this blog has not been abandoned

Dear All,

I am so sorry for the lack of updates in this blog. Life has been pretty hectic. Or was it because I was concentrating more on my own personal blog... hiks! duh!...

Whatever it is, we are all enjoying the year-end school holidays at the mo. Thus I have been quite busy with my kiddos as well i.e. attended the Nuffnang Friso Family Day Out with my son Megat, and we also had some fun time in Kuching or so called the Cat City! (go here and here to view the pics).

Besides that, I have also kept myself busy keeping in touch with our school friends. I even met some of us whom I last met during my last days of school. Isn't that lovely?

THANKS

You're my friend because you're always there,
If there's sadness around or in the air,
At night, in the morning or anytime of day,
You're there to cheer me up and chase the sadness away.

I just want to thank you for all you've done,
You've helped me through a lot, you're really number one.
Thanks for all the good times that we share,
It shows that you're one who really does care.

Thanks for being there when time got rough,
You make it easier when times get too tough
Thanks for being there each and every day,
Thanks for being you in that very special way.

And as to-date, since the last time I posted here, we already had three (3) Sunday Morning! sessions —

#1 - 23 November 2008, at Rest House Kuala Kangsar
#2 - 7 December 2008, at Marmalade Cafe in Bangsar Village II
#3 - 7 December 2008, at Rest House Kuala Kangsar

Make sure you come back here often to get some updates about the above meetups by guest bloggers that I have appointed :) I find that by having some guest bloggers here that involved our school friends as well, this blog will be livening up!

And before I forgot, I would like to remind everyone to block your May 2009 calendar for our school's 60th Anniversary Dinner that will be held in Dewan Puteri, SMKRPK. I will make sure to get the committee members to reconfirm the date ASAP so that we can make our plans accordingly.

Till then...

Sunday Morning!

Sunday Morning! is an informal meeting of MGS/GEGS/RPK & SKDK Alumni happening all around the world on any given Sunday in the morning.

The invitation is, of course, also open to all OG. However, Sunday Morning! is NOT an exclusive networking reunion nor a OG gathering (differently from others, we prefer quality over quantity). Sunday Morning! is an informal session to share ideas, experiences and memories that we had. In other words, we believe in the free exchange of information, free knowledge, opinions and ideas in a not so formal way, while we enjoy our breakfast.

Details of the meetup in each city are available in the blog with the label Sunday Morning!

We love when people come with a huge desire to work, to share in, either speaking or covering the event on the Internet (yes, bring your laptop).

If you are an OG, and you are interested in organizing a Sunday Morning! in your city, please get in touch with us.

Our first meetup:
Sunday, 23 November 2008
—RSVP on Facebook

DeepaRaya Hi-Tea

Hello everyone,

I have been invited to blog which is something new to me. Anyway I want to give it a go and I will begin with the DeepaRaya Hi-tea I attended on the 25th of October in GEGS. I belong to the 1974 batch of MCE students and I was really hoping to meet many if not all my classmates.

Azian, Khor Hooi Leng, Teh Kheng Ean, Sathiavany and Ms. Rani Muthiah;
more pics can be viewed here.

I think about 200 or so old students turned up. I was lucky this time around as the get-together was close to Deepavali and I always make it a point to celebrate Deepavali with my parents in Kuala Kangsar. Luck did not end there as two of my very close friends from KL, Teh Kheng Ean and Khor Hooi Leng also made it a point to come and meet up. Then we managed to contact Azian Kamaruddin from MCKK and Faridah Rashidi from Ipoh—both very dear friends. It was great coming together after all these years. The last I saw Faridah was in Form 6—about 30 years ago! She is as vibrant as ever! All of us had a lot of catching up to do.

Coming back to the high-tea which made all of us hiGH— It was well-organized-registration, buying of the book—Down Memory Lane (on the first principal, Mrs. N.C.Partridge), a few short speeches followed by a performance by students and cutting a birthday cake—then plenty of mouth-watering food (Perak food is the BEST!). The current principal and the president of the OGA were very hospitable. I met Ms. Leong whom I met many years ago in Kuala Pilah when I was expecting my third child. The surprising thing was she remembered me. She gave me free milk powder then! We also met Ms. Rani Muthiah—our Bio teacher in Forms 4 and 5. She is one person who no one will miss nor forget. She has changed-giggling with us and not frowning at us anymore... just joking Ms. Muthiah. We were also entertained with songs by our MC of the day and guess who—Faridah! She sang with such confidence and poise that I am confident she can stand up to Mawi anytime!

