28 February 2019

Dear Parents and Students,

The school has always been committed to nurturing students in conserving and promoting Chinese Culture. Through different experiences of the Cheongsam culture, Chinese History QEF Projects, tea culture, excursions, opera arts, crafts, etc., students can explore traditional Chinese culture.

1. Cheongsam Culture

Summer white Cheongsam and winter dark blue Cheongsam, the signature of Pooi To students, has been a part of this school for 131 years. We have the responsibility to nurture our students to respect the Cheongsam culture. Our "Cheongsam project", combining innovation and tradition, started three years ago. It aims to promote Cheongsam culture and build a sense of pride in our school Cheongsam uniforms. The project emphasizes not only making Cheongsam in a traditional way taught by professionals, but also to build a respectful culture of the craft.

In order to conserve, revitalize and promote the traditional craft of Cheongsam, we don’t want to limit it to the Pooi To Family, but to extend this culture to other students in Hong Kong so that they have the opportunity to learn more about Cheongsam. With this in mind, since 2016 we have been holding the “Pooi To Qipao Design Competition” (Primary Section). We thank Mattel for appreciating our vision and sponsoring the Barbies for mini-Qipao making for Primary students. In 2016, we received the Merit Award in Arts Education (School Section) from the Arts Development Council. In 2019, the Quality Education Fund was awarded $380,000 to implement the "Cheongsam Heritage Scheme" to acknowledge our dedication and commitment in conservation, and promoting Cheongsam culture among teenagers.

2. Promotion of Chinese history

In 2017/18, our project “E-learning of Chinese History”, which was given $560,000 by the "Hong Kong Quality Education Fund", was implemented together with more than 10 other schools to create an e-learning platform http://pooito-chis.appspot.com/ for students to learn Chinese History online. Students are able to build their self-regulated learning through this project.

In 2018/19, our other project “E-drama of Chinese History”, which was also successfully sponsored by the "Hong Kong Quality Education Fund " ($590,000), will be implemented by using electronic software and resources (VR, AR, I-movie, etc.) to stimulate students’ interest in learning Chinese History. Besides, dramatic elements will also be added in Chinese History lessons to enrich their learning.

We congratulate Ms Chan Ying-ying on winning the award of 「陳靜中國歷史教學獎」by Research Center for Contemporary Chinese Culture of The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Congratulations!

The "History and Cultural Room" was officially opened 2017/18. Students can enjoy a variety of activities, such as movie appreciation, archaeological workshops, folk crafts and historical forums, etc. in this room. It is really for teachers and students, and it is fun!

3. Tea Culture

In 2017/18, the Chinese Department initialized the "Hong Kong Youth Tea Culture Promotion Programme" for students to experience "a cup of tea" through activities and tea art training. Through this they have a chance to understand the history of Chinese tea, its culture and its etiquette.

4. Appreciation of Chinese Opera

70 students from S4 were invited to attend the opening ceremony of the "The D. H. Chen Foundation – West Kowloon Tea House Student Matinees” on 20th February 2019. Through narrated performances, students were able to learn about xiqu and traditional culture in a fun, inter-disciplinary way. They also took part in a tour of the Xiqu Centre to see some of the architectural and design features of our new venue, and learn fun facts about the history and art of xiqu.

5. Chinese Art

Four years ago, the Chinese Dance Club only had 7 members, but after having the opportunity to perform in Arts in Action every year, more and more students are participating and the level has been progressively improving. This year, they are delighted to have won the “Highly-recommended Award” in their first appearance in the 55th Inter-school Dance Festival (Chinese Dance Section). Bravo! The students have been able learn traditional Chinese dances with joy and fun.

We have been actively participating in the Chinese choral speaking and solo verse in the Inter-school Speech Festival. The students will learn different poems, voices and emotions, and inject life into poetry. This year, the two teams of students came second and third in the competition. Congratulations!

Besides Qipao, the Visual Arts Department also promotes different Chinese Arts such as Shadow Play and Picking Chinese Stamps, so that students can learn more about different parts of Chinese heritage.

6. Excursion
This year, we are emphasizing cross-curricular learning through the One Belt One Road Initiative. The excursion includes:

Best regards,
Constance Cheung
Principal

“Not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.”
(Romans 12:3)