Hong Kong International School 1 Red Hill Road Tai Tam, Hong Kong
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NOVEM BER 2 0 1 4
OCCUPY CENTRAL With New School Year, AMS becomes Humanities II By Jackson Hunsaker - Journalism Class
Photo by Tom Price
The streets were empty in Admiralty, allowing anyone to walk and explore them.
The Question for Hong Kong Protesters: Principle or Pragmatism By Dr. Marty Schmidt - HKIS Humanities Teacher It has now been more than a week since the Occupy Central movement has demonstrated that it could muster enough support to shut down key areas of Hong Kong. In its stand against the world’s largest nation, it has garnered widespread international attention and much global sympathy. A generation of Hong Kong young people is now highly politically engaged and has gained a sense that they can take concrete action towards creating a better future for themselves. Now the question: what’s the next step in the fight for universal suffrage? As SCMP analyst Alex Lo has argued, while similar protests in the past have yielded tangible and important results, this time is different. In July, 2003, a half-million Hong Kongers fought against the imposition of the Article 23 anti-subversion bill, which would have allowed the police to enter people’s homes without a search warrant. Hong Kong people power won; the bill was never called to a vote. In 2012 a smaller but sustained campaign against a National Education curriculum caused the proposed changes to be rescinded. This time, however, the situation is different. First, there isn’t a clear message what the protesters want besides CY Leung to resign, which would accomplish little in the long-term, and “international standard” universal suf-
frage, which means anyone can run for the chief executive position and the public can vote on these candidates. The latter demand is conflict with the specifics of the Basic Law, Hong Kong’s mini-constitution, which states that a “broadly representative committee” must vet the candidates first. The kind of universal suffrage protesters want wouldn’t hold up in Hong Kong courts; it would be deemed unconstitutional. Even Occupy Central admits that China will not even entertain passing a law that violates the Basic Law. Second, the aforementioned conflicts were primarily local affairs, but now that Chief Executive C.Y. Leung has been sidelined and mainland officials are now speaking directly to Hong Kong people for the first time, the Hong Kong situation has gained considerable national attention from Beijing. Official mouthpieces have made it clear that Xi Jinping will not be bullied into concessions that would only encourage Tibetans and Uighurs in the restive western provinces to press harder in their quest for self rule. The real question is a matter of principle vs. pragmatism. When a vote is called in Legco on Beijing’s offer, should the prodemocratic camp reject this flawed system, attempt to take the moral high road, and be on record as demanding more than Beijing is will-
NEWS AP Chinese and Japanese Exams to be Taken Outside of Campus Page 2 Lower Primary’s Tai Tam Campus Up and Running Page 2 The Global Online Academy Comes to HKIS Page 3
HKIS Implements New Wi-Fi System Page 3 The Library Café Returns Page 4 APAC Athletes Return Home. Page 9
ing to give or should they approve Beijing-sanctioned candidates that Hong Kong people can then vote for? It’s an unenviable choice, and my sympathies are with the protesters who certainly are mature enough to make their own political decisions. However, my advice is for the protesters to retreat and allow Hong Kong to get back to some form of normalcy, a choice for which they would win considerable respect from the vast majority of moderates in Hong Kong. Focus instead on the question of whether to vote for some small measure of expanded political participation or remain true to a higher standard. Given this limited choice, in my view Hong Kong Institute of Education Professor Sonny Lo’s recommendations suggest the only sensible way forward: approve the bill and allow the unpredictability of even flawed elections with an expanded populace inch Hong Kong forward on the path towards universal suffrage. It’s a bitter pill to swallow and may be politically untenable for the pro-democratic camp, but approving the bill appears to be the best option. Live to fight another day.
Last year, the Administration made the decision to remove Humanities II as a required course for sophomores, and instead decided that AMS would become the required humanities credit for sophomores. This changed was deemed necessary in order to fulfill the graduation requirements for the class of 2016. The debate about Humanities II and AMS had been in action amongst the Humanities department for years, with the whole department being split evenly on the issue. Last year when the department tried work it out, they were once again split. “After the schedule sign ups, however, the administration was able to see that less and less students were signing up for AMS classes, 6 classes to 2 classes, and American History classes in general whether it be AP US History or AP US Government,” said Ms. Harvey, the Associate Principal for Academic Affairs. “Instead most students are taking Junior English alone, which originated as an elite course for those taking AP US History or AP Government. Now students are taking Junior English without an American history AP, Because of this, in order to satisfy the board and their graduation requirements, the Administration decided to make AMS a mandatory sophomore class.”
Under the new graduation requirements, instituted by the Board of Managers, students have to take at one semester of American history. The Board instituted this American history requirement because they feel “that students had to know American history because America is one of the few major powers, the other being China,” according to Ms. Harvey; the Asian Study requirement is met by Humanities I. “The rationale is that as long as we remain an American style curriculum, preparing a majority of our students for university in the U.S., there should be a deliberate focus on American Studies in the core years,” Mr. Jeremy Evans, one of the four Humanities department head, said. The reason for the split decision amongst the humanities department was the fact that the department viewed Humanities II as a fantastic class for sophomores, and AMS a great class for juniors. The “change has nothing to do with Humanities II being bad. Nothing was broken,” Ms. Harvey said. Mr. Evans said, “We are meeting graduation requirements, preparing students for the future, and teaching essential skills common to the Humanities.” Juniors this year will have to Continued on Page 2
Large amount of police meeting outside the Headquarters
Photo by Tom Price
More Occupy Central Coverage on Page 6 and Page 7 The Thing About Schoology... Irene Cho, Yash Bardoloi, and Shayla Sandoval cover data and personal opinion on the sucessor of MyDragonnet; Schoology.
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COLUMN
HKIStyle What’s Your Style? Megan House
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With New School Year, AMS becomes Humanities II
Continued from Page 1 take neither AMS, AP US History, nor AP Government. This means that for those juniors who chose not to take them will not be immersed in the US culture and history. “Juniors this year will not have the American Studies background that the school and Board wants them to have,” said Ms. Harvey. “They will just have the slight US history they can learn from Junior English. These juniors taking only Junior English are in limbo because the Admin and humanities department did not see the increase of Junior English sign ups with the lack of US history sign ups coming until it hit them.” There are mixed feelings amongst both grade 10 and 11 students. Katie Baggaley, a junior who is not taking any US history classes, said, “I don’t think I’m going to go to university in America. It’s definitely better, in my opinion, to be able to take the classes I’m interested in. I wouldn’t have minded taking AMS instead of Humanities 2, but I really liked the class as it was.
However, I do feel that making AMS a sophomore class is the right thing to do, because it can prepare students for AP US History of AP Government, should they choose to take them.” Andie Lew, a current sophomore taking AMS, said, “It sucks. I don’t feel like it will transition well to the sophomores. I heard people complaining about how heavy the workload is, last year. The last thing I wanted in my sophomore year was more work, much less harder work.” Julian Chan, a junior, who like Katie is also not taking any US history classes, said, “I think that it will be tough for the sophomores. I heard people saying that they had to do AP US History work in AMS at times, so I don’t think that the sophomores will be able to handle that.” Catherine Levesque, a sophomore, said, “I actually find AMS interesting. I think that it is good we have to take it sophomore year, because it potentially prepare us for AP US History or AP Government.”
Computers 4 Kids Aims to Make Service Fun
By Tayhee Lee - Staff Writer Who wants to make comput- He says, “Especially because our ers? This is the idea of HKIS’s new- school makes students get comest club, Computers 4 Kids,led by puters there is a lot of waste in our juniors Junsung Park, Joshua Levy general surroundings.” He adds, and Hyun Jong Lee. “I thought it would be fun just to At Computers 4 Kids, students learn how to build a computer.” will refurbish old computers and “To me this club is something then donate them to people in that just sounds really interesting. need in Hong Kong. They also aim I find it cool that we can learn to to teach HKIS students how to as- make computers and donate them semble their own computers, and to people in need,” says Marcos raise awareness about the amount Bhardwaj a 9th Grade prospective of computer waste thrown away club member. each year. Computers 4 Kids meets on Junsung Parksays he started the Day 3 meeting times in room 616 club after noticing the magnitude and are faculty advised by Mr. of computers being thrown away. Cairns.
