Saturday, April 30, 2011

SMK Air Itam icon retires after 33 years --NST 29.04.2011


The students queue up to personally bid Chuah Meng Boon (in saree) goodbye as she leaves the school premises for the last time.


GEORGE TOWN: Chuah Meng Boon, who is retiring after 33 years of teaching, bade a tearful farewell to her colleagues and students at SMK Air Itam, here, on Wednesday.

The English teacher taught at SK Sungai Tiang, Kedah, before she was posted here, where she would remain for 13 years, and end her career as an educator.

A surprise farewell party was held, with orchestral performances and songs dedicated to her, on her last day.
Chuah, 58, was visibly surprised by the festivities and could not contain her emotion upon seeing the grand send-off organised just for her.

"I am touched as I have grown very fond of this institution," she said in her speech at the school assembly.

"I hope this school will continue to grow, prosper and achieve milestones," she said.
The students showered Chuah, who was clad in a pink saree, with gifts and mementos, and staged a dragon dance performance in her honour.

"Chuah is an icon in this school. She is a dedicated academician," said Azmi Ahmad Nasri, who teaches at the school,Chuah was taken home in a chauffeur-driven car after all of her well-wishers had bidden her goodbye.