Souvenir Book to commemorate 100 Years

 

While there are Convent schools established in various districts in Johor like in Muar, Kluang and Batu Pahat, there is just one Convent school in Johor Bahru.

 

Cover design of the 100-Year Anniversary
Souvenir Book to commemorate 100 years
of the IJ Convent Johor Bahru (1925 - 2025)

My mother, aunts, cousins, sisters and I are among the alumni from the Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus, an all-girls school in Johor Bahru that had its humble beginnings some 100 years ago, opened in two shop units at Jalan Ibrahim.

 

When I look back at the many events and achievements that I had the privilege of covering about the school (while I was writing for the newspapers!) I feel a sense of pride because I am also a product of this renowned institute of education in Johor.

 

With such an affinity with the school, I decided to include my own story on the Johor Bahru Convent into the contents of, My Johor Stories 3: Proudly Johor, Then and Now, the third and final instalment that completed the trilogy of My Johor Stories.

 

Following the success of my 2017 MPH Non-Fiction Bestseller, My Johor Stories: True Tales, Real People, Rich Heritage and its sequel, My Johor Stories 2: Interesting Places and Inspirational People in 2018, work on this third book started in 2019. However, its publication was delayed by the global pandemic and long lockdown periods.

 

So it was early in 2022 – when it was safe to meet-in-person again – that I arranged to meet with Mrs A Oliveiro, President of the Convent Association of Past Pupils (CAPP) to verify some facts about the school for my story. Mrs O, as she is fondly called, was not only a past pupil but also an active sportswoman, former coach, Sports Secretary and former teacher who still holds the school close to her heart.

 

For the meet-up, she invited Elizabeth Louis, Chair of the SK Infant Jesus Convent, Primary School Board of Governors, along with Yvonne Loh, a member of the Secondary School’s Board of Governors, to join us in a very interesting and beneficial time together.

 

While the input from Mr O helped to confirm the facts about the school, particularly in its early years, I also learnt about the desperate needs of the school building which had fallen into a sad state of disrepair due to the lockdown years.

 

Our visit to the school the very next morning, gave us a clearer view of the maintenance needs for the old buildings. It not only required a thorough deep-cleaning for health and safety reasons but also for the comfortable use of students and teachers who would very soon, return to the school for normal school hours. 

 

It was rainy morning, so we saw the damage caused by leaking and a very real need for funds to carry out major maintenance projects. After witnessing this, I did not hesitate to share a call for fund donations to meet this serious need in the school.

 

Fast-forward to 2024 when there was talk about the Centennial Celebrations in 2025 as our alma mater will commemorate 100 years since its founding (1925 to 2025).

 

Among the ideas proposed for the year-long celebration were a fund-raising dinner, a Convent Fun Run, Centenary Celebration T-Shirts with design versions for students as well as for adults/alumni and the publication of a 100-Year Anniversary Souvenir Book.

 

Meanwhile a Fund-Raising Committee and a Sub-Committee for Strategy and Public Relations were established to discuss and put into action, the plans and ideas for the school celebrations where all proceeds will be channelled to the school fund for maintenance projects.

 

I was invited by Sunita S Sothi, a member of the Primary School’s Board of Governors, to participate in online meetings with these committees where I learnt more about the proposed plans and where I may be able to contribute towards this effort. 

 

Sunita assured me that she had already assembled a team made up of alumni from various school years, who were ready to work together in our Book Team – where I would take the lead – to produce the 100-Year Anniversary Souvenir Book.

 

A section of the Book Team when we
met to review the manuscript

While I approached this book project with much trepidation, I saw the dire need because time was rapidly passing and if the book should be ready for the dinner celebration in August, we had to start on this project, immediately.

 

So this small but dynamic team that comprised Sunita S Sothi, Lucy Leong, Rebecca Wong Poh Kum, Sara Jane Jayamana and myself, met regularly for online meetings to share the tasks and job updates, arranged on Monday nights.

 

As we discussed and agreed on the Table of Contents, we decided that a Souvenir Book to commemorate the school’s 100-Year Anniversary, will be created in an affordable and quality, handy-to-hold-for-reading type of book, and not what is commonly called a coffee-table book.

 

Sara Jane carefully reading a piece of
the manuscript...

We agreed that our Souvenir Book will be a ‘Limited Edition’ book that alumni can identify with its contents and will be keen to read from cover to cover. They will be so proud to own it as a precious collectible and pleased to present to others as a premium gift and souvenir.

 

Aware of the high costs in printing and book binding, we aimed to produce a quality document filled with brief information about the school and its achievements while the bulk of its contents will comprise personal contributions from alumni who will share how their school experiences had impacted their lives.

 

We were determined to keep production costs low so that the sale of this book at an affordable price, may be able to raise more funds for the school.

 

Due to the desperately limited time and to keep costs down, we decided to produce a Souvenir Book that will celebrate the school’s work over the decades through the successes and achievements of the alumni.

 

Lucy Leong scrutinizing the
manuscript line-by-line...

So the contents of this Book will include true stories from real people who will share their unique experiences in the school, with their teachers and friends, rich encounters that will inadvertently reflect the quality of education and discipline by the school and staff, the values and life lessons that have shaped and inspired students to become who they are now.

 

Through the channel of social media, the alumni were informed about this book project and cordially invited to submit their contributions and photographs. Due to time constraints, they were given a strict deadline for submissions.

 

The pressure was real because we had no control over who and when the alumni will submit anything print-worthy. It would be ideal if we managed to collect contributions from every decade in the past 100 years but the reality is, it is virtually impossible for us to document every significant milestone of achievement in the school or get contributions from alumni who had left the school so long ago.

