastic variety. We have char kway teow next to nasi padang, dum biryani next to mee pok, laksa next to chicken chop with french fries. Some become our favourites, others we don’t want to forget, and a few we cannot wait to stop having. At times, the meals are a little spicy – maybe too spicy for our taste buds. Even if we say “no chilli”, we are sometimes ignored. Nevertheless, there are bland or dull meals, which, to people like me, are more palatable. We may even have a chance of having foreign options, from Taiwanese snacks, Outback ribs, to the dubiously-packaged overweight grub we sometimes have when in the jungle. Back home, we have our cookhouse specialties (special in what way, I leave it to your imagination). All that can be said is that there’s junk food, and then there’s junk food. Don’t forget the stall aunties and uncles! Strict, naggy, nice or indifferent, they are quintessential to the experience. Some made us queue up in a very

orderly manner, others were more relaxed. The former, we called encik, though they seem more like uncle to us. The latter, we may have called abang, or “bro”. Some were nice enough to offer periodic promotion (even letting us go to the bar), while others just wanted to earn a living. Of course, there were times when we saw others finish their food ahead of us, leaving us feeling a little left out. Some even left before finishing! Thankfully, we are all about to finish our meal now. The aftertaste is (invariably) more sweet than bitter. What lies ahead need not be the same. Now, we have a more “international cuisine” – more choices, fresh adventures, and more exotic flavours, although in some places there aren’t many local favourites. Whether we choose to take a walk before starting our next meal, or get straight down to business, I think we will have a very good time. It is to this end that I have asked, and some of the Class of 2012 guys have graciously answered, what they did during their National Service, and what they will be doing next. The list is not complete, and the information is as accurate as that which I have received. Sorry if you have been missed out; let the ACO know what you are up to – we’d all love to hear. Finally, remember that while many of us have had different NS experiences, we journey out in earnest exploration sharing a Lasallian heritage. In this spirit, we remember that we are called to be people for others, and to look beyond what merely divides or unites.

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name

ns work

post-ns study/work

Ali Jumabhoy Medical Orderly Law, KCL, UK Andre Kho Police Officer Management, London Andre Wijaya Supply Assistant Land Economy, UK Aron Goh Clerk English Literature Benjamin Cher Cop Film/Media Production Brian Theng Police Officer, State Courts Classics, Oxford, UK Bryan Oh Protocol Office Business, NUS (Foreign Dignitaries) Clarence Chee Mortar Operator, 4SIR Computer Engineering, NUS Clarence Tan 3rd Sergeant, Air Force Economics, UK Daniel Fong Signals Platoon Sergeant Law, NUS Daniel Lok Infantry Officer Liberal Arts, Yale-NUS Edward Cheong Personal Assistant, CID Economics, NTU Favian Wee Fire Fighter – Ferenc Gutai Manpower Specialist Medicine, UK Gabriel Lim Fireman Liberal Arts, USA Gokulan Ganeshan Platoon Sergeant, 3SIR Accountancy, Auckland Gregory Tan Infantry Specialist Computing/Software Systems, Melbourne Hans Sebastian – NUS Hogen Huang Infantry Specialist Architecture, NUS Hsin Chong Storeman/Clerk Economics, NTU Iain Tan Artillery Office, 23SA – Isaac Lee Clerk Liberal Arts/Law, Yale-NUS/NUS Jerald Chng Finance Clerk, 2SIB Jonathan Lua Security Trooper Medicine Jordan Teo Personal Assistant, SCDF Sauder School of Business, UBC Justin Ee Platoon Sergeant, Infantry Support Law, Nottingham Justin Ng Big Truck Driver Engineering, UK Kelvin Siew Commando Industrial Design, NUS Kevin Chandra PTI Architecture, NUS Kristian-Marc Paul Instructor Liberal Arts, Yale-NUS Lee Min Shen Military Police Overseas Lo Lup Ean Police Officer Medicine, UNSW Marcus Mo Platoon Commander Business, NUS Nicholas Sim Staff Assistant Biomedical Science Nigel Cheah Instructor, Section Commander – Course Nikhil Choudhary Combat Engineering Engineering, USA Royston Ng Field Instructor Food Science, Melbourne Ryan Lim Infantry Sergeant, Training Liberal Arts, Yale-NUS Development Specialist Tan Chern Wey Police K9 Officer NTU Tim Lim – Business, NUS Timothy Tan Staff Assistant, Airport Police Medicine, Newcastle, Australia Vinay Palathinkal Motor Transport Sergeant Economics, NTU Yap Chunlin Ammo Technician Biomedical Engineering, London Zachary Loh Training Development Specialist Marketing and Social Media Solutions Company Photos: Nikhil Choudhary (‘12), Gokulan Ganeshan (‘12) 10

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The B rew ing S torm The ACO catches up with budding musicians Tim Lim (’12), Kristian-Marc Paul (’12) and Nigel Cheah (’12). They are Before The Tempest.

