Jim Handrich –Friend, Champion and Guide

The Alumni Magazine of HKIS Vol. 9 • Summer 2007

A Brief History of HKIS

It was in the mid-1960s during a period of industrialization and robust economic growth in Hong Kong that a handful of visionary businessmen

worked with the Lutheran Church to start a new school. They had in mind an institution that would provide a quality “American-style” education to the same high standards as schools in the US.

This new school would help to make Hong Kong a home away from home for the children of expatriates relocating to the city. It would be among the first schools in Asia to educate the whole child: mind, body and spirit. They named

the school after the city itself: Hong Kong International School (HKIS).

The first classes were operated out of makeshift premises, including residential flats on Chung Hom Kok Road, in September 1966. However, with the collaboration of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, the Hong Kong

Government and the American community in Hong Kong, in less than a year, the cornerstone was laid on the school’s first permanent building on the southside of Hong Kong Island, overlooking Repulse Bay.

Since then HKIS has continued to expand and evolve. Today, some 2,593 students and 480 faculty and staff occupy the two separate campuses of Hong Kong International School. The school is currently undergoing its fourth major infrastructure development in as many decades, with work underway to expand and upgrade its campuses as outlined in the school’s 2005 Master Facilities Plan.

Although HKIS has grown well beyond what the school’s founders would have imagined, their central vision to provide an outstanding education serving a broad range of students in a Christian setting remains the same. In fact, from its inception, the school, in the words of its Mission Statement has successfully balanced being grounded in the Christian faith while respecting the spiritual lives of all. Looking back, we have accomplished much, though it is on the future we focus, looking to move on to new levels of excellence. See our special section on page 40. n

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DragonTales is published twice a year by the Office of Institutional Advancement of Hong Kong International School.

Sylvia EvansActing Director/Alumni Relations Manager

Karen LiPublic Relations Manager

James ManningCommunications & Publications Manager

Berinda Kuo ’96Development Coordinator

Loretta FungSecretary

DragonTales EditorsSylvia EvansJames Manning

Alumni Board 2006-07PresidentKenneth Koo ’79

Vice-PresidentRohini Balani Chotirmal ’89

MembersLincoln Chan ’88Anjali Daryanani ’07Sam Devnani ’90Robert Dorfman ’72Justin Hardman ’99Ken Rohrs (faculty)David Suen ’07Chantal Teodorovich ’92Joyce Yin ’89

E-Board MembersAngela Chih ’06David Christian ’69David Kohl (former faculty)

Designed and printed by Impressions Design & Print Ltd

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CONTENTSMessages

Head of School Alumni Board President 40th Anniversary Celebration Committee Chair

aluMni news

Alumni Homecoming 2006Alumni Gathering in Florence, Italy Alumni Bids Farewell to Long Serving Faculty

CaMPus news

Annual Fund Reaches New Heights40th Anniversary Celebration Continues

FaCulTY PROFile

Larger than Life – Jim Handrich

aluMni PROFile

Michelle Hoeppner ’94Taku Hirano ’91

Breathing Fire into Web 2.0by Justin Hardman ’99 & UP teacher David Carpenter

Class nOTes

nOTiCes

sPeCial RePORT

History Book

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Volume 9 • Summer 2007

Fulfilling Aspirations and Dreams

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Dear Alumni,

Our 2006-07 school year has been filled with celebrations to mark our

40th anniversary. These started with the

All School Gathering in August and con-cluded with the 40th Reunion this month in Hong Kong [June 14-19].

At the Reunion, we welcomed three hundred alumni, faculty, staff, ex-Board leaders and past Heads of School for an extended weekend of celebrations. Visit the 40th Anniversary website (http:// dragonnet.hkis.edu.hk/reunion/) to see who attended.

Our many celebrations this year have served to strengthen bonds and build com-munity spirit. They have seen the HKIS school community – past and present – celebrate our shared history.

This history has been woven together in our History Book – HongKongInternationalSchool:40YearsofLearningandService. It is being published this month to coincide with the Reunion and the conclusion of our 40th year. The book has been made possi-ble with the generous financial support of the HKIS Alumni Association. Its near-200 pages provide a colorful account of our first four decades. Please see our Special His-tory Book feature on page 40.

Our book is as representative of our history as possible. Inevitably, there will be some omissions. If you notice people or events we have missed, please let us know. Your suggestions [as well as photos and archives] will allow us to continue to build on the book so it becomes part of a

broader living history. With your help, in the future HKIS will be able to define it-self with much more involvement of stake-holders than was possible while putting this book together. We plan to roll out this “living history” via a website version of the printed book. Please email your updates and pictures to alumni@hkis.edu.hk

This month Jim Handrich retires after 24 years at HKIS. Jim has left a unique and indelible mark on generations of students, teachers and staff, including my sons, Jonathan and Eric, who attended school here in the 1980s and 1990s. As Associate Head of School for the past two years, Jim has been a valuable sounding board and source of pragmatic and wise advice. I will miss working with him. In this edition of DragonTales, we have a profile on Jim on page 16.

As alumni, you are an integral part of both the heritage and the future of our school. We want to maintain and strengthen our links with you wherever you are in the world. If you have new ideas on how we can improve contacts or ideas for new events and programs, please contact us at email alumni@hkis.edu.hk. We look forward to hearing from you.

We hope you enjoy the new look of DragonTales. Please stay in touch!

Sincerely,

Richard W. Mueller Head of School

Message from the Head of School

Alumni – Our Heritage

and Future

Fulfilling Aspirations and Dreams

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Many of you will remember 2007 as a year you came home. By the time

you’re flipping through the pages of this issue of DragonTales, memories of that magical week in Hong Kong when 40 years

of alumni, ex-faculty and ex-administra-tors celebrated our school’s 40th birthday will have taken their place in the deepest recesses of your hearts. To many of you who were in Hong Kong, HKIS is again “real”. You would have seen the strides our school has taken over these past four decades as it continues to fulfill the aspirations and dreams of generations of students, teach-ers, principals and headmasters.

To many of us, the 40th Reunion will continue as a lifelong celebration of the school that educated and nurtured us into the people we are today. This issue of DragonTales will also be remembered as an issue of “hello’s and goodbye’s”. We greeted long-departed members of the HKIS community back to Hong Kong for the 40th Reunion. However, at the same time, we say “goodbye” and “thank you” to many longstanding faculty, administra-tors, and staff of the HKIS community.

Starting with Jim Handrich, who rides off into retirement at the conclusion of the 2006-07 school year. Jim is closing a 24 year chapter of his brilliant and passionate leadership and work in so many facets of HKIS, stretching from Lower Primary to High School to Asso-ciate Head of School. The lives of many alumni have been touched by Jim. He has helped us to grow and mature into who we are today. Jim’s gentle yet enthusiastic approach to all aspects of HKIS and his honor roll of accomplishments will forever

be an integral part of the foundation of our school.

We also bid farewell to Joseph Kung, whose tenure at HKIS is as old as our school. Goodbyes to Donna and Dennis Oetting, Mary Kay and Scott Hoffman, Jeanette and Peter Hardman, Mary Jane and Dave Elliott, Jeanne Quinn, Lauralynn Goetz, Merry Balian, VJ and Asha Sathyaraj, Karen Fish, Ann Mok, Susan Kuyper…so many special people who have helped and taught so many of us alumni. Although they’re gone, we will always carry a part of them forever.

This year, your Alumni Board launches the David F. Rittmann Alumni Scholar-ship. This endeavor lays an important foundation of the HKIS alumni legacy by celebrating the life of Dr. Rittmann and giving gifted Hong Kong students, who would never even dream of attending an elite educational institution such as HKIS, the opportunity to do just that. We hope that together, us HKIS alumni can help make a difference by giving these local students this opportunity. This is just one of many alumni endeavors that are in the pipeline. The Alumni Resource Network is growing day-by-day and I believe this will become a very important part of alumni networking and a driver in HKIS’ long-term growth. So if you can, please consider ways that you can give back to our wonder-ful school.

Enjoy your summer holidays and blessings to you and your families,

Ken Koo ’79 Alumni Board President

Message from the Alumni Board President

Welcome to the 40th Anniversary

Reunion

Dear Alumni (Former Students, Teach-ers, Admin, Parents and Board),

HKIS welcomes all of you, whatever role you have played in our history, to the 40th

Anniversary Reunion. On behalf of the 40th Anniversary Planning Committee, which I had the honor to chair, and the 40th Reunion Planning Committee, we are delighted that you have returned to join us for what is our largest reunion ever.

I know I am looking forward both to see-ing former students and colleagues with whom I’ve worked at HKIS. For those of us who have helped compile the History Book, it’s amazing to read the stories and see the faces that have made HKIS what

it is today. We’ve also produced a DVD of the 40th Anniversary events that we think you’ll enjoy as well. This commemora-tive issue of DragonTales is part of that celebration as well.

For those of you who couldn’t make it back to HKIS to celebrate the 40th, start planning now for an even greater 50th Anniversary! Although I’m retiring from HKIS this year and certainly won’t be planning the 50th, I have every intention, God-willing, to be back in Hong Kong to celebrate HKIS at half a century.

Thanks again to all of you who have joined us and to the HKIS Alumni Board for their vision and amazing spirit. Enjoy the His-tory Book, DVD, building tours, dinners, panels, and the opportunities to rediscover Hong Kong and your alma mater.

Happy 40th Birthday HKIS!

Jim HandrichAssociate Head of School 1983 –2007, and now an alum

Message from the 40th AnniversaryCelebration Committee Chair

Alumni Homecoming 2006

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Almost 60 alumni returned to HKIS for Homecoming, which was held on December 20, 2006. Alumni spanning from the 1960s to

2006 were represented at this year’s event. As this is HKIS’ 40th anniver-sary year, Homecoming was scheduled to coincide with the All-School Christmas Assembly.

The day began with morning registration in the High School plaza, fol-lowed by the Christmas Assembly in the Middle and High School Gyms. After the Assembly, 3,000 students, faculty, staff, alumni and parents made their way to the Tai Tam field to form the 40th anniversary logo. A helicopter donated by current HKIS parents, Mr. and Mrs. Martin Bag-galey, then flew over to take this historical photo.

Down at the field, Richard Mueller presented alumna Linne Tsu ’96 a 40th anniversary medallion for her work in designing the 40th anniversary logo. A medallion was also presented to current parent and alumnus Peter Fishel ’68 and outgoing Director of Office of Institutional Advancement, Christina Tung.

