It really does not seem that long ago that all of us staff were seated in C101 with Roy White leading the week long induction programme.  The mission seemed fairly simple, get ICHK Secondary up and running like any other “normal” school.  The team was mostly composed of experienced teachers, most of us with a number of years teaching experience in schools from around the world and we got on with creating ICHK.  That was now fourteen years ago.

It has been a long road and has not always been easy with many debates and disagreements along the way.  One vivid memory is of a staff meeting where a colleague spoke passionately about the need for the school to “enforce discipline” and bring in detentions.  She was warmly applauded by many of those present.  I spoke up against an institutionalised system of punishment, partly due to my own personal experiences of such a system but also because I believe that ICHK is a place where we can leverage our relationships and really get to the root cause of why students are not able to do their homework, for example, rather than simply throwing students into a detention hall.  I did not get a round of applause at that meeting but I am pleased to see that our emphasis on adult to adult relationships is a feature of ICHK to this day and detentions are not.

There is a sense of nostalgia as I look back at a time when there was a real intimate feel about the school, particularly for a secondary school, as all the teaching staff knew all the students in the school and they knew all of us. There was always a room available without the need to book anything, PE lessons always had an option of whether to play on the court or in the hall.  The teaching staff felt much more close knit and gathered socially as one group both in break times and out of school hours.  For many years, at the start of the year,  I hosted a welcome party at my home for new staff and as the staff grew we even had a trail of parties across Lam Tsuen with Ross and Nicolas helping to host too.

Of course, there is always a danger of looking back with rose tinted glasses and there is no doubt that we have been able to do more towards achieving our vision of education with a bigger student population and the greater financial capacity that comes with it. Now, we are able to employ a lot more staff, meaning increased opportunities for our students.

Nevertheless, I have treasured the community ethos especially, as we built the school, and I have loved being a part of the ICHK community.  I have always enjoyed bumping into students or parents in the gym, at the Hong Lok Yuen swimming pool, the ParknShop, or at rugby on Sundays and having a chat or just to say hello.

Under Toby’s leadership, ICHK went about a new phase of development which built upon the community school ethos but developed the progressive principles for which the school has made its reputation.  

Toby’s emphasis on the three pillars that he espoused to be central to the ICHK experience has had my full support.

• “Brilliant Basics” - the school needs some kind of authority on which to build a reputation and this will come down to things such as CIS and IB accreditation, developing students’ literacy and numeracy, and “good” exam results.

• High quality pastoral care - something which involves all staff and the emphasis on positive relationships between staff and students have made ICHK a great place to work for everyone.

• Outdoor and experiential education, in which I also include sport, is clearly something I am passionate about.  I believe it is a real antidote to much of mainstream education all around the world, but particularly here in Hong Kong.

In Ben Blain I found a kindred spirit who shared a similar passion for providing a holistic education, focusing on values and character, for our students.  We have had a great time teaching students (and learning ourselves) climbing, abseiling, canyoning, hiking and how to undergo multi day expeditions.

However, the introduction of an Outdoor Education department, led by Dave, and the relatively recent additions of Arthur and Max, has significantly increased the level of professionalism to outdoor education which it fully deserves.  Ever more students are enjoying a dedicated programme of learning that is immersed in the local outdoor environment.

I feel truly blessed.  To me, school has not been like work at all.  My cycle commute along the Bride's Pool road has been a daily joy, exercising or playing games with students is simply fun.  Coaching teams and helping people move on in sport or learn more about character has been a reward in itself.

I have been able to work in a school which takes well-being seriously.  From reading Seligman’s “Flourish” to conversations with Toby and other interested staff,  we first designed the PERMA unit which was originally a PE unit in year 10.  We brought it into year 7 for DL1 and DL2 and now it sits in the Human Technology scheme of work too. The work we have done on PERMA has been really fulfilling from a variety of perspectives.  

Working with colleagues to create new programmes of learning has been a rewarding process.  One of the best parts of my role has been to have conversations with staff to see what interests them and how they might convert their interest into something that students might be interested in.  Students are inspired by people who themselves are engaged and passionate about what they do and undoubtedly that is the success behind a lot of what happens at ICHK.  

Deep Learning has been an important part of my role at ICHK and it is clearly aligned with my own personal values in education.  Thus, I am super grateful to Toby for pushing me towards taking on the job of  Deep Learning Coordinator.  At the time, I was keen to take up the IB Coordinator role, a useful reminder that one’s first choice is not always the best choice, something I often tell students when they are disappointed with their enrolment for DL or Activities!

However, the range and variety of the DL programme would not have been possible without the teachers who have pioneered these interesting interdisciplinary learning experiences.  The likes of Phil Morgan and Douglas Kidd, who have recently moved on, had units such as Bamboo Creativity, The Escape Room, Zombie Apocalypse, and Coast which were all fun and valuable opportunities for the students.  Still at the school, the likes of Ross and Jimmy have always been on hand to lead groups throughout the year and have had a huge creative input into the content of the programme.

