Maryknoll Convent School

Maryknoll Convent School
Chinese: 瑪利諾修院學校

Sola Nobilitas Virtus
Virtue Alone Ennobles
Location
(Primary Section) 130 Waterloo Road, Kowloon Tsai, Kowloon
(Secondary Section) 5 Ho Tung Road, Kowloon Tsai, Kowloon
Hong Kong
Information
Type Grant School
Established 1925
School district Kowloon Tong
Years P1–S6
Gender Girls
Campus type Urban
Affiliation Roman Catholic
Website mcs.edu.hk/
Maryknoll Convent School, viewed from Waterloo Road.
Maryknoll Convent School. No. 5 Ho Tung Road entrance.
Aerial view of Maryknoll Convent School.

Maryknoll Convent School (MCS, traditional Chinese: 瑪利諾修院學校) is a Roman Catholic girls' school with primary and secondary sections at Kowloon Tsai, Hong Kong. It was founded by the American Maryknoll Sisters in Hong Kong in 1925 at Kowloon Tsai, Hong Kong. MCS is well known for its distinguished academic results and school traditions. For example, MCS counts a total of 14 winners of the Hong Kong Outstanding Students Awards,[1] ranking fifth among all secondary schools in Hong Kong. It also has a good reputation for its cultural achievements at both local and international levels.

History

In 1925, an organisation called Maryknoll Sisters went from the US to Hong Kong after its founder Mother Mary Joseph Rogers said, "Let's see what God has in store for us." On 11 February 1925, Sister Mary Paul began teaching 12 students various subjects in the Convent Parlour at 103 Austin Road. In 1931, due to the growing number of students and teachers, the school moved to 248 Prince Edward Road. The school moved again in 1936 to the current campus at 130 Waterloo Road.

In 1941, the Maryknoll Sisters left Hong Kong and closed the school because the Japanese army invaded Hong Kong. In 1945, after the Japanese surrendered, the school reopened.

In 1960, a new section was inaugurated at 5 Ho Tung Road for the secondary section. The primary section remains at 130 Waterloo Road. The Maryknoll Student Association was set up for the Secondary Section in 1967 under the guidance of Sr Jeanne Houlihan. In 1971, an experimental administrative system, a Staff Council, was set up in the Secondary Section; it was later replaced by a School Advisory Committee and General Staff Assembly in 2001. The student prefect system was instituted in 1989. The MCS Educational Trust was founded in May 1992 to advance education at Maryknoll.

Since 1997, the primary section has been converted to a whole-day school. The school's parent-teacher associations were set up in 2001–02. As of 2005, the MCS Foundation has replaced the Maryknoll Sisters as the Sponsoring Body of the school. On 16 May 2008, Maryknoll Convent School became a Declared monument of Hong Kong.[2]

School Principals

1925 Sr Mary Paul McKenna oversees the opening of MCS

Primary Section

1935-1958 Sr Ann Mary Farrell
1959–1960 Sr Mary de Ricci Cain
1961–1967 Sr Miriam Xavier Mug
1967–1977 Sr Marie Corinne Rost (A.M. Session)
1977–1995 Mrs Elsie Wong (A.M. Session)
1969–1997 Mrs Hilda Kan (P.M. Session)
1995–2003 Mrs Teresa Chow (1995–1997, A.M. Session)
2003-present Mrs Josephine Lo

Secondary Section

1935-1958 Sr Ann Mary Farrell
1959–1965 Sr Mary de Ricci Cain
1965–1972 Sr Rose Duchesne Debrecht
1972–1986 Sr Jeanne Houlihan
1987–1996 Mrs Lydia Huang
1997–2002 Mrs Gloria Ko
2002–2006 Mrs Winifred Lin
2006-present Ms Melaine Lee

School Crest

The top section of the Crest comprises two lamps with a rose in between. The lamps are to remind students that "As one lamp lights another nor grows less, so nobleness enkindles nobleness". The rose is a symbol of Mary, Mother of Jesus.

The black and white section of the Crest is taken from the Dominican shield, for the Maryknoll Sisters are part of the Dominican order. The white symbolises purity and truth, and the black symbolises sacrifice.

The other colours of the Crest are blue and red, which the former one stands for loyalty and the latter stands for charity.

The Latin words "Sola Nobilitas Virtus", which mean "Virtue Alone Ennobles", at the bottom form the school motto.

School Song

O Maryknoll, O Maryknoll,
Thy name most honoured be,
'Tis given for the Queen of heaven
who shall our model be;
Through whom our school shall lead us
to follow Christ her Son;
Who is the centre of our lives,
the guardian of our school days.
We give our lives, our love, our trust to thee.
Oh Queen of Maryknoll,
We will forever be true!

Sing praise to her, Sing praise to her,
The school whose life we share,
Whose light shall be for us a flame
to lead us on to right;
The mother of our future,
for whom we shall carry truth.
To home, to country, to the world,
we call this our first duty.
We shall not fail in this, our trust,
for we have pledged ourselves to thee.
O school we love, Maryknoll!

