St. Mary's School, Kuala Lumpur

Infobox Secondary school
name = St. Mary's High School
native_name = SMK St. Mary

motto = "I Serve"
established = 1912
type = Public
All-girl
Secondary
gender_label =
gender = female
affiliations =
affiliation = Ministry of Education of Malaysia
president =
chairman_label =
chairman =
principal = Miss Goh Hai Bee
asst principal =
vice principal =
campus director =
headmaster =
dean =
founder = Bishop Ferguson-Davie
head_label =
head =
faculty =
teaching_staff = 58
enrollment =
enrolment =
students = 1273 as of 2007
grades_label = Form
grades = 1-5
address = No. 7, Jalan Intan Baiduri 5D, Taman Intan Baiduri
city = Kuala Lumpur
state =
country = Malaysia
colours = yellow and blue ██
athletics =
mascot =
emblem =
yearbook = Fleur De Lys
newspaper =
National_ranking =
website = http://www.freewebs.com/stmary_kl/
footnotes =
picture =
image_caption =
picture2 =
image_caption2 =
free_label_1 = Coordinates
free_1 = coord|3|13|49|N|101|38|58|E|display=inline,title

St. Mary's School, locally known as SMK St. Mary in Malay, sometimes abbreviated as SMS, is a public all-girl secondary school located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The mission of St. Mary's is "to nuture creative thinkers, life-long learners, dynamic and God-fearing leaders", literally translated from Malay "mengamalkan pemikiran kreatif, pembelajaran sepanjang hayat, kepemimpinan dinamik dan taat kepada Tuhan"cite web | url=http://www.freewebs.com/stmary_kl/index.htm | title = St. Mary's High School official website | accessdate=2008-05-17] .

On the other hand, its vision is "St. Marians to become women of honour", literally translated from Malay "SMK St. Mary melahirkan modal insan yang mulia dan unggul".

History

;1911
* Bishop Ferguson-Davie, the first Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Singapore proposed the setting up of an English High School for girls. Miss Eveleigh was appointed the first principal.

;1912
* On 4 November, the school was reopened in a house, 18 Weld Road, with Miss Eveleigh, Miss Chitty, who was in charge of women’s work, and 3 students.

;1913
* The school moved to Ampang Road.

;1915
* Miss F.C. Pope arrived and took charge of music.

;1917
* In January, the school was recognized as St. Mary’s School for girls and St. Mary’s Church took responsibility for it.
* Miss Playne resigned and Miss Pope became the Principal.
* The school was now in two semi-detached houses, off Lake View Road. There were 22 students and 8 boarders.
* The Weld Hill Road property was bought this year for the sum of 36, 000 pounds under the name of the Bishop of Singapore and Malaya. It was a 9- acre site.
* In September, the school moved to 7 Treacher Road, into the building which is now a bungalow. There were now 54 day students and 4 boarders. The staff consisted of Miss Pope, Miss Kay, Mrs. King and Miss Alice Chen.
* Later in this year, Miss Pope resigned as Principal.

;1918
* In June, Miss Mc Neil arrived as Principal. At the end of the year, Miss Pope gave up her work in St. Mary’s and returned to England.

;1919
* The Reverend A.B. Champion opened the Boys’ Department and Boarding House.

;1922
* In November, construction began on the Weld Hill Road property and was completed the following year.

;1925
* The St. Mary’s Association was formed.

;1930
* An extension was added. Miss Majorie Pring joined the staff.

;1931
* Miss Mc Neil retired and Miss Pring became the Principal Science and Biology were introduced into the School Certificate Examination.

;1934
* Miss Sprenger became the Acting Principal during Miss Pring’s furlough.
* The school badge was introduced and the symbols are as follows:
##The Lily of St. Mary’s
##The Motto ‘I Serve’
##The Lamp of Learning
* The School uniform was adopted. ;1937
* The first issue of the school magazine was published.
* The Girl Guide Movement was introduced with the formation in August of the Second Guide (K.L) with 27 recruits.

;1938
* In March, the Boys’ Department had to be closed as there were insufficient boys to form a class.
* In October, Miss Florence Carpenter, an Arts graduate from Reading University and a S.P.G. missionary arrived to teach Scripture, English, and History in the upper classes.
* The school enrolment stood 318 students in the primary and secondary streams and 62 students in two kindergarten classes.

