Raffles Institution (Year 1-4)

[ngl2010]

muska:

Anyone pls share if there is any shuttle bus to MOELC bishan ?

Usually the boys walk to MOELC. Only sometimes they will take bus number 53 from Bishan bus interchange. It is one stop from the interchange. DS said it is faster to walk than take a bus. They will only take bus if the sun is too hot or rain heavily.

[bridesep]

ngl2010:

muska:

Anyone pls share if there is any shuttle bus to MOELC bishan ?

Usually the boys walk to MOELC. Only sometimes they will take bus number 53 from Bishan bus interchange. It is one stop from the interchange. DS said it is faster to walk than take a bus. They will only take bus if the sun is too hot or rain heavily.

Yes, most will take lunch at J8 and then walk to MOELC. It is cumbersome to take a bus along Bishan Road to Bishan Interchange and then take 53 from Interchange to MOELC. We planned the route for DS last year and showed him what to do. After 1 week, he walked with the classmates.

[bridesep]

doramon:

iRabbit:

[quote=\"doramon\"]Hi


Any experienced parents here can share some insights what are the different programme in year 3, the criterira (and the respective subject combination). My son in yr 2 this year and i am wondering how is the subject combination be like in yr 3....

Do they have all pure sciences or some combined science like we used to have in our times?

Very confused here .....

From the student handbook, all Sci subjects are pure sciences. Y3 boys will take between 8-10 examinable subjects, depending on their Y2 GPA. Eng, MT, SS, Math 1 & Math 2 are the 5 compulsory subjects. They will choose between 3-4 subjects from the Core Electives - Humans (Lit, Geo, Hist) & Sci (Phy, Chem, Bio). The 10th subject, reserved for top-performing students, is chosen from the Other Electives (MEP, AEP, 3rd Lang, RSP, CEP). However, it is not compulsory to take a 10th subject even if one qualifies for it. For a 9 subject combi, I think it is possible to take a subject from the Other Electives, and 3 subjects from the Core Electives.

The critical benchmarks for Y2 are - GPA > 2.4 (to be offered 8 subjects and remain in RP), GPA >= 3.2 (to be offered 9 subjects), and GPA >= 3.6 (to be offered 10 subjects). One thing I'm curious about is whether one has to select at least 1 subject from each of the Humans/Sci list in the Core Electives.

Thanks! Indeed helpful info!
SS is social studies??[/quote]There will be a parent briefing for Y2 parents on 24 Jan 18.

[muska]

​thanks ngl2010 & bridesep for feedback.

That’s quite a long walk isnt it? >10mins under sun & with sch bag

[bridesep]

muska:

​thanks ngl2010 & bridesep for feedback.

That's quite a long walk isnt it? >10mins under sun & with sch bag

They will be able to manage if they see their peers doing the same. So don't worry too much.

[ngl2010]

muska:

​thanks ngl2010 & bridesep for feedback.

That's quite a long walk isnt it? >10mins under sun & with sch bag

Agree with Bridesep. DS never complain about the distance in his 4 years walking to MOELC. In fact, he actually enjoys it. Usually he goes to J8 first to have his lunch with his friends including those who were not taking 3rd Lang. DS usually has a lot of stories to tell after his 3rd Lang class. The first 2 years was full of stories about Uncle Bishan that they saw at J8. Year 3 and 4 were full of stories of his ex-classmates from year 1 and 2 who he met for lunch before 3rd Lang. The lunch and walk to MOELC were like bonding opportunities for the boys.

Secondary school bag is lighter than primary school bag. No need to bring textbook except for HMT (which is a thin book). Only need to bring homework and current notes. But if the child doesn't do regular filing, of course his bag will be heavy because notes will accumulate in his bag.

[iRabbit]

https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/elite-ri-students-must-be-inclusive-retiring-principal-says-their-responsibility


SINGAPORE — The principal of Raffles Institution (RI) caused a stir back in 2015 when he made a speech about elitism, but his candid remarks must have rang true to those who heard it or read about it, because they were surprisingly well-received.

On July 25 that year, while marking the school’s 192nd Founder’s Day, Mr Chan Poh Meng admitted that RI had become “insular”, was not “truly representative of Singapore”, and catered to students from the upper class of society. The school had become “middle class” and the student population had become less diverse in terms of their socio-economic backgrounds, which was unlike what it used to be.

Speaking to some 2,000 students, teachers, parents and alumni then, Mr Chan said: “A long period of conditioning means that we often fail to see elitism even when it is staring at us in the face.”

