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P.5-6 Singapore Study Tour 2024-2025

1/10/2025

(10 Jan) An annual highlight of English enhancement for some selected YWPS boys, the P.5-6 Singapore Study Tour was successfully held from 4 to 8 Jan 2025. Boys who met the English standard and passed the interviews were invited to experience this rare opportunity.

Like before, students were immersed into the culture, atmosphere and English language environment of the beautiful country of Singapore with exciting locations like Science Centre, Merlion Park, Marina Bay Sands Observation Deck, Gardens by the Bay, Lau Pa Sat...to name a few.

Major visits of the tour were a drama workshop held at Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts and a heartwarming morning at Fairfield Methodist School (Primary), where we were offered an extremely high level of interactions, friendliness and hospitality.

Principal Chan was kind enough to join part of this journey and visited St Andrew's Junior School with me for future collaboration opportunities.

All in all, this study tour gave great chances for our boys to learn and reflect on their learning. We look forward to seeing to their presentation on their post-trip reflection in due course.

Dr Lee

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Thematic Group Speaking Team's 8th Triumph

12/17/2024

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[17 Dec] This is the 8th times we receive the First Place in Thematic Group Speaking in as many times we entered this category in the Speech Festival.

The thematically linked programme titled "I'm a Hero!" put together pieces from verse, prose, monologue and drama. This 13-min act won with an excellent score of 88.

Thanks to the amazing efforts from these wonderful actors:

4A Evan Lam
5A Isaac Chan
6A Jenson Ng
6B Bill Chan
6B Jasper Ma
6B Ryan Loong
6E Howard Liu
6E Cadence Wong

Looking forward to the next Speech Festival!

Dr Lee

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Junior Choral Speaking Continues to Snatch Gold

12/12/2024

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What a colourful victory!

[12 Dec] Big congratulations to our Junior Choral Speaking team securing yet another First Place at the Hong Kong Schools Speech Festival. This is our 10th Junior Choral Speaking Winner since the restarting of our school in 2003!

Vice Principal Ms Jenny Ho and Ms Elizabeth Wong had trained the group of P.2-3 boys for months with Charles Causeley's verse "Quack!" Said the Billy-goat". There final performance at the competition venue touched the adjudicator Ms Vines, who wrote, "...this was more than just your lovely costumes and props, it was the way in which each participant became fully involved in their character and situation."

With a score of 92, this secures an Honours Certificate, like last year! Well done Ying Wa boys and teachers! Super proud of you!

Dr Lee

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Ying Wa 206, Our Win is Very BIG!

11/11/2024

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(11 Nov) Ying Wa's anniversary celebration adds another layer of joy to the English Department as our celebration video won the popularity vote for the fourth time in seven years! This time, we got 46.1% of the votes.

Thanks to our boys' support, our birthday videos have been doing rather well in recent years!

YW200 SECOND Place
YW201  FIRST Place
YW202  FIRST Place
YW203 SECOND Place
YW204  FIRST Place
YW205  SECOND Place
YW206  FIRST Place

Of course, this victory belongs to all Ying Wa boys as this is Ying Wa's birthday after all! So, Ying Wa 206, This Party is BIG!!!

How about revisiting the last three celebration videos? Have fun!

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YWPS Boy Awarded in SOW Campaign

10/13/2024

(12 Oct) The Education Bureau has been organizing the territory-wide and cross-curricular campaign "Promoting Positive Values and Attitudes through English Sayings of Wisdom (SOW)" since 2020/21. The overarching theme of the SOW Campaign 2023/24 is "In Love We Share, In Love We Grow."

In this competition, Yi Cai (6D) received the Commendable Award in the Upper Primary Division. Due to his outstanding performance, he subsequently represented the school on the RTHK radio programme "In the Common Room" during the 75th National Day celebration. On October 5th, Yi Cai attended the award ceremony and was selected as a student representative to participate in the kick-off ceremony of the SOW Campaign 2024/25.

Congratulations to Yi Cai!

