Saint Patrick's School
Encyclopedia
Saint Patrick's School (simplified Chinese:圣伯特理中学校)is a Lasallian Roman Catholic boys' secondary school in East Coast Road, Singapore
. It is more commonly referred to as St Pat's, SPS or St Patrick's. Students and old boys call themselves Patricians or Sons of St. Patrick's. The school is well known for its Military Band, which has performed internationally and won awards.
In keeping with the school's Roman Catholic nature, students recite the Apostles' Creed in the morning, and the Angelus at noon.
, another Catholic boys' school in Singapore. It was built on land acquired by the La Salle Brothers
in 1898, land intended for a resort bungalow for the brothers. But Brother Steven Buckley saw the population growth in the eastern side of the island and petitioned the La Salle Brothers to build a school on this piece of land. The main school building was completed in 1932, and Saint Patrick's became a school in its own right in 1933.
During World War II, the school was used by the British as a hospital and later by the Japanese as an administrative building. It was returned to the Brothers in 1946.
In 1957, the primary
section of the school was separated and became Saint Stephen's School
.
The school went co-educational with the introduction of pre-university classes in 1969; but this was phased out in 1978, and the school returned to being all-boys.
The full history of St. Patrick's School and its alumni can be viewed either on the school website, the old boys' (The Patrician Society) website or at the School's Heritage Room (previously the old school library).
The current principal of the school is Mr. Lucas Lak Pati Singh, who is slated to step down in early 2012, passing the baton to current Shuqun Secondary School principal Adolfus Tan. The sole vice principal is Mr. Aloysius Yong, an alumni who has served in various other capacities in the school.
Houses compete in activities during the Annual Sports Meet, Interhouse Games, Jogathons and other activities. Students buy House T-Shirts of their respective houses, which carry the slogan 'I Love St. Pat's' and the school badge with the name and colour of their house on their shirts.
A notable CCA at St Patrick's is its Military Band
, which has won gold medals in competitions locally and abroad, under the baton of their resident conductor, Mr David Anthony Glosz, since 1990. In the 2005 Singapore Youth Festival
(SYF), the band won Gold with Honours. This was the first year such an award was introduced into the SYF grading scheme. In the 2007 SYF, the SPSMB achieved a Gold with Honours, which was the 2nd consecutive Gold With Honour award. In the 2009 SYF, the Band again won Gold with Honours, its tenth consecutive Gold award in the SYF and its third consecutive Gold with Honours. And in 2011 SYF, the Band achieved Gold with Honours, its 11th consecutive Gold award and fourth consecutive Gold with Honours. At the institution's annual Patrician Aesthetics and Enrichment Festival (PAEF) during every 3rd Academic Term of the year, the school's Military Band plays a live version of the School Rally as opposed to the tape recording which usually played every morning.
The school also encourages students to take up leadership roles, hence the establishment of the Students' Council, Peer Support Board and Prefectorial Board and National Education Ambassador. These Patrician student leaders attend camps such as the Patricians' Leadership Training Camp (PLTC). Selected students also represent their school and participate in the Lasallian Leadership Training Camp (LLTC), where they and students from Saint Joseph's Institution
as well as SJI International immerse themselves in five days of leadership training.
is found on the student's belt and tie, on the running vests and on the T-Shirts, and the school flag is a shamrock on a blue background. It is made up of three green hearts touching at the centre at an equal spacing from each other. Two of the hearts are at the lower half with one at the upper half. The shamrock represents the school's virtues of Humanity, Humility & Honesty. The school's patron saint, St. Patrick's, used the shamrock to represent the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Another icon of the school is the "I Love St Pat's" logo. It is printed on mugs, t-shirts, decals, wristbands and umbrellas sold by the school.
Other buildings
Other facilities
is compulsory. The full uniform is a white short-sleeved shirt with the school badge pinned on the top left hand corner above the shirt pocket, white short trousers (for lower secondary students) or white long trousers (for upper secondary), white school socks with the shamrock logo, white canvas shoes, and a tie. Students wear the school tie every morning for assembly. The shirt must be tucked into the pants. Details of the uniform are set out in the school's Rules and Regulations.
For physical education lessons, students change into their PE attire, which is a white vest (for lower secondary students) or a black vest (for upper secondary students) and the shorts with the shamrock logo and SPS sewn on it. The vest has I love St. Pat's printed at the back.
St Patrick's School was beset by discipline problems such as truancy in the 1990s but these are now said to be in the past. Corporal punishment has always been a feature of the disciplinary system, whereby the offending student receives a number of strokes with a rattan cane across the seat of his uniform trousers. The current Rules and Regulations state that students found in possession of cigarettes, lighters or matches will be caned and referred to the Smoking Control Unit of the Ministry of Health
.
