INTERVIEWS | LUMEN
25
Mrs Shirley Foo , Vice- Principal of Administration :
Lumen : Tell us about life before SJI ? I was very blessed to study overseas for my first degree and later on in life , went on another overseas venture with my family for a short work stint before becoming a stay-home-mom . These experiences and strong mentors I had during my years in the corporate sector gave me a strong foundation for my working life and provided multi-faceted perspectives that I treasure very much . When I returned to Singapore , I joined MOE as a VPA at a junior college for 4 years and then later at an autonomous university overseeing graduate programmes for almost 2 years . I joined SJI after a chance encounter with Fr . Adrian . And so , I always joke about working in the private sector before swinging to the other extreme in the public sector as a public servant and then to the semi private / public environment ( autonomous university and SJI ).
Lumen : How do the school values and mission sit with your own thoughts as an educator ? I can most identify with SJI ’ s motto ( Ora et Labora ) as this is aligned to my Christian faith and the part on labouring is one important value that I hold very dear , that is , you will reap what you sow . SJI espouses a valuescentered education and how we ought to be men and women for others , which nurtures a certain quality we want in our children – the love for each other as Jesus commanded us .
Lumen : Who are you , outside of school ? Outside of school , I like to spend time with my family and close friends . Jogging is one of the ways through which I stay healthy , release stress and bond with my hubby and our close friends . During circuit breaker , my kids and I also learned how to play mahjong from my in-laws so that we can have some common family activities to keep the old folks happy and occupied .
Lumen : How has your experience of SJI life been so far ? It is nice to be back in a school environment , surrounded by students . Talking to them makes me feel purposeful in this role . I joined when COVID-19 hit home and sadly , because of the Safe Management Measures ( SMM ) in place , I don ’ t have as many opportunities to interact with the teachers and students as much as I would like to . Hopefully , when things get better , I will be able to .
As Chief Safety Officer , I have to work with SJI ’ s COVID-19 taskforce to roll out SMM action plans , provide information and issue numerous reminders to the community . I am very touched and grateful for the support given by the Deans , key personnel , form tutors etc to give daily reminders to our students and to do our part in ensuring that safe management measures are in place . All these efforts have borne fruit . Our students remember these reminders and many come forward to inform us whenever they have any household members who are unwell or serving quarantine orders . I don ’ t take any of these for granted because all these actions by our teachers and students require effort , sacrifices , but more importantly , a decision to care and to keep others in the community safe .
Lumen : What would you like to say to the SJI community ? My hope is that we remain close-knit as a community . Like an orchestra performance , each of the musicians is playing a different instrument making different sounds but when we all start to play our part while listening out for others ’, it becomes a beautiful piece . Whether we are EAS or teaching staff , we have a role to play in SJI . It is also important to watch out for each other and see the connections and how we all matter .
Facing page ( bottom right ): Mdm Lim Lay Hoon ’ s CJC students and their Form Teacher , Mr Wong Pixian during a Chinese New Year visit in 2020
This page ( centre left ): EAS Staff Appreciation Lunch in Sept 2020