diocesan girls’ school report 12-13.pdfschool report 2012/13 (sr) 3 achievements and reflection on...

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Diocesan Girls’ School

School Report

2012 – 2013

School Report 2012/13 (SR) 1

Our School ............................................................................................ 2

Achievements and Reflection on Major Concerns ................................. 3

School celebration events ...................................................................... 8

Our Learning and Teaching ................................................................... 9

Support for Student Development ........................................................ 11

Student Performance ........................................................................... 17

Financial Summary ............................................................................. 19

Feedback on Future Planning .............................................................. 19

Appendix 1 .......................................................................................... 20

Appendix 2...........................................................................................21


Our School

Founded in 1860, the School aims to provide an all-round education for its students. The

Christian heritage of the School is upheld in daily whole-school assembly during which

worship is conducted and spiritual qualities and moral values nurtured. Apart from

encouraging students to strive for overall academic excellence, the School works towards the

development of students’ language competence as well as their talents and potential through

active participation in a wide variety of activities ranging from robotics and drama to music

and sports. The school motto, ‘Daily Giving Service’, has inspired students not only to serve

the School but also the local and overseas communities through voluntary service.

More information is available on our School’s homepage at http://www.dgs.edu.hk or the

respective section under “School Profiles” for public reference

(http://www.chsc.hk/main.php?lang_id=1).


Achievements and Reflection on Major Concerns

Priority Task 1: Migration Towards Mobile Learning

Achievements

Under the Migration Towards Mobile Learning Project, 50 iPads were purchased to allow

teachers to try out the 1-student-1-iPad mode of teaching and learning pedagogy. Besides using

the free education apps available on the Apple store, the School has also subscribed to Nearpod

for 50 users, which can facilitate interactive exchanges between teachers and every student in

class.

An M-learning Working Group was set up to devise the implementation plan. It also worked

closely with the I.T. Department to identify and address the needs of teachers and provide timely

technical support to both teachers and students. With the aid of the Staff Development Team, 4

workshops / sharing sessions on mobile learning were arranged and 9 teachers shared their

experiences of using the iPad and other electronic media in various learning and teaching

activities.

To promote m-Learning among teachers, a whole-school and bottom-up approach was adopted.

Teachers were requested to use iPad as a tool for teaching in at least one of his / her lessons or

learning activities and submit a self-evaluation report on one of them. In total, 84 reflection forms

from 76 teachers were received. According to the booking records, iPads were used for about 380

lessons throughout the year and their usage covered all subject departments and almost every

level and class. The data showed that nearly all teachers and students had experienced the use of

iPads in learning and teaching in this academic year.

To evaluate if teaching and learning are aligned with the main theme of the Project, the activities

were evaluated against 7 characteristics of mobile learning, which are listed in the table below:

student-centred approach Students are connected

learning beyond the classroom Realistic situation

real-time communication between teachers and

students

Situated learning

Rich one-to-one communication

From teachers’ self-evaluation forms, most of the activities contained one or more characteristics

of mobile learning. Some examples are listed below from the greatest to the least degree of

mobility:

using iPads in field study (situated learning)

classifying plants in the school campus (situated learning)


investigating the factors affecting the performance of parachute (situated learning)

investigating the uploading and downloading speeds of the School Wi-Fi network at

different locations of the school campus (situated learning)

studying the 4P strategies of a company (realistic situation)

using the interactive function of Nearpod App to receive timely feedback from students or

monitor / assess the progress of students instantly (real-time communication between

teachers and students)

students using Educreation App to create a video lesson to report their findings of the

experiment (student-centred approach)

students signing up for an account on snacktools.com to create a personality quiz and then

sharing it with their friends (rich one-to-one communication)

Some apple tools, productivity apps, simulation apps and content app used to enhance

teaching and learning

Camera for video recording or photo-taking

AudioNote and Quick Voice Apps for audio recording

Popplet, Edmodo, UPAD and Educreation Apps for presentation and sharing

Geometry Pad and Quick Graph Apps

Beatwave Apps for creating music

Cooking, Basic Law and Periodic Table Apps

Safari used for various types of activities, for example:

connecting to a platform / social networking system to enhance teaching and

learning (YouTube, Quizlet, Schoology)

surfing for data or supporting evidence to tackle a social issue ( ,

globalization-related issues)

surfing for facts / knowledge to complete an assigned task ( ,

researching for information about Tai O and preparing for a presentation)

These examples illustrate that the Project is offering creative and abundant opportunities for

developing mobile learning strategies.

Reflection

From a survey conducted at the beginning of the academic year, only about 55% of teachers had

used iPad / iPhone for longer than 6 months at that time. Many teachers were inexperienced users

of Apple products. However, at the end of the year, about 95% of teachers had experienced using

iPads in class. It demonstrates that the objective of engaging teachers in experiencing m-Learning

has been fully achieved.

With the ideas and strategies contributed by all teachers, a wide variety of new learning and

teaching experiences have been created. The Project has instilled a paradigm shift among teachers

and helped extend learning and teaching beyond the classroom. The Project has made a

successful start in its first year of implementation.


