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Today, I would like to talk about our monthly theme “Being the Model of Selfless Love and Humble Service to Others”.  This monthly theme is related to all of you as each and every one of you can be a leader, whether it’s at school or in society.  What qualities do you need to be a student leader?  You can refer to the Profile of HFCC Graduates as shown in your Student Handbook on p.11 on which you can see words like “Tomorrow’s Leader @HFCC”.  This means, if you want to be a leader, you have to pay heed to some of the qualities stated on this page.  The four main qualities are being “Proactive in Charity & Humility”, “United in Love”, “Dynamic in Learning” and having “Faith in Action”.  Today, I am going to talk about the first quality – being “Proactive in Charity & Humility”.

For this quality, you are reminded to be humble when perceiving people and interpreting events.  You also have to accept limitations and admit mistakes with gratitude.  Most importantly, you need to display empathy and unconditional love towards humanity, particularly towards the less privileged.  If you were a club chairlady and were invited to participate in an external competition with your club members, how would you lead your team effectively? It’s simple – by being humble and empathetic.  If you display these two qualities under your leadership, your club members will not only have the confidence to exchange their views and ideas, but will also participate whole-heartedly in the competition.

Recently, I read an article that stated leaders who display humility can bring out the best in others. They are open to admitting their shortcomings and mistakes, and give appreciation and credit to their team members.  If you manage a team where power is expected to be shared, rely on your humility to create a safe space where team members are willing to take risks in making suggestions and to openly disagree.  Make clear that you view mistakes as opportunities for the team to learn.  On the other hand, if leaders are proud, dominant and powerful, then their team members feel unsafe to speak up and take risks.

Dear girls, all of you have potential to be future leaders.  From now on, practice selfless love and be of humble service to others.  Keep in mind that humility is the core foundation of good leadership and if we are to walk in the footsteps of Christ our Lord, we need to be humble like Him.  According to Mark, Chapter 9 Verse 35, Jesus once told His disciples: “If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.”  This was exactly what our Foundress,         St. Magdalene of Canossa, practised.  Her immediate response to the call of leadership was filled with genuine humility.  She remained humble in her response until the end.  Now, let’s pray to God for granting us a pure heart and the generosity to serve others in our daily life.

Welcome back after the Easter Holidays!  Today, I would like to talk about our monthly theme “Creating and Maintaining a Healthy Balance”.  The hectic school life has resumed after the Easter holidays and I am sure you will soon be overwhelmed with lessons, assignments, assessments and activities.  During this busy time of the year, even though you will be constantly occupied with work, it is important to strike a balance not only to make your life easier but also to allow you to maintain a healthy lifestyle.  There are a number of ways for you to do so and today I would like to share with you four useful methods.

To commence with, include a morning routine of offering gratitude to the Lord.  It is important to start your day with a grateful heart as this sets the tone for the rest of your day.  This can be done through prayer or meditation which will help you focus on your thoughts.  You are also advised to include exercise in your routine as it can help you relieve stress and elevate your mood.  If you notice carefully, you already have these two elements in your morning routine at school.  You all start your school day with a prayer, thanking God for His blessings.  After the morning assembly, you are required to walk up to your classrooms and this is a kind of exercise to help you increase your energy levels and get you ready for a productive day.

The second thing you can do is to use a “to do” list.  During lessons, you have to be attentive and responsive.  After lessons, try to plan the rest of the day so that you can have a clear picture of what you need to get done.  You are advised to break your tasks into chunks on your “to do” list.  This can reduce your stress by making tasks more manageable.  Also, doing so allows you to strike a balance between studies and leisure activities.  Planning ahead can ensure you are on the right track and ultimately, you will reach your target.

Third, you need to make sure you get enough sleep.  During sleep, your body is working to support your brain function and maintain your physical health.  For your age, sleep also helps support growth and development.  Inadequate sleep for prolonged periods of time can increase the risk for long-term health problems.  It can also affect how well you think, react, work, learn and get along with others.  Therefore, you should make it a point to get enough sleep for a healthy body and mind.

