My School Picnic - a diary

                                                                                                                  by 1B Pang Hoi Yee

13th November Wednesday

Today was my school picnic day. Last night I was so excited that I didn't sleep well.

The weather was bad this morning. It was rainy. Although it was not raining too hard, it made me feel sad. We travelled by coach to Wu Kwai Sha Youth Village. On the coach many students talked about what they would do when they arrived there. Some students listened to music and read books. They all wanted to arrive there quickly!

Wu Kwai Sha Youth Village

When we arrived at Wu Kwai Sha Youth Village, we all went to the Activity Room to listen to the rules. Then we went out to enjoy our picnic. First we played 'Running Man' in the football court. We kept running all the time and enjoyed this game very much. It gave us a good time! However, it rained for a long time too. Soon we went to the canteen for lunch. After lunch, the weather was fine. We were happy and played another game together.

The happy time was over soon. We had to go back home. We took photos together. It was the first time we had a picnic in our secondary school and it was a success. I hope next year I will have a picnic like this again!

My Life at Secondary School

by 1B So Sin Ki

My name is Melody So. I'm twelve years old and L live in Sheung Shui with my family. I have a younger sister . She is studying at Tai Po Market Public School. My mum is a teacher and my father is a driver. I have a lot of hobbies such as high jump, badminton and Chinese painting. I do them every week.

I started secondary school this year. My new school is called Valtorta College. But I think it is small. There are five blocks of buildings. They are classrooms, special rooms and the hall. My favoruite subjects are P.E. and science. I think they are interesting. I want to learn more about science and P.E. We usually do P.E. in the playground. Sometimes the boys would use the playground for P.E. so we would use the hall. I don't think my school has a good canteen. The canteen is small and hot. The food is not good. My classmates always say the best food at the canteen is cup noodles! There are lots of clubs to join at my school but I just joined the Badminton Club, Red Cross and the Library Club.

One of my friends is Kathy Yip. She is twelve. Her mum is a housewife. She's sporty. She loves swimming. She likes drawing too. She can draw beautiful pictures. She swims every day so she doesn't any more time to join school clubs. I want her to join Red Cross with me. But she says she needs to go swimming every day so she doesn't have time to join it.

Cheering team of Blue House

So far, I think secondary school is fun. I hope I can get good marks at tests. I want to have good results and have fun at the Sports Day too.

A Journal on Swimming Galas

by 2D Chung Chit Tik

I went to a swimming gala organized by the Tai Po & North District Secondary Schools Area Committee at the 7thand 9th October. These days were important days for the participants of this competition.  Everyone wants to get a medal, or a better time.

I participated in the 100m breaststroke, 200m breaststroke and 4x50m medley relay.

On the first day, I got the eighth runner-up for 100m breaststroke and I also got the eighth runner-up in 200m breaststroke.

My team of 4x50m medley relay came last in that race.  I felt very disappointed about not having any prizes.

Also, I went to another swimming gala organized by YMCA. It was on the first October.  I called some of my friends to the swimming gala and I took part in the 50m breaststroke, 50m butterfly, 100m individual mix, 4x50medley relay and 4x50 freestyle relay. However, when I finished swimming breaststroke and butterfly, I was really tired and did not join the individual mix, and there was another reason: I had to finish two relays afterwards!

After a fierce battle, I won two silver medals with my team. I was very happy, and overjoyed, after I got the medals. I have participated in this swimming gala for four years and this was my first time to get the relay medals!

Top Three Most Important Words in the English Language

by 4C Wong Lai Kwan

One of the most important words in the English Language is mother. This word is important because all mothers in the world love their children and take good care of them. The love from a mother is warm and is everything in the world. My mother gave birth to me and looked after me but she left my father and I many years ago. She is going to marry another man now. I felt happy for her because she has found the man she loves so much but I also feel sad. I don't know why. I just feel sad and want to cry. Anyway, I love my mother and she loves me too. My mother is important to me.

Another most important word in the English Language is holiday. This word is important because holiday is the only day the I can relax and go out with my friends. In the summer holidays this year, I went to Cheung Chau with my friends but not my parents. The trip was fun and happy. We played together and knew each other more. We cooked together, went to the beach and slept together. We also bathed together! That was embarrassing! Our relationship is closer after this trip. If we didn't have a holiday, friends wouldn't have this kind of chance to get closer. 