Priority Task 2: Support Network for Student Development

Achievements

Form Periods To provide more support for our students in the area of emotional and psychological developments, the Form Coordinators together with the Counselling Mistress planned and developed a series of activities and resources aimed at helping Form Teachers get to know their students better and at fostering stronger teacher-student relationships. With better understanding and a trusting relationship, Form Teachers can cater to the needs of their class of students. Form Periods that were not taken up by school talks and performances were utilized for teacher-student interaction and engagement in the form of games/activities, discussions, personal sharing of ideas and opinions, celebratory parties and collaborative work. Varied resources and their implementation were carefully thought through and disseminated to respective Form Teachers by means of an electronic platform (an eclass system). These resources were made available and accessible in a centralized folder to all Form Teachers. The following activities were planned and carried out by Form Teachers during the school year:

1. “Getting to know you” Activities: Three Truths and a Lie/Three in Common Game

2. The 5 Love Languages

3. Secret Angels

4. Mid-Autumn Celebration Party

5. “Woman of Excellence” Presentation, Class Discussion, Personal Reflection and Theme for the Inter-Class Display Board Competition

6. Theme for Dress Special Day

7. Mini-Bazaar Game Stall Preparation At the end of the school year, an evaluation of the effectiveness of the Form Period activities in enhancing teacher-student relationship and understanding was conducted. A Form Period evaluation sheet was completed by all Form Teachers and returned to the Form Coordinators. Form Teachers’ comments are summarized as follows:

There were too many activclass logistics and related matters.

Form Periods were taken up by too many talks and performances throughout the year, which undermined Form Teachers’ efforts to get to know their students.

“Getting to know you” activities worked well with students who were not acquainted with one another, such as S1 and S4 students. However, for students who had been in the same class for several years, the activities were rather redundant.

The 5 Love Languages and Secret Angels were especially meaningful and effective in fostering closer ties for students who were well acquainted with one another.

The “Woman of Excellence” Inter-Class Display Board Competition and the Mini-Bazaar Game Stall Preparation helped to develop class spirit and unity through collaborative work and efforts.


The Mid-Autumn Festival Celebration Party was rated by all Form Teachers as being the most successful activity that engendered a sense of camaraderie in a fun and effortless way among students themselves as well as with their Form Teachers. Some Form Teachers carried on with this festive atmosphere by holding birthday parties, which further helped to deepen relationships in the class.

Feedback from Form Teachers helps to inform the decisions that will be made in the new academic year with a view to making constructive changes in how Form Periods can be better utilized to facilitate more and quality interaction between teachers and students.

Big Sister Mentoring Programme

This is a year-long, structured programme organized by the School’s Counselling Team and a

team of social workers from Baptist Oi Kwan Social Service Centre. It aims at giving our senior

students an opportunity to partner with the School in supporting, encouraging and caring for our

new S1 students as well as developing empathy, compassion and selflessness in them.

Around 160 S4 and S5 students took part in the Big Sister Mentoring Programme. A 3-hour

training on mentoring was conducted in July by social workers from Baptist Oi Kwan Social

Service Centre. Besides meeting up with their S1 mentees on a regular basis during recess or

lunch, the big sisters were given additional opportunities to help them interact with their mentees

in a more fun environment. The New Student Orientation Programme and the S1 Christmas

party were two such occasions that helped build stronger bonds between the mentors and their

mentees through fun and interactive activities.

The programme was more successful than the previous year owing to the fact that the students

took part in the programme voluntarily, unlike the mandatory requirement in previous years.

However, there were weaknesses in the programme, which were identified during an evaluation

meeting. Therefore, the following changes were suggested to help the programme achieve its

core purpose of supporting the S1 students and equipping the S4 and S5 big sisters:

Put more effort into promoting voluntary participation in the Big Sister Programme

among S4 students as they are more available than S5 students to commit to the

programme.

Involve the big sisters in the New Student Orientation Programme as group leaders in

order for them to establish a relationship with their mentees as early as possible.

Involve the Counselling committee members as leaders in overseeing the programme and

all Counselling teachers as teachers-in-charge of each group of big sisters.

Advance the time for the Big Sister training workshop so that it would be held during the

Mini-Summer Term in preparation for the New Student Orientation Programme in late

August.

A Big Sister mentoring handbook to be given to each mentor. The handbook highlights

the rationale behind the Big Sister Programme, the big sister’s role and responsibilities

and how she should go about fulfilling that role and expectations from the teachers-in-

charge and Counselling committee members.

Conduct follow-up and evaluation meetings on a regular basis or as deemed necessary by


the Counselling committee members and teachers-in-charge.

Reflection

Form Periods

The evaluation and comments given by Form Teachers reveal that while all Form Teachers are in

agreement with the need to utilize Form Periods in fostering better teacher-student relationship,

not all proposed activities suit the needs of all classes. Therefore, some leeway should be given

to the use of the resources and the way they are implemented in bringing about the desired

outcome of enhancing teacher-student relationship and understanding.

Big Sister Mentoring Programme

The Big Sister Mentoring Programme has generally achieved its objective of supporting and

encouraging new S1 students as well as providing an opportunity for senior students to reach out

and care for their little sisters. Although some mentor-mentee relationships were more

challenging than others, it was a growth opportunity for the senior students who had to learn

about humility and selflessness in a caring relationship. It is the School’s hope and desire that a

culture of love and care be built among all students in our community.

Priority Task 3: Staff Development to Cater to the Future Needs of the School Community

Achievements

To help teachers explore new teaching pedagogies and to foster collaborative learning among

teachers to enhance the development of a learning community, a total of three teacher-sharing

sessions were arranged, which were listed in the table below:

Date Department Title

24/9/2012 Chemistry Assessment for learning

Geography Game for learning

31/10/2012 English IT-based learning in English

Junior Science Promoting interest and wider

learning through peer sharing

30/11/2012 Liberal Studies From classroom teaching to

experiential teaching

Each session was about one hour with one to two subject departments presenting their good


teaching practices, during which the staff members actively shared their expertise with other co-

workers in the school. A resource pack of good teaching practices has been compiled and uploaded

to the eClass for teachers’ reference.

