Melanie Ng (School management ): I am Melanie. My Chinese name is Ng Ka Yu. I’ve been working in education for eight years. Initially, I studied economics at university, but growing up,I always enjoyed playing with children. My younger cousins would often came to our house for sleepovers. My mum said, “Maybe you could also try studying education.” So, I enrolled in the PGDE Education Diploma at the University of Hong Kong, focusing on early childhood education. After my first year of study, I told my mum that I wanted to become a full-time teacher. From then on, I decided to pursue teaching as a career.

Good Afternoon!

Dr. Koong

Maggie Koong (Principal) :Good Afternoon, students. Today I brought a guest teacher with me. Do you know who she is? Your child? My child? Wow! Has my child grown so much? She is an adult now, not a young child anymore.

Melanie Ng：Big letter with an exclamation mark.

Robert!

Maggie Koong：I think Melanie might surpass me when it comes to the energy between her and the children. She’s more energetic and lively. Sometimes, I think I’m too uptight when it comes to teaching, maybe because I was first trained as a primary school teacher. You are my hero.

You are my hero.

Melanie Ng: When I first transitioned to teaching, it felt very natural to me. Perhaps many people around me asked me afterwards, “Are you really sure about this? Your mother has done so well. Your grandma has done so well. Are you sure you also want to follow in their footsteps?” It may be hard to surpass them. At first, I was a bit worried, because I haven’t thought of it like that, I just enjoyed being a teacher. So, I switched careers and moved into education. When I first joined this school, many teachers have been here for 30 or 40 years—like Ms. Leung, who has been here for nearly 50 years.

Ms. Leung (Retired teacher) : Me? 47 years. Has my mum talked about me? No. But I feel so happy for your mother. Right, She can pass on the legacy.

Melanie Ng:Okay, I will work really hard.

Melanie Ng:It really is like…Ms. Leung and my grandma—they’ve worked together for years, opening the school and watching me grow up.

Christina Ting (School superintendent)

When Melanie first came back, she was working in banking at Credit Suisse. She didn’t really enjoy it because it was always about money. She wasn’t passionate about it. We’ve entrusted our Shanghai development to Melanie, and we now have four kindergartens there. I don’t participate at all.

Melanie Ng: My grandma was originally from Shanghai. After the Handover of Hong Kong in 1997, she opened a school in Shanghai, hopping to bring Hong Kong’s relatively better education standard at the time back to her hometown. When I arrived in Shanghai, I saw significant progress that has been made in the quality of the teachers and the curriculum, especially when it comes to full-time schooling. The children’s daily routines, their access to outdoor activities, and physical fitness have improved tremendously. Shanghai’s health and safety regulations are very strict—I didn’t know that before I arrived in Shanghai.

Even though both my grandma and mother worked in education, when I was growing up, they never pressured me to follow the same path. They always led by example, showing me how to treat others, and I believe that’s very important. I think it’s the same for my mum. When she works, she still consults grandma from time to time or thinks about what grandma would do. This is how we pass down our values.

Christina Ting: You must let go! If you don’t...how can you succeed without reformation? Don’t take what I have done as a blueprint. Melanie. Her mother feels confident.

Maggie Koong: Am I worried that Melanie won’t be able to carry on our legacy? I think my mum gave me many opportunities in the past. Maybe I am now Melanie’s mentor, just as my mother was mine. She is stepping onto the stage that has already been set.

Melanie Ng: I hope to continue my grandma’s and mother’s legacy—to always remember what inspired us to pursue education and to achieve even greater success in the future.