On 29th February 2012, all the staff of Mariaville made their way to the Good Shepherd Convent for a sharing and tea with Sr. Anne Jo at 2 p.m. We joined the staff and volunteers of Rose Virginie Good Shepherd Centre for this session. After a short welcome and introduction by Sr. Helena, Sr. Anne Jo gave a brief history of St. Mary Euphrasia’s family and early childhood. It was very informative for us as we heard some interesting anecdotes of the mischievous young Rose Virginie as she grew up.

Sr. Anne Jo then invited all those present to share their experience of being involved in Good Shepherd Mission and their interaction with the sisters they work with in their ministries. Many of the teachers and support staff shared very personal and touching stories of how working in Mariaville and especially with Sr. Dorothy as Supervisor have made a positive impact on their own lives and how this has affected their family relationships. The majority mentioned that they experience a great difference between Mariaville Kindergarten and other places they had worked in before. They are very happy with the team spirit here and there is a lot of cooperation and joy among the staff. Most of the staff shared their personal experience of Sr. Dorothy’s caring ways which is definitely a model for them of partnership in Good Shepherd Mission. The staff felt happy to be given such a wonderful opportunity to share their experience as they had never done this before.

As it was getting late and we had gone beyond the time, Sr. Helena had to call the meeting to a close. Sr. Anne Jo thanked all for coming and expressed how touched she was by all the sharing. We were then treated to tea and delicious snacks baked by Sr. Helena and the staff of Rose Virginie Good Shepherd Centre. The staff went home happy not only because of their meeting with Sr. Anne Jo but also because they had the opportunity to have heard the sharing of their colleagues. A few were heard jokingly saying that they didn’t get a chance to share because others were so longwinded!

By Mrs. Christina Noel

Principal, Mariaville Kindergarten, Ipoh