It is our pleasure to have Ms Anna Lee, another prominent Sacred Heart alumna, to address the school in the Prize-giving Ceremony on 12 July. An established pharmacist, Ms Lee is the Chief Pharmacist of the Hospital Authority, managing the dispensing services of all public hospitals. The engineer of the Hospital Authority Drug Formulary also spearheads the improvement of medication safety in local healthcare services.
Ms Lee took pride in the character formation our College provided for youngsters. In recalling the past, she found much inspiration from the strict and firm teachers who enabled her to realise the secret of leadership: fulfilling innumerable expectations with a tough mind and a sound management of emotions.
The presentation of prizes to achieving College students was a special occasion in recognition of individuals’ diverse talents. Outstanding speakers, writers, artists, photographers, service leaders, musicians, dancers, sportsmen, uniform groups and teams made their way to the stage with efforts and determination to make the best use of their talents.
The Student Council gave Sr Agnes, our retiring Principal a surprise after the ceremony. Gorgeous snapshots of moments of service trips, exchange programmes, local and overseas excursions were played in the Hall. The clip marked an affectionate farewell and recognition of Sr Agnes’ visionary leadership in Sacred Heart. The Head Prefect, Jacqueline Suen, offered the dynamic Principal a painting of her and a booklet keeping messages from the students as parting gifts. Mr Yee, the Deputy Principal presented a bouquet on our College community’s behalf.
Our Graduation Ceremony this year was not only a time for prize giving, but also a time for value sharing.
Our Guest of Honour was Ms Ferheen Mahomed, a distinguished alumna, SCMP Student of the Year in her time, and now Managing Director, General Counsel (Asia Pacific) Société Générale Corporate & Investment Banking. In her address to the school, the accomplished legal executive put emphasis on hard work, honesty and integrity as core values that would create a sustainable impact on the workplace culture. She encouraged our graduates to defend these virtues, while holding on to a network with alumnae and family members and take courage to face failures in their pursuits of excellence.
In this same Graduation Ceremony, we showed our value for long dedicated service in Miss Peggy Leung, an enthusiastic teacher of Mathematics who for 25 years has been grooming her students into logical thinkers, and in Ms Catherine Mung, who for 40 years has worked unassumingly in the office in Caine Road and the library in Pokfulam and will retire this summer.
In this same Graduation Ceremony, we also showed our value for a relatively brief but exceptionally dedicated and dynamic service in Sr Agnes Law, our Principal for only 11 years but a period long enough to project the staff to professional advancement through overseas conferences and the students to service projects and a third language course that expose them to cultures around the world. Sr Agnes's principle - greater awareness condusive to deeper understanding and more readiness to serve with a kinder heart.
Stage performances after the official ceremony repeated the message of global culture with the colourful Korean Drum Dance by our School Dance Group and The Lord's Prayer and Magos a Rutafa, a Hungarian song, by our School Choir, who was awarded the best Senior Secondary School Girls'Choir in the Schools Music Festival this year.
The students' parting souvenirs to Sr Agnes, a jigsaw puzzle of student faces and a hand-stitched Sacred Heart uniform for a doll in her office, will re-affirm the value of versatility and networking in the school that our beloved Principal is going to leave behind.
Among the distinguished guests of honour were Sr Cynthia, the Provincial Superior, Ms Teresina Chan, the Chairperson, Alumnae Association, Mr Raymond Cheung, the Chairperson, Parent-Teacher Association, Ms Ho Pui King, Senior School Development Office from the Education Bureau as well as Mr Joseph Yee and Mrs Connie Lau, the School Managers.
Brisk movements, refined postures and meticulous interpretations on the part of the dancers have held our breath this Tuesday in the inter-class dance competition. It was a delight to relax after the examinations and entertain ourselves with sets of student-led dance performances.
The audience was treated with a wide range of dances, tribal dances, Latin and Korean medley. Choreographers came from the well-nurtured, enthusiastic senior form members of the School Dance Group, who will have their next show in the Shanghai Expo when the summer holiday kicks off.