The last week of term at any school is a busy time.  I have found this term to be perhaps the busiest I have ever experienced anywhere, for a combination of reasons, and this past week has been especially so.  In fact, I am spending this weekend writing and proof reading university testimonials, and I have a large number remaining to finish - these are an important priority for me (and for the students who need them to secure university offers!), and so for that reason I’ll write fairly briefly in this week’s blog in order to get back to that task.

My week’s activities included a long but very important staff meeting on Monday, a professional development day with the other Theory of Knowledge teachers on Tuesday, an in-depth interview with Ming Pao newspaper about United World Colleges in my office on Wednesday (which included

an interview with Mark Koskei, one of this year’s two Davis International Scholarship winners - see photo at the right), my introductory presentation to the students on the 2010 Goodwill Trip to North Korea on Tuesday afternoon, a meeting on Tuesday night with the students organising the Sino-Japan Youth Conference to be held on our campus in August 2010, a board meeting (including Annual General Meeting) on Thursday morning, a CEC (College Executive Committee) meeting on Thursday afternoon, several meetings with parents, even more meetings with individual students, and of course the normal correspondence with UWC National Committees and others, interspersed with writing and proof reading the testimonials.  On

Thursday night (actually early Friday morning) I participated in a Skype conference call with six other members of the UWC NCDC (National Committees Development Committee) from midnight until 1:30 am - the other participants being located in the UK, Denmark, Trinidad, Brazil, Switzerland and Colombia.  Given the time differences, I fear I was not as alert as I might I have wished to be - but to be honest, I can’t really remember!

Unfortunately the pressure of work meant I had to miss the combined staff end-of-term afternoon tea at the Park Hotel on Friday afternoon.  However, I was able to join and enjoy the special Christmas-themed end-of-term buffet dinner in the canteen on Thursday evening.  This was a formal dinner, and the students looked very smart indeed in their suits and formal dresses.  To be more precise, the boys looked extremely well-groomed and handsome, and the girls looked extremely cold given the inappropriate style of contemporary fashion in winter temperatures of just 12 degrees Celsius!

A copy of the menu is shown to the above left (click to enlarge), and to say that the superb food was enjoyed and appreciated by everyone present would be an understatement.  As a memento of that happy occasion, I’ll finish with some photos (below) of the specially decorated canteen just before the students arrived, at which time taking general photos became all but impossible.

May I take this opportunity to wish everyone a very happy, peaceful, restful and well-earned holiday!