Christmas Newsletter
December 2020
Head of School Message
As a child, I did what I imagine many children do at Christmas or during similar festivals that come to represent an opportunity for magic in their lives. I invented traditions.
Tradition is a marvelous technology for intensifying experience and, as I loved Christmas and the many well-established traditions that already associated with Christmas, I believed that the best thing to do was add still more.
One of the yuletide traditions I invented was to read Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol every year, starting on the first of December, with the aim of having finished it by the last day of the school term. The intention was to start the Christmas holidays in what I considered to be “the right frame of mind” – which Dickens, I felt sure, had distilled to crystalline purity. The right frame of mind could be summed up as: being perfectly open to having a good time.
Initially, I enjoyed A Christmas Carol for its magic and its mood. It was only as I grew into my middle teens that I came to appreciate its message, too, as part of Dickens’ wider oeuvre, as having political and social dimensions. Returning to it as an adult reader there remain moments that, even with the passing of time, deeply resonate.
One such moment comes halfway through the story. Scrooge, already deeply shaken by two awful appointments – the first with the spirit of his former business partner, Jacob Marley, the second with the Ghost of Christmas Past – now meets with the Ghost of Christmas Present, who takes him on a whirlwind tour of the holiday’s festivities. Together, they witness a kaleidoscope of the human condition – the wealthy, the destitute, the privileged, the dispossessed, the healthy, the suffering, the attached, the alone. A wild assortment of scenes, but each shares a common thread: the sparks of joy and exuberance that Christmas enlivens unites them all.
The festive mood of celebration and gratitude is powerful and contagious. Scrooge ends his interview ready to embrace the personal change that will lead to his own improvement, and, by extension, to the improvement of those over whose lives he exercises an influence. But, Scrooge discovers, it is not quite so easeful a matter. The Ghost of Christmas Present is to deliver a further lesson – a warning.
It comes in the form of two children – “wretched, abject, frightful, hideous, miserable” – who lurk beneath the skirts of the Ghost’s robes. “Do they belong to you?”, Scrooge inquires of the spirit. No, he is told, “They are Man’s. And they cling to me, appealing from their fathers. This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want. Beware them both, and all of their degree, but most of all beware this boy, for on his brow I see that written which is Doom, unless the writing be erased.”
Ignorance and Want – humanity’s Doom, Dickens warns, its twin nemesis, “unless the writing be erased”. But how should we combat them?
Within forty years of A Christmas Carol’s publication in 1843, universal primary education was introduced in the United Kingdom. This was followed by universal secondary education in 1944, which was followed in turn by the raising of the school leaving age to 18 in 2008. Education piled on education, heaped on education. And yet Ignorance and Want remain obdurate foes.
The reason, I would venture, lies in the wrong form of education being extended and multiplied. Being of the wrong form, getting more of it makes no positive difference.
Ignorance remains the same problem as it was in Dickens’ era – that is, a problem of knowledge not being received or not being processed or not being internalized, and certainly not being acted on. But the reasons for Ignorance have changed. No longer is Ignorance based on scarcity of information, for there has never been a time at which so much information was so freely available. We suffer, if anything, from a glut of information. And no longer is Ignorance based on a failure to process or internalize knowledge, because, if nothing else, all that education, with its countless tests and exams, demonstrates that people are, certainly, gaining all kinds of knowledge. It’s just that they are forgetting it or ignoring it shortly after. Ignorance now, we can say, is more about the alienation that attends being swamped with information and having no idea what to do with it, than the condition of being denied information. It is not about being kept in the dark, it is about shutting down the thinking faculties as a response to overload.
Meanwhile, Want has wholly changed its character. For Dickens, Want was a continuation of a basic existential reality: the economic system had, throughout history, struggled to meet the bare needs of the human population. Economic problems were exclusively supply side deficits. There wasn’t enough to go round – hence, the poor were always with us and, periodically, following floods or droughts or other natural calamities, they starved, often in great numbers.
However, the extraordinary improvements in agricultural and industrial technologies - material and immaterial - over the past one hundred and fifty years transformed all that, at least potentially. We know there is now sufficient global production to meet every individual’s needs, wherever they live, more than modestly. We know, too, this does not happen. That it does not happen is due to the new form of Want, for Want has not gone away. There remains a lack, but it is not found in a dearth of material goods to meet material needs; rather it is found in a failure of the imagination to devise a system to provide for this to happen and a failure in fellow-feeling to insist that it should.
