Victoria School

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Tan Peng Sheng, VS Class of 2012, became the first person to receive the inaugural Singapore Red Cross President's Youth Award. http://vs.moe.edu.sg/news051.html

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Gareth Low, VS Class of 2013, is presently captaining the national Under-16 football team in the Lion City Cup. Two years ago, Jeffrey Adam Lightfoot, VS Class of 2011, was the captain.

Thus continuing Victoria's proud tradition in football.

VJC dominance in A Division football
The boys' team has made it to 11 finals for the past 14 years, except for 2007, 2010 and 2012, when they were eliminated by penalties in the semi-finals in all three years. VJC won 6 of the 11 finals contested, and lost 2 of them narrowly by penalties.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_Junior_College_Football

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Kiasuparents prepping for P1 registration


Website traffic set to soar as parents seek balloting data, tips; some say it fuels anxiety

Published on Jul 01, 2013

By Stacey Chia
WITH Primary 1 registration kicking off on Thursday, the kiasuparents.com website is gearing up for a very busy time. Traffic at the site, which gets about 10,000 hits daily, may swell 10 times.

But when it comes to parenting, Mr William Toh believes there is nothing wrong with being kiasu. He after all goes by the moniker Chief Kiasu - playing on the Hokkien term meaning \"fear of losing\" - on the website the 48-year-old co-founded in 2007.

He says parents who look into primary schools, even when their children are still infants, or move closer to a school so their kids stand a better chance of getting in, do so because they care.

\"Being kiasu may have a negative connotation but parents are kiasu because they want to give their children the best,\" said Mr Toh, a father of two children aged 14 and eight, who are studying in Victoria School and CHIJ St Nicholas Girls' Primary.

Kiasuparents - whose other two co-founders are IT professionals Yip See Wai and Soon Lee Yong, both 40, and married to each other - is again gearing up for a hectic time this week.

Parents, whose children are set to enter Primary 1, consult its guide on primary school education and the historical data of school balloting trends. They also ask each other for advice on which school to send their children to.

One top question on the website, which has over 80,000 members, is which are the best primary schools - which the founders say they refuse to answer.

Instead, \"one good way is to volunteer in the school, to find out if the school is suitable for your child\", said Mr Yip, who was a parent volunteer at Yew Tee Primary before his son started school there.

But some say that a website like Kiasuparents fuels anxiety.

Last year, when the Education Ministry did not name the top students in the national examinations, parents were quick to start their own lists on the website.

\"It is good for parents to talk to other parents, as it helps them understand issues better, but parents should not use the website to compare one school with another, as every school is different,\" said retired principal Christine Ho, 63.

But Mr Toh, who left his job as an IT director in 2010 to focus on the website, believes Kiasuparents is a success, judging by the content on its forum.

He said: \"It used to be filled with mainly questions and answers but now we get less of that and more sharing of opinions on education issues.\"

[email protected]

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Pint-sized Royston set to shine


By Felicia Quick- .07 JuneSINGAPORE — Fifteen-year-old Royston Tan dazzled on the pitch at the Canon Lion City Cup last year with the National Football Academy (NFA) under-15s. This year, local fans can expect more of the same as he makes a return to the annual youth tournament at the Jalan Besar Stadium starting tomorrow.

The Victoria School student and his team-mates will face their Group B rivals, Brazil’s SC Corinthians, tomorrow before taking on PSV Eindhoven of the Netherlands on Monday.

Introduced to the sport by his father Peter at the age of five, Royston found himself hooked on football after finding early success with the St Stephen’s School team that won the National Primary School Football Championships gold in 2008.

The attacking midfielder was called up to the NFA Under-15s early last year. Said Royston: “It’s a privilege to be playing for Singapore at my age. Playing in the Lion City Cup brings me one step closer to my goal of making the national team.

“I am excited to play against SC Corinthians and PSV Eindhoven. If we can match our standards to them, then who’s to say we can’t play against bigger and better teams?”

Ahead of the Lion City Cup, the U-15s played in the 2013 Football Association of Malaysia-Frenz Under-15 ASEAN Champions Trophy, where they were beaten 2-1 and 4-0 respectively by Malaysia’s Frenz United and Thailand’s Chonburi FC.

Coach Nazri Nasir is also looking to improve on the team’s performance at last year’s tournament when they finished at the bottom of Group B after losses to Portuguese side Vasco Da Gama and Manchester City.

“After their experience from last year, I’m sure the boys will be prepared to go out and give their all,” said Nazri, a former Singapore captain.

“This year Hami (Syahin) and Royston (Tan) are doing well. Hami is our top scorer in the COE (Centre of Excellence) league and Royston shows no fear and no mercy playing against bigger opponents.”