The Ghost Pine Controversy

A Norfolk Island Pine tree used to stand at a corner of the school lawn, facing the Waterloo Road Gate of the Primary Section. It was 71 years old and twenty three metres tall. Affectionately known as the Ghost Pine among Maryknollers, it had come to be seen as a symbol of the school and the fond memories of school days.

On 10 July 2009, the Former Students' Association issued a circular inviting former students to take photos with the ghost pine and bid farewell, citing the school management's decision to cut it down in two weeks. It was understood that the school management was worried about students' and public safety should the tree collapse, as explained in Sr Jeanne Houlihan's letter to former students.

Shocked by the announcement, several former students, some being specialists in landscaping and environmental science, proposed solutions to save the tree while making it safe for current students and the public. They were supported by over 2,000 Maryknollers who signed a petition on Facebook to conserve the tree. The school's suggestion that the tree be chopped into smaller pieces, to make souvenirs for students and former students, was denounced by many former Maryknollers as gruesome, analogous to ripping body parts from a corpse and sharing it among accomplices. Experts in the area, most notably Professor C.Y. Jim, Chair Professor of Geography at the University of Hong Kong, and Mr Ken So, of the Conservancy Association, were also involved in assessing the tree's health. It was assured that the tree, although tilting slightly, did not pose any immediate danger. It was later revealed that the consultancy appointed by the school earlier that year, which suggested removing the tree, had a conflict of interest, because the consultancy itself was also in the tree removal business. The company would potentially benefit from the removal works later on by presenting the case in a certain way. The claims that the consultancy made about termites were dismissed by academics and independent experts. The observation of excessive tree sap was also interpreted as safe, contrary to the consultancy report.

Some solutions put forward included fixing the trunk against the school building and installing a stabilising system for trees. The former was rejected by the school management, as the school building was declared a monument a year before and fixing the tree to the building might risk damaging the building itself.

In the end, the Government intervened and it was agreed that the tree would be conserved. The Development Bureau allocated about HKD500,000 to fund the cause.

On 4 February 2010, the school unexpectedly announced that due to drainage works, the roots of the tree were severely damaged beyond repair, and it was decided that the tree would be felled. The announcement caused outrage among many Maryknollers, who thought that the decision was hasty and did not take into consideration expert advice. On 5 February, Mrs Helen Yu, the Supervisor of the Primary Section, herself a former Maryknoller, reiterated in a Press Conference that the decision was a painful but necessary one. She also alleged that some former students were irresponsible for putting forward a conspiracy theory. On the same day, a former student issued a letter through a solicitor to the school, claiming that the school did not have the legal grounds to cut the tree.

Through an indirect channel, the former students were informed that the decision to cut the tree down had been made even before the two experts appointed by the Government had completed or submitted the report. The lack of transparency in the decision-making process and the school management's unwillingness to conserve the tree disappointed the former students.

On 6 February, at around 4 am, the Police sealed off a section of Waterloo Road between Flint Road and Boundary Street. At 6 am, the logging staff from the Leisure and Cultural Services Department started to cut down the tree in sections over the course of three hours. When the former legislator Ms Tanya Chan and a former student asked the staff to show them the permit to cut down the tree, a government official from the Development Bureau, Mr Alan Au, refused. He also refused to show the permit to the Police. At about 10.30 am, more than fifty Maryknollers gathered at the Waterloo Road Gate to mourn for the tree through prayers and singing the school song.

Several former students lodged a complaint to the Ombudsman on the same day for maladministration by the following government departments, namely, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (which oversees the Antiques and Monuments Office), the Development Bureau, the Drainage Services Department, and the Buildings Department. The former students challenged the authorities who had permitted the drainage works and whether the impact on the tree had been thoroughly considered and sufficient measures were taken to mitigate the risks. It was argued that the government departments were either not informed immediately, or left it to the school without taking remedial measures. Moreover, the decision to issue a permit to cut down the tree was in contradiction with the conclusions drawn by experts, who recommended erecting permanent support instead of cutting down the tree. The former students also questioned whether the school or the government departments had the necessary legal support to back up their operation, since neither was able to present the permit with the authorisation from the responsible authorities.

It was later reported that the school could be prosecuted for breaching requirements of the Antiquities and Monuments Ordinance in carrying out the drainage work that ultimately led to the tree being cut down. After an investigation, Secretary for Development Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor told LegCo members that the school had not fulfilled the conditions of the permit issued for its drainage work that had resulted in damage to more than half the roots of the 70-year-old pine which the school felled. In addition, Carrie Lam said the school had also felled 18 trees in December 2008 without submitting a removal plan to the Antiquities and Monuments Office.[3]

Alumnae

See also

References

  1. ↑ Past Winners of the Hong Kong Outstanding Students Awards
  2. ↑ Maryknoll Convent School declared a monument
  3. ↑ Olga Wong, School may be charged over landmark tree, The South China Morning Post, 4 March 2010.

4. ^ Forever be True – The Love and Heritage of Maryknoll, 2009, by Maryknoll Convent School Education Fouundation, Hong Kong, ISBN 978-988-17-8611-1

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