 The last most important word in the English language is art. I like art and I'm studying art now. This word is important because art is the most beautiful thing in the world. It is colourful and beautiful. Everything can be art: pictures, photos, words, buildings and music. I have liked drawing anime since I was ten years old and that was because my friends love drawing and I started to love to use lines and dots to tell people my feelings.

That's all of the reasons why I think mother, holiday and art are the three most important words in the English language. 

Lunchtime at Valtorta

by 2D Jason Chow Chun Lai
                                                                 

home-made lunch is healthier

When lunchtime comes in VC, most people quickly grab their wallets, phones and rush out to restaurants with friends.  After they have left, a minority of students, including me, stay in school for lunch.  Not many people know what it is like to spend the lunchtime here in VC and I’m going to tell you about it.
 
When the bell rings, I go to the school gates and take my home-cooked lunch from my maid.  Then, I have lunch beside the covered playground with some friends.  They’re not my best friends but our friendship has grown by having lunch together every weekday.  We chat about everything while we eat, which, unlike people who go out for lunch, we don’t have our smartphones keeping us from chatting.  Although the food is less tasty than restaurant food, it is healthier.
 
After having lunch, I walk back to my classroom.  There are usually one or two diligent students reading books whenever I come back.  I write down the homework on the blackboard, as it is my duty to do so.  Then I walk around the school.
 
The corridors at this time are always so quiet and peaceful with only occasional shouts coming from the basketball court.  There is usually no chance throughout the day to look around the school so now it is a great time; it lets me know more about the school campus and makes me feel closer to the school too.

 I peer down the corridor and I see students coming back from lunch.  My classmates also come back one by one and I go back to my classroom to frolic with them.  We usually play Chinese chess or go behind the computer chair to watch what the user of the computer is doing at that moment.  More and more classmates come back gradually and the bell rings not long after that.
 
Although my lunchtime experience may sound boring, it is actually more unusual than the typical restaurant lunch experience.  Moreover, it helps to develop friendship as people who go out for lunch usually play with their smartphones and don’t talk much.  Also, the peacefulness of the school allows me to think more clearly.  So this is my lunchtime in Valtorta !

A mobile phone story

BY 3E Lau Cheuk Yin Alex

Every day, humans bring us to school and office. They always use us to chat with their friends, use Facebook and also play games. I am a mobile phone. I think you may have one too. You may be using your phone for games too. But I am an old model mobile phone, I am Nokia 3310.

In the past, I was a famous mobile phone. I had a high selling price. Only some rich people could buy me. After they bought me, they didn’t use me much because the fee of chatting was extremely expensive. It cost one dollar per minute.

Although I represented rich men in the past, now I was thrown into a dirty, dark drawer. Nowadays, there are a lot of different mobile phones which have a lot of functions. Their master can use them to play games and send messages. Although I also have games, messages in my system, I am too old-fashioned. Last year, I met a new mobile phone which was the most famous model in the world---iphone. He told me why no teens use me. It is because I can’t take photos; the monitor isn’t big enough and the most important thing is I am not a smart phone.

Five years ago, my master wanted to recycle me, so she took me out and put me in her pocket. When she was driving to the recycle store, there was a car behind her and hit her car and pushed it into a speeding train. She was dragged along for above half a mile.

 

She was terrified but she managed to make a call with her mobile phone. However, she forgot to bring her mobile phone ( the new one ). After 30 seconds, she realize she had brought me to recycle, so she took me out immediately and used me to dial 911. This was the first time she had used me in 10 years! I felt extremely happy that time. I still feel happy now because I have saved her life.

Finally, my master found out that the basic use of a mobile phone wasn’t playing games or using Facebook. So she sold her new phone and used me in the following years, until she died……

Pressure of Teenagers

by 5E Kitty Yue Li Yee

Do you have pressure? If yes, where does your pressure come from? Do you know the definition of pressure? If no, let me tell you now. 

Pressure is a kind of psychological problem. If you get pressure, you may feel sad, depressed or even get clinical depression. Is there any pressure around teenagers? From my point of view, there is. But where does the pressure com from? I am going to present this to all of you.

