2022-2023

First territory-wide Mathematics Competition by our school (5L Joe Cheung)
In order to face the challenges in the 21st century and help students develop learning strategies, Shung Tak has successfully held the “Hong Kong Primary Schools Mathematics Ability Competition 2022” on the 12th November. 25 primary schools were invited to join and over 140 primary students attended this competition which aims to deepen students understanding of logical concepts such as numbers, sequences, permutations, and time. The event ultimately aims to improve young students’ inferential skills, logical thinking, organization, judgment and observation. Shungtakian helpers were given the opportunity to manage the competition and thereby develop their communication and organization skills. School tours were also provided for the visiting students so they could have more chances to get a better understanding of our campus. In addition to introductions to the different facilities, some of the extracurricular classes and the general atmosphere and activities from clubs and houses were mentioned to give them more knowledge about our school. All rounded learning experience for all, Shungtakians and primary school visitors alike.

Competition Website: https://www.stc.edu.hk/mac/

Our Principal, Dr. Tang and 19 students attended the seminar “The Story Behind Success in Luxury Retail” in Tuen Mun Catholic Secondary School on 10th November 2022. Ms. Irene Tsang and Ms. Eva Chang, who have years of successful experience in luxury retail, were invited to share their stories and experiences with students. Ms. Irene Tsang founded Metta Works in 2014 after working in the luxury retail industry for twenty-five years. Ms. Eva Chang climbed the ladder with her unceasing effort progressively from a junior salesperson to the managerial level in Tiffany & Co. Our students were inspired by Ms. Tsang and Ms. Chang’s sharing. They learned more about the luxury retail industry and the importance of having a humble attitude from the two speakers. The chance was a great one for learning, sharing and exchanging views with students from other schools.

Peace Between Nature and Ourselves – a slight change of mindset
3L Louis CHAN and 5J Jessica FU

The Elephant Foundation (TEF) Talk on the 7th November with guest speaker, Mr Richard Turere, a Maasai Warrior from Kenya, was an eye-opening experience. The speaker kept us all engaged with his sharing; and the videos brought all things to life.

In Mr Turere’s community, lions living nearby had attacked people’s cattle which ended up in the loss of a lot of cows. So unfortunately to protect the livelihood of these farmers, the lions had to be culled resulting in fewer than 2000 surviving in Kenya. This was a 50% decrease within 50 years. However, what was not foreseen is that this measure led to a fall in tourism in Kenya as many tourists would come to see these ‘big cats’.

Having noticed the drastic decline in the number of lions, through trial and error, Mr Turere came up with a solution. Ideas had ranged from using fires to scare the lions away, to scarecrows. Neither helped. Finally, after further study, the solution came in the form of ‘Lion Lights’, which are flashing lights powered by solar energy. These lights were installed on poles around farms to scare lions away. Winners are both the cattle and the lions.

Apart from the lions, speaker Mr Colin Dawson, the co-founder of TEF, also drew our attention to endangered species like the rhinos and the elephants. While it is a known fact that the main component of rhino horns is keratin, a protein found in our hair and nails, some people still mistakenly believe that it serves a medical function and thus are eager to purchase these horns. This inevitably leads to an increase in poaching. We are also responsible for the rise in the deaths of elephants killed for their ivory.

We have truly learnt a lot from the The Elephant Foundation Talk. Killing lions was traditionally considered a sign of power but Mr Turere’s story has proved that protecting lions is a demonstration of a different kind of power. This is an important shift in thinking. It is an idea saying that we should not follow conventional practices for the sake of convenience without analyzing the issues ourselves. Likewise, the aesthetic value of ivory and the false medical function of rhino horns should never be our guiding principles when taking the lives of the endangered species.

We need to be empowered to make informed decisions by improving our knowledge of nature and being aware of how our consumption impacts other living things which we share the planet with. We can all be and should be the guardians of wildlife.

On 29th October 2022, we, members of the Japanese Club participated in the Japanese Autumn Festival at PMQ (also known as Tai Kwun) hosted by OISCA International Hong Kong and Wakyokai, an organization striving to introduce Japanese cultures to people in Hong Kong. It was indeed a wonderful and unique experience for us.

The soothing voice of singers, the passionate cheers from the audience, the laughter of the crowds filled the whole place. At the entrance, stalls were set up on each side selling specialties of different regions in Japan. A small stage was also positioned at the center of the venue, which was later surrounded by fans of the invited idols. At the very back was a larger stage for other performances or talks by different professional people from Japan.

The schedule was nicely arranged. After taking a group photo, we first sat in front of the large stage to enjoy a fabulous show by the Hong Kong Japanese Chorus Club. The applause from the audience was enough to prove that the singers had put their heart and soul into the performance. Leaving the stage, the members of Wakyokai introduced us to stalls that were placed along the open plaza. There were games, food and souvenirs shipped all the way from Japan. The apples sold were especially memorable, people would swarm to the stall and purchase them. On top of that, idols were also performing at the center stage, bringing more vibrance to the festival.

