All Aboard!! DB CLASSROOM ON THE SEA

The latest Love.Together@DB youth education programme saw students and teachers from S.K.H. Wei Lun Primary School hop on a DB ferry to discover new things and have lots of fun! Ray Au reports

On June 21, some 100 students and teachers from S.K.H. Wei Lun Primary School were invited to spend time on a DB ferry to learn more about the ferry service and meet the crew. The community youth education programme, DB Classroom On The Sea, was organised by Love.Together@DB, the community caring platform established by Hong Kong Resort Company Ltd (HKRCL) in 2012, in conjunction with Discovery Bay Transportation Services Ltd (DBTPL), the DB ferry operator.

“We have a common, ongoing objective with S.K.H. Wei Lun Primary School to provide interesting and inspiring learning opportunities for young DBers, to help them understand what happens in the community around them, and to enhance their sense of belonging to the place where they live and study,” says Simon Tu, General Manager, DB Operations of HKRCL. “DB Classroom On The Sea was a good platform to give participants a deeper understanding of what HKRCL, Love.Together@DB and DBTPL do, and it encouraged cross-community interaction.”

Student Empowerment

Once aboard the DB7 – a 42-metre, 500-seater Marin Teknik waterjet catamaran – the excited Primary 3 students and their teachers sailed out from DB ferry pier, berthing at the pontoon. First on the agenda was a short introduction to the history of DB pier, Pier 3 in Central and the DB ferry service, followed by a debrief on safety measures. The students were alerted to key broadcast messages, such as “stay seated while the ferry is moving, no pets and personal belongings on the seats, no eating and drinking on the lower deck, stay calm and listen to the instructions of the ferry crew during emergency situations, know the location of lifejackets, be cautious while using the gangplank.”

Next up, was a hands-on introduction to emergency response in which students were invited to watch demonstrations both inside the ferry compartment and on the outer deck. They were shown the emergency bell, emergency exits, fire extinguishers and life buoys.

“DB Classroom On The Sea was an adventure for students that opened up their minds to new things. A community-focused school trip like this can be a powerful motivation tool; it can deepen the learning process and encourage students to learn more about a particular subject or spark their interest in something new,” says Mabel Lam, Principal of S.K.H. Wei Lun Primary School.

“The visit was also an important activity for the teachers as they were able to gain knowledge through the experience,” Mabel adds. “It is always good to have new resources for the best teaching and learning process.”

During DB Classroom On The Sea, students had the opportunity to meet the ferry crew – the master, assistant master, engineer, assistant engineer and two marine services assistants – learning about their respective roles and responsibilities. They were brought into the wheelhouse (usually out of bounds for passengers), where they learnt a little about marine navigation, and how the crew communicates with other units, like the Marine Department.

To round-off the field trip, students were treated to a special session about lifejackets: they learnt where the lifejackets are located, and got to put one on with help from the crew. Before heading back to DB pier, the students took part in a Q&A session to find out how much they’d learnt, and they were each gifted a small souvenir to remind them of their trip.

“It’s wonderful to see students learn from real experience, not just from textbooks,” says Coco Chung, a Class 3 Teacher at S.K.H. Wei Lun Primary School. “They were so excited to enter “secret places,” like the wheelhouse and outer decks, which are restricted zones for passengers. The visit had a positive impact on students’ personal development, building their confidence and self-responsibility as they were taken out of their comfort zones.

“Most of us are visual learners; we are more likely to retain information and understand concepts when we have first-hand experience of them,” Coco adds. “Field trips are an effective way of teaching concepts through experience-based activities that are closely linked to the school curriculum. DB Classroom On The Sea ties in with the Primary 3 learning theme about transportation in Hong Kong. The visit reinforced lessons learnt, while expanding knowledge.”

Community Interaction

Through DB Classroom On The Sea, Love.Together@DB and DBTPL set out to benefit not only the students and teachers involved but also their staff. “We strongly believe that involving staff in a CSR project of this kind makes them happier and more fulfilled. It helps them recognise the way their work positively impacts the community which, in turn, encourages personal and professional growth,” Simon explains.

This view is backed by Chan Chi Hung, Master of DBTPL, who says: “The crew was delighted to help provide this experiential learning opportunity for teachers and students in order to raise their knowledge and awareness on marine safety through direct, face-to-face interaction. The visit was both educational and precious. We are happy to have had the chance to connect with the lovely students. We had lots of fun with them – they warmed our hearts.”

In summing up the success of DB Classroom On The Sea, Sara Lai, Senior Manager, Community Relations of HKRCL says, “Love.Together@DB strives to foster partnerships and ties with a wide range of community partners to fulfil its corporate social responsibilities and advance its mission to create a caring, sharing, tightly knit community. Not only was DB Classroom On The Sea an effective passenger education session, it enabled students, teachers and DB staff to spend time together and bond.

“Above all, DB Classroom On The Sea allowed the students to have fun and discover new things,” Sara concludes. “Many of our best school memories are created during school trips with peers and teachers, and may last a lifetime. We hope the ferry visit created positive, lasting memories for the young DBers!”

It was interesting because I had a chance to learn about the ferry and try on a lifejacket.

I was very happy because I could visit some places on the ferry that I really wanted to see, like the wheelhouse.

- Li Chun Hei

I was very excited because I got to talk to the captain of a DB Ferry.

- Cheung Lok Ching Kimi