Ex-Ursulites hold reunion after separating for 43 years
TAWAU: A group of St Ursula’s Convent Secondary School girls who went separate ways in 1974, gathered for a reunion dinner at a hotel here recently.
The reunion was initiated by Yvonne Backshall, who was the advisor and now resides in Sydney, Australia.
About six months ago, a committee was formed with Hjh Samsiah Bahrom, the headmistress of Sekolah Agama Rakyat, Brumas as the chairperson and Vera Voo, director of Tawau Open University Malaysia as the vice-chairperson.
It was rather challenging to get in touch with the batch of senior girls who called themselves ‘Burung Kakak Tua’. The committee had managed to contact 53 girls who are residing in different places such as Perth, Australia, Kuala Lumpur and Kota Kinabalu.
Two teachers, Theresa Voo and Georgina Wong, were the guests of honour for the night.
A visit to the school was arranged for the group who were welcomed by the school principal, Chu Set Mei and the school teachers. A tour was made, followed by a briefing of recent developments in the school.
A souvenir exchange and token of appreciation from the golden girls was the next agenda. The highlight of the visit was the gathering of all the present students singing the school song with the senior girls on stage while dancing joyfully. The spirit of Ursulites was seen in both the young and seniors.
Next, the senior girls went into the different classes and gave encouragement and motivation to their juniors through their life experience and achievement and wished them a bright and successful future.
The last agenda was a special lunch at Hjh Ruhaya Yunus Citarasaku Restaurant where the girls enjoyed good food and music. When the song Auld Lang Syne was sung, the girls hugged each other farewell with tears of appreciation and love.