STIRRING the SOUL with a NEW STORY:
MIKE KERSTEN & MARTY SCHMIDT TALK SERVICE LEARNING
THEN & NOW:
HIGH SCHOOL CLUBS
CLASS OF 1995
20 YEAR REUNION KWOON CHUNG MOTORS CELEBRATES 50 YEARS
ALUMNI Chatter
Student for Life: Head of School
DR. ALAN RUNGE SUMMER WINTER 2015 2016
© Ami Kurosaki ’16
dragonTales
Table of Contents Letter from the Head of School
1
HKIS Gallery Lower & Upper Primary Student Art 2 Advancement Q & A with our Chief Advancement Officer 3 2016 HKIS Annual Ball Save the Date 4 2015-16 James A. Handrich Service Leadership 5 Endowment Fund 2015-16 Charles W. Dull Visiting Speaker 6 Internship Program – Summer 2015 7 Cover Story Dr. Alan Runge 8 Then and Now HKIS Clubs 12 Chinese Studies Getting to know the Chinese Culture Club 15 HKIS Gallery Middle School Student Art 16 Community The Booster Club 17 The Parent Faculty Organization 18 Kwoon Chung Motors 19 Student Life HKIS Helps Heifer International Holiday Basketball Tournament
20 22
Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony Stirring the Soul with a New Story
23 24
Events East Coast Visit Class of 1980: 35 Year Reunion Classes of ’83, ’84, ’85: 30 Year Reunion Class of 1995: 20 Year Reunion Class of 2005: 10 Year Reunion Australian Reunion Seattle Reunion HK Chapter Summer Drinks HK Chapter Holiday Gathering HK Chapter Benefit Card Launch
27 28 29 30 32 33 34 34 34 35
Alumni Making Moves
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HKIS Gallery High School Student 2D Art 41 HKIS Gallery High School Student Photography 42 Milestones Clara Wong 43 Staying Connected In Memoriam Class Notes Social Sensations
44 46 50
The Last Word Joel Scheiwe 52
Letter from the head of school
Dear Alumni, I have been at HKIS for over a year now. That first year flew by quickly but was filled with so many wonderful experiences as your new Head of School and also for my family and me. I am looking forward to another amazing year ahead. As I write this, we are just finishing the last of our Christmas Assemblies and we will be heading into an extended 3-week Christmas break. The campus is in full festive swing and is decked out for the holidays. Over the past months, I have had the pleasure and opportunity to meet many alumni in Hong Kong as well as in the US. When I do, I find it fascinating to hear about your lives and communities, your continued passion for HKIS and the impact it has had on you. HKIS is really all about the people in our community and so I give thanks for each of you and wish you all continued blessings! For those of you who I have yet to meet, I hope that the interview in this issue casts some light on who I am as a learner and a leader of HKIS. We explore community in this issue of DragonTales. Our Parent Faculty Organization and Booster Club have been busy bringing us together as usual — Pumpkin Fest was festive fun as always, and the Booster Club continues to lead the cheering through sports events and other spirit-filled days. This year we added a Christmas tree lighting ceremony as a new fun family tradition event in Tai Tam. Also in this edition, one of our students shares a short article about Kwoon Chung Motors, who have been our close partner since our start by providing us with fantastic busing services. They are also celebrating their 50th anniversary. Of course, no issue would be complete without your updates through the Alumni Making Moves section, alumni events pieces and the Class Notes. We were also blessed to welcome the remarkable Loung Ung, our Charles W. Dull Visiting Scholar in October 2015. Ms. Ung’s story of resilience and compassion resonated strongly with our community, and showed the importance of forgiveness and love in life. As you are well aware HKIS will celebrate our 50th Anniversary throughout the 2016-17 school year. Preparations are underway so stay tuned to your inboxes for full details. We will celebrate the closing of our 50th school year at the end of this spring within our school divisions. However, the official year of celebrations will begin in the fall of 2016 with a local community gathering and will conclude with a big splash in a series of celebrations in late May and June 2017 in Hong Kong, focused on alumni. Also, if you have always wanted to relive your High School Interim trip experiences stay tuned for the opportunity to join in an Alumni Interim that summer as well! It is our deep hope that you are able to come back to Repulse Bay and Tai Tam to celebrate with us at one of these events if you can. If you can’t, or if you can but still want more, we will also host a special alumni event in the US to celebrate. Our next issue will include more detail about what the year will bring, as well as how you can help us make it a truly exceptional time to honor our past and find inspiration for our future. Richest blessings to all,
Alan Runge, Ph.D. HEAD OF SCHOOL
DragonTales is produced by the HKIS Advancement Team Chief Advancement Officer Maziar Sabet msabet@hkis.edu.hk Executive Secretary Lina Doo ldoo@hkis.edu.hk Communications and Public Relations Manager Veronica (Galbraith) Booth ’97 vbooth@hkis.edu.hk
Alumni Relations Coordinator Bonnie Chan alumni@hkis.edu.hk Annual Fund Manager Minori Nagatomo ’01 mnagatomo@hkis.edu.hk Communications Coordinator Stuart Slavicky sslavicky@hkis.edu.hk Development Coordinator Ceci Lau clau@hkis.edu.hk
Thank you to our contributors Emily Bisgaard ’16, Booster Club Executive Board, Julian Chan ’16, David Cheng ’95, Charlotte Choi ’16, Ben Cooper ’75, Karen Cooper ’73, Andrew Galbraith ’99, Justin Hardman ’99, Jeffrey He ’16, Ina Ho ’16, Kimberly Hu ’06, Andrew Kao ’16, Mike Kersten, Kevin Lam ’02, Alex Lee ’08, Victor Lun ’16, Dhruv Malhorta ’16, James Martin ’94, Anita Lau Mcelvane ’84,
Parent Faculty Organization, Janice Poon ’15, Molly Scharlin Ben-Hamoo ’18, Marty Schmidt, Alexander Stoeckel ’11, Katie Sum ’16, Therese Tee ’96. Design Linne Tsu ’96
Advancement
Lower & Upper Primary Student Art Our youngest students produce some of our most vibrant art. Here’s a snapshot of Lower Primary and Upper Primary creations from the 2015-16 school year.
“The Dot is Me, the Circle is We” Upper Primary students worked together painting independent dots and community circles to make wonderful covers for their art journals. What a beautiful beginning of the year!
Lower Primary Art (Oct 2015)
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Advancement
Q &A with our chief advancement officer DragonTales continues the conversation with Maziar Sabet on his international life and passion for HKIS.
In the last issue, you referred to your international upbringing. Can you tell us more about that?
Like so many of our HKIS families, I have been blessed with an extremely international experience. My father spent most of his youth and young adult life in Italy, and my mother was brought up in Iran, where I was born. When I was a boy, we moved to Switzerland, then the US and finally Canada. As an adult, I lived in the United States, France and Singapore before moving to Hong Kong in July 2013. My wife is also of Iranian descent but was born and raised in Spain before moving to France and Luxembourg. We met in Wienacht, Switzerland and got married in Las Palmas, Spain. On a typical day, there are four languages being spoken in our home.
How did this influence your choice to live in Hong Kong?
During my 7 years in Singapore I visited Hong Kong a number of times and always felt it would be an amazing place to live. We also had a number of friends who were based here and so the social aspect of the move was very easy. Now we’re into our third year here, and time and again it’s reinforced that Hong Kong has the best of all worlds. I continue to have the privilege of traveling to many interesting places and it’s such a thrill to call a place home that is right at the top of that list.
How did your career path bring you to HKIS?
Over ten years ago we left Paris to move back to Singapore because of an exciting work opportunity for my wife. I am an INSEAD alumnus and they contacted me about helping them expand their presence in the Asia Pacific Region. I was always interested in education and the opportunity to join INSEAD was very enticing. When we moved to Washington DC, again due to a work opportunity for my wife, I joined Laureate Education, which is a huge education company with over 50,000 employees, as Vice President for Asia Pacific, Canada, the Caribbean, Latin America and the US. The range of geographic responsibilities meant I was traveling on average 24 days a month, and the corporate role was too far removed from the student experience for my taste. With a small child at home and plans for more, we decided we missed our lifestyle in Asia and I looked for a role in a traditional school environment with fewer travel demands, ideally based in Hong Kong. So you can see how excited I was when HKIS contacted me about the CAO position.
Why did you want to work at HKIS?
I tell our younger alumni that the litmus test for right career choice is whether or not you would do the same job as a volunteer. In my view there is no profession more important than education which, when properly approached, can unleash the potential latent in everyone and in turn make a sustainable, positive impact on the world. I feel very fortunate that HKIS has provided me an opportunity to align my passions with my profession while based out of my favorite city in the world. n
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Advancement
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Advancement
2015 | james a. handrich service leadership endowment fund Dynamic Duo 2015 Recipient Update: Arthur Fukuda Lam ’16 and Anant Majumdar ’16 It has been just over a year since Arthur Fukuda Lam ’16 and Anant Majumdar ’16 received funding from the James A. Handrich Leadership Endowment Fund to publish their book Farsight. It’s been a very busy period for these socially conscious students: aside from transitioning from their junior to senior year, they have been selling their book online and at community events like October’s Pumpkin Festival to continue to support the Society for Community Organization. As Arthur reports, “Pumpkin Fest was quite successful, so far we’ve sold around 50 books and are on track to finish up sales by the end of this year.”
Established in 2007, the James A. Handrich Service Leadership Endowment helps further the school’s Mission, Vision and the “Self Motivated Learning” and “Contributing to Society” Student Learning Results. The Fund continues to support projects thanks to our community’s generous donations. Please visit www.hkis.edu.hk/giving to see how to support our students’ service work. n
Their work has also garnered the attention of Hong Kong’s media: they have been profiled in the Hong Kong Standard, the city’s most widely-read English language newspaper. Arthur and Anant are continuing to work closely with the Society for Community Organization to guide how the funds from the sales of Farsight will be best used over the coming months. Their senior year looks to be just as busy with several new service projects in the pipeline. The duo is deciding on how to make this work sustainable, such as creating a bi-monthly journal on social issues written by underprivileged youth. They are also entering and winning competitions to support related work: in December they won the Act!on For A Cause Community Act!on Project Competition, run by local charity Kids4Kids, which requires students to create “action-oriented” projects to support local charities. Action is certainly one of their strengths — and combined with a dedication to service, the pair are sure to continue to inspire. n
Image courtesy of the HK Standard
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Advancement
2015 | charles w. dull speaker series “Peace is not automatic, it’s an action.”
Ms. LOUNG UNG Ms. Loung Ung was a child in Cambodia during the Khmer Rouge regime. Because her mother was Chinese and her father worked in the Lon Nol government, her family was targeted during the genocide. She lost both her parents but survived and was relocated to the United States where she grew up to become a social activist and author. Her first book, First they Killed My Father, which describes her life in Cambodia before fleeing to the US, is being adapted into a film for Netflix, directed by Angelina Jolie-Pitt. Loung was selected as the 2015-16 Charles W. Dull Visiting Scholar to speak to the themes of reconciliation, peace and service.
Peace out: Natasha Chiyi ’16 and Loung Ung hang out after a talk. Natasha Chyi ’16 was so inspired by Loung Ung’s story that she sketched a portrait of Loung hugging her father, which Loung has framed.
On November 2 and 3, 2015, Loung addressed our middle and high school students at assemblies and in small group discussions. This was an opportunity for students to consider the power of service through the eyes of someone who has lived through tragedy but has found forgiveness and grace. Her themes of hope and positive action in the face of tragedy were inspirational and uplifting: “Your past doesn’t have to determine your future,” Loung stated, “replace hate with healing”. These messages were particularly moving to high school students enrolled in the “Asian History in Action: Cambodia” course, taught by Mr. Mike Kersten, which uses First They Killed My Father as a class text and includes two trips to Cambodia. Loung spent her first morning with this class, exploring themes of healing and empowerment. As Molly Scharlin Ben-Hamoo ’18 tells DragonTales, “we discussed Loung Ung’s experience and she told us first
hand what happened in her. What stuck with me was how happy she seemed and how gracefully she’s moved on from that experience…The thing that meant most to me was how nice she was when I was talking to her after her speech, and…[I was inspired by] how she really made that experience a thing of the past.”
Loung also gave a talk to the wider community about the value of social conscience and ways to support students in deepening compassion and strengthening commitments to community service. She described the horror of being center stage in the Cambodian wars, a conflict that is sometimes known as the “sideshow” war to the American war in Vietnam. She emphasized that peace is not a given: it takes work, for people to commit to the work, to choose it on a daily basis. She argues that we all have small opportunities every day to choose peace, and have the power to change the world in small and significant ways. As Loung says, “We can change the
hearts and souls of a human who has been shattered and be the best of man’s humanity to man. I want to increase joy in our world.” n
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About the
CHARLES W. DULL VISITING SCHOLAR SERIES The Charles W. Dull Visiting Scholar Speaker Series, named for HKIS’s Headmaster from 1997-2001, brings distinguished speakers to HKIS to interact with students, parents and faculty to bring focus on aspects of our Mission, Vision and Student Learning Results. Previous speakers include Mel Kieschnick, Mr. Chang-rae Lee, Dr. Roby Marcou, and Dr. Kenneth Ginsburg. To give to the Series, please visit www.hkis.edu.hk/giving. To suggest a speaker, please contact advancement@hkis.edu.hk.