How, then, can education usefully address Ignorance and Want – in their new guises of alienation and lack of both imagination and fellow-feeling? The answer lies in reconfiguring school to achieve two allied aims, whose strength lies precisely in their capacity to power one another in a mutually reinforcing loop.
School must aim to engage students above all else – to do everything possible to offer an experience of learning that energizes, galvanizes, animates, and compels. This means going well beyond what the traditional curriculum has encompassed. And it should achieve this through an apprenticeship in learning that prioritizes creativity, resourcefulness, innovation, self-understanding, and perseverance – leading to Mastery. In this aim, the message of A Christmas Carol still speaks to us across the years and, paraphrasing the Spirit of Jacob Marley, a school might say, “Business! Mankind is our business. The common welfare is our business; charity, mercy, forbearance, benevolence, are all our business. The dealings of trade are but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of our business!”
ICHK tries to be such a school; with an appropriately comprehensive project, one with its own rewards and challenges - and, I believe, one of which Charles Dickens, had he witnessed the peculiarities of our unprecedented times, would have approved.
Staff
We have been very pleased to welcome a number of new staff this term.
Nelly Loi-Fong has joined us to offer targeted support to Ben Blain, in his vital role as Head of Year 7, working to facilitate a 'romantic' introduction to secondary school for our youngest students as they transition from primary to secondary. Ryan Warriner joined us as our first dedicated Teacher of Human Technologies. We also welcomed English teachers Alyson Donaldson and Sky Clarke; Maths teacher Kunal Narwani; Chinese teachers Jessy Tu and Vincent Wang; Spanish teacher Vanessa Afonso; Science teachers Jenny Wu and Sharon Wong; Special Educational Needs teachers Emma Kent-Jones and Diptii Mehta; and Learning Systems Specialist Sandra Kuipers.
They have all brought a wealth of energy, knowledge, passion, and experience to the school, strengthening our programmes even further.
Maths : A Reflection from Head of Department Sean McDermott
I was going to write this as a piece about educational principles that are essential to an excellent Mathematics education at ICHK. It’s important to know what these principles are, and the actions we take as a team to ensure that these are realised and high standards in teaching and learning are achieved.
I am new to working within the Maths department this academic year, and unsurprisingly to any who read this I’ve joined at a time that is unprecedented in all of our teaching careers. The great challenge for us as a department, as it is with all others within the school, is to start the year recognising our students as individuals and learners, build relationships, and provide the best possible learning experience and academic programme despite the uncertainty we face as a community.
The potential limitations and constraints to delivering such a programme are many. We started the year online with great uncertainty about when we might return to school. Once in school we couldn’t set up our classrooms in the way we might prefer, the students can’t work in close groups or share equipment, teachers can’t move and monitor as freely as they would like, as we have found this week, classes might be suspended at any time. All present challenges which one could reasonably expect to negatively impact the quality of the Maths programme.
But the programme has flourished, students are motivated and engaged, and early results are promising indeed. Our students are achieving despite the constraints they face, and this is testament to their commitment, resilience and hard work. But what else might explain it?
My colleagues in the Maths department deserve acknowledgement. From what I observe daily, prior to and throughout Term 1 ICHK’s Maths teachers have worked extremely hard for their students in what at times have been trying conditions. Without exception, our Maths teachers plan carefully, advocate for their students, search for additional resources to support them, monitor closely, and provide thoughtful and detailed information to me when I make enquiries about student progress.
Maths department meetings take place in classrooms, hallways, in the staffroom, on Whatsapp and via Zoom, and there is a near-constant flow of communication about learning and student progress. Maths team members share tasks, check in with each other, take care of themselves, support new teachers and model the values, attitudes and behaviours that are crucial to use getting through these difficult times together.
Now that I think about it, in times like these these are the principles that are essential to an excellent Mathematics education at ICHK. Our students are achieving and making progress in Maths despite the constraints we face, and for that I am an enormously proud member of this team and community.
English
This term, we have been lucky enough to welcome to the department three wonderful new English teachers. Here’s an introduction, in their own words:
Nelly Loi-Fong
Greetings ! My role in the English department this year is to develop learners (Years 7-9) who are confident, innovative, reflective, and engaged - equipped for using language as a cognitive tool to construct knowledge and understand the literary world around them. I grew up in the great Golden State, California, where the clear, crisp ocean meets the high desert. After graduating from the University of California Irvine with a B.A. in Criminology and Women’s Studies, I studied law and worked in the private sector, litigating civil cases from business disputes to discrimation lawsuits.
