三帆中学

Last week the High Flyers were immersed in a secondary school just next to the school we are visiting. We arrived at the gate and the Secondary One students were there to welcome and greet us. They took the boys on a tour around the school and then classes began. The first day I met some Geography teachers and we chatted about what teaching Geography was like. The next day, I sat in the class and learned from the Chinese teacher. She has to be an excellent teacher because the monitor of the class told me to sit in and she strongly recommended that I listened in. So I stayed without much persuasion. I introduced myself and then sat down for a whole hour lesson on a poem about a mirage. Bill stood up to recite two lines of the poem in Mandarin. He did it in 15 seconds. Bravo!

I then walked down to other classroom and took photographs of how my students were adjusting to the new classroom setting and if they made any friends.

Although the immersion only lasted three days, most of them enjoyed the friends they made in the school. Some even exchanged how they studied and found out what it was really like to be studying in Singapore or Beijing. This I leave to the insiders (aka Ng Liki) to write.

One of the things that fascinated me about the school was not just about the passionate teaching of the teachers but the special rooms they have for each subject. Take a look:

The English room looks like a log cabin.

It even has a fireplace. Beat that!

The Geography room is full of books and rocks.


The History room is a classic Chinese History lab.

Then this is my favourite, the Relax Bar 放松吧. This is a room for relaxation and for any student who feels stressed and wants to go and let it out. I was told that the student could hit the pillow to release stress or to scream out their stress. I wish we can have one like that.

There are also 4 special rooms that the students can take anyone they would like to tell their problems to so no one can hear. Indeed this is a school not about academics alone. It is a school that cares for the individual student and teacher.

Although the immersion was short, the boys enjoyed themselves thoroughly. They bought some gifts to share with the class they visited and all their friends in Sec One were just thrilled.

As for me, I bonded with the Geography Teachers in the school. I promised to bring the two textbooks I edited to share with them. I will be sharing more often with them when the next batch comes in December. The friendship with the Geography teachers is going to only get better as I share how to search for information for their teaching purposes.

Here's Esther signing off again.