Assunta’s history has
been marked by many trials, disappointments and triumphs. Through it all,
however, Assunta’s students and staff have rallied to keep the standard flying
high. It is not Assunta’s size, appearance or buildings that make her the
school she is, but rather, the students and teachers who walk her corridors,
marched in the field, studied in the classes and sung the school song.
The word ‘Assunta’ is derived from the
Italian language – the English equivalent being the word ‘assumption’ which
commemorated the Virgin Mary’s Assumption into Heaven. Our school was named in
the memory of Sister Assunta, a nun who tended to smallpox victims in Beijing,
China during the Boxer Rebellion. She passed away in 1904.
Assunta Secondary School was
established in 1957, a year when Malaya was still in the midst of turmoil
following the communists’ struggle for political power. Racial tensions were
still high and curfews had been imposed. Most girls then did not go to school;
this prompted the British as well as the local leaders to establish an
all-girls’ school to help promote education and improve relationships between
the races. This school was Assunta.
Assunta Secondary School began with
two form 1 classes and one Remove class. The Remove class was, in fact, the
basis for Chinese-educated primary school girls to enter Catholic High School.
Just as the tiny acorn can grow into a mighty oak, Assunta too had the
potential for greatness.
With Sister Enda at its helm, the
number of students began to grow. Between 1959 and 1960, the number of classes
soared to eleven. To make room for the new secondary classes, six of the
Primary School classes had to be placed at Jalan Templer, and Domestic Science
classes were held at Assunta Hospital.
During the course of 1960, the first
phase of the Jalan Changgai School (Assunta’s present premises) was built. In
the same year, Assunta presented her first batch of students for the Lower
Certificate of Education exam L.C.E (later Sijil Rendah Pelajaran S.R.P., now
Penilaian Menengah Rendah P.M.R).
A year later, three Form 1 classes and
2 Remove classes were admitted. These new classes were conducted at the Assunta
Primary School, whereas the more senior students were moved to the new premises
at Jalan Changgai.
In the beginning of
1962, phase two of the school building was complete. The number of classes now
totaled twenty, and the first batch of Assuntarians sat for the Senior
Cambridge Examination S.C.E (now Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia S.P.M.).
By 1963, there was a
total of 900 students, 34 full-time teachers, one part-time Bahasa Malaysia
teacher and 1 religious teacher. At the end of February the same year, Assunta
joined the ranks of the Grade A schools. It was also in this year that Jalan
Talent was built. With the constantly- increasing number of students, the need
for a school hall became apparent.
After five long years
of endless fundraising, the dream was realized in 1969 when the new school hall
which cost approximately RM100,000 was complete. Gradually, improvements were
made to the school over the years. The covered way that connects the school
building to the hall and the canteen, the wooden bridge, school office,
headmistress’ office, conference room, two laboratories and library was built.
By 1982, the school
had 20 classes, two cooking rooms, a dentist’s office and 87 permanent
teachers. In the 1980s, the students numbered 2000, and the lack of classrooms
led to ‘floating classrooms’.
This in turn sparked off a series of intensive fundraising, and by early 1988,
a four-storey high building was erected where the basketball court once was. It
was named the Mutiara Block in conjunction with Assunta’s Pearl Anniversary.
The Form 4s and Lower 6 classes finally had permanent classes and floating
classes have since then become a thing of the past.
1989 proved to be a
bitter-sweet year indeed for Assunta. On the 30th of May 1989, the school hall
was christened ‘Sister Enda Hall’. The next day, 31st May, Sister Enda retired
as Headmistress after being at the helm for over 30 years.
In 1994, the Mutiara Block’s basement
was converted into an extra four classrooms and a surau built for religious
purposes. Over the years, the teachers and students alike have done extremely
well despite the limited resources available and has established itself as one
of the top premier schools in the Petaling Jaya district.
However, the ever-increasing
population has led to the need for computer labs, a modern library and a bigger
canteen.
In 2000, the school authorities
together with Assunta Alumni launched a School Building Fund to help solicit
funds for the proposed new wing, which will house these new facilities.
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