Montfort Secondary School

Coordinates: 1°22′25.16″N 103°53′19.63″E / 1.3736556°N 103.8887861°E / 1.3736556; 103.8887861

Montfort Secondary School
蒙福中学

Age Quod Agis
(Do Well In Whatever You Do)
Location
50 Hougang Ave 8, Singapore
(538785)
Information
Type Government-aided
Religious affiliation(s) Roman Catholic
Founded 1916
Session Single Session
School code 7011
Chairman Chua Cher Choon
Principal Mr Mark Gerard Minjoot
Grades Secondary 1 to Secondary 5
Age range 13-17
Medium of language English
Houses      Proulx
     Majella
     Gonzaga
     Berthomieu
Colour(s)          Dark Blue and White
Song Song of the Brave
Affiliations Montfort Junior School
Catholic Junior College
Website http://www.montfortsec.moe.edu.sg

Montfort Secondary School is a Catholic school in Hougang, Singapore, founded in 1916. It is a government-aided school, providing an all-boys Secondary education from Secondary 1 to 4/5. Students may then move on to Catholic Junior College with affiliation favours.

The school provides education for students regardless of race, religion, or disabilities.

Founded in 1916 as Holy Innocents' English School, it was renamed in 1959 in honour of the Founder of the Gabrielite Brothers, St Louis Marie Grignion De Montfort. Boys in the school are called "Montfortians" and sons of Montfort.

Montfort celebrated its 90th anniversary in 2006 with a 90 km run to its former location and a thanksgiving mass conducted by the then Archbishop of Singapore, Nicholas Chia, who is an old boy of the school. The mass was held in Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary-, the church at the old location of the school.

Montfort had a centennial mass in Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Singapore, as a part of its celebrations for its 100th anniversary.

The school has a high Catholic population and it has produced numerous Catholic priests, including Archbishop Emeritus of Singapore, Nicholas Chia, and the Current Archbishop of Singapore, William Goh.

Its current principal is Mr Mark Gerard Minjoot.

Vision, Mission & Values

The School Vision, Mission, Motto and Values are common with our brother school, Montfort Junior School. Since both Montfort Junior and Secondary share the same set of Vision, Mission, Motto and Value statements. The School believes that these statements down below are important foundations to both schools, providing a 10-year Montfortian experience to every young child, who joins Montfort Junior at the age of 6 and graduates at 16/17.

Vision

A Man For Others—A Scholar, A Gentleman and A Leader.

Mission

Montfort is a Catholic School. Guided by our Montfortian Values and Spirituality, we nurture each individual to realise his potential and inspire him to be Man for Others.

School Motto & Values

The School's motto is "Age Quod Agis", literally "Do what you are doing", but is often rendered as "Do well in whatever you do". It reminds Montfortians of the dignity of work and that the work they do is important and represents who they are. Therefore, they need to pride in their assigned tasks and do it to the best of their abilities.

School Crest & Song

School Crest

The top-left quadrant has the letters A.M., an abbreviation for “Ave Maria”, and a lily. The bottom-right quadrant has the letters D+S with a cross. D.S. is the abbreviation for Dieu Seul, which is God Alone in French. On the top-right quadrant there is a sailboat at sea. On the bottom-left quadrant there is a star and a man in the boat. The Crest is adorned with green olive branches, derived from Ancient Greece, to symbolize peace and prosperity. The Crest carries the Latin motto “Labor Omnia Vincit” which means, “Labour conquers all things.”

School Song

Song Of The Brave"

"Lyrics By: Mr Teo Kah Leng

Music by Mr Chua Song Koon

MIDI by Tan Kah Yong (96' 4S1)

All ye sons of Montfort School,

Ever Grateful be and true,

To your Alma Mater dear,

For her loving care of you.

Keep your filial piety,

Burning bright your whole life through,

Ever jealous of her name,

Ever mindful of her claim.

Hark! Her bugle sounds aloud.

Rise her sons, and play your part,

With a song upon your lips and

a courage in your heart.