Mischievous, fun-loving, energetic. They even sound good. Before The Tempest is a pop-punk band that has been growing from strength to strength since forming in 2012. We catch up with the guys before the Tones 2015 concert. ACO: You’ve been performing together since your time at SJI International. Did the band form out of those experiences? Tim: We’ve been playing together since Grade 9 and jammed with many other musicians in school, but it always came back to the three of us. So this was the natural choice for us. Kristian: In mid-Grade 11 we wanted to get serious about our music. The three of us played instruments that complemented each other and we were already really good friends, It was never really about who was the best musician but more about enjoying the company. T: We knew we wanted to write our own songs. Thank goodness Nigel’s pretty damn good at that.

ACO: All three of you finished National Service (NS) in early-2015. Did that affect the band in any way? K: The first year of NS (2013) was pretty hard. That was when we had Jane (’13) and Caleb (’12) in the band with us. Jane was doing her IB that year, and Caleb was in the Commandos; he and Nigel practically stayed in camp all of that year. It was a pretty stagnant year for us. T: But once we finished training in 2014 we kicked into top gear. ACO: The band has a repertoire of about 15 songs – what’s the band’s creative process like? Nigel: 80% of the time it’ll be something that I write; then I bring it to them. K: From there it’s either we add or take away something. Most of the time when Nigel comes to us the song is nearly done.

L to R: Kristian, Nigel, Tim Photo: Gracia Chua (‘12) 11

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ACO: Your first music video, Bad, was released at Christmas 2014. Most of it was filmed here in the school. What was that like? K: It was great. A lot of fun, but also very tiring. We shot it over two weekends on a fairly tight budget. T: Yup. It was really tiring for both us and the crew – a learning process for us all. Thankfully the crew and cast were made up of some amazing friends. N: It was a family kind of thing – all our friends helped out. Mr Rainone (Head of Senior School) helped a lot with the arrangements. Most of it was shot in school! And a shoutout to Ben Cher (’12), who directed, shot, produced... who did everything. He’s incredibly talented, passionate, and gave us so much of his time. T: From the very start, even before shooting began he was with us in the planning process. Huge thanks to Caleb too who was instrumental in shooting the video. ACO: Your first major performance was at the Esplanade waterfront. Since then you’ve also played at Timbre, ANAKI Rocks the City, the IGNITE! Music Festival, Ngee Ann Polytechnic. Any favourites? All: Esplanade. T: It’s always a treat to perform at such an established venue. But Timbre takes really good care of their bands too. K: As fun as playing gigs to small intimate crowds in sweaty studios are, it’s always nice to have a bigger stage. T: Plus we get a fancy underground dressing room. With free refreshments too. At least I think they were free. ACO: And how have the fans been? N: We’re still at the point where most of our fans are our friends and family. Not that that’s a bad thing; they’ve been there for us the whole way. K: But we’ve slowly had more and more people either coming up to us after shows for photos or tweeting us. T: Mainly it’s family and friends – they’ve never missed a show. But we’ve seen an increase in our fan base as we play more shows. People have started singing back to us at shows. ACO: Do you hope to make music as a career? T: We don’t see an end-game; we want to take it as far as it’ll go for now. Our first priority is to get an

A still from the music video of Bad EP out and play more shows. Whoever will have us, we’ll play – hopefully we’ll play a few overseas shows as well. N: And have fun along the way. We want to put Singapore on the music industry map. So support local! ACO: What can we look forward to in the coming year? An EP perhaps? K: Definitely a 5-song EP. Maybe another music video? ACO: Lastly: you’ve progressed a lot since Grade 9. What’s one piece of advice you’d like to share? N: We’re just 3 guys, we’re not super or anything – except Kristian who’s really academic. But we all share the same passion for music – we love doing it. When we first started out, we didn’t have a clue if things were going to work out. But look at us now, we’re nowhere near famous, but we’ve really come a long way from when we started. So if there’s something you love to do – don’t hold back – do it. If you think you have genuine passion for something, don’t let your fears stop you. T: It’s nothing like what we initially thought it’d be. We’ve really put the time, effort and our hearts into this. It’s a lot of effort, and we’re not even big. It can be pretty tiring at times, but every time I’m on stage there’s always this moment where I think to myself “it’s all worth it! This is it!” I don’t think there’s ever been a time we’ve not enjoyed ourselves on stage. So if there’s something you love, chase it as fiercely as you can. This is what we love. Find and connect with Before The Tempest on Facebook.com/beforethetempest, Twitter(@BTT_SG), Instagram.com/beforethetempest, Soundcloud and Youtube. 12

