Looking ahead…

• Mon 21st & Weds 23rd – Trinity Speech and Drama Exams
• 28th May – 1st June – Years 7-9 Assessment Week

Congratulations – Jasmine Chee 9.2

Congratulations to Jasmine who has been selected to represent Hong Kong at Mission Hills in the Jack Nicklaus Junior Championship 2012 from 21 to 25 May. We wish her the best of luck (although I’m sure she doesn’t need it) and look forward to hearing the results, which we will publish in next week’s bulletin.

Year 10 AYP

Year 10 completed their first practice hike for their AYP last weekend. They were lucky that the weather had cooled down slightly and the downpour that was threatening all weekend did not start till after they had finished!

I am also pleased to report that eleven of the Year 11 cohort have received their certificates for completing their Bronze Award. Congratulations to the following:

• Lars Grolle
• Ian Liu
• Queenie Hon
• Peony Tan
• Coco Tin
• Emily Lam
• Rohith Ravi
• Justin Cheung
• Kathleen Rynne
• Sarah Chamberlain
• James Hurley
• Clive Ng

ICHK Showcase – Dramatically Different

My sincere thanks again to the many parents who attended last night’s event. The timing appears to be just right for the new drama space as I think we will find that next year we will not have enough space in the hall. My thanks also to Sanjana Ravi, Katrina Cranfield and our MC for the evening, Jacqui Di Giacomo. I also wish to thank Mr Greenall and Ms Goldthorpe for all their efforts in planning the event and supporting the students in their creative pieces.

Y10 & 11 Exams

A reminder that there will be three late exams next week on the 23rd, 24th and 25th May. Exams on those evenings will end at 7:30pm due to UK examination board regulations. A bus will be provided to take students to either Fanling Station or Hong Lok Yuen. There will, however, be no food service so students are encouraged to pack extra snacks or a packed lunch before coming to school. If you have any further questions, please contact Mr. Spadafora at rspadafora@ichk.edu.hk.  Students will also be able to study using Room C103 begging next week so they have a base before these examinations.

Trinity Guildhall London Speech and Drama Examinations 2012

All Year 8 students will complete their Trinity Guildhall London Speech and Drama Examinations on Monday 21st and Wednesday 23rd May. The students have been preparing hard for this examination and we wish them lots of luck! They have been practising with their form tutors and teachers, but parents, are also asked to help them prepare at home for this very important examination.

This Week’s Assembly

Charity Fundraising: Kids 4 Kids

In the assembly this week, members of the SRC gave short presentations on the charities that ICHK currently supports. One of these charities, Kids 4 Kids, is currently running a ‘stationary drive’ where students are asked to bring in any unwanted stationary, e.g., pencils, pens, notebooks, paper, files, etc, that are in good condition. The collection date and time is this coming Monday at 3.30pm so please use this weekend to have a good root around and clear out any unwanted items. Your support is much appreciated.

Yo presents the Kids 4 Kids charity.

The assembly also saw a number of students being awarded certificates for participating in the MUN debates and for winning the End of Term Award.

 MUN participants

Graphing Calculators

Graphing calculators are compulsory in the three IB DP Mathematics courses, and for iGCSE International Mathematics. In the coming academic year, all students in Years 10 and 12 will need their own graphing calculator during IB and iGCSE Mathematics courses and their final examinations.

We have been able to secure a discounted price from our supplier, which is $1,100 HKD. If you wish to purchase the TI-Nspire CX Handheld for your child, please submit the form with a cheque made payable to “International College Hong Kong (N.T.)” by, Monday May 28th 2012.

GRAPHING CALCULATOR LETTER

Congratulations – HLYIS Kindergarten 30th Anniversary

Best Regards

Roy White

Looking ahead…

• Thursday 17th May – ICHK Showcase Evening… Dramatically Different
• 28th May – 1st June – Years 7-9 Assessment Week

Year 7 Full Reports

It is my pleasure to announce the availability of these reports on Gibbon from today. To view this report please:
• Login to Gibbon
• Select ‘ARR’ from the menu
• Scroll down to ‘Reporting’.

You can print the report by selecting the PDF option at the end of the report. Please ensure that you discuss it with your child and assist them in setting targets for future learning and progression. This will accompany the work we will be doing with them in school.

For further information on assessment, please refer to the school website (Select Community > Curriculum > Years 7-9).

Please contact Ms Goldthorpe with any further enquiries.

Healthy Eating Cooking Assembly

On Monday students and staff took part in an exciting assembly in the style of a team cooking competition. Our caterers, Chartwells, organized a fun and educational event where students had to think about eating healthily as well as watching two teams try to cook a healthy meal in 15 minutes flat! Please  click here to read a full report written by Samantha Yu in Year 8.

The teams

The Green team get cooking

Years 7 – 9 Assessment Week

ICHK’S Visual and Performing Arts Competition 2012

Dramatically Different is ICHK’S Visual and Performing Arts Competition for Years 7-9.

The winners selected from The Finals this week, will perform their work at the Dramatically Different Showcase on Thursday 17th May at 6.30pm. All parents and friends welcome!

The event will start at 6.30pm with refreshments served in the hall; the performances will commence at 7.15. The evening should finish at about 8.30pm so please arrange transportation for your child if you will not be attending. There will be a bus running to Hong Lok Yuen after the event.

Well done to the students below. (Please note that these students will be required to stay after school for this event).

