Reasons for Joy.

On the afternoon of the 13th May 2011, SMK Convent Sentul recieved a very happy pleasant surprise first via an official letter. We have been waiting for this letter since February . Finally SMK Convent Sentul has recieved the candidate to fill the post of the Penolong Kanan Ko Kurikulum which has been vacant since Pn Ong retired. Our new PK Koko is Datin Cheam Swee Har. Welcome to SMK Convent Sentul Datin Cheam! We are delighted with your appointment to our school.

Both Pn Rubiah and me are both greatly relieved at Datin Cheam's appointment. It has not been easy for Pn Rubiah and her team of capable and dedicated teachers - Bong, Raudah, Kamala, Ainil and the rest of the teachers to do the job and to bear the burden of the PK Koko especially during this period of 1M1S.

You all have helped me and Pn Rubiah tremendously but most of all I am happy and grateful because you all have not only just done your job but done it superbly with dedication these few months with a very positive and cheerful spirit! Tahniah and Terima Kasih!

Datin Cheam Swee Har is formerly of SMK Puteri Jaya. She has responded very quickly upon recieving the official letter. She phoned me immediately at about noon and then reported to SMK Convent Sentul at about 3 pm.

I am delighted to report she is an ex-student of Convent Sentul. In fact when I took her on a short school tour, it was a delightful merge of information between us both - a merge of information from the past and the present. I listened enthralled as she told me some lovely history about Convent Sentul and pointed out where some rooms had been changed. Did you know the Principal's room used to be where the Bilik Tetamu is now? The Principal used to monitor the classes and the canteen from the room's window. Isn't that interesting to know? I also got to know that 5 Anggerik was formerly called 5 Science 1 but it is still in the same exact class location.

Datin Cheam holds a M.E.D. in Education Psychology apart from her first degree in Geography and Political Science. I am very assured she is well qualified and will be a strong assest in SMK Convent Sentul to all of us.

A 2nd reason for joy. All new teachers under the program Guru Baharu were required to make a teaching aid (ABM - Alat Bantu Mengajar) to enrich their teaching. Last Friday, one of the new teachers excitedly showed me her teaching aids for Sejarah.

She had several kinds of spices - pepper, cinnamon etc as well several types of grains nicely packaged on a manila cardboard. When she first showed me the teaching aid, I could not understand how it could be used. Then she explained it was for these products that the spice trade routes of Johor were established since Johor was at the confluence of these trade routes. She also had oil in a container and a pretty traditional vase which denote a certain age in history.

What made me really happy was how her eyes sparkled brightly and she smiled happily as she described how the students were so excited yesterday when she brought the teaching aid to class and taught them using the aids . I really hope and pray that teachers young and old in Convent Sentul will continue to prepare teaching aids so that students can understand and enjoy their lessons.

There are many good and dedicated teachers here in SMK Convent Sentul.

I am blessed to be here as Principal. Happy Teachers' day to all the teachers here. We will do our real celebration after the exam finishes.

More about orchestra instruments

Since the visit of the Istana Budaya's Orchestra Simfoni Remaja, I have felt a revival of sorts in music. I reverted back to an old habit of listening to good soothing and inspiring music from my laptop while working which helps to brings down the stress level.

As promised, we will continue your virtual informal education in music on the blog here after your real life encounter with the instruments and the wonderful handsome and beautiful musicians of Istana Budaya. We can't bring back the orchestra to be with you everyday in real life much as we would love to but you can still hear the sounds and remember the instruments for a long time if you reinforce the real learning with the virtual.

Let's do some quick revision. Question 1 .Name these two instruments below. Hint: The first one was something you did not manage to answer correctly when Madam Mayya asked you all at both sessions so it is imperative you must now learn and get to know the name of this instrument.

The colorful diagram above shows how the musicians were arranged by instruments they play. Can you name the instruments from 1 to 14?

The orchestra OSR was also sitting in this arrangement in our school hall except for instrument No 14. If you can name the instruments anytime off hand when I next ask this at assembly, I think you have learned a lot and if I should have an extra gift on hand, I think I should give it to the students who know the answer.

Last question for today - who can name the 4 families of instruments?

I also discovered many good websites which give you the music played by each instrument.
I find the two websites below to be very helpful and interactive. You could trying surfing them.

•http://datadragon.com/education/instruments/winds.shtml

http://library.thinkquest.org/22673/orchestra.html

Happy learning! .

Youth Symphony Orchestra in SMK Convent Sentul.

Today is a very very memorable day in SMK Convent Sentul! The OSR - Orkestra Simfoni Remaja or the Youth Symphony Orchestra came and filled our humble school hall with heavenly music.

Eizaz b. Azhar on the saxophone made us so happy and in a very romantic mood.

