SINGAPORE: Fancy going on a quick culinary trip around Southeast Asia? You don’t have to book a plane ticket – you can just drop by Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park this weekend.

To kick off Singapore’s chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) this year, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has organised a festival in the heartlands.

The Experience ASEAN event will be held from Jan 12 to 14 at the park’s Ficus Green area. It will be open to the public from 6pm onwards on Friday, and from 11am onwards over the weekend. 

“MFA is delighted to host Experience ASEAN, a festival to bring ASEAN closer to Singaporeans. ASEAN is about its people and its rich diversity. It is also about celebrating inclusivity, which is why MFA is organising this event in a heartland setting,” said Jonathan Chen, a representative of the organising committee.

The event will feature workshops and amusement rides; goodie bags for visitors; and a landscape feature spelling out “We Are ASEAN”.

One of the event’s highlights are the various food and crafts stalls offering all types of food, including some regional fare.

One section of the festival features stalls by the embassies and high commissions of ASEAN member nations. Of these, the Brunei, Cambodia and Indonesian stalls will be offering freshly made, homecooked food by diplomats and their families. Others, like Laos and Myanmar, will be roping in restaurants serving their country’s cuisine.

Aside from the various embassy stalls, some regional delights can be had from other stalls, such as popular Indonesian and Malaysian banana fritter snacks called pisang keju and goreng pisang with sambal kicap, respectively.

These will be sold at The Original Pisang Keju stall by Singaporean Lynnda Hashim, who’s a self-professed fan of the popular Indonesian cheese-topped banana snack.

“It’s found everywhere in Indonesia – in Jakarta, Bandung … My husband and I used to drop our children off at school then go on day trips to Batam just to get the pisang keju,” she said, with a laugh.

The couple eventually decided to set up their own part-time business selling these banana fritter variants.  

While pisang keju can be found in Singapore, Lynnda says the difference is in the cheese and texture. “In Indonesia, it’s more salty, crispy and cruch, and the cheese is different.”

“Food brings people together. All of us know the importance of street food culture in ASEAN,” said Vincent Phua of To-Ricos Bak Kut Teh, which will also have a stall at the carnival.

Aside from food, Experience ASEAN also includes performances from Singaporean and regional acts, including homegrown musicians Tay Kewei and The Sam Willows; The HEART Enterprise’s Very Special Choir comprising people with special needs; Filipino and Vietnamese bands; and Indonesian cultural troupe Rumah Budaya Indonesia di Singapura.

The whole event will kick off on Friday evening with music and dance performances from different schools and a performance of the ASEAN theme song Rise by Dick Lee. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and various cabinet ministers will also be present as the opening night’s guests-of-honour.

Social media-savvy visitors will also get a chance to bring home limited edition plushies of Paddie The Rice Grain, a character specially created for the event to represent the staple diet of many in the region.

Visitors need to post on Instagram a photo of themselves at the We Are ASEAN sculpture, with the hashtags #WeAreASEAN and #ASEAN2018, and tag @mfa_sg. They can then show it at the carnival’s redemption counter.

SINGAPORE: A Bornean orangutan baby, two electric blue geckos, a jaguar cub and a king penguin chick. These were among the 540 animal births and hatchlings The Wildlife Reserves Singapore saw last year, the organisation said on Thursday (Jan 11).

The new additions at Jurong Bird Park, Night Safari, River Safari and Singapore Zoo represent 145 species, of which more than a quarter are threatened.

“Yet another year of significant breeding achievements in our parks,” said WRS’ deputy CEO and chief life sciences officer Cheng Wen-Haur, as he praised the dedication and passion of the animal carers.

“Together with our efforts in protecting wildlife in their native habitats, breeding of threatened species in our parks contribute to their continuing survival in the world,” he said.

The Singapore Zoo welcomed a critically endangered Bornean orangutan baby called Khansa in April, bringing the park’s successful orangutan births up to 46. Two critically endangered electric blue geckos and an endangered baby female pygmy hippo also joined the zoo family last year.

Adding to the cheer was the zoo’s first male white rhino calf in five years and its first successful jaguar birth since 2009.

There were also 14 successful Asian small-clawed otter births across the zoo and the Night Safari last year. The Asian small-clawed otters are the smallest species of their kind in the world.

At the Jurong Bird Park, 2017 saw the addition of a king penguin chick. Maru, meaning round in Japanese, is the first successful king penguin hatching for the park in almost 10 years. 

SINGAPORE: Are the names of the merged junior colleges a mouthful or do they go a long way in preserving the interests and identities of the schools affected?

The reaction of students affected was mostly one of relief. 

“It’s very good that they combine the school names of both the JCs, because this helps to preserve the identities of both colleges and ensure that it’s fair to both of us, said So Ee Cheng from Yishun JC.

A former student of Innova JC, Foo Fang Fang, agreed: “I’d very much prefer that our name is still there in the new merged JC.” 

The Ministry of Education announced on Thursday (Jan 11) that the four pairs of JCs to be merged in 2019 will adopt a combination of the full names of both colleges, with the name of the older JC coming first. This is the first time JCs here are merging.