Following the photo, a lunch reception was held where alumni and faculty reconnected. That evening, alumni continued their homecoming festivities at Post 97 in Lan Kwai Fong. It was a memorable and fun day for all! n

Alumni Homecoming 2006

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Alumni News

Each year I take a group of High School art historians to study the “real thing” in Europe. For a week this past

February, we visited the wonderful sights of Italy. From the Colosseum to the Vatican Museums, to climbing to the top of the Duomo, it was an amazing learning experience for us all. During our three days in Florence, we caught up with alumni studying at the NYU Florence program. A great night was spent at a typical Italian pizzeria sharing stories of Florence, Hong Kong, HKIS and life at college.

Back row: Carla isley ’08, eleanor gartner ’08, lisa Hall ’06, sarah Peck ‘08 Front row: Christina Belchere ’08, Britta winans ’08, Michael suen ’07

Hea lim Kim ’07, Rose wong ’06, selene Xie ’07

By Karen Fish, High School Faculty

On May 17th, the Alumni Association hosted a farewell cock-tail reception at Tandoor Restaurant for long serving faculty

members. It was a time for departing faculty and their former stu-dents to reminisce about their HKIS days and update each other on their lives. We will all miss these dedicated educational leaders and professionals who have touched the lives and hearts of many HKIS alumni around the world. The following faculty members have been with HKIS for 10 years or more and will leave HKIS at the end of this school year.

Scot (Grade 2) and Mary Kay Hoffman (High School Associate Principal)Vijay (High School Dean and Humanities) and Asha Sathyaraj (Grade 2)Peter (High School Math) and Jeanette Hardman (Grade 1)David (High School Technology) and Mary Jane Elliott (Reception 1)Dennis Oetting (High School P.E.)Jeanne Quinn (Upper Primary P.E.)Lauralynn Goetz (Upper Primary Music)Karen Fish (High School Art)Merry Balian (Middle School Learning Specialist)Susan Kuyper (High School Music)Jim Handrich (Associate Head of School)

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An Alumni Gathering in Florence

Alumni Bid Farewell to Long-Serving Faculty

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HKIS Remembers…

Ronald So ’05 lost his battle with acute lymphatic leukemia on February 23, 2007. During his illness,

Ronald displayed exceptional courage and te-nacity. He welcomed and received strong support from his family, high school friends, and from HKIS teachers. In November last year, Ronald spoke at HKIS’ high school Thanksgiving Community Gathering about his experience. He held 850 high school students and teachers in the palm of his hand with his story and what he had learned about relationships and living his life in a different way. Ronald’s friends describe him as a happy, enthusiastic and funny person who could always make you smile. “While often he was the clown inside and outside of school, he was most of all a loving, caring person,” say Jessica Leung ’05 and Jeffrey Cha ’05. Even after he was diagnosed with leukemia, just two weeks before he was about to go to college, Ronald maintained a positive and optimistic spirit. “During the 17 months he battled cancer, he kept himself active. He even practiced Qi Gong at least 8 hours a day. Most importantly, Ronald got to know God and intro-duced Him to his family members. He was baptized on Christmas day 2006 with his parents and grandparents. “Although today Ronald has returned to God, his spirit remains with us. We should remember him as a model in life and learn from him to be positive, happy and live our lives to the full,” they say. Ronald will be missed by all who knew him. May he rest in peace and watch over us from heaven.

So far this year the Annual Fund has raised over HK$9 million! Our two major fundraising events were the charity Movie Gala

and the Celebration Ball. If you would like more information on how you can pledge a gift to the Annual Fund, please contact Loretta Fung at lfung@hkis.edu.hk or call (852) 3149-7822. Your gift, how-ever large or small, is much appreciated. We thank you in advance for your support. This year’s fund remains open until 31st July, 2007.

Movie GalaHKIS held its first ever charity Movie Gala on March 16, 2007. The film, “Traces of a Dragon – Jackie Chan and His Lost Family” was made available to HKIS by Jackie & Willie Productions Ltd. to raise funds for the school’s Annual Fund Campaign. This movie premiered at the Berlin Film Festival and has never been released commercially. HKIS was given exclusive rights to screen the movie as a fundraising event.

Almost 300 people attended the Movie Gala to show support for the Annual Fund and to watch a fascinating film about China’s history. TracesofaDragon charts the story of Jackie Chan and his lost family, and pieces together the extraordi-nary childhood that he and his siblings experienced during a turbulent period when China was experiencing two World Wars, the civil war between the Communists and the Na-

tionalists, and the tragic Cultural Revolution. Although the movie focused on Jackie Chan’s family, his story resonates among many Chinese families who lived through those very difficult years.

Ruby Anniversary Ball

Richard Mueller thanks Mabel Cheung, the director of Traces of a Dragon

Richard and Claire Mueller cut the Celebration Ball cake with gina Chong

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Annual Fund Reaches New Heights!

Campus News

The HKIS Ruby Celebration Ball – “Our Brilliance Shines On” took place on Saturday, May 12, 2007 at the Hong Kong Con-vention and Exhibition Centre. The event was an overwhelming success and great fun too, with guests enjoying and participating in a range of entertainment – music, song, dance and auctions. The Celebration Ball is the highlight in our school’s fundraising year and is made possible by the hard work of many volunteers in our community. These include our Annual Fund Cabinet Co-chaired this year by Maximo Blandon, Clifford Chiu and Steve Marcopoto; and the Celebration Ball Committee Co-chaired this year by Gina Chong and Yvonne Choi.

The Annual Fund has raised over HK$50 million since its inaugu-ration in 1999 and has touched the lives of our children in many ways. It also allows HKIS to reach out to the local community through funding of our Summer Program for Gifted Local Stu-dents and Merit and Needs Based Scholarships. The programs supported by the Fund complement and help us progress towards our Mission and Student Learning Results (SLRs). Annual Fund programs have a lasting and positive impact on students, helping them to develop their spirituality, appreciation of other cultures, and desire for life-long learning in a diverse world. n

Celebration Ball Committee 2007

student musicians perform at the Ball

Hong Kong Dancers entertain at the Ball

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emcees – parents Christopher graves and Karen Koh

During this past school year, the HKIS community celebrated our 40-year history of educating and

serving in Hong Kong. Students, parents, faculty, staff and alumni all came together for numerous events throughout the year. The grand finale was the 40th Reunion in mid-June. A detailed report and photos will be published in the Winter 2007 issue of DragonTales. Stay tuned!

Celebrating Our Character DevelopmentErroll Lee’s Visit, March 8, 2007

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Campus News

40th Anniversary Celebration Continues

Celebrating Our Chinese CultureAll-School Chinese New Year Assembly, February 9, 2007

Celebrating Our History with DramaHigh School Drama Production of Arcadia, December 20, 2006

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Celebrating Our History with ServiceHigh School Interact Club Fashion Show, April 14, 2007

Celebrating Parent InvolvementPFO World’s Fair, April 21, 2007

40th Anniversary Celebration Continues

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Celebrating Our History with Dance High School Hong Kong Dancer’s Performance, May 3, 2007

Campus News

Celebrating Our 40th AnniversaryRuby Anniversary Celebration Ball at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, May 12, 2007

associate Head of school Jim Handrich is overjoyed at being awarded a Medallion for his 24 years of dedication and service to HKis

40th Anniversary Medallion Recipients

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To mark the school’s 40th anniversary, 40 bronze medallions were presented to select alumni, faculty, staff, parent and com-munity leaders for their contribution to HKIS. The following list of medallion recipients is current as of May 22nd.

HKIS parents Bill and Jacque Connor for their generous support of student learning through the Annual Fund.

The Fullerton family, at the Tai Tam Tens Rugby Tournament, in recognition of their continuous support of the tournament through the Fullerton cup.

Pastor Dale Koehneke (current pastor of Church of All Nations), at Education Sunday, for his years of service to the school and Parish.

Christina Tung (outgoing OIA Director), at the All-School Christmas Assembly, for building the HKIS Annual Fund program.

Lydia Kho (former faculty), at the All-School Assembly, on behalf of former faculty and for her volunteer work in producing the HKIS 40th anniversary dragon.

Faye Butcher and Joseph Kung, at the All-School Chinese New Year Assembly, in recognition of them being the two longest serving members on HKIS staff. Faye has served the school for 40 years and Joseph for 38 years.

Bijoy Goswami ’91, to thank and honor all HKIS student leaders.

Andrew Chworoswsky ’81, for his contributions to drama at HKIS and continued interest and support of theater in Hong Kong.

Peter Fishel ’68, at the All-School Christmas Assembly, as a member of HKIS’ first graduat-ing class and in honor of all alumni.

Linne Tsu ’96, at the All-School Christmas Assembly,

for designing the 40th anniversary logo.

Carl Schalk, at the International Choral and Strings Festival Concert, for composing the HKIS 40th anniversary anthem.

Rev. Mitri Raheb, at the Visiting Scholar Presentation, for his love and passion for peace and justice.

St. Mary’s International School (Japan), at the 37th Holiday Basketball Tournament, for participating in the tournament in each of the past 37 years.

The Begbie family, at the Interact Club Fashion Show, for their dedication and commitment to service through Crossroads International. David Begbie ’94 and Josh Begbie ’96 are HKIS alums.

Melanie Blandon (current PFO President) and Leslie Pilcher (current Booster Club President) for their service through the PFO and Booster Club respectively, and to honor all parent volunteers at HKIS.

Consuls General James Cunningham (U.S.A), Mario Leal (Mexico), and Gerry Campbell (Canada) for their support to HKIS and the wider international community. n

Richard Mueller presents 40th anniversary Medallions to Mitchell stocks (HKis Board of Managers Chair), stella and Ron lu (Chairman’s Council Co-Chairs), gina Chong (Ball Co-Chair), and HKis parents Yvonne Choi (Ball Co-Chair) and Clifford Chiu (annual Fund Co-Chair) at the Celebration Ball for their leadership within the school on various volunteer boards and committees

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Larger than Life By James Manning

For thousands of past and present students, the name Jim Handrich is synonymous with Hong Kong International School. Nearly a quarter of a century after first walking through the school gates at Repulse Bay, Jim has decided to retire. DragonTales talks to Jim to find out more about the man and his plans…

Faculty Profile

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For nearly 25 years, Jim Handrich has been at the ‘heart of HKIS education’.

He, arguably more than anyone else, has left an indelible mark on generations of HKIS students, teachers and staff.

Now, nearly a quarter of a century after first walking through the school gates at Repulse Bay, Jim has decided the time is right to hang up his boots and soak up some Florida surf. He retires at the end of this school year. Jim started his career in 1966 as a Middle School teacher at St. Mathew Lutheran School in Manhattan, NYC. Little did he know then, but on the other side of the world a new school was opening in makeshift premises in Chung Hom Kok, Hong Kong. That new school was HKIS;

Jim and it had a date with destiny.

Before their paths would cross, Jim spent six years teaching at St. Mathew and a further eleven years as K-12 Principal at Our Saviour Lutheran School, Bronx, NYC.

