Friday, September 01, 2006

A Petition

(Updated)

First off, I've decided to take down the petition because I read in the New Paper today that the author of the petition took it down and apologised to the school principal. Since he took it down, it's only fair that I respect his wishes.

Reading, or rather speed-reading through the comments, let me explain that before today I had no idea that the entire petition saga was over long ago. If I had known the outcome, I wouldn't have posted it up. Like I said, I saw the petition that day, and I posted it up because I thought it was something interesting and worth sharing with everyone.

So now that the record has been set straight, if anyone was offended by the post, I truly say... ... ... the post has been removed. =)

Keep the discussion in the comments section going though, it's been interesting reading all of them.

164 Comments:

Blogger Vera said...

that's terrible!
I'd sign too hehe

6:55 PM  
Blogger KwokSiong said...

oh my goodness, what in the world was that?

11:04 PM  
Blogger Ellipsis said...

I hope the press picks this up and lets us in on the complete picture.

reads real 'juicy' so far.;)

11:59 PM  
Blogger tstar said...

he was my secondary school principal. actually he did some of that in our school too, but we found him a really nice principal because we knew he did those for our own good... But perhaps this petition would be a way to communicate to Mr. Lee what the students desire and think, and that maybe not every method used which had good results in my school would be suitable for CHS.I believe there is always space for negotiation. He might not be aware of the discontentment.
I've got to say the petition is very well written, though.

12:19 PM  
Blogger singaporeteach said...

Actually no matter what grievances, this action of petition has raised a new issue. Is this the right channel or avenue to settle disputes?
Look at the politics in the world. If we can oust a leader by signing petition or using force, what would Singapore become? Another unrest country? Would this be a form of revolution?
If this is allowed, what would this child grow up to be?
His IQ is no doubt much higher than his peers perhaps because he sees helicopter view of the school's problems. However, he must build on his EQ. EQ to solve problems without getting himself into this.
No offence intended. Just a thought.

2:02 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The petition sounds legalistic but the grammatical errors make it sound kind of funny.

2:03 PM  
Blogger nofearSingapore said...

Hi,
I am not from Catholic High but I do love my alma mater too.
My honest opinion is that it is best that this be resolved in a level-headed way by all stake-holders of the school.
Perhaps, someone of authority in the MOE ( with Catholic high connection) should take the lead to sort out what the grievances are and how the impasse can be resolved for the good of the school.
It will not do the school's reputation any good to involve all and sundry and wash dirty linen in public.
Unless , of course, if all means have been exhausted, and the students concerned feel so aggrieved that the only way to publicise such injustice is through the public channel.
Hope you guys resolve the problems. After all, my Catholic high friends swear that it is a good school.
Cheers
Dr.Huang

2:51 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I can't believe I read through the whole of that. He must have had an adult's help. That or he must had done a good long research on the format. =/

3:56 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

singaporeteach said,

"Look at the politics in the world. If we can oust a leader by signing petition or using force, what would Singapore become? Another unrest country? Would this be a form of revolution?"

This comment is, at best, alarmist.

A petition is not equal to force, and certainly not civil unrest and revolutions. A petition is simply an exercise in freedom of speech, in voicing an opinion and trying to rally others to voice similar opinion.

No one is suggesting the use of force in this instance. To put "petition" and "force" in the same sentence and then to suggest that unrest and revolution may result is indeed far-fetched and suggest that the writer lack any sense of scale or judgement of events.

And what is so wrong with demanding leadership change with a petition? A petition is to be judged based on its own merit. It also requires a significant number of signatures for it to have any weight. You can freely choose to agree with it, ignore it or support it. In other words, a petition is an exercise in democratic principles.

Most mature democracies have mechanisms for petition to be submitted to the government. You just need a certain number of signatures for it to be submitted. The majority of these countries do not experience riots, civil unrests or revolutions.

This comment reads like something from our own PAP propaganda. We don't want opposition MPs, human rights advocates, demonstrations, civil society organisations etc that does not agree with the PAP because it will lead to riots, chaos, "time bombs", loss of foreign investment, economic loss etc etc etc. No demonstrations during the IMF/WB meeting in Singapore is good for Singapore (so we are told).

A petition, like opposition MPs et el, will not lead to civil unrest. It is part of the process of dialogue in a civil and mature democracy.

I note that singaporeteach is a teacher. Perhaps this simple idea should be part of the National Education curriculum?

4:34 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

arent all schools in singapore like this i would say that this mr lee is quite a normal principal and besides this student is asking for the same level of unrealistic behaviour that is perfect consistency and fairness in a school environment which is subject to what the student says is chaos theory but in my opinion is the students misapplication of mathematics to social dynamics very common but not justified by virtue of ubiquity ahahaha

6:04 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

This is as good as saying that students who hurl vulgarities. defame and demoralise principals and teachers should be expelled from school.

It has to be both ways.

7:17 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm a ex-gong jiao boy, I definitely would like to hear explaination from the said principal. WTF Mrs Alice Long is a good teacher since my time. SO is Mrs Melissa Neo (althou damn sacarstic). 10+ years long service already. WTH

7:33 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

To nofearSingapore,

Since u have signed yourself off as "Dr" Huang(unless you are joking), I can deduced that u are probably an alumni of Catholic High, and even if not so, then the so-called "friends" of yours from Catholic High is probably the "old-boys" from that school.
That being the case, then the situation in the school is definately very different from the time when you are still schooling in that school.
Most importantly, you probably nvr study under the present principal, so how can u rush in to place the fault on this student and that the school is perfect.

Btw, I disagree with your so-called solution by letting someone with authority to resolve this issue.

To bring in real, harsh reality, problems are nvr solved by those pple with authority when the cause of the problem is someone with authority, especially if the greviance is from those at the bottom level of the system's hierarchy and does not affect anybody on the top level. If these problems can be so easily resolved just by reflecting to someone with authority, then this principal in question will not have been able to do all those things mentioned in the petition (I refer to those things related to collecting money and misuse of school funds).

More probably, the issue with the princpal will only be dragged on until this student who dare to speak up has graduated from the school. How long will that have taken? He is in Sec 3 and in the mean time, just distract him with his upcoming 'O'-levels. I can already imagine all his teachers will be telling him to just let it go and concentrate on his own studies.

I agree that some the things mentioned by the student is quite common with every principal in every school, like scolding students for being late. But I agree with the student that the language choose by the principal is too offensive.

The collection of donation against the will of the students is another common thing, but being common doesn't mean that it is the right thing to do. As for enforcing red packets to the school during Chinese New Year, I thought red packets are meant for children and the act of threatening disciplinary action is definately wrong. Is it a solid fact that all students of Catholic High are from rich and well-to-do families?

Lastly, the student wrote this, put it online and sign it. How many of u out there will do such a thing against ur direct "boss"? In many online petition I have seen against authority, many Singaporeans are afraid of putting their real names in the petition, instead putting stupid weird nicks(not refering to any nicks online). How many Singaporeans claimed that they do not dare to vote for opposition in the General Election because of those "serial numbers" on the ticket. Probably there will be adults out there who will say that this student is too young to realize the full consequences of his action. But I believe that this is due to his personality. What he is doing takes courage, even for a teenager, and for that I aplause him.

8:02 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

How do you know that everything which is mentioned in the petition is true? How do you know that the student has not twisted the facts?

I'm a student of Catholic High studying there NOW. Oh yes, and Wee Seng has already removed the petition, so that pretty much says alot about whether he's confident of it.

8:38 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Mrs Long is my teacher. So is Melissa Neo. I know some of the other teachers too. None of them are resigning. In fact, they are quite fed up that their names are used. What is wee Seng talking about. Not right to defame others.Come and see the school for yourself. Catholic High Rox.

9:13 PM  
Blogger Jon said...

ZOMG! that is one GOSU statement that honestly, have my sincerest KUDOS!!

IF I WERE AT CAT HIGH, I'D DEFINITELY SIGN IT.

LOOK MAN! MASLOW'S HIERACHY OF NEEDS. YOU HAVE THAT YOU PWN THE PRINCIPAL LIAO LOH!!

STANDS UP AND APPLAUSES!!

9:21 PM  
Blogger nofearSingapore said...

Hi Jennifer,
I did indeed say that I am not from Catholic Hi, so I shall just let you guys do whatever you want to do. Let the media sell more papers for all I care. You think the media cares about the truth?
Good Luck.
Dr.Huang ( yes, not joking)

9:23 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

from class of 1998.

how can students excel under such leadership?

let's wait for his official response before rushing into any decision.

9:35 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hahaha... i was in catholic high a long long time ago. Looks like the bar has been raised: in our time, we only put up a petition to sack our form teacher. This was in 1995. Times are a changing i see.

9:38 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Dear all,

This is Mrs Alice Long. I feel compelled to write after reading this blog and would like to urge all involved to put this matter to rest. This petition had earlier been removed by Wee Seng. He and his father have since apologised to the school over this incident. I can assure those who are concerned that I was never asked to leave Catholic High. Once again, I appeal to all to put this matter to rest instead let's channel our energy and effort towards building a great Catholic High.

Mrs Alice Long

10:24 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Dear all

This is mr tan ping hock, a physics teacher from catholic high. I would like to urge all involved to stop exploiting the situation as wee seng has already withdrawn his petition, clarified that there is no truth and apologised to the school.
I agree with mrs long that we all should channel our energy and effort towards greater achievements for catholic high.

Mr Tan Ping Hock

10:44 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Dear all,

This is Mrs Alice Long again. Just as I thought we should bring a closure to all this ,I would like to add a note that was left out in my earlier comment. The petition contains numerous inaccuracies and untrues, such as I was scolded by the principal for standing up for the boys who were late for school, list of teachers who were asked to leave, etc... I am deeply upset by the whole incident and I am sure the rest of staff feel the same way.


Mrs Alice Long

11:00 PM  
Blogger Nicholas Ong said...

Well, since the teachers have clarified the matters, I think that this petition should be a fake. But still, it makes Alumni like me wonder - Wu Fong Bu qi Lang, there must be something going on that led to this. I think that there should be some reflection upon this matter. Never the less, I agree with the teachers, let's look forward building a better school.

Nicholas Ong
Alumni
Class of '97

11:40 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Teachers cant be telling lies. Give people a break la. they just celebrated teachers' day. Dont think Wee Seng is feeling great too. using bloge he had taken down is tormenting him. Give him some peace, friends. he might be preparing for his exam.spare him. Let Cath high people settle their own matters.

12:19 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

think the boy got tired of playing his "friendly" warcraft and CS games and decided to do some "creative" writing of his own with the help of his parents who are doing legal work?

12:22 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yet another alumnus giving his two cents worth...

I agree that there is no smoke without fire. I also don't believe sweeping it under the carpet will make any of the underlying problems go away.

We were a once great institution. I don't think we can lay claim to that at present. But we can surely rise to those heights again. However, we need to acknowledge what has gone wrong and take steps to regain our position as one of Singapore's premier schools.

Gong jiao zhong xue yi li xing zhou...

12:35 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

To Anonymous:

I wouldn't know for sure if all things mentioned in the petition is real. But some things like making students donate, building unnecessary facilities, not accounting for school donations to students are the same in every school.

I thk the thing the student has learnt is that online petitions are nvr a mean and pple will not support u if u want their names down. If he is not confident, he will not have put it up in the 1st place, but it is the response that he is getting that is making him lose confidence, becoz this is not something that he can carry off alone. With no mass support, he is as good as a fish on a platter.

To nofearSingapore,

I only add the "if u are joking" coz many pple online like to call themselves Dr for the thrill of it. No offence intended. As for if the media is concerned with the truth of not? Even if they are not, they are truly a mean of getting any authority to not just dismiss u as if u are worth nothing.
If u thk that it is a good thing to keep quiet and lie low, you are just doing what is safe but not necessary what is right.

To Anonymous:

Teachers may not lie, but anybody working in the industry will know that any boss can make his subordinates say the right things.

12:44 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

just got a call from my pal, he said that the blog was taken down two months ago and matters already settled then. Zenith, why you didnt tell us? Give people some chance. Its like talking about past election.let them move on. what if others talk about your alma mater the same way. People still have some dignity, no matter what.

12:45 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hwa Chong is the greatest now. look at the number of President Scholars it produced in recent years. How can you hope for the glorious day again when you run down your own people. We dont do that in Hwa Chong. Thats why we are what we are today. When you drink water, think of the source. Dont speak ill of your alma mater. A school is a premier school cos how his students behave. Past or Present.

12:56 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

hi,

I am an old boy from the school who's still in contact with people in CHS.

Although not all things stated in Wee Sing's petition is true, it's not totally untrue as well.

In fact the New Paper wanted to publish an article based on information gathered from blogs and the petition, but the Principal put a stop to it.

It's also true that Mrs Long was not asked to leave, but the Principal did insult her indirectly in front of her students by saying "if Mrs Long has cared about you, you won't be like this". Another well-respected senior Physics teacher was given a note and asked to leave instead.

Plese also note that teachers are civil servants, and they have certain reservations when disclosing information to the public medium. Of course, when faced with a crisis like this, they all want to honour the school's name and present to the press and public the good side of things.

Lastly, I am really concerned about the school's future under the current leadership.

1:19 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hey you people from gong jiao. how to respect you when you run your own school down? I thought from chinese medium school the value of alma mater - "Mother" school should be stronger than anyone else. Pulling your "mother" thro the mud in public and saying negative things about her is what you are doing now. How do you expect her to be great again. I am from a neighbourhood school, I dont do that even. If my alma mater got problems I go back and help. If I cant help , I keep quiet and let others help.

1:23 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

sure man. I agree. if their own people choose to wash dirty linen and run down their school, how can they expect the school to be great. My advice to you. Go back and give constructive suggestions. The teachers sounded sincere, they too can help. We people in Hwa Chong dont run down our own school, we build the name of our school together. Airing dirty linen does not help. only destroy. Let those who are perfect throw the first stone. I am glad I am not your gang.

1:31 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Whether you wash your dirty linen in public or private, it is still dirty linen. Sometimes, they have to be aired in the open so they don't stink.

If we sweep too many things under the carpet, the pests will thrive. One day, the beautiful carpet will rot.

