Principal Ho, teachers and students, good morning,

What an eventful 2020-21 school year it has been!

I can confidently say that all of us here have not experienced any of the tumultuous events as we have this year – life threatening pandemic in Hong Kong and all over the globe, suspended classes, strict restrictions on school and daily activities, stressful schedules to catch up with learning, new social norms, etc. etc. My generation didn’t have to face these volatile and distressing situations – school and life was largely predicable, things can be planned and taken for granted, and in certain ways, boring. However, this year’s eruptive events glaringly reveal that real life is never static, it never had and will never be.

I found out this reality after my uneventful school years, very soon after I started my first job. After a year on the job, after experiencing many organizational and personnel changes, and what appeared to me endless revisions to job specifications, my manager consoled me with these words of wisdom – “In life, CHANGE IS THE CONSTANT”.

CHANGE IS THE CONSTANT – what a paradoxical statement! In mathematics CHANGE is a variable and CONSTANT is a factor that never changes; how can this statement equate them to one another. Well, in English language and in philosophy, this is a paradox to underline the fact that in everyday life, change is ongoing, is unavoidable and uncontrollable.

Indeed, as we reflect on history, we will undoubtedly recognize that life is an ongoing series of natural and spontaneous changes that have unceasingly altered the course of the world and personal histories – wars and pandemics, inventions and discoveries, weather and forces of nature, spur of the moment erratic decisions - some of the changes are intentionally planned, some followed the course of evolution but most are incidental and not anticipated. Many changes are imposed on us by external forces, such as the pandemic, which we have no choice but to accept. But rather than to wait for changes to be forced on us and deal with them submissively, we can anticipate and be prepared, be on the offensive and even originate changes, to ourselves and to our work, to better our own lives and those of others. It is only by dealing with changes positively and proactively that we can regain control of our destiny – clinging onto a status quo deemed not to last will certainly be futile and self-destructive. We must always be on the lookout for potential changes, always be ready to step out of our comfort zones and deal with changes head on. Stepping onto a new path in one’s habituated course of life is difficult and unnerving, but certainly it won’t be more difficult or disastrous than remaining inert in a fluid situation. Those who cannot change their minds to recognize change is inevitable cannot handle any change. And those who can’t handle the torrents of change are destined to be drowned by the torrents and be forever lost.

For you all, teachers and students, as you reflect on the past and plan for the future during the holidays, as you mature by one school year, please be reminded that CHANGE is the CONSTANT in life. Expect it, embrace it, get to grips with it. To merely survive in life, you need to be able to adapt to change. But to excel and be successful, you need to deal with changes faster and better than your peers, your competition, and your profession.

This is especially relevant to our F.5 students. Your preparation for DSE has been severely disrupted by 2019 social events and the ongoing pandemic. No doubt you and your cohort of 2022 DSE candidates will feel confused, unprepared and insecure. But I am urging you to dare and stand up above others by not giving up, by driving yourself to find new ways to learn effectively, by staying focused and tenacious; because by doing so, if you remember the parable of the rabbit and the tortoise, you will outdo those who do not try their best. Growth is stemmed from change. In order to grow we have to change - it means leaving the old and embracing the new. Change becomes a problem if you dread it, but it is an opportunity if you welcome it.

Dear students, when you return to the school after the summer holidays, you will find many changes – newly renovated facilities, new students and teachers, new curriculum and programmes, and most importantly, new spirit and new energy. I hope to see changes in you too, that you will be taller and stronger, become more mature and sensible, and more prepared to face the many inevitable changes ahead, in school and in society.

Please make the best use of the holiday to prepare yourself to deal with future changes by accumulating knowledge and experience and identify the changes you need to make to improve yourself – develop new hobbies, exercise with more discipline, learn new skills, make new friends, read more books. A good book that is easy to read and inspirational on dealing with change is “Who Moved My Cheese” by Spencer Johnson. It is readily available in our library and public libraries.

Lastly, I would like you to join me in thanking the teachers who will be leaving us in the coming term. Many of them have served the school for many years and contributed immensely to building a caring educational environment for you to study in. Please give them a big round of applause to thank them and wish them all the best in their future endeavors.

Wishing you a restful and productive holiday. I look forward to welcoming you back fully recharged and ready to embrace and bridle the many expected and unexpected changes ahead. May God keep you safe and happy in the mean while.

Agnes G. Yeh

Supervisor