It is great to see the entire school gathered here this morning for the Commencement Service for the new school year 2010. We especially want to welcome the new batch of Sec 1 to our midst, our 46^th batch of Sec 1 students. I believe that none of you have come to PHS by chance! All of you are here for a purpose. PHS will play a vital role in developing each of you to become the person you are meant to be – a unique and special individual created by God. However, your response to what PHS has to offer to you is an equally if not more important part of the total process.

It is our hope that through your four-year or five-year education at PHS, we will be able to value-add to your cognitive, aesthetics, moral & emotional, physical and spiritual development, in short CAMPS. The mural you see in front of you at the far end of the stage depicts what we aim to do for all of you at PHS. At the same time, I urge you to give your best to whatever endeavours you undertake and to show care and concern for your fellow school mates. It takes time to make friends. Making friends is like growing a fruit tree. First, you have to plant the seed of friendship. In time, you will find things you have in common with your friends and your friendship will then bear fruit. It takes time for a tree to grow and this is true with friendship too. There are many challenges that lie ahead of you. Whatever they may be, remember to always choose to do the right thing, even if it demands a great sacrifice from you.

Our school will be 45 years old this year. My son who is starting Primary 3 today knows that his school is 123 years old this year. As PHS students, I want all of you to remember that our school is set up in 1965, the same year our country gained independence. Our theme for 2010 is “God’s Providence: Taking roots” At the milestone 45^th anniversary of the school, it is good to remind ourselves to lay good foundation for others who come after us, just like those before us who had laid good foundation for PHS. Taking roots also means knowing how PHS came about and to this end, we will be producing a coffee table book, to be launched in April, which will record the milestones of our school and our roots with the Presbyterian Church. We will also be producing a musical on 23 & 24 April at the Republic Polytechnic Cultural Centre to recount the PHS story. I know all of you would want to support the musical as well as the PHS story book. Taking roots also means calling back all our alumni and we will have a Home-coming Day on 30 Oct to welcome our alumni home. You, the current students (the Sec 1 to Sec 3) will play host on 30 Oct to welcome our alumni home. Taking roots also means going back to the basics of good discipline, good conduct and good academic outcomes. I will elaborate more on this at the assembly talk.

What else can we look forward to in 2010? I just want to let you know that we will spare no effort to make the learning environment as conducive as possible for you. As you walk in this morning, you would have realised that the pillars in the canteen, known as the Wellness corridor, are nicely done up to remind you of the need to stay healthy and also to remind all of us of the Olympic values of Excellence, Friendship and Respect. The Sec 2 to Sec 5 pupils would have realised that the barricade put up by the contractors for the ISH and staircase to the hall have been beautifully painted. This was done by a group of current Sec 4 students as part of the programme for those who did not join the Taman Negara trip last November. This morning, as you enter the hall, you would have realised that the hall is brighter. Yes, we have replaced the wooden doors with glass doors. You would also have realised that it is much cooler now that we have 2 giant fans in addition to the air-conditioning. By the end of this month, the folding doors in the hall will be replaced by new roller shutters. We have heard your comments on the Home Room system. As from this year, we will revert to classroom system. Therefore, you will take more ownership of your classrooms. Also, your lessons will be in slots of 55 minutes per period, with recess also at 55 minutes. We will embark on a 2-week cycle timetable, Odd Week Timetable and an Even Week Timetable. All these are done so that all of you would have a more conducive learning environment to maximise your potential and for all of us to have a greater sense of belonging to PHS.

Let me now give you an update on the Indoor Sports Hall (ISH). It is in good progress. As part of our efforts to better engage you, we will be building a street soccer court. This is a non-standard provision which means that we have to foot the cost of the facility totally without any support from Ministry Of Education (MOE). The SMB has given us great financial support for the ISH. For us to do our part and also as part of the 45^th anniversary celebrations, the Cross Country on 12 Mar will also be a fund raising effort by all of us to raise funds for the street soccer court. The target for each of you is a minimum of $80 which would then help us raise a total of $109, 600.

Teachers play an important role in your learning journey at PHS. They are the ones who lead, care and inspire and will be with you as you grow to be Promise Keepers, Hope Builders and Servant Leaders. I want all of you to cooperate with your teachers so that all of us would have a good time together at PHS. This morning, we want to pay tribute to one of our teachers who has spent 19 years or half of his entire service as a teacher in PHS. Today is his official retirement at 62 years old and because of his love and care and concern for all of you, he has agreed to remain as an adjunct teacher in our school. Let me now invite our SMB Chairman, Elder Dr Alex Lee, to present the certificate of service by MOE and a plaque by our SMB to show our appreciation to Mr Sim Han Guan.

Finally, may God’s richest blessing be with all of us as we journey together to seek God’s Providence for 2010.



Lim Yan Hock
Principal