Advancement
Summer 2015 | internship program A 21st Century Internship
HKIS Advancement runs an Internship Program for HKIS Juniors, Seniors, and college-aged Alumni. Over 30 hosting companies review more than 100 applications to find the best fit for their organizations. One of these companies, 21st Century Learning International, hired two interns. Co-founder and alumnus Justin Hardman ’99 talks to DragonTales about the experience. n
Please describe what 21st Century Learning International does.
21st Century Learning International supports K-12 schools in the effective use of technology for learning, teaching and administrative operations. Our mission is “Building Learning Communities” and our activities and services include organizing conferences and workshops, delivering professional development services, building online communities, and carrying out bespoke consulting services. We are also involved in educational research.
Why did you choose to be part of our internship program?
As a startup we have big dreams and we can always use extra help and support to accelerate projects. It’s also great to have the energy and fresh thinking of young people in the organization.
How many years have you participated in the program? 2015 was the first year.
How many interns did you hire?
Two: Jeffrey He ’16 and Victor Lun ’16
What did they work on? • • • • •
Podcast production. Updates to our Customer Relationship database (boring but important!). Web research for potential sponsors for our events. Producing and uploading YouTube videos. Producing content for social media.
How did they contribute to office life?
We operate very much online using a variety of digital tools to collaborate including Google Docs, Slack, and Asana for task management. Working at 21CLI is very much about collaborating online and Jeffrey and Victor both fitted in quickly and easily and of course mastered our online systems in a flash! Digital natives in action.
What did you get from the experience?
As a company that works primarily with K-12 schools it was great to have the perspective of the very people we are ultimately trying to benefit. We very much shaped the roles around the abilities of the interns.
Will you participate next year?
Absolutely!
Did they exhibit any exceptional traits or skills special to HKIS students?
Jeffrey and Victor had many of the traits that make HKIS graduates outstanding: hard workers & excellent collaborators with great communication skills. We could also rely on them to take responsibility for seeing tasks through to completion with minimal intervention or oversight. n
“What I really enjoyed about my experience at 21CLI was the amount of freedom and flexibility given to me. While interning at 21CLI, Jeffrey and I were able to easily communicate with all team members using a variety of social platforms such as Slack and Skype. In addition, Jeffrey and I were given the freedom to either work from home or at the office at Sheung Wan. Overall, my experience at 21CLI allowed me to develop more well-rounded skills suitable for the work environment.” Victor Lun ’16 Justin Hardman’s top pieces of advice for interns: • • • • •
Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Be prepared to share ideas you have about how things could be improved. Consider startups — you’ll likely get to do a lot more and leave a greater legacy. Demonstrate flexibility in the way you work. This might mean working from home, working varied hours etc. Leverage technology to allow employers to know what you are doing. Tools like “Slack” and “Asana” are becoming invaluable to teams so be prepared to embrace them.
“What I really enjoyed about my experience at 21CLI was the balance between guidance and freedom — as interns, we were given specific tasks to complete while also given freedom to decide how we were going to complete these tasks. As a result, I was free to combine some of my knowledge of programming with new skills I learned from the internship to complete many of the tasks we were given. That was both fun and rewarding.” Jeffrey He ’16 Are you interested in being a hosting partner or the internship program? Please email alumni@hkis.edu.hk for information! WINTER 2016 DRAGONTALES
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t n e d u t S e f i L r o f
Dr. Alan Runge brings a deep love of learning to his job as the HKIS Head of School By Andrew Galbraith ’99
Cover Story
In his 10th year of graduate school, Alan Runge, HKIS Head of School, was given an ultimatum: Graduate, or
face the consequences. “My advisor said I was done. He said he would notify the registrar that I couldn’t take any more classes,” he explains, laughing. Working on his PhD in Physics Education at the University of Nebraska, Dr. Runge’s passion for education had pushed his studies to their limit. “My transcripts were crazy. I had enough for two doctorates.” Whether or not his advisor meant to stand behind his threat, Dr. Runge submitted his dissertation — on the use of Maple algebra software in the instruction of undergraduate physics students — and was awarded his doctorate. His post-secondary education had blessed him with five degrees: His PhD, a master’s degree in physics and astronomy, a second master’s in experimental physics, a bachelor of science in physics, and a bachelor of arts in physical sciences, with minors in math and theology.
“I really, really, really love school, and I had no plan to leave,” he explains. As it turns out, he didn’t. Armed with a fresh doctorate, Dr. Runge embarked on a career as an educator that has kept him in school to this day — with some surprises along the way. Dr. Runge’s educational journey began in Kansas City, Missouri, where he walked every day to classes at a public elementary and junior high school. It was a difficult experience. His diminutive height and his love of school made him a target of bullying in Missouri’s enormous public school system. “I grew up the shortest kid in my class. In class pictures,
they always put the shortest two in the front. And that was me with my buddy, Mike Shackleton, holding up the class sign.”
While he found a social group in the swim team as a competitive swimmer, the Lutheran church provided his greatest source of guidance.
“One of the role models that I developed over time was my pastor,” Dr. Runge says. “I was raised in the LCMS, as a Lutheran, and I decided I wanted to be like him. I wanted to be a pastor.”
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Cover Story Sherri, Alan and Elijah Runge enjoy living in Hong Kong.
As he prepared to enter high school, Dr. Runge asked his
parents if he could attend boarding school at St. Paul’s College High, a private Lutheran school in Missouri. It came as a surprise: His parents, friends and teachers had all assumed he would go to public high school as an All-State swimmer.
Instead, he found in St. Paul’s what he calls a “life-changing” experience. One of just 135 students in a town of 2,000 people, Dr. Runge threw himself into his studies, music, choir, band and sports. When he was offered admission by Concordia University in Seward, Nebraska, he quickly accepted. “Everyone was going there, so I never really gave it much thought,” he explains.
“I got a swim scholarship and a football scholarship, and I was still on track to be a pastor.”
Near the end of his undergraduate degree, Dr. Runge began questioning his plan. Reflecting on his experiences in church and in school, he realized that the part of being a pastor that he liked most was teaching. This realization led him to an advanced physics degree as a stepping-stone to work as a university professor. A master’s degree from the teaching-focused Miami University of Ohio was followed by a second master’s and a doctorate from the University of Nebraska. Through a unique program at the University of Nebraska, his doctorate allowed him to pursue his passion for physics together with studies in the school’s college of education. By the time Dr. Runge received his PhD, he had already enjoyed years of experience as a teaching assistant. His plan for staying in school was simple: to find work as a physics professor and continue to teach. “I wanted to be like one of the best professors I had,” he explains. An invitation to establish and chair a new Information Technology department at Concordia University in St. Paul, Minnesota, put him on a different path. While he saw himself as a “physics guy,” Concordia recognized the strength of his education studies and launched him into a new career as an administrator. His next role as the Dean of Telecommunications Management and Business Administration at DeVry University in Kansas City, Missouri reinforced his experience and prompted his final degree (so far) — an MBA. “I thought, if I’m supposed to be the Dean over business programs, I need a degree in it!” he says. 10
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While in Kansas City, Dr. Runge met his wife-to-be, Sherri. They found common interests in education — her most recent work focuses on dyslexia and therapy for students with learning difficulties — and an intense dislike of cold weather. Before long, Dr. Runge found himself faced with another ultimatum.
“Sherri told me that if I couldn’t find a job in a warmer place, that she would move to Florida.” Dr. Runge laughs as he recalls the conversation. “She said, ‘You can follow me if you want to keep dating me,’ and I asked, ‘Is Houston far enough south?’” DeVry offered an opportunity for work in Houston as the Dean of Academic Affairs at a new campus, and Dr. Runge, Sherri and Sherri’s younger daughter, Lauren, moved there together (Christy, the elder, was already working). But over time, Dr. Runge found himself yearning for the model that had inspired his own passion for education. “My vision was to be a physics professor, and I
preferred to be in a small liberal-arts college, especially a Lutheran one.”
Driven by this vision, he applied for a physics professorship at Concordia University in Austin, Texas. Once again, as in Minnesota, fate intervened, as the school recommended Dr. Runge for the job of provost instead. Seven eventful years later — he and Sherri adopted a son, Elijah, after the birth of their second grandchild – he received a call from a headhunting firm about a job in Hong Kong.
“They mentioned a job at Hong Kong International School, and I think I chuckled,” Dr. Runge says. “That first call was pretty short. I said I’ve never worked or lived internationally, I’ve never been to Hong Kong, I’ve never been a K-12 teacher.” As the search firm persisted, Dr. Runge saw that his educational and professional history gave him plenty of relevant experience. In addition, he sat on a foundation board that supported the local public school district in Austin, was an AP Physics grader, and had extensive experience helping parents of K-12 students understand college. He realized that as one of the world’s largest international schools, HKIS behaves more like a university, with two campuses, four buildings, a college-sized budget and endowment, and about the same number of staff. He saw that his work on building and growing new campuses and programs gave him the skills to oversee a period of rapid change at HKIS.
Cover Story Reflecting on the position, and discussing it with Sherri after they had a chance to visit the school, Dr. Runge decided to take the job. On December 12, 2014, he, Sherri and Elijah moved to Hong Kong, arriving here for only the third time ever.
“I opened up my heart and mind,” he says. “I see this as a vocation, as a call to service. I would never have sought it, but I think God has plans for me. All my life I’ve been led into these great opportunities … I put a lot of trust in a longer-term purpose that I may not be fully aware of.” The family has been quick to adjust to Hong Kong, apart from difficulties in securing ingredients for Mexican food and driving on the left. “It’s everything we would have chosen in a city. We love it here.” As Head of School, Dr. Runge focuses on campus leadership, strategic thinking, planning, and building relations with alumni, parents, the community and partner organizations — “all the
legwork that enables a school to grow, develop, and provide exceptional learning experiences for its students,” he explains.
“My job is to connect people to HKIS,” says Dr. Runge. “It’s not just about raising money. It’s about partnerships, telling our story.” Dr. Runge sees alumni, old and new, as a unique opportunity to tell the HKIS story. He is especially excited about finding ways to help them to connect with each other, recognizing that for many, time at HKIS is as life-changing as St. Paul’s was for him growing up.
“Alumni love us, they loved their time here. Many of them bounced around, but they loved HKIS best,” he says.
For alumni wanting to give back to the school, Dr. Runge suggests offering support and fellowship to recent graduates as they enter college and the job market. But whether alumni choose to be physically involved, to donate money or to participate in the community in some other way, he understands they are motivated by a love for the school and the strong bonds created by the shared experience of an HKIS education. As a lifelong student and educator, it’s a love Dr. Runge understands and hopes to support.
“HKIS is not about one or two or 12 years in school. It’s about life.” n
Five questions for Dr. Runge Q: What did you have on the walls of your bedroom as a kid? A: I had a few framed pictures of trains and a bulletin board I could put things on. I collected all kinds of stuff on that, from cartoons to news clippings to pictures. In both my room and my sister’s room, our parents strung a fishing line on the wall, and we strung our ribbons from swimming there. We were both very active competitive swimmers growing up, so we had a lot of ribbons. The medals we won were mounted in a frame by our mom as well, and that hung below the ribbons. Q: What one cuisine would you choose to eat for the rest of your life? A: I guess it would have to be barbecue. I grew up on the backyard barbecue grill and can cook almost anything that way! Plus, I love fire and the smell of smoke. Q: What is your ideal holiday? A: A soft sand beach on a secluded spot of a tropical island with bar service. On vacation I just like to relax, read a lot and unwind without a lot of logistics and schedules. Q: If you had to go back to school for a new subject, what would
you study?
A: I’ve actually toyed with law school on-and-off over the years. Music might land high on that list, too. Q: What are your hobbies? What do you do in your spare time?
Alan and hi kickabout s son have a .
ily nge fam nded Ru The exte t Disney World. a holidays
A: I love adventure and stretching my personal comfort limits. I especially love being in, around, or on the water — whether that’s scuba diving with Sherri, sailing, water skiing, wake surfing of just floating in the sun. Elijah seems to equally love the water. I am also a licensed and avid pilot. I’m a big fan of movies — Top Gun and Shawshank Redemption are amongst my all-time favorite films.
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HKIS Clubs Then and Now
Advancement Intern Janice Poon ’15 investigates the roots of three of the most established clubs at HKIS. Participation in clubs is a big part of student life at HKIS. We develop friendships and pick up a lot of skills through the exceptional experiences clubs offer us. While some clubs have come and gone throughout the school’s history, there are a few that have remained strong throughout the years.
