NET Scheme News 2024 Summer issue 46

It was an honour and great pleasure to adjudicate the Story to Stage Championship of Hong Kong. The nine performances showcased students’ puppeteering artistry, excellent teamwork, and outstanding English language skills, including creative dialogue, narration, song, rhythm and rhyme, and verbal word play. The joy with which each team performed was evident in students’ expressive and lively voices, and the whole atmosphere was one of inclusion and celebration. Each puppet show conveyed the theme of love in meaningful and often poignant ways. Critically exploring what shapes one’s identity and the importance of loving ourselves was a key message in several of the shows.Other performances examined our connection to family and community,past and present,and the necessity of attending to the health of our planet and the well-being of animals. This event highlights the affordances of puppetry as a rich and holistic educational task. Many congratulations to all the school teams and teachers! Dr Margaret M. Lo, Former Assistant Professor, Academic Unit of Teacher Education and Learning Leadership, Faculty of Education,The Univesity of Hong Kong The Story to Stage Championship of Hong Kong was an impressive showcase of the linguistic, artistic, and theatrical talents of students from across Hong Kong schools.As a judge for this year’s championship, I was really impressed by the variety of the stories developed,the creative use of language,and the artistic ingenuity displayed.Focusing on the theme of Love, I was particularly impressed by the interdisciplinary connections made through the stories, the messages intended for the audience, and the use of other artistic techniques to support this. Importantly,each performance demonstrated exceptional teamwork and collaboration, with students skillfully employing a range of puppetry techniques matched by well-designed puppets, backdrops, props, and transitions. This competition truly exemplifies the innovative spirit and collaborative efforts of Hong Kong’s teachers and their students. I’m already looking forward to what 2024/25 has in store! Congratulations and well done to all. Dr Paul Campbell, Research Assistant Professor, Department of Education Policy and Leadership,The Education University of Hong Kong It was a sheer delight adjudicating for the Story to Stage Puppetry Competition. Its design has created ample room for teachers to work with students to nurture their creativity,develop their artistic potential, and sharpen their communication, collaboration and problem-solving skills, among its many other benefits.The fact that the video submitted needs to be non-edited also emphasises the naturalness of interactions and spontaneity in speech. Watching each performance, I’m amazed by the uniqueness of each team’s approach. Still vivid in my memory are the making of the context- appropriate puppets and their costumes, the interesting props and the beautiful illustrations in the backdrops, the puppets’ attempt to connect themselves with the audience, the teamwork of each member involved, and the warmth in each ‘family’ production. It is truly an honour to have been invited to be an adjudicator of this event. I’m already looking forward to the next one. Nicole J. Tavares, MA(TESOL) Programme Director and Senior Lecturer, Academic Unit of Language and Literacy Education, Faculty of Education,The University of Hong Kong Let’s explore the Story to Stage Puppetry Competition for Primary Schools from different perspectives: Hello, it was my first time participating in the Story to Stage Puppetry Competition as a teacher coordinator, and overall it was a terrific learning experience. I believe this competition is a great way to enhance students’ confidence and improve their creativity skills. Throughout the learning and filming period, the students were really participative and excited. Moreover, teachers can encourage the soft-spoken students to participate in this competition, as it doesn’t require them to face a large audience. For example, a student from our group is quite reserved and tends to speak softly in general. However, in our act his performance was just commendable. I definitely recommend all of the schools to participate in this competition and to encourage students with different abilities to take part in it. Areej Kianat, NET, Ma On Shan Ling Liang Primary School Teachers Dr Margaret Lo (left) and Dr Paul Campbell adjudicating the Story to Stage Puppetry Competition 17 NET Scheme News Issue 46 Adjudicators