spb Beyond 66 #2: Friends of St. Paul's Overseas (from Dr. J. Kennard)

Please read message from our Principal, Dr. John Kennard.

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-----Original Message-----
From: principal [mailto:jrk@stpauls.edu.hk]
Sent: Monday, September 24, 2007 3:55 PM
To: undisclosed-recipients:
Subject: Friends of St. Paul's Overseas





“Friends of St. Paul’s Overseas”



Dear Friends



I have met many friends of the College over the past eighteen months who are living overseas. These friends have included alumni, previous members of the teaching staff and those with strong family connections to our College. The next edition of News from St. Paul’s will be published before Christmas.



However, I thought that you might like to hear from me a little more regularly and by so doing keep you up-to-date with activities at SPC.



The new school year commenced on the 3rd September with 1160 boys (and 2 girls!) in the Secondary section and 540 boys in the Primary School. Yes, two young ladies from St. Stephen’s Girls College have entered Form 6, to the great delight of all the senior boys! The enrolment continues to be healthy with many capable boys competing for places in the Form 1 admissions process. This year we enrolled 75 boys (83%) from our Primary School Form 6 classes out of a total of 180 new Form 1 students. I see this as a healthy figure and one that rightly reflects the ethos of One College: One Family.



There has been a considerable refurbishment of classrooms and common areas around the school over the summer holiday, including upgraded change rooms, refurbished Form 6 & 7 classrooms and Geography room, a new Computer Assisted Learning (CAL) room, and a renovated Library and Conference room.



Attention has now turned to the upgrade and renovation of the Wong Ming Him Hall. You might recall that the decision was taken not to demolish WMH hall but to return it to its original design (with all modern fittings!). The top floor will be a combined Board Room and Archive room. The middle floor will be a large open space for music rehearsals and drama. The ground floor will be converted into an indoor/outdoor garden area that I am sure will be a most attractive space in our very concrete school environment. The architect for this renovation is Mr. Rembert Lai (alumnus) and work will commence shortly with completion expected by Christmas (or Easter at the latest!). The College needs to raise in the region of $4 million for this project but the end product will certainly be worth every dollar.



Another major project is the relocation of the Primary School from Hill Road to a site on the corner of Pokfulam Road and Victoria Road (on the way to Cyberport). This is a major undertaking and one that is highly anticipated by Primary School families and teachers alike. The project is awaiting final approval by LegCo and then it is all systems go with completion due early in 2011. The majority of the funding for this relocation will come from Government coffers; however, the College will be looking to inject considerable private funds to ensure that the end product provides the very best educational facilities for

our younger boys.



Projects such as the WMH hall and the relocation of the SPCPS necessitate a concerted fundraising effort and the College Council is currently finalising arrangements for the establishment of The St. Paul’s College Foundation. The Foundation will be an important arm to the College and the work of the College Council.



Last March I was in the United Kingdom attending a meeting (at Dulwich College) and conference (at Eton College) of the International Boys’ Schools Coalition (IBSC) of which I am a Trustee and member of the Board. I also visited Michael and Tricia Stewart at their home in Guisborough, North Yorkshire and Christine Speak at her home near Shaftesbury.



Michael is the son of Colonel Evan Stewart and Christine the wife of the Rev. Geoffrey Speak, both former SPC Principals. Christine, as many of you will be aware, was also on the teaching staff. Both are in good health and agreed to be interviewed for the College history archives!



I also took the opportunity whilst in England of meeting up with 30 or so alumni and former teachers in London. We are keen to have an active branch of the alumni association in the UK and this 155th Anniversary dinner was an excellent start in bringing together the UK connections.



I was also delighted to be invited to a 155th Anniversary dinner of the Ontario Branch of the alumni association in Toronto in June. I decided to call into Toronto en route to another meeting of the IBSC and a conference on Boys’ Education in Boston. Some 60 alumni from across Ontario and further afield came to the dinner with many friendships from long ago re-established.



My thanks go again to Ken Tam, Charles Leung, Peter Tsang and the members of the Ontario Branch committee for making my stay so enjoyable and successful. The pride and passion that the overseas alumni have for their ‘alma mater’ never ceases to amaze me. This is one reason why I am so looking forward to visiting the Vancouver branch of the SPCAA next year.



I returned to the UK over the summer break and called in to see Mrs. Betty Primrose-Wong. Those who know the SPC history in detail will remember that Betty’s father, Preston Wong, was executed by the Japanese during the war. Preston was a teacher at SPC and Betty’s mother was the College secretary in the post-war years. Betty and her husband ‘Prim’ (Robert) send their love and best wishes to all friends of SPC.



Our boys continue to excel in so many areas. Leung Tsz Kin (Form 7C in 2007) has been awarded a Prince Philip Scholarship to study Mathematics at Trinity College, Cambridge. He will be joining Hon Kai Kwong who is already at

Cambridge and also on a Prince Philip scholarship. Our Chemistry boys were Overall Champion at this year’s 40th Joint Schools Science Exhibition, an exhibition cum competition started 40 years ago by Dr. Ian Chan (alumnus).



We are looking forward to the visit of Stephen Ng (alumnus) who will be our first Artist in Residence. Stephen, a renowned tenor and currently Professor at Stetson University in Florida, will be at the College this December working with our Senior, Intermediate and Treble Choirs. Stephen will also hold a number of Master Classes and perform at the Christmas Carol Service. I know that Raymond Fu and the other music teachers (as well as the boys) are looking forward to Stephen’s time with us.



Finally, this is the sixth year since we became a Direct Subsidy School (DSS). Under the terms of the DSS Agreement, we are required to undertake a formal review over the next twelve months. The College is delighted to have secured the services of Professor Kwong Lee Dow, a former Vice Chancellor of the University of Melbourne, to Chair the Review Panel. Professor Lee Dow visited the College last week on a preliminary visit and will return next March to conduct the Review.



I do invite you to check regularly with the College website at www.spc.edu.hk to keep up to date with news from St. Paul’s. In particular, you might like to view the photo gallery (follow the link at the top of the page) or read my weekly address at Monday’s assembly (go to School Profile and then click on Principal’s Message). You might also like to click on the SPCAA link to find out more about the activities of the alumni association.



I am always pleased to hear from you if you would like to send me an email.



As I said earlier, we have started collecting material for the next edition of News from St. Paul’s. If you have any stories, reports, personal accomplishments, etc please do forward the material to us. Photographs are always welcome.



Please note that Mr. David Chen (Director of Development) is no longer with the College. All publications are now being handled by Ms. Teresa Tsang. You may send material directly to Teresa at yht@spc.edu.hk



Kind regards

John



PS: A hard copy of this email will be posted to “Friends of St. Paul’s Overseas” who do not have an email address. Also note that this email has been sent bcc to comply with confidentiality requests.





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Dr. J R Kennard

Principal

St. Paul's College, Hong Kong