Jump to content

Victoria School

Coordinates: 1°18′31″N 103°55′39″E / 1.308575°N 103.927467°E / 1.308575; 103.927467
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 2406:3003:2006:4bb3:f5de:d423:8668:c79d (talk) at 09:06, 3 June 2024 (Campus and facilities). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Victoria School
维多利亚学校 (Chinese)
Sekolah Victoria (Malay)
Address
Map
2 Siglap Link, Bedok


448880

Singapore
Coordinates1°18′31″N 103°55′39″E / 1.308575°N 103.927467°E / 1.308575; 103.927467
Information
TypeGovernment
Autonomous
MottoTemplate:Lang-la
(Nothing Without Labour)
Established1876; 148 years ago (1876)
Sister schoolCedar Girls' Secondary School
SessionSingle
School code3014 (Express)
9151 (Integrated Programme)
PrincipalMr Low Chun Meng
GenderBoys
Enrolment1,600+
Colour(s) Red   Yellow 
SongVictoria Anthem
AffiliationVictoria Junior College
Websitewww.victoria.moe.edu.sg

Victoria School (VS) is a government autonomous boys' secondary school in Siglap, Singapore. The school has a hostel. Established in 1876, it is Singapore's second oldest state secondary school.

It offers a six-year Integrated Programme.This allows students to skip the Singapore-Cambridge GCE Ordinary Level examinations and proceed to Victoria Junior College for Years 5 and 6. The Singapore-Cambridge GCE Advanced Level examinations are taken at the end of Year 6.

History

johan tang

Campus and facilities

CHAN CHOW HUNG HOUSE

Culture and tradition

Uniform

The school uniform consists of a white short-sleeved shirt, with either khaki short trousers (for Year 1 and 2 students) or white long trousers (for Year 3 and 4 students). A 'Victoria' label is sewn on the back pockets of the trousers. Secondary 3 and 4 students wear a black school belt.[1] The school socks are white with the initials 'VS' in red on both sides, although plain white socks are allowed. Shoes have to be at least 80% white. In 2005, an official 'Victoria School' shoe with the letters 'VS' on each side was introduced.[citation needed]

Students wear a maroon striped tie every Monday and on formal occasions, sometimes with a maroon blazer as well. The school badge is worn above the left chest pocket. Student bodies such as the Prefects' Council and Monitors' Council have their own badges, but the school crest remains their main feature.

For physical activities and camps, students wear a bright yellow 'bumblebee' T-shirt with a pair of black shorts and white socks with sports shoes. The word 'VICTORIAN' is printed on the back of the PE T-shirt.

House system

The students are grouped into five houses, namely Glam (red), Kallang (blue), Kapor (green), Rochore (yellow), and Whampoa (purple), which compete against each other in the school's annual Sports Day, Cross-Country Championships, Track and Field Championships and during Inter-house games and since 2019, Project APEX. Each house has its own running vest (singlet) in the house colours.

Victorian Spirit

The Victorian Spirit is a sense of pride and belonging to the school, a fighting spirit, and striving to be their best.[2][3]

Special programmes

Victoria School offers the Integrated Programme, GCE Ordinary Level Physical Education Programme, Art Elective Programme, Regional Studies Programme, and Higher Mother Tongue Languages in Chinese, Malay, and Tamil. VS students may also enrol in the Music Elective Programme in Secondary Three or a third language (French, German or Japanese). However, these lessons are held at external venues. Students of foreign languages take part in the Ministry of Education Language Centre's month-long Study-cum-Immersion Programmes (SCIP) in countries such as France, Germany, and Japan.

Victoria-Cedar Alliance Integrated Programme

The Victoria-Cedar Alliance Integrated Programme is a six-year Integrated Programme that allows students to bypass the Singapore-Cambridge GCE Ordinary Level examinations and proceed directly to the Singapore-Cambridge GCE Advanced Level examinations at the end of the sixth year. Under this programme, students complete their four-year secondary education in Victoria School before moving to Victoria Junior College for Years 5 and 6 for pre-university education.

