The Totem (June 2019)

The Totem

CLASS OF 2019 GRADUATION

Canadian International School of Hong Kong

Alumni Magazine Summer 2019

To inspire excellence, cultivate character, and empower engagement locally and globally.

Head of School David Baird’s Experience with Alumni It is bittersweet to be writing my last welcome note in The Totem. I’ve had the pleasure of being Head of School at Canadian International School of Hong Kong (CDNIS) for three wonderful years now, and this school community never ceases to amaze me. While it saddens me to be leaving CDNIS, I am incredibly proud of the strides forward made in the last three years. I hope you’ll enjoy reading my extended reflection on my time at CDNIS, as well as how I see the school progressing in the future.

I am proud of the strong CDNIS alumni network, and it has been wonderful to meet many former students during my three years as Head of School. It warms my heart when I meet CDNIS alumni all around the world, and I get to hear about their wonderful memories of going to school here. I have enjoyed my dinners with so many alumni in London.

To be able to continue the proud CDNIS legacy of excellence in education by serving alongside the many alumni who contribute to the CDNIS community, including on the Board with Jeffrey Ng and Evan Thorpe, has been a real privilege.

Plans are already afoot for improvements of CDNIS, after I leave. As a school, we are not content with resting on our laurels, and we are constantly looking at ways to keep apace with the changing world.

Strategy 2021, our strategic plan, sets out many of the improvements. One core project, which is detailed in these pages, is the new Early Years Environment. I know that the new Early Years space will be a stimulating environment for the youngest learners at our school, and some of our youngest students next year will be children of alumni! Another exciting project I am looking forward to seeing before I leave is adding solar voltaic panels to the LLAC and Lower School roofs. Once August rolls around, hundreds of panels will be harnessing the energy of the sun and lessening our carbon footprint. Display panels on the 9th floor will show many different metrics.

Two new staff members who I am sure will be interested in connecting with alumni are Jane Camblin, the new Head of School, and Benjamin Smith, the Director of Advancement. Some of you may have read about Jane, who was appointed last year, and I would like to take the opportunity to introduce Benjamin. He joins us from the Leysin American School in Switzerland, where he was the Director of Development. Benjamin has a wealth of experience in this field, and he will be looking at ways to connect more strategically with alumni, as well as re-energise the Annual Giving campaign. Both Jane and Benjamin will be officially introduced to alumni at Summer Homecoming in August and I hope that you will join them on Sunday, August 25. Summer Homecoming is always a fabulous occasion to return to CDNIS and get plugged in with the alumni community.

I could not have pictured a more satisfying end to my formal career in education than the one I’ve experienced on Nam Long Shan Road. After 37 years as an educator, I’m returning to Canada to give retirement a try! From the bottom of my heart, I would like to thank the entire CDNIS community: students, parents, teachers, alumni, support staff and the Board. It has been my great pleasure to serve the school community and I’ll be watching your future progress with affection and great interest.

Sincerely,

David Baird Head of School

ALUMNI FAQs How How can can II update update my my details details with with the the Alumni Alumni Office?

Office?

The The best best and and easiest easiest way way to to update update your your contact contact details details isis to to use use the the online online Alumni Alumni Registration Registration form form at at cdnis.edu.hk/alumni-registration. cdnis.edu.hk/alumni-registration.

Or email us at alumni@cdnis.edu.hk.

Or email us at alumni@cdnis.edu.hk.

I’d I’d like like to to come come back back and and visit visit the the CDNIS CDNIS campus. campus. How How do do II go go about about doing doing this? this?

We We love love to to catch catch up up with with our our alumni alumni when when they they are are in in Hong Hong Kong.

Kong.

Contact the Alumni Office and let us know when you would like to stop by and wewe can help to Contact the Alumni Office and let us know when you would like to stop by and can help arrange a time forfor you toto visit, especially if you want toto say hi hi toto your former teachers. to arrange a time you visit, especially if you want say your former teachers.

How How do do II plan plan aa reunion? reunion?

IfIf you’d you’d like like to to help help plan plan aa reunion, reunion, or or even even aa small small gathering, gathering, please please contact contact the the Alumni Alumni Office.

Office. We We can can help help you you in in getting getting started started and and promote promote the the event event on on CDNIS CDNIS alumni alumni social social media media channels. channels.

How How can can II get get information information about about alumni alumni reunions, reunions, activities activities and and publications? publications?

Details Details are are sent sent regularly regularly to to the the alumni’s alumni’s registered registered email email address address and and via via the CDNIS alumni social media channels.