If the claims are totally untrue, why be afraid of publicity? And covering up will only suggest there is more to what we see or hear.

2:30 AM  
Blogger KiWeTO said...

A 2nd experience of a CHS student with tremendous intellect, but without the wisdom to use it wisely.

The last time, back sometime in 2003 or 03, during an NUS forum where a head of some department in IBM was the guest speaker, a CHS student heckled the the poor executive over the US invasion of Afghanistan/Iraq (memory is such a week thing.) The only thing I remembered was that the CHS student had great questions, but asked in a totally wrong forum/context.

This was an event celebrating some opening of some engineering thing, not a discussion on american politics.


However, the deeper questions this raises is:

1. We are arming our students with tremendous information, and the ability to process them.
2. We are encouraging students to be passionate about what they believe in.
3. In their quest for information and passion, we forget to teach them perspective. They then lash out, using tools that may be unsuitable.

"A little knowledge is worse than none"

Do we teach our students that the more one knows, the more one learns that one doesn't really know?

Or do we teach our students to think that the more one knows, the more one strives towards perfection (and intellectual arrogance?)?

Petitions are fine and necessary in a 'democracy'. Appealing to a higher authority is a remnant of the chinese historical context of appealing to the emperor to deal with a corrupt local governor.

A democracy requires the citizens to take personal action to raise an issue to general consciousness and to enact change through non-violent action. It is predicated on a 'reasoned majority' who can demand change if there is perceived 'injustice'. Politicians in democracies have lost their jobs this way; That country has endured.
(such processes are necessary 'costs' of running a democracy.)

Calling for a higher authority to step in is well... abdication of personal responsibility, and a general belief that the emperor will make things right.
(In this case, MOE is trying to let the schools go their own way, wouldn't calling them in be counter-productive?)
===============================

All in all, are we training a generation that is armed with knowledge without perspective (wisdom)?

Then again, better they learn perspective in school than to learn it in their professional careers. That is the purpose of school ;-)



E.o.M.
[wondering about the going ons in his own alma mater too, but life keeps interrupting.]

10:12 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I am an old boy from Cat Hi pri and sec., class of 1988. I had a classmate named Goh Yong Han, the presidential scholar in 1990/91. I am not sure if that is one of the teachers reflected in this petition. If that is you, hello!

Anyway, it is sad to see this petition happen. I also agree that where there is smoke, there is definitely some sort of a fire, be it a raging inferno or tissue paper burning. I do not, however, agree that a blog is the place to publish it.

In every school, there are bound to be disagreements between the leadership and the student body. I have to applaud this student's ability and effort in creating such an official document but the execution is lacking.

There was an incident in 1988 where the entire Sec 4 student body were disagreeable to the leadership's handling. When the leadership were reluctant to engage in any discussion, the entire year forced the school into a conversation by not going to class after assembly. Looking back, I am not sure if that is the best thing we did back then but it did make things better.

Catholic High is always in our hearts wherever we go. Even though we were not active alums in the official society, we seek out alums everywhere, in USA where I spent several years and now in China. It is sad and disturbing to see this petition online and my fellow Gong Jiao buddies share the same. That school spirit is not about getting a school that looks better. It is about the people - the students, the teachers and sometimes, even the leadership. Sure, we cat hi boys are cheeky fellas, giving nicknames to many staff and students in school. But in the end, we carry with us that knowledge that we are Gong Jiao boys in our hearts forever.

Please talk openly. Discuss about issues and make decisions together. The leadership may think that kids do not know anything about running a school but give them some credit. They are the reason the school exist. Listen to the students, you will be amazed what the different perspective yield. Students also need to express their views in a more appropriate manner. Wee Siong has potential. Use that potential right and get positive change by choosing the right way to channel your ideas.

Gong Jiao forever...

Lim Seow Lark
1988.

10:47 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Actually this petition thing happened quite a long time back already, somewhere near the start of Term 3.

Ever since the principal got notice of this, I feel that he has softened down his image somewhat though. He's willing to take feedback from the students through the use of the Student Feedback Unit.

And I believe it's the same Goh Yong Han you're talking about heh. Mr Goh is my PE teacher this year =)

11:57 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

This was way too petty, and it only reflects on how childlike and juvenile the mind of the writer is. Things like these happens in every school, -he is just so personal about it.

Someday when he eventually grows up, he will look back and laugh at such things.

12:17 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

indeed, this petition happened some time ago alr. it did stir up quite a disturbance in the school itself. but since then, the principal had alr tried to change the situation by opening up platforms for feedbacks. and mr lee himself had repeatedly told us that many things mentioned in the petition is not true. for example the channeling of school funds for the wrong usuage. he even went to the extent of proving to us that the whole petition was made up, in this case by asking the donars themselves to come clarify the matter with us.

Although the petition itself might raise up questions within the public about how good catholic high school actually is, we, however cannot deny the fact that Mr Lee actually brought catholic high school to greater heights. It may seem to the school that his ambitious dreams for catholic high may seem impossible, but isn't better like this?(compared to a principal who sits in the office all day long and does nothing?)

I know Ho Wee Seng personally. He is not those rebellious kind of students who like to create trouble. I talk to him soemtimes, and i believe that it was purely out of boredom that he done up this petition. Please note that, THE PETITION HAD ALREADY BEEN TAKEN DOWN AND HIS FATHER HAD ACTUALLY CAME TO SCHOOL TO SETTLE THIS WHOLE PROBLEM. It is just unlucky that some ignorant fool chose to post the petition again.. For that, i pity him. But then again, we can use this chance to prove that catholic high is indeed a great school. it will be the chance for students, teachers or anyone to speak up.

Okay, i just want to emphasise the fact that no matter what happens, we cannot really take the words of one student for real. This whole incident has even got the attention of the teachers themselves, and they had personally said that the whole thing was not true.

1) WE LOVE OUR SCHOOL
2) WE WOULDN'T LET ANYONE TARNISH ITS REPUTATION.

with regards.

12:20 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

its so stupid of that fool who choose to post it here.
Mr Lee is a good Principal and Catholic High is a wonderful school.
this is no way going to bring down the school's image. cos who will believe some fool's arse doing.
no i'm not in that school but i can say GongJiao indeed is the school i respects most other than my own school.

12:59 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Just You yourself, you're trying to influence other minds that CHS is not a good school? Hello? Everyone has their short comings, so what makes you think that you've the right to speak about others? I believe, you yourself isn't perfect either.

Just because of what some things people does that bothers you, do you have to make a fuss out of nothing and try to spoil the good image of their school ? Mind you, its only YOUR personal opinion, don't try influencing others.

You know what? By doing this whole petition against the school, it showed how much of a loser you are. If i don't like my parents, would i go and create a petition against them and defy what they said ?

No i wouldn't . From young, i believe, your parents would have thought YOU to respect others. Even if you yourself don't like the school, what makes you think you have got the right to judge it?

The previous anonymous stated his point. You're just one student. If you think, that this petition can spoil the image of CHS, im telling you, you are totally wrong and perhaps getting out of your mind. Its just that YOU don't like the school, what's your problem? Do you have to make it BIG?

You are trying to? Attract attention and tell the whole wide world that CHS is not a good school as others might used to think so? What's your point of doing all these? Trying to let people know that YOU got a petition against CHS so people will know who you are ?

You know what? If that is your point, i suggest you would want to try another method of doing so.

Well, i can't really think of one you can do so without hurting yourself. I can't think of one and i won't think of one, because i don't want to make a total fool out of myself ? I don't make a fuss out of nothing just to hurt OTHERS.

Going back to my first point, if you are not perfect, don't expect others to be as perfect as you can think. Think about it, if you think creating this petition against CHS can affect what others think about it, I suggest you reconsider and stop being so immature.

Mature & sensible people don't do these stuffs. They'd rather put their attention on important stuffs than to do things that make people think that they're trying to seek attention by doing stupid stuffs.

ONE LITTLE PERSON LIKE YOU WOULDN'T MAKE OTHERS THINK THAT CHS ISN'T A GOOD SCHOOL, IT JUST SHOWS HOW NAIVE AND IMMATURE YOU ARE.

CHS STUDENTS ; don't get affected by just one person's negative comments about the school. because he doesn't know how to appreciate what the school does.

AND to me, you're one plain ignorant person trying to seek attention and make people think that CHS is not a good school.

CHS is a good school. And i believe, with the strength and unity of the students in chs, rubbish written on this blog shall not be entertained.

1:06 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

And by the way, im the same person as the previous one.

Im not from CHS either. Im from another school. & im a girl.

1:10 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

This Lee is a money face.

1:14 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

10 years ago the principal was also another good for nothing. A pity that no one was there to stand up against him, ir perhaps we didn't have the Internet as a tool for such petitions.
In any case, its disheartening to see the school degrade to what it is now.

1:33 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Why am I not surprised... Catholic High has always been plagued by useless principals and teachers.

1:35 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Mr Lee is a gd principal, i believe he will not do such things. There is no such evidence that he misappropiated the funds. The monuments are gifts from other people, and not from the sch funds.

2:33 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

HELLO? are those people bootlicking the blogger ? DO YOU HAVE EVIDENCE? don't talk nonsense if you don't have the proof. twit !

if the principal was a good for nothing, he wouldn't have got such a post. please man, do you even have it ? if you don't , you'd better shut your ass off man.

2:42 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Apparently, this petition thingy stirred up alot of trouble in our school and it was indeed a "black day" to Catholic high. However, Mr Lee here is well known and he has certain achievements that is outstanding.
The Misappropriate handling of the funds were just nothing but a rumour due to the fact that we were always made to pay for extra things that are beneficial to us. Perhaps we are young, perhaps we dont really understand the true intention behind all these things.
However what i would like to bring up is that Mrs Long's case was really wrongful...Its just not right of him to do such a thing in fron of the students....Everyone has a pride, even teachers. Mrs Long is an extremely gd and capable teacher, perhaps its just unlucky that she has to put in extra effort to manage her class this year? Shes well known for her teaching, Maths and A maths, constantly producing very gd results by O levels. Her students Ace maths all the time.
While the other teacher, that is requested to leave, is also very much a gd teacher. Whatever quarrels and disagreement internally is not of our concern, what can we do? Everyone are concerned if they are affected if they will sign the petition, common sense would tell u a petition wouldnt help much except to gain attention from others especially from New paper, and others.... What we can do is just to continue and perservere despite the loss of a gd teacher.

Last but not least, i would like to say that Not everything in the petition is true. perhaps 80% of it is untrue.

Just give the teachers and principal a break. We all known as catholic high students that we are rebellious. We all know that not only 1 teacher has broken down and cried in class. Come on, just make their lives easier and not come up with useless and stupid stuff

Please read: For those ignorant fools who choose to continue posting the petitions, u know who u are and ur doing the school harm. Ultimately, it wont do gd for u either. Enough is Enough. I have a copy of the petition too. I never spreaded it due to its unreliability and now that its solved, its gone for gd.

-Sec 3 guy.

2:59 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

In my point of view, Mr Lee is a responsible principal, and he's a good one.

He asks students to donate money, is for the good of the school, no one has evidence that he misppropriated the funds, so no one has the right to point him out on that because you'd be contradicting yourself.

Mr Lee looks upon Punctuality as an important point of a duty as a student. If you can't be punctual at school, you're the irresponsible one, your duty, as a student, is to be punctual for school, Mr Lee must be too angry for the number of latecomers, thus scolded those words. Perhaps he did it unintentionally, you will never know how he feels unless you ARE him.

Yes , as a student of Catholic High, You should respect your own school, instead of saying all these to bring your school's image down.What good will it do you?

We, the Anglican High students, are glad to claim that we respect our school, the teachers and even our classmates and friends, of course not forgetting the seniors and juniors. We unite together and contribute to the school, we don't speak bad about our school, instead we try our best to show to the public how civilised and polite AHS students are.

In academic and in any other methods, we try to give our best and make our school have a comfortable place for everyone.

Perhaps you should consider, if you don't like the school, you still have NO right to tarnish its reputation, it makes you such a sore loser.

3:01 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

just passing by

To anonymous, you have just presented naivety at its best. Respect is earned, not accumulated by virtue of some status. I don't see why a school that sucks(no pun intended) needs to be respected. Respect only comes when the school serves the students rightfully. Without any factual basis, the petition can amount to defamation. Otherwise, don't even bring up the blind follower's mentality such as "..don't like the school, .. no right to tarnish its reputation, .. makes you such a sore loser". If truth exists whether in part or whole of the petition, on what grounds are you calling the petitioner a sore loser (firstly, without being a sore loser yourself)?

3:58 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hello, I was a student in Xinmin Secondary which was under Mr Lee before he was transferred to Catholic High.

In my opinion, Mr Lee is a person who cares very much about 'face', He speaks about all his dreams and yada yada, but it ultimately boils down to how he can make the school look better to outsiders and also win numerous awards.

Anyway, the ZERO latecomers policy can provide valuable insights to someone's character.
During my time in Xinmin, latecomers were publicly humilated by being forced to walk around the whole school building, wearing a card board sign, and repeating on a loud hailer the phrase :"Let me not be the one who is late" (apparently, Mr Lee has since re-used this technique in CHS).
And what was the motive of having zero late comers? To help students become more disciplined and responsible?
NO!! in my opinion, it was done all for his Zero Late comers Day record. To quote the man himself :"When i tell other principals that Xinmin Secondary School has 50 days of no latecomers, they all go: WOW!!! how did you do it?"
What effect does this form of punishment have on the general student population? Firstly, it builds a climate of fear. To hear a mournful voice chanting away during lesson time is very disturbing. Secondly, if you happen to be late, would you come to school?

How would you describe the ideal principal? Would he be the one who builds numerous fountains/ponds/wells? Set lofty goals, make firery speeches and introduce numerous initiatives? Insult students for doing badly/coming late?
Sadly, you could sense that he wasn't interested in the welfare or the development of the students.
We kept quiet because it wasn't until we entered JC that we realised not all secondary schools had such principals.
All this being said, we can't choose the people we meet in life, so i guess the people in CHS will just have to live with him.

And to the AHS dude above, ever heard of the term whistle blowing?

4:49 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi,
To people of CHS, whatever you people have suffered under Lee's administation was nothing new.

