Based on Confucianism, keeping pace with the times, cultivating the way of etiquette and benevolence

"Confucius Hall Secondary School" was renamed "Academy of Innovation (Confucius Hall)" (Academy of Innovation (Confucius Hall)) last year, which represents the school's new milestone in the development of the times. Integrating the traditional academy system, "middle school" was changed to "academy" in the hope of creating a caring relationship between teachers and students, just like family. The "ritual" in the school name not only represents the cultivation of etiquette and attitude, but also refers to the school's teaching of students to be grateful for everything and the attitude they should have towards others. The "Innovation" in the English translation of the school name is in line with the school's emphasis on scientific and technological innovation and the popularity of STEM education in recent years. Learning continues to be Confucian-based, and we are committed to cultivating students to internalize Confucian ideas and apply what they have learned, so that students can develop well in "morality, knowledge, and life."

Confucianism is the foundation and moral cultivation is the most important thing

"Respect the teachings of Xiangxu and apply the righteousness of filial piety and brotherhood" is a concept that Confucianism has always advocated. Principal Yeung Wing Hon emphasized: "The times have changed, and the educational policies have also changed, but the school still insists on cultivating students' morality with Confucianism. What education teaches, first, is moral value Values, education must teach students correct moral values; second, social coping skills, including livelihood skills. If there is a lack of basic morality, the higher the ability, the greater the disadvantage to society. As the saying goes, "The foundation of the world lies in the country, and the foundation of the family lies in the body."

The school takes filial piety, brotherhood, loyalty, trust, etiquette, righteousness, integrity, and shame as its mottos, and is based on the moral values emphasized by Confucianism. It has established mechanisms to help students cultivate their moral character and become virtuous kings in the future. For example, when handing out report cards at the end of the semester, the school has the tradition of serving tea, which represents the Confucian emphasis on respecting teachers. Parents can inform the school of their children's rude words and deeds, because the school is responsible for "education." Let young people learn traditional virtues such as filial piety, respect and love, loyalty and selflessness, honesty, moderation in advancement and retreat, acting appropriately, integrity and not being greedy, and knowing shame, so as to cultivate their own spirituality, improve personal cultivation, and build a harmonious society together.

International education cultivates vision and mind

In addition to inheriting Chinese culture, students must also have the ability to communicate with people from various countries in order to establish an international perspective. Therefore, as early as more than ten years ago, the school has been actively organizing overseas exchange activities. For example, students are arranged to travel to Denmark, Germany, the United States and other places to stay and study with local families for two weeks to experience foreign cultures firsthand. The teaching team also leads students to participate in international exchange activities, such as the German Student Music Festival, the Indian Middle School Dance Festival, the American Recitation Festival, etc., giving students the opportunity to broaden their knowledge and expand their channels for receiving international information. Principal Yeung Wing HonAdditionally, it is necessary for students to understand the importance of the Greater Bay Area and the Belt and Road Initiative. The Greater Bay Area will be the center of economic gravity, so it cannot be ignored. Earlier, the school collaborated with the director Xian Qiran to lead students to understand the Greater Bay Area, broaden their personal horizons and mind, and improve their thinking and vision to a higher level.

In addition, the school regularly invites celebrities from local and global political and business circles to meet with students, such as former Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond, former French Consul General Eric Berti, former Irish Consul General Peter Ryan, Grand Bauhinia Honoree Tam Wai-chu, former HKU President Xu Lap-chi, Confucian master Tu Weiming, etc., so that students can learn about their personal lives and careers through dialogue and interaction with them, so that students can look at the world and no longer be limited to Hong Kong.

Implement the policy of teaching students in accordance with their aptitude and appropriate language

Mastering biliteracy and trilingualism is an ability valued by Hong Kong education. In response to students' learning diversity, schools adopt a method of teaching students in accordance with their aptitude. In the English subject, the learning achievements of students in recent years are encouraging. The value-added index ranks among the top 15 in Hong Kong. Not only students who are lagging behind in their learning progress have positive value-added, but top students also have positive value-added. In daily English classes, the teacher team adds elements of experiential learning to give students the opportunity to apply English in specific daily life scenarios. In addition, under the influence of Confucian education, a culture of "choose those who are good and follow them, and change those who are not good" has also formed among peers. The non-Chinese speaking students in the school come from more than ten countries, and many of them are good at English. Peers learn from each other so that both sides can make progress. In the daily operations of the school, Cantonese, Mandarin and English are also used flexibly to switch, giving students a good language learning context.