First, I would like to talk about a news article which I have read recently. There are five cases of teenage suicide within two months, which I think is a serious problem. After reading this article, I deemed that the main reason why teenagers attempted suicide, is their poor relationship with parents. All of the teenagers who committed suicide were born to a broken family. It means that family is very important to teenagers. Some of the teenagers may think that they don’t need to rely on their parents any more because no matter what they say, their parents cannot help them. Therefore, pressure builds up gradually and they think they don’t have any way to release it. Finally, they believe suicide is the only solution.

Secondly, the education system in Hong Kong is also the one of the reasons why teenagers get pressure. It is because the academic result affects the future of a student a lot. If they don’t work hard now, they need to work much harder when they join the work force. For instance, nowadays, the most important examination in Hong Kong is the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (HKDSE). The report card of this examination will affect your future. So everybody works very hard to attain a better result. The pressure therefore builds up. I have experienced an academic pressure too. Experiencing the academic pressure made me feel anxious. I always thought that no matter how hard-working I was, I would still not get a good result. I had lost courage before and wanted to give up. But finally I thought that if I really worked hard, I would be able to attain a good result too. Although there is a harsh education system, we can still handle it if we work hard enough.

Last but not least, I think that everyone has pressure. Therefore, the most important way to handle our pressure is to relax. We can do more exercise and listen to some music to release our pressure.

A Mobile Phone Story

by 3E Au Yuen Wa Sunny

I am a mobile phone. I am of the newest model this season. I am popular, and many people want to buy me. However, I am very expensive. I live in a mobile phone shop with my friends. Every day, many people come to the shop and try us. Some of my friends which are also new model mobile phones were bought, but no one buys the old mobile phone.

Last week, I was bought by my owner. She was a young woman, about twenty years old. When she took me home, she started to play with me immediately. She downloaded a lot of apps and games on me, such as whatsapp and candy crush which are the most popular apps and games in town. She played the games whenever she was free. But she always used whatsapp to message others and never called them. I was very sad. I am a mobile phone. My main function is calling other people but my owner never uses this function. Moreover, she never took care of me. When she ended a game, she just threw me somewhere, such as sofa, desk or even on the ground. So, I was very upset. However, she always decorated me with a beautiful case, with some stickers. This was the only thing that made me happy.

After two months, a new model mobile phone -- iphone 5 was on sale. My owner was going to buy it, so she took me to a second-hand shop and sold me to the shop keeper.

I saw many mobile phones in the shop. They were sold by their owners, too. Their owners also didn’t take care of them. Their owners also wanted a new model mobile phone and sold them to this shop. We had the same experience. We are all waiting for a good owner.

Luckily, a student, Linda, took me home two weeks later. She was a good owner. She took care of me. She put me in a comfortable place. She didn’t change her phone frequently and I have been used by her for two years.  Nowadays, I am getting older and older. Some of my functions don’t work. Linda bought a new phone, but she didn’t throw me away. She put me into a box and I live there forever.

The Importance of Mythology

 by Tony Liu 4F

 

Before starting the article, I should first offer a definition of the term ‘mythology’. ‘Mythology’ refers to the collection of myths, which are sacred narratives mostly related to gods and religion.

 

  

Nowadays unfortunately, they may just refer to traditional stories. In this article, I want to emphasize the significance of mythology, which has greatly contributed to creating our culture, or even more importantly, our thinking.

 

First of all, mythology colours our history and makes it more appealing to study. If myths hadn't existed, history would be dull and bland. The ancients recorded their experiences in the form of myths - stories created in their own imagination which also gave them satisfaction.

In the past, when most countries were still feudal, the rulers held all the power, thus people at that time were forced to obey. However, they were not born to do so, they had their own thoughts, dreams and desires of freedom, but in those days individual freedoms were suppressed.  In order to compensate for their discontent and anger, people had to find someone even more powerful than their rulers, and so gods and in turn myths were created. With the support of religion and rich sources for ideas such as the historic events, a number of myths were created to fascinate others while giving free rein to their imaginations.
 

If we take war as an example, war was very common in history. In the Bible, Samuel (1 Samuel 17), Goliath the giant was defeated by the young David; we don’t know if David was really blessed with the power of God, yet it is believed he was.  The Trojan Horse in  Greek mythology is also mixed with the idea of gods; war really existed, but was there an Athena to help Odysseus?  There is actually no evidence for this.