Victoria School started offering the Integrated Programme together with Cedar Girls' Secondary School and Victoria Junior College in 2012, building upon the success of the original four-year Victoria Integrated Programme started by Victoria Junior College in 2005.[4]

GCE Physical education

In 2008, Victoria School became the first school in Singapore to offer Physical Education (PE) as an examinable subject at the GCE Ordinary Level after receiving the approval of the Ministry of Education in 2006. The course involves theoretical and practical aspects, including weight training, football, hockey, and cross-country running, among others.

Students take the theory examination at the end of the course (i.e., November of the graduating year). This examination contributes 40% of their overall grade, the other 60% coming from the practical component, assessed over a period of time.

To better acquaint students with the style of GCE Ordinary Level PE lessons, PE theory lessons are also conducted in lower secondary classes as an examinable subject. The selection process for GCE Ordinary Level PE candidates is carried out towards the end of secondary two. Students whose applications have been approved by the PE Department are notified before the subject combination allocation process at the end of the school year.

Art Elective Programme

The Art Elective Programme (AEP) leads to the GCE Ordinary Level Higher Art examination. The AEP is offered to academically good students with talent in art. For lower secondary classes, the AEP class is not entirely made up of AEP students. Usually, about a third of the class will take AEP lessons, while the other two-thirds will have Home Economics or Design & Technology lessons. For upper secondary classes, AEP lessons are conducted after normal school hours.

Regional Studies Programme

Students in the Regional Studies Programme (RSP) learn about Southeast Asian culture and contemporary society. The curriculum includes overseas immersion programmes and structured enrichment modules spread throughout the course. Other schools in Singapore that have the Regional Studies Programme offer Malay as a third language, but since the Singapore Indonesian School is situated opposite Victoria School's campus at Siglap, students in the RSP programme take Indonesian as a third language.

VECTORS

VECTORS is a school-based talent programme aimed at nurturing students who demonstrate high abilities in mathematics and science. Students are given a wide range of opportunities to learn beyond the curriculum, including enrichment modules at junior colleges, polytechnics and universities, research mentorships, and other institutions.

Co-curricular activities

The school offers students 40 co-curricular activities (CCAs) in the four areas of sports, uniformed groups, performing arts, and clubs and societies.[5]

The school holds performing arts and sporting activities, including the biennial Rhapsody, Drama Festival (Dramafest), Musical World, Arts Festival, and Evening of Music and Drama (EMD), the annual Sports Day and Cross-Country Championship.

Sports

13 sports are offered in Victoria School: badminton, cricket, cross-country, floorball, football, hockey, sailing, shooting, table-tennis, tennis, track & field, volleyball and wushu. The school also participates in the Inter-School Dragon Boat competition. Between 2009 and 2023, the school won 35 national team titles and 32 zonal team titles at the National Schools Games and achieved a national top-four placing 197 times.[6][7][8][9][10][11] VS students have won six Singapore National Olympic Council Best Sportsboy/Team Awards and 21 Singapore Schools Sports Council Best School Boy Awards for sports.

Ten Victorians have represented Singapore at the Olympics - four in hockey, three in athletics, two in sailing and one in water-polo.[12][13][14][15][16]

Uniformed groups

Victoria School has six uniformed groups, four national and two worldwide. They offer Secondary 2-3 students a combined cultural exchange trip overseas to place such as Perth and Hong Kong. All have won the best unit competitions in the 21st century.

Passing Over Ceremony at Victoria School, circa 2005

Scouting was first started in Victoria Bridge School (present day Victoria School) when the 5th Singapore (HQ Malay) Troop was formed on 28 March 1919.[17] The 5th Troop was mentioned in the local newspaper in August 1950,[18] but appears to have been disbanded shortly after. The 6th Troop was founded in 1922,[19] when school-based Scouting was introduced in government schools. In 1932, the 6th Troop was renamed Arrow Scout Group after the Golden Arrow which BP had proclaimed in 1929's 3rd World Scout Jamboree as Scouting's symbol of peace and goodwill.

Performing arts

Victoria School has four performing arts groups.