His leadership skills and commitment to his students and staff caught the eye of David Rittmann, Head of School at HKIS, who asked Jim to consider the position of HKIS High School Principal in the early 1980’s.

“At that time I had two brand new Associ-ate Principals at Our Saviour, so did not think it a good time to consider a move to Hong Kong,” says Jim.

Shortly after Rittmann’s first approach,

HKIS teacher Lou Weber, who had taught at Our Saviour in the Bronx while Jim was Principal, wrote a letter to Jim [and later to David Rittmann] to inquire if he would consider an upcoming position for HKIS Elementary Principal (K-6).

Jim mulled it over but decided he was not the best candidate for the job. “The HKIS elementary school had no walls and was totally ‘open space education’ and team teaching at the time. I had no experience at working in this type of environment. I suggested that HKIS look for another can-didate.”

HKIS interviewed several other people, but without success. In March 1983 Jim was approached again and agreed to visit Hong Kong. “I came. I observed. I liked

The Very Hungry Caterpillar – elementary administration 1980’s on Book Character Day

Jim with Josephus Kwan, Paul Kan and staffworld’s Fair – “soak the sucker.”

Jim at Church of all nations

A most memorable senior prank

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what I saw and fell in love with Hong Kong and HKIS. I thought I could do this for a couple of years,” he quips.

Although Our Saviour’s student body was predominantly Black and Hispanic while at HKIS it was Caucasian and Asian, the schools were quite similar in many ways.

“Both were K-12 schools, grounded in the Christian faith, and located in big cities. The majority of the seniors at both schools also went on to university, and their student bodies were talented in sports and music and had a commitment to service and making a difference in our world,” says Jim.

For all the similarities, Jim could never have guessed his anticipated two-year stint in Hong Kong would be considerably stretched. In fact, as history now records, he was the HKIS Elementary Principal for seven years (1983-90), High School Prin-cipal for 14 years (1990-04), Interim Head of School for a year (2004-05), and Associ-ate Head of School for 2 years (2005-07). That’s 12 times longer than he expected - 24 years in all.

Of his seven years in the elementary school, working with talented teachers and parents who had the time and wanted to be involved in their children’s education was a highlight. Starting the Elementary Mandarin program for K-6 along with Nancy Kroonenberg, Lisa Ahnert and Tammy Hui was another.

“I enjoyed working with the elementary community so much that when I was asked to consider moving to the high school in 1990, I said no.”

However, prayer and reflection, mixed with a dash of pressure from well-inten-tioned colleagues, saw Jim make the move to the high school that year.

“Looking back, I certainly grew from mak-ing the move to Tai Tam. The high school has such a strong academic program. I also enjoy watching high school students perform in concerts, art exhibitions, on the sports field and in the gym, and sup-porting them in their culminating senior projects.

“Every day I have been inspired by the teachers and students with whom I share this place.” he says.

Jim was born on All Saints day in Vinton, Iowa, USA. His mom and dad were both school teachers. His earliest memory is of shoveling snow from a basketball court so he could play a game in the midst of winter. At school he enjoyed subjects that required him to think deeply and problem solve - skills that would serve him well in the future.

Following his parents into teaching was the last thing on the young Jim’s mind. He wanted to be a lawyer, specializing in pub-lic service. Though this all changed after he did a stint as an intern teacher in New York. “I knew then exactly where my heart lay. I wanted to work with kids,” he says.

Jim is happiest when talking about the stu-dents at the heart of his life and mission. Such has been his influence on young lives passing through HKIS, that many former students have become close friends. Spen-cer Chiu ‘93 is one case in point. Jim was Spencer’s Elementary and High School Principal.

Faculty Profile

slick – Jim Handrich in early 1985

Dear Jim,

As I was reflecting over a Scripture for you, this came to mind: “…Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love… Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friend.” John 15:9-13. This Scripture defines the spirit in which I have seen you live, continually remaining in the Father’s love, and laying your life down for others. Thank you for living this sacrificial love, which has seen your own life continually laid down, so that oth-ers may live. I am sad to see you go but, at the same time, am encour-aged that this spirit, and this call, remains unchanged in you! Thank you for the blessing you have been to me, and to so many. May that same love now spread even further afield, bringing life to countless more!

With all of our love, in His,

Biff Begbie ’94

Jim at HKis school Camp 1983

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“Back in those days, despite all the work piling up in his office [for those who’ve been in his office, there are literally stacks and stacks of files], he was always available to hear you out and give advice. In high school, I remember Mr. Handrich being everywhere. He would be at the front gate greeting students in the morning, every-where during lunch, saying goodbye to everyone as school ends, and cheering at soccer and tennis matches every week-end,” says Spencer.

Mary Chen ’98 also remembers Jim stand-ing at the school gate each morning greet-ing students. “He always took a personal interest. I remember him shaking my hand and saying, ‘I hear you swam well yester-day, Mary!’ With more than 600 students enrolled and a school to run, he still made us feel that we were more than names,” she says.

“Every time Jim mentions ongoing devel-opments of HKIS, his eyes light up. He remembers hundreds of names of alumni and is always interested in their updates and whereabouts,” says Spencer. “To many, and me, Mr. Handrich defined education, spirit and character attributes that can be said of HKIS. This is because Mr. Handrich is part of HKIS as much as HKIS is part of him.”

At the time of writing, Jim was busy pack-ing up 24 years of memories and making some difficult decisions about what cher-ished artifacts to throw out and what to take back home. From Hong Kong he will move to Naples, Florida, where he bought a home about ten years ago. “My 90-year-old mom also lives there. Since I’ve lived out of the US for a long time, I hope to do some care-giving for her.”

He also expects to take better care of him-

Jim Handrich and Ranjan goswami ’98 at a reunion in new York City, in February 2002

earl westrick, former associate Head of school and Terry Thomas, former Board Chair (in retirement in sun River, Oregon) with Richard and Claire Mueller and Jim Handrich

Dear Jim,

Through your years at HKIS, you have supported us, encouraging exploration and growth while respectfully constraining us as needed. You have taken time to invest in the people of your students, as well as running proc-esses for them. You have heard the voices of all HKIS stakehold-ers, making sure each felt valued. You have brought light and life to so many while ensuring a fantas-tic education. You have been our friend, our champion, and our guide in so many areas. From we who are no longer your students, but gratefully still your friends, a deep, “Thank you.”

Josh Begbie ’96

self and swim every day. “I have a hard time managing this here in Hong Kong. It’s only some mornings that I’m at the HKIS pool by 5:20 am and out before the swim team comes at 6 am. I’m looking forward to get-ting up and swimming at 8 am, instead of so early. Then I’ll read the NewYorkTimes over a cup of coffee and the SouthChinaMorningPost too, as I’m so used to it.”

Jim will miss Hong Kong, which he de-scribes as ‘a beautiful city.’ “I love living here. I’ll miss people, especially those from the HKIS community. Learning to appre-ciate Asian and particularly the Chinese culture and way of approaching life has enlarged my perspective both on educa-tion and on life.

“I have yet to find a place with better food from so many cultures than what we have here in Hong Kong. Now if only my exer-cise plan would equal my appetite for good food!”

He says, “Whether it’s staff, parents, stu-dents or teachers, there are people here whose presence and company have made me a different person throughout my 24 years with the school. I’ll miss those daily relationships with so many people in Hong Kong, but I know I’ll also carry those rela-tionships and experiences with me.” n

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Faculty Profile

Q: Who is the biggest inspiration in your life?

A: The biggest inspiration to me is the lives of other people. Some examples are Mother Theresa and her selfless compas-sion, Martin Luther King and his great courage, and Henri Nouwen and his spirit-ual wisdom. But the teachers and students with whom I share this place also inspire me. Whenever I see students or teachers rise to a challenge and live out their lives with high integrity or with moral courage, that inspires me. And I’m grateful to have witnessed that both in colleagues and stu-dents.

Q: What are some of your fondest memories of HKIS?

A: Student events – sports, concerts, projects – seeing students excel.• Team teaching Senior Humanities classes

with Dave Bickel – what a great teacher he was during his years at HKIS! I learned a lot from sharing a class with him.

• I really like seeing alumni and then remembering their stories. We’ve had some amazing students who changed greatly during their years at HKIS.

• Teaching colleagues – I think we’ve had some very talented educators at HKIS during my years here. They did so many things well and had such a heart for stu-dent learning.

• Watching this school grow and change during these past years is a fond memory. I helped with the history book that the alumni funded, which has just been pub-lished. That book is so full of great mem-ories. I’m glad I was a part of them.

Q: Have HKIS students changed over the years? If so, how?

A: We’ve all changed over the years. The world is smaller. We realize even more so

how everything is connected and if we are careless with something, the results may have terrible consequences elsewhere – I think students may understand those con-nections even better than adults do.

Current HKIS students are more commit-ted to service and global understanding, but I think that’s because our education here has changed. I think students who were here in the earlier years would re-spond with the same enthusiasm for mak-ing a difference in the lives of others. I think current students are probably even more serious about their academic results than early HKIS alums were. But again, the competition is greater, the world is different, the needs for change are even more apparent. It’s hard to really compare because the times change and are so dif-ferent. I suspect that in a lot of ways HKIS students have always cared for the needs of others, have been change agents for good, and have been cross cultural in their inter-ests and abilities.

Q: How has HKIS changed over the years?

A: More buildings, resources and students, maturing in its educational capabilities. I think HKIS will continue to evolve into an even better school. It’s always had high ex-pectations for itself, so I think it will con-tinue to change and improve. But I like to remember we always stand on the shoul-ders of those who came before us. So I have

a lot of respect for those who began HKIS, nurtured it, and cared for its vision.

Q: What has been your greatest accom-plishment as an administrator?

A: No administrator has any accomplish-ments apart from all of the work that we do together with colleagues. So, individu-ally I would claim nothing. Working to-gether with others, I really like what we have accomplished in establishing a very clear school mission and Student Learn-ing Results to chart our school’s direction. I believe the best schools are “mission driven.” If the student learning results re-ally accomplish what we hope for in our students, I believe our graduates will be outstanding in their thinking, inquiring and performing. I believe our graduates will care about the needs of others and of our earth. They’ll be articulate in voicing their own spirituality as motivating prin-ciples for making a difference in the lives of others. That kind of accomplishment is never finished as we work together to de-velop those results. But I think the HKIS journey to do that well for student learning is really on the right track.

Q: How have you personally grown throughout your years in Hong Kong?

A: • Learning to take a bigger perspective

beyond my own on the challenges of leading HKIS.