. It maintains relationships with other Roman Catholic schools in Singapore, such as the CHIJ girls' convent schools and Maris Stella High School
.
Arts
Sports
Others
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
. It is more commonly referred to as St Pat's, SPS or St Patrick's. Students and old boys call themselves Patricians or Sons of St. Patrick's. The school is well known for its Military Band, which has performed internationally and won awards.
In keeping with the school's Roman Catholic nature, students recite the Apostles' Creed in the morning, and the Angelus at noon.
History
The school was founded in 1933 as a temporary branch school of Saint Joseph's InstitutionSaint Joseph's Institution
Saint Joseph's Institution is a Catholic secondary school for male students in Singapore. It was founded in 1852 as "Saint John's Institution", and is the third oldest educational institution in Singapore .SJI provides an education to boys of all races and...
, another Catholic boys' school in Singapore. It was built on land acquired by the La Salle Brothers
Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools
The Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools is a Roman Catholic religious teaching congregation, founded in France by Saint Jean-Baptiste de la Salle and now based in Rome...
in 1898, land intended for a resort bungalow for the brothers. But Brother Steven Buckley saw the population growth in the eastern side of the island and petitioned the La Salle Brothers to build a school on this piece of land. The main school building was completed in 1932, and Saint Patrick's became a school in its own right in 1933.
During World War II, the school was used by the British as a hospital and later by the Japanese as an administrative building. It was returned to the Brothers in 1946.
In 1957, the primary
Primary education
A primary school is an institution in which children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as primary or elementary education. Primary school is the preferred term in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth Nations, and in most publications of the United Nations Educational,...
section of the school was separated and became Saint Stephen's School
Saint Stephen's School, Singapore
Saint Stephen's School is a Catholic primary school for boys in Siglap, Singapore.The school was part of the Saint Patrick's School, which was founded in 1933 by the La Salle Brothers...
.
The school went co-educational with the introduction of pre-university classes in 1969; but this was phased out in 1978, and the school returned to being all-boys.
The full history of St. Patrick's School and its alumni can be viewed either on the school website, the old boys' (The Patrician Society) website or at the School's Heritage Room (previously the old school library).
The current principal of the school is Mr. Lucas Lak Pati Singh, who is slated to step down in early 2012, passing the baton to current Shuqun Secondary School principal Adolfus Tan. The sole vice principal is Mr. Aloysius Yong, an alumni who has served in various other capacities in the school.
Houses
The school has six houses named after former brother principals of the school.- Joseph McNally (McNally House) - Green
- Joseph Kiely (Kiely House) - Blue
- Stephen Buckley (Buckley House) - Orange
- Cannice Brennan (Brennan House) - Yellow
- Alban Rozario (Alban House) - Red
- Justinian De Souza (Justinian House) - Purple
Houses compete in activities during the Annual Sports Meet, Interhouse Games, Jogathons and other activities. Students buy House T-Shirts of their respective houses, which carry the slogan 'I Love St. Pat's' and the school badge with the name and colour of their house on their shirts.
Co-curricular activities
| School Rally Verse 1:
Chorus:
Verse 2:
|
A notable CCA at St Patrick's is its Military Band
Military band
A military band originally was a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind and percussion instruments. The conductor of a band commonly bears the title of Bandmaster or Director of Music...
, which has won gold medals in competitions locally and abroad, under the baton of their resident conductor, Mr David Anthony Glosz, since 1990. In the 2005 Singapore Youth Festival
Singapore Youth Festival
The Singapore Youth Festival is an annual event in Singapore organised by the Ministry of Education to celebrate the achievements of youths in co-curricular activities...
(SYF), the band won Gold with Honours. This was the first year such an award was introduced into the SYF grading scheme. In the 2007 SYF, the SPSMB achieved a Gold with Honours, which was the 2nd consecutive Gold With Honour award. In the 2009 SYF, the Band again won Gold with Honours, its tenth consecutive Gold award in the SYF and its third consecutive Gold with Honours. And in 2011 SYF, the Band achieved Gold with Honours, its 11th consecutive Gold award and fourth consecutive Gold with Honours. At the institution's annual Patrician Aesthetics and Enrichment Festival (PAEF) during every 3rd Academic Term of the year, the school's Military Band plays a live version of the School Rally as opposed to the tape recording which usually played every morning.
