We were very happy to have Mr. Simon Hall, Assistant Director of the Warwick International Office and Head of International Student Recruitment who came to give us an admissions talk to the University of Warwick on 16th February 2011. Mr. Hall gave us a thorough introduction to the application process to Warwick, the admission requirement, the choice of subjects as well as the UCAS system. Our Paulinians were able to glean a clearer picture of studying abroad.

On 9th February, 2011, we spent half a day visiting advertising company Vivaki Media, where we gained invaluable insights into the advertising industry, knowledge that we would not have so easily gained in the classroom. We were honoured to receive a talk from Mr Pushkar Sane, the Director of the Hong Kong office of Starcom MediaVest Group, who told us about the running of the company.

During 31st January to 9th February 2011, eight of our F6 students participated in a one-day job shadowing programme at Bee’s Diamonds. Our mentor, Miss Rendy Ng, the executive manager of the company, gave us a tour of the facility and allocated each of us to the particular field that we were interested in, such as marketing, sales and legal. As we all know, diamonds are a girl’s best friend. There was even a session of studying diamonds for our interests which was clearly the most entertaining part. We learnt briefly about the four Cs: carat weight, color, clarity, cut which determine the price of the diamond, as well as how to use different tools to examine a diamond.

This job shadowing experience did not only provided us with an opportunity to learn about the field of business, but also allowed us to obtain a clearer vision about our interests, which in turn will help in deciding our future studies and career preferences. It was definitely a fruitful and invaluable experience that all of us will treasure.

On 27th January 2011, 7 undergraduate students from the University of Hong Kong came to give Paulinians a talk on the hall life at St. John’s. During the two-hour talk, they introduced HKU and gave us some valuable advice. They then divided the students into small groups to talk to Paulinians and answer their questions. I am sure that all the Paulinians have enjoyed the talk and benefited from it.

Here, we hope that all the Paulinians could get into their ideal faculty and enjoy their university life just as the speakers did.

Ms Mclyntyre, the representative of University of Melbourne gave us a talk on further studies in Australia on 25th January 2011. She gave us some information on the education system in Australia as well as campus life and admission requirements of their university. After the talk, our students learnt much more about the quality tertiary education in Melbourne. With a strong historical background, the University of Melbourne has invited a lot of scholars from all around the world to give lectures and to conduct researches. Also, they offer a wide range of exchange, internship and mentorship programmes for students to widen their horizon. After the talk, many Paulinians have shown interest in studying in such a renowned university.

The admission talk of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Humanities Department was successfully held on the 17th January, 2011. We were very happy to have Mr. James Z. Lee, the Dean of the Humanities and Social Service Department, coming to our school to introduce the Global Business Studies programme to our students. Our students were able to have a first-hand understanding about the requirement of the programme as well as other aspects such as the strategic partnership with different universities and other dual degree programmes offered by UST. It was an insightful experience!

On 13th January 2011, our school alumni, Ms Cynthia Chan, conducted an interview workshop for students who are applying for the universities. Ms Chan, who is an experienced interviewer, shared with us some interview techniques that are useful in group and individual interviews. Students who attended the workshop were also give a chance to prepare their self introduction and took part in a mock interview. After the workshop, students had gained valuable insights of how the university interviews are like and became more confident about the coming interviews.

We are very happy to announce that our Careers Week 2010 was successfully held during September 20th – 25th. This year, we held a series of events including the F1-3 Inter-class Careers Quiz for the lower form students, a Students’ Voice Forum on the topic of study skills, a careers talk by the admission representatives of theUniversity of Notre Dame (US) and a talk by the Institute of International Education on “Studies in the US”. We were also delighted to have eight universities from the UK, along with the British Council, come to our school and hold the UK Road Show on September 30th. It was a rewarding experience for all of us Paulinians!

Representatives from the British Council and eight universities from UK held a UK Roadshow on 30th September for F.4, 5 and 6 students. During the seminar, the admissions representative from the University of Surrey gave us a talk on how to choose the right program and taught us how to write a winning personal statement. The talk was informative and useful for students’ future studies, and they all learnt a lot about admission to UK universities. After the sharing session, the representatives set up information booths in the hall. It was a rewarding experience for all of us!

A talk on "Studies in the United States" was held on 24th September, 2010 after school in the Classroom of the Future. Ms Angela Lau and Ms Venice Tsang from the Institute of International Education shared with us the application procedures and the unique features of the American education system.They also introduced a liberal arts college administered by the New York University in Abu Dhabi. Students were very enthusiastic, they asked a lot of questions about SAT and community colleges.

In order to get good results in examinations, the first step is to develop good revision habits. On the 24th of September, our team organized a sharing session on study skills at the Student’s Voice forum. We invited students who obtained brilliant results in HKCEE and IGCSE to enlighten our fellow schoolmates on how to study smart. They are F.6P Claudia Cheung (HKCEE8A), F.6P Loretta Fan(HKCEE 8A), F.6P Theodora Lai(HKCEE8A), F6L Pinky Kwan (IGCSE 9A*), F.6L Larissa Tang (IGCSE 7A*) andF6LDiana Wan(IGCSE7A* ). They advised our students on time management, examination techniques and how to relax during intensive revision.Our students had a great time and gained a lot from them.

On 22nd September, 2010, we were delighted to have two representatives visit our school from the University of Notre Dame (US):Mr. Matthew O’ Rouke, Assistant Director of the Office of Undergraduate Admissions and Mr. Jake Baska, another representative from the Office of Undergraduate’s Admissions. The speakers also gave our students a stimulating and informativetalk about the university, including the school’s Catholic culture, admission requirements and choice of programs. Our Paulinians truly benefited from this inspirational experience.