My Revered Mentors

Secondary 4 - "Cinderella" Concert
Seated Sister Michael (left), Mother Rita (right)

“CLAP, CLAP!” two brief, sharp claps - like a flamenco dance clap - was my way of getting my family’s attention in public.

            This signature gesture is a legacy from the nuns of Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus, Klang, my alma mater. When the nuns (called sisters) clapped, noisy students were immediately silent.

            The response to the school bell was also characteristic of good discipline instilled in us by the sisters. Two rings of the bell sounded end of recess. We immediately stopped whatever we were doing with the first ring and silently formed a line at the second.

            Convent school is synonymous with discipline, as shown in the above two examples. Besides discipline, we were taught etiquette and values like honesty, loyalty, humility, diligence, and most important of all, good behaviour.

            Our school motto was Simple in Virtue and Steadfast in Duty. “Girls should be seen and not heard,” the sisters emphasised. Modesty was overriding in our dressing: the length of our shorts for Physical Education was measured from the ground up while we knelt, while our pinafores covered our knees. Our report cards recorded conduct and deportment as well as marks.

            We studied and worked together like one family, with the same rights and opportunities, regardless of race, colour or creed. We were truly One Malaysia then.

Being an all-girls school, the camaraderie we shared was special. I treasure my friends (Malay, Chinese, Indian and Eurasian) of 11 years. Our enduring friendship fostered more than fifty years ago, is sustained today.

Secondary 3 - Class Photo: Students of all races, with their teachers 

            During the 1950s and 1960s, many sisters served in the Klang Convent. I am lucky and privileged that I was taught by some of them. The sisters were exemplary educationists, providing us a balanced education.

           We studied History and Geography not only of Malaya, but also of the whole world. The lessons, conducted in English, were so good that none of us needed any private tuition.

           Participating in co-curricular activities like games and societies as well as annual concert, fun fair and exhibition helped us develop as well-rounded individuals.

Primary 4 - A Concert "Angels" 

            I recall fondly a few sisters who had an impact on me during those formative years.

            There was Reverend Mother Rita. Tall and imposing, she had a grim face but a heart of gold. She insisted that all girls should know how to boil an egg as well as make tea and decreed that the Science students in Form One should also do Domestic Science for a year.

           That year of sewing, baking, cooking and tasting made school life fun. It also served as a survival kit for me after I left school and the skills learnt really came in handy when I started my own family.

            In Form Four, our school only offered General Science. Mother Rita arranged with the brother school (La Salle) for a teacher to teach Additional General Science.  That was a turning point for me. It gave me the opportunity to enter the Science stream in Form Six and later pursue a University 

Degree in Science and achieve my ambition to be a Science teacher.

            Mother Rita also got the whole school interested in General Knowledge. Every week she had fascinating news items displayed on a notice board. Twice yearly, she gave us a quiz on those items plus other questions, the answers to which we had to research from the school library. This was akin to the ‘googling’ of today. My thirst for knowledge started from there.

            I remember petite Sister Michael. She had twinkling blue eyes and was always smiling. Her weekly singing lessons – mainly folk songs - made school life a joyful one. Many of my classmates enjoyed participating in the operetta “Cinderella”, under her direction.

            I cherish the personalised motivational bookmarks in her beautiful handwriting, which she gave everyone. When she was sick and had to leave us in Form Five, our whole class cried buckets of tears!

            Sister Helen our ‘Singing Nun’ with the guitar – who can forget her! Articulate and charming, she taught English Literature in innovative and fascinating ways. Her lessons on literary works by poets like Tennyson and Wordsworth and writers like Charles Dickens and William Shakespeare had us mesmerised.  The characters in our Literature books came alive because she made us act out the parts.

Secondary 5 - Class Photo with Sister Helen

            Convent schools, set up by the nuns in the 19^th century, are now well-established schools in the 21^st century. Convent girls are inherently disciplined and responsible citizens. Many are serving in various professions in Malaysia and are contributing to the development of the country.

            Looking back, I am indebted to the sisters of my alma mater for their dedication and commitment in educating us. Although many of the sisters have left Malaysia or have passed away, their legacy still lives on.     

                                                                        

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This article was published in the "Catholic Asian News" in the July 2010 issue. 

More photos are added here.