- CRESCIT EUNDO -

To learn how to learn and to learn how to live

I remember...

• That when I came into Saint Anthony's Primary School, I was surprised to find that most of my seniors were boys! The school had only just changed its name from Saint Anthony's Boys' School to Saint Anthony's Primary School. Recess back then was short and filled with much joy. My seniors had no reservations about playing catching with my batch, the new juniors....

• The main stairway at the corner of the hall-way that led up to the upper primary classes and how as a Primary One pupil back then, it looked so high up yet there was this feeling of anticipation as I waited for my turn to climb those flights of steps to be one of the 'seniors'....

• Then there was friendly Aunty Margaret who would dish out a free 20cents cup of drink for whoever volunteered to help her bring in the pail of used cups into her store and replace it with an empty pail. She never had any lack of volunteers for we took much joy in helping her, not to mention the free drink which meant alot to our empty pockets then...

• Not forgetting feeling shaky whenever a student knocked on the door and passed the teacher in class the white slip. Yes, the dental slip. Everyone would be praying that their names weren't written on it. The horrendous nurses at the dental clinic who kept nagging about brushing our teeth properly and promptly dishing out the rubber set of teeth and worn toothbrush with its bristles dropping off and demonstrating how to brush our teeth even though there was absolutely nothing wrong with our teeth nor our brushing techniques.

• Of course, there was the awe I felt when I learnt for the first time that Saint Anthony's was the oldest primary school and one of the oldest schools in Singapore. Every pupil feels proud to wear his/her school crest and St. Anthony's is a particularly attractive one. The school was started as St. Anna's Mission School by the Vicar of St. Joseph's Church, Father Jose Pedro Sta Anna da Cunha in 1879 who was a Portugese priest. And so our school crest is Portugese in origin. There is the little shield taken from the National Flag of Portugal. And there's the five sacred wounds of the Lord, the Seven Towers of Strength flanking the shield, and the grand magnificent Phoenix that added that distinct nobleness to the crest. The latin motto "CRESCIT EUNDO" which means "Growing as it advances". A crest I'll be forever proud of...

• I remember singing the beautiful song that was to be sung every Founder's Day. "Glorious Patron, low before thee. Kneel thy sons with hearts aflame... Saint John Baptist, glorious Patron. Saint La Salle, we sound thy fame...." Those were my favourite lines...
  

• The teachers in St. Anthony's were wonderful too. Many of them had served decades in the school. Today, many schools honour a teacher reaching his first decade of teachership in a school, but in St. Anthony's, a decade was nothing! There were teachers who had served 40years, 45years, 50years... happy teachers' day to all you dedicated teachers. definitely worth it. =)

• I remember the days in primary 1 and 2 where a small group of us, guys and girls, who'd go about exploring the school compound. And being youing and impressionable as we were, we had foolishly believed that ghosts and vampires existed between shrubberies and fences, and up in the fourth floor which has no lighting regardless the time of the day.

• They say first impressions last and that everything else pales in comparison. St. Anthony's was nothing, if not a kaleidoscope of first impressions, many of which still linger until the present day along with the many many unanswered queries of curiosity; there was the fantastic stories many teachers would tell of the school's history and the old boys and the bombs that rained on the school compound during WW2. Mr Anthony Mark never failed to lament the mischievousnous of the current batch while at the same time, wishing to go back in time whenever we failed to live up to his expectations. Then there were unsolved enigmas: for starters, where and how did Father Gabriel pick up his eloquence, the way he spoke and the way words never failed him; why were the country erasers that Ee Siong's mum sold at the bookshop so enticing that I spent whatever spare coins I had on them. And what was the secret recipe behind Uncle John's famous pork chops. He never would say but he would always reserve a plate for me. 1 dollar bought so much! I will swear he was running a loss-making business. Like the teachers, the canteen vendors had served the school for many decades. They were ever so friendly and caring.


Saint Anthony's will always be a part of me. Even though I used to blame my mom for sending me to St. Ants whenever I was called down by the nurses, I would still have to thank her for sending me there. It provided a wholesome education for me and many. May our patron saint bestow on all Anthonians, past and present, his bountiful blessings, protection and care. My school, my alma mater, my pride and joy.


-with compliments of nax and fiona