In CoversationWe pinned Jim Handrich down and subjected him to a Q&A session, here’s the result:

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• I’ve grown to appreciate the diversity in viewpoints that parents, students and teachers bring to the table on many is-sues and to believe we’ll arrive at a better solution to any problem through engag-ing in dialogue that honors the views of each group.

• I’ve certainly learned to be a better prin-cipal from my years here at HKIS. These last three years in the Head of School of-fice have taught me a great deal about the leadership that has to happen outside of the classroom to develop a great school.

• I learned to swim here at HKIS.• I’ve grown from travel in Asia and ex-

periencing other cultures, religions and ways of life.

• I’ve learned to trust students at HKIS more than I previously had. In fact, I’ve come to believe the more you can trust students in their decision mak-ing, the more likely it is that they will be trustworthy. I think it’s really impor-tant to take the risk to trust others. Not “blind trust,” but so much growth can come from the dialogue that creates real trust.

Q: You have lived in Hong Kong for 24 years. Any reservations or worries about moving back to the States?

A: Yes, I’m used to visiting family and friends, but then I always come back here

to Hong Kong. Living overseas for so long gives one a different perspective of the US, I think. I know that perspective will con-tinue to inform my views on the US. On the other hand, I’ve missed some of the US perspective that comes from the daily life of people living there. I’m looking for-ward to listening and understanding that as well.

Q: What do you look forward to the most about moving back to the States?

A: First would be family. I see them at Christmas each year, but I’m looking for-ward to more time than that. I’m a big sports fan. If I hadn’t gone into education I might have done sports writing or some-thing else connected to sports.

Hong Kong has gotten a bit better with sports. I’m a Yankee fan from my New York days and it’s amazing how many live games we now have here in Hong Kong, but they are in the middle of the night or in the morning when I’m at work. I’m a packers fan from my growing up in Wisconsin. I love college basketball and we seldom get to see that here. I’m definitely looking forward to sports.

Finally, I’m just looking forward to some leisure time for reading, exercise, and people, without thinking of the various plans and projects that need to get done here at HKIS.

Q: Any travel plans? Is there one par-ticular place you can’t wait to visit?

A: I always like to go back to New York and have some good friends there. I hope I’ll get there every year. Mitri Raheb from our Chuck Dull Visiting Scholar Series in-vited me to visit Bethlehem in Palestine. I’m looking forward to seeing his ministry there. He does such amazing work in such an important and challenging place in our world.

Q: What do you envision for HKIS in the next decade as it moves towards its 50th anniversary?

A: I really believe HKIS will grow to be an even better school than we are now. So many plans are in place for that to happen. We have talented people, leaders with vi-sion, resources, great students and fami-lies – it will be exciting to see the school change and grow over this next decade. Look at the school’s vision for the next ten years, I think HKIS can achieve that and it will be amazing!

Q: Will you return for the 50th Anni-versary?

A: God willing, absolutely. I got to work with a great committee in planning the 40th Anniversary. So I’m definitely looking forward to participating in the 50th.

Q: Anything else?

A: Yes, I hope a lot of alumni – students, faculty, Board and staff will come for the 50th. To reconnect every ten years in Hong Kong is a great plan, I think. Let’s do it! And, thanks, HKIS, for these twenty-four years! Blessings to everyone and to this school! n

administrative Council members Bruce Kelsh (uP Principal), wil Chan (Ms Principal), Madeleine Heidi (lP Principal) with past Head of school Chuck Dull and Jim Handrich at the annual Chinese new Year party

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What did you do after you graduated from HKIS? After graduating from HKIS in 1994, I attended Wittenberg University in Springfield, OH and graduated in 1998 with a B.A. in East Asia Studies and Span-ish. In 2000, I started a program in the El-liott School of International Affairs at The George Washington University in Wash-ington, DC. I graduated from this program in 2002 with an M.A. in International De-velopment Studies with a concentration in Public Health and Education Program Management.

Where did life lead you after you gradu-ated from university? I taught English in Qingdao, China for one year to doctors. Then I was a teaching assistant in R2 at HKIS and also coached JV girls’ basketball. During graduate school, I worked at the Council for Exceptional Children and at PAHO (Pan-American Health Organiza-tion). After graduate school, I was hired to be the Yunnan Manager of Concordia Welfare and Education Society and I lived in Kunming, China from 2002 – 2005. In 2005, my organization changed from a so-ciety to a foundation and I moved to Hong Kong to become the Executive Director. At this time, I also became part of the Asia Management Team of LCMS World Mission with the position of Facilitator for Human Care. Ted Engelbrecht, (former HKIS teacher) and Allan Schmidt (father of Marty Schmidt, current HKIS teacher) also serve with me on the Asia Manage-ment Team.

Tell us about your current job. I have two titles – Executive Director Concor-dia Welfare and Education Foundation (www.cwef.org.hk) and Facilitator for Hu-man Care for LCMS World Mission Asia. I manage a Hong Kong based non-profit or-ganization that works in mainland China and I work with Lutheran church partners on human care, development and disaster relief programs in Asia. I was active in dis-aster relief work in Sri Lanka starting only 10 days after the tsunami and currently help manage the Wheat Ridge Ministries Care of Widows, Cow for Kids program in southern India.

What led you to this profession? My Christian faith has always motivated me to help and serve others and I feel blessed to be involved in Matthew 25 ministries. Also, my experiences in India during HKIS interim week and in the Dominican Re-public where I studied abroad in univer-sity, led me to have a heart for the mar-ginalized and impoverished. I was able to see the joy in the lives of the poor as well as the capabilities that they already pos-sess. It is now my pleasure to be involved in empowerment work and to see people take back control of their own lives and their own futures.

What are some of the highlights of your job? The highlights of my job can really be summarized in two experiences. The first is the joy in the eyes of a child when they receive a scholarship that allows them to go to school or a health kit that includes basic items like soap and colored pencils that is followed by their laugher as I get to play with them after the ceremony. The second highlight is the pride in a man or woman’s voice as they tell me that because of our microcredit programs or because of our drinking water projects, they can now better provide for the financial needs and health care of their family.

How has HKIS helped you achieve your current successes in life? HKIS prepared me with a good base from which to grow and to explore the world. It helped open my eyes to the realities and differences that exist in the world but also gave me tools and encouraged me to dream about how the world could be a different place. n

Michelle Hoeppner ’94Michelle Katherine Hoeppner was born in Woodburn, Indiana and attended HKIS all four years of high school (1990 – 94). Her parents, David and Beth Hoeppner, taught at HKIS for 13 years (1990 – 2003).

Michelle in india

Michelle with orphans in China

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I remember the first time I saw Taku playing drums in the music room across from the gymnasium in the old high school (the Tai Tam campus had not been built yet). We were in seventh grade at the time and he was just turning that room inside-out! Everybody knew that Taku was an extremely talented musician. That same year I borrowed my brother’s professional recording walkman to record Taku’s drum solo at the jazz band concert in the cafeteria.

Although Taku had made a big impression on me, music wasn’t high on my list of interests. I remember one day Taku had taught me what paradiddles were, but I was into having BB-gun wars up in the hills behind school, going skateboarding and other stuff. It wasn’t until high school that my increased exposure to music led me to an even greater appreciation for where Taku was headed.

Taku Hirano ’91By Benjamin Lee ’91

Benjamin Lee: How did you feel when you first arrived in Hong Kong (or on your first day of school)?

Taku Hirano: I definitely was nervous. Not only was I making the big step from elementary school to junior high, but I also was moving from a small town in Califor-nia (Fresno) to Hong Kong! Everything was new, and I’m sure I had anxieties about being accepted.

WeallknowthattheHKISexperienceal-lowsusalltogainaperspectiveonlifethatishardtoput intowords.SomeofusareoriginallyfromtheU.S.;somewerebornandraisedinHongKong.Taku’sexperienceisuniquebecausehewasborninJapanbutmovedtoFresno,CAwhenhewasjustthreemonthsold.HeandhisfamilyweretheonlyAsiansinthecommunity.MovingtoHongKonghadbroughthimclosertoJapananditallowedhimtoreturntheremoreoften.

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Alumni Profile

BL: Did any of your perspectives on life change after living in HK for several years?

TH: It definitely did. My time in Hong Kong, a total of four years, completely changed my life. Being in an environment where people were truly from EVERY-WHERE, I was exposed to different cul-tures, traditions, and perspectives. Those experiences, no matter how miniscule they may have seemed at the time, have helped me in every facet of my life.

In high school the significance of Taku’stalentswerebeginningtosetin.Ilearnedallaboutpunks,hippies,andmetalheads.Each had their own take on life. Takutraversedeachseamlessly.Hemusthaveseeneachofthemasjustanothergenretomaster,becauseduringthis timehewastakinglessons fromtheprincipaltimpa-nistoftheHongKongRoyalPhilharmonicOrchestra. BL: Did you have a favorite teacher or a most memorable learning experience at HKIS?

TH: I remember distinctly my freshman year studying English with Dr. Goodyear. He was a tough teacher, but definitely got results by inspiring all of us to excel. Look-ing back, it blows my mind what level of literature we were reading in ninth grade. Intermsoflearningexperiences,IwouldhavetosaymyInterimtriptoHiroshima.NotonlydidwegotothePeaceMemorialmuseum,wealsospentalotoftimeinter-viewingsurvivorsoftheA-bomb.Thatwasalife-changingexperienceforme.IrecentlywasbackinHiroshimaoverthesummer,andfoundmyselfplayingtourguide/histo-riantomyband-mates...allwithinforma-tionthatIlearnedin1988!

BL: In general, what were the most memorable things about going to school at HKIS (or living in HK)?

TH: I think that the most memorable thing about HKIS was the level of cama-raderie I had with my classmates. We had an absolute ball, whether it was in class or

hanging out in Wan Chai on a weekend evening. Junior high and high school is such a time of discovering new things, and HK provided a landscape like no other to grow up in. No one event sticks out in my mind. Just lots of fond memories of hang-ing out with a ton of people... no cliques.

TakuandIevenhadsimilarhair styles!Short or nearly shaven on the sides andlonghairdownthemiddlecombedofftoonesideortheother,sometimesdowntotheshoulder.ButwerarelysawTakuoutpartying.Hewashardatwork,takinghim-selftowhereheisnow.

And“Whereisthat?”youmightask.

