| Language Policy |
Our school aims to nurture our students to be biliterate and trilingual, with great emphasis on enhancing students' English proficiency. In junior forms, English is adopted as the medium of instruction (MOI) in the learning of Mathematics from S1 to S3. Some S1 and S2 classes adopt English as the MOI in History lessons while English is adopted as the MOI in S3 History, Geography and Science for some S3 students. Moreover, extended learning activities in English are included in the curricula of some Chinese medium subjects to develop students' ability to use English later in their study pathways.<br>To expose students to an English-rich learning environment, the following measures are put in place:<br>(1) S1 to S6 split-class English language teaching has been adopted. Different ability groups of students are split into smaller groups to cater for learner diversity. Our Native English-speaking teacher conducts oral/Language Arts classes in junior forms and whole-school English activities to enhance listening and speaking skills.<br>(2) Various English remedial classes are arranged, including P6-S1 bridging courses, S1-S3 English tutorial classes and post-exam/summer lessons.<br>(3) An S1 Orientation Programme focusing on Language across the Curriculum (LaC) is arranged for S1 newcomers while booklets with subject-based vocabulary lists including key vocabulary and phrases of all LaC subjects are designed and distributed.<br>(4) Students are encouraged to participate in a wide variety of English activities, including English Week, Speech Festivals, LaC activities such as 'Speak up-Act out! Improvised Drama Competition', Movie Appreciation, Book Sharing, Afternoon Concerts and the publication of MagaSun, our school-based English magazine, to apply their language skills in a language-rich environment.<br>(5) All students are required to take part in Morning Reading every Monday, during which students are required to read books or materials in English. Morning assemblies on Tuesdays are conducted in English further to expose students to the use of daily English.<br>(6) The SHDC English World website is a platform for students to access the latest English activities. |
| Learning and Teaching Strategies |
The school is committed to all-round development of our students where we help them understand the importance of 'learning for life' and being 'biliterate and trilingual' through the provision of a congenial learning environment. All administration units and subject panels strive to offer students different learning opportunities with a focus on the school major concerns. For junior classes, we offer not only the academic subjects, but also other subjects like STEM, Computer Literacy and Putonghua. For senior formers, apart from basic humanities and science subjects, other subjects like BAFS, VA as well as ICT are also provided. To strengthen students' competitiveness in their studies, they have to take two to three electives. A variety of after-school programmes is offered for students of different abilities to cater for their learning needs. The school has been working with different institutes providing gifted programmes for students of higher ability and enrolling students to internationally recognised examinations. |
| School-based curriculum |
1. Electives: 2X and 3X. All senior formers are to study 2 or 3 electives. Students who wish to take extra programmes offered by other educational institutes such as Applied Learning could apply for it with the support from school.<br> 2. Curriculum highlights: There are STEM lessons for both S.1 and S.2 students. S4 and S5 students have OLE lessons in their timetable. |
| Approach to Catering for Learner Diversity |
The school adopts the three-tiered support mode of whole school approach in catering for learners’ diversity. Subject-based measures, curriculum and homework accommodation and differentiated teaching strategy have been formulated to provide quality teaching in regular classroom to support students with transient or mild learning difficulties, add-on intervention to students assessed with continuous learning difficulty, and intensive individualized support to students with severe learning difficulty. |
| Approach to Integrated Education |
The Student Support Team headed by the Principal, with members including vice-principals, the Heads of concerned units and Subject Panels, Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo), SEN Support Teacher (SENST), Education Psychologist, Speech Therapists and school social workers, is responsible for the formulation of Inclusive policy, cultures and practices to fulfill the principal of early identification, referral and support.<br>Through a flexible use of the Learning Support Grant, the school supports students’ learning and personal growth, including school-based speech therapy and occupational services, counselling or clinical psychologist services, after-school tutorials, social skill training, student development scheme, career exploration and inclusion activities.<br>Individual Education Plans (IEP) and special examination arrangements have been tailor-made based on students’ needs and advice from multi-disciplinary professionals, with evaluation and follow-up through various meetings with stakeholders. We treasure home-school cooperation by establishing regular communication channels with a “Summary of Support for Student”. |
| Education Support for Non-Chinese Speaking (NCS) Students |
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| Home-School Co-operation |
In the belief that Good Home-School co-operation enhances students' achievement, the PTA promote home-school co-operation through the following aspects:<br>1. Fostering home-school communication via Parents’ Day, Students’ Progress Reports, Parents' Night, Home-school Gala Night and Day Tour. <br>2. Enhancing a sense of belonging via different kinds of activities. <br>3. Developing support network via regular meetings and workshops at school. <br>4. Organising parent education activities to enrich and strengthen parents’ knowledge of parenting and teenage issues. <br>5. Promoting school policies via formal discussions and meetings with school administrative committees. |
| School Ethos |
To foster our students' personal growth, we provide them with services from professionals such as education psychologist from Tung Wah Group of Hospitals and social workers from Caritas Unit, as well as from student teams ranging from prefects and Student Union to house and club committees. To help students cope with difficulties in their school life and develop good personal qualities, we hold the S.1 Summer Bridging Programme, S.1 Guidance Programme and S.1 Team Training. Besides the above, small groups are formed to enhance whole-person development of students through challenging activities, volunteer services. The "Outstanding Chart" aims to praise students who have good academic achievements. We also have different enhancement classes to help students who are in need. To support student development, the role of class teacher is stressed. Class teachers are involved in the promotion of class spirit, counselling need and monitoring support. |
| School Development Plan |
The 3-year school development plan (2021/22, 2022/23 and 2023/24)<br>1. Implementing succession plan for school management, integrating positive culture into school management, improving school facilities and environment and promoting national security education<br>2. Enhancing students' self-directed learning ability, strengthening STREAM coding education and optimizing school-based curriculum<br>3. Promoting self-discipline and compliance with rules, serving and showing care for the community |
| Teacher Professional Training and Development |
Teachers are encouraged to attend different education seminars/ courses/ workshops and acquire new knowledge and theories which are related to their subjects and administrative duties. There are 3 in-house seminars for teachers annually. All teaching staff are encouraged to join all sorts of seminars and workshops for the New Senior Secondary Education. The school expects that each teacher should be able to attain 150 hours of CPD within three consecutive school years. |
| Life-wide Learning |
Our school provides a wide range of extracurricular activities. Students have remarkable achievements in Sports and Arts. A Team for Life Scheme for S.1 to S.3 students is also established and it definitely helps to train students' mental and physical strength. The Chinese Orchestra and the Pop Music Band have been established for years. We also have lots of leadership training and outreach programmes. Besides, we provide a Project Learning Programme in a multi-disciplinary mode for all S.2 and S.3 students so as to create a more interactive and motivating learning atmosphere. Our students have remarkable achievements in inter-school ball games, dance competitions, athletic competitions, English drama and English CLIP-IT competitions. By participating in different community services, our students are able to build up a sense of belonging to society. |
