 |
 |
| 1. | Student success stories from the GCE A Levels RAFFLES IS… WHERE DREAMS TAKE FLIGHTAnother cohort of Rafflesians with stellar GCE A Level results - just how does the school do it? Rafflesians who did well for the 2009 GCE 'A' Level Examinations explain.
Distinctions, scholarships and record-breaking achievements - the outside world is always amazed at how generation after generation of scholars and pioneers exit the gates of Raffles Institution (RI) only to accomplish even more. A heavy shroud of mystery surrounds the walls of RI - after all, with a 187-year history, the school has produced the majority of government leaders in Singapore, from Presidents and Prime Ministers to Cabinet Ministers. But just how is this done? “Seriously, don’t do last minute work. My advice is to create a good revision schedule and stick to it,” said Rafflesian Pan Zixiang, who topped the 2009 GCE ‘A’ levels nationwide with 9 distinctions for 13 academic units. Head of Practical Astronomy in the Astronomy Club, Zixiang also achieved an Honourable Mention at the International Olympiad for Astronomy and Astrophysics, won 1st place at the NUS/NTU Astronomy Challenge, and took German as a third language, besides being an award-winning member of the Guitar Ensemble – all that on top of straight distinctions for the maximum number of academic units allowed at the ‘A’ levels. How did RI enable him to achieve such results? "Exemption from the ‘O’ levels through the Raffles Programme (RP) gave me the opportunity and freedom to explore and pursue a wide range of interests, be they academic or not,” explained the 19-year-old Science enthusiast, who was placed on the Dean’s List thrice for his outstanding performance in Chemistry. To Chen Sihan, the other Rafflesian who achieved 9 distinctions for the ‘A’ levels, enrolling into RI was the “best thing” that ever happened. “Growing up in China, I was mostly exposed to Mathematics and Science. However, that all changed when I entered RI. Although I’ve been nurtured for the engineering route all my life, I now find myself in love with English and History, and the school encouraged me to pursue my passion,” said Sihan who revealed that although he scored a distinction for the General Paper (GP) at the GCE ‘A’ levels, his standard of English was only that of a 9-year-old when he first came to Singapore at the age of 15. “It is important to read widely – I really love learning, and being in the company of like-minded peers was a great blessing. I believe that while we’re still young, we should explore different options before deciding what to do in life,” said Sihan, who credits his teachers and friends as the inspiration behind his successful academic career in RI. Top Indian student, Nallamai Ravi, is a testimony to the spirit of focus and determination that generations of Rafflesians have relied on to achieve excellence. “This (7 distinctions) was totally unexpected. Throughout my time in RI, I’ve never been more than ordinary – maybe worse. For example, during the preliminary examinations, I scored an ‘E’ grade for Chemistry. I would like to encourage future Rafflesians to never give up and always persevere even when the odds seem against you,” said the cultural enthusiast who, at the GCE ‘A’ levels, achieved distinction for Chemistry, her weakest subject. As for the highest scorer of the 2003 Primary School Leaving Examinations (PSLE) Samuel Lim, success comes to those who are never complacent and contented with past achievements. “RI challenged me to be all-rounded. Basically my limits were tested as I engaged in various activities outside my comfort zone. Through these challenges, I found out more about my weaknesses. Knowing my inadequacies created a drive in me that I cannot really explain in words. I now find a great sense of satisfaction in overcoming and achieving things that I was previously unable to accomplish,” said the passionate environmentalist who chaired the Raffles One Earth Environmental Club during his time, and who obtained 8 distinctions for the 2009 GCE “A” Levels. A true Rafflesian knows that ultimate success does not manifest at first sight and that the only way to emerge victorious in the battle against ignorance is through constant learning for self-improvement. Many may joke that the school must possess some kind of magical power that enables such ‘unnatural’ achievements – yet they are right. RI is a place where dreams take flight and where greatness is achieved through the sheer power of belief. Ask the students and they will tell you that these achievements are just part of a day’s work, because here at RI, attaining the unimaginable is only the first step in realising the school’s motto, Auspicium Melioris Aevi (Hope of a Better Age). |
