Newsletter Vol. 03 - 1

Issued in Jan, 2003

You may download other formats: MS Word and PDF

SFX Alumni Dinner Dance

Annual Ball (or Annual Dinner) has been a fine tradition of the Alumni. The event provides a perfect occasion for old boys to have a reunion with their buddies, to meet our beloved Brothers, and to be updated on the activities of our Alma Mater. After a few years of Chinese-style banquets, we are returning to formal western-style dinner dance this time, by popular request. Details are as follows:

Date: 8th February 2003 (Saturday)
Venue: Sheraton Hotel Grand Ballroom, Tsimshatsui, Kowloon
Time: 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Cocktail reception
8:00 p.m. – 1:00 a.m. Dinner Dance
Fee: HK$600 per head (10 persons / table)

You may be pleased to know that soft drinks and beers will be supplied free of charge for 5 hours from 7:00 p.m. onwards. No corkage will be levied for any liquor or wine brought along by you. Moreover, there will be no raffle ticket selling. So, you can rest assured that an evening of quality dining, wining and entertainment will be laid on for you.

As always, your support is vital to making this party an enjoyable and memorable event. We are also appealing for donation of prizes for the Lucky Draw. Any help from you will be deeply appreciated.

Please, therefore, drum up old buddies from your class / year to make up a table or two, maybe more! Use the form below for booking. Do not hesitate to contact us if you have any queries: sfxaa@xaverians.net. We look forward to seeing you at the party.

Booking form for the SFX Alumni Dinner Dance

Full Name:
Contact No.:
Fax No.:
Postal Address:

I would like to book for (______) tickets / (______) Tables-of-10 (OR 12) and my cheque is attached, HK$ ________________ (Payable to: SFX Alumni)

Cheque No.:
Bank Name:

Signature:

[ ] Please call me directly at the above number to collect my donation of gifts/prizes for the Lucky Draw.

(Official use only)

Received Date Time By

Tickets Allocated No. to Table No(s). Allocated

[ ] Cheque [ ] Cash

Handled by:

Please send the completed form and cheque to:
SFX Alumni Dinner Dance
c/o Chan Cho Hung
St. Francis Xavier’s College
45 Sycamore Street
Taikoktsui, Kowloon

Golden Jubilee Banquet for Rev. Bro. Joseph Chang

54 tables of SFX family members (around 600 old boys and 50 teachers) were present at the Luen Bong Restaurant in Tsuen Wan on 16 November 2002 to celebrate Bro. Joseph Chang’s devotion to the Marist’s Brothers for 50 years. Alumni were glad to see that Brother Joseph was in excellent health and learnt that he was still very active in his job in Malaysia. The honourable guests that night were Bro. James (who is also celebrating his 50th anniversary in the Marist’s family), Rev. Bro. Thomas Chin (The Provincial), Bro. Bosco Wei, Bro. Anthony Cheng (Principal of Kowloon SFX) and Mr. Yuen Chin Wing (Principal of Tsuen Wan SFX). Old boys, especially from Tsuen Wan SFX, were particularly delighted to find themselves once again among teachers of their time, some retired but came back for the occasion. The organizer was thoughtful. Other than various performances, photos of the old days featuring Bro. Joseph were shown, calling our memories back to the time Tsuen Wan SFX was established. The spree ended with everyone in high spirit, taking group photos and chanting school songs.

Establishment of Anthony Poon Scholarship
A thank-you message brought to us by Joseph Kung (K75)

The Anthony Poon Scholarship Working Group would like to express our deepest gratitude for your generous support of the Anthony Poon Scholarship.

We are pleased to inform you that the contribution we have collected up to 20/8/02 amounts $33,700, far above our estimated target of $18,000. Therefore, slight changes in the arrangement of the scholarship have been made with the approval from the Principal, Rev. Brother Anthony Cheng. It is decided that six students will still be awarded each year, but the amount each winner receives will be increased from $300 to $500. With the new arrangement, the scholarship collected can still last for 11 years, one year longer than the original plan.

The first batch of scholarship was presented to the Form 5 and 7 winners at the 47th Graduation Ceremony (1st June 2002) in the Champagnat Hall by our honourable guest, Mr. George Yuen (a graduate of 1961). That really marked a good start of your contributions.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank the following donors once again for their great support to the Alma Mater. Without their kind concern and assistance, the project would not be a success. Please do keep in touch with our warm family.

