Circumstances leading to the Apology on Wendesday, March 26, 2008

Circumstances leading to the Apology

1. Before making an announcement during the morning assembly, students have to demonstrate their announcement to the discipline master prior to the actual announcement.

2. The demonstrated announcement by students have to be approved by the discipline master and given a rating of at least 7.5 out of 10, which is based on his opinion.

3. We are instructed that X and J were told to seek approval from Mr. Francis Tong, the discipline master, before they could make an announcement to the school.

4. The announcement promotes a lunchtime concert put together by the Chamber Ensemble on Wednesday, March 26, 2008.

5. X presented the announcement, which comprises of a short skit, to Mr. Tong on Tuesday, March 25, 2008.

6. Being in their first year, and the first time seeking clearance for an announcement, X and J did not know that they had to demonstrate.

7. J was not present and because they couldn’t demonstrate the skit, it was rejected.

8. After X and J returned, Mr. Tong mentioned to them that they needed to demonstrate the announcement in at least two days in advance and Personal Development Programme (PDP) announcements are forbidden on Wednesdays.

9. However after knowing that the lunchtime concert is only a day away, he allowed them to announce on Wednesday.

10. X and J was instructed to demonstrate without the script.

11. Unprepared and being unable to memorize the lines, the demonstration was not up to satisfaction. X and J were told to look for Mr. Tong at 0740 hours on Wednesday, March 26, 2008, to demonstrate the entire announcement to him before he could give the green light.

12. Both X and J looked for Mr. Tong at 0740 hours, and could not locate him despite trying to look for him in other locations.

13. By the time he was located, it was too late for a demonstration and Mr. Tong willingly permitted them to make the announcement.

14. During the announcement, there was a short physical contact between X and J. X gave J a pat on the shoulder and also a nudge with her elbow.

15. After the morning assembly, Mr. Tong walked towards X and J and told them “you (they) have a big problem now.”

16. He added on saying that there were two problems. The first being what they did during the demonstration was not similar to what they did on stage.

17. While Mr. Tong was explaining to them about the second problem, he reproduced the actions done by X and told them that their actions caused a stir among the student population and there were murmurings. He added on saying that teachers and students will come to ask him why did he allow such a thing to happen as it was not right and there are conservative people in the school. He said that he has to be responsible for what has happened, as he did not view the demonstration a second time before it was announced.

18. He told X and J to write a letter of apology as an indication that they are apologetic for such a thing that has happened and he can explain that he has already reprimanded the students.

19. Both students mentioned that they were apologetic that their actions have caused a domino effect on the school population and Mr. Tong and were sorry.