AP Chinese and Japanese Exams to be Taken Outside of Campus
By Andrew Kim - Staff Writer This year, the school has decided from HKIS to other testing centers to not administer the AP Chinese on time; the AP Capstone Seminar and Japanese exams on the HKIS exam is held at the same time as the campus. AP Chinese or Japanese exams.) Currently, the AP Chinese and Student reactions have generally Japanese exams run on the Win- been mixed; some students underdows operating system. However, stood the change, but others found HKIS has primarily used Apple- it unnecessary and burdensome. based computers for the past few “I am frankly surprised. You would years; as a result, the school com- expect HKIS to be able to afford puters that run the Windows oper- better Windows based computating system are few and outdated. ers. However, it’s true that it would Although these computers still be an inefficient use of money to meet the minimum requirements do otherwise,” stated Changwook to run the program, the risk of the Shim (11), who plans to take the computer malfunctioning or caus- AP Chinese exam this year. ing problems during the exam has Other students have claimed this led the school to decide that the change to be important, however. computers were insufficient for “There might be technical difficultesting purposes. ties with the computer or the miDue to the decision, students crophone. One person had to redo planning on taking these exams are the exam on a later testing date, now required to take the exams at because the microphone was not a separate testing center (such as working properly,” said Nicholas the Hong Kong Examinations and Foo (11), who took the AP Chinese Assessment Authority.) In addi- exam last academic year. tion, those who are taking the AP Collegeboard has stated that Calculus (both AB or BC) exam they are planning to change the or the AP Capstone Seminar exam exam into a web-based exam, in school are required to take the which may allow the school to run AP Chinese or Japanese exam at a the exam again in campus. Until later testing date, due to scheduling then, however, HKIS will not be conflicts (the AP Calculus exams able to administer the AP Chinese are held on the morning of the AP and Japanese exams within the Chinese and Japanese exams, and school campus. students will not be able to travel
NOVEM BER 2 0 1 4
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Too Much Homework? Maybe so, but HKIS Is No Worse than Anywhere Else By Jamie Yeung - Journalism Class While HKIS students often complain about the amount of homework they receive, a review of homework loads at other international schools, local Hong Kong schools, and American private schools reveals that HKIS homework loads are about average. Research from Denise Pope, a senior lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Education, has found that the benefits of homework plateau at about 2 hours per night, and that 90 minutes to two and a half hours is optimal for high school students. However, HKIS homework loads often exceed this standard. According to Zoe Chan, who is currently a freshman,” I already have an average of 2 hours of homework per night.” Junior Jocelyn Hung said, ”without procrastination, I take 3 hours per night at least for homework.” While these sorts of homework
loads exceed what Pope recommends, they are not uncommon amongst APAC schools. According to Yuki Yue, a Senior Swimmer at the International School of Beijing, where the school runs an IB program, she has an average of 3-4 hours per night. At the American School of Shanghai, another IB school, Junior Jasmine Hui said she also has an average of 3-4 hours per night. Similarly, local Hong Kong schools seem to assign at least a couple of hours of homework every night. Local student Alvin So is taking his Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary School (DSE) this spring. The DSE is an entrance exam for Hong Kong universities. He says that he has 2-4 hours of homework per night. And finally, the homework load at prestigious private schools in the United States often exceeds that of HKIS, at least according to
students. Gwyneth Wei, a sophomore at Phillips academy in Andover, Massachusetts, claimed she has 3-4 hours of work per night as she takes on 2 honors classes and 1 AP. At the extreme end of the scale, Katie Tang, at the Lawrenceville School, an American private school with the AP Program, said that she had around 5-6 hours of homework per night on average. High School Students at HKIS have mixed feelings about the homework situation. Many students question the effectiveness of homework as they work until passed midnight after a long day of school and various afterschool activities. However, Senior Caroline Scown said even though she has around 3-4 hours of homework per night, she thinks it is an appropriate amount as long as the assignments are useful.
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The Allure of Glowing Screens By Yashvardhan Bardoloi - Staff Writer
It’s barely Monday afternoon, but it already feels like your week should be over. You’ve just been assigned a tough project, received a less-than-perfect grade on your last test, and really haven’t a clue what your teacher is talking about. Admit it. You’ve been there. And you know what happens next. Eager to preserve your sanity, you discreetly key in Command-T and type “facebook.com.” Lo and behold, problem solved! You are now finally making productive use of your tuition dollars, and should the teacher approach, CommandW will ensure that your only crime will be innocently observing the homepage of Schoology. There’s no denying that since HKIS launched the one-to-one computer program, social media, gaming, and other tech related diversions have been a drag on student productivity. This article aims to address a few essential questions on technology distractions
ubiquitous even just a half-dozen years ago. Mrs. Taylor says students were “not necessarily” more on task before the one-to-one program. From her experience, “If you want to be off-task, you’ll find a way.” She points out that “writing notes and daydreaming,” now relics of the past, were once popular ways to stray off task Many students believe productivity hinges on student motivation, rather than the availability of distractions. Amanda Liang (10) does not consider computers a distraction, explaining, “you just decide to get things done.” William adds, “Students who are easily distracted will have low productivity with or without a computer.” Our school’s administration takes a relatively hands-off approach to decreasing technology distractions. Mr. Lin, the new HS Technology Facilitator, says the school aims to “uphold student independence,” helping students
Lower Primary’s Tai Tam Campus Up and Running By Vanessa Peña - Journalism Class After three years of attempting to build a temporary school location for the HKIS Lower Primary, the final building is ready and in use, and according to administration and teachers it’s been a success. Planning for the project to rebuild the Lower Primary began in early in 2010, and in 2011 the search for a temporary Lower Primary location began. The school found two possible locations: Chai Wan and Hung Hom. However, the school found that with both of those locations there were transportation issues and they couldn’t make it work. The internal solution was the Middle School’s recent building project that, at the time, held senior administration offices as well as some classrooms. The facilities department got together and came to a conclusion that because some rooms in that building weren’t being used 100% of the time, they would use that space for classrooms. During a six-week period over the summer, the vacant space in the Middle School was converted into 14 classrooms. An additional 16 classrooms were vacated by the Middle School, and new bathrooms were installed. The Head of School and Advancement Office were moved into the former High School Romance Language classrooms on the 5th floor. Those classrooms are now on the 8th floor sharing space with the Chinese Language classrooms. An area underneath the swim-
ming pool was renovated and the Finance and Human resource departments are located there. The former dance studio was removed from that area in order for those transitions to happen. “The Lower Primary playground and Physical Education space is the most challenging aspect of our current arrangement and they work with Middle School and High School to coordinate the PE and outdoor play spaces,” said Pat Hall, the director of facilities management. The facilities management department worked with the divisions and bus service to coordinate the start and end times of school so as to ensure timely access to the campus for all students. They also were in charge of making sure that all the classrooms and specialty areas were ready for the opening of the school. Veronica Peña, a first grade
teacher assistant, said that the transition from Repulse Bay to Tai Tam has been a success. At first she didn’t believe that it was going to be finished in time but, she says, the school came around and it was very quick. “The RB LP campus needed to go, so I’m happy to be in the new campus,” Mayen Sarenas, a learning specialist at the Lower Primary, said. “I am very thankful that the MS and UP have been generous in sharing their space with us. As well as working with our MS students and teachers. It will take some time but it can only get better. I think having the LP and the MS in one campus can only be beneficial for both schools. There is so much potential in connecting and doing things together. For the teachers, it is a great opportunity to work together and let collaboration, creativity and resilience grow!”
