Linda Anderson’s
courage & wisdom ALUMNI REUNIONS: 50, 30, 25, 20!
Wellbeing
SETTING UP THE WHOLE CHILD FOR LIFE
SUMMER WINTER 2015 2019
Photography: Selena Sun ’21
dragonTales
Table of Contents 2 4 5 6
Events Reunion: Classes of 1968 and 1969 Reunion: Class of 1989 Reunion: Class of 1994 Reunion: Class of 1999 HKIS in the Windy City! Hong Kong Chapter
30 32 34 36 37 38
8
Alumni Making Moves
40
Letter from the Chief Advancement Officer
1
Advancement Introduction to the Advancement Office Advancement Events Internship Program 2019 Charles W. Dull Visiting Speaker: Bill Paige Facilities Spotlight Shiny Happy Students in Tai Tam Cover Story Linda Anderson’s Courage & Wisdom
10
Milestones Peter Hardman
45
HKIS Then and Now Staying Power
14
Community The Booster Club Parent Faculty Organization (PFO) Church of All Nations
18 19 20
Staying Connected In Memoriam Class Notes Social Sensations
46 51 53
The Last Word A Note from Communications
52
Student Life Schoolwide: Health and Wellbeing Schoolwide: Don’t Worry. Be Happy Lower Primary: Birthday Books Upper Primary: “Bee” Blessed! Middle School: A Garden of Jewels Grounded in Love High School: A SPEX-tacular Program!
22 24 25 26 27 28
HKIS Student Art Galleries Lower Primary Upper Primary Middle School High School
3 17, 21 29 39, 44, 50
Cover: Linda Anderson and grandson, Hayden, Repulse Bay, 2019. Cover Photography: Kirk Kenny Correction: In the Class Notes section of the Summer 2019 issue, we printed the incorrect date for the wedding of Grace (Chen) Wong ’00. She was married on December 29, 2018, not December 12 as stated.
DragonTales is produced by Chief Advancement Officer Ann Wardwell awardwell@hkis.edu.hk Managing Editors Carrie Chen Marketing Director cchen@hkis.edu.hk Veronica (Galbraith) Booth ’97 Communications and Public Relations Manager vbooth@hkis.edu.hk Writers Hillary Sandeen Alumni Relations hsandeen@hkis.edu.hk Isabela Hollingshead Annual Fund Manager ihollingshead@hkis.edu.hk Anita Lam Marketing Specialist alam@hkis.edu.hk Publishing & Distribution Coordinators Ceci Lau Development Coordinator clau@hkis.edu.hk Noel Leung Advancement Executive Secretary nleung@hkis.edu.hk
Design Linne Tsu ’96
Thank you to our contributors All our student artists, Linda Anderson, Saba Ahmad, Blake Austin ’99, Ali Taha Brown ’18, Laura Chesebro, Weilyn Chong ’20, Tracey Cheung, Lance Chiu ’97, Mindy Gooch Deaver ’68, Kate Gardner ’93, Melissa Giglio, Justin Hardman ’99, Peter Hardman, Pat Hall, Kenneth Ho ’11, Nancy Ho, Jennifer Howell, Michelle Jetton ’17, Rick Johannessen ’92, Kirk Kenny, Claire Kirk, Nancy Kroonenberg, Derek Kwik ’86, Kit Lang, John Lee, Kara Laskowski, Charisse Luk ’94, Madeleine McGarrity, Denny Morrow, Adam Oetting ’97, Amy Robinson, Rev. Joel Scheiwe, Marty Schmidt, Jeff Seaberg, Cecile-Anne Sison, Amy Smith, Madeline Smith ’21, Eelain Ng Steketee ’94, Margie Hornbostel Still ’68, Karen Sze, Emi Takahashi ’96, Jason Thatcher ’89, Virginia Udall, Jason Weber ’97, Louise Schini Weber, Christy McCaskill Wendell ’69, Ian Wilson, Adrian Wong ’02, Lia Wong ’00, Monita Wong, Rev. Yeong Ling Wui
Letter from our chief advancement officer
Dear Alumni & HKIS Community, As the new Chief Advancement Officer (CAO) at HKIS, I am writing to introduce myself and to share with you some of the exciting things you will find in this issue of DragonTales. My name is Ann McShane Wardwell, and I arrived in Hong Kong in July to start the 2019-2020 school year as the CAO. I came from independent schools in the US (Fay School, The Governor’s Academy, and Choate Rosemary Hall) and, though I have been coming to Asia for the past 12 years, this is my first time living and working overseas. It was during these visits that I came to love the amazing city of Hong Kong and learned about HKIS. It has been a difficult few months for all who love Hong Kong and while my first weeks here were not what I had expected, they were in many ways more wonderful than I could have ever imagined. The HKIS community has been incredibly welcoming, and I feel blessed to work with a remarkable team of professionals that share my love of children and my belief in the power of education. Joining me as a “newbie” in the Advancement Office is Isabela Hollingshead, the new Annual Fund Manager. Isabela, her husband, Aaron, who is a High School counselor, and their two beautiful children, Mateo and Sienna, moved to Hong Kong this summer from Barcelona and are enjoying HKIS as much as I am. You’ll find out more about our fabulous team on page 2. As new as Isabela and I are this year, this issue of DragonTales honors a devoted administrator, beloved leader, and true HKIS legend, Linda Anderson. Linda has announced her retirement this year after 30 years of service to HKIS. In the short time I have known her, I have been amazed at her compassionate leadership and her commitment to HKIS. I know you will enjoy reading about this remarkable woman.
Ann sharing a lau
gh with Linda Anderson. This issue is about health and wellbeing, which I think is vital to our community, certainly for our children, but also for our adults. The focus really supports this idea of balance and our commitment to the whole child. I hope you’ll be excited about some of the things we are doing in this area.
Another article I hope you enjoy is the one recounting the recent alumni gathering in October in Chicago—my first one! The food was great and the company even better as alumni from 1974-2019 gathered to share stories, reminisce, and connect with old friends. I am grateful to all who came to the event as it allowed me to hear firsthand how much our alumni love HKIS. We hope to do more events like this in the future so I would love to hear from you with suggestions for locations and volunteers who are willing to help us make such events happen. As with all issues of DragonTales, our wish is to share news with you and to keep you connected to this unique and memorable school. It is our sincere hope you enjoy reading this and that it brings back fond memories. Please keep HKIS, its fabulous faculty and students, and Hong Kong in your prayers this holiday season. Go Dragons!
Ann Wardwell CHIEF ADVANCEMENT OFFICER
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Advancement
Standing (left to right): Hillary Sandeen, Isabela Hollingshead, Noel Leung, Liz Kingston Sitting (left to right): Ceci Lau, Veronica Booth ’97, Ann Wardwell, Carrie Chen, Anita Lam
An Introduction to the Advancement Office By Ann Wardwell, Chief Advancement Officer
My dad was the Vice President of the St. Louis Cardinals for 30 years and as a baseball man, he liked to quote Babe Ruth in saying, “You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don’t play together, the club won’t be worth a dime.” Just like a baseball team is nine people, I have the distinct privilege of joining this team of nine, who I see go to bat for each other and for the school each and every day. The HKIS community is made up of students, faculty, staff, alumni, and current and former parents. Each group has a unique relationship with the school and requires a different approach when it comes to staying informed, providing support, and feeling connected to the School. The Office of Advancement is charged with cultivating, informing, and stewarding these groups as well as raising money to grow our programs and provide for the school’s operational needs. In addition, it is responsible for marketing our brand, communicating our Mission and Vision, and positioning the School as a leader in education to the Greater Hong Kong community. The Advancement Team is a talented group of people who are passionate about the School. Carrie Chen is the Marketing Director. She reports to the Chief Advancement Officer (CAO) and oversees a team of four professionals. The members of Carrie’s staff are Veronica Booth ’97, the Communications and PR Manager who publishes DragonTales and monitors our press and social media, 2
DRAGONTALES WINTER 2019
Carrie reviewing the with “newbies” An lay of the land n and Izzy.
Ann with Hillary Sandeen, Alumni Relations
Liz Kingston, the Digital Content Manager, who is responsible for managing our website and our creative content, and Anita Lam, Marketing Specialist, who publishes the school’s newsletters and manages our advertising relationships. Also on the team who reports to the CAO is Hillary Sandeen, the Alumni Relations Coordinator. Hillary writes the alumni newsletter and coordinates alumni events, visits to campus, and a remarkable internship program for current students and young alumni. The newest addition to the staff is Isabela Hollingshead, the Annual Fund Manager, who also runs the Annual Ball and other events. Rounding out the team are the wonderful Ceci Lau, Development Coordinator, and Noel Leung, Executive Secretary. Our beautiful new offices are located on the 7th floor of the Middle School Annex in Tai Tam. Please stop by to see us! n
HKIS Gallery
Lower Primary Student Art
Pumpkin Sculptures Lower Primary students exhibited their artwork again at the Pumpkin Festival this year! Grade 2 students created 200 papier-mâché pumpkin sculptures decorated and inspired by Día de los Muertos patterns, designs, and colors schemes. Grade 1 created 200 paintings of Día de los Muertos-inspired pumpkins and Reception 2 students helped create a large banner showcasing their learning from their Color Theory unit. Students enjoyed showing their families their artwork and sharing their learning regarding different international celebrations during autumn. It also was another wonderful collaboration between Lower Primary and the PFO— bringing the community together, helping make memorable moments for students and families. n
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Advancement
advancement events
A Warm Welcome to New Parents This August, the Advancement Office held its annual New Parent Reception in the Lower Primary School. This event is important for many reasons, but primarily, it welcomes newcomers to our community in a special and intimate way. Our leadership team including divisional principals was also in attendance to answer any questions and relieve some stress that may come from the transition into a new school.
Our largest-attended cocktail to
date!
Harold Kim, HKIS Board Chair welcoming our parents.
With a welcome from Harold Kim (Board Chair) and a few words from Ann Wardwell (Chief Advancement Officer), our new parents received a personal overview of what to expect from the school as a whole and were encouraged to continue participating in the community gatherings organized by the Advancement Office, PFO and Booster Club. We have heard that this event helped parents make connections among other parents as well as with administrators, and provided an opportunity to establish friendships with fellow parents from the same grade and even classroom. The Advancement Office enjoys hosting this event every year as an important social resource for any new HKIS families joining the tribe. Welcome to HKIS! n 4th Annual 5km Turkey Trot
strut your stuffing! The 4th annual Turkey Trot 5k run saw nearly 100 runners from the HKIS community come out to enjoy the lovely, cooler autumn weather under bright blue skies.
!
sure is swift r LP Principal
Ou
Turkey Trotters setting off.
Just a couple of turkeys! Hayden Bailey leading the way. 4
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This year’s Turkey Trot 5k took place again in the lovely surroundings of Tai Tam Country Park with 92 trotters coming together for a festive, family-friendly fun run during the Thanksgiving weekend. Unlike in the States where the run typically happens Thanksgiving morning, our tradition is to run the day after the holiday. Just when you’re feeling stuffed, our run helps you feel more energetic after overindulging. And, being typical of Hong Kong, our 5k course includes a long, steep ascent towards Parkview and the Tai Tam Upper Reservoir. It really makes you shake your tail feathers! The fastest runner this year was HKIS High School student, Hayden Bailey, with a blazing time of 19:10.9. Well done to all the runners and we hope to see you back next year! n
Advancement
hkis internship program still going strong The HKIS Advancement Office oversees an internship program that provides meaningful opportunities to current High School junior and senior students as well as university-aged alumni. The internship program leverages our dynamic alumni and parent communities to provide useful and challenging real-world work experiences in various industries in Hong Kong.
Advancement’s Alumni Office has provided the internship program as a benefit to our students and university-aged alumni for many years. The Alumni Office serves as the conduit in connecting students and alumni applicants with great internship opportunities offered by our alumni and parent communities. In recent years, more alumni have sponsored internships and we’re grateful for their support. This year, 40% of our internship opportunities were sponsored by alumni and the companies they work for! Our recent internships have been with partners in many industries such as health and research, venture capital, tech start-ups, museums, NGOs, finance, and financial recruitment. Our internship program is designed to give students exposure to real work experiences and requires applicants to submit a resumé, complete an interview and correspond professionally with potential employers to be considered for an internship opportunity. Recently, our internship program focus has shifted to identify more challenging and rewarding opportunities that can provide more in-depth and worthwhile experiences for both the intern and our host partners. We’ve found our students and alumni interns are eager to increase their impact, push themselves further, learn more, and go deeper into an industry or sector. The students and alumni who have interned through our program have been very appreciative of the opportunities and feel they have greatly benefitted and acquired skills to succeed outside of the classroom. We will continue to identify exciting opportunities for our applicants — if you are interested to participate in our program as an intern or a host company, please visit our HKIS website in alumni services for more information and to apply! n
“We have been a consistent supporter of the HKIS alumni internship program since the summer of 2012. This year, our eighth summer, was probably our most productive and definitely one of the most fun. We have learned a lot from years past and have refined the program based on these learnings. One thing that always works better is having a critical mass of interns here at the same time. Launching these programs forces us to structure a schedule and curriculum that benefits both parties. The two things that we provide are: 1) generalist overview of the financial services landscape in Asia with the opportunity to focus on an area of interest, and 2) resumé writing, interview tips, and exposure to how to get a job. We are definitely looking forward to summer 2020 and our ninth year of the program.” — Rick Johannessen ’92, Managing Partner at Wellesley, an executive search firm
“My time at Wellesley was extremely positive. Not only did this internship provide me with my first experience in an office environment, which improved my ability to communicate and work with others in a professional setting, but the overarching nature of the executive search firm also enabled me to gain a greater understanding of the financial sector as a whole. The staff at Wellesley were welcoming and friendly, as they frequently extended the interns lunch invitations and tried to get to know us better. They were also informative, with a particular highlight of my internship being the presentation that the CEO gave to the interns on investment banking. I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Wellesley, and am grateful to the HKIS internship program for setting me up with the firm. I would strongly recommend all former and current students looking for work experience this summer to use the service that HKIS Alumni Relations provides.” — Ali Taha Brown ’18, Intern at Wellesley
, Intern at Michelle Jetton ’17 al and a pit Vectr Venture Ca fellow intern. Jack Gallagher ’18, Karmen Lau ’17, a friend, & Michael Pusack ’17.
