Yishun Town Secondary School

Yishun Town Secondary School 毅道中学 Yìdào Zhōngxúe
File:Ytss logo.png
Location
Yishun
Coordinates	1°25′57.46″N 103°50′15.85″E
Information
Type	Government, autonomous
Motto	We Will Excel
Established	1986
Session	Single
School code	3045
Principal	Mrs Tan Chuen Yin
Enrolment	Approx. 1,200
Colour(s)	Blue, yellow
Website	[1]

Yishun Town Secondary School (abbreviation: YTSS) is an autonomous government secondary school in Yishun, Singapore. Its students are referred to as YTzens.

Motto

We will Excel.

Logo

The school logo incorporates the letter Y. It stands for the town Yishun and for its youthfulness. The four arrows represent the development of the heart, body, mind and soul. The circle symbolises the goal of a well-rounded pupil. The blue background represents a peaceful school atmosphere. Yellow arrows and circle represent the vibrancy of the school's endeavours.

Principals

Principal	Year
Lim Yam Meng	1986–1995
Ooi Cheng Hock	1995–1999
Tan Teck Hock	1999–2005
Tan Yee Kan	2005–2011
Ng Chuen- Yin	2011 -

Location

The entrance of the holding school in Sembawang (2006-2007)

The campus is loca at Yishun Street 21. The nearest MRT station is Yishun, a five-minute walk to the school.

PRIME

The old school hall (1986-2005)

In December 2005, YTSS relocated to a holding premises in Sembawang due to PRIME. The upgrading was completed, and YTSS moved back to its premises in November 2007, in time for the 2008 academic year.

Achievements

2005

The school was given the following awards from the Ministry of Education:

Sustained Achievement Award

• Academic Value-Added (Normal Stream)
• Uniformed Groups

Achievement Award

• Gold Award for Academic Value-addedness in Normal Stream
• Gold Award for Trim and Fitness Programme

National Champions

• 46th National Individuals Chess Competition (U14 Girls Category)
• 1st National Interschool Blogging Championship (Most Popular Blog)

2006

The Information Technology Club was second in the National Mobile Robot Competition. This was the first national award the club had received since its inception in 1998. However, this proved to be a swansong for the 9-year old IT Club, for it was merged with two other CCAs to form the Infocomm Society the following year.

The boy's Volleyball team reached the regional finals in both age groups (Divisions B and C), losing to regional winners Xinmin Secondary School in both matches, both by one set to two. However, in the North Zone Basketball Girls 'C' Division championships, Yishun Town were the eventual champions.

The school sent 610 members to enter The New Paper's Big Walk 2006, an annual walkathon event in Singapore, the biggest ever contingent sent by a school in Singapore.

There also have been successes in the Air Rifle as well as the Chess teams. The 'B' and 'C' Division Air Rifle Girls got into National 2nd and 3rd places respectively, while the Air Rifle Boys and Air Pistol teams received national rankings, most of which in the top 10. The Girls team in Chess received National 2nd, with their top-scoring individuals earning National 7th and 8th places.

In the National Inter-school Athletes championships (even though the school does not have an official CCA that is related to Athletics) the school won a bronze medal in the Shot Put 'C' Boys category.

Also in 2006, the school received a Sustained Achievement Award in Academics. The school had stayed in the Top 30 schools in the Express Stream for four consecutive years, as well as being in the top-banded school for the Normal Stream for three consecutive years. SJAB, Girl Guides, NCC and The Boys' Brigade maintained their Gold Awards, and the NPCC, Silver. For 2006, NPCC achieved its gold (after a period where they maintained as a silver unit). The school has been given another Sustained Achievement Award for the Uniform Groups category.

2007

The ex-principal of Yishun Town, Mr. Tan Teck Hock, is the principal of Serangoon Junior College. He toughened the school discipline and introduced afternoon lessons, restoring the school's reputation after trouble with hooliganism and poor academic performance in the late 1990s.

2008

The school was the only school in Singapore to win all six Sustained Achievement awards, as announced by principal Tan Yee Kan on 22 September.

2009

YTSS celebrated its 23rd Speech Day together with its official school opening. The event was named 'Speech Day cum Official Opening '09'. The event was opened by Associate Professor Ho Peng Kee, Senior Minister of State for Law and Home Affairs and Member of Parliament of Nee Soon East Constituency. Accompanying him was the Director Of Schools (North Zone) and other distinguished guests. .

2011

YTSS celebrated its 25th anniversary on 9 July 2011. The committee proposed the theme "25:00 - We Will Excel". The 25:00 is a symbol of the 24hr timing, an hour after 24:00, to represent the future. The number 25 represents 25 years in history. The theme is “We will excel” as from the school motto. There are two foci in the theme: the celebration of 25 years of founding and a celebratory event for the students to celebrate the school’s success and achievements.