 

Rebecca Wong taking her time to read
through her portion of the manuscript

Not solely depending on social media, the Book Team worked hard to reach out to alumni far and wide, through their own contact groups and through friends-of-friends and other schoolmates, both locally and abroad, to share the excitement and invite contributions.

 

It took a while but the contributions started pouring in, not in a flood but in small trickles, one-by-one, which allowed us to review and consider how their stories and photos may be most effectively and appropriately documented in this Book. After reviewing and editing each piece for clarity, these precious contributions were added to various segments in the Book.

 

I must admit that it was challenging to deal with late submissions that arrived long after the given deadline but by showing grace, we managed to accommodate almost all who wished to share their stories and photos in this special publication.

 

Listed in chronological order, Voices of IJ Convent Johor Bahru, is a collection of alumni reflections of their experiences in school. As the title of this segment describes, readers will be able to identify with the various scenarios in these personal anecdotes as they “hear” the “voices” of the contributors.

 

Mrs A Y Lim [Left] and Mrs O
 with the mock-up Souvenir Books

Then we learnt that when former classmates started talking about their school experiences, it opened a floodgate of memories as each one had something interesting of their own to share. Suddenly, we received a deluge of contributions.

 

Some were just one-liners and phrases while others were brief accounts. Not willing to let these recollections go to waste, we created two separate segments dubbed, Snippets and an Appendix for Convent School Jargon.

 

Snippets, are just what the word means – a small piece or brief extract of a longer story – about school experiences. Just reading them simply triggered off our own memories of such exciting events, people and adventures in the school.

 

As for Convent School Jargon, we received so many memorable and unique words and familiar phrases used – both by teachers and students – during schooldays that they had to be listed in an Appendix, in alphabetical order, as a fun and amusing memento of a bygone era.

 

Our Souvenir Book documents
 the school's history since 1925

Of the many themes we identified from the contributions, one prevailing theme was about experiences with teachers. So an entire segment dedicated to, Teachers who shaped us, is made up of contributions from alumni along with interesting pieces by girls whose mothers were teachers, principals or senior assistants.

 

The Book Team also focussed on tracking down alumni who are contributing to the community in big and small ways who would be counted among the Luminaries of IJ Convent Johor Bahru, while alumni who have left our shores and settled abroad, making lives better and contributing to the communities they now call home, will be listed under, Global Footprints.

 

The Team worked in tandem to carry out research on various alumni who were doing great things not just locally but abroad, seeking out relevant information as well as good photographs, and also applying for the International Standard Book Number (ISBN) – and getting it approved – for this Book.

 

Our Souvenir Book also has a
Photo Gallery of precious photos

It was interesting that we were able to discover through word-of-mouth and social media, so many interesting and amazing alumni, both here and abroad, whose achievements are a reflection of how their education at IJ Convent Johor Bahru had shaped them.

 

With such a tight work schedule, it was virtually impossible to do more in such a short space of time. Surely there are more alumni who are doing great things so the personalities we have managed to document in this Book, is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.

 

As the contributions were being received, reviewed and approved, it was my task to stitch it all together into a manuscript for the 100-Year Anniversary Souvenir Book.

 

Focussed on the need to keep strictly to our work schedule, this hardworking Team pulled everything together on time for us to finally meet-up physically, to review the manuscript together.

 

Presenting the mock-up book to the two
former teachers, Mrs O and Mrs A Y Lim
while Sunita S Sothi checks out a copy of
the mock-up version of our Souvenir Book

It was also a time to discuss and agree on the book’s cover design, one that will stand out at a special Souvenir Book and which reflects the simplicity and proud identity of the 100-year-old IJ Convent School in Johor Bahru.

 

After we have reviewed and tidied up the manuscript, a mock-up version of the book was made to present to the two former teachers, Mrs O and Mrs AY Lim, who represent the Convent Association of Past Pupils (CAPP), for their review and comments.

 

When we met with the two teachers, it was encouraging to observe their response to the mock-up book and their appreciation of the work that had gone into compiling it in such a short space of time. With their decisive approval, the manuscript has gone to print with the delivery scheduled ahead of the Convent Fun Run on August 23.

 

Our 100-Year Anniversary Souvenir Book
for sale to raise funds for the school's 
maintenance projects

Meanwhile preorders were steadily received through social media with convenient online payments into the CAPP account and the option to self-collect their Books.

 

Working closely with the printer to coordinate the production of our Books, the countdown started as we eagerly anticipated the delivery of our stock of Books. And with the printer’s kind cooperation, we managed to keep to the strict deadline and have safely taken receipt of our order today!

 

So ladies (and gentlemen), the Book Team has great pleasure to present to you, our 100-Year Anniversary Souvenir Book, a Limited Edition publication, to commemorate a very special milestone in our school’s history in Johor Bahru.

 

Important Note:

Be among the first to get your copy of this Souvenir Book available for sale at only RM150 per book from a pop-up store in the school during the Convent Fun Run event planned for the morning of Saturday, August 23, 2025.

 

Pre-order and payment for books can be made via a Google Form posted on Facebook and books may be collected at the Fun Run event or the fund-raising celebration dinner on Saturday, August 30, 2025.

 

Every effort is being made to ensure that the alumni get their own copies of this Souvenir Book. So don’t hesitate to discuss about deliveries to addresses in Malaysia and Singapore. Just send email to: write2jbconvent@gmail.com