Unbeknowingly, I have always been immersed in the field of education, having started my early days of teaching in public literacy programs which included school-based student support and government funded initiatives. In 2011, not long after moving to Hong Kong, I officially embarked on a new career - teaching; and never looked back. I am very excited to have joined ICHK Secondary this year, a decision that was easily made because of the outstanding holistic approach to education as a purposeful driven practice rather than a mere campaign. The faculty and students are always enthusiastic about learning and teaching; even during these unprecedented times.
As for me, I cannot imagine life without hobbies. I love spending time with my family and friends when I am not teaching. My two boys keep me quite busy during the off season with sporting events and cultural activities. At times, chef Nelly, my alter-ego, gets excited about new recipes and expands the palate through adventurous eating!
Sky Clarke
Despite a rather bizarre start to the school year, it’s been wonderful to have been warmly welcomed by the ICHK community as a new staff member based in the English department who also teaches Big History and ICHK’s very own, Human Technologies. Growing up as a Hong Kong kid myself, it’s been great to re-experience the learning landscape as a teacher where everyday has been both a challenge but also an absolute delight to teach to, what I believe, are some of the kindest and most good humoured students I’ve come across. Outside of school, uncoordinated as I am, I enjoy playing badminton and have started developing an interest in rock climbing. I look forward to more of what the school year has to offer and am excited to be building more positive memories as time goes on.
Alyson Donaldson
Originally, I am from Minnesota in the US. I have lived in Hong Kong for seven years and have also lived in Guangzhou and Dubai; living overseas for 15 years now. Life outside of school is kept busy with my two daughters- three years old and almost one. Despite the unprecedented circumstances of this school year, I am enjoying my introduction to ICHK. I am grateful to be a part of our thoughtful and innovative community.
In other news from the department, this term, students have had the opportunity to enter the 2021 Hong Kong Young Writers Award, with a focus on ‘Tales from China’s Magical Mountains’. Watch this space for news on the short list.
Year 7s have achieved a phenomenal amount in English, despite the difficult circumstances foisted upon them. They have been working on writing to explain, inform and describe using the mythical ‘Beaboutasaurus’ as their muse. Students have had the opportunity to write National Geographic-style articles, using all of their new-found expertise, as well as writing creatively about the habitat of the fabled Sha Tau Kok native.
Since the launch of EPIC!, an online reading programme in Year 7, our avid readers have read over 250 books in less than two weeks. That's an incredible achievement for these enthusiastic young learners. They have been enjoying a variety of literary genres including historical fiction texts such as migration stories, a topic currently being explored in Transitions classes this term. Congratulations to all the Year 7 students for being motivated learners.
The stunning surroundings of our school have been inspiring Literature students. Year 11s are studying Yukio Mishima's ‘The Sound of Waves’ for their World Literature IGCSE. They were able to explore the themes, ideas and setting of the novel through a walk down to the local Tin Hau Temple. They were able to observe the beauty of nature, take photos of important symbolic elements such as butterflies. bees and fishing boats. They saw the opposition of tradition and modernity with the industrial cranes of Shenzhen in the background of the small temple.
The Year 11s and Year 13s have continued to impress with their stamina and focus as they enter the final approach to their exams. Both year groups have been working very hard this term to prepare for their orals, with the Year 13s investing time and thought into using texts to examine global issues such as ‘The role of dominant patriarchal power structures in shaping identity’ and ‘The role of arts and media in the representation of conflict and trauma’.
Year 7s writing in Sha Tau Kok
Year 11s studying The Sound of Waves
Our Inspiring Locality
Languages
We have been very pleased to resume face-to-face learning in the Languages department, and it has been great to welcome another big cohort. The Year 7s have adapted well to their new language classes, showing a real love of learning and enthusiasm for their lessons, with great progress being seen.
This term we have welcomed three new staff members to the department.
Jessy Tu: Joining ICHK is like a dream come true to me. I told everyone, I must have done something good so I can work here. I have heard many great things happening here for many years. i.e. the Chinese team with shared responsibilities for management; the professional leading team that trusts and allows staff to introduce innovative concept to communities; the supporting parents who also wish to develop their children as all-rounders instead of marks.
