We organized a trip to Shanghai with 4 teachers and 40 F.5 students during the Easter Holiday from 25 March to 28 March. During the 4-day tour, we visited the "Shanghai International Studies University" and the "Shanghai Songyi School". Our students got valuable chances to share with the students there. Besides, we visited some famous sceneries such as the "Oriental Pearl Tower", "Zhujiajiao Ancient Town" and "the Bund". This tour has actually given a very good chance for students to experience the development of our motherland.

We organized a 4-day tour to Beijing with the Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers during this Easter Holiday from 25 March to 28 March. The aims of this tour are to provide the 40 F.3 students with the first-hand knowledge about the features and development of our motherland through visiting old and modern constructions, historical monuments and modern enterprises.

We divided students into 4 groups with different themes to be explored such as politics, environment, economic development and cultural conservation. In order to encourage them to see more, learn more and ask more, we arranged a variety of sceneries for them to experience such as the Great Wall, Gugong, the Capital Museum, Hutong and Siheyuan. Moreover, students had a good time in "Wang Fu Jing Main Street" and "Dazhalan". They also had a chance to visit the biggest juice company in China, the "Huiyuan Juice Group Limited", to learn more about the economic development of Chinese enterprises. Furthermore, we have left foot prints on the areas of Beijing Olympic such as the "Water Cube" and the "Bird Nest" so as to witness the great potential of our motherland in organizing big international events. On the last day of the trip, we woke up early to join the Flag Raising Ceremony in Tiananmen Square and look the opportunity to reflect on our national identity.

Honestly, at the beginning, we were a bit worried about our students about whether they could be disciplined and stay attentive enough throughout the whole period of the tour in order to fulfill our requirement of the tasks. Encouragingly, the students' performance showed that we over-worried. They showed good observation and critical thinking abilities. For example, while they were admiring the rapid development of Beijing they were at the same time criticizing the large scale demolition of Hutong and Siheyuan saying that such action would lead to the disappearance of the historical tradition of the city.

There is another example about environmental conservation. Students could point out that the complicated classification of rubbish would discourage people to separate waste and would have opposite effects. Furthermore, in the aspect of their behaviour in visiting different sceneries, we were very satisfied with their performance.

Last but not least, another valuable experience at the end of the tour happened on the returning trip. There were heavy storms and thunderstorms when we were going to land in Hong Kong. After trying to land for several times, our plane failed to do so and turned to Guangzhou. We stopped there for about 2 hours and then returned to Hong Kong. It took a total of about 9 hours for the returning trip from Beijing to Hong Kong. It was really a good test for our students. Under such harsh conditions which there was not enough food and they were also extremely tired, they had no emotional and discipline problems and could inform their parents calmly. Fortunately, we landed at about 2:30am. Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to praise our students and to thank our teachers who have made great efforts in this tour.

I had a great time in Beijing with other F.3 students. Although the weather was really cold , the ardor atmosphere there made me feel warm. Through this trip, I met many friends and we learnt to how take care of each other.

I have learnt a lot through this trip. In the past, I can only get the knowledge about Beijing through TV programmes and books, but now I can experience the long history of my motherland by directly visiting different sceneries such as the Great Wall and Gugong. Moreover, I learnt more about Beijing traditions by visiting Hutong and Siheyuan. Also, the Water Cube and Bird's Nest reflected the fast development of modern Beijing.

The most unforgettable experience was to taste the famous snack in Wang Fu Jing Main Street － the fried scorpions. It was so delicious though it looked terrible.

Finally, I would like to thank our tour guide, teachers and the driver. They really took good care of us which enabled us to have a good time.

During the Easter holiday, I went to a trip to Beijing with my schoolmates and teachers for 4 days. That was a remarkable experience and I had a really great time there.

We made visits to many modern and ancient architecture, like Gugong, Water Cube, Bird's Nest, factory of Huiyuan Juice, szu-ho-yuan, and those intricate hutongs etc. Every one of them are unique and precious. They were full of cultural and historical value which made me want to dig deeper to learn more about it.

Personally, I enjoyed visiting szu-ho-yuan and hutong the most. I've always wanted to live in a szu-ho-yuan for my life. It's warm in winter and cool in summer, although it's a traditional house, it has high-technology and wisdom which impressed me so much. Also, people there have a carefree lifestyle and which also impressed me. The best part of it was when we ride on a rickshaw around the river. The driver introduced the places along the ride to us. He's was really nice.

Besides, visiting the factory of Huiyuan juice was also fascinating. I learnt many process and materials needed to make a bottle of juice. The machines and technology used were admirable since they were so complicated and efficient.

All in all, I have more knowledge of the history and the appearance of China nowadays after this trip. On top of that, this trip has enhanced my sense to current affairs and independent thinking skills.

E-books are beneficial to our schoolmates
4E Lee Ching Yau (Winner)

In this day and age, with various electronic book readers, e-books are becoming more and more popular around the globe. Some think that schools should replace paperback publications with electronic readers since the latter can save time and money. Yet, they seem to have overlooked the cost of using e-books. Obviously, in terms of quality, e-books are not good enough to be the substitute of the traditional ones.

When it comes to contrasting the electronic books to the paper publishing, the prices of the two is often involved. Admittedly, the capacity of e-books is much larger than that of the paperback ones. Yet, the reality is that, schools must consider the affordability of parents. For some families living under the poverty line, they are not able to afford such a great sum of money to buy an electronic device. Even when the government subsidizes them, they still need electricity to charge the devices. However, traditional books do not need charging.

As for the health of students, e-books are surely more harmful than printed books. Eyestrain is a typical example to show the harm of e-books than printed books. You will easily feel tired reading e-books. The resolution and brightness are the most common factors causing the deterioration of vision. Reading an e-book for a long time could hurt your eyes; causing serious diseases such as short sight and conjunctivitis. This also imposes a financial burden on parents as they have to pay the medical expenses.

What's more is that e-books have a much shorter life span than paperback publications. Once the electronic devices are broken or unavailable, the content inside will probably be erased. However, books are stored at home or in lockers. Students do not need to worry about the loss of content or notes.

After all, it is obvious that printed books are essential for students. At the moment, e-books still do not qualify to replace paperback unless the problems above are resolved.