Teach Unlimited Breeze (Sept 2014) Bulletins Dream Pursuing Project Celebration and Whole Theatre Performance at Caritas Fanling Chan Chun Ha Secondary School On July 2, program mentors organized a closing ceremony of the Dream Pursuing Project (DPP) at Caritas Fanling Chan Chun Ha Secondary School. Five DPP participants, who had received individual coaching in the past few months, shared their learning experience and dreams on stage in front of all F.3-F.5 students. Their efforts and improvements were recognized by rounds of warm applause from the audience. We were also honored to have Gilbert Tam, director of TUF, presenting certificates to all participants. Another highlight of the day was the drama performance “The Sims (模擬人生)” by the Whole Theatre, which TUF had engaged to custom-develop an inspiring program for all TUF partner schools. It was a great show that had inspired many in the audiences. During the crew’s sharing, students were motivated to strive for a better future.
Student Motivated by Genuine Care and Encouragement Cuore
OUR PEOPLE Roger Ng, Ph.D Chairman Tony Wong Vice Chairman MANAGEMENT TEAM Winnie Yip Fong Director of Operations PROGRAM STAFF Chloe Chan Patricia Chan Francesca Chu Addi Chung Fiona Fung Shelly Ku Kevin Lee Michelle Lee Hazel Wong
K was going to repeat Form one. Lying on the desk were an English textbook, some old English notes, and the literature reader Romeo and Juliet. It was a hot Saturday afternoon in July. For the first time, K and I went for a walk outside of the school at his request. He kept asking me questions and taking notes. “Can you read Romeo and Juliet to me?” He asked, although the book is way too difficult for him. “How amazing it is that I have walked with you for three hours!” K exclaimed at the end of our meeting. He texted me that night, tried to form a sentence with simple English, “I very happy today.” K has been my mentee for ten months and he came to Hong Kong from the mainland a year ago. He lives with his aunt’s family instead of his parents. He was regarded as a trouble-maker in school. He shows no interest in study due to his poor English level compared to other students. He is also suffering from a low self-esteem and has pretty much given up on himself. Nonetheless, we developed a good rapport very fast as he felt my care. I invited him to join my small class, in which he could pick up English basics step by step. He began to show interest in English and even invited his friends to join my class later on. On some Friday afternoons, I spent time playing basketball with him and his friends. After that we went home together by bus. He always revealed deeper feelings and expressed his interests and aspiration with me on the way home. It was not easy to inspire K’s motivation and sustain his persistency in studies. According to his teachers, he had to repeat Form one mainly because of his poor learning attitudes rather than his learning ability. To avoid hurting his self-esteem, I reminded myself to be very patient and optimistic every time we met. I tried to comfort and encourage him by telling him that he got lots of good qualities and potentials, “Repeating Form 1 may be a good chance for you to pick up basic English again so that you can learn effectively in the future.” Under my encouragement, K accepted this fact and his learning attitude was changing gradually.
By Patricia Chan, Program Mentor
TUF Kickoffs Two School Projects in New Territories TUF reached another milestone with the kick-off of two new school projects in September 2014 at Tsang Pik Shan Secondary School and T.W.G.Hs. Yow Kam Yuen College in Ma On Shan and Shatin. These projects are delivered by Fiona Fung, Michelle Lee, Francesca Chu and Kevin Lee – the newest members of TUF program mentor team. New and returning program mentors participated in a wide range of training activities in July and August to prepare for the new year’s program delivery. Meanwhile, meetings were held between program mentors and TUF management, and the school leadership to discuss details of the implementation plans. In addition to small group learning, which is TUF’s signature offering, new programs are being developed and planned to serve the unique needs of the students. For instance, at Tsang Pik Shan Secondary School, a “Pave Your Own Way” project has been planned to expand the students’ horizon so as to assist with their search for future direction. At TWGHs Yow Kam Yuen College, program mentors will organize a master of ceremony training and an English radio program to boost students’ confidence, train future trainers; and to enhance their interests in speaking English. TUF is excited about the new partnership we have developed with these two schools. Being able to find like-minded people who share our commitment toward students from families with limited resources is one of the greatest joys of our work. And we believe that this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
Dispatch from the Operations Desk It is the same feeling every year -- After one month of intensive training, program mentors were sent off to our partner schools on September 1st. And I feel like an empty nester. August is always a fun time at TUF. The “party” started a little bit early this year in late July with a three-day, two-night training camp that brought together program mentors from three cohorts. It was lots of great team building times; plus opportunities for departing program mentors to share their experiences and “survival tips” with the incoming ones. There were also new elements added to the pre-placement/summer training that took place in August, with more emphasis on mentoring-related skills and techniques. A total of 26 training sessions were held on a wide range of topics including leadership, teaching, mentorship, counseling, communications, and education theories. There were also sharing by veteran youth workers on the needs of and techniques to engage our students so as to inspire their motivation. Now with our “agents” out in the field, I confess I miss the energy and passions that I felt everyday last month. But it is even more exciting to know that these young souls are working hard to apply what they have learned in serving students with needs in the communities that TUF is committed to support.
Staff Profile
Hello! I’ m Addi, a year-two program mentor currently working at Maryknoll Secondary School. I’m passionate about hiking and distance running. During weekends, I like exploring around Hong Kong and spending beautiful days in the nature. As a program mentor, improving students’ learning motivation is my top agenda. I always encourage my students to set short-term and long-term goals as the importance of future planning cannot be emphasized enough. To inspire students to be perseverant and persistent in reaching their goals, I like to spread my passion for running to them; and share my goals to run in marathons around the world and to improve my running time. That’s how I want to influence students by exercising the leadership practice: to model the way. By Addi Chung, Program Mentor
By Winnie Yip Fong, Director of Operations
Special Thanks:
We are grateful to the Fu Tak Iam Foundation Limited for their sponsorship of the TUF program.
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