At Serangoon Junior College (SRJC), which will merge with Anderson Junior College (AJC), students were circumspect about the name Anderson Serangoon Junior College.

“I think it’s really long, but I do understand the rationale because it does give us a sense that both the colleges are being represented,” said Sim Yaowei, a second-year student.

He added that there is still some sadness knowing that there will not be any first-year intake at SRJC. First year students will be at AJC instead, the chosen location of the merged college.

This feeling is something SRJC principal Manogaran Suppiah had anticipated.

“Normally the J2s (second-year students) see themselves as the big brother, big sisters of the newer students, and there is a sense of pride helping them adjust to the college,” said Mr Manogaran, who was also announced as the principal-designate of the new Anderson Serangoon JC.

Mr Manogaran said this is why many more J2 students have been given roles this year as college ambassadors during orientation when term begins on Feb 2. The orientation will be held at AJC’s premises.  

He said students from both schools have been working together since early December to organise a six-day orientation programme for new students.

At Innova Junior College, which will merge with Yishun Junior College, principal Michael de Silva said students from both colleges met at a camp and came up with orientation plans which will take place at YJC.

“We got to see how both colleges worked, their strengths and put the input into the programme for the upcoming orientation,” Ang Ying Xuan, a second-year student at Innova said.

SEAMLESS TRANSITION, INCORPORATING STRENGTHS OF JCS ARE PRIORITES

Mr de Silva, who will be the principal of the new Yishun Innova JC, said both he and the outgoing principal of Yishun JC did a stock take of the colleges’ strengths in terms of offerings when the mergers were announced in April last year.

This is seen in the way a new Co-curricular Activity (CCA) will be introduced at the merged school premises.

“We brought over digital literacies from Innova JC to Yishun JC, and we combined it with (Yishun JC’s) entrepreneurship (club) to form a new club,” Mr de Silva explained.

Tapping on the strengths of the two colleges is also a key focus for Mr Manogaran and outgoing AJC principal Tay Lai Ling.

While many CCAs between the two schools overlap, Mr Manogaran said AJC has agreed to include two CCAs that SRJC excels in – taekwondo and touch rugby for girls. Art, which SRJC offers as an academic object but is not offered by AJC, will also be offered at the new school.

“So because of that, the infrastructure had to be looked into,” Mr Manogaran told Channel NewsAsia.

“An art room has to be built at AJC, and for taekwondo, a new facility will also be built for. All this shows we started work very early, to make sure all these things got approval.”

Teachers, too, are not left out of the preparations. A top priority for Mr Manogaran and Ms Tay is in ensuring a seamless transition for about 80 SRJC teachers who will be moving to the new school. Mr Manogaran said a little more than 30 have already moved to AJC.

He said staff from AJC came to meet teachers at SRJC who will be going over. This is where the AJC vice principal and other staff shared AJC’s culture and practices so that the new teachers are mentally prepared.

Ms Tay told Channel NewAsia that time and resources at AJC have been set aside for staff to bond at the department level. Several engagement sessions have also been planned throughout the year.

UNIFORMS, MOTTO AND CRESTS WILL FOCUS ON INCORPORATING SIMILARITIES

For now, both pairs of schools are focused on the upcoming open houses and orientation to settle in new students. Mr Manogaran said first-year students will be considered AJC students due to technical reasons of being at its school premises.

But an interim school uniform for them has been designed so that they identify with the merged JC. He said the first-year students will wear a polo-shirt with both the school’s crests side by side, and with both the colleges’ names etched on the back. The bottom uniform attire will, however, reflect AJC uniform colours.  

Mr Manogaran said the schools will set up a joint team by the second-half of the year to decide on the Anderson Serangoon JC’s new motto, badge and uniform, saying it is not something to rush into.

But their guiding principle will be incorporating elements of both schools and the similarities between them. He said both schools focus on service, which is a coherent running theme in their school mottos.

In western Singapore, Pioneer JC and Jurong JC also set up a joint committee to design an interim uniform for first-year students for the new Jurong Pioneer JC. They include a polo shirt, house T-shirts and orientation T-shirts.

Pioneer JC, which will be the site of the new merged JC, said the principal-designate will be the one who will oversee the design of the new uniform.

The affected schools are also ensuring that former students were not left out of the planning process. President of SRJC’s Alumni Association, Lee Deming, told Channel NewsAsia that the association was consulted on the new name by the Education Ministry and the JC.

Both the schools’ alumni associations have met and will continue to communicate. While the top question on their minds is what graduates of the merged college will be known as, Mr Lee said his association will continue to carry SRJC’s crest and continue its legacy. 

Additional reporting by Deborah Wong

SINGAPORE: Six live tarantulas were found in a Singapore-registered car during recent checks at Tuas Checkpoint, according to a joint release on Thursday (Jan 11). 

The car, which was being driven by a Singaporean man, stopped for an inspection at the checkpoint at around 2pm on Jan 4, said the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) and Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA). 