After all the prizes for winners of lucky draws were given out and there was no more space for food in our tummies, the event slowly came to an end. A number of us were still feeling nostalgic over our school days and decided to take a tour around the school. My! My! The changes are astounding—new blocks of classrooms and hostel blocks; form six classes etc. The hall where we had the function is also new. However—what we were really thankful for is that the original building where Sir Hugh Low, the British resident is supposed to have been housed and the additional buildings where the library is; the SRT rooms and other extensions of the past have been preserved. The pathway up the hill on which we walked up and the hugh rain trees are still there. The cannon has been moved but it is still in the school. The classrooms where we sat and studied look the same except for the position of the white boards which have been changed. We also walked up the staircase to the tower. Kausheilia and Ambigai as well as a few others joined us. The rooms we passed, the pictures and the ambience are the same. At the top, we stood in awe at the picturesque views from all angles. After several snapshots, we had to drag ourselves down as it is really great to be there at 6 in the evening.

We walked on reminiscing about the old days—where we used to have our assemblies and Girl Guide meetings, how we used to have fierce arguments, places where we parked our bicycles and even spots where we lost control of our bicycles and fell.

By the time we could bring ourselves to leave, it was seven in the evening. Reluctantly we left. Where are you my friends? Let us get in touch with one another so that we can meet again at the next gathering. Bye for now.

Related blog post: Cuti-cuti Malaysia.

Cik Hajjah Nazipah

Today is a very special day for us, not just everyone at MGS/GEGS/RPK OGA but the school as well. We are so glad that we celebrated Cik Hajjah Nazipah bt Mohd Najmi's birthday. What a co-incidence ya... that it falls on the same day as our event ;) I said that because we didn't realize it at the first place, until our secretary Fadhilah told us about it during our committee meeting at Wan Pah's house about two weeks ago. Cik Nazipah was unable to attend that time, thus that make it more easy for us to plan for something special for her.

Cik Hajjah Nazipah was my former discipline teacher. She also taught me but I can't seems to remember ler plak... of what was the subject *glurp* And now... she's the Headmistress of our school since end of 2006.

You have been my mentor and guide
You have taught me right from wrong
And shown me the way all along
On your birthday— Dear Cikgu
I want to search out to you with
My warmest regards & best wishes sincere

Happy Birthday

4 days & counting—

...to the big day!

This is actually will be my first event with our OGA. I didn't even know about those few events organized before this, that's why I didn't show up. I was in fact working in KL then for sooooo many years!

And now ever since I attended the AGM for the first time early this year, I have been selected to join the committee member’s team. Well it’s all because Puteri brought back an invitation letter from our OGA. It seems that her class teacher asked the girls to raise their hands to those mothers who studied in our school. So that’s basically of how Puteri got the invitation letter for me :P

Anyhow that's not a big deal as I love my school very much! Tell me who doesn't right. My school life was rich and interesting. The teachers were very kind; the students were lovely and friendly. We really had great fun and memories there. I am very sure that all of my school friends agreed with me. I know you are reading this. Please do not be shy to leave any comments, suggestions or whatever you feel like to share with us in the comment box link below each blog post or the shout box provided on the side bar.

To those who are coming to the event this Saturday, you shall register yourself upon arrival with Mrs. Silva. I know my mother and my auntie’ and their friends called her Emily. She used to teach me English when I was in the primary school at SK Datin Khadijah. I will be in charge of the membership application.

Attention: SKDK' Old Students! I have something to discuss with you. Do expect my mail anytime soon. Thank you :)

Alright then... I'll see you around soon ya? Take care everyone and have a great week ahead!

Meeting Pn Aishah

I met Pn Aishah quite often, no doubt because she is teaching my daughter Puteri in Form 2 in our school. How nice, huh?!! Once when I was with her at a school's function, she told another teacher that, "dulu saya mengajar anak, dan sekarang mengajar cucu plak"; while referring to me hehee...

So earlier today I bumped in to her at my father's god son Aidi's wedding in Kampung Lubuk Chapin. Together in the pic were Aidi's mother Auntie Aishah (far right), who used to be teaching in SK Datin Khadijah when Puteri was in Standard 2 there; and two of Auntie Aishah's daughter and her grand daughter. Take note that they are all Old Girls too except for the little girl of course lol...

