St. Michael's Institution

The modern era

Dato' Bro Vincent Corkery retired as director of the school in 1988, and Chong Suan Ee became both the first Malaysian and who is not a Brother to become the principal of SMI. He was succeeded by K Subramaniam, Teh Chor Aun and Louis Rozario Doss.

Under Doss,the school underwent structural improvements, funded primarily by money raised from the annual school plays. Doss retired in 2006, passing the baton to Phoon Chong Chee. Madam Loh Wei Seng took over in 2011 and is the first female principal of SMI. Like Doss, she is a former student of SMI.

In the new millennium, enrolment increased to more than 2000 students, putting St Michael's among the 100 largest schools in Malaysia. The large enrolment caused the average number of students in each class to far exceed the government ideal number of Thirty. A typical class in St Michael's has about forty students. Sixth Form can be more packed, with some classes with fifty or more students.

In November 2005, construction on the new primary school building began on the school's back field to replace the original wooden building that was falling apart due to termite infestation and posing a danger to students. The new primary school building was completed by the end of 2006 at a cost of RM2.4 million, all of which came from former students and donors.

Facilities

The school has a school hall, a lecture theatre, a resource centre that is the Marian Library, six science laboratories, two computer laboratories, a Living Skills building, a food court that is famous among schools in Perak, a foyer where the statue Pater Familias is prominently found, a chapel (restored in 2012 from damage caused by water leaking from the roof), and a pavilion for students. A notable feature is the five-star boys toilet. For sports, there are two basketball courts, a volleyball court, four badminton courts, and two football fields. On the second level of the school's main block is the Heritage Room, a small museum that houses many items, documents and antiques that are part of the school's history.

Clubs and Societies

The school offers a lot of sports, societies and uniform units for students to join. There are currently thirty-three societies, fifteen uniform units, and more than twenty-two sports offered in the institution. Among these sports and games are water polo, golf, badminton, basketball, soccer, football, table tennis, international chess, Chinese chess, rugby, volleyball, softball, handball, squash, and bowling. The uniform units include The Michaelian Military Band, Scouts, The Michaelian Chinese Orchestra, Teenagers Cadet, St. John's Ambulance, Michaelian Indian Orchestra, Michaelian Taekwondo Squad and more. The scout troop of St. Michael's Institution is numbered 02 Kinta, which is combined from the former 24th Ipoh and 29th Ipoh Scout Troops. Every year, there are scouts who successfully achieve the prestigious King's Scout Award Award (equivalent to the Eagle Scout Award).

Affiliations

St. Michael's Institution is part of the Lasallian Educational Institutions. SMI's two alumni associations (the Old Michaelians' Association and the Klang Valley SMI Alumni Association) belong to the Malaysian Federation of Lasallian Associations (MFOLSA), the umbrella organisation for all Lasallian alumni associations in Malaysia.

Brother Directors and Principals

Notable alumni

Trivia