SCHEME NEWS
NET issue 28
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NET Scheme News Issue 28
“Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success.”
—Henry Ford
As a professional learning community, the NET Section collaborates and learns with our partners on the front-line to promote English language education in local primary and secondary schools. In this issue of the newsletter, we would like to share with you some memorable experiences on this learning journey and to celebrate what we have achieved
in collaboration with our professional partners.
Knowledge building is a social process and collaboration is the key. It applies to our students and it also applies to us as expert learners. However, we would not be having genuine collaboration simply by putting people together. There must be something meaningful and worth committing
ourselves to that brings about fruitful collaboration.
Since the 2006/07 school year, our Regional NET Coordinators have been designing and conducting different competitions and Seed projects to provide opportunities for our secondary students from diverse backgrounds to experience success.
Such opportunities would not have been possible without our close partnership with the local English teachers and NETs in the participating schools. Now we see the fruits of our collaborative efforts when we applaud the impressive student performances and productions in ‘Clipit’, ‘Speak Out Act Up’,
‘Science on Stage’ and ‘Shorts’. In our Seed project sharing and briefing sessions, such as those on Stellar, ExEL2C and MmT2.0, we celebrate the success of the various learning partnerships forged
and give our project school teachers recognition for their innovative and reflective practice.
With our partners in primary schools, our Advisory Teachers developed from scratch the Primary Literacy Programme – Reading and Writing (PLP-R/W) seven years ago to serve a dual purpose – to develop our students’
interest in reading and their literacy skills and to build a collaborative culture among teachers in each of our programme schools. To this end, we endeavour to develop tripartite partnerships between our local English teachers, our NETs and the Advisory Teachers of our Section. Through these partnerships, we build the capacity of our schools and strengthen the four pillars of the programme, viz. a language-rich environment, effective classroom routines, formative assessment, and the explicit teaching of reading and writing skills and strategies.
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NET Scheme News Issue 28
The last seven years of developing, implementing and reviewing the PLP- R/W has been a great learning experience. To sustain the impact of such a programme, we need to refine and rejuvenate it by taking into consideration our front-line partners’ feedback and our Advisory Teachers’
observations, and, in this
Digital Age, by tapping into the power of technology. Through all the hard work and commitment of our Advisory Teachers, as well as the unwavering support of our front-line partners, we have created Space Town, a refined version of the PLP-R/W, which will be piloted in the 2015/16 school year. With Space Town, apart from strengthening the four pillars of the PLP-R/W, we will work closely with our programme schools to explore how best to use technology to enhance English learning and teaching and to develop students’
metacognitive skills and self-directed learning habits.
One size never fits all. To provide multiple avenues for students to learn and to realise their potential, we need to keep expanding our repertoire. In addition to the PLP-R/W and Space Town, we continually explore ways of designing and providing different engaging learning experiences for our students and addressing the learning gaps in our classrooms. We understand that while skill makes reading a possibility, it is motivation that makes reading a reality (Colker 2007) 1 . To nurture a generation of life-long learners and readers, we need to develop and provide materials that attract our students and appeal to their intellectual curiosity (Ivey 2010) 2.
Our latest Seed project – Development of Text Sets for Enriching the School-based English Language Curriculum (DTS) - is one such initiative that aims to identify and develop texts that are memorable and provide an intellectual challenge. Through creating and using such texts together with our project schools, we are providing learning experiences that not only develop our students’ decoding and comprehension skills, but also enhance their knowledge of the world through their interaction and engagement with different types of
quality multi-genre and multi-modal texts on different themes that appeal to them. In the first year of project implementation, we have created some wonderful teachable moments and shining eyes in the DTS classroom.
With this initial success, we are expecting more rewarding experiences as the project matures and our partnership with the participating schools flourishes.
1 Colker (2007). In her online article, When Children Read Because They Want To, Not Because They Have To, first published in 2007, Dr Laura Colker stresses that motivation is as integral to reading instruction as skill building. The article is available at https://castl.duq.edu/Conferences/Library03/PDF/Intrinsic_Motivation/When_Children_Read.pdf.