I was a student of Lee former sch. Never thought that after so long he is still using the same old tactics on his students. During my time, there were donations after donations---> from building an aircon hall that only use for half an hour everyday, to building a new block that was to be tear down after 3 years. This has shown that he is a person who use students as resource to boost his own reputation. One thing to add is his accomplice...Toh, who also caused a lot of trouble after he was transfered to chung cheng from xinmin.

To teachers who have work with Lee, why you dont voice your OWN opinion .

5:19 PM  
Blogger hilaryTEO said...

To (ALL)

as a current secondary three student in catholic high- i can safely assure that much of the things written in the pertition are untruths or exaggerations and that too much has been taken into account over this matter. sure, Mr Lee has a different way of doing things, however i feel that he would not do anything that would not benefit the school in some way or another. therefore- it is in the best interest of the school and all related that we do not continue harping on this issue as there is no one who will come out from such a scandal well. if this were to continue- all involved would be stuck with a huge blow. i mean, this is not the type of diservice an established learning institution such as CHS deserves. s




... so much trouble caused by such nonsense... what a crazy affair...



~trust~

5:20 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

spoken like a true weakling

5:29 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

There's a that goes 灭他人志气,长自己威风. The Hwa-Chongians that found their way to this comments thread have done the exact opposite. It's disgraceful and frankly, an embarassment to your own institution.

Catholic High School might not be a perfect school. And washing dirty linen on such an open forum might be, in our Asian tradition, a loss of face.

But we do so not to run our own alma mater down. We believe that only through open, honest dialogue and admitting our flaws, can we then take steps to make right all that has gone wrong.

Sure, this might be too public a space to have such an exercise. But perhaps, just perhaps, this might just bring about the change our beloved 公教 badly needs.

公教中学屹立新洲。。。

6:27 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Toh already left CHS without Hak Boon. Weird ah?

6:58 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi to all,

I was a former student of XMS which was under Ah Lee teaching too,

I'm totally not surprised by what he have done to CHS. I personally have had bad experiences with him too.From my point of view i think he should improve himself as an EDUCATOR and not one who only uses harsh and unreasonable words to reprimand his teachers and students.
For example, during my sec 4, he introduced a study log card systems and demand all graduating student to record the no. of hours they study daily. Ah Lee will come personally to all the classes and ask for the amount of time they studied the day before. In expectation, he want us to at least spent 6 hours a day in prepare for O level. those that never meet up to his expectation were scolded harshly. A girl from my class recorded down 2.5 hours and was scolded till she cry in front of the class.do keep in view that she was the most hard working student in my class and she was scolded for been lazy... WTH. later on she graduted with flying colours and was the top student for my year. This totally shows how "GOOD" of a educator he was and only look at things on the surface.
In addition, i think he is more of a business man than a educator. he promoted XMS in newspaper and packaging it nicely for it to attract the top students from PSLE. he asked for countless of donation and kept upgrading the school by pulling down good and functioning blocks. one which was the air-con hall and was pulled down in less than 3 years. This totally shows how much of a "money-saver" he was and how he use the money to the benefits of the students. as for now i dun truly know the situation in CHS so i cannot comment on that... but on he scolding his teachers for marking papers late in CHS and raising eletric bills, i found it amusing at how a "money saver" he is now if it is true..lol
All THE ABOVE SHOWS HOW HE MISTREATED THE STUDENTS AND THE HARDLY EARNED MONEY OF THE STUDENTS THROUGHT DONATIONS.

ultimatily, i know CHS is a great school.. the students and teachers are great.
and it is only been stained by one black marking on a plain white clean paper.
Lets get rid of the black marking and carrying life..

7:15 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The story of Toh...

Since Mr Lim T W left in 2003, LHB brought in Ms Chua & Mr Toh into the Chinese Department.

* Chua was new to the job as HOD and has little guidance from the school administration. As a result the Chinese Department is in a mess, and the CL results dipped.

* Toh is LHB's blue-eye boy from Xinmin, whom he has groomed and promoted to be the VP of Chung Cheng High. However he is too full of himself and got into trouble with Chung Cheng's school admin. As a result, he was ousted from VP-ship in Chung Cheng High and has to seek refuge with his previous boss, LHB. LHB accepted him to stay and appointed him as HOD/Discipline. He has since made use of his authority to thrown his weight around in CHS, and offended many teachers in his 2 years with CHS. At one point of time, he behaved as if he is the VP.

However, things fell out between LHB, Toh & Chua, and both Toh & Chua resigned from education service earlier this year. Apparently Toh screwed up the SEM last year and LHB was very angry with him. As for Chua, she screwed up the CL results...

After Toh & Chua left, LHB made use of them as scapegoats and blames the poor staff morale due to Toh... To this day, Toh is very sore over what LHB did to him... What a friend and mentor LHB is!

8:59 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

zzz.... nice try... chs prefectorial and student ldr board... they noe the truth... so y cover it up? scared peple see then dun wan come our sch? our teaccher show us doesn't mean that u can go spread ard rite?~the 2 prefects in the same bloody class... u leaked it out... if the sch see it again wad will happen? get the teachers and the class in trouble again? the "rapin" thing haven end leh... u wan sabo ur own class that alr tio mark alr? think b4 u do anything la... tongues will wag de... let them spread the rumours all they want... the truth will shine 1 day... k? like wad mrs long and mr tan had said.. leave the matter alr... none of ur business y bother? stir up more trouble? even mr goh yong han ( the sec 3s P.E. teacher) also dun care... so y u all care? hu r u to say all these? r u mr lee hak boon? NO... u noe wad he's doing? NO... so y r u all assuming? those stuff abt untruths or exaggerations all these.. who said it? there isn't a tiny bit of truth behind it? then y did wee seng do all these? i noe him personally... he's not those bo liao type of people that will go ard stiring up trouble... u think he so free go anyhow cr8 1 14 pg petition to waste his time? cmmon la... he took abt 3~4 days to complete it lo... without slp somemore leh... u think he nth better to do? stay up 24hr for fun? u think his father no case to settle? so free help him draft out 1 petetion? u think he so free go check for all the spelling errors? i checked the petetion for him... i ask if the word "monies" is a spelling error... from his voice... u can sense that he is anxious abt this petition... he cares for it... hu will care for a piece of junk? wee seng takes pride in wadever he does... so it makes no sense rite? anyway... he toook down the site alr... the matter had been settled abt 3mths ago... so hu r u to post it up? to cr8 trouble? to sow discords? to mess up the sch's 'o' lvls or to mess up the sch's final year exams?

i am writing this to try stop this incident from happening again... wee seng has alr suffered quite alot from this incident alr... so will u all gif him a break? gif the teachers a break? gif mr lee hak boon a break? and also gif the whole sch a break as well... i hope that no one will post this on the net again... as it will bring lots of trouble that is uncalled for... thx for all ur co-operation...

9:11 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

wad has mr toh got to do wif this? he's in china now... a principal in the sch there... so y drag him into this mess?

9:15 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hey everyone,

I am a recently graduated student from CHS. I believe that the last 2 years in CHS was indeed not very happy. I love CHS, but if there is a problem with it, doesn't anyone have the right to reveal it? I do not understand the actions of the Hwa Chong and Anglican students who have obviously come to stir trouble with their comments. Why don't they just go mind their own business instead of bothering about what is happening in CHS.

Here is something which happened to one of my batches students:

My batch had seriously underperformed in the O Levels, resulting in CHS dropping to Band 3 from the previous years Band 1. Mr Lee, our beloved principal, thus lost "face". ONe of my fellow schoolmates, who had done very well in the prelims but somehow screwed up his English for O Levels went to Mr Lee to ask for a letter of reccomndation so that he could reenter the JC of his choice. He was also outstanding in his CCA, in addition to being the President of the Students Council. Mr Lee rejected him straight in the face, with a scathing remark "I don't give recommendation letters to Band 3 students." This hurtful comment could have severely dented the pride and self confidence of a student which CHS "groomed" in character building. Says something doesn't it?

12:13 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Indeed...words speak for themselves dont they? Apparently im having a negative image of LHB.If the above mentioned of misappropriate handling of funds are indeed true even in other schools like xinmin, then something must really be done for him to prove hes not done anything wrong...

2:06 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I am a teacher who followed this principal to two schools. I have to break my silence as I know him better than many of you and some of you are not fair in your comments about him. And students of Catholic High, you ought to feel fortunate that you have him leading you. Catholic High today is quite different from a few years ago. students are self confident and well behaved. Last time, they loitered in Junction 8, spoke vulgarities, and even scratched peoples car. now students feel proud of the school. Catholic high has gone 5 national titles in sports and in 11 national semi finals.your choir is one of the world best so is your band. you got five golds in SYF. Academically, you are in top band last year. And you have the most beautitul campus. Just bec of one unstable mind who write some rubbish you pull him and the school thro the mud. Why I say unstable. Just one week before Ho put up the blog, principal praised him in front of whole school for beng a proud CH student. Yes, his ways maybe a bit tough at times,but his heart is at the right place. just like Lee Kuan yew, not all people agree with his method. But MM Lee brought peace & prosperity. Go the JB and you appreciate Singapore. Go to other schools and you appreciate this principal

7:13 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Face it. I rather have someone who care about students and bother to discipline to give students a bright future than one who could not be bothered about the well being of students. This principal chased away lousy teachers and brought in many good ones. He upgraded school facilities like rock wall indoor hall, gym, tennis court, softball pitch, beautiful library, study areas. I saw him working day and night. sourcing for sponsor to upgrade the school. He talk to students like a father. many students enjoyed his inspiring stories. He personally conduct lessons for the weaker students. recently he even help one foreign student to find a flat, also find a sponsor to support his stay here till he finish O level. My point is it is easy to focus on one or two weakness of others and exagerate them and take things out of context. But we have to be fair to the person. I hope you all, esp the old boys,would not run him down. lets move on and close the matter.

7:28 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I am from 2004 batch Cath High. My batch did the best in O level, in band one. I am thankful to Mr Lee and my teachers who cared and taught us well. Mr Lee is not what some of you described him to be. He personally conducted motivational workshop for us. Yes, he is tough with teachrs. He got rid of lousy teachers. Who dare to do so? And brought in many good teachers.he worked hard to get donations to upgrade facilites. Every six months the school is differen. Last time no Tennis Court, no rock walls, but now CH has fantastic facilites. If he squander money, am sure accounts checking will find out. if no evidence, pls dont anyhow accused. Princial also conducted lessons for us when he realised we were still weak after Prelim. I once when to see him about my problem, he helped me resoved it though he was busy. I heard recently he also help a foreign student found a flat and found a sponsor to support him till his O level.Knowing Mr Lee, the way he spoke to us at various assemblies and in class, he would not pass comments such as you band 3 studints.Were you there to hear such comment being passed or just heresay? He is strict no doubt, but I would rather have someone who impose high standart on me than Bow Chup. Now I am in JC, i can vouch CH has done more for me. Gong Jiao Wan Sui

9:16 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

wooo.. care to leave your name?

Heart was right.. But ways too tough.. so can i say.. when a teacher beats up a student who is underperforming, is correct? since the chinese has this saying: 打是疼 , 骂是爱.

his way of dealing late comers are too harsh and should be revised. However he did not. He even brought his team of supporters from XMS to CHS and continue his style of management. I am quite surprised that teachers all do agree with his way of handling..

What to do.. cos we are all singaporeans..

9:28 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Under the yearly budget, the money used to pay for utilities and installations etc can never be used for student materials. The statues and artworks are also donated by parents and artists that he went to look for - do you know how barren the school compound was just after we moved back, before this beautification? And for all the other great sports facilities, the teachers involved had to work hard to source for sponsors as well. How can you just ignore the hard work of the teachers too, and presume that money given to the school is misused?

10:46 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

hello! i think it was really brave of that guy to write up a petition like that! reminds me of the time when my class tried to petition against a teacher. *cough cough*. well, the petition didn't turn out well- no one dared to sign it. anyway, i wish the boys of catholic high all the best. good luck!

11:11 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

HEY EVERYONE OUT THERE.
THERE ARE LIKE SO MANY COMMENTS.
WHATS THE POINT. THIS PETITION IS TOTAL NONSENSE.
I DONT EVEN THINK MANY WERE READ.
TO THOSE WHO THINK MR LEE IS BAD. OHWELLS. I CANT MAKE YOU CHANGE YOUR OPINION. BUT YEAH. JUST SHUSH.
YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO COMMENT ABOUT HIM. UNLESS YOU ARE SOME PRESIDENT OF WHICHEVER COUNTRY?! SO KEEP EVERYTHING TO YOURESELF. AND SHOO.
AND TO THOSE WHO THINK MR LEE IS GOOD. I AGREE 100%. WE KNOW IT IN OUT HEARTS HE IS GOOD. FULL STOP.
THUS THIS PETITION BOOSHIT IS NOT GOING TO AFFECT ANYTHING. NOT THE IMAGE. NOT THE UNITY IN CATHOLIC HIGH STUDENTS. CATHOLIC HIGH IS GOOD(:

11:48 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

To all Catholic High old boys and students. This is Mr Edwin Heng. I really feel I need to say this from the perspective of an old boy who has come back to teach in Catholic High for the past 8 years, and who can tell you guys that we teachers have worked extremely hard for the past 8 years under Mrs Goh and Mr Lee to bring Catholic High up to where it is today.

You guys know the tremendous amount of work and long hours all the teachers and principals put in to bring our old school up. In 1999 we were ranked outside the top 20, but slowly and surely we went up the ranking to 22, 18, 14, 11 till in 2004, when we went into Band 1 and got a ranking of 7 in O levels results, though we had a slight dip last year. I remember the euphoria all felt at that ranking of Band 1, and I recall the heartfelt anguish and tears at the dip, and I know we love our Alma Mater. All these are the blood and toil of all the previous students, teachers, principals.

