Enrich learning experience, explore students’ potential, and establish correct moral values

Aplichau Kaifong Primary SchoolIt has been standing in the South District for 70 years. With the school motto of "Honesty, Trust, Diligence and Diligence", it teaches students to learn knowledge and skills and establish correct values. We have always been committed to providing high-quality education, developing students' potential, and promoting the balanced development of children's five educations. Over the years, students have achieved good results in the allocation of places to secondary schools, and there are many famous schools popular with parents such as Queen's College, Sheng Kung Hui Tang Shiu Kin Secondary School, etc. Principal Wen Shuxiong believes that excellence needs to be taught with heart. Entering the new school year, he said that he would continue the school's caring culture and lead the teaching team to play the role of "surrogate parents" to take care of the children's needs, so that they can learn in a harmonious and pleasant atmosphere, and help them realize their potential and meet the challenges of the future society.

Actively promote STEAM education and fully cultivate innovation and technology capabilities

The school actively promotes STEAM teaching in terms of courses, activities and resources. In addition to regular programming teaching in computer classes, STEAM courses will also be promoted in comprehensive classes. The school will conduct inquiry activities on different themes to allow students to conduct scientific exploration and thinking training. It will also arrange different project studies and STEAM teaching activities, such as 3D printing design courses, programming design, etc., to allow students to use knowledge from different disciplines to make hands-on production, thereby consolidating knowledge points.

Outside the classroom, the school arranges science and technology days and scientific inquiry activities to enhance students' understanding of technology. It also launches different STEAM teams, such as airplane racing classes, smart home design classes, aerial photography classes, and product invention classes, to cultivate students' creative thinking, problem-solving abilities, and logical thinking abilities.

In terms of resource utilization, the school has an "Inno Space" with Blue-Bot robots, mBot, etc., allowing students to understand basic programming through these resources. The school also participates in the CoolThink project, using Jockey Club resources to help children develop computational thinking.

Electronic teaching shows great achievements, focusing on strengthening on-campus equipment

The school further uses e-learning to make teaching more effective. In addition to using virtual reality walls, it also uses Google Classroom, installs electronic whiteboards, and implements the "Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) program" to encourage students to learn independently and facilitate teaching and learning. The students also performed well in STEAM. Some students won the Advanced Honors Certificate in Science in the ICAS International Joint School Subject Assessment and Competition; some students won the runner-up in the Central and Western District Mechanical Games - Robot Programming Bowling Competition; and some students won the Merit Award at the Hong Kong Innovation and Technology Exhibition.

Principal Wen hopes that students can look at the world and travel across the universe. Therefore, the plan is to use virtual reality and other equipment in the future to create videos of scenic spots, famous buildings, culture, art, the seven continents, and the five oceans around the world. Students will feel as if they have experienced the scenes themselves and see the world through these devices. On the other hand, Principal Wen said that aerospace courses will be introduced this year. The relevant courses are supported and recognized by the China Aerospace Science and Technology International Exchange Center and the China-Hong Kong Aerospace Development Institute to allow children to travel through the universe. He believes these courses can increase their interest in exploring the universe, broaden their horizons, and enhance their creative thinking.

Expand the biliterate and trilingual learning environment and establish a good language foundation

In terms of biliteracy and trilingualism, the school believes that laying a good foundation in English at the primary school level is very important for children's future development. The school offers Phonics courses, which are combined with the English GE course (General English) and English story books, so that students can learn the skills of concatenating words in a more life-like way. It also launched special English courses and cooperated with the University of Hong Kong to produce English teaching clips about the characteristics of the Southern District, using virtual reality walls for teaching. The school also organizes different English activities such as "Spelling Bee" to allow students to spell new words in interesting ways and enrich their vocabulary library; it also holds regular English reading days and sets up an "English Café" for students to enjoy the fun of reading English books; it also holds English Days, English dramas, English puppet activities, English aerobics, "English Naturalist", "English Short Talk", "Joyful Book Day", "Fun with Mr. William", etc., create a good English context, become familiar with English through interaction and communication, and build confidence in English. In addition, the school has extended the forest curriculum to the English subject, embedding information about different plants through the curriculum, so that students can learn English in a "living" environment. In terms of future curriculum planning, Principal Wen decided to make adjustments in the manpower of foreign teachers to give students more opportunities to communicate with foreign teachers and strengthen their English listening and speaking skills.

