School Organisation

Dear Maryknollers,

In 1921, Maryknoll Sisters came to Hong Kong on a mission to serve. Their pioneering initiative showed remarkable courage and selfless commitment: for they had come to a foreign community with a culture quite different from theirs.

Yet, within four years, they had set up a small school for local children. In another 12 years, in 1937, they opened to their students the magnificent campus the community can now admire as a historical monument of unique architectural value.

This building has since served Maryknollers well. It is lasting testimony to the Sisters' vision and foresight for quality education. And this education is to be affordable to all, regardless of social or economic status. This very philosophy and mission have benefited many many girls over the decades, amongst them my two sisters and me.

It is now our turn to reciprocate, to serve our alma mater as opportunity arises. I am privileged to be on the Council of the Maryknoll Convent School Foundation, now the sponsoring body for our school. With the school year 2008/09, I am also to take part in school management for both the Primary and Secondary Sections.

Let me then offer some thoughts on my concept of education. We often speak loosely of going to school as “ 讀書 ”, or book-learning. This is misleading. We go to school for education, for development of the whole person. In this respect, our Maryknoll Sisters have been forerunners of “holistic education”. Briefly put, their mission from the outset has been “to provide quality school education to develop the potential of our students to the full”.

Some in our community place considerable emphasis on academic attainment and, therefore, examinations. This is inevitable for we live in a competitive world. However, scholastic success is but one aspect of education. While examinations may be useful for assessment of achievement, they are not -- and must not be -- the be-all and end-all. Education is not about examination scores; it is certainly not about examination skills.

Education is the development of a person in-the-round. It is well stated in our Sisters' vision for grooming our students: they are to be “informed and innovative, analytical and critical, responsible and adaptable, moral and ethical members of society”.

To me, in everyday terms, education is about learning how to learn, learning how to live, learning how to serve and learning how to be. We must, therefore, do our level best -- as teachers, parents and school managers -- to guide our young to love to learn.

I dedicate my best endeavours to the vision and mission of our alma mater for quality education.

Helen CP Lai YU

Dear Maryknollers,

I am pleased to be a part of Maryknoll Convent School. Our school has a well-established culture. The campus, with walls covered with gold-brown bricks, is distinctive and much admired. All the staff work with selfless dedication and contribute greatly to the provision of a warm, caring and stimulating environment for our students. Every individual is unique and deserves respect.

I hope all Maryknollers are nurtured to be virtuous and be the leaders of society, having a vision of personal responsibility and the courage and competence to meet challenges.

I would like to share the following prayer with you :

" Be joyful in hope,
persevere in hardship;
keep praying regularly;
share with any of God's holy people who are in need;
look for opportunities to be hospitable."

May God continue to bless Maryknoll and all Maryknollers.

Mrs. Josephine Lo
Principal