Lower Primary kids put the MS’ 8th floor to good use
Photo by Vanessa Peña
JUNTO
Hong Kong International School 1 Red Hill Road Tai Tam, Hong Kong
Junto is a student publication of Hong Kong International School. Student editors make all content decision. Please feel free to contact the editors through the Junto website, hkisjunto.com. Faculty Advisor Chris Taylor Layout Advisor Ingrid Yiu Layout Editor Amanda Liang
Editors-in-Chief Rachel Chiu Caroline Scown Editors Sophia Brown Jeffrey He Elisabeth Slighton
How productive you actually are.
at HKIS: Do computers increase or decrease productivity? How do teachers and administrators deal with technology issues? What can we do to pull ourselves back on task? Computers at HKIS – The central debate around the one-to-one program is whether it improves, or is a detriment to, student productivity. In spite of the varied distractions offered by computers, there seems to be broad consensus among both teachers and students that technology is an asset to learning. William Duanmu (10) believes that computers do not lower productivity, because “the speed at which using a computer to complete a task is simply much higher than using pencil and paper.” Kenneth Zheng (10) shares William’s views. Kenneth says, “I think that computers actually help me be more productive, as I organize all of my homework on my computer.” Although students generally argue that computers make them more productive, some teachers disagree. Math teacher Mrs. McCaughey, for example, thinks that students were more productive and on-task before the arrival of the one-to-one program “because there was no distraction from Internet.” However, she too believes students “definitely” benefit from computers, as they are exposed to “more resources for learning.” Mr. Evans, a humanities teacher, says the usefulness of computers is determined by whether students are “enabled by them, or dependent on them.” Evans believes it is the teacher’s job to “regulate” computer usage, and ensure that MacBooks are only used when necessary. Students have been finding ways to drag themselves off task ever since classrooms existed. Computers and smartphones, although seemingly indispensable to human civilization today, were far less
Screenshot of a Rescue Time Summary
learn “what to do and what not to do” before heading off to university. Mr. Lin adds that by “prohibiting intense online games,” the school does try to mitigate situations in which students may feel “peer-pressured” to engage in nonacademic activities. Within classrooms, teachers have devised a variety of strategies to keep students focussed in class. In some classes, computers usage is simply kept at a minimum. Mrs. McCaughey mentions that technology distractions are “often not noticeable in math classes,” simply because teachers can ask students to keep computers closed. In Humanities related courses, computers can be essential. When asked how he ensures students stay on task, Mr. Evans chuckles. He explained that if he catches a student on Facebook he’ll simply change their status to “In Evan’s class right now, best class ever!”, or potentially mark them absent. At home is where the allure of distractions is deadliest. Parents can hardly enforce technological discipline, since nearly all of us have mastered the art of magically turning Facebook into math homework the moment our suspicious mothers walk by. In fact, even as your correspondent writes this article, he cannot but resist the temptation of rewarding himself with some distraction at the conclusion of every paragraph. If students are to stand any chance of getting work done, or getting enough sleep, we must have our own methods to remain on task. How to Save Yourself from Distraction: RescueTime – The website RescueTime is a useful tool to optimize computer time. RescueTime tracks computer usage, collecting data on how much time is spent on all applications and websites. The software is independently capable of categorizing most activities as “very productive,”
“productive,” “unproductive,” and “very unproductive.”RescueTime crunches all this information to give you a “Productivity Pulse,” a number out of 100 that indicates your productivity that day and compares it to your productivity on the previous day. The site also gives you graphs breaking down your computer usage by category as well as by hour. This data can be useful in assessing how well your time has been utilized each day. Jenny Kim (11) praises RescueTime, saying, “I can’t lie to myself about how much work I’ve done during the day.” She adds, “The ability to set goals for distracting and productive time helps me get back on track.” According to her, the one drawback of RescueTime is that it “can’t track the amount of time spent on work done without the computer.” This feature is available on the paid version of RescueTime. Ben Huang (10) finds RescueTime “really useful, because it shows me how much time I am actually spending on work,” although RescueTime’s assessment of what is “productive” can sometimes be inaccurate. Huang admits, “I feel like I am using RescueTime for the sake of seeing that I am more productive,” instead of using it to make better use of time. Computers are here to stay, and the number of distractions will only increase. Technology can also serve as an amazing tool to expand knowledge, increase productivity, and enhance learning. Ultimately, it is a student’s responsibility to ensure that technology is a boon, not curse. And so concludes this feature. Time to get back on Facebook.
NOV E M BE R 2 0 1 4
The Global Online Academy Comes to HKIS Henry Pontak - Journalism Class
Global Online Academy demonstrates its gloabalness
This school year, HKIS has offered the opportunity for students to apply to new online courses as a part of the Global Online Academy (GOA). HKIS students (from grades 10-12) have been granted the opportunity to apply to take online courses that can either fulfill required credits such as religion or to expand their knowledge in other subjects that typically aren’t received in school. The administration must approve the student before taking the course and have only picked a handful of kids. There are no set prerequisites; however, students must be able to have ambitions for the course so they will no be distracted. Sue Harvey, High School Associate Principle, is the primary source to inquire about the online courses. She makes sure that every student that requested an online course is suitable and ready to take on the independent task and to represent HKIS through the GOA. The GOA has a total of 3 2 online courses that range from religion to neuropsychology. With only 52 schools worldwide that participate in GOA, it is a great way to test the student’s independent skills as they head off for university. Kristine Koehler, a student taking Poetry Writing, will be going
Screenshot of GOA Site
through the semester course that is surrounded by the unit question of “How are you shaped (or not) by the community you live in?” Kristine enjoys writing and believes her future career could possibly be in the hands of writing. Though “she is not the best that she could be at the moment,” this is why she is taking these writing courses. Nikola Janjusevic, a student taking the This We Believe: Comparative Religions course, believes that taking a GOA course is an effective way to take care of your religion credit instead of attending class every other day for a semester. Though thus far he has found it “way more personal than expected,” he has enjoyed it so far, especially with an extra “free period.” Throughout the semester, Nikola and every GOA student will go through many Skype calls with his teacher (employed by GOA) making sure he is on task and doing his work. Thus far, every student with the GOA has had one Skype call around 15-20 minutes to get to know his or her teacher and explain the course. Whether or not The Global Online Academy works for students will be analyzed at the end of the year. However, both Koehler and Janjusevic believe that they will succeed in their classes.
HKIS Implements New Wi-Fi System By Tom Price - Jornalism Class The Wi-Fi systems at HKIS have changed over the summer in their access and allocation of bandwidth, now allowing more devices and increased security. Most noticeably, the names have changed from “HKISWIFI” and “DragonWIFI” to “HKISSECURE” and “HKISSHARED.” Not only that, but outside computers now work on the network. Before, you had to be on the official school Macbook Pro or Air in order to have access. Now, you only need to type in your student number and password, and you’re good to go. Jorge Castañeda, a senior, said, “I love being able to use my phone on the network, but it’s kind of slow sometimes.” He’s not the only one who has been talking about the changing speeds. Frequently in class students will be disconnected randomly or not be able to load a website even though they maintain a connection. This year, the total bandwidth, or amount of data available at any time, is 2 GB. This means that if you were on the network alone, you could theoretically download an HD film in 4 seconds or less. However, with up to 600 people on the network on the time, this doesn’t reflect as well as it should. Mr. Lin, the new technology manager and computer science teacher, rates the network an 8 out of 10 after all of the changes he has made since the departure of Mr. Buck. According to Mr. Lin, the main changes have had to do
Mr. Lin controls intrnet from secret lair/library office.
with security, which has changed from a “multi-user” pass system to a more modern 802.1x security protocol, which keeps a database of all users and passwords on an external server. Overall, these are very simple changes but they increase security and decrease misuse of the network. Most people will not be affect-
Photo by Tom Price
ed by the changes. However, those that are should be reassured that the system is still being worked on by the ETS team, whose job it is to monitor the network’s faults and changes. ETS is available in the library to help students during most school hours.