The OSR came with 31 musicians from the age of 11 to 50 and many support staff and their famous conductor Madame Mayya Musaeva. Encik Zulkefli Ahmad and his team came twice - once yesterday to survey and arrange the setup of chairs and to sort up the logistics. This morning he came again with two big vans way before the rest of the musicians arrived to set up all the logistics needed for the event! This event would not have been possible if not for the favour of Madame Mayya Musaeva the talented and passionate conductor. I am very sure her presence here rallied the support of so many from Istana Budaya. Thank you Mayya! Thank you Istana Budaya! This event has left a great impact on us in Convent Sentul and we will not forget it.

Mayya Musaeva conducting with passion!

Our girls are simply so delighted by the OSR performance. Awesome! Mesmerizing! Enthralled! These are the words I would use to describe the expressions on my students' faces.

See how much the girls savour each moment of heavenly music. Watch the intensity of their eyes - how focussed they are. They craned their necks, their eyes watched without blinking.
They drink in every moment in full concentration!

See how happy the sea of faces from the students!

Pn Rubiah - thank you for coordinating all the logistics for this concert. Teachers of SMK Convent Sentul, thank you for doing the organizing work to bring such joy and happiness to the students. It is great to work with your support! Thank you from the bottom of my heart!





For many of the students, it was the first time they had witnessed an orchestra at such close range. I hope and pray it will not be the last time they hear and see an orchestra play sweet delightful music. Music indeed for our ears and a feast for our eyes!

I think for many of the student here, this could well mark the begining of their music education.

They saw and heard the difference between the instruments from the smallest member of the strings - the violin to the viola to the cello to the huge double bass.

There were so many happy faces all around me. I am also very very proud of our extremely well behaved girls who did not fidget much but stay seated quietly throughout and enjoyed the entire performance.

Most mesmerizing was beautiful Madame Mayya who conducted with such passion! Just watching the way she conducts makes us understand - here is a lady who loves what she is doing and who do it with all her heart and soul. Thank you Mayya for teaching us how to live life with every fibre of our being and to celebrate it in fulness of our soul!

Hari Anugerah Cemerlang 2011

Hari Anugerah Cemerlang HAC on 9th April 2011 was a very happy day in SMK Convent Sentul!

Teachers and students worked very hard to ensure that the school was ready to welcome the invited guests - VIP Pn Phoon Yoke Meng, PIBG YDP Pn Rose Saidah, Pn Suseela and Pn Zaini from the Board of Governors , honoured parents, ex-students and current students.

The beautiful backdrop with flowers and butterflies were done by Pn Intan and her team.

Puan Suraya is superb! She and her team handled the kecerian very well. She prepared so many things to make sure everything looked beautiful. She had new stage curtains, and sewed the new red scalloped cloth. She spruced up the little staircase leading to the stage by wrapping it in new carpet. The old curtains were recycled and made into skirting for the MC's table and the VIP's table. Apart from buying new flowers for the event, she also brought flowers bouquet from her own home for the VIP table. Such dedication and excellence is not easy to find! Simply amazing!

Puan Rubiah made sure all the noticeboards were redecorated by the students and the teachers! It is a delight to walk around around the school and see the beautiful and informative notice boards. Pn Rubiah 's dedication and love for the school is a joy to behold. She juggles many duties cheerfully. Thank you Pn Rubiah.

Teachers and students, thank you for playing your part to ensure everyone had a wonderful time that day! From the jemputan to the kebersihan to the jamuan to the juruacara and the persembahan and ..............! Thank you teachers and thank you students for all your hard work! It was very good to see your dedication to the school. Big kudos to you all especially those working in the background .

My heart overflows with grateful thanks to the teachers for their dedication. Thank you Pn Vasantha for looking into every detail and checking everything to make sure the HAC went smoothly.

Most of all, our girls stole the hearts of the parents and the rest of the guests by their creativity in putting up a very very entertaining show! I enjoyed the singing and the dancing and by the look on Pn Suseela's face, I knew she too like the rest of the guest enjoyed it tremendously.

The event was a celebration of womanhood and so many things pertaining to feminity! I am now very glad I am in an all girls school although several months ago, I was slightly apprehensive.

You have stolen my heart away!

School song makeover

Apart from the school hall getting a makeover, the time has come when our well loved school song also has a makeover.

The choir girls under the supervision of the choir teacher Cik Nik Syawani have been practicing hard and they sounded so wonderfully sweet when we heard them practicing in 4 Anggerik room while we were having a staff meeting in the APD room. I just could not resist it. I had to pop over to 4 Anggerik to see how many girls were actually singing because it sounded like there were so many of them. Surprise! Guess how many girls I found? Only 6 girls but whoa ... they sounded awesome!

Today, I drove these 6 girls- Teoh Wei Yee, Pavitra, Dimple, Jaz Lyn, Janice and Diana to Majestic Oracle at Tabernacle of David for the recording of the school song.

