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Scotland Educational Trip 2018 - Day 3

4/30/2018

23 Comments

 
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At the library of Robert Gordon's College (From left: Mrs Ho, Dr Lee, Mrs Lam, Principal Man)
Day 3 of the visit still proves to be unusual in different ways - the weather is still oddly sunny; and the schools we went to impressed us all to a point where we didn't remember the last time we had this feeling after a school visit (I hope you don't get too jealous reading this report...).

Robert Gordon's College, Aberdeen, welcomed us warmly by their very friendly Principal and Junior School Head. In the end of the briefing session, we approached the Principal and Junior School head to present our souvenirs to them. The latter was even impressed by our poetry book "Wordiology" !
Their hospitality came with the equality impressive campus as we were guided through it. The photo/text rich environment convinced us that the school has been offering a lot for the children in their course of learning. This strongly enhances students' sense of ownership to their school. And we could sense that teachers there put in extra efforts to improve students' wellbeing in addition to academic excellence. And fortunately, YWPS has been doing just that!
In the tour, we were brought to different floors to visit different rooms where some of them had lessons on-going. We took the chance to interact with their students and were greatly impressed by the children's confidence, presentability and happiness, which was easily observable.
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James and I during the maths lesson
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A maths lesson
I had the fortune to join in a P.6 maths class and take a peek at how the teacher led the class to do a mental calculation exercise. 

Q1: As far as you can see from this short clip, how does their maths lesson differ from yours at school?
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Group photo at the entrance of High School of Dundee
Fortunes can sometimes come in twins. In the afternoon we were equally, if not even so, awestruck by another excellent school - High School of Dundee. Like the last school, High School of Dundee offers quality education from nursery till secondary, with a long long history. Again, we enjoyed the rare privilege to speak to some of the students.
Mrs Lam interacted with students during a class
The love of selfie is globalised!
A P.4 boy showed me his own designed game...
This P.4 boy was excited to explain to me his work during the ICT lesson. I am not very good at Information and Computer Technology myself, but what he showed me was truly interesting and he seemed to be quite proud of what he did. That was a good sign of learning.

Q2: Are you always ready and comfortable to share with a visitor what you are good at?
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A boy at a reading class at High School of Dundee
YOU MAY, YOU CAN

You may not be the brightest star
among all those privileged in class.

You may not get the scores from words
as success is hardly measured in certs.

Still you can own glimmering eyes,
seeking for more, asking big "Why's".

Still you can pass this very spirit down,
using obstacles to build your playground.

​
This is a rather raw poem I wrote during my jet-lag, inspired by the Dundee boy above. More or less having the meaning of the saying "Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass...It's about learning to dance in the rain." Got confused further? Well, all I wanted to say was "what an extraordinary day we had in Scotland!"

​Write you tomorrow!

​
​Dr H C Lee
23 Comments

Scotland Educational Trip 2018 - Day 2

4/29/2018

36 Comments

 
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sparkling in whispers
a boy sauntered by without
the weight of city

​
I couldn't help starting this with a haiku poem inspired by the morning sight of a beach near our hotel at Aberdeen. The tranquility, relaxation and purity of air put together a perfect start of an explorative day.
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We first visited the Royal Lochnagar Distillery - a small but very famous Scottish Whisky factory in Aberdeen. Instructor Mr Gordon gave us an eye-opening explanation of how this Scottish Whisky was processed and produced and the proper way of tasting it. I am not a fan but was also moved by his enthusiasm and expertise in this area. Mr Gordon was a knowledgeable and humorous guide. He shared that when he was a teenager studying chemistry at school, he had no idea how the seemingly irrelevant knowledge in the subject would become so useful a dozen years later at work when he was involved in the intriguing chemical process of wine distillation. That's very true, we never know when our learning in school will suddenly become so useful and practical!
On the way to the Distillery, tour guide Emma talked about a funny news reported in Scotland some time ago about a hairy coo (cow) blocking a vehicle. It simply reflected the fact that Scotland was such a simplistic and peaceful part of the world where even such an insignificant piece of news could hit the headline!
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Second stop of the day was Balmoral Castle, a popular Scottish home to the royal family. On top of the rich history of the place, I was particularly attracted by the many plants in the castle area.

We could easily notice that most of the trees were covered by a layer of fungi - see the green matters attached to the bark? It is not very healthy looking and it should be damaging the tree, yet the tour guide said it was a good thing to see these fungi, can you guess why?
Just before dinner, we had tour director Dr Fildes sharing with all participants of the tour her understanding of the Scottish education system. The brief introduction was a good appetiser to the main courses to come in the next few days when we could interact with school teachers and understand more about teaching and learning in this country.
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The fruitful day ended with a fruit party! The question is, whose room was it? And why do you think so? 