An ICA officer found the spiders in a sling bag placed on the rear passenger seat, kept individually in plastic drinking cups. 

The case was then referred to the AVA, who conducted follow-up checks at the 33-year-old man’s home and seized 92 more tarantulas. 

“Tarantulas are not approved to be kept as pets in Singapore,” the release said, adding that certain species are also protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna or Flaura and require permits. 

“The case is currently under investigation and the tarantulas are being cared for by the Wildlife Reserves Singapore,” the news release stated. 

Authorities also reminded travellers “not to import or keep wild animals as pets as demand for such animals would fuel illegal wildlife trade”. 

“Wildlife are not suitable pets as some may transmit zoonotic diseases to humans and pose a public safety risk if mishandled or if they escape into our dense urban environment. Non-native animals may also be a threat to our biodiversity if released into the environment,” they added.

SINGAPORE: The four pairs of junior colleges (JCs) to be merged in 2019 will have names that reflect their history and heritage, said the Ministry of Education on Thursday (Jan 11).

They will be named Anderson Serangoon JC, Yishun Innova JC, Tampines Meridian JC and Jurong Pioneer JC, it announced in its press release.

MOE said the JCs will adopt a combination of the full names of both colleges “to reflect the history and heritage of the JCs” with the name of the older JC coming first. Other factors including stakeholders’ interests and the sentiments of all schools involved were also considered in arriving at the names.

“For the last four to five months, the JC principals had reached out to the various stakeholders in different ways, and one of the issues that was discussed and raised was the name,” said MOE’s Deputy Director-General of Education (Schools) Liew Wei Li.

She highlighted several options that came up in these discussions: To retain the names of one of the JCs, to have an entirely new name, or to combine the names. The combined name, she added, was chosen because there was no consensus amongst the stakeholders.

“A combined name would be useful in the JCs’ case because we feel that it would give them both a good standing to go forward as a combined entity to unite both their strengths.”

JC principals have also held engagement sessions with their College Advisory Committees, staff and alumni associations on the merger of the JCs, including exploring different naming possibilities, said MOE.

The merger of the eight JCs was first announced by MOE in April 2017, citing Singapore’s fall in birth rates and a decline in JC enrollment since 2014. This is the first time JCs here are merging.

It is not the first time combined names have been used in school mergers. For example, Loyang Secondary and Greenview Secondary, which merged this year, took on the name Loyang View Secondary. A combined English-Chinese name was also used in the case of the merger between Yio Chu Kang Secondary and Chong Boon Secondary, where the merged school is known in English as Yio Chu Kang Secondary, but in Chinese as Chong Boon Secondary.

“We’ve explored different options before,” said Ms Liew. “But for younger students, we have to bear in mind that longer names can be unmanageable for them.”

“So we have to take such things into consideration when combining names.”  

PRINCIPAL-DESIGNATES OF MERGED JCS APPOINTED

Principal-Designates have also been selected from the merging JCs, said MOE, adding that this is to provide better support and stability during the transition. They are as follows:

–        Current Serangoon JC principal Mr Manogaran Suppiah will be the principal of Anderson Serangoon JC,

–        Current Innova JC principal Mr Michael Nelson De Silva will be the principal of Yishun Innova JC,

–         Current Tampines JC principal Miss Yoong Nyok Ke Pamela will be the principal of Tampines Meridian JC, while

–       Current Jurong JC principal Dr Hang Kim Hoo will be the principal of Jurong Pioneer JC.

They will begin their appointment as Principal-Designates from Thursday, and will become the principal of the merged JC in 2019.  

MOE also told Channel NewsAsia that it is looking into the re-deployment plans for the other four incumbent principals of the merging JCs. In the interim, they will work with the Principal-Designates to coordinate and plan the merger of the JCs.

About 260 teachers from the affected JCs will be re-deployed in 2018 and 2019, it added. The majority of them have been re-deployed to other schools in January, while the rest have either joined MOE HQ or are still with the merging JCs. “Those who are with the merging JCs will be re-deployed in 2019, and MOE will be providing the necessary training and support to facilitate their re-deployment,” said MOE.

SCHOOLS TO DECIDE ON ISSUES LIKE UNIFORM, SCHOOL BADGE AND MOTTO

Ms Liew added that it will be up to the schools to decide on elements like the new JC’s uniform and school badge over the course of 2018.

“All these elements are very important symbols to the school, and they form their identity,” she said. “So we want to leave it to the merged JCs to make these decisions.”

Even before 2019, the JCs have already begun working together on such issues.  

In the case of Jurong Pioneer JC, both colleges collaborated on the design for the interim uniform for 2018, which incorporated the emblems from both colleges. A heritage wall was also set up in Pioneer JC’s premises to display key college artefacts and memorabilia of both colleges.

As for Anderson Serangoon JC, staff and students from both schools came together from August 2017 to develop the concept and work out the programme details of their joint open house to be held this year. A Staff Learning Day was also organised before the start of the 2018 academic year, to encourage stronger ties between staff from both JCs.