Marymount Secondary School

Marymount Secondary School
Entrance of Marymount Secondary School at No. 123 Blue Pool Road
Location
Happy Valley, Hong Kong
Information
School type Grant School
Motto Motto: The Lord is My Light
Established 1927
Principal Mrs. Catherine Li （acting）
Houses Jupiter, Mercury, Uranus, Venus
School colour(s) Blue and yellow          
Affiliation Roman Catholic
Website www.mss.edu.hk

Marymount Secondary School (Chinese: 瑪利曼中學) is a Band 1 all-girls EMI Roman Catholic Secondary School located in Happy Valley, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. The Primary School is Marymount Primary School. Marymount is also well known for its school choir which receives a lot of prizes in the Hong Kong Schools Music Festival as well as International Competitions.

Marymount focuses on "Multiple Intelligences", most of the students are all-rounded.

History

The school, originally known as Holy Spirit School, was founded by the Maryknoll Sisters, an American religious order, on 10 January 1927 in Hong Kong. Back then, the school was on Robinson Road in Central Mid-levels. There were only 8 classes of students sharing four tiny classrooms. In the 1930s, the school moved to a slightly larger building in Caine Road. There were seven classrooms, but conditions were still cramped by today’s standards. By 1941, the school was offering a complete course leading to matriculation, and so was one of only a small handful of schools at that time which prepared girls for university.

Marymount School Song

O Marymount, my Marymount,
Thou Beacon of the truth,
O glorious the vision bright,
That guides the steps of youth!
To Thee we pledge our loyalty,
O School we love so well,
We live to love and follow Thee,
O Alma Mater True,
We live to love and follow Thee,
Our pledge we now renew.

O Marymount, blest is thy pow'r,
And wonderful Thine aim,
High virtue, wisdom, precious flow'r,
Thy seal to all proclaim,
To Mary our most cherished boast,
Our school sweet model fair,
We pledge our word to honour Thee,
O Alma Mater True,
We pledge our word to honour Thee,
Our hearts do thou renew.

In 1941, Japanese forces invaded and occupied Hong Kong. The school was closed until 1948. When the school reopened, Hong Kong was facing a new challenge as many thousands of immigrants were pouring across the border to escape the civil war on the mainland. Marymount rose to this challenge by offering places to as many girls as it could.

As the school continued to expand, a new building with better facilities became necessary. In October 1957, the school moved to its present location on the wooded slopes near the top of Blue Pool Road, overlooking Happy Valley. At the same time, it was renamed Maryknoll Sisters’ School. Initially, the building housed both Secondary and Primary Sections, but in 1961 the Primary School was relocated to the premises at Tai Hang Road, directly above the secondary school. During the school year 1978–79, the Maryknoll Sisters handed over the sponsorship of the school to the Columban Sisters.

In September 1983, the name of the school was changed to Marymount Secondary School. Throughout its history the school campus had also been home to a convent, with the nun’s dormitories housed on the fourth floor and the site of the library originally being a chapel. It was only in 1993 that the nuns vacated their premises in order to make more room for the ever-growing student population.

In 1991, Mrs. Nancy Wong became the school’s first Chinese principal, and the first principal who was not a member of a religious order. In 1996, the Columban Sisters initiated the transfer of the sponsorship of the school to the Christian Life Community(CLC), the process of which was completed by September 1997. The CLC is an international Catholic lay community with a keen interest in education and commitment to the service of youth, and which receives spiritual guidance from the Jesuits of Wah Yan College, Hong Kong. The CLC has pledged to preserve the same school spirit, foster the traditions and continue to provide quality education at Marymount.

Mrs. Wong oversaw the school’s transition from being managed by the Columban Sisters to being managed by the Hong Kong Christian Life Community. The CLC is a Catholic lay community which works to support education and the needs of young people,

The Secondary School operated up to 29 classes with over 1000 students until 1998, offering arts, science and social disciplines up to Form 7. With the restructuring of the school, the total number of classes is at 26 by the 2003. The Primary School operates 24 classes and has about 900 students.

In 2003 Mrs. Wong retired and the post of principal was taken up by Ms. Veronica Ma. Upon Ms. Ma's retirement in 2014, the former principal of Marymount Primary School, Mrs. Julie Ma, was appointed as the principal of Marymount Secondary School.

Mrs. Julia Ma then resigned as principal because of health problems. At September 2017, the former vice principal of [[St. Paul's Convent School], Mrs. Jenny Wong took up the post of the principal, at the same time cancelling the summer time schedule which was usually taken place at May every school year. Mrs. Wong left the school at December 2017 due to personal reasons. After being a few months of acting principal, Mrs. Catherine Li, former vice principal of Marymount Secondary School took up the post of principal at May 2018.

Over the years, many generations of girls have received an education at Marymount, and the Primary and Secondary School together now accommodate nearly 2000 students.

Annual production

The students of Marymount Secondary School perform a drama and/or musical production every year and these are some of the productions.

