Natalie Kan's Speech in the Senior Assembly

#positivepurpose #positiveachievement

Dr. Ng, Ms Chen, teachers and my fellow schoolmates, good afternoon. My name is Natalie Kan. It’s my greatest honour to be presented with this award, and I’m extremely excited to be back here, seeing my friends and teachers. School has started for nearly 3 weeks and you may have been buried in the annoying UTs already, feeling the pressure of being a senior student kicking in. Today, I would like to take the opportunity to share with you all what I did to make it through different obstacles and enrich my secondary school life, so that hopefully, I don’t appear to be that nerdy right now.

S4, a year of transition. The appearance of the nerve-racking SBAs and demanding LS essays do mark the beginning of your DSE journey. From time to time, making your own notes and doing some relevant past papers are necessary. My usual practice back then was to start revising at least one week before UTs. Undoubtedly, there were times that I was way too stressed; but those were also the times when I would put aside my work, and try doing something meaningful that’s not academically-related. For me, as I was so dedicated to my role as the vice house captain of Copland, I spent a considerable amount of time equipping myself with the skills needed through assisting my house captain at that time to organize competitions or prepare for big house meetings. At the beginning of S4, you can think about what you really want to achieve in the coming three years. Seize the chance to try out something new and challenging. It could be an ELA, a leadership post or anything that you are interested in. Bear in mind that senior secondary school is not only about studying, it is about pushing yourself beyond the limits and shaping yourself into an all-round student.

S5, a year of making contributions. This is really the last year in secondary school in which you could still spend time on participating in extra-curricular and house activities. For all of you who are school team members, take pride in representing HKUGA College and strive for the best results in various competitions. For the student leaders, be innovative and aim at making breakthroughs, listen to opinions from different stakeholders and think about what further improvements should be made. When I served as Copland’s house captain in S5, I simply hoped that every member in Copland could feel that they were all high-valued members of the house. That’s why I wrote Christmas cards to all of them and decided to involve everyone in chanting the slogans during cheering performance on sports day. For the others, accept the challenge if your teachers or house captains ask if you can take part in all sorts of competitions. Don’t turn a blind eye to your role as a role model for the junior students. Through making contributions not only does it create good memories for yourself, but it also helps our school become a better and stronger community.

S6, a dreadful and terrifying year where you will be spending countless hours memorizing the 12 Chinese passages and learning confusing concepts in Liberal Studies. At one point I became so superstitious last year that I bought windmills at the Lunar New Year fair and stuck all the blessing messages from my teachers in my bedroom, hoping to receive good grades by borrowing powers from the occult. But in hindsight, I would say that that being perseverant and self-disciplined are the most important keys to success in the DSE. It’s crucial to set manageable, realistic and specific study plans, stick to them and refrain from procrastination. In addition, you can try forming study groups with your classmates; so that whenever you can discuss difficult pastpaper questions with them. Throughout the entire journey, you will be supported by both your classmates and teachers. Therefore, don’t forget to appreciate your teachers’ hard work. They are the ones coming to school early in the morning and staying at their desks till late in the evening for marking your papers and preparing lesson materials. Last but not least, treasure your time when you are still with your secondary school classmates. Once study leave and graduation arrive, you will certainly be missing them most.

In the past 6 years, I have grown a lot and I would like to take this opportunity to show my deepest gratitude to my teachers. Thank you for your undying effort in teaching me: marking all the extra work I did before DSE, inviting me to debate, science and sports team and supporting me when I felt dispassionate. Apart from teachers, I must also express my deepest gratitude to my past house captains, for giving me the opportunities to develop my interests and serve Copland. I feel so proud of being a member of Copland and this is certainly what I miss most about secondary school. Thank you for the ones who have helped shape me into an all-around student and walked with me on this journey.

To all of you, the beginning of a school year is always the best timing for setting goals for yourself. You ought to make attempts to reach remarkable achievements in different fields. The result of your endeavor will be a meaningful gift for yourself and it will serve as your motivation, and your source of confidence that drives you to learn, to work even harder and to strive for excellence. Finally, to the S6 students, I wish you the best of luck in your DSE. To all of you, I wish everyone an amazing and successful school year. Thank you.