Dear Parents,

Greetings!

If you’re in Singapore and see fiery and flaming paper lamps and decorations all around you, giving a feeling of warm autumn palette, you know it’s that time of the year, when you wish each other prosperity and richness – in health, longevity, with a smidgen of materialism thrown in. Yes, the spirit of Chinese New Year wraps all of us in its warm embrace, reminding us of these sempiternal humane qualities. We might celebrate it once a year but the spirit of giving and felicity of the celebration should be an integral part of our lives – today and always.

The spirit of bringing joy and prosperity was extended by GIIS EC to all the cogs, irrespective of their size, that keeps this wonderful and intricately woven machinery running. The backbones of our institutions, often the unsung heroes, were richly acknowledged and felicitated, in the special CNY assembly, for their immense contributions and hard work in maintenance of this institution. We are forever indebted to them for prioritising the wellbeing of the school.

As they say, it takes a village to raise a child. And what’s a village without neighbours? Therefore, our neighbours were also not forgotten on this special occasion. Mandarin oranges – the traditional symbol of good fortune, were distributed by the students to our gracious neighbours.

In recent years, how often have we heard – Water is not a right but a privilege. This epiphanous statement strongly reflects the state we are currently in. This soon might become an inexorable truth if we do not step up.

Mr Hardik Shah, a prolific member of our school community, poured his insights on the impending problem that hangs over the world like a razor-sharp guillotine. The IBDP Year 1 students also raised awareness and urged their fellow students to be mindful of our consumptions and not be wasteful in preserving this ’new oil’ which might become the trending currency, rendering the majority poor in the foreseeable future, if not acted upon now. This is where GIIS EC aces – nurturing conscientious students trying to change the world.

Our students are always up and in for challenges. We love to provide platforms for minds ready to sharpen further, platforms where intellect and ideas can be incepted, collide, and calcify – the Inter House Debate Competition, conducted by GIIS EC Students’ Council, provided a perfect setting for the keen minds to battle it out. Each house had selected their representatives judiciously who spoke eloquently on the subject, tackling rebuttals with their well-researched pointers and challenging themselves to find non-existent gaps. That the Final was a tie seemed to be predestined – both teams gave their best on a topic given minutes before. We are happy being the catalyst – an agent for change.

This was also the month when love was in the air… let love fill our lives to the brim.

Regards,

CVK Sastry

Principal, East Coast Campus