The St Joseph’s Primary School basketball team who were First Division Inter-School champions in 1973. Almost all team players will meet again tonight after more than 40 years.
There were others who excelled in running, hurdling, jumping and throwing as members of the legendary St Joseph’s athletics team which achieved an unrivalled winning streak in local sports history. They were divisional inter-school champions from 1962 to 1990.
KUCHING: Over 110 alumni of the ‘Class of 1978’ from St Joseph’s School, Kuching will gather for a reunion dinner at the Waterfront Hotel, Plaza Merdeka here tonight.
They come from all walks of life and have converged in the city from all corners of Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, Australia, England and the United States.
The homecoming is the culmination of 12 months of planning by a small core group here. They took to social media to reach out to ex-classmates and schoolmates especially those who have dispersed to other parts of the world.
A date was suggested – Saturday, 25 June 2016 – and the number who confirmed they could attend grew gradually but surely … 30 … 50 … 80 … to 116.
The bond among them was forged so many years ago.
They made history as the last batch to sit for the Sarawak Junior Certificate Exam in 1976, the Senior Cambridge in 1978 and the Higher School Certificate in 1980.
Many remarked that it seemed like, as an iconic contemporary song went, ‘only yesterday’ that they studied and played together as Dayaks, Malays, Chinese, Indians, Eurasians, Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus and others. They have also successfully contacted over 10 of their ex-teachers who will be joining them for the reunion.
Tonight they will pay a special tribute to Brothers Columba, Adrian, Mark and Hyacinth who helmed the school all those years ago.
Apart from teaching subjects like English and Bible Studies, the four La Salle Brothers – who passed away in Ireland only in the past two years – imparted to their charges a legacy that celebrates racial and religious harmony, good character and all-round excellence.
For it was outside the classroom that those boys learned compelling lessons about leadership, fellowship, teamwork and other social skills as prefects, monitors, scouts, red cross and police cadets, and members of the interact, literary, drama, debate, musical and other clubs.
And last but certainly not least, vivid and memorable experiences from indulging in rugby, hockey, football, badminton, table tennis, basketball, athletics and swimming instilled in them enduring qualities such as integrity, hard work, discipline and esprit de corps.