His words struck a chord. Some members of the public praised his candour after that. During parent-teacher meetings and gatherings with alumni, the feedback from these groups was that they were “happy” he made that stand, he said.

Commenting for the first time on why he made that speech, Mr Chan, 60, who is retiring from the education service this month, said that it was meant to be a “reflective piece”.

“As a school principal, I wanted to acknowledge it with my own people, let them know this was how I felt, and to ask them, ‘What do you think?’,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the Ministry of Education’s annual appointment and appreciation ceremony on Thursday (Dec 28), where he was among 16 retiring principals honoured for their service.

The objective was to reinforce to students that although it was through their academic achievements that they were admitted to RI — which is widely considered to be the best school here — it was a “privilege” to be a part of the school community.

“At the end of the day, there must be some giving back to the larger community… It is a responsibility for us to fulfil,” Mr Chan, who was a former RI student, said. He was appointed the school’s principal in December 2013.

While it is fine to be recognised as part of an elite group of students who excel in studies or are endowed with other talents, it does not give one the licence to be elitist, he explained. “You don’t be exclusive. You must be inclusive,” he said.

“It would be terrible if you deny there is such a thing (as being) elite... it’s what you do with that as a responsibility,” he added.

On how he ended up with a “reflective” speech, Mr Chan disclosed that it was possibly due to his own illness. He was diagnosed with stage three colon cancer in 2014 and took a six-month leave of absence to undergo chemotherapy.

“It could be that... I had so much time at home, thinking about life,” he said with a laugh. “It could be one of those moments when I was reflecting about what was the meaning (of life and) what I was going to bring to my job.”

When he returned to work, Mr Chan set out to ensure that the school’s programmes encouraged students to be more inclusive.

Since 2016, for instance, he has been welcoming students from other secondary schools to join RI’s boarding programme for 10 weeks. The programme was started in 2008 to develop students’ leadership and character.

There was also a student-led initiative called The Golden Page, which was started in 2014 to allow them to help improve the living conditions of seniors by installing equipment such as ramps and handle-bars in their homes.

INSPIRED BY TEACHERS

Mr Chan himself first wanted to be a teacher when he was a student at the then Park Road Primary School, which was located behind People’s Park Complex in Chinatown. He was inspired by two of his primary school teachers, who helped him develop his self-esteem.

His father — who died 15 years ago at the age of 60 — was against the idea because he thought that the profession would not take his son far in his career.

His parents worked as hawkers selling noodles, and Mr Chan is the oldest of three children.
Pursuing his childhood dream anyway, Mr Chan became a teacher in 1982.

Over the years, he took up various leadership positions, including being a superintendent at the Education Ministry’s headquarters. He was also the principal of Victoria Junior College for seven years before he was posted to RI.

If there is any regret, Mr Chan said that being in leadership positions took him away from the classroom, so he had less time to spend giving individual guidance to students. “That’s what I miss a great deal,” he revealed. “I like to be known as a teacher more than a school principal or leader. That was where I found the greatest satisfaction.”

On his retirement, he refused to see it as a sad moment, because he is grateful to have served in the education sector for more than 30 years. He is looking forward to taking a break, to travel to Japan, and to see the Northern Lights, for example.
There is a sense of completion as he leaves RI as principal, since he not only studied there but started out as a trainee teacher in the school.

“I would say it’s a rare privilege. I don’t think anyone who joined the teaching service and was later found suitable to be a school principal would end up in his or her alma mater to lead the school,” he said. “So, this full circle is especially meaningful for me.”

[Shynn]

For year 1 parents interested in snippets of their boys’ activities, you can follow @raffles_institution on instagram. 2 recents posts on year 1. :))

[solaris88]

Yesterday my boy came home with mud stained shoes and shorts, and a bit on his shirt. :stupid:


Managed to scrub most off but some remained.
Anyone has a good and lazy suggestion to bleach it off completely?

[chatterbox321]

Hi all!


I am an ex-RI, ex-RGS alumnus who just finished A Levels in 2017. I took the subject combination of BCME + GP in JC, and triple science + geography in secondary school. I am currently giving away/selling my older books at the link
https://tinyurl.com/chatterbox321secsch These were the books that my siblings and I bought/used, and thus would like to give away or sell at a reasonably low price to benefit others. All books are in very good, or reasonably good condition.

Meetups can be conducted to collect the books. Do message me for any enquiries, thank you! I will also be more than happy to answer any questions about subject combination/CCA/IP etc. to the best of my abilities!

I am currently waiting for my A Level results, and if any of you are keen for me to tutor you/your child please do feel free to contact me as well I am able to tutor primary school and lower secondary.