The Pod

“We want to spread positivity in everyone’s school life, especially amidst the pandemic.”
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Since returning to campus this semester, the Student Council, led by four Year 12 students, started to actively engage in school activities. Together, they want to try their best to voice all student concerns and "be different and do something unprecedented," as Carson, the General Advisor, said in a nutshell. Cherry, the Creativity Director, reflected on her decision to join the Council: "We want to provide more help and assistance to students, to help them voice their wants and needs, and to enrich connections between students and teachers."
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"What most people don't realize is that we can't put 90% of our proposals into action," commented Arianna, the Student Council President. Indeed, despite having many fabulous ideas, it is difficult to get the show on the road with various restrictions put in place, many of which resulted from the pandemic. "We couldn't do many things that are considered 'traditional' in our school, but we still try to enrich students' school life here" added Suki, the Communication Consultant.
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And even when plans are put into action, students only see the final product, not the lengthy meetings between Council members and the School Leadership Team, nor the countless hours spent making the most out of the budget given.
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Already, the Council is ready to end this year with "A December to Remember," which is heavily inspired by its predecessor — the "Christmas Ball". Enlisting the help of the Prefect team, the Council wishes to give all students a celebration for their hard work and perseverance through the school semester. The plan does not stop there, though. The four discussed the possibility of relocating the vending machines back to the fifth floor and more events to come.
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To cooperate with the Council, students can be more proactive about sharing their opinions about school life with Council members. Don't worry! With such a great squad of student leaders, the Council is sure to have all students' backs!
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Writer: Man Shun Tse
Photos: Lillian Guo

Christmas Concert

Recently, a Christmas concert took place, and YCIS students from lower to upper secondary once again showcased their many talents, jubilant and ecstatic about the live performances. Performances varied from orchestra to solo harp performance to guitar poetry and choir, stimulating the holiday atmosphere.

The concert was viewed via zoom as a live stream through classrooms for most students and staff. Students clapped and sang along to the famous traditional Christmas songs performed in their classrooms, welcoming the Christmas spirit.

Jeremy Williams, the music director of YCIS, YWIES, conductor of YCIS orchestras, was interviewed. When asked about the Christmas concert, he enthusiastically stated that his favorite aspect was performing in front of audiences. Mr. Williams believes that communicating music to people through performances is essential. He recalled, “recordings kept us going, but nothing can replace a live concert.”

The biggest challenge hosting the concert was the rehearsal restrictions. There was limited time, and they could only rehearse for 30 minutes. Nonetheless, the students worked hard and gave a spectacular performance.

Despite the difficulty in rehearsing, the concert was thrilling with our performers behaving exceptionally. The students were incredibly dedicated, and their passion was extraordinary. Overall it was an enjoyable experience for all, both performers and the audience, and we hope to have more performances in the future.

Merry Christmas and happy holidays!

Writer: Nicole Huang
Photos: Cherry Lin

Portrait of Ms. Keider
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Music is a familiar and comforting aspect of everyday life. For Ms. Keider, teaching music has always been her aspiration.
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Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Ms. Keider’s love for music (and the flute) blossomed under the encouragement of her teachers. As an eager and sociable student, she joined many after-school clubs like Band, Choir, and Drama club.
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“I really loved school, so when I became a teacher, I decided that I wanted to create the same atmosphere that my teachers gave me: a place to be creative, to have fun, and to try something new.”
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Her passion sent her on a journey to teach children around the world. As a travel enthusiast, she previously visited Asia, which sparked her desire to teach there. “Funny enough, I thought I was going to be in Thailand or Japan now, but Hong Kong hired me first!” She added that a mysterious source at the time informed her that YCIS had ‘some of the best kids’ in Hong Kong, which at present she said she could confidently confirm.
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More than that, Ms. Keider’s commitment to giving back is a big part of her identity. Taking a trip down memory lane, she recalled a fundraiser she organized in which 42000USD were raised to sponsor her school’s underprivileged students on a trip to Europe. “I took students who had never left Ohio before, which was really exciting!”
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In the classroom, Ms. Keider encourages her students to have fun and learn. One of the biggest things she wishes her students would remember is that “Music is just music.” She constantly reminds her students to “chill out” when overwhelmed with tests and coursework. “Making mistakes proves you’re human. You don’t need perfection in music.”
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Ending the interview, Ms. Keider expressed that “Your best is always good enough; If you do your best, no one can expect anything more of you” - a well-needed reminder before the mocks next year.
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Writer: Claire Chen
Photos: Charlotte Shaw

