1 Aug was my company's Community Day and my unit is in-charged of looking after students from one of my company's adopted voluntary welfare organisation (VWO), Grace Orchard School. Every year, we will have this community day whereby we share a fruitful day with the VWO. Yesterday's event was held at SAFRA Yishun Country Club. We were divided into a few groups and my group was supposed to take care of students and bring them to challenge the canopy walk and rock-climbing. Luckily for my group, these students were very obedient and friendly and we were able to communicate well. I feel that I was just like their big sister.
While I was watching some students rock-climbing, I saw someone very familiar walked past me and guess what, she's my former sec school Biology teacher, Mrs Noreen Lim. Oh my... Singapore is really small loh.. Could even meet her at such an event. I wasn't sure at first so I walked up to her and asked whether she's Mrs Noreen Lim. She turned around and looked at me for a sec and said, "oh ya... you were from Beatty right? can recognise the face but cannot remember your name." i was already very happy that she could recognise me after 10 years! She's right now the principal of Grace Orchard School. We chatted for a while and she told me that there would be an opening ceremony of my sec sch that evening. I was surprised by the news cos I had thought.. my school already opened long ago, why got opening ceremony again? Haha! Mrs Lim said that Beatty had undergone upgrading and extension and now they are opening the new campus! Wow! That's amazing! Later during that day, I decided to check it out and went back to my sec school to see see.
Wah! As I approached the school yesterday evening, I really couldn't recognised it man! So much has changed and it grew from just a school compound (I remember we usually called that when I was still studying at Beatty.) to a school campus. It has taken over the premises of the then neighbouring school, San San Pri Sch. Then when I was at the gate, I saw some NPCC students, scouts and girl guides forming two rows from the porch to the gate and I assumed that there'll be some guest-of-honour approaching soon. I was immediately given clear directions and a student escorted me directly to the hall (which was formerly the hall of San San Pri Sch). I was really very impressed. (you know what, I wasn't given an invitation card and just happened to meet Mrs Lim on Fri morning who told me about this important event and the students really treated me like a VIP leh!).
When I entered the hall, I saw a former schoolmate who's now a teacher at Beatty. Then I went to look for Mrs Lim and some other former teachers. I was very excited and happy to meet them once again, after all these years. The ceremony lasted for about an hour and I was very impressed by the laser display in the hall when the guest-of-honour (MP of Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC) completed an symbolic act of 'opening' the school. Somehow I tot I was watching the National Day Parade or wat. Haha! After the ceremony, we were escorted to the different classrooms (they called them 'cabins', cos the theme was a cruise on a ship.) and we looked at the different ECA groups and the history and heritage of Beatty.
Being back in Beatty brought me back memories of when I was a student 10 years ago and everything there is nostalgic. I managed to chat with my former teachers: Mrs Lim, Ms Lee, Mrs Hui, Mr Wong, Mr Ng and Mrs Singh (just to name a few). Hmm... din manage to catch up with Mr Goh, my former principal of the sch, cos he had an appointment that evening and had gone off already. Nevertheless, this trip back to Beatty has helped renew the bonding with my sch and former teachers.
Don't worry, I will get the pictures from Mr Ng and post them here. Stay tuned!