ART

Year 7 Art

Ben, Megan, Harry Overman, Adrien, Chloe ,Sanjana

Year 8 Art

Ching Ho, Eva, Kate, Janice, Stephanie

Year 9 Art

Lawanya, Reina, Missah, Pat

Year 10 Art

Janice, Justin

Drama

7.1 Drama

Rosie, Daniel, Gigi, Charlotte

7.2 Drama

Christoffer, Katherine, Cyrus

8.1 Drama

Jackie, William, Alex, Coco, Chinnery

8.2 Drama

Samantha, Janice

8.3 Drama

Paula, Stephanie, Temmy, Lois

9.1 Drama

Lawanya, Sean, Maaike, Byron, Jordan, Rei, Fung, Bop

9.2 Dram

Femke, Pat, Sky, Kai, Seb, Kelvin, Christine, Missah, Jonathan

Year 10 Drama

Finn, Yo, Sarah, Nathalia, Selene, Jamie

Dance

Year 7

7.1: Rosie, Megan, Chance, Daniel, June, Ben, Candice, Mikako
7.2: Fiona, Jonathan, Harry, Kelly, Cyrus
7.3: Siggi, Jennifer, Christy, Josh, Issy, Serena, Himson, Sanjana, Nikolaos

Year 8

8.1: Jackie, Leanne, William, Isaac Lam, Coco
8.2: Caroline, George, Meg, Clare, Eddison, Kelsie
8.3: Daimhlinn, Claudia, Lois, Oliver, Kenny, Justin

Year 9 

Sebastian, Pat, Kelvin, Yan, Kai, Femke, Sky, Jonathan, Ambrose, Missah, Richard, Christine, Jasmine

HKAYP – Bronze Practice Expedition

This Friday and Saturday students in Year 10 will be completing their practice for the Bronze Award for The Hong Kong Award for Young People. Students will be walking along the hiking trails in the country park region near the school. They have made preparations for dealing with the rainy weather, which should at least make it a little cooler. On behalf of the students, I thank Mr. Blain and Mr Chan for organising this.

Maths – Gauss Contests

For those who emailed Mr Lam indicating their interest in participating in the Gauss Contests, the tests will be written on Thursday May 17th Period 1 (8:30 – 9:30 am) in the Music room (3rd floor). Past contests can be found at the website:

http://www.cemc.uwaterloo.ca/contests/past_contests.html

Please contact Mr Lam if you have any questions.

Maths and Science Summer Workshops

Summer activities offered by the Hong Kong Polytechnic University have been very popular amongst secondary schools. This year our Year 10s and 11s have been invited to one of their themes, “ChemTech Viva”, “Applied Physics”, and “Fantastic Statistics” to explore the fascinating realms of Mathematics and Science. These summer workshops are offered for a small fee and lunch is included. Places are limited and they will be allocated on a first-come-first-serve basis. If you are interested in attending one of these workshops, please contact Mr. Lo or Mr. Lam for more information.

Graphing Calculators

Graphing calculators are compulsory in the three IB DP Mathematics courses, and for iGCSE International Mathematics. In the coming academic year, all students in Years 10 and 12 will need their own graphing calculator during IB and iGCSE Mathematics courses and their final examinations.

We have been able to secure a discounted price from our supplier, which is $1,100 HKD. If you wish to purchase the TI-Nspire CX Handheld for your child, please submit the form with a cheque made payable to “International College Hong Kong (N.T.)” by, Monday May 28th 2012.

GRAPHING CALCULATOR LETTER

Trinity Guildhall London Speech and Drama Examinations 2012

All of the Year 8 cohort will complete their Trinity Guildhall London Speech and Drama Examinations on Monday 21st and Wednesday 23rd May. The students have been preparing hard for this examination and we wish them lots of luck!

Parents may wish to practise with their children at home for this very important examination.

Best regards

Roy White

Looking ahead…

• Thursday 17th May – ICHK Showcase Evening… Dramatically Different
• 28th May – 1st June – Years 7-9 Assessment Week

Congratulations – Ching Ho Wan - All Hong Kong Inter-Secondary Schools Gymnastic Competition 2011-2012

Recently our very own skipping super-star, Ching Ho, performed at the  Hong Kong School Sports Federation event – the All Hong Kong Inter-Secondary Schools Gymnastic Competition 2011-2012. Representing ICHK, she came fourth in the final of the Vaulting competition ( junior girls category). Another fantastic achievement. Well done!

Model United Nations

Last weekend our students took part in the ACAMIS Middle School Model United Nations in Shekou, China, along with several other schools from the Mainland and Hong Kong. We debated issues ranging from Human Trafficking, Unemployment, and Environmental Degradation to the protection of World Heritage Sites. Our students performed magnificently and put all of their preparation and debating skills to excellent use.

Congratulations to our Delegates:

• Akshay Sharma (Germany, ECOSOC)
• Ray Clark (Ethiopia, ECOSOC)
• Harry Merrett (Indonesia, Environment Committee)
• Christy Liu (Indonesia, General Assembly)
• Chun Chun Chan (Germany, General Assembly)
• Candice Cheng (Indonesia, Human Rights Committee)
• Christine Yeung (Germany, Human Rights Committee)
• Lawanya Rathninde (Ethiopia, Human Rights Committee)
• Kai Clark (Germany, Environment Committee)
• Selene Lee (Germany, Security Council)

A link to the conference newspaper can be found at:

http://middleschoolmun.wikispaces.com/Press+2012.

Our wonderful delegates!

Delegates in action.

