SPCCAA 23
It was at St. John's University that she befriended Mrs Tao
(
陶黃淑隱老師
), who later also taught at SPCC and was sitting
right across from Ms So in the 3/F Teachers’ Room. Ms So clearly
relished her memories of Mrs Tao who had a heavy Shanghainese
accent. She chuckled when she related to us funny incidents like:
Whenever it rained Mrs Tao would cry “
生瘡（閂窗）啦
”, and
on one fine day she told Ms So that she was planning to go to Shek
O “
生仔（山仔）
”!
Ms So got married in 1947 and was living in Shanghai, but like
many middle class Chinese in that period, moved to Hong Kong
with her parents in 1949, to be joined by her husband a year later.
It was quite a coincidence that Ms So became a teacher at SPCC.
In 1951 as Ms So vaguely remembered, she took up the job as a
temporary teacher at St. Paul’s Primary School, to substitute for
Ms Wong (
黄少珍老師
) who was pregnant at the time and needed
bed rest. After Ms Wong returned to work, Ms So stayed on to
substitute for another teacher who fell ill. Eventually she was
invited by then Principal Dr Catherine Woo, who noted Ms So’s
teaching ability, to join SPCC as a permanent member of staff, and
was later transferred to the secondary section. For a while she was
teaching English and Translation besides Mathematics!
Dr B. M. Kotewall, who was a few years more senior and knew
Ms So when both were studying in the University of Hong Kong,
took over as Principal in 1952. Ms So remembered Dr Kotewall as
a very assertive educator who commanded a lot of deference from
officials in Hong Kong’s Education Department. She was able to
set a more vigorous academic curriculum for SPCC which deviated
somewhat from the structure specified by the government – for
example SPCC had fewer Physical Education but more Mathematics
hours! Ms So spoke fondly of Dr Kotewall who was always
supportive of her throughout her years at SPCC.
When asked about her view of SPCC students, as we knew
ourselves to be far from model pupils, Ms So smiled and perhaps
diplomatically declared that, while some students might be a bit
naughty, all students in SPCC were courteous and good-natured,
and she enjoyed teaching there. And of course, SPCC students
performed very well in public examinations.
Ms So retired from SPCC in 1984 and migrated to the US.
For years she had engaged in volunteer work with the “Senior
Companion Programme” in the San Francisco area, visiting
Chinese immigrants who needed assistance. She enjoyed helping
people and continued this service until 2010 when she turned 90.
It was such a delight to visit Ms So and find her healthy and spirited. She
remains independent, choosing to live by herself in a Senior Apartment
although both her daughters and their families are in the US – Julie is in
San Francisco and Marie (
陳少如
) (1973) in North Carolina, and both
are visiting her every year. We take this opportunity to wish Ms So the
very best in the years to come!
1. Ms So with her daughters Julie (left) and Marie (right).
2. Ms So at home with her daughter Julie and son-in-law Edmund. All had taught at
SPCC.
3. A recent photo of Ms So.
4. Ms So with Class of 1966 alumni in the Bay Area during John and Vivien’s visit.
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