By CATHERINE WONG

THE new ACS (Jakarta) will be completed this month and will be established as a full school with the capacity to house about 1,000 students.


Announcing this, Mr Tan Wah Thong, Chairman of the ACS Board of Governors, said there would be more ACS schools in the region in time to come.

Mr Tan, who was delivering his opening address at the Anglo-Chinese Schools Staff Dedication Service for 2006 at Barker Road Methodist Church on Dec 30, 2005, expressed his appreciation to all the staff for their hard work and dedication.

He also commended the schools and reminded them to continue to strive for standards of excellence.

The Dedication Service commenced with a welcome from Mr Ng Eng Chin, Principal of ACS (Barker Road). It was followed by a time of singspiration and worship, led by the Rev Barnabas Chong, Chaplain of Anglo-Chinese Junior College.

About 650 staff members from the six ACS schools attended the service.

It was a fitting start to the new year as all staff from the ACS schools gathered to give praise and honour to God for what He had done in their work and in their own lives.


Bishop Dr Robert Solomon's message, based on the text from Ecclesiastes12: 9-14, challenged the teachers to teach "life's wisdom" to their pupils, as this "has lasting effect which does not change". He also urged them to aim towards creating an "educational paradise" where creativity was nurtured and souls shaped.

God is the ultimate source of wisdom, and if teachers are able to influence their students to fear God and recognise that He is the Master, their students will discover true meaning and purpose in life.

"Teach the young well -- so they will find happiness and truth. This is the ethos of the ACS education," he said.

The Dedication Service concluded with an affirmation of the "Teachers' Oath" and a prayer for the teachers.

A section of Barker Road Methodist Church filled with school staff. -- Picture by ACS (Barker Road).

Catherine Wong is Level Head English at Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road).