Diversified learning experiences make learning “alive”

Comprehensive courses are a major feature of school curriculum planning. They not only organically combine the learning elements of various subjects, but also provide students with diversified learning experiences to make learning "live". Students will conduct subject-based learning in the morning and comprehensive courses in the afternoon, including forest courses, community exploration, intangible cultural heritage, comprehensive music and art courses, and VR courses. The comprehensive course is very rich in content and includes many learning activities, allowing children to see more and feel the joy of learning from the experience. For example, the forest course not only allows children to learn about plants and insects within the campus, but also includes outdoor learning, including survival skills, farming, wild fire making, fishing, natural methods of water filtration, camping and other activities, allowing students to learn from the experience.

The school also emphasizes letting students get to know the community, taking the opportunity of comprehensive classes to allow children to explore the community and participate in community services, so that students can have a greater sense of belonging to the community. The course also includes education on intangible heritage, such as leading students to participate in the Hong Christmas performance in Ap Lei Chau, etc., so that students can understand traditional culture and understand the importance of cultural conservation; the comprehensive music and arts course combines visual arts and music subjects, allowing students to use electronic software to compose music and unleash their creativity. The course is led by professional composer Director Lin Zhenhuan, allowing students to develop their creativity in art through this course. As technology becomes increasingly advanced, schools also provide VR courses, using large virtual reality walls on campus for teaching.

In terms of future curriculum arrangements, Principal Wen plans to optimize the forest curriculum, such as arranging activities such as hiking and stargazing, so that children can understand the natural ecology, discuss pollution issues, and understand the importance of environmental protection. Principal Wen also revealed that he will combine forest courses with exchange groups and plans to take students to wetlands in Singapore to support the development of innovation, technology and creative thinking, so that they can look at the world and have more experiences in STEAM.

Enrich activities to explore potential and inspire the development of multiple intelligences

The school understands that students’ potential is not only in academic aspects, but also in non-academic fields. Therefore, the school provides a wide range of extracurricular activities. Extracurricular activities cover visual arts, music, sports, culture, etc., such as track and field, ball games, Chinese dance, piano, lion dance, etc., which not only promote the development of their multiple intelligences, but also help them explore their potential and gain satisfaction from it.

With the support and encouragement of the school, students have achieved outstanding results in non-academic off-campus competitions. Among them, they won the grand prize in the Digital Art Competition and the piano solo championship in the Hong Kong Children's Academic Music Open; the Chinese dance team won the Merit Award and the Grade A Award respectively in the Chinese Dance (Group Dance) of the Primary School Senior Group at the 59th and 60th School Dance Festival; and won the championship in the men's 100m special group of the Inter-school Track and Field Competition in the Western District of Hong Kong Island. In non-academic areas, Principal Wen plans to arrange short-term Japanese, Korean and Spanish courses for students to ignite their interest in foreign languages ​​and provide an online self-study platform.

Travel thousands of miles to experience the local customs and exchange overseas to broaden your horizons

The school is well aware of the principle that "it is better to travel thousands of miles than to read thousands of books", so it will arrange exchanges for students in mainland China or overseas. Every year, the school arranges two exchange opportunities for students in the mainland. In the past, it has led students to sister schools in Guizhou and Shanghai, as well as Foshan, Sichuan, Nanhai and other places to conduct exchange activities on history, culture, ecological exploration, etc., so that students can have a better understanding of the country's development and culture. The school will also take students overseas, such as to South Korea, New Zealand and other places to experience the customs and customs of different parts of the world. The school will arrange students to go to Singapore for exchanges to help students understand Singapore's environmental protection and technological measures, as well as its multicultural characteristics.

Pay attention to moral values and cultivate physical, mental and spiritual health

"Students' physical, mental and spiritual health is also one of the areas that need attention." Principal Wen said frankly: "No one can predict the future world, but in terms of moral values, no matter how the world develops, they are beliefs that must be adhered to." The school focuses on cultivating 24 character strengths of students and has launched different plans for this purpose. For example, "Positive Kids Project", "I have a date with my teacher", etc., cultivate students' character strengths such as kindness and perseverance through rewards, outdoor excursions, etc., and create a positive atmosphere in the school.

