6
LUMEN | EVENTS
Celebrating
with our
Pioneers
By Yash Bhowani and Eliza Lim
This year , as the nation celebrates her jubilee , SJI also took the opportunity to reunite with some of her pioneer educators and staff who have shaped the many generations of boys and supported the school ’ s operations over the last five decades .
It was an exceptionally rousing day in school on a Thursday morning . At 7 am , the SJI community was buzzing with activities , preparing to welcome the pioneers of SJI , our former teaching and nonteaching staff , at a reunion to celebrate Singapore ' s 50th anniversary . What can be a better way to celebrate Singapore ' s golden jubilee of independence than bringing the Josephian community back together ?
This page ( top ): All smiles from some of the pioneers after performances .
This page ( centre ): One of the performances for the pioneers – by the Indian Cultural Club
This page ( bottom ): Some of the pioneers who have shaped SJI ' s success over the last 5 decades .
The SJI community cheered as the pioneers started streaming into the school from 7:30 am . The pioneers were treated to artistic feasts of music , dances and raps , performed by the students from various Co-Curricular Activities – the Guitar Ensemble , Voice Ensemble , SJI ' s Indian and Chinese Cultural Societies , and the Secondary Two Creativity , Action or Language ( CAL ) groups . The SG50 performances ended with a video montage of pictures of
SJI at Bras Basah , and personal photos of many teachers and students of their time .
To top off the celebrations , the pioneers were each given a special SG50 commemorative gift bag containing special SJI mementoes for their past contributions in building up the Josephian community , before they reunited with their former colleagues and bonded over breakfast .
Alexander Wilfred Chew Fu Chon ( Lawrence 203 ), a student helper , noted that '' Singapore and SJI would not be what it is today if it weren ' t for the pioneers . I guess this gift is just a token of appreciation from the school for everything that they have done for us . Now it ' s our turn to grow this school and nation for the next 50 years !''