PUTRAJAYA: The controversy surrounding the appointment of SMK Convent Bukit Nanas’ (CBN) new principal has been resolved with an agreeable candidate identified after a consultation between the Education Ministry and the school’s board of governors.

Deputy Education Minister Datuk Wee Ka Siong (pic) told The Malay Mail a suitable candidate appealing to both sides had been selected for the post.

“We have resolved the matter of the new principal after consultation with the school board. The candidate has been agreed upon and the matter is done.”

The deputy minister, however, declined to name the new head, except to say: “Let us just wait and see.”

Sources said the church’s and board of governors’ preferred candidate was Mysterical Rose Fernandes, the current principal of SMK Seri Ampang.

The controversy over CBN’s new principal arose when the ministry sidelined candidates selected by the board and appointed former SMK Taman Melati head Datin Seri Zavirah Shaari.

It created an uproar, especially since former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had affirmed a pledge to consult the mission school’s authorities over the choice of school heads and teachers during a 1988 trip to Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.

Zavirah, who surprised everyone when she reported for duty on Dec 7, subsequently applied for a transfer when her appointment became highly politicised by the school’s stakeholders.

She packed her belongings last Friday and had been promised to be sent to another school by the Federal Territories Education Department following her transfer request.

She told The Malay Mail on Tuesday: “I requested for a transfer (to another school). If I am not wanted here by the church or the school board, then I will take my leave. My personal principle is that if you don’t want me, I will go.

“I do not wish to cause any disruptions and I do not wish to be a part of any polemics or political issues. As a public servant, I was only following my orders when the transfer order came for me to be the new head of CBN.”

Her former staff at SMK Taman Melati had also praised her work, with one calling her a “miracle worker who transformed an unknown school into one of the best schools in the district”.

Convent Bukit Nanas PTA only found out about the new head after she reported for duty.

PETALING JAYA: The Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) of SMK Convent Bukit Nanas (CBN) today said that it members were in the dark over the controversial appointment of the school’s new principal.

Zavirah Shaari’s appointment triggered concern among the school’s Old Girls’ Association and the Kuala Lumpur Catholic Archdiocese for contradicting the government’s maximum consultation policy.

Unlike her five predecessors, Zavirah was not included on the list of candidates submitted by the mission school authority to the Education Ministry.

The school authority also claimed that it was not officially informed of her appointment.

PTA chairman, Amiruddin Sahudi, told FMT that he had enquired as to who would be filling the vacant post during a PTA meeting two weeks ago. According to him, no one knew until Zavirah reported for duty a week later on Dec 7.

“I myself only found out on Tuesday when the PTA’s development bureau visited the school to check on a project,” he said. “They (bureau) informed me of her presence and Zavirah contacted me yesterday to set up a meeting.”

Amiruddin confirmed that the meeting had taken place earlier today but clarified that it was strictly on school matters. He also said that he was unaware of the concerns surrounding her appointment until FMT brought it to his attention.

“The PTA has always been advised to not get involved in the school’s administrative matters which are handled solely by the ministry,” he stated.

Maximum consultation

But another PTA committee member, who asked to remain anonymous, admitted that a few members had privately raised concerns over Zavirah’s appointment.

Unlike Amiruddin, he said that he had learnt of the appointment when the school’s senior assistant sent out an e-mail last week.

When asked what the PTA’s concerns are, he said that they were similar to those of the Old Girls’ Association and archdiocese.

“First of course is the bypassing of the maximum consultation process,” he said. “Second is whether the Catholic symbols and school ethos will be compromised.”

The committee member added that the PTA will be monitoring the alumni’s handling of the matter and consult “certain people” before deciding if it should take any action.

On Tuesday, Archbishop Murphy Pakiam expressed his disappointment over the matter and said he had appealed to the Director-General of Education, Abdul Ghafar Mahmud, to reconsider this decision.

FMT had not received a response from Abdul Ghafar’s office at the time of publication.

http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/2011/12/15/pta-in-the-dark-over-cbns-new-principal/

Early in the morning, a group of enthusiastic volunteers set up the table and arranged the merchandise for sale, manning the table in several shifts till closing time in the evening.

