Timetable for two Ivy Ong-Wood Tuesday, May 22, 2012 HK Standard Welcome to Almitas Academy. Student population: two. And to the two pupils, 11-year-old Brandon and nine-year-old Bradley, the licensed primary school is also known as "mommy's school" - it was started by their mom, Chan-Yeo Peck Leng, last year at a cost of HK$1 million.
The inspiration for Chan-Yeo, the wife of Antiquities Advisory Board chairman and former Legislative Council member Bernard Charnwut Chan, in starting the school is obvious. "Because I have been taking care of them since they were babies, I know them so well. I know their needs, strengths and weaknesses." Having quit her job as a businesswoman to become a full-time mom when Brandon was born, the self- confessed "passionate mom" said she started out "wanting to allow them to develop to their full potential." She added: "Many like-minded parents came to ask me about training their children. When I share with them my experience and when they apply the teaching on a consistent basis, they see the results. And therefore I want to help more people and thus set up this school." From the start, Almitas Academy was never meant to be a school solely for the two boys. It just happened that way. Chan-Yeo wanted a school that was different from the mainstream - one where parental involvement and character building would make up the cornerstones of the curriculum. "From my experience, when I continued the teaching and training my sons in all circumstances, I could see the results and gradually the fruits coming out of them. I want to share with other like-minded parents so they too can enjoy the fruits." As it was a radical departure from the hands-off, exam-oriented curriculum, other parents needed time to be persuaded. Hence, the school-for-two situation in the first year. "We had quite a few parents' meetings last year. A lot of them liked what we have but they were not ready to join the school as they are not ready to invest the time to work closely with the school to train their children. The school encourages much parental involvement as we believe parents are the main influence on their children." Having shown that her concept works, though, Chan-Yeo has managed to sign on two more children for this school year and is confident that, come September, the boys will be seeing more classmates. It costs HK$60,000 a year to enrol. But, as Chan-Yeo pointed out, it is "one fee for two" because parents get free workshops that give tips such as how to get their child to obey them or do the housework. The school, housed in a commercial building in North Point, has six Education Bureau-registered teachers, both part and fulltime. "We are planning to move to a bigger place to reduce the rental - maybe to sublet some space in an existing school, rent an abandoned school site or a grounded site surrounded by greenery," said Chan- Yeo. Being licensed by the bureau, it operates strictly according to guidelines in terms of whom to employ, number of holidays and so on. It uses the Accelerated Christian Education curriculum, a US program that has been in use by homeschools and private schools since 1970. In addition to the core subjects of mathematics, science, social studies, creative writing and word building, Almitas Academy also offers a Chinese-language component. ACE's selling point is that it is "individualized and non-graded," allowing a child to progress at his own pace. Said Chan-Yeo: "The daughter of a pastor in the Philippines finished Grade 12, the highest grade, at 14. Because she was so young, her father let her study other things first before she went to university at 16." Despite having such a unique curriculum, Chan-Yeo is confident that Almitas Academy graduates will have no problems assimilating into the system. The school is currently licensed as a primary school so, in a year's time, if Brandon's mom doesn't start a secondary school, he will have to go to a mainstream school. Chan-Yeo believes Brandon will fit in as he already has the right foundation. "The most important thing is building character as academic performance is not everything. If someone has a strong character, he or she is able to make the right decision and choose to do right even when he or she does not feel like it. That is what makes a person stand out." One example: "Brandon was able to reach grade six in his piano within three years from initial piano lessons and will be taking his grade eight exam at the end of this year. I don't have to tell him to practice - he does this with much self- discipline every day, and many times at 6.45am after he has just gotten up. "I must say he has a very good and dedicated piano teacher, and as I partner closely with the teacher, I was able to help my son reach his maximum potential. This is what I mean by parental involvement." The most crucial thing, for her, is for a child to achieve his full potential. That is why she named her school Almitas, which means to nurture or bounty in Latin. "Once we have instilled good character traits and values into their hearts, they are able to excel in many areas of their lives." Website: almitas.edu.hk
Ghost hunters hit in mysterious fall of monster tree Eddie Luk Wednesday, 8/08/2012
Four members of a ghost-hunting TV crew were hit by the mysterious collapse of a giant tree as they picked their way through an area linked to hauntings. Fortunately, said rescuers, a guardian spirit must have been at work too, for the crew members escaped with their lives from yesterday afternoon's incident in Ma On Shan.
But two of the crew from i-Cable were hurt badly enough to be in hospital last night after the unexplained fall of the 18-meter Acacia confusa, known as the Philippine or Taiwan acacia. Investigators could not offer an immediate explanation as to why the tree toppled when there was no wind sweeping through the location - a barbecue area near the beach on Lok Wo Sha Lane. Team members had been carrying their equipment through the area just before 4pm when their supernatural mission came to a crashing halt. A 48-year-old cameraman was hit on the head and neck and a veteran audio engineer took hits to his head and back. Both remained conscious and received medical treatment from paramedics at the scene before being taken to Prince of Wales Hospital. Both were stable last night. Two others, one the ghost program producer, suffered minor injuries. The i-Cable program, Strange Talk, is hosted by Spencer Leung Sze-ho, who is also a radio personality. It features paranormal and supernatural happenings in Hong Kong and neighboring locations. It is generally based on Buddhist, Taoist or Chinese superstitions. Sometimes the format is that of a reality show, with segments direct from a scene of reported hauntings. A mundane thought on the fall was that it was a delayed reaction to the fury of Typhoon Vicente, which struck two weeks ago. Then, more than 1,700 trees collapsed immediately. The fall also follows soon after a Chinese Banyan collapsed on a day of regular weather on the Park Lane Shoppers' Boulevard in Tsim Sha Tsui, injuring four women and a man.
Coach: injury never went away 2012-08-08 By Chen Xiangfeng (China Daily) It's not that Liu Xiang's torn Achilles tendon is back. It's that it never went away in the first place. China's track and field chief said on Tuesday that Liu's treatment for the injury has been an ongoing process for the past four years. "The injury is the same one he had in Beijing," said Feng Shuyong, the team's deputy leader. "In the last several years, he has had good medical care, but it is still there and we never stopped the treatment. "An Achilles injury is almost impossible to fully recover from. We tried hard before the Games, but we could not find effective ways (to deal with it)." Eight years ago in Athens, Liu found himself in the international spotlight when his 110m hurdles victory made him the first Asian man to win a gold medal in track and field. On Tuesday, Liu fell victim to the same injury that kept him from competing in the 2008 Games in Beijing. "The initial diagnosis from the medical staff is that he might have a torn Achilles tendon," Feng said. "He battled with the injury and hoped he could at least make it to the final. But he failed." Feng said no decision has been reached on Liu's future. "He is not thinking about retiring," he said. "(But) it is hard to say (if he will return). I hope all the fans can understand this, and that anything can happen. It happens to many athletes." Feng stressed that just because Liu might be finished with the sport, it doesn't mean the rest of China has to be. Feng asked fans to sympathize with Liu's plight, saying what really matters is that he participated. "We've all seen how hard it is for him. It is such a pity, but his spirit was there," Feng said. (China Daily 08/08/2012 page12)
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