“Through my internship at Vectr, I had the great opportunity to be exposed to the vast and rapidly developing venture capital environment in Hong Kong. It was truly an invaluable experience in terms of learning in a business environment and mentorship, one I would not have had without the help of the HKIS Alumni Internship Program.” — Michelle Jetton ’17, Intern at Vectr Venture Capital, for an internship set up by Arthur Law ’02 WINTER 2019 DRAGONTALES
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Advancement
2019 | charles w. dull visiting speaker Former Head of School Dr. Charles W. Dull was passionate about educating the whole HKIS community and felt a visiting scholar series would be a great vehicle to support parents, faculty, staff, students, and alumni. And thus, the Charles W. Dull Visiting Scholar Speaker Series was born, generously supported by donations to HKIS.
Bill Paige
High School Principal David Lovelin, Bill an d his wife Pam.
“Uncle Bill” meets HKIS and shares his stories of forgiveness and love, and connected with students and grownups alike.
Mid-November was a tumultuous time in Hong Kong. Amidst a series of canceled events and activities, there was one event that was still on the calendar. Reverend Bill Paige was on an airplane from New Jersey, scheduled to arrive in Hong Kong on the second day of mandatory school closure by the Education Bureau due to unrest in the city. In the weeks leading up to his visit, the Advancement team had various emails and video calls with “Uncle Bill” in preparation for his visit as this year’s Charles W. Dull Visiting Speaker. He was keenly interested in who we were as a community and wanted to understand what challenges our students faced. Not once did he ask if it was safe to travel to Hong Kong. An administrator mused, “it’s because he’s a man of faith.” Or possibly Bill had been through so much in his life, he didn’t fear so much. Bill’s visit started out slowly with a casual lunchtime chat with our Humanities faculty, as classes were still suspended and students were not on campus. Gayle Renken and Virginia Udall, two of our Repulse Bay administrators, had been holding daily chapels to pray for the city, our students, and our employees. When they heard Bill had arrived, they asked if he could address our faculty. So, on Tuesday morning, on our way to campus, Bill asked, “what should I speak about to the faculty?” I told him, “please feel free to tell your story, but can you speak to them about peace?” And that he did.
Bill speaks during a High School Community Gathering.
Telling Bible stories at an Upper Primary chapel.
When I read the Bible, I see it like a scene in a movie.
Bill around campus.
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Advancement
Sharing his story with the Middle School community.
Bill’s story included his difficult childhood, some shocking news he received as a young boy about his identity, his struggles with anger and self-control as a police officer in New York, and his encounter with Jesus that changed his life. He spoke of storms in his life and how the storm that Jesus’ disciples encountered was no ordinary storm—it was likened to a typhoon or a hurricane. And yet, Jesus was asleep in the storm, and when he awoke, he rebuked the storm, and all became calm. Bill shared from the Bible, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.” Bill understood the storm happening in our city was no ordinary storm, and yet there is a God who is in control.
Bill in 1973.
When Bill was in the Military Police, 1967.
When classes resumed on Wednesday, Bill spoke to 700 high-schoolers at a community gathering and told the story of the Good Samaritan in his animated “movie magic” style. He remarked, “You are an incredible community of young people.
You need to care for each other and treat each other as neighbors.”
His message was in response to the sense of community and global awareness that we try to embody in our High School. One student shared with Bill in the on-campus Starbucks after the talk, “Your talk was great, but it was too short.” We assured Bill that this was great feedback—they wanted to hear more! On Wednesday evening, Bill spoke to parents and other adults in our community (faculty, alumni, and guests) about asking for forgiveness from our kids when we say something we regret. The room was heavy as parents contemplated this notion that we might be vulnerable in front of our kids and what would happen if we lost authority in our kids’ lives. “I only graduated
with a high school diploma, but I’ve been given a gift to go around the world to tell people about what I believe in. If your children did the same, would you still be proud of them?” He challenged parents to be real with their kids and to trust that vulnerability and authority will fall in line with how God designed relationships.
Q&A in a High School spiritual explorations class.
With emotions high from the week’s class suspension and state of our city, it felt good to be in community discussing important topics and sharing our struggles. Thursday and Friday saw Bill in the Middle School and Upper Primary, connecting with students over stories of poor decision-making and forgiveness, of being kind, safe, responsible, and respectful. Bill taught us to be neighbors to each other. In his trademark call-and-response way of engaging his audience, where he asked us to talk to our “neighbor” and say funny things, many of us walked away with deeper insight on relationships and faith. “Neighbor? Are you going to be real with me?” n
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Advancement
There is now more space to hang out in our High School Plaza.
facilities spotlight
Shiny Happy Students in Tai Tam With the Repulse Bay campus complete, focus shifts to the Middle and High Schools for renovation and development. The Class of 1989 was the first class to graduate from our Tai Tam campus. Everyone’s excitement of moving to a new facility was high not just because they were getting a brand new campus. It was also because the construction schedule ran over, and from the start of the year through October, the High School had to share space with the Middle School in Repulse Bay. Given limited space, this meant that the Middle School had classes Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and the High School had classes Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. When students could finally move into the new High School in Tai Tam, a typhoon struck, flooding the whole school. Water pooled on the Plaza and drained into the library, all the windows leaked, while other windows blew out. There were also 300 defects that had to be corrected, which took some time! Students effectively studied in a construction site for the first months of the 1988-89 school year. These memories came flooding back as members of the Class of ’89 returned to campus for their 30th reunion tour in June, at the height of major renovations to the High School Plaza. It had not been the intention for HKIS to recreate that particular memory for the visiting alumni, but it was nevertheless the case!
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These renovations were part of an overall overhaul of the High School, which is upgrading shared areas around campus to allow students to have spaces to hang out and strengthen the community feeling. The section of the fifth floor that overlooks the field had over the years been home to language classrooms, the cafeteria, schoolwide administrative offices (such as Admissions and Head of School), and meeting spaces. This summer, it was gutted and transformed into an enormous Student Services space and Teaching and Learning Center with an adjacent meeting room. The perilous stairs in the Atrium heading to the tennis courts were evened out, and outdoor couches were placed for students and visitors to lounge. The Plaza’s trip-inducing cobblestones were smoothed, and wrap-around steps were added to the Island to make it more usable and accessible. Redesigned lighting and landscaping make the whole Plaza more open and inviting. Similarly in the Middle School, the Student Services space saw an upgrade with comfy corners for students to hang out in, along with the Dragon’s Cave community room for students to enjoy playing board games or ping pong. Perhaps the most noticeable change was the opening of the Middle School gate and the installation of an enormous wrap-around banner between the fourth and fifth floors, featuring Middle School life.
Facilities Spotlight
All of this work has happened following a four-year period when the Middle and High Schools made space for the youngest members of the HKIS family during the Repulse Bay campus’s redevelopment: Lower Primary decamped to Tai Tam for three years, followed by Upper Primary for a year. While Tai Tam natives were hospitable and warm to the Repulse Bay “houseguests”, we have already seen this semester how quickly our Middle and High School students (and Tai Tam staff and admin, too!) have settled into the full space, putting it to excellent use. But we’re just getting started. The Student Activity Center is scheduled to break ground across the field in 2020. This sports center will have ample space to expand Tai Tam’s sports and activity offerings for students and the community. With gyms newly situated, the space that the current Middle and High School gyms occupy will be transformed into a Performing Arts Hall seating over 900. After this, construction could begin on a final building next to the Middle School focused on spaces for our growing professional development program as well as additional student learning spaces.
Tai Tam Campus from the
air.
Students, faculty, and visitors have of made good use the new café.
Whatever the future holds, one thing is for certain— we are building to offer new and exciting experiences for all students….and new memories for visiting alumni! n
Photos and doodles of Middle School life bring a touch of whimsy to the building.
dent Services Office.
Middle School Stu Ms. Chi in the newly renovated High School Student Services Office.
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Cover Story
“There is more in you of good than you know, child of the kindly West. Some courage and some wisdom, blended in measure.” —J.R.R. Tolkien
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Mrs. Anderson and her grandson, Hayden ’30, at the LPS Library.
Cover Story
Linda Anderson’s Courage & Wisdom Mrs. Anderson has met every part of her adventurous life with good humor, empathy, and a twinkle in her eye. DragonTales sits down with HKIS’s educator-in-chief Linda Anderson, ahead of her retirement in June, to learn about her path to HKIS 30 years ago, what she’s loved about being here, and her hopes for our future.
My parents ran a cattery in Sussex, England. They were extremely bright people who, because of World War II, didn’t have the opportunities they should have had. My father fought in the war from 1939-45, and my mother spent every night in a bomb shelter, as did many Londoners. My dad ended his army career in Milan and maintained a love of opera his whole life. I went to an experimental secondary school, a new school filled with very passionate, very committed teachers who really believed in this new model, which was unlike the traditional grammar schools or vocational schools available to students in those days. We were very much the guinea pigs and I loved school. For A levels, we had small seminar classes, which were very hands-on, very engaging. There were two English Literature teachers I really enjoyed. Mr. Ward was one of those people who insisted on revising writing and talking about writing, he taught me how to write, and that writing is an exercise in thinking. My other teacher would sometimes bring in his violin, sit on the windowsill, play and talk about books, saying in his Welsh accent, “you have to read and read it, until those characters are like your family and
then it doesn’t matter what question they throw at you [during exams] because you’ll be writing about your family.”
He helped make the characters come to life. Mr. Ward had a deep love of theatre, which is how I got to see Maggie Smith and Laurence Olivier play Shakespeare’s Othello. At that time, students needed Latin to enter university. At my school we were taught a five-year course in one year. We all passed and I graduated in English Literature and Language at Durham University. As part of our course we had to translate Anglo Saxon and Middle English texts. My claim to fame during these years was that my Anglo Saxon tutor had learned from his Anglo Saxon tutor, one J.R.R. Tolkien.
Straight after Durham, I joined the UN Association as a volunteer and arrived in Hong Kong for the
first time on August 28, 1969. It must have been quite an unusual event, as we were featured on the front page of SCMP in our miniskirts! I then worked at Pooi To School, a True Light Mission School where even teachers had to wear a cheongsam with the collar closed to avoid scandal. Students there are still wearing the same uniform. The school was next to Kai Tak airport—the school was basically at the end of the runway— the wheels were down when the planes flew overhead, and you had to just stop teaching, the noise was so deafening. People could practically wave at us from the plane! This was in the era before there were any tunnels between Hong Kong and Kowloon; in three years I travelled to Hong Kong Island three times. I lived with a family on LaSalle Road in Kowloon Tong, quite near the Walled City for the first two years. My future husband Bernie came from America on the same day that I arrived in Hong Kong, and we met about a year later. My husband’s Principal was Gordon Dupree, who later taught at HKIS, and officiated at our wedding in 1971 at Kowloon Union Church in Jordan Road. In 1972, we returned to the UK to study at the Institute for Education in Cambridge.
We were ready for a new adventure at this point, and accepted an assignment from the Methodist Church to teach at Gaulim Teachers College, East New Britain, Papua New Guinea, about a two-hour flight from Port Moresby. We lived for three years near a tiny village outside of Rabaul, where our first son, James, was born. Memories of those years include earthquakes, swimming in crocodile-infested rivers, no running water and synchronously flashing fireflies. We spent a year in Boston for Bernie’s study at Harvard—my only year in America in almost 50 years of marriage. We returned to PNG to roles in the Education Department and at Boroko East International School, in Port Moresby, where our second son Christopher was born. I trained as a teacher librarian during those years.
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Cover Story Linda Seasonal Tom Woo caricatures of Peggy Anderson, snowman Jim Handrich, rd. Mak, Tom Woo, and Susan Halfo
Friends in the 90s nne Woodall, Carol Gray, June Temme, Joa bara Johnson, L to R - Back: Aerian t, Bar ber Lam Kay nd, frie r, Eichert, Laurie Wahne Brockberg. Seated: : Merry Belian, Susan Doris Rittmann. Middle daro, Jeanette Black, Leila Lewis, Ge Linda Andersion, Deb cy Kroonenberg. Joyce Rasmussen, Nan
After 11 years in PNG, we lived in London for three years while Bernie got his Ph.D, and I trained in weight training and aerobics. We then moved to Nanchang China, where Bernie took up a post at Jiangxi Normal University as a visiting professor in the Department of Media and Communications and were there in the weeks leading up to Tiananmen. Our time in China ended, and we moved back to Hong Kong in 1989, twenty years after we’d first arrived. Bernie started working at Baptist University, in the Department of Communication Studies.
Shortly after that, I joined HKIS.
I spent the first 10 years at HKIS in the Middle School library, and especially loved organizing theme weeks, bringing in storytellers like Joel Ben Izzy. We worked hard to make sure the library was a place where kids wanted to be, no different from our current libraries—a sanctuary for kids if they needed one. One of my memories from this time is when a parent brought in the first Harry Potter book and said,
“This book is quite good, I think the author is onto something.”
One of my biggest memories from that time was the move from Repulse Bay to Tai Tam. The current Middle School library has over the years become lighter, brighter, and bigger. We had a lovely team, with Susan Halford, Jill Lato, Peggy Mak, and Pion Ng, all working together. Anne Poole took over when I moved into administration, with Alli Wills and Maureen McCann picking up the MS Librarian torch over the years. When I moved into the role of Associate Principal in the MS, I worked with Wil Chan and Susie Heinrich-Jabal. I found that I liked working in administration; there were a lot of parallels between admin and library work: You serve a diverse population, you work closely with teachers, there’s a lot of variety. Every day was different ...you’d be sweeping the floor at the end of a Middle School dance one day, and then presenting to parents the next, a huge range of tasks. After this, Richard Mueller asked me to be Associate Head Of School for a year. In that same year Wil Chan left, and I became Interim Middle School Principal for two years, until I handed over to Paul Passamonte. I remember Paul asking me, “What are you proudest of ?” I said, “Our kids love to be here.” I love so much about Middle School. One of the things that has been so wonderful to watch is the development of the House and Pastoral Care Group programs; they’ve grown and flourished, and hopefully, this has made a difference in kids’ lives. With PCGs 12
DRAGONTALES WINTER 2019
Linda with her su bm Ministry of Silly Wa ission to the lks.
