Open Eyes Open Minds 7th February: Teacher’s Report
Firstly I would like to highlight and praise the attending parents, teachers and students who battled the weary weather on Sunday and demonstrated their remarkable resolve and exceptional spirit in continuing to participate in the event.
I am very appreciative of all the warm and enthusiastic faces that accompanied us and congratulate everyone for their accomplishments and reflections upon the day’s encounters! As Woody Allen once said, “80% of success is showing up”, and turning up on the dreary day was definitely the hardier half of the workshop experience!
Needless to say, the remaining half is to exercise and articulate our rain-washed experiences in my most favorite part, the English! Although parents did not join us on this part of the journey, we managed to combat the dripping weather with our English chants and rhymes, and even spied some new expressions and vocabulary that wouldn’t have come out to play on a sunnier day!
I could not have hoped for better because although battering, the weather proved to really open up our eyes, ears and minds to offer us an opportunity to deal with new terms, words and an experience that we would otherwise not have explored and felt!
Emerging as little chicks in the morning, students and teachers all built some superb team chains that allowed us to enjoy the sights together throughout the day. Our groups travelled through the scenic screens of the Polar Express train ride, chanted noisily down the puddled streets via coach, and cruised down the weathered tracks of Hong Kong by the anticipated tram ride. Overall it was not the brightest of days, a lot of our young chicks returned tired, windswept and soaked through and through. But, despite the miserly circumstances, a thunderous round of applause must be made at the end of the day, when the morning’s hatchings came into a full phoenix’s flight with their afternoon presentations. Well done everyone!
Before I conclude with the highlights and pictures of the day, I would like to thank all the participants for their contribution and role in the day. As a correspondent teacher from Australia, it was certainly a delightful treat to see such outstanding behavior and eagerness to learn from the young students on the day. I was very impressed with the young articulate students who reciprocated the learning of new vocabulary by their helpful translations of new English words for their peers. Thanks to these bright students, I have also gratefully learnt some new Chinese cultural history and vocabulary! It was truly a wonderfully wholesome, if slightly damp experience, and I hope to be lucky enough to see some new faces at another event in the future! I urge both parents and teachers to keep their eyes and ears out, for the next date of this very rewarding and fun learning-experience!
Sincerely, and wishing you all a very happy Lunar New Year,
Ms. Lamsaw.
