eNews Issue 28

Parent Teacher Conferences are routine in schools around the world and we don’t generally feel the enthusiasm building for conferences the way it builds, say, for the annual Secondary School play, the Community Fair or a SCISAC tournament on campus. Nevertheless, there was definitely a certain buzz on campus with parents, students, and teachers taking time to reflect together on everyone’s learning and progress along their pathways to individual excellence. I truly hope you enjoyed your conferences and learned something new about your child(ren).

  

While the conversational exchange that takes place over conferences is extremely important, as a dynamic community of learners, we also know that we don’t have to wait until conferences to talk to teachers and administrators, share ideas and concerns, and ask the questions we feel are important. HKA takes seriously its open door policy. We are now a bigger school than we were before but the open door policy remains the same.

  

The door is always open to me, other school administrators and teachers alike. And the HKACO is also eager to hear your thoughts and ideas. If you have something to share, please do!

 
Have a great weekend, whether or not you have tickets to the 7's!

eNews Issue 27

At Hong Kong Academy we strive to ensure, what our mission statement calls, pathways to individual excellence. For some students that may mean the full IB Diploma experience and indeed, many of our graduates choose this option. And a few years back, one of our students even attained a perfect 45 on the IB exam.

 

But IB Diploma is not the best pathway to individual excellence for all of our students. Therefore, HKA offers multiple pathways, including IB certificates. In addition, HKA has always offered an accredited high school diploma that is sufficient for applications to post-secondary institutions around the world. If you’d like more information about HKA’s Secondary School pathways please contact our MYP co-ordinator Jen Swinehart.

 

Today’s a big day for the performing arts at HKA! The Primary School dazzled at its Hot Cocoahouse this morning and this evening the Secondary School’s Community Coffeehousewelcomes some members of the local Sai Kung community to participate.

 

And thanks to the Grade 3 parents who attended the G3 Community Evening on Wednesday night. We host four to five grade level community evenings throughout the year and I always find them to be informative and helpful. Thank you!

eNews - Issue 26

HKA is always on the move! Whether it’s for sport, drama, debate, conferences or professional development, HKA faculty, staff and students always have passports at the ready! I’m writing today from the ACAMIS conference in Guangzhou. ACAMIS, which stands for the Association of China and Mongolia International Schools, is an important organisation for HKA. Our students compete in sports through ACAMIS, and our faculty and staff take advantage of its professional development offerings. I serve on the ACAMIS board, and for this particular conference, I’m joined by IT Director Andy Birch, Finance Manager Jojit Au Yeung and our Athletics Director and Activities Co-ordinator, Aaron Cook.

South of Hong Kong, a team of Secondary School students is in Singapore for the Global Issues Network (GIN) Conference. At GIN, students learn about and actively respond to pressing issues such as environmental sustainability and education. Special thanks to SS faculty Richard Reilly and Ellen Thorne for making this possible for the students and accompanying them to Singapore.

And our Grade 3’s, along with PS Principal Virginia Hunt and Assistant Principal Dean Johnson, are at camp! While not far away physically (just up the road in the Sai Kung Country Park), the camp activities will stretch, challenge and engage them in learning beyond the classroom.

eNews Issue 25

The Secondary School students will soon be returning from their Learning Outside the Classroom Experiences in Hong Kong, China and Thailand. Based on parent feedback from last year, we modified several aspects of these trips and we are pleased with how things have gone. Thanks for your support in providing this sort of educational experience for the Grades 6-11. The Grade 12's have continued their work on campus this week, taking the Mock IB exams in preparation for the real thing in May. 

While the SS has been away, it’s been quieter at home for many of us but it has definitely not been quieter on campus! The Primary School enjoyed a fabulous Literacy Week, complete with pyjama day, the continuous reading chair and special guests (including parents) on campus for reading aloud, skype chats with other schools, and visits from visiting authors. Thanks to all of you who helped make this year’s Literacy Week a great experience! Last weekend was full of life at HKA and for HKA, too. 

The girls’ netball team continued to wow in inter-school play (report below) and on campus we hosted an IB conference for 400+ educators from all across Asia. As an IB World School, we are happy to host these events as a part of being a lead international school. Things don’t slow down this weekend either! I’m looking forward to the Gala tomorrow night. Special thanks to the 40+ volunteers who have made this event possible! 