Linda with storyteller Joel Ben Izzy and Brian Lee ’96 in the 1990s.
we were trying to answer the question, “How do you make a big community smaller?” The Middle School has always worked hard to develop programs that celebrate this time in students’ lives. How do we make sure we create a program that’s developmentally appropriate, where kids can be actively engaged? Kids this age need opportunities like cooking classes and theme weeks; they need time to engage in authentic hands-on experiences. It’s no surprise to me that kids love PEAK [week-long experiential learning trips]. In Middle School, there’s not a day when you don’t laugh. Kids are changing all the time, and they’re passionate about stuff. They’re not too cool; they’re still that wonderful blend of children and young adult, they’re interested in the big questions like fairness and justice. They have amazing energy levels, and a wonderful sense of humor. My memories include Medieval Day, when I used to dress up as Queen Elizabeth I and read the Lord’s Prayer in Latin, performing “There’s a Hole in my Bucket” at a Poetry Slam, cycling in China, and celebrating Shakespeare week.
Moving into schoolwide administration was eye-opening. The major downside is you don’t get the same
kind of relationships with kids. But, in a schoolwide role, you can more clearly see the whole trajectory, the many moving parts. You have access to a much broader perspective, and you can see how one division impacts the other, and appreciate that need for constant communication and collaboration among the divisions. This need for collaboration is critical to the success of the school. We have to be able to do that if we’re able to serve the kids as well as we can. Beyond collaboration, we need to maintain transparency around how we operate, how we make decisions. This includes a clarity of structure, of systems, of decision-making, so that people know what it is that’s expected of them or not, and why we’re doing what we do. And the more we’ve grown as a school, the more important it has been to get that into place.
As educators, we also have to keep talking to one another, and to give people honest feedback. Even more importantly, we have to keep listening. Or Franklin Covey’s habit #5: “Seek first to understand, then be understood.” Or even to paraphrase Einstein, 90% of solving a problem is understanding it, and 10% is finding solutions. If we don’t keep dialoguing and understanding we will stumble.
Cover Story
Since leading out our curriculum and assessment work, one of my great joys is to be in the classrooms to see how our amazing teachers put the curriculum into action. It’s the closest that I get to seeing it from a kids’ point of view, to see what are kids experiencing. We’ve all made such wonderful progress together in curriculum work, and I know that progress will continue.
I’m delighted that environmental sustainability is in our schoolwide strategic plan. We’ve had many successes
with sustainability, particularly around energy efficiency and food waste, and we’re poised for many more successes if we can harness the enthusiasm. This really does take all of us. The saying, “We don’t inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children” is such an appropriate reminder for those of us who work in an educational institution. We’re in day-to-day contact with kids who will live with our failure to act. I wish our kids were more disgusted with us. I would love to see us graduating more activists, people who go out and who take action, who are committed to the UN’s sustainable development goals, who leave here really ready to make a difference. And I know we will, because we have. We just have extraordinary people here. Over the last 30 years, it’s easy to see the differences— we’re bigger, technology has revolutionized us all, but the one thing that’s never changed is the talented people who come to work here, and the fabulous students we have. And any year I’ve been here, the community has been full of passionate, dedicated, fascinating people. That’s why we get boomerangs [people who work at HKIS, leave, and return]. What you can learn here and the opportunities teachers and students alike have to learn are quite unique—it’s a community that loves to learn. Over the years I’ve completed more study, but often my best teachers have been my colleagues. This is a truly extraordinary community. And I’m so happy that my grandson Hayden has had four years in the HKIS family! n
“Don’t adventures ever have an end? I suppose not. Someone else always has to carry on the story.”
Linda’s Many Hats If you’ve known Linda at HKIS, you’ve known that she’s had a multitude of roles. 1990 to 2000 – Middle School Librarian 2000 to 2007 – Middle School Associate Principal 2007 to 2008 – Interim Associate Head of School 2008 to 2010 – Interim Middle School Principal 2010 to 2014 – Interim Associate Head of School 2014 to 2015 – Acting Head of School 2015 to 2020 – Director of Curriculum and Assessment
Susie Heinrich-Jabal, Linda, and Karen Rohrs, 2013.
w Year
15 Chinese Ne
ie at the 20 Linda and Bern staff party.
— J.R.R. Tolkien
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HKIS Then and Now
Staying Power Then and Now our faculty Through old times to new, HKIS has always had a special quality that keeps people close or draws people back. It’s a unique place to work and an inclusive place to study, where the community embraces you like one big family. Here we take a look at some staff and faculty who have been with HKIS for decades! Their passion for the school and children is represented by the number of years of service to the school and our community. In yearbooks past and present, faculty have commented “HKIS is a home away from home” and when asked what HKIS means to them, their response has always been, “HKIS is like a big family.”
1991 H Cristy Dratz H 2018
1990 H George Coombs H 2016
Lower Primary teacher
High School humanities teacher
1997 H Marty Schmidt H 2016
High School math teacher
High School humanities teacher
1996 H Peter Dratz H 2018
1988 H Phillip Ng H 2018
Middle School social studies teacher
Upper Primary Chinese teacher
Note: Years listed in this article refer to the year of the photo, not years of service.
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2000 H Janet Taylor H 2016
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1994 H Sue Harvey H 2015
1990 H Zella Talbot H 2016
High School academic programs coordinator and math teacher
High School humanities teacher
HKIS Then and Now
our staff Our staff, who support the daily life at our school, also treat HKIS as their home away from home. These dedicated members of our community support the daily life of teachers and students. Our school couldn’t run without them, and check out our support staff who have supported us for more than 30 years!
1987 H Anita Wong H 2018
1994 H Daniel Chan H 2019
Finance Office
Upper Primary Library
1991 H Danny Wong H 2018
1996 H Jared Cheng H 2018
High School IT
Repulse Bay IT
1976 H Joe King H 2019
1987 H Ming Kwan H 2019
Administrative Services
Repulse Bay Aquatics
1983 H Sam Lam H 2019
1995 H Steve Tse H 2017
Administrative Services
Administrative Services WINTER 2019 DRAGONTALES
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HKIS Then and Now
alumni back at hkis We also have a number of alumni who work at our school — they just can’t stay away! Take a look at their past yearbook photos, and see how they’ve grown. Not only have we graduated students who have become educators themselves, but we also have alumni working in our business offices supporting the operations of our school. Alumni are everywhere in our school! n
1999 H Hilary (Thompson) Green H 2015
1993 H Jeremy Evans H 2017
Middle School P.E. teacher
High School humanities teacher
1990 H Kate (Bailey) Gardner H 2019
2006 H Noelle Bough H 2018
Lower Primary counselor
Admissions Office
Fun Fact! These two young lads were classmates in sixth grade! Who would have been known they'd be colleagues decades later! 1988 H Riz Farooqi H 2015
1988 H Roy Bas H 2017
Lower Primary teacher
Information Technology
1995 H Veronica (Galbraith) Booth H 2017
Marketing Office 16
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HKIS Gallery
Upper Primary Student Art
Operation Beautify
We love Hong Kong: Celebrating Hong Kong through creativity Grade 5 students have been working on a top-secret operation. Art agents began their mission during 5th grade camp ably assisted and inspired by artist-in-residence Eleanor McColl. Eleanor is a local multidisciplinary artist whose work focuses on the urban environment and draws your attention to the often unnoticed details of the city. For our top-secret project, we decided to cut natural shapes of flower and fauna out of wood (huge thank you to the Facilities and Maintenance team which helped with this) and then on these paint zoomed-in images of shapes and patterns found in Hong Kong’s cityscape buildings, with the occasional char siu bao (steamed BBQ pork buns) peeking through. This juxtaposition of Hong Kong’s botanicals and dynamic urban environment makes for an exciting collection of images. Students worked on a small individual piece and collaborated on what will soon be assembled into a mural. A wonderful project to highlight creativity and collaboration in our 5th grade and celebrate the amazing city we live in. Soon to brighten the walls of a top-secret space in Upper Primary...watch this space. n
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Community
the booster club
Booster Club Cheers on Dragon Athletes! By the Booster Club Executive Board The HKIS Booster Club, a volunteer-run organization since 1994, operates and manages the Dragon Shop and reinvests all profits to support Dragon Athletics, co-curricular activities, and events to promote school spirit. Follow Booster Club on Instagram @boosterclub_hkis
Varsity Girls rugby team listens to str ategy from Coach Mathe w Brown
The Booster Club is proud to support Dragon athletes and help promote school spirit by making games and tournaments an exciting and fun place to celebrate our HKIS community. On September 13, the HKIS Booster Club presented an evening of athletics for the community: “Friday Night Lights”. The idea for this event came from a collaboration of the Booster Club, High School Administration, and Athletic Council. The High School has numerous sporting and co-curricular groups that are available for our community to celebrate and enjoy. “Not only were
great games played by both [the girls volleyball and rugby] teams, but High School students had the opportunity to play in intramural volleyball games, and they were a big hit,” says Madeline Smith ’21. “We wanted to bring members of our community from all divisions to kick off the year [of sports].” The goal of the event was to find new and creative ways in which to highlight students. While the games took place, the Booster Club provided hot dogs, sno-cones, popcorn, tattoos, and face paint. The second “FNL” event will take place in March 2020. “We want to grow this event, and continue to invite families
from the entire HKIS community to participate and celebrate together as one large international school,” says Kara Laskowski, HKIS parent and the Booster Club’s VP of Spirit. n
o, Kathleen Sno-Cone ambassadors: Don Shon Barney, Amy Clayton, Rui Hang
“Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose” — Coach Taylor, Friday Night Lights (TV Show)
Speed volleyball tourney winning team: Vincent Krembs ’20, Damien Tarala ’20, Pieter van Wingerden ’20, Mr. Contreras, Ms. Liu, Alex Edwards ’20, Ella McCoy ’20, Anna Lobner ’21
Amy Hsiao, Hot dog grillers: e Ann Verderese Le & n lso Juliet Wi
Popcorn popping volunteers: Angel Wong, Marian Oung, Wingyee Leung
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HS Admin Team enjoys the fun: Mr. Brayko, Dr. Lovelin and Ms. Fine
Community
parent faculty organization
The P and the F in PFO By Saba Ahmad, PFO VP Communications
Parents & Faculty at Back
The Parent Faculty Organization (PFO) occupies a unique place at HKIS. Spanning across all school divisions, our mandate is simple: Bring people in our community together, create a deep sense of belonging and foster the bonds between school and home. Whether they are new parents to the school or a faculty member who has been here for many years, we work hard to ensure that everyone feels welcomed, has a place to connect with each other, and contributes their time, talent and voice to help shape our community to the best it can be. With the PFO being a 32-year-old organization, it is always good to remember how many ways the PFO contributes and what impact it has on the parents, students and faculty of HKIS. From funding projects across all divisions to spearheading large events that allow a place for the community to come together, the impact of the PFO is multitudinal and wide-reaching. Did you know that the PFO has a divisional representative for each of its four divisions who participates at every Parental Advisory Group (PAG) meeting along with parents and school administrators? This is a key way for us to communicate parents’ voice, feedback and opinions back to the school administration and facilitate ongoing dialogue.
Student Talent at Pumpkin Festival
Bringing Faculty & Parents Together at the New Parent Breakfast
HS Parents at the Mix and Mingle
Pumpkin Festival Volunteering Fun
to School Night
The PFO is always asking to hear what parents and faculty think. In November, we had the privilege of asking parents and a few faculty members the question:
How has the PFO impacted your HKIS experience? Don, parent of 10 years, twins in grade 11:
The PFO was the means by which both myself and my family were introduced into the HKIS community. I think the PFO is the best organization to build community effectively because it can work across our two campuses and four divisions to connect people through its two schoolwide events: Pumpkin Festival and World’s Fair. The PFO is the one group who brings it ALL TOGETHER. Ann-Marie, new parent, children in grades 7 and 10:
The PFO takes a large campus and school body and breaks it up into a smaller community of people, which makes it easier to get plugged in, ask questions and feel more connected. Because you are crossing paths and volunteering together, you quickly begin to recognize faces and there is a more meaningful connection because you are working together towards a common goal. Pion, HS Assistant Librarian and HS Service Program, faculty member for 22 years :
The PFO runs so many events and activities for students and faculty. Apart from the large events the New Parent Breakfast is very important. I’ve been here for 22 years both in the Middle School and High School and your role is really a big impact to HKIS. The PFO members seem very capable, smart and passionate to do something for the kids. It is so impressive. It makes me really appreciate that you are doing this without getting paid! Edmond, HS Humanities Teacher and SOS Program Advisor, faculty member for 4 years:
My first experience with the World’s Fair was before I even started working at HKIS, when I brought over a group of local students for a cultural exchange. Seeing other students taking ownership and being empowered to do so, seeing parents serving food, seeing parents proud of and advocating for their culture, and seeing the diverse student body working together was amazing and it inspired my local students to become creative about building their own community. The experience made a lasting impact and exemplifies the values we hold as a school. The PFO is all about community. Building, connecting, sharing and listening to all those parents and faculty who are the core of why we do what we do. We love working with and for all our parents and faculty members! n Are you an alum with fond memories or a parent who has a great PFO story or any feedback for making the PFO even stronger? Get in touch with your ideas:
pfo.communications@hkis.edu.hk WINTER 2019 DRAGONTALES
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Community
church of all nations
Sister Act! Serving Together With Our Sister School By Rev. Yeong Ling Wui and Rev. Joel Scheiwe
Saviour Lutheran Sch
ool
In August, Church of All Nations had the privilege of hosting a two-day Vacation Bible School (VBS) for a group of special needs students from Saviour Lutheran School, a school located in the district of Sham Shui Po. A few days after school was in session at the Lower and Upper Primary, we welcomed a group of visiting students, many of whom had never been to the south side of Hong Kong. These students from Saviour Lutheran School arrived with such wonder and enthusiasm for learning. We knew we would be in for a treat over the next couple of days as our two schools worked alongside each other to share the Gospel of Christ to these incredible students. Saviour Lutheran School was founded in the 1950s to serve refugees and grew to serve the deaf community. Now, the school is a special school for children with intellectual disabilities, serving over 200 students and their parents in the community. Students at Savior Lutheran School face different learning challenges across a spectrum of special education needs, including autism, Down syndrome, ADHD/ADD behavior disorders, speech delay, and emotional problems. Students with special education needs are usually placed in special schools for intensive support services.
hool with Vacation Bible Sc hool Sc Saviour Lutheran led to our ve students, who tra Shui Po. am campus from Sh
In the spirit of their school motto “Faith, Hope, and Love,” the school nurtures its students as persons living with dignity, love, confidence, and hope by instilling in them a culture of integrity, honesty, harmony, love, and a passion for life-long learning. Its primary and ultimate objective is to prepare its students for future career planning and adulthood after they leave school some day. This partnership was a beautiful opportunity to build a stronger bond between Church of All Nations and Saviour Lutheran School, as they worked hand in hand with one another to bring games, skits, crafts, praise with hymns, and Bible stories to the children. As the teaching of St. Peter in his epistle goes, “as each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace” (1 Peter 4:10). In VBS, everyone was amazingly served as they served each other in love. n
Kids in Lutheran schools in the 50s and 60s.
