Teach Unlimited Breeze (November 2014) Bulletins
Halloween Fun - Caritas Yuen Long Chan Chun Ha Secondary School Students had a real “scary” time celebrating Halloween from Oct 27 to 31. Among other things, there were a language game stall, a Halloween movie show, and cookie demonstration. Highlight of the day? A number of “ghosts” were wandering around school to hunt down students for trick or treating. The celebration jointly organized by English teachers, English ambassadors and program mentors certainly has brought lots of scary moments to school! “Pave Your Own Way” – Tsang Pik Shan Secondary School So what’s all the excitement about? After a month of promotion, recruitment and a series of interview sessions, program mentors are ready to a kick start the “Pave Your Own Way” project. Students shared their stories enthusiastically during the briefing session even it was their first meeting with the program mentors. We were truly motivated and promise to present the most interesting and stimulating programs to the students. A kick-off ceremony will be held in late November. Stay tuned for more!
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The Journey that We Walked Together
OUR PEOPLE Tony Wong Chairperson Maria Lee Cheng Vice Chairperson MANAGEMENT TEAM Winnie Yip Fong Director of Operations
PROGRAM STAFF Chloe Chan Patricia Chan Francesca Chu Addi Chung Fiona Fung Kevin Lee Michelle Lee Hazel Wong
It might take a long time to embed changes on our pupils. But if you are able to catch the tail of their thoughts, start a journey and walk with them; the changes can be dramatic. Amy, a S.5 girl, showed no interest in study and would often lose her temper in class. It took me a while to build rapport with her and enhance her learning interest through our small group sessions. Though Amy had demonstrated better effort; her behaviors fluctuated when she felt tired or got tempered. She needed more motivations and goals to keep herself going. One day, she told me she felt like having done nothing in the past few years and wanted to achieve more before graduation. She tried to change but found it hard. Remembering her interest in becoming a flight attendant, I found her an article on how to become a flight attendant. The English article was hard but she tried very hard to understand it and we read it together. She learned that she needed to improve her English. I gave her a set of vocab cards and encouraged her to make learning more vocabularies a short-term goal. Furthermore, I encouraged Amy to participate in a dream proposal competition. It was a challenging task but she stayed after school to work on it. On the due date, she got sick and wanted to give up. I encouraged her to finish the proposal and promised to rush in the application for her. She finally sent me the proposal at 1 a.m. I could feel her hard work and sincerity. Though she did not win the scholarship, we celebrated her efforts and accomplishment together. Amy changed a lot after that. She was more active in the small group sessions and voluntarily asked for additional meetings. She even went to her friend’s home after school to study English prior to exam. Chances are Amy will encounter more challenges in the years ahead. But the journey we had walked together gave both of us the confidence on her ability to strive for a better future.
By Chloe Chan, Program Mentor
Dreaming is Believing - The Dream Pursuing Project This year, students from our partner schools will have the opportunity to embark on a dream journey that promises something more than a dream comes true. The journey is going to touch their hearts, inspire their minds, and make them believe in their abilities to become whoever they want to be in the future. The Dream Pursuing Project was piloted in Caritas Fanling Chan Chun Ha Secondary School last year with proven successes. Emphasizing on “pursuing as a process”, it is less about fulfilling of dream than taking of steps to take charge of your life and plan for the future. It is an initiative that really speaks to the heart of challenges faced by our targeted students many of whom still think dream is a luxury they simply cannot afford. Building upon the successes of the pilot experience, the program is being replicated in three additional
Dispatch from the Operations Desk In the past few weeks, I’ve been going from school to school to check out the various inspiring activities our program mentors had put together. I was truly amazed by how much they had accomplished in such a short period of time. At the two second year partner schools, program mentors were quick in kick starting the various small group and school wide programs. We also discussed with the school leadership on the program sustainability strategies. The new school projects were also off to a smooth start with rapport successfully built between program mentors and the teachers and students alike; as well as targeting and identification of needs of the students. More importantly, enthusiasm among the program mentors continues to grow. It is nothing more exciting than seeing all the creative ideas being put at work by these young souls whose passion constantly reminds me what the mission of TUF is about.
By Winnie Yip Fong, Director of Operations
partner schools this year. Dozens of students will have the opportunity to attend workshops on topics like career orientation and future planning; and be connected to volunteers with backgrounds similar to their “dreams” for one-on-one sharing. Job
Staff Profile
shadowing will also be arranged for selected students. Complementing these experiences is individual coaching support from program mentors
Hi, I’m Kevin Lee, a year-one program mentor serving at TWGHs Yow Kam Yuen College. I recently obtained my bachelor’s degree in social science from Hong Kong Baptist University. During my leisure time, I enjoy photography, playing African music and hiking with friends. I’m so thankful that I had met many inspiring mentors when I was young. That’s why I want to make a difference among young people today. Undoubtedly, working as a program mentor is challenging but meaningful and rewarding. Our team shares the same mission to advocate quality education for all. While we inspire pupils through dynamic learning experiences and mentoring, we also equip ourselves with essential leadership, mentoring and teaching skills.
to facilitate their self-understanding exploration of future possibilities.
and
The Dream Pursuing Project is not just an inspirational journey for the participants. Through school-wide promotion and report of progress, program mentors promote a “dare to dream” spirit around school. We believe in the talents and potential of our students. And we trust that they will develop a stronger belief in themselves through this inspirational journey of dreaming.
“Pupils benefited from these successful learning experiences were observed to be more confident, more positive towards trying out new things, and more motivated to pursue learning goals…” - Chloe Chan, Program Mentor
Special Thanks:
We are grateful to the Fu Tak Iam Foundation Limited for their sponsorship of the TUF program.
www.teachunlimited.org