If you need to update your details, please the CDNIS alumni social media channels. If you need to update your details, please do do so so by by using using the the online online Alumni Alumni Registration Registration form form at at cdnis.edu.hk/alumni-registration. cdnis.edu.hk/alumni-registration.

How How can can II get get involved? involved?

We We are are always always looking looking for for former former students students who who are are passionate passionate about about CDNIS CDNIS and and looking to contribute back back to thetoschool.

ThereThere are countless waysways to get on campus, looking to contribute the school. are countless toinvolved get involved on incampus, Hong Kong and Kong around thearound world.the Whether want to bewant a mentor organize alumni in Hong and world.you Whether you to be or a mentor oran organize event where you live, drop the Alumni Office and email and we will help out. an alumni event where you live, drop the Alumni Office and email and we will help out.

How How do do II find find friends friends II went went to to CDNIS CDNIS with? with?

IfIf you you are are looking looking for for aa friend friend or or former former classmate, classmate, we we are are more more than than happy happy to to forward an email to them on your behalf.

Please send us an email along with a note forward an email to them on your behalf. Please send us an email along with a note containing containing as as much much information information on on the the person person (graduation (graduation year) year) as as possible. possible.

How How can can II let let my my classmates classmates know know what what II am am doing? doing?

CDNIS CDNIS shares shares alumni alumni updates updates via via the the alumni alumni magazine, magazine, The The Totem, Totem, and and social social media media channels.

You can email the Alumni Office whenever you make a career change, get married, channels. You can email the Alumni Office at alumni@cdnis.edu.hk whenever you make a have a baby or graduate with a new degree or award.

All new information is updated our career change, get married, have a baby or graduate with a new degree or award. Allinnew databaseinand in and future editions The editions Totem. of The Totem. information is updated ourincluded database included in of future

How How can can II give give to to CDNIS? CDNIS?

Please Please visit visit the the Giving Giving page page on on the the CDNIS CDNIS website. website. This This highlights highlights the the many many wonderful contributions you can make to CDNIS. Thank you in advance! wonderful contributions you can make to CDNIS. Thank you in advance!

Farewell to a Legend Catharine Ho puts down her paintbrush after 25 years at CDNIS

After 25 years of serving students, parents and the Canadian International School of Hong Kong (CDNIS) community, Catharine Ho, Visual Arts Department Head has decided to leave the school. Ms. Ho is grateful for the time that she has spent working at CDNIS with the amazingly talented students and faculty. Despite her fondness for CDNIS and Hong Kong, she has decided to move home to Canada with her husband. Ms. Ho sat down with The Totem to reflect on her time at the school.

What is your proudest moment as a teacher at CDNIS? There are so many to choose, from a moment in class where a student, who was perhaps a reluctant artist, pulls a print and looks up with such pride on their face, to standing back and watching one student encourage another, to the final DP art exhibitions where everyone is just glowing and the students are sharing the work of the past two years with parents, friends and teachers and you can see how much they have grown both artistically and as people. Something I have come to look forward to is when students who get into the world’s top art programmes come back to visit and tell me they have been well prepared and are doing well. It is lovely to see how my former students have grown, and to hear about their lives after CDNIS. I have been blessed with many such moments.

What is the legacy at CDNIS? How would you like to be remembered?

I have heard that other schools have much lower numbers of participation in the arts with only the top art students taking art classes. I believe that art is for everyone and I hope that I have created an environment where every student feels they can create art and their efforts are celebrated. The physical legacy is that over the years I have decorated almost every corner of this 14 floor campus with student art. My team has worked hard to show that the arts are alive and well at CDNIS. I have had great feedback from visitors who say it is obvious, when one walks the halls of our school, that we have a very successful art programme. Our New York style gallery is the jewel in our crown of display spaces. Of course, much of what has been done couldn’t be achieved without the support of our administrators, the facilities management team and most importantly, the dedicated Educational Assistants Iris Chang and Yukiko Wong. I am grateful that every initiative that I have put forth has been supported wholeheartedly.

What is the biggest change that you’ve witnessed at CDNIS? When I first arrived we were a small school of 300 students in an old building but we had big dreams. We were known for our caring and friendly faculty and a quality Canadian education, and 26 years later, we are still a friendly and caring community, though much larger! We have always delivered a quality education and our students, from the start, were gaining entry to world class universities, however, the last 10 years we are making a bigger mark internationally and the pace of learning is much faster. I guess that is the way of the world as technology is a driving force these days. The challenge

is to remember that the technology is only a tool and not lose sight of the importance of teaching and learning and developing the whole child and not just the written curriculum.