After Pn Aishah left as soon as we took the pic, I had a quick chat with Auntie Aishah's daughter. I told her about the upcoming Hari Raya Aidilfitri & Deepavali Hi-tea on this coming Saturday. "Ha ah tau... ada baca blog", she told me. I just smiled. O ok. Alamak malunya...

So how did you find out about this blog girl. Its good to know that you are one of the readers here too. Let's interact! Please join us on Facebook if you haven't to reconnect with more of our school friends. By the way please tag yourself in the above pic on Facebook ya? ;)

Membership Application Form

Finally... I am so happy to find Scribd after several thoughts of how to upload the membership application form for online version, specially for this blog.

“Scribd is a San Francisco startup company changing the way people share documents online. You can think of Scribd as a big online library where everyone can publish original content, including you!

Since Scribd launched in March 2007, it has become one of the top 300 websites on the Internet, receiving over 20 million monthly visitors. It has also accumulated over 17 billion words in its library, making it five times the size of Wikipedia.”

Please upload the said document here. You can do it in whichever format you prefer i.e. Adobe Acrobat (.pdf), Microsoft Words (.doc) or Plain Text (.txt) . Once its completed, kindly forward it to my email together with the proof of payment.

Do not feel hesitate to contact me for further queries or clarifications. I would be much glad to help you as far as I could... God willing...

REMARKS:
I will update this page with our OGA' bank account number soon. We are in the mid of changing it to another bank account. At the meantime, you can TT the payment to my bank account. Please email me to get the number. I will then forward the monies to our Treasurer.

It has been announced on Hot.fm!

Yes, I am not kidding. Anyone listened to Hot FM this morning? Not me.

My grand auntie Mariam Hassan (whose an OG too) in Bandar Seri Damansara called me, to let me know that she called Hot FM. She requested them to announce about our Hari Raya & Deepavali Hi-tea on 25 October 2008. So that means the news had been spread out through out the country.

Thank you so much to all involved especially Pahani (the name I called my grand auntie, dunno why... other relatives called her Cik Ni), DJ Faizal and Hot FM.

An email from Josie

The damn CPU got blown off, thus I was not be able to go online over the weekend. That means there are quite a number stories to be told in my next blog post. So make sure you watch out this space for more post soon ya... I was lucky enough that they can fix the CPU by today itself. I guess if not because I called them first this morning, I don’t know whether they shall take their own sweet time again like before. At the meantime, I was kind of surprised when I saw an email titled “Mrs. N C Partridge”, as soon as I open my inbox. I quickly clicked that one first before any other. Josie, Mrs. Partridge’s daughter who’s living in Australia was kind enough to write to me. She thanked me for the thoughts I wrote about her late mother. I ought that she found this blog while browsing online. Thank you so much Josie for your feedback. I really didn’t expect that you would read it—

Mrs N C Partridge‏

From:	eckselke
	You may not know this sender.Mark as safe|Mark as unsafe
Sent:	Saturday, 4 Oct, 2008 1: 38 PM
To:	she_ra@mail.com

I was quite touched to read what you had written about the news of my mother. Both my parents were dedicated teachers, and my mother always made sure she delivered, as headmistress, the very best for the girls to receive an all rounded education in Kuala Kangsar. Her greatest joy was when she met old girls, and as you described, she would bump into them almost anywhere in Malaysia and even overseas.

My mother would then love to share her latest interests, and as you mentioned, the test for a gemstone works all the time. Water will normally run off coloured glass. I am not so sure about the relief for migraine though – the tip we know is to press firmly the fleshy area between the thumb and index finger.

My parents were not selected by parents of newborn to be godparents, within a baptism ceremony. But later on, parents of single adults in particular would affectionately ask. Kuppamah however was special in that my mother saw a need to provide a home for her, and that is exactly what happened. Kuppamah stayed with us until she left our home to train as a nurse in KL. She eventually graduated with a group of her GEGS friends. There was no doubt that she could secure a job as a registered nurse, and she went on to raise her own family - all of whom are successful in their own career paths, and she is now a grandmother herself.

It was sad and difficult for us to have to face this part of my mother’s journey in life, particularly as we are a small family. However, it was a long life filled with great accomplishments and undeniable love not only for family but also for relatives, friends, colleagues…. and her schoolgirls. In each and every growing girl, she saw an educated woman using her talents in a unique way and finding joy and happiness in life.

I thank you for your thoughts put to words, and wish you well.

Regards
Josie

p/s So Josie, would you like to join us on Facebook? ;)

Salam Aidil Fitri...

