Although we celebrate Total Defence Day each year, Total Defence 2021 was particularly significant in the wake of our Covid-19 experiences in 2020. In light of our shared experiences from the Circuit Breaker period and the various sacrifices that we have had to make to keep each other safe during the pandemic, the theme for this year’s Total Defence Day is “Together We Keep Singapore Strong”.

16 February 2021 began with the Total Defence message to schools from Minister for Defence, Dr Ng Eng Hen. Minister Ng shared that Singapore is facing a wider range of challenges and threats that are complex and multi-faceted. It is therefore crucial that we play our part to strengthen our unity and resilience as a nation. The recent collective fight against Covid-19 pandemic has demonstrated the importance of Singapore’s Total Defence. While we have fought well in this battle, we must continue to remain vigilant and keep up the efforts put in thus far, in order to emerge stronger from the crisis. Shahan shared “I like Minister Ng’s message as I have learnt about the idea of Total Defence in Singapore, and how it helped us in the fight against Covid-19.”

Two of our teachers, Mr Pradip and Mr Dinesh, shared their personal experiences on military and social defence with the school. Ser Yen said “I really enjoyed the sharing by Mr Dinesh and Mr Pradip, as I got to know more about military defence. The aircraft photographs shown by Mr Dinesh were impressive!”

Following the recount, Mr Marcus Chan and Ms Elaine Heng recollected the six pillars of Total Defence and shared how vaccines would be used to contain the spread of Covid-19. They emphasised that we could contribute to Singapore’s Total Defence in our own ways, exemplifying the virtues we learnt in school. Jun Him reflected, “I now understand why Total Defence is so important to Singapore as it has helped Singapore stay strong. I feel safe too staying in Singapore!”

An adventure camp for our P5s

Prefects’ Investiture 2021