Yet, this current site here is precisely destroying our good name, based on mere speculations or warped interpretations. To be frank, much of what's written on the petition is not true, or is not understood correctly. Furthermore, this is old news. Wee Seng had already clarified things with the school and students many weeks ago. From the educator's point of view, some of us teachers have also told Wee Seng that his confidence and daring to just go ahead and do something he firmly believes in is something admirable, and to not lose heart in that. It's just that he needed to verify the facts first. As for now, we are all now gearing up for the O Levels to bring Cath High up again. The Sec 4s and the teachers are working so hard now. And for Wee Seng, he's preparing for the Sec 3 Final Exams. Blog owner, how can you drag him through all these now, especially when he had already clarified the matter in school ages ago, and we have all moved on? I have read his plea to you on the tagboard to remove this petition page. If you have a conscience, please leave all of us in peace, and remove this blog entry. If there is a problem in our school, let us solve it ourselves within our own family. Owner of this blogsite, if you are a Cath High boy/oldboy, then you know what action is appropriate. If you are not from the Cath High family, then please do your friends from Cath High a service and favour by removing it, because it is affecting the name of our beloved school.

As for the contents of the petition - most of it is warped. The financial aspects of the statues and rocks and artpieces and sports facilities etc .. they are all aboveboard. Teachers involved and the principal all had to source for sponsors for that. And whatever installation and maintenance funds come from budget allocated towards school daily operations, not for student materials or teacher salaries. As for how hard everyone has to work, and the high demands on all of us ... well, old boys, do we not all want our Alma Mater to soar?

What the teachers built, what the previous batches built, what our previous Principal Mrs Goh built and prepared, what Mr Lee built and continued, I don't think we Cath High old boys can bear to see destroyed. Whatever differences you might have with the current Principal Mr Lee, keep the discussion and actions back in the school, not on this public domain. Even my friends from other schools are telling me about this site - can you see the damage done to our School's good name outside.

The Internet is no place to discuss this, because its reach is beyond what you might have originally envisaged. Every word you type here, every truth and untruth, once published will be read, and opinions will be shaped. So you have to act responsibly.
Cath High people, we are doing our Alma Mater a great disservice by continuing here like this. Put all these differences aside, and come back to school to talk to the P personally if you need to instead. Not here.

I was a Cath High student, I am a Cath High teacher, and I will always be a Cath High Person, a Gong Jiao Ren! For all our Cath High boys who have passed through our doors, you surely feel the same bout Cath High. Let us
come together and focus on bringing the school up together.
公教中学 屹立新洲 。。。。
振我邦国 万世千秋!
Long Live Catholic High!

11:53 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

CLAPS:D

1:09 PM  
Blogger Zhongming said...

I was an ex-catholic high student under Principal Mr Lee. I recently left for another school, largely due to private reasons. This is not to say that I have disliked Catholic High School. I still miss Catholic High School rather dearly.

I know Wee Seng personally as a friend, and that he has created such an uproar in the school was unheard of. Being a student of the same batch as him, I can understand his anger and his disappointment with the school. However, also as a student councillor, I suppose that there are some things which I knew but not of which the rest of the school knew.

Firstly, some of the issues claimed by Wee Seng about the implementation of 'decorations' to the school. Indeed the school was in desperate conditions when we moved into the campus, the place being barren. However, it is with these 'decorations' that have made the school seem wonderful. A few months not back into the school, and I was astonished by how much nicer the school looked. Then theres the money issue. I believe what Wee Seng was trying to point out was that instead of sourcing for funds to beautify the school, why not source for funds to implement more programmes for the students? That was an issue I never knew the reasons, but I wouldn't speculate. The principal probably and the HODs would have felt the current amount of resources for the students are sufficient, if not, in surplus, for the students.

And as for the maintenence fees of these beautifications, I suppose Mr Heng has clearly pointed out that there is a certain amount of money being set aside for maintenence. To what I know, Mr Lee has even used his own money to pay for the electrical and water bills when the bills exceeded the budget.

As for student leadership, To a small extent I would have to agree with Wee Seng that the Student Leaders are not 'doing' anything. The usage of parenthesis is not in sarcasm, but to look at what they are actually doing. The school's vision is to train leaders, that is well there is an influx in the number of student leaders. Of course some may say too many cooks spoil the soup, but extra manpower is always welcomed.

Wee Seng noted that the Prefects were not doing a good job. As far as I remember, such cases arise as the Prefectorial Board lacks in manpower. One can go around asking any prefects and they would agree. As for the Students' Council, there has not been a lot of funding given to them for their projects, hence that it is difficult for them to implement their programmes. Also, due to the increase in Student Leadership Boards, the Students' Council also faces the problem of a lack in manpower. These are internal problems, as such, the rest of the school wouldn't know. So please, do not condemn the student leaders, they are only doing their jobs. Even if there are ill-mannered SLs, leave them be, or inform their teachers-in-charge, something rational to do.

I love Catholic High. Even though there were some grumbles this and there, I still love CHS. Coming to a new school, I have realised that the 'training' given by Catholic High has taught me a lot than what other schools teach. I'm proud to have been once a Catholic High gentleman.

So, the owner of this blog, I hence request, as with the majority of the commenters that you take down this post of irrelavance and untrues. It should be a matter of the school's privacy and outsiders should not be involved.

Thank you.

1:52 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

To the follower of LHB from Xinmin to Catholic High:

(1) You are not fair in describing the situation before LHB came to CHS as well. LHB only came in 2003, how much did you know about CHS before you came? As a matter of fact, CHS students were already very well-behaved before LHB came, all thanks to Mrs Goh Hwee Choo, the former principal. Situation before Mrs Goh was indeed bad, but she has done a wonderful job to bring CHS up. I must say Mrs Goh truly has a heart for the CHS students. When LHB came in, things were already on track, he is sitting on the laurels of his predecessor, as was in the case of Xinmin as well (he's a very lucky guy isn't it?) However, LHB was very pissed with Mrs Goh (he revealed news of his posting to CHS to the press, which is supposed to be embargoed till officially announced by MOE, and hence got into trouble with Mrs Goh & MOE). Out of his own foolish pride, he decided to break down everything that Mrs Goh has established, and brought in a group of staff from Xinmin to run CHS in Xinmin-style. The result is what we all see now -- CHAOS!!

(2) Don't deceive the others! CHS students STILL loiter in Junction 8 nowadays. BTW, what's wrong with students loitering in shopping centres? And, ehem, YES some of them DO speak vulgarities. As for the part on scratching people's car, it's an isolated incident which happened many years ago, CHS students don't go around scratching every car they see, alright? Overall, although LHB claimed that he is very much into character building, he is just boasting about it without any apparent results. To be honest, CHS discipline is actually worse after he came, coz he did not give the boys due respect and run CHS neighborhood-school style.

(3) We are in Band 1 in 2005 mainly because: (a) the 2004 Sec 4 batch was well-cultured by Mrs Goh and the teachers, (b) that batch of 'dragon-baby' students are pretty smart, (c) we have wonderful teachers like Mr Terence Goh who goes all out for the students, even if it means staying with them past 10pm to study, (d) the students managed to pick themselves up in the nick of time to focus in their studies.

(4) For your info, the choir WAS already doing very well in Mrs Goh's time. In fact, the renowned choir conductor, Mr Nelson Quay, was brought in by Mrs Goh. Why not try to remove him, and see if the choir can still do as well?

(5) LHB is never keen to develop teachers from within. Rather, he is more keen to import "talents" from other schools, Xinmin Sec being the greatest contributor of teachers in the secondary section. There is even 1 couple who both transferred from Xinmin to teach here, and the wife subsequently cannot handle the work and the students, and was given special concession by LHB to take on a fully administrative role in the primary section, working from 9am to 5om, while drawing full teacher salary.

(6) Last but not least, to the followers of LHB from Xinmin: Beware! LHB has already set a precedent case with Toh. If things don't go well, you may be the next scapegoat...

P.S. For goodness sake don't ever compare LHB with MM. LHB can't hold a candle against MM.

2:45 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

To the follower of LHB from Xinmin to Catholic High:

(1) You are not fair in describing the situation before LHB came to CHS as well. LHB only came in 2003, how much did you know about CHS before you came? As a matter of fact, CHS students were already very well-behaved before LHB came, all thanks to Mrs Goh Hwee Choo, the former principal. Situation before Mrs Goh was indeed bad, but she has done a wonderful job to bring CHS up. I must say Mrs Goh truly has a heart for the CHS students. When LHB came in, things were already on track, he is sitting on the laurels of his predecessor, as was in the case of Xinmin as well (he's a very lucky guy isn't it?) However, LHB was very pissed with Mrs Goh (he revealed news of his posting to CHS to the press, which is supposed to be embargoed till officially announced by MOE, and hence got into trouble with Mrs Goh & MOE). Out of his own foolish pride, he decided to break down everything that Mrs Goh has established, and brought in a group of staff from Xinmin to run CHS in Xinmin-style. The result is what we all see now -- CHAOS!!

(2) Don't deceive the others! CHS students STILL loiter in Junction 8 nowadays. BTW, what's wrong with students loitering in shopping centres? And, ehem, YES some of them DO speak vulgarities. As for the part on scratching people's car, it's an isolated incident which happened many years ago, CHS students don't go around scratching every car they see, alright? Overall, although LHB claimed that he is very much into character building, he is just boasting about it without any apparent results. To be honest, CHS discipline is actually worse after he came, coz he did not give the boys due respect and run CHS neighborhood-school style.

(3) We are in Band 1 in 2005 mainly because: (a) the 2004 Sec 4 batch was well-cultured by Mrs Goh and the teachers, (b) that batch of 'dragon-baby' students are pretty smart, (c) we have wonderful teachers like Mr Terence Goh who goes all out for the students, even if it means staying with them past 10pm to study, (d) the students managed to pick themselves up in the nick of time to focus in their studies.

(4) For your info, the choir WAS already doing very well in Mrs Goh's time. In fact, the renowned choir conductor, Mr Nelson Quay, was brought in by Mrs Goh. Why not try to remove him, and see if the choir can still do as well?

(5) LHB is never keen to develop teachers from within. Rather, he is more keen to import "talents" from other schools, Xinmin Sec being the greatest contributor of teachers in the secondary section. There is even 1 couple who both transferred from Xinmin to teach here, and the wife subsequently cannot handle the work and the students, and was given special concession by LHB to take on a fully administrative role in the primary section, working from 9am to 5pm, while drawing full teacher salary.

(6) Last but not least, to the followers of LHB from Xinmin: Beware! LHB has already set a precedent case with Toh. If things don't go well, you may be the next scapegoat...

P.S. For goodness sake don't ever compare LHB with MM. LHB can't hold a candle against MM.

2:54 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Whole load of crap...

What is the becoming of kids today?

Go fly a kite kiddo...

3:32 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

This is amazing! If it's one thing I loved about my CatHigh days was all the nonsense we got up to. Not surprisingly, we copped alot of flak because we were in the express stream. Ahhh it's good to know (in a morbid way) that the school churns out abit of noise still. The best we could do back then was steal 2 cartons of drinks meant for national day celebrations (caning as punishment), and an attempt to burn the printing room during exams (by one of the juniors)..

Terence Pang, PhD (Neurosci)
[after being told I wasnt good enough to take Bio for 'O's haha!]
4E1, 1995

3:39 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

woa, i see the true cath high spirit!

long live, cath high!

4:22 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

He didn't ask for donations. He forced students to give. Some Sec 4s very unwilling to do so slotted in coins and A4 paper and are dealt with severely.

And we still pay for worksheets.

Even teachers are pressured to collect red packets. "Don't put me in a difficult position", they said. This donation is an operation in disguise.

5:03 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Dear Gong-Jiao Gentlemen,

You may be interested to take a look at this blog...

http://100dollar-remedial.blogspot.com/

6:12 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

quoting from malpar: "He didn't ask for donations. He forced students to give. Some Sec 4s very unwilling to do so slotted in coins and A4 paper and are dealt with severely.

And we still pay for worksheets.

Even teachers are pressured to collect red packets. "Don't put me in a difficult position", they said. This donation is an operation in disguise."

its true! they say its all up to you if u wan to donate or not... but when sch reopens... they say its a must... u dun gif... u tio... so no choice... bo pian must gif 2 dollar... the red packet they gif is not 1... they gif u 2!!! WTH... 1 is bad enouf isn't it... haiz... too bad i was few batches late... dunno wads the mrs goh like... haiz...but can ask my classmate... mrs goh is his auntie... =)

7:20 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Haiz… so sad that chs has to come to such a state..
If only Mr Lee HB has ears to listen, if only he has shown care for his staff and the students, if only he has been fair in the way he treated his teachers, if only he can see the gems within chs and instead of importing in stones that can never ever shine…

How do some teachers in chs gets promoted? They only need to indicate that they want to leave. So posts are created, kind of weird to have a tr becoming an office staff, isn’t it? Wonder how the office staff feels about this… haha. And, another tr who “found” his way into being a “KP” without any post or title given to him, and he simply attended EMC that is meant for all the KPs in the school.

Oh, the STs, hm..,. wonder what kind of position they are holding in the school. They are under the RO of Hods, which mades them on par with the SH whose RO are also the Hods. And yet, the STs are not as well respected as compared with the SHs and LHs in the school… so sad to see that… They are given full teaching load, given form-teacher role, CCA trs, tr mentors and Year Head as well.

The teachers that have left… NEVER EVER SAY they are lousy trs… especially for those who have not know them. Would you count Mr Lim TW, Mr Joe Lim, Mr Lee LP, Mr Terence Goh, Mr Siau CF, Ms Lim CH, Mrs Zalinah Ang, Mr Vink, Ms Lilian Kwok… as thus? Of course, if it is mentioned by trs and students who have not known them, you missed the chance of knowing these talented teachers… hey u guys out there, if you should read this, do know we missed u and may you meet Principals and bosses that realised how fortunate they are to have you! 

Mrs Goh Hwee Choo has done a fantastic job in bringing up chs…. Really the heart she has put in and the teachers who have been with her and are still in chs would applaused her for her efficiency and her all knowledge of the staff under her. You can always find Mrs Goh in the school. Mrs Goh is a fair principal who places emphasis on academics and projects so all who does their part were given due recognition.

Mr Lee on the other hand can hardly be found in school… haiz… the last he did when he told a young teacher to consider leaving the school when she was not guided by her Hod in supporting the public performance “Gan qin gu xiang”.. She barely teaches for 3 months and I felt its so uncalled for to tell a teacher to leave over such an incidence.
Come to think about it, the teachers are “threaten” with grade D or “ask to leave” too easily by the Principal and the Hods as well…

Last but not least, the academic teachers felt so demoralised. Even with the good results that the 2004 batch has delivered, never have the academic teachers get to celebrate the success of the results or teachers hard work recognised. Dinners were given for the trs and students who handle public performances but the least recognised are the quiet ones who put in effort to mark and guide the students to do well in their studies. Many of us still carry on and work for the sake of the chs gentlemen.