Vincent Wang: I studied in China, South Korea and Hong Kong, majoring in foreign language studies and Chinese teaching. I used to be an interpreter but soon started my career as a teacher - that started in South Korea and has continued in Hong Kong. The first time I really felt the charm of languages was in my second year of college when I finished reading my first Korean novel. It was also through this new language that I had my first glimpse of the vast and fascinating world of education. Another part of my teaching career thus far that I have thoroughly enjoyed is witnessing students’ growth, not just academically, but also in the way their approaches to learning grow. I am enjoying my experience at ICHK, with wonderful students eager to learn, and friendly and helpful colleagues.
Vanessa Afonso: I am the new Spanish teacher in the Languages Department. I love teaching Spanish and it has been my career for many years already, but this time it is different because I have joined ICHK. I see teaching as an opportunity to share reciprocally. I continuously learn from my students. Learning Spanish as a foreign language gives you the opportunity to learn about not only a language but also about a culture and its people. On a personal note, I enjoy literature, gastronomy, and being outdoors (hiking, traveling, etc) but my favourite hobby is Latin dancing. It is with this combination of mundane habits that I try to live a happy life.
This term we have celebrated success at the prestigious Hong Kong Putonghua speech competition, and students are currently taking part in the first online Chinese Language Festival hosted by ESF, the Education University of Hong Kong and China International Education.
Our innovative Kingston Chinese Programme continues to progress well with students learning through a well-balanced combination of traditional skills and interactive activities.
Staff prepared well for the challenges of online learning, and subscribed to a number of new learning platforms, to maximize learning and ensure it is enjoyed in the virtual classroom too. These have included:
Rocaklingua: an online resource to help young learners with Spanish through music and games, which means, in a fun and more effective way.
Kahoot and Gimkit: , interactive digital versions of the classic multiple choice exercises that value correct answers and speed, so students enjoy a sense of competition.
Wordwall and Quizlet: they facilitate quizzes, match ups, word games, and much more.
Chairman Bao: the most comprehensive news-based graded reader for students of Chinese.
We look ahead to the Chinese New Year week, when we will bring you a special newsletter dedicated to the work of the Languages Department.
Science
It has been another busy term for the Science department, with students experiencing diverse learning opportunities, both inside and outside of the classroom.
ICHK’s spectacular surroundings have again been used as part of a global nature challenge.
Students from Years 7-11 joined thousands from around the world for the City Nature Challenge. Students from Year 8 worked directly with WWF leaders, who were really impressed with how engaged and mature they were.
The aim was to expose them to citizen science, and to document the plants and wildlife in the rich environment on our school doorstep.
The data collected is then used to track invasive species, species count/distribution, and rare species. Our students were able to spot a number of items on the WWF interest list.
Hong Kong was in competition with cities round the world to see which could make the most observations of nature, find the most species and upload the most photos through the app iNaturalist.
This term students have also been working with a PhD candidate who is researching Citizen Science and Environmental Education.
Smriti Safaya is investigating the role that schools play in raising awareness, often through interdisciplinary and experiential learning opportunities, about the causes and consequences of environmental degradation.
She has been working with our students and teachers to understand how experiences with nature-based citizen science projects contribute to values, attitudes and behaviours towards one's natural environment. She hopes that her research results will feed into good-practice resources for teachers to enhance environmental education experienced by their students.
Humanities
It has been a good start to the year from all our classes and we have been very pleased with how students have hit the ground running in their IGCSE and IB classes.
New content and challenges would have pushed the students at the best of times but we have been really impressed with their ability to adapt to online learning and give it their best over extended periods of time.
Martin Clarke and Simon Tasker continue to develop the Economics course and teach challenging and inspiring lessons which encourage more and more students to the subject. Sammi Chan is continuing to develop IB Psychology, bringing huge enthusiasm and drive to the course.
Sky Clarke and Ryan Warriner have joined the team and provide new perspectives for our Year 7 and 8 students teaching great lessons in new and innovative ways. It’s encouraging to see how the students have responded to them and how well they have fitted into the department.
Jose Ryan has also joined the teaching staff and has been teaching some fantastic history and humanities lessons with Alex Hall, the head of department, bringing fresh ideas and perspectives to what we have been delivering. It’s great to see how the students have responded to her.
Our courses in Years 7 – 9 continue to develop and the younger students have certainly got into the new material. We continue to refine and incorporate the best of the Big History course to make it much more of an ICHK course. The focus in Year 7 has been on four big areas starting with ‘Cosmos’ and ending with ‘Civilizations’ and this has helped students to not only see the big picture but also realise the connections between different subject areas. Year 8 focuses on more specific elements of humanities, the development of subject specific skills, but with the same over-arching approach and connection to other subject areas as in Year 7 – we are all really pleased with how this has developed.