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The early community of Saviour Lutheran Church and School in the 60s.
HKIS Gallery
Upper Primary Student Art Artist Trading Cards This year some of our Lower and Upper Primary grade levels are thrilled to participate in the global artist trading cards swap; 100 schools participate in this collective art event. Our Grade 3 students have created a set of cards, one of which will be swapped with a student from another school on the other side of the world - so exciting! We decided that we would, in light of recent events and unrest in Hong Kong, send some positive news and create some imagery that celebrated our Hong Kong. We created a textured surface with collaged Chinese temple papers, added a layer of gold and red paint and then drew iconic Hong Kong images on top, thinking about unity in our set of cards. From delicious dim sum lunches, scrumptious egg waffles, temples, and lanterns of Mid-Autumn Festival, to cable cars and the big buddha, students used these miniature masterpieces to share the traditions, cultures, and joys of HK. A tribute to the home that needs to be celebrated more than ever. n
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Student Life
Ms. Smith gathers with her 6th-grade students on their health rotation to discuss healthy food choices.
Health and Wellbeing Setting Up the Whole Child for Their Whole Life As HKIS underwent a schoolwide strategic planning exercise in early 2019, the theme of health and wellbeing emerged as a clear priority for the community. The desired end result of one of the key goals was to “foster a schoolwide culture of balance and wellbeing that nurtures the physical, social, emotional, and spiritual health of the individual and the environment in which we live.” Amy Smith shares how parents, students, and faculty collaborate to create a schoolwide culture of balance and wellbeing in our community. By Amy Smith, HKIS Middle School Health Teacher
Students gather with Mr. Everett.
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lor
Middle School counse
A few weeks ago, I was having a conversation with one of my 6th-grade health students. She was telling me about her plans for Halloween, and how she was going to carve pumpkins that evening with her Mom and Dad. She went on to say that she was looking forward to spending some time with her Mom because they had been getting along really well lately.
“Ever since she went to the parenting class with the counselors,” she told me, “things are different. She asks questions, instead of always giving advice. She learned so much, and we’re both glad she went.” This exchange brought a big smile to my face for a number of reasons. First off, any time Middle School students talk about wanting to spend time with their parents, it’s a win. Secondly, by admitting that she didn’t have all of the answers (and when it comes to parenting, whoever does?) and sharing what she learned with her child, this mother was modeling that life-long passion for learning that we all aim to instill in our kids. I had to share this exchange with our Middle School counseling team, who have been working hard on that crucial partnership with our parent community, and they were visibly touched. As teachers, we come alive when we see our lessons transferred to real-life situations, and this was definitely one of those times.
Student Life
One of our more well-received health and wellbeing initiatives is our wellbeing check-ins. Across our school, where age-appropriate, we have implemented these check-ins where students are asked regularly how they are doing. Students can request confidentially to see a counselor during these online check-ins, and students love this. The idea is to remove the stigma of talking to a counselor and for students to connect with caring adults who are there to guide them through the emotional and psychological changes they are going through. With 18 counselors in total across the whole school, it’s clear we have invested in supporting our students in their wellbeing.
other forms of media they consume. Aim to be that safe harbor where they can take a deep breath and feel accepted exactly as they are. Listen
Accepting your teen as they are right now will allow them to take safe risks and grow into the happy and healthy young adult you hope them to be. Developing an identity involves exploration and risk, so by listening and asking questions, you are allowing your child time for reflection and growth, an essential part of learning after life’s inevitable fails.
Lastly, don’t be afraid to ask for help. Parenting teens can be tricky, and in our rapidly changing world, it’s important to In our Middle School health classes, we focus on skills that are needed to develop an overall sense of wellbeing, including get support. Reach out to fellow parents, our amazing stress and healthy coping skills, sleep and time-management, counselors, or your friendly neighborhood health teacher, and understand that this is a partnership. We all need to work and navigating the physical, mental, emotional and social together to support our amazing adolescents as they develop changes that will happen during adolescence. These are health and wellbeing skills for life. all skills that are practiced far beyond the classroom, and as such, they require a community-based approach, which For additional tips, check out the amazing resources at includes parents. I’ve thought about the conversation with the 6th-grader quite a bit over the past few weeks, as the parent-and-teacher partnership is crucial in developing our Health and Wellbeing program across the whole school. Not all parents are able to attend our counselor talks, parent coffees, and workshops we offer during the day, but there are other ways they can further support the health and wellbeing of their growing teen. I spoke with some of my former 8th-grade students who are now tackling the exciting and often stressful world of High School, and here are three of their top parent tips:
ParentToolKit.com
Middle School co unse Laura Cowan, Ro lors sa Herrara, and Courtnna ney Pierce discuss str ategies behind the stude nt wellbeing check-i n.
Core Values
Ian Wilson shares about being a Gym Supervisor in the High School PE Department and his role as a strength and I was impressed that the high school freshmen were able to pinpoint the importance of positivity. Many of them agreed conditioning specialist, there to educate students on how to that an encouraging word from their parents was sometimes train safely and effectively in the gym. Use encouraging words
just the push they needed. Even just a simple text message of support and a smile can make all the difference during an otherwise difficult day. Avoid comparisons
Adolescence is stressful! Everything is changing— physically, mentally, emotionally and socially—and there are so many things outside of your control. Though it may be tempting to compare your child to their classmates or siblings, remember that teens are already comparing themselves to everyone—in school, on Instagram, and on
Ian Wilson The fitness suite in action with High School athletes working on building core strength.
By Ian Wilson
The fitness suite welcomes over a hundred students every day, from high-performance athletes such as swimmers who attend 5:30 a.m. sessions to others who enjoy the physical and mental wellbeing that “working out” provides to meet their personal independent fitness goals. There is a huge opportunity for students to not only meet the physiological demands of their sport but to also reduce the risk of injury through strength training. My education in strength training started 20 years ago, and I have recently focused on the concept of structural balance training. Structural balance is calculated through the absence of strength and mobility discrepancies between the left and right limbs of the body, as well as between the prime mover muscles and their associated stabilizing musculature. This provides a great starting point for students in high school to improve their overall fitness through a structured training program. Weight training is a cornerstone of many students’ daily routine, where compliance and consistency is often the biggest barrier. Those who are committed most certainly reap the many benefits it provides. n WINTER 2019 DRAGONTALES
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Student Life
Don’t Worry, Be Happy. We sat down with the school psychologist, Dr. Melissa Giglio, to find out the what, why and how of how she fits into the HKIS story. Tell us a bit about yourself.
My husband and I moved to Hong Kong over seven years ago for his job just before we welcomed our firstborn son, who is currently in Grade 1. We have three children now: Trey (7) and Jake (5), who are both HKIS students, and our little girl Blake (3). I have been a licensed psychologist for the past nine years, and a practicing clinician for 15 years. I specialize in the treatment of anxiety disorders, ADHD, and disruptive disorders.
Anxiety is something we hear is increasing in prevalence in teens. How will your work help?
My role at HKIS is to support and work collaboratively with teachers, administrators, learning specialists, counselors, and most importantly with families. By being a part of the team to deliver social-emotional learning and support to our students, I can help identify areas of difficulty with a clinical lens, and provide evidence-based recommendations to help teachers support a wider range of learning needs.
Anxiety is normal. Students may be nervous or feel butterflies before a test but are doing OK and are not debilitated by their anxiety. However, there are cases where worrying about a low-scoring SAT test or formative assessment can result in a feeling that life is ruined. Prevalence rates for anxiety disorders in adolescents is 31.9%, and 8.3% of those diagnosed were identified as severe. While these statistics sound high, it is preventable in many cases and highly treatable. It’s about changing cognitions about anxiety and behaviors related to their anxiety. We have an incredible team of counselors and learning specialists across divisions who provide support in school when students need it. Starting in early primary school, we can work on developing positive coping skills and building confidence, so changing one’s response to anxiety-provoking situations can rewire the brain and change neural pathways. We don’t want to wait. If we can incorporate these skills into the curriculum for all children, we can actively shape the brain to be resilient.
Will you help students with attention and behavior difficulties?
What do you hope to achieve in your role at HKIS?
Yes. I work with kids who have difficulty sitting still, lack awareness of where their body is in space, or have difficulty slowing down their thinking and getting their thoughts down on paper. This can affect academics, but also may impact social situations because they lack awareness. There is an opportunity to help teach those skills and provide opportunities to wiggle or run it out a little bit to regulate their system so that when they do need to learn they can be more attentive to the best of their abilities. It’s important to look at where kids are, that they are doing the best when they can, rather than focus on the behavior that’s exhibited — understanding the why. Sometimes behaviors can seem disrespectful or dysregulated, and we need to get to the root of the behavior so that we can be more supportive in a proactive and positive way, rather than reactive to the behavior the child is presenting.
I love the potential to impact a greater range of kids. HKIS is such a vibrant and supportive community with colleagues who care about our kids. I want to change the stigma behind difficulties and help to educate parents on how disorders begin in order to understand the emotion behind how kids are struggling. It is my passion to help children and families function better and have happy and fulfilling lives. I absolutely love what I do and feel grateful that I get to support so many people.
Have we ever had a school psychologist at HKIS?
Yes, however, this is the first time the school has hired a psychologist to bring the clinical side of psychology to our students on campus. Before joining HKIS, I was the director of a multidisciplinary private practice, where I worked with students and their families after school to work on individual needs. While there were partnerships with schools, the support was often separate from the classroom community. How are you going to help children now that you’re at our school?
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Dr. Gigilo and family.
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Student Life
lower primary Birthday Books: Spreading the Joy of Reading!
“A sprinkling of teachers had invited students to bring in a special book from home in honor of their birthday to include in their classroom library. We loved this idea and wanted to find a way that students could reread and see their birthday book throughout their time at Lower Primary and at the same time strengthen our well-loved library collection. That’s how the Birthday Book Program was born,” said Amy Robinson (HKIS Lower Primary librarian 2002-2007, Upper Primary librarian 2009-present). The Lower Primary library during this time had a much different feel; it was tucked away in a little corner of the old Lower Primary building and hadn’t quite caught up with a growing HKIS community. Thus, birthday books were “relegated” to classroom libraries at that time. The Birthday Book Program originally gave the school an opportunity to boost the much-needed collection of books, but most importantly, it provided students with a space where they could contribute a bit of themselves as well. “The library is the
only space in the school where students can choose to go to independently, so having a birthday book is like having ownership of the space. They will come in and ask you where their birthday books are and love seeing their friends’ names in a birthday book,” says the current Lower Primary librarian, Laura Chesebro. Then Upper Primary librarian, Lisa Tam (1999-2009) began a Birthday Book Program, shortly after the Lower Primary’s, and it continues today. Upper Primary students love to choose books that they think their classmates will enjoy. They love finding books that have been donated by older siblings and friends. All proceeds from the Birthday Book Program go back to the Lower and Upper Primary libraries. Birthday Book donations made by HKIS families purchase new library books, new copies of beloved or well-worn titles, and support special literary events. This year, the Lower Primary used proceeds from the Birthday Book Program to purchase a collection of books by illustrator Christian Robinson for classrooms and the library in anticipation of his February 2020 visit.
“The Birthday Book Program is special. Each year, it gives my two kids an opportunity to celebrate their birthday by buying a book for the school library. With a book plate put in the donated books, my kids’ birthdays are especially commemorated. When my kids see their donated books on the shelf, they know their contribution to the school library. When other kids check out the books donated by my kids, they see my kids’ contribution to the school library which hopefully serves as an inspiration.” — Karen Sze, Grade 3 and 7 parent
“My favorite part is when the kids come in to get their birthday books. They know they are not going to keep it; it’s them getting excited to give a book to the library and every day our library is getting a new book,” said Ms. Chesebro. The Birthday Book Program helps build and maintain a community space. With its support the library circulated an incredible 123,000 books last year. Did you have a birthday book? Write in with a photo and tell us about it! We’ll have you featured in the HKIS Lower Primary Instagram page, @hkislplibrary n
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Student Life
upper primary “Bee” Blessed!
