2020/2021 Newsletter No. 3
16 September 2021
2020/2021 Newsletter No. 3
Table of Contents
- A Warm Welcome to Newly Appointed Principals
- Tea Gathering for Newly Appointed Principals
- Membership Drive
- Receiving Emails and WhatsApp Messages from HKAHSS
- Self-Regulated Learning (SRL)
- Happy Hour Forum: Building Resilience in the Face of Change
- Research Report: Teachers’ Professional Status & Social Recognition (HKAHSS & HKPRI)
- Survey: Student Withdrawal from School and Teacher Turnover (HKAHSS & CUHK)
- Annual General Meeting 2021
- Meeting Heads of Universities Committee (HUCOM)
- Farewell to Outgoing Principals
Dear Members,
Under COVID-19, it has come to be another special and challenging year of 2021-2022. Let us take a deep breath and gladly embrace this special new school year. We wish you all the best in 2021-2022!
| 1. | A Warm Welcome to Newly Appointed Principals | ||||||||||||||||
| The HKAHSS would like to send our warmest welcome and congratulations to all Newly Appointed Principals (NAPs). We are grateful indeed that NAPs offer themselves audaciously and wholeheartedly to accomplish this challenging educative mission and strive to optimize the quality of education together here in Hong Kong. We are always there to be with you and keep you company. Please read the welcome letter from our Chairman by clicking HERE. | |||||||||||||||||
| 2. | Tea Gathering for Newly Appointed Principals | ||||||||||||||||
| To support our newly appointed colleagues, especially during this challenging period, we will continue our past practices to facilitate their early integration into this big family. We are making the first round of sunshine calls in these few weeks and a tea gathering for our new comrades will be held on 24 September 2021 (4:00-6:00p.m.) to strengthen the bonding as well as share their experience at the helm and whatever issues of concerns.All NAPs are sincerely invited to join. Please click HERE for more details and register if you have not done so. We look forward to meeting you soon. | |||||||||||||||||
| 3. | Membership Drive | ||||||||||||||||
| a. | Full Membership (for Serving Principals) The annual membership drive is now under way. For new principals who are not members yet, you are cordially invited to join us as new members. For members, we are grateful for your continuing support in the past and look forward to having you again as active and enthusiastic members. |
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| b. | Other Membership (for Vice-principals, Retired and Former Principals) We value the participation of Vice-principals, retired principals and former principals very much in our Association. Please encourage and support the Vice-principals as well as former principals of your school to join our Association. |
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| c. | Subscription
To subscribe, please fill out the relevant membership form, Full/Associate Member or Life/Affiliated Member, which can also be found on the Association website, and return it together with a cheque to Ms. Yau Kit-ying Veronica, our Hon. Treasurer. We sincerely appeal to your support. |
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| 4. | Receiving Emails and WhatsApp Messages from HKAHSS | ||||||||||||||||
| To ensure our messages could successfully reach your mailbox and mobile, we would like to remind you of adding info@hkahss.edu.hk and 6215-7599 to your contact lists and mobile directory respectively. Let’s stay in touch with all the latest updates from us! | |||||||||||||||||
| 5. | Self-Regulated Learning (SRL) | ||||||||||||||||
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The HKAHSS has been promoting Self-Regulated Learning (SRL) since 2012. Throughout these years, more and more schools have been joining us in exploring how to raise the learning and teaching effectiveness with the implementation of SRL. To further enhance exchanges of experience and strategies and to inspire each other in planning the way ahead, we are organising a sharing session on “Leadership Strategies on Promoting Self-Regulated Learning 2021” on 8 October 2021 (3:00-5:15 p.m.). For schools which have started SRL with us, please click HERE for more details. Let’s learn and work together to promote SRL in Hong Kong. SRL Festival 2021-22 has been scheduled between November 2021 and January 2022. You and your teachers are cordially invited to join this Festival. We are most grateful if your teachers are willing to open their classes for peer observation and conduct post-observation sharing. Their voluntary participation would certainly provide good opportunities for professional growth of all. If you would like to enroll your school for open classes, all you need is to click HERE and complete the form by 6 October 2021. |
