Po Leung Kuk Mrs. Chan Nam Chong Memorial Primary School & Po Leung Kuk Anita L.L. Chan (Centenary) School Inheriting Po Leung Spirit in New School Premises after Sparking the Joy of Learning in “Matchbox-style” School over 40 Years
(14 January 2019, Hong Kong) A small matchbox is used to carry fragile matches, but it can also be a tool to ignite the matches and spark great fire.
Over the past 40 years, Po Leung Kuk Mrs. Chan Nam Chong Memorial Primary School and Po Leung Kuk Anita L.L. Chan (Centenary) School shared a less than 3,000-square-meter “matchbox-style school premises” located in Choi Wan Estate, where each of them would only occupy 3 floors of the building. Even though school playground was unavailable, Po Leung Kuk Mrs. Chan Nam Chong Memorial Primary School has been committed to cultivating students’ interests into “one sports/arts in life”, the Rope Skipping Team and Lion Dance Team have won numerous awards, while the Handbell Team maintained excellent performance. The teaching of Po Leung Kuk Anita L.L. Chan (Centenary) School also was not bounded by limited spaces. Various lesson plans were carried out to assist students with moderate intellectual disability to break through their physical limitation and become self-reliant.
Po Leung Kuk Anita L.L. Chan (Centenary) School was allocated with a brand-new school premises by Education Bureau in 2013, whereas Po Leung Kuk Mrs. Chan Nam Chong Memorial Primary School was re-provisioned to new site in 2017. Sharing the “matchbox-style school premises” for over 40 years, the two schools finally moved to new school premises in To Kwa Wan and San Po Kong respectively on 3rd September, 2018.
The Opening Ceremony of the two schools was held today (14th January, 2019). The Hon Kevin YEUNG Yun-hung, JP, Secretary for Education, the Officiating Guest, together with Dr. Margaret W.L. CHOI, Chairman of Po Leung Kuk and PLK Schools’ Supervisors Committee, Board of Directors and other guests officiated the ribbon-cutting and plaque unveiling ceremonies.
Addressing the ceremony of Po Leung Kuk Mrs. Chan Nam Chong Memorial Primary School, Secretary for Education Kevin YEUNG Yun-hung stated that the Government has installed air-conditioning systems and offered the “Air-conditioning Grant” to the new school premises. He expressed his wishes to the school with the letters “C, N, C” abbreviated from its name “Chan Nam Chong”, ‘The first “C” refers to “Challenge”, I hope that students would keep their courage to take challenges and continue to scale new heights in learning and all sorts of extra-curricular activities. “N” stands for “New”, indicates the new page of the relocation to the new school premises. I believe the school will create fruitful achievements under all of your concerted efforts. The last “C” represents “Caring”. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all staff for their love and care to the students over the years.’
Given that the new premises of Po Leung Kuk Mrs. Chan Nam Chong Memorial Primary School was originally occupied by another primary school of the Kuk, Dr. Margaret W.L. CHOI, Chairman of Po Leung Kuk, conveyed our gratitude to the Education Bureau for allowing the Kuk to optimize the utilization of vacant school premises resources so as to inherit the Po Leung spirit. Dr. CHOI was also grateful to the donors and their families of the two naming schools for their trust in the Kuk’s education services, and supporting the enhancement of the school environment and facilities.
At the Opening cum Dedication Ceremony of Po Leung Kuk Anita L.L. Chan (Centenary) School, Dr. CHOI commended the principal and the teaching staff for their devotion to uphold the mission of “education without barriers”, and introduce the mobile adventure and scenario simulation classrooms to their students regardless of the space restriction and makeshift classroom settings, ‘Such a spirit of breaking through all limitations has been fully reflected in their students, who live beyond their limits. My gratitude goes to the principal and the teaching staff for their dedication in sparking countless young hearts of our community inside the “matchbox”.’
The students and graduates of the two schools made all-out efforts to showcase their skills and talents. The lively performance of the Handbell Team and Rope Skipping Team of Po Leung Kuk Mrs. Chan Nam Chong Memorial Primary School, displayed their goodwill to the school for continuing their efforts to “spark innovation” in the new school building. Lee Sai Ho, Graduate of Po Leung Kuk Anita L.L. Chan (Centenary) School, also expressed his sincere thanks to his alma mater with his live sand painting performance, while the dance performance by two of his alumni had deeply touched the audience.
About Po Leung Kuk
Founded in 1878, Po Leung Kuk, as one of the largest charity organisations in Hong Kong,has been serving Hong Kong for 140 years with its objective of “Protecting the Young and the Innocent”(保赤安良). Currently, the Kuk has more than 300 units strategically located in Hong Kong and provides services in social welfare, education, recreation and cultural fields. We have more than 45,000 students in our schools and attend to more than 600,000 visits for services a year.For more information about Po Leung Kuk, please go to www.poleungkuk.org.hk.
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Email: angelcm.lee@poleungkuk.org.hk