“My grandmother said to tell you she was very happy last Sunday. She was very happy to see so many children in the hall……”

Indeed, there were many children in the hall on the last day of Term 2; students from all the classes were there to do their oral presentation. It was indeed a wonderful sight: so many happy children, proud parents and smiling grandparents. The mid-year oral presentation went very well, thanks to the organisation and hard work of the School Council, the Canteen Volunteers, the teachers, students, parents and some members of the EXCO.

The CAV President, Lillian Lai, arrived early in the morning to ensure that the team of helpers was there and that we had all that we needed for the day before rushing off to her engagement. The School Council and all at the school appreciated her effort and her interest in our presentation.

Everyone marvelled at the work that the Canteen Volunteers put in to prepare, cook, and serve the school children a free meal each. Special thanks to Lillie Giang for organising the free sit-down lunch for the children.

Special thanks also go to Raymond Wong, the Sound Man from Karaoke subgroup, without whose help we would have a ‘whispering’ oral presentation. Raymond’s generosity and his interest in what the children were doing were very much noted by all of us.

The grand finale was the performance by the members of the Chinese Orchestra, who had earlier accompanied the Grades 1 and 3 children in their singing. It was so good to see young ones in the Orchestra, playing alongside the adults. This is definitely a very unique orchestra that includes an electric guitar, and violins which just blend in with the traditional Chinese musical instruments to create beautiful Chinese music. Our Orchestra welcomes other students should they wish to join in. Any students or CAV members with the ability to play a musical instrument is welcome to join.

Interview of students from years 12 to 7 has commenced. So far, the feedback is encouraging, with one Year 11 student saying “…I’m enlightened!....” The interview is mainly to find out if each student understands the new module-style teaching, based on VCE Chinese Study Design, which starts in year 7. It is also an opportunity for me to get to know the students, and to find out their concern if they have any. For the year 12, it is mainly a discussion on examination concern.

The newly installed Chinese computer program is very well received by students and parents. The program is intended as a study aid to students. The School acknowledges and thanks George Lee, the Secretary of the School Council, for the time and effort he has put into sourcing, purchasing, installing software, servicing the entire program, and teaching students how to use the program. We are lucky that we have many talented, enthusiastic people on the School Council. The positive results of the team work between the School Council, the teachers, parents, and the EXCO have permeated throughout the school, and our local community, so much so that by the second Sunday of this term, we have 5 more students enrolling in our school. At the rate the enrolment is growing, we will soon run out of space to accommodate all students. Everyone in the school cannot wait for the construction of additional new classrooms to begin. Here’s hoping that CAV School Building Trustees led by Dr Frank Chew will get the project off the ground in the near future.