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Summer Time, but the Living Is Not So Easy By Megen Cunningham - Journalism Class
Me to We: Take Action
Summer is supposed to be a time for relaxation and rejuvenation, but not for HKIS students. Instead of taking some down time, many students spent the summer either participating in an internship or a camp, or studying for the SAT. Brittany Fried, a senior, worked with the charity Me to We in Shanghai and Beijing during this past summer. Me to We is an organisation that empowers young people to fulfill their potential as agents of positive change in society. Brittany has been working with this charity since 8th grade and was thrilled to have the opportunity to continue working with them. This summer, while in China, she was responsible for the running of the Me to We Take Action camps as an internal facilitator, managing money and scheduling. It was a “dream come true” said Fried. Another HKIS senior, Madelaine Rich, participated in not only one internship, but two. Rich worked
Photo By Brittany Fried
both in Shanghai at a private equity bank and in Los Angeles at the China Institute at University of Southern California. At the private equity bank she learned how to use financial tools to analyse data. While at the China Institute she learned critical writing skills and the art of interviewing people. Although she did not get paid for either of these jobs, these internships gave her the opportunity to learn about two different areas of interest to her, finance and journalism. Justin Li, a senior who would like to swim competitively in college, spent the summer at a swimming camp at U.S.C. This enabled him to meet college coaches and gain valuable experience. Although he had the opportunity to do an internship, he decided that this camp was a “once in life-time chance” and would increase his ability to swim at the university level.
According to the students themselves, some of the characteristics they learned from these summer activities were independence, confidence, and maturity, in addition to real life skills. It can be questionable as to whether a student should spend the summer studying for the SAT’s or doing an internship. After all, the last chance for seniors to take the SAT before their college applications is in the fall. Freshman Nathan Leong believes that internships are the way to go because you “learn something from it”. On the other hand Eliot Min, also in ninth grade, says that “if you don’t do well on the SAT, then you won’t have a job.” Margaret Szweda (9th grade) thinks “a mix of both” is the path to take. The teacher’s opinions were far clearer regarding which path they felt was best for students. Both Mr. Fornes and Mrs. Estella believe that if a student has an opportunity for an internship, they should take it. According to Mrs. Estella, an internship “gives you another set of skills” and helps “you understand things better.” Overall HKIS seems to be leaning more towards the importance of internships rather than studying for the SAT’s. As Brittany Fried advised “if an opportunity arises, go for it. Experience can be more valuable than academics.”
What’s that empty space in the Library, again? The Return of the Library Café By Meagan House - Journalism Class
“Bakesgiving” in 2012
Between September 26th, three Entrepreneur’s Exchange club members move toward to working with the Nutrition Club to reopen the Library Café during A and B lunch, according to Anant Majumdar. Yes, the Library Café is opening up for business, once again. Tuesday, September 2nd the Entrepreneur’s Exchange team met to talk about their new plans for the Library Café for the school year of 2014-2015. According to the three juniors in charge–Anant Majumdar, Arthur Lam, and Neil Slighton– the library café is just a new project to gain experience in the business world. Since the meeting they have “established a partnership” with the nutrition club, according to Majumdar. They plan on selling themed drinks each month according to holidays (like, hot chocolate for Christmas, for example) and donating the money earned to charity, but they have yet to determine which charity to choose. So far, they plan to kick off the business with smoothies. Majumdar said, “We plan to take small steps first — starting with months — themed drinks — then we’ll work our way according to what people like.” Challenges Behind the Business:
Photos By Ms. Krembs
In order to start the café up again, there are a lot of qualifications and challenges, according to Ms. Krembs, the high school librarian. According to Ms. Krembs, the Sodexo plan the school currently holds in the Cafeteria and the café by the Fish Pond states that other businesses selling food in the school cannot sell what is already sold in those places. And in order to sell dairy products in the Library Café, the students need to get the space approved by the health department first. Then there is the demand for money needed to buy the products being sold and the cost they are sold for. “Go for themed drinks,” Ms. Krembs says, and “prices need to be more simple than as used in the past — fair trade isn’t always going to work.” History Behind the Hole in the Wall: The Library Café was introduced during the renovations of 2010 in the library. Two graduating seniors came up with the idea for a senior project, according to Ms. Pion Ng, an HKIS assistant librarian who worked here during the 2010 renovations. The café sold fair trade products and was open during the student’s free periods. After the seniors graduated, the café was passed down to one of the
senior’s sister. Through the years the business slowly decreased, said Ms. Krembs. During the 2012-2013 school year, Ms. Krembs and the students in charge of the café came up with an idea to pick up business — “Bakesgiving”. Bakesgiving was a Thanksgiving themed event where the two students running the café held a bakeoff and the HKIS students were the judges. Tickets were sold at $10 HKD for three days. Krembs said it picked up business for the time being. Afterward, the Library Café opened on rare occasions. Now, the space is being used as a supply closet. Ms. Krembs gives her full approval to the new opening of the Café. She said that she encourages students to come in that want to work. She says she has never said no, but always said yes, and that keeping up a business during the school day is hard. As she said, “You’re students first.” Her advice is, the next student should work towards events and should be committed and “just go for it. It needs some student love. And it has potential.” As Majumdar says, “I hope that’s enough fresh meat.”
The Library Café will be hosting the following events; October 31: Halloween Surprise November 24, 25, and 26: Bakesgiving Bake Off December Final’s Week: Mint Coco!
NOVEM BER 2 0 1 4
Step Aside Sons of Pitches, Women’s A Cappella is now at HKIS
HKIStyle
By Yamini Jena - Staff Writer
Photo by Yamini Jena
Juniors Deborah Fan and Charmaine Chan have created HKIS’s first a cappella group exclusive to women. Women’s A Cappella, beginning this 2014-2015 school year. Both Fan and Chan are heavily involved in the music program in the high school. Chan specifically cites her involvement in other a cappella groups (vocal jazz and chamber choir) since her freshman year. “We wanted to try forming an a cappella group of all girls because I feel like there are many songs that would work great with these voice parts and it would be something different,” Chan said. Though comparisons to “Sons of Pitches,” an all male a cappella that has a prominent place in the HKIS community, are inevitable, Fan and Chan say that their club wants to go in a different direction. They’re planning on performing a variety of songs and genres, every-
thing from Disney numbers to pop songs to classic pieces. Chan says that the group will do more than just sing, they will perform.“We’re going to try and add some movement as well to make it more of a full performance and make our songs even more interesting to those watching.” As a new (and still temporarily unnamed) group, the club has seen success and interest already. From the over forty girls that auditioned, Fan and Chan have narrowed it down to the twelve they thought would best complement each other, three from each female voice type (soprano 1, soprano 2, alto 1, alto 2). “It was a pleasure listening to all the auditions because we realized that there are so many people with so much talent… the reaction is so much greater than we expected.” said Chan. Sophomore Audrey Leung, who sings as an alto 2 part, is eager for the future of women’s a cappella in HKIS. “I’m very excited to see where this club will go, I think we have a strong set of voices and I’m looking forward to our first practice,” she said. Fan and Charmaine haven’t decided on any set performance dates yet, but are looking into performance opportunities at service or school events. All of their song choices and performance dates can be found on their Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/hkiswomensacapella1415
Political Union Club Headed in a New Direction By Joanna Herman - Staff Writer
Charton Leung and Louis Herman Photo by Joanna Herman
This year, the Political Union club was expanded by three upperclassmen: Charlton Leung, Louis Herman, and Matthew Zhang. Political Union was originally started in the 2013-14 school year by Nick Liu and Gary Chen, both class of 2014 graduates. This year, the three new leaders have changed the club drastically. When asked about the potential future of the club, the leaders answered, “Essentially, we would like to expand on the political discussion angle of the club. In addition, we’ve added a Model Congress element, and we’ll be taking the club to participate in the Harvard Model Congress Asia conference (also known as HMCAsia)”. The new direction varies greatly from the old style of the
club. Previously, the club had been based loosely around a long term plan, but this year the leaders know where their goals lie. “We want to turn the Political Union club into an official chapter of the Junior State of America (JSA) by next year” says Political Union leader Louis Herman. So, why would you want to join this club? “I chose to go to Political Union because I loved the idea of just having a place to talk about politics. As soon as I went to the first meeting, I knew I made the right decision in going” says Freshman Class President Jonathan Chung. “I’m loving this club so far, and depending on my schedule next year, will continue participating into sophomore year.” In a typical Political Union meeting, the members discuss different political views and vote on a topic to discuss for the day. This coming week a Model Congress element is going to be implemented in the club, to give its new members a taste of what the club will be like in the future. In Model Congress, each student gets the opportunity to be a part of a mock Government, and they debate about different political issues. Past examples have included the protests in Ferguson, whether magnet schools are an effective means of providing a education, and whether President Obama should be impeached.
