Mdm Noor Zehan binti Johan Noor

From SMK Seri Bintang Selatan

Nominated by Poh Jin Peng

My final year in high school was the best year of my life because of her. Although it is the year dreaded by most people due to Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM), my classmates and I had the time of our lives in form 5. We learned, enjoyed ourselves, laughed our heads off and went through all the obstacles together. Usually, people say form 4 is the honeymoon year while form 5 is the most stressful and challenging year, but me and my classmates from 5 Angsana '18 in SMK Seri Bintang Selatan (SMKSBS) would beg to differ. It is all because of our class teacher, Pn Zehan, also known as our mommy in school. She is the most loving, sincere, dedicated, extraordinary English teacher i know. English classes with her were always absolutely fun and would brighten up our days especially towards SPM. Anyone who's had her as their teacher would agree. Pn Zehan just transferred to SMKSBS in June 2017. She was new, looked strict, but she has the sweetest heart and voice as well as the most contagious laughter. Sometimes even when i dont get the joke in class, and she starts laughing, i would start laughing too, not at the joke but because of her laugh. That always makes me forget about all the stress, undone revision, homework and pressure with the upcoming SPM examination. The way she teaches is also very effective and cool. When we are learning about something, she would relate them with her personal stories in which captivates us so much that we want to understand every single word. That is when she includes some bombastic words to broaden our vocabulary. That really inspired and motivated us to expand our horizons in English. Furthermore, whenever we got our essays back after she had marked them, it would always be such a pleasure to read her comments at the bottom. It's not like the other teachers who just writes 'needs improvement' or 'well done'; Puan Zehan always wrote long meaningful comments in our essay books. For me, her words always made me smile. I remember about this essay about the novel, Dear Mr. Kilmer that i wrote on my midterms English paper which really moved and inspired me to strive for the best in life. My last sentence was "I hope I can apply these good values in my life and affect others around me positively." Her comment in response to that essay was "I hope so too. i hope you stay as sweet, rational and wise as you are now. Can't wait to see you in 10-15 years time." I was in the library at that time and silently, i cried in content then said in my heart, "Yes teacher, i will make sure i do my best to always to make you proud and i promise to visit you even after you have retired." Last year was Pn Zehan's final full year service as a government teacher; she would be retiring this August and that is why we are so sad that we cant just visit her anytime especially during recess in school anymore. She is such a cool and wonderful teacher that we really love and respect. Sometimes i wake up feeling so tired in the morning thinking whether i should go to school, then i remember Pn Zehan and get up without hesitation right away- excited to face the school day. Listening to her talking on the rostrum during assembly was never boring, we never yawned when she was on stage. When she teaches in class, it makes me forget about all my insecurities and doubts- I love her. Moreover, Pn Zehan had made homecooked food during our SPM trials. She knows that exams stressful especially this one- a lot of reading and memorising and all of us would the midnight oil to obtain better results. She also bought classroom decors like wallpapers, table covers and inspired us to do a life sized reading tree collage at the reading corner. That is where we wrote the titles of books we had read. On weekends, she sometimes came with her husband to help us out in decorating our classroom. She contributed by using her own money and never expected anything in return. Hence, we won the 'Most Conducive Class Award'. Moreover, Pn Zehan makes the best detox water. To me, it's the best drink in the world. It's a mixture of diced fruits and water, simple but the flavour is so perfect. Not too sweet, sometimes a little sour but always scrumptious. That detox water is only RM1 but Pn Zehan would give them to her students as a well done token whenever we did well in class. For instance, when we were asked to make questions to ask other groups in class, we made it interesting like asking in the form of poems and using symbolism. For example, when it was my friend's turn, he started singing, London Bridge is falling down, then asked how has having a new class teacher this year helped improve the emotional state of our class and reduced our stress levels?, (the falling bridge symbolizing our possible break downs due to stress). She was so proud of that and wanted to give my friend RM10 but he kept refusing so she asked "then what do you want?". He answered “detox water then can already lah" and giggled. Puan Zehan's eyes widened for a moment, then she said in her high pitched voice, ok! Detox water for 5A! Then next Monday, my friends and I went to her room during recess, her table full of cups of detox water stacked on her table with a pinkish red colour, normally its yellowish or clear. She was pouring the detox water into more cups. We knocked the door and she turned then said the drinks on her table are for all of us, and asked us to tell the others to come and take the drinks, so we took the drinks and happily sipped on the way up to class to tell the rest. It was right after physical education class and that really quenched our thirst. When i looked closely, i saw red cubes with seeds on one side. Strawberries! Wow, i was mesmerized. No wonder it tasted different, extremely delicious and satisfying. Puan Zehan and the other library teachers did all that hardwork of cutting the fruits in school, carrying ice from the canteen and pouring one by one into plastic cups when they had free period in the morning. It was quite a big cup but the price was just RM1 for everyone in school and free for my class that day. She also cooks spaghetti, macaroni and tomato rice in her room and sells them form RM2 usually on Mondays and Tuesdays. She sweated so much, looked tired but she never complained. Also, the money she got from selling detox water and food was used to beautify the school library. Puan Zehan went that extra many miles; by making long meaningful remarks on all our essays, cooking for us and loving us unconditionally as if we are her children. That inspired and made me want to study even harder for SPM because I know getting those A+’s would be the best gift I could ever give her. Towards SPM, thinking of all she has done for us made me work even harder by doing all the SPM trial papers and exercises and using my recess time to look for teachers to mark them. It was tedious, each paper took about 1 to 3 hours, my hands had blisters from too much writing but I never stopped, because thinking Pn Zehan kept me going. She never failed to make all of us smile and laugh in class while learning English. The day before SPM officially started, she messaged in our class group, reminding us to bring IC, sleep early, not eat anything unfamiliar, bring water and etc. She also said, “Remember that I love you, always, no matter what” at the end. That made that nerve-wracking ‘SPM first day’way more comfortable especially for me. As much as I was nervous, she made me feel supported and prepared to face the SPM papers. SPM results finally came out on the 14th of March and we were so happy to see her at our class table to collect our SPM documents and certificates. In the end, half her class achieved staight A’s with most getting A+ in English, the subject she taught us. That made her cry happy tears, purely and sincerely along with our form 4 class teacher. I believe we succeeded in making her 'a proud mama’. In the end, all her hardwork and ours, hand in hand, has beared fruits. Eventhough she’s retiring this year, I really hope I can visit her one day when I finish my studies. She has left such a significant impact in my life and i will never forget the wonderful moments as well as the sweet memories in class with that awesome, bubbly, senior English teacher named Puan Noor Zehan.