Lost for words

Before I say anything else, I have to admit that I DO NOT KNOW IF THIS IS TRUE.

There have been blog posts here and here about what is happening in Catholic High School.

Again, I reiterate that I do not know the truth and veracity of the assertions.

If they are true, then I am really sad that this has happened to my alma mater. For those of you who know me, I really enjoyed myself there. For those of you who know me even better, I did not enjoy it there initially. Now I look back on my time in that school with great fondness, and I sometimes wish I could do it all over again.

It's not an elite school like Raffles Institution, or Chinese High. Members of Parliament don't send their sons there. St Nick's girls don't like us (or do they? =p Don't worry if you don't get it).

While I was there, though I did not fully appreciate it at the time, it was a genuinely good school. Our teachers were dedicated and hardworking. They were also friendly and helpful, and had a great rapport with the students. I can't state that as a fact for the other batches, but I do know for us who took our "O" Levels in 2000, this was the case.

I cannot say that as students, we were hardworking and dedicated. Heheh. But I think when the time came for us to work, we did. We were all good friends too, and people were generally really friendly. It is not uncommon for me to recognise a familiar face on the streets and just wave "Hi" to someone whom I know was also in Catholic High at the time. I still keep in contact with my group of friends from there. And I still play soccer with the same bunch of people. We've been playing soccer together since 1997. That's almost 10 years already.

Heck, when I go back to the school with my friends, even the canteen operators can recognise us as former students.

Things have changed since I've graduated. Teachers have moved on, a new principal took over. When I visit the teachers who were still there, I had heard that some of them were unhappy. But if the allegations are true, I imagined they were this bad. Of the 9 teachers listed who were transferred, I can attest that at least 5 of them are really good teachers who we respected. Some of them have been at the school for a really long time, and it would be a great loss for the school so see them go.

I struggle to put into words the sadness and nostalgia that I now feel. I am somewhat lost for words. I find myself wanting to go back home, just so I can pop by and maybe just talk to the teachers who are still there how things are for them. After all, they've always asked about us when we visit.

And I realise that I'm blogging about this in my PE T-shirt.