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Back to Sc ho ol Andrea Michelle Lim (’14) shares her experience as a teaching partner in the SJI International Elementary School. She will be going to King’s College London to study English Langauge and Linguistics in September 2015.

Six years spent at SJI International whizzed by at lightning speed. On graduation day, a mix of emotions, memories, achievements and failures experienced during my time in the school overwhelmed me. Despite a great sigh of relief that I had completed the IB exams and graduated with my fellow batch mates, I had only one wish: to spend more time at SJI International. Two months later, my wish had become a reality. I found myself back on school grounds in a familiar yet foreign environment; I started working as a Teaching Partner at the Elementary School. I decided to pursue this job because I thought it would encompass some of my interests and passions – being with children, having involvement in assisting during Art lessons and being in a school environment. I had developed these desires as a result of studying at SJI International and service trips to Cambodia and Thailand helped me to discover my enthusiasm for educating children. The result of choosing to take Art as a subject for six years prompted me to want to spend more time doing what I love, and most of all, the pure enjoyment of being in school everyday as a student fired my passion to take the next step – to become a member of staff, albeit a temporary one. During the first staff briefing day, the Elementary School hall seemed to be filled with motherly and fatherly figures catching up with one another after

the winter break. These were indeed teachers. While I knew that I resembled almost none of them with their outgoing and amicable personalities, I had a quiet confidence that I was in the right place. Although there was hardly a single familiar face (with the exception of my fellow new Teaching Partners from the High School), my first day did not seem daunting at all. However, the transition from being a student to becoming a staff member was one I struggled to become accustomed to. As a student, I always addressed staff as “Ms”, “Mrs” or “Mr” followed by their surname – for obvious reasons. During my first few weeks of work, this was how I addressed other members of staff (even though they introduced themselves to me by first name), until the Art teacher I work with finally told me to call her “Patrice” – her first name. I figured that I just had to make the change accordingly, since students address me as “Ms Andrea”. If there is one thing I have learned while being in the SJI International Elementary School so far, it is the importance of the Virtues – not just knowing what they are, but understanding and applying them to our daily lives. I was pleasantly surprised to hear virtues like “determination”, “patience” and “tact” being used by students and teachers alike in the classroom. While initially I was not used to using such words naturally, I began to acquire the habit of doing so in giving advice to students during Art lessons. The children don’t

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just use these words loosely; I have witnessed how they learn to improve their attitudes and behavior subsequent to learning about the Virtues. Even though I am working at the school, sometimes I feel like a student in the sense that I learn so much from my interactions with children and staff, and by simply being in a professional working environment. I was touched by one particular incident when I was doing my morning duty at the Elementary School canteen area known as the “pavilion”. A girl in Grade 2 approached me with a cheery smile on her face and a frangipani flower nestled in the palm of her hand. With a sincere voice she said, “Thank you for being the Art teacher, Ms Andrea!” (though technically I am barely an Art teacher at all). She then proceeded to place the flower in my hand. I was deeply touched by her act of kindness, and have been inspired by this to be more thankful for the blessings in life, no matter how small. My work experience has allowed me to delve deeper into my passion for educating children and has strengthened my love for being in school. Moving towards my fifth month of working in the school, I feel truly blessed. I have simply “Entered to learn”, and at the end of my six-month contract, I will “Leave to serve”.

Photos: Samuel Mok (‘14) 14

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St ic king To get her Kenny Koesoemo (’12) is studying Business at the Singapore Management University, and is the 2015 President of the SMU Komunitas Indonesia (SMUKI).