Chinese CluBS at HKIS Founded in 1978, the Chinese Club, originally called the Mandarin Club, had the goal to raise awareness of Chinese culture at HKIS. It was initially a small club that was mainly faculty-led, and organized activities such as cooking Chinese food during the eighth period. In fact, it quickly became known throughout HKIS for its spring roll sales. Since then, the Chinese Club has grown and now offers activities such as riddle guessing, historical trail visits, treasure hunts, moon-cake making and the occasional spring roll sale. As more students take Mandarin classes, there is an ever-growing interest in Chinese culture; from having only 24 members in 1978, it now has over 100 members.
1979 Mandarin Club 2013 Chinese Tu
toring Center
lture Club
2015 Chinese Cu
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1982 SOS Club
HKIS Then and Now Technology clubs at HKIS In the days before laptops, students would take their 3.5" floppy disks to the PC Lab at the end of a long corridor. Though the technology has advanced, the need for support hasn’t gone away and when we find ourselves jinxed with computer problems, that is the time for us to go to the smart techies of the Student Digital Leadership Team! It all started with the Dragon Bulletin Board System (BBS), a computer system which was informally set up by a few techies who met up regularly to play with computers in 1992, when the Internet was freshly invented. The BBS linked classes, clubs and even schools together for discussions and questions; the precursor to today’s DragonNet. Sometimes, it’s the quiet guys who accomplish the most! In the intervening years, the SDLT has worked cooperatively to realize its goal, which, according to Hamlet Lin, the High School Technology Coach, is “to change the impression that SDLT is just a group with bunch of
1994 Dragon Bu
lletin Board Syste
m (BBS)
tech guys helping around, we are aiming to transform it into a leadership organization!”
dership Team (SDLT)
2014 Student Digital Lea
2003 Sys Ops Club
dics
2015 Dragon Me
2015 Amnesty International HKIS WINTER 2016 DRAGONTALES
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HKIS Then and Now Service clubs at HKIS With Contributing to Society as one of our Student Learning Results, service orientated clubs are a key part of after-school life. And the biggest of those clubs is Interact! Interact Service Committee was launched in 1990. Before Interact was founded, the whole school took part in service on days such as the Day of Giving and the Fast. The creation of Interact club started to provide more service opportunities for students to give back at events such as Flag Days and SOS (Service on Saturdays). As it grew in popularity and due to the huge number of student volunteers, it had to be subdivided into two other smaller service clubs: Z Club and SOS, to keep everyone involved. Of course, we can’t talk about Interact without mentioning the Interact Fashion Show, which started in 1998. A large proportion of Interact’s fundraising is through this ever popular event, but it also is a way for students to give back. As Zella Talbot, the High School Humanities Teacher responsible for Interact, says, “the show itself is only 2 hours, but it takes a whole year of effort to prepare for the performance. It’s all self-motivated; students don’t always get credit out of it. This is what service is all about.” Another major service club is Amnesty International HKIS, which has a different focus from Interact’s. It cooperates with Amnesty International Hong Kong to bring light to human rights violations around the world. They respond to Urgent Action calls by writing letters and signing petitions to call on governments to uphold human rights. Amnesty is also active inside of school. This year, they are working on promoting human rights through holding an Annual Silence Day, where club members take the vow of silence to stand up for those who do not have a voice. Amnesty is a unique service club at HKIS in a sense that it is not focused on fundraising, instead, it strives to spread awareness of human rights issues and get our community engaged in upholding human rights.
as Kirsten’s Zoo’s first annual charity walk. As one of the club leaders, Robyn Ma, puts it, “We hope to bring greater happiness to the affected animals and to the local community while challenging the preconceived notion of animal activists as extremists.” Another newly founded service club is the Dragon Medics. It is the only service club at HKIS that provides students with first aid training and hands-on experience so they can be calm, collected, and a life saver during an emergency. It was established in 2014 by three Class of 2016 students who were passionate about medicine: Claudia Gabison, Elisabeth Slighton and Forrest Holcombe. Dragon Medics regularly certifies students in Standard First Aid and CPR/AED use. As of today, it has certified 48 students, and their goal is to certify all 76 members by the end of the year. It has also provided a sports taping course, where students learned the different methods of taping ankles, knees, and hands. It also provides students with opportunities to put their first aid skills to use. Its members volunteer for a variety of events such as APAC, China Cup, the Holiday Basketball Tournament, the 24 Hour Race, Pumpkin Festival, and all HKIS hosted sports games. Even though it is newly-founded, its members has increased from 30 to 76 students in just one year.
2015 Animal Safety and Protection Club (ASAP)
Conclusion
1996 Interact Club
There are some newly-founded service clubs that are thriving. For instance, the ASAP, also known as the Animal Safety and Protection club, is the only club at HKIS that is solely dedicated to improving animal welfare in Hong Kong. They do this predominantly through hands-on volunteering in local animal shelters such as Hong Kong Dog Rescue. While it has been hard for them to get members involved in these service opportunities due to volunteer age limit policies at some shelters, this year, they began to collaborate with Sai Kung Stray Friends on events such 14
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Faces change, students move away but often it’s the memories we share and friendships we make in school clubs that stay strongest. Whether it’s been the experience of service in Interact, a movie seen at Chinese Club, or a program developed in BBS, it’s these extra-curricular events that have gone on to shape countless lives. n
Chinese Studies getting to know the chinese culture club By the editors of Chuan Long, HKIS’s bilingual student magazine
The Chinese Culture Club has always been committed to fostering exchanges between Chinese and Western cultures as well as deepening our school’s students’ interest in learning traditional Chinese historical and cultural heritage. Nowadays with the influence of technology, it is harder for teenagers to connect with and understand their cultural background because they are exposed to so many other cultures. The Club hosts events that capture the essence of the occasion every Chinese festival. For Mid-Autumn Festival this year, the club set up a DIY mooncake counter during A and B lunches and hung lanterns around the cafeteria decorated with intriguing riddle games, which delighted the school’s faculty and student body. After the festival, many of them expressed their interest to get to learn more about Chinese traditions, which the club is really proud about. At the same time, the Club is keen on spreading the awareness and promoting the preservation of cultural monuments in the whole of Hong Kong. Therefore, CCC led a field trip to the Sun Yat Sen trail along Wan Chai and Mid-Levels in April. Along the way, thet came across monuments like the Blue House, Wan Chai market and so on, and lamented in their beauty. This has also strengthened students’ sense of self-identity. With these successful experience and events, CCC hopes to continue its mission of deepening HKIS’s understanding of Chinese culture.
中華文化社 編輯／撰寫： 傳龍－香港國際學校的雙語校園刊物
香港國際學校中華文化社一直致力促進中西文化交流 以及加深學生對中國文化遣產的認識。時下資訊科技 發達，青少年能輕易接觸到異地文化，因此對自己的 文化背景認識淺薄。 有見及此，每逢中國傳統節日，文化社都會隆重其 事，舉辦一些具中國文化特色的活動。在今年九月二 十五日，為了促進同學們對中秋節的認識，文化社就 特意製造月餅以及安排了一連串的猜燈謎遊戲。結 果，美味的月餅和有趣的燈謎遊戲贏得師生們的一致 好評。節日過後，不少師生紛紛表達出對中華文化的 熱愛，文化社上下都為成功發揚中國文化而深感自 豪。 另外，文化社於本年四月召集了成員走了一回灣仔遺 址徑。在參觀的過程中，我們看到了許多經常被遺視 的名勝古蹟：藍屋，灣仔市場等等，同學們紛紛慨歎 於它們的美。行徑過後，我們對文化遣產的情懷油然 而生，並加強了個人身份認同感。中華文化社期望能 再接再厲，繼續發揚中華文化。 n
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HKIS Gallery
Amelia Buch ’20 and Mahaut Delloye ’20
Middle School Student Art
Ella McCoy ’20
Henrietta Ko ’21
Anahita Kaman ’20
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Myron Weng ’20
Lucy Howell ’21
Community the booster club:
Spreading Dragon Spirit for more than 20 Years! By The Booster Club Executive Board It’s hard to believe that it’s been more than 20 years since the Booster Club became an official Hong Kong charitable trust. The goal of the Booster Club then and now remains the same, to spread school spirit by sponsoring and organizing various events. Volunteers are still using the Booster Club’s popcorn machine at lunch and sports tournaments. Now, with the addition of the Sno Cone machine, we’re able to host annual events such as, “Welcome Back Sno Cones” in the Middle and High Schools. This year, bubbles and music have become a weekly Friday High School student-led event thanks to the recently purchased Booster Club bubble machine. The Lower Primary students especially enjoyed dancing around and popping the bubbles during their “Welcome Back” event. Last year, the Booster Club donated 600 Moon Pies from the U.S. for a project in which the entire Upper Primary School read a novel about life in the South. Of course the Booster Club hasn’t thrown traditions by the wayside. The Booster Club still donates oranges for refreshments at the Lower, Upper Primary, and Middle School field/sports days. It still sponsors cupcake and cookie decorating in the Middle and High Schools. Torch the Dragon still loves to visit all four divisions and make appearances at Pumpkin Fest and the World’s Fair. The Booster Club sponsors the three High School Sports Banquets each year and provides free travel kits to students who travel to represent HKIS in athletic, academic, or performing arts competitions. Varsity athletes also enjoy wearing the letterman jackets that the Booster Club’s Dragon Shop now offers. Thanks to the community’s patronage of the Booster Clubs’ Dragon Shop and the annual Back to School Sale, the Booster Club has allocated back to the school nearly $3 million in the past five years for items as diverse as a rugby scrum machine, choir and band uniforms for Middle School, books for the Upper Primary’s Battle of the Books team, and soccer goals and art banners in Lower Primary. The most important thing that has not changed over the years is the Booster Club’s gratitude for all those in the HKIS community who volunteer their time for Booster Club projects and who shop at the Dragon Shop. The Club literally could not do what it does without this support. n
GO DRAGONS!
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Community parent faculty organization (pfo)
A Pretty Fabulous Organization Delights at this year’s Pumpkin Festival By the Parent Faculty Organization
It was a perfect day for the Pumpkin Festival, which was held at the Tai Tam, Middle School/Lower Primary campus, on October 17. This event was festively decorated and the campus was buzzing with the smiling faces of HKIS families, alumni and guests enjoying the beautiful pumpkins, delicious food, exciting games, talented entertainment and so much more! This is one of two major community events hosted by the Parent Faculty Organization (PFO) every year. On April 16, 2016, the PFO will host the World’s Fair at the High School, another major event that is a highlight of the school community’s calendar. The PFO works closely with the school to support its efforts to deliver a quality education, build a sense of community, provide a forum for the expression of schoolwide views and interests, and to foster communication between home and school. The projects and events organized by the PFO — including sales of the school calendar, the Pumpkin Festival, the World’s Fair, numerous Book Fairs, and Chinese New Year Apparel sales — raise money that goes back to the school as divisional allocations, funds guest speakers and supports one-off opportunities. As well as this, the PFO also organizes and funds the Chinese New Year Assemblies and Teacher Appreciation Week. In the 2014-15 school year, the PFO contributed more than $900,000 back to HKIS and all four divisions benefitted from these funds. As well as fundraising, it is committed to helping new parents acclimatize to Hong Kong and HKIS through its mentoring program and the various new parent events it hosts. Each year, the PFO takes applications from students in Grades 11 and 12 and awards eight merit scholarships. High School students are also able to earn money for their clubs, classes and charities by working at PFO events. The PFO was officially formed in May 1987, but fundraising efforts by the parent community at HKIS date back to the early 1970s. A board of twelve parents and four divisional faculty representatives govern the organization. The events and projects hosted by the PFO happen throughout the year and rely on the hard work and dedication of parent volunteers. Every parent, faculty member and administrator at HKIS is automatically a member of the PFO. By attending PFO events, donating their time and purchasing the products offered, the members of the HKIS community are critical to the success of this organization. The PFO welcomes HKIS alumni to its events and is grateful for any support in terms of donations and volunteering. n Please contact pfo@hkis.edu for more information or pfo.volunteers@hkis.edu to get involved! 18
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Community
kwoon Chung Motors
“We serve with pride and devotion” by Andrew Kao ’16
g thew Won n, Mr. Mat Mrs. Brow e students home. Christian se
ileen
and Mrs. E
Kwoon Chung Motors has always been an integral part of the HKIS community, guided by its motto to conscientiously provide bus services. Founded in 1966, the same year as HKIS, Kwoon Chung has had a long-standing history of working with HKIS. Since the fiftieth anniversary for both HKIS and Kwoon Chung is coming up, I decided to interview Kwoon Chung’s Chief Operating Officer, Tim Wong, for a look at the company’s relationship with our school. Beyond anything else, Mr. Wong believes that “the most important part of our relationship is the element of trust between the parents, students, school and Kwoon Chung.” From its earliest days serving just a handful of students to its current role as the largest international school bus provider with a fleet of over 1,200 vehicles, Kwoon Chung has steadily grown alongside HKIS, always striving to “provide the best service available for all students and parents.”
The team lines up! Kwoon Chung Bus workers join Mrs. Brown (center) Mr. Matthew Wong, then Chairman of KCBH (to right of Mrs. Brown), and Mr. Wong Kwoon-chung, the founder of the company (far right).
