How it all began

It was past 10 pm on May 1, 2026 when this photo popped
up on my WhatsApp. It was from Quan Cher Lee, my secondary
school classmate. Ms Quan had just met up with four former
students of Holy Innocents’ High School (HIHS) where she
taught English Language some years ago.

“Just came back from meeting my first batch of students
from HIHS, Sec 4 Integrity (graduating class of 2008)!

3 of them are married, 2 with kids even.

All of them are well spoken, and are leading meaningful
lives. What impressed me is how respectful they are in
their speech towards the people whom we reminisced about,
and the topics that we discussed. I am so proud of them!

Chock, we did something right with these boys.”

Their secondary school days

Back then, Ms Quan had started an English Language class
blog and Ivan, Ming Hui and Lenson were the blog
administrators. All four boys were student photographers
for the school musical in which Ms Quan was in-charge of
and acted in. In recent times, as they were reminiscing
their secondary school days, Lenson realised that he had
Ms Quan’s contact number. And the reunion happened on
Labour Day 18 years after the foursome graduated from HIHS!

My secondary school days

In the 1970s, Cher Lee and I were classmates in lower
secondary. I have been Chock Ngin to Cher Lee since then.
We were in the same Junior College and in the same
English Language class at NUS.

Even when we were not classmates thereafter, we spent
much time together during our school vacation. As we
did our own reminiscing, Cher Lee reminded me that we
too were in a group of four girls, enjoying ‘The Golden
Girls’ on TV together in the 1980s and dreaming about
one day setting up a retirement home like the Golden
Girls did.

We both became teachers and then, much later on,
colleagues in HIHS and CHIJ St. Theresa’s Convent.

Looking back, indeed, our best friendships were formed
during our secondary school days.

Choice of a secondary school

Our stories may be different, but one point remains
the same. Our secondary school friends will likely be
our ‘best friends forever’!

So, does this point matter at all when Primary 6 students
and their parents choose a secondary school after the
PSLE? As an educator, I’ve always advocated that both
parent and child should jointly work this out. The
child’s voice should be heard. Due diligence should be
done to research together and understand the culture
of the prospective secondary schools. These days,
every school in Singapore is unique, each with its
own history, heritage, charisms and niche programmes.

When all is said and done, the parent must take the
lead in answering this big philosophical question:

Will my teenager flourish in this school culture?

At this point, it is fitting to define the aim of
education and to ask if the parent agrees with this
definition.

David Albert Jones and Stephen Barrie (2015)¹
explain that “as human beings, we are persons who find
fulfilment in relation to one another, through friendship”.
They define “education as the “integral formation of the
human person, through the cultivation of moral and
intellectual virtues, for the good of the person and
for the common good of society.”

As parents take time to attend Open House events at
secondary schools, they may want to assess if the
school environment and culture will be one that will
cultivate in the children the moral and intellectual
virtues that will help them to lead meaningful lives
in adulthood. The respect for self and for others
that Cher Lee has witnessed in her adult students
years later, are possibly fruits of an education
that have formed the students, morally and
intellectually, for their own good and for the
common good of society.

David Albert Jones and Stephen Barrie (2015)²
then went on to make the claim that “human flourishing
is the aim of human life and consists in the shared
enjoyment of emotional, cultural, intellectual and
spiritual life, and in particular, the sustaining
of true friendships.”

What did the school do right?

Cher Lee’s remark that “we did something right with
these boys” was hugely encouraging for me. After
38 years as an MOE educator, I’m still very much
Involved in the business of schools, specifically
Catholic schools.

Might HIHS have done something right in cultivating
more of the moral and intellectual virtues
and in fostering more of the “shared enjoyment of the …
spiritual life”?

What is the call to action for schools and families?

In conclusion, I return to Cher Lee’s updates:

“3 of them are married, 2 with kids even.

All of them are well spoken, and are leading meaningful
lives. What impressed me is how respectful they are in
their speech towards the people whom we reminisced about,
and the topics that we discussed. I am so proud of them!”

Her pride in her former students is not based on their
worldly achievements and how much each has contributed
to the economy. Among other anecdotes, she recounted
how Ming Hui is a regular blood donor and has influenced
Lenson to do the same.

I pray that schools and families will cherish their
shared mission of forming every young person intentionally
in the moral, intellectual and spiritual domains.
We are not mere lumps of human labour, to be moulded
for worldly achievements. We are made in God’s image.

May we claim Jesus as our king on this feast of
The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the
Universe (Feast of Christ the King) on Sunday,
November 22, 2026. Jesus has come to call each of
us to life, life in all its fullness. (John 10:10)

References

1. Thinking Christian Ethos – The Meaning of Catholic
   Education by David Albert Jones & Stephen Barrie,
   2015, Pg 53.
2. Thinking Christian Ethos – The Meaning of Catholic
   Education by David Albert Jones & Stephen Barrie,
   2015, Pg 55.