By CHOW WEISI
and KEHK BEE YEE

"GREAT is Thy Faithfulness" resonated throughout the school since the beginning of the academic year 2004. True to His promise, God has seen us through the difficult times and rallied all staff, pupils and parents of Geylang Methodist (GM) School together in celebration of our 80th Anniversary.


With a string of ambitious projects guided by God's grace, the GM family embarked on fund-raising activities like the sale of our very own Flavours of GM recipe book, as well as items donated by well-wishers, which put our staff and young pupils' marketing and sales knowledge to the test. In effect, every member of the GM family played his or her part.


To drive home our belief that every member counts, our staff conceptualised our very own musical "Rice Matters" that seeks to exemplify our core values -- Teamwork, Compassion for others, Continuous learning & improvement and above all, Fear of God.

Musical

The arduous journey of more than seven months strengthened the bond between pupils, especially the performers from the Band, Choir, Dance and Drama Clubs. The performance was staged on July 9 and 10 at the Victoria Theatre to two packed nights and provided an opportunity for former staff and pupils to re-establish old ties and build new friendships.

Thanksgiving and
Prize-Presentation Day

Our celebrations peaked on Aug 7 when, for the first time, the whole school attended the Thanksgiving and Prize-Presentation Day at Kallang Theatre. In addition, all prize-winners were given a grand procession into the theatre, welcomed by the whole congregation in uproarious applause, amidst the fanfare by the School Band.


Even before the service commenced, teachers were already up on stage rousing the congregation in song. We were eager to shake the very foundations with our voices!


Pastor Joel, the Master-of-Ceremony and worship leader for the day, introduced the performing arts items, which have become a feature at every Thanksgiving Day. There was pomp from the Band, as it played "The Next Octave", a commissioned piece to usher in the next 80 years for GM, followed by the graceful pirouettes of our dancers and cherubic voices of our choristers, much to the delight of the congregation.


This year, we had the privilege of having Bishop Dr Robert Solomon grace the occasion, sharing with us valuable teachings from the Bible. As usual, the Bishop brought cheer to everyone with his delightful, yet poignant anecdotes.


Mr Lim Yan Hock, our Principal, ended the school report on an exuberant note by leading the congregation in singing "Emmanuel". The pupils especially enjoyed it, humming the infectious tune for the next few days!


Dr Lionel Lee, the Chairman of our School Management Committee (SMC), presented awards to the prize-winners.

Long Service Awards for dedicated teachers
For the first time the Eric Chan Award (a real gold medal) was presented to a pupil who has been exemplary in the area of service to the community. Mr Eric Chan, the former SMC Chairman, has kindly sponsored the award for the next 10 years.


Bishop Dr Solomon presented awards to our GCE top students, PSG members, and other friends of the school.


The celebration ended as the whole school stood to proclaim God's faithfulness in our school, with the closing hymn, "Great Is Thy Faithfulness".

80th Anniversary Gala Dinner

Aug 7 was an evening to remember. The Grand Ballroom at Orchard Hotel was filled with a gathering of 90 tables of alumni members, ex-students, friends and staff of Geylang Methodist Primary and Secondary schools celebrating the schools' 80th Anniversary.


The Gala Dinner began with a special lighting ceremony. The lights in the ballroom dimmed and to the singing of "Pass It On", our Guest-of-Honour, Bishop Dr Solomon, passed the light from his candle, down the stage and to the teachers standing along the aisle.


The singing grew louder as the ballroom was slowly illuminated by the candles' glow. Spirits were high when everybody finally sang "Happy Birthday" and blew out the candles. Bishop Dr Solomon then prayed for the school and the dinner commenced.


Long Service Awards were presented to teachers for their 10, 15, 20, and 35 years of dedicated service to the schools. Students entertained with excerpts from the schools' recent musicals.

Dr Lionel Lee (fourth from left) helping Bishop Dr Solomon to light his candle as the ballroom lights were dimmed. The light was then passed down to all the teachers and diners until the ballroom was aglow with candlelight. Fourth from right is Mr Eric Chan. At extreme left is Ms Mabel Wee, Principal of Geylang Methodist Primary School, and at extreme right is Mr Lim Yan Hock, Principal of Geylang Methodist Secondary School. -- GMSS picture.

In the Brightest of Them All contest, short-listed 'competitors' dressed in their glittery best gamely sashayed and strutted their glitter on stage much to the cheer and laughter from the floor. Six of them walked away with attractive prizes. As the dinner drew to a close, former students from every generation, from the 1920s through to the 2000s were asked to go on stage. It was a joy to see all who have shared in the school's 80 years of history together on stage. And as all in the ballroom sang the closing song, "May the Good Lord Bless You", it was clear to those who have played a part in the schools' 80 years of history that even as the evening ended, one thing would live within their hearts - the memory of GMS. Chow Weisi and Kehk Bee Yee are teachers at Geylang Methodist Secondary School.