To enhance the professionalism of teachers in using the latest technology, four workshops / sharing

sessions on mobile learning were arranged and nine teachers shared their experience of using iPads

and other electronic media in teaching and learning. At the end of the academic year, 95% of the

teachers had hands-on experience in using iPads in class.

A workshop was organized on 30 November 2012 to help equip teachers with relevant knowledge

and skills in providing support to student development. A teacher survey was conducted after the

workshop, which helped the Staff Development Team to identify teachers’ needs and the areas

requiring further attention/action. Most of the teachers agreed that the workshop provided them

with useful ideas which they could apply to their own professional / personal situation. The overall

feedback given by teachers was positive and valuable suggestions for further improvement were

made.

At the end of the school year, a staff development session on student matters was organized.

Teachers treasured the opportunity to discuss various student issues and gave a lot of constructive

comments and suggestions in their discussion reports, in which future training needs of teachers

were also identified.

Reflection

The active contribution and participation of teachers in the sharing sessions reflected their expertise

and dedication in providing quality education to students. The Staff Development Team will

continue to arrange sharing and follow-up sessions on teaching pedagogies and mobile learning,

which help to provide a good opportunity for further enhancing professional relationships and

collaboration.

Feedback from teachers heightened the Staff Development Team’s awareness of the future needs of

the school community. Teacher survey was a very effective tool in finding out the knowledge and

skills needed by teachers for mobile learning and student support. Surveys and reviews will

continue to be conducted in order to bring about the desired outcome of various staff development

programmes.

School celebration events

Campus Redevelopment Opening Ceremony and Speech Day

A fine day dawned on us on 17th January as we prepared to welcome our donors and guests who

supported the School through the Redevelopment Project. The Archbishop Dr. Paul Kwong, Mr.

Kenneth Ting, Chairman of the Fundraising Campaign Committee, and Mr. Hardy Lok,


Chairman of the Building Sub-committee, came as our officiating guests at the Opening

Ceremony and Speech Day, celebrating our joy of accomplishment with us. It was indeed a

pleasure to thank all our donors and guests, as well as show them how school life has been

greatly enriched because of their help and contribution. The whole school benefitted from taking

part in the souvenirs preparation, the opening ceremony and thanking the donors through a short

message or a performance.

The 153rd Anniversary Celebration Drama Musical – House of Wonders

This original drama musical took more than a year to prepare – from writing the script, the

music, and the lyrics, and deciding on the cast, to creating the sets and props as regular rehearsals

started simultaneously as early as the end of October 2012. Involving around 600 Junior School

and Senior School girls inside and outside the Auditorium, front stage and back, the audiences

immersed in the games, snacks and performances of the 60s outside the Auditorium before

enjoying the three-hour musical indoors. As the show ended, they were welcome to soak in the

nostalgia of the musical from the live music played by orchestral musicians. Despite the

challenge of coping with school work and rehearsing for this large-scale production, everyone

who took part thought it was an experience of a lifetime. To the whole school, this was an

invaluable project that brought our students back to the history of Hong Kong, the lifestyle of the

past decades and the major events that led us to the Hong Kong we see today.

Our Learning and Teaching

Provide a brief account of the salient features of learning and teaching beyond the scope of

your school’s major concerns, especially those which are responsive to the key tasks and

measures linked to the education reform.

Various approaches are employed for the effectiveness of teaching and learning, including the

investigative approach (investigative study -based

approach (using a school-based curriculum in S1- -based approach (History) and

the enquiry approach (Mathematics). In the classroom, direct teaching is a usual method for most

subjects but student-centred activities are employed as far as possible, for instance, in carrying

out laboratory practical work and in presenting their work. In Liberal Studies, various methods

such as discussion, peer tutoring and jigsaw learning are also employed. Teachers deploy a range

of teaching resources to facilitate learning, including the use of textbooks supplemented by

handouts / notes, dissemination of teaching materials through e-Class classrooms and sharing of

self-developed teaching materials across the form and for the purpose of team teaching. There

are also extended learning opportunities in various subjects outside the classroom. Field work

(in NSS Biology and Geography), educational visits, external competitions and special

programmes (robotics in S2 Science) help to provide students with a spectrum of learning

experiences for their individual development. Using iPad in class not only encourages more


student-centred activities to be adopted, but also helps break down classroom walls to increase

mobility in learning.

In the senior secondary levels, students are allocated to different classes randomly to remove the

labelling effect and students who have dropped elective subjects are requested to attend

supplementary classes during their free lessons to enhance their performance in the 4 core

subjects (English, Chinese, Mathematics and Liberal Studies).

Outside class time, students are provided with a range of special programmes to extend their

learning interest.

6th Humanities Research Symposium for Youth (HRSY)

Hosted by DGS, the 6th Humanities Research Symposium for Youth (HRSY) was successfully

held from 5th to 11th July 2013. The Humanities Symposium is a 7-day regional conference that

aims to promote academic research in the Humanities and Social Sciences among youths and to

encourage them to share their ideas with one another. Three secondary schools, namely Hwa

Chong Institution, Singapore (HCI), Citipointe Christian College, Brisbane (CCCB) and

Diocesan Girls’ School, Hong Kong (DGS) send delegates and take turns in hosting the event.