The school NPCC unit has attained the five years consecutive gold award, also known as the Outstanding Achievement Award.

Student leadership

There is a Student Council, and a group of CCA Leaders and Monitors board, formerly known as the Honorary Student Council, recognised as Leopards. Identified Secondary 2 students with leadership qualities are designated to the Aspiring Leaders group.

Student council

File:Ytss sc.jpg

The logo of the student council in YTSS

Renamed from the Prefectural Board in 1999, the Student Council (SC) are student leaders serving teachers and students. Chosen by the recommendation of teachers at the Secondary 1 or 2 levels, they are nurtured into Student Leaders come Secondary 3. They organise events and maintain order and discipline.

Since July 2006, there has been a school-wide presidential election to decide the run-off between two or three council candidates. The elected president will assume their position during the council investiture.

Honorary student council

The Honorary Student Council Board (HSC) was established in January 2002. CCA Leaders and Lead Monitors are invited to join midway through their third year (it was the start of the fourth year during the first two batches of HSC). These students are members of the HSC for a term lasting 12 months. They assume membership positions from their seniors on 1 July. However, unlike the Student Council, the selection for the President is not known until late August.

The HSC was dissolved in mid-2007. In its place, a group of CCA Leaders and Monitors was formed.

Culture and distinctives

The old school building and its facade (1986-2005)

In between the upper and lower secondary classroom blocks in the holding campus.(2006-2007)

The courtyard of the new school campus (2008-onwards)

Outdoor eEducation

Students join at least an adventure camp, and an outdoor enrichment activity. They can also take part in other activities such as overseas field trips. The Sec 3 camp is held every year, and since 2007, has been held at Kahang Organic Rice Farm, Malaysia.

Yishun Town students have gone to places includingd Lijiang (of Yunnan, China), Auckland, Perth, Sabah and Mount Kinabalu (both in east Malaysia). They once also held overseas leadership camps in Peninsular Malaysia.

Values inculcation program (VIP)

This program was formed in 2005 as a result of an integration between Pastoral Care (PC) and Civics and Moral Education (CME) [2]. The aim of VIP lessons are quite similar to both the PC and CME lessons, that is to enable the students to make well and informed choices, as well as to become responsible and moral citizens that contribute to the society. The VIP Program is compulsory for all students.

Innovation and Enterprise (I&E)

An initiative (Innovative, Daring, Enterprising and Achievable Suggestions, or IDEAS) that allows students to generate, develop and implement new and innovative ideas on school-related issues. Awards are given to recognise students who have come up with innovative ideas that benefit the school. The I&E program is offered to all students in YTSS. [3]

Creative Skills Inquiry (CSI)

CSI provides students with the opportunities to develop the spirit of inquiry, to be critical and creative. It requires students to work in teams, see interconnections between the different disciplines, undertake research and to present their findings innovatively and confidently. This program is offered to students when they are in the Lower Secondary levels. [4]

Learning Styles

Learning styles was introduced 2007, by principal Tan Yee Kan, as the upper secondary equivalent of the CSI programme. Its teaches the Dunn and Dunn Learning Styles system, in which students are taught how to use their learning style to study in the most efficient manner. The trainings are typically held during curriculum time, over a two-day period, and are conducted by Teo Yew Chye. The trainer is known to incorporate martial arts into the lessons to enhance it.

Houses

The houses of Yishun Town were created in 1999. They are operational only for track-and-field competitions (previously the track-and-field competitions were inter-class)

• Vinson (green)
• Bromo (blue)
• Everest (yellow)
• Etna (red)

They are names of mountains (Vinson and Everest) and volcanoes (Bromo and Etna). Vinson has won the school-based track and field competitions three years in a row (2002–2004), until Bromo ended its run in 2005. Etna won in 2006. However, principal Tan Yee Kan ended the use of houses in 2007 and introduced an annual cross country run. The run is held at Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park.

Other programmes and activities

Programmes includes the annual Speech day, Drama-In-Curriculum Programme, Beyond Classroom Week and Community Heart Day. Besides, overseas field trips are held annually. One of the few special programmes would be the production by the Drama Club in 2008, named 'Twisted'.

Notable alumni

• Kelly Poon: Female winner, Project SuperStar, MediaCorp TV Channel U
• Hazlina Halim: News presenter, MediaCorp Suria; Deejay, MediaCorp Ria 89.7 FM

Sister schools

• Zhu Hai Experimental High School, Zhu Hai City, Guangdong, China (珠海市实验中学)
• Jinan No.19 Middle School, Jinan, Shandong, China (山东济南市第十九中学)