2 Ivey, G. (2010). Texts that matter. Educational Leadership, 67(6), 18-23.
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NET Scheme News Issue 28
A prime objective of the NET Scheme is to develop innovative practice. In our profession, we are entrusted with a role in shepherding innovation. In April and May, with the admirable effort of our puppetry team and our front-line partners, we held our pilot puppetry competition for local primary and secondary schools. There we saw students develop and demonstrate confidence and competence in using English creatively to tell their stories using a different voice and through a different persona. The success of this pilot experience has proven that we can make a difference by sharing a passion and that through purposeful collaboration, we can enliven our classroom with our puppets, our stories and our passion.
In our Primary Literacy Expo on 16 May 2015, we celebrated our many different partnerships and took our guests on a tour of our Space Town.
The experiences shared and stories told through the articles and pictures in this newsletter and at our Expo have made our
learning journey memorable.
Let’s join hands to create more and more of such experiences for our students and ourselves. With a worthy goal and a shared commitment, we can, and we will, make a difference.
Joe Leung, Chief Curriculum Development Officer, NET Section
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NET Scheme News Issue 28
‘Hands on Stage’
Puppetry Competition for Secondary Schools
Secondary school teams tried their hand at the pilot ‘Hands on Stage’ Puppetry Competition held on 5 May 2015. Playful puppet shows as well as those with more serious messages made the audience laugh and listen.
Ms Sue Shaw, NET at HK & KLN KFWA Sun Fong Chung College, said, ‘The students just learnt so much from the experience. They had to meet rehearsal deadlines on time and they realised the value of teamwork. They also learnt how to project their voices and be expressive without being embarrassed. I was so surprised and pleased at their willingness to be in character. I’ve been amazed at the impact the competition has had on them.’
The competition was organised by the Regional NET Coordinating Team at the NET Section and the North, Sha Tin, Tuen Mun and Yuen Long Districts of the School Development Section, EDB.
The nine teams were made up of 4 – 5 students who performed an original script of 6 – 7 minutes, which was based on one given line of dialogue. The teams made their own backdrops and were allowed to use up to three props as well as sound effects to enhance their performances. Winning teams received generous book coupons of up to $1,200 and beautiful crystal trophies funded by the School Development Section, EDB.
In November, teachers attended a briefing session followed by a 3-hour puppet-making and puppetry technique workshop. At the workshop, the teachers made puppets of various types, such as paper bag, glove, sock and shadow. Most of the teachers went back and helped their students design their own puppets with some stunning results.
In the break and whilst the judges were deliberating, the secondary teams were delightfully entertained by Tuen Mun Government Primary School and SKH Holy Spirit Primary School, who had won their sessions in the primary puppetry competition on 25 April.
The competition is ideal for shy students who don’t want to appear on stage. It aims to give students a chance to use English in a creative and motivating way. Next year the competition will be open to all secondary schools in Hong Kong. A briefing session for interested teachers will be held around the beginning of November 2015.
For more information, please refer to: www.edb.gov.hk/net/enet/handsonstage Gina Green, RNC, NET Section
Prize winners:
1st Prize : TWGHs Lee Ching Dea Memorial College Backdrop and Effects : HK & KLN KFWA Sun Fong Chung College Puppetry Technique : The YWCA Hioe Tjo Yoeng College
Language – voice work : HKTA Tang Hin Memorial Secondary School Language – script : Tuen Mun Catholic Secondary School
Puppet Design : Caritas Fanling Chan Chun Ha Secondary School
A Puppetry Competition certainly was a new concept for primary schools. It was piloted in this 2014/2015 school year as a collaborative project between the NET Section and the School Development Section of the Education Bureau. The pilot involved 4 Districts: Yuen Long, Tuen Mun, Sha Tin and North. Altogether there were 17 participating schools. The competition itself was held on 25 April 2015 at PLK Women’s Welfare Club Western District Fung Lee Pui Yiu Primary school. It was a great success.
To highlight its Language Arts elements, the puppetry project was entitled ‘English and Arts Rich Practice:
Teaching English through the Art of Using Puppetry’. It was designed to encourage creative writing and the use of English while building students’ self-esteem through their performance in a fun environment. Puppetry workshops that were operated in tandem with the competition provided the fuel and stimulus for these very worthwhile objectives.
As a first step to organising the project, a team of Advisory Teachers (ATs) with expertise in puppetry was formed.
These ATs were Susan Bowden, James Vickers, Geoff Brown and Garlanda Kwan and the team was led by Patricia Wong, the Assistant Project Manager. In order to enhance the quality of the project, two consultants, Scott Wilkins and Marika Els, were hired.
