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Hkis

  1. #11

    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    South District
    Posts
    39

    If you don't mind, I have a few specific questions:

    1. I heard complaints that HKIS often ask parents to seek professional help for their kid if the kid slightly lags behind in certain area. Is it true?

    they have a learning centre staffed with professionals - OT, ST, writing, gifted ed. etc. so they have the resources to help your kid right from the start. they don't "label" kids as such though because they don't feel it's appropriate at such a young age, but they do give your support to be successful.

    2. Is it true that HKIS sends parents an annual report on how their kid compares to their US peers based on Standard test scores?

    G1-G2 (I believe to G6) have students sit the standford test which is a standardized test commonly use in the states...they do compare students here to the US because alot of parents are US based and will eventually return there for education.

    3. We are not a religious family. Does it make it difficult for our daughter to fit in at HKIS?

    no - not at all...the do sing a song / rhyme before snack / lunch to thank the "lord" for their food, and yes there are religion classes too...but each year they also learn about a different religion, e.g. R1 learns about Diwali, R2 learns about Judiasm, etc. (not sure exactly what the religions are, but it's mere exposure I feel)...some people are highly against it though...depends on the family...

    4. How serious is the budget/resource issue at ESF and is it affecting their quality of education noticeably?

    I'm not so sure about ESF - i know they increased tuition so that they could hire more EAs for their Chinese department to strengthen that so it can't be THAT bad?!? but not sure...

    5. My daughter is very interested in art and music but less so in sports, between Kennedy and HKIS which school offers a better environment for her?

    not too sure....just know that there are many opportunities to join bands at HKIS...but perhaps there are at Kennedy too...sorry!

    6. I know neither school offers a strong Mandarin program, but is one better than another?

    both offer daily chinese - there are 2 streams at HKIS and 3 streams at Kennedy...i don't know about how easy it is to move up within the streams at Kennedy, but at HKIS it's pretty much impossible since one stream learns traditional characters and the other simplified characters. each class has one EA at Kennedy and but only "BIG" classes have teaching assistants at HKIS. that being said, the class size is much bigger at Kennedy (30) as opposed to 15-20 at HKIS. the class time is 30mins at HKIS and 45mins at Kennedy (for most classes) daily...personally I feel that ESF is more supportive of Mandarin learning than HKIS, since they are actually pumping $$$ into the program for staff...but the quality of staff is the key - not so sure about that

    sorry didn't really answer your question...hope the issues I've pointed out are helpful though!

    Thanks a million in advance![/QUOTE]


  2. #12

    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    Hong Kong
    Posts
    11

    Hi lesliefu, thanks so much for your thorough answers! Extremely helpful!


  3. #13

    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Location
    pokfulam
    Posts
    14

    How is the HKIS lower primary for reading/writing/literacy work - is there a good emphasis? The common view seems to be 'they learn nothing in the first two years' - is this true?!

    I have heard that there are cliques within the school and that if you don't fit in you have a miserable experience! Not sure if this is all hyped up but interested to know as a friend is sending her son there this autumn - Reception 1.

    Cheers


  4. #14

    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    South District
    Posts
    39

    they do a lot of emphasis on literacy and have actually hired a literacy specialist in the past (within the last 3 years) on site...

    i think "learn nothing in the first years" might refer to how free the students are and the American style of teaching...they learn, at their own pace, and there is a formal curriculum, but it is by no means test oriented and so perhaps it is difficult for parents to literally "see" what they have learnt.

    cliques are perhaps in the higher grades - would say the kids in the lower grades get along just fine...there are "groups" of course, perhaps because of the extra-curriculuar activities they take or perhaps because their parents are friends....wouldn't worry too much about that.


  5. #15

    Join Date
    Apr 2010
    Posts
    10

    they are not cliques but gangs.
    we went round with one of the students as part of being shown around the school..and he confessed how serious the drug problem actually is at the school.
    he also told us there was intimidation and gangs at the school.
    the cliques had to do with racial cliques,and drug distribution,and many kids were being targetted by outside gangs and there was a lot of pressure for drugs to get distributed.
    he said the school as a result of all this conducted mandatory urine tests..but most kids were able to fake sick on the days..
    what can i say?this is what we were told.
    if half of this stuff is true..then there are serious issues at that school.
    i would appreciate others real life stories regarding this matter,but,i would hesitate sendng my kids there after hearing all this.


  6. #16

    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Location
    pokfulam
    Posts
    14

    Aaargh!! That sounds really terrible..

    Am hoping you mean in the middle school? And not lower primary..Glad to hear about literacy specialist ..Will let my friend know..


  7. #17

    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Hong Kong
    Posts
    11

    The literacy consultant has really helped to improve the writing competency in lower primary. However, there are still some concerns about reading. The teachers are aware that students are churning through books without much attention to content, but very little in-class guidance is given.


