Chinese International School

Chinese International School
Address
1 Hau Yuen Path Braemar Hill , North Point Hong Kong
Information
Type	Reception-Year 13 (ages 4–18), private, international, co-educational
Established	1984
School district	Eastern
Head teacher	Dr. Theodore S. Faunce Ph.D.
Enrollment	Approximately 1560 to 2000
Colour(s)	Red and Blue   {
Website	http://www.cis.edu.uk

Chinese International School (漢基國際學校, pinyin: Hànjī Gúojì Xúexìao) is a highly selective private Reception-Year 13 (K-12) school in Hong Kong. It is characterised by its bilingual programme taught in English and Chinese (Mandarin), rigorous academic programme and excellent matriculation. Students come from diverse backgrounds, with over 30 nationalities represented. At the Secondary level, students pursue the International Baccalaureate (IB) Middle Years and Diploma programmes. The campus is located in the residential neighborhood of Braemar Hill in North Point, adjacent to country park green areas. It is a member of the prestigious G20 Schools.

Mission statement

Chinese International School is committed to the achievement of academic excellence and is characterized and enriched by its dual-language program in Chinese and English. The mission of Chinese International School is to inspire students to a lifelong love of learning.

The school encourages intellectual curiosity and independent, critical and creative thinking which will maximize students’ potential and promote the growth of the whole person. The school prepares its students to be compassionate, ethical and responsible individuals, contributing to local and global communities, respectful of other views, beliefs and cultures, and concerned to make a difference in the world.

History

The school was founded in the early 1980s, and had its first intake of 75 students in Years 1 to 3 in September 1983. Its first location was at 7 Eastern Hospital Road in Causeway Bay.

In 1986 and 1989, the school expanded to additional sites at 10 Borrett Road and 26 Kennedy Road. In 1991, the entire student body of about 1200 students moved to the current campus on Braemar Hill..

Administration

The school is overseen by a Board of Governors of approximately fifteen members, chaired by Geoffrey Mansfield. Dr. Theodore S. Faunce joined the school as Headmaster at the start of the 2006-07 school year.

Facilities

The school's campus consists of 7 "blocks" connected by open-air walkways. Facilities include:

• Specialised labs and studios for the sciences (8), information and design technology (12) and the arts (9)
• A 200-seat auditorium
• Over 300 rooms with computers available for students to work on. Students and teachers are able to save files on network drives and access them at home via a "NetStorage" service. Students, parents and teachers can share important information and documents at a module named "Moongate". Also, students and teachers have be given a gmail based e-mail to send and receive homework and assignments online.
• LCD televisions displaying high-tech features while providing students information on the school curriculum and global news
• Scanners for a swipe system
• Sports:
  • Four gymnasia
  • A 25-meter indoor swimming pool, fitness room and outdoor climbing wall
  • An outdoor sports field containing Football, tennis and netball courts

Curriculum

Students are organizesd into separate Primary and Secondary "schools" but share a campus, similar school day and linked curriculum. The Primary division has about 600 students aged 4 to 12 in Reception to Year 6, while the Secondary division has about 800 students aged 11 to 18 in Years 7 to 13.

Bilingual education

A defining characteristic of the school is the fact that all students pursue a single program taught in both Chinese (Mandarin) and English - that is, there are no separate language streams. The Chinese-language component continues up until graduation in Year 13, although the main language of instruction remains English.

At the Secondary level, students also have the option to study French (up to IB level) or Spanish.

Primary School

The Primary curriculum is designed to encourage early development of personal responsibility, mutual respect, and freedom of expression.

CIS has adopted an innovative approach to the teaching of the Primary curriculum in English and Chinese. This approach involves collaborative teacher-partnerships, ensuring that students receive close teacher attention while also learning both two languages in a balanced and integrated way.

Every homeroom is led by a pair of teachers with combined native language abilities in both English and Mandarin, and at every year level, teachers of the two languages collaborate to plan and teach outcomes from the school's inquiry-based integrated program.

Subjects are taught through age-appropriate units of study that fit into broader categories, such as "Understanding Our World" and "Understanding Ourselves".

The school has recently placed a large investment in the primary school. Starting in school year 2010-2011, the school has put substantial backing into the technology infrastructure and will be transitioning to all MAC classrooms.

Secondary School

In the Secondary school, the International Baccalaureate's "Middle Years" (IBMYP) and "Diploma" (IBDP) programs have been adopted as the framework for the CIS curriculum because of their convergence with the mission which places a strong emphasis on critical thinking and inter-cultural understanding, as well as the internationally recognized qualifications those programs confer.

All students in Years 7-11 pursue the Middle Years Program (IBMYP) and all students in Years 12-13 pursue the Diploma Program (IBDP). At the end of Year 13, students sit internationally administered exams. To complete the MYP, students are assessed internally based on their work throughout Years 10 and 11, including the hallmark "Personal Project" - a year-long undertaking involving research, reflection and writing about an area of interest selected by the student.