Answers to all my tour questions will be given once we have enough attempts from readers. So, keep switching on your brains and have fun reading about our trip! Day 3 is up-coming!
​

​Dr H C Lee
36 Comments

Scotland Educational Trip 2018 - Day 1

4/28/2018

38 Comments

 
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Greetings from Edinburgh!
Mrs Lam, Mrs Ho and I are among the 31 Hong Kong educators participating in the Hong Kong Direct Subsidy Scheme Schools Council's Scotland Study Tour 2018. Our group is composed of primary, secondary and tertiary schools members and we are excited to learn more about what people of this side of the world are doing for teaching and learning.
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[From left to right: me, my wife (Dr Ricci Fong) and Mr Neil Maxwell, who used to be Dr Fong's secondary school teacher! This was taken when we were at the Arrival Hall at Edinburgh airport - such a happy reunion!]
But before that, we had to go through really long flights - 8 hours to Doha and 7 hours to Edinburgh...followed a 3-hour coach ride to Aberdeen. Yet the views on the way proved to us it was all worth it!
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To the people in this country, the meadows and animals may not seem to be so special at all. But to us Hongkongers who grew up in concrete forests, these scenic views are truly a luxury. The weather was great. Mostly a clear sky with decorative clouds. Temperature was around 8-9 degree celsius, just right to keep us awake from the inevitable jet lag! 
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[On the way to Aberdeen, we stopped by a restaurant for a short tea break. In Hong Kong's standard, it was a very big restaurant. See how relaxing Mrs Ho and Mr Lam were! They got their energy back after some hot drink and soup.]
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This restaurant, where we stopped en route to Aberdeen, seemed to have an interesting name: Ye May Gang Faur and Fare Waur...according to a staff member, it was written in Doric, a Scottish dialect, which meant "You may go further and do a lot worse." 

So, my first question is: How do you make sense of this idiom?
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We ended the long day at a decent restaurant where we all enjoyed a satisfying meal. We left the restaurant at 8 pm, and as you could see from the right picture above, the sky was still bright! But of course, we needed a good rest and we were all driven to our hotel where I wrote this brief travelogue entry.
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Bonus question before I sign off - I found these weird items for sale at a hidden corner at the Edinburgh airport. What are these?

Alright! I need some sleep now...See if anyone of you could answer my two questions above and please do leave your comments below which may not necessarily be the answers. I welcome any of your comments.

Stay tuned for more actions tomorrow (Day 2)!

Dr H C Lee
38 Comments

P.6 One-min Show-and-tell Video Challenge (Part II)

4/26/2018

3 Comments

 
Hello! Hope you enjoyed the last video project of our P.6 boys. Here comes the Part II of it - P.6 One-min Show-and-tell Video Challenge (Part II)!

Below please view the 15 shortlisted videos from our P.6 boys. For YWPS members (parents, students, teachers), please login your eclass to cast your vote!

​Deadline: 4 May.

Have fun and thanks for your support!!!
3 Comments

Hong Kong School Drama Festival 2017/18 Results!

4/23/2018

9 Comments

 
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Congratulations to our Drama Team (Play Title: You Are Who You Are) winning the following honours at Hong Kong School Drama Festival 2017/18:

AWARD FOR COMMENDABLE OVERALL PERFORMANCE
AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING COOPERATION
AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING SCRIPT
  • Mr Thomas Ching, Ms Idy Kwok, Sunday Chau 6D, Anthony Cheung 6D, Alex Leung 6D, Oliver Ng 5E
AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING PERFORMER
  • Monet Lam 6D
  • Titus Yu 6C
  • Lincoln Leung 5B

Check here for our history of results in recent years. I am so proud of our drama team winning big awards year after year! Thanks to our teachers and actors and backstage crew. I am looking forward to watching it again in our Drama Fiesta in June! Well done!

​
Dr H C Lee

9 Comments

World Book Day Fest 2018!

4/21/2018

4 Comments

 
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Group picture with EDB officers after the talk: (From left) Ms Isabella Hung, Ms Barbara Chan, Lawrence, Mr Simon Tham, Timothy, Dr Peter Lee, Ms Jenny Ho, Ms Brenda Fung
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A very festive and action-packed Saturday was enjoyed by many Hong Kong book lovers as Chief Executive Mrs Carrie Lam officiated the opening of the World Book Day Fest 2018 at S.K.H. St. Mary's Church Mok Hing Yiu College this morning.

