Secondary Campus Weekly Update

Dear Parents,

I want to express my gratitude to all the families who have signed up to represent a country and host a stall at our upcoming International Day celebration on Thursday 13th June. Your enthusiasm and commitment to showcasing the rich cultural diversity within our school community is greatly appreciated. The stalls you have volunteered to set up will undoubtedly provide our students with a unique opportunity to explore different traditions, cuisines, and customs from around the world. This immersive experience aligns with NAISHK’s mission of fostering global perspectives and promoting cultural understanding.

We still have some countries that need representation, if you haven’t already done so, please consider signing up. International Day promises to be a vibrant and memorable occasion, but its success relies on the involvement of our dedicated parent community. Together, we can create an unforgettable experience for our students, celebrating the diversity that makes our school truly exceptional.

INTERNATIONAL DAY

Parent volunteers needed!

Key information:
Date of Secondary International Day: Thursday 13th June
Venue: Kwun Tong Campus Auditorium, 2nd Floor
Time of Exhibition: Open to students from 8.50am to 12.45pm
Exhibition set-up times: Wednesday 12th June 5.00pm - 6.00pm and/or Thursday 13th June 7.15 am – 8.40am
Lunch: Sandwich lunch and refreshments provided by the PTA for parent volunteers on Thursday 13th June

If you are free to support this event, please complete the link below by Friday 24th May at 2pm. The PTA will then be in touch with you.

Parent Volunteer Sign Up

Thank you very much for your support.

Year 10 & 12 Parents’ Evening
Our Year 10 & 12 Parents’ Evening event will take place this Thursday 23rd May and will once again follow a hybrid model with appointments available to parents either in school or online.

• In school appointments available: 4.00pm – 6.00pm
• Online appointments available: 6.15pm – 7.45pm

Thank you to those parents who have already made their appointments. If you have yet to do so, please click here to book your appointments before 2pm on Wednesday 22nd.

SPORTING UPDATE
On Monday 13th May, the U14 girls Netball team went to HKA for their second match of the season. We knew going into the match that this team is currently top of our group and was going to be tough opposition. This did not deter our girls and even though by half time, HKA had a considerable lead, captain Isabel T wanted to make some drastic changes to the positions to see if that could work and it did, as HKA scored a lot less in the second half of the match than the first and we had far more chances to score. Even though the girls lost the match, they were still in high spirits and appreciated how good their opponents were. They have 2 more matches left of the group stages to see if they can make it to the finals.

TERM 3 COMPUTING
The Computer Scientists at NAISHK have been busy learning and honing their 3D Media Creation, App Design and Coding, and 3D Modelling skills this term.

Year 7s developed their knowledge and understanding of using a computer to produce 3D models in Tinkercad. They first familiarised themselves with working in a 3D space, moving, resizing, duplicating objects, creating hollow objects, and combining multiple objects to recreate a 3D model of their favourite cartoon character. The students planned, developed, and evaluated their and their peers’ 3D models.

Year 8s developed an app for every possible need. The students went through the design thinking process of creating their own mobile app using the App Lab from code.org. Building on the programming concepts they used in previous units, each student came up with an original idea of an app, designed it on paper, performed user research to identify what was already available, wrote the code for it in JavaScript with either blocks or text, before finally evaluating and publishing it for the world to use.

Year 9s learning was inspired entirely by the MIT Challenges, Build Better Energy and Build Better Everything. The students used the skills acquired in our previous iMovie Video Editing unit of work to present their Build Better Energy STEAM project, in which they devised creative ways to harness the energy potential of magnets. Year 9s followed it up with the Build Better Everything challenge, where they used 3D Modelling software to design and create manufactured objects of their choice. Students chose an object, learned its story, and made a change to improve the manufacturing process and sustainability. Year 9 used SketchUp, a software commonly used in architecture and interior design.

In Year 10, the students have started to investigate the inner workings of a computer, starting with the hardware. They have a better understanding of why input and output devices are required and what the purposes of sensors are. In programming and problem-solving, students used different methods to design and construct their solutions to a problem, including flowcharts and code. They can now complete a trace table to reveal the purpose of a given algorithm.

The highlight of the term was the Year 10-led STEAM Puzzle Hunt organised by a selected group of students during our most recent Open Day. Students designed and ran puzzle-solving, structure building, morse code decoding, and message deciphering activities on the 4th and 6th floors. The challenges culminated in a presentation to parents and their children by the Year 10 students on the benefits of a STEAM education. It was a resounding success!

Year 12s focused this term on learning and applying Object-Oriented Programming techniques to solve real-life problems using code. The students planned, designed, coded in Java, and tested their solutions to a mini-IA. They experienced for the first time what professional programmers go through. They used Java, as it is a widely used programming language in both academic and professional settings. Its prevalence in industry means that learning Java prepares students for real-world applications, internships, and future careers in technology.

Sorting Algorithms

Years 11 and 13 exhibited remarkable resilience and determination during the past two years. Their performance has been outstanding, given the prolonged COVID restrictions in Hong Kong just before their examination years. We extend our best wishes to them as they are amid their final examinations and await updates on their future endeavours.

“There was so much time during Paper 1! I even had enough time to do the long division question. The last hour was just me checking for any silly mistakes.”
- Quote from one of the Year 11 students after their first examination paper

That’s a great sign of being well-prepared. All the best of luck!

UPCOMING EVENTS – TERM 3

• Thursday 23rd May – Years 10 & 12 Parents Evening
• Thursday 30th May – Year 13 Graduation
• Friday 7th June – Secondary Swimming Gala (Student Only Event)
• Thursday 13th June - Secondary International Day

Have a lovely week ahead.

Fiona Thorndike
Head of Secondary