Welcome Back!

Welcome back to HKA for the 2015-16 school year! I hope you’ve had a wonderful summer and we’re looking forward to seeing returning families and greeting new faces. In the coming days, you’ll be receiving more information about the beginning of the school year, with the regular eNews resuming on 14th August, the Friday before the first day of school. I wanted to take a moment to update you about some happenings on campus. First, a very warm welcome to our new Secondary School Principal, Leanne Dunlap. For those of you who are new, Leanne joins us from Copenhagen International School. She is a highly experienced educator and administrator who brings much talent and energy to HKA. Welcome, Leanne! We also delighted to introduce some new teachers and co-teachers. Please click here to view their bios. HKA is fortunate in the diversity of its faculty as well as its student body and these new faculty members bring many interesting perspectives. We also welcome several new support staff to HKA as we expand to meet the increasing demands of our growing programme. In addition to these new faces, some areas of the campus got a facelift over the holiday. Our Main Reception area has been redesigned to make it more friendly and inviting and I hope you like the results as much as the Leadership Team do. The Secondary School common areas have also had some upgrades and the main courtyard is really coming into its own as a community space. I’m eager also to give you an update on the Class of 2015. We celebrated 19 graduates last May, our fourth graduating class - 19 students whom we had the privilege of educating and shepherding along their pathways to individual success. We are mindful of this responsibility and of the importance it is to teach young people and we take that very seriously at HKA. We’re passionate about how we teach and we relish in the growth we see before us, every day, as educators. Most of HKA’s Grade 12 students choose to pursue the IB Diploma or IB certificates, arguably one of the most rigorous academic programmes in the world. The International Baccalaureate exams take place in May of each year and most exam results are shared in July. For more information about how the IB Diploma works, including the scoring and grading system, please visit http://www.ibo.org/diploma/. The HKA students who pursued the full Diploma in 2015 had an excellent year. All students who pursued the full Diploma passed the exam, with the highest score being 44 out of 45. Students’ overall results were within one point of their predicted scores, a frequently cited standard of success. The students who took certificates rather than the full Diploma also achieved their personal goals and can be extremely proud of their work. For an overview of HKA’s 2015 IB please click here. For a taste of the Class of 2015’s next adventures, check out the list of university and college offers and matriculations. Importantly, HKA graduates pursuing tertiary education are attending their first choice or one of their top two choices - they are going to the schools they wish to attend and that are right for them. While I am always happy to share stories of HKA’s academic rigour and our students’ successes, I also want to put tests and scores in the appropriate context. When we talk about “success” at HKA, exam results and university placements are only a part of the story. At HKA we stress student-centred, inquiry-based education because we believe that such an education prepares students for life, not just the next exam or application. We value a differentiated approach to teaching that stretches and engages all students and helps them develop their talents to their fullest. When people tell me that “there’s something different” going on at HKA, generally I find that this is what they mean and I’m proud of that. And with this approach to teaching, we value parents as partners. Parents contribute so much to life at HKA at every level. Thank you for being a part of this community and see you soon!

eNews Issue 38

This week was a great week to be at Hong Kong Academy. On Tuesday, we held our annual Volunteer Appreciation Brunch. This event is something I look forward to every year. It’s a joy and a privilege to be able to thank everyone who has given so much of their time and talent to HKA. It was great to see many of you there. For those of you who didn’t make it, we missed you!

 

The energy continued into Wednesday, both with Portfolio Share Day in the PS and the Renaissance Festival in the SS. I always smile at the eagerness of our younger students to share what they’ve learned with their parents and guardians. At HKA, we strive to help kids take ownership of their learning and Portfolio Share Day is an indication of success. I hope you enjoyed it as much as the staff did!

 

The Renaissance Festival, now in its second year, built on last year’s success with more students participating in more arenas. Poetry, film, drama, dramatic adaptations and the visual arts were all on display. The creativity, initiative and personal expression evident in every project made me proud of our students and proud to be a part of HKA’s leadership team.

 

And then on Thursday we held our first ever Hong Kong Academy Team Recognition and Celebration event. This event highlighted participation in teams of all sorts, from sports to debate to Battle of the Books and recognised and thanked students for their dedication, their effort and their willingness to represent HKA off campus in competitive fields. Go Dragonflies!

eNews Issue 37

The Grade 4 Play is a longstanding tradition at HKA and each performance is highly anticipated. Always a highlight of the PS year and a showcase for PS talent, this year’s play was no exception. Students played instruments, sang, danced and delivered lines to the delight of parents, siblings, students, faculty and staff. As PS Principal Virginia observed, this effort is all about teamwork, with many students playing more than one part in that team effort. The Grade 4 play intentionally draws on the students’ many and diverse talents and provides multiple pathways to individual excellence. Well done Grade 4 students and many thanks to the Grade 4 faculty and all of the parents who supported the play as well. And a special word of thanks to the tech team who worked behind the scenes and ensured that the play was streamed live, giving family and friends around the world the opportunity to see these kids in action!

