What a joyous and momentous occasion for us to gather again to celebrate the 170th Anniversary of the foundation of St. Paul’s Convent School. It seems like yesterday when we celebrated our 160th Anniversary with the theme “From Greats to Excellence.” We have indeed lived out that theme in the past decade with remarkable achievements and accomplishments. Thanks to all those who have contributed their time, talent and expertise in making SPCS what it is today, standing tall and high with a sustainable future not only in Hong Kong, but in the whole educational world.
While we celebrate with enthusiasm the 170 years of educational excellence, let us not forget the reason behind our existence and the people we serve. Hence, we have chosen for this celebration, the theme “Roots and Wings – Now and Beyond”. During the past decade, things have been changing so fast that we barely have time to steady ourselves after one technological wave, before another stronger wave washes up on deck and sweeps us off our feet again. The spinning of the wheels moves so fast that we are sure to collapse unless we have a firm axis that holds every move together. The axis “X” is our roots that represent our double identity of being Catholic and Chinese. These two identities intertwine with one another to form a strong foundation for further development and growth. This enables us to prepare Paulinians to spread their wings, via their grasp of advanced technology and bilingual proficiency to participate in the global arena as well as to launch into the progressive Space Exploration. Paulinians are well prepared to face the transformation of tomorrow’s world and challenges with their 7Cs embedded in them in SPCS so that they can contribute positively to their home, profession and society with Charity, Conscience, Confidence, Courage, Creativity, Competence and Commitment.
Returning to our roots, we cannot but turn back to the foundation of our Sponsoring Body, the Sisters of St. Paul de Chartres, which originated in France in 1696. Fr. Louis Chauvet together with four young girls, were the founders. He arrived in Beauce where ignorance of God and the absence of opportunity for education among the deprived resulted in an oppressive situation that was appalling. The seed of a religious project took root in his heart and mind. Although he had never spoken publicly about opening a school in Levesville, a specific official act points out the exact date when Fr. Chauvet made a move towards the realization of this project. The act recorded that on 28 April 1695, he rented out the land for the support of a school mistress. Henceforth, the foundation of a teaching religious community had ceased to be simply a dream. Fr. Chauvet found means and help to bring about the transformation of an obscure farming village into a basic gospel community. His aim was to uplift the spiritual and material needs of the people in his village.
In 1848, under the guidance of Monsignor Forcade, four Sisters arrived in Hong Kong, a fishing village, and stayed in Wanchai before their move to Causeway Bay in 1914. It first began with small tutorial classes in 1854, this being the seed of the French Convent School, later renamed as the present St. Paul’s Convent School in 1955. St. Paul’s Secondary School in Happy Valley was built as an extension for its science education development in 1960 while St. Paul’s School (Lam Tin) was built as a response to the Government’s effort to expand secondary education in 1970. In view of many seeking a Catholic education in Australia, the Sisters took over a school from the Dominican Sisters in Moss Vale and set up the present St. Paul’s International College, formerly known as Aurora College in 1986. To prepare Paulinians to study abroad, the Commercial section was transformed into a Y7 to Y10 Australian International section. This was incorporated into SPCS in 2004 when it turned from its Grant-in-aid status into the Direct Subsidy Scheme that can accommodate an international curriculum. This was a change for the better as it brought about the through-train vision into reality.
SPCS has always been well known for its daring pioneering spirit that spreads its wings far and wide, bringing about many initiatives, including a partnership with a Cathay pilot, Mr. Hank Cheng in the building of a 2-seater airplane, Inspiration RV-8, that took its inaugural flight around the world on 15 November 2015. To meet up with the innovative and entrepreneurial spirit required by today’s world, apart from providing a basic all-round education based on Christian values, it was the recipient of HK$5M from OGCIO (Office of the Government Chief Information Officer) to launch an eight-year Enriched IT Programme for F2-F6 Paulinians. This has helped Paulinians take flight in their creativity, innovative spirit and development in a digital society.
As well-being is sought after by all in this generation, SPCS ventures into the exploration of finding cures and preventive measures in the development of an adapted modern Chinese traditional 24+ herbal drink, namely: the Paulinian Herbal Drink (祿爽茶). Using medicinal herbs to prevent and cure all sorts of diseases, which is the most precious legacy left by our ancestors. Sponsorship from the Chinese Medicine Development Fund facilitated Paulinians to publish a textbook on Chinese Medicine (both online and printed) with a teacher’s reference for all secondary schools in Hong Kong. As our school is the only local school that provides an additional programme from the UK BTEC (British and Technology Educational Council) on Business Studies, Paulinians have learnt how to obtain a patent for the drink from Hong Kong and China, and for the production and marketing of this product which is now on sale at HKTV Mall. For this project to come to fruition, we must thank our partner, Professor Karl Tsim from HKUST, for his constant guidance and monitoring of the research development of the drink. With regard to the BTEC curriculum, we are very honoured and proud that Chinese Opera has been accepted formally into the Qualification Framework in the Performing Art Musical Theatre category, again the first ever in the world. This programme is to introduce our Chinese culture and performing art into the global arena, an exemplar of our roots and wings.
SPCS has been catching up fast with the learning of AI and the progressive development of Space Exploration. The School participated in the European Astro Pi Challenge (ASTRON) 2023 organized by the European Space Agency (ESA). She is the first and only institution in Hong Kong that has been selected as eligible among 771 teams from 23 countries, achieving “Flight Status” to collect data at the International Space Station on their three projects: (1) cultivation of Chinese medicine to reduce the issue of bone density loss for astronauts; (2) cultivation of green microalgae in the International Space Station to generate oxygen for astronauts and (3) analysis on the rate of desertification in Canada. SPCS is grateful to HASSE (Houston Association for Space and Science Education) Space School for accepting over 40 Paulinians to their summer camp in 2024 to develop a cosmic perspective on Space Exploration that broadens vision, ignites passion and advances personal careers to pursue dreams at NASA and SpaceX. With regard to the AI literacy for our graduating Paulinians 2024, they have all learnt to write Apps on the 20 domains of the National Security Law for the younger Paulinians to self-learn via ELMO (E-Learning Multi-subject Online), a school-based developed platform for self-mastery learning.
Paulinians, many exciting events are awaiting your participation in this 170th Anniversary. Come, daughters of St. Paul, come to renew your Paulinian Spirit and pay tribute to your beloved school. Come to celebrate the countless lives impacted, the transformational moments Paulinians have experienced in SPCS, your second home. Each success story, every life changed for the better, is a testament to the incredible impact SPCS has had on your life. As we celebrate our 170th Anniversary, please be inspired again by the original vision and mission of SPCS and strive to spread your wings on areas that will make a difference to your home, profession and society in the future.
We hereby solemnly pass on to you, our next generation of leaders in SPCS, the mission to look forward to the future with unwavering optimism in the 7Cs. Having grounded firmly in your roots, you can now spread your wings to oversee and resolve all the unexpected challenges. With wings growing stronger every day, this will take SPCS further and higher until we reach our eternal glory and heavenly goals when and where we will be all to all in Jesus Christ. While still on the journey, embrace the school motto OMNIA OMNIBUS (Be All Things to All People 1Cor.9:22) and work towards the unity of mankind as we all belong to the One Body in Christ Jesus. Amen.