CAS Week 2012-13

We are in the final stages of preparation for next year’s CAS week. Please read the letter attached and complete the reply slip, which should be returned to the general office by Friday, May 18th.  Parents of Year 10 to 12 students will have already received a letter from Mr Spadafora for the Thailand Trip. In this case you need not fill out the reply slip but all other students, including year 10 to 12 on other trips, will need to complete the slip.

CAS Week Letter

Assessment Week – timetable to be released soon

Assessment week will take place between the 28th May to the 1st June. It will give students the opportunity to get used to revising and sitting a formal test so they can approach future formal assessments with confidence. Students will be assessed on their application of knowledge and skills covered in recent units in the core subjects and also in some of the practical subjects. Teachers will provide students with further details about the content and skills to be revised, but we do stress that students should approach these assessments without fear or anxiety. The assessment timetable will be released shortly.

Clarification on Upper School Sciences

ICHK currently offers Cambridge Coordinated Sciences at iGCSE level. This course combines the disciplines of Biology, Chemistry and Physics with equal weighting given to all three. When students enter the IB programme they can choose between Chemistry and Physics (both of which are offered at Higher and Standard levels) as well as Environmental Systems and Society (ESS) . ESS is known as a transdisciplinary subject which can be taken in either Group 3 or 4 and is a combination of Biology and Geography. This can also be taught by either type of teacher. In essence, it is possible for a student to take 3 sciences at IB level and be well-prepared for the demands of tertiary study, including medicine.

To strengthen our commitment to multi-sciences, we are opening a new lab in August which will be a dedicated Biology lab. Furthermore, we have hired a Biology specialist who is already teaching the Environmental Management programme in Year 10. It is expected that the school will be also offering Biology as a separate Group 4 Science in IB in the coming years.

Old Laptops Wanted

Transition South Lantau (http://transitionsl.wordpress.com/) is an experiment taking place in Lantau that is looking to push the boundaries of sustainable living, including organic farming and a decreased dependence on fossil fuels. They are currently looking for a laptop to use in their visitor information centre. If you have any old laptops at home that you do not need, please pass them to Mr Parker, who will prep them for use and pass them on to Transition South Lantau and other local organisations looking to do good work. Thanks!

ICHK’S Visual and Performing Arts Competition 2012

Dramatically Different has commenced!

Dramatically Different is ICHK’S Visual and Performing Arts competition for Years 7-9. Students have been presenting their work to their form classes this week and some will continue next week! The winners from these heats will go through to the finals!

The Finals: Thursday 10th May

Students off timetable: Lesson 1 Year 9, Lesson 2 Year 8, Lesson 3 Year 7

The winners selected from the finals will perform their work at the Dramatically Different Showcase on Thursday 17th May at 6.30pm. Refreshments will be provided at 6:30pm. All parents and friends are welcome. Please RSVP Ms Jane Ho at jho@ichk.edu.hk.

Please note that we will not be providing a bus to Fanling Station for this event due to the low demand at previous performances. However, we will run a bus at the end of the evening to take parents and students back to Hong Lok Yuen.

Trinity Guildhall London Speech and Drama Examinations 2012

All of the Year 8 cohort will complete their Trinity Guildhall London Speech and Drama Examinations on Monday 21st and Wednesday 23rd May. The students have been preparing hard for this examination and we wish them lots of luck!

Parents, please practise with your children at home for this very important examination.

HLY Country Club

As many of you will know, the HLY Country Club is undergoing major renovations, which should all be completed by the beginning of September.

The Executive Director of the facilities, Andy Brothers, is offering a 45% discount to ICHK and HLYIS families. The details of the costs are shown in the attached letter.

I know that many of you have contributed your suggestions related to these renovations and Andy offers his thanks.

For those of you who may be new to the area, the HLY Country Club is family orientated and, together with HLYIS and ICHK, helps to create a very strong sense of community. The lifetime membership for ICHK families is $28,800.

We will of course confirm your child’s enrollment at ICHK should you wish to join.

HLYCC ICHK Parent Letter 

Summer Projects

Mr Parker has several ideas for tech-based summer student projects. If you are interested, please let him know.  Such projects can be a fun, independent way to learn some new skills, as well as to give something back to the community. Some ideas might be:

• Buy and prep a secondhand laptop to donate on holiday (lots of people around the world don’t have access to computers)
• Build a Hackintosh computer out of cheap, second hand components.
• Root an old Android phone.
• Learn to program for the web.
• Work at a charity fixing old computers.
• Build a website (online shop? Minecraft cheat site?)
• Give computer lessons to those less skilled/fortunate than yourselves.
• Contribute to an open source project.
• Make a movie

On the non-tech side, those of you who want to help others whilst on overseas holiday might want to look at this site: http://www.stuffyourrucksack.com/

Again, please let Mr Parker know if you are interested.

Phase 3 Refurbishment

This weekend the next phase in our school development begins, with all works to be completed by the first week in August. As mentioned last week, the works will include a Biology laboratory, 6 classrooms and a large drama space. The playground will also be resurfaced. Any noisy work, including demolition, will be carried out only on the weekends, and the playground works will be completed in July. Thus we will ensure that the alterations will cause no disruption to examinations or lessons, yet will have a major impact on students when they return next year. During the next few weeks we ask students to use only the main staircase in C block to move around the school.

