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Hong Kong International School

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Hong Kong International School
File:HKIS Logo.png
Location
Map
Repulse Bay and Tai Tam, Hong Kong
Information
TypePrivate Daylight
Established1966
Head of schoolKevin M. Dunning
Staff250
Faculty250
GradesK-12
Number of studentsOver 2,640 students
Color(s)Dark Red (PMS1805C), White, Navy (PMS539C)
MascotDragon
AffiliationChristian Lutheran
High School Principal:Patricia Klekamp
Middle School PrincipalPaul Passamonte
Upper Primary PrincipalBruce Kelsh
Lower Primary PrincipalMaya Nelson
Campus surroundingsPrivate Campus
Websitehttp://www.hkis.edu.hk/
Front view of the Hong Kong International School (HKIS)

Hong Kong International School (HKIS) is an international private school in Tai Tam and Repulse Bay, Hong Kong. The school was founded in 1966. Today, HKIS spans from reception one to the twelfth grade. Its Lower and Upper Primary Divisions are located in Repulse Bay, and the Middle and High Schools are located in Tai Tam. The Western Association of Schools and Colleges has continuously accredited Hong Kong International School since 1971 and HKIS has started the latest 'self reflective study' in preparation for a WASC accreditation visit in 2013. The school was chosen as the top private international school in the Top 10 Private International Schools in Hong Kong list in the China Service Mall site.[1]

History

Hong Kong International School was founded in September 1966, its first location consisting of makeshift premises including residential flats in Chung Hom Kok, housing 120 students. The school was brought to life by the actions of three groups, all working together to the same ends; the Hong Kong Government (which granted land and interest free loans), a group of American businessmen and representatives of the educational arm of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. On 14 September 1967, HKIS opened the doors to a new campus in Repulse Bay and housed 630 multi-national students. HKIS continued to expand over time, which led to the creation of a second building in Repulse Bay, and finally an additional campus in Tai Tam. Lower Primary and Upper Primary remain in Repulse Bay while Middle School and High School are in Tai Tam. In 2003, HKIS and BrainPop collaborated on an episode of the latter about SARS. The school has just finished undergoing its fourth major infrastructure development plan at about on mid-2010 in the Middle School Campus, called the Middle School Annex.

Heads of School

1966–1977 – Robert (Bob) E. Christian
1977–1996 – David F. Rittmann
1997-1997 – Earl J. Westrick
1997–2001 – Charles (Chuck) W. Dull
2001–2004 – William B. Wehrenberg
2004–2005 – James A. Handrich
2005–2010 – Richard W. Mueller
2010–2011 – David J. Condon
2011–present – Kevin M. Dunning

Institution

Organization

Inside of the Hong Kong International School

The school is divided into four divisions, all co-educational: Lower Primary (Grades R1 and R2-Grades 1 and 2), Upper Primary (Grades 3–5), Middle School (Grades 6–8) and High School (Grades 9–12). The Lower Primary (LP) and Upper Primary (UP) are housed in the original building in Repulse Bay, while the Middle School (MS) and High School (HS) are in the newer building in Tai Tam.

In 2010, HKIS became a 1:1 (one laptop, one student) school, offering education in the traditional form and through technology. Every student from grade 5 upwards was equipped with an Apple MacBook Pro and younger students learn using a wide range of software using 'off the cart' MacBook Pro, iPod Touch, and iPad.

Each division of the school has its own administration and student government organization; the high school's is known as the Senate, the middle school's is called the Student Leadership Team, and the upper primary's is called the Student Consul. The entire school is overseen by the Head of School, Kevin M. Dunning, who joined HKIS from Faith Lutheran school in Las Vegas, Nevada. Previous Acting Head of School, David J. Condon is now Headmaster at Canadian Academy, Kobe, Japan. Prior to Condon's tenure, the head of school was Richard Mueller, a former American Ambassador to Hong Kong.

For the 2011/12 academic year, over 2,640 students (from over 40 different nationalities) and 500 faculty and staff occupy the two separate campuses of HKIS. Four libraries house a total of 125,000 books, periodicals and technological resources.

Academics

The school follows an American-styled curriculum, offering various Advanced Placement courses and 3 foreign languages in Middle School and High School: French, Spanish and Chinese. Chinese language study is mandatory for R1-G5 students.

Students in the High School division are required to study interdisciplinary Humanities, United States History, Biblical Studies, Life Sciences, Physical Sciences, Mathematics, and also meet various requirements in Fine Arts, Information Technology, Asian Studies, and Physical Education & Health. Religious education is a compulsory element of the curriculum.

Independent Study and Senior Option, where students design their own coursework and present their studies to faculty advisors, are also offered.

HKIS students constantly outperform the US SAT results. The US national mean scores in 2011 were; critical reading 497, math 514, writing 489. HKIS results for that year were 620 (+123), 677 (+163) and 633 (+144), respectively. However, this is expected owing to the high incomes of most students as it is shown that SAT scores are directly linked with incomes.[2]

Fine arts

HKIS' High School has an extensive fine arts program, offering numerous courses in the Performing and Visual arts. At least one arts credit is required for graduation, with at least one half-credit course in performance/studio arts and, if only the minimum requirement is met, a one half-credit fine arts survey course.