Mr Thomas Ching

Estonia Educational Trip 2024: Closure

5/8/2024

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(8 May) Organized by the Direct Subsidy Scheme Schools Council, the Estonia Educational Trip 2024 has concluded successfully. Principal Dr Chan, Vice Principal Mr Kwan and I (Assistant Principal Dr Lee) were glad to be a part of the adventure. Click the following buttons for the highlights of the trip as reported earlier:

Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7

As for the answers to my daily questions, here are some suggestions and extended information (as many questions don't have a definite answer):

Day 1, Question 1
Ans: The staff member dressed like that to look like villagers in the medieval time. They were trying to create the medieval atmosphere as they sold their snacks. As for the Frisbee, the lady told me that she would wave it at birds to scare them away when they came to steal food.

Day 1, Question 2
This place was the venue of Tallinn Coffee Festival. We went there to experience this special festival that we don't have. There were many booths from different coffee companies showcasing their coffee-related products. There was so much for us to see.

Day 2, Question 1
These orange devices were scanners in a supermarket named Selver. These devices were named SelveEkspress and customers can use them to scan the products they want to buy. In the end, customers with these devices can go to a different corner for checking out to save time.

Day 2, Question 2
These black items are in fact rings. These are designed by an Estonian accessory designer who got the inspiration from different famous architectural work, and that is why there were photos of famous buildings there.

Day 3, Question 1
I do not have a definite answer to this. But I remember Mr Kwan telling me that he missed his classes during this trip. So, my best guess is that he was thinking about our school and schoolmates.

Day 3, Question 2
I may be wrong but this tree is a mulberry tree. Its odd shape may be due to that it was trimmed. I think it is like many desperate and intertwined hands stretching and yearning to be freed.

Day 4, Question 1
These kind of chair are actually common in Estonian schools. They are designed to have a "shelter" to it to create an enclosed effect so that you will feel more isolated from the environment. Also, when you talk to yourself or another person next to you, you will find your voice echoing and more focused.

Day 4, Question 2
If I were to answer this, I would say that the class size is smaller, the students don't have to wear uniforms, and students are more relaxed in class (boy on the left removed his shoes!)

Day 5, Question 1
The sign seems to be telling us about how the ancient shepherds scared away wolves to protect their sheep. They used a wooden noise-making device known as "rattle" for this purpose.

Day 5, Question 2
This picture's actually name is "Grandfather and Grandson", by Vassili Golonski, probably an artwork in the late 19th century. I personally like this picture for its great details and vibrant colours. Strong sunlight can be seen in this painting, creating sharp shadows to make the two figures even more distinctive. The natural facial expressions on the faces are extremely realistic too.

Day 6, Question 1
The shoe rack here is for students to change shoes when they step into the campus. Estonia's bad weather often causes shoes to be wet and muddy. Students often keep a pair of "indoor shoes" in school on the shoe rack for this reason.

Day 6, Question 2
This lunch system is actually very nice to train students' self discipline. YWC is having a similar lunch procedure as students need to do their own clearing up after their meals. But they don't scoop the food up themselves. Estonian children get lunch and do clearing up by themselves which is a sign of independence. If our school had a big canteen for our primary students, this system would be very nice.

Day 7, Question 1
This is actually their "staff room". It is where their teachers have meetings and do their own work. It is also a common room for them to have a coffee or relax bit in between lessons. The puzzle on the table is something their teachers were working on! Interestingly, their "staff room" doesn't have piles and piles of books or worksheets for teachers to mark! A lot of students' work is done and marked online!

Day 7, Question 2
This artwork is a mozaic using recycled plastic items such as recycled bottle caps, broken toys and buttons. I think it is telling us the importance of recycling things and saving the Earth. Also, seemingly useless items can become beautiful and special if we put in more skills and imagination.

There are many great responses from our boys and it was indeed hard to choose who did better! But in the end, congratulations to these amazing students who gave my questions rich and thoughtful responses and each of them received an Estonian souvenir from me:

3D Evan Lam
5B Zech Chan
5E Cadence Wong
5E Darren Luk
6A Aldon So
6A Preston Sze
6B Charlton Lau
6C Caspian Yeung
6D Anders Kan
6D Karlos Ching
6D Pascar Wong
6E Sylvester Chan

It was a great trip and I look forward to sharing more things with YWPS boys soon! Stay tuned!

Dr Lee ^o^

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Estonia Educational Trip 2024: Day 7

5/3/2024

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(3 May) Day 7 is the final day for me to update you before I return home. I will fly back tomorrow evening.

