Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's speech at the official opening of the rebuilt campus and 80th anniversary celebrations of CHIJ St Nicholas Girls’ School

Mr Neo Kian Hong
Permanent Secretary (Education Development), Ministry of Education

Mrs Lim Thian Loke
Zonal Director Schools North, Ministry of Education

Ms Vivienne Lim
Chairman of the Infant Jesus Board of Management

Mrs Tan Wai Lan
Principal of CHIJ St Nicholas Girls’ School

Alumni, parents, teachers, students, ladies and gentlemen

各位教育界同仁，各位圣尼各拉校友、家长、同学们，早上好

今天非常高兴来到焕然一新的新校舍。校友，家长还有同学们的努力开花结果了。能享用设施的同学们，请记得饮水思源，好好珍惜。圣尼各拉女校在八十年前创校时是华校，但一直重视双语教育。1979年开始, 圣尼各拉女校成为特选学校,继续为我国培养双语人才，树造了很多精通双语的校友，在我国公共服务、金融、法律、医学、传媒等各个领域做出了显著的贡献。

今天，亚洲发展迅速， 新加坡的年轻一代必须继续掌握好英语和母语，推进我国的发展随着中国的崛起，全世界已掀起了所谓的“汉语热”- 欧美国家学习中文的年轻人越来越多 - 新加坡当然也不能放弃我们的双语优势. 通过特选学校，学生能掌握双文化，特选学校的环境也让学生更快的吸收价值观和美德的教育。以后学生不但能够掌握好华族文化传统，也了解华族文化在我国多元宗族多元文化的社会里所扮演的角色，以及如何与其他种族交流，配合，维持我国的社会稳定与种族和谐。我希望特选学校的同学们都能理解国家寄托在学校和你们的使命，努力学好母语，为我国家的发展和文化传承尽一份力。

与此同时，特选学校里的非华族学生不多，所以除了在校内学好母语之外，学生也必须继续经常走出校园，善用社区服务、运动和艺术等各种活动平台与各族同胞多多交流。特选学校的学生对我国的多元文化当然都有基本的认识。但我仍然激励各所特选学校继续努力，继续培养深入了解我国各族文化，善于和各种族交流和沟通的国民。教育工作任重道远，祝愿圣尼各拉女校百尺竿头，更进一步。谢谢各位。

Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen

Very happy to be here for the Official Opening of your rebuilt campus and 80th anniversary! The last time I was here was maybe 20 years ago, it was the old campus. It was not so old then, we were very proud of it. But 20 years later, Singapore has progressed, we have rebuilt the school and we are very happy to see all the girls back here – same site, same energy, better school.

80 YEARS OF LOVE AND GIVING

In fact over the last 80 years, St Nicholas has transformed itself into one of Singapore’s top secondary schools. First, as a SAP school, St Nicholas has developed generations of bicultural and bilingual students. It has run programmes like the China Immersion Programme and Flagship Translation Programme which strengthen students’ knowledge of Chinese culture in the classroom and help them to apply in real life. So our students can do well in our English-speaking society, at the same time developing their Chinese roots.

SAP schools like St Nicholas remain an important part of our school system because you maintain the values and strengths of our old Chinese schools, adapted to a new society and age. You enable our students to develop a deeper appreciation of your cultural heritage and inculcate deep and firmly-held values and virtues. You produce students who can seize opportunities in a rapidly growing China, and create new ones for Singaporeans back home. At the same time, SAP schools have to produce students who are well integrated into Singapore’s multi-racial and multi-religious society. You should be rightly proud of you Chinese heritage but at the same time you have got to understand that we live in a multi-racial and multi-religious community, and we have got to understand, relate to and interact comfortably with Singaporeans of other races and religions. If we do it well, it gives us a unique strength – a deep understanding of one’s culture within a multi-cultural context – which will enable you to continue maintaining harmony in Singapore and also to thrive in a globalised world. I am happy that St Nicholas is actively encouraging your students to do so - learning conversational Malay, appreciating other cultures though Cultural Camps and even the Family Dance which we all enjoyed earlier.

So firstly, (St Nicholas has been) a good SAP school. Secondly, as a Mission school, St Nicholas has a long tradition of service. You encourage students to serve the local community. Many students have initiated such projects, for example helping Queenstown CC raise funds for needy children, partnering Kebun Baru CC to help the elderly, to support animal welfare and other good causes. It reflects your emphasis on “饮水思源”- remember the source of your blessings.

All schools should imbue students with this spirit of service, especially among the students who have done well. Because you may have succeeded through talent and hard work, but remember it is also because you have been lucky enough to live in Singapore, be born here and to be in this good school system where you get rewarded for your abilities and where you can be developed to your full potential. That is what we try to do when we talk about meritocracy. And this is a society where we will cheer you when you succeed and not try to cut you down and level everybody to the same height. So if you have done well, it is right that you give back to the society and strengthen the system which has enabled you to succeed.

Thirdly, St Nicholas has a proud history and a passionate family of supporters, teachers, students, parents and alumni – some of whom are here today but many more all over Singapore with families of their own. Parents@StNicks helps to organise the Family Fiesta to raise funds, or to decorate the school for Mid-Autumn Festival and Chinese New Year, not to mention opening ceremonies once in a while.

(Alumni) contribute a lot of time and energy to the school. For example, the chair of the Alumnae Association, A/P Chow Wan Cheng, volunteered because she believed that “St Nicks students have always been taught to give, pay back and pay forward.” I am happy that she is here joining us this morning. Every school should do the same to engage its alumni – that is the way to develop its traditions, its history, and its identity. It is not just the students and teachers who are now part of the school but the people who have come before, who maintained their links and their interest and to help the school have that sense of history - who came before us, who made this, why we are here like this today and who we owe a debt of gratitude to. That is the way to build a community that is proud of itself, cares for it, and works hard to grow its legacy – both for itself and also in support of growing our society and nation.

FUTURE OF ST NICHOLAS

St Nicholas is well placed to continue providing a high-quality, well-rounded education to its student. It started the Integrated Programme (IP) in partnership with Catholic High School and Singapore Chinese Girls’ School this year. Students will benefit from a wide range of options and elective modules in the IP. Those who prefer the more structured ‘O’ Level programme can still do the ‘O’ Levels.

This rebuilt campus will serve future generations of students. The Government has paid for most of the costs of building it. In this new campus you have brought together the primary and secondary schools together in one place, so the big sisters can look after the little sisters and the little sisters can learn to behave well like the big sisters. It has many facilities - an Indoor Sports Hall, guzheng room, music and dance studios and Chinese Heritage Gallery donated by Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple. I look forward to seeing these facilities later.

Beyond St Nicholas, it is not the only school being upgraded. We are upgrading schools all over the island - rebuilding old campuses, investing in new facilities, encouraging schools to come up with creative ideas to improve their facilities, and we help them raise funds, realise their dreams. So we progressively improve the learning environment for all our students and make sure that every school is a good school.

CONCLUSION

You have every reason to be proud of your 80 years at St Nicholas. This commemorative event and this commemorative book which you have made capture the stories and memories of this wonderful journey. The book is a labour of love by the St Nicholas family, not just teachers, students, parents and alumni, but also canteen operators and the office “aunties” and “uncles”! They are all part of this story and in the book. I am confident that it will inspire future students to sustain the St Nicholas legacy and take it to even greater heights. Congratulations once again!