I remember a professor from the Beijing Normal University who flew all the way to Hong Kong for the 1st Conference two years ago. He was so impressed by the arrangements and the contents of the Conference that he said he would bring the experience home. In my opinion, the quality of the 2nd Conference was even higher than the previous one, which must be a direct result of the skills and experience the organisers learnt from last time.

The format of the School Principals' Conference has become a legend, too. The music and the singing that mark the opening ceremony always make a delightful talking point among the participants. The song "To My Teachers with Love" sung by the HKIEd academic staff and students this year was again a memorable performance. Swayed by the rise and fall of the tunes and melodic voices, I found my eyes moistened with tears. I could not help asking myself: "What has touched the heart of this veteran with 36 years of teaching experience?"

The Conference started with a heavy-weight keynote speech, followed by three plenary sessions. The issues raised and strategies recommended therein were focused, as well as thought-provoking. As each participant could take away what he needed, I am confident that everyone was satisfied with the Conference.

As many as 23 workshops on different subjects were organised after lunch. There were bi-lateral and exciting exchanges among the participants, on topics as varied as "teachers", "students", "school principals" and "pedagogy", etc. I saw quite a number of participants spend the afternoon shuttling between two workshops, which was really phenomenal. Some schools, on the other hand, chose to carefully assign different representatives to attend different workshops. All in all, it was obvious that everyone treasured the opportunity of getting the most out of each subject under discussion. The speakers, too, were very pleased with the response and felt greatly rewarded.