The theme for the 6th HRSY was ‘Crisis and Opportunity’. Inspiring keynote speeches were

delivered by distinguished speakers: Prof. Joseph Sung, Vice-chancellor, Chinese University of

Hong Kong, Ms Eva Cheng, Former Secretary for Housing and Transport and Prof. Johannes

Chan, Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of Hong Kong. Apart from keynote speeches, the

Symposium also provides a platform for delegates to meet and learn together through research,

presentations, debates and discussions by exploring different fields of the Humanities.

On the whole, the student delegates, both local and overseas, found the Symposium enjoyable

and rewarding. They participated in the events enthusiastically, having fruitful cultural and

intellectual exchanges, learning from one another through formal and informal activities,

constructing knowledge in the Humanities, and building up myriad communication and inter-

personal skills. The organizing committee, made up of 18 S4 – S6 students, was highly

commended by the visiting schools for their planning, organization and presentations.

Other programmes include :

Cultural interest classes on drama and different languages (Japanese, Putonghua for

the National Putonghua Proficiency Test and Spanish) are provided.

OLE and ECA lessons are scheduled throughout the year with unique focuses for

each level and adjustments are made according to the latest development of education

needs as well as student needs through a continuous evaluation of the activities

offered.

OLE Activity Days and Mini-summer Term are implemented during the post-exam

periods each school year with structured programmes for different form levels.

Elite / Gifted programmes are offered to develop students’ talents at the general and

special levels in PTH, Mathematics, ICT, music, sports and different skills training.


Also various subjects launch special programmes to gauge the talents of students,

including the S4 Mini-Bazaar Company Programme and Humanities Symposium.

Students are also encouraged to participate in various programmes organised by

local external organisations e.g. gifted programmes, leadership programmes,

competitions and services, as well as overseas programmes within and outside Asia.

Support for Student Development

Provide a brief account of the salient features of student support beyond the scope of your

school’s major concerns especially those priority tasks and supporting services which nurture

students’ healthy development, and report the progress of the implementation of Integrated

Education.

School-based student support programmes were planned and implemented to align with the New

Senior Secondary (NSS) reform. In September 2008, the School introduced the Other Learning

Experiences (OLE) system to complement academic learning in place of the Extra-curricular

Activities system (ECA) and encompasses a significantly larger variety of activities, giving

students more diversity in choosing from the range of clubs, teams, activities, events and

programmes in which they wish to participate.

Learning experiences that cater for students’ personal development needs

1 ECA lessons

The introduction of ECA lessons is to offer students equal opportunities in cultivating their

interests in different domains as well as to develop their own potential in various areas. These

lessons were incorporated into the timetable and organized by students during OLE days. Other

ECA clubs and teams, mainly under the domains of sports, music and service groups, still

conduct their general meetings during lunchtime or after school. The range of clubs are essential

for fully developing the potential of students with special talents and helping them to reach

higher echelons.

Apart from ECA Clubs, OLE was also offered beyond lesson time to encompass the 5 areas of

student development laid down by the EDB: Moral and Civic Education, Community Service,

Career-related Experiences, Aesthetic Development and Physical Development as follows:

2 Moral and Civic Education activities organized by the Civic Education Team and

others

Moral and Civic Education (MCE) is conducted adopting a whole-school approach.

Learning activities on various MCE topics are incorporated in the formal curriculum.

Different functional groups and teams take part in organizing learning experiences to


nurture students in positive values and attitudes so as to develop them into informed

citizens who care for themselves, their family, the school community, the Hong Kong

community, the country, the Asian region and the world

MCE related learning activities have been conducted during form periods, morning

assemblies, mini-summer term and other occasions in our School.

Daily morning assembly - Sharing on Christian values and other positive values and

attitudes by the Headmistress, teachers and students

Form period and mini-summer term: The Civic Education Team and other functional

groups have planned and organized talks, drama shows, visits conducted by outside

organizations. School-based materials on Basic Law education were prepared and

adopted.

On the domains of Personal Development and Family, talks and workshops on moral

issues such as Sex Education, Pornography, Sexual Harassment, Sexual Violence and

Single-parent families have been arranged.

On the domains of Community and the World, the Civic Education Team has spanned

topics such as Legal Education, Anti-corruption, Poverty, Election, Media and Fair

Trade.

On the domain of the nation, Flag Raising Ceremonies were held at our School to

celebrate the National Day and HKSAR Establishment Day. The Senior Mixed Choir

was invited to sing the national anthem at the National Day and HKSAR

Establishment Day celebration events. Students have also participated in other

enrichment program such as trips to China, talks on the current situation in China and

external competitions to enrich their understanding of China.

3 Community Service organised by the Service Team

Our School’s vision of encouraging, nurturing and cultivating the skills of our students in

contributing their service at home and in their families as well as the local and international

communities has remained the same since its inception in 1860. From peer mentoring and

offering a helping hand in the neighbourhood to volunteering in a large-scale activity, we hope to

direct our students’ hearts and effort towards the community and to make a positive difference in

the lives of people. With this in mind, the Service Team, comprising teachers in charge of the

Citizen’s Club and various community service projects and programmes, makes it our mission to

provide ample and varied opportunities for our students to be involved in services within and

outside the School.

4 Special Service Projects are offered to cater to the needs of different form levels:

Regular Services are offered primarily through the Red Cross, Girl Guide, Citizens’ Club, Zonta

Z Club and CYC. The Clubs liaise with various social service centres to provide ample

opportunities for our students to do regular service in our neighbourhood throughout the

academic year.