  

I don’t mean to challenge any of the myths mentioned above; the point I want to make is simply that myth is a kind of history, mixed with people's emotions.  If the history we are learning can show evidence of being true, then the myths we know show the  world through the eyes of the ancients. Myths are valuable for historical research, especially when we are studying the reality of past societies.

Secondly, mythology is closely related to religion; a myth is usually based on religion.  It gives us hope and has long-term positive effects. Think about it - if there were no myths, no heroes and no gods, how would society be today? Mythology sometimes cannot be explained or proven, but who cares?  Who has ever been able to prove the existence of Noah?  What we want to gain from myths is a power that motivates and recharges us, so that we can use our imagination.   Moreover, mythology helps build  our culture; it is the compound of our thoughts and values. According to Bruce Lincoln, professor of History of Religions at the University of Chicago, myth is defined as "ideology in narrative form".  True, I agree with him. If life is formed by gathering molecules, then culture is formed by gathering thoughts. To express these in a more impressive way, myths are synthesized and gradually build up a huge net connecting all of us and coiling inextricably round our cultural experiences.
 

To conclude, no matter which religion mythology belongs to, it always brings a positive message and carries the great value of history. Mythology is important for us to learn and appreciate, since it conveys religious or idealized experiences, and also to establish behavioral models.Finally, the last thing to remember is that we should learn morals from myths instead of slavishly believing them word for word.

An exchange program experience

 Abel Chan, F.4F (1)

In Hong Kong, students are generally quite good at English, especially reading and grammar, but they are not really good at speaking.  Why do I say that, you might ask. The reason is an experience I had while on an exchange program held by our school, the aim of which was to let students discuss more about global issues, and also to provide them with an opportunity to practise their oral skills with people from different countries.   

Mostly we were talking about national education.  As we know, although Hong Kong is an international, multi-cultural city, there is no area of the SAR curriculum that deals with national education, or comparative education. Therefore students usually don’t have a clear idea about education in their own nation or other countries; such a situation may foster national stereotyping and even engender racism.  

In this program, there were people from Korea, Germany, mainland China and also The United States. They tried to share their experience of their own countries, and have fun with us.  We were given an introduction to education in their countries, and played fun games like rock-paper-scissors.  There was also group discussion.  

I strongly recommend students to think deeply about education.  Regarding national education, there are 4 phrases to define a nation. Power Distance (PDI), Individualism (IDV), Uncertainty Avoidance (UAI) and Masculinity (MAS). These 4 phrases encapsulate how the people of a nation or country live. For example, Hong Kong is a place with high power distance or masculinity but low uncertainty avoidance and individualism.  That basically means Hong Kong people like to stick to rules and be less different from their friends, as that could lead to a lot of pressure on individuals.

In my view, all students enjoyed these sessions.  However, some students couldn’t really take part in them, as they were too shy to take the first step.  Learning English may be a basic element of the curriculum in Hong Kong schools, but have we considered whether lessons go far enough in allowing students to communicate with foreign people?  In fact, Hong Kong students have fewer problems with grammar or reading as I have mentioned, but they find it difficult to express themselves verbally, in a discussion.  

Because there is a lack of practice in this area, students always need to think about their grammar before they start speaking, which is why they often miss the chance to contribute and have low self-esteem in such situations.  After that a student might lose interest in English.  

So, my suggestion is for our school to provide some lessons dedicated solely to conversation and discussion, where there is only dialogue in English between students and their English teacher but no homework.  This would lead to a more relaxed approach to learning the spoken language, and allow students to feel more confident when speaking English.

                                       

If I had 7 days left living in the world

BY 5D Chow Lok Hang Jonathan

God created this wonderful world in seven days.  I think I could do something remarkable in my last seven days too.

Only seven days left?  No, you are wrong to think of it like that. In fact, I STILL HAVE seven days.  I would make a Bucket List for myself... before I kicked the bucket!  I would make the best use of the time and try to make those days the most wonderful moments in my life, and so leave this world without any regrets. In those seven days, I would meet the people that I most care about, hate most, and try doing things that I have always longed to do.

