THE SPIRIT OF Tanjong Katong Girls TKGS/Alumni...26th Annual General Meeting The AGM was held at the...

• Tanjong Katong Girls’ School Alumni Newsletter 2014

TKGS Alumni marked our 25th anniversary on 18 December 2012 with a dinner at Riverwalk Tandoor.

TKGS Truly PortalSurianah Sufarman shared her thoughts with us on the launch of the portal. “As we advance into the computerized digital era we are able to access more information with ease. Hence, we have to keep up with the times and educate ourselves on the vast possibilities of this media. The Alumni will put our newsletter online. However, we shall still provide hard copies of the newsletter to our members for now.”

TANJONG KATONG GIRLS’ SCHOOL ALUMNI NEWSLETTER 2014

TKGS Alumni Anniversary

TKGS 60th AnniversaryFrom afar, tenuous yet strong, the ties of friendship,On a winged shoe, bearing the oil lamp, the TKGS Spirit guides,

A beacon of hope for tomorrow, a mirror of joys past;

While the ubiquitous green and noble song remain,

Let’s get together to relive 60 years and give glory to her name… (verse provided by TKGS)

more on next page

THE SPIRIT OF

Tanjong Katong Girls

• Tanjong Katong Girls’ School Alumni Newsletter 2014 Page 3 • Tanjong Katong Girls’ School Alumni Newsletter 2014

Tanjong Katong Girls’ School 60th Anniversary – 29 June 2013 The 60th anniversary at the Raffles Town Club ballroom was an exciting gala event. Ex-TKGians, together with former teachers and principals, reunited and shared an evening filled with music and recollection of past experiences, while rejoicing in the current achievements of the school.

The Guest-of-Honour for the evening was Mdm Halimah Yacob, Speaker of Parliament, who drew much applause for her inspirational words and exemplary commitment to society and community.

Speeches were delivered by special guest Mrs Tan Ching Yee, Permanent Secretary with the Ministry of Health; Alumni President Ms Wong Yoke Lin and Youth Chapter Chairperson Ms Vaishnavi Vadevan. The launch of the TKGS Truly Portal followed.

It was thoroughly enjoyable interacting with the secondary four cohort who was manning the photography and paraphenalia booths. They did a great job!

The performances by the TKGS String Ensemble, Symphonic Band and Choir showcased the talents of our students. They drew both admiration and appreciation for their musical abilities and awards.

The hugs and reconnection with teachers and past cohorts spoke volumes of the many good years shared in TKGS and the evening’s turnout conveyed the continuing affection that TKGians have for one another. Indeed the TKGS identity and spirit is doing well.

The dedication of the Principal Mrs Mary Seah, the Organising Committee and the secondary four students made the entire evening truly memorable and successful. Kudos to our Alma Mater!

Reported by Florence Koh

26th Annual General MeetingThe AGM was held at the TKGS Studio on Saturday 6 April 2013. A total of 22 members attended the event which commenced at 2.30pm. 10 members were elected to sit on the 14th Management Committee and 2 members to serve as Honorary Auditors. Office-Bearers for the 2-year period 2013-2015 were appointed at the first committee meeting on Saturday 13 April, 2013.

PRESIDENT Wong Yoke Lin

VICE PRESIDENT Kwek Hui Ping

HON. SECRETARY Aishah bte Ahmad Alkaff

HON.ASST. SECRETARY Surianah Sufarman

HON. TREASURER Sally Lee-Low Kwee Hua

HON. ASST. TREASURER Ong Sin Yen

COMMITTEE MEMBERS Ang Soo Lang Florence Koh Geraldine Ng Pheng YeeStella Ang

HONORARY AUDITORS (2013-2014)

Ang Kin Hwee Irene Yeo

The sub-committee members are:

SUB-COMMITTEE CHAIRPERSON MEMBERS

Membership & Publicity

Florence Koh Aishah Alkaff

Activities & Social Ang Soo Lang Sally Lee, Stella Ang

Publications Surianah Sufarman Koh Sauk Yee, Geraldine Ng

School services & Professional

Kwek Hui Ping Low Yoke Lang, Foo Su Ling, Yeo Siew Mei

What is Your Happiness ScaleAfter the AGM, members proceeded for high tea before the talk by Ms Wai Yee Chan. Wai Yee is a holistic health and wellness coach, trained in Naturopathy (complementary medicine) and aromatherapy in the UK, certified in New Code NLP and Performance Coach for the Human Performance Institute (HPI, USA). She delivers Corporate Athlete® training to Fortune 500 and Global 1000 corporations. She is currently furthering her skills in acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine. These eclectic interests enable her to support people holistically, involving both the mind and body. Prior to her coaching career, Wai Yee spent 15 years in corporate mergers and acquisitions in Europe and business development roles in Asia. She has an MBA (Warwick Uni., UK), Upper.Hon BSocSc Psychology and BA Econs (NUS).

