Honouring Principals and Teachers by Savitri de Alwis

 Courtesy

https://island.lk/honouring-sacred-heart-principals-and-teachers/



Honouring Sacred Heart Principals and teachers

Published

 1 year ago 

on

 2025/06/1
Heartians smile!

(Speech delivered by Savitri de Alwis, Past President of the Golden Heartians’ Club, at a recent ceremony to felicitate the former Principals and teachers of Sacred Heart Convent, Galle.)

Rev. Sr. Sandya Fernando Principal Sacred Heart Convent and Sr. Mihiri Perera, Deputy Principal, Chief Guest, Izzeth Jabeer, Guests of Honour – Dharma Gamanpila, Ratna Wimalasena and Kamani Gunawardene, distinguished guests and fellow Heartians.

What a privilege to see you all as we celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Golden Heartians’ Club by the past pupils of that very noble school Sacred Heart Convent. This occasion is also specially convened to celebrate the lives of Sr. Adrian and Sr. Rosina our beloved Mentors and Principals on our tenth anniversary celebrations and I’ve been given the opportunity to speak on behalf of all Heartians

it is remarkable to think that some of us here went to school in the last century, the 20th century! And I was a school girl in the 1960s and that decade was just unforgettable. Galle was considered a sleepy town unlike the buzzing city it is now

Creating memories

Sr. Adrian was our beloved Principal. I remember her as a young, beautiful, bespectacled, Irish nun with delicate features. And everyone loved her and we were inspired to be the best under her guidance. She was a good disciplinarian, kind but firm. And She was also ubiquitous, meaning she was everywhere at any one time. You look here she’s standing quietly and watching us in a white crisp habit and you look over there and she’s there observing everything the girls were up to. She knew our strengths and weaknesses and her uncanny ability to remember each of our names. Such was her engagement with the students. We respected her and revered her.

Back in the days in 1960s when we had about may be 500 students, there was no protocol and anyone could meet Sr. Adrian by passing any hierarchy which there was none. We had a lot of lovely girls from Dutch heritage, the burghers and they were a lovely set of girls who spoke English like they owned it. And like wise we had a lot of affluent Muslim girls from the Fort and the surrounds coming in their posh cars and enclosed decorative buggy carts to school.

Wholeheartedly supporting for the school

Ferial,Bernie and Kerima

Thankfully there were no Dutch burghers for competition in my class. I always strived to win the English prize, by virtue of which my melancholy friend in class who always had problems wanted to unburden these to Sr. Adrian. But my friend with her troubles couldn’t converse in English and so she asked me for the favour to translate. I was delighted as I saw it as a pocket money opportunity! In those days pocket money was really hard, we were 4 siblings all at SHC and my father was a Government Servant and money was tight. So we had to invent ways to earn our pocket money as we were glutenous for the delicious Alerics popsicles sold at the school tuck shop for 10 cents.

Imagine Alerics popsicles coming all the way from Colombo and in those days, there was no Southern expressway. Again, the thoughtfulness of Sr. Adrian to give us the best. I gathered Dutch courage (without the intoxication of course) and walked to Sr.Adrian’s office downstairs to the long room next to her office with my melancholy friend tagging along. We stood silently with hearts pounding and Sr. Adrian stood surveying us close and I began with my smattering of English to tell Sr.Adrian my friend’s problems., I am sure I made it up as I went along. Fortunately, my melancholy friend didn’t understand what I was saying. I am sure Sr Adrian was bemused and hid her chuckles under her straight face and having given us a patient hearing she told us rather sternly ‘now go back to class’. That was the end of that ordeal and I did earn my pocket money of 10 cents for that delicious Alerics popsicle and I am sure my friend was happy unburdening herself through me or, so she thought!

So in that once in a lifetime incredible school journey, We learned of books and learned of men and how to play the game. We were taught and prepared to face the challenges of the outside world by the values that were instilled in us by example of these unforgettable and humble nuns. And as we blossomed from tiny buds and uncut diamonds, Sr. Adrian gave us a polished Rose cut!

Today, although SHC is a Government School , under the leadership of the dynamic Principal Sr.Sandya Fernando, they are doing a phenomenal job. The benchmark has been set at a high bar. And I ask you as we celebrate the lives of our beloved Principals Sr. Adrian and Sr. Rosina today, do think how and what we can give back to the school for the solid foundations they built in us for who we are today.

 




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sacred Heart Convent Galle History, Highlights of the European Sisters Era

Image
Sacred Heart Convent Galle History, Highlights of the European Sisters Era Get link Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Other Apps January 30, 2023 Sacred Heart Convent Galle History, Highlights of  the European Sisters Era (Sisters of Charity of Jesus & Mary) The Background In Nov. 1895, the Rt. Rev. Dr. Joseph Van Reeth S. J. from Belgium arrived in Galle to take up duties as the Roman Catholic Bishop of Galle with 3 other Fathers & 1 Brother, who was a Jesuit Architect/Builder. One of his first endeavours was to set up a School & in due course it became St. Aloysius College , Galle. Bishop Van Reeth's sister, Rev. Mother Mary Bernadette, was, at this time, the Mother Superior of the  St. Joseph's Hospital for women, run by the Sisters of Charity of Jesus & Mary (SCJM), in Ghent, Belgium. (Many years later she herself was elected Superior General of the SCJM.) At the same time, R...
Read more

Report of the Beginning of the Mission in Ceylon of the Sisters of Charity of Jesus & Mary

Image
  This report  prepared by  Kaat Leeman,  Coördinator Erfgoedhuis | Zusters van Liefde J.M. years ago  &  kindly made available to the Compiler of the blog on Sacred Heart Convent.  THE BEGINNING OF THE MISSION OF THE SISTERS OF CHARITY OF JESUS AND MARY IN CEYLON, 1896. By Kaat Leeman    European Domination and the Christianization of Ceylon, 1501-1796. In order to tell the history of the mission of the SCJM in Sri Lanka, we should start with the return of the Jesuits to the Island in 1895. Indeed, we speak rather of a "return" of the Jesuits to Ceylon, since they had played an important role in the evangelizing of the Island during the Portuguese period. The Portuguese landed in Cey­lon in 1505, search­ing for the rich eas­tern mar­kets. They mostly engaged in the trade of precious stones and spices. Cath­olic missionaries fol­lowed in their wake. The first Franciscan Friars landed in Ceylon in 1543; they encoun­ter­ed little oppo...
Read more