When school started in SMU, the SJI International in me urged me to go beyond just studying for exams and doing my projects and assignments. Even more so, the Lasallian in me urged me to be a man for others even while I am at university. True to this, the best experience I have had so far is by being a part of SMUKI, an Indonesian Cultural Club at SMU. SMUKI holds an annual production called Gelar Budaya or GAYA for short. GAYA features different traditional and contemporary Indonesian songs, music and dances in the form of a drama. In 2014, I had the opportunity to first discover the world of performing arts, a completely foreign world for me, by being Assistant Stage Manager for GAYA2014. To tell you the truth, I fell in love with the performing arts, and as soon as that was over, I signed myself up to be Producer for GAYA2015. Together with Magdalena Sun (’12), who became Director of the show, we embarked on the journey of our lives. We began the whole thing with a blank piece of paper. It was going to be our show. We were given the theme “Making it Singapore” as part of the SG50 celebrations, which posed a challenge for us as the show is an Indonesian cultural production.

Eventually, we found out that Sir Stamford Raffles, the founder of modern Singapore, had a short stint as Governor General in Bengkulu or Bencoolen in Indonesia. We decided to run with this story. What a lot of people don’t know is that Maggie and I built the story upon values that SJI International and Lasallians stand for: Mutual Respect, Service and Community. In the process, we were joined by another alumna, Joanna Oey (’13) who acted as Lady Sophia, Raffles’ wife and a current student, Ledy Manurung (’16), who acted and sang as The Nameless Girl. The show was a success! We had two sold out shows, a first in GAYA history, and we received critical acclaim from a prominent art critic, Dr Chua Soo Pong. To top it off, we were featured in many newspapers, magazines and online news agencies in both Singapore and Indonesia. The best part for me, however, is that when I was facing tough times throughout the journey, I had fellow Josephians to turn to. Maggie, Joanna and Ledy were the people who kept me going and I think that together we made SJI International proud.

L to R: Joanna, Kenny, Ledy, Magdalena

VOICES

Class of ‘10 in UBC, 2015. L to R: Ooi Koon Peng, Robert Chandra, Tony Yang, Ricardo Seah, Nguyet Nguyen (Na), Rebecca Ou, Gabriel Chua. Vietnam, 2014. L to R: Hoang Ngoc Hieu (‘13), Raynard Liew (‘12), Duong Loc Phuc Nhien (‘12), Truong Duy (‘12), Tram Dai Thien Nhan (‘12).

THE CASUAL C AT C H U P I N F O R M A L G AT H E R I N G S AROUND THE WORLD

Class of ‘14, Vietnam, 2015. L to R: Samuel Tan, Matthew Tan, Ruru Hoong, Matthew Hui, Nguyen Thuy Linh, Tuan Doan Nguyen

Class of ‘12, London, 2015. L to R: Anuria Singh, Isabel Lim, Hannah Lui, Evanne Kok. Class of ‘12, New York, 2014. L to R: Jenevieve Woon, Somya Thakker, Toronto, 2015. L to R: Jessen Michaela Wong. Lee (‘12), Magno Guidote (‘11), Gloria Pasau (‘12). 16

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A Mu s ic al Jou rn ey Laura Yee (’14) writes about her musical journey and the impact SJI International has made. She will be going to the University of California, Los Angeles in Fall 2015. It has been nearly a decade since I was gifted my saxophone for my ninth birthday. In hindsight, this event marked an important shift in my inclination towards music that has since grown into a passion, and impacted the development of my character in ways that I am now truly appreciative of. I was blessed to have been brought up listening to music – whether on CDs, or played live by musician friends of my parents at parties – I had been cultivating a musical ear from an impressionable age. My first saxophone teacher had been a member of the live band that frequented our living room as a rehearsal space. His performances, combined with my father’s love for Charlie Parker, had inspired me to want to learn to play this fascinating instrument. Initially, the nine-year-old me struggled with keys that were too widely spread for my small fingers, and a lung capacity too small to reach the

lowest range. But as I grew, so did my capabilities and my love for making music. Music challenged me to persevere when confronted with frustratingly difficult passages, and disciplined me with long hours of practising. From the timid young girl I was, I grew to be no stranger to the stage and to ever-larger audiences – slowly increasing in confidence with each performance. In Buenos Aires, I joined a children’s music conservatory, where I was inspired by both my teachers and peers to continue perfecting my technique, and learning to not only play my instrument, but to express myself through it. Perhaps the greatest achievement, however, is being able to inspire a passion for music in others; when a friend, impressed by my performances in the same way I had been fascinated by others, discovers their love for music and decides to learn to play an instrument, I realised that I had become an example to others; that I had come far enough to give performances powerful enough to inspire others led me to take great pride in my musicianship. From then on, no matter where I moved, I continued to seek out opportunities to learn and grow. I didn’t have to look far – SJI International continually encouraged me by providing countless opportunities for my musical and personal development. I joined the school orchestra, despite having to transpose scores for my modern E flat instrument that did not exist in a traditional orchestra. I gladly took on the responsibility of

