English Activities
Summer English Experience
This summer, our S1 students attended a three-day intensive Summer English Experience. In order to help our newly enrolled S1 students adapt to the English learning environment, we invited a group of highly experienced and enthusiastic native English-speaking instructors to enlighten our S1 students the way to learn and have fun in an English classroom.
In six groups, students not only gained more English vocabulary, but also explored the use of English as the everyday classroom language and started to make use of English for academic studies in subjects like Mathematics and Life & Society, through interactive learning tasks and games. With the guidance from the instructors, the Experience days were successfully completed with laughter and joy.
In August, I participated in the Summer English Experience. Before the Summer English Experience started, I felt anxious since I was worried I wouldn’t understand what the teacher said. Although I was nervous, I tried to answer the questions anyway. After the summer English class started, I thought the teacher was actually very nice. She taught me a lot of English vocabulary. When I didn’t understand some words, she explained them to me patiently. She taught me some Maths terms in English too since most classmates learned Maths in Chinese in primary school. I also made some friends in the class. In the Summer English Experience, I felt over the moon because I learnt a lot. Finally, I want to thank the teachers for teaching me so much.
Fung Ching Tung, Zuri 1A
In the summer holiday, I joined the secondary one English bridging course. At first, I felt a bit nervous because I am very unfamiliar with this secondary school.
During the course, I found that the teacher who taught us was very funny and kind. Also, she played a lot of fun English games with us. The English bridging course was a memorable experience. It helped me learn a lot of English knowledge and I look forward to learning more about English at True Light!
Wong Hei Tsing, Janice 1A
Classes were led by experienced and enthusiastic native English teachers
Students learned how to use English in everyday classroom activities
Students learned how to use English in everyday classroom activities
Instructors taught students academic English vocabulary in different subjects
2023 True Light Joint-School MWS Toronto Language Camp
From the 9th to 29th of July, our students embarked on an unforgettable trip to Canada. During their stay at the Victoria College of The University of Toronto, they had the opportunity to explore the city and countless attractions while enhancing their English skills through immersive and interactive lessons, creating a unique and enriching experience for all.
Upon arriving in the city, the students were introduced to a vibrant culture that was different from Hong Kong. From the iconic CN Tower to the charming Kensington Market, they witnessed the beauty of Canada. Apart from sightseeing, the students participated in English lessons organised by MWS Camps at Victoria College in the University of Toronto, immersing themselves in the language and gaining a deeper understanding of foreign culture. In addition, they were able to form lifelong memories and friendships by meeting people from countries all over the world such as Mexico, Taiwan, and Portugal.
The Canada trip was truly a captivating experience for the students. Not only did they have an incredible time, but they also learned lessons about the language and different cultures. This trip is sure to have a lasting impact on their personal and academic growth.
Before going on this Canada study tour, I had looked forward to visiting different tourist attractions or simply experiencing the feeling of living by myself. However, after these 21 days, I have learned so much more than I expected. I would like to thank my school for giving me this valuable opportunity and unique summer experience. I promise to use the knowledge and experience I have gained on this study tour to shine brightly as a True Light star upon the others.
Leung Pui Yung, Jasmine 3A
Students visited the Royal Ontario Museum, the largest museum in Canada.
Our student took a photo with her camp counsellor on the last day of camp.
Students enjoyed their time in Canada’s Wonderland, an amusement park located in Toronto.
Students enjoyed their time in Canada’s Wonderland, an amusement park located in Toronto.
LumiVoce Story Writing Competition
3B Ka Yan Tung attended the award ceremony at Hong Kong Maritime Museum on 25th June
In May, my classmates and I joined the LumiVoce Story Writing Competition. We were assigned to write a creative story about protecting and saving the ocean. I wrote a story about a turtle reincarnating again and again due to sea pollution and when I did my research, I was surprised at how serious sea pollution is and how much it is harming the sea creatures. The process of brainstorming and deciding the plot was very enjoyable. I had so many ideas in my head that I couldn’t decide on what exactly to write about. I believe I may join next year’s story writing competition to challenge my creativity and writing skills. To our greatest pride, five of my schoolmates even got recognised for their excellent writing and gained prizes in the competition.
Congratulations to the winners in the contest!
Wan Lok Tung 3A
Read their winning stories here:
https://www.lumivoce.org/v4tp-2023-winners-original-story
Gold Award – The 15th English Radio Drama Competition 2023
The 15th English Radio Drama Competition is organized by Smart Education Charitable Foundation and sponsored by SCOLAR (Standing Committee on Language Education and Research). There are over 500 teams joining this year’s competition. Joining the competition, students need to create their own radio drama, from writing playscript to sound effect-making and even perform the radio drama on stage. A radio drama is an acoustic performance using only your voice and sound effects. It is surely an unforgettable experience for both the performers and audience.
This year, our team of five 1B girls was crowned as the champion with the Gold Award in the 15th English Radio Drama Competition on the 10th of June. The team was led by Ms. Miranda Li, who has guided the students to prepare the script, create all sound effects and perform the radio drama live on stage at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Despite being the youngest team among all secondary school finalists, our S1 girls managed to impress the judging panel with their creativity and performance on the topic “Fifteen Years Later”, defeating strong opponents from Hong Kong and Macau.
Congratulations to both Ms. Li and the team for their outstanding performance!
For more details about the competition and event highlights, please visit www.MySmartABC.com/drama
Watch their live performance here.
The Gold Award for the Secondary Section goes to… Hong Kong True Light College!
