November 1 & 2: World-reknowned cellist and Class of 1994 alumna Inbal Megiddo was on campus to work with Middle School and High School students this week. Music teacher Steve Bonette reported that Inbal played mini recitals for each class, gave a cello master class for the High School Intermediate Strings class, and coached the Borodin and Shostakovich string quartets in High School String Ensemble. On Friday, Inbal dedicated the school day to providing private lessons for current SAS budding cello virtuosi.

 

 

 

 

 

Friday, November 9: We were lucky to catch up with Kate Pierse '92, this week, because she was en route from Australia to starting a new life for herself in Virginia! Kate's family is Australian, but her parents and brother now live in California. Kate lived on the east coast of the United States until she was 11 years old, and then the family moved to Singapore before spending time back in Australia. Kate's brother also studied at SAS, and he and his wife are about to have their first baby! (She promises to get her brother to sign up on our alumni website as well!) Kate has many family friends in Virginia, and looks forward to forward to finding work and settling in a bit closer to her immediate family.   

 

Kate attended both SAS and UWC during her years in Singapore from 1986 to 1988. She attended SAS as a Middle Schooler, and remembers Mr. Periera's class fondly. She was thrilled to go through the year books in the Middle School library.

 

She remembered being in a social studies class on Black Monday, October 17, 1987, when the stock market crashed. Strangely enough, the students were studying the stock market in class, and everyone's pretend stocks crashed except for Kate's, because as luck would have it, she had 'invested' in gold.

 

In her decision to relocate from Australia to the United States, Kate said she spent a lot of time thinking of the places that changed her life, including Singapore. She made a special trip through the city to revisit the places she fondly remembered. We thank her for coming by, and wish her all the luck in the world as she begins her new adventure in the United States!

 

 

Monday, November 19: Sean Purdom '83 and his wife Gina dropped by today with their cousin, current SAS parent Suzanne Moilanen, mother of high schoolers Nicholas and Zachary. Sean attended SAS as a kindergartener at King's Road for one year in 1970-1971, but his memories of Singapore and his time at SAS are still clear in his memory. He particularly remembers the smell of hawker centers. He was able to visit his old home, which is still standing, near the old King's Road campus.

 

The Purdoms were in town on a week-long vacation from their home in Utah, where they are business owners. They are celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday with the Moilanen family, exploring modern Singapore, and getting in some good shopping on Orchard Road.

 

During their visit, we stopped by the Intermediate School Library, where we found a 1970-1971 memory book that had pictures of Sean and his sister Gretchen, who was in first grade during their stay in Singapore. We talked to Library Assistant Ms. Elizabeth Ng, who started work at SAS as a 3rd/4th grade classroom attendant in 1970, the same year the Purdom's were in Primary School.

 

Sean was so thrilled to see the photos in the 1970-1971 memory book that he was tempted to sneak the yearbook, only one of two in the school's possession, off of campus in his bag. Luckily, your fearless Alumni Director saw through his cunning plan and reclaimed the book for the rest of the alumni to enjoy during their visits to campus.  

 

We did send Sean home with a scanned copy of his kindergarten and first grade classes that he could email to his two brothers, two sisters and parents back in the US. He also bought a copy of the coffee table book, Singapore's Eagles, a history of the Singapore American School. Although SAS was just part of Sean's early schooling, we're pleased that he could come back and relive those memories, and see his cousin's children becoming part of the SAS alumni community as well!

 

UPDATE November 21, 2007: In the last few minutes before we shut down the office for the Thanksgiving long weekend, Sean sent us these four great photos of his family's time in Singapore! They are great fun to see--SAS kids at home and at school in Singapore in the early 1970s. Click on the small image to link to a larger size photo.

 

 

 

November 27, 2007: We were lucky enough to visit with another Perry brother! If you remember, Lenny Perry '85 was on campus in September, speaking at the High School Career Day. Lenny and his wife Lindsey were in town for six months as Lenny was on sabbatical from the University of San Diego. During this six month sabbatical, the couple were able to travel and entertain guests while living in the same building the Perry family used to live in when the kids were at SAS in the 80s! (I was surprised it still existed, as these older buildings seem to be torn down on a regular basis!)

 

Jim Perry '83 and his wife Susan came over to visit Lenny and Lindsey and explore Singapore again. Jim now lives in Miami, Florida with Susan and their three sons. Jim is an attorney for the shipping industry, which brings him to Southeast Asia occasionally. The two couples walked around the high school building, looked at old pictures in the yearbook, and did some Christmas shopping for SAS souvenirs. Jim said that his class has been active in planning their 25th reunion next year, and he has continued to stay in touch with classmates Martha Livingston and Carrie McGrath.