Saint Anthony's Canossian Secondary School

St. Anthony's Canossian Secondary School (SACSS) is a girls' secondary school located in Bedok, Singapore. It is part of the Canossian (Canossian Daughters of Charity, FDCC) family of Catholic girls' schools in Singapore.

St. Anthony's Canossian
Secondary School
圣安东尼女子中学
Sekolah Menengah
St Anthony's Canossian
Address
1600 Bedok North Avenue 4, 469700

Bedok

Singapore
Coordinates1.3349°N 103.9414°E / 1.3349; 103.9414
Information
TypeAutonomous
MottoVia, Veritas, Vita
(The Way, The Truth, The Life)
Religious affiliation(s)Roman Catholic
Established1879
SessionSingle session
School code7016
PrincipalMs Fiona Koh
GenderGirls
Colour(s) Light Blue   White 
Websitestanthonyscanossiansec.moe.edu.sg

The school is well regarded for its dance and drama programmes, which widened students' appreciation of arts as well as cater to the unique needs of students with different artistic talents through the expanded range of programmes.

History

In August 1879, Fr Jose Pedro Santa Anna de Cunha of St Joseph's Church started a school for poor parishioners. As a result, the St. Anna's School with an enrolment of six students opened in Middle Road. In 1886, the school became known as St. Anthony's Boys' & Girls' School. The boys' and girls' school split 15 years later. The first four Canossian sisters arrived to run the Portuguese Mission school, and there the poor and neglected found refuge. The younger girls attended school while the older ones learned sewing and embroidery. The 1900s marked the beginning of a new era for the school. St. Anthony's Girls' School was renamed St. Anthony's Convent in 1906. Subsequently, a new chapel, quarters for the nuns, a kindergarten and first Junior Cambridge class (equivalent to Secondary 3 or 4) were added.

The school buildings survived the war and Japanese Occupation. The Japanese military police took over the school and the sisters were placed under house arrest. When the war ended, the buildings were used to house war orphans. In 1952, the wooden convent was demolished and a 5-story building was constructed in its place. The following year, the new school was officially opened.

In 2002, the school introduced a new uniform to commemorate its first year of being a government-aided autonomous girls' school. 2002 ended with a watershed historical event of the handover of stewardship of St. Anthony's Canossian Secondary School to its first lay principal in its 108-year history. Sr. Cecily Pavri, being the last Canossian nun to lead the school, handed over the reins of leadership to vice-principal Jennifer Loh on January 1, 2003.[1] In 2002, the school received recognition for its niche in performing arts education.

Present-day

St. Anthony's Canossian Secondary clinched the MOE Best Practice Teaching and Learning Award in 2007. The school was accorded the School Distinction Award by the Ministry of Education in 2008, and subsequently the Singapore Quality Class award in 2009 and MOE Character Development Award in 2010. In 2010, the school was concurrently awarded MOE Sustained Value-Added Award (Academic) 9th award.

In January 2011, St. Anthony's underwent renovations through the PRIME program. Construction was slated to be completed by the end of 2012. Classes were held at temporary premises in Changi. The school maintains relationships with other students from Roman Catholic schools in Singapore such as the St. Patrick's School boys and CHIJ convent girls.

Affiliation

SACSS is affiliated to:

Academic information

Being a government secondary school, St. Anthony's Canossian Secondary School offers three academic streams, namely the four-year Express course, as well as the Normal Course, comprising Normal (Academic) and Normal (Technical) academic tracks.

O Level Express Course

The Express Course is a nationwide four-year programme that leads up to the Singapore-Cambridge GCE Ordinary Level examination.[2]

Academic subjects

The examinable academic subjects for Singapore-Cambridge GCE Ordinary Level offered by the school for upper secondary level (via. streaming in secondary 2 level), as of 2017, are listed below.[3]

Notes:

  1. Subjects indicated with ' * ' are mandatory subjects.
  2. All students in Singapore are required to undertake a Mother Tongue Language as an examinable subject, as indicated by ' ^ '.
  3. "SPA" in Pure Science subjects refers to the incorporation of School-based Science Practical Assessment, which 20% of the subject result in the national examination are determined by school-based practical examinations, supervised by the Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board. The SPA Assessment has been replaced by one Practical Assessment in the 2018 O Levels.[4]
Sciences Language & Humanities Arts & Aesthetics
  • Additional Mathematics*
  • Mathematics*
  • Physics (SPA)
  • Chemistry (SPA)*
  • Biology (SPA)
  • Science (Combined)
  • English Language*
  • English Literature
  • Mother Tongue Language* ^
  • Higher Mother Tongue Language
  • Geography
  • History
  • Combined Humanities (Social Studies & another Humanities subject at elective level)*
  • Art
  • Design & Technology
  • Food & Nutrition
  • Music

Normal Course

The Normal Course is a nationwide 4-year programme leading to the Singapore-Cambridge GCE Normal Level examination, which runs either the Normal (Academic) curriculum or Normal (Technical) curriculum, abbreviated as N(A) and N(T) respectively.[5]

Normal (Academic) Course

In the Normal (Academic) course, students offer 5-8 subjects in the Singapore-Cambridge GCE Normal Level examination. Compulsory subjects include:[6]

  • English Language
  • Mother Tongue Language
  • Mathematics
  • Combined Humanities

A 5th year leading to the Singapore-Cambridge GCE Ordinary Level examination is available to N(A) students who perform well in their Singapore-Cambridge GCE Normal Level examination. Students can move from one course to another based on their performance and the assessment of the school principal and teachers.[5]

Normal (Technical) Course

The Normal (Technical) course prepares students for a technical-vocational education at the Institute of Technical Education.[6] Students will offer 5-7 subjects in the Singapore-Cambridge GCE Normal Level examination.[6] The curriculum is tailored towards strengthening students’ proficiency in English and Mathematics.[6] Students take English Language, Mathematics, Basic Mother Tongue and Computer Applications as compulsory subjects.[6]

Co-curricular activities (CCAs)

St. Anthony's Canossian Secondary had commendable achievements in its performing arts group. Notable achievements include the Certificate of Distinction attained by Angklung/Kulintang Ensemble, Concert Band, Choir, Drama, Guitar Ensemble, Indian Dance, Modern Dance in the Singapore Youth Festival (SYF) Arts Presentation 2017.

Notable alumni
  • Cynthia Koh: actress, Mediacorp
  • Belinda Lee: television presenter and actress, Mediacorp
  • Sonia Chew: radio presenter

References
  1. School history
  2. "Express Course Curriculum". www.moe.gov.sg. Retrieved 2017-09-14.
  3. "School Information Service". Ministry of Education, Singapore. Ministry of Education, Singapore. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  4. "GCE O-Level Syllabuses Examined in 2018". Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board (SEAB). Archived from the original on 2017-04-28. Retrieved 2017-04-16.
  5. "Secondary School Courses". www.moe.gov.sg. Archived from the original on 2017-07-04. Retrieved 2017-09-14.
  6. "Normal Course Curriculum". www.moe.gov.sg. Retrieved 2017-09-14.
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