What is the value of a grounding in the arts for students?

The arts are what survives of any culture, it is what makes us human. There is also growing evidence that students who have a wider skill set will have the advantage in any chosen career. There is an explosion in art careers with new technology leading the way, and other areas that combine art with other disciplines like the business side of art or psychology and art therapy are also growing. I believe that creativity is the driver for innovative thinking, and students with a grounding in the arts are better able to think outside the box and this benefits all disciplines.

The arts are what makes life enjoyable at a personal level but they also permeate everything we do.

What are some lessons that your students have taught you?

That sometimes you need to stop, throw the curriculum out the window and respond to what is happening in the studio since the plan and the reality don’t always match up. That one of the most empowering things you can do for students is to get out of their way. Set them up with the skills and knowledge they need, then let go and watch them fly but always be there to catch them once they learn from the successes as well as mistakes. That sometimes failing is the best lesson in life as so much can be learned from taking risks and being willing to fail. And last but not least, not to take myself too seriously and be ready for a laugh, after all, we are here to enjoy the process and the journey.

Three years at the helm David Baird reflects on his time as Head of School

By David Baird, Head of School

Watch David’s farewell video.

It’s hard to believe that Marie and I are nearing the end of three busy, rewarding years at Canadian International School of Hong Kong (CDNIS), and I approach retirement with mixed feelings. There’s so much we’ve loved about our international lives as educators, but grandchildren and family await us back in Canada. A reality of being overseas for so long has been missing family events and not seeing grandchildren grow. Now it’s our opportunity to spend time with these four and give our own children a break from the daily demands of parenthood. When CDNIS opens in the fall, we’ll be starting a three-month camping trip across North America pulling our teardrop trailer and visiting friends, relatives, and former students spread across Canada and the United States. That’s the first of many plans on our growing bucket list.

When I first walked into CDNIS in May 2016, I felt its potential. Even after those difficult times, all the ingredients for a high performance educational institution were still in place and this has been reinforced time and time again during my tenure as Head of School.

The teachers are skilled, the administration team is committed to excellence, the B&O staff are dedicated, parents are involved, alumni care about their school, and the Board of Governors has been so supportive, allowing

the administration team to get on with the job. And all around us, were the students - some of the most driven, talented and committed of any student body I’ve ever worked with. I truly enjoyed time spent out of the office with students: on the water with the sailing and rowing teams, on hikes and overnight expeditions with AYP students, with younger students on the 9/F playground, and with the construction crews that built the sets for the Upper School plays and musicals for the last two years.

I may be an administrator, but working with students is what I love most. Once a teacher, always a teacher! I have also enjoyed meeting many alumni, and hearing the affection they have for their alma mater.

When people ask what’s given me great satisfaction during my time here, it has to be seeing the community regroup and reestablish its route, rebuilding trust and getting everything and everybody pointed in the right direction. Was it an easy task to reset the course of this institution? No. But out of every crisis is an opportunity and it’s been amazing to see how CDNIS has emerged far stronger in many respects than ever. And this was possible because everyone worked together, with the aim of resetting our course. It was very affirming to achieve so highly with the CIS/WASC and IB evaluations.

And as well, I’ve taken pleasure in getting people and processes charged up about redeveloping the physical structure of CDNIS. First and foremost, schools are about people. But while a great culture and tone can exist in any physical setting, no matter how flash and modern (or tired out) the buildings are, it helps to have a great location and access to the resources that comprise CDNIS. The physical setting and the associated feng shui of CDNIS inspire awe and admiration, but just as parents like to renovate their homes and add new appliances and lighting, schools also must change and remodel to adapt to advancing pedagogies and technology and we certainly accomplished a lot in the last 36 months.

Redesigning the Science Wing and other corridors, building the carpentry workshop and The Hive, creating the Design Studio and Bistro, adding the composting machine, establishing new music practice rooms, and altering offices – these opportunities have been creative outlets, and fun to undertake! I need to thank the CDNIS Board, the Premises Committee, and the Finance and Administration Committees who have been so supportive and enthusiastic to allow these projects to move be realized.

Looking ahead, there is a new photovoltaic installation occurring this summer on the Lower School Tower and LLAC roofs (the second largest solar installation on Hong Kong Island), additional corridor redesigns, and the building of the Early Years Environment (EYE) to look forward to when school opens in August. There’s a facilities usage plan being completed that examines how we currently use space in the school, as well as

suggesting some visionary projects that will be revealed in the fall. A new Upper School Vice Principal will help us as we transition Grade 6 into the Upper School, while a new Director of Advancement will come on board and look to re-energize the Annual Fund. I’m sure you’ll warmly welcome them both and offer your support, as well as your new Head of School, Jane Camblin.

