It's always an interesting scene to see
students coming back after the break! Some still feel sleepy, hoping to stay a
little longer in bed! Some are a bit nervous about the new school but most are
excited!
Just before the term started, we received the
report from the Comprehensive review team from EDB. I was glad that they found
our students ‘happy with their school life’ and teachers, ‘caring and supportive’. They reckoned the atmosphere
of the school is ‘cosy’. It was a very encouraging remark as we have been
working hard in the last five years on a happy and caring campus.
Besides, they described our students ‘on the
whole courteous, cooperative, cheerful and well behaved.’ Students ‘enjoy their
school life’ and on the whole are attentive in class, ‘exhibiting a positive
attitude towards learning’.
I am so proud of our kids though they could
still strive for better performance. Today in the School opening ceremony, I
appealed to their ‘sense of responsibility in learning’. Teens in this
generation are very much spoilt by parents and teachers and very often, they
tend to be very complacent about everything and therefore shift the responsibility
of learning from themselves to the others. I hope our students would understand
their responsibilities in learning and have higher expectations for themselves.
It’s about time we escalate the level of happiness
to one about achievements and satisfaction. We need to nurture students who
have aspirations and know how to train themselves and learn for it. We need
students to be serious about their studies and put in the hard work to achieve success.
Where
you are right now doesn't have to determine where you'll end up. No one's
written your destiny for you. You write your own destiny. You make your own
future. That's why today, I have asked the students to set their own goals for their
education - and to do everything they can to meet them. Whatever they resolve
to do, I want them to commit to it. I want them to really work at it.
As I said at the end of the ceremony,
‘We love you
very much, kids!’ and...
‘You have to love yourself and
make yourself a BETTER YOU!’
