I confess that I wasn’t really looking forward to yet-another-ACS Founder’s Day Dinner. I hadn’t attended one in 12 years and was a last minute replacement for a classmate with intestinal flu. I was told that all 115 tables had sold out 4 weeks before so any seat at this dinner was hot property. Sure it was…

I was tired just thinking of a long drawn dinner in a hotel ballroom when I knew I could meet up with my buddies any time I wanted in a kopi-tiam for a fraction of the cost. I had nightmares of surrendering to my former teachers’ requests to buy tickets or cakes or replicas of clock towers. And don’t get me started on having to watch grown men resurrect their old ‘Prefect’ or ‘Monitor’ badges and squeeze themselves into their sons’ uniforms to relive boyhood memories.

But I am an ACSian. And Founder’s Day will always be special to me. So despite everything, I put on my one tie and hauled myself to the Island Ballroom, Shangri-la Hotel on Tuesday, March 1st.

All my reservations vanished the minute I was greeted by the cheerful ACJC student councilors decked out in their ‘Number Ones’. I remembered why the ACS Founder’s Day Dinner is unique. It’s the feeling of community and school pride that cannot be replicated elsewhere. Our past, present and future converging in one place.

Thank you, ACS OBA for the effort and love poured into the event. There were photo booths where we could choose a school backdrop of our choice, uniforms which we could wear for the photos (in adult sizes, thankfully) and even the napkins were folded to resemble an ACS shirt complete with the ACS badge!

Words cannot express how I felt when I looked at the photos from ‘Days of Yore’ flashing on the screens. Photos of the old canteen at Barker Road, the quadrangle where generations of us played and the Shaw Pool where legions of MGS girls were heckled. Images of former principals and teachers who I loathed and loved (at the same time) resurrected memories of an unparalleled journey that has made me into the person I am today.

We sang 2 songs that night – ‘O God Our Help In Ages Past’, a familiar hymn from our chapel days, reminded us of the guiding hand of our Heavenly Father and the Godbreathed mission of ACS and of course, our beloved School Anthem which was led by emcee and Old Boy, Clement Chow, representatives from each of our 6 ACS schools in Singapore and the ACJC Student Council. What a sight and sound to behold; generations of ACSians uniting in one voice belting out ‘Our ACS Forever’ will be seared into my brain. Ok, I admit, I didn’t really have allergies…. I got genuinely misty-eyed watching my former principals and teachers sing alongside me. Time passes, but the ACS spirit doesn’t.

The special performances written for the 130th anniversary by the students from ACS (Independent) were heart-felt and the vibrant dances by ACJC’s ACSian Theatre filled the room with youthful exuberance that was electrifying. Receiving televised greetings from ACS Jakarta, Mrs Lee Gek Kim with ACSians ‘Down Under’ and Colin Goh, Class of ‘86 from New York City were a hit too.

At the end of the night, I did open my wallet as I had anticipated. I am the proud owner of an ACS umbrella, cap and golf balls which are likely to remain on my office desk as ornaments. But I am also the proud owner of the ACS legacy. It’s a legacy that continues to thrive because Old Boys and Girls understand that ACS endures because of the generosity of those before us. Not just the generosity of funds raised to build our facilities, but the generosity of the ACS spirit which rises to the ACS call to serve.

So what started off as a bit of a chore in my jaded mind, ended as a reminder that despite the ravages of time, I am an ACSian who bleeds Red, Blue and Gold. Always. Still.

The ACSian in us all