Dear Members,
I believe all of you must be aware of the recent dangerous drug abuse incident that happened in the Secondary Section in Rosaryhill School (“RHS” or “School”). The case has been widely reported and it might also raise your concerns for the School. The above incident can be summarized as follows:
On the 2nd June 2009 during the lunch break, one student was seen to have behaved abnormally in the playground. The incident was immediately reported to the Discipline Head who followed up the case immediately. After investigation four students confessed that they had consumed ketamine in the girl’s changing room. However, by the time when the four students were found, they were already behaving normally and consciously. No dangerous drugs were found either on the four students or in their school bags. Nevertheless, the Discipline Head immediately notified their parents and also the Hong Kong Police’s School Liaison Officer of Wanchai District for professional advice. The Officer advised that the School could handle the matter internally as no drugs were found and the girls involved remained conscious. With regard to the students involved, apart from imposing appropriate punishments for their wrong doing, the School has also taken positive actions by providing counseling to the students involved, who are also victims of the present drug abuse incident. Yesterday I had the opportunity to encounter two of the four young girls involved; they both appeared to be relatively immature. They were very remorseful for the terrible mistake they had made and the embarrassment they had caused the school and the student. They both also seemed to have learned a big lesson from this incident and these foolish youngsters now need our support especially from you, the Old Students.
One of the reasons why the incident has attracted wide media coverage was because drug abuse by youngsters is becoming a serious social problem across Hong Kong. Reputable schools like RHS now has also become a victim of it. As the President of RHSOSA, I hope that you will face the above incident with a positive attitude. This drug abuse incident was unfortunate but it was an isolated incident. Since the incident the School has been taking a very responsible approach and the School management has also been dealing with the incident efficiently and appropriately. Therefore, I urge you to continue to trust the School’s management as they have been handling the present case with great care and they have also taken the opportunity to educate all of the students about the harm that could be brought by drug abuse.
If you want to offer your help to the School, I urge you to support RHS by participating in RHSOSA’s following projects: First, RHSOSA will launch a “Mentorship Programme” together with the Secondary Section of RHS starting next academic year. It is a programme which will allow RHS’ old students to provide guidance and to share their experience with the current students. Through this programme we also hope that the current students will be inspired by their predecessors and hopefully they can find their goals and directions for the future. Second, apart from some special occasions, the RHSOSA’s Executive Committee has decided that our future activities would more charity oriented. The first activity of this kind, the “OXFAM Rice Sale”, was held earlier last month. With the participation of both the old students and current students, the activity turned out to be a big success. Moreover, RHSOSA has already committed to do various charitable projects with different charities in the coming 12 months to help those under-privileged in this society. We hope that you will support us by taking part in one or both of the two programmes above.
As past Rosarians, if you want to show your support for the current RHS students,I invite you to write a few words to encourage them as they should now focus on preparing for their final examinations. Please write a short message (not longer than 30 words) and send it to president@rhsosa.org on or before 12th June 2009. We will post your kind words on the RHSOSA bulletin board and at other prominent places
I believe most of you care about RHS. At present the School’s reputation is facing a huge challenge after this incident; therefore, I hope you will continue your support to your Alma Mater as usual.
Lastly, please feel free to forward this letter to other old students and teachers who you know have not registered as our members yet.
Yours sincerely,
Edward Ng
President
RHSOSA
