As we look back over this year, I am sure all of you would agree with me that it has been extremely weary and exhaustive. One by one, 2008 was hit with a continuous stream of events. Whether it be the riot in Tibet, the Sichuan earthquake, the Beijing Olympics, the food contamination both in Canada and China, the fatal global financial crisis, the Canadian federal election or the general election in the States, these occurrences have impacted us in one way, shape, or form. Perhaps the most unfortunate fact is that the bad news dramatically out weighed the good ones. A negative environment, as a result, can easily induce stress, pessimism, and anxiety in all of us. This is why it is important for us to forget all these misfortunes, and to instead relax, meet the old school pals and enjoy the holiday festivities!

As one of the major mandates of the alumni association, preparations are underway in Toronto to celebrate the 60^th anniversary of St. Mark’s School in July 2009. The celebration hopes to bring together teachers and alumni across North America and from the other countries such as Australia and Hong Kong. A committee has been formed ad hoc to address this issue. Please kindly reserve and mark your calendar for this from July 3^rd to July 5^th, 2009. It would be an honour to have each and every single one of you and your spouse joining us in this momentous celebration and helping us to share this special milestone.

As the workload of the Board is expected to increase in the forthcoming years, we are now desperately hunting for new members. This is an excellent opportunity for alumni to experience being a part of a spirited team and to share the sense of self actualization attributed to the result of the collective efforts. We look forward to hearing from you. Please feel free to contact anyone of the members if you are interested to joining us.

The AGM will be held on November 29, 2008 right before the Christmas dinner. The current Directors of the Board are all expected to stay and continue rendering services in 2008-2010. Same as the St. Mark’s Day celebration in April this year, the Christmas dinner will be held at Century Palace Restaurant.

This is the first year that we published the Newsletter annually instead of twice a year. We would appreciate if you will continue to share with us your wonderful writings, pictures and poems, etc. Please note that your continuous support is very important to us.

With the continuous support from each one of you, our alumni association was able to successfully organize many events this past year. The St. Mark’s Day celebration luncheon which was held on April 26^th was one of them. To everyone’s delight, about 90 people, including alumni and their families, were in attendance.

The annual BBQ picnic was held as scheduled on July 26^th despite the possibility of thunderstorms. I am sure we all are very thankful that we didn’t experience a drop of rain that day. Given the adverse environment, the attendance rate of this outdoor event was not as bad as what we expected. I would like to extend my gratitude to those who came out for your dedication and support.

I want to personally thank all the alumni and directors who have been working so hard to keep the association strong and dynamic. I cannot believe that it has been two years since I joined the association. When you are having a good time seeing old friends and meeting with new ones, you really do not realize how fast time flies by. I have met so many wonderful people and with the help from whom I accomplished a lot in the past two years. Yes, I am proud to be part of the association!

I would like to wish all of you and your families a happy and safe holiday!

Raymond Kong '71
President