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| 6. | Happy Hour Forum: Building Resilience in the Face of Change | ||||||||||||||||
| It has been a while since we last had a chance to meet and share our views on educational issues among secondary school principals. Due to the recent change of education policies and environment, we, as School Principals, are experiencing different challenges and the HKAHSS is very willing to accompany each other. The HKAHSS is organizing a Happy Hour Forum on “Building Resilience in the Face of Change” on 4 November 2021 (4:00-6:00 p.m.) at Tack Ching Girls’ Secondary School. This provides an opportunity for us to brainstorm ideas regarding Staff Deployment, Staff Development, and Sustainability of Principals and Vice-principals under the current circumstances for effective school management and future school development. You are sincerely invited to join our Happy Hour Forum. To enroll, please click HERE and complete the form by 1 November 2021. Principals and Vice-principals are welcomed. | |||||||||||||||||
| 7. | Research Report: How to Promote Hong Kong Secondary School Teachers’ Professional Status and Social Recognition (HKAHSS & HKPRI) | ||||||||||||||||
| Established in 1964, the HKAHSS aims at enhancing professional development and promoting understanding of education in Hong Kong especially in secondary schools. We strongly believe that the quality of education is closely linked with the professional status and social recognition of teachers. In 2017, we conducted a self-initiated pilot study amongst the Native English Teachers (NET) in Hong Kong, the aim of which was to explore the professional status of educators and their social recognition in other parts of the world. Furthering the insight and findings gained, we endeavoured a study in the Hong Kong context. The study was commissioned to The Hong Kong Policy Research Institute (HKPRI) in early 2019. On 1 June 2021, the research report was released during our Annual Conference. To read the research report, please visit our website. | |||||||||||||||||
| 8. | Survey: Student Withdrawal from School and Teacher Turnover (HKAHSS & HKCISA, CUHK) | ||||||||||||||||
| Enhancing professionalism has always been the mission of HKHASS and student welfare is our top priority. The recent phenomenon of student withdrawal from school and teacher turnover has sparked social concerns. Last November, the HKAHSS conducted the first survey on the issue and a summary of the results was sent to member schools. Due to the far-reaching impact of the issue, the HKAHSS and the Hong Kong Centre for International Student Assessment (HKCISA) at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) are co-organising a survey on “Student Withdrawal from School and Teacher Turnover”. The survey aims to collect data to facilitate discussions between the education sector and the government, so that strategies can be devised in time to handle the situation, and to enable stable development in schools and our education system. The present survey is apolitical and merely hopes to explore education issues from an education perspective. You will receive an invitation letter from the HKCISA shortly. Please complete the online survey by 4 October 2021. For enquiry, please call 5505 9911 or email cplin@hlc.edu.hk. Thank you very much for your support. | |||||||||||||||||
| 9. | Annual General Meeting 2021 | ||||||||||||||||
| This year, our Annual General Meeting 2021 is scheduled for 1 December 2021 (Wednesday) at The Cityview, 23 Waterloo Road, Yau Ma Tei. You are most sincerely invited to join. Please save the date for it in advance while more information will be released in due course. | |||||||||||||||||
| 10. | Meeting Heads of Universities Committee (HUCOM) | ||||||||||||||||
| Our Executive Committee is going to meet the Heads of Universities Committee (HUCOM) in October 2021. Other than sharing the recent development of HKAHSS, we would like to discuss the following issues with HUCOM: University General Entrance Requirements, Recognition of Applied Learning (ApL) Courses, School Nominations Direct Admission Scheme (SNDAS) and future collaboration with secondary schools. Please tell our Executive Committee if you have any suggestions and concerns. | |||||||||||||||||
| 11. | Farewell to Outgoing Principals | ||||||||||||||||
| The Executive Committee would take this opportunity to send our greatest appreciation to those who have served in schools for so many years and will be retiring or taking early retirement in September. While reluctantly bidding you farewell, we earnestly appeal to your continued support by joining us as life / affiliated members. | |||||||||||||||||
Your support to the HKAHSS is very important to us. Let’s work together to continue to strive for the high quality of education in Hong Kong and create another fruitful year for our children.
Pang Wai Lan Helena
Honorary Secretary