Re-union of the Class of 1993: A night of Reconnectng, Reminiscing and Reinforcing
By Edward Lim (林志谦)
Edward graduated from HIHS in 1991 and is currently serving as a committee member in HIOSA.
It was an unexpected and sudden event for the class of 1993 alumni: one person strongly felt the need for a joyous gathering and thus, suggested a reunion; a few others concurred and a series of meticulous preparation followed towards the night - 6 Aug 2015 in HIHS.
The attendance was impressive as scores of alumni from class 5A, B and C of 1993 turned up at their alma mater again after 22 years. The Whatsapp chat group grew as more ex-students found out about the event. Many expressed their interest and excitement to meet up with the individuals they had spent a good 5-year of their adolescence with.
It doesn't matter if they have had any arguments, fights or disagreements before; they decided to show their faces, to rekindle old ties, for old times' sake.
What is a class gathering without teachers?
The organizing committee had decided to invite a few teachers who had taught them before to join in. The outcome was better than what they had wished for - 2 ex-principals – Mr Lee Tho Nee and Mrs Mary Bay – accepted their invitation. To add icing to the cake, the current HIHS principal – Mr Yap Wai Meng - supported the idea for the reunion to be held in the school compound.
On 6th Aug at 3pm, the organizing committee started arriving in HIHS to prepare for the event. Reunion banner, flowers, presentation slides and a sumptuous buffet dinner were being arranged.
To make the event more meaningful, each teacher and principal were to be presented a card, laid on the table. Each student was invited to pen down their greetings in each and every card to express their appreciation to the teachers who imparted their knowledge, values, showered their love and care on them.
The night arrived with string of people stepping back on this familiar ground they once stood on. For many, the last time they were here was 22 years ago.
Emotions ran high as they shook hands with familiar faces, some forgotten names whom they quickly saw on their name tags as they shyly smiled away. The music in the background could hardly be heard as laughter was filling in the air.
And when the principals and teachers arrived, they were quickly surrounded by warm greetings and good wishes. Many touching moments between individuals were simply beyond words.
The night program inched up every minute with the emotional sharing by the 3 principals and the crowd was well-entertained by 3 solo songs sung by Mr. Ong Bok Lim (王木龙老师). His usual heart-felt speeches brought cheers and screams among the students and his fellow ex-colleagues reliving some sweet memories of yesteryears.
It was a heartwarming event as everyone indulged in taking group photos and wefies. It seemed that those long-lost moments were found once again!
Everyone had a wonderful reunion. Two ex-principals and nine ex-teachers of HIHS (all retired) with over 60 participants spoke volume for this resounding successful reunion.
The group made a special effort to sing the HIHS School Song with pomp and pride. It was as if everyone had taken the time machine back to the morning flag raising ceremony of 1993.
The teachers expressed their joy seeing those they nurtured two decades ago. The appreciation cards, instant printed group photos and souvenir presented to them were held dearly as they departed.
As for the batch 93, they were determined to make this the beginning of a long journey ahead.
Some of the photo for the events are shown below:
For more photos of the event, CLICK HERE.