Chinese orchestra

Victoria School Chinese Orchestra is one of the top school Chinese orchestras in Singapore.[20] In the biennial Singapore Youth Festival (SYF) Arts Presentation, Victoria School Chinese Orchestra has always attained the Certificate of Distinction.[citation needed]

Choir

Victoria School Choir is one of the school choirs in Singapore. In the Singapore Youth Festival Choral Judging Competition, the school has always attained a Gold with the Honours award. It has also won gold medals in international choir competitions. In the 2012 National Day Parade, the 300-strong Combined School Choir was formed by students from Victoria School and Cedar Girls' Secondary School.[21]

Clubs and societies

  • AV Club
  • Photography Club
  • Chess Club (consisting of International Chess Club and Chinese Chess Club)
  • English Language Drama Club
  • Debate and oratorical society
  • Infocomm Club

In The Straits Times National Youth Media Competition, Victoria School holds the best record among all the schools in Singapore, clinching the championship twice and runner-up position three times since the competition was inaugurated in 2005.[22]

Community involvement programmes

Youth Day

On Youth Day, Victoria School boys attempt to 'paint the town yellow' as they go round nearby housing blocks in the neighbourhood collecting old newspapers and items for disposal. The boys are clad in their yellow PT kit so that they are easily identified.

President's Challenge

Victoria School participates in the President's Challenge every year. In 2004, each class did a specific activity to raise funds for the charity. Activities included washing cars, going door-to-door to do household chores for a donation. In 2005, the school held a watch design competition, and the best designs were made into real watches and put on sale. In 2006, booklets were sold containing art by past and present Victorians.

Victoria Challenge

Started in July 1987, the Victoria Challenge, conducted every four years, allows classes to identify tasks that will contribute to the school. The "challenge" itself is for classes to carefully plan their task and pledge to complete it within 24 hours. Special T-shirts have been designed for every Victoria Challenge since its inception. Past challenges have included creating miniature clay figurines, folding 3D origami eagles to hang in the library, drawing floor murals, and creating an "Arts Nook" in the corner of the school, complete with books and a piano.[23] The latest Victoria Challenge was held on 28 June 2019 to 29 June 2019.[24]

Overseas exchange programmes

Victoria School has established ties with schools abroad to promote Singaporean education and exchange ideas.

As part of the initiative to improve bilateral education links between Singapore and Malaysia, Victoria School has been linked up with Penang Free School, Malaysia by the Ministry of Education.[25][26] Other schools with which Victoria School has bilateral exchange programmes include Hebei Baoding Yizhong, English School Attached to Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, Beijing Sanfan Zhongxue and Nan Hai Zhi Xin Zhongxue (all in the People's Republic of China), Modern School of Vasant Vihar (India), University of Griffith (Australia) and Sultan Omar Ali Saiffudin High School (Brunei).[27]

Humanities trips

Victoria School offers week-long overseas humanities trips to ASEAN and other parts of Asia for secondary 1 to 3 students to increase awareness of other cultures and relate lessons to the real world. These have included a trip to Vietnam in 2019.

Camps

Secondary One bonding camp

During January, all secondary one Victorians attend a three-day, two-night camp, usually held at the school, where they participate in physical, interactive, and character-building activities designed to help them make new friends and adapt to the new secondary school environment.[28] It is facilitated by some of the secondary three and secondary four seniors.

Secondary Three overseas adventure camp

In 2001, Victoria School became the first school in Singapore to send its entire secondary three students to an overseas camp. The camp, which used to be held typically in March, is now held in January concurrently with the secondary one and two cohort camps on Malaysia's farmland. The aim is to bond the new secondary three students and help them settle into their new classes after being streamed according to their subject combinations and expose them to life outside the confines of urban Singapore. Also, following the "EDGE" model of the school, the camp aims to "Grow" (Third letter of the acronym) the students into effective leaders as they will take over various leadership roles from the secondary four students. Rigorous activities, including rafting, trekking, river-crossing, and mountain-climbing, are held during the camp. From 2001 to 2010, the camp was held at Kahang Organic Rice Eco-Farm, Kahang town, located near Kluang, Johor. From 2011, the annual camp location was shifted to Tanjong Sutera Resort, Tanjung Sedili, near the town of Kota Tinggi, Johor.