To support teachers in preparing their students for the competition, a series of professional development activities was organised, which included a briefing session, a workshop and a cluster meeting. In addition, on-line platforms such as Edmodo were created to promote experience-sharing among teachers through posting student performance videos on-line. The teachers participated actively in the events and gained a lot of ideas for enhancing their students’ performances.
The NET Section has purchased and made available a range of required resources to support the competition, e.g. performance tents, puppets of various sizes and characters and materials for making different kinds of puppets. The School Development Section sponsored the trophies and prizes for the competition.
On the competition day, the schools were assigned to two sessions according to whether they were located in the New Territories West or New Territories East Region. Each session was judged by Scott Wilkins and Phillip Weber.
Awards and prizes were given for each session which included: first prize, awards for voice work, teamwork, puppetry technique and creativity. Below are the competition results:
Patricia Wong, Assistant Project Manager, NET Section 6
NET Scheme News Issue 28
‘Story to Stage’
Puppetry Competition for Primary Schools
2015 Final Results (AM Session)
Award School Name
1st Prize Tuen Mun Government Primary School (Story: Paper Bag Princess)
Voice Work SKH Ling Oi Primary School
(Story: Hansel the Duck and Grettel the Rabbit) Teamwork LST Leung Kau Kui Primary School (branch)
(Story: The Greatest Party on Earth) Puppetry Technique LST Leung Kau Kui Primary School
(Story: The Three Little Monsters) Creativity Toi Shan Association Primary School
(Story: The Bun King)
2015 Final Results (PM Session)
Award School Name
1st Prize SKH Holy Spirit Primary School (Story: The Ugly Crab)
Voice Work Baptist Lui Ming Choi Primary School (City One) (Story: An Alternative Fairytale)
Teamwork Fung Kai Liu Yun Sum Memorial School (Story: Cinderella)
Puppetry Technique SA Ting Ka Ping School (Story: Henny Penny) Creativity SKH Holy Spirit Primary School
(Story: The Ugly Crab)
‘Story to Stage’ Puppetry Competition for Primary Schools
Puppetry winner (SKH Holy Spirit PS)
Puppetry winner (Tuen Mun Govt PS) Happy participants Happy participants
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NET Scheme News Issue 28
Learning English through puppetry provides a pleasurable learning experience for students, especially those at primary level. It is fun for students to work as a team and present their stories to the audience using different kinds of puppets and simple props. It also encourages the participation of students who may be too shy to act on the stage.
This year, the NET Section provided a valuable opportunity for primary school students in the New Territories Region to take part in the ‘Story to Stage’
Puppetry Competition. I was greatly impressed by the active participation of the students and their high level of performance during the competition. Some groups chose well-known stories while other groups exercised their creativity and wrote their own. Students were well prepared and they were fluent in their spoken English.
They also had good mastery of the puppetry techniques even though this was the first attempt for most of them.
They talked clearly and moved the puppets around the stage confidently. They collaborated well and the
presentation was very smooth. Their wonderful performances made the event a big success.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the NET Section for organising such a fun event for the students and providing the training to the teachers. My gratitude also goes to the teachers for their full support in enhancing students’ English learning. It is hoped that the English Puppetry Competition will continue next year and more schools can take part.
Emilie Tong, Chief School Development Officer (Tuen Mun)
This year, my school participated in the first ever English puppetry competition by the NET Section. When I first learned of the programme, I thought it would be beneficial not only for my students, but also for myself and my professional development.
The workshops presented by the NET Section were exciting and informative.
I was energised by Scott from The Theatre Bus, who provided us with excellent materials and activities that allowed us to transfer our excitement for puppetry to our students. Both the workshops and the cluster meeting held by the NET Section helped lay the foundation for introducing puppetry to our school and for teaching the necessary skills: writing and adapting a script, basic puppetry movement skills, voice work, icebreaker activities, exercises for stimulating creativity, and how to put all the skills together
into one final product. The information booklet given to us in the workshops was a helpful guide to
use when I returned to the classroom. It helped me implement the various strategies I had learned as well as motivated me to find more information about other skills on the Web. The magical part about this competition is that it gave my students more opportunities to use the English language. For instance, I noticed quickly that they used the language from the script to make up new stories on their own. It was fascinating to witness.
