Crescent Girls' School
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| Motto | Courtesy, Generosity, Sincerity |
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| Established | 1956 |
| Type | Autonomous Secondary, Single Session |
| Principal | Mrs Eugenia Lim |
| MOE Code | 3005 |
| Colours | Yellow, Peacock Blue |
| Locale | 357 Tanglin Road, Singapore |
| Enrollment | Approx. 2000 |
| Website | Link |
| Ministry of Education | |
 Republic of Singapore |
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Crescent Girls' School (CGS, Crescent) is an autonomous girls' school in Singapore and bears no affiliation to any other school. Students who applied for admission to Crescent in 2006 must obtain at least a PSLE score of estimated 245 to qualify. The cut-off point for each year is not fixed, and is dependent on demand and supply of positions in the school for that particular year's intake.
Crescent is recognised as one of the top educational institutions in Singapore, offering value-added programmes catering to the holistic development of its students. CGS is also one of the 13 secondary schools awarded with the School Excellence Award, the highest and most prestigious award in the MOE Masterplan of Awards. It serves as a mark of distinction for schools that have achieved overall systemic excellence in both academic and non-academic outcomes. Also note-worthy is Crescent's Band 1 status, having consistently produced average L1R5 scores of less than 10 in the GCE 'O' Level (100% of its students qualified for JC/Pre-U). It is also well-known for its maintained excellence in co-curricular activities, particularly the performing arts and uniformed groups. Crescent's streak of comendable achievements include the Outstanding Character Development Award, all 5 Best Practice Awards, Singapore Quality Class Award, Public Service Award for Organisational Excellence and many more (see Recent Achievements).
Crescent is also one of the few FutureSchools@Singapore conferred by MOE and IDA as a leading school with excellent teaching and learning practices that leverage on technology. Another commendable achievement that has secured Crescent's position on the gloabl map and as a leading instituiton would be being declared by Bill Gates at the 2007 Global Leaders Forum (January 31, 2007) as mentor school for schools of the future around the world. Crescent now mentors innovative schools in 12 countries under the Worldwide Microsoft Innovative Schools Programme.
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[edit] School history
Crescent's story can be traced back to 1955 when the then Alexandra Estate Secondary School was founded with an intake of 117 boys and 53 girls. A year later, however, the boys were transferred to Pasir Panjang Secondary School. Miss Evelyn Norris took over as Principal from Col. S.C. Thong and Crescent Girls' School came into being in 1956.
The crest, motto and school song date from the school's early history. The distinctive yellow and peacock blue uniforms were also very much as they are today. Crescent's pride and joy, the Brass Band, which later became the Symphonic Band, won its first gold medal two years later.
Many buildings were added or acquired over the years from 1973 to 1990 at the Prince Charles Square to accommodate a growing population of Crescentians. In December 1990, the school moved to temporary premises at Queensway to enable the rebuilding of Crescent Girls' School on its cherished old site.
From January 1994, the school has functioned from the old site with a brand new school building and a new address: 357 Tanglin Road, Singapore 247961. The latest addition to the school building is the Arts Conservatory, which was launched by the current Minister of Education, Mr. Tharman Shanmugaratnam, in July 2006.
[edit] School vision
To be a premier school with an innovative and caring environment that prepares students to be ladies and leaders of tomorrow.
[edit] School mission
Our mission is in developing and inspiring in each Crescentian a sense of her own potential as an excellent and well-balanced scholar; a disciplined, responsible memember of society; a caring, gracious citizen of the world.
[edit] C-Diet and Strategic Goals
C - Character is Destiny! We must develop strength of character and promote our school motto: Courtesy, Generosity, Sincerity.
D - We must make a Difference in our family, school, and nation.
I - We must be Innovative and passionate learners.
E - We must acquire a mindset of Excellence in all our pursuits.
T - We must work as a Team and show care and concern for one another.
[edit] Programmes
As m-learning pioneer, 'm-learning@Crescent' was officially launched on July 31, 2004. Since then, various schools in Singapore have emulated Crescent Girls' School in integrating the Tablet PC into the process of learning. All Secondary one Crescentians 2004 intake have the opportunity to embark on the m-learning@Crescent experience – Mobile Learning anytime, anywhere. This is a pilot project where students purchase Tablet PCs and use them in place of textbooks.
Recently, Crescent has been selected as one of FutureSchools@Singapore, alongside Hwa Chong Institution and Jurong Secondary School.
[edit] Other special programmes offered
- Talent Development Programme
- Activities for Crescentian Enrichment (ACE)
- Growing Into Responsible Leaders Successfully (GIRLS) Programme
- Model United Nations Conferences
- Global Young Leaders Conference
- Philosophy Enquiry
- Problem-based Learning
- The Lower Secondary Computer Education Programme
- The Confident Speaker Programme
[edit] Uniform
The Crescent Girls' School uniform consists of a pale yellow blouse tucked into a peacock blue pleated skirt, a unique combination of colours that no other schools in Singapore share. A badge is required to be pinned above the chest pocket, and a nametag on the chest pocket itself. White school socks with the initials CGS are worn and sports shoes (consisting only of the following colours: white/black/grey/any shade of blue) are to be worn with it. Hair below collar length must be tied up neatly, and no hair accessories other than black, dark blue and brown ones must be worn.