HKIS is a member of the Association for Music in International Schools (AMIS), which hosts honour festivals for students of international schools. Acceptance is highly competitive and HKIS' Middle School and High School bands, choirs, and strings programs have been well represented at AMIS festivals since 2009. HKIS' high school has also hosted the annual Southeast Asia Honor Band Program, inviting several major schools from the region (i.e. Jakarta, Taipei) to participate. At these festivals, HKIS also provided three honor bands of its own: the Middle School band, the Junior Varsity band and a Varsity honor band. In 2005, the High School Wind Ensemble earned first place at the Hong Kong Schools Music Festival. The High School band also travels to various countries for the APAC Festival, where students work with talented composers such as Robert W. Smith to put on a full length concert in a few days. This festival has been held in places like Seoul and Shanghai. The Middle School band performs twice annually: once publicly, often in Stanley or City Hall, and once privately, usually in the Middle School Gymnasium. Other instrumental programs include the Strings program, which performs twice a year. In 2010, they placed first in the Hong Kong Schools Interflow Music Festival, in addition to performing in Missouri, USA.

In the middle school 2 there are two performances per year, a musical and a play. Along with these there are also Musical theater classes, drama classes and classes on theater craft. The HKIS has also been part of http://www.ista.co.uk/ since spring 2012 and has attended a festival in Singapore. In the 2012–2013 school year the Middle school will be participating in 2 Ista festivals one in Bangkok and another in Hong Kong, which will be hosted at French International school.

Finally, HKIS has various choirs: the Upper Primary choir of 60, several Middle School Choirs totalling over 100 singers, and three High School choirs with a total membership of 80. Every year, the Madrigal Singers perform at the American Club's tree-lighting ceremony, the Rugby Sevens, and the Middle School choir sends a contingent to AMIS festivals around the world every year, in locations such as Kuala Lumpur (2012), Jakarta (2010), Scotland (2009), and Paris (2010).

In the High School visual arts' program, there is a strong emphasis on socially conscientious art; students from the High School art program were invited in 2005 to participate in The Art Miles Mural Project, as well as the 100 People World Portrait Project (100People.org). The film program has also expanded in the past several years, now boasting the Tai Tam Virtual Film Festival, judged by industry professionals as well as media instructors throughout Hong Kong and the Asia region.

Students in both High School and Middle School are also able to participate in school plays and musicals, both backstage and onstage. In the past three years alone, HKIS' HS and MS have produced many shows, including Into the Woods Jr., Aida, Urinetown, The Crucible, Picasso at the Lapin Agile, and Thoroughly Modern Millie Jr.

Student life

Students are involved in many extracurricular activities, the diverse offerings including student government, various publications, social activism, athletics, forensics, Christian clubs, service clubs, and the performing arts.

Clubs

Club involvement is considered an "integral aspect of the educational experience" at Hong Kong International School.[3] As of the 2007–2008 school year, HKIS High School has a total of 70 registered clubs, with an especially strong focus in community service. Students in the High School are able to form their own official clubs with the approval of the faculty and student government.

Student Publications

Junto, Hong Kong International School's High School student-run newspaper, is published monthly and uses an investigative journalism format to write stories about HKIS news and events. In 2010, many of the staff and editors of Junto attended Columbia University School of Journalism's prestigious summer student journalism intensive.

Ambrosia Magazine, currently in its 23rd volume, is an annually-published arts and literary magazine featuring poetry, prose, and artwork by members of the HKIS community. Every year, the publication names a Poet Laureate to honor the best poetry submission.

Chuan Long （傳龍） Magazine is Hong Kong International School's bilingual publication. Released regularly, the magazine features articles written both in English and Chinese, maintaining a focus on Asian culture.
The Chuan Long website is http://dragonnet.hkis.edu.hk/hs/chuanlong

Orientale is Hong Kong International School's yearbook. High School Senior Year Graduates receive half a page to customize, with their own personal quote, portrait, description, and collage, and students get anywhere from 2–6 pages to have signed by friends, or customize however they like.

Student Government

The main body of student government in the High School is the Student Senate, which consists of mostly elected student representatives and several faculty advisors. The High School annually elects an Executive Council, composed of the Presiding Officer, the Senator of Student Life, the Senator of Academics, the Senator of Service, the Senator of Public Relations, the Senator of Interim and Athletics, the Senator of Discipline, Senate Treasurer, and Senate Secretary. Additionally, each grade elects a President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer to act as class representatives.

Recent developments

During the 2006–2007 academic year, HKIS celebrated its 40th year anniversary. One of the biggest events included the 40th Anniversary Reunion held in Hong Kong during the long weekend of 15–19, June 2007.

The Middle School completed a new annex during the summers of 2009 overlooking Tai Tam Bay. The annex includes administrative offices, a boardroom, several new Modern Languages classrooms, and a flexible seminar/meeting space. Some of these classrooms have been earmarked to house the R1 classes during the redevelopment of the Lower Primary building.

In June 2011, HKIS announced that it would be redeveloping the Lower Primary school building in Repulse Bay. The project will require the Lower Primary students to move to a school building in Chai Wan for a period of three years. During the redevelopment, the old building will be leveled and a new state-of-the-art building created using the latest in educational research on the environments necessary to foster the best in early learning. The project has been delayed by at least one year. The new Lower Primary school is currently scheduled to open in August 2016, although no work has begun. In order to create the new building, the Lower Primary school will relocate to a temporary campus on Hong Kong island, for three years. When completed, the new campus will feature an indoor swimming pool, large auditorium and gymnasium as well as indoor and outdoor learning spaces.

Notable students

References

  1. ^ Top 10 Private International Schools in Hong Kong – China Service Mall !. At0086.com.
  2. ^ http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/27/sat-scores-and-family-income/
  3. ^ HKIS School Clubs[dead link]

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