Overall, my students and I thoroughly enjoyed participating in the competition and are excited to build upon our skills for next year!
Julia Rucinski, NET, SKH Holy Spirit Primary School
‘Story to Stage’
A Story of Happy Collaboration
My School’s First English Puppetry Competition
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The inaugural ‘Story to Stage’ Primary Puppetry Competition was a fun and exhilarating day for everyone. The majority of participants had never imagined that learning English through puppetry was considered Language Arts. Instead, they thought of it more as a form of entertainment and a performance to enjoy. While nearly all the teachers agreed there were challenges at the start - from perfecting the art of Drama to developing such puppetry skills as diction and hand coordination techniques - all of them admitted that the creative process of crafting the script and designing the puppets, props and backdrops was a positive and engaging experience for the students. In addition, the teachers pointed out
that their commitment to the puppetry competition had not only ultimately improved students’ overall English skills through bringing the language alive with puppets and role-play, but had also enhanced their students’
cooperative learning skills. The teachers noticed that the more students worked closely together, the more they formed a strong sense of teamwork and camaraderie. A snapshot of what happened behind the tent would show how students learned to move together, assist team members and even motivate one another.
Each school team consisted of five students. They received training from their English teachers who attended a series of professional development workshops conducted by the NET Section puppetry team to upskill teachers so that they could disseminate the innovative and creative ideas upon return to their respective schools.
Additional remote and on-site support was also provided. Teachers commented that this was a necessity leading up to the competition. At the end of the competition, one teacher had this to share, “I actually rather enjoyed today and saw how much fun the kids had. It kind of brought back my passion for teaching again.”
On the day of the competition, after months of painstaking practice, everyone was ready to show off their ‘finished products’. Many awards were presented to participating schools for Teamwork, Voice Work, Creativity (Use of Props & Sound Effects) and Puppetry Technique. Although the two judges, Mr Scott Wilkins and Mr Phillip Weber, were unable to award prizes to all the teams, they were in full agreement that what they had seen was quality puppetry.
Learning and teaching English through puppetry has truly been a remarkable experience, as was sharing the joy of the students and teachers at the end of one happy and proud puppetry journey!
Mary Hui, AT, and Puppetry Team, NET Section
On with the Puppets!
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I am very satisfied with this performance because we were trained for a long time and I worked very hard during the training. I was very nervous before the performance but then I felt less nervous after the first scene. There was a problem with my microphone in the last part but I kept on speaking without it affecting the performance. I was very honoured to be the main actor. Although I wasn’t willing to do it at the beginning, I got used to it and I hope that I will get the chance to be the main actor in the future.
Vincent Lam P5
In this performance I have learned about collaboration. Everyone is important in the team. Although some people did not appear in the show, it didn’t mean that they were not important, for example the make-up team. The teachers were the most important because they helped the students speak in English and learn acting skills. The students acted very well in the performance because they spent a lot of time practising. I was very happy doing this performance and I hope to join again next time.
Jaden Ip P5
I felt very lucky to join this drama performance. In the beginning I couldn’t do everything well but after the teachers’ advice and training and many tries, I could finally be brave and confident enough to perform. While preparing for the performance, we were all very nervous but when I saw the audience I became brave again and did my best to perform. Through this performance I not only increased my confidence but also came to understand that making others happy increases my happiness. In the training, whenever I felt discouraged or sad, the other students would always encourage me. I will join the English drama performance again.
Calvin Leung P6
I want to thank our teachers who helped us to train very hard. In my mind, elves are cute and outgoing.
I was very happy to be an elf. At the beginning, we made many mistakes, but the teachers helped and trained us well. During the performance, we were rather nervous but after the performance, we all felt relieved and we did very well.
Cathy Wong P6
LSTYCM Primary School
30th Anniversary Drama Production
Student Reflections
Lok Sin Tong Yeung Chung Ming Primary School celebrated their 30th Anniversary this academic year. In honour of the occasion, the school produced an English Drama show - Celebrate with Santa. The script was written and directed by the school’s NET, Donna Willis, and the drama was performed by the school’s English Drama Club, consisting of students from P4-6. Each scene focused on an issue relevant to the students’ lives, including the importance of family, working hard at school, bullying and other social issues. The script revolved around a 30th Anniversary TV special and the TV programmes showcased students from different ECA
groups within the school, including the Chinese Dance, Kung Fu, Musical Instruments, Choir, and Choral Speaking groups. The show was performed in the Kwun Tong CFSC Hall. It was a huge success and was enjoyed by VIP guests, parents, teachers and students alike.