| 2. | Yet another strong showing by Rafflesians in the 2009 GCE A Level Examinations A total of 1285 students at Raffles Institution (RI) sat for the 2009 'A' Level Examinations -- the largest of all JC cohorts. This is the first cohort who went through the entire six-year Raffles Programme (RP), the through-train programme offered by RI and Raffles Girls' School. This is also the third cohort of students offering the revised 'A' level curriculum introduced in 2006. Both students from the RP (73%) and students who joined the school after the GCE 'O' Level Examinations (27%) did exceptionally well. National Best & New Records Set by Class of 2009 They also posted the highest number of students (362) scoring Perfect University Admission Points of 90. The University Admission Score is computed based on a maximum score of 90 points, and takes into account General Paper or Knowledge and Inquiry, Project Work, 3 H2 and 1 H1 content subjects In total, there were 125 students with perfect scores, i.e. distinctions in all subjects offered. Performance of Students The top student is Pan Zixiang who took 13 units of study, above the norm of 10 to 12 units prescribed by the GCE 'A' level curriculum. He scored distinctions in all 9 subjects including H2 German and an A1 in Higher Chinese. The other student, Chen Sihan, took 12 units and scored distinctions in all his 9 subjects including A1 in Higher Chinese. There are two very outstanding Malay students. Muhammad Haris B Iskandar and Norhaliim Putera Abdul Hamid both scored 8 distinctions including a distinction at H3 level and A1 in Higher Malay. Haris was a member of the College Rugby team and was very active in Community Service, having been on a service learning expedition to India to conduct English lessons for Sri Lankan refugees. Norhaliim was a member of the College Fencing team. He was also a Scouts leader, and spent time coaching and mentoring visually handicapped children and children from lower-income families. The 2 top Indian students both scored 7 distinctions, including an A1 in Higher Tamil. Both Vidyasagar and Nallamai Ravi were also active in their co-curricular activities. Vidyasagar was actively involved in the Indian Cultural Society, the Gavel Club and the Science Society while Nallamai was a member of the Indian Cultural Society, the Mathematics Society and the Science Society. An exceedingly outstanding female student is Ms Sharon Tan who scored 8 distinctions including an A1 in her Higher Chinese and a distinction in H3 Chemistry. Sharon aspires to join the SAF and is doing her basic military training right now. She is an A*Star Science Award recipient and a strong advocate of environmental conservation. She represented Singapore Youth at the recent Environmental Summit in Copenhagen. Other Noteworthy Achievements 4 of our students received the medal awarded by the Institute of Physics, given to the top performers in the 'A' level Physics Examination. They are Hoe Hui Min Rebecca, Tan Wee Kian, Yeo Xian Wei and You Ye. Top Institution for Sports ('A' Division) in Singapore Performance in the 2009 Singapore Youth Festival We are proud of the outstanding achievements attained by the class of 2009. The students have successfully built upon the rich and illustrious Rafflesian tradition for all-round excellence in education. The stellar performances at both the A-level Examinations, the National Sports and Games Competitions as well as the Singapore Youth Festival for the Arts are testimony to the strength of the Raffles Programme in nurturing talent and developing peaks of excellence in both academic and non-academic domains. RI 2009 A-Level Result Release |
| 3. | Release of the 2009 GCE “A” Level Results on 5 March 2010
The release of the 2009 GCE “A” Level Results will be on this Friday, 5 March, at 2.30 pm at the Multi-Purpose Hall. For students who are not able collect your result slip, you may authorize either your family member or friend by duly completing the letter of authorisation: |
| 4. | Talk by Principal to Yr 5 Parents, 27 February
The talk by Principal for parents of Year 5 students will be held this
Saturday, 27 February, at Block C, Lecture Theatre 1. The class breakdown for the two sessions are as follows: 8:30am - 10:00am 11:00am - 12:30pm There will also be an Interactive Brunch with the Humanities Tutors for the
four Humanities classes. This will be held at the Hodge Lodge from 10:30am to
12:00pm. |
| 5. | ‘A’ Division Handball Teams Win Gold At First Attempt
United through the spirit of focus, the two ‘A’ Division teams representing Raffles Institution (RI), fought against all odds to emerge victorious, clinching both the boys’ and girls’ titles at the 1st Inter-School Handball Tournament organised by the Singapore Handball Federation. Competing in this sport for the first time after just a few training sessions over the recent school holidays, our Rafflesian teams led by Captains Kristian Lee and Cheryl Lee bravely took on the challenges brought upon by opposing teams who had the advantage of seasoned members of the Handball Youth Squad team participating for the upcoming Youth Olympic Games (YOG) among their ranks. The elated teams expressed hopes that their triumph will kick start a series of winning streaks for RI in the upcoming National School Sports season. Raffles Institution congratulates our 2 captains – Captain Kristian Lee and Cheryl Lee and their team members. |
| 6. | National Champs for Global Issues Problem Solving
The Future Problem Solving team from RI (JC) participated in the FPSP
National Finals held at Raffles Girls' School (Secondary) on November 21, 2009,
achieving stellar results at the competition. The team comprising Jeremy Sia
(10S06R), Tee Zhi Yu (10S06R), Edmund Chay (10S06R) and Wong Yong Sheng (10A13A)
was awarded National Champions for the Global Issues Problem Solving division as
well as 3rd place for the Action Plan Presentation. They will be proceeding to
the International Conference at La Crosse, Wisconsin, U.S. in June 2010.
