“We all smile in the same language”
On Saturday, 25 November 2023, SGS held its annual dinner at WAFA Hotel, Annajat. International Night theme was chosen this year promising a colourful and fun event for the night!
A big shoutout to all the teachers and staff for making the extra effort to dress up in accordance to the International Night theme. Some of the outstanding costumes included sarees, batik, red Indian, cowgirl, hanbok, kimono and indigenous outfits from the Murut and Dusun tribes.
The Annual Dinner’s programme was packed with lots of exciting performances. It started with a welcoming dance by the Staff Welfare Committee who jived to a medley of the Filipino song ‘Awatin mo, isasayaw ko’, a Bollywood song ‘Cho Gada’, Mandarin song ‘Insomnia Night’ and a Malay song ‘Intan Payung’.
Also in attendance were the Chairman of the Board of Governors, Mr. Anthony Liew and spouse and member of the board, Mr. Charles Shim and spouse. The event began with the recital of Surah Al-Fatihah by Ustaz Mohidin, followed by the opening remarks by the school principal, Mr Janidi Jingan.
In his speech, the principal highlighted a few possible challenges for the coming year ahead in regards to the integration of Ugama School Curriculum that requires the addition of 10 periods per week to the normal timetable of the classes affected. He also mentioned that everyone must work harder to face the challenges ahead. The principal also touched on the growth of student enrolment and initiatives taken by the school to attract more students to enroll with SGS which includes distributing flyers to daycare centres and foreign embassies.
The principal also acknowledged the various achievements made by our students both in academics and co-curricular activities. He also mentioned the numerous, invaluable workshops and sharing sessions organized by the school to support the holistic growth of SGS teachers. The principal ended his speech on a farewell note to Teacher Rosemary Chong who has been working with SGS for the past 24 years and wished her well for her retirement.
In his speech, Mr Janidi Jingan said, “I believe that to build a kind, fun and caring school, we need a foundation of happy employees, and this should be inculcated as part of SGS’s culture,” which epitomized the atmosphere shared throughout the event.
The night was filled with games, a poco-poco dance, lucky draw and a fashion show.
The emcees, Cg Malai and Sarah did an amazing job in bringing out the fun and exciting atmosphere throughout the night. Sarah even performed a Javanese song, Kopi Maszeh for her solo performance.
The event proceeded with the Award Ceremony for the public exam achievement, winners of the recent staff bowling tournament, long service award and retiring staff.
Long Service Awards were presented to 4 teachers and 1 non-teaching staff namely, Cg Malai Samah who received the 30 years Long Service Award as well as the Principal, Mr Janidi Jingan, Teacher Evelyn Liaw, Teacher Nurul Hannah and Leny Low who received the 10 years Long Service Awards respectively.
The dinner ended on a high note with the closing speech given by the Chairman who praised the teachers for their commitment to the school and this was finally followed by a group photo session.