Special service programmes and projects provide an array of service opportunities within the

School and in the local community for our students during the course of their education at our

School. In 2012-13, our service programmes and projects include:

Joint School Service Projects (S1 –S6)

Mini-Summer Term Service Learning Programmes (S2 and S4)

Lunar New Year Outreach Programme for the Mentally Challenged at Fu Hong

Society (S4)

Poverty and Care Experiential Programme (S4 and S5)

EQ Student Ambassador Programme for Bereaved Children (S4, S5 and S6)

Palliative Care Programme for Terminally Ill Patients (S4)

Big Sister Mentoring Programme (S4 and S5)

Tutorial lessons for Ethnic Minority Primary School Students (S4 and S5)

New Student Orientation Programme (S4 and S5)

Hong Kong Youth Ambassador Scheme (S5)

Summerbridge Programme: Teaching English to Children from Low-Income

Families (S6)

5 Career-related Experiences organized by the Careers Team

• Presentations by representatives from the University of Hong Kong, the Chinese

University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

to students on student life and specialized field of study and career options.

• Presentations by representatives from overseas’ universities to enable students to gain

first-hand knowledge of the latest admission criteria and programs of study on offer.

• Visits to the University of Hong Kong and the Chinese University of Hong Kong for

S5 and S6 students respectively, to meet with different faculty professors and students.

• Career Talks organized by DOGA and given by DGS alumnae on specific careers.

• Interview workshops by teachers as well as mock interviews for S6 students.

• Workshop on interests and skills’ assessment for S3 and S5 students

• Workshop on essay writing and interview preparation for S5 students.

• University application preparation workshops for S4 and S5 students.

• Briefing session for parents and S3 students on streaming and choice of subjects.

• Mock Results Day simulation for S6 students to prepare them for the actual HKDSE

results’ day.

• JUPAS training for S6 students to enable them to make better choices for university

selection

6 Aesthetic Development organized by various Departments

Apart from visual arts and music lessons that are part of the curriculum, activities and events in

these three areas are also part of the learning experiences our School offers her students. These


are meant for exposure and awareness, to provide training opportunities for basic skills, for

acquiring competence at the professional level and for specialized performance of the talented.

Visual Arts

The OLE Aesthetic Development Programme integrates drama, music and visual arts lessons

leading to a drama production and drama appreciation at the end of the programme

Making props and sets for the Drama Musical of 153rd anniversary celebration

Art night camp at Art Museum of Hong Kong

Attending a comics talk by Igarashi Yumiko ( )

Guided tour by Hong Kong Institute of Architects

Art workshops for exchange students from Australia

Inter-class Cake Decoration Competition organized by the Food Technology Club

Fabric Pattern Design Competition organized by the Food Technology Club

Inter-class Flower Arrangement Competition organized by the Image Design Club

Inter-class Display Board Design Competition organized by the Counselling Team

Product designs and stall designs for Mini Bazaar

Art visits at Art@Park in Stanley, HKICC Lee Shau Kee School of Creativity and EDB

Music

2012 Hong Kong Youth Music Interflows

Participating in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital fund-raising concert held at DGS

Senior Mixed Choir performing at the National Day Extravaganza 2012 organized by the

EDB; singing at the Flag-raising Ceremony at the 63rd Anniversary of the Founding of

the PRC and the 16th Anniversary of the Establishment of the HKSAR

Senior Mixed Choir performing with the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra in the “Chinese

Art Songs Old and New” Vocal Concert, and at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Walkathon

Girls’ Choirs performing at the QEH Patients Resource Centre Fundraising Concert and

St. Andrew's Church Christmas Carol Service

Wind Orchestra performing at “A Band X’mas” organized by the Hong Kong Wind Philharmonia Society

65th Hong Kong Schools Music Festival

DGS Easter Concert 2013

Drama

Literature Appreciation Project

School Drama shows

Talks on theatrical art and literary study

Drama Ensemble Workshops

Drama Course

Technology and Living Fabric Pattern Design Competition Cake Decoration Competition


7 Physical Development

Physical Education includes regular timetabled lessons as well as an array of inter-house and

inter-school competitions in Archery, Athletics, Badminton, Basketball, Beach Volleyball, Cross-

country, Dancing, Dodgeball, Fencing, Golf, Hockey, Indoor-rowing, Life-saving, Netball,

Orienteering, Swimming, Squash, Table Tennis, Ten-pin Bowling, Tennis, and Volleyball. In

2012-13, the School competed in 9 division One and 12 Open division sports. Elite athletes

represented the HKSAR in many inter-port and regional competitions.

8 Overseas Programmes & Overseas Exchange Programmes

These programmes aim to give our students greater cultural exposure, develop their leadership,

investigative, presentation and social skills and imbue in them an appreciation for cultural

diversity. There are written and verbal reports from the groups of students after each trip and in

most cases students are required to write a blog describing their daily experiences during the

exchange. Planning is made with interested overseas partner schools and students are either

elected based on their merits or invited to participate. When there are more participants than

available places, the School selects those who can most benefit from the programmes. Each

student / teacher participant has to complete an evaluation form at the end of the trip /

programme.

Overseas Programmes :

International Convention for Youth Leaders 2012 (Singapore)

Cultural Exchange to J.B. Petit High School for Girls (Mumbai, India)

International Science Youth Forum 2013 (ISYF 2013) (Singapore)

Berkeley Model United Nations Conference 2013

Singapore Chinese Girls’ School Model United Nations 2013

19th Student Leaders Convention (Singapore)

Singapore Mathematical Modelling Forum and Challenge 2013

Cultural Exchange to Diocesan School for Girls in Auckland, New Zealand

OISCA Japan summer school programme 2013

Students from partner schools visiting DGS :

Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus Secondary School (Singapore)

Singapore Chinese Girls’ School (Singapore)

River Valley High School (Singapore)

Methodist Ladies’ College (Melbourne, Australia)

Diocesan School for Girls in Auckland (New Zealand)

J.B. Petit High School for Girls (Mumbai, India)

6th Humanities Research Symposium for Youth [Hwa Chong Institution (Singapore) and

Citipointe Christian College (Brisbane, Australia) ]


9 Spiritual Nurturing organized by the Religious Education Department Daily Morning Assembly – Students and teachers congregate in the Auditorium to start the

day by worshipping God together.