Kwoon Chung has always aspired to attain the highest possible standards. Over the years, this has meant creating an electronic platform for parents’ ease of use, making reward schemes for the best drivers, as well as developing close relationships with HKIS’s administration and the Parent Faculty Organization. Through this all, Kwoon Chung has provided buses for students on every school day for the last fifty years. Whether we sprinted each morning to barely catch the leaving bus, or spent the bus rides chatting away with friends, or even simply slept away the rides for that extra little bit of sleep, many of us bus-riders have fond memories of our buses. Let’s remember the stern bus mothers who cared for us, commemorate the dedicated bus drivers who struggled through wind and rain for us, and celebrate the fifty years of a tight-knit relationship. n WINTER 2016 DRAGONTALES
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Student Life hkis helps heifer international Heifer International’s “Read to Feed” program raises funds to provide families with livestock as a sustainable way to support self-sufficiency. With 14 years of participation and over HK $4 million raised, our Lower Primary students voraciously “Read to Feed” with no signs of tiring. The program is a great opportunity for our young students to learn about and develop values of service, global citizenship, empathy, and self-motivation: we have seen them open their hearts to the importance of taking care of those in need. The funding from these efforts go to families in rural China. In October 2015, a group of educators from HKIS, joined by four High School students with a special connection to the program, traveled to see where HKIS has made an impact. Here is a reflection by one HKIS student.
By Charlotte Chui ’16 The blazing hot rays of the sun splayed across the dirt as we watched the Lahu people in Chusi village perform an opening ceremony for our arrival. Men, women and children of all ages were dressed from head to toe in black velvet adorned with colorful embellishments, and their suntanned faces furrowed in concentration as they danced along to the discordant toots of the pipes. Turning, I saw a small, cheeky face dart out of sight as I faced my fellow classmates. A dark tuft of hair and twinkling eyes slowly emerged from behind my seat and I couldn’t help but smile and wave as the shy youngster darted back behind the bench. From October 21 to 25, 2015, a group of six Lower Primary faculty members, Mrs. Dyette, Mrs. Dratz, Ms. Corley, Ms. Chesebro, Ms. Hawkins and Mrs. Chang, and four High School students, Isabelle, Martin, Manfred and I, were invited to travel on a study trip to Yunnan Province, organized by Hong Kong’s Heifer International. An organization dedicated to sustainable living in all aspects of the phrase, Heifer International began working with HKIS in 2001, primarily through Read to Feed, and has continued this relationship since then.
All Aboard! Manfred Shek ’16, Charlotte Chui ’16, Mrs. Dratz, Martin Chan ’16, Isabelle Van Oppen ’17
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Student Life
As students who have attended HKIS since R1, Isabelle, Martin, Manfred and I have been passionate and aware of Heifer International’s cause since then and are now leaders of the Heifer HKIS chapter in the High School. Therefore, this trip to Yunnan was an experience that only furthered our drive to promote and raise awareness for Heifer International and its cause. The fact that we were also able to attend the trip with a teacher, Mrs. Dratz, who we have known since the age of four, was also a highlight. Seeing firsthand how Heifer International helps the underprivileged villages and often marginalized minorities in China was thought-provoking, and we hope to continue to work with the Lower Primary and Heifer International to continue to help others help themselves. n
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Student Life
46th Annual Holiday Basketball Tournament hoop dreams School spirit filled the HKIS gymnasiums as the 46th Holiday Basketball Tournament took place from November 26-28, 2015. Teams from seven schools across Asia participated in this annual tournament, which used to take place over Christmas break (now visiting schools can take advantage of the four-day weekend around Thanksgiving, which many American international schools observe). This tradition, which is almost as old as the school, is a firm favorite with students, teachers and alumni! Here’s what the athletes had to say.
This competition is very special for HKIS because of its long history. This tournament is 46 years old, and has been the longest standing tradition at HKIS. It’s also special because it always takes place around thanksgiving and is a great way to meet people and have a fun experience. We only play the teams in Holiday Tournament once a year. So each year it’s always fun to meet new people and to play against new teams. The opposition at Holiday Tournament has always been very competitive and is definitely the toughest tournament that we play each year. This year the HKIS varsity girl’s team placed third place. Our team as a whole has improved tremendously since last year’s last place…It is a great way to push ourselves and it always helps us improve things for future tournaments. — Emily Bisgaard ’16
SCOREBOARD BOYS RESULTS Champions: Singapore American School 2nd: American School of Bangkok 3rd: Taipei American School 4th: St. Mary’s International School 5th: Hong Kong International School 6th: American School in Japan GIRLS RESULTS Champions: Singapore American School 2nd: Australian International School Singapore 3rd: Hong Kong International School 4th: Taipei American School 5th: American School of Bangkok 6th: American School in Japan
The Holiday Tournament is always my favorite time of the year. I’ve been watching HKIS compete against many of the top teams around Asia ever since I was in 4th grade. To be able to compete in the very same tournament that I have watched past HKIS greats play in is a huge honor. The idea of playing in the same gym at the same time as some of the greatest basketball players to ever wear a Dragons uniform and represent Hong Kong International School, the school I’ve been attending for the past 14 years, is a huge privilege. Although we did not win, I feel like through this tournament our team became closer and started to form bonds that we now share both on and off the court. During the second day we had an upset defeat due to our poor energy and weak mental toughness playing an 8 a.m. game. However, after the game we held a team meeting and I said some things that stuck with the players. After the meeting our team chemistry was through the roof, we starting connecting more off of the court, and on the court the energy was phenomenal. I am so excited to see where the season takes us after coming together as a team this tournament. — Julian Chan ’16
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Student Life
Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony
lighting up christmas
Warm weather did nothing to dampen our spirits in celebration of this most joyous season.
If great firs grow from little pinecones, then wonderful traditions start with just a touch of imagination. “Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have a Christmas tree lighting ceremony?” asked Dr. Runge, one September afternoon. And so the planning began to put together an event for the whole HKIS community to welcome in the start of the festive season. Everyone chipped in, from the donation of the lower primary nativity, to the High School Carolers and the very popular Booster Club and their popcorn machine! On December 1, over 200 members of our community joined us in the High School Plaza were we sang-a-long to festive favorites and Christmas carols, drank hot chocolate, enjoyed the tasty treats and waited for the magnificent tree to light up. Two lucky winners, flicked the switch and lit up the thousands of lights that adorned the tree along with the beautiful decorations all of which had so generously been donated by Andy and Stephanie Pan parents of Tyson ’22, Chloe ’24, TJ ’28. With so many smiling faces and warm and festive spirit, we could well have witnessed the start of a wonderful new tradition. So we hope you join us next year! n
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Student Life Stirring the Soul With a New Story On May 31, 2014, High School Humanities teachers Marty Schmidt and Mike Kersten walked out onto the stage at the Sunbeam Theatre in North Point in front of 1200 people at a TEDxHong Kong event on education. They shared the journey of social conscience that they take students on in Humanities I in Action, an interdisciplinary course option for Grade 9 students.
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They shared the course’s vision, content, experiences, and impact this has had upon students over the last 11 years. Here, they write to you, HKIS Alumni, and share their insights, reflect on how service has grown in their years at HKIS, and what it all means for alumni in the future. n
Student Life
Dear Alumni, It is a great pleasure to share with you, dear alumni, the development of service learning at HKIS over the last 20 years because so many of you, in both large and small ways, have contributed to the HKIS story of service. Your collective vision, energy, time and donations have propelled us along this path. In the midst of a city in turmoil and a planet in peril, we hope that this progress report inspires you to get back in touch with us and the HKIS network about your vision of what we might all accomplish together for the sake of our local and global community.
Mike Kersten and Marty Schmidt want to hear from you!
The Task We as humanities teachers are inspired in equal measure by ancient words of wisdom as well as our daily interaction with students. The 13th century poet Rumi once wrote, “It is as if a
king had sent you to a country to carry out one special task. You go to the country and you perform a hundred other tasks, but if you have not performed the task you were sent for, it is as if you have performed nothing at all. So man has come into the world for a particular task, and that is his purpose. If he doesn’t perform it, he will have done nothing.”
For the two of us as Lutheran-trained teachers, we were first told of this one task as young children through the well-known story of Jesus’ visit to the home of the two sisters, Mary and Martha. While Martha was busy running around the kitchen, Mary, ignoring her sister’s not-so-subtle eye messages, sat listening in rapt attention at the feet of Lord Jesus. Martha complains to Jesus, “Do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” Jesus responds, “Martha, you are anxious and
troubled about many things; one thing is needful.”
Our third story takes us into an HKIS classroom. It is November, 2004, and my (Marty) Humanities I in Action class has just returned from Foshan, and we were discussing what we had really accomplished in a mere three days of visits. Why, I pushed further, do we not simply give up when we are barraged with the overwhelming needs all around us — when we watch the news, when we pick up a newspaper … or when we visit a country with an endless number of healthy baby girls abandoned simply because of their gender? I repeated: why don’t we give up? Silence … a long pause. Then out of the corner of my eye from the right hand corner of the room, I noticed a student who, in my mind’s eye, seems to rise up. Her name is Grace Chang (’08), and she broke the silence with a voice of conviction, almost exasperation, declaring to all, “WE HAVE SOULS.” Her three little words — WE HAVE SOULS — speak directly and urgently of both the task itself and its core energy. Yes, there is a purpose, a task, the one needful thing. In a world with so many cries — of abandoned children, child laborers, victims of natural disasters, and even democracy protests in the heart of our city — what do you do to find your soul? The Story of Service at HKIS The answer, as students have told us repeatedly, is to break out of the bubble world of over-preoccupation with academic success and re-connect to the concerns of others in our school, community, city, nation, and world. To that end, service experiences have been an indispensable way for students to pop the bubble and re-align themselves with the world. Of course, many of you experienced this bubble bursting in your time at HKIS. Starting, we believe, in the 1970s, was the “Day of Giving” in which all High School students provided a day of service to a local organization. Then, in 1996, High School principal Mr. Jim Handrich challenged Ms. Zella Talbot and myself (Marty) to consider an on-going service program, which resulted in the creation of “Service on Saturday.” At the same time, service Interims grew from only one, the Pattaya WINTER 2016 DRAGONTALES
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Student Life orphanage trip, to over 20 service experiences; service clubs emerged; and Interact’s charity fashion show began. This phenomenal growth in service activities during the 1990s created a new culture of service at the High School. A few weeks ago Ms. Talbot and I met with HKIS couple Edward Tsui and Trisha Yeh (’00) about their desire to get back in touch with HKIS and do more service work. As Ed explained, “When I reflect on my experience at HKIS, the core value that comes back over and over again in my mind is the service of others. While the outside community may associate HKIS with affluence, privilege, and exclusivity, from [my perspective of] an alumnus who spent 7 years at HKIS, the key value I took away is of service. In particular during my high school years, I don’t think there has been a comparable stage in my life where service was more encouraged and advocated by my surrounding environment. It was not only “cool” to serve with your peers (SOS, Interact, Amnesty, Mother’s Choice, etc), it was the norm. If you were an HKIS student, service was a part of your life.” The next step in the development of service occurred with the turning of the new millennium. Inspired by a visit to Ateneo de Manila High School in the Philippines, Mr. George Coombs and myself offered the first service learning course in January, 2000 called “Service, Society, and the Sacred.” Three years later we brought the key concepts in SSS into “Humanities I in Action,” a core double-period interdisciplinary course that students can choose in Grade 9. In class we study urgent contemporary issues such as genocide, globalization, and the environment, while out of class students engage in about 10 experiential learning outings in Hong Kong, such as Crossroads’ “Refugee Run” simulation. For many students, the highlight of the course is a weekend of taking care of children at the Foshan orphanage. The combined study and experiences in Humanities I in Action has been a powerful motivator for many over the years, but perhaps it has not been better expressed than by Tiffany Chan (‘08), who wrote in her senior year:
“Before a journey begins, there is a moment … when a darker side of the world is thrust upon us. The journey begins when the blindfolds are untied and fall away from our vision; it is when we see. When we went to Foshan in my freshman year, I saw. When I went to Mongolia that same year, I saw. It was a slow stirring of my soul, an insistent urging to go further out, to see more, to do more, feel more, give more, empathize more with the rest of the world. My journey began at the draw of a window curtain, at the flick of a light switch, at the light of a matchstick. It was ultimately, the ignition of a fire that I hope will never cease to burn.” It was about this time that Mike Kersten, who was serving as a Lutheran missionary in Taiwan, enters the story. Pick up the story, Mike. A New Story of Education The first time I came to HKIS was in 2005 for a Lutheran education conference. Marty Schmidt had led a workshop on service-learning and as I approached enthusiastically afterwards, he invited me to bring students from my local school in Taiwan on one of his trips to a state-run orphanage in Foshan, 26
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China. The following summer I joined him and, like so many Humanities I in Action students before and since, the experience changed me. In the same way that Tiffany described, a fire was ignited and I knew that my classroom would never be the same. I came to HKIS in 2008, intent on teaching Humanities I in Action, and two years later proposed a semester elective follow-up, a service learning course that has been doing work in rural Cambodia. The core conviction which animates our students and motivates me is that in a globalized, informationsaturated world, what we need more than anything is to put some soul back into the machine. Our industrial model of educating students in standardized batches is functionally and morally bankrupt. We have brought the modern world to dizzying material heights. But at what cost? People are suffering on both sides of the wealth gap — poverty on one side, depression and disillusionment on the other — while the planet groans under our consumptive lifestyles. At younger and younger ages, we find students who believe that figuring out how to navigate this dual crisis is the most important challenge they will face in life. In our classes, we see that they are hungry for a vision of education that tackles these big questions. And yet, they often feel caught between worlds, yearning for a new story of a whole people for a whole planet, while at the same time working tirelessly chasing an older story of success that requires jumping through hoops, climbing ladders, and enduring a fragmented personal life. As the incongruity of the new and old story becomes apparent to students, together we search in classes for solutions, such as social entrepreneurship, spiritual practice, and lifelong service to society. We ask ourselves and our students: are we fulfilling the task? Have we found our soul? Writing a New Story One of the benefits of the attention brought by our TED Talk has been the opportunity to ask this question to you, alumni, in this article. How are you handling the “one special task” spoken of by Rumi, the “one needful thing” Jesus commended to Mary, the “stirring of the soul” embraced by our students? At HKIS, we have seen your passion as students carry us from a single “Day of Giving” in the 1970s to a robust program of service clubs, service-learning interim trips, and social conscience courses. How are you keeping it going today? We would love to hear from you. Let’s keep lending our hands to the healing of the people-planet divide. Let’s keep writing a new story that stirs the soul. With blessings on your journey,
Marty Schmidt
Mike Kersten
Write to Marty and Mike at mschmidt@hkis.edu.hk and mkersten@hkis.edu.hk!