  8. #18

    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    HK
    Posts
    5

    Russel, I noticed that your posts relay multiple criticisms of several international schools - namely, ISF and CDNIS (in a couple of other recent threads) and now HKIS.

    I don't know about ISF and CDNIS, but I have a son in reception 1 at HKIS so will briefly comment on our experience. It's early days yet but we are happy with the school so far. It's a nurturing environment for young children, with a lot of individual attention. Each class in reception 1 has 15 kids, with one teacher and one full-time assistant. This helps offset the downside of HKIS - which is that it is a very large school.

    The upside to a large school is that there’s a huge array of extra-curricular offerings and facilities, especially in music, sports and theatre, from Grade 1 onwards. There are always posters and school notices about various events by student choirs, string ensembles, bands, orchestras, plays, musicals, visiting sports teams, etc. However, the school offers only limited extra-curricular activities to reception 1 and reception 2 students (e.g. Saturday swimming and soccer). This seems consistent with its philosophy of emphasizing time for young kids to have unstructured play after school.

    The reception 1 program is not 'academic' in the sense that they don't formally learn reading and writing, and there is no homework at all. I was concerned about this approach in the beginning, especially as it is not the norm in Hong Kong. But as lesliefu said, the reception kids are still learning about words and numbers - just in an informal way and not measured by standard tests. The lower primary has a great library and they help foster a love of books. My son happened to begin reading before he entered HKIS and he’s definitely progressed further this year – so I’m reassured that they are teaching literacy in some way!

    The curriculum in reception 1 is very focused developing on ‘soft skills’ like initiative, teamwork, problem-solving, assertiveness, creativity, and speaking up in class – which is probably more an American approach to learning. I’ve noticed that the shyer kids in class have matured this year into noticeably more confident, sociable children. On the other hand, some might say this happens anyway in the first year of school. I’ve heard from other parents that HKIS ramps up the ‘hard skills’ in reception 2 and especially in grade 1. Students start taking Stanford Achievement Tests in Grade 2, and end up taking the American SAT and AP tests in high school. See http://dragonnet.hkis.edu.hk/hs/admi...ofile_2009.pdf, which shows their average SAT results and university acceptances. While the average maths SAT results are more or less on par with top private day schools in the U.S., the average reading and writing scores are (about 10%) below that par. However, I imagine this is at least partly due to the fact that English is not the native language of all HKIS students.

    Given the temptations available to all international school kids, the drug policy of mandatory testing seems a sensible one. From what I understand, kids cannot “fake sick” on the days since they are randomly selected for immediate testing with no advance notice. But who knows …there are probably a few bad apples in every school who try to beat the system. I’ve definitely not heard anything about gangs! I know families with older kids at HKIS – they all seem happy with the middle & high schools, and their kids seem normal, engaged teenagers. One mother recently mentioned to me that she’s happy that her 16 year old son has a nice group of friends - almost all of whom he met in reception 1. I took this as a positive sign of the ability to form long-term friendships at HKIS (I was worried that this would not happen with a high proportion of expat families).

    I haven't seen any "cliqueness" at all in my son’s class, in the sense of exclusionary groups of friends. But of course it’s too early to observe in such young kids – maybe it comes later and perhaps happens at other schools as well. Most of the parents are friendly and down-to-earth (which negates another worry I had about HKIS!), so one would hope the kids stay like that too. I've occasionally observed older primary kids in the playground and it seems a normal scene of kids all happily running around and playing together.

    In short, if a family is looking for a more formal academic environment which emphasizes the “3 Rs” right from the beginning, HKIS may not be the best fit. It probably best suits families who are looking for a sound American curriculum, and an approach which emphasizes soft skills and social confidence in the early years. These are just my initial views, which I hope are helpful – of course other HKIS parents with older kids will have deeper observations to offer.


  9. #19

    Join Date
    Apr 2010
    Posts
    10

    Elephantine,
    I guess it is true,i have been a little bit critical with these schools, i guess.
    I did not mean to be,and i have no vendetta,but i guess i simply wrote about the things which concerned me or bugged me.
    At the end of the day,i will be paying a lot of money for many years,so i need to get the whole thing right from the beginning,because changing schools is not an easy thing for kids.
    The upshot is, i was not really impressed with any of them to be honest.
    Not one school really stood out as an impressive outstanding school.
    I came out shaking my head with all of them.
    One i have not mentioned was HK Academy,where i practically had a heart attack going up the stairs.That did not impress either.
    German Swiss reminded me of a concentration camp.Their facilities are old,the curriculum is old,and the teachers are as just as old with as much enthusiasm.I was told how brilliant they all are in that school,but frankly,i doubt it.
    Brilliance is great,but,kicking kids out of the school if they do not meet their marks is outrageous and not what a school should be about.
    I am going to settle probably for HKIS,as work has a number of debentures which helps get the kids moved up the waiting list ladder,after their test results are ok.Well this is what they have said to me anyway.
    Maybe it is just me.
    Maybe i expect too much.
    I am not overjoyed with the whole HKIS school,and will certainly monitor the drug issue,since my kids are older than yours and the drug issue is far more relevant.I also do not like having extreme religious views poured down the kids throat,so let us see how they go.
    Alternatively,the one which made me laugh the most was the International Christian School,which demanded payment for the test exams in addition to the admission fee !
    I am glad that you find the school good,and i hope as time goes on my position changes.
    Put it this way though,compared to the schools and facilities of Singapore,HK leaves a lot to be desired.