Donna Willis, NET, LST Yeung Chung Ming Primary School
Kung fu Celebrate with Santa Cheering Chinese dance
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English Day Camp 2015
This year, TKDS Fong Shu Chuen School’s English Day Camp for Key Stage 1 (P1-P3) to promote English language was held on 22 January 2015. Students from all the classes were very excited as they came down to the school hall for English Day Camp activities.
For this event, Primary 5 English Ambassadors (EAs) were trained
by the school NET, Mr Navez, to run eight English language games booths.
This year, each student had to answer a magic question for each class level from their General English textbooks at each booth before doing the interactive English activities.
At the beginning of second term this year, an Interactive Buddy Reading (IBR) programme was also introduced by the NET. Students not only read books to their buddies, but also labelled picture cards about content words in the book, read high frequency word (HFW) cards, described 3 to 4 pictures which were carefully selected from the book, and answered literal and inferential questions after reading aloud. By introducing the IBR programme, the school is helping students who do not get much support at home in learning English to make greater progress.
Primary 3 students are selected as English Reading Ambassadors (ERA) and trained to help the NET to run the trial IBR programme during lunch time twice a week. For the trial of the IBR programme this year, Primary One students were selected. One book is selected to be used over 2 to 3 weeks for 4 to 6 IBR sessions depending on the contents of the book. So far, the continuous anecdotal observations during the IBR programme are very positive and useful. We plan to implement the IBR programme from P1 to P3 in the next academic year.
Akhter Navez, NET, and Elaine Chan, EPC, TKDS Fong Shu Chuen School
English ambassadors Reading buddies
The Language Arts Day of Two Cities 2015 Sabah Tshung Tsin Secondary School and Lee Kau Yan Memorial School
The Language Arts Day of Two Cities, a bilingual speaking event jointly organised by Lee Kau Yan Memorial School, Hong Kong, and Sabah Tshung Tsin Secondary School, Malaysia, was held on 28 April 2015 in the Lee Kau Yan Memorial School Hall. Student representatives of Tshung Tsin and Lee Kau Yan performed dramatic duologues and recited poems in Putonghua and English. This year, a representative from the Native-speaking English Teacher Section of the EDB, and Mr Kenny SEOW Wai-kee, the Executive Editor of Yazhou Zhoukan, were guest speakers.
The two schools started the partnership in 2006 and held the first on-line debate in January 2007. The aim of these
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NET Scheme News Issue 28
Guided Reading, the Guiding Light
events is to expose students to peers from another country and to boost their language skills through different elements in Language Arts learning. A variety of activities are selected, such as debate, public speaking, solo verse speaking, choral speaking, storytelling and dramatic duologue.
Students performed prose readings about unique places in Sabah and Hong Kong in Putonghua, and dramatic monologues and duologues in English.
Seventeen students from Buddhist Chi King Primary School were invited to give a lively performance of Students’ Rules (Dizigui) in Putonghua.
Students from all three schools performed very well. The audience was deeply impressed by the talented students from Sabah and Hong Kong and enjoyed a wonderful afternoon.
Phillip Weber, RNC, NET Section
While educators may have different ideas on how a balanced literacy programme should be organised, most would agree that Guided Reading is a necessary component. Through this strategy, teachers are able to provide specific feedback to students while guiding them to become more confident and proficient readers.
Attending the centralised professional development workshop on Guided Reading organised by the NET Section further underlined its importance and I knew then that I needed to implement a Guided Reading programme at my school. We decided to introduce it to P1 students first and extend it to the other year levels in the future.
Some of the circumstances weren’t ideal and numerous challenges arose. For example, my school only had four books in each set and that meant students had to share. I also wasn’t sure how to organise the classrooms because I don’t have my own English Room. We tried to arrange the desks into two small groups with the remaining desks used for students working independently. This setup was time consuming and confused the students. In the end, we decided to have the students sit on the floor at the front of the classroom. Additionally, some of the groups had trouble working independently. We solved this problem by assigning student helpers to each group, which worked well. I was determined to make it work and with the support of my AT and English Panel Head, I continued my efforts.