Chs students are great… I enjoy going to class and teach.

Sorry… grievances that is in my heart for v long liao… thanks for reading.. ^-^

7:34 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Saw this post in the above blog... Interesting...

My friend from Cedar Girls told me that the most ridiculous thing that Mdm Yu did was to get her daughter in Cedar to bring in Sec 3 girls from Cedar earlier this year to "motivate" the Catholic High Sec 4 CL students by giving them "tuition" on the premise of awarding them CIP hours, without the knowledge of Cedar's school admin!! (Kindly verify this with your friends in Cedar...) This is an utterly immoral and questionable move, and the remedial was put to a stop after running for only 1 session. The girls from Cedar were also reprimanded by their school teachers. I wonder how would the old boys of Gong-Jiao feel if they got to know about this boo-boo that was initiated by the HOD of Chinese that Mr Lee Hak Boon brought into Gong-Jiao this year??

7:40 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

i still remember those teachers... Mr Lim TW, Mr Joe Lim, Mr Lee LP, Mr Terence Goh, Mr Siau CF, Ms Lim CH, Mrs Zalinah Ang, Mr Vink, Ms Kwok Lilian.... they are indeed good teachers... too good to be true... they could stay wif u in sch to teach u till u understand and noe the concepts... but wad happened to them? gone! coz of one person... haiz... its like trying to win a battle with demoralised troops tat are led without generals or captains... i can only say that i'm dissappointed in the sch and hope for the best...( and also prepare for the worst)... no offence..

7:44 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

quoting frm abv
"My friend from Cedar Girls told me that the most ridiculous thing that Mdm Yu did was to get her daughter in Cedar to bring in Sec 3 girls from Cedar earlier this year to "motivate" the Catholic High Sec 4 CL students by giving them "tuition" on the premise of awarding them CIP hours, without the knowledge of Cedar's school admin!! (Kindly verify this with your friends in Cedar...) This is an utterly immoral and questionable move, and the remedial was put to a stop after running for only 1 session. The girls from Cedar were also reprimanded by their school teachers. I wonder how would the old boys of Gong-Jiao feel if they got to know about this boo-boo that was initiated by the HOD of Chinese that Mr Lee Hak Boon brought into Gong-Jiao this year??"


i remembered this incident... tuition my ass la... let them flirt more like it lo... wad the students doing? talking, eating, and i even saw afew holding hands at j8 that day alr... also... sec 3 teach sec 4? is our sch that weak? is cedar's chi that great? my sis is from cedar... 1 year younger than me... but it seems that thier chinese there is like pang sai like that... she come home complain say her class chi result like dunno wad pang sai... all 50 plus one.. more than half fail... those that pass like 50, 51 like that only... sec 4s are taking o lvls... and u get those chi standard people to come tutor them? wad pang sai is this?... nvm le la... i said alot of pang sai alr... say until i wan make the principal eat my pang sai liao... ( no offence... to either the cedar girls or to the principal... just 2 cents worth of my thought) ^-^

7:51 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

We need to bring this up to higher authorities and prove legally that all these allegations are true. To legitimately compensate the teachers, students or any other entities involved. It maybe a tough matter to investigate. But I highly suggest MOE to sent an audit group and independent team to investigate the matter and interview the people invloved. There is no point talking about it or discussing about it without any action. The blogger- well done on the information and the site. Alot of hard effort is placed in it. Now all we need is to get it out into the open. Let MOE handle the matter. If a resolution is not met or the investigation is not transperant, I iwll suggest bringing it to the media. I am sure alot of our Old Boys are in ST and other reputable media agents. Good luck and Keep all of us update...

An old 4S1 boy graduated in 1998

8:28 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

While reading those points given by Ho, I cant help but chuckle at some point. At times, something within me tells me that "Hey that shitty point that he brought up must have been amplified."
For example,
"3.7.3.2. A student with 15 points in the Prelims was allowed to enter Hwa Chong Junior College."
Now please dont mind my being rude here, but what the hell has the students' entrance to HCJC got to do with Mr Lee, sourgrapes?
"3.7.1.4.2. The Class Chairman does not take action when this rule is broken. Student leaders are also sometimes guilty of breaking this rule."
Yet another senseless point here and it almost seems that he fast running out of "useful" (if any at all) points and is desperately trying to dig out some benign classroom issues.

Ho, understand that Cath High is truely a unique school. It is not a neighbourhood school for one, and it is also not a school for the extremely gifted. If you love the feeling of being surrounded by geniuses, they are only a couple of streets across. But no not in Cath High. Plus, its a boy school. So when you have a mix of boys who dont really like studying coming together, you can be pretty damn sure that absurd events are going to happen. Ex Gong Jiao guys can vouch for that. And it is precisely because of that permissble bit of defiance, I love the school.

"3.5.1.1. During the collection of the ‘O’ Level Results of 2005, to those whom came late, he called them ‘insolent brats’. This is a direct attack on a person’s morals. As an educator, he should not have done so."

Oh come on little brother. "Insolent brat" is a direct attack on a person's moral? Yes, perhaps so on the Hao Gong Ming textbook, but not in real life. Ask yourself, how many of us in cath high would really take that comment to heart? And when YOU volleyed the "Fuck You" to the other guy that day just because he called you a sissy, have YOU ever really cared if your list of profanities are going to cause moral hurt?

I understand that Mrs Alice Long and Mr Edwin Heng had posted some comments here and its truly heartening to see that they really care about the school welfare. Ho, you have fantastic teachers, be a little grateful. To be real honest, the best teachers I have ever met are all in Cath High. On the top of the list, Mr Terence Goh, the one teacher who cared enoguh to make you stay till past 9 to 10pm just to make sure you get your facts right. Mrs Chung Lee Siang, Zalinah, CHEN JIE JUE (WHOOO!!), Toh Chin Leong, Lim Tow Wee, Edwin Heng, Alice Long and sure mate, this list is inexhaustible.

Be a man, dont mis-use your mastery in English and/or debate (a friend of mine told me you are in debate) to conjour such disturbances. In my time, I've witnessed countless of clowns getting caned; yet they would still chat with Toh Chin Leong the next day as if nothing happened, like bros. That, I say, is part of cath high spirit -- forgiving.

You dare do anything like this again in the future, Im gonna come back and kick your ass. Damn you.

9:54 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

guys. i am an ex student from gong jiao. catholic high was the best when mrs goh was around. i bet alot would agree on that. went back recently, saw alot of changes. in fact, they were all unneccesary. well, what's wrong with catholic high now man.

10:05 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

hey hey hey. i just read this petition a ex cat high friend of mine told me about this site. although i am not from cat high, i'd like to say THIS IS THE BEST DAMN PETITION I HAVE EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE.

Firstly, to the person who wrote this, forget whatever those other fags are telling you about kicking your ass if u do something like this again or not being loyal to your school. that is all crap. nothing but crap. Catholic high is an excellent school i believe, as my classmates never fail to inform me but if ur principal is a dick head, then he is a dick head. There is absolutely nothing wrong with standing up against authority. I myself have been involved in such petitions and to me personally if others don't have the balls to back you up FUc* em. cause they're not man enough to stand up against something that they know is wrong. i mean in this world of ours some one has to be the dog for ppl to step on and screw around with. But you dude you will go far.

Next, i stay around ang mo kio bishan area and i have also observed the insane amount of renovation your school has undergone in cluding that HUGE eagle statue sitting right in front of your school building. Upon inquiring from my fellow mates, they have kindly in formed me about how ur dear principle has misused funds to the extent of blah blah blah.after a series of profanities, i will then hear things about you guys being made to sleep in front of the office when u were late, teachers being bullies etc. I can't help but find myself as ludicrous as some of these may sound believing in them. After all, if not one not two but 6 students can say the same thing at the same time, and even repeat the same story through out 2 years, there must be some truth in it.

Catholic High is a great school. My cat high friends are one of the best pals that i have and that i will ever have. They're fun, loyal, honest, full of intergrity committed, play hard and work hard. i assume that it is the school environment that has brought out such fine young men. Although your principal is the head of the school, he is NOT the school itself. so the reputation of your school still stands strong. but seriously to all cat high students out there, your principal is one cock as son of a fat bitch, and if u had some balls left it what ever u call ur self a man, u'd take this one step further. new paper.

10:14 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

i'm not from CHS.but i was from a school that mr lee had been in-charge of. during my time in school, he did the exact same thing to the students too.we nvr complaint.and many tunred out to talk to him and befriend him.there were even students who was told to leave school for their bad behaviour.however, mr lee always said, the gate is closed, but it is not lock. it means that he is always willing to forgive and receive them back with open arms. as you can see, certain teachers have followed mr lee to CHS and i'm sure it is because of his ability to lead a school. and i certainly feel that this petition is dumb.if u want a perfect school, go built one and be the principal.

10:18 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

i 04 batch. i speak for my batch. Mr lee is the man and his ideas. Every step and move he takes is for our gd. That is die hard fact.

Mrs Long's gd. Hak boon's gd also. story end. dun so sissy pls. the verbal HURT after some words from mr lee(ASSUMIN its true) wun cuz u to lose your faith in studyin nor your loser life. Pls realise that mr lee is one of us. Pls have a conscience and take jus a little little look at the efforts he had given in.

10:35 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

As an old boy of the school, I’m very much saddened to see my alma mater suddenly being the centre of attention because of this. I’m saddened not because that this issue has come to light , but because nobody in CHS seems to be able to bring a conclusion to this tricky situation.

The petition raises some very disturbing issues as to how “donations” are being collected and as to its purpose. Fund-raising is definitely part & parcel of school life. I can still remember selling tickets to help build school, going around asking relatives to buy $2 tickets. What is of concern here is whether in the zealousness of doing good for the school, moral /ethical issues were breached.

The answers to these questions lie with the students, teachers and principal. So why are the clarifications so sorely lacking? Wasn’t this matter supposed to be settled 3 months ago? How hard would it be to post a point by point rebuttal to the petition?

I can only conclude you do not really see the great PR opportunity here for the school. This is a great PR opportunity simply because this is a great chance to showcase to the world how things are actually being done in CHS. We can show them that CHS deals with criticism and feedback not by sweeping it under the carpet but through rigorous debate / analysis and application of logic. We can show them how we actually educate students into morally upright adults. So just why are you all clamoring to take down this blog? It makes even old boys like me think that you have something to hide. Do remember 真金不怕红炉火.

To my dear teachers who are demoralized by this incident, please lift your spirits up, there is nothing to be demoralized about. 危机 just means that when there is danger, there is an opportunity also. Take this petition and teach my juniors how to critic an article(English) , teach them how to read between the lines of the comments(literature), teach them about what personal bias means (history), better yet get them to post in the comments section about how they feel or start their own blogs. The avenues to utilize this is endless.


Hanlong
Class of ‘97

12:52 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

An Interesting observation.

The teacher who followed this principal to two schools, assuming Xinmin and CHS, praised Mr Lee Hak Boon because he states that under Mr Lee's guidance, CHS students :
1. are more well mannered.
(Because compared to the CHS a few years ago, students these days are self confident and well behaved. moreover, the previous batches loitered in Junction 8, spewed vulgarities, and even scratched cars. and they weren't proud of their school)

2. acheived more
Catholic high has gone 5 national titles in sports and in 11 national semi finals.your choir is one of the world best so is your band. you got five golds in SYF. Academically, you are in top band last year. And you have the most beautitul campus.


You believe and I quote that "his ways maybe a bit tough at times,but his heart is at the right place".
Then please adress his arrogant and obnoxious attitude towards
1. Weaker students
[cited in the case of Mr Lee rejecting a request for a testimonial with a scathing remark "I don't give recommendation letters to Band 3 students.]

2. Latecomers
[cited in the case of the ex Xinmin student who said that latecomers were humiliated]

It would be prudent not to gloss over the cracks in a person's character with all the acheivements and results.
In fact, I might be so bold as to suggest that it is possible that what all these students want is an understanding and caring principal, not one who cares only about how many As, SYF distinctions, gold medals, MOE quality awards, People developer awards, statues, fountains the school has.

1:03 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Quoted the following from http://100dollar-remedial.blogspot.com/

Do you think this is true?


Anonymous said...
A Rumour…

I am a student from Peirce Sec.

Mdm Yu Lin was a teacher in my school. Indeed, she is very good at getting “stones” with her contacts in China. For instance, the Yue-Fei statue in front of our school was brought in by her. However, there is something about her that I want to share with you folks out there…

Mdm Yu is a married Chinese National (her husband is an official in China by the surname of ‘Di-Wu’. ie. No. 5, no kidding…) We have another Chinese teacher, Mr Goh Seng Soon, who used to teach in Peirce as well. Rumours have it that Mdm Yu and Mr Goh’s relationship is much much more than colleagues, and Mr Goh’s daughter has kicked a fuss to Mdm Yu years back as to why she is the 3rd party in her parent’s marriage!!

Now, Mdm Yu has left Peirce for Catholic High. Mr Goh has also retired from teaching. Wonder if the rumour is true?

7/9/06 9:14 PM


Anonymous said...
Hmm.. I did a quick search online for "AC Educational Consulting Services”, and I found this link:

http://www.kellysearch.com/sg-company-365139519.html

AC Educational Consulting Services

Address
461 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 2
Singapore
567886
Singapore

Telephone, fax and web
Tel: 65-62510500
Fax: 65-62535355

7/9/06 9:31 PM


Anonymous said...
I searched the Singapore Resident Yellowpages for “Goh Seng Soon”, and I found the following:

http://www.yellowpages.com.sg/

Goh Seng Soon

17 Jln Rajah #nn-nn Diamond Tower Singapore nnnnnn 6251 0500
17 Jln Rajah #nn-nn Diamond Tower Singapore nnnnnn 6253 5355

7/9/06 9:32 PM


Anonymous said...
OMG!!