  • 1999 - Romeo & Juliet
  • 2000 - King Lear
  • 2001 - Dido & Aeneas
  • 2007 - Orpheus
  • 2008 - Hamlet
  • 2009 - The King&I
  • 2011 - Othello
  • 2013 - The Taming of the Shrew
  • 2014 - A Servant of Two Masters
  • 2015 - Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella
  • 2016 - The Importance of Being Earnest
  • 2017 - A Midsummer Night's Dream
  • 2018 - Pride and Prejudice
  • 2019 - Little Women

Houses

There are four houses to which students and teachers are randomly assigned.

  • Jupiter – Red (Jupiterians)
  • Mercury – Yellow (Mercurians)
  • Uranus – Orange (Uranians)
  • Venus – Blue (Venus Babies)

Each house is headed by a House Committee and 2 Teacher Advisors, the House Committee includes a House Captain, two Vice-Captains, a Cheering Leader and 7 form representatives (2 for S.1 and 1 for S.2-6) who are elected by students. Every year, students compete in inter-house events, such as the annual Sports Day and Swimming Gala. Scores would be counted at the end of the Academic Year, and the house with the highest scores would be the Champion of the Year. These events aim to uphold the sense of belonging of all the students of Marymount Secondary School.

Curriculum

English is the medium of instruction for all subjects except Chinese Language, Chinese Literature, Putonghua and Chinese History. In forms one and two, there will be no exam instead of a Test named Common Test twice each academic year. A modular system is adopted in order to facilitate project-based learning and critical thinking. In senior forms, students prepare for the HKDSE and select subjects from option blocks. French is also offered.

Student council

Marymount has an elected Student Council which promotes student welfare and acts as a channel of communication between the school and the student body as well as organising a range of activities throughout the year. Students can take part in the Student Council (colloquially known as the "SC") as elected class representatives in the role of Spokesman or Councillor, or as the Executive Board's Chairlady, Vice-Chairlady, ECA Coordinator, Service Coordinator, Sports Coordinator, Secretary, Treasurer or Public Relations Officer. The Executive Board members are nominated by students, and elected by the students. The Spokesman and the Councillor of each class are elected by its own class members.

Talent Quest The Student Council would be organising various events, and the highlight of each year would be the Talent Quest, colloquially known as "TQ". Each year, there would be a theme for the Talent Quest. Guest singers are also invited to perform every year. Student entries are divided into different Categories:

  • Chinese Solo (Singing)
  • Chinese Group (Singing)
  • English Solo (Singing)
  • English Group (Singing)
  • Dance
  • Foreign
  • Open
  • Class

There will be heats and semi-finals, then the finalists would perform on stage on the final Talent Quest. The teacher would be playing the role of adjudicators, and will announce the winners that day.

Themes of recent Talent Quests are:

  • Agent 1314 (2013-)
  • Tetrachromacy (2014)
  • Atlantis (2015)
  • Deja Vu (2016)
  • Trouvaille (2017)

Extracurricular activities

Clubs

There will be an ECA period every Day 5. Students can choose 1 club that they are interested in each group to participate. Students can also not join any of the ECA Clubs.

Group 1

Academic Club

  • Chinese Club,
  • Putonghua Club,
  • English Society,
  • Mathematics Club,
  • Science Club,
  • History Club,
  • Technology & Living Club,

Visual & Performing Arts Clubs

  • Chinese Drama Club,
  • Dance Club,
  • Drama Club,
  • Visual Arts Club,
  • Theatrical Make-up Club,

Group 2

Interest Clubs-

  • Asian Culture Club,
  • Hong Kong Award for Young People (HKAYP),
  • Junior Police Call (JPC),
  • First Aid Club,
  • Sports & Health Club,
  • Theatrical Fashion Club

Teams

  • Junior Choir,
  • Intermediate Choir,
  • Windband,
  • String Orchestra,
  • English Debating Team,
  • Swimming Team,
  • Table Tennis Team,
  • Tennis Team,
  • Athletics Team,
  • Basketball Team,
  • Dance Team (Chinese Dance, Modern Dance, Hip Hop),
  • Cross Country Team,
  • Badminton Team

Community Service Groups

  • Community Youth Club (CYC)
  • Girl Guides
  • Interact Club
  • Z Club (Zonta Club)

Pastoral Care Service Groups

  • Careers Guidance and Service Team
  • Civic Education Team
  • Environmental Education Team
  • Guidance Team
  • Culture and Heritage Team
  • Health Education Team

Service Groups

  • Campus TV,
  • Student Council,
  • Student IT Team,
  • MSS Messenger (Magazine),
  • MSS Yearbook Committee,
  • ECA Committee,
  • Music Committee,
  • Service Committee,
  • Sports Committee,
  • Tuckshop Prefects,
  • Librarians

Religious Groups

  • Religious Activity Convenors
  • Legion of Mary
  • Voveo
  • CLC
  • Altar Girls
  • GIFTS
  • The Bible Study Group

Notable alumnae

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

References

    Coordinates: 22°15′49″N 114°11′25″E / 22.263482°N 114.190221°E / 22.263482; 114.190221

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