HKIS Pages
HKIS Pages is the digital home for school publications like DragonTales, the Annual Report of Giving, special graduation features and more.
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That’s right — in the High School the conventionally-named “Introduction to Chemical Engineering” course introduces students to the field of chemical engineering through roasting, grinding and brewing coffee beans and applying this knowledge towards developing the perfect cup of coffee using the least amount of energy. This curriculum, developed by University of California Davis, has been adopted by a few leading schools, including HKIS sister school Concordia International School Shanghai.
The course, taught by High School chemistry teacher Joanne Brown (a closet tea drinker; don’t read too much into that), brings together students in grades 10, 11 and 12 from all levels of science classes. Students hone fundamental skills such as organizing data sets, graphing techniques, as well as gaining tangible experience creating and observing different processes, such as the aforementioned flux (Engineering 101: this is the movement of particles across a surface; for coffee, the finer the grind, the more surface area, therefore more movement across the particles–the higher the flux, the richer the flavor).
When DragonTales popped in for a visit, students were in the process of caffeine extraction. They had all worked independently to control a variable–a bean, a roast type, different grind sizes, different temperatures of water, different brew methods.
Student Isaac Cheng explained his task for the day. “Last week I started to ferment these beans with yeast to experiment with increasing the flavor depth and complexity. Different bacteria and culture creates different flavors. The easiest one to get is yeast, which I can get in Wellcome, so I used yeast!”
“Especially when you try new things, you have to research it, you have to learn more, which is very interesting,” he adds.
Ms. Brown can see clearly the learning that takes place for students with all levels of experience. “Students are going to leave the course and understand an engineering process that can be applied to a lot of materials around us that come from raw sources and have to be processed and made into what we use.”
This course showcases the types of classes that the High School is offering to students. It’s a “design thinking” approach (how do students problem-solve creatively), blended with a choice-based approach (how can students pick a course that is interesting to them, so they learn core concepts in an accessible and fun way). Keep an eye on the High School–there’s more to come!
Isaac Cheng
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Therapy Dog Helps Students Relax
The HKIS HS Library and Counseling Department worked with child psychologist, Dr. Rick Smith, and his colleague, Tucker, to show how therapy dogs help students relax.
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They Call Him Mr Y
Meidad Yehudayan performed and taught around the world before focusing his time and talent on inspiring young musicians at HKIS. They call him Mr. Y, and he has been the heart of the Upper Primary Strings program for over two decades.
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The Power of Statistics
Teaching Applied Statistics helps students be more than skeptics of data. They not only question, but apply what they learn and better understand the power of statistics.
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Dr. Kim: Three Years in the Middle School
Dr. Connie Kim’s time at HKIS will set a foundation for Middle School students to traject into High School with a strong sense of self and a clear pathway to build skills for the future.
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Busy at Play, Busy at Work
Over the years, our teachers have become experts at guiding play to create genuine learning experiences, but this has raised the question: How do we assess learning in this context?
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The Past in the Present
HKIS Students “speak” to Holocaust survivors through Dimensions in Testimony, a virtual reality program brought to HKIS by the Hong Kong Holocaust and Tolerance Center.