Well,sincehis1995graduationfromtheBerkeleyCollegeofMusicinBoston,Takuhastakentotheworldbyrecording,per-formance,ortour;FleetwoodMac,Whit-neyHouston,BetteMidler,StevieWonder,LeAnnRimes,LionelRichie,StevieNicks,DonHenley,LisaLoeb,VanessaCarlton,TheBackstreetBoys,MaryJ.Blige,Dr.Dre,Brandy,TheNevilleBrothers,IsaacHayes,ChakaKhan,TheTemptations,TheEmo-tions,FaithEvans,Monica,TeenaMarie,YolandaAdams,CeceWinans,andmanyothers! If that does not seem impressive,Taku has his own signature drum stickmanufactured by Regal Tip, The TakuPercussion Stick. Most recently he hastouredwithHikaruUtadaforthesummer

of2006,anartist inJapanwhohassoldover40millionalbumsinanationof120million! Taku has just finished up a UStourwithLindseyBuckinghamandisgoingintorehearsalswithStevieNicksandMickFleetwoodforsomeupcomingshows.

BL: How would you describe yourself in terms of your own career goals? TH: I feel very fortunate to be doing pre-cisely what I wanted to do since I was about four years old. That was to play mu-sic. I still don’t know where exactly it will take me, but figure it’s about the journey. At this point, I am enjoying traveling and playing with some interesting people and a lot of great music. Itwasn’tuntilrecentlythatIfeltconfidentenoughaboutmyaccomplishmentsinlifetobegincontactingoldschoolmates.IwrotetoTakunotknowingwhattoexpect,andwithgreatjoyherepliedwithalonge-mail.Hehadallsortsofquestionsforme,catch-inguponoldtimesandsharingnewones.

Taku is married to Arthel Neville, thedaughterofArtNeville,thekeyboardistoftheGrammy-winningNewOrleansbandTheNevilleBrothers.Theyweremarriedinsummerof2001inMaui.Youcangetthegushydetailsabouthowtheymetin“OneLoveTwoCultures:AtHomeWithShowHost Arthel Neville and Her Husband,TakuHirano”,byKarenDeWittintheJuly2003issueofEssence.

BL: Is there anything else you would like to add or comment on?

TH: It has been great that I have come into contact with so many people from HK just in the last couple of years. I have so many fond memories of my time in HK, but was reserved to thinking that I had lost touch with most people. Also, since I left HK after 10th grade, I didn’t really think of myself as an alum. Unfor-tunately, since I got to my high school in the States with only two years left, I didn’t really get to know many people that I graduated with, so I felt somewhat dis-placed. To be back in touch with so many HKISers is definitely great! n

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The social networking features of today’s Internet can be strong tools for making a school Web presence relevant and useful to staff, students, and parents

Breathing Fire T ime warp? For many of today’stech-savvy students, steppinginto a typical school is like tak-

ing a time machine back to the days ofmanual typewriters and wall-mounteddial telephones. Many schools are outof sync with the way their studentsand adults communicate outside ofschool today. It’s as if we’re preparingkids for the past instead of the future.It doesn’t have to be that way.

Today’s methods of social network-ing and the technologies that supportthem offer powerful examples of howeducators can connect to the “real”world of our client population.

So how do we adapt schools to fullyengage with the Web 2.0 world? Weare seeing educators work to includeaspects of Web 2.0 into their teachingthrough the use of wikis, forums, andblogs. Administrators are integrat-ing classroom management softwareand curriculum mapping systems attheir schools. These parts are com-ing together to build virtual learningcommunities. The next logical stepwould seem to be the creation of anall-in-one, online communication andcollaboration system for schools thatleverages the best of what Web 2.0offers. The Hong Kong InternationalSchool (HKIS) has taken this leap tocreate its own all-in-one Web-basedsystem called myDragonNet (http://dragonet.hkis.edu.hk).

Building SupportThe school previously piloted a toolbuilt in-house that stored documentsand provided for a limited calendarcreation ability. The need grew for aclassroom management program aswell as a curriculum mapping system.Like most schools, HKIS already hadan Internet presence (called Dragon-Net) that many teachers used to post

resources, contacts, and informationabout their classes such as a calendarfor scheduling assignments. Manyused e-mail regularly. But as otherneeds and opportunities presentedthemselves, a bigger vision developed.Teachers needed a three-componentsystem to:

enhance communication and col-laboration for themselves and theirstudents to support classroom andco-curricular activities (classroomand group management)provide curriculum mapping, re-source repository, and archive re-sources (curriculum development)serve as an online portfolio man-agement system to support studentand teacher reflection with a lon-gitudinal review of their learning(electronic portfolios)

Rather than purchase separate com-mercial software packages or adaptopen source options, HKIS adminis-trators supported the vision of highschool technology coordinator DavidElliott and associate principal KarenMoffat to develop a single, Web-basedtool to meet all three of these needs.Justin Hardman, an alumnus of HKIS(and co-author of this article), washired to enhance and fully developthis tool. It was named myDragonNetto reflect the intention to make it apersonalized educational online work-space within our larger communityand academic Web site.

Hardman began working with stu-dents, teachers, and administratorsresearching their needs and ideas forhow myDragonNet should work forthem. The development was groundedin the idea that all functions should beintegrated. Hardman used the meta-phor of a three-legged stool as he edu-cated the community about myDrag-

onNet and its purpose. He also sharedthe value of myDragonNet’s structureand interface as it reflects the school’sstrategic mission and provides amechanism to support the realizationof its long-term strategic goals. At thesame time, it is a practical tool de-signed to reflect the ways that teachersand students actually work.

Exploiting Online InteractionAs Hardman developed myDragon-Net, he saw how it was taking on thecharacteristics of a Web 2.0 service.The integrated and collaborative, yetpersonalized, nature of myDragon-Net, combined with its facility to easilysearch, index, and share resources arecharacteristic of Web 2.0 environ-ments. Additionally, many elementsof its interface resembled other Web2.0 resources. Because students and faculty enter school already having themental framework for online collabo-ration and communication from theirparticipation in the expanding array ofsocial networking services, the moveto support Web 2.0 capabilities becamea new focus for myDragonNet.

The design reflects the belief thatschools should seek to work withinand exploit this power of interactingonline. Looking at it the other way, thecommitment to promoting myDrag-onNet implies the understanding thatsocial networking represents a signifi-cant part of how students, teachers,and parents live and work outside ofschool. By providing an educationalenvironment that mirrors that of thereal world, myDragonNet supportsthe school’s goal of preparing studentsfor the varying literacies that theyneed in our networked world.

Creating ConnectionsAfter two years of development andcontinually rolling out updated ver-sions, the classroom and group man-agement portion of myDragonNet isnow in solid shape. Teachers managetheir individualized myDragonNet

This and the following two pages are reproduced from Learning & Leading with Technology, February 2007 issue.

By Justin Hardman and David Carpenter

Justin Hardman ’99MyDragonNet

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Alumni Profile

home pages that provide links to in-formation about their classes, sportsteams, and clubs. The power of theclass management system is in theconnections that are created betweenthe curriculum, the faculty, and stu-dents. The entire system is live, withall information entered by teachersavailable to students either immedi-ately or whenever the teacher decides.This information includes calendarentries, access to documents andmultimedia resources, forum posts,and e-mail messages. The power ofvisuals is supported by a photo gallerycomponent that allows for searchableimages and videos. Students or col-leagues working collaboratively canalso add electronic “sticky notes” toany resource entry. As the resourcesystem grows, the entire class manage-ment and curriculum system becomesan institutional knowledge manage-ment tool. It is as if all the teachers’file drawers are open for easy search-able browsing by other teachers.

A student’s overall educational ex-perience at school comes from activi-ties both inside and outside the class-room. Thus, space in myDragonNetis provided to after-school activities,sports teams, clubs, and even activitiesoutside school. These collaborativespaces enable our clubs, sports teams,faculty committees, and other com-munity groups to work together moreefficiently and effectively.

The curriculum development por-tion is designed to facilitate the devel-opment, storage, standards mapping,and archiving of curriculum. It iscentered in a unit planning templatebased on Jay McTighe and GrantWiggins’s Understanding by Designmodel. Standards and benchmarks arestored in a central database along withcurriculum resources. Units are orga-nized into curriculum libraries, whichare flexible groupings that could behigh or middle school courses or anelementary grade level’s work.

There are several built-in featuresthat enable more integrated andaligned curriculum to be written andanalyzed at each step in the process.For instance, whenever standardsappear for selection, their contex-tual equivalent appears alongsideto prevent repetition of content andto ensure coverage. Standards andbenchmarks can be searched to iden-tify where else in the curriculum theyare taught.

Standards and benchmarks can bereferenced at many different levels ofhierarchy in the curriculum. They canbe assigned to particular units in acurriculum library, as well as to indi-vidual learning objects and resourcesto allow very specific breakdowns ofcourse coverage. Resources such aspodcasts, videos, presentations, PDFs,and so on are stored in the unit re-

source area and can be linked to mul-tiple learning activities or assessmentsacross the curriculum.

The classroom management systemand the curriculum are totally inte-grated as unit plans and resources canbe added, transferred, and shared.This increases the efficiency of plan-ning and organizing within andbetween teams, especially with thedifficulty of finding common meetingtimes. Core components, includingthe messaging system, resource li-brary, calendar, and user profile, en-hance communication and accessibil-ity to resources. The messaging systemautomatically provides e-mail links tokey stakeholders in a student’s educa-tion. The teacher is only a click awayfrom communicating to the child’sparents, administrator, and studentservices point person.

Storing and ShowcasingThe electronic portfolio portion ofmyDragonNet provides our studentsand teachers with a digital storage anddisplay tool to save, share, and show-case their work. The goal is to capturea diverse set of work from studentsand teachers to show developmentover time while building in a mecha-nism for reflection. This process, andthe product it produces, are individualand creative. The myDragonNete-portfolio reflects the working styles

The calendar in myDragonNet is completely personalized, bringing together class, co-curricular, and personal entries.

Managing a variety of resources and media types is easy with myDragonNet.

20  Learning

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and passions of the individual it rep-resents. For teachers, it also facilitatesthe gathering of exemplary work.Teachers assigning a project can, thefollowing year, present examples ofpast students’ work and engage thestudents in a discussion of how wellthat work met expectations.

Although the e-portfolio is a spacefor teachers and students to recordtheir individual achievements, it doesso primarily through collection ofartifacts that are generated by theirsocial interactions with groups,classes, and communities within theschool. The portfolio has the capacityto be an assessment tool for classes,as well as an instrument for docu-mentation of achievement across allsix HKIS student learning results (theschool-wide learning standards/goals).

The portfolio system allows the userto generate any number of portfoliosfor different time periods, types ofmaterial, or audiences. Artifacts canbe shared between these portfoliosor they might be unique to just oneof them. The users have the abilityto work privately on their portfolioswith full control over who is grantedviewing access. The password pro-tected system enables our students asyoung as elementary age to safely posttheir work and ideas with options forviewer comments. Their portfolios arefeatured on an overview page, a sec-

tion of myDragonNet that is the user’s“face” within the system. This sectioncan be modified by the user to reflecthis or her own design preferences tobest reflect his or her personality tothe rest of the school community.