There are many things I want to do before my life ends. Life is full of hope and miracles; in a way it’s sad to know that I only have seven days left, but I would set myself goals to achieve in the time I had left. To live, instead of to escape. Have I found JOY in my life and has my life created JOY in the lives of others？These questions will be the last ones in my life; I hope I can find the right answers.

I would not waste a second in those seven days. I would hope to make the best use of time left to do the things that I want to do. I should thank God that I STILL have seven days for that.

The first thing that I would do is to catch up with my good friends. I would invite them to my house and have a farewell party. I would hope I could meet all of them and share the happiness of being friends with them in my life. I would spend a whole day with them, recalling the memories of when we met, and share their hopes and dream.  I would hope they would have good memories of me.

Secondly, I would visit the people who I hate most. Maybe you think I am crazy to say that. Why should I visit them? They once did something really bad to me - why should I visit them at the end of my life?  For revenge?  No, this is all about forgiving. “But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.” Mark 11:26.  Hatred is painful indeed.  Perhaps they did something bad to me, but I don’t think I should continue to hate them anymore as I knowingly approach death.  All of us do bad things in the course of our lives, so why not forgive them?  If I carry the hatred to heaven, I will not be happy and free.  When I forgive them, they will feel relief too.

Life is too short. There are lots of things I want to do in my life but not many that I can achieve now. In the last seven days of my life, I may not be able to do something really big, like travel around the world, but if I needed to choose, I would do some crazy things which I have never done in my life, such as bungee jump, get drunk, spend all my money and party until my last morning without any regret.

At the end of the seventh day, I would stay in bed, and have my family and best friends around me, singing to me. That would help me leave this world peacefully, for the next.

This is the way I would spend the last seven days of my life.  I hope I could go without any regret.  Life is full of surprises!

If I had 7 days left living in the world

By 5D Li Wing Kei, Monica

Many people are afraid of death because they think they haven't done enough amazing things in their lives, and feel they still have so many things they want to do. If I had only seven days left to live, I would use my remaining time effectively. I would try to create  unforgettable memories for those close to me with my love, and then leave this world without regret.

Firstly, I think love is the most essential factor in my life. Without love, I would not be happy even if I were a billionaire. Therefore, if I had seven days left to live I would spend time with my family and friends, since we always focus on our studies or careers in our daily life, so we have closer relationships with our work than our families.  This would also be the right time to escape from modern city life and explore the beauty of nature. I would go hiking with my family and friends for relaxation and spiritual renewal. Without any electronic devices we could refresh our minds, and breathe in fresh air.  It would be a rare chance for us to find happiness in nature instead of thinking of our wealth and other mundane matters. I am sure hiking would be a great way for us to be happy together.

Secondly, I would secretly make an album for my family. I would compile photos taken when we travelled around the world.  Also, I would write something beside the photos to express my love and thanks for their care. I hope they would treat this album as a treasure and remember my smiles and the time they spent with me. I don’t want them to be upset because of my death. I would want to let them know my life was beautiful, since their love and care filled it with happiness. I would want them to feel that we were together even after I had left this world, and that they therefore did not need to miss me.

Last but not least, I would donate all my savings to charity. It would be useless for me to keep my money when I had left this world.  Although I don’t admire rich people who donate millions of dollars for show and just to avoid taxes, I would want to make the little contribution to the world that I could, and help people in need.  This would be the best and most meaningful way to use my money. I would hope my little contribution could improve the lives of some and help them have a better future.

Life is never too short if we have lived joyfully. The value of life is not built on how much we have, but how much love we have had - and given. If I had seven days left to live in this world, I would not feel bitter, but grasp my last chance to enjoy life with those I love. I would smile and say goodbye to the beautiful world I have been privileged to spend time in, and wait until the day I would meet my family and friends again one day, in the hereafter. 

35th Anniversary Kick-off Ceremony

             bY 3E Wong Sum Wing Dorothy

Last month, our school held the 35^th Anniversary Kick-off Ceremony. Students of Form three to six attended the ceremony.

First, our school supervisor, the principal, some teachers and some members from the SA, held a ribbon cutting ceremony. Each of them held a part of the ribbon with colourful ballons. Then, the students showed a video in which all students had taken part in. It was the count-down video. They invited some teachers and students to say ‘Happy Birthday To VC!’ They even found a popular singer for the video. She was a student in our school in the past.

