Ai Tong School

Infobox Singapore School
name = Ai Tong School (ATS)
爱同学校


motto = Sincerity & Perseverance
established = 1912
principal = Mr Ng Keng Song
vice principal = Mdm Elis Tan Lee Ching
type = Government
session = Double
colours = Red, Blue, White
enrollment =
city/town = Bishan
school code = 5625
homepage = [http://www.aitong.moe.edu.sg/ Link]

Ai Tong School (zh-sp|s=爱同学校|p=Àitóng xuéxiào) is a primary school located in Bishan, Singapore. It is one of the five affiliated primary schools under the Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan.

chool motto, logo

Motto

Sincerity & Perseverance

Be sincere with all people.Be persevering in all endeavours.

Logo

The school logo resembles a flying wheel.

The sign gives the school its name, Ai Tong School.　

The pair of wings symbolises the school soaring into greater heights, seeking higher aspirations and excellence.

The circles symbolise the cohesive spirits of the teachers and pupils working together towards a common goal.

History

The school started as a private Singaporean Chinese primary school founded by educational philanthropist, Tan Kah Kee, in 1912. The school was one of five primary and secondary Chinese schools that were founded by Tan in Singapore.

As a Chinese-medium school, Ai Tong emphasizes strongly on the learning of Chinese culture, language and values. Adopting the motto of "Sincerity & Perseverance", pupils are taught to acquire the virtuous qualities of sincerity in attitude and perseverance in work and study.

In 1957, the private school became a government-aided school, and started teaching English as the first language and Chinese as the second language from 1984 onwards.

Housed at the Methodist Church, Boon Tat Street, in its early days, the school shifted its premises three times, and is now located at 100, Bright Hill Drive.

Timeline

* 1912: Ai Tong School was established at Methodist Church, Boon Tat Street with 30 pupils.
* 1917: The school was re-sited at 209, Telok Ayer Street.
* 1929: The Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan took over the of the school.
* 1946: The school rented the premises of the old Gan Eng Seng School to start a branch school. Enrolment increased to more than 1,600.
* 1956: The main school moved to the Hokkien Huay Kuan Building at 137, Telok Ayer Street.
* 1957: The school became a government-aided school.
* 1961: The total enrolment of the main and branch school reached approximately 2,360, the highest ever achieved.
* 1978: Construction work for a new school building commenced at Ang Mo Kio, Ave 3.
* 1979: 887 pupils had their classes at Mayflower Primary School and Ang Mo Kio Primary School.
* 1980: The 887 pupils moved to the new school building. Total enrolment, including the new intake, was 2,025.
* 1981: The new school building was officially declared open by the Parliamentary Secretary (Education), Ho Kah Leong, on October 9.
* 1984: All pupils took English as the first language, and Chinese as the second language.
* 1989: The school became an "SAP" government-aided school. Pupils took English and Chinese as the first language.
* 1992: The school was relocated to 100, Bright Hill Drive on July 8.
* 1993: The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Wong Kan Seng, officiated at the relocation ceremony on July 9.
* 1998: The extension block housing special rooms was completed.
* 2000: The extension block was officially opened by Wee Cho Yaw, the chairman of the Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan.
* 2002: Ng Keng Song took over as Principal.
* 2004: The Programme for Rebuilding and IMproving Existing schools (PRIME) was completed.

External links

* [http://www.aitong.moe.edu.sg/ Official site]