Victoria Enhanced Leadership/Outdoor Camp Instructor Training Camp (VELOCI-T)

The VELOCI-T is a grueling 5-day outdoor camp that begins locally and continues overseas. External camp instructors run it in collaboration with selected Secondary Three junior leaders for that year. It has garnered praise for being one of the most difficult and effective leadership camps among local institutions. 100 Secondary Two students, nominated through CCA teachers and who will undertake leadership positions the following year, undergo rugged adventure activities, are trained to run camps, and conduct activities commonly carried out during outdoor camps, and learn the Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership through hands-on activities. Trainees have made an expedition on inflatable rafts and kayaks and climbed Gunung Arong. After the camp is concluded, the participants' performances are reviewed. Those who pass are promoted to Junior Leader (JL) or, upon further application and stringent selection, Senior Leader (SL).[29] The JLs and SLs are informally called Red Shirts and Black Shirts after the shirts are awarded. They form the backbone of student leadership in VS and play an instrumental role in rallying and organising the student population.

Awards

In 2009, Victoria School was awarded the Ministry of Education's School Distinction Award (SDA).[30]

Victoria School has also attained various CCA awards, such as the Sustained Achievement Awards for sports, performing arts, and uniformed groups in recognition of its consistently high performance in national competitions, sports meets, the biennial Singapore Youth Festival and other events.

Victoria Advisory Committee

The Victoria Advisory Committee (VAC), formed in 1968, set the direction and advice on the future of Victoria School and Victoria Junior College. The principals of VS and VJC and the President of the Old Victorians' Association sit on the committee.

Victoria Chorale

Formed in 1988, Victoria Chorale, which comprises Victoria School and Victoria Junior College's graduands, is one of the top semi-professional choirs in Singapore. It has won numerous prizes at many prestigious international competitions, including gold medals at the Choir Olympics.

Old Victorians' Association

The alumni body, Old Victorians' Association (OVA), was established in 1941. It serves as a channel for former students of Victoria School and Victoria Junior College to associate with their alma mater.[31] The OVA supports the schools' activities, assists needy students, and promotes sports, social and cultural activities among association members. Previously alumni returned on Victorians' Day, the first Saturday of March, to play games, eat school canteen food again and catch up with long-time schoolmates.[32]

The OVA men's and women's hockey teams play in the Singapore Hockey Federation hockey leagues.

In 2009, OVA organized the inaugural combined VS and VJC gala concert, with a 260-strong cast comprising both students and celebrity alumni, at the Esplanade Concert Hall.[33][34][35]

In 2011 and 2016, OVA organized the Victoria School 135th and 140th Anniversary Celebration Dinners at Tyrwhitt Road's former VS campus.[36]

Notable alumni

Presidents of Singapore

Politics

Ministers and Members of Parliament

Nominated Members of Parliament

Other politicians

Civil service

Military/Police

Medicine

Education

Business

Religion

Sports

Olympians

Arts

Others

  • Sunny Ang, racing driver and part-time law student convicted for murder
  • Johan tang, perpetrator of one of Singapore's most serious white-collar crime
  • Pav Gill, whistleblower who uncovered the Wirecard scandal, one of the largest corporate frauds in history
  • Johan Tang, counsellor and Singapore's "father of GPA 3.3"
Recipients of the President's Scholarship, Queen's Scholarship or State Scholarship
Name Scholarship Year
Ahmad Mohamed Ibrahim Queen's Scholarship 1936
Poh Soo Jin Queen's Scholarship 1951
Teh Ee Kheng Queen's Scholarship 1957
Yap Choon Teck Queen's Scholarship 1957
Si Hoe Sing Yin Queen's Scholarship 1958
Han Cheng Fong State Scholarship 1962
Lam Chuan Leong President's Scholarship 1967
Ng Chee Khern President's Scholarship 1984
Loh Wai Keong President's Scholarship 1984
Siow Mein Yeak President's Scholarship 2019

