Its still unedited. so mistakes galore... enjoy!
A book shot through the air, just missing the young teacher. It was a blue book, proudly emblazoned with the words “SINGAPORE CHINESE GIRLS SCHOOL”.
“Good grief,” said Miss Rosalind Heng, “What kind of a school is this?” 38 years later this icon of SCGS is stepping down, marking an end of an era for SCGS.
With Miss Rosalind Heng go many other great figures of SCGS.
SCGS first opened its doors in 1899, July 1st, somewhere on hill street, with an enrollment of only 7 girls.
Our Mee Pok Man, Mr Ang Boon Chye moved into the school in 1948, before that he was selling noodles at a road side hawker stall outside the school since he was 8.
Every recess, many a teacher has had to jump out of the way before a stampede of girls came thundering down.
They were all rushing to be the first in queue for the famously long Mee Pok line.
A current SCGS girl came upon this amusing situation. Upon visiting her grandaunt during Chinese New Year, her grandaunt asked her, “Is the mee pok boy still around in scgs?”
The Mee pok man was then 65 years old, such is his legacy in SCGS.
An old girl visiting the school commented, “He seemed frail but determined as he wobbled around his wet stall trying to serve us his signature dish. I was so worried that he might accidentally slip and fall as his frail frame moved slowly around his stall, cooking those three bowls of noodles that had so many different "requirements" (yi kuai mee pok gan, yao la jiao, jia tang/ yi kuai mee pok tang, bu yao la jiao, bu yao cu/ yi kuai mee pok gan, jia rou, yao la jiao.)”
In an interview with Mr Ang by the author of the book “ Pieces of Jade and Gold”, he concluded “ I have no intention of retiring. I intend to work until I really cannot move around anymore. I will sell noodles here at SCGS until my last breath, until I really am too weak to work. I won’t ever retire unless I have to.”
He kept his word to his last breathe. He passed away peacefully at the age of 68, from a heart attack, leaving behind his wife, five daughters and a son.
A piece of the SCGS jigsaw puzzle has disappeared from the SCGS picture.
Another missing piece in the SCGS jigsaw puzzle is Nancy, SCGS’ very own tailor.One would always wonder how she could manage to sew for the whole school.
Nancy would always tailor the dresses the way the girls wanted them. An old SC girl cheekishly commented, “We always request for her to sew the belt line lower so that we wouldn’t have to wear our belts as boobs supporter.”
This writer remembers the days when she was still growing at a rapid pace. Every time Nancy saw me she would exclaim, “ you zhang gao le!” or “ You have grown taller again!” She would then set about measuring me, always adding a few cm to allow me to grow.
Ironically Nancy was fired for making the alterations to uniforms. She died a few months later.
A long standing figure in SCGS, Mrs Florence Phuah retired in the middle of last year.
An old SC girl, she has served the school for 33 years as a teacher and later as a vice-principal of the secondary division.
An SC girl remarked at the end of last year, “I miss her nice voice and fluent english, and her way of talking to us, not treating us like young kids…”
Another significant missing piece is the towering figure in a floral-print dress, her name is synonymous to SCGS, dedicating her whole life to the school she has left a lasting impression.
Miss Rosalind Heng first became a teacher in SCGS, teaching history and art. She was also the teacher in charge of the NCC.
At SCGS’ 70th Anniversary Celebrations on national day, the Minister of defence, Mr Lim Kim San, told the then principal S.K. Tan, “You got a better army than I!”
As Miss Heng took headship in 1979, she brought along with her strong moral and cultural values together with her sense of discipline and love of a good practical joke.
She ingrained into the SC sprit a Kim Gek.
How many times have SCGS’ girls heard the phrases, “Sit properly”, “Sing loudly”, “ Speak clearly”.
Lynn, another former SCGS girl recalls, “ I remember her insistent nagging us to “sit properly girls. Its not lady-like to show the boys your underpants.” ”
Miss Heng was greatly loved by the girls. Wendy ( not her real name), a current student in SCGS remembers, “Whenever I go to the Lobby, I always look out for Miss Heng’s blue Toyota. Then I will know if it is safe to sit on the steps. After awhile I just kept looking for it. Seeing it parked there in front of the lobby always gave me a feeling of warmth and security. In my heart I was reassured, Miss Heng is here to look after me.”
In terms of academia, Miss Heng steered the school to be a holistic environment.
She kept the aggregate at 200, and despite competition from other top-ranked schools for bright students, Miss Heng decided against introducing the gifted Education Programme or starting an integrated programme to bypass the O-level examinations.
However more importantly she believed in strong moral character.
As she has said before: “What I want for the girls when they leave school is that they have confidence in themselves, that they are emotionally stable girls, happy that they’ve had a happy school life.”
Finally, the grand dame stepped down from being at the helm. In a farewell concert and parade afterwards, the girls expressed their love and gratitude to the person who has lead SCGS through all these years, Miss Hang.
Many old and current SC girls have commented how SCGS has died. Truly, these special people will always hold a place in our hearts, but new memories can always be created. We have moved from being the jewel of Emerald hill to the jewel of Dunearn. SCGS will always preserve her culture, her tradition, despite having to move with the change of times. Let us reach nearer the sky!