Events
East Coast visit events
HKIS alumni reconnected with old friends and classmates while meeting new ones, indulged in food and drinks and reminisced about their time in Hong Kong during the East Coast receptions held in October. HKIS Chief Advancement Officer Maziar Sabet enjoyed his third annual trip to the East Coast:
“It was terrific meeting our alumni, seeing how passionate they continue to be about HKIS and hearing their wonderful stories from their time here. I am truly proud of this group of individuals who are the real ambassadors and champions of HKIS.” n If you are interested in becoming an HKIS Alumni Regional Representative for your city, or to get in touch with your current Regional Representative, please contact Alumni Relations at alumni@hkis.edu.hk.
washington d.c. | OCT 3, 2015 | PARK HYATT HOTEL LOUNGE & BAR
Regional Representatives If you an alumni in the Washington D.C area, please feel free to contact Regional Representative Brittany Fried ’15 at blf32@georgetown.edu. If you are an alumni in the New York area, please feel free to contact Regional Representative Esther Cheung ’97 at esther@applieddrawing.com.
CT 9, 2015 new york city | O ON | HUDSON COMM
Fun fact
“Many of our alumni had been tied to the HKIS baseball program — both from those who had graduated decades ago, to those who had graduated last year!”
boston | OC
T 10, 2015
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Events
Class of ’80 35th Reunion
STANDING FROM L TO R: John Shih (’81), Julian Hui, Antonio Koo, Sherman Lam, Harold Sun, Jeff Hsu, Wesley Wan, Terry Yau, Alwyn Tang, Patrick Pang SITTING FROM L TO R: LingKi Chau, Gisa Tse, Gina Tso
Class of 1980 Walks Down Memory Lane On January 13, 2016, the Class of 1980 had their 35th reunion in Hong Kong. While most present live in Hong Kong, Jeff Hsu flew in from Japan, Terry Yau from Toronto and Patrick Pang from Philadelphia just for the occasion! The group met at Repulse Bay and had a tour of their old high school campus. Many stories were shared and great laughs were had as the group walked the halls and reminisced about their high school experience in the ’70s. A reception took place in the evening and it is great to see that the friendships that started at HKIS are still going strong after 35 years! n
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Events
Classes of ’83, ’84 & ’85 30th Reunion by Anita Lau Mcelvane ’84
The HKIS class of ’85 reunion was held in Vegas in August 2015 and was very leisurely. Only drinks were planned for the first night at the hotel bar. Almost everyone stayed at SLS. Jayce and Laura did the planning. We then decided the course of action along the way. Dim sum was a must, and then dinner on the final night at Fiamma at MGM Grand was a great way to end the reunion. n
Class of ’85 attendees: Laura Martin McClure Jayce Allen Linda Malloy Lori Delahunty Chad Saxelid Class of ’84 attendees: Anita Lau Dave Napoleon Class of ’83 attendees: Stephanie Giss Chakmak Jessica Rhoades Matt Long Class of ’86 attendees: Mat Rhoades Get in touch with Anita! anita.mcelvane@gmail.com
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Events
From left to right (sort of): Regan Turley Williams, Courtney Bailey Hughes, David Wong, Joelle Oetting Coutu, Danielle Na Kiesel, Susan Strebel, Anne Kathryn Buovolo, Chris Mills-Winkler (’93), Anitra Buffington Winkler, Sonja Signer, Pierre Niles, Deane Carberry, Katie Wall, Kim Brow Barmoha, Megan Aldridge, Mandy Nalevanko Settembre, Katie Tucker Casey, Hogunn Park, Coralie Charriol Paul, Jason Greene, Rachael Thompson Bachleda, Deby Pan Mathew, Danielle Huthart, David Cheng, Jennifer Stevenson, Kathleen Bennett Farren, Steven Escaler, Charles Tsui, Jeremy Murphy, Deborah Teng, Jared Andersen, Annikki Muncy Mahon, Erin Connor, Joshua Wetjen, Sylvia Kao Lai, Miguel Carreon, Patricia Cardinal, Tamara Frankenberg, Brett Fuentes, Dawn Wappelhorst, John Danbeck, Karen Lee. Not pictured: Gabriella Tricarico Feinstein. #HKIS1995 #HKISreunion20
Class of 1995 20 YEAR REUNION s © Dylan Cros
“We still know how to party!”
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by David Cheng ’95
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The HKIS Class of 1995 celebrated its 20th Reunion with fun, adrenaline and style in a city that rivals (almost) the city where we all met. The formal reunion event took place on Saturday October 10 at the Riverpark Restaurant in New York City, but many attendees planned additional events throughout the entire weekend to meet up with old friends for coffee, lunch, dinner, walks in Central Park, museum tours, the Seahawks game, and get togethers at each others’ homes to meet kids and families. It was a weekend full of reconnecting, sharing old memories, and forging new ones. We had over 60 people attend the reunion, from as far as Hong Kong and Beijing. We had friends whom we had not seen in over 25 years show up. And we had two true Dragons who attended HKIS from K-12 (Joelle Oetting Coutu and Jared Andersen) — that is incredible! After catching up, some wining and dining, the class was treated to a slideshow with over 400 pictures from our elementary school, middle school and high school years. It was an amazing collection of memories that were at times emotional, at times hilarious and at times downright embarrassing. There were many moments of laughter (to the point of pain), finger pointing (and object throwing), or discretely disappearing to avoid embarrassment. Before we knew it, dinner was over and we had to… ..…go to the After Party! We summoned about 20 Uber cars and the caravan took us to Koreatown for some late night Karaoke. We had our own private room with a giant stage, perfect for us to belt out hits from The Cure, Guns N’ Roses, Bon Jovi, The Bangles and more. No one wanted the night to end (other than the bartenders who had to endure our singing), but it was four in the morning. When I started planning this reunion two years ago, I had no idea how it was going to turn out. I just remember wanting to get old and dear friends together and have a good time. As you can see from the pictures, we had ourselves a great night filled with hugs, smiles, some tears, old memories, new memories and above all, a lot of fun.
One other thing that is absolutely astonishing is that only a small minority of the attendees actually graduated from HKIS (most graduated from other schools in the US and elsewhere). Despite many of us only having known each other for a few years, we consider each other the closest of friends and I expect will do so for the rest of our lives. I would like to personally thank everyone who came and made it a truly unforgettable and amazing reunion weekend. Thank you Danielle Huthart for your beautiful toast and a huge special thanks to Hogunn Park for your generosity. To the Class of 1995, please take care and keep in touch with each other. Don’t worry, I’m already on the 25th. See you in 2020! n Cheers,
David
Do you really want to see those karaoke pics? Get in touch with David! dcheng23@gmail.com
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Events
Class of ’05 10th Reunion
On December 6, 2015, the class of 2005 had their ten-year reunion on campus. After a decade since graduation, the group returned to HKIS and had the opportunity to visit the High School campus and reunite with old friends and faculty. With so many fond memories of their time here at HKIS, it was a special trip down memory lane. Led by ’05 class reps Jeffrey Char and Dickson Pak, the group received a warm welcome from the HKIS community. In the evening, the reunion continued as the group gathered for dinner and drinks at Momotaro, a Japanese restaurant run by alumnus John Liang ’03. n
Fun fact
Yvonne Man’s “10 years from now” prediction that she would be working in news is spot on: she’s now a reporter at Bloomberg TV! 32
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Events hkis down under
Australian Reunion by Alexander Stoeckel ’11
On September 5, 2015, we caught up in the heart of Melbourne city in a small grassy field. As a group, we enjoyed a small picnic and got to know each other during an especially pleasant spring day, a welcome change to the tail end of a cold Australian winter. n
“Meanwhile…the Melbourne Alumni meet up”
Mel Wong ’13, Anna Zhou ’13, Yi Lin Lee ’13, Cheok Seng Lee ’15, Jocelyn Choy ’15, Michael De Cocinos ’12, Alexander Stoeckel ’11
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Events
Seattle Alumni Event fun Night with our Founding Father “Former HKIS students, teachers, and administrators from across forty years gathered for happy hour at the Zig Zag Cafe in Seattle on Thursday December 10, 2015. Among the eight of us were Bob Christian, HKIS’s first headmaster, and Shari Krugler, a former HKIS second grade teacher!! Teachers were reunited with former students, many old friends reconnected and many more new friendships were formed.” n -Seattle Reps, Alex Lee ’08 & Kevin Lam ’02
Left to Right: Geoffrey Poon ’07, Kevin Lam ’02, Alex Lee ’08, Shari Krugler, Jared Anderson ’95, Bob Christian, Michael Tang ’96, Grace Chang ’08
Fun Fact
The one and only Bob Christian, HKIS’s Head of School from 1966-1977, was the guest of honor!
hong kong chapter
Summer Drinks To beat the summer heat, the HKIS Alumni Association — HK Chapter organized their annual summer drinks event in Central, Hong Kong. The August 13, 2015 happy hour event at Street Meat allowed everyone to relax with some wonderful drinks and people during the workweek. It was a fun night for all as alumni got the chance to catch up with old classmates and meet some new faces. n
Holiday Gathering by James Martin ’94 34
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On 17 December, members of the HKIS Alumni Association — Hong Kong Chapter gathered for an evening of holiday cheer in Central. The annual holiday event is a great time for alumni, faculty, and friends to catch up and discuss plans for the year ahead. And, it’s also a chance to give back. This year the Chapter collected items for Hong Kong’s refugee community. In partnership with Christian Action Group, we delivered food, clothing, and toiletries to refugees in need. Many thanks to those who joined the event and donated! n
Events
Benefit Card Launch hong kong chapter
On September 23, 2015, the HKIS Alumni Association — HK Chapter launched the first ever HKIS Alumni Benefit Card, providing a series of discounts and special offerings across a selection Hong Kong businesses, many of which are owned by HKIS alums! This includes restaurants like Bejuiced, Bo Concepts, Chicha, Momotaro, Three Monkeys and more. The event took place at The Common Room, where more than 50 HKIS alumni gathered to hear more about the card, as well as reconnect over drinks. n If you would like more information about the Alumni Benefit Card and how to register for one, please contact hkis.alumni.benefits@gmail.com.
HKIS Alumni Association – HK Chapter: Alumni Benefits Card Partners, 2015-2016 Food and Beverage: BE-JUICED Chicha CRFT-PT Djibouti Frites Gyotaku Jou Sun Momotaro Shimo SOUVLA TAPEO TED’s Lookout Three Monkeys Lifestyle, Apparel, Specialty Retail: BoConcept HK CrossFit 852 Moda Republic
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Alumni Making Moves
Education & Music Riz Farooqi ’94 Music Education We caught up with Riz in the Winter 2012/13 issue of DragonTales and learned about his journey from School Rebel to Business Student to Music Intern to PR Officer to HKIS Alumni Coordinator to Teaching Assistant to Grade 1 Teacher. Oh, and did we mention lead singer in a punk and hard-core band?
So would you say you have arrived?
I think so! I’m so in love with what I do, working with children every day. I enjoy their company, their conversations, and watching them grow and develop. To be around their energy and watch a child go from a quiet, more reserved student to a person who is ready to take risks is unbelievable!
How does it feel to go from an HKIS Grade 1 student to an HKIS Grade 1 teacher?