Mrs. Udall talks about Upper Primary Chapels and equipping kids with language to talk about what it means to be on a spiritual journey. By Virginia Udall, Upper Primary Associate Principal
At Upper Primary, we hold Chapels to reflect our identity of being grounded in the Christian faith. What’s fun about doing Chapels here is allowing it to be student-centered. It’s really important for us to give kids an opportunity to have a voice in leading different parts of the school, and so every other cycle (every 12 days or so) each grade level will have a Chapel, and it is led by students. Every class has an opportunity. Each Chapel starts out with a student-led biblical reading, followed by an invited guest speaker who gives a message or shares a story around a Christian message. We then have a time for community, which sometimes means celebrating birthdays or recognizing students who are living out the four “bees” (be safe, be kind, be respectful, and be responsible). Afterward, there is a song and a prayer, and finally, Pastor Joel arranges a written blessing for students to read out loud. Students are sent off being blessed! The Chapels are a time of worship and the structure provides a safe and accessible environment for this. At the core, they support our classroom curriculum, where students learn about Christianity, other religions, and their spiritual journey. Using an inquiry model, students ask questions to find commonalities about what they believe or what they aren’t sure they believe. They might share how they find the strength to get through something difficult or what it means to celebrate something joyful. This is all a part of learning who they are spiritually and becoming aware of their spirituality. What a journey! n
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Student Life
middle school A Garden of Jewels Grounded in Love
Grounded in the Christian faith and respecting the spiritual lives of all. By Nancy Ho, Middle School Religion Teacher
HKIS has a unique and amazing spiritual legacy. We see it forged in our founding, 53 years ago, by the Lutheran Church, and it goes forward, setting a path for all who will join our community in the years to come. We are a Christian-grounded school, our students are from many faith backgrounds, and we respect and nurture the spiritual lives of all. HKIS is founded upon and rooted in a Christian understanding of God’s love, in Jesus, for all people. We recognize that each student, a precious gift from God, is on a spiritual journey—a quest to find and know the truth about their own value and the meaning of their lives. At the Middle School, regardless of religious or spiritual beliefs, we encourage all students to wrestle with important questions such as, “Who am I?” and “Who am I becoming and why?” We seek to nurture their spiritual journey with creative, open-ended ‘spiritual identity’ assignments, which may not necessarily connect with a particular religion or set of beliefs. We offer regular ‘Spiritual Journey times’ in class, where students may enter stillness, consider the sacredness of life, and explore their own responses to it. Most students recognize the importance of pursuing spirituality and value the space, time and freedom given to choose their own paths. Spiritual authenticity is held in high regard at HKIS. We seek to develop students who, having studied Christianity and several other religions, will forge their own set of beliefs and, in truth with integrity, feel empowered to engage in meaningful dialogue. Our Religion teachers at the Middle School are all Christian, and we appreciate being able to teach authentically out of who we are. It is a joy to teach through our Christian lens of ‘Christ’s love for all’ to a vibrant and diverse group of young people. Each of our students is seen through the eyes of a loving Father with the values of His Kingdom permeating all that we teach. We tend a garden of beautiful and unique flowers, all within the fertile soil of God’s love for humanity, as expressed in the story of Jesus. The Middle School religion program begins in sixth grade with the Old Testament course. The Hebrew Scriptures constitute the very root and foundation of the Christian faith, and are experienced in our story-based course in a most profound and revelatory way. Through learning a number of key and very connected stories, students understand the unfolding plan of God for humanity. They come to know a faithful and loving God who has made a covenant with a people and promises that through them, he will bless all nations. They see and connect the dots of a continuous narrative, one in which the author, God, actually writes himself into the script as a hero who dies for the villain.
Israel Bible Tour 2019
The Middle School has Christ-centered chapels, an engaging Christian club, and we run an annual community prayer morning, called ‘See You at the Pole’. We are blessed to have a very supportive Christian parent community that gathers regularly to pray for faculty and students. Each year I host a Middle School trip to Israel—a Christian study tour, uniquely designed for students and their parents. Students make deep and lasting connections with learning from their religion classes and with one another. Families enjoy fellowship and adventures together—riding camels, floating in the Dead Sea, strolling on the ramparts and walking through history in Jerusalem’s Rabbinical tunnels. In his Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:33), Jesus taught his followers to always focus on what is most important. Recently, in the midst of a lesson, I realized that my diamond necklace was missing. I carried on as normally as possible, whilst trying to scan the carpet around me. Suddenly I heard a small, still voice: “Resist the temptation to look for your necklace. The ones in front of you now are far more precious than your diamond.” God treasures our students and sees them as his jewels. As we choose to commit our school and students to the Lord, He will be faithful to watch over us and be our Shepherd. n
‘See You At the Pole’ Prayer Morning 2019 Parents and Faculty WINTER 2019 DRAGONTALES
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Student Life
high school Wellness Block
A SPEX-tacular Program! High School humanities teacher, Marty Schmidt, shares the mission behind the Spiritual Explorations class, lovingly called SPEX. By Marty Schmidt, High School Humanities Teacher
If you ask students at HKIS what is their biggest challenge, most of them would say it’s the stress they experience. Not only can we as adults relate to this concern, but we are frequently reminded by headlines warning that mental health and depression are becoming a larger disease burden than even physical ailments such as heart disease and cancer. It was out of this awareness that a bold new initiative has been taken at HKIS that seeks to address this concern. In the 20172018 school year, we began to phase in a period in students’ schedules dedicated to their physical (PE), mental (“Seminar” taught by counselors), and spiritual (“Spiritual Explorations” taught by religion teachers) health, putting into practice our belief that a healthy person balances their body, mind, and heart. We began with the grade 9 curriculum, and have added a grade each year, with grade 12 coming in the 2020-21 school year. From that point on, every High School student will have an appointed period in their schedule to attend to their wellbeing. As a religion teacher, allow me to focus on the spiritual dimension of this curricular shift. Three aspects of the “Spiritual Explorations” (SPEX) class make it stand out as a departure from standard educational practice. First, most class periods include a spiritual practice, which often means some form of quiet meditation or “conscious walking”. Homework, too, is mostly practice-oriented. Students will self-design a practice – say, the “Loving Kindness Meditation” – and practice it ten times over the following two weeks. At other points, for example, we might ask students to express gratitude for unacknowledged blessings in their lives, or to smile at someone whom they usually don’t engage with in this way, as homework (or “homeplay” as some of us call it) practices as well. Secondly, since SPEX itself meets only about once a week, the outcome of each class aims to be experientially-based around a theme rather than content-laden. We hope students understand, for example, that our first class in grade 9 was about the year-long theme of “Waking Up” when we showed them a video rendition of David Foster Wallace’s well-known “This is Water” baccalaureate speech and then asked them to practice this by doing a conscious walk through campus afterward. The goal, then, was to create an event, rather than simply lead them through a series of activities, emphasizing spiritual experience over content retention. Thirdly, all major assessments receive credit or no credit; there are no letter grades. Students need to receive credit on all major (summative) assignments in order to pass the class. The countercultural message we are sending is that we can offer a valuable educational experience—that attends to their immediate needs—without holding the bludgeon of academic reward or punishment over their heads. 28
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Inspired by the Wellbeing Board, High School students show their gratitude to HKIS support staff.
All three aspects—practice-based, event-oriented, and grade-neutral—are significant departures from conventional educational wisdom. Thus far, we are pleased to say that the wellness block is being met with broad approval by students. The body-mind-heart approach seems to be a needed antidote to the stresses and strains which students experience.
Students for Students: Creating the Wellbeing Board By Weilyn Ashley Chong ’20
At the end of 8th grade, I noticed a need for gratitude within our school community. This inspired me to create Thankful Thursdays with the help of [Middle School Associate Principal] Mr. Ladner. For two years, we ran Thankful Thursdays (36-week program of different gratitude activities) and adapted the activities based on feedback. I worked with an NGO in Singapore to expand Thankful Thursdays beyond just HKIS and have integrated the program into other schools and businesses. As I worked more on inspiring natural acts of gratitude, I wanted to find ways to centralize wellbeing events and make it a priority for students. Along with Ms. Fine [High School Associate Principal – Student Life] and a couple of students, we started a joint Middle School and High School Wellbeing Board. The purpose of the Board is to create wellbeing events to promote a culture of prioritizing wellbeing. This project has also been a nice way to connect Middle and High School leaders. Some of the events that we have done include cookies with conversations, creating gratitude walls, and even giving feedback to counselors on the wellbeing survey. We are excited to continue to make wellbeing a priority and create more meaningful events! n If you want to get involved in the Wellbeing Board, contact: 200749@hkis.edu.hk
HKIS Gallery
Middle School Student Art
Circus Olympus This project was born out of a collaborative effort between the Middle School Drama and Visual Arts departments. Mr. John Mulhall, the Middle School Drama Teacher, and I decided to challenge students in sculpture class with the task of creating work that reflected the major elements of the Middle School’s fall performance, Circus Olympus. What do Greek gods and a circus have in common? We were all left scratching our heads! However, there was little doubt that this theme would prove to be an interesting juxtaposition to work with. Throughout their studio sessions, students were fueled in their creative process in the same manner as students in Drama were inspired. They were challenged to be creative, to collaborate, and to persevere through all aspects of this project. I would like to give a special thanks to Stu Sinibaldi ’25 who provided the technical expertise and direction through his interest in 3D modeling and design work of his own. John Lee, Middle School Art Teacher
At first, we needed to build the model based on the model on Slicer [an app that helps you construct 3D models], but then we decided not to copy the version on Slicer because we lost a bunch of pieces. So we started building whatever looked right. The shapes that were on the model were all built based on imagination so I was pretty proud of it. Damon Tung ’24
The biggest challenge we faced in creating our work was creating the hair. Creating the hair was challenging because the 3D model online was extremely complicated, so we had to use our creativity to figure out how to make shapes from small pieces. We combatted this challenge by using the hot glue gun to stick the snakes on more sturdily. I think that our Greek god and background came together really well. Rohan Shah ’25
We thought about what colors we associated with circuses, and we decided upon warm tones – orange, yellow, and red. Then after we finished that, we went online and tried to find good vintage circus pictures. By crumpling them up and cutting out certain aspects of them, we attempted to create a vintage feel to our work. We also intentionally blotted and blended our background to create a worn look. We worked really hard on our product and we tried to add as many elements as we could to really make it pop. Jaslyne Tam ’24
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Events
Classes of 1968 and 1969 50th Reunions
Barbara Israel Warren ’69 and Christy McCaskill Wendell ’69
’69 , Michael Swaine David Landau ’69 Bosley ’69 y) (Ta n so and Jack
A Long Time Coming! On July 19-21, 2019, 58 HKIS alums, friends, and family members gathered in Seattle, WA from around the world to celebrate the golden reunion for the classes of 1968 and 1969 including Bob Christian, HKIS’s first Head of School (19661977), Joan Kaufmann Hilse, High School math teacher (19681971), current Interim Head of School Dr. Ron Roukema and his wife Ashley, and Hillary Sandeen, HKIS Alumni Relations. Of the nearly 100 classmates, all but 20 were located, and Pam Munn Anderson ’68 and Tay Bosley ’69 led a poignant memorial program for our ten deceased classmates. Christy McCaskill Wendell ’69 organized the reunion; however, many classmates helped her make it a truly unique and extraordinary event. Richard Hum ’69 served as the reunion photographer; Steve Adcock ’69 completed a fabulous photo show with vintage pictures provided by Ed Chen ’68, Eric Mache ’68 and numerous others; John Strouss ’68 compiled our 60s era music; Marty Borgman Allen ’69 and Margie Hornsbostel Still ’68 contributed trunks of 30
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Beth Gore ’69 and Lindy Andersen Brigham ’69
Contributors: Christy McCaskill Wendell ’69, Mindy Gooch Deaver ’68 and Margie Hornbostel Still ’68
priceless memorabilia; Lindy Andersen Brigham ’69 and Margie set up a Facebook ’68/’69 Alumni page; David Christian ’69 and Lindy handcrafted beautiful pottery and weaving projects for door prizes along with the talents and generous donations of many others; Sheryl Scarbrough Bomsta ’69 stitched an exquisite alumni quilt which was generously gifted to HKIS; Michael Swaine ’69 painted Bob Christian’s portrait which was presented to our Headmaster at the reunion; 1968 Class Officers Harry Waddell and Mindy Gooch Deaver and 1969 Officers Michael Swaine and Barbara Israel Warren shared favorite class memories as we all re-connected, reminisced, laughed, re-kindled old friendships and created new lifetime memories. We departed with hugs, lots of smiles, a few tears, our reunion memory books, reunion chopstick mementos, and promises to keep in touch. The search for the elusive twenty missing classmates continues and plans for our next reunion are underway! n
Events
HKIS Crusaders pennant and memorabilia.
Remembering our beloved classmates who have passed away.
Classes of 1968 and 1969 lovingly stitched together by Sheryl Scarbrough Bomsta ’69
“We didn’t realize we were making memories; we just knew we were having fun! Hong Kong was genuinely a life-changing experience for me, instilling a true sense of diversity and inclusion with friends from all over the world. Among the first HKIS students, we were Crusader pioneers in every sense of the word, and my perspectives and horizons were broadened beyond my wildest curiosity and imagination. I sincerely value the education, those experiences and friendships to this day!”
Bob Christian and Dr.
— Margie Hornbostel Still ’68
Anne Magill Grauens ’70 and Peter Fishel ’68
Ron Roukema
“The HKIS 1968 & 1969 class of enthusiastic souls came together from different countries, school systems and religious affiliations. Some of us knew each other but many came not knowing anyone. “Will anyone like me? Will I fit in?” We tried to include everyone and develop class/school spirit. Upon graduation, we scattered to the four winds. Most of us did not stay in touch. Life happens. And now, 50 & 51 years (approximately 18,615 days) later — here we are again. “Will anyone like me? Will I fit in?” Some things never change... We here, this weekend, are each other’s memories. We had the courage to show up for this reunion weekend. I want to thank each one of you, class of 1968 & 1969, for sharing yourselves with us. These memories will last us for the rest of our lives.”
“In the beginning…there were 28 senior graduates in — Mindy Gooch Deaver ’68 1968 with 56 juniors waiting in the graduation wings. We did more than graduate first … the first HKIS National Honor Society, the first school play “Our Town,” the first school musicals, the first Model United Nations, the first Mandarin and Cantonese classes, the first Crusaders holiday basketball tournament, the first swim and track & field teams, the first cheerleaders, the first overseas sports meet, the first Mothers’ Club, the first prom, the first class rings, the first Orientale yearbook, the first school newspaper JUNTO, the first handbook, the L to R: Janet Yvonne Terw illiger, Cheryl Jay first community service programs … were just some of the Mushett Baldridge. Peter Fish Anderson, Peter Swaine, Hen el, Pam Munn FIRSTS which continue at HKIS today. Our first class Mindy Gooch Deaver, Kare ry Patton Waddell, n Lynn von Behren Keu p, Edmond Chen and Joh reunion was long overdue.” n Phillip Strouss, — Christy McCaskill Wendell ’69
Jr. from the class of 1968.
