Official Opening Of The Life Skills Centre And Synthetic Running Track, CHIJ ST. Nicolas Girls' School

03 Jul 2000

By Mr Lim Hng Kiang

Good evening ladies and gentlemen

I am very happy to be here today at the official opening of the Life Skills Centre and Synthetic Running Track of CHIJ St Nicholas. The two projects have been completed through the painstaking efforts of the entire St Nicholas family - the staff, students, parents, alumni and others who have contributed towards this project. I understand that more than $10 million was raised for the two projects and for upgrading the various facilities of St Nicholas Girls' School.

All of you share a common vision and goal in making St Nicholas Girls' chool a top rated school with the environment to give your students an all-rounded education. You set out to achieve not only high academic standards but also mould the character of your students, laying the foundation for them to lead successful and meaningful lives.

That is the same approach we take in our School Health Service. To lay the foundation for a healthy and fulfilling life. Good health cannot be taken for granted. It does not come automatically. Neither does it happen overnight. We want every Singaporean to stay healthy for as long as possible. This will enable them to be active citizens and useful members of their families and the community. Singaporeans who are healthy will also be able to enjoy a high quality of life. To achieve this, we have to start early. The Government recognises that it is important to lay a strong foundation among our young to adopt good dietary habits and healthy lifestyles. This means taking early preventive measures against disease conditions, promoting sports and physical activities, providing good dental care and promoting health education.

The objective of the School Health Service is to lay a strong foundation for good health among students. First of all, we have a comprehensive immunisation programme against infectious diseases, and medical screening of students at critical stages of their development. Early intervention will help prevent serious illness from occurring later in life. Immunisation rates among primary school children have been maintained at levels above 90%, protecting them from dangerous infectious diseases. The School Health Service conducts full health screening for students in Primary 1 and 6. In addition, Primary 1 students have their hearing tested and Primary 6 and Secondary 2 students are screened for spinal problems. As myopia is the top health problem among students, vision screening is done for all students every year. Students are also assessed on their growth and development and nutritional status.

Second, we want our students to be fit and not over weight. The Ministry of Education runs the Trim And Fit programme for over weight students. Keeping the weight down is not for cosmetic reasons. Obesity in early life if left unchecked will lead to higher health risk in future. The level of obesity amongst our students has decreased in recent years and has stabilised for the past 3 years at around 10%.

Third, we provide dental services in our schools because regular dental checkups and good oral hygiene will go a long way in preserving good dental health. The dental health of our students as measured by the DMFT index i.e. the average number of decayed, missing or filled teeth of 12-year olds is excellent. The index was 1 in 1994 when we last did our survey and this is comparable to those of developed countries and better than the World Health Organisation's recommendation of 3. At present, our school dental services is provided in all primary schools. We expect our secondary school students to go to the Institute of Health for their dental appointments. However, many fail to turn up. They cite other ECA commitments. I suspect they just want to avoid seeing their dentists. So if Mohamed cannot go to the mountain, then the Dental Nurse will come to you. We will soon extend the school dental service to all our secondary schools.

Fourth, we want our students to understand and appreciate the importance of good health through health education. Our efforts at educating our students in healthy lifestyles - good dietary habits, regular exercise, not smoking and managing stress and healthy relationships would not have been possible without the strong support of teachers. This partnership is extremely important and we should continue and strengthen it.

The general health of our students is good. My only lament is that they do not continue with the good health habits when they leave school. My Ministry conducted a national health survey in 1998. The survey showed that the level of smoking among young women aged 18 to 24 years doubled from 3% in 1992 to 6% in 1998. It is predicted that smoking levels among young women in Singapore will rise even higher in the coming years. Another finding which is quite distressing is that only 11% of young women aged 18-29 years exercise regularly as compared to 25% among young men of similar age. These unhealthy habits will increase the risk of developing heart disease and lung cancer in later years. Furthermore, women who do not have enough exercise are more susceptible to bone-related medical conditions when they grow older.

From these statistics, we can see that while we have been fairly successful in inculcating good healthy habits in school, many do not keep up with these after they leave school. Let me stress why ladies should maintain healthy lifestyles after you leave school. You are likely to outlive your male counterparts by 4 years. It is one of the few benefits of being a woman. Make sure that these extra 4 years are quality, active, healthy years and not an extra 4 years of hardship and ill-health.

The many excellent facilities in your new Life Skills Centre will no doubt help to further your achievements and tradition of excellence in providing holistic all-round education. Your new synthetic running track will help you improve your good health, fitness and sporting excellence. The Life Skills Centre has a well-fitted gym and runs aerobic and dancing classes. I would like to encourage all students to continue to build upon the strong foundation in education and health that your school gives you throughout your school-life and more importantly, to continue to do this even after you leave school.

St Nicholas has a strong tradition of excellence in education. Like good health, it is not achieved overnight. It is the result of good foresight and the constant moulding through the years by the dedicated teachers, parents, and past students of the school.

The school's top priority is the holistic development of each student - stimulating and developing not just the IQ of the student but also the EQ . St Nicholas is always mindful of the importance of providing as many opportunities as possible to stretch the students' minds not only in the pursuit of academic excellence but also in the development of other important life skills as well. The name that you have chosen for the new facilities centre in the school aptly reflects your mission. Your far-sighted approach will lay a firm foundation for your students to enjoy their lives fully and contribute positively to the growth of the school, the community and the nation.

There are other exampIes of St Nicholas' achievements in the local and international arena in numerous and diverse fields. St Nicholas has won prizes in many writing competitions, including the prestigious Commonwealth Essay Competition. You have also won several awards in the field of information technology, including first place in your category at the International Cyberfest Competition held in the USA this year. In sports, St Nicholas has won awards in yachting, gymnastics, badminton and athletics at the national and inter-school levels. In the arts, St Nicholas has excelled in drama and speech, choir, band, dance and cross-talk. All these achievements bear strong testimony to your proud tradition in achieving a first-rate all-round education.

Let me conclude by wishing you well in all your endeavours in future. I am confident that the excellent track record of the school will continue and you will build on it. I look forward to hearing more good news of your new achievements.

Thank you.