“Good grief,” said Miss Rosalind Heng, “What kind of a school is this?” 38 years later this icon of SCGS is stepping down, marking an end of an era for SCGS.
With Miss Rosalind Heng go many other great figures of SCGS.
SCGS first opened its doors in 1899, July 1st, somewhere on hill street, with an enrollment of only 7 girls.
Our Mee Pok Man, Mr Ang Boon Chye moved into the school in 1948, before that he was selling noodles at a road side hawker stall outside the school since he was 8.
Every recess, many a teacher has had to jump out of the way before a stampede of girls came thundering down.
They were all rushing to be the first in queue for the famously long Mee Pok line.
A current SCGS girl came upon this amusing situation. Upon visiting her grandaunt during Chinese New Year, her grandaunt asked her, “Is the mee pok boy still around in scgs?”
The Mee pok man was then 65 years old, such is his legacy in SCGS.
An old girl visiting the school commented, “He seemed frail but determined as he wobbled around his wet stall trying to serve us his signature dish. I was so worried that he might accidentally slip and fall as his frail frame moved slowly around his stall, cooking those three bowls of noodles that had so many different "requirements" (yi kuai mee pok gan, yao la jiao, jia tang/ yi kuai mee pok tang, bu yao la jiao, bu yao cu/ yi kuai mee pok gan, jia rou, yao la jiao.)”
In an interview with Mr Ang by the author of the book “ Pieces of Jade and Gold”, he concluded “ I have no intention of retiring. I intend to work until I really cannot move around anymore. I will sell noodles here at SCGS until my last breath, until I really am too weak to work. I won’t ever retire unless I have to.”
He kept his word to his last breathe. He passed away peacefully at the age of 68, from a heart attack, leaving behind his wife, five daughters and a son.
A piece of the SCGS jigsaw puzzle has disappeared from the SCGS picture.
Another missing piece in the SCGS jigsaw puzzle is Nancy, SCGS’ very own tailor.One would always wonder how she could manage to sew for the whole school.
Nancy would always tailor the dresses the way the girls wanted them. An old SC girl cheekishly commented, “We always request for her to sew the belt line lower so that we wouldn’t have to wear our belts as boobs supporter.”
This writer remembers the days when she was still growing at a rapid pace. Every time Nancy saw me she would exclaim, “ you zhang gao le!” or “ You have grown taller again!” She would then set about measuring me, always adding a few cm to allow me to grow.
Ironically Nancy was fired for making the alterations to uniforms. She died a few months later.
A long standing figure in SCGS, Mrs Florence Phuah retired in the middle of last year.
An old SC girl, she has served the school for 33 years as a teacher and later as a vice-principal of the secondary division.
An SC girl remarked at the end of last year, “I miss her nice voice and fluent english, and her way of talking to us, not treating us like young kids…”
Another significant missing piece is the towering figure in a floral-print dress, her name is synonymous to SCGS, dedicating her whole life to the school she has left a lasting impression.
Miss Rosalind Heng first became a teacher in SCGS, teaching history and art. She was also the teacher in charge of the NCC.
At SCGS’ 70th Anniversary Celebrations on national day, the Minister of defence, Mr Lim Kim San, told the then principal S.K. Tan, “You got a better army than I!”
As Miss Heng took headship in 1979, she brought along with her strong moral and cultural values together with her sense of discipline and love of a good practical joke.
She ingrained into the SC sprit a Kim Gek.
How many times have SCGS’ girls heard the phrases, “Sit properly”, “Sing loudly”, “ Speak clearly”.
Lynn, another former SCGS girl recalls, “ I remember her insistent nagging us to “sit properly girls. Its not lady-like to show the boys your underpants.” ”
Miss Heng was greatly loved by the girls. Wendy ( not her real name), a current student in SCGS remembers, “Whenever I go to the Lobby, I always look out for Miss Heng’s blue Toyota. Then I will know if it is safe to sit on the steps. After awhile I just kept looking for it. Seeing it parked there in front of the lobby always gave me a feeling of warmth and security. In my heart I was reassured, Miss Heng is here to look after me.”
In terms of academia, Miss Heng steered the school to be a holistic environment.
She kept the aggregate at 200, and despite competition from other top-ranked schools for bright students, Miss Heng decided against introducing the gifted Education Programme or starting an integrated programme to bypass the O-level examinations.
However more importantly she believed in strong moral character.
As she has said before: “What I want for the girls when they leave school is that they have confidence in themselves, that they are emotionally stable girls, happy that they’ve had a happy school life.”
Finally, the grand dame stepped down from being at the helm. In a farewell concert and parade afterwards, the girls expressed their love and gratitude to the person who has lead SCGS through all these years, Miss Hang.
Many old and current SC girls have commented how SCGS has died. Truly, these special people will always hold a place in our hearts, but new memories can always be created. We have moved from being the jewel of Emerald hill to the jewel of Dunearn. SCGS will always preserve her culture, her tradition, despite having to move with the change of times. Let us reach nearer the sky!
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