Christian Youth Fellowship – weekly meetings on Mondays during lunch time organized by

students under the guidance of Christian teachers

Gospel Week – celebration of the Harvest Festival and implementation of religious service

projects

S5 Retreat

S1 Bible Study

Evangelistic Meetings

10 Guidance & Counselling organized by the Guidance and Counselling Team

Apart from helping our students with their specific needs through individual counselling, our

Guidance and Counselling Team, led by the Counselling Mistress, also caters for the

developmental need of students through in-house programmes, workshops, training camps and

talks. In 2012-13, we organized the following programmes, workshops and talks:

New Student Orientation Programme (S4 and S5)

“My First Year at DGS” workshops (S1)

Sex Education workshops (S1)

Stress Management workshops (S1)

Team-building workshops (S1)

Dialogue in the Dark Simulation Programme (S2)

Urban Poverty Simulation Programme (S4)

Drama on Sexual Harassment (S1)

Talk on Eating Disorder and Perfectionism (S1)

Talk on Chastity and Abstinence (S1)

Talk on Sexual Harassment (S1 and S2)

Talk on Sexual Violence and Date Rape (S3, S4 and S5)

Talk on Pornography (S4)

Life and Death Education and Introduction to Hospice Care (S4)

11 Mini-Summer Term organised by the OLE Team

This year, a group of over two hundred students were busy rehearsing for the upcoming Drama

Musical Production held in late August. Another group of S3 – S5 students were organising the

Humanities Symposium. In line with the on-going activities, different programmes were

organised for other students after their final exams to provide them with a wide range of learning

experiences. These were aimed at cultivating our students with a sense of volunteerism, instilling

into them proper attitude towards community service and equipping them with necessary skills in

participating in voluntary work. Through the activities, we hope that their leadership, problem-

solving and collaborative skills will be enhanced. A summary of the programmes is as follows:


S1 – Chastity Talk, Talk on Eating Disorder and Perfectionism & Sex Education

workshops, Famous Author’s Talk, Mathematics Workshop

S2 – Service Learning Projects targeting the physically challenged, elderly and mentally

challenged

S3 – Leadership Skills Programme

S4 – Life and Death Education and Introduction to Hospice Care, Talk on Pornography as

well as Humanities Symposium

S5 – Humanities Symposium and Retreat

Annual / Special Whole-School Events & Projects organized by various groups and

departments

Overseas and Exchange Programmes Sharing (S1 – 3, S4 – U6)

Annual Parents’ Day

Annual Mini-Bazaar

Annual Famine Lunch

Annual Teachers’ Day

Annual Dress Special Day

Annual Activity Days after the Mid-year Examinations

Annual Mini-summer Term

The Easter Concert

Chinese Literary Club Performance

School Picnic

Campus Redevelopment Open Ceremony and Speech Day

6th Humanities Research Symposium for Youth (HRSY)

The 153rd

Anniversary Celebration Drama Musical – House of Wonders

Student Performance

Provide a brief account of students’ academic performance (In using and reporting the data,

schools must not publish their data on Territory-wide System Assessment and Academic

Value-added Performance for public reference. If schools choose to release their public

examination results to the public, they should abide by the protocol with the Education

Bureau). Relevant items for reporting (which may vary according to primary, secondary and

special schools) are suggested as follows :

Territory-wide System Assessment (For IMC’s/SMC’s reference only. Please refer

to KPM 15 for the content and format of reporting).

Public Examination Results (Please refer to KPM 16 for the content and format of

reporting).

Academic Value-added Performance (For IMC/SMC’s reference only. Please refer

to KPM 17 for the content and format of reporting).


Public exam results HKDSE: Percentage of students

awarded the minimum entrance

requirements for local degree

courses 145/155 = 93.5%

2013

JUPAS results Percentage of students given an

offer 129/144=89.6%

2013

The School is proud of our students’ performance in every facet of their school life which testifies

to the School’s emphasis on the all-round development of each individual student. Learning in and

out of school is seen as a coherent whole. Both academic and non-academic achievements are

outstanding and our students succeed as leaders, or leaders-to-be, in the many contexts of their

choice.

Judging from the students’ performance in external public examinations, such as the HKDSE and

TSA, the students perform outstandingly consistently. In the 2013 HKDSE, the girls scored a total

of 188 Level 5** (17.8%), 444 Level 5* or above (42.0%) and 956 Level 4 or above (90.4%). The

scores of our students in the Territory-wide System Assessment (TSA) were found to be

consistently higher than corresponding territory means in the three core subjects.

Provide a brief account of students’ non-academic performance.

The full list of prizes and awards received by our students each year can be found in the Speech

Day booklet and the School Homepage.


Financial Summary

Financial Summary for the 2011/2012 School Year

Government

Funds

Non-Government

Funds

INCOME (in terms of percentages of the annual overall income)

DSS Subsidy (including government grants not

subsumed in the DSS unit rate payable to schools) 57% N.A.

