What's happening at KGV?

As fast as the year started, just as fast we are mid-way through at an early mid-term. The new team of prefects has been appointed lead by Head Boy, William Zhang and Head Girl, Kaitlin Wong, Mock exams are underway and some University applications are already complete. Cindy Ling and Queenie Chan in Year 13 have received offers from Oxbridge. Cindy is off to read Law at Cambridge and Queenie has been awarded a full scholarship to read Experimental Psychology at Oxford University. These are fantastic achievements. To keep you up-to-date with our students, here is a piece written by the New Head Boy William which went out to parents this week.

"It is an honour to write to you today as KGV's new Head Boy, and on behalf of the newly appointed Prefect team, I would like to express our pride, gratitude and appreciation to those who have trusted us with our new found positions of responsibility.

In the coming year, the prefect team will become increasingly involved in the change and development that now permeates every wall and corridor within KGV. Each of the six senior prefects will be focusing on a different area of core development - Kaitlin in linking with the Middle School, Alex in Learning Technologies and e-safety, Tim in the new Learning Resources Centre, Joanne in site development, Jenny in pedagogy development, and I myself will be working on Middle School Curriculum development and sit on the School Council. We aim to increase direct student involvement in the school's development process and to represent our fellow students' interests as KGV chooses its future pathways.

As in the past, the prefect team this year will also continue upholding KGV's traditions and high expectations. We aim to provide assistance and support to our fellow peers and to serve as role models. We hope that we will be a positive and appreciated presence within the school

I would like to finish off with one of my favourite quotes from the late Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs "We cannot connect the dots looking forwards; we can only connect them looking backwards." As our duties beckon, we can only strive in our efforts to place each individual dot in its best possible position. We hope that in a year's time, we can join these dots to form a picture of hard work, of positive influence, and of the valuable contributions that we have made as the 2012 KGV Prefect team.

Thank you, and an early Happy Chinese New Year!"

KGV's world record breaking attempt

You will all have read in the last issue of The Lion Legend that the time has come to say goodbye to the old school chairs which have graced the hall of KGV since the mid-70's. We asked all Alumni, parents, staff and students for ideas on what we should do with these chairs. Many thoughts came back but the one which piqued our interest was a suggestion to use them to try to break the world record for planking. A plan was formed.

During PE lessons in the last week of term, Mr Riding and staff had been busy teaching students how to 'plank', allowing teachers the chance to emphasise safe planking and the fact that this was also going to be good core exercise. The last day of term began as usual with the Year 13 pantomime in the school hall and extended tutor time for the rest of the students. Meanwhile, the janitorial staff had been busy from the previous evening laying out rows of chairs on the field, 31 rows of 50 chairs to be exact. As tutor time ended the students streamed out to the field for what was to be a World Record Breaking attempt and the final assembly. The students had to hold the plank position for 2 minutes.

It was evident the training paid off with students 'assuming position' with almost military precision! Reporters from the Apple Daily and SCMP were present to interview students and record the occasion. They even got access to a nearby residential block to photograph the scene from the roof. The resulting photographs were published on Saturday morning to the delight of everyone involved. We are very pleased to report that KGV is now the official World Record Holder for the most number of people simultaneously planking, with 1549 in total ( 1 person fell off!).

We are also delighted to report the new chairs and desk have also arrived. The PTSA donated $100,000 towards their purchase ($750,000) and the students sitting their mock exams are already grateful for the new arrivals.

The old chairs will be donated to various causes such as Crossroads in Hong Kong, however, if you are feeling nostalgic and would like a little piece of KGV history in your home drop us a line and let us know asap.

Work on the KGV site

Work continues on the KGV site with the concrete foundations for both new 'towers' coming in the day after the last day of term. Rupert Phillips interviews Ed Wickins in the latest video of the site works here.

In the next issue of Lion Legend we'll include some photos as the change to the science site is likely to be quite dramatic.

London Reunion

Wednesday 8th February will see a reunion of KGV'ers based in and around London at 'Ye Olde Cock Tavern', 22 Fleet Street, Holborn. So far around 40 KGVers have responded and said they plan to attend. With graduates from the class of '53 right through to class of '08 KGV is represented through the decades. We would love to see as many of you there as possible for a very informal trip down memory lane.

KGV Gala Fundraising Dinner 2012

The 2nd Annual KGV Gala Fundraising Dinner will take place on Friday 4th May 2012 at the Holiday Inn Golden Mile and we would love to see as many Alumni as possible there. We had three tables last year and hope for the same if not more this year.

The Gala Dinner is designed to be a celebration of KGV successes and a fun evening for the community. The KGV Jazz band starts the evening off with a performance during the drinks reception and student performances continue throughout the evening. We hold both live and silent auctions and after the fabulous 4 course meal, there is of course, dancing!

To reserve your tickets and find out more information contact Ruth Barnes on

Tel: 2711 3029 or email galadinner@kgv.edu.hk

Christmas Carol Concert & Fair

The Christmas Carol Concert & fair was a first for KGV as a combined event. It was a brilliantly festive occasion for KGV and it was great to everyone enjoying the food, music and shopping with their families. We hope all who attended had a wonderful time.

The Carol Concert took place on the field with both the Junior and Senior Orchestras' and Choirs' performing. The evening started with a soloist performing on the balcony above the Peel Block entrance, then joined by the rest of the Choir on the steps whilst everyone watched from the field.

The school Hall was the place to eat with some delicious food cooked by our parents representing the international flavour of KGV. We had Chinese, Indian, Japanese, Thai and a Bake stall, and on the driveway had vendors selling gifts, mulled wine & mince pies, wine and beer and the ever popular 'bbq sizzle'

Inside the quads were run by students representing their different charities (Fair-trade and orphanages they visited during Challenge week), stalls representing mini-enterprise efforts and other fun games.