Touch Korea Competition

Temmy and Nadia Santosa and Kate Liu have entered the Touch Korea competition. To win this competition they have to prepare a dance and say why they want to go to Korea. The winners will get to meet some K-pop artists and also go to Korea. To win the girls need a lot of people to watch their videos and like them! They need the most views/likes to win. The deadline for the voting is on May 8th. Please click on the link below and search ‘KTN’. There will be three videos from the girls.

http://www.ibuzzkorea.com/touchkoreatour/eng/entry_entries.html

Best regards

Roy White

Looking ahead…

• Friday 27th – Sunday 29th April – MUN in Shekou, China
• Monday 30th April – Professional Development Day for staff – school closed to students
• Tuesday 1st May – Public Holiday – school closed
• Thursday 17th May – ICHK Showcase Evening… Dramatically Different
• 28th May – 1st June – Years 7-9 Assessment Week

Congratulations

Coco Tin Y11 – 2012 Hong Kong Top Ten Outstanding Teens Competition

Congratulations to Coco who has been selected as one of the “2012 Hong Kong Top Ten Outstanding Teens“. The competition is organised by the Hong Kong Playground Association and RTHK Radio 2 every two years. Coco competed in the senior achievement group and took part in two rounds of intensive interviews which included a Chinese debate. In order to encourage other teenagers to strive for their own goals, all the Top Ten winners and the 20 Merit Award winners will write an essay, which will be combined and published as a book. The awards ceremony will be held on June 29, 2012. An immense achievement, Coco, well done!

Kenny Ng, 8.3 – The Gifted Pianist Contest 2012

Kenny has been selected for the final contest of a national piano competition – The Gifted Pianist Contest 2012 organised jointly by Tom Lee Music and the Next Magazine. The preliminary contest was held on April 8 & 15 and it was here Kenny qualified for a place in the final in his age group. The final contest will be held on 13 May in the Atrium, 2/F, Times Square, Causeway Bay. This is a really exciting opportunity for Kenny and we wish him the best of luck. We will let you know the final results next month.

Edison Chan, 8.2 – Chinese Language Learning

Edison has recently participated in a Chinese language learning programme on the Kanhan Zhong Wen Wang website, which was something that was introduced to him by his ICHK Chinese teacher. Already Edison has scored over 13,000 points while the 2nd place contestant has scored around 3,500 points. Edison should be proud of his efforts as I know he has been working hard on the website everyday. Well done, Edison!

International Schools Federation Athletics Championship

This week ICHK took part in the International Schools Federation Athletics Championship which took place over two days. We had 30 students representing the school from year 7 to 9, taking part in an event that had 15 schools and over 700 students participating. It was a fantastic learning experience for all the students, not just for participating in their specific events and the physical demands that were placed upon them, but also the challenge of individual responsibility required of them in preparing for their event, reporting to their event on time and looking after their nutritional requirements.

Many of our students went through to the finals of their events although some narrowly missed out on the finals by milliseconds, such are the fine margins of sport! Nevertheless, we are especially pleased to report on the success of the Boys U12 4 x100 relay team (Ben Biggs, Qino Truscott, Maurice Scholtz), the Girls’ U14 4×100 relay team (Megan Lai, Lynden Chiang, Clare Coey, Emma Lee) and 4×400 relay team (Kelsie Bouttle, Lynden Chiang, Missah Truscott, Emma Lee) who won Bronze, Gold and Bronze medals respectively. Issac Wan also won Silver in the 200m final. Emma Lee was most certainly the star of the day with a total haul of five medals, 3 Gold and 2 Bronze. She won the 100m and 200m and achieved a personal best to win the Bronze in the 400m to add to her relay achievements.

We would like to congratulate the whole team on a very successful championships. Overall, the team came 10th out of 15 schools, many of which have 2000 students or more. Simply to go and compete with some of these schools is a tall order and the students of ICHK have certainly burnished their reputation amongst the international schools community through their sportsmanship and competitive spirit.

The Team

The Medal Winners!

Assessment Week for Y7 to Y9

Assessment week will take place between the 28th May to the 1st June. It will give students the opportunity to get used to revising and sitting a formal test so they can approach future formal assessments with confidence. It is also an opportunity to assess students’ current levels of coping skills in a test situation. Students will be assessed on their application of knowledge and skills covered in recent units in the core subjects and also in some of the practical subjects. Teachers will provide students with further details about the content and skills to be revised. All assessments will take place in classrooms within the usual subject time period and school hours will remain as usual.

Showcase…Dramatically Different!

Don’t forget that we will be showcasing drama and dance performances of students in Years 7 to 9 in our upcoming event, Dramatically Different. Please RSVP by 11th May by emailing Ms Jane Ho at jho@ichk.edu.hk.

Y10 Mock & Y11 Final IGCSE Exams

Our Year 10 students have just completed their first round of mock examinations in all subject areas. It was a busy 10 days for them but they managed to pace themselves well and rise to the challenge. Teachers will first mark, then moderate scripts before returning them to students after the 7th May.

Meanwhile, today marks the last official class day for our Year 11 students. They will begin their 7 weeks of final examinations starting with a two-day Visual Art examination next week. Some days will find our students quite busy while there were also be periods of up to a week without any papers to sit. Thus, it is incumbent upon them to have a clear strategy and timeline for revision. They are also encouraged to come in and meet with their subject teachers for some individual tuition. Students are not expected to return to class when the exam period ends, but we would like to welcome all students and parents to our Annual Awards Evening on Friday, 22 June.

We wish them all the best in their endeavours!

Year 10 – 12 CAS Week Trip

In November, all Year 10 to 12 students will have a variety of service and leadership opportunities available to them for CAS Week. One of these options will be a 5 day long trip to Northern Thailand. The focus for this trip will encompass all aspects of CAS, including a one-day service opportunity in a local school as well as a one-day jungle trek. Other activities include a ropes course, mountain biking, Thai cooking, raft building and confidence course. Students will be housed in a purpose-built resort which handles trips from almost every international school in Hong Kong and which was set up by two former ESF educators. The trip is limited to 25 students and all deposits need to be made by Fri. 7th May.

