NET Scheme News 2023 Spring issue 43

As a new Regional NET Coordinator, it seems to me that this focus on hope is a huge push in the right direction – especially after three such long, tumultuous years. It finally looks like (touch wood) that we are over the worst of it. Although it might take time for young people (for whom three years is a large chunk of their lives) to make amends for all the time lost, the message of optimism continues to ring out loud and clear through a variety of activities that I have been fortunate enough to see in action in my first few weeks on the job. The “Week of Hope”-cum-“Seed” Projects Experience Sharing Session held at the EDB KowloonTong Education Services Centre on 22 October 2022 gave me a real insight into the type of support that has been instigated in schools around Hong Kong and the enthusiasm of the teachers.The teachers’presentations go to show just how much can be achieved from an initial sticking point to a successful outcome when positive discussions are about ways to overcome these challenges. While this topic of the COVID-19 pandemic certainly binds us together and has given us a common sense of globalism, many schools have seen dents to their educational infrastructure, not only with the drop in numbers of staff and students, but also the considerable obstacles to learners’ progress. Meeting with a S1 teaching team for school-based support at a school inTiu Keng Leng, teachers explained how online lessons had impacted their students’ pronunciation and prevented students from developing verbal fluency skills. Now, hopefully, as teachers reach out for help, we can all try to work together to redress some of these negative effects. Now that students are back for full school days, the facilities, resources, and clubs are back in action; from the school gym to orchestras and bands, things are really getting back to normal. Ashley Measures, a new NET I met last week at the NET induction has so many students newly interested in debating that he is considering expanding his club to accommodate more teams from across year groups.Many students are excited about putting their ability to argue to good use! A couple of weeks ago, I watched the Filmit awards ceremony, and met teachers and students who had been nominated for awards in categories from best film to technical awards.We were even fortunate enough to get live performances of street dancers. The message of hope had been interpreted through a dance display from Salesians of Don Bosco Ng Siu Mui Secondary School and it was encouraging to see how these boys have used this time to learn and hone new dance skills. 6 NET Scheme News Issue 43 Messages of Hope