VOICES

lead alto saxophonist and band manager for the Jazz Band, with much encouragement from our band director, and pushed myself even further when I signed up for my first ABRSM exam at Grade 8, which presented me with highly challenging pieces that I took great delight in learning and mastering. Even despite a brimming weekly schedule, I took time out of my Saturday afternoons to join the Mus’Art Youth Wind Orchestra, whose inspiring performance at the Esplanade motivated me to aim for even higher standards of ensemble musicianship. Since joining SJI International, I’ve been privileged to have countless opportunities to perform at events and venues I would never have dreamed of, including the Botanic Gardens, Fullerton Hotel and Hard Rock Café (pictured). These achievements have naturally meant a great deal to me personally, but even more so because I could be an inspiration by example to the junior musicians in school, as I encouraged them to persevere, while taking great pride in their own achievements, just as my seniors had done for me. Music also became my form of service to the community, when, encouraged by my dearest music teacher, I joined the Music Performance Committee as a young, inexperienced Grade 9 student who eventually took on the responsibility of Committee Secretary to actively promote the cultural scene in school, putting in endless hours to organise annual school concerts with the purpose of encouraging budding musical and

artistic talent. Funnily enough, it was this experience of being on the Committee, behind the scenes, that sparked my dream of pursuing a career in the music industry. My experience has made a deep impression on me that will last far beyond my high school life. All these traces of ambition, self-motivation and leadership that began with my passion for music were spurred on by the opportunities I was given, and they then spilt over into other areas of my life as I applied these qualities to my academics by challenging myself and setting ever-higher goals, while simultaneously honing invaluable skills in time management in order to juggle my crazy weekly schedule. Last year, it was with great honour that I was selected from among so many talented individuals to receive the Dick Lee Award for the Arts, and was given the opportunity to perform during graduation to my teachers, classmates and their parents. Of all my performances, this one certainly meant the most to me. It was this school that presented me with endless opportunities; these teachers that had believed in my potential, and encouraged me to nurture my passion for music. Thus I was overjoyed to have made my teachers and parents proud, and to have been recognised for my contribution to the cultural life of my school – the very place that had been a major stimulus to my musical and personal growth.

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The Creativ e Corner

PAPERS SLEEP BY THE SIDE Papers sleep by the side Crumpled, withered, arched. Time, running on a highway, Left its mark. There still sit the starched white sleeves and Muted emerald pleats. Funny how awkwardness blooms from congruity Wrapped in dressy garb on bustling streets. 6:45a.m. Alarm is sharp, covers off Nary a dictator to rouse, nevertheless routine-adhering. This pen is poised, listen to the Absent board-whipping. If ever there was a mothering hand Then three cheers to a certain school brand.

Alexandra Lim (â&#x20AC;&#x2122;14) on the lack of routine after leaving school. Be sure to check out her culinary adventures on alexcrumb.com too! Come September, She will be studying Medicine at the Imperial College London.

VOICES

THE STEPS WE TAKE There is a hill familiar to us all, That we conquer daily – at sun rise, at sun fall. In three hundred moments of time and space, It transports our minds to a whole new place. Some walk, few bike, most sit in four-wheeled boxes; Most alone, few in pairs, and some in numbers quite thoughtless! The route, the journey we take, can be incredibly kind – If we can find a friend to share what’s on our mind. Many conquer the slope with hope, anticipation. With arms open, with hearts broken, with livid trepidation. We seek glory at times, from the unlikeliest of sites, But failure reminds us yet, to reach for greater heights. The hill is not still – she lives, she breathes; From the moment we pass the gate, till dusk, when we leave. The trees, like sages, know the magic of the morning mist. They yield shelter when the iridescent sun will not cease. She bears the load of classes, homework, and activities, Of patient teaching, of meetings, and daily lunch duties. She gives us space to sprawl, and give our brains a break – To remind us all of the steps that we must take. Nothing remains in stasis – we are no exception. You can see it in our eyes, our thoughts, even our complexion! What we’re allowed to keep are memories, loaned to all the senses – Of nostalgic charms, sentimental histories, in past and present tenses.

