Hong Kong International School 1 Red Hill Road Tai Tam, Hong Kong http://dragonnet.hkis.edu.hk
“Veritas vos liberabit�
ISSUE 5
A STUDENT PUBLICATION OF HONG KONG INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL
HKIS Repulse Bay Campus to Institute Compulsory Bussing
MARCH 2012
New Turkey Summer Trip in Danger
By Martin Man Staff Writer
The Repulse Bay campus is to put in place a mandatory bussing scheme for all students beginning in the autumn of 2013. Starting the school year of 2013-2014, no cars will be allowed to pick-up or drop-off students from the Lower or Upper Primary— all students must take the bus or walk home. This decision has come after inFUHDVLQJ SUREOHPV ZLWK KHDY\ WUDIÀF at the campus during dismissal time. The congestion of cars and buses not only causes delays for students and parents, but is also adversely affecting the citizens who live nearby. Starting Wednesday 14 March, the +RQJ .RQJ SROLFH GHSDUWPHQW KDV blocked access to South Bay Close to all non-residents before school dismissal times in an effort to alleviDWH WUDIÀF A parent with children in both the Lower and Upper Primary said WKDW WKH WUDIÀF FRQJHVWLRQ LV ´XQIDLU WR parents who need to get their kids to after-school activities.� She called it
“a congestion nightmare,â€? and that it is “unfair to the residentsâ€? of Repulse %D\ 6KH DGGHG WKDW WKH WUDIĂ€F QHFHVsitates her reaching school by 2:00pm in order to be on time to pick up her children when they are dismissed. According to the ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ page on Dragonnet, ´PRUH WKDQ +.,6 IDFXOW\ DQG VWDII are required to manage the arrival and dismissal to ensure safety for the students’ every day, taking teachers’ time away from academic duties.â€? From 2013 onwards, cars will only be allowed to pick up chilGUHQ LI WKH QXUVH VHHV Ă€W RU GXH WR “extenuating circumstancesâ€? that will be decided “on a case-by-case basis.â€? To accommodate for the increased passengers, the school will “be adding in new buses and routes as necessary in order to make sure that no children are on the bus longer than 35-minutesâ€?—a 35-minute bus ride being the longest for any student Continued on Page 3
Renowned Journalist and TED Speaker brings “Wisdom of Crowds� to HKIS By Charles Packer and Andrew Wang Editor and Staff Writer
On February 16th, staff writer for the New Yorker James Surowieki presented a keynote speech for the 4th Annual 21st Century Learning &RQIHUHQFH KRVWHG DW +.,6 DERXW WKH EHQHĂ€W RI FROOHFWLYH LGHD VKDULQJ LQ the decision making processs. James Surowiecki is the business DQG Ă€QDQFH FROXPQLVW IRU WKH 1HZ Yorker. In 2004, he published a book entitled, “The Wisdom of Crowds: Why Many Are Smarter Than the )HZ DQG +RZ &ROOHFWLYH :LVGRP Shapes Business, Economies, Societies and Nationsâ€?, which suggested that the aggregation of ideas and information (by “crowdsâ€?) creates an environment where better decisions can be made. This same idea is UHĂ HFWHG LQ KLV 7(' 7DON ZKLFK was the basis for his keynote speech at the 4th Annual 21 Century Learning Conference with an additional emphasis on its relation to classroom environments. Surowiecki discussed examples of how collective intelligence surpasses individual intellect, ranging from the “simplest example of the jellybean experimentâ€? to the “collective judgement of Wikipedia usersâ€? and “Google‌the exemplary demonstra-
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WLRQ RI WKH ZLVGRP RI FURZGV Âľ +H praised Google’s ability to “tap the collective intelligence of the internetâ€? and its “page rank algorithm,â€? which “surveys the internet as a whole and asks where is the information this person is looking for by treating a hyperlink as a vote.â€? Surowiecki sees several ways in which this “Wisdom of Crowdsâ€? is being used in classrooms, as seen in “Classroom 2.0â€? which allows for “sixty or seventy thousand educators to come together and collaborate.â€? +H DOVR FODLPV WKDW EHFDXVH RI WKH DFDGHPLF Ă€HOG HPEUDFLQJ WKLV FROlective knowledge base (as seen in WKH VFLHQWLĂ€F FRPPXQLWLHV FROODERUDtion during “the SARS epidemicâ€?), “we are moving away from a model in which knowledge is all about the single individual seeker and moving toward a recognition that the collective intelligence of classrooms, of schools and organizations is much greater than any one person.â€? Surowiecki also cited the “National Institute for Technology in Liberal Educationâ€? which uses “prediction markets to try and think about the future of education. You can go Continued on Page 4
