There is always High school reunion, College or  University Reunion and Secondary School Reunion.  So far no one will  bother to organise a Primary School Reunion.  In January 2013 after attending my Anderson Secondary School Mass Reunion, I have this strong desires to look for my primary school mates, thus I set up a facebook group Rayman School Alumni 1968 to 1973 looking for my classmates.  I kept searching and could not find anyone except that I chance upon a Rayman  School Group itself of which I could not find any of my classmates at all.   To look up for someone you lost touch for more than 4 decades is a really very challenging task. The task is even greater when the Primary School has defunct for about 30 years.

My Primary school is Rayman School. The 60th year old  building was build in 1952 and the school started its operation in 1953 till end of 1984.  This building was located at Rayman Avenue back in 1952, which later was renamed as  238 Towner Road in the 1950s to 1970s and later change to 16 Whampoa Drive.
It is presently occupied by Handicaps Welfare Associations (HWA) since 1985. HWA did not renovate or altered much of the structure of the buildings, the windows are still the same old windows which I as a little girl then had touch before, the wooden pillar strong as solid cement pillar are still intact.  This building holds much fond memories for me because I stayed directly opposites the school at 238A Towner Road (Blk 102, 16A Whampoa Drive). My study table was directly  facing the school and when I was young, I always studied very hard and always looking at the school while I trying to solve my maths problems or doing some memorising formulars for my chemistry subjects when I was in my secondary school.  After I married off I still came back to visit my parents in that old house and would usually take a look at my school from the window. Now my old house was demolished and left with an empty land, I regretted that I did not take much pictures of my old house except that I kept a few photographs my father left behind after he passed on.
One day I am sure, Rayman school this building will also be gone, thus before it is gone, I wanted to bring back my childhood memories and my primary school life  and have it put in the form of pictures.

Walking down memories lane, without my primary school mates, teachers and principal is meaningless to me and holding School Reunion at a place that is not your school building is also meaningless to me. Thus I decide to tell God, if You can go through with me on this, lets do it together.

Many people asked me why am I doing it as it is not easy.  This of course caused some ex students think I have an ulterior motive like soliciting businesses. Where else to some of them  they thought I want to seek some publicity or recognisation from  the teachers and the principal and be a heroine. Some commented on me that as I am not the top students previously now I want to shows off my capabilities to the teachers and principal.

As a result most of the Raymanians in the Rayman School Group in facebook, does not support me on this and have even blocked me up.  However there are those who also support me through and I really appreciate them. For those who dont, I really have no hard feelings towards them until today, because they really dont know me well they only know me from facebook. Also not every one likes to be reunited with school mates whom they do not know and they are more comfortable to have class reunion instead of school reunion. I respect their view though I dont accept their accusations or negative thoughts about me.

God knows my heart,  I dont need to seek publicity from anyone nor  the teachers or principal after all I am running my own businesses and whether the teachers or principals going to show their appreciation to me or recognised my effort, I really dont care.  My heart desires was to bring back fond memories of my primary school days and to do this, I have to bring all the former teachers, principals and the former students from as far back as 6 decades (from 1953 to 1984) together and have them stand on the ground of this 60th year old building at 16 Whampoa Drive occupies by Handicaps Welfare Associations (HWA) since 1985.

Despite all these negative thoughts about me, I strived on alone with God being the only one actually involving in all my plans . I just keep focusing on looking for my former teachers Mr Lim Tee Cheng, Mrs Koo, Mr Chew and the principal.  My desire to do this is partly because Rayman School this building holds alot of my childhood memories and also that I just wanted to rekindle my friendship with my primary school classmates whom I have had lost touch for more than 40 years. I spent 6 years with my primary school classmates whereelse for my secondary schoolmates, its two years or four years for those who went to the same science stream as me. Thus my memories of my primary school mates are much deeper than the secondary school mates.

God knows my heart, my sincerity and exactly what I am looking for, I am not looking for fame nor recognisation but simply wants to reunite all my old teachers and principles and schoolmates together. Our teachers and my principal Mrs Kurup are already in their late 60s and 80s, this is the only thing I can do for them now is to help them to meet up with each other again, and meeting in the old school building itself would bring them back to those old days when they had contributed their time teaching and nurturing us.

God  therefore grant me all the best He has in store for me, first he blessed me with a journalist from the Straits Times who took up my story without any hesistation and with that first steps, I have stream of ex students contacting me to sign up for the Reunion on Sep 7,2013.  Next, HWA allows me to use that  premises Free of Charge, making an exception to open the place up for me on a Saturday night between 4 pm to 10 pm.   HWA closed its gate at every Saturday afternoon and reopen only on Monday, for this round they are making it special for us.

This Reunion held on September 7, 2013 at 6 p.m to 9.30 pm was attended by  150 ex students graduated in  1950s to 1984s , 16 teachers, some  guests and  our dear principal Mrs Kurup. On the actual night itself, there were some walked in.  Its about 200 attendees inclusive of guests. It was a successful event and a night filled with so much emotions among the former students, teachers and principal.

When I looked around me that night, seeing so many former  students reunited and especially the former teachers as old as 80s plus hugging each other and shaking hands, my heart was filled with much joy  that no one can understand me except God for He knows my sincerity in making this REUNION come true. All these teachers who once  screamed at the naughty children in their classes and some of them flung our class boys school bags out of the windows,  seems to have put that behind them on that night. Teachers, principal and students just hugged each other like old buddies and long lost friends.  We,  as students did not harbour any hard feelings and the teacher also seems to forget about our past naughty things we did to make them angry during our school days.

I was too excited on that night that I even forgotten to thank Mr Subrata, the Excutive Director of HWA for letting us use that place Free of Charge when I give my short speech on stage.  Mr Subrata has helped me alot in making the place well for us to hold that 180 pax and he has even got to get his staff to move some of the office desks away temporarily for that night, just to make room for our buffet table.  Not only that I was really so blessed that the MPH hall that day was also decorated with balloons because that morning itself there was an event at HWA and they just leave the decorations behind for my event.

God did not just bless me doubled, but God has blessed me many many times in this event.  I am so glad that I have involved God in all my plans in this Reunion of which I must said  I almost do it all alone myself as there as no committee set up for this Reunion due to the work commitments of most of the ex students. It was not easy to find tune in terms of meeting  time for a committee to meet.  The mini choir of  6 members are really my "angels" send from God and these 6 persons are holding professions that has tight schedules  and yet with just about three practices we were able to made that night Reunion more meaning with our Rayman School Songs.

This  is the first mass primary school reunion of Rayman School and I am not sure if I want to organise another one, if God wants me to do it it, I will.  My greatest wish now is that all my teachers and principal and ex school mates will continue to keep in touch with each other after this Reunion.  Just an SMS, a Wats Apps or a phone call will  keep our friendships going.  God bless all my Principal, Mrs Kurup, all the teachers of Rayman school and school mates of mine with good health always.

I have since changed my Rayman School Alumni 1968 to 1973 to Rayman School Reunion Alumni, so if you were a Raymanians and really understand my heart desires about making this Reunion came true, please join my group. I am not seeking for any fame or recognisation from any of the teachers or the principal or anyone , I am seeking to rekindle the memories of my primary school life and walked down memory lane with our principal Mrs Kurup, teachers and school mates in that 60th year old building which one day may be gone forever when the government demolished it.