It was important to me to have the support of my co-teachers as well and I wanted to make the transition easy for them. I made short lesson plans for each set of books and scheduled co-planning meetings to ensure everyone was comfortable leading a Guided Reading lesson. We also conducted a practice lesson to go over procedures with the students so they knew why we were doing guided reading, how it would look, and what we expected from them.
As an educator, it’s very rewarding to see the students’ enthusiasm and sense of accomplishment during the Guided Reading lessons. Even my most timid students are beginning to shine as they become more confident.
By consistently applying this Guided Reading approach alongside Shared Reading, children will develop a wide range of skills, which they can independently apply in all areas of the English language curriculum.
Leah Williams, NET, Tai Kok Tsui Catholic Primary School (Hoi Fan Road)
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‘Speak Out – Act Up!’ and ‘Science on Stage’
‘My students returned to school buzzing and with a new found confidence in their ability to use English’ said Mr Paul Brownlie, the NET at Fanling Rhenish Church Secondary School, after his team won a prize for teamwork at the 7th ‘Speak Out – Act Up!’ Improvised Drama Competition in April 2015.
Teams of 4 – 6 students from 59 Hong Kong secondary schools entered the competition organised by the Regional NET Coordinating Team at the NET Section, EDB. One of the judges, Ms Amanda Chapman, praised the students for their creativity and teamwork. ‘We thought they had all put in a lot of time and energy to produce imaginative and interesting performances,’ she said.
In the ‘Science on Stage’ Competition, Lok Sin Tong Wong Chung Ming Secondary School won the first prize for the second year in a row, after also winning the Integration of Science and Drama prize in 2012/13. This year Kwun Tong Government Secondary School won two prizes – Integration of Science and Drama as well as Teamwork.
As some teachers say, ‘Speak Out – Act Up!’ has become a part of our school calendar’, so it will continue again next year with a briefing session for teachers in November and drama workshops early in 2016.
For more information on the ‘Speak Out – Act Up!’ Improvised Drama Competition, please refer to: www.edb.
gov.hk/net/enet/speakoutactup Gina Green, RNC, NET Section
‘Speak Out – Act Up!’ team prizes:
1st Prize:
LKWFSL Lau Wong Fat Secondary School CUHKFAA Chan Chun Ha Secondary School PLK Tang Yuk Tien College
Christian Alliance S C Chan Memorial College Hoi Ping Chamber of Commerce Secondary School Teamwork:
LKWFSL Lau Wong Fat Secondary School Fanling Rhenish Church Secondary School CUHKFAA Thomas Cheung Secondary School TWGHs Sun Hoi Directors’ College
Raimondi College Use of Language:
Nam Wah Catholic Secondary School Christ College
HKWMA Chu Shek Lun Secondary School SALEM Immanuel Lutheran College CCC Kwei Wah Shan College Creativity:
Tuen Mun Government Secondary School SKH Tsang Shiu Tim Secondary School
Queen’s College Old Boys Association Secondary School South Tuen Mun Government Secondary School Homantin Government Secondary School Dramatic Technique:
Pope Paul VI College
CUHKFAA Chan Chun Ha Secondary School Valtorta College
Po Kok Secondary School
Buddhist Hung Sean Chau Memorial College
‘Science on Stage’ team prizes:
1st prize:
Lok Sin Tong Wong Chung Ming Secondary School Integration of Science and Drama:
Kwun Tong Government Secondary School Integration of Multimedia Technology:
St Catharine’s School for Girls, Kwun Tong Use of Language:
Helen Liang Memorial Secondary School Teamwork:
Kwun Tong Government Secondary School
‘Speak Out – Act Up!’ individual prizes:
Speak Out – Act Up! Superstar Award (best overall performance):
Sophia Kwok, ELCHK Yuen Long Lutheran Secondary School Sekunder Zaheer, Kau Yan College
Kwok Chun Ming, PLK Tang Yuk Tien College Lee Cheuk Yee, CCC Yenching College Simranjit Kaur, CCC Kwei Wah Shan College Act Up! Star Award (best acting):
Stella Tsui, Pope Paul VI College
Chan Sin Kiu, CUHKFAA Chan Chun Ha Secondary School Li Chun Hin, Pui Shing Catholic Secondary School Mui Po Yi, South Tuen Mun Government Secondary School Yung Man Hang, Brian, Salesian English School
Speak Out! Star Award (best use of English):
Samuel Kuo Ching, LKWFSL Lau Wong Fat Secondary School Derrick Ishmael B Ringor, Christ College
Cheung Long Chai, Yuen Long Merchants Association Secondary School Lo Ho Cheung, SALEM Immanuel Lutheran College
Noreen Maria, PLK Tong Nai Kan Junior Secondary School
‘Science on Stage’ individual prizes:
Best English Award:
Yung Man Hang, Brian, Salesian English School Best Actor Award:
Yue Ho Yin, Daniel, The Methodist Church Hong Kong Wesley College
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Expo
Welcome to our Primary Literacy Expo, 16 May, 2015. Thank you ushers and the registration team.