The school also encourages students to take up leadership roles, hence the establishment of the Students' Council, Peer Support Board and Prefectorial Board and National Education Ambassador. These Patrician student leaders attend camps such as the Patricians' Leadership Training Camp (PLTC). Selected students also represent their school and participate in the Lasallian Leadership Training Camp (LLTC), where they and students from Saint Joseph's Institution
Saint Joseph's Institution
Saint Joseph's Institution is a Catholic secondary school for male students in Singapore. It was founded in 1852 as "Saint John's Institution", and is the third oldest educational institution in Singapore .SJI provides an education to boys of all races and...
as well as SJI International immerse themselves in five days of leadership training.
School icons
The shamrockShamrock
The shamrock is a three-leafed old white clover. It is known as a symbol of Ireland. The name shamrock is derived from Irish , which is the diminutive version of the Irish word for clover ....
is found on the student's belt and tie, on the running vests and on the T-Shirts, and the school flag is a shamrock on a blue background. It is made up of three green hearts touching at the centre at an equal spacing from each other. Two of the hearts are at the lower half with one at the upper half. The shamrock represents the school's virtues of Humanity, Humility & Honesty. The school's patron saint, St. Patrick's, used the shamrock to represent the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Another icon of the school is the "I Love St Pat's" logo. It is printed on mugs, t-shirts, decals, wristbands and umbrellas sold by the school.
Facilities
Academic buildings- Kiely Block is the junior block and houses computer laboratories and Information Technology rooms.
- Alban Block is the senior block, and the location of specialised subject rooms.
- Buckley Block is the aesthetics block, with the Media Resource Library (MRL), a Mother Tongue Language room, co-curricular activities (CCA) rooms and counselling rooms. Buckley Block is the oldest block in St Patrick's, and is under conservation. It used to be classrooms for the older batches of students. It is the school's founding block.
- McNally Block houses a design laboratory, indoor and air-conditioned shooting range and the design workshops.
- Datok Brian Chang Block is the science block, with two chemistry laboratories, two physics laboratories, two biology laboratories and an air-conditioned lecture theatre.
Other buildings
- Justinian Block houses the general office, staff room, school bookshop and lecture theatre.
- Tan Sri Runme Shaw Block has an air-conditioned hall and canteen.
- Brennan Block has the band room, dance room and Shamrock Studio(recording studio).
- Henry Jassaud Block houses indoor squash courts.
- De LaSalle Brother Residences - the compound where the La Salle Brothers live and the Shamrock Cove (Student Entertainment Centre)
Other facilities
- An astroturfed school field (completed in May 2009)
- Two tennis courts
- A basketball court
- A street soccer court
- A running track
- School chapel
- School Heritage Room(Part of the Chapel Block, used to be the old library)
- Conference rooms
Uniform and discipline
The all-white school uniformSchool uniform
A school uniform is an outfit—a set of standardized clothes—worn primarily for an educational institution. They are common in primary and secondary schools in various countries . When used, they form the basis of a school's dress code.Traditionally school uniforms have been largely subdued and...
is compulsory. The full uniform is a white short-sleeved shirt with the school badge pinned on the top left hand corner above the shirt pocket, white short trousers (for lower secondary students) or white long trousers (for upper secondary), white school socks with the shamrock logo, white canvas shoes, and a tie. Students wear the school tie every morning for assembly. The shirt must be tucked into the pants. Details of the uniform are set out in the school's Rules and Regulations.
For physical education lessons, students change into their PE attire, which is a white vest (for lower secondary students) or a black vest (for upper secondary students) and the shorts with the shamrock logo and SPS sewn on it. The vest has I love St. Pat's printed at the back.
St Patrick's School was beset by discipline problems such as truancy in the 1990s but these are now said to be in the past. Corporal punishment has always been a feature of the disciplinary system, whereby the offending student receives a number of strokes with a rattan cane across the seat of his uniform trousers. The current Rules and Regulations state that students found in possession of cigarettes, lighters or matches will be caned and referred to the Smoking Control Unit of the Ministry of Health
Ministry of Health (Singapore)
The Ministry of Health is a ministry of the Government of Singapore responsible for providing information, raising health awareness and education, ensuring the accessibility of health services, and monitoring the quality of health services provided to citizens and visitors in the Republic of...
.
Affiliations
St Patrick's School is affiliated with all three of the La Sallian Primary schools in Singapore (listed below), St Joseph's Institution as well as Catholic Junior CollegeCatholic Junior College
Catholic Junior College is a junior college in Singapore, offering a two-year course for pre-university students leading up to GCE 'A' Level examination. Founded in 1975, CJC was the third junior college established in Singapore...