;1939
* The Sports House system was introduced and the original names were those of the Federated Malay States.
##Negeri Sembilan - Blue
##Pahang House - Green
##Selangor House - Red
##Perak House - Purple
* 2nd June, Miss Pring left for England on furlough and Miss Carpenter became the Acting Principal.

;1942
* With the outbreak of war in the Far East, schools in Malaya were closed. Miss Carpenter went to Singapore and later in the year was evacuated to India.
* The school building was used as a military hospital by the Japanese.

;1943
* 28 June, Miss Pring was killed in a fall in Kashmir.

;1945
* 18 October, the school was reopened with Miss Edna Yzelman as the acting Principal.

;1946
* The Kindergarten was opened with Miss Frank in charge.
* 12 February, Miss Carpenter returned to Malaya and was appointed principal of St. Mary’s.
* 6 April, the Governor of Malaya, Sir Edward Gent visited St. Mary’s.
* The School Certificate class was combined with that at Pudu English School because of shortage of staff.

;1947
* Full classes resumed when school reopened on 20th January and great progress was made under acting principal, Miss Agnes Pinnick
* The first drama “The Siege of Ping” and “Alice in the Wonderland” was presented to the public on 8th and 9th of August

;1948
* Temporary classrooms near the road were built to accommodate the increasing enrolment.
* The names of the Sports Houses were changed to that of past principals:
##Mc Neil - Blue
##Playne - Red
##Pope - Green
##Pring - Yellow

;1949
* The school enrolment reached 500.
* The school Certificate class obtained 100% pass with 10 out of 23 Grade Ones.

;1955
* The Domestic Science Room, now at the present library was constructed. Home Science was introduced to the students in Forms 1 and 2.
* 14 October, the school birthday was celebrated for the first time.

;1956
* 10 July, the Parent-Teacher Association was formed.

;1957
* 1 November, the new classrooms in the primary school were opened by Bishop Roland Koh.

;1958
* 1 January, the primary and secondary schools were separated. Mrs. Louise LaBrooy became the headmistress of the primary school.

;1959
* 15 October, the new block comprising of the Science labs and the canteen was opened by Bishop Roland Koh.
* Mrs. Fowler succeeded Mrs. LaBrooy as the headmistress of the primary school.

;1960
* 4 January, students in Form 4 were introduced to Arts and Science.

;1962
* The Golden Jubilee Year of St. Mary’s was celebrated. A special Jubilee edition of the school magazine was produced.
* Celebrations began on 18th of October.Miss Carpenter retired as principal of the school.

;1963
* Miss Diana Sellors became principal of the school.

;1969
* The new extension comprising of the Art room, Domestic Science rooms and classrooms was opened by the Minister of Education Encik Mohd Khir Johari on 4th February.

;1970
* 1 August, Miss Sellors went on leave prior to her retirement and on 14th August Mrs. Maureen Morel became the first Asian principal to be appointed to the post.

;1975
* Mrs. Rajendran took over as principal.
* Leadership Training Course and Prefects’ Installation were introduced to the students.
* In February, Religious Emphasis Week was introduced and in May, Library Week.
* In October, a full-length musical drama ’Joseph and His Technicolour Dreamcoat’ was put up for the public in conjunction of the Speech Day.

;1976
* The School Band was formed.
* The Musical Drama ‘The Boyfriend’ was staged for the public.

;1980
* Ms. Richards took over as principal of St. Mary’s.
* The full-length musical ‘Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs’ was staged.

;1986
* Extensive renovations were carried out and the school was given a new coat of paint.

;1987
* The school celebrated its 75th Anniversary.

;1991
* The musical ‘The Sound of Music’ first staged in 1979 was staged again in the school hall to the public.
* The school celebrated her 80th Birthday.
* Dato’ Stanley Isaacs became Chairman of The Board of Governors.

;1992
* The new block of two classrooms and two specialist rooms were opened.

;1995
* The last musical ‘Annie Get Your Gun’ was produced in the premises in Jalan Tengah. The patron for the show was Dato’ Endon Mohammed, past pupil of the school.
* The school land in Jalan Tengah was sold to the Lion Group and negotiations began with the Ministry of Education regarding resifting the school.

;1997
* 10 May, the model of the new school was displayed to the public on Speech Day. The guest-of-honour was Datin Seri Dr. Siti Hasmah, past pupil of the school from 1934 to 1941.
* In December, the big shift began to the new school situated on a convert|9|acre|m2|sing=on site at Taman Intan Baiduri, Selayang. The estimated cost of the building was RM33 million.