For more information, please see the email and information sent by Mr. Spadafora to all Y10-12 parents and the resort’s website:

http://www.mrvproject.com/index.php/site/mrvoutdoorcentre. You may also contact Mr. Spadafora directly.

Chinese Language Learning

For those of you like me who try and learn Chinese, you might like to subscribe to the following website which will give you a ‘Chinese Word of the Day’.

http://www.transparent.com/wotd/today/chinese.html

Maths – The Gauss Contests

The Gauss Contests are an opportunity for Years 7 and 8 to have fun and to develop their mathematical problem solving ability. The contests are written in school and supervised by teachers on Thursday May 17th. Please email Mr Lam by Thursday May 3rd if you would like to take part. There is no passing or failing grade. Information about how students are awarded for their performance is listed below:

Individual Awards

• A Certificate of Participation is provided for each student.
• A Certificate of Distinction is provided for each student scoring in the top 25% in their school.
• A Certificate is provided to the highest achieving student in their school on each of the Grade 7 and 8 Contests.
• No student should receive an award for both the Grade 7 and 8 Contests.
• The names of some of the top-scoring students among all those writing the contests are posted online.
• Past contests can be found at the website:
•  http://www.cemc.uwaterloo.ca/contests/past_contests.html

PE News – Ball Hockey

PE have started a ball hockey unit for Year 8 students. Although it’s a relatively common sport in North America, it’s not played as much in other parts of the world and many of our students are getting to grips with the ball hockey stick for the first time. However, some students play regularly outside of school and the time they have spent practicing has quickly become apparent. Alex Lin scored a magnificent goal in a game  recently, which took him past several opponents before neatly slotting the ball past the goalkeeper. The rest of the class, in awe and admiration, spontaneously burst into a round of applause. To see students genuinely appreciate one another in this way encapsulates our vision as a community school and is highly valued by students and teachers alike.

Chinese Exchange Programme 2012-13

It may seem early, but we are now preparing for next year’s return Chinese Exchange Programme to Nengren Middle School in China. This year’s exchange proved to be a highly successful event, with all students benefiting both culturally and linguistically from the experience.

Please click on the following links to view the letter detailing further information and reply slip and the full itinerary:

Exchange Programme Letter

Exchange Programme Itinerary

Enjoy the long weekend.

Best regards

Roy White

Looking ahead…

• Tuesday 24th April – International Schools Athletics Championships ( 7 to 9)
• Wednesday 25th April – International Schools Athletics Championships Finals ( 7 to 9)
• Friday 27th April – Y10 Mock Exams finish
• Friday 27th April – Y11 students’ final day
• Friday 27th – Sunday 29th April – MUN in Shekou, China
• Monday 30th April – Professional Development Day – no school for students
• Tuesday 1st May – Public Holiday
• Thursday 17th May – ICHK ‘Showcase’

Congratulations – Jasmine Chee 9.2

Congratulations to Jasmine who on the 13 April, became the Champion of the Hank Haney International Junior Golf Championship, Asia Circuit, Hong Kong event (age 10-15 division). She scored 76 at the Kau Sai Chau Golf Club South Course. She also came fourth in the Macgregor Hong Kong Junior Close Championship (age 13-14) held on 11 and 12 of April at Discovery Bay Golf Club. Fantastic achievements, Jasmine. Well done!

Jasmine receiving her trophy.

Athletics Championships

This coming Tuesday and Wednesday our Athletics team,  consisting of thirty Year 7 to 9 students,  will be competing in the International Schools Athletics Championships taking place in Sandy Bay on Hong Kong Island. Many of the heats will run on Tuesday afternoon with the finals and the 3000m race taking place on Wednesday. Students who are attending this event will need to submit their parent consent forms to Mr. Chan on Monday. A bus will leave the school on Tuesday.  On Wednesday the bus will pick students up from Fanling MTR and HLY Park n Shop at 7:00am and 7:15am respectively.   It will mean quite a long day for students who make the finals, but I am sure I speak for the entire community in wishing them the best of luck.

Showcase Evening … Dramatically Different

As a followup to Creative Curriculum Day, students in Years 7 to 9 are working on devising their own works in Drama and Dance. The aim will be to ‘Showcase’ the talents and creativity of our students during this event to be held in May.  We thought we would call the night ‘Dramatically Different’ in keeping with the focus on Drama. I look forward to seeing you there!

Don’t miss it!

Year 8 ICT…Eyes Wide Shut

Mr. Parker has  created a unit of work centered on developing students’ problem solving skills. Students will also gain an appreciation of what it is like to be blind. Please have a look at the video below to understand a little more on what the students have been doing.

School Buses

A reminder to all students that they must confirm with Reception if they wish to travel on a different bus to their normal one. This will only be possible if there is sufficient room on the bus.

Maths Contests

The Gauss Contests are an opportunity for Years 7 and 8 to have fun and to develop their mathematical problem solving ability. The contests are written in school and supervised by teachers on Thursday May 17th. Please email Mr Lam if you would like to take part in the Gauss Contests.

Year 7 Maths Project

Year 7 have been working on a box project recently, studying area, surface area and volume. For their assessment students were asked to design a box that would fit 6 cans of Coke by drawing sketches and taking measurements. It has been fascinating for the students to see their designs and what they are capable of doing. Congratulations to Michael Rynne (7.2), Ben Biggs (7.1) and Serena Lung (7.3) who made their unique boxes and finished in the Top 3. Well done, everyone!

