The Korean International School (KIS) in Hong Kong turned learning into a festive experience at two recent events supporting Operation Santa Claus (OSC), the annual fundraising drive held by the South China Morning Post and public broadcaster RTHK.
Students in the school’s international section took the lead in organising the on-campus cultural fair, Christmas market and charity Christmas card sales in December.
Backing OSC for the 25th year, KIS contributed half of the proceeds from the events to the campaign.
Daniel Hilton, principal of KIS’s international section, said the activities aligned with the school’s mission, which includes encouraging action.
“Getting involved with something that distributes things that will improve people’s lives is action,” he said. “That action is meant to make a difference to the betterment of humanity.”
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KIS students represent more than 30 nationalities.
The international section’s primary division held the cultural fair on December 10. It featured 12 game booths, each representing a country, run by Year Six students as a project under the International Primary Curriculum (IPC). The children were graded on the project.
“Guided by the IPC, each project encompassed learning goals for geography, history, international mindedness, design, technology and innovation,” said Grace Yen, vice principal and head of the primary division of the school’s international section.
Year Six student Theta Lai Tsz-lok helped organise the France booth. “I learned a lot about their geography, history and people. I collaborated with my group to build models for the activities that we shared,” he said.
The secondary division of KIS’s international section held the Christmas Market on December 12, featuring 20 booths offering games and products designed or handmade by students.
“Students were encouraged to collaborate, discuss, and experiment to create enjoyable and innovative games for their form groups,” said Gina Dong Ying-ji, head of Key Stage Five and the teacher who organised the Christmas Market.
Meanwhile, the stall representing students with special educational needs (SEN) attending the school’s Springboard programme offered an interesting speed-memory drawing game. These students also created Christmas cards for a charity sale earlier in December.
“We made colourful designs and added lots of Christmas-related elements,” said Adrian Lin Shi-tang, a Springboard Post-16 student. “We sold the cards to the school community, and [half of the proceeds] will go to Operation Santa Claus. I felt pretty good.”
OSC is funding 11 projects of worthy causes. It has raised HK$383 million (US$49.1 million) for 353 charitable projects since its launch in 1988.
