green to the Primary IA classroom some minutes atter everyone had settled in . Itstruck me tha tMiss [ ansen had not taken issue with me at my being late and it seemed that despite her stern demeanour she also had understanding - tha t being my first day at school .
' It ' s surprising how I still have such clear memories of English Reader books , handwriting books and canings . I can only account for it by the fact that Miss Jansen played such an important part in my first years at school .
' In the few years thereafter , there were no significant events that come readily to mind . However , Ido remember clearly Mr Julian Chan , my teacher in Standard I and Mr Alexis de Souza , my teacher in Standard ll . Mr de Souza was again a strict disciplinarian and he was noted for pulling one ' s sideburns whenever one got into mischief . It was a painful experience that usually deterred one from wandering off the straight and narrow he required us to tread .
' In Standard IV Mr Santhou was our teacher and the hallmark of his classes was a division into Heaven , Purgatory and Hell , depending on how one did in one ' s class test . He was also noteworthy for giving six of the best whenever anyone either did poorly or strayed from the strict discipline which he imposed .' Michael Chiang speaks with nostalgia of the long , tranquil days that he spentgentIy oscillating between the school and his home not far away . Poon Kay Tee , Peter Martens and Francis Loh were SJI schoolboys then : now they are pillars of the school .
Peter Martens , like many Josephians , before and since , has memories that take him back to the School Field . It is to this important arena that we now turn .
Post-war Memories 57