Impact beyond the school — EPC's Plastic Bottle Competition
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While ascending the A-block staircase, one might notice green posters on walls right next to the windows, and on the tables lay cardboard boxes, perhaps with several plastic bottles inside. These are plastic bottle collection points for a competition set up by the Environmental Protection Committee (EPC). Students from each year group in lower secondary bring in plastic bottles they used, and at the end of the year group with the most plastic bottles submitted wins a prize.
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Led by Carson from Year 12, members of the EPC have been collecting and counting plastic bottles from each collection point and recycling bin. All bottles were then recycled at reverse vending machines that returned 10 cents per bottle, all of which were donated to the Community Chest of Hong Kong or otherwise recycled responsibly.
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"Students usually buy drinks at school and don't recycle, which is a shame," commented Carson. After noticing that the government had set up reverse vending stations and community green stations, though, he realized that by organizing competitions such as this, the EPC would be able to impact not just the school community but also the local community well. He also hopes that it will raise awareness about clean recycling.
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And there was progress. Initially, students brought in plastic that could not be recycled, and not many students knew about this competition. After informing student representatives of each year group, though, the number of plastic bottles increased tenfold, with hundreds of accepted plastic bottles collected each week. "Seeing the large number of bottles collected, and knowing that we're taking them out of landfills and oceans, are very satisfying" Carson noted.
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Before concluding, Carson advised any students wanting to organize something like his to start early and have a fully-engaged team. There should be great awareness among students to ensure that a positive impact can be made. "Also, don't do it for the students -- tell them what to do, so there will be a lasting impact".
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Writer: Man Shun Tse
Photos: Gigi Lau, Lucille Ngai

Portrait of Mr Dewet

Physics is all about seeing concepts come alive in the real world. It’s a way of investigating the “hows” and “whys” behind things we observe and weaving them into stories. And yes, story-telling plays a meaningful role even in subjects as technical as physics.

Finding these stories is what got Mr. Dewet into physics in the first place. Diving into his hobbies is a good starting point for this narrative. As a self-proclaimed stereotypical guy, Mr. Dewet admitted he’s all about the “guys’ stuff.” Hunting, cars, legos, scuba-diving… the pattern is self-evident. To develop these hobbies, he was inspired to learn the mechanisms behind them and found the perfect companion; physics. Motions of cars and bullets are governed by principles like momentum, acceleration, and energy - all of which happen to be his favorite physics concepts. Ultimately, seeking these stories within his hobbies turned physics into his profession.

Described as “a great way to transfer concepts [to students],” Mr. Dewet also tries to bring stories into his lessons. He would recount “ridiculous stories” about concepts he’s teaching and often found students coming back to say that it was those stories that triggered relevant concepts during exams, once again attesting to the power of narratives. Within story-telling, hypotheticals and analogies are among his favorite tricks. “Let’s say you abduct 100 Year 3 students and have them run on grass in rows. When they run into sand at an angle, the ones on edge would slow down first and tilt the entire wavefront.” That is the principle of refraction described, à la Dewet.

If mastering the subject has a secret sauce, it may well be seeing the world through the lens of physics. Mr. Dewet reveals that it’s no difficult task to ace physics exams by plowing your way through past papers. However, true mastery comes with “conceptual understanding,” which fundamentally arrives when you start applying stories with physics principles to everyday phenomena, where the sky’s the limit.

Writer: Ada Wong
Photos: Yvonne Liang

Autumn Concert - Glastonbury takes on YCIS.

After two years of a COVID-ridden, recording-only music scene, YCIS embraces the breath of fresh air it has long yearned for. With dual live shows for Lower and Upper Secondary, performances this year were a mixture of music and dance, ranging from orchestral arrangements and acoustic guitars.

The concert was hosted in the style of the Glastonbury Festival, an annual event taking place in Somerset, England, and was met with acclaim from students, parents, and teachers alike. One student proudly exclaimed: "many new faces have been recognized and have been able to present their talents meaningfully."

Another expressed their desire for the Autumn Concert "to be the first of many enthralling live shows yet to come."

The atmosphere was described to be "warm" and "touching, with one parent saying how "the concert brought [them] back to the past," noting that "Eternal Flame' was one of the big hits from back then."

We hope our performers will continue to grace the stage again for similar events soon.

Writer: Matthew Chung
Photos: Arianna Chan, YC AV Team

CURIOSITY AND TRANSFERABLE SKILLS TALK (BY PROFESSOR XAVIER PICK) – AUP

The Advanced University Preparation Programme is a club operated by the Careers and University Guidance Office (CUGO), to offer opportunities for the most academically gifted students within the school to improve their critical thinking skills, and expand their breadth of knowledge beyond the classroom. The club, now entering the second year of its inception, has offered its first-ever live lecture due to previous coronavirus restrictions.