On behalf of the rest of the committee members, I would like to wish all my blog readers, my friends, especially MGS/GEGS/RPK' Old Girls; and the muslimin and muslimah all around the world, “Eid ul-Fitr” and may our ibadah during the Holy month of Ramadhan will be accepted by Him.

“Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Fitri, Maaf Zahir dan Batin”

p/s: I am here in my hometown as usual. SO for all of you out there, drive carefully.

Mrs N C Partridge (1916--2008)

When I heard the news that our Mrs N C Partridge had passed away, from my dear daughter Puteri (the students were informed about this during the school's official assembly yesterday by the Headmistress Cik Hajjah Nazipah), memories of RPK (formerly MGS/GEGS) came rushing into my mind. I am always proud to call myself an Old Girl of RPK, the school you built with pride. I always admired the way you remembered your past students including my mother, my aunties like Auntie Kay or Raja Balkish bt Raja Amir (who was a school's sprinter), Wan Pah (Saripah Fatimah bt Syed Ismail) and many more; no matter how many years have gone by.

My mother remembered meeting Mrs Partridge at Rawang railway station so many years ago. She eventually gave two tips to my mother while waiting patiently there—

1. To know whether a stone is real, drop water on top of it. If the water didn't fall, then you know that the stone is real.
   
2. If migraine occur, we can just pull or massage our toe. I am not sure whether this is true, but to those who always had migraine, maybe you can try this tips.

My mother also told me that Mrs Partridge's god-daughter Kuppamah was her classmate. Her father, Kuppamuthu was the school's first gardener. It seems that its not that difficult for Kuppamah to get a job as a physiotherapy because most of the interviewers were 'Budak Koleq' :)

It is very sad indeed to hear the news that Mrs Partridge who passed away peacefully on last Tuesday, had moulded many of our characters into useful citizens of the world wherever we are in, through her well known discipline. I am glad to note at the same time, the almighty has blessed her with a long life.

Mrs Partridge, I had never seen you. But I heard, you were the milestone of MGS/GEGS. It is big loss to our community of a great administrator and an educationist with a proven track record in our school. I would like to say my deep condolences to the beloved ones of our Headmistress.

'Lives of great woman all remind us and we must make our lives sublime and departing leave behind us foot-prints in the sands of time'. The memory of 'Mrs N C Partridge' will live in the hearts and minds of those who came under her influence, for many years to come.

* * * * *

Mrs N C Partridge will be 92 years old when she celebrates her next birthday in March, 2008. She needs the aid of a walking stick now when she walks. Soon, she will have to get a pair of special shoes since one of her legs has become slightly shorter than the other because of a fracture she had suffered after a fall. Yet, she still travels regularly to visit her daughter and her family in Australia. Her memory is much better than most people twenty years younger. She has a fantastic sense of humour and, on the telephone, she sounds like a sixteen-year old girl and actually giggles like one.

There is nothing that she wants changed in her life. Even if she were to live it all over again, she would want it exactly the same. Her marriage and her family have brought her so much happiness and fulfillment. She feels very blessed and extremely honoured that she was able to be the Headmistress of the same school for 27 years. She is very contented and very happy. Never depressed, Mrs Partridge always has a positive mind, full of enthusiasm and high spirit. She lives comfortably with the pension that she receives every month, hers and the one derived from her late husband's pension, a total of about RM1,700. There is nothing more than she needs.

Mrs Partridge diligently follows not only affairs of the nation but keeps abreast of all that is happening around the world. Until three or four years ago, she was still active in the Girl Guides and Sultan Abdul Aziz's Children Home in Kuala Kangsar, Perak, and was in constant attendance at their meetings. A few years ago she was still driving to Kuala Kangsar town from her house in Taiping Road, Kuala Kangsar a distance about five miles. Now her car, a dark green Opel Kadett 1.2S with registration number AAA7884 bought sometime in 1978 or 79, rests under the porch in front of her house in retirement like its owner.

N C Partridge — that is how she would sign her name. Her past students from the school would surely remember her trademark signature in their annual Report Cards with her customary personal 'well done' messages or advice to work harder or do better, whichever the case might be. Yet in all probability, most, if not all, of them would know what the 'N C' stands for. Indeed, the awe and respect they had for their Headmistress would not allow them to even wonder about it! To them, she was just 'Mrs Partridge'.

In fact, it was not just her full name. There was little that was actually known about her as an individual. What had become obvious then was about her as the Headmistress and how she managed the school. In fact, these two aspects of her life are actually inextricable and both have combined to make her a truly remarkable and unique individual.