See! Her banner in the breeze,

Freely flutters high and smart!

Feel in you a surging pride,

When your Mater's colours ride.

History

Montfort School was set up next to Nativity church in Upper Serangoon Road, as Holy Innocents’ English School in 1916, by the parish priest of Serangoon, Father Laurent. At the request of the Inspector of Schools, Father H Duvelle, the successor of Father Laurent, organized an English class and a Chinese class on the floors of the two-storey building between the church and the school canteen. Mr Lee Ah Kow was engaged to run the classes. The classes lasted for three years.

In March 1920, Father E. Becheras, the parish priest restarted the school with a class of 30 pupils under the charge of Mr Monterio. In the following year, another class was added. From 1922-to 1936, Mr P A D’Costa was recruited to be the Principal of Holy Innocents English School and the school grew from strength to strength. A block of five classrooms along Upper Serangooon Road was completed in 1927. In 1929, three additional classrooms along Holy Innocents Lane were added. In 1932, another floor was added to the second block. In 1936, Mgr A Devals, the Bishop of Singapore and Malaya invited the brother of St Gabriel to run the Parish School. Brother Gerard Majella came from Bangkok to become the first Brother Director of the school. Brothers Adolphus and John de Breboeuf came in December 1936. This was also the year the school produced its first ever School Certificate class. Brother Gerard Majella was succeeded in 1938 by Brother Louis Gonzaga.

The Japanese occupation of Singapore interrupted the work of the school. Immediately after the war, Brother Louis Gonzaga returned from Bahau, Johor to reopen the school. He extended the block along Upper Serangoon Road by adding another floor. The new extension was opened by the Sultan of Johore. In 1949, Brother Louis Gonzaga started the afternoon school—the Holy Innocents’ Afternoon School—under the charge of Brother Basil. In 1955 Brother Noel became the Director of the Holy Innocents’. He set up a committee on 3 April 1955 to raise funds to further extend the school. Within three years, the extension was completed. In 1959 Holy Innocents’ English School was renamed Montfort School in honour of the Founder, St Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort, of the Gabrielite Brothers and to prevent administrative confusion which had grown between Holy Innocents Boys school, Holy Innocents High School, and Holy Innocents English School.

By the 1960s, Montfort School was synonymous with quality education provided by the Brothers of St Gabriel in the Upper Serangoon District.

In 1984, a decision was made by the Old Montfortian Association (OMA), led by its president, Lim Boon Heng, to relocate Montfort Junior and Secondary Schools to make them comparable to the newer Government Schools. A Building Fund Committee was formed to raise the funds to finance the building project, the cost of which amounted to $24 million. Capital grant from the Government was $18.5 million, and the schools had to raise $5.5 million. Piling began in August 1989 at the new site at Hougang Avenue 8, immediately after a ground-breaking ceremony which was officiated by His Grace, Mgr Gregory Yong, on 12 August 1989. The main building works of the two schools started in March 1990 and took about 21 months to complete. On 2 January 1992, the two schools, Montfort Junior and Montfort Secondary, started functioning at their new premises. In 1997, the school underwent repairs and redecoration.

At the end of 2009, Montfort Secondary School underwent major redevelopment works which was under the Programme for Rebuilding and IMproving Existing Schools (PRIME). The school was opened on 2 January 2012 and Montfort Secondary School returned back to its Hougang location.

Co-Curricular Activities (CCA)

Co-curricular activity (Singapore) (CCAs), previously known as Extracurricular Activities (ECAs) are non-academic activities that all Singaporean students must participate in. This policy was introduced by the Ministry of Education, as a means to enhance social interaction, leadership, healthy recreation, self-discipline and self-confidence. Through CCAs, students in their early teens are often given actual public responsibilities. Below is a list of the CCAs available in Montfort Secondary School. There are currently 20 CCAs (subject to change). The school has received Niche Award in Badminton and Primary 6 students are now able to apply into the school directly through Direct School Admission.

Clubs & Societies

Performing Arts

Sports

Uniformed Groups

Notable alumni

See also

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/19/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.