Again, the omnipresent Simon Tasker has been working wonders with the Year 9, 20th century history curriculum. The students are clearly impressed as we get more and more takers for History at IGCSE. Simon’s work in year 8 has helped develop the courses here and we are appreciative of the work he is doing.
Thanks have to go to Sean McDermott and the ever dependable Doug Kidd for the great effort they have made with year 7 and 8 and the students have certainly appreciated the range of experiences that they have had.
We look forward to a great new year as our course develops, the students grow and we can look to develop ever more meaningful learning experiences for the students, hopefully not all of them via Zoom.
Expressive Arts
This academic year, the Arts Department introduced its new curriculum ‘The Arts Carousel’. Students in Years 7 and 8 now study exploration units in Art & Design, Drama, Media and Music and finish off the academic year with an interdisciplinary project. This project aims to encapsulate all the skills, techniques and creativity into one celebration over a range of performances and showcase exhibitions.
Students in Year 9 specialise in one arts subject. This year students have been able to select from fine art, drama, media studies and photography and multi-media. Year 9 photography and multimedia have been exploring alternative photography techniques including photo weaving, photo transfers on wood and photo embroidery.
IGCSE and IB Art students continue to produce beautiful work, which is regularly showcased in the weekly bulletin. IB Film students have been creating some innovative film work based on film movements and Auteur theory.
Year 9 photography
Using different techniques
Photo transfers on wood
Human Technologies
Work continues to deliver an exciting and engaging Human Technologies curriculum, encouraging students to experience school in more positive ways, whilst developing a profound sense of the art and craft of being human.
Year 7 students have been focusing on technologies of making sense where we introduce HT and look at story telling, model making, religion and art amongst other things as ways of making sense of the world around us.
Year 8s have begun to do a little team building since we have been back at school and have been focusing on how we know what we know, how we discover and uncover truth in the world.
Year 9 students have been looking at Technologies for Trade where they focus on how money works and how the banking system works with some great games to help them understand this along the way.
Year 10s have tackled the rewarding and sadly currently too present topic of death; how we build technologies around death to make it manageable and how it can bring meaning to our lives.
Our HT curriculum engages with all these topics and more in entertaining, provocative and accessible ways. It encourages students to think critically about which technologies they want to use and how they might use them to best advantage. And, equally, to identify which technologies they would like to leave well alone and how to go about developing the self-confidence to act on their decisions.
Free Learning
Hello ICHK community! My name is Sandra Kuipers, I joined ICHK Secondary this past August and I’m excited to be stepping into the role of Learning Systems Specialist. It’s amazing to join a team of educators and innovators who have been continuously re-thinking the way we approach teaching and learning in school. Among the innovations created at ICHK, I’ve been working with Free Learning, the student-focused approach to learning, and Gibbon, the open source school platform.
Although I’m new to ICHK, I’ve already been a member of the Gibbon community for the past five years, and have been contributing to its development as project maintainer. I bring a background of software development to the project, along with a keen interest in education, which I’m pursuing through a Master of Arts in Learning and Technology. Both Gibbon and Free Learning have become central topics in the research for my Master’s project.
Recently, Gibbon celebrated its 10th birthday, and it was an honour to be part of the team for this milestone. As an open source platform created at ICHK, Gibbon showcases the power of collaboration among educators. Developed by teachers from within a school, it has the capacity to change and reflect the school’s evolving approaches to teaching and learning. In joining ICHK, I look forward to continuing to develop Gibbon and supporting the variety of learning innovations happening throughout the school.
As Learning Systems Specialist, I have been working closely with Ross Parker, Director of Technology & Assessment, and creator of both Gibbon and Free Learning. This year, I have the opportunity to not only teach Free Learning to Year 7s, but also to continue to develop the platform that it runs on. This mix of teaching and developing offers unique insights into how Free Learning works, and already in a few short months we’ve been streamlining and improving the platform.
I look forward to seeing where we go from here! Keep an eye out for future developments in Gibbon and Free Learning. Do you have any questions or ideas to share? You’re welcome to get in touch: skuipers@ichk.edu.hk
PE and Sport
Following EDB guidelines, in PE we have had limited contact or sharing of equipment and have been working on developing fitness, strength and conditioning. We have been gradually resuming normal PE activities whilst still maintaining appropriate hygiene protocols as outlined in this policy.
We have seen, on average, across the whole student body a marked decrease in their fitness scores and they have been working hard to make the most of the opportunity to be moving once again.
