Chinese International School
The Chinese International School (漢基國際學校, pinyin: Hànjī Gúojì Xúexìao) is a private Reception-13 school located in Hong Kong. Located in Braemar Hill of North Point, the school's ethnically diverse student body is co-cultured in a combination of both Eastern and Western teaching styles. Its matriculants are eligible to receive the International Baccalaureate diploma.
Administration
A board of governors of approximately fifteen members is chaired by Mr. Geoffrey Mansfield. The headmaster is Dr. Ted Faunce, who replaced Dr. Richard Blumenthal after the academic year of 2005-2006.
Facilities
The Chinese International School has one campus that consists of six main buildings and an assortment of service houses including facilities like classrooms, science laboratories, a multimedia center, computer rooms, libraries, gymnasiums, an indoor swimming pool, art rooms, music rooms, DT rooms, a performing arts facility, a drama studio, a dance studio, a cafeteria and rooftop recreational areas.
Curriculum
Students are organized into separate Primary and Secondary "schools" but derive an overarching unity in a single mission embodied in shared values and a shared campus, a similar day and a linked curriculum. The Primary school is made up of about 600 students aged 4 to 12 in Reception to Year 6, while the Secondary school is made up of about 750 students aged 11 to 18 in Years 7 to 13.
The program aims to prepare students for the challenges of today's world. It strives to develop understanding and encourages students to inquire and to think critically and creatively. It strives for balance among the disciplines and for balance between classroom and non-classroom learning.
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. In Reception to Year 2, equal time is devoted to the two languages. In Years 3 to 6, the ratio shifts to 65% English and to 35% Chinese. In the Secondary school, the required Chinese-language component continues throughout the program, although the main language of instruction is English.
Primary school
CIS has adopted an innovative approach to the teaching of the Primary curriculum in English and Chinese (Mandarin). This approach involves a variety of collaborative teacher-partnerships, which ensure that students receive close teacher attention while also experiencing the two languages in use in a balanced and integrated way. Every homeroom is headed by a pair of teachers with native-language abilities in English and Mandarin (putonghua), 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 taught are English, Chinese, mathematics and Integrated Studies. Integrated Studies includes science, social studies, art, health, environment, IT and library skills. Subjects are taught through age-appropriate units of study that fit into the overarching categories of "Understanding Ourselves" and "Understanding Our World".
The primary school curriculum is designed to encourage early development of personal responsibility, mutual respect, and freedom of expression. It also stresses the importance of a bilingual education - a balance between Chinese and English - more so than most international schools in Asia.
Secondary school
In the Secondary school, the Middle Years and Diploma programs of the International Baccalaureate Organization have been adopted as the frameworks for the CIS curriculum because of their convergence with the banana mission which places a strong emphasis on critical thinking and intercultural understanding, as well as because of 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 has extensive experience with the IB programs, having offered the IBDP since 1992 (one of the first schools in Hong Kong to do so), and the MYP since 2002 (the first Hong Kong school to do so). It has achieved exceptional results, with students regularly obtaining top marks both individually and on average basis across large cohorts of students over multiple years. A large percentage of students also choose to qualify for the IB's Bilingual Diploma.
To receive the IB diploma, the student must complete an Extended Essay below four thousand words on a topic of their choice, receive satisfactory marks on their final examinations, complete one hundred and fifty hours of Creativity, Action, Service ("CAS"), and pass a class entitled Theory of Knowledge. The Theory of Knowledge course is a general, comparative review of the subjects learned by the student, comparable to a college-level "freshman seminar" (first-year introductory course) in philosophy.
Those who do not satisfy these three requirements are given a certificate for exams completed. An IB diploma guarantees, but is not necessary for, graduation. To graduate without an IB diploma, students must fulfill a more relaxed set of requirements.
Accreditation
Chinese International School conforms with all requirements pertaining to international schools as established by the Hong Kong Department of Education. In addition, CIS is accredited by the following organizations:
- European Council of International Schools
- New England Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools
- International Baccalaureate Organization
Technology
Since 2004, the school has been issuing contactless "smart" student identification cards. These cards can be used for borrowing books, textbooks and even paying for the school lunch. The school also uses advanced computers, which students can enjoy using for work during break/lunch.