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Events
Class of 1989 30th Reunion
By Jason Thatcher ’89
The HKIS Class of 1989 gathered in June 2019 to celebrate 30 years of friendship, share new stories, and introduce our families to the city of our youth. We started our adventure in Lan Kwai Fong, with sushi, stories, sake, and watched our children quickly form friendships. Reminding many of us of our first days at HKIS, with experienced students welcoming new students, quickly forming fast friendships that have spanned the years. We left sated and looking forward to the moments to come. The next day, we continued our visit on the Tai Tam campus, where we finished our senior year, sharing stories of when the building was young and laughing about the chaos evoked by having class every other day in Repulse Bay to start the academic year. Somehow, we all survived having “three Friday nights” a week. We ate lunch at the American Club, where many of our classmates recalled the privilege that we had, and some recalled how the third culture kid experience positively shaped their future and others relayed how Hong Kong had changed in the intervening years. Everyone shared bits and pieces of how friends not present were doing — increasing our feelings of connectedness and longing to see. That night, we met up at Rohini Balani Chortimal’s flat, Chris Starr broke out old yearbooks and newspapers, and 32
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we laughed over senior testimonials, predictions of what we would become, and enjoyed a homemade feast. It was perfect — reminding all of us parties in high school — only there were no curfews to attend to! The next day, we gathered again for a tram ride around the city. As 80s music blared, we cheered passing trams, tossed a beer to a passing party, and told tall tales about the parties of our youth. While the tram and music had not changed, we sure had, far more orderly, far less chaotic, and just a bit slower than our 18-year-old selves. We wrapped up the reunion with dim sum overlooking the harbor. Joined by Ms. Talbot, Mrs. Taylor, and Mr. Coombs, we reminisced about classes, planned our next adventures, and satisfied our appetite for char siu bao [steamed BBQ pork buns], dumplings, and tea. We ended the day with a group photo, framed by the familiar sights of The Peak and Star Ferry, but a much-changed cityscape in-between. Many thanks to our class organizers and sponsors including Cynthia Tsai, Joyce Yin, Rohini Balani Chortimal, Sudesh Sani, Christine Hanchett, John Hyun, Prescille Chu Cernosia ’88 — for their contributions, their time, and their planning. While time has passed, they captured the best of our Hong Kong and reminded us that the spirit of Hong Kong is eternal, dynamic, vibrant, and blending the best of East and West. Hong Kong is, and will forever be, the home of HKIS 1989! n
Events
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Events
Class of 1994 25th Reunion The Class of 1994 celebrates a quarter-century since graduation in New York City and Hong Kong. By Charisse Luk ’94
New York City Several alumni from the class of 1994 gathered in NYC from August 3-4, 2019, to celebrate their 25th class reunion. Many brought their families to enjoy the festivities which included dim sum, a sunset cruise, dinner, and more.
“A long, long time ago... Hong Kong brought us all together. This weekend, we celebrated our 25th High School reunion in NYC. What an amazing crew and I’m so grateful to call these people my friends! Go Dragons.” — Eelain Ng Steketee ’94
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Events
Hong Kong On September 28, 2019, eighteen Class of ’94 alums met up for our slightly belated 25th reunion. The day started off with school tours of both Tai Tam and Repulse Bay campuses, followed by a dinner with HKIS alumni goodies and custom made name tags for fun, and ending with drinks on top of a rooftop bar. Everyone is looking forward to our next reunion already! #Dragonpride
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Events
Class of 1999 20th Reunion The Class of 1999 celebrated its 20th reunion with festivities in New York City and Hong Kong this fall. By Blake Austin ’99 and Justin Hardman ’99
New York City While we all weren’t able to make it back to Hong Kong to celebrate together with our fellow classmates, several of us were able to gather in NYC for a weekend of fun and catching up to celebrate our 20th reunion September 27-29, 2019. Festivities kicked off on Friday with a casual dinner followed by an entertaining evening of karaoke. On Saturday, we ventured down to Chinatown for dim sum, which of course was fantastic! That afternoon we toured around the city and relaxed a bit before meeting up that evening for dinner in the West Village, and then had a fun night out in Brooklyn. Sunday we met up one last time for brunch in Brooklyn before people had to catch their flights home. It was a fun weekend catching up with old friends, and something we look forward to doing again soon! — Blake Austin ’99
Hong Kong The Class of ’99 had it’s 20 Year Hong Kong Reunion on the 18th and 19th of October 2019. On the first day, 16 graduates and their children toured the Tai Tam campus and enjoyed a reception with faculty. On the 19th, 35 graduates came to the reunion party at the aptly named “99 Bottles” in Central. — Justin Hardman ’99
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Events
HKIS in the Windy City! HKIS hosted its first-ever alumni reunion in Chicago on October 5, 2019, and it was a success!
Thanks for the warm welcome, Chicago! More than 30 alumni from various decades turned up to reconnect with former classmates and friends to see their former Lower Primary teacher, Gayle Renken. Gayle has recently returned to HKIS as an Associate Principal in the LPS. Attending the event from the school were Dr. Ron Roukema, Interim Head of School, and Ann Wardwell, the new Chief Advancement Officer. A special thank you to Andrew Turner ’18, our Chicago Alumni Representative, for all his help in organizing our first alumni reunion in Chicago and for making it a family affair. n The Turner family: Kevin, Andrew ’18, Amy and Caroline ’19.
’92, i ’95, Chris Lok Anup Bhojwan ’96 and k sia na Ba nSarah Finlayso k Anthony Banasia
Ann Wilson ’81, Larry Wilson, Rob Coleman ’88 and Tracey Coleman
4 and Van Andel ’9 ’97, Kristin te Principal er ia eb oc W ss n A y ar Jaso Lower Prim n, ke en R Gayle
Chan ’19, Nicholas Chan ’14, Jonathan Chung ’18, Rex olas Liu ’14, Jenny Kim ’16 Nich ’19, Ho Kinsey Pak Yin and Claudia Gibson ’16
Jun Kim, JD Keenan ’86, Dena Keenan and
Vanessa Kim ’94
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Events
Hong Kong Chapter christmas charity lunch The Alumni Association—HK Chapter hosted its Charity Christmas Lunch on December 10, 2019 at the Shanghai Fraternity Association to support HKIS’s David F. Rittmann Scholarship. There was a great turnout from alumni! In attendance from HKIS were long-term faculty member George Coombs, Chief Advancement Officer Ann Wardwell and from Alumni Relations, Hillary Sandeen. Alumni enjoyed a delicious Shanghainese lunch while connecting with former classmates and friends and slowing down for a bit during the busy holiday season. It was a wonderful gathering with a special thanks to HK Chapter Board Member Kimberly Kwok ’05 for organizing this lovely event. n
George Coombs, Desmond Chu ’91 and Anthony Chang ’90
Chelsea Werth ’09, Vin cci Lau ’11, Katie Schull ’09, Lilian (Wu) Yang ’00 and Denise Ho ’01.
L to R Standing: Jens Janssen ’95, John Wu ’05, Denise Ho ’01, Chelsea Werth ’09, Lillian (Wu) Yang ’00, Desiree Kwik, Katie (Shull) Chu ’09, Vincci Lau ’11, Derek Kwik ’86, Jason Tan ’96, George Coombs, Ann Wardwell, Desmond Chu ’91, Anthony Chang ’90, Justin Lui ’04, Chris Tsun ’04 Matthew Sears ’02 and Justino Liang ’01. L to R: Kneeling: Hillary Sandeen, Coco Chan ’03, Linne Tsu ’96, Jonathan Leung ’01, Kimberly Kwok ’05, Andrew Lam ’02, Cyndy Kiow ’02, and Wie Hao Kiow ’06.
Dr. David F. Rittmann was HKIS’s longest-serving Head of School, from 1977-1996, and a passionate English teacher. In honor of the unique legacy that David left to HKIS, the school named a scholarship in his memory. The scholarship provides full tuition to students from local Hong Kong schools, on the basis of merit and need, to attend HKIS from Grades 10 to 12. The recipients are chosen from the school’s High Achievers Program or English Language Leadership Program, run as part of HKIS’s Summer Program. For more information about the Rittmann Scholarship and how to donate, please contact advancement@hkis.edu.hk or visit https://www.hkis.edu.hk/giving/.
Effective Strategies for Parents to Practice
Justino Liang ’01, Wei Hao Kiow ’06, Kimberly Kwok ’05, David Wu ’05 and Jonathan Leung ’01
supporting an anxious child The Alumni Association –HK Chapter hosted a discussion for the alumni community recently on talking to your children about stress and how to recognize the signs and manage the symptoms. The discussion was led by the HKIS school psychologist, Dr. Melissa Giglio, on October 15, 2019 in the Lower Primary School, giving insights on stress in children and how to recognize the signs and provide useful strategies to manage and cope. Dr. Giglio recently joined HKIS after many years in private practice as a clinical psychologist. The alumni who attended the discussion and Q & A found it beneficial and helpful and look forward to more discussions regarding the matter. See page 24 for more from Dr. Giglio! n 38
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1) Give quiet hugs. 2) Visualize a calm and happy place, using as many details as possible. 3) Use grounding exercises: name five things you can see, four things you can touch, three things you can hear, two things you can smell, and one thing you can taste. 4) Exercise. 5) Draw your anxiety as a monster! 6) Pet a furry friend.
Dr. Melissa Giglio briefs alumni about how to help your anxious child.
HKIS Gallery
High School Student Art Drawing & Illustration
Elly Wolhardt ’21
Caleb Ferrin ’23 and Timothy Sin ’23
Victoria Liu ’21
Eliora Kwok ’23 and Ryan How ’23
Leah Gillette ’23 and Gil Yehudayan ’23
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Alumni Making Moves
Design Lance Chiu ’97
SFO with HKIS “Birds” Raf Aquino, Ian Van Reepinghen, Ian Chee, Julie (Foo) Chee, Mike Yih
Lance’s Nike Pride
Life is amazing like that
After High School at HKIS, Lance Chiu ’97 majored in illustration at Parsons School of Design in New York before working in fashion and sports. A basketball fan and illustrator from his HKIS days, he talks about his love of art turning into a career, working to design uniforms for national sports teams, and the lasting impact HKIS has had on his life.
Lance and his family, 2019 HKFA Football kit and National India Cricket uniform designed by Lance and his team.
What lessons did you take from your time at HKIS?
The lessons learned were through playground politics: How to interact with other kids from social groups than mine, how to form meaningful bonds, how not to cast judgment upon those different from me, and how to deal with people of different upbringings and cultures. What are some of your favorite memories from back then?
Mainly the friendships I had during that time, as I still find the camaraderie of our class very special. To have all that and for it to happen at such a momentous time as the handover in 1997 was very special. Who influenced you at HKIS?
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It still blows my mind seeing how that part of my life was being set up to lead me to where I am today. What are you up to these days?
I am currently growing my own design studio. But working with a small design group or a huge company, it’s all about managing and creating consistency and telling one uniform story through beautiful design.
Mr. Fritz Voeltz – He was one of the first adults who brought himself to my level. When we first met, [I felt like] he had it out for me, thinking that I’d be a menace. After spending some time together on Interim, he went out of his way to apologize to me for being so quick to judge and said I was a good kid. It was the first time I’d see an authority figure acknowledge he was wrong, put his ego aside to be transparent, and treat me as an equal. I’ll always remember that moment. It’s one that always leads me to be humble, open, and egoless with my kids.
You worked at Nike for a time, and your team designed the India National Cricket and the Hong Kong Football teams’ uniforms. What were those experiences like?
Mr. Bill Stork – He alone kicked off my t-shirt graphic design/ illustration path, allowing me to design the Crew Team tee and then leading to the Christmas Tournament [now the Holiday Basketball Tournament] tee, the class tee, and many more. Now 22 years later, I can see it led to a career in fashion graphics and illustration, which has given me amazing opportunities to work and meet amazing people in many of the top brands in the industry. Ms. Fish & Ms. Klammer – These two were my salvation as they gave me a place where I always felt most natural and free. The art department was a second home, and before meeting them, I didn’t know what I’d do with my gifts and had no plans for university. Then Ms. Fish told me about a summer art program at the Rhode Island School of Design, and I never looked back.
Happily married to Davena, with a daughter Lovella, 9 years old, and son Dante, 7 years old, who are hoping to join the HKIS family in a few years. I’m fortunate enough to be in touch with many of the 97-ers as so many people visit HK. On top of that, my annual family summer trip back to the Bay Area allows me to not only visit family but see many of the West Coast HKIS fam like Raf Aquino, Mike Yih, Ian Chee, Ian Van Reepinghen, Tim Lo, and Gifford Chan. What makes those trips even more mind-blowing is the fact that our kids are growing up together too. Life is amazing like that. n
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It’s amazing working with athletes and finding a way to tell the brand story as well as find a way to use the latest innovations to help the athletes be the best they can be; from using a pride graphic to help fire them up, to creating a jersey that helps them feel like they transform into a super athlete, to making sure the garment enhances their play. Any family updates you would like to share?
Find Lance on Instagram @lanciple
Alumni Making Moves 8-31 ent building (2 Our old apartm as seen from the e) os Cl South Bay Wilson Trail
Counseling Dr. Kate (Bailey) Gardner ’93 Family adventures in Laos Bennett & Elena have fun exploring the Shanghai alleys
High School students formed the blue circle as we posed for the 25th anniversary celebration. Photo taken by a helicopter — not a drone!
Well bee ing in the Lower Primary School My sister Courtney (’95) and I on a shopping spree in TST circa 1990!
Taken on Dragon’s Back
Tell us a little about yourself, Kate!
I am a happily married mother of two great kids, Bennett (G8) and Elena (G4). My husband, Josh, is an entrepreneur who runs an e-commerce data company. We met in college in Boston and settled in West Hartford, Connecticut for many years where we started our family and I worked as a school psychologist. Though we’ve been gone for almost seven years, part of my heart is still there. What brought you back to Asia, and specifically, HKIS?
After my years in Hong Kong and Singapore as a kid, I fell in love with Asia and always knew I would be back some day. I studied Mandarin in college and considered entering the foreign service. Spending time interning at the Embassy in Beijing after graduation changed my mind, and I realized that working with children and families is my calling. We moved to Shanghai in 2013 where I served as the school-wide psychologist at Shanghai American School. I loved my job, but my desire to live in Hong Kong inspired our move here in 2017. It’s great to be back! What’s special about the LPS counseling program?
HKIS is proud to have a designated counselor assigned to each grade level. We begin our work with students in Reception 1 (four years old), following them—or “looping”— up through their years in the LPS. Looping allows counselors to develop meaningful, trusting relationships with students and families. The understanding we develop around individual student needs and family contexts enriches the support we are able to provide and leads to greater student outcomes long-term. It is very satisfying—if not bittersweet—to watch our second graders cross the bridge to Upper Primary every June after four years of watching them grow from wide-eyed pre-schoolers to confident eight-year-olds. Anyone who’s been around young children knows that they’re little sponges that soak up information in an incredible way. Can you talk a bit about the focus HKIS puts on Social Emotional Learning, and why it’s so important to do so at this age?