The 110 year anniversary merchandise project was initiated by the PIBG in conjunction with the school celebrating its 110th year anniversary in 2009. It is to produce memorabilia or souvenirs to remember this historic year and it is part of the PIBG’s calender of events for 2009.

The sale from the merchandise is to help generate income for the PIBG as part of several fund raising activities during this 110th anniversary year, in particular for the planning of a new 4 storey Classroom and Gymnasium Hall Building that would enable the school to reach its objective of becoming a single session school.

The PIBG members who volunteered that day were in high spirits, and with that spirit and energy saw a lot of visitors dropping by and buying the merchandise on sale. Among the items that were put up for sale were golf umbrellas, caps, sling bags and key chains, all with the special CBN 110 year logo printed on the items.

The response was encouraging as there was a mix group of visitors comprising parents, students, teachers and alumni. Some came from as far as Canada as they were currently studying there and had returned for the summer holidays. We also sold items to teachers from neighbouring schools like St. John’s Primary and even sold some merchandise to a teacher from Australia who was teaching English in Thailand.

When the event was about to close, the volunteers took the initiative to relocate the table to a location nearer the exit. This was to catch last minute buyers who still had coupons to spend and it paid off as parents and other visitors stopped by to spend their last remaining coupons for a good cause.

It was indeed a good day on the job. Till we participate in the next carnival on Jalan Bukit Nanas…  St John’s anyone?

Ramai bekas pelajar atau alumni telah menjadi orang yang berjaya dalam pelbagai bidang di kalangan masyarakat hari ini. Kecuali YM Tunku Abdul Rahman, anak-anak perempuan kepada kesemua bekas Perdana Menteri dan Perdana Menteri sekarang telah bersekolah di sekolah ini.

Begitu juga bintang-bintang yang telah digilap terdiri daripada Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz, bekas Menteri Perdagangan Antarabangsa, Cik Ambiga Sreenevasan, Bekas Presiden Majlis Peguam, dalam bidang hiburan pula Cik Fauziah Ahmad Daud AMN dan mungkin ada ramai lagi nama-nama mereka yang terlalu ramai untuk dinyatakan tetapi kesemuanya telah mengharumkan nama sekolah di bidang masing-masing.

Salah satu ciri yang menarik di sekolah ini ialah, sebahagian besar generasinya kekal bersekolah di sekolah ini menerusi anak perempuan, sepupu dan bahkan cucu perempuan mereka. Ada di antara mereka yang kembali ke sekolah sebagai guru dan ada pula yang meneruskan perkhidmatan di sekolah melalui persatuan ibu bapa dan guru, di mana pada masa ini 2 orang bekas pelajar perempuan berkhidmat di dalam jawatankuasa.

PENCAPAIAN:

Dalam tahun 2007, sekolah ini telah dipilih sebagai ‘Sekolah Kluster’ oleh Kementerian Pelajaran, di mana ia di antara 30 sekolah yang terbaik di Malaysia. Kejayaan yang membanggakan ini adalah titik permulaan bagi sekolah CBN menerajui dan mempertingkatkan keunggulannya di peringkat kebangsaan mahu pun antarabangsa iaitu dalam bidang akademik, ko-kurikulum dan sukan.

Sekolah ini telah dikhususkan bidang kebitaran kurikulum bagi mengembangkan perlaksanaannya ke standard kelas dunia. Dua bidang kebitaran kurikulum yang diluluskan oleh Kementerian ialah ‘Gimnastik Irama’ dan ‘Aktiviti-aktiviti Bahasa asas’ (Bahasa Malaysia, Bahasa Inggeris dan lain-lain bahasa). Selain daripada terpilih sebagai ‘Sekolah Kluster’, CBN sentiasa unggul dalam bidang akademik, ko-kurikulum dan sukan, bahkan mencapai keputusan yang baik dalam peperiksaan am, contohnya,PMR,SPM dan STPM.

Pada tahun ini, tahun 2009, sekolah ini akan meraikan ulang tahunnya yang ke-110. Pihak Pentadibiran Sekolah bersama-sama dengan Persatuan Ibu Bapa Guru (PIBG) telah merancang untuk mengadakan beberapa acara penting (termasuk acara mengumpul dana) bersama dengan sambutan ulang tahun ini.

