Principal’s Message

As a school community, our thoughts and best wishes go out to the people in our community who may have lost loved ones and friends in the recent bus tragedy. It is a sad time for our Hong Kong community and we wish to offer any assistance to our students and families as needed. We wish all in our community safe travels and please take care over this Chinese New Year holiday period.

The Year of the Dog

It has been an exciting week at KGV in the lead up to Chinese New Year. I personally have enjoyed the build-up to this celebration and I enjoyed very much our Chinese New Year Assembly where I got to ‘dot the eye of the Lion’. I am really looking forward to the Year of the Dog being characterised by the word ‘action’. A dog coming into the home is also said to symbolise the coming of wealth. I will keep this from my two children as there is already building pressure at home for us to again get a dog. Thank you to our PTSA who put on a Chinese New Year lunch yesterday in the Piazza. It was great to see our school come together to celebrate our Chinese culture.

The Chinese New Year celebration made me think about my first 6 months in Hong Kong. I thought I would share some of the things I find amazing, interesting and even a bit odd about this place we now call home.

In Hong Kong I think it is:

• Amazing that there are so many incredible restaurants and they are always nearly full
• Odd that drivers put on their hazard lights when they stop suddenly but rarely use their indicators when they turn corners or on roundabouts
• Interesting that sometimes people walk on the left, and then other times they walk on the right, and I can never pick which side I should walk!
• Amazing that our students are so talented, hardworking and generally so well behaved
• Odd that people cut you off in traffic if you leave more than a two-foot gap to the vehicle in front of you
• Interesting that it can be so hot and then a few months later so cold
• Amazing and refreshing that Hong Kong is so safe
• Odd that I now really like public transport and how much I stress that when I drive I will never ever find a car park
• Interesting that some things (e.g. yogurt) are so expensive and other things (e.g. second-hand cars) are so cheap
• Amazing how many interesting things you can do and how picturesque the beaches and countryside are
• Odd that people still use a chequebook and many places still demand cash only!
• Amazing how good the MTR is and that a long wait for a train is now only 4 minutes!
• Interesting how quickly we have settled and how friendly the people of Hong Kong are
• Odd that there are feral, but friendly, cows that wander around near our home in Sai Kung
• Amazing to be here with my family and how I feel a deep sense of privilege to be the Principal of KGV School

We wish all our students, families and staff a wonderful Chinese New Year break and look forward to seeing all our students back on Tuesday 27 February.

Kind regards

Mark Blackshaw
Principal
King George V