In the beginning it was odd. When I came back as an employee, my 3rd Grade teacher Tina Adams was still here! It was weird but super cool! I think, as alumni, we come back with a deep passion and commitment; after all our school made us who we are today. Once you’re working here you quickly realize how fast paced the environment is and your focus is always the 20 or so little souls in front of you.
How has it changed?
Growing up as a Pakistani Muslim in a Chinese society but attending an English speaking Christian international school, I really struggled with my identity. School, skateboarding and music provided me with a place where I could be me. Today, I think HKIS is WAY more international than when I roamed the halls. I get goose bumps thinking about it; if I was here as a 6-year-old now, I’d really get a sense that this school embraces and celebrates my culture, religion and traditions; you see a lot more children now who are proud of their unique backgrounds.
The other constant in your life is your band King Ly Chee. What were its origins?
In ’99, I wanted to start a band to give Hong Kong people a chance to experience punk rock/hardcore, and we’re still going strong today. I wanted more people involved with this great culture, which is all about giving back to your community and looking out for those who feel hopeless about their situations. There is a deep connection between hardcore music and the reason I love teaching 6-year-olds. As cheesy as it sounds, it’s all about how can we make this world a better place.
You’ve been running the site Uniteasia.org for the last six months tell us about that?
In addition to teaching and the band, now all these cool bands from all over Asia send me their latest news such as new albums, music videos, tours and I put online. The reaction has been phenomenal – finally, we can help other Asian bands get their music out there. The website and band are all passion-driven and done to give back; I don’t make any money from it. After 16 years of King Ly Chee, people still ask when we’re going full time. In Hong Kong that’s impossible, even pretty big pop bands have day jobs. I’m just lucky that I have a day job that I love!
Do you let the kids know?
When you teach you use your own experiences. I often talk about going up on stage, especially the time that I brought my daughter up on stage for the first time in front of thousands at a huge music festival in China. The emotions were intense. Kids hear this story and start thinking about their own big moments, like just losing a tooth. For 6-year-olds, that’s HUGE! So, they go off and write stories that they’re passionate about. I don’t tell the kids the name of my band because they’re too tech-savvy. I’ve had children go home, get on to YouTube and look up my band, all on their own!
Now you are a dad and settled, where do you find the anger?
It’s not anger; it’s more a vehicle to spread awareness about things going on in the world or locally. Now that I have a daughter, I need to be even more aware of what’s going on. She needs to grow up in a Hong Kong that continues to be free. When any freedoms are restricted it should be a huge cause for concern. How do we nurture children who have flexible ideas and are free thinkers if, one day, access to information is restricted? So yes, there will ALWAYS be something to write about. n Get in touch with Riz: rfarooqi@hkis.edu.hk
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Alumni Making Moves
Finance Todd Walters ’91 Friendship and Finance Todd Walters ’91 on the secrets to getting work as a recent grad and finding success with fellow HKIS alum Jarrett Bostwick ’91.
How did you start your career in finance?
After graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a Finance, Banking and Investments degree, I moved back to Hong Kong in late 1995 in search of a job in the stock market. By the end of March 1996 I had been on too many interviews to count, always ending with the same result…they were looking for someone with experience and as a new college graduate, I had no experience. If no one was willing to hire me, how would I ever get experience??? Finally, I went to an interview with a small investment management company that was managing a large fund of hedge funds for a handful of private European banks. Back then, the hedge fund market was tiny and there were very few people involved, so finding experienced people was difficult. Needless to say, I did not do well in the interview. I was extremely eager to fill this job as I thought the position was made for me. On the advice of a close family friend whose son I graduated HKIS with, I wrote to the CEO & Chairman of the company and told him I would work for free. By pricing my skills and knowledge at just the right level, zero, I got a call back and was given the job with no pay. I was told I could read anything in the office, look for a new job, show up when I wanted and leave when pleased. I spent the next three months reading every file in the office, showed up at 7 a.m. every day, including Saturdays, and made sure I was the last to leave. I didn’t even bother looking for a new job. Three months later, I was given a paid job and became the Chairman’s right hand man for four years managing a billion-dollar investment portfolio, which was an experience not a lot of young twenty-somethings got back then, an experience I will never forget and have been forever grateful for. It was the launch pad to my career.
Twenty years later, where are you working?
After working in Hong Kong, London and New York for various investment banks and investment management firms, I partnered with a close friend of mine, and fellow HKIS alumni, Jarrett Bostwick ’91, to form our own financial services firm focused on maximizing after tax investing for high net worth individuals and family offices. We found a niche in the market place after the 2008/2009 financial crisis where we could combine Jarrett’s skills as a leading US tax attorney and my skills as an investment management professional. We launched our business four years ago and haven’t looked back since.
Has your experience of growing up in Hong Kong helped your career? Absolutely. Having an international upbringing allows you to have a much different perspective on things and relate to a wide variety of people. It has helped me throughout my career and even now in our own business it has allowed Jarrett and I to gain the trust of clients all over the world.
Are you still in touch with other HKIS Alumni?
Of course, most of my closest friends are HKIS Alumni. They are the friends I have grown up with, the friends that relate to my experiences and me to theirs. We all have kids the same age, go on vacations together, and catch up for beers and wings whenever someone is passing through town. Jarrett and I have also made a point to look up old HKIS Alumni when we are traveling around the states seeing clients. Recently we caught up with Trevor (’90) and Karen Wright (’89)…Karen Lee back then) on the West coast. It couldn’t have been a funnier night!!!! Believe it or not, it was the recent Alumni outreach that connected us. n Get in touch with Todd: twalters@spearheadllc.com
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Alumni Making Moves
Service Peter Keller ’72
toy story From toy manufacturer to running a charity to support kids in need, Peter Keller ’72 has devoted his life to making kids happy!
What years were you at HKIS? What did you enjoy the most about your time here? 1969-1972. I had been at a boarding school in New England and was unhappy, so halfway through my sophomore year I came to Hong Kong to join my parents. History with Mr. David Maxner was my favorite class, but interacting with other students — especially Rob Dorfman, Trina Dingler, Marco Lobo — is what I remember most. That and our “air force blue” uniform blazers!
Where did you go after HKIS? I got a degree from the University of Colorado Denver Business School in business administration and international finance. I quickly returned to Hong Kong and started working in my family’s toy manufacturing business, where I stayed for 35 years. I started working at the HUB Hong Kong in 2012, which focuses on helping children in HK who live at or below the poverty level.
How do you think HKIS has influenced your life? By giving me an opportunity at a young age to experience other cultures and different country. Hong Kong was quite a different place then it is today — I remember enormous shantytowns covering many Hong Kong hillsides — Happy Valley, Pokfulam, all over. I was aware of how fortunate I was. At HKIS I developed my feeling of charity and how one should make a serious effort to contribute to people in Hong Kong who need help. There are as many people living at or below the poverty level then there were people in HK at the time I first came here. That imbalance must be addressed. 38
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What are you doing to tackle poverty in Hong Kong? There are approximately 245,000 children who live at or below the poverty line. At the HUB, our mission is: “To give children in our society who are experiencing difficult circumstances an equal opportunity to become valuable members of the community.” We want to help them reach their potential by offering a sort of community center where kids and their families can come for support, like homework help, after school care, counseling, mentorship programs, computer skills, as well as nutritional programs and outdoor activities to support the whole child.
How do you see the community supporting the HUB? We have had a few HKIS interns come through the HUB to help out. One in particular, was a great fit — attentive, quick learner, great value system, and a whiz on social media. He did a couple of videos for us, very helpful. We are always looking for help to make Hong Kong a better and more caring community. n Get in touch with Peter: peter.keller@thehubhk.org
Alumni Making Moves
Sports Kyla Chipman ’13 Tackling All Tasks Kyla Chipman on swapping the busy streets of Hong Kong for college life in middle America, collecting more rugby silverware than an antiques dealer on the Hollywood Road and wearing the captain’s jersey for the American Eagles national team.
On May 29, 2015, Kyla Chipman ’13 scored the opening try for Penn State in the 7s National Championship finals — it was her ESPN debut. They went on to win the game and Championship demolishing Central Washington 46-27, this is just one of many highlights for this HKIS alumna who recently captained the American Eagles Under-20s national team to victory over Canada. It’s been a meteoric journey for Kyla, whose passion for the game was sparked as a Middle Schooler on the Tai Tam field watching her brother play rugby. Kyla gives special mention to HKIS Director of Activities Mr. Dean McLachlan, who recognized the abilities of this talented young athlete. Kyla was involved in all sports from basketball to golf during her time at HKIS and at one point she was playing on every sports team; she recalls her fondest memory at HKIS as the winning of the Super APAC basketball championship in her freshman year. Clearly destined for success, Kyla played rugby nationally and internationally in showcase tournaments in Hong Kong for sevens and fifteens and even captained the Under-18s Hong Kong rugby team on a tour of Laos. She would have played again for the Under-18s if she hadn’t contracted malaria on Interim! Currently studying a double major in communications and Chinese, the choice of Penn State University was easy. Alongside the rigorous academic program that they offered, they had also just won their second consecutive national championship, their eighth title overall, in her senior High School year. It was a decision that paid off immediately, “I really, really ended up loving
it. My rugby improved leaps and bounds…and then in my college freshman year we went on to win the National Championship, our ninth overall”. And the titles keep rolling in with another successful defense and tenth Championship in the 2014-15 season.
Located three hours from the nearest city, life at Penn State is very different to the hustle and bustle of Hong Kong, “…you
could take the exact opposite of what Hong Kong is — I’m there… right in the middle of America”. The campus life perfectly
complements Kyla’s love of sport; she describes how the success of the college football team has created a strong school spirit, just right for someone who “was always at every HKIS sports game going nuts”. She does get to leave and travel with her team, every once in a while, to go and play at one of the schools in the Big Ten Conference. Life as an athlete and college student is hard and requires a lot of dedication. Kyla’s time is spent between studies and a rigorous six-day-a-week training schedule of weight lifting, practicing skills, conditioning and rugby training. When it comes to her studies, “I literally have to lock myself in my room during the daytime and do work until practice at six. I’ve learned a lot of self-discipline”. Kyla appreciates the advantages of being part of the Penn State athletics program, working in a very structured regime and having the support of trainers and doctors as she spends in the region of 30 hours training a week. In 2014, Kyla was invited to a training camp for the Under-20s American Eagles national squad. She subsequently captained the Eagles in a tour against Canada, a tour that she describes as not having gone so well due to the inexperience of the team. Learning from this and with an improved more experienced Kyla still as captain, the Eagles returned in 2015 and beat their northern rivals for the first time in four years. The privilege of leading the national team was an incredible experience and she describes it as the best tour she has ever been on. Having achieved so much already the sky is the limit for Kyla. She would eventually like to return to Hong Kong, but before then her sights are firmly set on playing for the American Eagles at the 2017 and 2021 Rugby World Cups. With an already magnificent sporting CV, continued dedication and hard work we can expect to see a lot more of this former Dragon in the near future. n Get in touch with Kyla: kylachipman@gmail.com
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Alumni Making Moves
In the News Pauline Chan Lewis ’89
In December 2015, Pauline Chan Lewis ’89 won the Travelocity Travel for Good giveaway! The social media contest invited contestants to tweet where they would want to go and how they wanted to volunteer once they got there. Pauline won a paid trip to Ethiopia to support and volunteer for her cause Selamta Family Project. In addition, Selamta Family Project will also receive a US$10,000 donation. Her story was covered by Portland’s KPTV news program. It is inspiring to see Pauline living out the HKIS values and continuing her commitment to service and women’s rights, a passion she expressed in the “ten years from now” prediction in her senior yearbook: “Will be the leader of the Women’s rights movement in Malaysia.” Congratulations, Pauline!
Photo with alumni Rita Arifin and Alison Irwin: I realized as I was searching for photos that the genesis of my volunteering started at HKIS! I signed up to volunteer with refugee kids for Interim during my Junior year — thank you HKIS for instructing me on the goodness of volunteering!” Pauline Chan Lewis ’89
David Begbie ’94 and Josh Begbie ’96
Crossroads International continues to do its great work to increase awareness of the plight of refugees around the world. The Begbie brothers, Josh ’96 and David ’94, continue to serve at the organization their parents founded over 20 years ago. In October, David was featured in South China Morning Post for his work leading the Global X-perience, which is a simulator of current and very real social issues from around the world. www.scmp.com/lifestyle/article/1864238/hong-kong-students-gettaste-dire-world-poor-and-displaced
Poman Lo ’96
In October 2015, Poman Lo ’96 was featured in a South China Morning Post profile about how young people can strike out in business, and whether Hong Kong supports hinders these efforts. As an entrepreneur, producer and philanthropist, she is forging a great legacy and inspiring the youth of today.
sy of Image courte a in the South Ch . Morning Post
David Begbie ’94 and Josh Begbie ’96
www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/ 1872585/youngsters-should-dare-dream-ever-changing-businessworld
Charlotte Chen ’01
Charlotte Chen ’01 was recently featured in Hong Kong Tatler. Charlotte co-founded the travel-social media app, Spottly. hk.asiatatler.com/society/bright-young-things-charlotte-chen
Brian Sze ’07
Brian Sze ’07, Head of Sales & Business Development at Spacious, a tech start-up out change the way people look for properties in Hong Kong, has been featured on Property Station (Chinese only). If you’re looking for a home this innovative app may be the prefect tool for you! n
Poman Lo ’96 Image courtesy of the South China Morning Post.