There are currently two versions of the PE uniform, one old and one implemented in 2008. The old uniform consists of a cotton pale yellow T-shirt with the CGS logo on the front and the word "Crescentian" on the back in green cursive, as well as a pair of PE shorts made with CGS on one side and the house of the pupil on the other. In 2008, a new PE uniform was introduced. The PE shirt and shorts were both made of Dry-fit material, and the colour of the PE shirt was changed to a brighter yellow. The text on the back of the shirt was changed to "Crescent Girl's School" and the colour was changed to match that of the skirt. The PE shorts had the house of the pupil removed.
An additional set of shirts that is worn in the school are the house shirts. Crescentians wear the shirt for a certain day in the week depending on what level they are in, and the house shirts come in the colours red (pankhurst), green (bronte), blue (keller), yellow (curie), and purple (fry). All the house names as specified are named after a great woman in history. The shirts had "Crescentian" in white at the back and was otherwise similar to the PE shirt. However, the new (2008) shirts changed the colour of one of the houses (curie) to orange, instead of the original yellow. The new shirts also removed the "Crescentian" from the back, instead putting the slogan of each of the houses though many preferred the word "Crescentian" to remain as their identity.
[edit] School Leaders
Miss Evelyn Norris(1955-1961)
Mrs Kiang Ai Kim(1961-1969)
Miss Tan Leng Neo(1969-1976)
Miss Chee Keng Soon(1977-1979)
Mrs L K Sigamoney(1980-1991)
Mrs Ng Gek Tiang(1991-1996)
Mrs Tan-Kek Lee Yong(1997-1998)
Mrs Lee Bee Yann(1998-2007)
Mrs Eugenia Lim(2008-present)
[edit] Additional facilities
- Performing Arts Theaterette
- The Arts Conservatory (houses ensemble rooms, recording studio, GigaJam station, etc.)
- Language Lab
- The Millennium Classroom
- Student Lounge
- Coffee Corner (integrated into the library)
- EcoGarden
- Career Guidance Centre
- Charging stations
- Electronic lockers
- Multi-Purpose Hall (originally sports hall) (soon to come)
[edit] Recent achievements
Major awards / certifications include:
- School Excellence Award (2007 to 2011)
- School Distinction Award (2004 to 2008)
- Public Service Award for Organisational Excellence
- Singapore Innovation Class (2005 to 2007)
- Singapore Quality Class (2002 to 2008)
- People Developer Standard (2003 to 2006)
- Outstanding Development Award for Character Development (2006)
- Best Practice Award for Staff Well-Being – 2007 to 2011
- Best Practice Award for Teaching & Learning - 2006 to 2010
- Sustained Achievement Award (Physical Fitness)
- Sustained Achievement Award (Uniformed Groups)
- Sustained Achievement Award (Academic Value-Added)
- Academic Value-Added Gold Award (Special/Express) - 2007
- Trim-and-Fit Gold Award - 2007
- National Arts Education Award 2006 (Silver)
Results of Singapore Youth Festival 2007:
- Central Judging of Concert Bands (Secondary) Gold Award
- Central Judging of Dance (Modern/International) Gold with Honours Award
- Central Judging of Dance (Tamil) Gold Award
- Central Judging of Choir (Secondary) Silver Award
- Central Judging of Drama (Secondary) Bronze Award
- Central Judging of Instrumental Ensembles (Angklung) Silver Award
[edit] Co-curricular activities
Students hone their mental and physical skills through sports, leadership skills through the uniformed groups, aesthetic skils through the performing arts and communication skills through the clubs and societies. The school has a wide range of CCAs that can be categorised under Sports, Uniformed Groups, Societies, and Performing Arts. All students are strongly encouraged to participate in one core CCA and take part in other enrichment programmes organised by the school. The track and field team in Crescent came in 5th place and 6th places respectively in the 47th National Inter-school Cross Country competitions. The school debate team is also one of the best in the B Division and recently progressed to the A Division. They produced top speakers, one of which was ranked Number 1 in the B Division in 2005. Crescent Hockey team is widely recognised in Singapore hockey fraternity coming in as finalist in both B and C divisions for the past 3 years. Many young and talented players have been nutured through the 4 years and moved on to play for Crescent Hockey Club in the major leagues.
The Crescent National Cadet Corps has been the most outstanding CCA in Crescent since the school started. It has achieved the Best Girls Unit award on numerous occasions, the most recent being 2005, on top of achieving the Gold Unit award year after year. Through rigorous training and mental development, the unit has produced many ladies and leaders of high calibre, a rare breed of girls that would definitely be an asset to the society.
[edit] Notable Alumnæ
- Ho Ching, Executive Director of Temasek Holdings
- Liew Geok Heok, Lawyer and President of the University Women's Association, Singapore (UWAS)
- Lim Hwee Hua, Minister of State and Member of Parliament
- Major Lim Sok Bee, First Woman Commanding Officer / Combat Unit
- Nanz Chong-Komo, Woman Entrepreneur of the Year 2000
- Mary Yeo, Managing Director of UPS
- Jeanette Aw, MediaCorp actress
- Stella Ng, singer and actress
- Chen Liping, MediaCorp actress
- Arfat Selvam, Law Society President
- Melissa Hyak, MediaCorp Newscaster
- Rita Zahara, MediaCorp Newscaster