Meanwhile, Yeo Tze Qing from 10A01A participated in the Scenario Writing
component of the Programme and achieved 1st place in her division. |
| 7. | RI tops Micromouse Competition at Singapore Robotics Games 2010
The team comprising of Chen Zewei Lincoln (10S06J), Goh Shuwen (10S03O), Spencer Thang (10S05A), Michelle Chia (10S06M), Kenneth Yong (10S06N) and Nicole Lin (10S03F) obtained 1st position at the Micromouse (JC/ITE) competition of the Singapore Robotics Games held on the 27th of January, 2010. They were awarded $500 cash prize as well.
|
| 8. | 2010 China Mathematics Olympiad
3 of our students - Ivan Loh Yao Chen (10SO6S), Vincent Brian Arifin Tjeng
(10SO6O) and Lee You Jun (4J) – led by Mr Lu Shang-Yi and Mr Thomas Teo, both
teachers at RI, represented Singapore in the 2010 China Mathematics Olympiad,
held at Chongqing, China from 20th to 25th January 2010. It was Singapore’s maiden participation in this competition, and our students
have performed well in this competition. Other competitors included students
from each province in China who were invited to this competition to select the
2010 China Mathematics Olympiad training team. Ivan Loh was awarded the silver medal while Vincent Tjeng and Lee You Jun
were awarded the bronze medal. Raffles Institution congratulates our students on their
performance. |
| 9. | Charmaine Scales Peaks of Mathematical Excellence
Charmaine Sia, RJC alumnus and currently a senior at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was recently named co-winner of the Alice T. Schafer Prize for Excellence in Mathematics by An Undergraduate Woman. The prize is named for the former president of the Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM) and one of its founding members, Alice T. Schafer, who has contributed a great deal to women in mathematics throughout her career. The criteria for selection include, but are not limited to, the quality of the nominees performance in mathematics courses and special programs, an exhibition of real interest in mathematics, the ability to do independent work, and, if applicable, performance in mathematical competitions. She has a perfect undergraduate transcript. To quote one of her recommenders, “Charmaine absorbs mathematics like a sponge.” Another one writes, “I have never seen a student with as voracious an appetite for knowledge.” Charmaine is, in the words of her teachers and mentors, an “astonishing” student who “has distinguished herself in every possible way” and is “already a mature mathematician” with “immense potential.” She is expected to become an outstanding research mathematician. Charmaine graciously accepted to be interviewed by the College and the following is a transcript of her response. 1. Thoughts on winning the award I am very honoured to have been chosen as a co-winner of the Schafer Prize. To be honest, I am not sure that I deserve it --- there are many other extremely talented female undergraduate mathematics majors in the USA. I am happy that there is a society like the AWM that supports, encourages and recognises women in mathematics. There is a long list of people who have guided, supported and encouraged me throughout the years and to whom I owe a deep debt of gratitude: my family, school teachers, instructors at the Singapore IMO training programme, professors at MIT, advisors at my summer research programmes, friends, and numerous other people who generously shared their wisdom and knowledge with me, even if it was not mathematics-related; I would certainly not be where I am now without them. 2. What are some of your current projects at MIT? I do most of my research in mathematics at summer research programmes. During the semester I am reading some more advanced material in topology. I am a mentor at Girls´ Angle, a mathematics club for middle- and high-school girls in the Cambridge, Massachusetts area, and I also help out at the Harvard-MIT Mathematics Tournament, an annual mathematics competition for high school students in the USA. 3. What are your plans for the future (in two to three years time)? To be a poor but happy graduate student in mathematics, possibly doing topology J (the adjective “poor” is traditional for graduate students J ). I also hope to be involved in helping to organise more programmes for students who are interested in mathematics. 