Later, we interacted with many Japanese people who live in Hong Kong, sharing their troubles and thrills of spending their time here. It was refreshing to know that the Japanese find Hong Kong a place filled with endless excitement and different cultures.

The festival is a memory to be treasured. It was a precious chance for us to dive into a field which we are unfamiliar with—the foreign cultures. It was also our first taste in authentic Japanese cultural practices, celebrating the arrival of autumn, enjoying snacks and performances with families and friends. Despite some communication difficulties here and there, our expressions were able to get our message across them, whether it is happiness, surprise or gratitude. We look forward to taking part in any events to learn more about Japanese culture.

With the autumn came our Picnic Day. The Picnic Day turned Activity Day was held on the 28th of October, with all students from all forms enjoying themselves, and for some, learning something new.

Secondary 1s went to the Breakthrough Youth Centre, a name certainly fitting for the activities they participated in, sports and group games for all, – a great start and a fresh experience for the first year students.

For Secondary 2s, next to a gorgeous river bay is the Jockey Club Sai Kung Outdoor Training Camp, filled to the brim with challenging quests, where working together was the prime objective.

Taking a look at the S.3s, over the horizon we have the Hong Kong Anchor House, and with a tilt up we see the obstacle course our S.3s challenged head on.

Turning our attention back onto S.4s, the YMCA of Hong Kong New Territories is certainly a familiar name, and the activities they’ve organized didn’t disappoint either, climbing and team work involved.

And not to forget S.5s, the Hong Kong Baptist Assembly arranged an abundance of activities, students recalled fondly over the high rope courses, an intense yet riveting activity.

Last but not least, lets take a look into the Sixth Formers fun-filled day, taking place at Hong Kong PHAB Association Jockey Club PHAB Camp, a height of the trip as this is their last year, and it also did not disappoint! Filled to the brim with small activities left to right and bound to promise a fun time for their last year.

Despite all the hardships we had to go through due to the pandemic, we fought it headfirst and even turned an age-old tradition into something new, something we can all cherish as we move forward. Let’s look forward to our next ‘Picnic Day’ as well!

By 4L Agnes Ho Meeting others is one of the best way to share and to communicate and as one of the participants of the Catso Camp in October, my schoolmates and I had the chance to do just that. The CatSo Camp was held with members of other catholic schools. Through the exchange session, we got the chance to understand how to spread Jesus’s love to our schoolmates via holding catholic activities. The knowledge we learned can fully applied to our CatSo work on campus. This session of getting to learn more about each other and sharing of Jesus’ teaching, was followed with a Mass celebrated with the Most Reverend Joseph Ha Chi-shing, during which all CatSo members took an oath of taking the responsibility to spread the Lord’s gospel to our schoolmates. The time is now, to fulfil our promise as members of CatSo. We will do our best to help our schoolmates to learn more about Jesus’s teaching through our words and actions.

On the 19th and 20th October, our Sixth Formers participated in the Inter-class Dodgeball Competition. It was a welcome activity after years of nothing happening because of COVID-19. The halting of the activities certainly made our F6 schoolmates appreciate the competing with other classes more. The two days of lunch-time matches were very close with 6P coming out as the victors and crowned champions. Of course, the most important part of the competition is that S6 Shungtakians can enjoy time with their classmates before heading out soon for the public examinations. It was certainly a time for cheer and togetherness.

Expectant queues of students formed outside the junior form classrooms during lunchtime. This was unusual for this time of day, but it could all be explained with one word…CHATTERBOX! This was an annual student-run English-speaking activity for all junior form classes held on 10th – 13th October 2022. During the activity, junior students were asked questions in English by S6 students and the junior students were required to give a meaningful and fluent verbal response for 1 minute. This answering format closely followed that of other activities at school and contained elements of the speaking examination, thus it was useful practice for all involved. The questions were also generated by the S6 students and were related to the five Catholic Core Values of Love, Life, Family, Truth and Justice.

Just prior to the activity, S6 students entered their allocated junior classrooms and set up desks in different corners. At the start of the activity, junior students stood in front of the S6 students, and each person would be asked a themed question. The challenge for each junior was to respond in a fluent, relevant and topical way for 60 seconds. A score and a few supportive words would be given and then it was on to the next candidate. Junior students gained even more practice by attempting up to 3 different questions in their home classroom.

Enthusiasm was high among the students being questioned, and queues remained full for much of the activity. Many students seemed a little nervous when providing their answers, but the activity provides essential practice for future English-speaking activities and oral examinations, where fluency, quick thinking and coherence are all important.

It was clear that the students used this chance to practice their English-speaking ability under some light “performance” pressure, and this experience would help prepare them for the examinations when it really counts.

All in all, participating students had a great time and enjoyed the friendly challenge. Thanks must go to the S6 students for volunteering their time, generating the questions and assessing their junior counterparts. This was a small but important experience in their Shungtakian school life.