OBJEKTIF:

1. Untuk meraikan sejarah silam sekolah dan tradisinya yang ke-110 tahun. Ia adalah salah sebuah sekolah yang tertua di Malaysia di mana CBN dengan bangganya telah melahirkan ramai bekas pelajar perempuan yang berjaya di komuniti ini.

2. Untuk mengumpul dana bagi pembinaan blok kelas yang baru. Selain daripada menambah kelas, blok yang baru juga akan mempunyai sebuah Gimnasium untuk Gimnastik Irama, 3 buah gelanggang badminton, sebuah perpustakaan yang baru, makmal, bengkel, 2 buah gelanggang luar bola jaring/bola keranjang dan lain-lain lagi. Pelan telah disediakan bagi tujuan ini.

3 Untuk membolehkan sekolah mempunyai satu sesi persekolahan sahaja. Pada masa ini sekolah beroperasi dalam 2 sesi, contohnya, sesi pagi untuk pelajar tingkatan 3 hingga 6 manakala sesi petang untuk pelajar tingkatan 1 dan 2. Dengan hanya satu sesi persekolahan, sekolah dapat menyediakan pelan yang lebih baik bagi kurikulum dan kepelbagaian aktiviti, di mana waktu pagi diperuntukkan kurikulum akademik manakala di sebelah petang pula diperuntukkan kegiatan ko-kurikulum dan pelbagai aktiviti sukan. Dengan pembinaan blok baru ini, pihak sekolah menyedari akan matlamat yang dituju.

4.    Untuk mengutip derma bagi lain-lain aktiviti dan perbelanjaan. CBN sebagai sebuah sekolah ‘Mubaligh’ tidak ditanggung sepenuhnya oleh kerajaan. Sehingga kini, kerajaan hanya menanggung perbelanjaan dasar dan asas sahaja. Segala aktiviti dan perbelanjaan mestilah dibiayai sendiri atau daripada PIBG melalui pelbagai program mengumpul dana.

ACARA-ACARA SAMBUTAN 110 TAHUN :

1.   Pertandingan Memancing / Karnival telah berjaya diadakan Taman Tasik Titiwangsa, Kuala Lumpur pada hari Ahad 29 Mac 2009.

2. Pelancaran laman web sekolah: www.cbn.edu.my

3.   Sambutan Makan Malam Ulang Tahun yang ke-110 ini akan diadakan pada 8hb November 2009 di Sunway Resort Hotel and Spa yang dianjurkan oleh PIBG dan Alumni.

4.   Pelancaran Buku Meja Kopi akan diadakan semasa Ulang Tahun Makan Malam yang memperlihatkan kejayaan Sekolah, sejarah dan tradisi.

5.   Sebuah set barang-barang jualan yang menarik bagi ulang tahun ke-110 telah dihasilkan untuk jualan di sepanjang tahun ini.

6.   Sebuah ‘Pertandingan Golf Amal’ akan diadakan. Tarikh dan tempat akan ditetapkan.

7.   Sebuah ‘Pertandingan Mencari Harta Karun Amal’ akan diadakan. Tarikh dan tempat akan ditetapkan.

Untuk keterangan lanjut, anda boleh hubungi Pengetua Sekolah dan Yang Di Pertua PIBG seperti di bawah:

Pengetua Sekolah

SMK Convent Bukit Nanas

Jalan Bukit Nanas

50250 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03-2078 0559

U.P.: Pn. Lee Chii Yuann

Yang Di Pertua
Persatuan Ibu Bapa dan Guru
Tel : 03-2698 1232
U P : Datuk Salleh bin Yusup Ketua Pengarah Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur

Khairil Anwar Halim
No. Tel: 016-264 8499
Ahli-ahli Jawatankuasa (AJK PIBG)
E-mail : kacarch@yahoo.com
Persatuan Ibu Bapa & Guru SMK Convent Bukit Nanas

Kuala Lumpur

Roslinda binti Buang
No. Tel: 012-3991517/ 0193806863
Ahli Jawatankuasa (AJK PIBG)
E-mail : qarin@streamyx.com.my
Persatuan Ibu Bapa & Guru SMK Convent Bukit Nanas
Kuala Lumpur

ACHIEVEMENTS:

In 2007, the school was selected by the Ministry of Education (MoE) to be a ‘Cluster School’ among 30 of the best schools in Malaysia. This proud achievement was basically to spearhead and further enhance the performance of the students and the school nationally and internationally in the fields of academics, co-curriculum & sports.

