·         1912 -1922 :Lip Seng Onn tells us about SMI                    (Excerpt from "Valiant & True" - 100th Anniversary souvenir book available from St                      Michael's office :05-2540418)  )                           From the notes kept by our   pioneer old boy LIP SENG ONN  who was destined in hs future years  to help shape the caring ethos of the  Michaelian fraternity)                 In 1912, the school had 39 boys, and a headmaster      (Mr P.J.Morsingh)  and two assistant masters.     The school was  housed in an old Malay bungalow situated      in the midst of a coconut grove, right in front of the present main      building. ·         As enrolment increased, attap sheds were constructed             around the bungalow building to house additional classes. ·         School started at 8 a.m and ended at 4 p.m. There was an             hour’s  break for lunch at noon. ·         It was not unusual for coconuts to fall on the roofs  of the             attap huts. Fortunately, there are no reports of injury to             pupils on that score. ·         A distinctive school uniform had not yet evolved; some of             the early Michaelians wore sarongs to school! ·         The cheerful spirit of the pioneer pupils is reflected in the            following remark made by  one     of them: “As coconuts             have eyes, they know where to fall !” ·         However, discipline was strict under Mr Morsingh . Every             Monday was “black” because the boys  had to face a stern             headmaster who went round to inspect the weekly reports. ·         Games and sports were not so well organized as today for             lack of playing fields and costly sports materials, but a             period of 30 minutes was allotted daily in all classes for            physical training.            Football was about the only team-game regularly played,             but croquet, an old-fashioned French  game, and             badminton, played with a woolen ball instead of   feather             shuttles, were occasionally indulged in, by the bigger boys. ·         Hockey was started early in 1919 - the first game was played on 25.2.1919. The football team             in 1919 was a good one; besides holding its own against the            Tamil Union, the Oriental Cinema Team and others, it beat            St. George’s, Taiping, in a memorable game on 15.7.1919            by 5-1, but lost to the formidable St. Xavier’s team on            26.8.1919 by a narrow margin of 2-1. Childish games such            as marbles and tops were most popular and played,            according to seasons, even by the bigger boys. ·        Under Bro. Paul Gallagher, punctuality  was  a virtue of            the highest importance. Both teachers and students were            fined for latecoming! ·        On 16th August 1920, the first Lasallian Brothers arrived ,           giving a tremendous boost to the scholastic appeal of the            school. Together with Bro Paul Gallagher came Brother           Hermanagild John from Singapore and Brother Finian           Loran from Penang.                   Staff of 1921 with Brother Visitor James Byrne (seated centre) , Father JB Coppin (3rd from Left) and Mr PJ Morsingh (Headmaster) (Second from Right) ·        There was a clear Xavierian spirit among the growing staff           members as most of them  hailed  from St.Xavier’s            Institution Penang, the first Lasallian school in Malaya. ·         (Among the students who were at school at this time were          the Michaelian stalwarts who were to play a shining role as          teachers par excellence at their alma mater and at other           Lasallian schools.        This roll of honour includes Mr Tan Boon Kwee,  Brother          Basil Voon and Mr Lip Seng Onn.) - Blogger Louis RD ·         Lip Seng Onn's narrative continues.........        The 300-enrolment mark was crossed on 4th March 1919. ·         With the daily session continuing to 3.30pm, a half-holiday       in those days was a real delight.alf-holidays were given on        certain feasts and in honour of visits by distinguished persons        and success of teachers in the Normal Examinations and        those of boys in the public examinations: they were also        earned by individual classes with outstanding results in the       Terminal Examinations, 100% attendance in any one month        and settlement of all school fees before the 10th of each        month: and lastly, if it rained  at noon, the boys were let off        for the day at 1pm. ·          Founder’s Day – June 24 – was always looked       forward to with eagerness, for on this day a concert       would  be held in honour of the Reverend Manager.       Father Coppin was a stern-looking man, but his       sweets made Founder’s Day worth waiting for. ·         As regards dress, the teachers in those days came to       school fully clad in coat, trousers, hat and shoes r boots.       Straw hats and boots were as common as they are non-      existent   today. More stylish teachers  donned open coat       and tie –  this an exception rather that the rule. ·       The boys were dressed alike – all buttons must be in place,       otherwise the teachers would consider it a breach of good        manners. Some Malay and Indian boys wore sarongs. ·         Most of the boys walked to school and were bare-footed. ·         The only motor-car seen in school was that of Father        Coppin  – a very noisy machine . Mr Morsingh had a         motorcycle with side-carriers. In 1919 he started using a         two-seater motor-car. ·         Bicycles were fairly common, but until 1920 there were          never more than 40 or 50 bicyles  in the whole  school.

We are greatly indebted to Mr Lip Seng Onn whose article in “The Michaelian 1940 “  provides the source material for our glimpses of school life (1912-1922). Mr Lip Seng Onn  is widely acclaimed amongst Michaelians as the doyen of our teaching staff in the 1950s and 1960s.