Sun Hung Kai Properties : SHKP Reading Club spreads reading fun on campus for the fifth year

SHKP Reading Club spreads reading fun on campus for the fifth year with Happy Reading STEM up! activities to promote integrated science reading

For the fifth year in a row, the Read & Share programme of the SHKP Reading Club under Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHKP), which supports teachers with its wide range of school-based reading promotion initiatives, has reached out to 150 primary and secondary schools. This year, under the theme of 'Happy Reading STEM up!', the SHKP Reading Club joins hands with various STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) celebrities in a series of innovative activities to stimulate students' curiosity and interest in reading. Since the start of this academic year, the Club has organized 80 school activities, sharing the fun of exploring STEM through reading with over 18,000 teachers and students.

In collaboration with the Hong Kong Aided Primary School Heads Association, and with the support of the SHKP Group as well as local communities and guest speakers, the SHKP Reading Club's Read & Share programme organizes numerous activities for schools, including celebrity talks, creative workshops and fieldtrips. In addition to the new online reading platform - Read For More, launched by the Club earlier this year, Read & Share also provides mobile bookshelves, competitions, and award schemes so that teachers can select and make use of the support materials and resources to meet their different needs when promoting reading at school.

150 primary and secondary schools join Read & Share

The school programme this year features a series of celebrity sharing sessions which have proved highly popular with students. Renowned guest speakers have included educational expert Tang Man-hon (STEM Sir), a regular guest on children's programmes; founder of the Weather Underground of Hong Kong, Clarence Fong; science fiction author Albert Tam; and two guest hosts of TV programmes: Dr Dominic Tong, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Physics at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and Dr Jason Chan, known as 'Dr Fire', who serves as Lecturer in the Department of Chemistry at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. These talks allow students to explore STEM topics as well as reading through a host of interactive activities. For example, Dr Tong illustrated the principles of air flow with props that included an air cannon and an air blower, then invited eager students to participate in the demonstration.

STEM Sir Tang Man-hon said, 'Every time I explain STEM elements found in a burst gyro or in the making of a Red Bean Fleecy, students respond enthusiastically, and some even share additional relevant information. Once we spot the proper resonance point of the students, we are then able to raise their motivation levels for self-learning. This works for STEM, and so does reading.' Read & Share also took students to various multi-intelligent experiential programmes at Noah's Ark, including Little Medical Trainees, Bubble Laboratory, and Surviving in the Wild. Moreover, the programme invited AFS Intercultural Exchange students to visit participating schools to share inspiring STEM books in English.

ReadForMore.com facilitates a wider range of reading among students

Other guests participating in Read & Share were Vincent Wong, radio host at Commercial Radio Hong Kong; Thomas Wong, co-founder of Asiabots, a start-up that develops AI technologies; travel veterans Sharpe Law, Linus Cheng, Jamie Cheung and Rubio Chan; as well as the SHKP Young Writers' Debut Competition winners: Suki Yu, Tong Yui, Fontane Yiu, Brown White and Lam Siu-long. More celebrities are yet to come. Guests will also write for the Read For More platform so students can enjoy their articles anytime, anywhere.

Hong Kong And Macau Lutheran Church Ming Tao Primary School Principal Chan Kwan-ho said, 'Our school has been participating in the Read & Share programme since 2015. We welcome the STEM theme as this matches the major educational direction and interests of our students. The programme elements are all very well-planned, and perfectly combine reading with daily life experiences, so it's actually moving towards STREAM (Science, Technology, Reading, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics). While enjoying the activities, our students would come to understand that reading is the cornerstone of all learning.'