Celebration of Womanhood

When I was first posted to SMK Convent Sentul, I had to do some mental adjustments as I had never taught in a all-girls school in my entire teaching career. My first post was at an all boys mission school. Subsequent schools were all co-ed.  I kept asking God - "Why, an all girls' school Lord? Why .........?"

Now after those initial questions, some answers have come and some light has dawned in my understanding. One title I always have had in my heart for another future book is the title of this blog - "Celebration of Womanhood! "What better place than to learn and prepare for this book by being principal of an all girls' school and an established 72-year old convent at that!"

Why should womanhood be celebrated? In much of Asian mentality and culture, woman are often consciously or subconsciously delegated to second class citizens.  Woman are often  just tolerated, much less celebrated. My Chinese name is a very very macho masculine name. My father had already chosen the name before I was born because he was hoping for a son. Father did not see the need to change my name to a more feminine version when I emerged female instead of the son he expected. Yet now my 80+ dad often declares in Hokkien " Cha boh tor su kah hor ke tau por" meaning "Girls are usually better than guys." No offence meant for the male readers on this blog.

I discovered this to be definitely true in Convent Sentul. All toilets work here. ( This was not at all true of the previous schools I taught at) The school is clean. There is order.There is little vandalism. There is minimal graffiti. There is a calmness and a quietness here related very much to the feminine girls I have here. Oh, it is almost heaven here. Yes, womanhood is celebrated here in Convent Sentul!!

How should womanhood be celebrated? One way - putting pretty things up in school to be enjoyed by all the girls( and teachers )  here. The orchids planted near the fish pond is another of the pretty sights I enjoy in school.

Double pretty pink rose bouquet pompon hanging on the staircase to the staffroom.

Honing feminine skills and stirring the artists' soul within is another way of celebrating womanhood. Yesterday morning, Tay Hao Jin played beautifully on the piano. She did not need to refer to any manuscripts, she played from her soul. Just having the girls play most mornings has done a lot for me and I hope for the school.

I want the aesthetics to be highlighted here! Arts, music, expression through drama, song and dance. Aesthetics is linked to stirring the feelings and the woman within. I want my girls to express their feminity and not be ashamed that they are born woman. I do not want my girls to be devoid of feelings. The opposite of aesthetics is anesthetics. A person being anesthetized feels nothing, yes they feel no pain but also no joy and no life.  I do not want that to happen to my girls. They must be taught to feel and to love for to love and to care for others is a woman's strength.

Something happened yesterday and I saw the strong caring part of my girls. I had posted on my facebook a request for 2011 ex-students to come and see me if they were interested in helping to teach some Form 1 and 2 students we had identified as needing extra help. I would only give them minimal token pay for the "tuition" I requested. To my great joy, within days of my FB postings, 3 girls already volunteered to teach. They were pretty excited and as I let them meet with their future " students" I saw the care in their hearts and their eyes for their future charges. Even though the arrangement is temporarily until their SPM results are released, I am confident the care shown by the ex-students will go a long way to change the perceptions and self esteem of the younger girls. I also saw the excitement in my afternoon girls as they met their 'kakaks'

More evidence of feminine power in school. The prefects staying back in the afternoon to decorate their board.

Woman power celebrates festive occasions. In most homes, the women prepare the most for festive occasions. Convent Sentul is now festivey decorated for the Chinese New Year.  Dato' Andrew Tan, Datin Cheam's husband  very kindly donated several CNY lanterns to CS. Gong Xi Fa Cai everybody.!May you prosper in your soul, your health, your wallet and your spirit.

Lantern in front of the staircase to the canteen

Double Chinese lanterns in the car porch.

But we girls can't do much without manpower.

Maran, our beloved gardener and Agus our new staff helps us fix the lanterns.

Thank you Maran and Agus! What would we do without you both?

We celebrate the success and progress of our girls! Here, I pose happily with the

recipients of "Make a difference PMR 2011." The girls  happily show off their letters of commendation and angpows

Puan Intan with her beautifully decorated Program Nilam. Pn Intan 's creativity is reflective of the creative culture here. She is an ex-student and her creativity speaks of the ethos of emphasis on important values apart from academics.

Let's keep up all the feminine touches that make CS special!