. It maintains relationships with other Roman Catholic schools in Singapore, such as the CHIJ girls' convent schools and Maris Stella High School
Maris Stella High School
Maris Stella High School is an autonomous, SAP, Government-aided, all-boys Catholic secondary and primary school run by the international Marist Brothers at Mount Vernon Road in Singapore. It was headed by Bro. Anthony Tan from 1984 to 2009. Mr Joseph Lim Choon Kiat, the former Vice Principal,...
.
- St. Joseph's Institution Junior (formerly St. Michael's School)
- St. Stephen's SchoolSaint Stephen's School, SingaporeSaint Stephen's School is a Catholic primary school for boys in Siglap, Singapore.The school was part of the Saint Patrick's School, which was founded in 1933 by the La Salle Brothers...
- De La Salle SchoolDe La Salle SchoolDe La Salle School is a Roman Catholic voluntary aided school located in Ghyllgrove, Basildon, Essex. Formerly named St. Anselms, the school is now named after Jean-Baptiste de la Salle who is the patron saint of those who care for others. The headteacher of Basildon's De La Salle school is Dr....
Notable alumni
Politicians- Dr. Tony Tan Keng Yam: Seventh President of SingaporePresident of SingaporeThe President of the Republic of Singapore is Singapore's head of state. In a Westminster parliamentary system, as which Singapore governs itself, the prime minister is the head of the government while the position of president is largely ceremonial. Before 1993, the President of Singapore was...
- George Yong-Boon YeoGeorge YeoGeorge Yeo Yong-Boon is a former politician from Singapore. A member of the governing People's Action Party , he served in the Cabinet from 1991 to 2011 as the Minister for Information and the Arts , Minister for Health , Minister for Trade and Industry and Minister for Foreign Affairs...
: Former Minister for Foreign Affairs - Chong Chieng JenChong Chieng JenChong Chieng Jen, , is a Malaysian lawyer and politician from the Democratic Action Party . He owns a legal firm named Chong Brothers Advocates. He is currently the member of Malaysian Parliament for Bandar Kuching seat and the member of the Sarawak State Assembly for Kota Sentosa...
: Malaysian politician
Arts
- Cyril WongCyril WongCyril Wong is the author of nine volumes of poetry and one collection of prose.- Biography:Born in 1977, Cyril Wong attended Saint Patrick's School, Singapore and Temasek Junior College, before pursuing a doctoral degree in English literature from the National University of Singapore...
: Poet - Alvin TanAlvin TanAlvin Tan is Founder and Artistic Director of The Necessary Stage and co-Artistic Director of the M1 Singapore Fringe Festival. Under Alvin, TNS has grown from a society in 1987 to one of Singapore’s most prominent and respected theatre companies...
: Founder of the Necessary Stage - Foo Yin Tung: Author
- Glenn OngGlenn OngGlenn Ong Su Kar is a popular DJ at MediaCorp's Class 95FM, a Singapore English radio station, hosting the country's #1 rated morning show with The Flying Dutchman and Vernetta Lopez...
: Radio DJ - John KlassJohn KlassJohn Klass is a Triple-platinum award-winning singer/producer/songwriter/radio presenter.- Biography :John Klass has been in the entertainment scene from 1991 to present....
: Radio DJ/Recording Artiste - Joe Augustin: Radio DJ
- Brian Richmond: Radio DJ
- Rodney Monteiro: Radio DJ
- Sheikh HaikelSheikh HaikelSheikh Haikel is a Singaporean rapper, actor and radio personality. He won talent competition Asia Bagus in 1993 and has since established himself as a major player in the entertainment industry...
: Actor and Singer - Benjamin Heng: Actor
- Kevin Mark Verghese: Actor
- Andrew SeowAndrew SeowAndrew Seow Ee Meng is a former Singaporean actor, celebrity, model and media personality.An actor best known for his role as the fiery tempered eldest son in the family drama series, Growing Up on MediaCorp TV Channel 5...
: Actor - Victor Khoo: Radio DJ
Sports
- Steven TanSteven TanSteven Tan was a Singaporean footballer in the 1990s, who played in the Singapore national football team as a striker. He is now the head coach of S-League club, Tampines Rovers....
: Footballer - Goh Swee Heng: Cricketer, and coach of the school's cricket team
Others
- Lim, Jeremy: FIDE Chess Master
- Paddy ChewPaddy ChewPaddy Chew was the first Singaporean AIDS victim to come out to the general public.-Early life:He attended St. Stephen's School and St...
: AIDS Activist