CDNIS is a very special school. In our years as educators, Marie and I have been in many great schools, but we have certainly treasured our time here as unique. I want to wish all the parents, Godwin Hwa and the Board of Governors and Members, teachers, staff, alumni and students our very best in the years ahead. Marie and I will miss the energy of Hong Kong, the connections established, and the pride of progress being made at CDNIS. We have been so fortunate to be part of the growth within this community and I want to thank you all for the opportunity to serve. Good luck and please, keep in touch. And if you pass through White Rock, British Columbia, do contact us. We may be out sailing or camping or canoeing or pursuing new adventures we haven’t even thought of yet – but we would love to stay connected!

Leaving the CDNIS Nest Students Reflect on their 15 years at CDNIS

As the inaugural Pre Reception class walked through the doors of Canadian International School of Hong Kong (CDNIS) in 2004, the group of three-year-olds began a journey of discovery and learning which they could not have dreamed of. This year, 18 members of this Pre Reception class will walk across the LLAC stage to collect their diplomas, culminating their 15 year journey at CDNIS. Many alumni have fond memories of their time at CDNIS, and the school is proud to highlight this special group of students who are the first to spend 15 years with us.

To commemorate this milestone, CDNIS organised a surprise for this select group of students. As luck would have it, their teacher in Pre Reception, Gillian Little, is still teaching at the school! The reunion with Ms. Little took place in the very same classroom where their CDNIS adventure began. The school even printed off their class photos from 15 years ago, including large posters of the students’ individual portraits.

time at school, and how it has shaped them into the person they are today. The school is so proud of how these students have grown throughout this time, as they leave their Nam Long Shan nest and spread their wings to fly to destinations new.

The 18 students gasped with shock as memories came flooding back when they entered the classroom, and Ms. Little was there to congratulate each one of the students with a warm embrace. This was a lovely occasion for all involved, as they took trips down memory lane and reminisced about their early years at CDNIS. After posing for photos, the students were invited to reflect on their

Empowering engagement locally and globally is at the heart of the vision and mission of CDNIS. Vance, one of the 18 students, has realised his full potential through taking photographs around the world during Experience Weeks, hosting Model United Nations at CDNIS, and exploring new parts of Hong Kong through the AYP. Vance would not be the person he is today without

having grasped the many opportunities to engage with the community around him in Hong Kong and beyond.

He plans to study at the University of Exeter on a full scholarship after graduation. “There are many student led initiatives where students can start their own projects,” Vance adds. “The school specialises in giving students opportunities, and it’s something that I’m very grateful for.”

Participation, enjoyment and success is the motto for the CDNIS Timberwolves programme. Playing on a T-Wolves sports team forms many of the most cherished memories for students, and for Eugenie, this was no different. Among the highlights of her time at CDNIS are singing in the Forum with Alan Dick, beloved Lower School Principal, and striving for victory with her volleyball and touch rugby teammates in Hong Kong and abroad.

“I’ve never really seen this place as a school, it’s more like a second home,” said Eugenie. “Even though people in the school come from different cultural backgrounds and the school is very welcoming to everyone, there is definitely a ‘Canadian vibe’.”

The close knit community at CDNIS has fostered many relationships which students treasure. Some of the friendships formed at school are ones that will last a lifetime. Charlotte, who plans to study economics at a university in the UK, cites these relationships as one of the things she will miss most about our school. She reflects that the group of 18 students, and others in the class of 2019, have diverse interests which have been fostered by the teachers at CDNIS. “The school has a really good balance of academics and extracurricular activities,” she said. “Teachers are very knowledgeable and helpful about their subjects, but also encourage students to pursue interests outside of the classroom.”

Jackie has a place to study musical theatre at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, and he credits the visual and performing arts programmes at CDNIS for allowing him to discover his passion for the arts. “Through the school I was able to be a part of theatre, music, and art clubs, all of which helped me decide to pursue musical theatre,” he said. “My counsellor has also done a great job of helping me pursue my college dreams and getting me excited for the next adventure.”

Reflecting on the impact that CDNIS has had on his life, Jackie chose to evoke the Canadian classic Land of the Silver Birch to bid farewell to the place that so many students have called home: “If life were a river, CDNIS would be my canoe. From making lifelong friends to learning about the world and what it has to offer, I have drifted through beautiful scenery and experienced wonderful adventures. Now, leaving this school, all that’s left to do is ‘dip dip and swing’.”

Relive the surprise party!