After that, the performances of the Kick-off Ceremony started. All of them were in a story about truth and friendship told by an old man to her daughter. We had a shadow puppet show. The show was about a war in ancient China. The students used traditional Chinese musical instruments to play the music. The show looked very professional too.The story was quite funny and interesting.

Then, the dance club performed a jazz dance. At first, they danced with some blub lights smoothly. The atmosphere was peaceful and silent. Then, the music changed to a Christmas song. The dancing started to get faster and more joyfully. Finally, they performed to the pop song from a Korean pop star, PSY. They got lots of claps because of that song!

Next, the campus TV played a stop motion animation acted by the Form five and six students. It was about two boys who changed themselves into a car for a fight. The video were made from many photos. Then, using the computer, the photos were joined together in the timeline to form a video. It took a lot of time to take photos and produce the video although it just lasted a few minutes. It was the highlight in the ceremony too. They got many howls and claps. The participants looked delighted and interested.

Finally, the school choir performed some songs and the parents and guests started to leave the hall.

This Kick-off Ceremony was a great success. It didn’t just to celebrate our school’s birthday, it also gave a chance for students to show off their talents.

35th Anniversary Kick-off Ceremony

by 3E Methdy Leung

Last month, our school held its 35^th Anniversary Kick-off Ceremony. A lot of students performed in the ceremony and the performances were wonderful.

First, we had a ribbon cutting ceremony. We invited our principal, and some teachers to cut the ribbon and start our ceremony. After that, we watched a video which was made by Campus TV.  Students from each class stood on the playground forming the shape of a number. This video showed that students in our school are very united.

Then, our school wind band performed three pieces. They did a good job and everyone in the audience enjoyed listening to the music. Next, we watched a shadow puppet show, which was about a war. It was very exciting and everyone clapped after the performance. The show was fantastic.

After that, the members of the dancing club performed. They danced to some pop music from Korea. The highlight of the ceremony was the stop-motion animation. In the video, things floated in the air and dolls could move anywhere by themselves. This video was very interesting and the maker of this video was creative.

Members of the audience howled with laughter after they watched the video; the atmosphere was very good.

Finally, the ceremony ended. Everyone left with a smiling face because they had watched such a wonderful show.

A memorable anniversary kick-off ceremony

by 3D  Leung Kwan Pui Ryan

21^st December 2012 was Valtorta College's 35^th Anniversary Kick-off Ceremony. All students and teachers were glad on that day.

The starting time of the ceremony was 9:20 a.m. Some parents were invited to attend it too. At the beginning of the ceremony, our school supervisor and guests held a ribbon cutting ceremony, which symbolized the start of the celebration. After cutting the ribbon, the screen above the stage showed a count-down slide of 10, 9, 8... and then the program started.  The audience all took a breath in anticipation of the performances to come.

First, the school orchestra performed three songs. They had trained hard before the ceremony. It was great! Then, the second performance was a shadow puppet show, which is a form of traditional Chinese entertainment. A story about Chinese history was told; it was interesting. After that, the dance club performed a jazz dance. Their dancing was beautiful and stylish, and their costumes were very attractive.  Altogether, it was a very festive atmosphere.  I enjoyed the music as it was a Christmas song, combined with a popular Korean song “Gangnam Style” to form a medley.  As for the birthday greetings, many schoolmates, teachers and even the pop star, Kay Tse said “Happy Birthday” to our school.

Then, Campus TV showed a touching and meaningful video which linked all the performances up. Next, the magic club performed an amazing show which for me was the highlight of the ceremony.  All of us were in a 'hyper' mood. We enjoyed the wonderful atmosphere very much. However, of course the ceremony came to an end after all those amazing performances, and all students, teachers and guests clapped loudly. The 35^th anniversary ceremony ended in a burst of prolonged applause.

We really did appreciate the excellent show! Thanks to all of the performers for their hard work preparing for it, and the excellent teamwork of all the students involved! I look forward to seeing our successful 40^th anniversary ceremony!

