If they happen to ask you about Montfort School...

Why are you doing this?

At a very special Contact Time intended only for teachers, Mr Simen spoke about the importance of being clear on what we are doing:

"In all that you do...in whatever programs you are taking charge of and involved in, do you know what you're doing?", he asked. He emphasized the importance of always asking yourself, "Why are you doing things".

At Montfort School, the reason why we do things is very simple:

A. The School Mission and Vision

All our programs are geared towards sharing and achieving the school vision and mission.

(i) School Mission (Why We Exist). Montfort is a Catholic School. We nurture students to be compassionate and discerning individuals through a holistic education.

(ii) School Vision (At the end of the day, we can only hope our students will be like this...) He will be a discerning and compassionate individual who is a scholar, a sportsman, a gentleman, a leader and above all, a man for others.

Mr Simen, then expounded and re-iterated for the 5819th time what a scholar, sportsman, gentleman and leader is.

The Scholar: The Scholar is not cramming your head for examinations and then just doing well in it and acing his exams for its own sake. It is someone who is focussed, disciplined and inquisitive. He comes to school regularly and does the work assigned regularly. He does his best and his all in his studies. He does not let any family or financial situation or obstacle disadvantage him because he always does his best.

The Sportsman: The Sportsman is not merely the sportsman who represents the school as a player. He participates in PE and CCAs actively. The Montfortian sportsman is the person with determination, perseverance, and a never-say-die attitude. He also exhibits sportsmanship / gamesmanship.

The Gentleman: The Gentleman is compassionate and discerning. He constantly knows what is right. They know the appropriate behavior in different settings and work well with others.

The Leader: The leader sets examples for others. He is responsible because he is a discerning individual who is able to distinguish right from wrong. He is confident and takes the lead in any challenges posed to him.

B. The Desired Outcomes of Education

"Its not how much you do (or how many programs you have), its whether everything to do is geared towards the desired outcomes of education". Mr Simen quoted the former Director-General of Education and expounded on its meaning.

The Desired Outcome of Education is to develop the individual and the citizen. Values as the foundation of the person.

At the end of Secondary School, students should:

a. Have Moral Integrity

b. Have Care and Concern for Others

c. Work in teams and value every contribution

d. Be Enterprising and Innovative

e. Have a broad-based foundation for further education

f. Believe in their ability

g. Appreciate the aesthetics

h. Know and Believe in Singapore

C. School Values

The school values are:

a. Faith

b. Compassion

c. Integrity

d. Humility

e. Respect and Teamwork

f. Passion

g. Perseverance

How can we be sure that when a student the school he has these values and has reached the school vision of being a Man for Others? Well, he is trained this way. We hope and we pray, leaving all in God's providence, that with the many processes we have put in place and by never wavering from the school vision and mission, we have trained and programmed our student in this manner for lifelong learning as a process. Education is about giving people hope and that confidence

D. TEACHERS ARE THE KEY (for teachers only)

The 3 SEM core values underlying people management are: (i) Leading with Purpose; (ii) Students First; (iii) Teachers the Key.

The key is the teachers. "You and I run this school" Mr Simen said, "We run things and manage this for our students". He emphasized that it was important for all staff to feel relaxed, empowered, confidant and to carry themselves well and to be happy about our school.

It is also important to be clear about:

(i) The approach that you take

(ii) The deployment - what levels. Whether student laders, by levels, what levels/ depts.

(iii) Assessment and Review - at the committees; at strategic planning sessions, department meeting and whether important data is presented to us. How do you know?

Before Mr Simen ended, he iterated,

"CLARITY AND SHARED VISION FOR EVERYTHING IS IMPORTANT. IT BUILDS SCHOOL CULTURE" (AND WE HAVE HAD 92 YEARS OF THIS SINCE 1916)

It should give us the motivation, confidence and swagger to speak as a team with one voice.