AC Education shares the same telephone and fax numbers with Goh SS's residence!! Is AC Education run by Goh SS?

If the rumour about Mdm Yu & Goh SS is TRUE, then the mystery of why the Sec 3 & Sec 4 students are paying $100 for remedial conducted by AC Educational Consulting Services is quite clear, isn't it?

This is by all means not a small sum of money, assuming that there are 30 students in a class, 30x$100=$3000, for 20 classes the sum involved could be 20x$3000=$60000!!! And majority of this money comes from the students' EduSave (ie. Government's money given to local students annually for enrichment courses!!)

Really sympathize with you, Catholic High folks...

7/9/06 11:26 PM

1:05 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

It is my opinion that lee hak boon does not care about the students.
he pretends to be concerned about them because he needs them to
1. do well in studies
2. do well in sports
3. present a facade that the school is doing well
He is more interested in how to ensure that the school is recognised.

Is he fulfiling the duty of the principal then?
CHS people take note. this post was never about your school.
It is directed against Lee Hak Boon.

2:16 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

If the above allegations about CL remedial is true, someone might want to take the case to CPIB for further investigations. There's no point just talking about it.

6:20 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Agree with the comment posted at 2:16 AM

This petition has ALWAYS been targeting Mr Lee Hak Boon, NOT THE SCHOOL. We CHS students love our school, that is why Wee Seng is trying to bring changes to it instead of seeing it crumble under Lee's leadership with the students doing NOTHING except complaining about it!

However, in the process of bringing this petition forward, the school's reputation has been shakened. It is truely heartening to see so many Old Boys and teachers defending the school they have put their faith in.

At the same time, we must also admit that there are several MAJOR problems with Lee's leadership that has to be addressed. Especially the case with hiring Madam Yu Lin. I really hope someone with authority, either CPIB or MOE, can step in to resolve the issues. Someone that will not be hoodwinked by Lee's nonsense.

The student body is against Lee, NOT the school.

Gong Jiao Wan Sui!!!

8:04 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

what the ****?!
this is so unfair okay.

2:28 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I would agree that the school had a much better environment under Mrs Goh. As a student who has experienced both principals, I find Mrs Goh a more "human" principal who was truly concerned about the students. Mr Lee was the one who cared about efficiency, results and face. I therefore find it not surprising that someone has finally cracked and come up with this petition.

I still love Cat High, for the teachers, the friends and the happier memories. I am saddened at the state of chaos in the school now and hope that this situation can be resolved, not by just an apology to Mr Lee. I think that if everyone is unsettled by this, perhaps the best way to put all this behind us and start on a clean slate, including a change in leadership.

7:24 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

As a matter of fact, CHS has a great (maybe greatest?) turnover rate of teaching staff. The primary school section alone has 10 over new teachers posted in this June. This is to fill up the vacancies left behind by many teachers who have resigned from service or left the school because they do not get along well with school management or do not see any prospects in staying in the school. One young teacher was so unhappy teaching in the school that she decided to pay MOE over $80,000 just to break her bond and leave the school. The principal was rumoured to be questioned by authorities over the large turnover of teachers.

8:23 PM  
Blogger dystopian said...

Round of appaulse for Ho. Seriously, who really had the courage to get this petition up on the net and even confront authorities. Maybe as above as stated, refuse to go back to class to negotiate or even show ur disapproval of certian rule would be even more effective. (Ho should consider this)

Yet, why should we be bothered on how the principal is. Why should get into the so called school politics. Even the student leaders have their own 'politics war'. Don't mull in the past and look into the future. Just study hard and hope time pass fast. AND GET OUR ASS OUT OF CATHOLIC HIGH AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

-teng wee

10:38 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

To: Teng Wee's "why should we be bothered on how the principal is...GET OUR ASS OUT OF CATHOLIC HIGH AS SOON AS POSSIBLE."

Because we are Catholic High students.

Because this school has nurtured us for at least 4 years.

Because this school does not belong to LHB only, it belongs to the students as well.

Because we cannot bear to see this school sinking any deeper than it already had.

Because we still care about our second family... Catholic High

10:45 PM  
Blogger Nicholas Ong said...

Quote:
"Because we are Catholic High students.

Because this school has nurtured us for at least 4 years.

Because this school does not belong to LHB only, it belongs to the students as well.

Because we cannot bear to see this school sinking any deeper than it already had.

Because we still care about our second family... Catholic High"

Bravo! Well said :)

We could of course just study hard and get our ass out of the school but what sort of memories would we bring away with us when we leave?

Rather than bringing away regrets that we had not made the school a better place, why not contribute to it, shaping the identity of our school - we are the reason why a school exist, so we should take ownership of what we want best for the school; the principal could provide whatever direction he wants but in the end its us, the students, the major stakeholders of the school that determines the outcome. So let us live to our potential and commit ourselves to make Cat High a better place.

Nicholas Ong
Class of '97 - 4E3

1:25 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I am Jonathan, a close friend of Wee Seng. I appeal to all of you to stop now. He is cracking up. Though the petition has been removed, the things said in the comments are tormenting him. He is about to break. Please, please, spare a thought for him. If anything happens to him, it does not affect you all but he suffers for the rest of his life. Be kind please.

8:19 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I am Marcus,a friend of Wee Seng but not in the same class. I also plea with everyone to stop. It is really affecting Wee Seng and his family. Please give them a good break before term starts. They want to move on. why break someone like this.

8:38 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Dear Wee Seng,

It saddens me to know you have to go through all these. I come across this in today’s daily bread, “When faced with the choice between doing good and failing to do anything at all, we must always choose to do what’s right. —Bill Crowder ”.

What you have done is something very brave and you choose to stand for what you feel is the right thing to do from your perspective and from a young man’s point of action.

The outcome cannot be controlled due to many reasons. FYI, many of us are also “cracking up” in gong jiao, for we see so much unjust with things not set right and yet many choose to do nothing for fear of being in Principal’s condemned list, suffer poor ranking as well as being told to leave; after which it never stop there but those who left continue to suffer injustice remarks thereafter.

Do know that the target is on how the school is currently being run and please do not take the blame unto yourself. As much as others want to blame you, I think the source of all these actions originates from injustice done to trs whom the students care for. For that kind heart and action, I believe God will bless you and your family. May He give you courage and strength to pull through this, coupled with a peace of mind.

Wee Seng, come back to school ok? Would like to see that bubbly person I saw during Teachers’ Day Celebration when you called out yr tr’s name while standing on the stage.

Some days when you look back.. you are a person who is going to feel that you have never lived your life in regret, you got the guts to do what is right!

-nadir-

10:28 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

from an outsider's perspective. i think no one is blaming weeseng. i guess all along others are just unhappy that it posted on the web again when its suppose to be over. so yeah. make it simple. Wee Seng is not to be blamed. go back to school and get on with your life. let bygones be bygones.

1:10 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

CATHOLIC HIGH FOREVER:DD

1:11 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

damn this is making me love Catholic High ad want to get in.

1:13 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi all,

Wee Seng's petition is definitely over, but by sweeping everything under the carpet is no different from any an ostrich that buries its head in the ground. If we choose to ignore the problems, teacher & students (& many more batches to come) will still be suffering under LHB's administration.

Personally I sympathize with Wee Seng, and we can easily imagine how he will be haunted by the discipline teachers and the management when school reopens on monday (what's new?)...

I hope that Wee Seng will be brave to face whatever comes in his way. Rest assured that there is always a group of us (teachers, students & old boys) standing behind you.

~cat~

1:53 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I wonder why so many China teachers are coming to Catholic High? Are they here to replace teachers from the Chinese Department (like Mr Yong & Ms Chia), or have they found a GOLDMINE in Catholic High??

1:57 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Regarding my previous post, what i meant is that, it is certainly useless to put in this kind of effort. Why shouldn't we use the effort and time to buck up in our studies and leave this school of lies and power struggling (to some la). If not as the saying goes, 'if u can't beat them join them.' I also wish to emphasize that cat high is a great school. Not becasue of anyone, BUT EVERYONE. The teachers rocks, the students rocks and even those auntie who clean the school rocks.

Mao Gao Wan Sui~

-teng wee

2:21 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Wee Seng,

Winston Churhill

"Courage is the first of human qualities because it is the quality which guarantees all others."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Whatever you do, you need courage. Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising that tempt you to believe your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires some of the same courage that a soldier needs. Peace has its victories, but it takes brave men and women to win them.
You have gone according to your heart."

When You Believe - Mariah Carey

There can be miracles
When you believe
Though hope is frail
It's hard to kill
Who knows what miracles
You can achieve
When you believe
Somehow you will
You will when you believe

You followed your heart, not your mind.

You did all you could for those you held dear.

You done what most feared to do.

You took a path less traveled.

For your courage, I admire you.

For your faith, I applause you.

For your actions, I am ashamed to face you.

-wave-

2:35 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Now I am getting very worried about Gong-Jiao... check out this post from 100dollar-remedial.blogspot.com:

Another thing about Mdm Yu is that she has been protecting her own PRC teacher she brought in- Mdm Le. Le has been nicknamed "$10,000" because the school spent $10,000 to engage her, cos' Yu said that she is an excellent teacher and she can boost up our CL result. But guess what, when the CL result werre released in August, WOW. She got one class 4-3 more 90% distinctions,and the Mr Lee and Yu gave most credit to her. Those 4-3 students who took the exam were those who dropped out HCL, of course will get distinction one lah!The credit should give to Ms Chia (3 CHEERS for such a GREAT GREAT teacher) , she got 60 over PURE CL students and managed to attain more than 50% distinctions.Another teacher to be commended is Mdm Wong, she got all the C5-D7 banding students and her did very well in their exam with 100% pass, even got one fellow scored A2.

Furthermore, this Le always MIA in school one,she was always not seen attending assembly, morning assembly and the worst--NORMAL LESSON also MIA! After the "O" Level CL exam, she did not attend the Sec 4 Lessons, and when students tried to look for her, she was nowhere to be found in the whole campus. We wonder where she is,maybe at home feeding her son.A lot of students dislike her and complain about her, but they can't do anything, because Yu has been covering up for her and Mr Lee like her so much. I heard she got no CCA, she got no committe. Lastly, the notes "so called" compiled by her for the sec 4 CL students were just a "cut and paste" thing from other teacher's friut of many years' painstaking labour, some of the contents are identical to the "AC Educational Consulting Services". Mr Lee even praised Le in front of all the students for putting so much effort in "compiling" the handbook.Most of the students have been using the materials done by Mr Suah and other teachers, because the Le's handbook too many mistakes. If we use that handbook, sure DIE ONE!

2:47 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I am very saddened by all that has happened in Gong-Jiao... What is going on in our beloved school?

-an old boy

3:33 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Dear teachers who are writing here anonymously and giving all those info, please let Wee Seng off and not make use of his spark while trying to let off ur steam and get at LHB. Come out from hiding behind wee seng. Go confront LHB directly with all the info and evidence you already have.

4:17 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

With reference to the comment before this...

Educators should be enlightening students the correct values, because these students are still at a growing stage and sometimes they might not be able to differentiate correctly between right and wrong, no matter how right they strongly feel about something, sometimes.

Thus it's the role of an educator to teach these students and guide them, and not mis-lead them. One can't imagine the amount of damage done to the students if an educator has non-objective motives sometimes. The psychological damage may not be repair-able...

5:16 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

CLAP CLAP CLAP I agree totally. Educators teachers posting juicy stuff.... How we know if they are true or whether you want to make use of us? We learn in social studies too that each source has its own reasons and purpose. Better you all go find LHB yourself.

6:08 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

First of all, I agree with the previous posts that educators shouldn’t be posting ‘juicy’ news here…

But on hindsight, if Mr Lee has done his job well, the teachers won’t be posting anything negative here at all. They ought to have better things to do right?

Just food for thought…

7:24 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

If the administration is keen on TRUE feedback from the staff, then the teachers shouldn't be asked to write their names on Staff Surveys, and to submit the survey forms to their HODs for 'screening'.

On the contrary, students' survey on teachers are conducted anonymously in order to gather 'true feedback'...

Isn't this double-standard?

8:02 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Search your soul...

In a scenario when teachers who sing praises to the admin gets promoted, and teachers who dared to voice up their views about the school were asked to leave, what choice do teachers have?

Wee Seng is innocent, he shouldn't have been in the picture in the first place.

We all loved Catholic High, and we want it to be better, even if we were to leave one day...

8:14 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I agree. We love Cath High. We want it to be better.
Patience and timing. These are important too.

9:23 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Do all teachers who sing praises get promoted? Do all teachers who voice critical opinions get asked to leave? Are there other reasons or situations? That's a bit over generalising, isn't it?

9:29 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Don't want the school to fall, but incidents and revolutions are needed to change for the better.

9:46 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

This petition raises many issues. As the saying goes, there is no smoke without fire. There must have been some elements of truth (or half truths) in the petition that was written.

Many of you have raise the issue about the reputation of the school or that the petition was targeted at the principal Lee Hak Boon and not the school, etc. However, there is one issue that has been missed out, which is the system of checks in which the Ministry has on the schools in Singapore.

How are the principals appraise, check or evaluated?

How are principals selected? E.g criteria other that academic qualifications. We do know that many of them are scholars or overseas scholars. Does it mean that they will make good principals, teachers or civil servants based on their academic results

It is quite clear that there is a lot of unhappiness present in the school. What are the opportunities for transparent, clear feedback in which teachers are students can give feedback without being ‘blacklisted’ by the administration?

Also, some of the decisions that were made by the administration were not conveyed clearly to the teaching staff. I quote “kind of weird to have a tr becoming an office staff, isn’t it? Wonder how the office staff feels about this… haha. And, another tr who “found” his way into being a “KP” without any post or title given to him, and he simply attended EMC that is meant for all the KPs in the school.” It is strange that there are teachings without teaching workload and that teachers are promoted to middle management without official appointment. I think that these information can be easily verified by simple checks from the Ministry.

Also, the high turnover rate of the teachers from Primary and Secondary. This info can be checked as well. If it is true, then it speaks volume about how the principal has treated the staff. Sure, not everyone would agree with what you do all the time. You will always have critics but is we rule by a 80/20 rule. This is education and we have to question if high-handed methods are suitable or does the means justify the ends? What sort of values are you imparting to the students?