The school has been given ‘niche’ areas to be further developed, reaching world class standards. The 2 niche areas approved by the Ministry are ‘Rhythmic Gymnastics’ and Language based activities’ (Bahasa Malaysia, English & other languages) . Apart from the ‘cluster school’ selection, CBN has always excelled in academics, co-curriculum and sports, obtaining excellent results in public examinations, ie. PMR, SPM & STPM.

This year, in 2009, the school is celebrating its 110th anniversary. The school administrators together with the Parent-Teachers Association or ‘Persatuan Ibubapa & Guru’ (PIBG) have planned to organize several events (fund raising events included) in conjunction with the anniversary celebrations.

OBJECTIVES :

1. To celebrate the school’s long history and tradition.
CBN as one of the oldest schools in Malaysia has proudly produced many successful old girls who have served and still serving the community. This dinner will celebrate all the successes of the school and it’s girls thus far.
2. To raise funds for the building of a new classroom block.
In addition to the classrooms, the new block will also include a gymnasium for rhythmic gymnastics, 3 badminton courts, a new library, laboratories, workshops and outdoor netball/basketball courts. Plans have been drawn up for this purpose.
3. To enable the school to function as a single session school.
Currently it is operating in 2 sessions, ie. The morning session for forms 3 to 6 and the afternoon session for forms 1 & 2 . A single session would enable the school to better plan their curricular and co-curricular activities where they would have the mornings allocated for the academic subjects while the afternoons for co-curricular and sporting activities. The construction of the new block, will enable the school to realise this aim
4. To raise funds for other activities and expenditures.
CBN being a mission school, is not fully funded by the government. Thus, only the basic expenses are funded by the government, while a lot of other activities and expenditure are funded by the PIBG using funds raised through fund raising events.

THE EVENTS TO COMMEMORATE THE 110 YEAR ANNIVERSARY :
1. A fishing Competition / Carnival successfully conducted in Taman Tasik Titiwangsa, KL on Sunday 29th March 2009
2. Launching of the School website: www.cbn.edu.my
3. The 110th Anniversary Dinner Celebration to be held on 8thNovember 2009 at Sunway Resort and Spa organized by the PIBG and Alumni
4. Launching of a Coffee Table Book during the anniversary dinner featuring the school”s achievements, history and traditions
5. Attractive 110 year merchandise have been produced for sale throughout this year.

6. A ‘Charity Golf Competition’ will be organized. The date and venue to be confirmed later.

7. A ‘Charity Treasure Hunt Competition’ will be organized. The date and venue to be confirmed.

For further information, you may contact the school principal, the ‘Yang di Pertua PIBG’ and the PIBG AJK as stated below :

School Principal
SMK Convent Bukit Nanas
Jalan Bukit Nanas
50250 Kuala Lumpur Tel : 03-2078 0559 Attn : Pn. Lee Chii Yuann

Yang Di Pertua
Persatuan Ibu Bapa dan Guru
Tel : 03-2698 1232
U P : Datuk Salleh bin Yusup Ketua Pengarah Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur

Khairil Anwar Halim
No. Tel: 016-264 8499
Ahli-ahli Jawatankuasa (AJK PIBG)
E-mail : kacarch@yahoo.com
Persatuan Ibu Bapa & Guru SMK Convent Bukit Nanas
Kuala Lumpur
Roslinda binti Buang
No. Tel: 012-3991517/ 019-3806863
Ahli Jawatankuasa (AJK PIBG)
E-mail : qarin@streamyx.com.my
Persatuan Ibu Bapa & Guru , SMK Convent Bukit Nanas, Kuala Lumpur