| They didn't know him very well.� To some, he was just a
schoolmate.� Yet, these Secondary 4/1 students from Commonwealth Secondary School
toiled hard for Valentine's Day. To help their mysterious schoolmate stricken with brain
tumour.� They wanted to do something for Valentine's Day, and decided to make their
own chocolates to sell.� "A classmate of ours knew how to make chocolates.�
She brought the receipe to school," said Tan Jiing Shyuan, 16.� But the class
didn't know who they were going to give the proceeds of the sale to.� So they turned
to their form teacher, Madam Chang Lee Huey, for ideas.� Said Ng Shu Jun,
16:"She told us we had a schoolmate who needed help.� Who better to help than a
few Commonwealthian?" But it wasn't easy. The class of 40 worked with 20 volunteers from other Sec 4 and Sec 3 classes. � They spent two days - last Saturday and Sunday - toiling over the stoves in their school kitchen.� Madam Chang was there too.� "On the first day, we were there from 7 am to 6pm.� But were able to complete only 200 boxes," said Jiing Shyuan. They had orders for 1550 boxes, each to contain four pieces of peppermint chocolate.� Panic set in.� The students asked Madam Chang if they could return to school the next day, to finish making the chocolates.� The next day, they started making chocolates at 10 am. � "By 5 pm, we were again freaking out.� We had completed only 800 boxes. That was only about half," said Shu Jun with a laugh. Some of them melted the chocolate and stirred the peppermint mixture. � Others were in charge of packing the chocolates into beautiful gold and silver boxes.� It was 11.30 pm when it was all done.� Some of them had small burns and blisters on their hands.� "We had to keep stirring the peppermint mixture until it became a paste. Usually, it takes 10 to 15 minutes," said Shu Jun.� "And sometimes when the mixture is too hot, some of it will spew out and burn our hands slightly," said Jiing Shyuan. � |
� | Cleaning up
was equally tough.� "Scubbing the hardened peppermint mixture on the stoves was
horrible, " said Shu Jun.� But the students maintained that their efforts were
worth it.� And they insisted they should not get all the credit. "Madam Chang
was such a great help.� She was the one who had paid for the ingredients and
packaging first," said Jiing Shyuan. Said Madam Chang, a teacher of 25 years:"I'm so proud of these students. I supported them all the way because it was for a good cause." And no, there were no complaints from their parents. "On Sunday, my parents waited an entire hour for me outside the school.� But they weren't angry at all," said Shu Jun. Said Shu Jun's mother, Madam Jennifer Tan, 49, a clerk:"I'm so glad she has the heart to help people.� This is a good thing, so of course, we support here."� Madam Tan said she and her husband were not the only parents waiting for their children.� "It was just our way to show our support for our children. � I felt it would have been nice if we could chip in as well," she said. � At $2 a box, the chocolates made for over $2000 for their schoolmate. Said Mrs Lim Lai Cheng, Commonwealth Secondary's principal since 1999:"I'm very pleased that they are willing share their love, especially for Valentine's Day. By Amy Chiew, The New Paper 14 Feb 2001
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