Mak Kien Loong kindly and graciously did the recording for us FOC. Wow! Earlier some else had quoted me a minimum basic of RM 500/- for a recording. Thank you Mak and thank you TOD.

Mak briefed the girls through what they had to do. As usual , Mak was gentle and clear and cool and that did much to calm the girls who were recording for the very first time.

Mak started with the pianist Teoh Wei Yee. He recorded her playing first. Next 3 singers were called in to sing together with the music track. We watched them through the glass window of the recording studio

Then the next batch of singers went in to the studio and the first 3 singers - Jaz Lyn, Dimple and Pavitra exited.

Finally all 6 girls went in and sang together. Imagine how happy we felt when we heard the recording! It was so good to hear their sweet voices so clearly especially when I compared it to our previous minus 1 track which must have been done many many years ago. See how happy and relieved the girls are when their work is finally done and they have finished the recording. Now the girls can relax. After visiting the most important place - the loo, they go around testing the many musical instruments. Rain sticks, gongs, many types of drums, etc...! They have fun singing whilst Wei Yee plays the grand piano at TOD. From their singing, I can see they have been practicing together for a long time. So ... now watch out for the posting of the new makeover of our well loved school song on the school website. We are going to try sing the new version this Monday assembly!

FANTASTIC SPM 2010 RESULTS.

23rd March 2011 was an exciting day for all secondary schools. The atmosphere was also equally exciting in SMK Convent Sentul. Students waited excitedly in our newly painted hall for the SPM results to be released.

SMK Convent Sentul had a record number of outstanding students! We had 10 straight As students!! Congratulations. The school grade purata ( average grade) not only broke the 2010 target but also broke the 2011 target so we have to revise our targets for this year!

Amazing and simply ...awesome!.

What brought a lot of joy was seeing the many happy families come in support of their daughters and the many happy families rejoicing and beaming at the good results.

As I work on the analysis of the SPM results, I am amazed by the very very obvious improvement . Kudos to the adminstrators, the Guru Kanan and the teachers for their hard work and to the students for high achievement. Pn Phoon Yoke Meng, the previous principal must be given due honor and credit for her leadership which have inspired this great improvement in results.

•14 out of 24 subjects recorded the best ever performance in the past 5 years. These subjects are B.Melayu, B.Inggeris, Pend. Islam, Sejarah, Mathematics, Science, Pend.Seni Visual , Add Mathematics, Perdagangan, Ekon Asas, B. Cina, B. Tamil, B. Punjabi and Kesusasateraan Tamil

•22 out of 24 subjects showed a marked improvement in the average grade with 3 subjects showing over 40% increase and 2 subjects with over 30% increase and 7 subjects with over 20% increase

We set our sights high for this current year! We pledge to work towards better results. and a reminder to all students and teachers - real meaningful learning begins first in the classroom with students paying attention and yet enjoying the lesson.

Let SMK Convent Sentul flag fly proudly!

•12 out of 24 achieved 100% passes.

School makeover begins

In the first month I was Principal at Convent Sentul, I typed out a very very long wish list. I sent some parts of this wish list to people I loved and trusted. One part of the wish list involved getting funds from those who had abundance to give to the needy.


Allysa - my ex-student awaiting SPM results from my former school Seksyen 5, helped me see the wish list could become a reality. She saw part of my wish list and offered a sum from her angpow money to help a needy student for one year. That inspired my faith because this 17 year student had the faith to give despite being a student and not even a student related to Convent Sentul in anyway.

Another part of the wish list involved a physical makeover for our 71 year old school. So I asked for help. We have to date 3 different paint companies who are considering our request for free paint. The first company - SKK already started the ball rolling by generously donated the paint for our hall. We also have 3 different parties to provide the labour to paint different parts of the school.

The first contractor, Andrew Seoh came by to the school and then sent us 4 of his workers so that we can finish repainitng the hall before school reopens. The workers started on Thursday, immediately after the pengawas camp










But makeover do not begin by merely camouflaging really - it really must begin first by repairing. The first thing the workers did was to locate all the flaws areas and the uneven areas and to patch up with white filling.


Next the ceiling and we do have a fairly high ceiling.



See the men at work and see the work of their hands. They have to work through Saturday and Sunday so that the hall will be ready before the students come back from the holidays.







They worked first with the ceiling and gradually I saw the change of colours from our former green to a happy yellow.



The change of colours.


The external doors to the hall are being repainted.

The difference between one coat of paint and two coats of paints. Hmm.. I wonder how three coats of paint will look like?

In our personal makeover as wholistic people, we must first begin by repairing those areas where we have personal issues.

We need to sort out a priority list on which areas to begin with first - for example the ceiling or the walls? Do remember if we start first with the wall, the repainting of the ceiling will splatter on the walls.