Thank you, our charming MCs and presenters, for steering the
Expo from the past to the future. Great job! You deserve an
Oscar too!
Thank you for taking an active interest in our displays and activities, and for the friendly smiles and conversations.
“I would like to congratulate the team on a wonderful performance on Saturday at the Space Town Expo. It was superbly organised. What I have seen really impressed me. I am especially excited about the e-learning part since it is closely related to our school’s curriculum development plan. Much appreciated!”
- Joey Venter, NET, TWGHs Hok Shan School
“I tremendously enjoyed the Expo.
The idea of introducing hyper-linked resources is great. The astro costumes were a hit and proved again that the ATs in the EDB NET section are super creative with a great sense of humour. Thank you for your hard work!”
- Sophie Bezhanova, NET, Tsuen Wan Chiu Chow Public School
“We really enjoyed the games, the show and the introduction to Space Town. We found Space Town very user friendly for students, parents and teachers. There are lots of improvements on phonics, student handouts and IT support. We were impressed by the creativity that the NET Section has too!”
- Jolly Shek, EPC, and Ms Chiu, CD, Tsuen Wan Chiu Chow Public School
NET Scheme News Issue 28
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“The Space Town resources are excellent. Well done.”
- HKCWC Hioe Tjo Yoeng Primary School
“A Wonderful Expo from the NET Section! We found the expo both helpful and interesting. Space Town looks like a very exciting new programme that will help to motivate and encourage the children whilst they are learning English.
Thanks!”
- Alexandra Watson, NET , and Gloria Wu, EPC, Shek Lei St. John’s Catholic Primary School
“Thanks for the information and support regarding our English programme.”
- Hong Kong Red Cross Margaret Trench School
“The expo was great. I like the montage, so sweet.”
- St Paul’s Primary Catholic School
“I think that the closer integration of PLP-R/W and G.E. through the Space Town addition will result in less diffused learning. The Activity Booklets really support LETs well. The availability of online resources for students to view at home further reinforces the school-home partnership.
The retention of familiar Big Books and take-home books ensures that teachers still feel comfortable in working with known materials, in both the classroom and the English Room.”
- Ian Toogood, NET, NTW & JWA Leung Sing Tak Primary School
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NET Scheme News Issue 28
Our Newsletter and Proofreading Teams Newsletter Team
Editor-in-chief: Teresa Chu
Team members: Kay Beadman, Garlanda Kwan, Philip Weber, Sterling Wu, Christine Xavier, Kit Yong
Erratum notice
An incorrect photo was used in the last issue (Issue 27) of the NET Scheme News to illustrate the article, A new journey starts with GEL.com.
The photo, which appears at the bottom of page 5, does not show students from TWGHs Sin Chu Wan Primary School as originally stated. The Newsletter Team apologises to the school and to the readers for the error.
This Newsletter is prepared by the NET Section, CDI, EDB.
All comments and suggestions on the Newsletter can be sent to [email protected]
Thank you, honourable guests and VIPs of the day, for your presence. Your active participation is our delight, and your joy, our pleasure.
From preparing the programme to the setting up of the display boards and the iPads, thank you NET Section Admin Team, for your strong arms and helping hands. Good job!
Thank you, our official Expo photographers, for the clever capture of images that will illuminate our memories as they lend proof to a great and joyful occasion.
Thanks to all who have made the Expo a success, by coming together, staying together and working together.
Proofreading Team
Team Members: Kathryn Davis, Gina Green, Julien Hawthorne, Anne Macpherson, Roland Smith, David Wu