Last but not least, eat healthily.  You are reminded to fuel your body with food rich in nutrients and vitamins to give you energy throughout the day.  A proper diet allows your body to function at its best and helps you fend off any disease.  Indeed, eating well is vital to your physical health.

Dear girls, I believe that you can stay healthy both physically and psychologically by incorporating the above tips into your daily routine.  By maintaining a healthy lifestyle, you can stay stress free and get things done on time with proper focus.  Now, let’s pray to God for granting us the perseverance to achieve a happier and healthy lifestyle.

Today, I would like to talk about “Respect” which is related to our monthly theme. This year, our school has set up a new club, the Nature Club. The purpose of this club is to encourage you to show gratitude for God’s gifts of nature. In addition, we would like you to learn to cultivate respect for nature. This term, there will be two outings for members of the Nature Club, allowing them to appreciate and treasure our natural environment. Nature is the God’s best gift to us which not only beautifies our world but also helps in the betterment of our lives.

Like some of you, I also enjoy exploring natural environment in my leisure time. At weekends, my family members and I go to country parks for walks. Not only do we get to release the stress and pressure built up during the week, we also enjoy the fresh air that nature offers to us. A walk in the countryside can help my family to have a healthier body. With a healthy body, we are able to do many things that give us pleasure. Besides weekends, I appreciate the beauty of nature daily. After the lifting of the mask mandate last week, I can now enjoy the fresh air when I walk past the Lok Fu Park to school every morning. I constantly try to find ways to protect nature by recycling paper, reducing the usage of water or electricity and not littering the environment so as to preserve the beauty of this God-given gift.

Lok Fu Park

Dear girls, I believe that you can also help conserve our natural environment. Conservation in simple terms means preservation and protection. At school, you can minimize the use of paper towels and tap water when you use the washrooms, switch off lights or other electrical appliances when they are not in use and recycle paper if possible. If we pledge to follow these small steps and live by them, we can achieve a lot more than protecting our environment. If you walk past the park on your way to school, look at the various trees and bushes around you. Enjoy the sounds made by the birds chirping and look up at the blue sky. Take time to appreciate the nature around you and you’ll be rewarded with a healthy mind, body and soul. Now, let’s pray to God to thank Him for our beautiful world and ask for His guidance to endow us with respect for everything on this planet.

Last week, you all received your answers scripts of the Mid-year Examination. Are you satisfied with your performance? Today, I would like to talk about your commitment to learn. Let me start my sharing with a question, “Why do I need to learn?” Some of you may answer this question in the following ways, “It’s because I have to, just like all other students” or “It’s because I want to get high marks in my tests and exams”. Some of you may also say, “It’s because I want to please my parents” or “I do not want to disappoint my teachers”. If any of these are your answers to my question, then you may want to reconsider your purpose of learning. However, if your answer is ‘I need to learn so as to enrich myself and become more knowledgeable’, then you have achieved your real purpose of learning. The moment this becomes your reason for learning, you are committed to learn, which in turn makes it an enjoyable activity

This academic year, in the Profile of HFCC Graduates as shown in your Student Handbook on p.11, I have added some thought-provoking messages. On the top of this page, you will see words like “Tomorrow’s Leader @HFCC”. This means, if you want to be a leader, you have to pay heed to some of the qualities of Holy Familians as stated on this page. For learning, you are reminded to:

• implement self-directed learning with perseverance and conscientiousness;
• be open-minded, exhibit a sense of wonder and passion towards the joy of living and learning;
• welcome and embrace different learning opportunities inside and outside school.

Learning indeed requires our clear planning, management and hard work, especially in the golden age of innovation, an era in which digital technology is driving us to exhibit a sense of wonder. In fact, some biotech companies and universities are stepping up efforts to develop robots for COVID-19 testing as a way to boost efficiency and reduce the workload on medical staff. Indeed, robotics technology has grown rapidly in recent years, integrating emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and 5G which have given rise to new products and applications that not only promote global economic development but also ensure people’s well-being.