CIS was one of the first schools in Hong Kong to offer the IBDP, having done so since 1992, and in 2005, was the first school in Hong Kong to offer the MYP. Chinese International School has consistently produced spectacular MYP graduating grades, with an average grade of 6.03 most recently. In addition, 2 students received full achievement levels. In IB, it achieves exceptional results annually, with both top marks obtained by individual students as well as consistently strong average point scores, well exceeding the world average, achieved by large cohorts of students. More than 36% of the graduating class of 2010 achieved grades 40 or above.

Those who do not satisfy the IB requirements are given a certificate for exams completed. An IB diploma guarantees, but is not necessary for, graduation.

Student life

Extra-curricular activities

Many extracurricular activities are offered, including: Template:Multicol

• Art Club Art Venture
• Art Attack
• Business Club
• Chess Club
• Chemistry Club
• Children's Technology Workshop
• Chinese Chess Club
• Chinese Newspaper Reading
• Crazy 88 appreciation
• CIS Scientists
• Critical Thinking
• Junior Achievement
• J Pamuk Society for the Aesthetics of the Human Form
• Chinese Calligraphy
• Chinese Painting
• Debate Society

• Dowsing and Prospecting Club
• French
• French Club
• Fashion Design (from the Parsons New School for Design)
• Fire Squad
• Global Issues Group (GIG)
• Go Grow Club
• Green Group
• Hiking/Photography Club
• Internet Society
• Investment Club
• Jenkem experimentation Club
• Knitting and Crocheting
• Math League
• Model United Nations (HKMUN/SEOMUN/BEIMUN)

• Music Club
• Scribbles Magazine
• Science Adventures
• Space Adventures
• Science & Math Society
• Science Illustrated
• Science Study Group
• Serious Business
• Speech Festival-English
• Stormy Chefs
• Stretch-n-Grow
• Tapestry-Making
• Windy Warriors
• World Wildlife Foundation
• World Vision Group
• Yearbook Committee
• Xiao Hua Magazine

Sport

Competitive and non-competitive options exist both within the regular physical education curriculum and as after-school activities. Students typically have two classes of PE per week and all students take part in annual sports days and swimming galas, which emphasize participation and generally focus on friendly, inter-"house" competition.

At the intermural level, CIS fields over sixty teams in fifteen sports and continues to build a reputation as a force to be reckoned with. In 2006-07, CIS moved up to 5th place in the Hong Kong Schools Sports Federation (HKSSF) league tables of 150 co-educational schools – its highest ranking ever. This was due to the three Boys’ Athletics teams and three Girls’ Table Tennis teams which won the school the title of Overall Division Champion in both sports, as well as to division wins by the Girls' A-Grade Netball Team and Boys’ B-Grade Cross Country Team.

Sports in which CIS competes: Template:Multicol

• Athletics/Track Field
• Badminton
• Canoe Polo
• Basketball
• Golf
• Cross-Country

• Field Hockey
• Football/Soccer
• Netball
• Rugby
• Girls Rugby (Top team as of 2010-2011)
• Sailing

• Squash
• Swimming
• Table Tennis
• Tennis
• Volleyball

Sports offered recreationally, apart from many of the above, also include: Template:Multicol

• Aquathon
• Fencing
• Hiking

• Dance
• Dragon Dance
• Gymnastics

• Martial Arts
• Taekwondo
• Yoga
• Lacrosse

Student Government

Student Council is separated into Primary (Years 1-6) and Secondary (Years 7-13) school blocs. The Senior Student Council is exclusively concerned with Years 12-13. At the beginning of the school year, Year 12 students form campaign groups. They campaign for 3 weeks as 'teams'. Each team comprises a candidate for President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer. The final Student Council Executive is elected by the entire secondary student body.

Recent developments

The school celebrated its 25th anniversary in the school year 2008 - 09 with a series of events including a school musical, open day, and parent and alumni gatherings.[1] The CIS Tree, Queen Crape-myrtle, also recently celebrated its 2nd birthday on June 3rd, 2010. [2]

Since the start of the 2009-2010 school year, a new head of secondary was appointed, Justin Alexander. Since his appointment, he has been true to the Maoist ideology of a "continuous revolution".

Recently, a series of new school rules have been imposed in CIS, including a ban on the carrying of school bags around school. This new development has been seen as ingenious and progressive, despite the fact that schools all over the world allow their students to carry school bags and have not found a problem with the practice.

As the Deputy Head of Secondary (Pastoral) Marian Rossiter said,

• "As of tomorrow (Tuesday), students will not be able to take their school bags to lessons. They should leave them either inside or on top of their lockers. Any bags found in other locations will be removed and taken to the Secondary Office."

Since putting bags on lockers or ON TOP of lockers will thoroughly eliminate the possibility of theft and the recurrent pains in students' spinal cords, the recent development has been described as an inevitable evolution for the betterment of the student body. Mr.Alexander claims that the new school bag law will also eradicate the fire hazard potential of the bags. So thankfully students will not have to worry about the threat of tripping over a jansport or kipling backpack. [3]

But lets pause to ask ourselves this. At the end of the day, who is this new anti-bag rule more convenient for? The students? Or faculty? Or the fact that the health and safety people are coming to inspect the school in a few weeks?

References

• Heavy School Bags Could Be Dangerous

External links

• Chinese International School Official website

See also

• List of international schools in Hong Kong
• List of international schools