Team members
1B Cheung Ka Ying Denise
1B Drummond Hannah Martinez
1B Kwan Wing Nam Michelle
1B Lee Yin Man Emi
1B Ma Ka Wai Jovie
The five S1 girls, Denise Cheung, Michelle Kwan, Emi Lee,
Hannah Drummond and Jovie Ma (from left to right), ready to perform their radio drama
at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Students thanked their parents for being supportive
1st Human-AI Creative Writing Contest
AI assisting in writing has been the talk of the town. This year, the English department has collaborated with the I T department to give the first taste of marrying AI with creative writing in the 1st Human-AI Creative Writing Contest, which aims to develop Hong Kong students’ and teachers’ competence to create and to use AI for learning and to develop students’ creative and productive skills in English. The class 3A has joined the competition. After attending two on-campus workshops conducted by the organizer, which taught students how to feed meaningful input to the AI software to create a short story, the module covered in our S3 curriculum, students created their stories and submitted them for the contest. Two winners of our school, 3A Gigi Cheng and Rainbow Chau, received great prizes of book coupons for their outstanding stories.
Harvard Book Prize Award Ceremony, 2 June 2023
The Harvard Book Prize is awarded to exceptional S5 students who have accomplished academic excellence and have made impactful contributions as responsible members of society. On the 2nd of June, we were honoured to receive the Harvard Book Prize Essay Awards after joining the Harvard Book Prize Scholarship Competition. The ceremony was held at the Delia Memorial School (Glee Path). Along with their certificates, the three winners of our school, 5E Denise fung, 5A Chloe Li and 5E Phoebe Wong, received a book entitled Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging by Sebastian Junger, which is about a veteran’s post-traumatic stress disorder after the wars and the many challenges today’s returning veterans face in modern society.
The winner of the Harvard Book Prize, 5E Denise Fung (right), and the runners-up, 5A Chloe Li (left) and 5E Phoebe Wong (middle)
World Individual Debating and Public Speaking Championship (WIDPSC)
The open selection trials for the Hong Kong WIDPSC Team took place on January 7, 2023 at Diocesan Boys’ School, with the aim to select a10-member team to represent Hong Kong joining the World Individual Debating and Public Speaking Championship in Durban, South Africa.
Leveraging on her experience last year, 4B Mary Thewe was again selected to compete for the spot in WIDPSC. She prepared a persuasive speech on the topic ‘Mental Health: From Stigmatised to Glamourised’. For this speech, she placed 9th in the competition. Her performance has also improved overall in the other three categories, including debating, interpretive reading and impromptu speaking, placing her 23rd overall in the competition. Hopefully, next year, she will be able to place in the top 10 and secure a place on the Hong Kong team.
As a preparation for the WIDPSC open trials, three of our junior form students were also invited to join its Junior Indivs Public Speaking Competition.
Let’s hear from the participant about her experience:
In the Junior Indivs competition, there are three parts: persuasive speaking, interpretive reading, and impromptu speaking. The most challenging part would be the impromptu speaking section, where we only had 3 minutes to prepare after being given three topics. After that, we needed to throw away our notes and give a 3-5 minute speech. It was really hard to think of things that are related to the topic in just 3 minutes and give the speech right after. However, I overcame this challenge and it was quite fun. In this competition I witnessed how others perform and I have learnt a lot from them. It was a really great experience.
- Lydia Chow Ching Shun, 3A
74th Hong Kong Schools Speech Festival
This year, students from S1 to S5 participated in the 74th Speech Festival hosted by the Hong Kong Schools Music and Speech Association. This annual event provided students with an opportunity to gain confidence in performing poetry and prose in English. As well, students were able to raise their English speaking standard through this experience. This has been a rewarding year for our participants. With a total of sixty-five students participating, our department sees 54 certificates of merits and 6 certificates of proficiency.
Congratulations to all students!
Certificates of Proficiency
Certificates of Merit
HKSSDC Victory – entering the Grand Final
Against a backdrop of intense competitions, our senior form debating team won their third match in the 2022-2023 Hong Kong Secondary Schools Debating Competition (HKSSDC), qualifying them for the Grand Final.
Led by their coach Ms. Chan, the team has worked tirelessly to hone their skills and perfect their arguments, and their hard work paid off in spades.
Congratulations to our senior form debating team on this well-deserved victory, and we wish them the best of luck in the Grand Final!
Senior Debating Team:
4A Mak Tsz Ching Ariel
4A Wong Nga Lam Alicia
4B Fung Wing Laam Coyee
4B Mac Callum Chloe J
4B Thewe Mikfung Mary
4E Li Sum Lui Cheryl
Our senior debating team with their teacher coach, Ms. Fion Chan
This victory meant the absolute world to me. Not only did this show how our hard work ultimately paid off in the end, it also demonstrated how much we can conquer as a team. Moving forward, I plan to fight till the very end alongside my teammates in the competitions to come. May the best debater win !
4B Thewe Mikfung Mary
S3 Beach Clean-up – 30 Mar 2023
On the 30th of Mar 2023, all S3 students took a break from their classroom and went to the beach for a meaningful cause. Students and teachers made their way to Pan Long Wan in Clearwater Bay and began the slow trek down to the beach. Progress was slow because it had rained in the days prior, but all eventually made it to the beach. In total, after cleaning for just under 1 hour, we picked up 200kg of rubbish. This was a great success and good work.
Through this activity, students have learned about protecting the environment and taking care of our waste. It was a great lesson outside the classroom to understand environmental protection strategies, personal environmental impact and Hong Kong’s waste problem.