School Fees N.A. 42%

Donations N.A. < 1%

Other Income N.A. < 1%

Total 57% 43%

EXPENDITURE (in terms of percentages of the annual overall expenditure)

Staff Remuneration 72%

Operational Expenses (including those for Learning

and Teaching) 12%

Fee Remission / Scholarship1 5%

Repairs and Maintenance2 < 1%

Depreciation 11%

Miscellaneous 0%

Total 100%

Surplus for the School Year # 5.81 months of the annual expenditure

Accumulated Surplus in the Operating Reserve as

at the End of the School Year #

28.80 months of the annual expenditure

# in terms of equivalent months of annual overall expenditure

An amount (equivalent to 18.14 months of annual expenditure) which has been earmarked for

specific purpose is included in the accumulated surplus of the Operating Reserve.

1 The % of expenditure on fee remission/scholarship is calculated on the basis of the annual overall expenditure of

the school. This % is different from that of the fee remission/scholarship provision calculated on the basis of the

school fee income as required by the Education Bureau, which must be no less than 10%.

It is confirmed that our school has set aside sufficient provision for the fee remission / scholarship scheme

according to Education Bureau’s requirements.

2 The school premises were still under the warranty period for the 2011/2012 school year and therefore the expenses

amount shown for this does not truly reflect the necessary real amount required.


Feedback on Future Planning

In alignment with the completed cycle of school development and annual school plans, the

current cycle of school development and annual school plans capitalize on our latest

achievements to consolidate teaching and learning, enrich school life and learning and to deliver

a quality education outlined in our mission statement through our three major concerns:

Migration Towards Mobile Learning, Support Network for Student Development, and Staff

Development to Cater to the Future Needs of the School

Community.

Appendix 1

The Capacity Enhancement Grant for 2012 / 13 was deployed for staff employment as outlined

in the Annual School Plan 2012 / 13 with no adjustments to the actual expenditure figures.

There was no application for the School-based After School Learning and Support Programmes

Grant for 2012 / 13 and the full amount will be returned to the EDB.


The Scheme on Additional Support for Secondary Schools Adopting English-medium Teaching

Project-end Evaluation Report

Name of School: Diocesan Girls' School

Project Period: 2008/09 to 2012/13

Part 1 - Project deliverables

No. Describe the tangible deliverables

(e.g. curriculum materials with genres,

CD-ROMs, publications, etc.)

Suitable for dissemination; reason(s)

1 Video Conference Discussion Project

between Diocesan Girls’ School and

Raffles Girls’ School, Singapore

Project Duration :

Two conferences annually between

2010-2013

Target Group : S2,S3,S4 students in

DGS and their counterparts in

Singapore(Sec 2, Sec 3)

No. As it involves oral discourse of the participants on topics specific to

the two schools, it is only suitable for observation sessions which can be

arranged during real-time video conferencing to be able to capture the

essence of the dynamic interaction, the discourse generated and the flow of

thoughts between the two schools. For RGS and DGS, the topics were

chosen by the students of the two schools, and vetted by their respective

teachers.


2 Literature Appreciation Project

A Midsummer Night’s Dream with

Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus School,

Singapore

Project Duration :

Project conducted annually from 2011 to

2013

Target Group : S3 Students in DGS and

CHIJ

Yes

.

Part 2 - Attainment of output targets

[

Output / outcome-based targets

pledged by school in the proposal

Extent of Attainment (please elaborate)

- Video conference activities and

projects developed

- Established video conferencing relationship with two schools in Singapore,

Raffles Girls’ School (RGS) and Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus Secondary

School(CHIJ).

- Cultural sharing project conducted with students of Raffles Girls’ School.

These video conferences took place over a period of three years with

counterparts from Raffles Girls’ School. Topics discussed ranged from campus





comparisons, academic and non-academic curriculum, housing problems in

Hong Kong and Singapore, gambling and internet addiction to income

disparity and pop idolatry. Junior Secondary and Senior Secondary Schools

were involved, from Secondary 1 to Secondary 4. Senior girls acted as

moderators for the video conferences. 4 members of English Department

shared ideas with the teaching faculty of RGS. Students used their research

skills, interrogative skills and oral skills in English to converse with their

Singaporean counterparts.

- Literature Appreciation Project conducted with students from the Convent of

the Holy Infant Jesus Secondary School. Held in October and November of

each academic year, the project culminates in students from CHIJ visiting our

campus in Hong Kong to present their project findings in collaboration with

students from DGS, under the supervision of teachers of the two schools. The

two schools agree that the literature project benefitted the students of both

schools. We endeavor to continue this project for the foreseeable future.

- Language competency, particularly

in oral discourse is enhanced.

- Out of a 16- strong department, 4 English teachers were involved in

assessment of students in terms of their oral competency during conferences.

Attention was paid to communication strategies, particularly turn-taking

strategies, appropriacy and tone during conferences.





- Resources developed for video

conferencing which are tied to the

NSS English Language/ NSS

English Literature curriculum

- Worksheets prepared on activities related to the Shakespearean Drama : A

Midsummer Night’s Dream which is part of the introduction to drama in

preparation for NSS Literature in English curriculum.

Part 3 - Reflections on the project

Effectiveness of the Video Conferencing Project

The video conferencing project succeeded in engaging students in real-life interactions in the English language with

counterparts from Singapore.

Students utilized conversational English to conduct discussions on topics which they as stakeholders agreed upon prior to

the conferences.

