Thanks to Partners
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Another 17 notebooks donated by Intel for LEAD 2006

A big thank you to Intel for donating another 17 notebook computers as part of the Intel Involved Program. Together with the 20 notebooks that Intel gave us last December, they will support the 2005/06 LEAD ( Learning through Engineering, Art and Design) Project and be used during LEAD workshops. Youth attending the workshops will use technology developed by MIT Media Laboratory to build motorized robots, produce animations and compose music.

Contact the LEAD Secretariat, tel 3579 4560, for further information or visit the LEAD website http://www.lead.org.hk/

Seminar on tertiary education and workshop on interviews for university admission

The Federation's Jockey Club Hung Hom Youth S.P.O.T. and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University are organizing this seminar/workshop jointly on Saturday 17 June for students who are facing pressure and problems relating to university admission. In the morning, there will be a seminar on tertiary education for about 300 students who have completed Form 6 and Form 7. In the afternoon, there will be a campus tour and workshops on university admission interviews. Professional counsellors will be invited to share their views and offer advice on interview technique. Call the Jockey Club Hung Hom Youth S.P.O.T. tel 2774 5300, for more information or click here .

Project for young night drifters in Tseung Kwan O

Sponsored by the Sai Kung District Council, the Federation is organizing the fifth "Night Market" project for young night drifters in Tseung Kwan O from May this year to January next year. Every Friday, outreach social workers recruit young night drifters under 24 to join in various leisure and cultural activities such as basketball, badminton, squash, volleyball and hip-hop dancing. The project aims to provide alternatives for these young people, get them off the streets and away from harmful influences. They will be offered counselling and guidance to help them build up a positive attitude to life and information on community involvement and work / study opportunities will also be given.

Quality Education Fund Project

The Federation's WISER Net Educational Project for Problematic Internet Users has been accepted for government funding by the Quality Education Fund Steering Committee. It will be launched in September this year and will run till August 2008. Internet addiction has a destructive impact on students' lives so the project promotes healthy use of the net, encouraging students to use it more wisely or ‘play wiser' . The project will support Primary 5 to Form 3 students in 1,200 schools, providing training and seminars for teachers, parents and students, developing local assessment tools and designing educational packages. Students identified as problematic internet users will be offered counselling and treatment groups by social workers and clinical psychologists. Contact the Youth Counselling Services Unit or the School Social Work Unit, tel 2395 0161, for more information.

 
HKFYG Lee Shau Kee College The Federation's new
secondary school

Education has been one of the Federation’s key services for many years and we have gathered considerable experience running a primary school and two day nurseries. This year’s new departure will be the opening of the HKFYG Lee Shau Kee College

in the same Tin Shui Wai neighbourhood as its sister primary school. We are delighted that government has given us permission to go ahead with this new English medium Direct Subsidy Scheme Secondary School and the first classes will begin this September.

We have already approached tertiary institutions and are looking forward to collaborative work which will allow us to go ahead confidently with the curriculum developments we think are needed. We also hope to find partners in the business sector to allow us to endow the school with top quality facilities, a well-equipped library being a priority. We can expand extra-curricular activities with corporate sponsorship and appeal to all interested bodies to contact us to discuss projects which will bring out the best in our students in and out of the classroom.

Applications for places in Secondary One are currently being processed. For application forms, guidelines and more information call 2564 1277, email .education@hkfyg.org.hk, visit www.u21.org.hk/main/lee_shau_kee
Read an interview with the school's founding principal, Mr Henry Poon below .

Feature Story

The HKFYG Lee Shau Kee College

Passion for learning, knowledge and the broadening of horizons will be the hall marks of education … this will encourage students towards greater inquisitiveness and curiosity, not just for their studies but also towards life and the world around them.

Taken from the mission statement of the Federation's new DSS school, this captures in a nutshell the ethos behind the education that will be offered by the HKFYG Lee Shau Kee College (HLC) in Tin Shui Wai. The Federation has a long-standing commitment to this area, with a youth centre and a primary school near the HLC campus. We talked to the founding principal, Mr Henry Poon Chun-kau about his vision for the new school and his reasons for taking on the challenge:

 

Mr.Henry Poon
"In my vision, our pupils will develop holistically. Those at our school will have the gift of learning in a character-building context. We will equip them with a tool-box of information, guidelines for using that information well and a clear code of conduct for their lives both in and out of school. With this foundation, we think they will grow up into confident young adults who understand themselves and the world around them."
Mr. Henry Poon

 

Tin Shui Wai suffers from negative media attention and the lack of certain social facilities. There is only one public library to serve a population that was projected to reach 300,000 this year. Does Mr Poon think that the school can do anything to alleviate this kind of problem?

HLC artist's impression

"The library on the 7/F is a special feature of the school. It is the heart of what we call the Learning Zone, with its own quiet reading and independent study areas. It is the floor above the Digital Learning Zone and of course both floors will be equipped with excellent IT facilities. These zones are user-friendly. They are highly motivating for self-directed learning and we are extremely fortunate to have Barrie Ho, the well-known interior designer, working on this project with us to maximise their attractiveness and effectiveness."