Principal Wen believes that if students learn moral education through serving the community, the results will be more ideal. Through service learning, students can build empathy, learn to care for the community, understand how to get along with others, cultivate students' social intelligence, and learn to build a friendly and loving relationship. In addition, the teaching content of forest courses, community exploration, and intangible heritage can also cultivate children's curiosity and interest in the world, as well as their gratitude for nature.

In addition to cultivating 24 character strengths, students’ emotions are also something that needs attention. Principal Wen also said: "Some students have fragile hearts and are under great pressure to study, so they need to know how to control their emotions. On the other hand, for students with special learning needs, emotional control is even more important, because they need to learn to deal with the pressure they will encounter in future work or further studies." Therefore, Principal Wen plans to optimize meditation and use five-sense exercises and breathing exercises to help students calm their minds, learn to manage their emotions, and also train their concentration. In addition, he also hopes that students can establish a habit of exercise, including: K Pop dance, morning exercise plan, lunch exercises, track and field training, football classes and other sports. He hopes that students can cultivate physical, mental and spiritual health in addition to classroom learning.

Comprehensive connection between kindergarten and primary school, Sunshine Telephone strengthens communication

The school understands that primary school students need time to adapt to a new environment, so it provides a series of transition measures to primary school students. The school provides kindergarten courses to students in the area and primary school freshmen, simulating primary school life and allowing students to adapt to the primary school model in advance. The school arranges three days of adaptation days for primary school students in late August, allowing them to learn to line up, go to the bathroom on their own, learn to take care of themselves, and adapt to the arrangements of different subjects.

Adaptation classes will be held on four consecutive Saturdays from late August, covering the three major subjects of Chinese, English and Mathematics, as well as STEAM, music, visual arts and other elements. In addition, on the first five days of the school year, Primary One students will only attend half-day classes to allow them to transition step by step and slowly adapt to the process of moving from kindergarten to primary school.

Principal Wen said that the school attaches great importance to communication with parents and new students' adaptation to the new environment. At the end of the summer vacation, the head teacher will make a sunshine phone call to contact the parents of the new students to explain the school's situation and understand whether they have special learning needs. This data can be mastered in advance to make arrangements for future teaching arrangements and connections. In addition, the school will also hold tea gatherings and lectures to let parents and students get to know the school, and to let the school understand parents' concerns.

Provide appropriate support for children and effectively cater for learning diversity

In order to take care of learning diversity, schools will take care of students with different abilities through different teaching arrangements, curriculum arrangements, and teaching techniques. At the primary school level, the school will divide students into two or three groups according to their proficiency in Chinese, English, and mathematics to deal with learning differences in a targeted manner. For students with better academic performance, the school will arrange some top-notch classes, gifted courses, and school-based pull-out courses. For students with average or lower abilities, the school will help them lay a solid foundation and continue to improve through curriculum tailoring and teacher guidance. In addition, the school will also have stratified academic arrangements so that students, whether they are less able, medium or strong, can become increasingly academically advanced.

In order to effectively provide appropriate support to students with special learning needs, the school also has a Wonderland (sensory integration training room), which is equipped with a climbing wall, yoga balls, etc., which can provide a pleasant environment to help students with special learning needs conduct individual training. The school also invites professionals from different sectors to provide professional help to students with special learning needs, such as Special Education Coordinators (SENCOs), social workers, educational psychologists, speech therapists and occupational therapists.

In addition, the school implements various activity plans, such as the school-based support "Mentor Navigation Program", where teachers provide one-on-one care for their growth process, so that they can receive appropriate help both spiritually and academically; the "Brothers and Sisters Activities", similar to the Big Brothers Big Sisters Program, provide them with support from the perspective of peers. In addition, the school also cooperates with other external organizations and on-campus social workers to organize the "Joyful Movement", "Strategic Support Plan for Students with Autism" and school-based support groups, etc., and adopts adjustments in school tests, examinations and assessments so that they can grow happily with the help of the school.