"High School: The mouse race to prepare you for the rat race”

So maybe no one from my alma mater got 20As for SPM 1999 to match this year SPM top achiever but we did pull off the 100% Grade 1 target! Pardon the blurry picture; adalah a newspaper cutting back from 1999 when almost all of us 959-ers beramai-ramai memeriahkan sekolah dengan keyakinan mendapat 100% Grade 1. Nasib baik dapat. Heh. And yes, there in the middle is the next-to-perfect Faridah, our top scorer (correct me if I’m wrong) who was also our Vice Head Prefect and is now a doctor in the UK; kan dah cakap, she’s next-to-perfect. Oh yes, she’s really nice too. Heh.

So I almost flunked my Chemistry (Puan Lim was relieved when she knew I was going to take up Law hahaha!) and got cukup-cukup makan for my other Science subjects (but better than I expected, I must say) but that didn’t stop me from celebrating. 100% Grade 1 was huge, man! Even for a premiere boarding school. Ketika zaman itulah. 10 years ago. Budak-budak zaman sekarang ini makan apa entah sampai boleh dapat 20A?! My hat’s off to you, Nik Nur Madihah Nik Mohd Kamal. You are an inspiration.

This year will mark 10 years since the day we STF959-ers left Sekolah Tun Fatimah but the thought of STF still bring smiles to us all. Who can forget the senaman pagi, the dreadful block practice, fire drill in the middle of the night in our kaftan and what not, Sunday morning run (beserta aktiviti kutip sampah), mentoring program, Saturday dorm inspection.

Our turun-menurun tradition of round compound, salam-salaman before raya, dorm parties, 11 kali outings setahun in our ugly green baju outing, lagu raya dedication ketika buka puasa, and our open air cinema, ingat tak?

Oh and our favourite foods di dining hall and canteen; the daging dendeng, nasi ayam, masak lemak ayam with sambal kicap, ABC and rojak canteen, Mee Goreng and Teh Ais Uncle Joe, Nasi Ambang di Koop, Nasi Lemak jualan hockey team and the list goes on lah.

Or the never-ending issues of tak ada/kekurangan air, kesukaran mendobi kerana hanya ada 1 washing machine and 1 drier the setiap blok, the nonsensical school rules seperti wajib pakai pin tudung (like WTH?) and my least favourite, Add Maths home works yang menimbun-nimbun. Saya selalu tiru saja akhirnya sebab tak sempat fikir. Yeah I’m ngeks that way. It is mind-boggling to me how I managed to get good result (for my standard-lah) for my Add Maths. Betul ya, tulis nama saja dah dapat 10 markah?

So yeah, you get the drill. In spite of the ridiculous rules, the demanding teachers, the perasaan terkurung dalam sekolah (hinggakan visit to the hospital pun sungguh menyeronokkan?), the grilling study process, we love love love our time there. To commemorate the 10 years after we leave school, we’re planning a weekend getaway and a reunion dinner!


Girls, if you’re an STF 959-ers, give support to the hardworking committee; go visit the blog and join the Facebook Group. 10 years! Time flew by so fast. Tapi kita semua masih ada soft spot untuk sekolah buruk itu, kan? The way our seniors put it, “We travel far and wide, but we begin in STF.”