Stories

On 23 July 2016 we celebrated the 193rd anniversary of our Founding with the traditional Founder's Day Ceremony and a Carnival for all staff and students. The Guest of Honour for the occasion was alumnus Mr Desmond Lee (RI 1992; RJC 1994), Senior Minister of State with the Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of National Development.


After the arrival of our Guest of Honour and VIPs, the school mace and colours were carried into the Albert Hong Hall by Year 6 Student Council President Freda Mah and Year 4 Head Boy Warren Liow respectively. Rafflesians from all cohorts then joined voices in our Founder’s Day song, Rafflesians Salute Your Alma Mater, which was penned by our late former Principal Mr Rudy Mosbergen. The welcome address was delivered by Warren Liow.


PRI Mr Chan Poh Meng then gave a presentation of the Institution Report, an overview of the achievements of Rafflesians over the past year. Apart from the stellar results achieved by our students, he shared stories of Rafflesians who have striven to make Singapore a better place: earlier this year, Raffles Community Advocates, CLDDS, Cricket and Basketball showed their appreciation for our service personnel—gardeners, janitors and other Estate staff—with a Homeground Carnival that saw them participating in many fun activities together. Mr Chan also highlighted Raffles Leadership Programme (Boarding) — as part of their one-term stint at RI Boarding, our Year 3 students helped to clean and paint thirty household rental units as well as two Senior Activity Centres in the Central region of Singapore. 21 Secondary 3 students from four of our fellow cluster schools have joined them on the latest run of the RLP.


Mr Chan then shared his thoughts on education and the increasing aversion to risk he has observed in Singapore’s students. His speech was followed by an address by Guest of Honour Mr Desmond Lee, who talked about the importance of Singapore's biodiversity and the need to protect it.


After this, the awards ceremony commenced. Students were given awards from five domains: cognitive, character and leadership, community and citizenship, sports and health, and arts and aesthetics. Some members of the staff received long-service awards for 20 to 30 years of dedication to the school. Mr Hoo Chuan Yang, Da Qiao Primary School and the Malay Language Learning And Promotion Committee were given the Friend of RI Award, a token of our deep gratitude for their contributions.


Isaac Leong (RI, 2015) and Alden Tan (17S06L) received the prestigious Stamford Raffles Award for their outstanding achievement in co-curricular activities, exemplary character, leadership, and contributions to society. The Founder’s Day assembly concluded with the Valedictory Address, delivered by Freda Mah (President of the 35th Students’ Council), and the singing of the Institution Anthem.


Meanwhile, staff and students alike had fun at the Carnival, which included Raffles Illuminate, a talent quest featuring famous Singaporean musicians Jack & Rai (Rai is an old boy of the school and a former teacher) as performers and judges. Over at the Indoor Sports Hall students participated in a K Pop mass dance, while others puzzled over various clues in Escape Room challenges. Besides this, the Swimming Pool was also a hive of activity for students who love water games.