Lastly, I want to thank you all for making our first experience with Online Re-enrollment such a success. Many of you responded to the email within the first 24 hours, and we are greatly appreciative. If you haven’t had a chance to fill out the form yet, please view the earlier emailto all parents for more information.

eNews Issue 24

I never cease to be amazed at how full HKA is of learning. Our mission statement declares that we are a dynamic learning community and I see this daily in our students, in our teachers and in our parents. Right before the break for Chinese New Year, our G12 Diploma students submitted their Extended Essays. The topics range from the health of rivers in Hong Kong to the iron content of tofu to the role of women in Chinese literature. The breadth and depth in these studies is astounding - well done G12s! For a full list of topics, click here.

For this week, Highlights of parent involvement this week were the IB Pathways evening on Tuesday and the Community Information Evening on Wednesday. On Tuesday, Grade 9 and 10 students and their families met to learn more about the IB Diploma Programme and HKA’s pathways to graduation. The Diploma Programme is new to many of our families and this event was designed to ensure that parents fully understand the academic programme for Grades 11 and 12. Students entering Grade 11 next year are picking their courses now, so the evening was structured in part as a course fair to complement the work they’ve already done in preparing to make these selections.

On Wednesday evening, Board Chair Sean Kelly, Finance and Operations Director Dale Willetts and I had the privilege of providing an update on the school’s Five Year Strategic Plan. Thanks to all of you who attended, especially for your thoughtful questions. Part of the joy of being Head of School is learning from parents and I welcome your feedback.

We also have fun while we learn and if you haven’t already done so, I encourage you topurchase seats for the 'Back to School' Annual Gala! We will enjoy good food, good wine and good conversation and as well as raise some funds for the school.

eNews Issue 23

The recent SCISAC Volleyball tournament was an important moment for HKA and not just for the competition. I sent my very first Head of School tweet from the games! If you’d like to follow me on twitter, I’d love to have you! Those of you who remember HKA’s monthly print newsletter, the Xiao Xi, can fully appreciate just how much change there’s been as we’ve gone increasingly paperless.

Thanks for taking the time to read the weekly eNews. We know it’s jam-packed and we all struggle to find time to absorb the many emails we receive each week. But we do our best to keep the eNews vital and useful and I encourage you to include it in your weekly reading!

We have two major events on the horizon: the Community Information Evening on 25th February and the Annual Gala on 7th March. The information evening, like its predecessor, the Board Social, is an opportunity to meet the school’s Board Members and learn more about happenings at HKA. Our focus will be a report and Q&A on the school’sFive Year Strategic Plan. Board Chair Sean Kelly will kick off the discussion with Finance and Operations Director Dale Willetts and I also providing updates.

The Annual Gala is shaping up to be a wonderful evening of fun, food, dancing and raising funds for HKA. I’m hearing that the Back to School themed dinner is something you won’t want to miss so please purchase your tickets online now! And keep an eye on the online catalogue as new items are added every day.

And congratulations to all the students who shared their talents at the DP theatre evening on Wednesday. The performances were thoughtful and provocative! Many thanks to Drama Teacher Stella Ireland and all the other faculty and parents who supported this wonderful event.

eNews Issue 22

Happy New Year! Whether you call it Year of the Goat or Year of the Sheep, best wishes to you all! At HKA, we started out the new year auspiciously with a wonderful morning of song, dance, story-telling, crafts and a bustling Temple Market. The colours, sounds and scents were a delight to all senses. For photos of this great beginning to a new year, please check our online gallery via Veracross. Special thanks to our Mandarin faculty for all their hard work and dedication.

Another highlight this week was the MYP information evening with MYP Co-ordinator Jen Swinehart and Maths teacher and co-ordinator Warren Needham. who will assume the role of Assistant Secondary School Principal for Grades 6-8 this August. Jen, Warren and approximately 40 parents spent an evening exploring the skills that are emphasised in the MYP as key approaches to learning. Armed with thought-provoking concepts, coloured pens, pencils and yellow sticky notes, the parents broke into groups to brainstorm about how we learn as individuals and to experience the sort of rigorous international education our students enjoy every day.

And Thursday was the annual Grade 1 Market Day! The photos in our gallery tell the story of the fun and the learning that this event enables and inspires. And I enjoyed cheering on our Dragonflies during the opening games of the SCISAC tournament here on campus through Saturday.

February is a busy month at HKA, even with the holiday in the middle! Thanks again to everyone for a wonderful Community Fair last Saturday, and please note the calendar highlights below, and I hope to see you at our Community Information Evening on 25th February.