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What’s Your Style?
By Meagan House - Staff Writer / Journalism Class “Style is a way to say who you are without having to speak” – Rachel Zoe
Fashion is what you buy, but style is how you choose to express yourself.
I had the pleasure of speaking with four highly stylish ladies; Tora Northman, Sam Ng, Kyra Johnson, and Ms. Ann Krembs about their styles. As Tora Northman told me, “The difference between style and fashion is that style is something you develop by yourself, all according to your own rules, whilst fashion is usually focused on trends or brands.” Age is only a number for Krembs, and her ability to push her style to the limit shows how one can truly express themselves through a simple layer of clothing. Style is a way to express yourself and if that means experimenting with crazy material — like Tora’s winged shoes and totem pole jacket — then “just go for it,” as Ms. Krembs says. Everyone has their own level of comfort. Sam said “A lot of people think that I’m not comfortable with my clothes because I’m not wearing sweatpants or flip flops,
but on the contrary, I’d feel really uncomfortable in them because I simply don’t feel nice in them.” Kyra said “I like making an effort in looking put together because it makes me feel confident both as a student and as a potential designer.” Defining Your Style – Each fashionista has a slightly different style. Sam Ng described herself as a “health goth” and Ms. Krembs didn’t even know how to put her style into words. How do you put a name to your own individual style? Boho? Grunge? Hipster? Kyra said, “I haven’t defined my style yet but I like how I haven’t because I get to experiment.” Influence on Your Style – Something you may not know about Ms. Krembs is the history behind her fashion sense and style. “My mom encouraged me to take chances, and with her approval I always did–and as a matter of fact I still do… Basically as a young girl, I would try anything! If she thought it would be cute, I completely trusted her,” she posted in her blog [krembdelakremb. com]. She told me her mom would disappear during the day then come back with bags of outfits from Kmart. They would mix and match, and she said the preppy boy outfits made her feel cool. Now, all her outfits have a backstory. For example, her fabulous cowboy boots were given to her
from her mom and she continues to wear them out. Like Ms. Krembs, Tora said her mom has had an influence on her interest in fashion. She said, “I think I’m always surrounded by fashion and style in different ways, especially with my mom working for H&M, so I’ve loved clothes ever since I was a little kid.” All four ladies said they are continuously influenced my fashion blogs and different designers around the world. Sharing Your Style with the World – All four girls enjoy designing clothes, whether it be for the public or in private. Ms. Krembs keeps up a blog on Hong Kong fashion and what is trending in the Fashion World. Kyra and Sam have both participated in HKIS’s Interact Fashion Show. And Kyra expresses her fashion sense on her Youtube channel with a few fashion and beauty post. And Tora enjoys designing and talking to her mom about the latest trends. Sam said it best;
“What I love about fashion is that it’s so versatile and unpredictable.”
Photo by Tom Price
Tora, Sam and Kyra demonstrate some style
New Teacher Features
Welcome, Mathematician! Introducing Ms. Osborne By Helena Lee - Staff Writer
This year, a new math teacher, Ms. Andrea Osborne joined HKIS to teach pre Calculus, which she has taught for over ten years. Ms. Osborne has an international background. Born in Greece, she was able to travel to diverse countries including Indonesia, Pakistan, Korea, and Philippinesbecause her parents were also schoolteachers. “It’s great,” she says with a beaming smile when speaking of HKIS. “All my colleagues and students are very welcoming. It feels like I’m invited to a big, happy family.” The only difference compared to earlier experience is that she worked in an all girls’ school in New York. “Workwise, there aren’t really a lot of differences,” says Ms. Osborne. Because she has moved from New York, she loves the Hong Kong’s beautiful nature and plentiful outdoor activities. Her hobbies include hiking, scuba diving, swimming, going to the beach, traveling, and eating delicious foods. The three adjectives Ms. Osborne chose to describe her are “organized, focused, and excited”. She is really excited about teaching math. She had never thought of being a teacher when she was a teenager, but definitely had the
passion for the subject. Ms. Osborne would like to advise students is to try something new, even if it is “little bit out of your comfort zone.” She is looking forward to all the exciting events coming up this year.
Ms. Osborne thinking mathematically Photo by Helena Lee
Meet the New Science Teachers: Ms. Young By Lauren Chung - Staff Writer
This year, Ms. Young joined the HKIS science department. Previously an English and Chemistry teacher at theAsia Pacific International School in Seoul, she now teaches Honors and Regular Chemistry. Teaching has always been Ms. Young’s dream, ever since she was a child. When she was four or five, she and her little sister would always play school together; Ms. Young would give her sister math lessons and write stories with her. She says, “I don’t remember the moment that I wanted to be a teacher. It’s pretty much the only thing that I’ve ever thought about doing.” As a result, she went on to pursue her Bachelor of Education degree in university. As a lover of the outdoors, Ms. Young stays active by practicing yoga, hiking, paddle boarding, and swimming. “Moving to Hong Kong has been really nice because it’s a lot more nature. Living by water is something I’ve never experienced before.” In her free time, Ms. Young loves to read and write, usually focusing on short stories and articles. “Writing is not something that I share with a lot of people,” she says, “but I do it just for fun.” One of her other hobbies is photography, and she hopes to add la-
Ms. Young doing sciency stuff
crosse to the list by the end of the year. As for HKIS, Ms. Young says that the diversity isone of the school’s best features. She likes the variety of hobbies, ethnicities, and backgrounds represented, and appreciates the different goals everyone has. “Some of my students know that they’re really passionate
Photo by Lauren Chung
about the arts and they’re just going to go for it. Some students are really passionate about science; they’re going to go for that,’ she says. “There’s no stigma. It’s kind of like ‘choose your own adventure.’” For Ms. Young, teaching is not only a job. She says, “It’s something I find joy in.”