May I wish you every success in your career!

Joseph Kung
Coordinator
Anthony Poon Scholarship Working Group

List of donors:
AU Ka Kau (K72), Antonio BARREIRA (K68), CHANG Sion Loon Joseph (K57), CHEUNG King Leung Charles (K73), CHEUNG Wing Lok (K72), CHOI Hung Kei (K93), CHOW Ka Po (K91), CHU Chun Man Augustine (K74), CHU Kai Cheung (K91), CHU Yuen (K89), Kenny Chi Kong FONG (K97), Russell FUNG (K91), IP Pui Wah (K92), Joseph KUNG (K75) , KWONG Ping Keung (K79), LAI Siu Cheung (K94), LAU Chun Yu Stephen (K89), MO Wai Ching (K79), Anthony POON, SHUM Tak Wai Steven (K76), SO Sun Wing (K??), Michael TAM (K94), Jannie TSANG, TSOI Ting Kwok Peter (K69), TSUI Yiu Ming (K75), Marcellus WONG (K71), YUEN Chi Fai

Report on AGM 2002

There were 70 alumni present at the AGM held on 30 June 2002. During the meeting, our President, Mr. Raymond Ng, gave a brief report on the activities of the Alumni in the past year, followed by the financial report of the Alumni presented by Mr. Joseph Lam. Thanks were given to all alumni who have contributed in one way or the other to the Alumni and the two SFX schools.
No election of the Alumni executive committee was conducted this year.

Report on Happy Hour Gathering

About 30 alumni, spanning decades from the 50’s to the 90’s, turned up at the Happy Hour Gathering at the Mariner’s Club, TST, on 9 Jan 2003. We were very happy to see many new faces again this time. Veteran teacher Mr. Chan Cho Hung also came to share the fun with old boys. So do join us next time to have a chat with your old buddies at this regular event of SFX Alumni. We will keep you posted.

World Cup Nite

30 June 2002 was a big day for all Brazilians and SFX old boys alike, when 150 of us and our families witnessed the birth of the 5-time champion of FIFA World Cup and shared the joy with Brazil in a carnival held at the Champagnat Hall of SFXC Kowloon, together with our beloved Brothers Bro. Denis, Bro. Bosco and Bro. Anthony.

The preparation scale for this event was exceptionally large. We made several trials to achieve the best combination of screens, projectors, audio effect and TV signal reception. To enhance the joyful atmosphere, beers as well as soft drinks were ordered in large volume. We had to order ice cubes to keep the drinks cold. Snacks were also provided. Positive response from the old boys told us that it was all well worth our effort.

Right from 3pm on the day, the whole school was already in the mood for World Cup, with the theme songs of World Cup reaching every corner. After a friendly soccer match of old boys with mixing ages, we were then seated and immersed ourselves fully in the excitement at Yokohama.
When the game started, we quickly found ourselves breathing the same air at Yokohama, feeling the same beat of rhythm, and waiting for the birth of the new star in the World Cup hall of fame. Fans of Brazil and Germany among the old boys were easily recognized by their headbands: yellow for Brazil and deep orange for Germany, although the numbers of fans were obviously lopsided.

The climax was brought by Ronaldo when he scored twice and proved himself to be one of the best soccer players, outbursting the thundering cheers and handclaps, and uplifting the ambience for the whole night.

A vote of thanks goes to Chau Kwok Chuen (K95) and SFXC Junior Alumni committee members Lee Wai Pan (K98), et al. for their invaluable help for the event preparation and promotion. Appreciation also goes to all old boys who made donations during the event to cover our expenses.

A little pity for the event was that the number of participants was somewhat below our expectation. We received comments that many old boys preferred the crowd and noise at a bar. However, anyone present at SFXC that night would assure you that you would not know how much you have missed by not joining our fun, and sharing the exaltation of world cup with our beloved Brothers was simply irreplaceable.

The fact that this game was free of charge might also be the cause of unexpected number of participants. We have evaluated this and we guess a nominal charge might still be needed for better estimating participants. Anyhow, as always, we welcome your suggestions and comments.

Old boy awarded Bauhinia Star

We are pleased to tell our alumni that Mr. Peter Lee 李崇德, JP (K62) was awarded the 'Bronze Bauhinia Star' medal. Congratulations!