Be sure to join our mailing list to get the latest Alumni updates! Email alumni@hkis.edu.hk to join.
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Charlotte
Chen ’01 Image co urtesy of Hong Ko ng Tatler.
Brian Sze ’07
HKIS Gallery
High School Student Art: Two-Dimensional
Level 1 2D: Adrienne Gao ’19, Claire Frohling ’18, Dixie Lonergan ’19
Tora Northman ’16
Anthea Lovett ’16
Sam Ng ’16
Hannah Oh ’16 WINTER 2016 DRAGONTALES
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HKIS Gallery
High School Student Art: Photography
Evadne Sanussi ’16
Calum Black ’17
Ming Shiu ’16
Arthur Chau ’18
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Milestones Clara Wong
After 22 years as an Executive Assistant to High School principals, in January 2016, HKIS said farewell to Clara Wong.
When did you join HKIS?
I joined HKIS in August 1993, from the Taipei American School (TAS) and started working with Jim Handrich immediately. I had been working as a Middle School Office Manager and I straightaway saw the difference between working with younger children and the demands of older High School students. Taipei was a very different culture; due to government restrictions it was a purely expat community of students. Here at HKIS the student body was far more diverse.
Was life different at HKIS?
At TAS I had been using an Apple computer, but when I arrived here I was given a Wang and had to use WordPerfect — it was a big change. When I asked for something more modern I was told there was no budget for administration, as they preferred to use school resources for the benefit of students. So, I had to use all these basic packages and old computers. Using WordPerfect I built an entire calendar, which was really tough!
What was it like to work for Jim Handrich?
Jim is a very warm character and worked very hard. Starting at 7 a.m., he’d always be at the gate greeting the students individually and tried to remember all their names! He would work until 4 p.m. just catering for students, faculty and parents. It was at 4 p.m. that he would start his admin, so we would stay and work through to 6:30 p.m.
What will be your fondest memories of HKIS?
Both my boys, Philip ’95 and Kevin ’02, graduated from HKIS, and during those years I got to mingle with a lot of the students as they were always in my house. Kevin got married in 2015 and all the groomsmen were classmates from HKIS. But most memorable will be Jim’s 60th birthday, when we organized a surprise party for him at the Hong Kong Country Club. As part of the surprise we privately brought his mother to Hong Kong! The former Middle School Principal, Robert Welch, who had recently gone back to America, also made a surprise visit. It was a lot of fun, filled with lots of sentiment and plenty of laughter; a really good memory.
How many other principals have you worked for?
There was Jim, Earl Westrick, Greg Sawyer, Patricia Klekamp and now Patrick Hurworth. All very different characters but they have kept the same culture in the High School. I’ve been very lucky as they are all very good people.
What will you miss the most?
My colleagues, I think will be the one part I will miss the most. I will especially miss the lunchtimes as we always eat together and that’s when we get to chat. We always chat about anything from students, our families, things that are funny and things that frustrate us — we chat a lot.
Have any students particularly stood out?
Well, we had one student who was always late; he just couldn’t get up — even with his mom yelling at him. So Jim challenged this student to meet him at his house at 6:30 every morning for a month. At the end of the month Jim bought him dinner at Dan Ryan’s! It was a great way to change behavior, really touching, and the boy’s mother also still remembers this. And then there were always the High School pranks, they were very innovative at the time, for example they took all the toilet paper and wrapped it all around the car of associate principal, Ruth Fletcher!
So, what are you going to do after HKIS?
My husband is still working, but he can work from his laptop anywhere in the world, so definitely more traveling to France, Montreal, Vietnam and other places. Also I’ll keep playing golf but during the week now, and I’ll be spending more time with friends and family. n Get in touch with Clara! Send her an email at claraklwong@gmail.com
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In Memoriam Dr. Therese J. Cooper By Karen Cooper ’73 and Ben Cooper ‘75 Therese Cooper passed away peacefully on September 14, 2015, with her family by her side. She was 91. She accompanied her husband overseas during his long career with the Foreign Service, all the while following her passion for teaching and learning. She received her Doctorate of Education from the George Washington University at the age of 68 while teaching at the School Without Walls where she retired. She was a member of the Kappa Delta Pi. Mrs. Cooper taught high school French, Spanish, Math, and the occasional International Cooking class from 1970 to 1974 at the Repulse Bay campus. In Hong Kong, when she wasn’t working with the faculty or students, she and her husband Jack would browse Cat Street and the other antique hot spots. Later, over the years, she would often recall her students with fondness (in her inimitable French accent), taking pleasure in recounting their achievements as well as their antics.
Dr. Therese J. Cooper
Inurnment at Arlington National Cemetery. n
Santa (Steve Figueiredo ’73) giving Mrs. Cooper an English Pronunciation book!
Dr. Jennifer Woo ’02
r Woo ’02
Dr. Jennife
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We are sad to announce the passing of our dear friend and classmate, Jennifer Woo (Class of 2002). Jenn passed away on September 23, 2015 after a battle with lung cancer. She is survived by her parents, brother and sister, and is mourned by a wealth of friends and colleagues.
Her academic awards, publications, and recognitions are prolific. But her true spirit was seen in her volunteer work with such organizations as Continuum Hospice Care (NYC), Crime Victims Treatment Center (NYC), and Medical Clinic Yoga Program through Bread for the City (DC).
As a student at HKIS, Jenn shined in everything she set her mind to and was a role model to her fellow classmates, acting as Class President during our senior year. Her work with lepers during Interim at Mother Teresa’s House in Calcutta inspired her life-long commitment to service. She focused this passion in the field of medicine, specializing in radiation oncology and otolaryngology. Jenn studied at Harvard, worked at Columbia University Medical Center, and eventually graduated from Georgetown University School of Medicine.
Jenn was an inspiration to everyone she met, especially her patients, giving hope and comfort to offers suffering from cancer. Instead of letting her illness defeat her, she worked until her very last days. Jenn ran marathons to raise money for Recurrent Respiratory Papillomatosis Foundation, and served as its President from 2012 until her death. Despite her many ambitions, Jenn was a fun-loving and ever-present friend, who loved travel, food, and yoga. Jenn, we love and miss you, and will remember you always! n
Remembering Griffin Lee ’15
At the end of an emotional senior year, the Class of 2015 had $40,000 remaining in their class fund. In Griffin’s memory, they donated the entire amount to the Little Sisters of the Poor to make life more comfortable for those in their care.
The Little Sisters of the Poor at St. Joseph’s Home for the Aged in Aberdeen meant a lot to Griffin Lee ’15. The nuns there were an inspiration to him.
Griffin Lee
Their humility and care of the elderly inspired Griffin to volunteer his time and helped him understand that he could give direction and purpose to his own life. At the Home, he was a gardener and a friendly companion to its aging residents, politely and without fuss doing odd jobs as needed. Because the Little Sisters of the Poor and the residents of St. Joseph’s were so important to Griffin’s high school life, the HKIS community learned about this place and the influence it had on Griffin during the tributes given during the weeks following his death in February 2015. While the Little Sisters of the Poor received a number of memorial gifts in Griffin’s honor, the one from the Class of 2015 stands out. As with every graduating class, the Class of 2015 had fundraised for its senior prom. It was careful with its spending, and found itself with over HK$40,000 (US$5,200) remaining after the celebration. In Griffin’s memory, it donated this money to the Little Sisters of the Poor. The Class of 2015 Class Advisors, Madame Linda Dunoyé and Señorita Ana Estella, along with Ms. Pion Ng, who coordinates the Service on Saturday program, presented the donation to the Sisters in August 2015. The nuns were moved by the generosity of spirit of Griffin’s classmates, and quickly determined the best way to use this gift: installing sinks in 14 residents’ rooms. This seemingly modest addition gives further dignity and comfort to the residents who call St. Joseph’s home, and will remind them and their visitors of Griffin’s service. n
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Staying Connected
Class Notes
1969 Doren Jaeger-Song
Those from Class of ’69 who are connected with me on Facebook will have a pretty good idea of what I have been doing. After living in Switzerland for 15 years, I returned to Hong Kong in 1991 with my two-year old son and joined a legal recruitment firm – Hughes-Castell. It was the first in Asia. 25 years and an MBO later, we have 4 offices in HK, Singapore, Shanghai and Beijing. My wonderful son graduated from Tufts in ’12 and is now working in private equity in London and my amazing world-traveling mom, after my dad passed, moved to Hawaii to be near my brother. My time is spent shuttling between the 4 offices, London and seeing my mom in Hawaii, LA, China and Europe. Anyone coming through HK, let me know, and we can catch up with a drink. The last time that I saw some of you was at our class reunion in Aberdeen which may have been in 2009 – our 40th.
1973 Diane White Julie Waugh (HKIS’s UP Literacy Coach) and Michelle Hoard (an HKIS UP 5th Grade teacher) were lucky enough to attend the National Council of Teachers of English Annual 46
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Conference in Minneapolis in November 2015. They also had an HKIS small world moment: sitting across the table from them at the Children’s Literacy Assembly Breakfast was Dianne White, a children’s book author, long-time classroom teacher, and HKIS graduate! Dianne attended HKIS from 1971-73, graduating from the school when the high school was still in Repulse Bay. It was delightful to talk about the then and now of HKIS as fellow teachers and childrens’ book lovers. Read more about Diane’s work on her website, www.diannewrites. com.
1981 Arthur Ferren In June 2015, I took Sheryl Mordeni ’80 to dinner with my family. We loved seeing Sheryl and visiting her Bed and Breakfast. My wife and kids really enjoyed meeting Sheryl and spending the afternoon checking guests into Sheryl’s B&B the Acorn Inn. Sherly showed us some of her behind the scenes tricks that gets her B&B the 5-Star rating. We loved it! Sheryl showed my girls some pictures from the HKIS years.
We took Sheryl to a great country restaurant. After dinner, we found a first class country ho-down. As the sun set, we all danced in the hay outside of a barn in the New York State countryside. It was a beautiful night thanks to Sheryl.
1981 Michael De La Pena I am an FBI Agent and I was given permission by the FBI to write a book, which I have titled: “The Coyote Wars.” The book is an FBI suspense thriller and is available on Amazon.com.
1996 Sara Dallaire Snyder I got married two years ago in Paradise Valley, Arizona and now have a 15 month old, Lila. I loved having some of my closest HKIS friends at our wedding. Kate Strom Cusack is a lawyer and lives in Darien, CT with her husband, two adorable girls and is expecting her third baby. Sarah Immel Fielding lives in Chicago with her husband and three kids. Jessica Koach Buxom lives in NYW with her husband. Jeremy and I met while getting our MBA’s at Thunderbird School of Global Management and now live in Arizona. After working at Tiffany & Co. in NYC doing PR & Events for 9 years, I finally launched my own wedding and events company called Simply Stunning events www.eventsss. com. I plan weddings/events all over the country and am loving the balance between motherhood and working from home. I was nominated President of a 30-year-old non-profit called North Central Parenting Group http://ncpgaz.org. The organization offers parenting classes, support and social events to Mom’s/families in the Phoenix area.
Staying Connected 1996 Shahriq Sheikh Shahriq and Patty became parents on April 31, 2015 when their daughter, Leila, was born in New York.
family, and close friends, many of whom are HKIS alums (many have toddlers similar age as ours). HKIS has been a big part of my life, and we hope when my kids and many fellow alums and their kids are our age, they will also share the strong social bond that we do as HKIS-ers.
Joanna Woo Alen and I were married on Sunday, June 8, 2014. The wonderful ceremony was held in Hong Kong. The wedding was attended by our families and friends and many of my HKIS friends were there for this very special occasion.
is as if nothing has changed at all. As I start my final year in college, it still puts me in great awe when I am able to connect with people all over the world on one simple topic, HKIS. I am grateful for my experiences at HKIS and cannot wait to see where the world takes me!
Former Faculty Dr. Betty C. Eng (1986-90) and (1994-1995)
2002 Mahira Sheikh
1999 Joanne Chow After graduating from HKIS, I have been anything but static - US for university, UK for work, back to the US after marriage, and finally settling back in Hong Kong. It’s been over five years since we moved back to Hong Kong. Since my last update, our daughter Gabrielle is now 3.5 and we have a son, Zachary, who is 14 months. 2016 will be a busy year for us as we are expecting our third child in May. Three kids under the age of 4 in Hong Kong is going to be a lot work but a lot of fun. Besides my growing family, my work has also continued to grow. I have had my hands full helping my family with their trading and manufacturing business in clothing, as well as running my own small lifestyle/furniture business, BoConcept, a Danish furniture brand. With the success of BoConcept, I hope to bring another new lifestyle store to Hong Kong in the nottoo-distant future. It has been somewhat easy to re-adjust to life in Hong Kong given my
Mahira and Aziel got married in Cancun, Mexico, on January 31, 2015, and are living in New York.