**excerpts from the book Down Memory Lane with Mrs N C Partridge (Introduction) by Nuraizah Abdul Hamid.

Hari Raya Aidil Fitri & Deepavali 2008' Hi-tea

As mentioned earlier, our alumni will be organizing a casual kind of meet-up soon as follows—

Dewan Puteri, SMK Raja Perempuan Kelsom

Hari Raya Aidil Fitri & Deepavali 2008' Hi-tea;

• Date: 25 October 2008, Saturday
  
• Time: 3pm
  
• Venue: Dewan Puteri, SMKRPK
  
• Payment: RM15.00/pax
  
• Dress code: "Deeparaya"
  
• RSVP: Please email me by 7 October 2008, with informations like your full name, batch year and number of pax.

Other than Deeparaya food spread, we will also be entertained by the current student performances and some lucky draws.

I heard someone mentioning that she missed seeing the Kuale views from the "menara"? Well we can also walk around our school on that day, right up to the menara, with the help of some of the school teachers as our tour guide ;)

So now what are you waiting for? This is the time for us to meet-up with our former school friends and teachers (yes! we are inviting them as well), and together serenading the ol' memories hehee... Let other Old Girls know about this especially your mother, aunties, sisters or whoever used to be studied in MGS/GEGS/RPK. As long as you are an Old Girls, you are all welcomed. A special counter will be provided for you to register as our OGA' member.

See you all there!...

p/s don't forget to email me by 7 October 2008, to confirm your attendance and to discuss about the payment(s).

OGA’ 3rd Committee Meeting, 2008

Last Saturday, I attended our OGA 2008’ 3^rd Committee Meeting. It was held at a BOSS’ (Bilik Operasi Skim Pinjaman Buku Teks) meeting room, located at a new 3-stories building. I am glad to be one of them. It seems all of us are so in tact with each other like sisters no matter what with the age boundaries or races.

Cik Maggi told us that she visited our First Headmistress Mrs. N C Partridge, who’s also the founder of our school; at Wellcome Nursing Home, Jalan Padang Tembak/Jalan Lang in Ipoh. Although Mrs. Partridge is not that well, but she really feels want to join us with our activities and such. But Cik Maggi and a few others who saw her, advised her to take some rest instead for her own good.

We discussed about a few gatherings that we wish to have in the near future—

1. Hari Raya Aidil Fitri & Deepavali 2008’ Hi-tea
   Date: 25 October 2008 (Saturday)
   Time: 3pm
   Venue: Dewan Puteri, SMKRPK
   Payment: RM15.00/pax
   *I will write more about this in my next post.
   
   
2. MGS/GEGS/RPK OGA’ Reunion Dinner
   Opposed date: End May 2009
   Venue: Dewan Puteri, SMKRPK
   *We will start planning about this from time to time. We decided to bring forward our reunion dinner together for next year, because the school will be celebrating its 60^th anniversary then. Besides that Cik Hajjah Nazipah, the Headmistress will be retired next year too. Don’t you all think we shall expect for a kind of big celebration-cum-reunion-dinner? So make sure everyone marks the calendar ya…

We will be meeting again on 8 October 2008, to discuss more on the Hi-tea event. Also to update and report to the President on the latest outcome. We agreed to have pot luck on that day since it’s already Raya then. While non-Muslim committee members volunteered to bring drinks… hmm… shall I bake cupcakes? :)

Our Committee Members 2008/10

Seated from left: Pn Nor Fadhilah binti Zainudin (Secretary), Pn Hajjah Saripah Fatimah bt Syed Ismail (Vice President), Cik Hajjah Nazipah bt Mohd Najmi (Headmistress), Pn Hajjah Zawiyah bt Ahmed (President) and YM Tengku Zarinah bt Tengku Muhamad Yusof Shah (Treasurer).

Middle row from left: YM Raja Hajjah Halimah bt Raja Razman (Auditor), Pn Emily Kasimir, Pn Salmah Su bt Abdul Salim, me (hehee...), Pn Elizabeth Chen Foo Kean, Pn Masitah Ahmad (non-committee member) and Pn Hajjah Sariah bt Teh Hassan.

Last row from left: Pn Teh Kim Seok, Pn Rafidah bt Abdul Malek, Cik Mabel S Muttiah, Pn Hajjah Zaharah bt. Mohd Yusof and Cik Zuraidah bt Mohd Rawi.

Not in picture: Cik Maggi Leong Chiew Chin.