Let me share briefly the details of the talk for that afternoon. Wai Yee shared with us that from statistics it was discovered that human beings are creatures of emotion with 97% of our decisions being driven by it. We also learnt that happiness is influenced only 10% by our environment (circumstances)

and 40% by choice, while 50% is attributed to DNA. We rated ourselves on a scale of 1- 7 for (A) the satisfaction derived and (B) the effort/energy we put in, with regard to wealth, health, work, family and friends. Members shared on what they wanted out of life; such as a carefree life, peace of mind, contentment and eating without worry of the consequences! Besides gathering healthy eating tips, we also had fun with the exercises that Wai Yee made us do, ending the session with giving one another a shoulder and back massage! She concluded with a quote by Wally Amos, creator of Famous Amos cookies’

“Today I will live in the moment, unless the moment is unpleasant; in which case, I will eat the cookie!”

Que Sera Sera … …

Reported by Aishah Alkaff


NETWORKING FORUM

Women In Focus TKGS Youth Chapter

The TKGS Networking Series Forum took its inaugural flight on 21 September 2013. It brought together many ex-TKGians for a round-table discussion on the “Challenges of the 21st Century Woman”. As introductions and interaction flowed freely with the delicious high tea offerings, the ladies settled down to a debate by an illustrious ex-TKGian panel made up of Ms Tan Ching Yee , Permanent Secretary, Ministry Of Health; Ms Wendy Teo, Principal Officer of UOB Bank, Group Channels and Ms Lim Huay Chih, Director, Ministry of Education. It was a very lively session efficaciously moderated by Ms Yasmin Abdol Hamid a renowned host and presenter from the media industry.

Much insights were gained from the various experiences shared so generously by the panellists. Ms Yasmin probed and teased with one-liners that sparked off a clash of the industry titans in a humorous round of exchanges.

The panel covered the subjects of the multi-dimensional roles of women today, managing work and business situations and how they handle issues of gender differences

and work-life balance. During the Q&A session, panellists were candid on questions raised including thoughts on gay marriages and the controversies surrounding these matters. The views and sharing were not only inspirational but provided a broadening of minds and horizons to the audience.

Our Principal, Mrs Mary Seah, found the session productive and has suggested that the Alumni works with the School Representatives to bring the secondary four cohort into the next forum. The establishment of this platform to facilitate networking amongst Alumni members will serve to expand and strengthen our TKGS identity.

As the fuzzy TKGS bears were presented to our moderator and panellists, many went away with a feeling that the event reflected the enduring TKGS philosophy of leaders serving with humility, integrity and grace. It is with great anticipation that the Alumni prepares for the next TKGS Networking Series Forum 2014 in partnership with the School.

Reported by Florence Koh

The TKGS Alumni Youth Chapter is established by the school under the Alumni for youths up to the age of 25.

The aim of the Chapter is to reconnect the young ladies with their alma mater. In addition, members of the Youth Chapter can be mentors to the current batch of students.

This first event organised by the Chapter was an informal gathering, the Makan Session, in May 2013. This event acquaints current and potential alumni members with one another. It was a well-attended session with close to 40 ex-TKGians having lunch together.

The second event was the TKGS Network Series Forum held in September 2013. Ex-TKGians from various backgrounds

were invited to sit on a panel and share their views about the challenges that women face. The panellists provided enlightening responses on the questions raised by members of the audience.

The Chapter is working to organize more of such events to reconnect the youth with their alma mater. The Chapter plans to have a meet up biannually to keep members connected with each other and to brainstorm on providing the current batches of students with a form of mentorship in their journey.

Reported by Namreena Samtani


NON OBS PROGRAMME

Visit To Willing Hearts (Soup Kitchen) On 25 January bright and early, some members of the alumni and I boarded a bus and accompanied a group of 40 girls to the Willing Hearts (Soup Kitchen) at Genting Lane. Willing Hearts is a volunteer-based non-profit organization which provides daily meals to the underprivileged, the needy and other marginalised members of Singapore’s society.