Christopher Tee (’10) on our common experience. This August, Chris will be entering his 3rd undergraduate year at Yale-NUS College, Singapore.

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Opinion

Neutrality – the Evolution of Equality Daniel Fong (’12) will be studying Law at the National University of Singapore from August 2015.

Daniel (Centre) back when he was a Signals platoon sergeant in NS.

For decades now, social equality has been enshrined as a utopian standard for countries to measure the freedom of its citizens. Essentially, it paints a world in which social discrimination does not exist, allowing equal opportunities for all. Unfortunately, achieving this has met obstacles, mostly reinforced by centuries of traditions and conservatism. It is arguable, however, that some of the main areas of contention exist within gender equality and freedom of sexual orientation. Since the 1920s, the fight to overcome a past of patriarchy, as well as efforts towards the acceptance of a growing global LGBT community, has been fought on social, political and legal battlefields. Progress since then has been substantial, with an unparalleled growth in awareness, if not acceptance, worldwide in the past few years alone. In America for instance, resistance to gay rights has been all but defeated, with conservatives mostly reduced to a rear-guard action in the form of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, a political conflict concerning the rights of people to discriminate against non-heterosexuals in the name of religion. The evolution of the social equality movement, however, has recently taken a particularly radical direction. Sweden, one of the countries at the forefront of the pursuit of gender equality, recently unveiled a new gender-neutral pronoun (it can refer to both males and females) called “hen”. It symbolises more than just a linguistic convenience, especially when we consider it in context with its other gender-neutral aspects, which include, but aren’t limited to, genderneutral kindergarten educations, affirmative action in the fire-fighting force, and even toy companies releasing catalogues containing boys playing with dolls and girls firing nerf guns. Gender equality has essentially become part of the Swedish identity not just socially but politically as well, with Prime Minister Stefan Löfven unveiling a Cabinet comprising equal numbers of males and females in October last year.

OPINION

Supporters of the country’s direction proudly say that their country sees everyone as “humans” and no longer as “males” and “females”. Such progressive thinking, they argue, reflects a new perspective of freedom in which everyone is equal in every way possible. Critics are less enthusiastic, arguing that males and females have existed as opposite genders for centuries and have helped contribute to an interdependent society. “It’s not natural”, many of them say. Most of our ancestors would have flatly agreed, but today it’s becoming increasingly difficult to decide which is less natural, a man-made establishment of gendernorms, or a growing Western movement that aims to completely upend it. Swedish society may sound a tad ludicrous at first, but when we consider how the social equality movement aims to provide equal opportunities to both men and women, and the freedom for anyone to marry anyone, regardless of gender, then we find the Swedish experiment of gender-neutrality to be consistent with the evolution of the entire movement, part of which points undeniably to the growing insignificance of gender as an institution in the 21st century. The irony of social equality is this – that the ultimate way to place “males” and “females” on the same level is to end the use of those terms entirely. But is there really no value in differentiating between males and females? If nothing else, there are the biological differences between a male and female, which brings us now to the word “sex”, the more scientific synonym of “gender”. These are differences that aren’t debateable, such as only females being able to become pregnant and give birth. The real question isn’t so much about the differences themselves, but rather their effect on human perception, which in turn leads to issues such as male or femaledominated professions such as engineering and nursing respectively, and, by extension, traditional male and female roles in society. In this respect, it’s clear that the line is blurrier than

it’s ever been before, with the number of people entering professions and industries dominated by the other sex reaching an unprecedented high. The USA, for instance, now has males constituting nearly 10% of its nurses, as opposed to less than 3% in 1970, and women accounted for about 14% of the Australian Defence Force in 2006, an all time high. General societal introspection, feminist influences, augmented by affirmative action, have all set many societies on a course towards a more equal male-female distribution in professions. If the social equality movement does achieve its aims, there may come a day when describing someone as male or female would only relate to a biological description of what sex that person was born as. There would be nothing related to traditional social norms because they simply wouldn’t exist. Being born a male or a female would not influence who you might marry, what work you might do or how you are perceived. Though seemingly contradictory, the freedom to be your own person would mean an imposition of sameness on everyone everywhere when they’re born because any allusion to individuality could theoretically influence a particular future direction in life. It’s time to remind ourselves that we’re not dealing with a present reality, but a hypothetical future. No one knows if the entire world will ever collectively progress towards such an extreme level of gender equality, but a possible foundation has already been built. What we do know is that a world where people can marry anyone of any sex, where all professions have equal patronage by both sexes, and where social norms targeting specific genders are gone, is a world where being a male or female matters little. Gender, a man-made institution that links sex to social norms, may well find that link slowly disconnected. For better or for worse, it seems like that process has already begun.

