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 GREETINGS!
The ACS Echo celebrates 20 years of publishing this year and it gives me great pleasure to write this issue’s foreword.
Since it was launched in 2000, the ACS Echo has played an important role in keeping its readers in the loop of activities and developments within the ACS family of schools. From regular school updates, staff movements and accolades to alumni news and interesting interviews and editorials, the quarterly publication has grown in stature to be a trove of recent ACS history. Today, the Echo is widely read and regarded as a key resource of the schools, the ACS boards and the ACS OBA. Copies of the publication are archived in the Methodist Church Archives and History Library for posterity and digital copies are also available for viewing at the ACSOBA Heritage Gallery.
On behalf of the Editorial Board, I wish to thank the school principals, teachers, parent volunteers, alumni contributors, advertisers and especially the team of Echo Co-ordinators for their valuable support and help in sustaining the Echo as an informative and entertaining publication to engage the interest of readers. Above all, we give thanks to God for His many blessings and guidance. The Best Is Yet To Be
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THE BEGINNING
 The publication of the
ACS Echo was first
mooted in 1998 when
the Principals of the
then five ACS schools
voiced their concerns
to Mr Tan Wah Thong
(Chairman of the ACS
Board of Governors)
that there was
insufficient publicity
given to the schools
and the ACS brand of
education.
After deliberations, it
was decided that a
magazine would be the
best platform to publicise the ACS family of schools and also
serve as a means to unify the growing number of ACS schools
as One ACS.
According to Mr Tan, it took some time before the magazine
was finally launched as careful consideration was given to
issues such as who is going to produce the magazine and
how to ensure that the publication is produced timely to meet
its objectives. “There were also some doubts whether such
an ambitious publication could be sustained in the long term,
but with typical ACS resolve and positivity, we went ahead
to appoint BridgeWorks Pte Ltd, headed by former ACSOBA
President, Mr Victor Chia, to launch the ACS Echo. Mr Chia,
together with former Straits Times journalist, Mr Ng Wei Joo,
as editor, worked tirelessly on the project and the first issue of
the ACS Echo rolled out in May/June 2000”, Mr Tan said.
Subsequently, in October 2002, Blue Skies Communications,
whose partners Mr Jerry Choo and the late Mr Lim Chin Lock
are passionate true-blue ACSians, took over the publication
with Mr Choo Teck Long, another true-blue ACSian, as editor.
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UP CLOSE & PERSONAL WITH
ACSIAN LUMINARIES
 The Echo has had the
privilege of interviewing
distinguished ACSians and
role models. Among them
were senior ministers, Mr
Tharman Shanmugaratnam,
Dr Ng Eng Hen and Dr Vivian
Balakrishnan; outstanding
sportsmen, Singapore’s first
Olympic Gold Medallist, Mr
Joseph Schooling, former
Olympian and fastest
man in Asia, Dato Tan
Dr M Jegathesan and Mr
Thum Ping Tjin, the first
Singaporean to swim the
 English Channel; leading
personalities in the corporate
world, EDB pioneer and
former Chairman, Mr Chan
Chin Bock and the late Tan
Sri Tan Chin Tuan who was
one of the most prominent
bankers in Singapore; and
legendary teachers, the late
Mr Chan Siew Jang and the
late Mr Lee Hah Ing.
“Echo has come a long way –
keeping the ACS community
connected and abreast of
the significant happenings
among the family of schools
and ACSOBA year after
year. Here’s to many more years of camaraderie and
excellence!” reflected Mr Tan who has seen the Echo grow
from a fledgling newsletter to its current quarterly 44-page
full colour magazine format.
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CONNECTING THE ACS FAMILY AS ONE ACS |
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Reports in each issue of the Echo range from important
school announcements, staff movements and policy changes
to student activities, achievements, accolades and inspiring
stories and testimonies from students, teachers and parent
volunteers. Lessons that showcase the inimitable ACS spirit
and how the ACS brand of education stands out in the crowd
are shared.
In addition, informative editorials on the early pioneers and
leading personalities of ACS take readers back in time to days
of yore. A good example of editorials that are worth their salt in
the annals of ACS history is the 4-part “In Days of Yore” series
contributed by the late Mr Earnest Lau, a true-blue ACSian,
teacher and former ACS principal. Affectionately known as the
Mr Chips of ACS, Mr Lau reminisced his student days in ACS
in Part 1 of the series and his term as a teacher in Part 2; in
Part 3, he shared his experiences as a Principal and finally
in Part 4, his spell as an Archivist of the Methodist Church in
Singapore after retiring from ACS.
Mr Lau had planned to write a series of articles on the early
pioneers and dauntless heroes of ACS for the Echo. Sadly, he
passed on shortly after his first piece on the Rev Goh Hood
Keng was published in the February-March 2011 issue.
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Reports such as the schools’ contribution of medals to the
nation’s tally at international sporting events, the historic
moment when ACS (Independent) chartered 5 MRT trains
to transport 3,000 staff and students to watch the Schools
C Division Rugby Finals, keep readers entertained and in
the loop of what is happening in the schools. And accounts
like how the iconic night photograph of the Clock Tower was
captured by two intrepid students in 1957 further demonstrate
the ACSian ingenuity and determination of getting things done.
“These Echo’s articles are must-reads for all ACSians. They
are also especially useful in familiarising and orientating new
intake of students and their parents of the ACS ethos”, Mr Tan
stressed.”
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WHAT OUR READERS SAY |
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