A dedicated, dynamic teaching team is a central element in Mr Poon's vision:

"Our teachers are facilitators. They provide learning materials and make the process of absorbing information efficient and enjoyable. I have always believed that behavioural problems in schools originate in learning problems. We intend to nip those problems in the bud by providing a context in which teachers cover the key academic subjects and then augment them with integrated humanities leading naturally to liberal studies. Creative content will come from the visual arts and music, balanced by a strong emphasis on fitness and health."

Parental influence is crucial in any child's education and in Tin Shui Wai where there is a high incidence of single parents and fathers who work long hours and see little of their families, its effects should never be underestimated. How are prospective parents responding to the announcement of the new school?

"We have had very positive response. Nearly 300 parents - mostly mothers - have come to my presentations. There is a tendency to choose government secondary schools because they are cheaper, but HLC is singular because it is English medium (EMI). There is an overall shortage of DSS places in the area and HLC has the advantage of being able to provide an English speaking environment as well. If English can become habitual, our students will have an enormous advantage."

Mr Poon intends to provide a forward-looking school which nevertheless emphasises traditional values. He concluded:

"The main reason why I took this job is that I want to establish HLC as an excellent EMI DSS school for Tin Shui Wai. I believe strongly in the future of Hong Kong and I want to contribute to that future by providing the young people of that area with a good education. This is going to be a tough challenge. My goal is to ensure that HLC achieves it.”

The new school is at Area 104 Tin Shui Wai. Secondary One classes start in September.

Enquiries about admission and general information: telephone: 2564 1277
e-mail : education@hkfyg.org.hk
Federation News
Global Citizenship Programme 2006 Commissioning Ceremony
Date: Wednesday 7 June 2006
Time: 4:00pm-5:00pm
Venue: Lecture Theatre, Hong Kong Central Library
Visit http://www.dragonfoundation.net/charitysale/ for more information
 
7th Joint Graduation Ceremony for Ching Lok Day Nurseries & Kindergartens
Date: 22 June 2006
Venue: City Hall Theatre
Guest of Honour: Mr Chan Hung To, Senior Executive Officer, Education & Manpower Bureau
Facts & Figures
How young people feel about their community

516 young people aged 15 to 34 were interviewed by the Federation in May on how they felt about their community*. On average they gave their community 7 points, on a scale where 10 meant positive feeling for and 0 meant wholly negative feelings. Nearly 85% had no plans to move away from their community although 60% said their respective district council had made little impact on them. They gave just over 3 points on average for their familiarity with district councillors, on a scale where 0 indicated very unfamiliar and 10 meant very familiar.

young people and the community

When faced with community-related problems, 27% would seek help from their respective district council office and 18% would turn to their management office. 21% were very concerned about hygiene in their community, 20% were concerned about public order or security and 17% about transport. Even though the survey showed that during the last 12 months most young people felt good about their community, nearly 87% voiced no opinion on community issues and 75% said they had no position in any community organization. More than 70% said they hadn’t used any community facility or service during the year in question and nearly 39% were not actively involved in any community activity.

*http://www.hkfyg.org.hk/yrc/chinese/yr-p150c.html

Mothers and teenagers

38% of all Hong Kong mothers in a group of 500 recently interviewed in a research project* commissioned by RTHK said they spent less than 5 hours with their children each day. Mothers play a very important role in the family and a New Century Forum survey found that 50%** of all Hong Kong youngsters aged 11-16 have behavioural problems and these are largely attributed to lack of parental attention. It examined only the role of mothers. Fathers did not feature despite their importantance.

mothers and children
Working mothers are more likely than housewives to have teens with such problems, which include a tendency to petty crime such as cheating on public transport fares (31%) damaging school property (28%) and carrying a weapon (7%). The second survey, of over 900 youth, also reported a 3% increase in student drug abuse in the last 12 months among this group. Of those who admitted misbehaving, over 34% came from families with a monthly income of over $20,000. Over 64% in this group had working mothers and over 52% of the mothers had reached only primary level education.

*Reseach by Lingnan University reported in South China Morning Post 12 May 2006
**New Century Forum survey reported in South China Morning Post 29 May 2006

Core Service Highlight
The Federation's day nurseries, kindergartens and primary school have been operating successfully for some years, extending the experience we have in youth work into the educational sector. Secondary school education has now been added to our array of education services and the new HKFYG Lee Shau Kee College will encourage its older pupils to excel in both academic and extra-curricular activities, reaching their full potential with confidence and values of moral and civic conduct that will help them become responsible young adults. See above for an interview with the principal and visit www http://www.u21.org.hk/main/lee_shau_kee/, http://www.lskps.edu.hk/ and www.hkfyg.org.hk/ncl for more information.