CS Upgrading December 2014

Mr Lee Geok Ai, Chairman of our board of Governors set up this whatapps group with 11 members. The name of the group defined the purpose - to upgrade SMK Convent Sentul. The time frame for upgrading to be completed?  December 2014. What a challenge! So December 2014 has been very exciting and inspiring because of the single minded determination of 11 men  and their teams. They used their expertise and sacrificed their time and energy to upgrade SMK Convent Sentul in this short time.

Mr Lee first sent me this photo and asked me if I was agreeable to this human sized colonial bird cage gazebo being placed in the school grounds. Agreeable? I loved it!  Of course I consulted with my team of administrators. A unanimous resounding YES!

Next Mr Yap, Mr Lee and Ryan measured the area where we could place this beautiful structure. On the spot, Mr Yap Kok Keong of Delico hand drew the following plan and asked if we like it!  I  was over  the moon!

The gazebo is up and they are doing the pebble wash on its flooring. It has 4 benches. I dream of a "Sound of Music" scene where the song " I am 16 going on 17" was sung in the Austrian summer gazebo. I wonder if my girls will dance in this gazebo like in the scene from the movie. We have chosen golden thryallis vine creepers. I wait impatiently for the plants to adorn the gazebo. 

Since the gazebo blocks out the old signage, the old signage has been removed. Mr Leong and team from Golden Lion climbed the scaffolding to fix the new signage high above the gazebo. What a beautiful glorious sight! They also fixed the new signage to various locations in different parts of the school.

Meanwhile, the prefects' old locker cabinet have been relocated. The prefects' room now has  a brand new locker cabinet designed by Mr Jason.  There is a new table for the computer and an air conditioner has been fitted. The room has been given a new coat of paint FOC by Mr Tan the painter. We are waiting for the roller blinds proposed by Melvin to complete the new look. See and savor the smile playing on Komal's lips as she takes a photo of the upgraded prefects' room. 

Our 67 years old piano has received a new breath of life. It has been repaired and re-varnished. The benches in the foyer were also re-varnished.

Greg, our charming landscaper has proposed a stretch in front of the new classrooms where the sunflower bed will be planted. Wow! I wait for this and hope what will be planted will look like this. There will also be beautiful landscaping around the gazebo. The assembly area has already been planted with trees with branches that sway softly to the breeze. They lend a feathery look to the assembly area.

Mr Yap has installed about 70 pots' hangers all along our covered walkway. Soon the school will be like a garden with plants everywhere, We will also have a vertical garden near the girls' toilets.

En. Najib's long standing toilet has been demolished. In its place, 3 VIP toilets are being built. At this time, the toilets are being tiled. Soon the VIP toilets will be ready. Ryan's men work steadily in rain and shine ( mostly rain in this very wet month of December) They also do the repairs to the cracked flooring and road surfaces. Ryan is a great blessing because he coordinates all the work.

Mr Cha has  kindly donated several air cons to the heritage room and the library and the prefects room. All his works for the school will be done FOC. Thank you Mr Cha. He will also coordinate the plumbing work of the new toilets.

It took Mr Tan and his team almost 3 weeks to strip the many layers of paint on the doors. We discovered in this process there had been layers of dark blue, light grey, maroon red,several shades of yellow and the brown paint you see at the top. 75 years is a long time and these antique doors still stand strong. They are painted the original beautiful blue.

Melvin will do the ID for the heritage room. We have fitted a old style blackboard ( green board actually) in the room for nostalgic sake. Jeremy has done the electrical works for the new toilets, the heritage room, the spot light for the gazebo and the prefects' room. Peter of CGV has re-located our giant gas tanks away.  

The speed with which Mr Lee galvanized the men to work is amazing. His instructions are almost immediately answered to the minute. His directives are followed by " Yes Sir!" Sometimes in the space of 15 minutes, I see whatapps messages to as many 7 people with replies as to what will be done. At the end of each day, the team send photos of what has been accomplished for the day.

I enjoy playing my small part in photographing what is done. Once I photographed the drains with the string near to it. Immediately Mr Lee spotted that the drain's edge were not very straight.  Directives were given. When I next approached the drain section, the guys were leveling the drain's edge with a right angled gadget to keep the drain straight. They told me " Boss kata - tak lurus" Haha!

Thank you kind gentlemen for lending your expertise, time, energy to transform the landscape of SMK Convent Sentul. You have made the school beautiful. "A thing of beauty is a joy forever." ( John Keats) I pray the beauty of CS will add serenity and peace to all who enter her grounds. Shalom.

Reflections on 2014

December has already descended on us. 2014 has flown by so swiftly. 2014 has been an extremely busy year for the school so much so I did not have time to post many events . But I must make time before the year ends and post the many meaningful events that happen even if they are not posted  in chronological order.

One pioneering program the school started this year was the home visitation program. I have this habit of visiting students' home from my times as a form teacher in SMK Padang Tembak. I found home visits to be helpful in building links with my students and in assuring their families we ( the school and the home ) can  work together for the good of the students.

In my stint as principal of  SMK Convent Sentul, I have visited over 20 homes.  This year  I visited more than 7 students, some by myself  and one memorable visit was together with Pn Rose Saadiah - the chairman of the PIBG. When I asked the statistics of my teachers visiting students, I found their statistics dismal. It took some  time and energy to challenge my teachers to make time to visit students who needed attention. When they started visiting the homes, they became enthusiastic about the positive results gained from the visits.

All in all, the afternoon session teachers have visited 21 homes whilst the morning teachers have visited 17 homes.in 2014.  I am extremely proud of my teachers for rising up to the challenge and for caring enough to visit the homes.

Cik Anis and Pn Norazlina visits and met 

with the father and the student Darshanashree

 from 2 Mawar

Cik Hamidah and Pn Haizan visits and 

encourage the mother of student 

Nurul Ain Fatihah from 2 Mawar

Ustazah Zulita, En Mazwan and En Azmizi visit and 

met the father of a student Anushka Natasha 

from 1 Cempaka

Pn Azemah visit the student and met with her mother

Pn Zuraima visit Lajwanti from 2 K 

and finds out more about the family.

En Jamal and Pn Zainon, PIBG Committee members
and husband and wife team visited student

We were very encouraged when PIBG committee members En Jamal and Pn Zainon joined forces with the teachers and helped visited the homes. Datin Cheam and Pn Wang took time to visit a student on a public holiday due to a crisis call we received there were many  positive outcomes  from the home visits.  The parents realized the teachers really cared about their children. The teachers understood the home situation and the problems faced by the students. Parents and students became more cooperative.

In one particular home, the teacher realized there was no furniture in the whole house. This teacher quickly alerted us of the needy situation. When we reported this during a board meeting, Mr Lee Geok Ai, chairman of the Board of Governors immediately sponsored RM1,4000/- of his own personal funds  to buy a set of sofa and coffee table for the family in time for the festive season. Pn Rose Saadiah  followed up with another visit to the home to ensure the furniture set was sent to the family concerned.

The teachers and the parents selected this furniture set 

which was thens ponsored by by Mr Lee Geok Ai,

 chairman of the Board . The whole process was

 speedily done so that the family would have

 the furniture set in time for their festive occasion.

.

I want to take this opportunity to say thank you to my wonderful teachers and administrators who took time out from their busy schedules to visit the students home. I also want to thank PIBG members and YDP Pn Rose for sharing the load with us and for Mr Lee's immediate and generous sponsorship. May God richly reward you for your labours. Thank you