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OCCUPIED: JUNTO REPORTS By Sophia Brown - Feature Editor
2 Oct. Admiralty, “The Umbrella Revolution”
Just around the corner from the everyday shopping hustle in Causeway Bay is a sea of people, filling one of Hong Kong’s busiest roads in one of its busiest shopping districts. Thousands gathered on one of Hong Kong’s busiest streets, dressed in black tshirts with yellow ribbons. The atmosphere was one of excitement and calm, with protesters sitting in groups talking, eating, playing cards and even doing homework. Though students spearheaded the protests, demographics have become more mixed by the protests third full day. As of Saturday protesters are still occupying large areas in three of Hong Kong’s busiest districts: Admiralty, Causeway Bay and Mong Kok, with the largest crowds gathered in Admiralty by government headquarters. Protesters are fighting for full democracy by the 2017 chief executive elections, spurred on by Beijing’s August decision the 2017 elections will have universal suffrage, but candidates for the 2017 election will be pre-screened by a pro-Beijing committee. Tensions mounted as university students boycotted classes last week, culminating in a clash with police on Friday night at Hong Kong government headquarters in Admiralty. Police with barriers and pepper spray surrounded students who succeeded in climbing the fence around the once public square. Students and adults alike came to Admiralty on Saturday to show their support, cheering and chanting. From my view on an overhead walkway in Admiralty early Saturday afternoon, I watched the surrounded students from Friday night be arrested one by one. Some went peacefully, while others refused to move and were carried out with one officer per limb. Support for the student initiative built through the weekend, leading Occupy Central organizers to declare on Sunday morning that Occupy had begun. Occupy Central is a leading of pro-democracy movements in HK, founded by two university professors. Occupy Central originally started the idea of occupying and paralyzing the main financial district of HK on October 1, China’s National Day, to force government action. After student-led protests gained momentum, the pro-democracy movement in HK has become much more widespread. It was not until Sunday evening that police came out in full force with riot gear, pepper spray and tear gas. Police’s violent attempts to end protests backfired as pro-
Photo By Meagan House
testers spread through Central and Wan Chai, and continued to regroup despite the continuous attacks of tear gas. This is the first time in 10 years that police in HK have resorted to tear gas to breakup a public assembly. Despite lacking a central unifying force, protests have grown steadily since Sunday. Occupy Central and two student movements; Scholarism and the Hong Kong Federation of Students have created a united front with their demands. Protesters are calling for Beijing to retract their decision that candidates for the 2017 election will be pre-screened by a proBeijing committee, and for chief executive CY Leung to step down. I walked through the protests in Causeway Bay Monday and Tuesday afternoons, interviewing both participants and bystanders. Students in black tshirts with yellow ribbons pinned to their clothes filled the streets. MTR exits were blocked, after police attempted to use the MTR during Sunday night’s chaos, with piles of metal police barricades and signs reading:
“We apologize for the inconvenience. [Fight for democracy].” Ample provisions were piled on street corners to be given to protesters, anything from umbrellas, facemasks and medical supplies to Oreos and Ritz crackers. Supporters continued to donate plastic bags full of water bottles and even ice pops, eager to help in any way they could. Volunteers walked through the crowds distributing these supplies; bottled water, juice, bananas, ice packs,
29 Sept. Causeway Bay, MTR Shut Down
bread, towels, etc. A tall, skinny, young man with shoulder length blue-streaked hair was organizing the piles, so I asked him if there was anything they needed. He laughed, “We have extra already!” Other volunteers stood on makeshift platforms making announcements through megaphones. One of these volunteers, Samuelson Choi, 17 is a secondary student at St. Steven’s College. “We just use this for important announcements,” he says of the megaphone, “For example we ask to convince their friends to come or to drink more water because it’s hot.” Signs hung from every available space, including taped to the backs of students. One such sign read, “HK ppl come out and save HK.” Another,
Kongers more angry than scared. Many of the students I spoke to were not involved in the protests Sunday night, but decided they must act after seeing how police treated protesters. “I came to know [of the protests] through social media. One of my really close friends got pepper sprayed, and that’s when I knew it was serious, ” explained a student from City University. “The outrage comes from police using extreme violence against students,” said a student at Baptist University. “The situation now is not just related to our government, it’s about our people,” he explained, “if we don’t voice up now we won’t have a chance again.” Another Baptist University stu-
who has lived in HK many years. “When it’s led by students it’s the most genuine, least economic, and with a little bit more purity.” The protests have shown a real generational divide among Hong Kongers. One protester from Baptist University explained that the protests are more student oriented because students are boycotting classes to attend protests (not missing work) and “students have less concern for family, less burden.” An older man strolling the outside of the protests taking pictures with his smartphone also commented, saying, “We [adults] want [democracy] but we cannot stand here; we have the burden of the family. We have the right but we don’t dare to stand here and lose
“If not now, then when? If not us, then who?” One protester waved a sign reading “Protect the right to public assembly”. Newspaper articles and photos from Sunday night’s violence were plastered everywhere to show protesters that the world was watching. Many signs demanded the Hong Kong police apologize for their use of force. Another cardboard sign on a closed MTR exit simply read, “Umbrella Revolution,” referencing protesters use of umbrellas to protect from both pepper spray and the scorching heat. The umbrella has become a symbol of defiance and hope for protesters in Hong Kong, inspiring many artists to create umbrella graphics for the movement. The atmosphere among protesters was peaceful and relaxed. I saw some people playing cards, even a few students attempting to do homework. Curious spectators created a sea of camera phones on the perimeter of the protesters. Many simply walked by, going about their daily business, barely even glancing at the sea of people in the streets. “We do the protest peacefully,” said Choi, “even if they [protesters] have difference stances they do not use violence.” He explained that even when someone said something against the protester’s ideas, no one used violence, “they just debated peacefully.” HK people are more than aware of China’s brutal history in dealing with civil unrest and saw the potential for police brutality with the use of tear gas on Sunday. However, the danger of police crackdown has made Hong
Photo By Douglas Yang
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FROM HONG KONG PROTESTS deny that it interrupts businesses,” but, “we are pursuing something we think is right…This is a short term effect, justice is much more important.” One man watching the protests with his young daughter said, “Visibly it has a massive effective to the world, but unfortunately I don’t think it will have much effect on the government” The community of HKIS is quite diverse in their views on the protests. There are many students who vocally against the protests, believing they are an ineffective way to achieve democracy, and have too many negative effects. Others at HKIS support the protests, believing civil dissilience to be a powerful tool for change.
“The Occupy Central protests are an irrational response to many legitimate problems,”
says Amanda Liang, an HKIS student and Hong Kong citizen “Even when taking into account the massive nature of the protests, there is no way that their demands will be met by Beijing or the HK Legislative Council.” HKIS senior Matthew Cheung shares Liang’s opinion that protesters demands are not realistic. “There is no way CY Leung will resign,” says Cheung, going on to explain that if Leung steps down, another pro-Beijing executive will simply be put in his place. Liang is also concerned about the financial burden protests will put on Hong Kong if they are prolonged. “It’s everyday people…that take the biggest hit as well as the small business owners who depend on the flow of mainlanders during the public holiday to make the month’s profits,” she explained, “the inconvenience of the few days it took to get the world’s attention is tolerable, but any more causes suffering to no avail.” “40,000 people’s right to protest doesn’t trump 7,000,000 people’s rights to use public infrastructure
which they paid for with their hard-earned tax dollars,” says Cheung, referring to the difficulties the obstructed roads cause for commuters, workers and business owners. Gigi Choy, a former HKIS student now attending UC Berkley in California, is worried about the impact on the tourism industry and businesses that rely on tourism. “Our economy will be taking a big hit, and this will be a huge setback to the progress that we’ve been making,” she says, “Hong Kong’s tourism industry is worth more than $38 million HKD. With China suspending travel permits for tourist groups…we are losing a lot of the revenue that could be generated, especially during the “Golden Week” holiday.” Choy also worries that small businesses won’t be able to make up their loses. “Hong Kong has one of the world’s most expensive rental rates, and each day those stores are closed, those businesses will suffer,” says Choy. Instead of large-scale civil disobedience, many people against the protests believe Hong
Kong should accept Beijing’s offer for now, and slowly work towards democracy. We should “accept this offer for now, and take a gradualist approach to fight for further reforms after 2017,” explains Cheung, “If you look at it from Beijing’s point of view, the offer of “one man, one vote” (albeit with a narrow nomination process) is frankly a rare offer and indeed a big concession from Xi Jinping. This system is obviously miles away from perfection, but we have to acknowledge this is a step forward.” Former HKIS student and Hong Kong resident Curtis Wong agreed, saying Hong Kong people should, “Take what you can first, and then build on top of it. Instant full-fledged democracy won’t take us anywhere.” Others are pessimistic that Beijing will change, but see the protests as a step in the right direction. “I like to look at the protests as a warning of what is yet to come- kind of like a symbol of change rather than assuming that change will happen over night,” explains HKIS senior Sabrina Chen, “This movement is show-
ing the world that Hong Kong could be ready for change.” Chen also commented on anti-protesters in Hong Kong, saying the majority of them are older. “The older generations have been constantly reminded that change is bad,” says Chen, while students have “learnt from a young age what an oppressive government is,” and don’t want it. Chen acknowledges that democracy will not solve anything but the goal of democracy is to have a leader “who has the majority of interests in mind, not someone who’s in it for themselves,” which will be a vast improvement from previous Chief Executives. Whether or not protesters achieve their goals in swaying the HK and Beijing governments towards real democracy,
they have made their voices heard worldwide.