It is clear that the organizational structure of the school is in a state of chaos. There is no proper system at all. Who should be responsible for that? The teachers, student or the Principal? What is the Ministry doing about this?

It is obvious that some of the postings are done by teachers from the school. Why do the teachers resort to such postings? What are the channels of feedback that the school/ministry has to really surface the injustice suffered by the teachers and students? It does seem that there is a huge amount of unhappiness by the teachers and student body but it’s mainly voiced by a few. What about the rest? This is also reflective of the Singapoprean culture where few dare to speak up against the government for fear that action might be taken against them.
Perhaps this eruption calls for major reflection and revamp in the existing situation or how schools are run.

10:35 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

That "anonymous" who "chuckles at" Wee Seng and the petition, seems to be pissed off as the one-sided mind in his small brain starts sounding alarms at anything at attempts and comes near to criticising the school.

I will be waiting for you, to get me. Personally. If you truly dare to back up the words, translated into millions of binary codes transmitted worldwide. Be a real man, judge with your own eyes and do not laugh at others when we are all fighting for the same goal. I don't think you are, anyway. You will be fighting for that Lee only.

10:03 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Eh the ministry seems slacking in checking schools, something like the ministry of health not checking on charities etc before NKF happened... you think Lee will be the next Durai?

10:04 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Xiao Le,
I am not a President Scholar lah. Please don't mislead my students leh. Tuang Liang is. Good to hear from you again ( though not in a way that I like it to be)When is time we catch up again? Would I see you on 13th October at the 71th Anniversay dinner? Don't let all this saga affect your affection for the school. The love for the school will allow you to withstand all this nonsense yet hilarious forums ;-) Cheers.
Goh Yong Hang (Ronghan) 1988 Batch ( you can call the school to reach me.)
PS: Do correct me, when we meet again, I don't remember the assembly thing. Did anything like that happened? BTW, I was never in your class I was from 1/2 D and 3/4A. You were from 1/2C and 3/4E (think so)

4:44 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I have to back up what others are saying. What we are lamenting is about the fact that we hate the way LHB takes charge of the school, and this is why we hate him. we are all fellow cat high gentlemens, definately love the school, we have no reasons to hate the school. having been here for 10years, its definately saddening to see the school collapse into such a state today. back in the past, we were all so happy under Mrs Goh HC and she carries herself as a really kind and caring principal, whereas the current one look more like a fengshui master, doing all sorts of landscaping. YOU THINK IT WILL BRING US GOOD LUCK??

another issue that really annoys me is when LHB drives away the teachers. right after the Ho Wee Seng saga started, he tried to save his skin by talking to the sec 4 students and try to explain why teachers leave (not why he force them to leave, as claimed by him) he said that there were 3 reasons for them to leave:
1) teachers that are incompetent. while i do agree there might be some, exactly how many of those are out there? other then WZY that left so long ago, i dont see another incompetent teachers around. in fact, the others are very dedicated group of teachers that care about the students' well being.
2)teachers that dont work as a team. come on, when he says dont work as a team, or dont work as a team with LHB?? i really find this statement very disturbing and i realise a couple of teachers happen to fall under this category of his. but one thing i like to raise is this: if they are unable to work as a team, why is it that they are able to "survive" in the school when LHB is not the principal yet. also, even if they were unable to work as a team but yet able to bring results, isnt it what LHB wants? he is very contradictive here
3)lastly, there are teachers who want to leave the school to seek for new challenged elsewhere. fine, this cannot be argued. but how many have done so? right now i only know of Mr T Goh who have done so.

these are basically the few issues that have being the talk of the town lately. and i still have to highlight this again: we are not attacking the school - we love it. we are not attacking the teachers - they dont deserve it. we ARE attacking LHB - whom we feel is very incompetent in giving us happiness within the school

3:04 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

quoted : We need to bring this up to higher authorities and prove legally that all these allegations are true. To legitimately compensate the teachers, students or any other entities involved. It maybe a tough matter to investigate. But I highly suggest MOE to sent an audit group and independent team to investigate the matter and interview the people invloved.

seems to me it has already been done. but what did the P do? during flag raising ceremony, tells us not to speak ill of the school - ill being the truth. hais.

4:57 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing ever happened."

- Sir Winston Churhill

For anyone of authority reading this, I have a message to convey. The quote from one of Sir Winston Churhill's speech above states that men would occasionally stumble upon the truth but most of them decide to act as if they have never seen it. However, this is not the case.

When an association member writes a petition with the target being another, who is the Chairman of the association, it is the person the petition is targetting. Not the association. However, if the Chairman makes an analyse the situation in such a way that he tries to influence the association members to think that this petition is actually very devastating towards the fate and future of the association, is he very scheming? Is he not unscrupulous?

It is useless in informing the Chairman of the association and then, conduct an inquiry. The outcome would all be a farce. Catch the Chairman by surprise and do it there and then. At the same time, collect information without the knowledge of the Chairman and his accomplices. By letting the association know of any inquiry into its matters, its as good as not having any inquiry. This is due to the fact that the association is governed by the Chairman and the accomplices whom he trusts. Those who oppose the regime are never in the governing committee. It's just like a monarchy. The King never allows a person who opposes his rule frequently stay in the ranks close to him.

Just look at the numbers of comments?
Are you sure that there is no widespread discontentment with the regime?
Are you sure that there is a reliable channel for feedback when an amazing number of these posts are done in anonymity?
Why is it that there is such a major shift in the staff ever since his regime?
Why is it so much as compared to the time when Mrs Goh Hwee Choo was here?
Why is it that teachers only not be able to cooperate in teams when he comes?
Why teachers suddenly have the enthusiasm to proceed to study more?
Why teachers want to have greater challenges?
What is the meaning of incompetent teachers?

Mrs Goh was a motherly Principal whom many have loved.
Her departure was indeed a heartbreak for many.
I still remember those times when she would ask if a sick student needed to be sent home, offering to send him back in her car. Despite the huge amounts of work that she had, she never ever hesitated in helping the students.

Mrs Goh has done much for the school. She has even gone to the extent of reading each and every one of our report books even if it meant staying still late at night. She would personally sign the report slips. As I look back now, I would like to say a real, big thank you to Mrs Goh. Unlike now, my report books are stamped with the Principal's signature. Sometimes I wonder whether who stamped the signature there.

Mrs Goh was very clear in her policies. Even when she started rebuilding the school in Bishan, she shared the plans she had with us and told us about all the fabulous things that could be included. However, when funds were restraint, she would cut down on those materialistic things. She even disclosed the money that she owed the church which was also one of the reasons for the successful fun fair which she held.

If there was ever a Principal I must norminate for touching my life, it is an obvious vote. Mrs Goh would be the person I would vote for. If I have one vote, I will vote her once. If I have two votes, I will vote her twice. If I have three votes, I will vote her thrice. The numbers of votes I have would be the number of votes I will dedicate to Mrs Goh.

The petition was never against Catholic High School which the late Reverend Father Edward Becheras established in 1935. This petition was never against the countless outstanding leaders this school had in the past. This petition was never against the teachers of the schools who have dedicated every spare time of their lives for the students. This petition was never against the students. Catholic High School stands tall on Singapore.

Catholic High School stands tall,
On this Island of Singapore ;
Serene and picturesque are its precincts,
And to Heaven does its spire soar.

Act swiftly.
Ask silently.
Be effective.

8:12 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

nah, dun tink wee seng was trying 2 run e sch down by tt petition. rather, i feel he was taking concrete action to air his greivances to e sch admin, so yea, dun really agree wif e hwa chong fella on tis issue.
having been in the batch of 2005 (who didn't exactly do fantastically well for the o lvls), i've gotta say tt LHB ain't a gd principal at all. most of the stuff mentioned abt forcing donations is true. i've got a younger bro who is in CHS now, and he was *forced* to donate $20 during the CNY period.
it doesn't help when ur principal is an ungrateful jerk who lambasts his students for failing to perform up to expectations rather than finding out wat exactly went wrong. i heard that he flamed certain prominent students from my batch during a "motivational talk" to the sec 4 students tis yr. if tt ain't negative motivation, i dunno wat it is. i personally feel that it is unacceptable for a principal to blame his students solely for their failure, and not evaluating his own methods as well.
as for the part abt LHB insulting a teacher, i would say tt there is a grain of truth, though it was somewhat blown out of proportion. i noe bcos my fren's bro was in tt class. how can a principal do such a thing? talk about setting an example. wat kinda leadership is tt?
anw, e bottomline is tt these ppl ain't trying 2 run e sch down. rather, they are legitimately concerned, but it is somewhat unfortunate tt such a sensitive issue got leaked to the press, which would undoubtedly generate negative publicity for e sch. but still, i tink we shld applaud ppl 4 actually speaking up, rather than just being a pathetic, subservient society which swallows hook, line, and seeker everything tt is fed to them.
LONG LIVE GONG JIAO!!!

11:34 PM  
Blogger Nicholas Ong said...

I do hope that the P does not have that intention of hidding the truth.

If there is really any misdeeds being done, students and staff alike should point them out; it is a tough choice especially the one being investigated is your superior but the fact that we are a Catholic School, we should have a higher moral standard than other secular schools and should do what is just and right in the face of god.

I pray to God that may this matter be quickly resolved so that the school may go on achieving greater glory.

Nicholas Ong
Class of '97 - 4E3

2:40 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Goh Yong Hang (Wu Ronghan),

You are not presidential scholar meh? I thought I saw both you and Tuang Liang in the newspaper receiving the awards back then. After Army, I left for California and spent the next 12 years in Silicon Valley. I moved to China 2 years go. I am still stuck in China now although I spend more time in cow country (Nong Chun) unfortunately, hahaha. No longer in Shanghai. I will try to locate you through the school the next time I am back.

-Lin Xiao Le

4:49 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Goh Yong Hang (Wu Ronghan),

I forgot to mention about that incident. Remember when Moh Zhongyan and Chiam got surrounded and beat up by the students from Guangyang Sec school? Mr Tan (Peng***) decided to punish them via public caning to curry Guangyang's favor. The entire sec four refused to go to class after assembly to force the school to talk after Mr Tan and Mr Png refused to listen to our opinions. Moh's parents also came to school to get some reasoning. This happened in 1988.

We all are getting old. I do not even remember which class I was from in sec 1 and 2. I just remember I was from Sec 4D after selecting bible study or something. Time flies man. I do remember we were in the same class once. You were my class monitor.

Anyway, do not worry about that. Once a Gongjiao boy, forever a gongjiao boy.

I am still in contact with some of schoolmates. We should hook up when I am back in SG.

- Lin Xiao Le

5:03 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

give him a break ? he doesn't give the principal a break, why not close this petition down ?

12:06 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Finally, the end of the prelims and I managed to get some time off to read this blog.

Being in the system now, and not being in the system sets us Gong Jiao and non-Gong Jiao students apart. We know how it feels to be under what you guys term as ineffective leadership and we know what it feels like to be of a school that is less regarded as a top school because of this whole saga. But let us all take a step back and consider this, which person out there, hasn't erred? Chinese saying goes: ren fei sheng xian, shui neng wu guo. Yes there are policies taken that even I as a gong jiao student do not agree with. However, do we have to create this whole fuss about it? And now that the fuss had been created, shouldnt we all just take some time off, cool off, and think true what's right and what's wrong. Besides, I am sure that all sec 4 students who come to this blog can agree that Mr Lee has made some arrangements that we're all thankful about. The used-to-be History/SS department has become much more effective than ever before because of new teachers here and the efforts of the older teachers. Isn't that a sign of good leadership either? Lenin led the bolsheviks to winning in the civil war, but lenin introduced war communism that caused poverty and unhappiness in the russian's life. Mao came up with great leap forward in hope of improving china's economy and political state, but resulted in poverty and unhappiness. Who are we to question leadership, when leaders who had thousands of followers in the past have made mistakes of such a magnitude. We all have a juandiced opinion about what's right and what's wrong. More than often our eyes choose to see what's wrong rather than what's right. Isn't that plain shallow?

On the other hand, I do believe that yes, dirty linen should be aired, but within the 4 walls of the schools. If, the issue cant be solved, we debate, in school. Let us gong jiao students not air our dirty linen in public for all others to watch and criticise because unless u haven't realise, we are only opening up our fronts for attacks not to Mr lee, but the whole of CHS. Think logic. Worth it? For a single dispute the whole of chs' reputation? And this might be a little late, but yes, wu feng bu qi lang, shi chu bi you yin. If nothing near that nature ever did happen, none of this saga would have started. However, let us discuss this behind close doors, as I for one, feel that our reputation has been smeared bad enough because of all of this saga. And honestly, the only way now is to move on, stop hogging about what has happened and try to rebuild our reputation to what it was once before.