See also

References

  1. ^ "Code of Conduct – Victoria School".
  2. ^ Mavis Toh (14 September 2009). "School spirit keeps Victoria diehards going". The Straits Times (Singapore).
  3. ^ Aaron Aik (10 August 2009). "The Victorian Spirit – The story of the Victoria School B Division football team". Red Sports (Singapore).
  4. ^ (18 November 2011). "Implementation of Integrated Programme (IP) on Track" Archived 10 January 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ "Victoria School". Archived from the original on 16 January 2014. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  6. ^ Lim Say Heng (21 January 2009). "Victoria School: Lack of space is no excuse". The New Paper (Singapore).
  7. ^ Yvonne Yap (18 August 2009). "Victoria School beat Teck Whye to clinch C Division Boys Hockey title". RedSports (Singapore).
  8. ^ V K Santosh Kumar (8 April 2010). "Victoria victorious after 41 years". The Straits Times (Singapore).
  9. ^ Noor Farhan (9 April 2011). "B Division Hockey: Victoria edge Teck Whye 3-2 in overtime with the golden goal to win final". RedSports (Singapore).
  10. ^ Yap Ann Ann (3 April 2012). "Victoria School wins National Inter-School Floorball Championship after 4-year wait". VOXSPORTS (Singapore).
  11. ^ Felicia Quick (16 August 2013). "Victorians triumph in ‘C’ Div hockey final". Today (Singapore).
  12. ^ "Singapore's oldest Olympian Dr Arumugam Vijiaratnam dies aged 94". The New Paper. 19 February 2016.
  13. ^ "Former Olympian turns 80". The Straits Times. 5 November 2018.
  14. ^ a b "S. JEYATHURAI - Singapore National Olympic Council"
  15. ^ a b c "Hockey – Victoria School".
  16. ^ "Gary Yeo is gunning for a personal best in London". www.asiaone.com.
  17. ^ Cite error: The named reference hist-Singapore-scouting was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  18. ^ "Scouts Visit Singapore". The Straits Times. Singapore. 8 August 1950. p. 7.[permanent dead link]
  19. ^ "Boy Scouts Association". The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser. 13 February 1922. p. 12.[permanent dead link]
  20. ^ "Victoria School Chinese Orchestra". Victoria School. 21 September 2019.
  21. ^ Hetty Musfirah Abdul Khamid (4 August 2012). "Combined schools choir returns to this year's National Day Parade". Channel News Asia (Singapore).
  22. ^ Sheryl Quek (18 December 2011). "Victoria School is tops in ST news contest". The Straits Times (Singapore).
  23. ^ "Victoria School Victoria Challenge 2015". victoria.moe.edu.sg/victoria_challenge/2015.html. Retrieved 24 March 2016.[permanent dead link]
  24. ^ "2019 – Victoria School". Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  25. ^ Sandra Davie (3 July 2005). "School ties that bind" Archived 4 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine. The Straits Times (Singapore).
  26. ^ Sandra Davie (4 December 2007). "S'pore, M'sia forge stronger links in education". The Straits Times (Singapore).
  27. ^ Mohammad Abdullah (17 November 2009). "S'pore students get taste of Brunei"[permanent dead link]. Brunei Times (Brunei).
  28. ^ Randell Siow, "EDGE 2010", January 2010.
  29. ^ Randell Siow, "Veloci-T 2009 - The PULSE of Victoria", 22 November 2009.
  30. ^ Ministry of Education (10 September 2009). "Recognising School Achievements in 2009" Archived 4 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine. Press release.
  31. ^ Nurul Asyikin Mohd Nasir (10 September 2009). "Victoria school alumni: Boys only, please". The New Paper (Singapore).
  32. ^ Patricia Yap (28 February 2005). "Victorians' Day to kick off on March 5" Archived 25 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Today (Singapore).
  33. ^ "Singapore Celebrity Magicians to Add Magic to Old Victorian Association Concert at the Esplanade" (Press release). Webwire. 19 May 2009.
  34. ^ Kenny Chee (2 June 2009). "Victorians labour to celebrate artistic talents". The New Paper (Singapore).
  35. ^ Christopher Toh (4 June 2009). "Two upcoming local gigs to look forward to". Today (Singapore).
  36. ^ Huang Lijie (19 September 2011). "Victoria School celebrates 135 years with 1,500 alumni, ex-teachers". The Straits Times (Singapore).