4. What are some of your fond memories of your time at Raffles? One of my mathematics teachers, Mdm Teng, would sometimes ask one of her students to help her order a bowl of vermicelli soup from the canteen. She always wanted it done a special way: 米粉汤，少点米粉，少点汤，多点蔬菜，不要味精 (vermicelli soup with less vermicelli, less soup, more vegetables, and no flavour enhancers). I always entertained the thought of ordering a bowl myself to see what the difference was, but never got around to doing so. Once, during a class outing, my civics tutor Mr Kadir was chopping a watermelon with a large chopping knife. He looked completely like a pirate holding the knife, and for the longest time after that, my class would crack up into laughter whenever we looked at a photograph of him doing so. Unfortunately, my class had to swear not to let the photograph pass outside of the class. J Above all I remember the wonderful cohesion and class spirit. This is something that one does not find at university (at least at places where you are free to choose your own courses and not everybody has to take the same courses at the same time). I would not say that having a class grouping is necessarily for the better or for the worse, but it’s something that you most probably will not have after graduating from Raffles. 5. Any parting thoughts to share with our students? To students who are wondering how they will fare in university, I would say that Raffles prepares its students very well to meet any challenges. I am certain that many Raffles students will do extremely well in future, and I hope that when you achieve success, you too will think of and be grateful to the people here who made everything possible. For more information on Charmaine Sia, please refer to page 13 @ http://www.ams.org/ams/prizebooklet-2010.pdf |
| 10. | Launch of the Raffles OpenLab on 20 January 2010
The OpenLab was officially launched on the 20th Jan 2010 by our
Guest-of-Honour, Ms Ho Peng, Director-General of Education, Ministry of
Education, Singapore. The OpenLab was built in June 2009 and has since been host
to a variety of Independent student science research projects, science
electives, scientific seminars and student-run science electives. The OpenLab houses dedicated staff and resources with a
Scientists-in-Residence Programme. And we have at present 2 PhDs, 1 MSc, 1 Lab
Officer, 1 Lab technician. The facilities of the lab are up-to-date and designed
for research at advanced levels. The purpose of the OpenLab is in making scientific research accessible to
students for: 1) A safe environment for students to conduct research, 2) Readily
available research equipment, 3) Access to scientists-in-residence within
school, 4) An open community of inquirers. Our scientific advisers are as follows: Scientific Advisers Prof Peter Ng Prof Lim Tit Meng Assoc Prof Hugh Tan Asst Prof Shawn Lum Lifescience Industry Adviser Dr. Rosemary Tan Overseas Scientific Adviser Prof Fang Tai-Shan
|
| 11. | KIWI CUP 2010
The origin of the KIWI Cup goes back to 1967 when two of the schools' rugby powerhouses, Raffles Institution and St Andrew’s School, accepted the offer of the trophy donated by the then New Zealand High Commissioner to Singapore and to stage the tournament on an annual basis. The Kiwi Cup was revived in 2006 after a 28-year hiatus and in that year, Raffles emerged victorious. However, St. Andrew’s captured the title in 07 and 08. Last year, St. Andrew's won both the "C" and "A" Division matches while the Raffles Old Boys defeated the SA Old Boys.We are determined to wrest the cup from them and we’ve been preparing hard for this pre-season encounter. The annual Kiwi Cup will be held on Friday, 22 January 2010, at St. Andrew's Junior College. We invite all interested students to support the team by signing up at the canteen. Transportation will be provided, and buses will leave the college at 3:30 pm. Students will also be ferried back to the college after the event. The program will be as follows:
|
| 12. | RI(JC) claims first prize at Create 2010 finals
Ngo Hoang Gia, Quek Keng Yong and Han Qiao won a 5-day trip to Munich, Germany to visit the BMW facility when their idea clinched Raffles the top prize in the competition. A total of 125 teams took part, but only 5 teams were selected for the finals. Their winning idea was a greenhouse that could transform arid land into arable land. It geometric structure – where circles on the surface of the sphere intersect to form triangles so that environmental stress is distributed more efficiently – has been calculated to be more capable of withstanding strong winds and hurricanes compared to other greenhouses. Hoang Gia said that saving the environment is such a big topic currently and thus the team wanted the project to be in line with a global issue. Raffles Institution congratulates our students on the victory! |
| 13. | The Rafflesian Impact in LAOS
Our students did the Institution and the nation proud at the 25th SEA Games
in Laos, making a huge contribution to Singapore's medal haul in an awesome