The feature today was our final school visit: Tartu Erakool. We took a 2 hour 15 min bus ride to reach Tartu from Tallinn. Tartu Erakool is a private school serving students from Year 1 to 6, very similar to YWPS. The school's population is rather small. It has only around 250 students in total. However, it was very well designed into a cozy, vibrant and energetic place for interactive learning.

Although we didn't have a chance to formally observe their lessons, I fortunately spoke to a Primary 6 girl, who was the chair-lady of the Student Council. She told me that her team helped solve problems that their schoolmates encountered and her position was won by an election. She was obviously very proud of her role. Perhaps our school should also have an official student council one day! Our boys could definitely handle that!

I also spoke to a teacher who only started to teach in this school a year ago. She was from Ukraine and she told me how friendly the teaching approach was in Tartu Erakool in comparison to where she was from. She said that in here, teachers and students were just like friends. Teachers didn't need to raise their voices to discipline students. If needed, teachers would only keep talking to the students and sooner or later things would work out fine. That was a good inspiration to me too because indeed it may make things worse if teachers are always taking the high and authoritative role. I agree that a more friendly relationship can help build a more positive teaching and learning environment.

After a satisfying lunch at the school, we went out to visit the town of Tartu. It is the second largest city in Estonia (the largest one being Tallinn) and it recently earned the prestigious title of European Capital of Culture 2024. That explains why the city was full of tourists and festive aura.

Overall, this day can be described as "delightful" as we went to a very bright school with a lot of cheerful children (I personally like this school the best in the whole tour). And the biggest blessing today is that, despite the long travelling hours from Tallinn to Tartu and back, the traffic was safe and smooth and we went back to our hotel timely. I feel grateful for the driver in particular.

As I said, this is the final post before I return to Hong Kong. So, please take your chance to answer my questions below and/or the previous ones. I will be rewarding the best students who gave me quality answers when I return to school on Monday, 6 May.

I hope you enjoy my posts as much as I do writing them. See you all soon!

Dr Lee
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QUESTION TIME:

1. What room were we in? Please explain your answer.

2. Interesting artworks are everywhere in Tartu. This piece of work at a street caught my eyes. Can you tell me what message(s) this piece of art wants to tell people?

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Estonia Educational Trip 2024: Day 6

5/2/2024

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(2 May) Day 6 brings us two schools to visit. Rocca al Mare Kooli in the morning and Tallinna Sudalinna Kool in the afternoon.

Rocca al Mare Kooli is a private school serving students from Year 1 to 12. The school was tidy, well organized and students had excellent manners in addition to high learning motivation. I was put into a 3rd Year English lesson with merely 9 students. The class atmosphere was active while cooperative. Principal Chan and Mr Kwan went into other classrooms and they saw something very interactive. The school was kind enough to provide us with lunch too. Healthy food was served.

Tallinna Sudalinna Kool, which we paid a visit in the afternoon, was a public school that serves from Year 1 to 9. One special feature of this school is that it has a long-day mode where students can choose to stay in the afternoon for homework tuition till 5pm. Their Head teacher toured us around and gave us a comprehensive picture of the school's curriculum. Unfortunately, we were not arranged to watch any lessons as there were no official classes by the time we were there. But we were impressed by the school's effort to run IT in education and for extra hours to help the needy.

In the evening, for a glimpse of cultural impression, we went to Estonia Concert Hall for the concert of Monika-Evelin Liiv (mezzo-soprano) and we enjoyed her vocal work tremendously.

Overall, this day can be described as "rich" as we could learn from two great schools plus enjoy a beautiful concert. And the biggest blessing today is that, as we have visited more schools here, I have come to a realization that our own school, YWPS, has been doing an excellent job too in terms of hospitality, academic excellence and vibrancy of school's curriculum. Proud of you YW boys!

One more school to visit tomorrow. I look forward to telling you about that soon!

Dr Lee
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QUESTION TIME:

1. This is the shoe rack of Rocca al Mare Kooli. Why do they need such a shoe rack?

2. This is the Canteen of Rocca al Mare Kooli. At lunch time, all students line up to scoop up their choices of food onto their dishes. They return the trays and dishes by themselves in the end. Would you prefer to have this lunch system in YWPS? Why?

