Opening remarks delivered by Mr. Peter M. Chan, ISA Executive Director, during the Iloilo Scholastic Academy Elementary Recognition Day on 18 March 2008 at the ISA Campus.
副董事长王显新先生，新华董事，老师，家长，同学，女士先生们：
下午好！
小学部是我们学校的一个亮点。今天下午参加颁奖礼的小学学习者共有一百十一名，占小学学习者总数的百分之五十一。就是说有一半的小学学习者的总平均分数在89分以上。这是一个好现象，但这只是一个开头，前面的路程还很长，新一年的学习任务还会更困难，我们希望同学们能继续努力学习，在今后取得更好的成绩。
孩子们在品德和学业上能取得这么好的成绩，首先要归功于家长和老师们的精心照顧、培养和教导。沒有你们的辛勤劳动和无私奉献，他们是不可能取得这么好的成绩的。趁此机会，我代表新华董事会向家长、老师们表示感谢。
Members of the ISA Board of Trustees ISA facilitators, Parents, ISAers, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good afternoon.
With us this afternoon are 100 learners with honors. If we add the 11 grade six learners with honors, the elementary department has 111 learners with honors this school year: 55 most outstanding, 34 outstanding and 22 in the director’s list. They represent 51% of the total elementary learners in the school year 2007-2008.
The APSA evaluation test results provide us the following valuable information. Taken as a whole, the elementary learners fared excellently in Mathematics, good in English, and fairly satisfactorily in Science.
In Mathematics, out of 197 elementary learners who took the APSA tests, 181 learners or 92% were rated either Highly Proficient or Proficient. 16 learners or 8% were either Progressing Towards Standards or Not Met Standards. This means that minus the 51% who are here, there are 80 learners or 41% who do not have honors are either Highly Proficient or Proficient in Mathematics. Isn’t the figure very encouraging? (applause from the audience) Yes, they deserve a big round of applause. That’s why I said our elementary ISAers fared excellently in Mathematics. They did a great job. Shall we give them another round of applause? (applause from the audience)
In English, 175 learners or 89% were rated either Highly Proficient or Proficient, 22 learners or 11% were either Progressing Towards Standards or Not Met Standards.
In Science, 142 learners or 72% were rated either Highly Proficient or Proficient, 55 learners or 28 % were either Progressing Towards Standards or Not Met Standards.
My record shows that all of our elementary learners with honors were either Highly Proficient or Proficient both in Mathematics and English. But in Science, there were 8 learners or 7% of the 111 learners with honors were rated Progressing Towards Standards.
In the school year 2008-2009, our targets are: in Mathematics, at least 95% of the total elementary learners should be rated either Highly Proficient or Proficient; In English, at least 92% should be either Highly Proficient or Proficient; and in Science, the target is at least 75% with no learner with honors rated Progressing Towards Standards.
Are the targets attainable? Definitely YES. Are the targets easy to attain? Certainly NO.
Parents, My Dear ISAers, the figures 95%, 92% and even 75% for science are, by any standard, quite challenging, even overwhelming. If it is a bitter pill, ISA has to swallow it. The competitive world setting tells us that the choice is not for ISA to make. The pathetic state of our country’s education should not remain to be one of the shames of our nation, by the way the other one is the institutionalized corruption.
Parents, ISAers, for the brighter future of our young generations, for the future of our beloved country, let us continue to work closely, together we shall attain the targets we set for school year 2008-2009. Thank you.