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Opinion

The Fear of Missing Out Natalie Clare Ang (’13) is at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s College of Media studying Advertising.

Natalie (extreme right) certainly not missing out on brownie goodness!

Did you ever go on a family vacation knowing that you’d miss out on a friend’s birthday party? Even though you try to have a good time with your family, there’s still that gnawing feeling that you’re missing out on something. That anxiety: that everyone else would have the greatest time of their lives at this birthday party, and they wouldn’t even notice you weren’t there. As if that wasn’t enough, you scroll through Facebook and Instagram after your trip and see all the photos of everyone beaming and you can’t help but be jealous of all the fun they seemed to be having. Does that sound familiar? These days, it is difficult to manage one’s time without events clashing. We are forced to choose between seemingly equally important social events often. We all want to fit in, to the point of being anxious at the thought of missing out on “the next social event”. This is known as the Fear Of Missing Out, or FOMO, as it is affectionately known. This social phenomenon is associated with and accentuated by social media and it serves as a painful reminder of what we “missed out on”. Being a college freshman, I am no stranger to this feeling. A college campus as big as mine is full of exciting events awaiting students. However, it becomes increasingly difficult to balance a healthy social life, student organisation meetings and group projects, on top on regular assignments and tests. With FOMO, I started feeling as though I wanted to be everywhere and do everything. I fell into the trap of wanting to constantly say “yes” to everything that came my way, insisting that I would be able to do it all. The problem was, I was everywhere and nowhere at once. The result of FOMO is that it means that we aren’t able to enjoy what we are doing, the thought of the “opportunity cost” weighing us down. More broadly, it creates a fear of

OPINION

commitment among many young people today, not just with events but also with dating and other life choices. It hinders us from truly living in the moment, keeping us wondering “what if”. It’s natural to feel regret from time to time, to wish that you had chosen the other option, but we can’t let FOMO drive us and keep us from enjoying ourselves. So, through my own experience and observations, here are some ways to help beat FOMO: 1 Stop checking your phone while out with friends Instead of being constrained by what others are doing or talking about on social media, let us enjoy the moment and put those phones away while we are with friends or family. 2 Give your undivided attention to whoever you are with Even if I’m just grabbing a frozen yogurt with a friend, I don’t want to make them feel as though I’d rather be hanging out somewhere else. I would be hurt if someone did that to me, so it’s only fair that I treat others how I would want to be treated. 3 Take things one thing at a time Multitasking is great, but sometimes it’s better to just enjoy the little moments of the day. When we apply ourselves to too many things at once, each task doesn’t get as much attention and is often less successful. However, if we focus on a single task

at a time, we’ll receive a higher level of satisfaction after completing the task. 4 Cultivate gratitude It may be cheesy, but count your blessings. Rather than chasing down fantasies of things that will fulfil our desires, we should be more grateful for all that we already have. FOMO makes us fear that nothing is ever good enough, but with gratitude we can learn to appreciate what we have instead of being bogged down by our desires. 5 Know that you can’t have it all The sooner we realise that, the better it will be for us. It’s okay to say no sometimes and we shouldn’t feel bad about it. Prioritising certain activities allows us to let go of others, and in turn we can give our full attention to what we have decided to do. With these tips, hopefully we’ll all realise when to say no to that party invitation when we really should be doing our homework, and to put our phones away during dinner outings and just enjoy the company. FOMO may be difficult to deal with, but recognising that it is a problem is already half the battle won.

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A L M A M AT E R T O D A Y THE BRIEFING 22 November 2014

164 students from the Class of 2014 graduate and join the Alumni family – Welcome to the family!

5 December 6 January 2015

Led by 8GCr, the school collects 67kg worth of ringpulls/can-tops in support of families living on the Tondo Dumpsite, Manila, Philippines. The Class of 2014 achieves an average of 36.4 in the IB, with 26% scoring 40 and above. 7 achieved a perfect 45, 3 attained 44, and 7 scored 43.

17 January

The Senior Debate Team is crowned champion of the Singapore International Schools Debate League.

21 January

Another record is set with the IGCSE results! 75.3% of all exams taken scored an A or A*, topping the 2013 record of 69.6%.