2012 Lindsay Chow
Staying connected to HKIS is important to me because I grew up there. From Pre-K to Grade 12, I had the amazing opportunity to experience new cultures, met fascinating people and truly learned what it was like to be an international student. With every Peak Week, China Cup tournament and Interim trip, I was slowly molded into the person I am today. HKIS has given me a great perspective on international topics and service work that I would not have been able to get in America. Today, I try and sneak a FaceTime call and text messages with the friends I graduated with. It is hard to always stay connected with each other, but when we reconnect over school breaks, it
I served as a Counselor in Primary and Middle Schools in 1986-90 and then again in 1994-95. I then joined The Hong Kong Institute of Education training future teachers for HK primary and secondary schools and then joined The City University of Hong Kong, teaching psychology and counseling. My counseling experience at HKIS provided the practical to understanding theory and enhanced my teaching and learning at the universities. “Character Development” at HKIS is a program I am proud to have contributed to at its inception, with James Handrich, who was the principal at Primary division at the time. I am delighted that character development continues to be an integral part of HKIS community.
David Kohl (1973-1980) Former art teacher Dave Kohl’s recent book “Lutherans on the Yangtze” which includes a chapter on HKIS, has received a commendation from the Concordia Historical Institute. He was honored at an awards banquet in St. Louis on November 12, 2015. Copies of the book can be ordered from him at dkohl@cu-portland. edu. WINTER 2016 DRAGONTALES
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Staying Connected Diana McGregor-Brown (1985-1988) and (1990-1996) It was a sad day for me when I left the HKIS 8th Grade Team in June 1996 to return to the U.K after 20 years in Hong Kong. In my 18 years, I have done only a few years of supply teaching in schools. I now only do private tutoring in my home. I cannot imagine life without young people in it. HKIS visitors to my home include Ken Rohrs and Scott Rhodewalt. I met up with Yukiko Hagiwara twice in London and Edinburgh. In Oxford, I had lunch with Swii Yii Lim. Travels have included a visit to Hong Kong for the HKIS 40th Reunion. Most of my interests lie in Europe as well as trips to my beloved Scotland. In Cyprus, I visited Pomos, my mother’s home village and met up with Janet and Bruce Taylor — a joy for me.
agers and families at the Jadis Blurton Family Development Center in Kennedy Town. In addition to counselling, I continue travel and research on families and mature women. Having completed interviews in Morocco and Jamaica and then later in Berlin, Prague and Myanmar, I look forward to the continued research and writing. A book on the active lives of older women will be ready for 2016. Family time is always best — on weekends and holidays you will find me with my three daughters, their husbands and the four grandchildren. Feel free to get in touch with me at Rosanninhk@yahoo.com.
The sailboat shot is current — a lake in Seattle.
My email address is dianamcgb1@sky.com. If any more ex-colleagues or students are visiting the U.K, I would love to see you.
Rosann Santora Kao, Ph.D. (2001-2011)
With my three daughters during my HKIS years.
I taught Senior Transitions and Family and Peer Relations which was part of Sophomore Health. My fondest memories are of the students and their questions. Basically, I taught sex education. Students asked honest questions. I miss classroom discussions. Never underestimate the quality of thinking of a 15 year old. After leaving HKIS I took a year sabbatical, travelled round the world catching up with friends and then designed the current research project on the achievements of mature women. As a counsellor I still am still seeing clients – teen48
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Louise Weber (1984-1998) and Michael Weber (1982-1998) Throughout our sixteen years at HKIS, we served in various capacities in the Lower and Upper Primary schools. In 1998, we were called by the Lutheran Church Missouri-Synod to help start Concordia International School Shanghai...Louise as founding P-8 principal and Michael as technology director. We served in Shanghai until retirement in 2010. We relocated to Ft. Myers, FL where we are involved with various service opportunities at Zion Lutheran Church and with disaster services through the American Red Cross and Lee County Emergency Management Operations. Through much of the year, Michael also spends several days weekly, building houses for Habitat for Humanity in our area. Louise writes devotional material for a Creative Communications publication, “Hope-Full Living” Daily Devotions for Living Life to the Fullest. We caught the travel bug while living in Hong Kong and continue to find opportunities to visit new places around the world. Our son, Jason, graduated from HKIS in 1997, and is currently an ordained Lutheran pastor in McHenry, IL. His primary responsibility is for youth, grades 6-12. He’s also done disaster response work in the US as well as abroad.
to third grade and remember Urduja Rohrs as one of our paraprofessionals. When Lower and Upper Primary separated, I moved to the renovated Upper Primary to teach third grade. I “looped” with my class by moving to fourth grade for my last year of classroom teaching. In 1997, I was appointed as one of the Upper Primary Associate Principals. Matt Mills was the other Associate Principal and Mary Hoff was our Principal. I left HKIS in 2009 to take up a position at Early Childhood and Elementary Principal at Saigon South International School in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. It was so rewarding to see SSIS grow as a school and I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to provide the leadership I learned at HKIS to a younger school. I’ve recently decided to take a break from administration and education. I’m not yet calling it retirement and I know I need to keep busy, so it’s been a challenging decision. I plan to stay in Vietnam, moving to Nha Trang, and taking a bit of time off. In the future, I might like to stay active by doing interim administrative positions. As always, the opportunity to volunteer and help those in need in Vietnam will likely occupy a large portion of my time.
The Weber motto: Blessed to be a blessing!
Gary Woodford (1982-1984) and (1992-2009) With Mrs Elsie Tu on her 100th birthday.
During my first years at HKIS, I taught fourth grade with Mary Hoff and Sue Fritts. When I returned after a stint in Japan, I taught second grade, then moved to the four/five combo. At some point, I moved
I have so many fond memories of HKIS! Early morning rides from Pok Fu Lam with Stephen and Denise Carver-Gustin; helping Debbie Gibbs with photography for the musical “Pippin” when the high schoolers were all still on the Repulse Bay Campus (was Jin Yung Pippin?); sharing stories about students with
Staying Connected Marcia Barham when she taught second grade and I taught fourth; sending Charlene Callahan off to the hospital on the last day of school to have her first child; and learning how to be a quality educator from the likes of Mary Hoff, Chuck Dull, David Rittmann, Jan Westrick, Bruce Kelsh, and so many fine educators. From a professional standpoint, there were so many opportunities to learn. But, if I had to pick one, I think I’d say it was a course that Earl Westrick did which was entitled Effective Interpersonal Relationships. It was a Friday afternoon/evening meeting time and it challenged each of its participants to examine their ways of communicating and relating to others. It was one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve ever had and I know it fundamentally changed my thinking about the way people relate to one another. What I learned from working with Earl still sustains me as I work with adults in the administrative role. Look me up on Facebook or drop me a note at garywhk@ me.com. n Share your news with the HKIS community. Send your class notes to alumni@hkis. edu.hk! We love to hear from you!
sh,
Hoff Ru rrounded by Mary Earl Westrick, su Jim Handrich. d an r be We Louise
Earl Westrick Visit by Louise Schini Weber 1982-1998
Earl Westrick, surrounded by Louise Weber, Jim Handrich, Michael Weber, and Mary Hoff Rush.
In September several members of HKIS’s Lower Primary Elementary Administration Team (EAT) gathered in the Columbus, OH area to visit with mentor-friend, Earl Westrick. During our last time together, we celebrated his 80th birthday in his lovely Oregon home! Now, four years later, we wanted to see his new “home,” an assisted living facility, and hear, first-hand, about the happenings in his life. The familiar voice welcomed us...“Come on in!” Following multiple hugs, Earl pointed to an unopened box on the table. Another EAT member, Charlene Schneiter, and husband Fred, were unable to join us. However, they sent us a box of goodies to share. It was packed with HK memories…moon cakes! PopPan crackers! Godiva chocolates! Without hesitation, we immediately began eating…after all, we’re members of EAT! Throughout our two days, ongoing conversations were lively as we reminisced about our days in Hong Kong, shared views on the world of today, and celebrated how blessed we were and still are to have been part of the Hong Kong International School community! n
Earl Westrick, surrounded by Michael Weber, Louise Weber and Jim Handrich.
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Staying Connected Catch up with some of the happenings on our Social Media pages. If you’re not following us already, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
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Alexis Tan Class of 2027
The Last Word
Joel Scheiwe
Church of All Nation’s very own Pastor Joel Scheiwe talks to DragonTales about the Call and how HKIS and CAN work together to serve the community.
Where did you start out?
I grew up in a ski town, Steamboat Springs, CO, and attended Seminary at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, MO. At the end of my studies, late one night, I received a phone call asking if I knew where Macao was, because that’s where I was being sent! My first 10 years in Asia were with the LCMS mission, five of which I spent in Hong Kong. In 2013 Pastor Dale retired from Church of All Nations (CAN) and the following year they asked me to become their Pastor.
What made you say yes?
The Call and the congregation. As a former LCMS missionary, just like CAN founder Pastor Len Galster, it felt like a cycle coming around again. I saw great possibilities and potential to work with the expatriate community, to help listen to their calling from God, learn how they follow Jesus, and to be in service to the school and the larger community. And I absolutely love working here!
Tell us more about CAN.
CAN has a very dynamic congregation with a large diversity of backgrounds and experiences. We have people from all around the world like the USA, Europe, Australia, Hong Kong, China and the Philippines who all join and interact to worship in English. It’s a very different life to my seminary classmates who serve multi-generational community congregations in the U.S.!
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What is your role at HKIS?
CAN sees itself as both a partner and a servant to HKIS to provide support to the students and faculty. This year we’re aiming to do about 100 chapels in the Lower and Upper Primary. As well as this I have a role as an ex-officio board member and like every other member of the board I work to guard the Mission and Vision for future generations and to be part of this is a great thing.
There is a cross over between the CAN and HKIS missions with regards to service. How do you see the two supporting each other? Service is a Christian value of particular importance to this congregation. Within HKIS our role is to remind the community that service is a response to how Jesus served us and to what we have received from Him.
What does HKIS offer you and your family?
My Children, Eliada, G8, Talia, G4, and Taran, R1, really appreciate the variety of experiences on offer here and the caring teachers. I appreciate the number of possible activities in and out of the classroom, the freedom for children to express Christian spirituality and that the teachers are involved in contributing to society.
What’s next?
We continue to view ourselves in service to the HKIS community, parents and students as well as to the rest of Hong Kong. There is a lot of loneliness and harried action in this city and we want to deepen our attention to the people around us and help them care for their own relationships. n
10 WAYS
to Stay Connected to HKIS 1. Get the latest news. Update your contact details with us at alumni@hkis.edu.hk and get the bi-weekly Alumni eNews update on reunions, school events, alumni, future issues of DragonTales, and more!
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3. Attend an alumni event.
We have many to choose from! See the back cover and our Alumni eNews for more details.
4. Join a regional alumni group. We have ten alumni groups around the world that you can join: Hong Kong | USA: Boston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington DC | Canada: Toronto, Vancouver | UK: London If you are interested in becoming an HKIS Alumni Regional Representative for your city or to get in touch with your current Regional Representative, please contact Alumni Relations at alumni@hkis.edu.hk.
5. Organize a class reunion. We will help you organize your milestone reunion on campus. Just ask us how!
6. Contribute to DragonTales magazine. Our alumni magazine is published twice a year. Send in your Class Notes, ideas for stories, and more.
7. Hire an HKIS alum as an intern. If your company is looking to hire a summer intern, email us to find out how to become an Internship Hosting Partner.
8. Be a speaker at HKIS. Share your knowledge, skills, and experience with our students by speaking to a class or at an assembly.
9. Attend our Annual Ball. Join alumni, parents, faculty and staff, at our Annual Ball in the spring. All proceeds from our largest fundraising event go to our Annual Fund to help maintain our status as the leading school in the region. Email advancement@hkis.edu.hk for more information.
10. Give back. Be a part of the legacy of HKIS and give back. Make a donation to support our school by giving online at www.hkis.edu.hk/giving. Gifts are US and Hong Kong tax-deductible.
To find out more about how you can be involved, please get in touch! Email alumni@hkis.edu.hk or call +852 3149 7899.
1 Red Hill Road | Tai Tam | Hong Kong | +852 3149 7820 | advancement@hkis.edu.hk
dates to remember 2016 March 2016 Decades Luncheon Hong Kong
April 16, 2016 World’s Fair
May 2016 • Homecoming • May 20, 2016 HKIS Annual Ball June 16 – 19, 2016 Class of ’96 Reunion Hong Kong
June 24 – 26, 2016 Class of ’86 Reunion Class of ’90 & ’91 Reunion San Francisco
July 9, 2016 Class of ’06 Reunion Hong Kong
August 2016 – June 2017 Stay Tuned for… 50th Anniversary Celebrations Events planned in Hong Kong and in the US
Please contact Alumni Relations at alumni@hkis.edu.hk for more details.
© Dawon Kim ’16