display of prowess in the pool. Quah Ting Wen: Rainer Ng: Ng Jia Hao: Raffles Institution congratulates them on their outstanding
achievements! |
| 14. | Rafflesian scores sole medal win for English at ICAS
Han Shin Yi (10S03A) was the sole medal winner for English at the International Competitions and Assessments for Schools 2009 (ICAS). ICAS is conducted by the Educational Assessment Australia (EAA), and attracts assessments from the Asia pacific region. Shin Yi's achievement acknowledges her as the best and brightest student to have achieved the highest score in her level for the subject. Raffles Institution congratulates Shin Yi on her outstanding achievement. |
| 15. | Sim Yihui among 20 NUS alumnus recognised by NUS for their contributions
The National University of Singapore presented the biennial NUS Alumni Awards to 20 individuals who have distinguished themselves in Singapore and overseas. Among the 20 was RI's very own Ms Sim Yihui, Training Facilitator with RIEL, who was recognised for her role in the Singapore Women's Everest Team. Award recipients were selected by the NUS Alumni Awards 2009 Selection Committee, chaired by NUS President Prof Tan Chorh Chuan. Raffles Institution congratulates Ms Sim on winning the award. |
| 16. | X-Stigma Competition - Raffles clinches Champion Trophy
In the final round of X-Stigma Competition: Rethinking Prejudices about
Mental Health Issues organized by NUS Business School and NUS Centre for Social
Entrepreneurship and Philanthropy held at the National Library on 18 Sept, two
teams of 5 students each from Raffles Entrepreneurs’Network did the school proud
by clinching the Champion trophy as well as the Merit prize. Each team had to
write a marketing proposal, followed by a campaign against social stigma and
misconceptions on mental illness. The Champion team which helmed a campaign
titled Bridges: Break, Build, Be is made up of He Yutian, Zhang Yubo, Joel Kek,
Chen Zhujie and Xiao Yifei. The team which won the merit prize with campaign
title Rejecting Differences, Get Assistance is made up of Pang Jun Xiang, Victor
Lee Guan Hui, Koh Rui Qian Nigel, Ng May and Chan Zi Yin Sharon. |
| 17. | 9th China Western Mathematical Olympiad
The 9th China Western Mathematical Olympiad (CWMO 2009) was held in Kunming, Yunnan from 27th October to 1st November 2009. 8 students were selected to represent Singapore, with 2 teachers acting as team leaders accompanying them. Half the team were from RI:
Their teacher, Mr. Lu Shang-Yi, accompanied them. A total of 110 students from 26 teams took part in this competition, including students from provinces of Western China as well as Hong Kong, Kazakhstan, Romania, Philippines, as well as Singapore. ResultsThe team performed very well, obtaining a total of 2 golds and 6 silvers, representing our best-ever haul since our participation in this competition. In addition, we are unofficially ranked 2nd, losing by a combined score of only 12 points, to team winners Sichuan province, who were also the winners last year. The two gold medalists were RI's Vincent Brian Arifin Tjeng and Lee You Jun, who tied at the 7th position. Barry Tng Jia Hao and Joseph Kuan Jun Jie were jointly-placed at the 15th spot, and received the silver awards. |
| 18. | Road Diversion Notice
Please note that the school will commence a major upgrading project from
mid-November 2009 to end Dec 2010. As a result, some roads within the school
compound will be inaccessible, and sign-posts will be available to direct
motorists to use alternative routes. Please click here to access the map. |
| 19. | Champions...2nd year in a row!
Staff from Raffles Institution brought home the Inter-JC Soccer Tournament trophy for the second straight year, beating Victoria Junior College 2-1 in the final. The tournament pitted 20 teams, with each team playing a minimum of 4 games in their respective groups, with the top two teams progressing to the quarters, semis and thereafter the finals. Raffles Institution played 7 matches in total, winning 6 games, and drawing 1. The team featured a mix of teaching and non-academic staff, as well as Mr Azmy Ali from the secondary PE section. A jubilant captain, Mr Sulaiman Subali said after the match that he was happy with the team's very cohesive performance during the tournament. He added that "the team will fight for the coveted hat-trick of wins next year, which will ensure that RI keeps the trophy! Raffles Institution congratulates the players on a great performance! |
| 20. | Parent-Teacher Meeting
Parents of JC1 are invited to come down to the college on 31st Oct 2009
(Saturday) to speak to your child's civics and subject's tutors. Please click here to
access the 'Letter to Parents' and 'Online Booking System' to reserve your
slot. |