All three of the major systemcomponents are linked togetherhorizontally (between the legs of the“stool”) so resources and contentcan be transferred in ways that fitnaturally with educational processes.Students can submit work to theirclasses and include that work in theirportfolio at the same time. Teacherscan also transfer that work into thecurriculum as a student exemplar toguide future students and new teach-ers as well as parents. Content frommultiple classes can be merged intothe common curriculum space topromote common practice. The sys-tem is also linked together verticallythroough the “Personal Digital Work-space”—the individual home page onmyDragonNet that provides each userwith personalized access to notes,classes, and curriculum.

ConclusionWhat began as an online file storageand calendar system for one interna-tional school has grown into a multi-faceted virtual community experiencethat works to leverage aspects of Web2.0 to meet the users’ educational,

collaboration, and communicationneeds. The technical and educationalarchitecture of myDragonNet is suchthat it is designed for future adapta-tion and expansion. One belief behinddevelopment of the system is thatwe should never fool ourselves intothinking we perfectly address all ofour requirements or that the system isfuture proof. We also should not foolourselves into thinking that myDrag-onNet could supplant our students’desire for the latest social networkedpresence. We can only hope that theywill see that within the communityof myDragonNet that their identitiesand accomplishments are much moreauthentically represented than theywould be in Facebook or MySpace.

Justin Hardman works for the Education Technology Services Department at Hong Kong International School and has been working since he was in high school to help create Web-based programs

to enhance teaching and learning.

David Carpenter is the instruc-tional technologist for the Up-per Primary of the Hong Kong International School. He enjoys collaborating with teachers and administrators to design in-struction and curriculum.

The class home page provides an overview to units currently being taught, e-mail links, student drop boxes, and current calendar entries.

Personal work spaces can be as simple or advanced as users would like. Students and staff are encouraged to customize their pages.

February

visit us online at www.iste.org/LL

Copyright © 2007, ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education), 1.800.336.5191 (U.S. & Canada) or 1.541.302.3777 (Int’l), iste@iste.org, www.iste.org. All rights reserved.

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Class Notes

’68 Edmond Chen

exc2404@hotmail.com

Ginny HADINOTO: After graduation, I attended Wisconsin State University in Eau Claire, WI; where I met my husband of 36½ years. Since then, we have lived in Minnesota, Oklahoma, Indiana, Illinois and now here in Las Vegas, NV. We have one son, who recently (this past Thanks-giving Day) with his wife, became parents of our very first grandson. What a joy!! I went on a China/Hong Kong trip on April 9, 2007 with my church group from Com-munity Lutheran Church in Las Vegas, NV. Our last Sunday of the trip was a Sunday morning worship at the Church of All Nations (unbeknownest to me), which of course is the school I attended 40 years ago. Wow, what a thrill and what memories!! I feel sad that the trip couldn’t have been timed to coincide with the 40th celebration in June. But I was able to tour the building, etc. THANK YOU all who made that possible.

’69Christy Wendell

Christywendell@aol.com

’70Seeking Class Agent(s)

Blair T. CARLSON: I remember having our 9th Grade classes in the master bed-room of an apartment in Tai Tam, and be-ing the first 10th Grade in the Repulse Bay school. Since graduating in 1970, I went on to Wheaton College near Chicago and studied Art and Anthropology. My inter-national job gave the opportunity to live in many different countries. I met my wife Elizabeth in Amsterdam, and we’re blessed with two daughters. A major career change in 2000 took the family and me to England where I studied theology and was ordained an Anglican minister. I am now serving in a newly-formed Anglican church in Minnesota and also working with two faith-based foundations. As I look back I see God’s hand in each step. I’m grateful

for my Hong Kong roots, and pray God’s blessing on friends from so long ago.

Blair with his family

’71Akinori Fukue

fukue@wondernet.ne.jp Wilfred Koo

wk@givenchy.com.hk

David JAMeS: I am currently serving as Associate Vice Provost for Academic Programs at UNLV, responsible for Program Review, New programs, Accredi-tation and General Education at UNLV, a public university with 28,000 students that awards baccalaureate, masters and doctor-ate degrees.

Annamarie CANNARATA Mc-Gowan: Gongxi HKIS! I am sorry to miss this special anniversary celebration! I had planned to attend with my daughter, Sara, but we have postponed our trip to Asia until Fall/Winter 2007 when Sara, a student at Union College, Schenectady, NY, will be spending her semester abroad at Fudan University in Shanghai. I look

forward to joining her in Shanghai, tour-ing China, and most especially visiting Hong Kong sometime in November or December. I have attached two favorite photos taken in Italy where we spend most of our travel vacation time visiting fam-ily in Rome. I have also attached a prom photo from 1972 featuring Robert Gould, myself, Graham McAusland, and Seanna Laughlin Desmond. I look forward to news and photos from the June event and look forward to our visit later in the year.

’72 Debbie Smiley

manaw@aol.com

’73Seeking Class Agent(s)

’74Scott Waterman

swaterman@mn.rr.com

Where are They Now?

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scottkwaterman@yahoo.com

’75Judith Porter Rower jrower@hotmail.com

’76 Brad Doyle

bdoyle@jbdoyle.com

’77 Rosemary Garvey

Jill Liddiard Hedenstadhksbalum@yahoo.com

’78 Richard Grayson

rgrayson@cboil.cnchost.com Richard Eric Eichelberger R_Eichelberger@msn.com

Debbie BLAKNeY Ruxer: I am hap-pily remarried, living in Dayton, Ohio, and practicing as an Advanced Practice Nurse in a local hospital. I am hoping to open my own practice some day, as I am a Certified Nurse Midwife. I have five chil-dren (ages 16-25), and my husband has two (twins, age 26). Between the two of us we have seven children, three daugh-ters-in-law, three grandchildren and one on the way! So life is busy at times. I wish I could come to the celebration, but finances won’t permit at this time. I’d love to hear from friends. My email: debdances@sbcglobal.net

Bob TuRNIPSeeD: I am now living in Lansdale, PA with my wonderful wife Deb and two super children, Luke (15) and Olivia (11). We have been active in

a great church, Calvary Church, since we moved to PA in 1998. Recently, Peter Clements ’79 and his son spent the night with me and we had a delightful time catching up since we had last seen each other over 12 years ago. My sister, Jeanne ’74 lives nearby with her family. Although I only spent two years at HKIS there are many fond memories. Hopefully in the not too distant future we will be able to visit and I can show my kids the school. Other tidbits, both my wife and son are now karate black belts; I am working at Bank of America in Risk Management; both kids are thespians and very active both at school and church in drama; my son thought it would be a good idea for me to lead a Bible Study with his friends, how cool! God is so good and has really blessed me with a delightful family. Best wishes to everyone.

Nicole YOuNG: I’m so excited to finally find some link to my past. I would dearly love to hear from any one who knew me from our time at the school and to hear what their lives are up to.

’79 Kenneth Koo

kkoo@tccfleet.com

’80Jonathan Lutz

jonathanlutz@stanfordalumni.orgPatrick Pang

pepang@aol.com

M i c h a e l H e R B e R T : samuraiconversion@yahoo.com There is this great website called “Classmates.com” where for free you can hook up with old friends from just about any school and any year of your choice. I recently contacted some of my friends from Cupertino H.S. in the SFO bay area, the school I had at-tended for 1.5 years before HKIS. I was thinking back to those first 4-6 months in Hong Kong and what a cultural shock it was for me coming from Cupertino, CA. with 15,000 residents to Gotham city with millions. But after the initial shock faded, Hong Kong became my second home. I

have revisited Hong Kong in 1981, 1985, and 1988. Its been 18+ years since I have visited, And unfortunately I won’t be able to attend the 40 year gala. Do to my new con-tract in Santa Cruz. I hope that everyone though, has goodtime in June. I have been an Independent Electronics Contractor for 20 years in Silicon Valley (Santa Clara), Santa Cruz, and San Luis Obispo counties in California. I have worked with SUN Mi-crosystems, Watkin-Johnsons SEG, Ultra Stereo Labs, Photon Dynamics, and about 32 smaller outfits. And I’m always looking for new prospects. Happy 40th anniversary Hong Kong International School

Patrick PANG and Tree Johnston met up with Sheila Baker Gujul ’82 in New York City in March when Sheila took her fam-ily out to investigate a possible venue for her planning of the Class of ’82 25th Year Reunion in August. I can attest that those attending will enjoy a very tasty Chinese banquet.

Jeff SINfIeLD: My younger sister Su-san, brother Chris ’85 and myself took the whole family to Kauai for a week last July. We had a great time there, and it is always good to get away for some fun in the sun. Currently, I enjoy the good life in San Cle-mente, California and keep busy working as a mortgage consultant. All the Best!Jeff.sinfield@cox.net

sinfield’s Family Reunion at Kauai in July 2006 for Jeff ’80 and Chris ’85

’81 Karen Staniek-Gerhardt staniekgerhardt@online.de Anna Margaretta Agell agella@blazenetme.net

Jeff CHeNG writes from sunny southern California: I reside in Newport Beach. I

sheila and her husband gautam and daughter Maya, Patrick, Tree, sheila’s son Vinesh

Class Notes

�0 DragonTales

honestly think I live in the best place in the world (perhaps a bit biased). The sun liter-ally shines 330 out of 365 days a year and the temperature spread goes from 50 to 90. Not much to complain about there. I have owned an investment company for about 10 years now. In addition to commercial property my company has some exciting investments such as the YardHouse Res-taurants (www.yardhouse.com) which is predominantly located here in California. There are 16 locations and the chain con-tinues to rapidly expand. I am also a one third owner in an auto salvage and parts business that recycles about 800+ cars per month. I am still single (but involved with someone). For fun I am an adrenaline junkie. I am an avid Ferrari enthusiast and

currently own four of them. One of them is a race car which I take to various club and track events (nothing professional). It’s mostly guys (and some girls) who love to really drive their cars. I also boat a lot in the summer. Between the two hobbies there’s not much time for anything else. Jeff sent us some pictures of his hobbies.

More news from southern California, this time from Jim HeRBeIN: About me, I live in Camarillo, CA, north of Los An-geles. I’ve been here for 6 years and I work in aerospace at Northrop Grumman. I left Hong Kong with short notice in 1979. My parents and I moved to Connecticut. I left CT in 1990 for California. I’m still single.

I haven’t seen people from HK since I left CT. Here in CA I hike and mountain bike. I do more mountain biking than anything else. The mountains are close and we have many trails to ride everyday. This winter I’ve been skiing at Mammoth Mtn, CA. I

just started skiing again last year. It’s great fun!! I still jog a little, I kept that going from HKIS track and field. I can’t make the mega reunion. It would be nice to see everyone again. I was back on HK about five years ago with family. It’s not exactly the same as before, but there are many things that haven’t changed. Thinking about it makes me miss it again. And here’s some recent pictures of Jim.