Michael, Ben and Serena display their boxes.

The winning designs.

CAS Week

We are completing our planning for next year’s CAS week which will be held on the 5th to 9th November. The programme will be very similar to last year, but with one additional trip for senior students.

• Year 7 – Camp: Building our Community (Lantau) – Camp Skills, Canyoning, Hiking, Waterfall Abseil, Sea Kayaking, Forestry, Bouldering, Boogie Boarding, Swimming.
• Year 8 -  Language Immersion (Guilin)– Language Immersion, Biking, Hiking, Rock Climbing, Service Learning (Teaching English at a local primary school)
• Year 9 – Camp: Outdoor Adventure (Sai Kung) - First Aid, Life Saving, Surfing, Kayaking, Rock Climbing, Caving, Abseiling, Hiking and Camping.
• Years 10 to 12 - Three Options: Service Learning, Work Experience, Service Learning & Adventure (Thailand). Possible placements for work experience include a veterinary surgery and a hotel. Possible service learning opportunities in Hong Kong will include Crossroads, CAS film crew, camp leaders, Kadoorie Farm and others.

The Year 10 to 12 students will already have received further information about the possible options. However, I would like some feedback from parents about one change to the Year 8 Guilin trip. Following feedback from students and parents last year, we have decided to keep one train journey but return by flying if possible. This will most likely bring the cost of this trip to approximately $9000 from $7000 last year.

I would appreciate your thoughts which you may send via the Head of School Blog or by emailing me directly.

Weather Warnings

Just a reminder to all parents and students to check again the information about rainstorm warnings which is found in the Student Organizer (pg 12 and 13) or online by selecting Community > Policies > Rainstorm Warnings.

For Year 11 students about to begin IGCSE final exams:  examinations will be held as normal for amber rainstorm warnings and typhoon signals No. 3 or below; examinations will be postponed/cancelled under typhoon signals No. 8 or above. For red or black rainstorm warnings, schools and candidates should listen to the radio or T.V. for special announcements.

Mock Examinations – Year 10

Year 10 students are currently taking their Mock Examinations. Students will receive feedback from their teachers following these exams with the aim of ensuring that students will be ready for the actual iGCSE examinations next year.

Best regards

Roy White

Looking ahead…

• Monday 16th April – First Day of Term
• Friday 27th April – Y11 students’ final day

Year 9 Full Reports

It is my pleasure to announce the availability of these reports on Gibbon from today. To view the report please:
• Login to Gibbon
• Select ‘ARR’ from the menu
• Scroll down to ‘Reporting’.

You can print the report by selecting the PDF option at the end of the report. Please ensure that you discuss it with your child and assist them in setting targets for future learning and progression. This will accompany the work we will be doing with them in school.

For further information on assessment please refer to the school website. (Select Community > Curriculum > Years 7-9)

Please contact Ms Goldthorpe with any further enquiries.

Year 6 Taster Day

On Thursday we welcomed the Year 6 students from our partner primary schools, HLYIS, JIS and KIS, to a fun taster day at ICHK. Students took part in a Sherlock Holmes themed day and experienced the subjects of Drama and Science as well as having fun ‘finding Watson’ through a clue based problem solving activity. My thanks to all the staff and students involved in the day.

Year 6 parents will be contacted again in May with further information regarding the next academic year. We look forward to meeting all the students again in August.

End of Term Awards

At the end of each term, all Form Tutors and their tutees are asked to nominate one student within the form group to receive the ‘End of Term Award’. The Year Groups then vote for one winner from the list of nominees put forward.
This commendation is awarded to a student who has acted in accordance with the school mission and vision – someone who has shown community spirit, thoughtfulness, kindness and generosity. Congratulations to the following award recipients:

Y7 – Siggi Bjoerhovde
Y8 – Alex Gibbard
Y9 – Lawanya Rathninde
Y10 – Janice Hui
Y11 – Lars Grolle

Congratulations – Oscar Olesen

Earlier this year we put forward ten nominations to the Hong Kong Young Writers Award 2012, and I am delighted to announce that Oscar Olesen, 9.1, has been shortlisted to be in this year’s anthology. Oscar has been invited to attend the awards ceremony on 23rd April at the Wei Hing Theatre, City University, Hong Kong. Well done, Oscar, for writing such an excellent poem.

Hong Kong Rugby Sevens

The 2012 Hong Kong Rugby Sevens Tournament offered a fantastic display of rugby and was attended by a large number of students and staff from ICHK. I am sure that all those who attended thoroughly enjoyed themselves and we congratulate Fiji on their win. I was particularly pleased (although I admit my bias) with the performance of Canada who qualified for next year’s tournament. Sasha Price from 7.2 was selected to represent Team 1 of DEA Tigers. It was her first Rugby 7s, but judging by the smile on her face I’m sure it won’t be the last.

You can just make out Rosie Overman, 7.1, in the centre, who was fortunate enough to carry the England flag as she led them onto the field!

Ching Ho Wan & the Hong Kong Rope Skipping Academy

Well done to our rope skipping supremo, Ching Ho, who displayed her amazing talent in assembly this week along with the Elite team from the Hong Kong Rope Skipping Academy of which she is a member. The team represented Hong Kong in the Asian Championships last year and will be participating in the World Championships in the USA this summer. Ching Ho was placed 2nd overall in the Asian Championships last July in the Under 15 female category.