Senior students were given the opportunity to moderate the conference as hosts, while the junior students took part in the

conferences, under the watchful eyes of teachers from the two schools and other members of the class. Often, this is

their first opportunity to hone and develop moderating skills, outside the context of their own classroom where they

normally interact with their peers. As this is an inter-class project, senior students moderate those whom they may not

know. This experience as moderator outside the confines of their own classroom builds up their confidence and

leadership skills.


The skills utilized during the video conferences are transferable skills. They enhance students’ ability to communicate in

class activities and contribute to the students’ overall performance in the English SBA, particularly the Group Interaction

phase.

Cultural goodwill was achieved between students and teachers of schools involved. Students appreciated the similarities

and diversity in the use of English from their Singaporean counterparts.

Students were able to apply critical thinking skills as well as content-based knowledge from the Liberal Studies and

Literature subjects in the conferences.

From the post-conference evaluation done, students indicated that the conferences were a valuable and enjoyable

experience. They appreciated this avenue of using English as a tool to communicate with fellow students from an

overseas school.

Problems Encountered

As the timetable of periods of the two schools involved in the video-conferencing is different, it necessitated holding

most video conferences after school when both schools have ceased classroom activity. This limits the number of

students who can take part. Even those who do take part often have clashing commitments which meant they are not

able to participate in the conference in its entirety.

It is often difficult to arrange a mutually agreeable time in which to conduct the conference, as there are differences

in the timetabling arrangements of the two schools, for example holidays, school exams and other activities, in

addition to the different class schedules. There needs to be a lot of cooperation and understanding between the two

schools, to the extent that time must be allotted by both schools specifically for students to fully participate in this

project.


The depth of preparedness of the students towards the discussion topic can vary considerably between the two

schools, resulting in a less vigorous discussion than originally expected. This was handled by encouraging teachers

on both sides to help guide students in their research of the subject matter prior to the conferences.

Technical issues sprang up on many occasions. In video conferences using the Cisco system there was sometimes a

lag which impedes meaningful communication during discussions .The picture would sometimes freeze completely,

or the sound quality distorted, making meaningful discussion unattainable. Microphone placement plays a critical

role here. At our end, technical support staff was always on hand to render assistance. The technician hired by our

school for this task was able to fulfill his task effectively whenever the need arose. However there was no guarantee

that technical issues could be resolved from the Singaporean school’s end. There are also compatibility issues, as we

can only conduct video conferences with schools where Cisco system were installed. Otherwise we have to resort to

the Skype interface, where reliability and quality issues resurfaced.

Due to the size of the room and the immobility of the video conferencing equipment, the video conferencing facility

can only accommodate a fixed number of participants and audience. For our part, we tried to involve students from

different year groups to increase their learning opportunity in taking part in video conferencing. We are looking at

ways to involve a larger segment of the student population in the conferences.

Effectiveness of the Literature Appreciation Project

Students were able to collaborate with their counterparts at CHIJ in Singapore on the literature appreciation

project. Elements of drama were reenacted and critiqued by the two schools.


Worksheets were developed on excerpts of A Midsummer Night’s Dream to help prepare girls for the video

collaboration project. These worksheets were shared with all teachers teaching S3 as part of the Junior Literature

curriculum. It formed much of the framework of teaching and learning at S3 level, as it is conducted by an

experienced specialists teaching literature at both schools.

The fact that students were able to collaborate through video conferencing and finally meet each other face-to-face

at the DGS campus to present their project gave students a good sense of task fulfillment. They collaborated

through supervised video conferencing in October, and finally presented the project together in November.

Problems Encountered

There was some degree of redundancy in the use of video conferencing as a means of collaboration on the

project. Post project evaluation showed that while some students appreciated the novelty and flexibility that

face-to-face video conferencing provides as a tool in discussing the parameters of the project, most students

opined that much of the collaborative work was actually done via follow-up emails.

Technical issues that were encountered in the RGS video conferences also recurred in the CHIJ conferences,

although to a lesser extent. Skype was used in view of compatibility issues with conferencing equipment used

at CHIJ.

The syllabus and foci at CHIJ and DGS were different. DGS tended to support close analysis and reading of

the text, whereas CHIJ focused more on interpretive and dramatic aspects of the text. These differences meant

that there was considerable lack of overlap in the approach to and interpretation of the texts.


Overall Assessment

We look forward to continued collaboration with RGS and CHIJ in conducting video conferencing. We feel that

video-conferencing is worthwhile, for it enables students to engage peers of diverse cultures and background in an authentic

English setting. We feel that whilst it is worthwhile to expose students to the world of video conferencing as a tool of

communication to tackle problems, we are aware of the limitations of video conferencing as the sole tool to engage in dialogue

and task completion. We also note that innate differences in the culture and philosophy of different schools may affect the

learning outcome of the project.

We would like to seek ways to involve more students in video conferencing, as well as to improve the content of video

conferences. One successful venture is the use of video conferencing in sharing sessions with past graduates of DGS who are

currently studying at Ivy League colleges in the US. This event attracted a sizeable number of students to participate as it gave

them the opportunity to ask questions in English about the university experience from the perspective of their former schoolmates.

We are looking at ways to engage other schools from different locales in the project. Singapore was originally the most

convenient option, due to the similarity in time zone. Schools from other continents have time zone issues. The video conference

with university students from the US took place at midnight their time. We may look at the possibility of conducting video

conferences with other schools in Hong Kong to mitigate this problem.

We will endeavor to explore other opportunities in using the video conference as a means to enhance students’

communicative skills. The physical hardware is in place to continue our exploration of the project for the foreseeable future.

diocesan girls’ school report 12-13.pdfschool report 2012/13 (sr) 3 achievements and reflection on...

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