SINGAPORE — After a month-long break for the school holidays, Tanjong Katong Primary School (TKPS) students and staff today (June 29) were greeted by a colourful balloon structure, filled with sunflowers, at the school entrance. On the structure was a message that read: “Welcome back, little bravehearts and courageous teachers.”

But the mood was sombre as the students and teachers returned to the school with a heavy heart. The Sabah earthquake earlier this month had claimed the lives of seven TKPS Primary 6 students and two teachers, as well as a guide who accompanied them on the trip to Mount Kinabalu.

The structure was paid for by the family of one of the deceased students. The family, who asked to remain anonymous, also bought flowers for everyone at the school. 

As the students sat down in the school hall with their classmates, they took out books to read. Hardly a word was exchanged between the pupils, while the teachers at the sides of the hall spoke in hushed tones.

After the pupils sang the national anthem and the school song as well as recited the national pledge, school principal Caroline Wu spent almost 20 minutes talking about the tragedy and rallying the pupils and staff to recover from it. 

“I know some of you know these students personally and many of them are our student leaders. You have seen them on stage ... You will know them by faces,” she said, naming all the victims as the screen showed a group picture of those on the ill-fated expedition. “We can bounce back, we can recover even when we are very, very sad,” added Mrs Wu.

She reminded the pupils to be extra patient and kind to the survivors and the siblings of the deceased students who are also in the same school.

Mrs Wu addressed about 700 students from Primary 3 to Primary 5 in the morning. She was to talk to the lower primary students in the afternoon session later today. It is understood that school leaders had spoken to the Primary 6 pupils last week when they came back to school for a supplementary class.

After the assembly, students went to their classrooms and were encouraged to share their feelings about the tragedy with their form teachers, who would be helping the pupils cope with the emotional scars. Tribute boards were also set up on the school premises for students to pen their thoughts. Mrs Wu told reporters that the Ministry of Education had deployed a third vice-principal to the school and two additional counsellors to help it cope.

“We are regaining our strength, we are healing ... We are moving on and I am really very confident that with the support of our parents, resilience of our staff and students, we will be able to bounce back, recover and we will emerge from this stronger,” Mrs Wu said.