From the east coast, Sandra MIAO writes: Greetings class of ’81. I attended HKIS from 4th - 8th grade, and was re-connected just last year when I heard of our 25th reunion. Although I was unable to attend our reunion in Boston, I did get a chance to catch up with Karen Sta-niek, Karen Karr and Shannon Sullivan in Washington DC a few days before the reunion. I currently live outside of Wash-ington DC in Vienna, VA with my hus-band of 15 years, Claudio Borgiotti, my two daughters, Isabella (11) and Giovanna (8). We are an active family - we enjoy ski-ing out west, scuba diving in the Carib-bean and playing volleyball on the beach. After leaving Hong Kong in ’76, my family moved to Rockville, MD, where I gradu-ated from high school and then attended the University of Maryland (BS in Eco-nomics - any other Terrapins out there?) I met my husband soon after, and was married in ’91. My husband works as an IT professional, while I work for a direct mail fundraising consulting firm. I’ve had a lot of fun reading through old Dragon Tales and checking out what people are talking about on the Dragon Train. I’m looking forward to seeing everyone in At-lanta for our 30th reunion.

We also received some pictures from Mike Lombardo. One of his family taken last summer, and one with his wife Kathy celebrating their 20th anniversary in Paris.

And finally, we’ve decided to spice up the class notes with a trivia section ... this picture was sent in for our 25-year reunion scrap book by Jim Herbein… Who can identify all the people in this picture and the year it was taken?!

’82 Sheila Baker Gujral

sheilamcneila@hotmail.com

Sheila BAKeR Gujral: By the time this is published, we will be close to our 25th reunion. Our reunion will take place this summer, August 3-5, 2007, in New York City. I have been busy finding lost alumni from the many years I attended (I found Nick Champeau!) and we hope to have a great turnout. We will be having a Friday night cocktail reception, Satur-day night Chinese banquet, and a “tram party” – a night time tour of Manhattan in a double decker bus. (At least that is the schedule as of April 2007.) You can visit the reunion website at http://hkis82.com. All information regarding activities, accomodations, attendees, and alum-ni updates is constantly revised there.

John ReIZMAN: After living in Oregon for the last 15 years, John has moved back to the San Francisco Bay Area. He is now

sandra and her daughters isabella and giovanna and her husband Claudio

DragonTales �1

living in San Rafael, California and work-ing for the Novato Unified School District in Marin County.

’83 Brett Rossuck

kitchencowboy@aol.com

Ann A. HuSe: I just moved out of New York City to a small town on the Jersey Shore, where I live in a “shore shack” with my husband, David, our dog, and a band of feral cats that has adopted us. My com-mute into the city to teach English litera-ture has given me the first chance to ride a boat regularly since I left behind the pleas-ures of crossing Hong Kong Harbor on the third-class level of the Star Ferry.

Louisa KwAN: I finally got married on Chinese New Year’s Eve on January 28, 2006. In attendance were HKIS alums: my brother, Bobby Kwan ’87, Joyce SHEK Barrone, Amy WEINBERG Kretkowski, Seiichi Saito, and David Agell. The cer-emony and reception were held in Marina Del Rey, CA. I am currently a visual effects production manager at Sony Imageworks. Worked on “Monster House” and current-ly on “Beowulf” which will be released in November 2007.

louisa and Tim

’84 Pattie Bossany Gordon

gordonsinasia@yahoo.com James Hamel

jaham1@yahoo.com Christopher Reed

chris_reed@capgroup.com

Chris ReeD: I am working as an analyst at Capital Research, an investment company that manages the American Funds family of mutual funds in the States. After years of looking, we finally found a house in the French-speaking part of Switzerland about half way between Geneva and Lausanne. We have been in Switzerland for six years and plan to stay for at least another ten until our children finish school. It is fun to compare the experiences our children

our having at the International School of Geneva with those I had at HKIS.

’85 Michael James Taylor

martinplayer@rogers.comLori Delahunty

dscvrme@hotmail.com

Terri PeTeRSON Irwin: My family has moved from San Diego to Las Vegas. We wanted a house where the kids could swim and have their own space. Taylor (16) has somewhat adjusted to Las Vegas. He is in all honors classes and is doing quite well, but would still like to be down at the beach. Lindsay (10) is also doing awesome in school and is on the academy team for her soccer club, which means Stuart and I are traveling and practicing alot. If anyone is in the area and give us a jiggle and lets hook up. Class of ’85 you’re still awesome.

Karen PATANO Lakeman: Imagine my stunned surprise to run into my first alumnus since graduation, right here in Mobile, AL. I was pre-registering Tyler for kindergarten in March ’06 when I saw a VERY familiar face pass me in the school lobby. I just had to ask....and it was....Nao-mi LUSK Lay, ’82! She’s an ESL teacher for several schools here in Mobile. It was as if no time had passed, and we have rimi-nisced in the school office this year about our HK memories, and especially being in “Little Mary Sunshine” together in 1982. I left my supervisor position with Kelly Services in Sept. ’06, after 11.5 yrs, to ful-fill my dream of a “stay at home” mom. I’m busier than ever: on the PTO board, volun-teering in the school office once a week (or as needed!), being Room Mom, and doing all the wonderful things I had no time to do when I worked for pay. Not to men-tion my “fun job” of being a ‘jewelry lady’ with Premier Designs. Now I can be free to take off with my husband as he is able, and enjoy our new camper, or hitch a ride with him to Ashville, NC where he attends training classes twice a year (and tag on a trip through Gatlinburg on the way home). My mom (high school secretary ’80-’84) “Miss Betty” lives within 10 minutes of us, and she keeps in touch with Maureen

McCoy (former h.s. French teacher) who is now a high school principal. So much fun to hear about everyone and see photos. Can’t possi-bly be 22 years, can it? But, life is good!! lakemank@bellsouth.net Karen, Kenny and son Tyler in the smoky Mountains, Thanksgiving ’06

Linda Jo MALLOY: Greetings from Toronto! I am working as a Greenhouse Grower for the Parks Department. I still travel a lot, especially to Guatemala. Five years ago I learned to fire dance there. Now I do the occasional show with my firesister, Lindsay. I just put together a web site www.myspace.com/firesisters which has some videos of us.

Mark wILLIAMS: Greetings from the beautiful wine county of California. I am still living in Healdsburg, California, about an hour north of San Francisco. I have grown to love this area and still be-lieve that is some of the most beautiful

HKis alums: David agell ’83, Joyce shek ’82, louisa Kwan ’83, seiichi saito ’83, amy weinberg ’83, ab Basu

Chris finishing the lausanne Marathon, October 2006

Class Notes

�� DragonTales

countryside I have ever seen. I am getting ready to celebrate my 18th Wedding An-niversary to my wife Lynn who I met in Bible College. My kids, Grace (age 12) and Harrison (age 7), are growing up quick. My last year has been quite a blur, with trips to the Mexican Riviera, Washington District of Columbia, and to Zambia, Africa.

My trip to Zambia was quite eye open-ing. I went as part of a medical brigade to deliver over US$70,000 of medicine to orphanages and to a small village in great need, located in the northern part of Zambia known as Ndola, I also went to encourage pastors from all denomina-tions in the area. It was truly a life chang-ing experience and one I hope to be doing again this coming July.

If you would like to get in contact with me you can email me at mark@hopehealdsburg.comMark with the kids in Zambia

’86 Christine Wong

yellow.nyc@gmail.com

Stephen DOe: I have been working in China for over 10 years managing a group of major chain department stores under the name of “Printemps”. Anyone is wel-come to visit me while they are in China!!! Email: stephen.doe@printemps.com.cn or stephen.doe@ports1961.com at work, or personal email: stephendoe@gmail.com

stephenDoe ’86

Derek KwIK: David Wu ’86 and Joce-lyn Wong ’97 recently gave birth to baby girl, Janice. Recently, I had a chance to visit them and Janice is truly a bundle of joy! On April 1st, Susan Carpenter ’86 stopped by Hong Kong as part of her “trip around the world”, we had a fantastic dim sum meal with Amy Ng ’86. As for me, I am in the final throes of publishing my first motiva-tional book. It has been a year long work-in-progress and recounts my life changing experiences in the Gobi Desert, Atacama Desert, Sahara Desert and the South Pole. The title has yet to be decided and it will hit bookstores this summer. All proceeds will go to my charity, the Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Animals. Work has been going well and I was recently in-terviewed on the Bloomberg Television channel. If anyone wants to get in touch with me, email me at ktderek@hotmail.

com.

Tracey LeSHeR Limone: Hello eve-rybody. After High school I ended up in London and then New York City and after 17 years in the retail Industry working for Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger and others, i have retired and dedicated myself to raising my two children. Gabriela is 6 ½ and Nicolas is 19 months. My husband Joe and I live in Weston, CT .I was so sad that I could not go to the 20th year class of ’86 reunion Las Vegas as we were in the middle of a house move. I heard it was great. Still in touch with Brier Muse ’85 and Janice Karr and Devra Langford . Miss everybody. Miss Hong Kong. My Brother still visits Hong Kong alot and fills me in as he lives in Tokyo. Hope everyone is safe,

healthy and happy. Special hello to Will Chang and staff.

’87 Gareth Matthews

gareth.matthews@sprintemi.com Jeffrey Tsai

jeffreytsai@mac.com Heidi Bayfield Chekouras

heb9769@hotmail.com

Bobby KwAN: I am currently still work-ing in Shanghai, PRC, as retail network development. Have already been working in Shanghai for almost 7 years already. As more and more expats are relocating to Shanghai, shall there be alumni coming to town for work or leisure please feel free to drop me a note at bobbyk@netvigator.com, shall information or assistance be needed about Shanghai or PRC.

Heather M. O’BRIeN: Since gradu-ating from HKIS, I attended Occidental College for a bachelor degree in Arts, then Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) for a master degree. I fulfilled a dream by joining the department of peacekeeping operations with the United Nations (UN) and worked for the UN as a peacekeeper in Croatia, Bosnia and East Timor for nearly five years. I left the UN to start up

my own investment and business advi-sory services com-pany in Singapore which was a great challenge and lots of fun. It is still operat-

Chris and his children Kevin (8), Brian (13) and eileen (10) in Cyprus over Christmas break, December 2006

DragonTales ��

ing, with offices in emerging markets in Indochina and India. I left to join Boeing for a while until they recently shut down my internet business unit. I am now in Singapore job searching and taking care of my Portuguese water dog, Java.