For newly arrived students, the school has many years of experience in recruiting new arrivals to Hong Kong. It is well aware of the needs of mainland students and provides appropriate support. The school provides them with a 30-hour adaptation course, covering basic training in Cantonese and English. It teaches them vocabulary that is frequently used in daily life, improves their confidence in English conversation, and promotes the improvement of mainland students' English proficiency in one to one and a half years, providing them with top-notch skills. It also leads them to understand nearby community support and help them adapt to life as new arrivals in Hong Kong. The school also understands the difficulties that non-Chinese speaking students may face in learning Chinese, and therefore makes special arrangements, such as arranging for them to take the government-recognized GCSE and obtain a recognized academic qualification. The pass rate of students' GCSE is nearly 100%.

Keep pace with the times and focus on STEM development

As the times change, innovative technology becomes more and more important. Principal Yeung Wing Hon said: "Society is developing rapidly, and students need to keep up with the development of this era." Therefore, the school keeps pace with the times and promotes STEM education. In terms of information and communications (ICT) curriculum design, for high school students, the school designs teaching content for the Hong Kong Diploma Examination, so that students have broader prospects for further studies. For junior high school students, the school encourages them to boldly try, cultivate students' digital skills and information literacy, teach them online ethics, train problem-solving skills, and equip students with the ability to apply information technology, such as word processing, AI, programming, etc., so as to apply the scientific and technological knowledge they have learned.

In order to allow students to learn more efficiently, the school applied for resources from the government and established an "Innovation Lab" for students to conduct research. It participated in the "AI for Future" project of CUHK, and CUHK provided AI smart cars, equipment and teaching materials. The school also provides students with a variety of STEM learning activities, such as arranging for students to visit virtual reality laboratories of tertiary institutions, etc., so that they can learn more about technological developments in different regions and broaden their knowledge. It led two teams of student representatives to participate in the "Underwater Robot Competition" and won the first and second place. Recently, the school also gave students the opportunity to participate in the data analysis competition and achieved good results. The school also attaches great importance to STEM interdisciplinary learning. It recently participated in the "AI Painting Competition" together with the Visual Arts Department, and was shortlisted for the "Digital Intelligence 2023/2024" competition in conjunction with the Film and Television Society.

Establish a learning platform to explore students’ potential

The learning process does not only involve books and classrooms, but also has more interesting forms. The school provides students with diversified learning experiences so that they can explore, exert and develop their potential. The school appreciates the different interests of students and has set up a special mechanism for extracurricular activities. If there are more than ten students in any interest group and can participate in group activities regularly, the school will allow them to form a group and arrange teachers to teach them. It will also cover the expenses of hiring tutors, purchasing insurance, etc., and students do not need to pay to participate. In terms of sports, the school has also formed an alliance with the international rugby organization "Rugby 7". "Rugby 7" sends professional rugby coaches to train students to develop their collaborative skills and team spirit. Thanks to the school's open attitude, students have sufficient platforms to develop different interests. The rugby and football teams have achieved outstanding results in competitions and won many awards. Students participating in roller skating have joined the national team, and students participating in the fencing team have been ranked domestically.

In terms of art, the school also provides students with ample opportunities to develop their potential. In addition to exposure to different forms of artistic expression in the course, such as ink painting, mask painting, clay and other visual arts, the Visual Arts Department will also launch various activities and workshops, such as art production such as intangible cultural heritage dough sculptures and bamboo making, "Knock on Hong Kong" cultural experience activities, and lead high school Visual Arts students to visit design exhibitions, etc., to understand their own future and prospects in studying this subject, and even hold small exhibitions to provide students with a platform to showcase their learning achievements and personal abilities.

The Chinese Department will also cooperate with the Art Department to use colors, sounds, etc. to use art therapy to unleash students' creativity and potential. The school specially hires professional screenwriters to lead students to rewrite scripts or novels, allowing students to try to understand the feelings and backgrounds of the characters in the play, so that in addition to reading, they can also get practice and develop their artistic talents. The school has also participated in the "School Art Troupe Partnership Program" and cooperated with the art troupe to arrange artists to hold activities in the school. For example, Professor Yuan Siu-fai gave a lecture on "Talk about the past, talk about the present, and talk about Nanyin", which introduced the art form of "Nanyin" to students; "Dismantling the Excerpts" was organized by the famous theater troupe "One Table and Two Chairs Charity Foundation" to lead students to contact and understand the excerpts.

Both teachers and friends, caring for each other

Teachers and students in the school maintain a relationship of teachers and friends. Elders and juniors care for each other and achieve mutual learning through teaching, forming an atmosphere where teachers and students are like family in the academy system. In addition to expressing condolences to students when they are sick, teachers will also organize "dates with the principal" and "lunch with the class teacher" to build closer relationships with students. In this caring atmosphere, students will come to the principal and teachers to talk to and seek help when they encounter difficulties. Principal Yeung Wing Hon said with a smile: “With elders around to help, students have less chance of making mistakes.”