Finally we need to experience at least two coats of the new paint before it even looks pretty. Too often we fidget too fast and say - "Look I have already improved "and the change of colours is not so obvious or permanent because it has just been only one coat of change. Let your makeover be more obvious by going through the right steps in the right sequence and for a longer period. That way the paint materials and the labour has the most impact. Remember God is interested in giving you a physical and spiritual makeover but you have to cooperate with Him so that his donated materials and his labour in you have maximum impact.

Another part of my wish list which I recently added. I saw this lovely orchid garden in BTPN in Cheras while attending a course there.

They have this metal trellis above which they have grown this very fragrant vine that smells like pandan with luscious leaves and clusters of small white fragrant flowers. Pots of orchids hang below. But their orchids do not bloom profusely as of yet.

My dream orchid garden will be something like this. Beneath the fragrant vine on a wooden trellis, orchids hang and bloom profusely as those orchids in my house.

I will keep on dreaming for myself and for SMK Convent Sentul.

Success in SMK Convent Sentul

Congratulations Pavitra Nayagi 3 Anggerik for winning the National Level Chess Competition Under 16.

SMK Convent Sentul is proud of you and we hope you are equally proud of SMK Convent Sentul. Carry on being a bright shining star for SMK Convent Sentul.

In the last post, I blogged about accepting failures, now we speak of our joy in success!

Help us accept success and failure in work and play.

SMK Convent Sentul school song

It's quite unusual but lately the school song has been ringing overand over again in my mind and in my heart . And the sections that alight on my mind and heart doesn't always start from the beginning of the song - sometimes just the chorus will come to mind and at other times the end of the song. Hmm...? I do wonder why this happens.


Our school song goes like this.

O! Hark now hear our joyful cries of pride in our school
Steadfast are we in our duty, simple in virtue
We pledge to you our loyalty and hardships we endure
We will strive to make you proud our school that we adore
O! Lord we pray for guidance and blessings on our way
Help us to accept success and failure in work and play
O! Hark now hear our joyful cries of pride in our school
Steadfast are we in our duty simple in virtue

When I first heard the minus 1, I thought it was pretty difficult to follow. Now after about 4 months in the school, I am struck and awed by the wise words in this song and the ethos that has been ingrained in the school through the school song.

This morning for instance, the part that became alive to me was the line "Help us to accept success and failure in work and play." Typical traditional culture teaches us to embrace only success and reject failure. But this song teaches us to accept both success and failure in work and play. How profoundly wise.

I am at this point of time reminded of a movie I often showed to students and teachers on white water rafting near Jeram Besu between Raub and Pekan. Before the people embarked on their 5 km journey down the river, they were literally trained to fail as part of their safety procedures. They were asked by their trainer to deliberately capsize their boat, to be thrown into the cold waters and then to work together as a team to make their boat turn upright again after they had been thrown into the water. This was to ensure that in the event when the boat actually capsized, the participants would not panic and drown due to the panic of having the cold waters strike them

It is only when the boat is made to capsize that the reality of the cold fast and raging waters strike us. In the face of the crisis or so called failure, we have to calm our fears, settle our embarrassment and other issues and simply learn to rise again.

We need to purposefully teach our students and society that failure is a neccasary part of life and failure is a stepping stone to success. Too often we unknowingly propagate the myth and the lie that life is pure success all the way. And when our students faced failure at some point in life, they feel embarrased, ashamed and depressed and drown in these negative feelings and become unable to deal with the crisis.

How much wiser to recieve the words of the school song and to know that failure is part and parcel of life and handling failure positively brings us closer to success.


Down the river of life are challenges and crisis. We need to handle the failures before we can taste real permanent success.

Fun in Physics Lab

Doesn't the picture make you think my Physics students in 5 Anggerik are doing some crazy stunts seemingly hanging upside down from some beam?

Relax - that's just an image from a convex lens and the image is inverted (upside down ) so it looks as if the girl is upside down but truth is she is just standing normal and raising her hands up.

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You can see my girls are safely grounded right way up on solid ground - it is just their image on the white screen which is upside down . Even the reflection of the girls in the convex lens show they are standing right way up normally

Our beautiful Harkiren from 5 Anggerik smiling happily and showing off our SMK Convent Sentul badge.

This is one of the essential elements we want to incorporate in learning and teaching here in Convent Sentul Hands-On, Heads On and Hearts on Learning.

Learning hands-on by successfully conducting the experiment.

Learning heads-on by understanding the image on the white screen is inverted, diminished and real and being able to measure the focal length accurately by measuring distance from the lens center to the screen for a distant object using a ruler.

And finally hearts on learning - her grin that says it all and both students and teacher have enjoyed the lesson.

My prayer and hope for Convent Sentul is that this scenario of real meaningful learning that brings smiles to teachers and students be found in every single classroom in SMK Convent Sentul.