Reported by:
Sophia Ng Szu Fei Sr2ScB
On 30th January 2020, students finally had a chance to return to school to collect their textbooks whilst the soaring positive Covid-19 cases. During the previous week, the class teacher had briefed each student about the procedures and things to be taken note of. Students are obliged to arrive in formal attires like the PE shirt and a long pant. The school had also prepared a legal document to facilitate their journey such as the “Surat Permohonan”. There were two slots for each level of Classes. The information is provided as the picture below.
The long trail of cars driving into the carpark was my first impression when I arrived at the guard house. Parents were helping their children to carry the heavy load of books in either their luggage or recycle bags. The daunting number of textbooks had terrified me as I had only brought a reusable recycled bag.
Ah, Kuen Cheng. I finally saw a teacher who directed me to the Block A’s lobby where our beloved Ms. Kang Ruey Chyi informed us to scan the My Sejahtera QR code. My mind was occupied with the unrealistic scene of stepping on the white tiles again. Mr Tan Yong Chin was sitting on a plastic chair as he greeted us with a cheerful smile despite his long working hours.
This was Kuen Cheng. Students walking side by side and teachers walking at the hallway. I bowed at the teachers as I checked my phone for my corresponding class. The walk was so familiar yet vague. The long-lost touch with the stairs had reminded me of climbing the steep stairs to my class every morning. “I miss school so much and so dearly,” I craved physical contact with my friends, not computer screens showing half of their faces.
I had finally summited to the third floor to collect my books. Each class contained textbooks for two forms. I gasped, it was my class teacher. There were three teachers in my class. I told them my name and went to collect the new polished books by the tables. “It must be a different experience in physical class,” Seeing my class teacher had made my day as we came up with a topic naturally.
The first and second floor was crowded with Senior 2 students and teachers. I was strictly following the crowd to collect my books. The thick stack of papers shocked me when I paid a total RM56 for a whole year worth of exercises to my Teacher Law. Seeing my former classmates who came with their friends, I felt hollowed. Excluding physical contact from my life left me not in sync with school life. I groomed my own thoughts about the “normal” life when I had not long contacted my dearest friends.
“A finale to your forged world,” My mum said to me. My comfort bubble is twisting the reality of life, and I was still unaware of it.
Descending to the first floor, I met most of my long-lost friends as I laughed in awkwardness. “You changed,” “Precisely how?” I thought. Nonetheless, the long queue left my jaws hanging. We had to queue along the walls of Block C to turn in our homework. Of course, the teachers were tired as they had been working since morning. I was truly grateful for their hard work and dedication to arrange such a systematic scheme for us to return to school. Furthermore, students had also followed the SOP even though they were squealing in excitement to meet their friends.
It was finally my turn. The teacher had restricted the number of students in the Biology Lab and a senior student was present to help out too. Being utterly confused, the teacher quickly ushered us to our respective place to stack our homework. The process was quick which left me baffled by the simplicity of the whole chaotic experience.
“Hey, you’re fast,” my mum laughed out. She was in the midst of a game when I returned about a quarter left to three.
“They flash upon that inward eye, which is the bliss of solitude,” WIlliam Worsdworth wrote. Social media was my life as I made friends across the country. As part of Kuen Cheng High School, the school had always bombarded my train of thought. The school body had concocted a safe haven for us to learn virtually and their product was beyond the scale. For instance, strict rules to be adhered to prevent us from skipping classes. The success of this event was also another landmark of Kuen Cheng High School’s legacy since 1908. I am beyond grateful for the responsible school’s teachers and hope to return to school as soon as possible once the Covid-19 situation has flattened in our country.
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