2019
Catch up on MGS highlights from 2019, including sports wins, community outreach, and school events that shaped the year.
Being a blessing in this season of giving
As we approach Christmastime, it is heart-warming to see our girls giving back to the community – whether it is handcrafting small notes of encouragement, or sculpting inspired works of art that bring joy and wonder for a good cause.
As part of the school’s annual Post-a-Blessing initiative earlier this year, the Primary 1.2 students had learnt about the Goh Chok Tong Enable Awardees. Inspired by the awardees’ stories, the girls wrote personal postcards to each awardee to let them know how their resilience in overcoming their challenges had encouraged them.
This touched their recipients and in return, Miss Chen Ziyue, a GCT Enable Potential Awardee sent two copies of her artworks to the school, and Mr Michael Ngu visited the P1.2 class on 3 October to share his life story with the girls. Mr Ngu encouraged them to count their blessings and to continue to give back to the community with hearts of gratitude.
In support of our Secondary school’s partnership with Sengkang General Hospital (SKH) in the “i-Gen (爱捐) Art” - I Generate Ideas, I Generate Love & Care for Others’ collaborative project, all 282 Secondary 2 students worked in small teams utilising design thinking to create art sculptures from recycled materials. 15 creative pieces were presented as tokens of appreciation to donors of the SKH Better Health Fund, which is managed by SingHealth Fund and provides support to patients from SKH who may be in financial need.
The students hope that their Christmas-themed art will bring festive cheer and uplift the patients from SKH. Knowing that they have played a part in this fundraising process has made their efforts worthwhile.
As a school, we look forward to sharing our blessings with others each year!
Schools: Teamwork and support the key to MGS' C Division squash success
Click here for the Straits Time article.
Our Friends From Afar
From 18 to 20 July, MGS played host to various groups of students and staff from our twinning schools from Taiwan, Hong Kong, India and Korea. After an enthusiastic introduction to their MGS buddies, our visitors attended our morning assembly and were taken on a tour of the campus. They then took part in some classroom activities and had lunch in our school canteen. Everyone was certainly delighted with the holistic experience of life at school in MGS!
Our visitors then headed down to the Society for the Physically Disabled (SPD) for an afternoon of community engagement with the centre’s elderlies. The students from each school readily stepped up to perform some traditional song pieces from their respective countries, much to the merriment of all the seniors. They played some simple but fun games and served afternoon tea to the seniors. It was a meaningful afternoon filled with much joy and laughter!
In the evening, the visitors and their buddies went on an outing to catch the SG Bicentennial Showcase at Fort Canning Park. Through a multimedia sensory experience, they learnt about key moments in Singapore’s 700 years of history. Many of them readily shared that the experience was truly insightful and unique, and they emerged with a better appreciation of our country’s history.
The next day on Friday, 19 July, the visitors joined our school in commemorating Racial Harmony Day (RHD). Each school gamely performed a traditional dance or song item to showcase their culture, amidst raucous applause from our primary and secondary girls.
Clockwise from top left: Wesley Girls’ High School (Taiwan), Cheonan Girls’ High School (Korea), Vidya Mandir School (India) and Hong Kong Methodist College.
All in all, it was a real pleasure to host our friends from abroad. Our visitors had great fun and our girls also learnt plenty from their international counterparts. We look forward to organising more of such exchanges with our twinning schools.
Commemorating the Singapore Bicentennial
July was an exciting month for MGS. Amidst the hustle and bustle of preparing for MG Week and our annual Founder’s Day celebrations, our school also put up an original musical, “For Such A Time As This”; and contributed an art tapestry to the SG Bicentennial Project!
MGS Musical “For Such A Time As This”
Set in Singapore during the pre-war 1940s and inspired by the book of Esther in the Bible, “For Such A Time As This” is a coming-of-age story that explored themes such as justice, courage, hope and pride. Staged over two nights, the musical was well-loved by young and old alike; as children found it to be an entertaining glimpse into history while older audiences found the portrayal of the olden days to be sweetly nostalgic.
It was heartening to see how the MGS community came together to put together this musical. Old girls, parents, friends and staff of MGS generously offered their talent, time and expertise. The musical has brought many back to MGS and was a tremendous learning experience for the cast and crew who had rehearsed tirelessly for many months in preparation for the production. Their labour of love made for a truly memorable performance!
Past, Present & Future Art Display at King Albert Park MRT Station
We are also happy to see commuters enjoying the Past, Present & Future art display @ King Albert Park MRT Station. Art pieces from 200 of our Primary 4 girls were combined in a mesmerizing tapestry symbolic of Singapore. Each portrait tells of time past, of rich multi-generational connections, and of the envisioning of young minds.
This multi-faceted display shines a light on the people who make up the fabric of our nation. We are proud of our talented P4 girls who had worked hard at their art pieces to make this project happen!
Both the musical and the art display were organized in conjunction with the Singapore Bicentennial. For more information about the Past, Present & Future SG Bicentennial Project, please visit this webpage: https://www.bicentennial.sg/event/past-present-future-commemorating-the-singapore-bicentennial-by-methodist-girls-school/
MGS Canteen Project
One year ago, we had informed MGS parents and students that the canteen would be embarking on upgrading works so that students can continue to gather and grow in a common space that will cater to their needs – a hub for Conversation, Connectedness, Community and Collaboration. As a pivotal gathering point in the schooling life of every MGS girl, the canteen has been a place where memories are made, ideas shared and friendships fostered, as our girls eat and bond over their recess and lunch breaks.
We are happy to share that with the change of furniture in the canteen, the revamp is one step closer to completion!
The spruced up MGS canteen, revealed on Monday 6 May, features warm tones in a range of furniture that gives flexibility for various uses.
