Delia Memorial School (Hip Wo) - Ceasing of lessons without Ceasing to learn— Making full use of summer vacation to extend learning experience

Ceasing of lessons without Ceasing to learn— Making full use of summer vacation to extend learning experience

The essence of learning is the nurture of overall quality to cope with challenges arisen in the future. Learning should not be confined in classrooms, textbooks or mere teachers’ lecture. As a result, under the emphasis of life-wide learning, summer vacation is viewed as the ‘third semester’. In order to expand the capacity of students’learning experience, we use the concept of ‘summer school’to organize and launch various life-wide learning activities. The Preface of the 2001 Summer Activities Booklet recorded our ideals and this is worth revisiting.

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Preface

Spring is not the season for studying

Summer is a good time to sleep

Autumn and Winter come unknowingly

It’s time to pack up for another year

Though the rhyme may be sarcastic towards the shrinking mood of studying, it is not totally meaningless nor makes no sense. Take summer as an example, having a carefree and relaxing mind is always the best way to keep ourselves cool and fresh. Summer holidays are coming; I wish everyone could take a good rest and save up energy for another challenging academic year. With the emergence of the knowledge-based society, and to adapt to our ever-changing world, learning has become boundary-less. Learning should be carried on despite the suspension of school in the summer break. Therefore, we would like to make use of the concept of “summer school” to organize learning activities. Students can then make good use of their leisure to have themselves better equipped.

Item	Learning Activites	Details
1	Summer activities within Hong Kong	There is a lot to learn outside classrooms. Students should make good use of their holidays to get out of the classroom and gain learning experience through participation of activities
2	Summer activities outside Hong Kong
3	Summer Courses	When time is limited and the pressure of academic work is high during normal school terms, students should make use of their holidays to consolidate what they have learned (remedy / strengthen) in order to strive for better results.
4	Subject Extra Lessons
5	Pre-S.6 Summer Class	In order to cope with the “Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) Examination”, students promoting from S. 5 to S. 6 are required to commence their new school term earlier in mid August.
6	Summer Learning Package	Without the restraint of normal lessons, self-learning becomes more significant. The arrangement of summer work of all subjects is to establish a selflearning platform for students so that they can develop self-care and self-discipline. It can, not only launch learning methodically and continuously, but also let students develop their self-managementskills.

The concept of “Ceasing of lessons without ceasing to learn” requires the understanding of parents, and the conscientious regard of students.

For summer activities inside Hong Kong, they were mainly held within the period of post-final exam to mid-July, before the school closing ceremony. The major events would be exam paper checking and teachers’ feedback sessions. Furthermore, students are exposed to over 60 activities, such as field trips, visits, seminars, workshops, appreciation of art performance, movie appreciation, workplace visits, social services as well as class-based events.

For summer activities outside Hong Kong, students are offered opportunities of overseas exchange tours. Examples include experience tour to Ming Chuan University of Taiwan, summer camp in Shou Fu University」, Foshan-Shaoguan Visiting Mission, Guangdong Industry Study Tour,Shanghai Exchange Tour and Economic Forum of post-Universal Exposition and Macau study tour (Cultural Heritage and Hospitality Industry). The objectives and details of these activities are as follows:

Item	Activity (Date)	Target Group (no.)	Learning Element
1	Experience Tour, Ming Chuan University of Taiwan (30/06/15~09/07/15)	S5 students studying Western Cuisine (11 students)	This was an extension and continuation of the summer camp in Shouful University last year / Activities included Western bakery, coffee brewing, beverage management, hotel management, theories of sightseeing, experiencing special effects in animations, application of social media, etc.
2	Summer Camp, Shoufu University, Taiwan (30/06/15~09/07/15)	S4 students studying Western Food Preparation (17 students)	Students took short-term courses in Shoufu University of Taiwan, learning the techniques of cookery, bakery and body painting. Students would also tour around Southern Taiwan and experience life there.
3	Foshan-Shaoguan Visiting Mission (06/07/15~09/07/15)	S3 students (27 students)	Participants would visit Xuhai Secondary School as Student Ambassadors. They will be accompanied by local students to tour around Foshan and Shaoguan, and they will travel between Guangzhou and Shaoguan by high-speed rail.
4	GuangdongIndustry Study Tour (03/07/15~04/07/15)	S5 students taking Business, Accounting and Financial Studies (BAF) (29 students)	Through on-the-spot visits in Guangdong Province, students learnt about its industrial development and how production lines work in factories.
5	Shanghai Exchange Tour and Economic Forum of post-Universal Exposition (10/07/15~12/07/15)	S5 students (3 students)	Through visits and first-hand experience, it is hoped that students gain more understanding in terms of Chinese history and culture and their patriotism is nurtured / After the 5th anniversary of Universal Exposition in Shanghai, students gain more understanding on the economy of Shanghai as well as cooperation/rival between Hong Kong and Shanghai.
6	Macau Study Tour (Cultural Heritage and Hospitality industry) (08/07/15)	S5 students taking Tourism and Hospitality Studies (THS) (20 students)	Students would learn more about the hospitality industry in the tour. At the same time, they will get to know the unique culture of Macau through visiting heritages there.
7	Putonghua Summer Camp	S4 EMI students (10 students)	Through lessons, games, recreational activities and daily applications, students are given opportunities to learn phonics in Putonghua, as well as daily expressions during lessons and everyday life. It is hoped that students can gain a better understanding in Chinese culture.