Shosa gears up for reunion
SIBU: Sacred Heart School Old Students’ Association ( Shosa) has shifted into high gear as it prepares for next year’s annual reunion scheduled for Apr 6 at Kingwood Hotel here.
Yong King Sung, president of Shosa, called on Sacred Heart ‘ pack leaders’ to start reaching out to their former classmates as there are only 120 tables, with 80 tables allocated for the old boys, while 40 tables are reserved for the St Elizabeth’s alumnus.
He said the pack leaders are a group of some 100 former students who lead the various class years spanning seven decades from the 50’s to the 2010’s.
The most senior being the Class of 1956 headed by Michael Chong, with the youngest in the group being the Class of 2015.
In this connection, Yong hoped that more former students who have yet to attend any of the reunions to step forth and start their own class grouping to become part of the extended Sacred Heart alumni family.
“Start small and just gather a group of 10 from your year, using Form 5 as the indicative year for your grouping,” he advised. Then build up that group and touch base with the rest of the Shosa team.
“There are so many of us in Shosa, and it’s a good platform to network especially for the younger generation. Shosa is open to everyone who has attended at least one academic year in Sacred Heart School including the English and Chinese primary schools,” he said during Shosa meeting here on Saturday afternoon.
Membership forms would be made available during the reunion to former students wishing to be a part of this dynamic organisation whose roots are intertwined with the Mill Hill and La Salle brothers’ tradition, Yong said.
“Sacred Heart to many of us, was more than just a school where we received an excellent education. It was to us, a second home. One that we grew up in and learnt, other than ABCs and 123s, how to face life,” the president said.
Even after graduating and later working and starting families of their own, it was a well-known fact that many of the former students continue to honour their alma mater by supporting and assisting in whatever ways and means they could.
Yong hoped that the younger generation of students would follow suit and take up the mantle as vanguards for the school when the current ageing generation were no longer around.
“I can promise you one thing. If you had studied in Sacred Heart, then you will find within yourself, the Mill Hill - La Salle spirit which will stay with you.
“It is something that you may not feel now, especially in your younger years, but as you grow older, you will realise just how much the school has shaped you. Hopefully then, you will return and contribute to the school so that generations after you, may benefit from the school which has benefitted you,” he said.
Yong further added that Sacred Heart will be 117 years old in 2019 and preparations should also be afoot soon in anticipation of the school’s 120th anniversary in 2022.
Sacred Heart began in 1902 as a ramshackle hut by the river set up by Father Hopfgartner, a Mill Hill priest.
The La Salle brothers took over in the mid 1950’s and gave rise to legendary principals such as Brother Adrian and Brother Albinus who were deeply loved and respected by students and the town’s folks. To this day, the school remains a beacon of education, discipline and sportsmanship for many.