The girls have used the 4-seater tables for cosy small group discussions, and larger groups have enjoyed fellowship over a meal at the round 6-seater and long 8-seater tables. The high tables with stools add a novel element to recess chats, and there are also standing tables for eating something quick on-the-go.
The new stage@canteen is an exciting fresh area which hosted the recent Primary inaugural WOW!, Caterpillar Chat, as well as an earlier ukulele jamming session with Ms Ng. Do look out for more activities there in the near future!
We give thanks to God and to our parents and partners who have helped to bring the MGS Canteen Project to fruition, and all who have contributed towards the various fundraising initiatives for the canteen. We look forward to these physical structures fostering a strong sense of community among students.
MGS Achieves - To God Be The Glory!
Team MGS has garnered a historic win at the National Schools Games Cross Country Finals in April, sweeping the Championship Title for both B and C Divisions! This is only the fourth time since 2000 that a school has achieved both titles, and the third time that we are Champions for each of the B and C Divisions.
In yet another breakthrough triumph, we also clinched the C Division championship and retained our B Division title in the recent National Schools Swimming Championships. This year is the first time after 25 years that we have won both B and C Divisions, and a sterling accomplishment to add to the MGS swim legacy.
With Team MGS taking home the delightful victories, we thank God for watching over the girls as they trained tirelessly and faced down the challenges and rigours of the sports with resilience and grace.
MINISTER KHAW BOON WAN VISITS MGS P1.2 STUDENTS
On 26 March, Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan stopped by MGS for a brief visit to the P1.2 classroom. The P1.2 students had created and sent heart-shaped Get Well cards to the Minister while he was in hospital recovering from a fractured arm.
Minister Khaw met the 30 girls to thank them for their kind thoughts and well wishes, and even prepared a show-and-tell of his experience undergoing treatment for his arm. He rounded off by showing the girls his surgical wound. The girls were eager to ask questions and shared candidly about their own little accidents.
The girls had learnt about the Minister’s work during their lesson on Jobs People Do. Touching on their important role in the country’s future, Mr Khaw told them, "Your job is to make Singapore better in the next generation!"
MGS @ SPD 7TH CHARITY LIVE SHOW
More than 400 participants, including local and foreign artistes and close to 20 beneficiaries, put in months of work to stage the SPD Charity Show 《真情无障爱》 which was telecast live on Sunday, 17 March over Mediacorp Channel 8 (in Mandarin).
Performing to the theme “Little Actions Keep Dreams Alive” 《善小。梦大》 MGS is proud to be part of the live show that helped to raise $4.31 million in support of helping beneficiaries to overcome their physical disabilities.
MGS was involved in 3 segments of the Live Show - a performance by the MGS String Ensemble with the Dazhong Primary Junior Orchestra and the MGS Choir, a baking segment with our Primary student leaders and Lower Secondary students, and a performance by Sec 3 harpist Celestine Sheum and her sisters Christabelle and Charlotte.
Well done to all our girls!
The encore telecast will be broadcast over Mediacorp Channel 8 this Sunday, 24 March from 3.30pm to 6.30pm.
MGS SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS
The MGS Swimming Championships at the Sports Complex pool was held in Term 1.
Over the several days of the Championships, the girls turned up in various creative outfits and costumes that represented their house colours, as part of the Fancy Dress theme for the event. Even the teachers had dressed up with enthusiasm, and the colourful sights and loud cheers made for a memorable event.
With the MGS House spirit and unity on full display, the swimmers representing each house gave their best in the water. Eventually, Lee House was crowned the overall champion.
It was truly wonderful to see the distinctive MGS swimming heritage being a part of the schooling experience for our girls.
REPAIR KOPITIAM @ MGS
As part of the DICE (Design, Innovation, Creativity, Entrepreneurship) programme at MGS, 20 Sec 2 girls got to refurbish and restore the school’s canteen trellis tables in February. The eager girls armed with worktools , brushes and gloves set about sanding and varnishing the time-worn tables where many a plate have rested at recess.
Repair Kopitiam @ MGS comprises a series of workshops where the girls pick up skills on wood and fabric restoration. The girls had previously tried their hands reworking and putting together wooden pieces into small stools. At the first session earlier this year, they also learnt to salvage and patch up old fabrics, so that these can be reused instead of being ‘Kondo-ed’ away!
The Repair Kopitiam ‘learn for life’ endeavour brings the girls out of the classroom into the real-world to expand their repertoire of lifeskills and encourage an entrepreneurial spirit. The girls in turn embraced this fun opportunity to demonstrate their handy DIY skills and give back to the school community.
Welcoming New P1s and S1s into our MGS Family
The 2nd of January 2019 may have seen groggy parents and children make their way up to 11 Blackmore Drive at 7 am, however, the programmes for the days ahead are anticipated eagerly.
The P1s have been transitioning smoothly into a new schooling experience with the help of their P5 buddies. After a morning of activities and bonding in their newly decorated classrooms, the P1s have been zealously running off to the canteen to grab a bite with their buddies. Some have also been drawn to explore the school playground and garden with their new friends.
Apart from learning how to line up in twos and obeying the calls during assembly time, the mornings of the P1s’ first week were filled with enthusiastic chatter and excitement about the new adventure they are about to embark on.
As for the new Sec 1s, they were officially presented with their own MGS Passport to signify their first step into their Secondary school journey. Their orientation activities included a morning walk along the Bukit Timah Diversion Park Connector, rallying in their new houses, various informative briefings, memorable games to bond with their new batch-mates, a CCA fair, and the much-awaited campfire on Friday 4th of January.
As the girls grow in character, discover new interests, hone their passions, and embrace the myriad learning platforms and opportunities here, we are certain that they will emerge as young Godly women of Excellence with a heart of Love, ready to handle whatever their future entails.