The shopping highlight of the evening for most was no doubt the huge toy sale which took place, filling 4 classrooms, and not quite managing to sell out. A KGV parent had donated a huge number of toys to sell, whilst we received other donations of Christmas Decorations, books and food.

We managed to raise around $100,000 from the night for the School Development Fund. Once again, thank you to all who came and all who helped. It was a great evening and we are already thinking forward to 2012.

Christmas Raffle

Congratulations to all our winners and a huge thank you to our top prize sponsors -

Cathay Pacific, Sunrise Travel, Heliservices, The Mira Spa and Blue Sky Sports.

Our top 10 Prize Winners:

Lucky Winners Robert Malcolm ($1200 Voucher for Osteria Restaurant) and Harvey Robbins (Harbour Helicopter tour for 5 people).

We raised a total of $90,000 for the Development Fund.

Development Fund

The Development Fund continues to grow with the most recent funds raised from the Christmas Concert and Fair. Whilst also receiving funds from events, we have also had generous contributions from families and individuals.

In February we will be unveiling our new Donor Board in the entranceway of KGV. The board was designed to show our appreciation and thanks to these families and individuals who have contributed to KGV's Development Fund and is intended to be a permenant addition to KGV.

For more information, please contact Ruth Barnes.

Pedal Kart 2012

KGV has a fine tradition of competing in the HK Pedal Kart race. In 2010 we had 6 karts, easily the largest for any team competing in the event. Our Karts always look impressive and are very competitive.

The race will be held in Victoria Park over the weekend of 10th-11th February and will involve over 100 members of the KGV community.

Over the years, the school has won a number of trophies and we are the current Formula 88 champions. To maintain our fine tradition of trophy winning we are looking for your help. We are looking for people who may be willing to take part in the event, and/or would like to help in other ways, such as sponsorship or donating money to assist the teams in raising as much as possible for charity.

Recently we have received a very generous donation of a 180-piece tool kit from Remus Export (H.K.) Ltd which will go a very long way in making sure the karts remain in top condition. A huge thank you goes out from the KGV Pedal Kart team.

If you are interested in taking part, sponsoring and or helping the team in any other way, please contact KGVPedalKart@kgv.edu.hk or come along to show your support.

Art Music Media Dance Drama

Man is the most adaptable creature on the planet! It was man who adapted and made changes during the ice ages when he wrapped himself in furs to keep warm and learnt to harness fire. Man has always changed to accommodate his environment. KGV is going through a period of exciting change and the Creative and Performance Learning Area want to harness this energy as a catalyst for creative work.

Performance dates will be 8th and 9th March.

More information to follow in February. Check the website calendar for details.

Alumni Association Mega Reunion

It is getting closer! The MEGA REUNION will take place from Saturday 24th - Saturday 31st March 2012. For hotel and event booking forms, plus more information please see the 'Reunion News' section on the website: http://alumni.kgv.edu.hk/ or email kiran@kgvalumni.com .

See you there!

Your stories

It is great to hear from KGVers across the world. We are trying to map out where you all are so if you have not updated your address, please login to your account http://alumni.kgv.edu.hk/general/login.asp go to Manage Profile (right hand side) and update your details. Have a go and we will see if we can reach all corners of the Globe.

KGV Sports

Kinchit Shah and Courtney Kruger ('06)

Kinchit Shah is a Year 12 student at KGV, and is the youngest ever student to be selected to represent the Hong Kong Cricket Team. They recently completed an overseas tour which Kinchit reports on below. KGV continues to produce excellent sportsmen and women.

"On the 25th of November 2011, the Hong Kong national cricket team embarked to Colombo for a pre-tour. During our visit to Sri Lanka we stayed for a week, with three days of intense practice and two matches against the Sri Lanka Chairman's Board. Unfortunately it was raining in Sri Lanka and thus we couldn't use the outdoor pitches. Nevertheless, we had the option of using the indoor centre for our training sessions.
In Sri Lanka, we lost one match and tied in our second game. These practice matches definitely helped us a lot and I personally felt that our preparation before the tournament was excellent.

On the 1st of December 2011, we departed to Nepal for the tournament. During the tournament, we played six matches altogether including the finals. Unfortunately, we lost in the finals to Afghanistan and we finished runners-up in the tournament, however, the top four teams in the competition will now play in the World Cup qualification round which is held in Dubai, 2012. On the tour, I was also accompanied by Courtney Kruger who is also an ex-KGV student (Class of 2006). As the youngest player in the tournament, I have definitely gained a lot of experience and I also made my debut for Hong Kong in the finals. It was an exciting moment for me to play at this level and represent Hong Kong."

KGV Music

Alisha Budhrani returns to KGV on Friday 2nd February with her girl band, Blush, as part of a Hong Kong Schools tour. Alisha graduated from the Class of '10 and has been touring with the band since. She'll write a few words on what was like to be back at KGV in our next edition.

We need your help!

Students from the Media department are currently trying to put together a film about KGV and your experiences here through the decades, with the idea it would be a modern archive of KGV. We would like as many people as possible to take part and are aiming to interview up to 200 of you if possible, including old staff. If you are in Hong Kong please get in touch with Kieran Ryan. Every person counts - we need you!

CONTACT US

KGV school Principal
Mr Ed Wickins, Email: ed.wickins@kgv.edu.hk

Community Development Manager
Ruth Barnes, E-mail: ruth.barnes@kgv.edu.hk Tel: +852 2711 3029

Main Office
office@kgv.edu.hk