Occupied: Umbrellas. By Mrs. Janet Taylor - HKIS Mathematics Teacher
2 Oct. Admiralty, “Make Love Not War”
dent said,
“Today Hong Kong has come to a very critical situation. Hong Kong has no more room for tolerance. We must stand tall.” Protesters hope the civil disobedience campaign will draw attention to the people’s desires for Hong Kong and force government action. Many are disappointed at the lack of response from the government. “The government should at least answer our questions,” commented a student protester from Chinese University. The driving forces of the protests are students, who attracted much more support than the Occupy Central movement had previously. “On this one there seems to be a real unity, part of that is because it’s really youthful,” said one bystander, an Australian
Photo By Meagan House
family income.” The protests have caused many students to disobey their parents due to differing views. “Many of us had to lie to our parents in order to come here, but this is the right thing,” said another Baptist University student. However, some students have their family’s full support. “My mum is here!” exclaimed Susan, a secondary student at Belilios Public School who was helping pass out ribbons. She explained that her and her friends found out about the protests through Facebook. There is still much debate about whether the protests will be successful, and at what cost. Businesses worry their profits will suffer due to public disruptions, especially since National Day usually brings business from large groups of mainland tourists who may be scared away by protests. Buses have been re-routed, main roads closed and MTR exits blocked, interfering with the cities orderly functioning. Many HK-ers are firmly against the protests, believing them to be inconvenient, harmful to Hong Kong’s economy and ineffective. Cheng explained, “We cannot
On June 30th, 1997, my husband and I were part of a chorus that sang on a temporary stage on the then-empty Tamar site on Harcourt Road (where the current Government buildings now stand) for the handover ceremony of Hong Kong back to China. Prince Charles was there, as well as Chris Patten and other dignitaries–though they were hard to see in the rain and through the umbrellas. Everyone knew that the forces of the People’s Liberation Army of China would roll over the border at midnight, but no one knew what would happen after that. I remember watching the royal British yacht HMS Britannia leaving the Tamar berth from the windows of the 48th floor of the American Club in Central, wondering what would happen. Would we be smothered by the Motherland? Would Hong Kong survive? What about rights and freedoms that had been agreed upon by the two countries–would they actually happen? What would Hong Kongers do?
Fast forward to October 5th, 2014. Having just got back from Abu Dhabi (where I was electronically attached to the SCMP all week), I went to visit the two Hong Kong island Occupy sites–first near my home in Causeway Bay, and then at Admiralty. The goal of walking down the middle of the streets that I normally drive over was my first objective. At first I was jittery and uncomfortable, thinking that the sounds of cars on the other side of the barricade were actually behind me, and that I was going to get run over! But as I walked further, I began to notice the stillness–things were very calm and quiet. I could hear the birds chirping. And I saw the students, some cleaning, others resting still. More and more people came to walk the Admiralty site. I saw people I knew and chatted with them in the middle of the road or over a barricade. It was amazing to me that such a situation could and had happened– that a disagreement of such incredible proportions could be so
Admiralty, a web of Umbrellas strung between 2 bridges
Photo by Tom Price
peaceful. I walked past a display of signs in every language supporting democracy in Hong Kong. I went over to the wall on the side of the government building next to the main Occupy site. It was covered with Post-It notes supporting the movement. People of all backgrounds were writing notes on the Post-It notes sitting on top of a table, using the markers provided. I added my note and stuck it to the wall near the stairs. I figured it would go with statement of support that I had made by taking a picture of myself in a yellow shirt (bought at Giordano’s in Al Wada Mall in the Abu Dhabi) on October 1st. (It’s now my Facebook picture.)
are making a difference the world cannot ignore. I think that this is the most interesting comment that I read last week. It does say something about the changes in Hong Kong over the last seventeen years…
SCMP “Occupy Central Night Seven” updated October 5th 2014
1:45am: Chinese UniverUmbrellas, crowds and rain sity anthropologist Gorin 1997, repeating themselves in don Mathews shares his 2014. thoughts from the Mong The same concerns, the same Kok stand-off on Facebook: worries. the same hopes for posi-
“A woman apparently in her forties was arguing against the protesters saying that, ‘After all, we’re all Chinese in our blood! Why can’t we all recognize this?’ The protesters, mostly in their twenties, cried out in unison, ‘We’re not Chinese. We’re Hongkongers!’ Then they looked at each other in I have always associated this disbelief… This may sum up type of protest with noise, de- a critical generational difstruction and violence. ference: after the handover, Yes, there has been some of that, young Hongkongers were but mostly this confrontation in supposed to be trained to Hong Kong has been a coming to- become Chinese, but many gether of people with a common have moved in their feelings purpose and a common goal. in the exact opposite direcThe masses and the police have
And I saw the umbrellas.
done their best to keep what could be a disastrous situation under control—although I regret that tear gas had to be used. Watching the situation from a distance I felt both fear for and pride in my adopted homeland. Hong Kong people have, as always, moved forward with their city. Their ownership of this situation has been absolutely amazing. But I guess I should not be surprised. Ever since the handover of Hong Kong back to China in 1996, the Umbrella Revolution was inevitable. Hong Kong just had to figure out how to make itself heard. The voices of its people
tion. The degree of mutual incomprehension in this discussion was extraordinary.”
Central, a man speaks out
tive change. Will the umbrella be added as another of Hong Kong’s cultural treasures, joining Jackie Chan, Bruce Lee and Cantonese opera? In the hearts and minds of Hong Konger’s worldwide, the Umbrella Revolution shows, once again, that Hong Kong is a wonderful, special, amazing place.
May an umbrella be a mandatory accessory for all Hong Kong people, everywhere.
Photo by Tom Price
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Goodbye MyDragonNet JUNTO CELEBRATES THE END OF A GREAT ERA
Schoology Quickly Replacing MyDragonnet
An Editorial in which Yash Expresses Displeasure with Schoology
By Irene Cho - Journalism Class
By Yashvardhan Bardoloi - Staff Writer
As of the beginning of the 201415 school year, HKIS has begun its transition to Schoology from Mydragonnet. Mydragonnet, the previous learning management system, was created over ten years ago. As time passed, Mydragonnet was tweaked and modified. Requests for improvements rose and “in order to have all these modifications, we needed to rewrite Mydragonnet,” said Mr. Leicht, Director of Educational Technology. Mr. Leicht and others evaluated the situation and came to a conclusion that their focus was on extending learning and initiated the transition to Schoology. Schoology has a variety of available features, such as the workload planner, in which teachers can view the number of assignments each student has on a certain day. By using the workload planner, teachers can find a flexible date to assign a test, so students don’t end up having multiple tests in one day. Most students have been positive towards the transition to Schoology. Juniors, Tora Northman and Rachel Nagao said, “It’s convenient because we don’t have to download files.” Senior, Ashley Kung expressed similar views. “I really like the upcoming sidebar on the right, because it shows homework assignments and events.” Although most students were positive about the change, some were slightly ambivalent towards it. Junior, Sabrina Chen said, “I want the everyday schedule like we had on Mydragonnet and Schoology lags a lot.” “The reason Schoology lags is because the site is hosted in the States,” said Mr. Leicht. He also said that he and his team are work-
ing on getting the everyday schedule up, and will hopefully have it by October break. Since the start of school, the total visits on Schoology have reached almost 60,000 views. “What’s interesting to see is that on Friday, the page views drop significantly and on Sunday night, page views peak,” said Mr. Leicht as he showed the statistical data graph. By the 2015-16 school year, HKIS will have fully transitioned to Schoology from Mydragonnet.
