the demolition of the facade of monk's hill @ 12 winstedt rd

when i drove past the school along winstedt road, i looked in and saw that demolition work on the facade of the school had taken place. what a waste! a 20 million dollar building, which is slightly more than 10 years old, has to go under the wrecking ball so quickly. the admin and staffroom block, the hod block and the technical workshops have all been torn down. it looks like only the teaching blocks were spared.

the small amphitheatre, just behind the office block, where plays, skits and musical performances used to be staged by the students now exists only in memories. it was a unique feature of the school although there was some flaws in its design. on rainy days, it was of not much use as a venue for gathering students.

i started teaching at monk's hill during the time of mrs neo bick yin. then, the school was housed at 10 winstedt road. the old building, unlike the one built in the 1990s, is still standing today. i think the saving grace is that it has some historical significance.

in 1993, when the new building was ready, mr toh entrusted me the task of taking charge of the 'big move' - moving from the old premises to the new. moving was relatively easy and cheap because we did not need many lorries to transport the stuff. i remember mrs violet lee, then the teacher in charge of home economics, providing the school with thousands of packing materials.

having settled nicely into the new school, we soon got down to preparing for the grand official opening, which was held in 1996. 10 years after the official opening, monk's hill official ceased to exist in 2006 when it merged with balestier hill secondary.

from the information on the boards outside the school, i gather that anglo chinese junior will take over the site.