永遠的母校：藏在時光裏的青春印記 | 老師專欄

一位舊生在110週年開放日重返麥當勞道，在紅磚與白蘭樹之間，遇見三個時代的自己。Returning to MacDonnell Road for the 110th anniversary open day, one alumnus meets three versions of himself among the red bricks and the champak trees.

This article was originally written in Traditional Chinese. The English translation is provided for reference only.

前言Foreword

繼《親臨聖保羅開放日》一文發表後，我們收到了漢源的舊生、也是聖保羅校友的一篇日記，現於此與讀者分享。Following our earlier piece on the St. Paul's open day, we received a diary entry from a former Han Yuan student who is also an SPCC alumnus. We share it here with our readers.

舊生日記An Alumnus's Diary

10月12日　週日　小雨12 October, Sunday, light rain

今天，我沒有帶着任何工作身份，只以一個畢業多年的舊生名義，回到了麥當勞道。空氣中瀰漫着熟悉的白蘭樹的清香，混雜着鼎沸的人聲。這裏是聖保羅男女中學，我的母校，今天，她110歲了。Today I went back to MacDonnell Road wearing no professional hat at all, simply as a graduate of many years ago. The air was full of the familiar sweetness of the champak trees, mixed with the roar of the crowd. This is St. Paul's Co-educational College, my old school, and today she turns 110.

踏入校門的那一刻，時間彷彿開始交錯。The moment I stepped through the gate, time seemed to fold over on itself.

校門口的紅磚與白蘭樹Red Bricks and Champak Trees at the Gate

我習慣性地抬頭，望向那座經典的紅磚主樓。陽光正好，為這座百年建築鍍上了一層温潤的金色。白蘭樹下，光影斑駁。我看到一位與我年紀相仿的校友，正笑着對她年幼的孩子指點着什麼；不遠處，幾位穿着整齊校服的師弟師妹，胸前掛着工作證，正自信而禮貌地為訪客引路，臉上流露出我無比熟悉的、屬於SPCC學生的從容與熱誠。Out of old habit I looked up at the classic red-brick main building. The light was just right, gilding the century-old façade in a warm gold. Under the champak trees, light and shadow dappled the ground. I saw an alumna about my own age smiling as she pointed something out to her young child; a little further on, several juniors in neat uniforms, staff passes hanging at their chests, were guiding visitors with confidence and courtesy, their faces carrying that poise and warmth I know so well in SPCC students.

這一刻，過去的我和現在的我，以及未來的他們，身影在我的視野裏重疊。我彷彿看到多年前，那個同樣穿着校服、對未來充滿懵懂與期待的自己。In that moment the person I used to be, the person I am now and the people they will become all overlapped in my field of vision. I could almost see myself years ago, in the same uniform, hazy about the future and full of expectation.

庭院舞台上的樂聲與回憶Music and Memory on the Courtyard Stage

腳步自然而然地被引向中庭。這裏搭起了一個開放式舞台，樂聲飛揚。我到的時候，正趕上一個由四位師弟組成的樂隊在表演，他們隨性地把玩着手中的樂器，默契十足，音符裏滿是青春的灑脱。緊接着，一位女生的獨唱響起，那清澈而温潤的嗓音，唱着一首由聖詩和校歌旋律巧妙融合的歌曲，瞬間吸引了全場的目光。My feet carried me naturally to the courtyard, where an open stage had been set up and music was pouring out. I arrived just in time to catch a band of four younger boys, playing their instruments loosely and in complete understanding with one another, every note full of the ease of youth. Then a girl's solo began — a clear, warm voice singing a piece that wove a hymn together with the melody of the school song — and in an instant the whole courtyard turned to listen.

掌聲中，我的思緒卻飄遠了。我想起了當年學校的合唱團時光。為了準備校際音樂節和海外的國際音樂節，我們八十多個團員，每天清晨，天還未全亮，就比所有同學早一小時到校練聲；放學後，又在悠揚的琴聲中多留一兩個小時，只為將一首歌的每個和聲打磨到極致。那時的辛苦早已忘卻，只記得八十個聲音融為一體的震撼，和大家為了同一個目標而團結在一起的純粹快樂。母校對音樂、對體育的重視，從來不只是為了獎項，而是為了讓我們在汗水與旋律中，學會團結，學會堅持。In the applause my thoughts drifted away. I remembered my own years in the school choir. Preparing for the inter-school music festival and for international festivals overseas, the eighty-odd of us would arrive an hour before everyone else, in the half-light of early morning, to warm up our voices; after school we would stay another hour or two, accompanied by the piano, polishing every harmony in a single song until it was exactly right. The hardship has long since faded from memory. What stays is the shock of eighty voices becoming one, and the pure happiness of everyone pulling together towards a single goal. The school's emphasis on music and on sport was never about trophies. It was so that, in sweat and melody, we would learn to work together and learn to persevere.