;1998
* On 5th January, school term started off with the enrolment of 410 students in 10 classes at the premises.
* 21 February, the St Mary’s School Association held a “Reunion Dinner” at the school premises in Jalan Tengah with a total of more than 800 ex-students.
* 31 March, the Anglican Diocese of West Malaysia handed the keys of the old school to the Lion Group.
* By the end of the year, all Science Laboratories, the VIP room and meeting room were fully equipped.

;1999
* On 6 March, the first fund-raising campaign was held in the new premises netting RM 50,000.
* 15 July, the PA system for the whole school was set up from the funds of Pesta Ria.
* 4 September, the row of tembusu trees was planted as a reminder of the old school

;2000
* March, the hall was equipped with motorized stage curtains and a wood paneling facade, through the generosity of the St Mary’s Association.
* In July, the new school building in Taman Intan Baiduri was officially opened by Y .A Bhg. Tun Dr. Siti Hasmah bt Haji Mohd. Ali, a former pupil and wife of the Prime Minister. Also present was Dato Endon Mohammed, a former pupil and the wife of deputy Prime Minister. The same day also saw the launching of our the school’s website:

;2001
* On 24 February, the second fund-raising campaign was closed with a jogathon
* 15 June saw the official opening of the Computer Laboratory by Datin Amar Elizabeth Moggie, wife of the Minster of Telecommunications, Multimedia and Post.
* 6 July, farewell celebrations were held for Ms E. N. Richards by the school, Parent-Teacher Association and Board of Governors. On the same day, a farewell dinner was organized by the St. Mary’s Association, held at the Grand Seasons Hotel.

;2002
* Miss Goh Kai Lian assumed her position as successor of the previous principal, Miss E.N. Richards.

;2003
* The musical ‘The Sound of Music’ first staged in 1979 and then restaged in 1991 was once again performed for the public at the Malaysian Tourism Centre (MTC) in order to raise funds for the upgrading of the school band musical instruments

;2005
* 9 April, Fun Fair was held to raise funds for the school building and the target of RM100,000 was achieved.
* 21 October, a farewell ceremony was held for the retirement of Miss Goh Kai Lian as principal. It was organized by the school , Parent-Teacher Association and the Board of Governors.

;2006
* Miss Goh Hai Bee became the new principal replacing Miss Goh Kai Lian.

School site

Curriculum

Extracurricular Activities

Sports houses

Sports day is held annually before first semester ends. This system was introduced in 1939 and four houses were established, all named after the Federated Malay States. As of 1948, they were named after St. Mary's past principals as follows:
* McNeil House or Blue House (previously Negeri Sembilan House)
* Playne House or Red House (previously Selangor House)
* Pope House or Green House (previously Pahang House)
* Pring House or Yellow House (previously Perak House or Purple House)

List of former principals

* Miss Eveleigh
* Miss Playne
* Miss F.C. Pope
* Miss McNeil
* Miss Marjorie Pring
* Miss Sprenger (acting principal)
* Miss Edna Yzelman (acting principal)
* Miss Florence Carpenter
* Mrs. Agnes Pinnick (acting principal)
* Miss Diane Sellors
* Mrs. Maureen Morel
* Mrs. Rajendran
* Miss E. N. Richards
* Miss Goh Kai Lian
* Miss Goh Hai Bee

School song

United and strong,
Sing we a glad song,
For the school and the rules,
That guide us,
Of the colors and crest,
Of our works and our rest,
Of the things that our school provide us.

For God and for school,
Afar be it known,
We stand by the badge of our school,
The yellow and blue,
Shall ever be seen,
To the fore,
In sports and pure knowledge.

Will aye seek her fame,
Yea make good her claim,
For the name and the fame,
The dearest,
So work for the whole,
And sing from the soul,
For the sake of St. Mary,
The dearest.

= Notable alumna =

* Tun Dr. Siti Hasmah binti Mohamad Ali - First Lady of Malaysia (1981–2003)
* Datin Paduka Seri Endon binti Mahmood - First Lady of Malaysia (2003-2005)
* Tan Sri Devaki Krishnan - former Kuala Lumpur municipal councilor and Wanita Malayan Indian Congress deputy president
* [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1310855/ Low Ngai Yuen] - actor, film and theater director
* Datin Sri Tiara Jacquelina Abdullah - actor

See also

* List of schools in Malaysia

References

External links

* [http://www.flickr.com/photos/klheritage/sets/72157603892244678/ Photographs of St. Mary's School on Weld Hill Road prior to demolition]