The speaker invited by the AUP this time was Professor Xavier Pick from the Art University of Bournemouth, an institution in the UK. As a respected figure within the art profession, he taught life lessons in curiosity, passion and preparation to attend prestigious higher education institutions through the lens of his artistic career.

One of the most memorable lessons students were taught revolved around a single word: “interdisciplinary”. The AUP has students who specialize in various subjects including science, creative fields and languages. However, Professor Pick demonstrated that abilities aren’t self-contained within each subject; instead, it is a person’s innate soft skills, particularly passion, creativity and ideas which can be traded on the global stage. Students were also reminded to “document, preserve and archive your ideas”, and to get candid advice from others, in order to reach their fullest potential.

Whether with the amazingly intricate war art sketchbooks Professor Pick put together, or his wise speech on integrating art with other subjects, students were no doubt blown away by the lecture. Hoi Kiu Chan said of the speech, “after a full year and more of attending AUP sessions online, my first in-person AUP session was quite eye opening. Despite it being based around ‘art’, we were also able to use this to explore other ideas. Hearing Professor Pick’s experience as a war artist was one of the most unique experiences of my school life.” Another student, believed that the speech was a “thought provoking, fun and informative experience”. There is no doubt that the night was memorable for all!

Writer: Carson Chan
Photos: Lucille Ngai

Portrait of Mr Aber
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"Economics is an important subject that everyone should learn about - which is why I chose to teach it", said Economics & Business teacher Mr Aber, our newest addition to the YCIS family.
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Originally of Bangladesh descent but born and raised in Saudi Arabia, Mr Aber has been in Hong Kong for the past 11 years, where he completed his undergraduate and masters' degrees. He explained that it was his friend who led him to YCIS and recommended him for the job. "I applied, and it all worked out!" (He admitted that his friend was Physics teacher Mr Sultan, who many students may know.)
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Apart from his passion for business and accounting, he is also a dedicated football fan. "Back in Saudi Arabia, football was huge, like, it was as big as rugby here in Hong Kong, so I grew up with the sport." One of his other favourite pastimes is watching anime or reading manga. "More recently, I've also developed a passion for chess after watching Queen's Gambit!" He mentioned excitedly.
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When Mr Aber was in High School, he was always one of the top students in his class. "One of the ways I managed to do that was by simplifying the ideas and concepts, so it made sense to me first… following the markscheme and knowing the right words, could come later." Therefore, he tries to incorporate this philosophy into his teaching by focusing on the big picture and then dissecting the concept as it goes.
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Transitioning to teacher life has been hectic, but he remarked that he was pleasantly surprised by "how brilliant" his students are. "It's enlightening because it forces me to change my teaching style to make the content more challenging, to make sure my students are learning (and you know, not dozing off in class)", he joked.
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When reflecting on his past experiences, he said, "Things started to get more challenging when I started university, and I was stubborn and unwilling to accept that I was down." Thus, he encourages students to be resilient and persistent in the face of adversity, arguing that "it's not about how hard you fall; it's about how you get back up."
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Writer: Claire Chen
Photos: Isabel Hong

A Case of the Tuesdays - Mentoring Programme

Recently, the school has implemented a host of new policies, from the no-phones policy to the keyholders policy. One such approach, which has become one of the most noticeable, is that of mentoring.

The YCIS Student Mentoring Programme is a weekly program that places students of all different year levels in mentoring sessions with members of our teaching staff. In the program, students are free to share insights and gain knowledge and perspective regarding academic matters (especially relevant for upper school students), socialize and bond with students across year levels (especially relevant for new students), consult teachers about academic queries or simply stretch their legs and relax at the end of a strenuous day of classes.

“With the new mentoring sessions, I can make friends with people I would never see otherwise,” said one student of the program, which now comprises our Tuesday form time. Indeed, it seems many do see the program as beneficial, especially with some teachers organizing such thought-provoking and entertaining activities as desert island survival simulations, in the case of one mentoring group.

However, the mentoring program also has its fair share of naysayers within the student body. “It’s way too short to do anything impactful or meaningful,” said one student, “the time period allocated to mentoring sessions is simply too limited.” Another student, too, voiced his opposition to the program, stating that “in my experience, most of the activities are not given enough forethought and do not contribute to the intended goal of student bonding.”

Many students are still getting used to this novel policy and its changes to the student experience. However, we trust that the mentoring program will ultimately be valuable as a means of building bridges of knowledge and friendship.

