Guiding Statements

Our mission is to educate all our students, unlock their potential and offer an experience that best prepares them for life beyond school.

Our vision is Learning together, thoughtfully

Guiding Statements

Our guiding statements are informed by four strategic directions.

1. Thriving Students

ICHK exists so that students who attend our school enjoy the conditions in which they can thrive as learners and people.

As an IB World School, in support of this aim, we draw naturally on the IB Learner Profile to develop our appreciation of the term thrive.

ICHK deploys a series of indicators by which the community at large and students individually can gain a realistic sense of whether and to what extent they are thriving. That is, to what extent they are happy, confident, intelligent, collaborative, dependable, considerate, gracious, self-motivating, ethical and proactive.

One important indicator is the Approaches to Learning (ATL) Rubric, which covers the following elements: attitude to challenge, resilience and motivation, attitude to feedback and advice, organisation, showing initiative and making choices, working independently, working with other students, conducting oneself and relating to others, and contribution to class . The terms of ATL Rubric are introduced to students when they join ICHK and are revisited periodically thereafter.

ATLs are an opportunity to reflect on how students are going about their learning, celebrating successes and highlighting areas for improvement. Research shows that focusing on academic mindsets, perseverance and behaviours leads to positive academic results for students.

Students in Years 7-9, who we consider to be apprentices in learning, are assessed only on the first three levels of the ATL rubric. Older students, who we hope to be moving into the ‘wayfinder’ and ‘mastery’ phases of their ICHK epistemic apprenticeship, are assessed on all five levels of the rubric.

Our end of term awards recognise Growth Mindset, Courage in the Learning Zone and Support of Peers, strongly reflecting our mission and vision as a school.

Students at ICHK:

• Possess a Growth Mindset;

• Know how they learn best in each subject;

• Act purposefully as a member of a caring, learning community;

• Understand that to maximise learning they will need to move outside their comfort zone;

• Take part in a wide range of activities and events;

• Have developed their capacity for creativity and innovation.

2. Best Possible Teacher

Teachers at ICHK strive to create an effective environment for learning. We value and foster excitement; we challenge and support. Every teacher is empowered through the language and modeling of the 5+1 model to lead and guide our students in their learning journeys.

The Best Possible Teachers:

• Are learners;

• Create an effective environment for learning;

• Think of themselves as leaders for learning within a community;

• Demonstrate that they are habitual practitioners of the 5+1 model.

• Understand that the way we teach students is just as vital as the content we deliver, and the learning experience is always a combination of both, taken together.

3. Environment for Sustainable Living and Learning

Our environment can inspire us to learn and have a major impact on our sense of well-being. We must act as stewards for sustainable living and learning.

We recognize how we are both stewards for our environment, yet understand and accept that we are affected by our environment in that it can inspire us to learn and alter our sense of wellbeing. Thus we will:

• Offer facilities, grounds and buildings which are complementary with those of other international schools and which reflect the expectations of all stakeholders. This physical environment should provide a sense of space and light, and be aesthetically pleasing.

• Offer classrooms which stimulate learning, while making use of the wider  environment within our grounds, and locally to enhance the learning experience.

• Act as stewards for this environment, and consider our effect on the New Territories, Hong Kong, and the planet as a whole. We seek a more sustainable approach to our lives and as an educational organization.

• Create and sustain a safe mental and physical environment in which it makes sense and is possible for students to build towards being the best people they can be.

4. Community and Partnership 

We build strong networks within the wider community both locally and internationally which provide authentic learning opportunities centred on:

• Offering service learning and fundraising opportunities to provide opportunities to develop what Howard Gardner calls the “ethical mind”, and which nurture students’ moral qualities to take up their responsibilities as a citizen, family member and worker (2006,p.3).

• Developing international-mindedness through an exploration of different perspectives related to local and global issues.

• Developing their abilities to socialize, lead, work in teams, plan, persuade and communicate their ideas effectively.

• Our students are encouraged to be thoughtful, to care for others, to understand the importance of serving the community and how, through their actions, they can make a difference.

• As an international community, we strive to support and help others in the region and beyond through donating to a variety of different organisations.

• Throughout the year students and staff lead community initiatives including dress down days, bake sales, charity internships and other service and fundraising activities.

• The school supports the Crossroads Foundation which distributes goods to people in need; Kiva, a micro-financing organisation with global reach; The Society for Community Organisation, which works with underprivileged children in Hong Kong; and donates to the St James Settlement Food Drive every Christmas.

• Our Student Representative Council is committed to service and fundraising.