35th Anniversary Kick-off Ceremony was a 'must-see'

                                                                            by 3D Chau Pok Man, Bosman

Last month, our school held an extremely important event – the 35^th Anniversary Kick-off Ceremony. This year’s ceremony was especially meaningful, and involved all of us: teachers, students and even non-teaching staff.  Our school invited many guests to join our ceremony, for example, our school supervisor, Mr Chan and parents of F.1 to F.6 students.

On that day, the Student Association prepared many awesome shows to entertain us. First, there was a ribbon cutting ceremony. Our school supervisor, principal, teacher representatives, Chairperson of Parent-Teacher Association, and Chairperson of the Student Association went to the stage to cut the ribbon which started the ceremony. The audience clapped happily.

Suddenly, music started – it was the hit song of the year, “Gangnam Style”. When the curtain rose, we saw the members of our school’s Dance Club. They wore beautiful costumes. The club has won a lot of prizes in external competitions. They re-designed the moves of the song and performed it in a jazz form.  Their performance was outstanding and amazing. Every move was perfect. I think no team could do better.

After the Dance Club’s performance, it was the turn of the wind band. They performed a Christmas song which was excellent! They made no mistakes. When we listened to the music, you would feel the atmosphere of Christmas and follow the beat!

The next event was the shadow puppet show which was performed by Form 5 students who are studying Visual Art. They supported the little paper puppets with bamboo sticks to control their moves. They performed some stories chosen from Chinese opera. Although we didn’t know the name of the story, we still enjoyed the show very much.

Then, here came the stop-motion animation! It was my favourite part. Stop-motion animation doesn’t mean everyone stops moving. It means the performers use one shot ('freeze-frame') or a few shots to do the whole animation; they use one scene as one shot, like taking a series of photos and sticking them together. You may still see people moving, or not; you could see some incredible action through the animation. For example, you could see the 'mime artists' give the illusion of moving while they were sitting on the floor! The F.4 students thought of many creative and interesting actions to perform.

Finally, the ceremony came to an end. Every performer stood at the front of the stage thanking us all. We stood up and clapped long and loud. After we stopped clapping, the music for the school song started. Everyone sang our school song in high spirits. We were sorry that the ceremony had ended but we still had happy faces because we were celebrating our school’s 35^th anniversary.

“Happy birthday, VC!”

We Reap What We Sow

                                              by 6B Wong Sze Wai 

Have you ever imagined you could travel through time?  To me, this dream has always been just that, a dream - until that night.  Then everything changed.

Last Saturday night when I was going home, a thunderstorm suddenly came. I had no choice but to shelter from the heavy rain under a building. All of a sudden a spark of light appeared in front of me.  When I realized what had happened I felt some force engulf me in darkness; I think I fainted for few seconds.

When I became conscious again, I found that I was standing in an unknown place.  Around me were a few buildings, just like the flats in Hong Kong.  Oh, no!  Looking at the buildings more clearly, they were all skyscrapers with over 60 floors!  And there above the sky were cars travelling on the highways!  Where was I?!

While I was standing there, confused, a young man walked towards me.

“Are you Charles? Charles Ho?” the man asked excitedly.

“Yes, I am Charles Ho. May I ask a question? Where is this place? And what year is it?”  I just wanted to go home as soon as possible.  The young man replied, “You are now in Hong Kong; the year is 2060."

"What!" I exclaimed. "2060!"  I had travelled 48 years forward in time!

“Let me introduce myself", he continued.  "I am junior Charles Ho junior. I am your grandson!

”Oh my god", I thought, "he must be kidding!"

“Grandpa, you came here for a reason. Hong Kong is dying!  You must save our home!  For decades, Hong Kong people have been destroying their home. Pollution, deforestation and over-use of resources have made this city unsuitable for living. Look around, look at the ash everywhere, Look at the black fumes shutting out the blue sky!  Many people have moved out of this city… they just gave up hope.”

  

“There is nothing I can do", I said.  "I am just a student, and the year is 2013!”  Actually, I really believed that this was a dream.

“No, Grandpa. There is a lot you can do. When you go back to 2013, you must urge the government do something to protect the precious environment. Hong Kong people still have the chance to change their lives. It depends on you. Please! Help us!”  His pleading voice began to fade in my ears.

Dark again…

I was standing under the building. I look upon the sky; the sky was gleaming with stars. Was what just happened real, or not?  

I didn’t know - but I knew I had to do something!