We are a group of former Singapore Chinese Girls' School (SCGS) students who are concerned about the name of the new junior college that will house students from our alma mater, along with those from Catholic High School and CHIJ St Nicholas Girls' School ("New JC name is all Greek to netizens, students"; Dec 31, 2015).
Naming a new school is not easy, but "Eunoia" fails on many counts.
For a start, there seems to be some confusion about the proper pronunciation or what the word actually means.
While the Ministry of Education says "Eunoia" means "beautiful thinking", a quick check on the Internet unveils several other meanings, including "a state of normal mental health" and an abstract term describing the relationship between spouses.
The name of the new JC should reflect or build on the three constituent schools' rich history to provide that sense of continuity for students going from Secondary 4 to the first year in pre-university ("New JC name lacks local relevance, historical context" by Ms Estella Young; Dec 31, 2015, and "'Jubilee' - a JC name that will resonate with S'poreans" by Mr Lee Hin Peng; Jan 4).
St Nicholas and Catholic High are among Singapore's oldest Catholic schools, while SCGS was founded by enlightened Straits Chinese businessmen who were pioneers in promoting women's education.
We strongly urge Acting Ministers for Education, Mr Ng Chee Meng and Mr Ong Ye Kung, to reconsider the name of the new junior college.
- This above letter first appeared in The Straits Times on Jan 5, 2015, It carries 21 signatures
Updates
Reached 250 supporters
January 9, 2016
January 8, 2016
The petition has reached 100 signatures today. This response validates the concerns regarding the lack of historical continuity in the current naming choice.
Reached 100 supporters
January 7, 2016
January 4, 2016
We are approaching the one hundred signature milestone which will help demonstrate the strength of our position. Please circulate this petition within your respective alumni networks to ensure we reach this threshold promptly.
112 Comments
Dear Minister of Education Pls engage our Alumni & Students of SCGS, St Nichs & Catholic High. Let us choose the JC name which best fits our culture, excellent & well-rounded education legacy.
My daughter in ST Nic this year as Sec 1. Apparently she don't like the name either. No feel of Singapore school...Are we gg to study in Greek? Don't just use fancy name, it's worthless to Singaporeans if it has no sense of belonging with that name. Please change it !
My son's t-score could have allowed him to go to other IP schools, but he chose CHS out of loyalty. I respected his choice & just wanted him to be happy. The name is a big letdown & I regretted letting my son made the decision. I may switch him to other schools when the opportunity comes.
The name alone is sufficient to deter would b applicants. It does not evoke any sense of pride at all. On the contrary, it embarasses the students, past, present n future. Please drop it
Yes. I support the name change. Eunoia is not an appropriate name for an education institution. 'Beautiful thinking' and 'goodwill to others' just doesn't resonate well with a junior college made up of 3 established schools with rich heritage and long history. Period.
Please get ALL the students in the three schools to vote for whether they want the name..
Please change name of JC to Trinity Junior College.
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We are a group of former Singapore Chinese Girls' School (SCGS) students who are concerned about the name of the new junior college that will house students from our alma mater, along with those from Catholic High School and CHIJ St Nicholas Girls' School ("New JC name is all Greek to netizens, students"; Dec 31, 2015).
Naming a new school is not easy, but "Eunoia" fails on many counts.
For a start, there seems to be some confusion about the proper pronunciation or what the word actually means.
While the Ministry of Education says "Eunoia" means "beautiful thinking", a quick check on the Internet unveils several other meanings, including "a state of normal mental health" and an abstract term describing the relationship between spouses.
The name of the new JC should reflect or build on the three constituent schools' rich history to provide that sense of continuity for students going from Secondary 4 to the first year in pre-university ("New JC name lacks local relevance, historical context" by Ms Estella Young; Dec 31, 2015, and "'Jubilee' - a JC name that will resonate with S'poreans" by Mr Lee Hin Peng; Jan 4).
St Nicholas and Catholic High are among Singapore's oldest Catholic schools, while SCGS was founded by enlightened Straits Chinese businessmen who were pioneers in promoting women's education.
We strongly urge Acting Ministers for Education, Mr Ng Chee Meng and Mr Ong Ye Kung, to reconsider the name of the new junior college.
- This above letter first appeared in The Straits Times on Jan 5, 2015, It carries 21 signatures
Updates
Reached 250 supporters
January 9, 2016
January 8, 2016
The petition has reached 100 signatures today. This response validates the concerns regarding the lack of historical continuity in the current naming choice.
Reached 100 supporters
January 7, 2016
January 4, 2016
We are approaching the one hundred signature milestone which will help demonstrate the strength of our position. Please circulate this petition within your respective alumni networks to ensure we reach this threshold promptly.
112 Comments
Even if the the name is meaningful, the way common folks would pronunce it would make the collage a laughing stock. I am confident the brains at MOE could come up with a better name.
Dear Minister of Education Pls engage our Alumni & Students of SCGS, St Nichs & Catholic High. Let us choose the JC name which best fits our culture, excellent & well-rounded education legacy.
My daughter in ST Nic this year as Sec 1. Apparently she don't like the name either. No feel of Singapore school...Are we gg to study in Greek? Don't just use fancy name, it's worthless to Singaporeans if it has no sense of belonging with that name. Please change it !
My son's t-score could have allowed him to go to other IP schools, but he chose CHS out of loyalty. I respected his choice & just wanted him to be happy. The name is a big letdown & I regretted letting my son made the decision. I may switch him to other schools when the opportunity comes.
The name alone is sufficient to deter would b applicants. It does not evoke any sense of pride at all. On the contrary, it embarasses the students, past, present n future. Please drop it
Yes. I support the name change. Eunoia is not an appropriate name for an education institution. 'Beautiful thinking' and 'goodwill to others' just doesn't resonate well with a junior college made up of 3 established schools with rich heritage and long history. Period.
Please get ALL the students in the three schools to vote for whether they want the name..
Please change name of JC to Trinity Junior College.
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Even if the the name is meaningful, the way common folks would pronunce it would make the collage a laughing stock. I am confident the brains at MOE could come up with a better name.