We all want our children to grow up to be kind, happy and independent. We want them to have meaningful relationships and to have the capacity to do work that brings meaning to
Dr. Kate (Bailey) Gardner ’93, a counselor in the Lower Primary School, explains the importance of giving kids the tools they need to develop healthy emotional lives. their lives. It’s never too early for children to start learning the skills needed to reach these goals. We know through years of experience (and now through research data) that children who understand and manage their emotions can feel and show empathy for others and have the skills to problem-solve. They are better able to establish healthy relationships, set positive goals, and make responsible decisions. LPS counselors have developed a curriculum that explicitly teaches these skills through our Social Emotional Learning (SEL) program. Can you tell us a story of when you’ve seen the kids use some of the tools you teach?
Let’s face it—kids don’t always get along perfectly. Conflict and frustration are a natural part of learning to get along with others and students need tools for working through issues. We therefore start teaching interpersonal problemsolving in R1 using the “Bug and a Wish” tool. We teach them to tell their friends what is “bugging” them and what they “wish” their friend would do instead. Just yesterday on the playground I overheard a student tell his classmate, “It bugs me when you cut me in line. I wish you wouldn’t do that anymore.” By empowering students to resolve problems with peers they are less dependent on adults and feel more capable. All students grow when communication is respectful and effective. HKIS has always been interested in caring for the “whole student”. As an alumna, what are some similarities and differences you notice in the counseling program from when you were a student?
I attended HKIS for several years as a Middle and High school student. I remember always feeling that my teachers understood that there was more to my school success than academic achievement. That was before research made it clear that high-quality SEL curriculums provide for long-term student success. Today, HKIS’s counseling program combines best practices in both proactive and responsive support services. I’m proud to work on a team so dedicated to supporting students’ emotional and social well-being and to be an alumna of a school that understands wellness of the whole child is essential to an excellent education. n Stay in touch with Kate at kgardner@hkis.edu.hk! WINTER 2019 DRAGONTALES
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Alumni Making Moves The good old da Jason eats no ys: od on Star Ferry les ; wi Joanna Bickel th ’97.
Ministry as d Installation Ordination an of Faith p hi ws llo Fe Pastor at
Jason Weber ’97 In Hong Kong for the 50th Anniversary Celebrations, 2017.
A Man, a Plan... then God’s Plan With students in FoF’s Student Ministry With parents Michael & Louise Weber, 2009.
Your family is HKIS through-and-through, arriving in 1982. What did they teach?
At first Dad (Michael) taught in the elementary school and Mom (Louise) stayed home as I was still too young for kindergarten (HKIS didn’t have their pre-primary levels yet). She was busy running a pre-school co-op for a number of other HKIS staff and neighborhood children. In fact, my mom went on to start the four-year-old program for HKIS. I was at HKIS K-12. You started your career in tech before a significant change to ministry. How did that happen?
I attended university in the US and then worked in tech for a number of years. I even went on to complete an MS in Computer Information Systems. However, not long after I completed the degree, a number of significant life changes happened which altered the trajectory I had originally envisioned. It was through this difficult time that I really began to connect to the church in a big way. I began volunteering, attending small groups, and while I was still working in tech, I was feeling a draw to help people in a way I hadn’t thought much about before. I was one of the rare HKIS students who wasn’t drawn to the amazing service project opportunities offered there. I didn’t ever go on a service Interim and I hadn’t ever gone on a mission trip. But here I was, in my twenty-somethings, thinking about how I had the knowledge, ability, and the drive to serve in some way. So I began exploring how I could get involved in mission work and even applied for a number of openings. All along, I had it in my head that what I really was looking to do was short term, just to be an extra set of hands for disaster clean-up or special projects, not so much the multi-year deployment that most mission organizations look for. Eventually, through my home congregation, I began doing just what I had envisioned. I would deploy for a week, up to a month, going out and serving, then returning, reporting, regrouping, and redeploying. I did this for a couple of years and got to connect with so many amazing folks. It truly was an incredible experience. Along the way, I heard about an online program that was being offered through the Concordia seminaries which lead to becoming an ordained Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod 42
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Jason Weber ’97 speaks to DragonTales about his unlikely journey to ministry and his passion for service and community.
Pastor. Now that really wasn’t something on my mind initially but the idea kept resurfacing and I essentially said to myself, “If I can pass the entry exams, let’s see where God takes this”. And I got in. As the school work ramped up, the mission work had to lessen and eventually I officially came on staff at Fellowship of Faith (FoF) in McHenry, Illinois. It was a rather long and winding journey, and even though I do believe it could have been shorter had I been paying closer attention to God’s leading, I would not be the person I am today without it. What is most rewarding about working with youth?
I head up the student ministry at FoF, working with students grades six through twelve and beyond. It’s in those personal moments, when something “clicks” for a student and there’s a spark of deeper understanding or connection, that it’s most meaningful. We have an amazing community of students and leaders that look forward to coming together and connecting with each other, uplifting and supporting one another in whatever life throws at them. Any passion projects or hobbies you’re super into and want to talk about?
I’m a big fan of building community and I think that’s a holdover from growing up in Hong Kong. We built family with whomever we were doing life together and that continues to be the way I think and operate today. I enjoy hosting several weekly church small groups and I occasionally host board game nights. I likely also, by most peoples’ standards, have attained super-nerd status when it comes to anything science fiction. In my down time, I like to read, watch good TV, and movies. You wouldn’t know it to look at me but I also like going to the gym and hiking! A little over a year ago, a friend of mine asked if I would step into a Board position for a non-profit organization (NGO) he was starting that helps low-income families in our area who need home repairs. It’s just beginning to get rolling. Very exciting. At the end of the day, I realize that my passion is simply in serving, building community, and building up the next generation and that God does amazing things through it all. n Reach out to Jason at jweber@fellowshipoffaith.org
Alumni Making Moves
Wellbeing Lia Wong ’00
Lia at Kinesiology Asia
Making Wellbeing a Priority After HKIS, Lia studied Art History in New York, danced professionally and ran a successful business prior to making wellbeing her priority and new career. She shares with us her path to becoming a kinesiologist, birth doula and brand strategist.
Lia and Marty Schmidt HKIS Demo
How many years were you at HKIS?
For 13 years (K-12)! What did you do after HKIS?
I got my B.A. in Art History from Barnard College, worked as a paralegal, a professional ballroom dancer and instructor, received an M.A. in Food Studies from New York University and ran my own boutique digital agency. I am currently a kinesiologist, a birth doula and a brand strategist. What inspired you to change careers? Why did you pick kinesiology?
A few years after launching my own business, I began to experience burnout. I was constantly sick, and struggled with anxiety and chronic pain. I decided it was time to make my wellbeing a priority. I came across kinesiology and experienced significant change. I was not only pain-free but had gained something essential to my healing: self-awareness. I was able to free myself of past traumas, limiting beliefs and felt healthier and lighter than ever before. I was floored by how it impacted my life so powerfully in such a short amount of time and was inspired to help others. Fortunately, Hong Kong is home to Kinesiology Asia, one of the top kinesiology institutions in the field. I enrolled in a certification course and the rest is history. What is kinesiology?
It’s a healing modality that works with your body’s muscle response. This biofeedback (a subconscious response) tells us about energetic blocks and imbalances in the mind and body that are often beyond our awareness. This is what makes kinesiology so effective, especially because health and wellbeing are not one size fits all — neither is the healing process. This direct line of communication tells us what your body needs to heal on physical, mental, emotional and spiritual levels. By helping to diffuse those blocks and stressors, your body is then able to heal itself.
A kinesiologist, doula and brand strategist…how do these work together?
Kinesiologists are essentially stress busters…and pregnancy and labor can be a very stressful time! I believe that how we give birth matters. An empowering, gentle birth can have a lifelong impact on the physical and emotional health of both mother and baby. I use gentle, kinesiology techniques in both prenatal and birth support. As for brand strategy, I collaborate mainly with wellness brands, and my holistic health expertise is a key component in my consulting work. You have come to speak to students in Dr. Marty Schmidt’s classes. What do you talk about?
I discuss the importance of self-care and the wisdom of the body. I love the curiosity that the students bring to class. I enjoy witnessing that aha moment when they realize that by simply just thinking a disempowering thought can negatively affect their muscle response. My hope is this plants a seed of awareness around the effects of stress, and to manage it accordingly. Any personal news you would like to share?
We are expecting a baby boy—due any day now! By the time this is published, we will have a new member of our family. n Please contact Lia at lia@inpursuitofwellbeing.com and www.inpursuitofwellbeing.com
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HKIS Gallery
High School Student Art Photography
Megan Dewaal ’22
Emerson Fox ’22
Katie Lam ’20
Taira Blakely ’21
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Selena Sun ’21
Milestones
doing the math Peter Hardman thought he had retired. Then one visit back to Hong Kong and a dinner with former colleagues later, he was back at HKIS teaching math for a year. an Hark! The Hardm angels sing!
Peter, Jasper, Juni, Janet, Jeanette, & Justin visit Pumpkin Fest, October 2019.
How did you come to teach overseas?
I was teaching in the New Zealand public system and was head of the department of math at my school. In our late 20’s, Jeanette and I had spent two years in the UK working and travelling in the UK, Europe and the US. This began our interest in overseas life. We had done some research on the international teaching scene and decided to pursue opportunities. We attended a Search Associates Fair in Auckland, and in late May of 1993 we were offered teaching positions at HKIS. We arrived in late July 1993. When we arrived our children Justin and Rebecca were in grades 8 and 5. Justin graduated from HKIS in 1999 and Rebecca in 2001. What did you teach at HKIS?
Jeanette taught in elementary school (the first year was at a Kennedy Road location). I taught all the High School math courses with the exception of BC Calc. For 5 years, I was also a grade-level dean. I coached rugby and squash, and I was the Faculty Council chair for a few years. Rugby is still a popular sport at HKIS. Can you tell us a bit about rugby back then?
The rugby program was quite well established when I arrived and was a popular sport. Our teams played in the local competition. I coached boys alongside Gary O’Shea (science teacher) and Steve King (Middle School Associate Principal); Laura Cowan (now Middle School Counselor), Tash McCaroll (teaching in Singapore now) and Dean McLachlan (Director of Activities and Junior Athletics) coached girls.The varsity boys won the local championship two years running while I was here which was a highlight for me. The Tai Tam 10s rugby tournament alongside the Basketball Christmas Tournament were both highlights of the sporting program at that time. Being active seems to be a passion of yours.
Yes, I love sports. It was great to be able to continue my interest in rugby by being involved with the rugby program at HKIS. I believe many kids need a physical outlet and rugby provides a good platform for this. I always found it to be rewarding to be involved in school activities outside of the math classroom, so coaching and Interims provided a great opportunity for this. I led Interims to Nepal, New Zealand,
Jeanette, Rebecca, Justin and Peter Hardman in 1999.
Margaret River in Australia, the Great Barrier Reef, climbing Kota Kinabalu, hiking in Hong Kong, biking in Thailand, and the Golden Triangle in India. What happened after you left HKIS?
We got jobs at ISB Bangkok and were there for 9 years. The transition was good, it was different to work in an IB school, but there were similarities to HKIS, great kids, and an established rugby program. It was also a good transition because we knew people at that school. Then we left and retired in 2016, and had 3 years back in New Zealand. We settled in Mount Maunganui Tauranga, which is a city of about 150,000 on the North Island. We had owned a house there for some time, so it was fun moving in and setting up home. We continued to travel back to Hong Kong to see Justin, Rebecca and the grand kids Juni and Jasper. How did you end up back at HKIS?
We were here for a visit in June 2019 and I met up with [current HKIS math teachers] Janet Taylor, Sue Harvey and Ian Gill at the American Club. They told me there was a oneyear math position open at the High School they were trying to fill. I gave this some thought, applied and as a result I am here! One of the reasons I took the job was because of that friendly connection. I had enjoyed my 14 years at HKIS prior to this and to be able to teach alongside Janet, Sue and Ian again was appealing. The chance to live close to our family also was a big factor that helped us to decide to come back for the year. What do you notice about coming back?
The school’s main structure is still here — like today we had a community gathering which is always good; and we still have a revolving schedule. The big change is around assessment, which is now standards-based. This has been a challenge for me but colleagues in the math department have helped me adjust. The High School seems to be in great spirits, the sports program is terrific and the counseling program more extensive. It’s wonderful to be living in Hong Kong again. Hong Kong has always been a special place for us and always feels like home. n Get in touch with Mr. Hardman! Email him at petehardman174@gmail.com WINTER 2019 DRAGONTALES
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In Memoriam
Weber, Irene na ann, Jason Becca Rittm tt, Adam Oetting, Joan ne Rohrs-Ben Bickel
Donna Louise Oetting October 18, 1946–May 4, 2019 Elementary School Paraprofessional, 1986–1988 Middle School Teacher, 1988–1992
by Louise Schini Weber, Elementary School Teacher, 1985-94, LPS Assistant Principal 1994-99
Irene Rohrs-Bennett & Suze and Becca Rittmann
As soon as Adam Oetting’s ’97 email reached our son, Jason ’97, delivering the unwelcomed news of Donna Oetting’s untimely death, emails flew between a group of HKIS faculty “kids” living in the United States. Assuring Adam and the Oetting family of how much Donna was loved and her impact on their lives brought them to the decision to make every effort to attend Donna’s Celebration of Life service in Emma, Missouri. The Oetting family was preparing to celebrate the 50th wedding anniversary of Dennis and Donna on June 29. And so, Dennis and the Oetting children — Jessica Rosenkvist ’92 (Svend) of Minneapolis, Minnesota, Aaron Oetting ’93 (Tara) of Belvidere, Illinois, Joelle Coutu ’95 (Edward) of Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Adam Oetting ’97 of Phoenix, Arizona—decided to celebrate Donna’s triumphant entry into the loving arms of her heavenly Good Father on that same Saturday. Much of the planning and preparations for the anniversary celebration had already been accomplished by Donna. It felt “right” for the family to keep the date as a celebration, albeit with a different focus. The visitation line within Holy Cross Lutheran Church was long as family and friends waited to share hugs and words of sympathy with the Oetting Family. The service itself was a wonderful celebration of Donna’s life, a beloved daughter of The King! An Open House/Celebration at the “Oetting Estate” followed with delightful food and lots of wonderful stories about Donna and her heart of service! It was a joy to hear Jessica’s tribute to her mother and to re-connect with HKIS and Church of All Nations folks, including Joanna Bickel ’97 and sister Jenni Bickel Renaud ’92, Walt and Gretchen Erhardt, Pat Frerking, Pastor John and Susan Mehl and son Ted ’13, Doris and Becca ’97 Rittmann, as well as Irene Rohrs-Bennett ’97 and daughter Suze, and Pastor Hank Rowold. We recounted the many occasions we celebrated in Hong Kong with the Oetting family…Shrove Tuesday pancake suppers, shopping trips in the New Territories and street sleeper events, to name a few. BLESSED to be a blessing – INDEED she was!
