GIS Alumni Gathering in KL – 10th January 2015
The GIS Alumni Gathering in KL was held on a sunny Saturday evening at the newly renovated lobby of Garden International School, Bukit Kiara campus.
The event attracted alumni from the 70s, 80s, 90s and 2000s, and some ex-staff as well as some of the current longer serving staff! It was a relaxed and informal gathering with lots of people catching up, exchanging stories and news about each other’s lives.
The evening started with a welcome speech by our Principal, Mr. Walker, sharing the vision of the school, the recent developments and how the alumni is a very big part of the history and the tradition of the school. He also took the opportunity to encourage the alumni to return and support the current students by sharing their experiences.
The microphone was then passed on to various staff members and alumni to share their thoughts and memories about GIS. Ms. Yap recalled being in the Crest House many years ago, when Mr. Mah would feed the tug-of-war team with bananas (them being yellow) and that would give them the energy to win the game! Mrs. Lopez remembered teaching with chalk on a blackboard and compared it to teaching with an iPad and Smartboard these days. Theresa Manavalan, from the Class of 1978 reminisced about making their own Union Jack flag so that the students could wave at Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II as she drove past their old campus in Jalan Bukit Bintang! Kavita Raj and Jennifer Teo, both from the Class of 1985 said they would never forget how dreadful it was everyday; having to don the yellow dress with bloomers which used to be the uniform, at this point, Theresa added that in Secondary, they had a neon green dress as theirs! All these stories garnered great cheers and laughter from the crowd.
The evening continued with some refreshments and the long-awaited school tour led by Mr. Walker. What was supposed to be a 9-minute tour, quickly became a 30-minute tour with excited alumni in tow. There were lots of ooohs and ahhhhs, expressions of disbelief at how much the school has changed over the years. Most of all the renovations and improvements impressed the alumni as they could see how far GIS has come since its early days.
The evening concluded with a lucky draw where the winners walked away with a bottle of red wine each. The winners were Mr. Bernie Lee from Class of 1981, Timothy Chew from Class of 2004 and a current staff member, Ms. Karen Lim. Congratulations to all!
Click here for the photos of the gathering.
Next up is the gathering in London, which will be happening on 23rd January 2015. If you are located in or around London, please do join us at the gathering for an evening of fun and laughter, while reminiscing over your GIS school days.