Continual S.1 Class Expansion
This year, the school has once again set a new record regarding the number of enrolments in both the Discretionary Places Admission stage and the Central Allocation stage. In fact, this is a new record for the past 10 years. Therefore, the Education Bureau has confirmed that the school will continue to expand classes in S.1. This achievement exactly reflects the recognition and affirmation of parents to the school. In addition to the substantial increase in the number of enrolments, the banding of our new students has also improved, which confirms the achievement of the school’s relentless efforts and continuous improvement over the years. As observed, the academic performance of our students in these years has been impressive. The school is pleased to see that the results in all subjects have improved. Thus, all staff of the school will be united and do our utmost to nurture every student and develop their potentials, so that our students can successfully pursue and realize their dreams.
The Focus Inspection ratification of the effectiveness of Self-regulated Learning
This year is the fourth year our school has been promoting Self-regulated Learning. In the past three years, the school has used the four ‘Ps’ to train students to be self-regulated learners. These are: ‘Preparation before Lesson’, ‘Proactivity during Lesson’, ‘Preservation after Lesson’ and ‘Positioning in Learning’. As a result, students’ obvious increased motivation and active learning in classrooms can be seen. Additionally, in the Focus Inspection Report 2018 (see attachment) from EDB, the school was recognized for its outstanding performance and success in implementing and developing its self-regulated learning initiatives.
Development of Self-Regulated Learning
To cultivate students to become self-regulated learners, the school has adopted different strategies at different stages. In the first stage, the school encourages students to prepare before lessons by training students to ‘learn before teaching’. By being well-prepared before lessons, discovering the learning content and raising questions during discussions, motivation and learning effectiveness can then be improved. At the second stage, the school encourages proactivity during lessons. By practicing cooperative learning in groups, students’ participation in lessons can be increased. Through discussions, questions, cooperation, presentations, feedback and note-taking, students’ learning motivation can be increased and they can ‘lead to learn’. At the third stage, the school encourages preservation after lessons. The content learnt in lessons becomes more substantial and well-organized for students, revision becomes easier and learning efficiency can eventually be higher. Most importantly, the school implemented the ‘6 stages of note-taking’ last year and the result has been really substantial. Students’ note-taking skills have improved. They have progressed from a fundamental level of ‘Guided Note’ to ‘Footnote’ and finally to an advanced level of ‘Conversion Note’. Teachers have noticed the quick progress of students as they have taken a vital and crucial step towards self-regulated learning.
Assessment for Learning
The focus of self-regulated learning in our school this year is ‘Assessments for Learning’. Traditionally, assessments were used to assess the learning outcomes of students. However, things have changed. Assessments are now not only limited to testing students’ knowledge but also to ascertain students’ weaknesses and further develop teaching strategies to improve their learning. Assessments will take place throughout the whole learning process and learning can be enhanced through feedback before, during and after lesson. The school hopes that students can actively evaluate their progress in learning, adjust strategies and reset goals which will facilitate further participation in learning, master the rhythm of learning and set their personalized learning goals. Eventually, every one of them should become masters of learning!
International Campus
In the past six years, the school has gradually developed into an international campus due to the admission of students of different nationalities. Our first Non-Chinese Speaking (NCS) students participated in the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (HKDSE) 2018. They have obtained outstanding results. We are pleased to learn that all the students (100%) met the entry requirements of local bachelor degree programmes and were successfully admitted to bachelor degree programmes in Hong Kong. This year, the school will launch the ‘4Cs Development’, dedicated to fostering the growth of NCS students in Career path, Competence, Chinese language and Citizenship. It is our firm belief that through this initiative, they can be fully integrated into Hong Kong society.
‘Old Master Q’ Idiom Learning Materials
Since last year, the school has experimented with the ‘Old Master Q Idiom Learning Materials’ to enhance the ability of NCS students in both spoken and written Chinese and the results are good. In our annual drama performance, NCS students can naturally take part in precise and concise four-character idiom dialogues on stage, show their learning outcomes and win warm applause from the audience. This year, the school will use the ‘Old Master Q Idiom Learning Materials’ to teach four-character idioms in regular lessons of NCS students, to improve their Chinese proficiency. It is hoped that Chen Xiao of class 6W, who attained an outstanding performance of 5** in Chinese Language in the HKDSE in 2017/2018 can act as a role model for our students to learn Chinese well and increase their chances of entering university.
Cultivation of ‘Wahshanian’ Personality Traits
In addition to academic pursuits, the school also pays great attention to the moral character of our students. Among the 6 ‘Wahshanian personality traits’, the first key trait cultivated last year was ‘respect’. In order to match the schools aim to cultivate this quality in students, the various departments and committees make a concerted effort to do so. They encourage students to show respect to people, life, animals, the environment, occupations and so on. Through a wealth of activities and competitions, students can experience the importance of respect and the results are remarkable. This year, the school will focus on cultivating students’ sense of responsibility, hoping that students can do their part in both academic and everyday life so as to learn to be responsible individuals!
‘Wahshanian’ Physical and Aesthetic Development Plan
In addition, the school also creates opportunities in sports and arts for students to develop their potentials. For this purpose, the ‘Wah Shan Sports Science Room’ and the ‘Wah Shan Stage’ have been built. Students can use these platforms to show their talents in sports and arts. Last year, our students had a lot of excellent performances. Our basketball team once again won the overall Championship of Inter-School Basketball Competition Division One (Hong Kong Island) Boys and our girls gospel band ‘The Next Generation’ performed at many occasions, winning praise from all parties. Moreover, our school hosted the 1st Hong Kong Primary Schools Harmonica Competition 2018 and it was successfully held on 5th July. This laid a milestone in the development of harmonica education in Hong Kong. This year, the school will implement the ‘Wahshanian Physical and Aesthetic Development Plan’ to further hone students’ talents in sports and arts and provide them with opportunities to excel.
Conclusion
Lastly, I need to once again thank God for His blessings these past years. His good guidance on the road to self-regulated learning has directed the school in practical and feasible ways. I hope that our school team can continue to work humbly to nurture the growth of Wahshanians in this generation and cultivate excellent talents for Hong Kong and our Motherland.
Dr. Cheng Lai-lam, Felix
Principal
October, 2018