New Early Years Environment Learn more about the new learning spaces for our youngest students

By Zoe Heggie, Lower School Vice Principal

August 2019 will see the opening of Canadian International School of Hong Kong’s (CDNIS) fully modernised, refurbished Early Years Environment (the EYE, as it will be known). As part of the school’s strategic plan, Strategy 2021, multiple stakeholders have been looking at ways to maximise the use of all the learning spaces in the school. The Early Years classrooms were seen as ripe for redevelopment due to their age and inconsistency of size.

The EYE will be a fantastic new learning area for Pre Reception and Reception students, fully customised to suit the learning needs of those ages. The school is very excited for the youngest learners at CDNIS to explore this new learning space, including six new alumni children who will be joining in 2019/20, swelling the ranks of children of alumni on campus.

This idea was further supported by an ever-expanding body of research about how young children learn best.

The concept of flexible open learning spaces, plus small breakout classrooms, has been gaining traction in the arena of early childhood education as being optimal for very young learners. CDNIS is understandably keen to stay ahead of the curve, ensuring we are able to offer a world-class early years education, and so the EYE was

born. After some research and development looking at comparable international schools’ Early Years spaces, we began the tendering process to engage a professional architect to help us turn this vision into reality.

The EYE will have five classrooms (as our current Early Years setup does), but they will be made smaller and of uniform size, with wide doorways and lots of glass. This enables us to open up a large centralised area in the middle of the EYE, which will house many of the learning zones and challenges that research has shown young brains need access to on a daily basis.

The EYE will mean that teachers are able to collaborate and share resources, so that every student is able to access their preferred learning areas, each and every day, through access to the centralised learning area. Research has shown that following student interests in this age group is one of the key factors in optimising learning.

A particularly important component of the EYE is the ability to help students connect with nature and the outdoors. Children are living increasingly indoor lifestyles in the 21st century, and medical professionals across the world are even starting to prescribe outdoor activity as treatments. The EYE will have bifold glass doors opening out to both sides of the ninth floor: one to access our existing playground with all its equipment and resources, the other to our garden sensory area that will contain sand, water, mud and stones.

Even in inclement weather, the expanse of glass and natural light in the EYE will enable its inhabitants to feel connected with the natural world. Early experiences with the natural world have been positively linked with the development of imagination and a sense of wonder: an important aspect of lifelong learning.

This building project will not affect the cornerstones of the Early Years programme at CDNIS. We are known for our caring and supportive approach to a child’s first years of school, and none of this will change, as this is the central tenet of any quality early years education: warm and trusting relationships with responsive and caring adults. We have established a reputation for having a very experienced, well qualified Early Years teaching team.

This will remain in place. Redesigning the learning spaces

will enable this talented, dynamic and committed group of professionals to take their pedagogy and practices to another level.

With the opening of the EYE, CDNIS aims to be a global leader in the field of early childhood education, a long neglected phase of education until relatively recently.

There is a well-used phrase among early years professionals: “the environment as the third teacher”.

This essentially means that by giving careful thought to the set up of a learning space, children are able to learn not just from the teacher or independently, but also by interacting with the environment around them.

The state of the art facilities of the EYE will enable CDNIS to provide many such metaphorical third teachers. The foundation for all future academic and personal success is laid in the early years of a child’s life, and this summer, CDNIS will be providing the most stable of all foundations for its youngest students. After that, the sky is their limit.

What are they up to now?

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Nicole Chan ’18 was awarded First Prize in the advanced category in the prestigious Golden Classical Music Awards, and performed in Carnegie Hall in New York City earlier this year in March. Nicole is currently studying voice and opera at The Royal Danish Academy of Music, one of the foremost music academies in the world.

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Geoffrey Mo ’15 is about to receive his bachelor’s degree in physics from Carleton College in Northfield, MN. While at Carleton, he has had the opportunity to participate in cutting-edge physics research with the LIGO Scientific Collaboration, which focuses on detecting gravitational waves.

Geoffrey will be continuing this research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the fall, where he will be pursuing a PhD in physics.

The alumni newsletter is seen by more than just alumni. Students, parents and staff read it. Share what you are doing with them; you never know what contacts and opportunities could come your way. Whether it’s a new job you’re starting at, or a new addition to your family, please send your story and pictures to the alumni office. alumni@cdnis.edu.hk

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Canadian International School of Hong Kong 36 Nam Long Shan Road, Aberdeen, Hong Kong Phone: (852) 2525 7088 Fax: (852) 2525 7579 schoolinfo@cdnis.edu.hk cdnis.edu.hk