Heralded by a train of misplaced submissions, vanishing homework calendars, and irksome lags, HKIS’ yearlong transition to Schoology began this August. These mishaps also took place alongside heated debates about whether to call the darn thing “Schoo-ology” or “Schoo-logy”, with general public opinion currently in favor of the latter. Now, a few months into school, the HKIS community is finally beginning to understand the inner
A visual comparison of log in screens: The Beloved and the New
workings of this alien system. But do we really need this curiously named, rather feeble attempt at Facebook-ifying class resources and calendars? Perhaps not. The deliberately Facebook-esque nature of Schoology is itself quite an annoyance. With a persistent stream of alerts for everything from teacher feedback to assignment uploads and class discussions, Schoology tends to leave you with more notifications than your just-uploaded Facebook profile picture. This is not to mention the occasional hapless student who is “caught” on Facebook by their teacher, only for it to be discovered that the offending website was none other than Schoology, much to the amusement of the class. On a more practical level, a handful of clubs and classes are yet to migrate to the new software. The Senators of Student Life and Service have both encouraged clubs to make the switch to Schoology, but many, including Z Club, Model United Nations and Junto itself, have so far been reluctant to change. This unwillingness to switch is certainly resulting in a considerable organizational mess and a good deal of confusion, with some students having frenetically switch between MyDragonnet and Schoology to locate certain resources. It may also be half-jokingly pointed out that maybe HKIS should not have splurged on Schoology’s software. Many Humanities classes have run dry on funds to buy books—reams of notvery-legal photocopies are being distributed in numerous classes— so perhaps the money spent on Schoology could have been better
used, possibly by actually buying Sherman Alexie’s books, for example. To be sure, Schoology does bring benefits. Our school’s technology team points out that the decade-old MyDragonnet is a creaky and aging system, plagued by a myriad of technological defects. They say it was far simpler to switch to Schoology than to sufficiently modify and upgrade MyDragonnet. Additionally, many appreciate Schoology’s ability to display documents without the user having to download them, a feature that saves time as well as space on computer hard drives. However, it is hard to deny that there was a certain charm about good old MyDragonnet. The site was a small, yet visible source of pride: we had our own school network, designed specifically for us and by us. MyDragonnet was also customizable, with the option for a nickname, a background of choice, and select RSS feeds. The homepage was much more neatly laid out, and the calendar function vastly easier to use. And of course, no one could accuse MyDragonnet of trying to look like a social network. It is worth noting, though, that the whole matter is now moot. Like it or not, by the 2015-2016 school year MyDragonnet will be condemned to cyberspace oblivion, and the switch will be complete. Maybe Schoology really was necessary. Maybe it really is efficient and hi-tech. Maybe it won’t be so alien in a few months. But one thing is for sure:
MyDragonnet, we’ll miss you.
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Schoology Is Here: Get Over It
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DRAGON SPORTS
By Shayla Sandoval - Staff Writer School-ogy. Scho-OL-ogy. How- more efficient manner, and proever you pronounce it, Hong Kong vides easy access for comments on International School is ready to assignments from teachers. completely make the switch over to Files can be viewed instantaSchoology from the MyDragonnet neously, no download necessary. By Tik Kwun Chan - Staff Writer system in the 2015-16 school year. Grades can now be viewed in both Many students, myself included, Schoology and PowerSchool. Prowere apprehensive when the new file settings are easily alterable, system was introduced. Anyone just like most social media webwho has been at HKIS for a while sites. Many club leaders are now has grown up using MyDragonnet. able to send out updates, polls and From viewing differently color- signups through Schoology, rather ed homework assignments on the than through mass emails. monthly calendar to leaving sticky Some may be upset about the note messages on each other’s pro- change, but everyone needs to files, MyDragonnet was a core part move on and put more energy into of the HKIS learning experience. adapting as quickly as possible. Although familiar to the school, Students have been complaining regrettably, the bugs outweighed about having to check both sites the benefits. Schoology is the for assignments and receiving too school’s solution to fix these prob- many notifications. These are the lems while still working online. kind of first world problems that With the 2014-15 school year make other Hong Kong schools designated as a transition year, frown upon HKIS. some teachers have fully embraced Is it really that hard to open two Schoology while others are still us- tabs, or adjust the notification seting the old system. tings? Though many may grieve the We are extremely privileged as loss of MyDragonnet, Schoology a school to have a website as ad- Athletic Council aims to improve the hosting of home tournaments. offers many benefits. It is generally vanced as Schoology, let alone ApThe Athletic Council was hard (organize appearances for events); more user friendly and encourages ple MacBook computers for every communication among students student and teacher in the first at week during China Cup. Except, D, Airport pick-ups and hospitalwait, doing what, exactly? ity for visiting team.” and teachers. place. If you are not sure, you are not Adding to that, Angela Fan, Many of my classes have used There are bigger issues to dwell the Senator of Athletics and the discussion board feature to on, and we can’t live in the past alone. Knowledge about the Council is Travel, said, “In addition to raispost quick answers to overarch- forever. After all, if we never made ing questions, which are available changes, imagine where we’d be to- mostly limited to a bare minimum. ing awareness of sports teams and Douglas Yang (12) said, “I know school spirit through pep rallies, for everyone to see and reflect on. day: still working on big, desktop, Schoology also allows for many dinosaur computers, using Inter- of its existence and that it does air- we’ve also regularly updated the port pickups.” HKIS Dragons page on Facebook types of files to be submitted in a net Explorer. Kirk Lam (11), shared similar through announcements of upthoughts, “I know it exists, but I coming home games, China Cup don’t really know what they do.” events, APAC events, other tourConsisting of about 30 mem- naments, final scoring results, and bers, all of whom take part in one congratulatory messages to the of the HKIS teams, the Athletic teams who have achieved awards Council has a range of jobs. or places.” Ms. Leung, the Athletics DiThis year, the Athletic Counrector, said, “The athletic council cil also plans to introduce FIRE supports school teams and athletes events. “Each team will have one in a variety of ways: A, commu- designated FIRE event where we nication of events, tournaments, hope to make it a celebration of the results (they have a great Facebook team,” said Ms. Leung. page); B, Encourage school spirit “Our goal is to get 80 plus stu(pep rallies, locker signs, posters, dents staying after school to supattendance at events); C, Torch port our athletes. We hope to in-
Athletic Council Looking to Be More Visible This Year
Photo by Tik Kwun Chan
volve Booster Club to support us with either pep or cheer items or perhaps free snacks for the first X amount of fans. We would also like to improve our hosting by providing welcome snacks for visiting teams as they get off the bus and arrive on campus.” The Athletic Council is also open to suggestions, and students can contribute ideas through FIRE, as Ms. Leung explains: “Of course – you do not need to be a member of Athletic Council to be on FIRE. We hope to grow our numbers so that student athletes feel supported – not just at tournaments but regular league games. We want students to feel that a sports game or match or contest is a good way to spend a couple of hours after school. School spirit is contagious when we make hanging out together fun.”
HKIS WELCOMES HOME APAC ATHLETES Results posted on the HS Dragonnet
Girls Super Tennis at CA APAC Volleyball at HKIS
Rugby at SASPD
Boys Super Baseball at WAB Cross Country at APAC Volleyball CISS at AISG
Schoology Statistics
Graph courtesy of Mr. Leicht
CONGRATULATIONS.
PAG E 10
J UNTO
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RECAP IN PHOTOS: Dragon Pride - Fall China Cup Photos by Rachel Chiu and Respective Photographers
China Cup Results: Volleyball at HKIS: Varsity Boys Volleyball - 4th Varsity Girls Volleyball - 3rd JV Boys Volleyball - 4th JV Girls Volleyball - 3rd Rugby at SAS: Varsity Boys Rugby - 1st Varsity Girls Rugby - 3rd JV Boys Rugby - 1st JV Girls Rugby - 3rd Tennis at ISB: Varsity Boys Tennis - 1st Varsity Girls Tennis - 1st JV Boys Tennis - 1st JV Girls Tennis - 1st Baseball at ISB: Varsity Baseball - 1st JV Baseball - 2nd
GO DRAGONS!