Red Cross schools get funding for iLearning initiative
Operation Santa Claus to provide funding for iPads and to replace decrepit laptops
Teachers at the Hong Kong Red Cross Hospital Schools often give the final lesson that their pupils will ever have.
The school provides education for Primary One to Form Three children and adolescents in 18 hospitals, with a total of 23 units - some hospitals have more then one unit, such as Tuen Mun Hospital, which has units for the psychiatry and general wards.
Sue Chan Siu-ling, principal of the Red Cross Hospital Schools, said: "We are quite different from other teachers in that we often see our pupils pass away."
The 67 teachers, trained in special education, remain unfazed by the grief and are constantly looking for the best ways to engage their patient-pupils. An effective way is using laptops and iPads.
The purpose of the hospital schools is for the pupils to keep up with learning, so they can readjust smoothly back to regular schools after being discharged from hospital.
Red Cross Hospital Schools is a beneficiary of Operation Santa Claus this year and will use the funding to purchase 23 laptops and 23 iPads - one for each unit as part of the "iLearn in Hospital" project. It is thought the purchases will benefit 500 pupils a day.