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Estonia Educational Trip 2024: Day 5

5/1/2024

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(1 May) Day 5 is a public holiday worldwide. As we don't have official school visits today, we took the liberty to learn from other aspects of Estonia.

Our first stop was the peaceful Tallinn Botanic Garden. Blue sky, large grass fields, a sense of refreshment and not a single piece of rubbish on the ground, what else could we ask for to start the day? If Hong Kong had a place like this, it would probably be crowded, noisy and polluted. After all, Estonia's population is only around 1/6 of Hong Kong's but 41 times larger in terms of land area.

Second stop, we went to Estonian Open Air Museum where the traditional Estonian rural architecture, lifestyle and culture are showcased. Thanks to the endless sunlight, the walk was pleasant and warm. There were ancient cottages, souvenirs booths, food trucks, as well as workshops for woodwork for families. Kids were even taught to handle saws!

The last stop was Eesti Kunstimuuseum, the Art Museum of Estonia. The building was supposed to be the summer palace for Peter the Great, now turned into a place full of artworks. The place wasn't huge, but I feel awesome to have the chance to step into this historical place where ancient Russian royal members set foot on.

Overall, this day can be described as "historical" as we travelled back in time to experience some of the forgotten stories. And the biggest blessing today is that, again, we timely picked the right day with superb weather to have these outdoor walks this morning and afternoon.

More school visits tomorrow. Write you more soon!

Dr Lee
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QUESTION TIME:

1. I saw this sign somewhere at the woods in Estonian Open Air Museum. What is this sign trying to say?

2. I found this beautiful painting in the Art Museum of Estonia. Can you please think of a good title for this artwork and tell me what are the good things about this painting?

52 Comments

Estonia Educational Trip 2024: Day 4

4/30/2024

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(30 Apr) The day I had been looking forward to has arrived. Day 4 is the day we go visit schools. Half of the Hong Kong delegates went to a secondary school in the morning while Principal Chan, Mr Kwan and I chose to visit another school, which was named Tallinn German Gymnasium (the word "Gymnasium" in the German language refers to high school, not a place for workouts!). This school provides education to students from Year 1 to 12 (or in their saying, 1st Class to 12th Class). Therefore, that's a "through-train" school like Ying Wa!

As expected, the school was impressively big with plenty of space for students to run around and release their endless energy. The school impressed me with a high level of respect to students' independence. That could be seen through the fact that:
1. Students were basically not required to wear uniforms, particularly the high forms.
2. Mobile phones were allowed to be used during recess time from Year 5 onwards.
3. Students were encouraged to freely run around the campus and enjoy the different apparatuses around the school like gymnastic rings and a range of climbing areas.

Another cool thing about this school is that they are using a lot e-tools to help teachers do marking, like a lot of homework and even tests are done through computers and they are marked by computers. This saves a lot of time for teachers and students. But of course, the effectiveness of this concept is still debatable if used in our school's context.

Principal Chan, Mr Kwan and I were arranged to watch a Year 4 Maths lesson. There were 18 students in the classroom and they were actively engaged in the calculation activities. Although we didn't understand the language they used (Estonian that was), we could feel the energy of the lesson and the clarity of the teacher's instruction.

It was a pity though that we didn't have a chance to speak to their students. I hope that in our later visits, we will be given this chance.

Overall, this day can be described as "energetic" as the vibrant children in the school gave me this impression. And the biggest blessing today is that we had very sincere and helpful presenters from Tallinn German Gymnasium who showed a very high level of courtesy and hospitality. We are all very grateful for that.

Thank you for reading. Write you more soon!

Dr Lee
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QUESTION TIME:

1. We found these interesting chairs at corridors of the school we visited today. Why were they designed like that?

2. By looking at these pictures taken from the Year 4 Maths lesson I observed, what difference(s) do you see comparing to your Maths learning experience in YWPS?

55 Comments

<<Previous

P.5-6 Singapore Study Tour 2024-2025

Thematic Group Speaking Team's 8th Triumph

Junior Choral Speaking Continues to Snatch Gold

Ying Wa 206, Our Win is Very BIG!

YWPS Boy Awarded in SOW Campaign

Estonia Educational Trip 2024: Closure

Estonia Educational Trip 2024: Day 7

Estonia Educational Trip 2024: Day 6

Estonia Educational Trip 2024: Day 5

Estonia Educational Trip 2024: Day 4

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