‘ The story of our school is a history of change. But truth, faith and vigour survived circumstances strange’. So states our School anthem composed by our ex-teacher, Mr R.C. Scharenguivel. GESS is built to withstand the test of times. It fact, GESS has evolved with our local history and flourished to give all its students a unique Gessian Brand of Education. We now live in an era of disruptions in which powerful global forces are changing the way we live and work. Though the school has gone through many changes through the years, what is consistent is our focus on the holistic development and wellbeing of every Gessian. We take pride in walking with them in their educational  journey, and with the support of parents and key partners, we are confident we will realize our school vision.

To stay relevant, GESS has to embrace the changes around us and prepare our students to be future-ready for a complex and volatile world.  With this in mind, GESS reviewed its Vision, Mission, Values (VMV) and Student Portrait with staff, students and partners in 2020. It revisited the VMV to provide greater clarity for all:

VISION :           Gessians of Excellence, Standing and Significance

MISSION:         Nurturing the best in each and striving ever onward

VALUES:           Integrity, Resilience, Compassion, Discipline, Respect

The addition of a new value ‘Compassion’ emphasises the importance to support others in need and to co-create a more caring community. This is also closely aligned to our founder’s legacy of care and empathy for others.

The Student portrait was also reviewed to comprise the following four key outcomes:  Principled Leader, Engaged Learner, Critical & Innovative Thinker and Active Citizen.

2020 has been a very unprecedented year and our students have shown great resilience. We are proud that in spite of the many challenges that Gessians faced due to the pandemic, they have done the school proud by putting in their personal best performance. We are very happy to share that the 2020 cohort of Sec 4 and 5 students have done well in the GCE ‘O’ and ‘N’ level examinations and are moving on to Institutes of Higher Learning. We wish them all the best. Our teachers and support staff have also worked hard to ensure that teaching and learning continues in a safe environment and our heartfelt appreciation goes to all of them. We would also like to thank our key partners, namely the School Advisory Committee, Parent-Teacher Association and Gan Eng Seng Old Students’ Association who unwaveringly supported and contributed to the school and students.

Moving forward, the school will invest more time and effort to focus on uplifting staff competencies so teachers become master teachers in the classrooms where enriching, meaningful and innovative learning experiences are curated for the students. We will also be exploring ways to nudge the students out of their comfort zones and be more self-directed in their learning. The new Character and Citizenship Education syllabus also seeks to develop in Gessians a keen social conscience and the capacity to make ethical decisions. I believe that our direction and efforts will allow current and future Gessians to create their own story, a story of excellence, standing and significance.

ONWARD GESSIANS!

Ms Tan Hwee Pin

Principal