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The Permanent Secretary for Education, Mr Raymond Wong, today (May 16) presented awards to winning schools of two contests organised as part of the "An Inclusive School - It All Begins with Our Hearts" publicity drive.
The overall champions of the video production and broadcasting contests are Hoi Ping Chamber Of Commerce Primary School and Shap Pat Heung Rural Committee Kung Yik She Primary School respectively.
Other officiating guests included the Principal Assistant Secretary for Education, Ms Wu Po-ling. Speaking at the ceremony, Ms Wu said, "We are pleased to see that students have started to care more about students with special educational needs (SEN) under the guidance of schools by participating in the contests. Teachers and students shared honestly and sincerely their attitude changes after getting to know more about students with SEN, being more willing to accept them and becoming more caring of them.
"Through the activities, many students and teachers found that we should not just focus on the disadvantages of students with SEN, but have to understand their unique strengths and weaknesses. We have to understand, accept and respect each other. It is more important that we should provide assistance and support to them according to their abilities and actual needs."
The video production and broadcasting contests are jointly organised by the Education Bureau (EDB) and the Department of Health (DH), with the support of the Subsidised Primary Schools Council, Hong Kong Aided Primary School Heads Association and Union of Government Primary School Headmasters and Headmistresses. The contests aim to help teachers, students and parents consolidate their experience and knowledge in supporting students with SEN; provide an opportunity to exhibit the efforts and achievements of students with SEN; and enable the public to know more about students with SEN and be more willing to accept them.
The videos that won the gold, silver and bronze awards have been uploaded to the HKedCity website (www.hkedcity.net/article/specialed_theatre/090326-001/).
Apart from the contests, the EDB, DH and Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) have jointly produced a series of 10 TV episodes entitled "Parenting" to tell the real-life experiences of parents of students with SEN. The programme shows how parents solve problems in a positive manner, and collaborate with schools in helping the students develop their potential and enjoy learning.
It is hoped that the real-life cases in "Parenting" can arouse the empathy of the public, enable them to have a better understanding of the needs of students with SEN and encourage parents to guide their children to befriend students with SEN in the schools. Teachers can also make use of the programme to promote respect and acceptance of individual differences among students and to develop an inclusive school culture. The series will be broadcast at 7.30pm every Sunday on ATV Home channel from May 31.
Ends/Saturday, May 16, 2009
Issued at HKT 12:41
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