Goodbye Mount Sinai (2017–2019)

Our Beginning

Eunoia Junior College operated from its interim campus at 53 Mount Sinai Road from 2017 to 2019, while construction of its permanent home on Sin Ming Avenue was ongoing. Before welcoming its first cohort of students, the college was situated in nearby offices at the Ministry of Education (Ghim Moh) headquarters and the Singapore Centre for Chinese Language in 2015 and 2016 respectively.

To meet the needs of a modern junior college curriculum, rejuvenation works at the Mount Sinai campus began in 2016. A new academic block, which included a seminar room and art room, was built to extend classroom space.  The multi-purpose hall, library, lecture theatres, student lounge and dance studio were refurbished. Special rooms for the Bicultural Studies Programme Room, Humanities Scholarship Programme and Music Elective Programme, as well as a jamming studio behind Lecture Theatre 1, were also added while the atria and canteen were given a facelift.

Our Home

The college’s pioneering cohorts would find a home at our Mount Sinai campus. For some, the day began with a shuttle bus from MRT stations as far as Bedok and Sembawang. For many, reaching school meant a short ride on bus service 92 from Buona Vista station or a slightly longer walk from Commonwealth Ave West or Holland Road. Morning assembly started at 8 am in the hall and the quickening of footsteps could be heard from 7.55 am as the march-in music played.

Most of the day would be spent moving between classrooms,  laboratories, seminar rooms and lecture theatres for lessons that started from 8.30 am and ended as late as 6 pm.

During breaks, Eunoians would spend time at consultations with teachers at the study benches spread across Atria, quiet study time at the library or bonding over food at the student lounge and canteen. After 1 pm on weekdays, the nearby Ghim Moh Hawker Centre became an extension of home for many classes and orientation groups.

The heart of the college itself was always bustling with life. Post-exam treats from Parents@Eunoia, cultural activities led by the Mother Tongue Language department, bazaars and performances were a frequent sight at the Atria. CCA banner painting and house totems found their place at the Olympia block, alongside the queues to purchase uniforms at Seminar Room 3 or collect notes at the photocopy shop. The sounds of the college’s Chinese Orchestra and Symphonic Band would overflow to accompany the training at the indoor sports hall and outdoor courts.

Amidst the gruelling training and fun, much of Eunoia’s history took place in the hall: orientation for the college’s three pioneering cohorts, the launch of the college anthem, the release of the first cohort’s A-Level results, and the final Graduation Day at Mount Sinai for the Class of 2019. Every space in the campus holds dear memories for Eunoians, and the hall is no different.

Our Gratitude

After the 2019 A-Level Examination concluded in early December, the college began its campus shift operations. A group of Eunoians from the Class of 2019 started Project Mohmento in July to gather notes of appreciation for the stall owners at Ghim Moh and visited them in December to personally thank them for being a part of their life at Eunoia Junior College. In an email to their peers, they wrote:

On 4th Dec, Project Mohmento went down to Ghim Moh to deliver the postcards we’ve all written to appreciate the hawkers and people who contributed to our memories at Mount Sinai. The pictures we have with them are attached. As we conclude our journey here, we would like to thank everyone for making this project a meaningful ending note for Mount Sinai.

The hawkers have expressed both their gratitude and their dejection that they’ve not just lost any random customer, but people who’ve integrated into the Ghim Moh community the past 3 years. Thank you for all the support you have given us, and we are sure that Ghim Moh would never forget the mohmentos of gratitude and love, and the same for all of us! 🙂 Remember to come back for the food!

The Eunoia community is thankful for the memories at Mount Sinai. Even as we look forward to our new home in Bishan, we regard the time at our first home as fond, most beautiful years.