Of course, there is a lot more to the school than DL and I am proud of the school’s development with the SRC, Student Media Team, Model United Nations, Juniors Achievers Award, our ICHK Outdoor Leadership Certificate, all of which go about providing exactly the kind of authentic and practical learning experiences that we are looking to promote at ICHK. 

In fact, all departments have played a part in fulfilling a vision of interdisciplinary and experiential learning and I am pleased to see that in addition to all the above, ICHK is also doing this with events ranging from the celebration of El Dia Del San Juan, Chinese Debate, the Starling Inlet survey, and the ghost village hike to Lai Chi Wo, and many others.  Liam’s drama production has become a phenomenal part of the fabric of ICHK with so many students involved and it’s a pleasure to watch each year.

I am fortunate to have been involved in a number of trips both in Hong Kong and across the region.  Thanks to Leah for the great trips to Taiwan and Xi’an.  Amanda always looked after me very well when we visited her hometown in Nengren.  The snow sports trips in Japan are treasured memories of powdery snow, fabulous mountain scenes and a lovely community vibe.

My own family has a close connection to the school with my father and various uncles and aunties having been students at Sha Tau Kok Primary School, as it was then. I am honoured to maintain that connection by working here along with other members of my family, Chris, Kevin and more recently James.  Even my own children have now been educated at the same site.  Now an international school campus, it is symbolic of the changing circumstances that our family has undergone. I am proud to be known, locally, as the boy from Luk Keng who made it as a teacher at the international school in Shek Chung Au.

I am hugely thankful for the opportunity as form tutor to my cousin’s son, Alex Gibbard.  Being involved in his life and watching him mature into a young adult has been another privilege which I did not imagine was possible until I arrived at ICHK. Harry Laidler was also in that same form and it was an honour to be able to watch him gain his first cap for Hong Kong and, more recently, sit with his parents in the HKFC stand as he started at scrum half and scored his first tries for the national team.  Recently, we also watched Tuscany play in a cup final for Kitchee against Rangers, a fantastic experience.

This year our sporting achievements are like something from a Boy's Own Story as we have achieved success, in terms of winning titles, across volleyball, basketball and touch rugby.  I have been lucky enough to have experienced some success as a coach in recent years but it’s absolutely more gratifying to see my own children playing their part, especially as captains of their respective teams.

Again, success is more than just winning and for us to have simply developed the range of competitive sporting opportunities for our students from badminton to climbing to ultimate has been huge for a small school like ICHK. We have come a long way from when we had our first U14 girls and boys football teams.  This would not have been possible without the likes of Richard, Kunal, Jimmy, Ross, Leah and Scarlette who drive their respective sports forward in addition to their main timetabled subjects.

The PE Department has grown along with the school and I am honoured to have mentored an impressive group of people. I am confident that in Bop, who I also taught as a high school PE student, Saie Ryu, Alistair,  under Matthew’s leadership, we have a team to continue the good work we have done so far. 

I did have one major regret but even that has turned into something of a happy ending. It centred on a confrontation between some players who were in a heightened emotional state after losing a touch rugby match. I felt responsible as I believed that sport leadership was the route in which I could help a particular student develop. When this player decided to stop playing with the school team, I felt that I had failed them. This hiatus from playing lasted over a year, but, like the prodigal son, they later returned to the fold. Perhaps it was just the passing of time that helped to heal or maybe they were keen to be part of a winning team. Whatever it was, I am pleased that this student returned and played a contributing role to the team’s success, winning a championship medal.

Finally, a nod to the 5+1 which has been fundamental to the culture at the school.  The 5 +1 is something else for which I am indebted to ICHK.  Not only has it improved me as a teacher and a leader, it has made me a better parent, husband, and indeed a better person.

Yes, I have been undeniably blessed by my years at ICHK.

So, what does the future hold? Family has always been a cornerstone of our lives and so it’s not unexpected that we are moving to Ireland to support my wife’s elderly parents. Rural Ireland will clearly be very different to Hong Kong and it will be a good experience for our children to live there and also to spend some significant time with their grandparents as well. 

I am often asked whether I will continue teaching and the truth is I have been spoiled with my years at ICHK and the idea of going back to mainstream education is not really as appealing.  I have worked as a teacher for over 20 years already and it is a good opportunity for me to try something different.  In the short term, I will be learning about beekeeping and supporting my father in law with his small honey business.  In the longer term, I have some ideas for running a “forest school” summer camp which is likely to suit me a bit better than bees! I also plan on getting myself more fit for cycle touring and eventually I hope to cycle back to Hong Kong from Ireland.

I look forward to coming back to ICHK to see how everyone is getting along. Under Sean’s leadership of such an incredible group of colleagues, I am sure we will see ICHK go from strength to strength.