  37. ^ "15th November 2013 saw more than 50 former Victorians from all walks of life came together for an evening of get-together and rekindling of old ties"
  38. ^ Long, Susan (18 November 2012). "Be the best country to grow old in". www.asiaone.com. Archived from the original on 29 October 2017. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  39. ^ "Speech by Mr Masagos Zulkifli BMM, Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Home Affairs, at the 10th NCC Affirmation Ceremony on Saturday, 10th April 2010, at the Singapore Expo Hall 2 at 3.00pm". MOE. Archived from the original on 1 September 2013. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  40. ^ "VS Class of 2010 - Sec 4 Graduation".
  41. ^ "Victorian Samurai – Ng Yat Chung". Old Victorians' Association. 7 September 2012. Archived from the original on 28 February 2014. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
  42. ^ "Fifteen years in the forefront". The Straits Times. 17 August 1947.
  43. ^ Robert, Godfrey (5 July 2015). "Fitting farewell for former FAS chairman N Ganesan". The New Paper.
  44. ^ "Godfrey Robert: Ganesan devoted his life to Singapore sport". The New Paper. 2 July 2015.
  45. ^ Ganesan, Deepanraj (23 January 2023). "Athletics: 'Small steps' mantra helps jumper Kam to second national mark in a week". The Straits Times.
  46. ^ "Old Victorians Association - Obituary – Dr Lau Teng Chuan"
  47. ^ "Meet Gavin Lee, Singapore's Brightest Coaching Prospect – Part 1: The Journey to Topflight Football". 16 August 2020.
  48. ^ "Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon Para-athlete Zac Leow breaks world-record time on daughter's birthday". 3 December 2023. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
  49. ^ "Cricket's the name of the game for skipper Muruthi". eresources.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  50. ^ "SEA Games 2023: 'We must make it count in 2029', says athletics chief | The Straits Times". www.straitstimes.com. 13 May 2023.
  51. ^ "LET'S PLAY IT AGAIN, SONG!". Singapore Monitor. 25 January 1983. p. 27. Retrieved 20 June 2023 – via NewspaperSG.
  52. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 September 2017. Retrieved 21 September 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  53. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 September 2017. Retrieved 21 September 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  54. ^ "Home". UCI. Archived from the original on 14 May 2020. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  55. ^ "2008年全国中学武术锦标赛 "
  56. ^ "There was another Victorian who represented Singapore in the said Olympic. He is Mr Gan Eng Teck who was in the water polo team."
  57. ^ Lum, Nicole. "SEA Games Athletics (4x100m relay): Two national records fall; men settle for silver". RED SPORTS.
  58. ^ "Lo enjoys the high seas"
  59. ^ "15th November 2013 saw more than 50 former Victorians from all walks of life came together for an evening of get-together and rekindling of old ties"
  60. ^ Lum, Nicole. "SEA Games Athletics (4x100m relay): Two national records fall; men settle for silver". RED SPORTS.
  61. ^ Speech by President S R Nathan at the 130th Anniversary and Official Opening of the Victoria School New Campus at Siglap Link, 22 July 2006
  62. ^ Biografi A. Samad Said: memberi hati nurani [Biography A. Samad Said : give conscience] (in Malay). ITBM. 2012. ISBN 9789830688749.
  63. ^ Curran, Ann-Marie (9 December 1984). "A 25-year affair with clay". The Straits Times. p. 5. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  64. ^ hermes (12 February 2017). "Lunch With Sumiko: The art of Sonny Liew". The Straits Times. Retrieved 12 May 2021.

Further reading

  • Lim Fang York, "A sense of belonging, and other poems", 1979, Victoria School
  • Lim Mu Yao, "Celebrating 130 years of Victoria School in Singapore", 2006, Victoria School
  • "Victoria School art elective programme, 21 years", 2006, Victoria School; English 741.683095957 VIC, Lee Kong Chian Reference Library
  • "Victoria Chorale", Victoria Chorale Victoria Chorale

Media related to Victoria School (Singapore) at Wikimedia Commons