Local fans will have two teams to cheer on as the NFA Under-16s will face Arsenal and Eintracht Frankfurt in Group A. FELICIA QUICK

http://beta.m.todayonline.com/sports/football/pint-sized-royston-set-shine

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Balatonföldvár, Hungary, Saturday, July 6, 2013 — Ryan Teo, 15, of Singapore, won the International Optimist Dinghy Association (IODA) European Championship in commanding fashion. The Victoria School student dominated the competition from the get-go as he consistently scored podium finishes after winning his first race. Grabbing the first position after nine races, Ryan’s tally of 10 points was way ahead of runner-up, Tytus Butowski of Poland, who finished with 19.


The regatta, which was held from June 29 to July 7, saw 248 sailors from 40 countries compete for six days in wide-ranging sailing conditions. The Singapore team that competed in Hungary also included Raynn Kwok, Agylla Jumali and Marsha Shahrin.

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Extracted from Victorian Confessions on Facebook:


Dear Victoria School,

I am a parent who saw a victoria school student in the macdonalds in parkway on tuesday. I want to take this opportunity to praise his actions. What he did was to give two little girls $2 as they were short of money to buy a meal. I was extremely surprised as i have not seen anyone done this before! This student was wearing brown shorts and carrying a camouflage bag and caarrying a squash racket. I did not get to see his face as i was behind him. To that boy who did this, i really think your actions are commendable. I am really really impressed with Victoria school. Thank you

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Victorians triumph in ‘C’ Div hockey final


http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h372/manu-123/vs-pitch_zps588ae190.jpg\">

By Felicia Quick
SINGAPORE — It was a pitch invasion, but not the kind that would get one into trouble with the authorities.

At the Sengkang Hockey Stadium yesterday, supporters of Victoria School (VS) could not help leaping over the barriers to celebrate their team’s 2-1 win over Raffles Institution (RI) in the National Inter-School “C” Division hockey final.

Playing two halves of 30 minutes each, the evenly-contested battle saw VS taking the lead four minutes before half-time, with 14-year-old Marcus Lee sweeping home from a penalty corner.

RI drew level early in the second half with captain Mark Cheong’s solo effort, in a move that started from the centre of the field.

With the match tied at 1-1, both teams upped their tempo in search of the winner, and that was to come midway through the second half, with Jonathan Koh’s effort wrongfooting RI goalkeeper Nicholas Tay.

For 13-year-old Jonathan, who only picked up the sport five months ago, scoring the match-winner which brought the trophy back to his school for the first time since 2009 was, in his words, “a huge accomplishment”.

“All our hard work at training has paid off,” he said.

For RI’s Mark, it was scant consolation that he managed to score a goal in the losing effort. “I was excited and I felt pumped up. I thought there was hope for us to win this. But, by the end, I guess we weren’t mentally prepared enough to continue,” he said.

http://www.todayonline.com/photos/gallery-victorians-triumph-c-div-hockey-final#inside
http://www.todayonline.com/sports/victorians-triumph-c-div-hockey-final

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FOR the past eight days, a sail numbered "SIN 111" has floated proudly off the shores of Hayama, Japan.


Perhaps it was a sign of things to come: After all, the sailor who helmed that boat - Singaporean schoolboy Ryan Teo - yesterday became the Optimist champion of Asia.

The 14-year-old from Victoria School won four of nine races to beat 104 other sailors from 14 teams including the likes of Japan and South Korea, and also non-Asian nations like the United States and New Zealand, to claim the top spot.

- Straits Times, Aug 30, 2013

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2013年09月20日

我们这一班
张思乐　,贸工部政务部长、东北区市长、,白沙榜鹅集选区议员

最近有人上传一张黑白旧照片到Facebook给我，那是我们中四那年拍的班级合照。这张照片对我来说是一份惊喜。上传照片的是我们的副班长，他在中学时期就已经是班上比较主动的同学。

　　我仔细看了照片里的每一位同学。除了勾起对那段日子的回忆，我也不禁在想，这些老同学现在怎样了，人在哪里，从事什么行业等。

　　我在Facebook上留言，和副班长聊了起来。后来，开始有越来越多老同学加入讨论，最后我们把讨论转到WhatsApp。

　　老同学纷纷上载各自的照片。有些同学我几乎已经认不得，有些却和当年的模样相差不远。渐渐的，我们找回其他失去联络多时的老朋友加入聊天群。随着人数增加，大家开始很想见面，于是，我们定了一个聚会日期。

　　当年，我们是很特别的一班，我们的成绩不算好，也是“纯工艺班”走入历史前最后一批学生。我们这一班，体育表现非常杰出，其他班级都很不愿意在体育项目上和我们竞争。我们这班的同学才艺多样化，是很精彩、很有特色的一群。我们的共同点是精明，有生存的技巧。