舊課室裏的墨香與傳承Ink and Inheritance in an Old Classroom

我走進麥當勞道的舊校舍，憑着記憶往下走了半層。就是這裏，我曾經的中四課室。如今，門上貼着「中文學會」的標識，裏面人頭湧動。課室中央，幾張桌子拼在一起，訪客們正低頭專注地做着什麼。我走近一看，原來是兩位穿着校服的中四師妹，正耐心地教大家編織寓意吉祥的中國結。她們身旁，站着兩位面帶微笑的老師，時而從旁指導，時而幫忙遞上材料。學生是主角，老師是引路人，這個畫面本身，就是一堂生動的「教育課」。空氣裏，彷彿還能聞到淡淡的墨香和書卷氣，一如當年。I walked into the old MacDonnell Road building and, guided by memory, went down half a flight of stairs. Here it was: my old Form Four classroom. Today a sign on the door reads “Chinese Society,” and inside the room was packed. In the middle, several desks had been pushed together and visitors were bent over them, absorbed in something. I went closer and found two Form Four girls in uniform patiently teaching everyone how to tie Chinese knots, those old emblems of good fortune. Beside them stood two smiling teachers, offering a word of guidance here, passing over materials there. The students were the leads and the teachers the guides; the scene itself was a vivid lesson in what education means. In the air I could almost still catch the faint smell of ink and the scent of books, exactly as before.

教員室外的偶遇與十年A Chance Meeting Outside the Staff Room, Ten Years On

經過熟悉的教員室，門開了，一位老師走了出來。我定眼一看，心頭一震——是陳老師！他是我當年的班主任，也教了我多年數學。我們幾乎是同時認出了對方。他拍拍我的肩膀，笑着説我成熟了不少。我們聊起了我的近況，聊我離開學校後的經歷；他則感慨地談起，看着每一屆學生的不同與成長，是他作為老師最大的收穫。正聊得起勁，一位穿着校服的在校生匆匆跑過，響亮地喊了一句：「陳老師早晨！」（廣東話，即「早上好」的意思。）這聲清脆的呼喚，像一顆石子投進記憶的湖，瞬間把我的思緒拉回到了十年前，那個同樣會在這條走廊上向他問好的自己。Passing the familiar staff room, I saw the door open and a teacher step out. I looked again and my heart jumped — it was Mr. Chan! He had been my form teacher and taught me mathematics for years. We recognised each other almost at the same instant. He clapped me on the shoulder and said with a laugh that I had grown up a good deal. We talked about what I have been doing lately and about my life since leaving school; he spoke, with some feeling, about how watching each cohort of students grow, each in their own way, has been the greatest reward of being a teacher. Just as we were getting into it, a student in uniform hurried past and called out brightly, “Jou san, Mr. Chan!” — “good morning,” in Cantonese. That clear greeting dropped like a pebble into the lake of memory and pulled my thoughts straight back ten years, to the self who used to greet him in exactly the same way in exactly that corridor.

攤位前的自信與十五年前的自己Confidence at the Booths, and the Self of Fifteen Years Ago

我繼續在校園裏穿行，看到每個攤位的師弟師妹們，都有條不紊地向訪客們介紹、展示他們平日所學的知識，從容地應對各種問題。這份自信，讓我想起了十五年前，母校95週年校慶。那時，我也像他們一樣，是負責攤位的學生之一，興奮地跟前來探訪的舊生和家長們聊天。我甚至還記得，當時我還擔任嚮導，帶着幾位迷路的老校友，在偌大的校園裏遊走，聽他們講述更久遠的校園故事。原來，這份熱情與承擔，就是這樣一代代傳遞下去的。I carried on through the campus, watching the younger students at every booth explain and demonstrate what they had been learning, unhurried and methodical, fielding all kinds of questions with composure. That confidence took me back fifteen years, to the school's 95th anniversary. I was one of the students running a booth then, just as they are now, chatting excitedly with visiting alumni and parents. I even remember serving as a guide, walking a few lost older alumni around the sprawling campus and listening to their stories of a still earlier school. So this is how the enthusiasm and the sense of responsibility are handed down, one generation to the next.

寫在最後A Final Word

離開校園時，已是黃昏。回望這座紅磚建築，心中百感交集。It was dusk by the time I left. I looked back at the red-brick building with a tangle of feelings.

今天，我在這裏看到了三個時代的自己：那個穿着校服、對一切充滿好奇的少年；那個15年前在攤位前忙碌、初嘗責任滋味的青年；以及今天這個帶着回憶與感恩重返的校友。Today I saw three versions of myself here: the boy in uniform, curious about everything; the young man busy at a booth fifteen years ago, tasting responsibility for the first time; and the alumnus who came back today carrying memory and gratitude.

母校教給我們的，從來不只是書本上的知識。她給予我們的，是一種內化於心的質量：那是在舞台上、在賽場上、在攤位前，都能展現出的從容自信；是面對知識時眼中閃爍的熱誠；是見到師長時發自內心的尊重與謙遜；更是作為SPCC一份子，那份與生俱來的歸屬感與承擔。What our school taught us was never only what is in the books. What she gave us was a quality that settles deep inside you: the composure you can show on a stage, on a playing field or behind a booth; the enthusiasm that lights up your eyes when you meet an idea; the respect and humility you feel from the heart when you meet a teacher; and, above all, the sense of belonging and of responsibility that comes with being part of SPCC.

110年，歲月流轉，但這種精神氣質，早已融入紅磚的每一寸肌理，刻在每一位SPCC學生的骨子裏，歷久彌新。A hundred and ten years have passed and the seasons keep turning, but this spirit has long since worked its way into every inch of the red brick and into the bones of every SPCC student, as fresh now as it ever was.

我很慶幸，我曾是，也永遠是，這其中的一份子。I am glad that I was, and always will be, one of them.

永遠的母校：藏在時光裏的青春印記Alma Mater, Always: A Youth Kept in Time