Upon arrival, we were greeted by Mr Tony Tay, its founder, who briefed the girls about what Willing Hearts does and how the Soup Kitchen is funded by the generous donation of its sponsors. The girls were excited about being able to help and play their part for the community. They were then assigned to specific functions. Some went to fold the takeaway meal boxes and pasted stickers on them, others washed the vegetables and did the sorting and cutting, taking away the parts that were bad and rotten (vegetables are donated to Willing Hearts and these are mainly unsold vegetables from wholesalers). A number of girls scooped food into the takeaway boxes.

For many of the girls, it was a humbling experience. Those who had never stepped into their kitchens at home wielded a knife for the first time. Many did not know how to handle the bitter gourd and squash for cooking. Nevertheless, they were enthusiastic about being able to help and were taught how to cut the bitter gourd into half, then scrape off the seeds before slicing. They learnt to peel the skin of the squash with a grater before cutting them up into pieces. It was a most productive and enlightening outing for the girls. The visit brought awareness of the existence of the Soup Kitchen, how and what the community can do to help the needy and how and where the girls can volunteer their time and services.

Reported by Sally Lee

Learning Journey A new school year just started and what better way to introduce the secondary one students to our School’s heritage than embarking on a “Learning Journey”. Learning Journeys were started a few years ago by the then principal, Mrs Phyllis Lim. Once again, the secondary one students were taken to our old school grounds along Tanjong Katong Road, led by teachers, former teachers and alumni members from the 60s to the 90s.

The school is now occupied by the Canadian International School which kindly consented to the visits. The girls were brought to the School Hall, the Music Room, the Domestic Science Block, the canteen and the class rooms in the Old Block and the New Block. Former teachers and alumni members reminisced their time in school with the girls. Different eras brought different stories and experiences, like the flood in the 60s and early 70s which the School no longer encounters.

We were very glad to learn too that our old school hall is slated for conservation. Each year’s Learning Journey requires volunteers to share their experiences with the young students and I hope you will help by volunteering when the next Learning Journey comes along.

Reported by Wong Yoke Lin

TKGS Work AttachmentOur Alma Mater has started partnering organisations to expose the secondary three students to the working world.

This Work Attachment (WA) programme aims to:

• enhance their career self-awareness• encourage career exploration• help them to apply what they have learnt in their academic course to

real life situations • improve students’ interpersonal and social skills

The School had partnered organisations such as Singapore General Hospital, Q lifestyle, SECDC, RHT Law, Moore Stephens LLP, KSCGP LLP, Liberty Law LLP, to name a few.

The school is actively looking for other opportunities to extend this partnership. The programme takes place during the year-end school holidays, where the girls would work up to a maximum of 5 days.

Please email us at [email protected] if you know of any firm that would be interested.

Reported by Geraldine Ng and Surianah Sufarman

Floral Lessons with Alumnus Ivy and SallyThe secondary two students had floral arrangement lessons in term one this year (2013) during their weekly Art classes. The lessons were first taught by Ms Ivy Lee, after which Mrs Sally Lee took over. They are both ex-Tkgians and made wonderful teachers! Not only did they guide us and gave tips on how to create various arrangements, they also shared many insightful and thought provoking stories of their lives with us.

Every week we learnt the names of the different flowers and leaves given to us. We learnt how the elements and principles of art such as lines, space, balance and movement play an important part in creating an arrangement of beautiful yet delicate flowers.

The knowledge I have gained will be very useful to me in the future. The lessons had allowed me to appreciate flowers more. I gave all my flowers to my mother who, from the very first lesson, had taken a huge liking to them. Each week she would wait to see what flowers I would bring home for her. Flowers certainly lift one’s mood!

Floral arrangement is not something that everyone will get to do, so I am thankful for the generosity of the two trainers in conducting the lessons despite their busy schedule.

Reported by Visali d/o Thamilchelvam

2E1 (2013)

• Tanjong Katong Girls’ School Alumni Newsletter 2014

Penang Trip 1 -3 March 2013

Gurney Drive

Pinang Peranakan Mansion

Shopping

Fort Cornwallis

All set for the holiday!

For most of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, Penang was administratively linked to Malacca and Singapore as part of the Straits Settlements under British rule. Over a weekend in March, Alumni members and friends enjoyed the sights in this historical town, and were treated to its delectable cuisine.

THE SPIRIT OF Tanjong Katong Girls TKGS/Alumni...26th Annual General Meeting The AGM was held at the...

Documents

Transcript of THE SPIRIT OF Tanjong Katong Girls TKGS/Alumni...26th Annual General Meeting The AGM was held at the...