Enrolment List - NSS English Enrichment Class (2014 / 2015)

The following students have been selected to join our school's NSS English Enrichment Class (2014 / 2015):

	Class	Name
1	4A	PANG WING TUNG VICTORIA
2	4A	CHEUNG CHUN YIN ALEX
3	4B	WONG CHEUK YIU
4	4C	CHOI SUNG YIU
5	4C	YUEN WAI LAM NOVA
6	4C	LAI SEN YI
7	4D	CHAN HEI MAN
8	4D	CHAU HEI CHING
9	4D	NG WAI CHI
10	4E	NG KING WAH
11	5B	CHAN TSZ MAN
12	5B	CHOW CHO TUNG
13	5D	LIN HOI YING
14	5E	WONG HOI CHE

Enrolment List - English Off-campus Activities (November) Struggle for Survival Simulation (1 Nov 2014)

The following students have been selected to join our school's off-campus English Activity (November) Struggle for Survival Simulation organised by the Crossroads Foundation (1 Nov 2014):

	Class	Class No	Name
1	1B	1	Au Hoi Ching
2	1B	11	Lee Tin Yan
3	1B	22	Cheng Ho Yin
4	1B	30	Tsang Hiu Fung
5	1C	13	Tsui  Ka Yu
6	1D	29	Lee Tsz Hei
7	2D	1	Chan Chi Tung
8	2D	13	Tsui Wing Tung
9	3A	20	Yim Sze Wan
10	4B	33	Lo Tsz Yin
11	5B	2	Chan Tsz Man
12	5B	3	Chow Cho Tung
13	5B	11	Lung Cheuk Hang
14	5E	12	Leung Cheuk Wing
15	5E	17	Wong Hoi Che

Education System (6B Chan Sau Yuen, Bernie)

         Last week, an old classmates of mine came home for a holiday from a boarding school in the US. I asked him what he found most difficult about going to a boarding school. Surprisingly, it was not keeping up with the reading or managing time. It was agreeing to help a friend, sharing notes and lab work, and contributing ideas in his class. In other words, it was learning to work as a team.

Competing with classmates and schoolmates is the culture of Hong Kong. The education system does not allow Hong Kong students to be promoted or get admission in a secondary school or university without competing with classmates by having a better academic result and getting in the ideal school or not. Therefore, I think it is not the Hong Kong students who refuse to learn and help one another; it is the education system which is stopping them.

I also think that teamwork is important. Nowadays, students need to do many projects and carry out division of labour and communicate with other group members. Therefore, leadership skills and communication skills are important for Hong Kong students and should be improved. Most of the Hong Kong students are self-centred and do not know how to communicate with others to come up to a common consensus and many also have poor leadership skills. So, they cannot lead a team successfully.

Therefore, I agree that Hong Kong students need to learn to co-operate with each other instead of competing against one another. So I hope the government can change the education system to help students. In my opinion, Hong Kong students should take part in the uniform team and experience physical training or the foot drill training and take up leadership tasks to be cooperative with other people.

Youth Unemployment (6A Kelvin Lau)

     In recent years, stemming from the increasing number of jobless youngsters, youth unemployment has been a hot issue under much discussion in society. This worsening situation brings a lot of harm to all Hong Kongers. Many people then put the blame on the new generation that they don’t strive to seize the working opportunities. However, it is already proved that there are numerous external factors determining the youth employment rate. In this article, I would like to have a deep insight at the whole issue, hoping to inspire you more about youth unemployment.

     To address a problem comprehensively, looking into the causes of it is an essential process. So, what are the crucial reasons behind why more and more youngsters are not getting any jobs? Needless to say, we can instantly come up with tons of ideas like lower youth competitiveness, poor working conditions, etc. However, I would like to divide them into two different aspects: internal factors and external factors.

     The first internal factor is the deterioration of youth competitiveness. Hong Kong is an international city where many cross-border enterprisers come to operate their businesses. That’s why English is so important. Nonetheless, the English proficiency of Hong Kong students is deteriorating due to less exposure to English. With average language skills, it is challenging for the youth to communicate and co-operate with people who are not Cantonese speakers and their career paths may not coincide. Meanwhile, we notice a new term wisely used in the news “Hong Kong kids”, describing children with low ability of self-care who meet daily life problems. What’s wrong with the new generation? Not only do they lack self-care, but they are also self-centered. They always complain about their working conditions, how badly they are treated by their boss and so on. The above emotions make them give up their career easily and become unemployed.

      On the other hand, there are so many external factors but the most influential is employers’ preferential impressions on youth. Influenced by the local media’s highlights of the negative aspects of the new generation, employers in Hong Kong are more likely to have a feeling that young people are not responsible or capable enough to take the jobs they offer. Thus, they prefer experienced workers instead of the new power.

      Though the problem of youth unemployment seems to involve the new generation and employers only, this is not the true picture. In fact, this is everybody’s business.