Dear girls, to be committed to learn, let’s start with envisioning what we wish our future to look like and try to enrich ourselves by developing a creative mind and exhibiting a sense of wonder. With this curiosity, we will be motivated to learn and develop life-long learning skills. Now, let’s pray to God to develop within us the commitment to learn and the courage to adapt to the ever-changing needs of our society as stated in our monthly theme “Overcoming Challenges with Courage and Faith”.

Repent and be vigilant! We have entered the second week of Advent! Let us prepare our hearts to listen to God’s words and receive Him in our hearts. We emphasize on repentance and awakening this week.

For a repentant person, the greatest temptation is to sin again. The devil will never give up tempting a soul. Therefore, we have to be cautious and keep alert. One of the best ways to resist temptation and fight against the devil is to pray. Prayer is our strongest weapon against the devil and abstinence.

Prayer:

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

During this season of Advent, may all Holy Familans deepen the knowledge of Christmas, and pray for unity and harmony. May Jesus bring love and peace to our home and family. We also ask for His guidance to purify our minds and souls so that we can resist the temptation of the devil. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Today, I would like to talk about our monthly theme “Preparing our Mind for the Jubilee Anniversary”.

Our school is entering its 50^th year since its establishment on 26 September 1972.  The 50^th anniversary is a joyous time for Holy Familians.  I believe that all of us are blessed and proud of being part of this big family to celebrate this special occasion.  In these 50 years, Holy Familians have embraced challenges and laid down many milestones underpinning their drive for academic excellence and achievements in other learning experiences. 

To prepare for the school’s 50^th anniversary, a wide range of programmes were arranged last year.  We received many good entries for the English Writing Competition and our anniversary publications in both English and Chinese.  Your masterpieces showcased your passion for writing.  Besides, on 12 August 2022, we attended the Thanksgiving Mass to show our gratitude to God for his blessings and guidance.  This was followed by the 50^th Anniversary Kick-off Ceremony in which STEM Prefects demonstrated their creativity in a video highlighting the anniversary theme. 

This was followed by the blessing of our newly-renovated School Library by Rev. Benedict Lam.  Our school library is equipped with modern facilities and provides an enjoyable reading environment for you all.  Another renovation that will take place this year will be in Room 301.  This will be renovated into an IT Innovation Lab to pave the way for nurturing students’ talents in technology.  On 3 & 4 December, we will hold our Anniversary Open Days featuring AR, IT and STEM-based activities.  We will also have games stalls, an array of students’ performances and a display of their good work. 

To prepare for our Jubilee Anniversary, let’s learn from each other, be humble and united.  The anniversary celebration is a collective effort of all our school members, illustrating our vision, dedication, gratitude, diligence and perseverance as well as faith in God, all which are instrumental in making our school shine.  Let’s put our school motto “United in Love” into action to make the anniversary events successful and inspirational.  Now, let’s pray to God to shower us with His blessings to make this a year to remember. 

Good morning, Sr Magdalen, teachers and students.  It is great to see you back at Holy Family.  I would like to extend a warm welcome to all of you.  In view of the pandemic, we have arranged for only the S1 and S2 students to join us in the Hall where social distancing is maintained.  As for students of other forms, they are joining us live from their classrooms.

On this formal occasion, I would like to extend our sincere gratitude to our former School Supervisor, Sr Theresa, who has retired with effect from today.  She was a committed and strong leader with clear vision, rendering her dedicated service to Holy Family for 20.5 years in support of school development and administration faithfully.  Moreover, she followed in our Foundress’ footsteps to instill in us the love of Jesus, making Him known and loved, putting our school motto ‘United in Love’ into practice and steering Holy Family through many challenges.  Her dedication to the school won much respect and admiration from all our school members.  Nevertheless, her valuable advice and unconditional contribution to our school would forever remain in the hearts of all Holy Familians.  Let’s wish her a blessed, happy and fruitful retirement.  And I am hereby pleased to announce that Sr Magdalen Shiu has been appointed as our School Supervisor with effect from 1.9.2022.  Please join me in welcoming Sr Magdalen.

