I enjoyed my kindergarten years both in Kien Koh & St Anne’s. Most of my friends from St. Anne’s joined me in Standard One at Assunta Primary. The only memory I have of Standard One was not really pleasant. My class teacher Ms Veni was somewhat like Freddy Krugger to me. The only difference is she went about class with a very long cane. If any of us did anything as much as to make her twitch, it’ll be hell let loose !!!
Although I didn’t have trouble going to school daily, I looked forward to weekends and holidays. So, when it was curfew time, I was the first to celebrate. I picked up reading and writing only after a few semesters but I caught up. The medium of instruction for all subjects at school was English and that did not pose a problem for me as the medium of instruction as home was English. (My mum’s an English Teacher ma…). I picked up the accent when I was in standard three. We were encouraged to speak the Queen’s English and our English teacher would always remind us to listen to the newsreader in English. We were barred from reading comic books or watching cartoons.
I remember a friend in my class who was born without both arms. I didn’t feel so sorry for her as much as I marveled and admired her for her confidence, determination and courage. She stayed on amongst all the other normal children and braved being teased and scorned. She could write and draw with her toes and I can remember her till today. Wherever she is, I wish her every success. Can’t recall her name tho’..
Standard Two was a happier experience and a year of flying color achievement for me. Our class teacher was Sister Theresa. I loved her. I caught up on my reading and became an ardent one at it. I started my collection of paperbacks with Enid Blytton. Between you and me, I still read these books when I have trouble sleeping!!! I started wearing prescription glasses from this year. My interest was focused on languages and art. I enjoyed writing essays and reading poetry. I hated math, physics and chemistry. Didn’t mind Biology..(very inquisitive about reproduction !) For my final exams, I actually came out number 3 in class. Amazing !! I was placed in Standard 3L the following year amidst the whiz kids and intelligent breeds. The same friends I had in the last year somehow decided to change their total outlook and attitude when they were placed in Standard 3L. Our class teacher was Mrs. Foo. Let me describe her…she is a tall lanky female Frankenstein who spoke in monotones and an extreme perfectionist; prim and proper goody-goody nerd. The only thing that interests me about her is her impeccable English and the fact that everyone was drooling to imitate her accent.
My third year of primary school was rigid and regimented. The saddest moment in my third year of primary school was when our classmate Agnes Xavier passed away. I can still remember her. She would have been the beauty with brains and a brilliant scholar. May her soul rest in peace.. I was actually emotionally trodden by this incident. I went for her funeral service at the St. Xavier’s Church. My first and last. May her soul rest in peace..
Toward the end of the year, my achievement after this was average and I was moved to a lower grade class in year 4. I can’t say that anything specific or significant happened. I was active in arts and stage play only in year 5 to 6. I represented the school for badminton and athletics and almost did the same for swimming. I wrote a stage play and directed it for the school’s concert day. This was when I started singing publicly and my talents in acting and writing was actually discovered or rather displayed openly.
Best friends were a privilege to be selected in my time. Believe it or not, mine began with her as a number one enemy. We actually had a schedule for when we wanted to be friends and when we wanted not to be. I began noticing her when she started coming on to me with remarks like, “hey you, why do you always use bombastic words when you talk?” Next she would say, “hey you, why do you like to boast?” I will start to derail her with my defense and then we will start to bicker. Then she will say, “hey, tomorrow we can be friends huh? Today we are not!” Believe me, I still meet ‘Pet’ and we have a good laugh when we reminisce on this. Anyway, as we grew older we stayed the best of friends. Nina was the other soul mate and she is still my close confidante. Both of us have a notorious reputation; both in school and out of school. Nothing criminal but real mischievous…everything from tugging skirts, sneaking out of class, eating in class, climbing trees, clowning around and teasing the other girls and sometimes even the teachers! Our mothers had a tough time with us indeed !
One apparent event during my primary years was the fact that I was drawn to Mandarin Classes as oppose to going for Religious Classes J I actually sneaked into Mandarin Classes or Scripture Class to skip Islamic Religious Class. When I was caught, I dragged myself to join them and gave my Ustazah a real hard time. I reckon it was because I was also having Arabic, Fardu Ain and Quran reading sessions at home already. I have to somehow give credit to my Ustazah anyway for her persistence and patience with me during those times. At the end of the sixth year, I was actually the Ustazah’s favorite student !
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