Our sincere thanks to the members of the team who came in to demonstrate some of their tremendous skills. We were all extremely impressed with the performance and the amount of strength and agility displayed. If anyone is interested in learning some of these skills themselves, they can join in the training in Kowloon Tong. For further information, please look at their website: www.hkrsa.asia/web/

Ching Ho impressing us with her amazing skipping skills.

The Hong Kong Rope Skipping Academy

Congratulations – Isaac Lam 8.1

Isaac Lam has been selected by the Hong Kong Golf Association (HKGA) to participate in the 11th TrueVisions International Junior Golf Championships 2012 from 3 to 6 April 2012 at Rayong Green Valley Country Club & St. Andrews 2000, Thailand during the Easter holidays. It will be a good opportunity for Isaac to learn how to deal with the pressure of such competitions and how to get along with players from other countries.

Athletics Meeting

ICHK attended an athletics meeting of the Hong Kong International Schools Federation with 35 students. Amongst the schools attending were Canadian, Hong Kong and American International Schools and so there was a very competitive field. The highlights for us at the meeting were:

800m

U14 Boys: William Choi – 3rd

U14 Girls: Bop Laidler – 2nd, Missah Truscott – 3rd, Kelsie Bouttle – 4th

4x 100 Relay

U14 Boys: Owen Ching, Seb Ah Chong, William Choi, Kenny Ng – 3rd

U12 Boys: Qino Truscott, Issac Wan, Maurice Sholtz, Ben Biggs – 2nd.

U12 Girls: Megan Lai, Fiona Leung, Gigi Kong, June Chan- 3rd, a whisker from second! Megan Lai ran a fantastic final leg making up a huge amount of ground.

4 x 400 Relay

U12 Boys: Siggi Bjoerhovde, Issac Wan, Michael Rynne, Josh Lo – 2nd

U14 Girls: Ching Ho Wan, Emma Lee, Lynden Chiang, Clare Coey – 1st

U12 Girls: Fiona Leung, Serena Lung, Megan Lai, Katherine Farley – 1st.

Environmental Action Group

My thanks to Mr. Statskey, an ICHK parent,  for his help with the EAG group this term. He mentioned how pleased he has been with the dedication and effort of the students who have cleaned up the flower and vegetable beds both on the roof and out by the parking lot.  Students weeded area around the school, each week expanding their areas of responsibility.   Several of the students helped create a compost box from scrap wood brought in from the area roadside dumps.  The students even developed a mission statement: To enhance the natural beauty of the ICHK Campus.  They divided themselves into three groups, then chose a name and a leader for their respective groups.  They have also completed some research on different aspects of gardening.

Absences – a friendly reminder

Please be reminded that should your son or daughter need to leave school early or miss a school day, you should contact your child’s Form Tutor, not only the staff at Reception. By doing this, the Form Tutor, as your child’s “most significant adult” at school, will be kept better informed of your child’s welfare, appointments and any missed work that may occur.

Thanking you in advance.

Y10 & 11 Sha Tin Public Library Outing

Last Monday, all Year 10 and 11 students were taken to Sha Tin Public Library. The purpose of the visit was for the students to become aware of  the vast collections (print and otherwise) available in public libraries in Hong Kong. This is especially important in the senior school as there will be occasions where a higher level of research is demanded. This is particularly true in the IB Diploma where students need to write a 4000 word extended essay which clearly stipulates that a wide variety of resources need to be used.

Students were given a presentation of the eLibrary and the various databases which can be accessed from anywhere (using a library card). They were also shown how to use the library catalogue system as well as how books are classified in the Adult Lending and Reference libraries.

The next step is for all our students to apply for a Hong Kong Library card as soon as possible so that they can reap the many benefits that membership entails. Mr Blain will be distributing and collating application forms soon.

Easter Break Study Reminders

A reminder to both Year 10 and 11 students to use time wisely over the Easter break for revision and preparation for both Mock and Final exams respectively which follow immediately afterwards. By now, students should have a clear study plan to follow. They should also be seeking the help of their subject teachers for further clarification.

Summer Language Course  - Spanish

We have been approached by some parents and students asking for recommendations for a language course in Spain during the Summer holidays. Mr Arriaga has suggested the two-week long “Enforex” youth summer study camp situated in the campus of the University of Barcelona. This study camp has been running for many years and he recommends this for the quality of teaching, accommodation, and the variety of activities . There will also be a good international mix of students.

If you are interested, contact Viva Spanish Language Centre directly via their website at: www.vivaSpanish.com.hk . They have a group leaving Hong Kong on 14th of July and returning on the 29th of July. The courses are for 5 to 18 years old and for all language levels (also for total beginners). Feel free to discuss this with Mr Arriaga. The links below take you directly to the relevant pages:

http://www.enforex.com/summercamps/summer-camps-barcelona-agora.html
http://www.enforex.com/summercamps/dates-prices.html
http://www.enforex.com/prices-accommodation-residences.html

“La Feria” Spanish Fair – 20th & 21st April

After the success of last October’s Spanish Fair organised by the Spanish of Commerce in Hong Kong, we are glad to announce its second edition, which will be even longer, bigger and better! “La Feria”will be held on Friday 20th and Saturday 21st of April 2012 at the Hong Kong Jockey Club.

Over 100 Spanish products will be displayed by more than 20 exhibitors. There will be Flamenco dancing performances and workshops, music performances and a Spanish DJ, promotion of Spanish language courses, Lucky Draws, Spanish food sampling, cooking demonstrations and a kids playground area.

