Remembering Griffiths: The Background

Bringing a special attention to my Primary School.

Due to the decresing number of primary one students each year, MOE has decided to merge the school with Qiaonan Primary School and thus will be renamed as Angsana Primary School effectively next year 2015. As such, I decided to write posts about the school, my life in the school, and most importantly, to try to remember about the people I have met in this school.

Let's now turn back time to 1995-2000

(The only old picture I can find before the school was remodelled)

Principal
1995-1999: Ms Mary Fletcher
1999-2000: Miss Choy Poh Chun

History of GPS
I remembered the school started in the year when I was born, 1988. It was situated just right beside my house. It is practically and literally just a few steps away from the void deck of my flat. It was so convenient that if I forgot to bring my homework before the flag raising ceremony, I could just walk briskly back up my house to retrieve it, make my way back in just less than 5 minutes. Oops, digress too much.

Crest, Motto, School Song and Uniform
The most memorable line in the school: To seek, to strive, to find.
Not only it is the motto of the school, it was also written in the lyrics of our song.
And the color of the school uniform is Green, Top was Light Green, and Bottom is Dark Green. The PE Attire was the same as well. (Actually my school uniform was Green all the way. Pasir Ris Sec: Rusty Green, and Tampines JC: Light Green). 

The Crest with a burning torch which signifes quest for knowledge. While the color yellow stands for aspiring and caring, and green represents the refreshing innocence of children.

The school has two different sessions.
Morning (7.30AM - 12PM+): P2, P4, P6
Afternoon (12PM - 6PM+): P1, P3, P5

Morning Session Flow
If is a dry season, the students will assemble on the outdoors, and different Pri Level will have different assemble locations. Then teachers will bring each groups to the parade square for Flag Raising Ceremony and then followed by singing the school song on every Monday. If is wet outdoors, then the assemble point for everyone will be in the hall and the ceremony will take place in the hall as well.

Afternoon Session Flow

The assemble point will be in the hall for everyone and the class will shortly be guided to their respective class by their teachers. When the last class of the day ended, the students will all proceed to the parade square for the Flag Lowering Ceremony. For wet weather, it will be in the hall.

Parents in the Past

I remember every time when I stepped into the school via the sidegate, I will need to walk past a mini ecogarden, and then past the bookshop and into the canteen. And then you would see many students hopping around instead of assembling neatly and the aunties chatting with each other in the canteen. That was the past... It has been a while now that outsiders are not allowed in school premises anymore due to security reasons. 

It was so nice back then when parents are still allowed to enter school as freely... Like during heavy rain, all the students will come to the school with slippers and upon reaching, the parents will help their kids to dry their feet and put on their white shoes. Sometimes parents even wait for their kids during recess to deliver homemade snacks or forgot-to-bring homeworks...

Recess Activites

The most happening 30-40 minutes in school life. And you will see different groups of people at this time. 

The normal eating student. Like me, I will always go for my favorite noodles stall for my Lor Maggie Mee because you can only enjoy the food for 6 years. So better eat all you can. 

The hyperactive student. This group of people will skip their breaks and go to soccer field, the field, volleyball court or basketball court to play their games. There was one unique spot for similar squash game as well. It was a corner near basketball court where some kids like to playing kicking squash. It was a game which you kick a small ball to a wall and wait for the ball to bounce back and let the next player to kick the ball again. 

The less hyperactive student. This usually refers to girls, because their hanging out areas are usually under shelter like the space outside the bookshop. The girls will play with the stairs, hopscotch, zero point (the game to play with a big hoop made by rubber bands), etc. 

And of course the last group is the mix. The play after you eat student. 

Hope that will help us remember many good memories of the school.

Stay tuned for the next post about canteen!