While Headmistress Mrs Lam brought some fortunate junior boys to take part in the ceremony and interacted with the Chief Executive, Ms Jenny Ho and I were getting ready to deliver a talk on how our English language curriculum helps students improve their English literacy, as one of the many sharing sessions of the special day of celebration, organised by the Education Bureau (EDB).

Our professional sharing attracted some 30 front-line educators and school leaders which filled up the Geography Room. Among the audience were EDB officers and the English Department's old friend Mr Simon Tham, who used to be our consultant.

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Our sharing included "Language Arts Environment", "Reading Enhancement", "Shared Reading Programme", and the highlight of the session,  "Students' Sharing". Lawrence Ma 5B and Timothy Lam 6B were picked to do their sharing on their favourite books. Fortunately, they really prepared well and did impress, amuse and amaze the audience! I personally appreciate very much that they dared to choose books which are more mature and complex than what an average P.5/6 boy could handle. Both of them showed great understanding of the materials.

We have made good friends in the session and will develop good professional relationship with other schools in Hong Kong for the benefit of English reading promotion. I wish more activities like this can be held in Hong Kong. Thanks to EDB for the invitation, to Ms Ho for her generous help in the talk and in improving our English language curriculum, to Headmistress for her incredible leadership, and to our two little speakers this afternoon, who brightened up the event and brought so much meaning to English reading.

​Dr H C Lee

4 Comments

Congratulations to our "Read Out Loud" Champion!

4/14/2018

2 Comments

 
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PictureDr Lee and Lawrence Ma with his trophy
Congratulations to Lawrence Ma 5B for winning in the Grand Finals of  2017-2018 Daily Readers "Read Out Loud" Competition (第十二屆港澳校際「開心英語朗讀」比賽)!

The competition involves three rounds: In the first round, Lawrence's voice recording of a poem was sent to the association for judging. The shortlisted 36 candidates (Senior Primary Division) then entered the Semi-finals where they performed the verse live. 15 finalists were then selected for the Grand Finals which were held this morning. Lawrence performed the verse on stage again plus a short comment on the piece. His performance won the heart of the three judges and he was granted the Champion (Gold Award)!

The competition process seems long (3 months!), but his effort finally paid off. Congratulations again to Lawrence! And may all our boys continue to pursue excellence in appreciating and performing poetry!


Dr H C Lee
​

P.S. As for how Lawrence plans to spend the book coupons he won as a winner, watch his message to our headmistress.
2 Comments

English Ambassadors Received UK Parliamentary Delegates

4/12/2018

7 Comments

 
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Our 9 English Student Ambassadors today!
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First handshake - Ambassador Reinhold Liu and guest Mr Tomlinson
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Student Ambassador Vincent Song and guest Sir Clifton-Brown
A group of nine, including Parliamentary Delegates from the UK, representatives of the Education Bureau and the Information Services Department, visited our school this morning (12 Apr). Although it was a brief visit of around one hour, they were still hugely impressed by our string orchestra and drum team’s performances, as well as the bits and pieces they heard and saw from our Junior Choir and English Drama Team.
They also found our school very creative both in the design of the classes that we attend, and the design of the various places around the campus. And I bet they must have enjoyed our high level of hospitality a lot too!

​As a student ambassador myself (I had the honour to take care of the group’s leader Sir Clifton-Brown!), I’m glad to say that it is a great experience and it will definitely stay with me throughout my whole life. Hope all the delegates and representatives enjoyed their visit. And...a big thank-you to our headmistress, supervisor, and to all the teachers and students who took part in welcoming the guests today!

Vincent Song 6C
Student Ambassador

​P.S. Don't miss out the photo tour of the event at
https://goo.gl/7ZqqZo
7 Comments

Congratulations to Two HKYWA Awardees!

4/1/2018

 
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Amos Tsai (left) and Vicent Song (right) displaying their prizes of HKYWA 2018
Congratulations to Amos Tsai and Vincent Song, both from 6C, for their recent awards from the prestigious Hong Kong Young Writers Awards (HKYWA) 2018. They entered fiction groups 6 and 2 respectively under the theme "New Journeys to the West". Both of their stories are recognized by the judges and are now published in a beautiful anthology as awardees of HIGHLY COMMENDED. This is our third time having 2 students awarded in HKYWA (previously 2013 and 2014).

Click here to check out the excerpts of their stories.

Well done boys!


​Dr H C Lee

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