‘Activities helped build character in CBN girls’

Bright young ladies: A file photo of CBN students taking part in an activity. The school’s culture of openness and camaraderie was cultivated through a myriad of activities.

PETALING JAYA: The culture of openness, tenacity and camaraderie that Convent Bukit Nanas (CBN) girls are known for is the result of the many activities, including fundraising, they take part in throughout their time in school.

These same characteristics have brought many of their alumnae to great heights.

Among them are former International Trade and Industry Minister Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz, Bank Negara governor Datuk Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus and former gymnast Dr Farrah-Hani Imran, who is now Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre Plastic Surgery, Burns Unit and Wound Care Team head and senior lecturer.

The school, which is partially aided by the government, has carried out many fundraising activities to equip the school with necessary infrastructure, the latest being smartboards in all classrooms, said

CBN Alumni exco and parent-teacher association (PTA) chairperson Alice Suriati Mazlan.

“All the funds we raised were used to carry out other activities for the students and build a new hall.

“Although it is an old school, it is well maintained and kept clean, ” she told The Star.

Among the activities organised by the PTA were a carnival in conjunction with the school’s 120th anniversary, a bubble run and a colour run, she said.

Alice Suriati said the alumnae were always around to help the students with their fundraising activities, acting like “big sisters” to their more inexperienced juniors.

The students, she said, learnt many skills such as entrepreneurship and project management through these fundraisers.

“I made many friends from different races when I was in CBN from 1980 to 1988, ” she added.

“It made us more open to everyone and we could mix around easily, ” she said, adding that she hoped that her two daughters enrolled in the school enjoyed the same perks that she did.

CBN Alumni president Marina Yong said her fondest memories at the school were of everyone getting along, regardless of their social status or background.

“We used to prepare for concerts and play games with each other, ” said Yong, who entered the school located atop Bukit Nanas, Kuala Lumpur, in 1971.

They also spent one day a year fundraising, she said, adding that they would prepare and sell food within the school to each other.

“These 122 years of contribution to nation-building cannot be undervalued or disregarded, ” she said

There are over 2,000 members in the alumnae group.