Tao Nan School
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Motto | Sincerity & Perseverance |
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| Established | 8 November 1906 |
| Type | Government-Aided, Double |
| Principal | Mr Tony Tan |
| School code | 5420 |
| Colours | Blue and white |
| Locale | Marine Parade, Singapore |
| Enrollment | Unknown |
| Website | Link |
 Republic of Singapore |
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Tao Nan School (Abbreviation: TNS), is a co-educational primary school in Singapore. One of the five Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan schools, along with Ai Tong School, Chongfu Primary School, Kong Hwa School and Nan Chiau Primary School, Tao Nan School is among the 30 popular primary schools listed by the Ministry of Education. [1]
Tao Nan School is also one of the nine primary schools in Singapore offering the Gifted Education Programme. Tao Nan School is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year with a carnival on 4th November 2006.
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[edit] School song
- We belong to Tao Nan School and we always obey the school rules
- The task of nation building we shoulder
- Wisdom of sages past we deliver
- In harmony we work and play
- For Tao Nan will show us the way
- Onwards we march towards success
- Towards greatness Tao Nan will progress
- To Tao Nan, Tao Nan, we will go
- Where the torch of knowledge burns aglow
- To Tao Nan, Tao Nan, we will go
- Where the torch of knowledge burns aglow
- Chinese version
- 我们是道南的成员，遵守我校的规章。
- 肩负起建设国家的重任，续承那先贤创业精神。
- 相亲相爱和睦共处，齐心奔向光明前途。
- 迈步向前进莫停留，成功大道就在前头。
- 啊道南，道南，是我家。她是光明智慧的火花。
- 啊道南，道南，是我家。她是光明智慧的火花。
[edit] Motto
The school motto reads "诚毅", Chinese for "Sincerity & Perseverance".
[edit] Core values
Tao Nan's core values are: Integrity, Respect, Sincerity, Love and Perseverance.
[edit] Mission
To nurture innovative pupils of exemplary character with a love for learning.
[edit] Vision
Love to Learn and Learn to Love.
[edit] Metaphor
Palette of Colours: - The child is the artist who acquires the whole range of values, skills and knowledge which are the colours on the palette to create his future masterpiece. While the palette is the school, which not only offers a wide spectrum of colours, but also the space and opportunities to experiment and make mistakes with the consistent support and guidance given by the brushes which represent the teachers. The child learns to love the colours that are not his favourite as he mixes and blends them to complete his masterpiece.
[edit] School crest
The school crest consists of a leaping lion and an open book on a blue shield. The lion represents the Lion City, or Singapore. Its leaping position symbolizes bravery and continuous progress and advancement in the face of difficulties. The open book represents the unquenchable thirst for knowledge. At the base of the crest is the school's motto: "Sincerity and Preseverance". The entire crest signifies the acquisition of abundant knowledge and the training of a strong and healthy body.
[edit] History
The Hokkien Clan Association started Tao Nan School on 8 November 1906. It was one of the six modern Chinese schools in Singapore with a curriculum influenced by the educational reforms in China at the end of the 19th century.
Classes were first held at the residence of Tan Kim Ching in North Bridge Road. With the generous support from the Hokkien community, a purpose-built school was constructed. Benefactors include Tan Boon Liat, Lee Cheng Yen, Low Kim Pong, Tan Kah Kee, and Oei Tiong Ham, the sugar magnate from Semarang, Central Java, whose donation largely financed the purchase of land in Armenian Street.
The move to Armenian Street coincided with the 1911 overthrow of the Qing dynasty. Tao Nan became the first Chinese school to change the medium of instruction from dialect to Mandarin. Among the teachers was the philanthropist Lee Kong Chian (1894 - 1967). Pioneer artist Pan Shou was the headmaster from 1932 to 1940.
In 1982, Tao Nan School moved to a new campus in Marine Parade, where it still resides today. It was named a SAP school in 1990 and a Gifted Education Programme Centre in 1996. With 100 years of history (as of 2006) it is one of Singapore's oldest primary schools.
[edit] Culture
[edit] Uniform
Boys wear white shirts and blue shorts. Girls wear white blouses and light blue pinafores. Both uniforms have the school crest emblazoned on the left. While school shoes and school socks can be purchased, any white-based shoes or socks are also allowed. Tao Nan School students are not allowed to wear ankle socks to school.
For days with physical education lessons, students wear a white t-shirt with dark blue shorts to school.The t-shirt has the initials of the school on the back and the school initials is also sewn on the shorts. There are house t-shirts which are the same as the normal shirts except that instead of having the school initials printed on the back, it is a picture of the animal of the house. e.g. shark house t-shirt has a picture of a shark at the back.
Prefects wear a blue velcro tie around their necks and a name tag/junior prefect badge above the school crest. Depending on the Prefect's status, the number of white lines sewn on the tie would differ. The prefect name tag is blue with the students name carved in white on it. The old junior prefect badge is the same with the word 'junior prefect' engraved on them. The new one however, is classier, with the school crest and 'junior prefect' written in gold on a black background. The frame of the badge is also gold. A prefect t-shirt has also been introduced. It is white with a blue collar, with the word prefect on the left side of the t-shirt and on the back. It also sports a high and tight collar. Prefect in Mandarin (学长) is also printed in blue on the left sleeve of the t-shirt. The prefects wear this shirt with their P.E. shorts on days when they have prefectorial duties, such as Pesta Sukan and Swimming Carnival.
[edit] Houses
There are 4 houses in Tao Nan, each named after a marine animal. The 4 houses are Marlin (Orange), Dolphin (Blue), Shark (Green) and Killer Whale (Red). These houses are mainly for organising the annual Swimming Carnival and Pesta Sukan or other special events.
Shark house is the reigning champion for the Swimming Carnivals, followed by Marlin, Killer Whale, and Dolphin. In the area of cheerleading, however, Marlin emerges as first. National Day celebration's, which is known as Pesta Sukan, captains' ball competitions for the girls of Tao Nan are almost always won by Dolphin house members.
[edit] CCAs
As with all Singaporean schools, Tao Nan has its own Co-Curricular Activity (CCA) Programme. There are a total of 28 (with a new group of basketball) CCAs in Tao Nan, ranging from Sports & Games, Uniformed Groups, Cultural Groups and Clubs. Some examples are track and field, badminton, scouts, chinese orchestra, Wushu and even sailing.
Tao Nan's strongest CCAs is sailing. The Tao Nan sailing team has consistently clinched top places in most regattas. During the recent 2006 Inter-School Sailing Championship, Tao Nan senior boys, Nathan Tang, Chew Wen De Eugene, Cedric Chua, clinched 2nd place in the Senior boys team event. The Junior boys team, Mark Wong, Andrew Tang, Ryan Lo, clinched 1st place in the junior boys team event. Tao Nan's junior and senior girls also brought glory to the school by taking 3rd place.
Another one of Tao Nan's strong CCA is badminton. The Tao Nan badminton team has also produced several excellent badminton players, and also frequently clinches top places in competitions.
[edit] School name
Like many other schools, Tao Nan suffers from many crude jokes about the abbreviation of its name. The most popular variation so far is that of "Totally No School". There are also other abbreviations such as "Talk Nonsense School" and "Tomorrow No School". Many current students and alumni in the know of these, however, discriminate strongly against such 'jokes'. Many of Tao Nan's students remain fiercely loyal to the school even after their graduation. However, most of the current students just brush off these jokes, instead of defending their school's name like the alumni.