Covid 19 has had a significant impact on school sport with no inter school competition at all this term. Indeed, sport in any guise has been hard to come by throughout the pandemic. Nevertheless, it’s been pleasing to see that our students have been involved in a wide variety of sports with clubs often having been inspired by playing for school teams. Students are playing core sports, Volleyball, Basketball, Football and Rugby for clubs gaining recognition and honours. Isaiah Lo and Jerry Cai have been selected to join Yan Chai Volleyball Team, a top HK team after their successful championship winning season for the U14s. William Griffiths came second playing football in the HKFA Division 1 with his team Boas FC.
Tiffany Fu and Sonia Kwon have done very well to be selected for the National Age Grade, a development track for elite rugby players in HK. In other sports, Tensho Miyoshi has excelled in baseball and is playing for the HK national team. Henry Ip won bronze at the Sham Shui Po Fencing Competition in the U14 Boys Foil category.
Ivan Cheung is training as a triathlete and has been selected to join the Peak Hunter, a trail road running academy. He has also recently been able to complete a cycling course on a course with a 36% gradient, which is an incredible achievement for a year 7 student.
Amelie Chan has recently been successful in her selection trial for the HK national team for trampoline. Sean Liu has been awarded Sailor of the year at Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club for the second consecutive year, which is an incredible achievement.
Naturally, school sport often takes precedence in these newsletters and yet with an enforced restriction upon us it’s been a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the huge range of sport that takes place beyond school. To all of those who have been able to remain active and involved in sport, a massive well done.
The Egrets Touch team opened the season at the usual venue of Happy Valley and were able to play two rounds of the league with five pool games before Covid restrictions took place. Another cycle has started with many senior players having left the team and we mostly have year 11 girls in the team, ably supported by Brandon Fu in year 12. Nevertheless, the team has done very well to draw two of the games before entering the second phase of the competition.
With a growing number of staff, it has been great to see that we have finally been able to establish a staff football team. Regular training takes place on Fridays after school. We look forward to the first match.
Outdoor Learning
Central to our approaches at ICHK is that the way we teach students is just as vital to the learning experience, as the content we deliver. Our innovative outdoor education programme is evidence of this, and has been firmly established as one of the central pillars of our school.
Whilst we have not been able to offer all the experiences and opportunities we would have liked to this term, we were very pleased to run Deep Learning + Weeks for Years 7 and 8. Students were able to explore the natural world, try new things and learn to collaborate with their peers. They were engaged in a wide range of activities, team building games and challenges, as well as learning about the heritage around our school, exploring the natural world, trying new things and learning to collaborate with their peers.
Our Year 7s have completed canyoning days, and our Year 8s have been mastering cycling skills, learning about road safety and have taken part in a guided cycle through the neighbouring Luk Keng. These groups have also taken part in climbing practice with our PE and outdoor team.
All these activities were designed to promote the interpersonal skills which underpin all-round, holistic growth in young people.
It has been a challenge to work out ways to keep students safe and compliant with government advice on Covid prevention but also enjoy the essential health, well-being and educational aspects of outdoor and experiential learning.
We are hopeful that more trips in science and outdoor activities will take place next year.
Mastery Transcript
Senior students have begun their Mastery Transcript journeys this term.
Students in Years 10-13 have all been offered opportunities to work towards this new qualification, which ICHK was delighted to unveil last school year when eight of our students graduated not just with the IB Diploma, but a Mastery Transcript aswell.
We are one of a growing number of schools globally to offer the MT, and one of just five to graduate students with the qualification in its worldwide debut in August 2020.
We offer it as an additional qualification to the IB, and welcome its aims to value and recognise graduating students for all their attributes, capabilities, passions, achievements, and interests, not just for their academic attainment.
The journey towards Mastery begins in Years 10, where students can work towards becoming a ‘journeyman’, through engagement with projects, activities, and other learning experiences.
Students in Years 11, 12 and 13 build on this work to the point where they become Masters and credits can be awarded for substantial, self-directed, verifiable achievements.
Over the past term, Wednesday afternoon Enrichment and Flow sessions have been set aside for our Year 10s to embrace this new opportunity, with many different interests and options being explored by our students.
We look forward to more opportunities over the coming term.
ICHK Secondary
Email: info@ichk.edu.hk
Website: https://www.ichk.edu.hk/
Location: International College Hong Kong (nt), Hong Kong
Phone: +(852) 2655-9018
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ICHK.ICHKHongLokYuen
Twitter: @ICHK_Secondary