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Elizabeth & her husband Steve
Standing: Joanna Lin, Cecilia Chau, Mimi Li. Sitting: Vienna Chung, Elizabeth Tse, Doreen Lui, Becky Vong
aine Ma
h Chung, El
ng, Elizabet
Vienna Chu
Celebrating 20 ye ar service at HKIS wi of Elizabeth’s th Madeleine McGarrity.
Elizabeth Tse 1953-2019
, 2015.
Elizabeth with the counselors
High School Counseling Secretary, 1998-2018
by Madeleine McGarrity, High School Counselor It is with deep sadness that we write that Elizabeth Tse, our beloved college counseling secretary, passed away on November 5, 2019 after a long battle with cancer. Elizabeth worked in the counseling office for 20 years, retiring in June 2018. Everyone who knew Elizabeth is aware of what an invaluable and integral member of the counseling office she was. Her knowledge of worldwide college requirements and procedures saved the day many times. Elizabeth genuinely loved sitting in her office, doing her daily work and having many interactions with students, faculty, and parents. It brought her a great deal of joy. In the days before online applications, former students will remember sitting at her desk, while she worked patiently, and with kindness, to record and collate the material that was mailed to their colleges. This warm, motherly figure was a welcome relief from the stress of college applications, and students appreciated her reminders of deadlines and missing material. Elizabeth listened to their concerns with a loving heart, offering wise advice in return. Many friendships with Elizabeth were formed during those stressful days, as she was quick to help each student who approached her and alleviate any anxiety they might have. Elizabeth had everyone’s back, whether student. teacher, counselor, parent, support staff or members of the facilities team. She was a problem solver and went out of her way to take those extra steps to help everyone in need. She responded to everyone with love and a smile and her sharp wit made each encounter a joyful one. Everyone’s day was that much richer by chatting with Elizabeth. We thank her husband, Steve, and sons, Kevin, Greg, and Brandon, for allowing us to share in the love, kindness, and generosity of this very special woman. Elizabeth had the biggest heart and she made sure there was room for all of us. We remember her with love.
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Delores (Schollmeyer) Wirgau September 23, 1932-November 7, 2019 Teacher, Upper Primary Learning Center 1989-1997 Delores Dorothy Schollmeyer was born September 23, 1932, in St. Louis, Missouri to Arthur and Minnie Schollmeyer. She grew up and attended high school in St Louis. Upon graduation, she enrolled at Concordia University—River Forest in Chicago preparing to become a teacher. It was there that she met and married Otto Richard Wirgau on July 28, 1956. Her teaching career took her from Wentzville, Missouri to Fort Wayne, Indiana and continued until they moved to Minnesota where their son, Otto Richard (Rick) Wirgau, Jr, was born. While living in Minnesota, Delores began foster care for infants awaiting adoption. Over the years, 36 infants spent their first few months of life being nurtured by Delores. She also completed her Master’s Degree at the University of Wisconsin—River Falls. Delores eventually went back to classroom teaching and became a district reading specialist in Forest Lake, Minnesota where she worked until 1989 when she and Otto began at HKIS. While there, Delores was a reading specialist helping young students
improve their skills and find their voice. She and Otto remained at HKIS until China regained control in 1997. Delores considered herself a citizen of the world. Returning to the US, Delores worked in business for awhile, and then she and Otto retired in Florida where she found great friendships through her involvement in Philanthropic Educational Organization International (PEO International). Her heart, however, was always in St. Louis, and she and Otto returned there to Meramec Bluffs Senior Living Community where she had many friends. Delores died at Meramec Bluffs on November 7, 2019. She is survived by her husband Otto, her son Rick, her sister Alice Ann Gray, her brother-in-law John Gray, several nieces and nephews, and countless friends around the world. Memorial gifts are suggested to Doctors Without Borders (doctorswithoutborders.org) or to the charity of the donor’s choice.
Luis Sison Jr. ’92 1974-2019 Luis Sison Jr. was a fun-loving soul with a passion for entertaining — be it cooking food for his friends, playing guitar or amusing them with jokes. An animal lover with a large heart, he is survived by six dogs, his sister Cecile-Anne, and his mother Cynthia.
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Peter Lipschultz ’68 March 15, 1950 - November 12, 2019 Peter bravely lived with Muscular Dystrophy during his lifetime, and never allowed it to slow him down or limit his life. He was a very active and popular member of the first HKIS class in 1968, as evidenced by being the school’s first Prom King! Peter provided this write-up for his 50th class reunion memory book in July 2019: Favorite HKIS Memories: Rolling down the hill FAST propelled by excited classmates & surviving!! ha … the graduation party ... the wonderful & interesting classmates from around the world ... playing poker with a fun group … headmaster who was so helpful & kind. After Graduation: I moved back to the States in 1971; graduated with a BA in political science; realized family dream to get to California; worked 30 years as a social worker with the disabled & recovering addicts; enjoying retirement in my beautiful Seal Beach.
The Kingdom
Blue Rain Last Summer in Santa Monica
Matthew Wong ’02 March 8, 1984-October 2, 2019
Matthew Wong was born on March 8, 1984 in Toronto and moved with his family to Hong Kong as a young boy. He attended HKIS from grades 2 to 10 before settling back in Toronto with his family. Matthew took up photography, poetry and was a passionate self-taught painter. He painted vibrant landscapes and still lifes, which had earned him massive recognition in the art world. Art critics were struck by how his canvases invoked the likes of Jean-Baptiste Siméon, Lois Dodd, Milton Avery, Georges Seurat, Edvard Munch, Xu Wei, and Vincent van Gogh, astonished that he had only begun painting and drawing seriously since 2013. About his breakthrough solo show in New York in 2019, the poet and critic John Yau remarked, “In his paintings, Wong has brought together distinct strands of Western and Eastern art
The Bright Winding Path
and made them into something that is recognizably his. It is not about adapting to one culture or another, but about absorbing as much as he can until the source becomes less and less important to point out. That seems to me tho be the future of painting.”. Recently, Matthew’s works were shown at several solo and group exhibitions in Hong Kong, New York City, Los Angeles, Beirut, and Brussels. Matthew passed away on October 2, 2019, in Edmonton, Alberta. He is survived by his mother, Monita Wong, and father, Raymond Wong. A funeral service took place in Edmonton, Alberta, on October 21, 2019 to honor Matthew and his many gifts. Artwork reprinted with kind permission from Matthew Wong’s family.
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HKIS Gallery
High School Student Art Digital Art & Mixed Media Samantha Chan ’20
Emma Hu ’20
Arnold Yiu ’20 50
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Caymen Chen ’20
Staying Connected
1986 Derek Kwik
Class Notes
Derek Kwik ’86 with Nancy and Bob Kroonenberg
Derek Kwik ’86 and former faculty member Joe Feia
This year, I had the opportunity to catch up with two of my HKIS teachers, Joe Feia and Nancy Kroonenberg. As I have been doing every year since 2000, I run one multiday ultra-marathon to benefit my charity the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA). In September, I ran 250 kilometers (155 miles) through the mountains of Albania from Tirana to Sarande. Before the marathon started, I caught up with Joe Feia over dinner. Together with his family, he lives and teaches in the capital. To many, Joe was their homeroom teacher but he was my inspirational rugby coach and the chaperone to my memorable Interim 1986 trip -- Skiing In Japan. I had not seen him since 1986 but he still looks the same! The following month, I was traveling
in Amsterdam with my family and had the opportunity to meet Nancy Kroonenberg and her husband, Bob. Nancy was my French teacher from grades 7-12 and she was also my trusted advisor. Together with David Wu ’86, we have kept in touch with her over the years. It’s really special for a teacher to have known me since I was 11, guide me through my ups and downs, and 33 years later, to meet my wife and young children. If anyone wants to get in touch with me, my email is ktderek@hotmail.com.
2017 I have become a proud mother of Akiko Louise Uehlinger. She is now 2 years strong. I (still) give many concerts and teach in the University in Freiburg, Germany. I travelled to Tokyo this month and I met with my friends Yuko Matsunaga ’96 and Katsura Kodera. It was a very beautiful and unforgettable evening. If you visit Switzerland, please let me know. You are very welcome to visit us in Basel!!! Best wishes and much love from Basel, Switzerland, Emi Uehlinger-Takahashi
1996 Emi Takahashi
2011 Kenneth Ho
Akiko Louise Uehlinger with Emi ’96
Emi Takahashi, Yuko Matsunaga and Katsura Kodera, all Class of ’96
Dear Friends, Teachers and former classmates, Class of 1996, It has been a very long time since I’ve contacted you. I am happily married with Philippe Uehlinger since September 2008. I now live in Basel, Switzerland. Since
Several friends and alumni attended Kenneth and Magdalene’s lovely wedding along with long-time faculty member, George Coombs and his wife Ame Coombs.
We know you like to read Class Notes.... so submit yours today! Contact alumni@hkis.edu.hk with your updates, stories, and photos.
Magdalene and Kenneth Ho ’11
L-R: Wilkins Cheng ’11, Maurice Lee ’11, Shannon Kang, George and Ame Coombs, Magdalene and Kenneth Ho ’11, Tim Chan ’11, Laren Cheung ’11, Edith So ’11, Clement Wong.
Alumnus Kenneth Ho ’11 and his wife Magdalene were recently married at the Auberge Hotel, Discovery Bay on November 30, 2019. WINTER 2019 DRAGONTALES
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The Last Word
Communications with Heart: A Note from Communications By Carrie Chen and Veronica (Galbraith) Booth ’97
Last week, we sat down over coffee in a moment of quiet calm to reflect on communications at HKIS. Over the past six months, tensions were growing in Hong Kong, but 12 days in November rocked our community and brought us all together.
School doesn’t close in the summer. In fact, a lot goes on during these months to prepare for the next school year. Usually, July is the quietest month, but not this year; the unrest that gripped Hong Kong was escalating. As the first day of school approached and we anticipated the arrival of old and new teachers and families, we knew reassurance was needed that school would still go on. Being on the ground, we had a more nuanced and better understanding of the situation than was seen overseas. And so began six months of a relentless need to “monitor the situation”. Our biggest priority was to ensure community members felt safe and accepted no matter where they stood on the issues. At HKIS, we pride ourselves on having an American-style education, where respect and diversity are part of our identity. This is modeled through our phenomenal educators, who are skilled at moderating all manner of discussions close to people’s hearts. Our biggest challenge was the scope of our school. With 2,800 students and more than 500 faculty and staff, the logistics of the school are dizzying. Every decision for the school impacts many people, and the HKIS leadership team remained steadfast in their commitment to provide a familiar and stable environment for students to engage in their regular routines. In unusual times, providing this space for students was even more important than usual.
Veronica (Galbraith) Booth
’97 and Carrie Chen
The 12 Days of November
On a Sunday afternoon in mid-November, we got on the phone to discuss a critical situation. The next day would be a citywide strike and how would we communicate with our community? Naturally, school closures aren’t decided in the Communications Office, but we are a conduit for information and are tasked with analyzing each source for relevance, reliability, and probability. While Carrie was on the phone with the Head of School, Veronica consulted the bus company. We reviewed media reports and sorted through information on what other schools were doing. While we waited for any notice from the Education Bureau and a final decision from the Head, we drafted four or five different messages in anticipation of each scenario. This became our practice for the next 10 days or so. As disruptions intensified, “monitoring the situation” meant 10 p.m. emails and 5 a.m. conference calls. There were road closures across Hong Kong, clashes in some neighborhoods, and escalating situations at universities. Being a school on the south side of Hong Kong Island afforded us some refuge. However, employees and families alike were feeling the psychological and emotional strain of the unrest. The community came together. Principals were communicating directly with families and students, and teachers were riding buses home with kids to ensure they got home safely. When classes were suspended by the Education Bureau, faculty and staff gathered to pray each morning before planning home learning solutions for students. Parents responded quickly and sent encouraging messages. Alumni prayed for us. The deep care of the community shined through, as everyone did their share to cope, all with the wellbeing of students in mind. We feel a deep responsibility to tell our stories and share the right message at the right time. Each word written to our community is considered, imagining what it’s like to receive these messages. When our community is an anchor bringing us solace and support, our purpose must be to communicate how much we all mean to each other. n
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Staying Connected
Wellbeing at HKIS focuses on balance, as students learn the different domains of wellness — physical, mental, emotional, social, environmental, and spiritual. There’s no better way to stay happy, healthy and well then getting the community together! We are off to a flying start this year—take a look at some events we have hosted since August!
Social ions Sensat
FOLLOW US ON
www.facebook.com/ HongKongInternationalSchool
POST & TAG @hongkonginternationalschool
FOLLOW US ON
TWITTER @HKIS
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Dates to Remember 2020 January 13 HKIS’s Annual General Meeting March 28 World’s Fair March 28-29 Class of 1995 25th Reunion in Hong Kong May 15 HKIS 2020 Annual Ball May 29 Class of 2020 Graduation
Alumni: Stay Connected! POST & TAG @HKISAlumni
JOIN US ON
LINKEDIN in/hkisalumni
June 26-28 Class of 1995 25th Reunion in Los Angeles, CA
Please contact Alumni Relations at alumni@hkis.edu.hk if you are planning a reunion, campus visit, etc. Visit our alumni site at https://www.hkis.edu.hk/alumni/ for information on upcoming events, news and updating your alumni information.
A LU MNI
STAY IN TOUCH
1 Red Hill Road, Tai Tam, Hong Kong +852 3149 7000 info@hkis.edu.hk
Artwork by Veronica Fu ’20
www.facebook.com/groups/ hkisalumni