      Firstly, the sustainability of Hong Kong will finally go downhill. As the number of unemployed youths is roaring, the unemployment rate of Hong Kong rises simultaneously. What does this imply? Deterioration of labor power? A lack of new blood in the labor market? Not just these! The most serious one is that our city may not be able to keep developing; it may become less competitive than other regions like Singapore which is becoming stronger these days.

      Furthermore, facing the downward movement of competitiveness, Hong Kong citizens will lose their sense of pride. In the past, Hong Kong received glorious honors such as “Food Paradise”, “Shopping Paradise” and “the Pearl of the East”. These kinds of admirations have given Hong Kong citizens a sense of pride. However, once we lose all these positive feelings, our sense of belonging will definitely be weakened and the whole city may be surrounded by a gloomy atmosphere.

      After reading the above, are you more concerned about youth unemployment? If yes, don’t worry! There is always a way out. From my point of view, curing an existing problem from the root is the most effective measure. The government should step up the education reform to improve the education system. It is undeniable that not everyone in the world is born with a brilliant mindset and a hardworking manner. Hence, to encourage less-talented students, the government should offer more occupational courses for them so they can acquire specific working skills to have a higher possibility of being employed. Moreover, there should be further co-operation between schools and parents so as to nurture a correct and positive attitude among the youth. This must definitely help to raise the youth competitiveness.

      Youth unemployment is surely a huge problem in Hong Kong and has become a headache for the HKSAR government. Unless things change for the better, it will only create hurdles and obstacles in the path of Hong Kong development. Therefore, all citizens have to cooperate so as to create a better Hong Kong.

 

Write a short story in approximately 200 words about what happened next and how it ended to your school newspaper. (Matthew Lai Ka Chun 5D)

Your uncle came to Hong Kong from the Mainland last month. One day, you took him out to go sightseeing. On the MTR, he took out a can of coke and started to drink it. The lady sitting next to him told him politely to stop drinking.
 

Write a short story in approximately 200 words about what happened next and how it ended to your school newspaper.

 

On the MTR to Ocean Park, it was so crowded that a tense atmosphere filled in the train. No one stirred around the compartment when my uncle was asked to stop drinking by that elegant lady.

‘You better give me the coke. I’ll help you hold it, uncle.’ I whispered cautiously.

‘Why should I listen to you?’ I can drink freely in Shenzhen!’ uncle roared abruptly.

Everyone in the train stood all amazed. Some were ready to take their phones out. Most of the passengers stared at my uncle.

‘Mainlanders are so outrageous. Do you actually know Hong Kong is a civilised city?’ the lady sighed with arrogance.

My uncle was quickly infuriated. He squeezed the can and splashed it onto the lady’s long dress. I had no idea what to do next. I just heard someone burst into laughter. It was such a horrifying experience with nerve-wracking sensations.

All of a sudden, the lady stood up calmly and showed her staff card.

‘I am an MTR staff member. I am just having my holiday which deserves to be joyful. But now, you will face prosecution!’ the lady warned firmly.

My uncle was completely shocked. His jaw dropped and he broke out in a cold sweat. Some passengers clapped their hands vigorously. Some were still videotaping the whole experience while some were peeking at the dirty long dress of the lady.

After a few minutes, I accompanied my uncle to the MTR customer care centre. My uncle had his head down with guilt because he knew he would be charged.

‘Are you okay, uncle?’ I asked with a gentle voice.

‘Hong Kong is such a humiliating place!’ uncle responded emotionally.

I closed my eyes and let out a deep sigh.

The Tree

The time had come around again it was time to get our tree
In the car we piled us boys, my sister on mum's knee
Out into the country, dad drove for miles and miles
When at last he found the place, we could not contain our smiles

Dad headed to the tall pine trees, his sharpest axe in hand Dutiful behind him trailed his merry little band
At last he spied the one he sought, a sapling straight and tall
"This will please your mum" he said, indeed it pleased us all

With swift clean strokes he had in no time cut it down We placed the tree atop the car and headed back to town
The decorating of the tree this year would be supervised by Mum
The final piece, "The Angel" would be placed by the youngest one

This year my baby brother would be helped by sis and me But as we lifted baby up we tripped and fell into the tree
Tangled in the trimmings we rode the tree as down it came
Mid tears and cries right through the lounge room windowpane

I carried on tradition with my children every year But when it came to "Angel" time up came a nagging fear Of breaking glass and angels wings and the message that it sent
To place my tree in a great big pot in reinforced cement!

http://www.funnypoets.com/poetry/thetree.htm

English jokes

What is the longest word in the English language?
SMILES: there is a mile between the first and last letters!"
Submitted by: Kevin Penner

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Teacher: Maria please point to America on the map.
Maria: This is it.
Teacher: Well done. Now class, who found America?
Class: Maria did.
Submitted by: Kmankoolman

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If you give a man a fish, he eats for a day.
If you teach a man to fish, he can always eat.
If you give a man a fire, he's warm for a day.
If you light a man on fire, he is warm for the rest of his life.
Submitted by: Anonymous

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When I was young I didn't like going to weddings.
My grandmother would tell me, "You're next"
However, she stopped doing that after I started saying the same thing to her at funerals.

Submitted by: Chris Fisher