 

Earlier this week I emailed you all to say thank you for hosting yet another fabulous Staff Appreciation Lunch. On behalf of all the faculty and staff, I’d like to thank you again! The food was sensational, and the gifts of personalised mugs was very well received. Having your name on your very own mug is a real asset at HKA. We may still accidentally walk off with each other’s pens and pencils but the mugs are now safe!

eNews Issue 36

What an evening! Last night we graduated 19 students from Hong Kong Academy. The theatre was full with family, friends, faculty and staff offering congratulations and wishing these young people well. Their achievements are too many to detail in an eNews but suffice it to say, they have set the bar high for future classes in every pathway to individual excellence.

 

But as I said in my speech last night, in the midst of all the justified talk of achievement and success, we don’t want to lose sight of what it means to be happy. I’ve yet to find a school mission statement that mentions happiness, joy or even fun. But a meaningful education, and a meaningful life, certainly includes happiness, joy and fun.

 

Our graduates are now embarking on the next phase of their lifelong educations. As the list of their university choices shows, they are leaving Hong Kong to go literally all over the world. We wish them success - and happiness, joy & fun!

eNews Issue 35

It’s hard to believe that graduation is next week and the end of the school year is right around the corner. This week our Grade 12's finished up their exams. Exams are a standard aspect of any educational process but at HKA we don’t want to lose sight of the students’ pathways to individual excellence and the individual expression of a rigorous international education. We are very proud of their achievements!

 

I also wanted to share with you that we’ve been playing host quite a lot in recent days to Hong Kong-wide school events. Hong Kong’s major debate tournament took place on campus last Saturday, with HKA’s own Gwen Slaughter, Grade 9, placing first in the Impromptu category. Well done to all our students who competed and you can read more later in this eNews.

 

The city’s Battle of the Books finals were yesterday in the Theatre. HKA’s team earned a spot in the finals when they placed first several weeks ago at a preliminary competition. Congratulations to the team: Graham Campbell, Kazuki Clark, Jean Dumrongjaroen, Anna Loretan, Candice Lui, Alex Oakley, Luca Salvatori, Carter Sutsko, Emil Tullberg, Oskar Tullberg, Audrey Wahking and Zara Warbanoff with congratulations also going to PLK Choi Kai Yau School who won overall.

 

We also hosted the ACAMIS Spring board meeting this week. As many of you know, our participation in ACAMIS is extremely important, especially as impacts sports. I’m privileged to serve on the board and I was very happy to host my colleagues at our beautiful campus.

 

HKA also held its Annual General Meeting this week as well to approve the school’s budget and welcome new board members. Thanks to those of you who attended.

 

eNews Issue 34

The school has really been buzzing this week with the Grade 5 Exhibition. This is our students’ culminating work in the PYP and compellingly embodies the notion of a rigorous international education. Well done, Grade 5, and many thanks to the Grade 5 teachers and exhibition mentors.

 

The Secondary School teachers have reviewed all the Grade 10 personal projects as one of the culminating MYP experiences. The projects demonstrate how each student has embarked on a personal challenge and interest throughout the year. Each tells a story of how they have extended their thinking, pushed themselves physically, provided products/services and what they have learned along the way. Congratulations to the Grade 10 students.

 

Looking ahead, I’d like to personally invite you to the school’s Annual General Meeting next Wednesday, 20th May at 6pm. If you plan to attend, please rsvp online by Monday to let us know. Then on 9th June, we will host our annual Volunteer Appreciation Brunch at 10am. HKA is fortunate to have literally hundreds of volunteers who contribute daily to the school. Please rsvp online by 29th May so we can plan for this special morning.

 

I’m also happy to let you know that we are now able to switch on the “nearby families” function in Veracross (VC) under ‘Directory’. This feature makes it possible to search families who live near you (whose information is available in VC). We hope this will make it easier to plan play-dates and get togethers.

eNews Issue 33

As Head of School, one of my main concerns is the safety of our students, including before school as they arrive and after school as they leave. We are fortunate to have a bus bay for drop-off and pick-up, and overall, our system of buses, “walker walkers” and “private vehicle walkers” works well. However, we are having an increasing safety issue with cars parking illegally on Wai Man Road and Mei Yuen Road both in the morning and the afternoon, with students walking across those streets amidst busy traffic, often unaccompanied.

 

For students arriving or leaving by car, please either 1) proceed through the bus bay in the designated private vehicle lanes or 2) park in one of the nearby car parks and walk safely to and from campus. This is imperative for the safety of the students and also helps us maintain strong and positive relations with local law enforcement.

 

A major highlight of this week were the EC and PS Music Concerts. Well done to our budding musicians and many thanks to their teacher, Mr. Antolini. It was a great morning, with many parents enjoying some social time over coffee between the two concerts. Thanks for attending!

Lastly, please join me in wishing our G12 students luck as they continue their IB exams. These exams are taking place over several weeks and represent a real milestone for our students.