15th Anniversary Graduation Ceremony
The annual Graduation Ceremony for Form 6 students was held on Saturday 23rd June. More than 750 parents, teachers, students and friends were in attendance. Mr. Patrick Yip, President of the YMCA of Hong Kong, was the Guest-of-Honour. Mr. Peter Ho, School Supervisor, Mr. Dion Chen, Principal, and members of the School Management Committee including Ms. Lily Fong, Mrs. Sheila Chuang, Ms. Juila Ong, Mr. Alex Kwan, Mr. Tony Ip, Mr. Evans Mendonca and Mr. Paul Wong made up the rest of the platform party.
In his speech Mr. Yip expressed great delight about the growth of the school over the past 15 years. He urged the graduates to uphold the YHKCC core values whenever they encountered ups and downs in the future. He encouraged students to internalize what they had learned at the school and choose to be an influence for good in society.
Mr. Yip also related a story about Randy Pausch, an American professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon University, In August 2007 Randy learned that he had pancreatic cancer and his doctors gave him 3 to 6 months to live. The very next month he gave a very upbeat lecture called The Last Lecture: Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams. During this lecture Randy said, “A lot of people want a shortcut. I find the best shortcut is the long way, which is basically two words: work hard.”
Mr. Yip concluded his remarks by encouraging the Form 6 graduates to work hard, to act with integrity, to be responsible, to show respect to everyone and to be kind to others. When you put God first, devote yourself to your families, treasure your friendships and strive for excellence in everything, amazing things will happen in your life.
Mr. Dion Chen acknowledged and recognized the great achievements and successes of graduates in different areas. He reminded graduates to be resilient in their work and study, and to share their talents and gifts with people around them so that they can build a caring community and make the world a better place. Mr. Dion Chen remarked that the YHKCC has developed very well holistically over the past 15 years in terms of the growth in number of students, the sustainable teaching and learning environment and also enhanced school facilities. He was grateful that every YHKCC member worked hand in hand to overcome challenges and difficulties over the course of the year. Mr. Dion Chen also expressed sincere gratitude for the unfailing support of the YMCA of Hong Kong and for the very generous donation towards the construction of a $28 million Multi-purpose Hall and an extension to the Fitness Room.
The prize presentation ended with the thanksgiving song, “10,000 Reasons”, and the classic hymn, “Amazing Grace”. All of the graduates and the audience sang in unison and gave thanks to God our Saviour for all that He has done in this school.
This jubilant event was celebrated with musical performances from the Worship Band, the School Choir, the Orchestra and the Beat Club. Everyone enjoyed a pleasant and memorable afternoon.
The Graduation Ceremony was followed by a Groundbreaking Ceremony for the Multi-purpose Hall and Fitness Room Extension on the fifth floor of the school. Mr. Yip, Mr. Chen and the platform party marking the beginning of the project by symbolically digging the earth. Teachers, friends, students and parents were there to witness this defining moment. These new facilities will provide opportunities for students to unleash their potential and talents. Construction work is about to commence and is expected to be completed by the end of 2019.