And this had to come because I felt there was a need to despite the posts being so far back. To all other school students involved, I do appreciate your feedbacks as to how much u agree or disagree with this petition thing going on, but damn it, all your thrash talk about not having a good reputation, talk about not being a good school, I do not think that you guys have the rights to say what's right of us to do, and what's not. Simply because, the dirty linen's ours, and we choose what we do to it. You dont. And to set the record straight, CHS has been a good school back then, and still is. And unless guys from other places haven't realised, your schools' past ain't that glorified either. Maybe you guys should shut your gaps unless you have something good to say because already we are not in a very good state and you had to add salt to the wound don't you. I think like what Mao did, we CHS students should set up a united front against the "foreign forces" rather than fight against ourselves. "Chinese ought not to fight against chinese." ain't that the same for us all? and no offence people of other schools, that above comment was for targetted people not the rest of the peace loving community(:

Lastly, dear sec4s, sec3s, sec2s and sec1s. I think petition or not, all of us just want to make chs a better place to spend our 4 years in. If plan a, right or not, fails, then lets work on plan b. Let us work hard and forge for better results rather than leave the school in a slump and not get anything else but end up drowning in the mud because of issues like that. Sec4s, prelims are just over, and no, I'm not from a triple science class (they aren't all muggers so stop thinking that they are, some are active and really nice people), but would like to persuade all of you to really study hard for the upcoming o's. Good results are what we all want, but good results dun come falling of the skies just because you want it. Never leave your results in the hands of fate. Most of the time, if you do that, fate will, or should I say, definitely will, act punk. And sec3s, its a crucial year for you guys, promos. It ain't that easy as we all know that the eng department of chs isn't exactly that all pardoning and tolerent for our gross grammatical errors so I advise you guys to work hard for your promos because I doubt anyone of you would like to spend an extra year in sec 3. It wouldnt be a nice feeling. Work hard and stop playing a fool with your silly tablets. As a senior I'd like to remind you that when your in sec 4, to quote the EL teachers "your sole reason for existence is for the o levels" for your 16 year old life (haha), and since you'll reach there sooner or later and pay like 400+ dollars to take the exams, might as well just get it done and over with asap. God knows what MOE will do to the syllabus if you wait another year. Wouldnt be nice seeing how the system is changing would it. Don't test the system eh? (: and last but not least, good luck to all sec4s for tommorow's results. I'd expect un glam grades but don't be discouraged. Just slog your guts out for the O's. Its just 2 months more. What's 2 months of mugging comapred to 3 years and 10 months of fooling about (:

Cheers,
Sec 4 student(:

8:27 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Firstly, I don't think that Mr Lee or the school is the problem anymore but I think that the main problem now is about Mdm Yu and the chinese remedials for sec 3s and 4s and the other stuff that she's organising. It's ... fishy? I think something's going on and i don't like it one bit

12:33 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think Mr Lee is the MAIN PROBLEM!He read this BLOG occasionally, he is trying to rectify the errors and remedy all the the injustice he has done in GongJiao all these years. But I think is a bit too late, he really wreaked havoc on our school. He has become a laughing stock in the educational circles because so many people have read this BLOG and are jeering at us.He is keeping a low profile and is pretending nothing had happened.Oh God!Many students and teachers really dispise and hate him to the marrow of their bones.There is a saying "He who is unjust is doomed to destruction". Let's hope there is a coup in Gongjiao like Thailand where the fatuous and corrupted leader was "asked" to step down.We always LOVE Gongjiao and hope that Gongjiao will Yi Li Xing Zhou!

10:34 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

What's wrong with people embezzling school/students money so long as they can deliver "results"? If the school/authorities see nothing wrong with it, what can we as outsiders do?

11:30 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Outsiders eh? In the first place, if you really are an outsider, how in the world do you expect to, I quote, "do" anything. Embezzle used in this context is questionable. I do suggest however, that you rephrase that word. If there ain't no proof of the school as you said, embezzling school/student's money, its tantamount to slander. Its a touchy issue. This blog thing. You never know when one is being watched closely. Words can make or break a person.

9:57 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm a current CHS student.

I've been in this school for 10 freakin years already, since Primary 1. I really do have some feelings for this school, really deep ones in fact. So people, if we do disagree with the management aka LHB so much in running our fantastic school, why not we just acknowledge this fact when we finish our 'O' Levels and come back to claim our results? Just thank your teachers and peers, but don't even give a f*** about the management. Maybe the top scorer of that year, when asked to express his views, can just acknowledge the efforts put in by the teachers, so as to prevent the management from claiming all the credit.

I do believe our current teachers(except the 2 teachers in the Chinese department whom the other teachers in it really hate) are really fantastic and marvelous teachers! They are really the ones who would bring us to the top. So therefore i urge the sec 3s, 2s and 1s : please don't waste your time on such cases. If you really can't take it, write to Straits Times forum, i bet LHB reads the papers. When he sees your letter in the forums, he's definately gonna do something. Whatever you guys do, do it for the sake of the excellent team of teachers, repay their effort in the form of 8/10 A1s in your 'O' Levels. That'll mean a hell lot.

Somehow, this incident seems very similar to the situation in Taiwan right now. There's the Reds who want the President to step down, and there's the Greens who support the President. I'm not taking any sides here, but i really hope LHB would do something about this whole incident and STOP doing things in the dark. It ain't gonna help your already bad reputation in the school.

So here's my two-cents worth. Have fun! Gong Jiao, EH BAH!

Sec 4 dude, 06'

4:32 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

i just got news from a friend over msn, and have been clicking around... from the 99 batch.. i'd acknowledge we were not that great, but we were also one of those batches that began improving.. even under Mr Loke.. He might not have a great plan, but if not for his plan that my whole batch could take Pure Sciences (with the exception of one), I'd not be where I am today... It's all give and take chances i guess...

i don't see why there should be any attacks on the management.. every team of management is different... of cause there will be different results.. There were teachers who couldn't get along with Mrs Goh either, but those weren't mentioned? Please understand... No one can get along with everyone else, so i don't see it as a grounds to attack any one person/mgt...

anyway, it'll be great to move on... no point harping over spoilt milk...

Yong Hang, I won't see you @ the dinner coz i'm still stuck in Australia with further studies, but hope to see u @ the lim kopi sessions??

10:28 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm an old boy from the class of 2000. I've been studying abroad for the past year and have only realised today how much this has spiralled out control. It has taken me over an hour to go through all 141 comments, and throughout this time i have felt anger, sorrow, and despite all, pride.

I feel anger because my alma mater seems to be in a state of diarray. I feel anger because people who seem to have no business with the school have made biased and ignorant comments. I feel anger and sorrow, because i know of teachers- those who have put in love and commitment in their teachings- are sufferring from this episode. And i feel anger and sorrow, because the students, whom which the school was built for in the 1st place, are badly affected.

I wil be the 1st to admit that i'm not in a position to judge. I do not work in the school, nor have access to any records kept by them. But gong jiao boys are not troublemakers. We enjoy the occasional laugh, but we would never do anything to hurt the school. For a 15 year old boy to step up against the Principal does create cause for concern.

I hope, as an alumni, that matters will be brought to a conclusion soon. If a wrong has been committed, let proof be shown. If nothing else, then stop this and move on. This whole saga will only make the students come out worse for wear, to face their pending, life changing exams.

I feel pride, because i am honoured to be a cat high boy. It is not just the results that count, it is the about the times shared and the friendships made. To be taught by a dedicated and sincere group of teachers allow students to fulfill their potential. And here i see many others who share my view, regardless of the graduating year.

Gong jiao boys are extremely resilient, i know my peers were, and i would expect nothing less of those in the school today. We will come out on top of this even bigger and even better. Good luck to those sitting for their exams, and may you work hard and enjoy your gong jiao experience as much as i have.

Gong Jiao!

Derek Chia
Class of 2000
4-4

2:23 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

actually, i don really care if the principal gets sack...i mean, there's so many schools to go to...

9:35 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

yo, cool website...GONG JIAO WAN SHUI ....Hahahaha...

9:36 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

We can't solve the problem by writing a petition but it sure got the attention that it intended for...In any case, we should sit down and talk...

9:38 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

WHat the hell just shut the fuck up already, this matter is to be put to a close what the hell are you all supporting or disapproving for this is just total rubbish i know you all have the rights to voice your comments but it seems just like this sort of rubbish just wun get any further than the dumbsite and get burned. even the owner dun care about we, why should we the ppl not involve put in the 2 or 3 cents worth to be banished, all we say is nothing more than words that are so useless. why dun we just follow what many others who are involved do, just dun care and carry on with our life, there are many things that need not be explained to us.

And ask youselves, how many of you believe almost close to 60% of what that petition wrote, if its all that mighty true why did he put it down in the first place, and why for hell sake did the principal not get into trouble till now. If you still dun get it by now, its done all in a moment of anger, all exaggerated information just to pin who he hates into trouble. SO if you truly dun use your brain like many do now to think over the words written in the petition and find out the truth, i guess your comments are nothing more than a load of rotting fish.

9:40 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

How can u sit down and talk...u think any student would go into the principal's office and request for a "talk"? No body would do that. I undterstand that the principal called a student from the previous year a band three student...but hey cat high is still band two...what calls for this humiliation for that student...still calls himself a principal...

9:41 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Comments are just...comments...they can't hurt anyone being here but i still dun like what the principal done...the moe is observing the situation now and the principal is overseas in china so i guess we need to wait till his back before things get clarified

9:43 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

HEY stupid nothing better to write then dun act hero and type la.

REALLY you think sit down and talk really mean go to office and jia teh arh.

ALAMAK use your brain pls, even the birds are thinking for themselves le you still take all words in literal sense, ppl say you jia sai you think you really eat shit arh. its just a way of showing you suck. its just like sit down and talk, it means peacefully talk and settle things without causing so much trouble, pls read more books

9:45 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ok, i dun really care about him already..
im sick and tired..
but what the hell?
our toilet still don't have toilet papers..
even hand soap also dun have..
wth la.. dunnit shit la..
he think we eat but the waste dunnit to come out..

7:13 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I am a parent of CHS Pri boys. The petition? some true & some not true, most of which cannot be verified. I only know though that the place can be quite disorganised.

Curriculum planning tends to be poor, requiring the teachers to rush thru at the end of the term. And Parent-teacher meetings are a pain bcc Mr Lee drones on & on & on with all his wonderful boastful stories, but with little substance for parents there to hear what his direction for the school is that year or that term, and as to what new changes there are that we should take note. And.. he never covers these more important areas. *sigh*.

And yes, the school is full of those useless statues. Children's Art, I understand, and a few statues, but so many?? He was just boasting about how he bought several more statues at a recent Parent meeting. I have no comment abt the ponds, esp the one for "longkang fishing" but is not available for "fishing".

I also see the great emphasis placed on aesthetics (make school "prettier", ah? who thot of this title!?), but this emphasis seems to be directed mainly at SYF. For all the "emphasis" on "aesthetics" (aiyoh, I prefer to refer to it as the "performing arts"), there is little of this aesthetics culture built into the school's daily life. Eg. why not have the CCA groups build their repertoire? have small-time performances, eg. lunch-time jamming or mini-concerts at school canteen? have them perform at every possible function? Other than having the groups perfect only those 3 songs for every SYF (ok, I'm talking abt primary school groups).

Oh well... we live.

1:53 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oh, and for the person purporting to be from Hwa Chong? I think your comments are quite unnecessary in this context.

1:59 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I am a Catholic High student in Sec 2 right now

Just an update on the situation...

It has been almost a year since the petition. Although no one mentions it now, the issue has NEVER been resolved. All that has been done is the silencing of all the students. I pity Wee Seng alot. Why did he not go ahead with the matter? Why did he choose to give it up? It's all because he can't. If he chooses to go ahead with the petition, he would be expelled or something to that tune would happen to him. Likewise for us students, we cannot say anything about that matter. That time when the New Paper came to clarify the matter, Mr Lee himself said that he told the reporters that they could ask us anything they wanted, however, during morning flag raising, he specifically told us NOT TO SAY ANYTHING to the reporters. What does this show? Is he afraid that his deeds will be exposed? He always used the notion that we shouldn't badmouth the school. Let me get this straight. We are not against the school, neither will we be. Cat High is a great place to be in. My 2 years here have been fantastic, owing to (most of) the great teachers and my great mates to spend the time with. We do not want to see the school fall at the hands of a lousy leader.

Recently, the school campus underwent some changes again. All the exterior classroom walls were painted in gaudy colours of pink, purple, blue and orange, without the consent of us students. Now instead of looking like a HIGH SCHOOL, we look like a PRESCHOOL. Next, Mr Lee has this fantastic idea of stringing up plastic ducks in campus and making them go around in circles. Again, this is to the disapproval of students.

The arrival of Mdm Yu Lin as a Chinese HOD has brought about adverse consequences. For the Term 1 march holidays of 2007, the Chinese Dept made all Sec 1s memorise a poem written by Chinese dictator MAO ZEDONG. As you may or may not know, Mao was responsible for mass genocides during the Cultural Revolution and Great Leap Forward. To have the Sec 1s memorise and be tested on a poem written by a tyrant is ridiculous. But this is expected of a Chinese HOD from a brainwashed communist country like China.

If you observed, many of the decisions the school makes does not involve the students at all. It is practically a one man show, with Mr Lee making all the decisions. I doubt that with these comments, anything will be done by the authorities anyway. Nothing was done since the petition incident, and no one dares to speak up now. I do not wish for anything to be done about this, but am just airing my views on what the management has done to the school.

7:57 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I oso heard of the Grade D threatening from some teacher. So sad...

12:04 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

My child is still in CHS. A lot of wrong teaching from moral to education.

Can't wait for him to finish his schooling there and leave that place for good.

Sorry for the children, good teachers, and parents who have gone throught a lot with the school.

Lee Hak Boon, definitely NOT a good leader.

2:10 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

anyone knows what happened to mr kevin lee, cat high pri, why did he take long leave? issit cos of the P again?

10:12 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Personally think he is sucks, what he said made you sick if you can understand what he really mean. 2008

3:59 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Many good teachers are no longer in the school. Left only teachers who helped him to torture the young. Don't know what will happen to these children when they grew up. Already poison so many teachers' mind. Now also poison the children's mind.

11:08 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Many good teachers are no longer in the school. Left only teachers who helped him to torture the young. Don't know what will happen to these children when they grew up. Already poison so many teachers' mind. Now also poison the children's mind.

11:12 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

CHS needs A NEW PRINCIPAL!!!!!!!!!!!

2:25 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Reading this in 2013.
As a gong-jiao student, I only came to know of this out of boredom. even though it is 7 years since the incident, some of the things stated in the petition is still happening. The petition to remove Mr Lee may be wrong, but many things are STILL true. I admire this guys courage.

8:48 PM  
Blogger CHS alumni said...

Reading this in 2017. Am an old boy from CHS primary school to Sec 4.

All the fuckups as described above are what made me decide to send my young son to ACS primary next year. His younger brother will be going to ACS also a couple of years later.

Sad to say, I am not the only one. I know many CHS old boys who have not sent their sons back to CHS.

Unless CHS pulls up its socks, you are going to see more and more old boys decided against sending their own sons back to CHS. I am so sorry.

7:48 PM  
Blogger CHS alumni said...

*deciding against

Damn autocorrect

7:50 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi I'm from the class of 2004. I'm probably late to the game here.

Mrs Long was the reason for my A1s for math and A maths. Bloody good teacher. So lucky to have her for sec 3 and 4. Can set up tuition centre but obviously money isn't her objective.

Can still remember when she would make pizzas for the class if we did well. I only had them once..

8:46 PM  

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