Further information can be found at the Spanish Chamber of Commerce website.

Venue: Jockey Club,3/F Happy Valley Racecourse, Hong Kong
Date & Time: Friday 20th April 6-10pm -Saturday, 21 April, 12-10pm
Student price: 120 HKD
Non-students: 150 HKD
The ticket price is valid for both days and does not include food and beverage except for promotional items and tasting. Food and beverage coupons can be bought at the venue.
If you want to book the tickets through the school, please contact Mr. Arriaga via email narriaga@ichk.edu.hk on or before Monday 16th of April 11:30am.

Have a restful Easter break.

Best regards

Roy White

Looking ahead…

• Thursday 29th March – Year 6 Taster Day
• Friday 30th March – Last day of term

GCSE Drama Examination Performance

Last night the Year 11 Drama class presented their examination pieces which were assessed by an examiner from England. A massive well done to all the students involved.  I think I can speak for all parents, students and teachers when I say how impressed we were with the students’ focus, execution and believability. These pieces, devised by the students themselves, showed great creativity, passion and emotion. Each character was compelling.  My thanks on behalf of the students to Ms Goldthorpe and my admiration to all the students involved.

Congratulations: Rugby

While we have enjoyed a great deal of recent success in touch rugby, this week we recognise ICHK students for their achievements in the contact version of the game. On Thursday, a large number of students participated in the International Youth Tournament at King’s Park. Our students demonstrated not only great sportsmanship, but also great finesse and energy. Some of the results are shown below:

• Boys U14: Harrie Laidler played for HKFC who won their pool, but lost the finals (overall 2nd place)
• Girls U14: The Flying Kukris team, almost completely made up of ICHK students (Nika Marlow, Kelsie Bouttle , Caroline Ferraris, Claire Coey, Femke Henzen, Pat Chamberlin, Bop Laidler and Maaike Grolle) won the Bowl Cup (overall 3rd place)
• Boys U16: Ryan Tin and Lars Grolle playing for the Flying Kukris Team, ended up 3rd in their pool, and won the match for the Bowl (overall 5th place).
• Bop, Kelsie and Maaike have been selected to represent the Peninsula rugby team today at the Hong Kong 7s!
• Girls U16: Sarah Chamberlain (Flying Kukris) played in her team’s first match, which they won, but then she had to hurry back for the Drama performance mentioned earlier in this bulletin.
• Boys U14: George Birkby (Flying Kukris) also played in the tournament with his team coming 4th. He looked completely exhausted when he returned to school later in the day.

Congratulations to all the students involved and I know that many of them will be looking forward to the Rugby 7s this weekend. I hope Canada does particularly well this year!

Girls U14 Flying Kukris team 

The Woman in Black

Another amazing achievement for our young performers. Friday night was a roaring success and the students were spectacular! The show was a great reflection of their hard work over the last seven months.

Thank you to the students for their dedication and commitment. They should be so proud of themselves!

Thank you to everyone for your support of this wonderful event.

Here’s to next year’s show!

Parent Teacher Committee

The committee met on Monday from 3:00 to 5:00pm. The purpose of this committee is to provide another channel for communication between parents and myself. We have representatives from each year group and currently the parents are:

If you would like to pose a question to be discussed via these parents, they can be contacted using the following email address: parents@ichk.edu.hk. They have also agreed to be a link for any new parents coming to ICHK from overseas.

Transport Survey

Further to the email I sent last week, the bus committee would like all parents to provide their views on transportation arrangements to the school. They will use this information when creating the routes for next year. Even if your child does not take the school bus, we would like to hear from you. Please click on the link to start the survey. It should only take a few minutes.

http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22F5UJ73H93

Y7 & 8 ICAS Tests Completed

Congratulations to all our Y7 and Y8 students who successfully completed all University of New South Wales ICAS tests over the past two weeks. Every student has written four papers: English Reading, English Writing, Maths and Science. Despite a high number of illnesses last week, all students were able to complete the tests in controlled conditions early this week. Final results will be released in late June and will be sent home with students.

Senior School Application Process

To help prepare our senior (Y11) students for the rigours of university applications and beyond, and to enable our students to demonstrate a commitment to the ethos of the school, all Year 11 students are in the process of applying for entry to Year 12. This has so far involved students writing a formal application letter which contains a personal statement and an evaluation of their strengths, weaknesses as well as their ambitions. The next phase, which begins next week, will involve a 20-30 minute formal interview with Mr Spadafora, Ms Walsh or myself.

During these interviews, students will be asked a range of questions designed to show their academic and social progress to date, their commitment to the school and the IB Diploma Programme, as well as their estimation of the challenges that lie ahead in Years 12 and 13 and how they plan to overcome these. This is not a ‘pass or fail’ exercise, but is intended to help our senior students realise the seriousness and the effort required to succeed in Year 12 and beyond. Let’s wish them luck!

Dragon Maths Competition

The Dragon Maths Competition went well this week and the two teams that represented ICHK competed enthusiastically against other schools in Hong Kong. Students worked together as a team to tackle challenging maths problems. We are now waiting for the results to be released.

Year 8 team: Eva Yam (8.1), William Choi (8.1), Janice Leung (8.2) & Owen Ching (8.1)
Year 9 team: Lawanya Rathninde (9.1), Byron Tan (9.1), Reina Mun (9.1) & Kelvin Chan (9.2)

Well done everyone!

My congratulations to Ms Wong and her husband on the birth of their baby daughter on Wednesday morning.

Best regards

Roy White