　　班上同学多数来自低收入家庭，但在校园里，我们是那么的无忧无虑，我们非常享受那种一起做事，一起玩闹的群体生活。当年的捣蛋事迹，直到现在我们都还印象深刻，据说，一些还在校园里流传至今。

　　我们这一班应该是出席最多派对的一班，也是最多人留级的一班，但有趣的是，班上多数同学最终还是成功升上初级学院或理工学院。

　　相隔30年，我们终于再聚首。我们无法联系上所有的同学，但出席人数足够我们主办这次的班级聚会。大部分同学的样貌都改变了，不少已经向横发展，一些则开始有“中年蜕变”的现象。

　　同学当中，有些后来上了大学，有些没上大学就踏出社会工作，但大家现在的生活都过得很好。当中有成功的国际律师、会计师、高级军官、飞机师、导演、顾问及企业家，有些在国外闯出一片天，有些甚至赚够了钱已经退休了！

　　多数同学结了婚，有了孩子，聚会上，大家自豪地掏出手机互相展示老婆孩子的照片。令我感到惊讶的是，当年一些很顽皮的同学，如今聊起他们的家庭时，也难以掩饰一副慈父样。我想，如果有人当年去问我们的老师，老师大概料想不到，我们的将来会是如此。

　　统计数据可以让我们看到一些趋势，但始终没人可以预知未来，更无法凭学业成绩和家庭背景来评断一个人将来的发展。每一个人都有潜在的才能推动我们向前，也或许，我们具备的生存技巧影响了我们的出路。

　　我们当年都不是顶尖的学生，但我想，当别人越是不看好我们时，我们就越需要彼此的扶持，过程中，增进了彼此的感情。

　　我很庆幸，所有出席聚会的老同学现在都过得很好，在各自的领域里取得成功。最重要的是，我们在逆境中始终没有放弃。我们会找机会更常见面，维系我们这段难得的情谊。这是最重要的。

http://mypaper.sg/chinese-news/wo-men-zhe-yi-ban-20130920

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2013/09/25

This Class Of Ours – 30 Years On, Teo Ser Luck Reflects On His Time In VS

Mr Teo Ser Luck, Minister of State, Ministry of Trade and Industry and Mayor, North East District, reflects on his time in Victoria School.

Article in Chinese, English translation kindly provided by Ms Fan Yinghui.

An old black and white photo was uploaded on Facebook recently. It was my Secondary Four class photo. This photo came as a pleasant surprise for me. It was uploaded by our then vice class monitor, who was among one of the more active students in class.

I looked at each of my classmates carefully. On top of evoking memories for those days, I cannot help but wonder how these are classmates doing now, where they are and what industries they are working in.

I left a comment on Facebook and started to chat with my vice class monitor. Later, more and more old classmates joined in the discussion and in the end we started a discussion group on Whatsapp.

Old classmates began to upload their photos on Whatsapp. I almost could not recognize some of them, while some others looked the same. Gradually, we managed to contact more old friends whom we have lost contact for a long time in the Whatsapp group. With the increase in number of people in the group, everyone hoped for a gathering, therefore, we set a meeting date.

Back then, we were a very special class. We did not have fabulous academic results, and were the last batch of Technical Class students. We had outstanding sports performance and other classes were very reluctant to compete with us in those areas. We were a group of very unique and exciting students, with diverse talents among us. What we have in common is our street smart and skills of survival.

Most of my classmates came from low-income families, but on campus, we were carefree and enjoyed working and playing together as a class. I still have deep impressions of our mischievous deeds till now. Many said that those stories were still spreading on campus.

After thirty years, we finally gathered together again. Even though we were unable to contact all classmates, but the attendance was enough for us to organize this class gathering. Physical appearance of most classmates changed, with many growing horizontally.

Among my classmates, some went to further their studies in college while others entered society directly; but we are all leading very good lives now. We have international lawyers, accountants, senior military officers, pilots, directors, consultants and entrepreneurs in our class.

Most of my classmates were married and with children. During the gathering, we proudly took out our mobile phones to show each other our family. To my surprise, even those then very naughty students had loving and fatherly expressions when they spoke about their families. Our teachers surely would not have expected us to turn out this way.

Statistics can help us with seeing trends but can never help us predict the future. We should also not use academic and family background to judge someone’s future developments. Everyone has their potential that push them forward to greater heights. Or maybe it is indeed the survival skills that we had since then that influence where we are currently.

We were not top students back then, but I think that the more people looked down on us, the more we supported each other. Through this process, our friendships enhanced.

I am glad that everyone who attended the gathering is doing very well in their respective fields. Most importantly, all of us never gave up in face of adversity. We will definitely continue to find opportunities for gathering and sustain this rare friendship that we have had for decades.

http://www.ova.org.sg/2013/09/class-ours-30-years-teo-ser-luck-reflects-time-vs/