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Turkey: The Other Holy Land 2012 By Stephanie Tang Staff Writer
This year, Mr. and Mrs. Cairns introduced a new summer excursion to Turkey. Flyers around the school called it “a thematic experiential learning course designed to present students with the opportunity to encounter, practice, and discuss the teachings of Christianity in a unique and vibrant setting�. The Cairnses now believe that they will not be able to go forth with the course this summer for many reasons. Mr. and Mrs. Cairns decided to introduce this course after having traveled around in Turkey on their own, visiting many important Chris-
tian heritage sites. “We saw a direct connection between these places and their importance to the study of biblical traditions,� said Mrs. Cairns. “Many ancient Greek cities that play prominent roles in the Bible were located in modern day Turkey, so we thought that it was a perfect place to experience this type of study.� She went on to explain that the structure for this course was largely experiential and thus different from a regular biblical traditions course, even though the credit gained from this trip could be used for any type of religious credit. Mrs. Cairns explained that there would be some sort of class structure: students would
EH H[SHFWHG WR ZULWH UHĂ HFW UHDG preparatory articles, and keep a daily journal as part of the course, all of which would also factor into their Ă€QDO DVVHVVPHQW +RZHYHU EHFDXVH of the long periods of ground travel, students would not be expected to complete homework. According to Mrs. Cairns, it is unlikely that the Turkey trip will occur this year. A large reason may be that students are simply not aware of this opportunity. “I’ve never heard of this Turkey trip,â€? admitted senior 5\DQ +D\GHQ ´, GRQ¡W NQRZ ZKDW LW is.â€? Continued on Page 4
ERB TEST TO REPLACE STANFORD 10 TEST By Samantha Fong Staff Writer
This year in March and April, the +.,6 PLGGOH VFKRRO DQG XSSHU primary are planning to switch their testing system from the Stanford 10 test to an ERB (Educational Records Bureau) test called the CTP Online (Comprehensive Testing Program Online). In previous years, middle school and upper primary students have each had to take the Stanford 10 test in late February or early March. The test required scantron sheets and thick DQVZHU ERRNOHWV +RZHYHU DFFRUGing to director of curriculum Mr. Courtney Lowe, the new test won’t require paper, as it is online and can be accessed using our laptops. The new tests also require less time and effort to obtain results. The Stanford 10s required sending boxes of answer sheets to the US and waiting for them to be scored before getting
boxes of paper back. This wasted a lot of paper and jet fuel. In comparison, the results of this new ERB test will be generated immediately on the computer and can VKRZ WKH VSHFLĂ€F TXHVWLRQV WKDW WKH student missed so that students can work on a topic they have trouble with. The same can be done with the Stanford 10 test, however, it requires a lot more work since the results aren’t mailed back with the questions, which means that the students won’t know which questions they got wrong. Mr. Lowe also mentioned that, “It’s a lot of time. By the time we get Stanford 10 results now, many students don’t even remember taking the test. With the ERB, they will even be able to remember which questions they had when they get their results.â€? The material on the new ERB test
$,#$ Page 9 Lower Primary Bussing The Interim Delusion
is quite similar to the Stanford 10 test, as both test math and reading skills. “We want to use a test that other high-achieving students use so we are more sure the result is really because of the students and the school, not about the test,� said Mr. Lowe. “Not only will we be able to compare ourselves to higher-achieving schools in the US, but we will also be able to see comparisons with international schools, [and] even with other schools in Asia that also use the ERB – big schools like us.� “Another advantage is that the test items are created by ETS (Educational Testing Service), the same group that creates the PSAT, SAT, APs and other tests. So students will be more familiar with the format for those important tests when they take them,� Mr. Lowe said. Continued on Page 4
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