  10. #20

    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Posts
    1

    HKIS reputation - reality vs. myth

    I see many posts at this site generally don't think much of HKIS, so I thought I offer a different opinion. As a current parent, I might be able to dispel some current the myths.

    a) Firstly, most parents at HKIS consider its middle school much better than its high school. This differs from an earlier post by someone else who says HKIS middle school is for parents who just want its kids to have fun. HKIS middle school is considered one of the most difficult to get in nowadays, and waiting list is longer than 3 years+. HKIS middle school has some of the most nurturing teachers. Also as one of the teachers say to us when my daughter first entered at 5th grade: everyone study here, no one really slack off! As my daughter just spent 3 years at HKIS middle school, I can tell you that this is true. What you don't find at HKIS middle school is they don't push students to the blink. What you DO find at HKIS middle school are very nurturing teachers who encourage students to compete against the best out there. Unfortunately the top group of HKIS middle students often ended up in high school at United World College, and many of the top US boarding schools, which is why HKIS middle school is better than its high school.

    b) Notwithstanding what I say in #a), HKIS high school is getting better, and is making a conscious effort to build itself into a top academic school in Hong Kong. My daughter (at 9th grade at HKIS) is applying to some of the top boarding schools in the US this year so we have done some research. The advice that I get from people is that if your child is a top student at HKIS, you're not worst off staying at HKIS than attending one of the top US boarding schools (HADES, Ten Admission Organization, and the likes) for college placement! That really says a lot. FYI, some of these advices are from people who themselves graduated from HADES for boarding school "and" HYPS for college.

    c) HKIS high school, because it is an int'l school and has more transient expat kids, does have a group of kids that are less disciplined. But then so does CIS, GSIC, and any other school out there. The point is if your child want to be good student, he/she can be, and there is a large group of very good students at HKIS (both middle school and high school)

    FYI, the group that my daughter hang out with at HKIS high school (not to brag but to illustrate) are honor/honor with distinction, Johns Hopkins CTY kids, competitive athletes, musicians (strings in our case), and student leaders/model UN type kids. That she basically hang out with smart kids that want to study but are pretty well rounded.

    Also I heard that from top US high schools' perspective, they rate HKIS, CIS, St Paul, DBS/DGS, etc the same level (in fact HKIS and CIS has a slight advantage). The point is basically both type of customers (one is long waiting list of parents/students who want to get into HKIS, the other is the next level of college and prep high school) think pretty highly of HKIS these days

    d) I will admit there are spolit brats at HKIS, but the point again is there are spolit brats at CIS (certain not less at CIS), DBS/DGS, and other top int'l and local schools too.

    e) In terms of whether HKIS ask parents to seek tutors for kids that lag behind. I would say that most subjects the teachers are very willing to help, and there are extra help (learning center) available where addition staff by additional teachers to offer tutoring. But it's probably true a few subject you will have to get a tutor. Also it's probably true that the top students are provided with even more resource / opportunity that is not advertised (i.e., in middle school my daughter weren't offer certain opportunities until AFTER she proved herself). On the latter point it's the same in other schools - I have a relative that was in exactly the same situation at St Paul and were offered a lot more resource.

    f) Yes it's true that HKIS compares its kids to US schools' national average and suburban schools. It is after all an American school.

    g) Not everyone at HKIS is religious. There is probably more requirement for teachers to be religious than for student to be. But they teach world religion at HKIS (so you don't have to be christian). Also religion is worth 1/2 the credit as other class so it is not the focus at HKIS. But they still have to teach some religion because it is run by a christian organization

    h) I can only say the strings orchestra at HKIS is top. But in strings at HKIS, you'll most likely have to get a tutor (though we don't) - they expect a lot, it's pretty high quality/tough, depending on how you look at it. Also HKIS tennis team and swim team is among the best in Hong Kong (sorry these are the only two teams I know)

    i) Mandarin is pretty so-so at HKIS. For that the only good int'l school are CIS in HK and ISB in Beijing.

    j) Last point, I don't know much about GSIC, but I get the impression that HKIS and CIS appropriate closer to US schools whereas GSIC is more European. If true, depends on where you want you kids to end up in the next level.
    good luck everyone


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