Canadian International School of Hong Kong

The Canadian International School of Hong Kong, (more often known as CDNIS) was originally opened in 1991 in Causeway Bay,Hong Kong. By 1999, CDNIS was relocated to its current location, Aberdeen. It now has over 1600 students from over 30 nationalities enrolled.

Terminology

Lower School

Lower School is a term that refers to students from Pre-Reception to Grade 6.

Upper School

Upper School is a term used to refer to students from Grades 7 to 12.

PreReception

Pre-Reception is a group of students who are in junior kindergarten and senior kindergarten.

History

In 1991, CDNIS was founded by a group of Canadians living in Hong Kong who volunteered their time to establish a school offering Canadian curricula. It was an initiative and recommendation made by the Hong Kong Government asking Canadian communities to help in providing Canadian education to Canadians living in Hong Kong. It started out as a non-profitable organization with a mission of providing affordable quality Canadian education. It was home to only 81 students in a rented campus at a nominal fee in East Hospital Road in Causeway Bay from the Education Department.

The School continued to grow and now offers schooling from Pre-Reception to Grade 12. The School produced its first graduates at the end of the 1998-1999 school year. In 1998 the school also relocated to its present spot in 36 Nam Long Shan Road.

The current Head of School is Dave McMaster. The Upper School principal and vice-principal are John Jalsevac and Tim Kaiser respectively. The Lower School principal and vice-principal are Alan Dick and Dean Croy respectively.

The Canadian International School of Hong Kong won the High Flyers in Education award for 2007 and 2008. This award was given to the school who is known as the leader in providing international education in Hong Kong, voted by an independent panel of business executives and media members.

Floor Plan

The School has 14 levels for Lower and Upper School. The first level is the swimming pool. The sixth and twelfth levels are the two cafeterias. There is an underground parking lot on the sixth floor and a school bus parking lot on the seventh floor. It was built like this so that students travelling by school bus can enter and leave school without facing the elements. The sixth, ninth and eleventh floor each has a playground. The eleventh floor playground is well covered so Lower School students can play there when it is raining. There is a big gym used by Upper School students for school events, and on the third floor, a small gym used by the Lower School students. The fifth floor houses the school's official CISPA (Canadian International School Parent's Association) Forum.

Facilities

The Canadian International School of Hong Kong is situated at 36 Nam Long Shan Road with stunning views over Aberdeen Harbour and towards the Lamma Channel. The award-winning building was built on a sloping 10,200 square metre site. The completed building has 29,500 square metres of floor space on 14 levels.

Uniquely designed to take in the views and sunlight, the building provides separate classroom blocks and playground areas for the two levels of education – Lower and Upper Schools. The classrooms and playgrounds are integrated along a unique "spinal" hallway, which connects them to the library, cafeteria, gymnasium and school office.

Well-known Canadian Architect Norman Grey-Noble, who specialises in the design of educational facilities in Canada, worked together with P&T Architects to create a unique and innovative campus. Imported materials such as Canadian native cedar wood were incorporated into the design to ensure a truly Canadian experience.

Art, Music and Dance Studios

The School has two art studios on the seventh floor. They are used by Grades 5-12. Students study the art of drawing and sculpture-making in these studios.

There are two band rooms which Upper School uses as well as a music computer lab to make recordings. These rooms are acoustically enhanced to limit sound travelling outside the rooms.

The drama and dance studio is located on the third floor where they are used by all grades for classes.

Cafeteria

The School has two cafeterias catered by Chartwell's Ltd (HK). One is on the sixth level and the other is on the twelfth level. Breakfast is offered for students and staff in the morning from the opening of school to the start of classes. During the break period from 9:25 AM to 9:35 AM, a snack service is offered, which starts again at 2:35 PM to 4:00 PM. Lunch is offered at HKD$27 for Pre-Reception to grade ones if paid monthly. It becomes HKD$29 from grade two onwards and is HKD$32 if paid up front. Both cafeterias serve lunch from 11:20 AM to 12:40 PM. This is to allow different grades to eat at different times to avoid over population at any given time.

Computer Labs

The school uses Apple's newest Intel iMacs, MacBooks, Mac minis, and MacPros. There are five computer labs, including a computer bar in the library.

Library

CDNIS has a school library which is used by everyone. It is located on the tenth floor. The library offers fiction and non-fiction books for Upper School and Lower School. There is a "drama pit" located inside the "iMac Book Bar". This "Bar" consisting of 26 iMacs is a circle of iMacs which are available from the opening to the closing hours of the library. They are used mainly for online resources, projects and homework.

Radio

The School has its own radio broadcast online. It is manned by students in grades 12. The radio booth is equipped with microphones, an audio mixer and encoders. The Clive radio slogan is: "it's your radio". It plays podcasts made by students.

Transportation

The transportation service at the School is run by Castle Brothers Limited, who consists of a fleet of 41 buses, provides transport to and from the School to over 90% of Hong Kong Island and 35% of Kowloon (including Ma On Shan, Clearwater Bay and Shatin). Castle Brothers also runs a limited service during Saturday and Summer School times.

Weight Training Centre

Overlooking the big gym, there is a weight training centre used by teachers and students.

Arts Complex

As part of the final phase of development, the School is embarking on an ambitious project to provide a venue for the fine and performing arts. The HK$100 million Leo Lee Arts Centre will increase the opportunities for students and the community to experience the arts as they were meant to be experienced, in an outstanding acoustic hall. The Grand opening of the new Art Center was on the May/29/2008. The Arts Centre also recently presented the school's first musical; a reproduction of the story by Hans Christian Anderson, Honk! Jr.

As of the beginning of the 2008-2009 school year, the Leo Lee Arts Centre (more commonly known as the LLAC in CDNIS) has two art rooms, one for Upper School (Room 518) and one for Lower School.