29 January

The school awards 18 scholarships at the Scholarship Awards Ceremony.

28 February

SJI International students participate in this year’s Chingay Parade.

13 March

The orchestra led by Mrs Ineke Thorpe performs at the Papal Nunciature Reception hosted by H.E. Archibishop Leopoldo Girelli.

16 March

Students score big participating in the World Scholar’s Cup for the first time.

18 March

St Benilde (Blue House) crowned champions in this year’s Sports Day!

1 April

Several Grade 9 to 11 students walk 221 km in this year’s “Walk for Education”, in support of the Baan Dada Children’s home in Thailand.

30 April

The entire SJI International family takes part in non-uniform day. More than S$25,000 is raised for the Red Cross Nepal Earthquake Relief Fund.

14 May/15 May

A family spirit is in the air as we celebrate Founder’s Day Dinner and Founder’s Day. Congratulations to the 8th Senior Council and a huge thank you to the 7th!

15 May

The whole school comes together again to celebrate Founder’s Day, with Mass, the International Food Fair and Cultural Carnival. I am, You are, We are Lasallian!

9 June

SINGALA, our inaugural fundraising gala dinner, raises almost $720,000 for scholarships!

IN THE NEWS Top in the World! “Three students have received prestigious awards from Cambridge International Examinations for their outstanding performance in the November 2014 IGCSE examinations. Students Nguyen Thien Hung, Isaac Tan Kai Rong and Fan Shu Yang, who received the award this year attained perfect scores in their mathematics examination.” – Extract from Asiaone, 18 May 2015 25

THE WRAP-UP

The newly-furbished Fitness Room made possible by the parents of the Class of 2013.

13 March – Students with the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli.

21 March – The Interact Club supporting the ‘Stop Hunger Now’ initiative.

18 March – Sports day extravaganza!

1 April – Supporting the Baan Dada Children’s home through the “Walk for Education”.

15 May – The Founder’s Day procession making its way into the Lawrence da Silva Sports Complex.

TEACHER MOVEMENTS At the end of 2014, some of our teachers left us to begin new challenges. Vincent Anandraj (since 2007), a founding teacher, is now working in the UK. Wan Suet Yue (since 2007), a founding teacher, has retired from the teaching profession. Kathy Smyth (since 2008) has moved to the UK to take on new challenges. Ng Teck Seng (since 2009) is now teaching at Hwa Chong International. Stacey Lawson (since 2010) remains in the Lasallian family, teaching at SJI (Independent). Andy Nurney (since 2011) has moved back to the UK. Laura Curtis (since 2011) is cycling across Europe before continuing teaching. Cerys Jones (since 2011) is fulfilling her dream of travelling before continuing teaching. Br. Arian Lopez (since 2012) is at the La Salle University, Ozamiz, Philippines. Chandra Murugayah (since 2011) has moved back to Australia.

IN MEMORIAM On 14 December 2014, one of our long serving security guards, Uncle Osman, passed away. He was one of the founding members of the school. 26

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NOTICEBOARD SJI INTERN ATI O N AL BRAN DED ME RCHAN DI S E!

SU PPORT THE ALU M NI M U SI C SCENE! EVER Made up of a talented trio from the Class of 2012 – Marianne Chan, Claire Chia and Doddy Anderson – EVER have tirelessly worked their way up since IB days. They recently released their first, SG50-inspired, music video. Check them out! www.facebook.com/evercdm #ever #ever3times

The Advancement and Communications Office has a variety of SJI International-branded merchandise just for you! Thumbdrives, umbrellas, shoe bags, water bottles, pens, notebooks, caps, post-it sticky notes and more!

THE OVERTIME PROJECT

All proceeds go to support the Scholarship Fund!

The Overtime Project is Yale-NUS’s very first barbershop quartet, and they’ve also performed at events like the Youth Voices Vocal Music Fest 2015. Featuring Glen Koh from the Class of 2011 (2nd from left), you will be sure to be soothed by their a capella mastery.

Contact the ACO for more details.

FUND THE FUTURE! Through the generous support of the SJI International community, the school has been able to offer 175 scholarships since its inception in 2007. By supporting the Scholarship Fund this year, you help ensure that the brightest students are not disadvantaged by their financial background. Fund the future and support your Alma Mater today, and claim 300% tax deductibility! Contact the ACO on ways to give at: advancement.office@sji-international.com.sg

www.facebook.com/overtimeproject

THE WRAP-UP