Our theme for this academic year is “Embracing Love  Exhibiting Gratefulness”.  This is a very special year as we will be celebrating our 50^th Anniversary.  All these years, Holy Family has been greatly blessed by our dear Lord.  With God’s grace, we have learned to stay united in love, which has not only made us grateful for what we have but also made us resilient when difficulties arise.  With this spirit, we embrace challenges when facing unforeseeable events in life.  Since the establishment of our school, we have witnessed remarkable development and growth in Holy Family as well as amazing performances and achievements of our students.  In this joyous and memorable year, let us extend our heartiest gratitude to our dear Lord for His guidance and blessings as well as our Foundress and all stakeholders for their unconditional love and contribution.

Last year, in one sharing, I mentioned the need to be grateful.  “To live a fruitful life, a grateful heart is important.  If we have a grateful heart, we can be aware of the good things that happen to us, and never take them for granted.”  When times are good, gratitude allows us to celebrate and magnify the goodness in our life.  On the other hand, when times are bad, gratitude has the power to bring us hope and help us cope with difficulties.  Showing gratitude indeed has a positive impact on us.  This year, we have highlighted the Canossian Values Education, which can be found on p.10 of your Student Handbook.  Through your education at Canossian schools, you are groomed to foster your positive values in three main areas, namely ‘Gratitude, Respect and Responsibility’, with the first being greatly emphasized.

Last year, you were encouraged to develop a grateful heart by writing some words of thanks in your Student Handbook.  Did you try it?  The gratitude diary shown on the screen here is the work of an S2 student last year.  She expressed her thankfulness in this way: “Today is my sister’s birthday.  I am grateful that I can see her happy face.”  You can see how little things make her happy.  Happiness is doubled when shared and appreciated.  Like this student, let us take the time to appreciate the little things that make life truly worth living.  This year, I have put a column titled “Gratitude Journal” in the Student Handbook.  This can be found for every month in your Handbook and you are encouraged to express your thankfulness in this column.  To assist you with your reflections, there are words below the column, which you can use in your writing.  For instance, for the month of February 2023, the following words can be seen:

課堂上，一道堅定的目光，一個輕輕的點頭，加上專心聽課的我，便是感恩。

Besides writing a journal, you can also show your gratitude to your teachers by simply paying attention and being responsive during lessons.  Later on, when you receive the Student Handbook, try to glance through the characters printed for the twelve months.  I hope they inspire you in writing your reflections.

To celebrate the 50^th Anniversary, the school is going to hold the Open Days on 3 & 4 December.  We are all looking forward to it as we can showcase our unity and love for Holy Family.  To celebrate this special year, there will be a new ECA club introduced to you all which is called the ‘Nature Club’.  The purpose of this club is to enable you to show gratitude for God’s gifts of nature.  Some highlights of this club are

• Sandpainting, which is the art of using natural resources for drawing and
• Nature Exploration or Ecology Trip, through which you can achieve mindfulness

I hope you take the initiative in joining this new club. 

Later on, our Head Girl Core Group will be invited to share their views on the yearly theme with you.  This will be followed by another sharing of values education by two S3 students, Amorette Chung and Angel Woo of S3A.  Last year, Amorette Chung received the Championship in a Slogan Design Competition on Positive Values organized by the Kowloon City District Civic Education Campaign Organizing Committee.  I believe their sharing can encourage you to persevere when working towards your goals, allowing you to aim high and strive for the best.

I would like to end today’s sharing with a quote from the bible. According to Ephesians, Chapter 5 Verse 20, it reads, “Always give thanks to God the Father for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”  In other words, the more grateful we are, the more joyful we will be so as to discern God’s will in our life.  May we always remind ourselves of this verse and express our gratitude to our Lord.  I wish you all a blessed, healthy and fruitful new academic year.  Thank you and may God bless you all.