Writer: Ruben Tam
Photos: Lucille Ngai

What started as a simple idea has blossomed into a CAS Project inviting students to participate in the gym. Chloe from Year 13, along with three of her classmates, recently initiated a ‘3v3 basketball tournament’, filling the gym with loud squeaks of trainers rubbing against the floor, rough thumps as players rushed around the court.
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Coming from the school’s basketball team, Chloe’s team missed the enthusiasm and excitement from playing basketball — all basketball games were cancelled for the last two years due to the pandemic. Hence, they wanted to re-evoke the passion for basketball that everyone shared but also welcomed anyone interested.
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Regarding the nature of the event itself, she stated that the tournament would be easier to organise by just having a simple 3v3 match instead of an actual game. It would also be more convenient for students to find their teams.
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Not only were the players ecstatic, but the process of organising the tournament was also largely positive — Chloe’s team received support from many teachers and students. And that’s not all. She was positively surprised by the many students who had shown interest in the tournament. Seeing all the effort and hard work paying off “was very satisfying and comforting,” she commented. “I hope that this can enrich students’ school life here — school is not always just about academics.”
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In general, she thought that the experience was meaningful and fun. The enthusiasm from students motivated her to persevere through her busy IB life, and she felt accomplished that she was able to enrich students’ school life. She was also proud of her team’s resilience — they were able to work together whenever a problem arose.
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Finally, she encouraged any students interested in organizing something like this not to be afraid in the future. “Don’t let fear influence choice! You know — do what you want, and you will get something in return.”
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Writer: Man Shun Tse
Photographer: Lillian Guo, Isabel Hong

Portrait of Mr. Douglas Kane

Teaching has been the utmost passion for Mr. Kane. He is an English teacher from Scotland who is currently teaching both IB and IGCSE. The first school that he taught in was in South London, but he moved around to other places such as the United Arab Emirates and Vietnam.

Originally teaching outside of Asia, Mr. Kane moved to Hong Kong 17 years ago and has primarily been in a senior position in his previous schools. Before coming to YCIS, he left Hong Kong for Dubai. However, the pandemic became a struggle in that region; therefore, he returned to Hong Kong, with YCIS being the 4th school he taught in Hong Kong.

Through his many years of experience, teaching was not the only satisfaction from his takeaway. He remembers his “crazy school trips” from his previous schools. Ranging from dangerous mountain climbing, which he recalled “creeps me out just thinking about it,” to his art trip to Paris, where he almost lost his students. He also enjoyed cycling trips to China. “I hope to make different yet amazing memories in YCIS just like these fond memories!”

Mr. Kane describes himself with what he called the 3Es: “Enthusiastic, energetic, and experienced,” portraying his in-class attitude when teaching students. When asked about his favorite aspect of YCIS so far, he remarked that “The students are, by far, the best part of YCIS.”

A challenge that Mr. Kane faces is the overwhelming classes that he has to teach. “I used to be in senior positions with fewer classes, so coming back to Hong Kong with many classes is something I need to adapt to.” He also experienced teaching in a traditional English school versus education in an international school with the IB program. Though, these challenges have also become an uplifting motivation for him, as he adores the idea of teaching students and spreading knowledge.

Welcome, Mr. Kane, a new addition to the English department!

Writer: Arianna Chan
Photos: Suki Lo

"This group, right here. It's going to be hype!"

As school life is starting to come back this academic year, we welcome our four new House Captains who stepped up to make a change.

Joleen Dang, the Red House Captain, remarked that many challenges were brought upon us through the past two years. Students' faces soon turned into squares of profile pictures, while school spirit drastically died down, activities being harder to create with "very little to no excitement". Joleen hopes to encourage more involvement, setting an example as a role model to lift everyone's mood in these difficult times. Jethro Liu, the Blue House Captain, also agrees and hopes to seize this opportunity to make a positive impact. He describes himself as being always open to new ideas with the face of a reliable and compassionate leader. He believes that many more activities outside of sports could be improved, including more music events or team building games.

When asked about the essential elements of being a House Captain, Amber Wai humbly stated, "I can not say that I am the star player at every sports event. However, I believe that a House Captain requires responsibility, teamwork, and dedication. That includes taking the initiative with the rest of my team. With these qualities, I can lead Green House to success!" Hanson Ye, the Yellow House Captain, hopes to encourage a positive mentality with students. "Though winning the most points is crucial, I believe that whoever has the most enjoyment are the real champions." He aims to help students reduce their stress through fun activities whilst achieving the most points as a team.

So far, no sneak peeks could be revealed about possible events. However, the captains sincerely hope to maximise students' school spirit and happiness, bringing the best activities despite still going through the pandemic.

With these four promising leaders, this year will be full of success and hope!

Writer: Arianna Chan
Photos: Suki Lo