New year, new $100m campus for Eunoia JC
Students, staff kick off school year with 1km trek to new premises in Bishan
Eunoia Junior College (EJC) students kicked off their new academic year with a 1km trek from Bishan Active Park to their new campus in Sin Ming Avenue yesterday.
Representatives from the school had started the symbolic 14km relay earlier in the morning, marching from the old Mount Sinai Road campus to the new Bishan campus via Rifle Range Road and the Central Nature Reserve.
At about 10am, they were joined by about 1,000 students, staff and alumni for the last leg of the relay, which saw them walk from Bishan Active Park to the new campus, which cost $100 million to build.
Students leading the march held up placards of their classes. The group passed through the new campus gates that were decorated with blue and white balloons. The students then converged on the school field for a flag-raising ceremony to mark the new academic year.
"The excitement and anticipation is akin to how one feels stepping into a new home," said Le-Anne Ong, 17.
The second-year student said the new campus gives seniors like her a sense of permanence while paving the way for juniors and future cohorts to share a sense of identity and belonging.
For Alex Ho, 17, the Bishan campus presents new academic and extra-curricular opportunities. The second-year student, who initiated a dance interest group at EJC, said he is looking forward to the school's new dance studio and outdoor spaces to practise his moves.
"The resources and enriching spaces provided... empower us to take the initiative and be leaders..." he said.
The new campus comprises two academic blocks that are 10 and 12 storeys high respectively, and a five-storey student activities block for the JC's academic, co-curricular and special programmes. It also links the JC to Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park.
TRACK & FIELD
On the roof of the student activities block is an eight-lane track and full-sized field. The track-and-field facilities and indoor sports hall will be available for public use.
Mr Ganison Rajamohan, dean of the JC1 level, hopes engagement efforts in Ang Mo Kio and Bishan will help establish the JC's place in the community.
"We want to keep the pioneering spirit burning strong as we continue our growth, while retaining the Eunoia identity we have been shaping over the years," he said.
A student interest group created a mobile app that helps students and staff orient themselves in their new location.
EJC started taking in students in 2017 at its interim campus in Mount Sinai Road.
EJC principal Wong-Cheang Mei Heng said students and staff are grateful for the memories made at the old campus but are looking forward to fresh achievements at the new one.
"We want everyone to feel that the Bishan campus is their home, every bit as beautiful as Mount Sinai and more beautiful with each new cohort," she said.
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