’88 Prescille P. Chu

prescillechu@hotmail.com Margaret Wadhwani

molly_wadhwani@scualum.com Debby Tuck

deb70@yahoo.com

Karen KeSTeNBAuM Bennett: I have such fond memories of HKIS and our class seems to lack updates so here it goes. In the almost 20 years (yikes) since graduation, I have left a career in market-ing which included living in Europe for a few years be at home with my children. I

am married to a wonderful guy, Todd, who is from the south. We live in Greenville, South Carolina and own a Chick-fil-A res-taurant (anyone that is from the southern region will recognize the chain). We have three children, two girls Chloe and Lexi who are both five years old (we adopted Chloe while I was six month pregnant with

Lexi) and a 2 year old son Jake. We love Greenville and are active in our church. We especially can’t wait to begin showing our kids the places around the world we love including Hong Kong. We of course would love to welcome anyone traveling through the area... Chick-fil-A on us!!Chloe, Jake, lexi

’89 Michael Thompson

Angela Stich Easterwood angeast@msn.com

Jennifer Fresco jennifer.fresco@custom-accessories.com Tanya MCGuINNeSS Beck: We all got together in mid-February for a mini-reunion in Fort Lauderdale. We had a blast and cannot wait until the 20 Year (together with 1988) next year in San Francisco.Tanya Mcguinness Beck, Jeff Magarity, Tania Hickson Phillips and Julie noethlich Carlson

erum SHAH: Dear Alumni, I am now living in Karachi, Pakistan and wish all my classmates well. I am living with my fam-ily in our hometown and I am practicing to become a Human Resources Trainee. I have been out of touch with all my class-mates since I graduated from HKIS. I was working with HSBC Pakistan once upon a time but I changed jobs in the banking sector with good perks. I am looking for Pinki Benjani and Juliet Halloran, if you read this in our alumni mail pls do get in touch with me on my email address which is provided below. erumshaz@yahoo.com At this time i would like to give my regards to the HKIS Faculty members who I have cherished as teachers through out my ac-ademic years with HKIS. I am enclosing my recent photo for my alumni. Take care. Regards.

Kimberly BeRG farnsworth: I am currently living in Phoenix, Arizona where I have lived for the last six years. In that time I received a master degree from Ari-zona State University in Educational Tech-nology and was a doctoral candidate in the same program. I also met and married my husband, Kent Farnsworth, in October

2003, and we have two little girls, Maija Liisa (born January 2005) and Rebekah Sue (born January 2007). I’m looking for-ward to the upcoming 20 year (gulp!) class reunion for classes of ’88 and ’89. Please stay in touch! kimberlyberg@yahoo.comfamilyfarnsworth@yahoo.com

Terry MALLOY: Just got married in June in Finland, to a Finnish woman! Terry now is in a band in Colorado called Kan’Nal (www.kannal.org).

erika SCHLAITZeR Meier: Hello! Life continues to be exciting and busy. John and I purchased his retro refund and risk man-agement corporation several years ago. We are busy working as it thrives and grows, here in Washington State. Our brood has expanded to include a third daughter in 2005. Abigail (18 months) joins her sib-lings Megan (age 9), Matthew (age 7), and Amanda (age 5) in many activities and adventures. We enjoy trips to Colorado to visit family and Hawaii for family va-cations. Along with working as Corporate Treasurer, I am active at the kids’ school running volunteer programs and serving on an advisory committee. All my best to my classmates. Have a great time at the

20 year reunion. It is hard to believe that much time has passed already.Matthew, Megan, abby, erika, amanda

Meghan MuRRAY Parisi will be vis-iting Japan and Hong Kong with her hsub-and in late May and early June. She is very excited to have the opportunity to show her husband around Hong Kong!

’90

Class Notes

�� DragonTales

Betty Chung chungbyc@aol.com

Suzanna Lee: Hello fellow HKIS’ers! Boy, where has the time gone? I can’t be-lieve I’m now a mother of two children! Nikolas is four years old and Mia will turn one in June. They are an absolute joy and very well behaved. We’re looking forward to our summer and a couple of weeks at sea

on the Disney Medi-terranean cruise. My husband, Michael, is still plugging along with CitiGroup though one never knows when that might change.

Thankfully, he survived the latest round of layoffs. His job still keeps us here in IL, not too far from my parents. I still work part time as a Physical Therapist, I love my profession. I’m actually currently leaving my job of three years and setting out on a new adventure closer to home. If you’re in the neighborhood and looking for a great Physical Therapy clinic look up the Ath-letiCo in Lake in the Hills on Randall Rd! My sister, Marina ’93 is now a mother too! Her little fellow, Sebastien, just had his first birthday. They are all out in Rockville, MD. Marina works at the NIH with zebra fish. Jonathan ’94, my brother, is married to his college girlfriend. They wed in De-cember of this past year. They both live

in Indianapolis, just minutes from my par-ents. Jonathan works for Lib-erty Mutual. I’m back in contact with my HKIS cohort, Kristi. She hopefully is writing in herself to share her news, but just in case, don’t want to steal her lime-light, she has just had a baby boy whose name is Cooper. He’s a handsome, hungry little fellow! Hope everybody is doing well. If you’re out in the far northwest suburbs of Chicago, give me a buzz!

Richard LIu: I am proud to announce the birth of my second son, Carson Samuel Liu. He was born on March 30, 2007. He along with his mother and big brother are all doing well. To contact me or for further updates, please visit: http://www.myspace.com/rliu.

Richard, Hunter, Carson

erik MuTHeR: After 12 years of con-sulting at Accenture, I decided to make a change into the non-profit world. I am working with an alliance of healthcare organizations to develop a statewide ap-proach to health care quality measure-ment for Pennsylvania. Transparency of information in health care is a growing area of interest and this position brings me to the forefront of that effort in Pennsyl-vania. Also, moving out of consulting al-lows for more time with my two wonderful boys, Simon (age 3) and Tobias (age 1). Still waiting for HKIS visitors to Philadelphia!

’91

Christine Rio Gaxiola christinegaxiola@yahoo.com

Heath Michael Van Luchene heathrona@aol.com

Desmond Chu deschu@netvigator.com

Angela Teng angelateng@yahoo.com

Benjamin Lee: Hey people! I have been living in Shanghai for a year and a half, and I have been in China for nearly five years. I am teaching in the international stream of Xiehe Bilingual school. Last time I was in the class notes while I was in Shenzhen teaching kindergarten kids, and now I am teaching Humanities to middle school students. If anybody is in Shanghai, please drop me a line: benjaminl@suis.com.cn It would be great to hear from you, to catch up on things, and – of course – talk about going to school at HKIS! PS: I’ve got a ‘myspace’ too ^_^

’92Timothy Chen

timothy.chen@morganstanley.com Iain David McGlashan imcglashan@mac.com

Timothy CHeN: Dear friends, I am hap-py to announce that I got married to Carrie Sim last November in Toronto. Weather was a little chilly, but it was great to see my old friends from HKIS with Teddy Fong ’92 and Chris Lok ’92 as two of my grooms-men. My younger brother Philip Chen ’97 was my bestman. After the festivities in Toronto, Carrie and I went to Bora Bora and Queenstown for our honeymoon. It was absolutely beautiful - we would highly recommend it for those of you plan-ning for a roman-tic getaway! Hope to see some of you in Hong Kong for the upcoming 40th

Our oldest daughter, Maija liisa, now 2 years old

The newest addition, Rebekah sue, born January 15, 2007

Mia and her husband Michael, daughter Mia (in stroller) and son nikolas

DragonTales ��

Anniversary gathering.

Left: Tim ’92 and Carrie sim;below: Teddy Fong ’92, Philip Chen ’97, Chris lok ’92 and the rest of the groomsmen carrying Tim and his “ball and chain”

wendy HeYSe Galluppi: I have been teaching elementary schools for 11 years, how quickly time seems to fly. I was mar-

ried in June to the love of my life and we are living in Cincinnati, Ohio. My twin Mandy ’92, and Pam Sign-er ’92 were both in my wedding and it was wonderful to

have family and friends with me. Mandy was also married in October and lives here in Cincinnati. I would love to hear how everyone is doing: wendyheyse@hotmail.com

’93 Timothy Gregg

timgregg@hotmail.com Amy Ruhter McMillan aruhter@iesabroad.org

Liz LONGLeY: Hello from Washington, District of Colombia! The big news with me is that my husband and I are expecting a baby girl June 12, 2007. We’re thrilled and can’t wait for her arrival! Life continues to go well for us here. We can be reached at longley_liz@yahoo.com.

Darlene LANHAM: I stayed in Aus-tin, Texas after studying Public Affairs at the Lyndon B. Johnson School at UT. Currently, I’m a policy analyst for Texas Municipal Police Association; we work to professionalize law enforcement through education and representation. I stay active in the community as a Commissioner for the Austin Commission for Women and a criminal justice advisor on our regional council of governments. I volunteer for the National Coalition Building Institute, an international organization that works to reduce inter-group conflict, the Texas Fo-

rums/National Issues Forums and I’m the Treasurer for the Central Texas Chapter of the American Society for Public Admin-istration. Sarah Todd and I see movies to-gether with fair regularity. I had a papaya salad with Kemal Arsan ’93 in New York City a few months ago, and try to keep up with Mona Baroudi ’93. Damon Williams ’93 and his wife Hannah moved here and we’re always running into each other at a local sushi place (one would not expect to find amazing sushi in Central Texas, but it’s a very delicious reality!). Bijoy Gos-wami ’91 lives here and he and I happy-hour on occasion – it’s a small enough city that I often spot him zipping around in his little convertible (he once almost ran me over as I was jaywalking across the street-- he says purely by coincidence!). My little sister, Deana Lanham Mitchell ’96, who’s a doctor in Florida, does her best to keep tabs on me (haha). Come and visit Austin; it’s a lovely place to spend time.

Darlene and Deana at graduation

Lisa TING: Henry, my husband, and I live in Brookline, Massachusetts. We have

a 10 month old baby girl named Ellie Ting Chen. I taught elemen-tary school the last couple of years and decid-ed to take this year off to take care of Ellie.

’94Tiffany Bissey

tbissey@gmail.com Michal Fisher Pemper

mpemper@hotmail.com Norman Ho

romanic@singnet.com.sg

(ClassNotesfor’94submittedbyJohnDennisBAUTISTA’94)

Archie GO: Archie married Chizuko Iwashiro on February 10, 2007 at Sanc-tuario de San Antonio Church in Makati City, Philippines. It was a very beautiful ceremony and the couple will be living in upstate New York where Archie just re-cently relocated to for his work with Hi-tachi. Also present at the wedding were John Dennis Bautista ’94, Howard Tang ’94, and Samson Chua. Though not all of the MTBA (Meeting Time Basketball As-sociation) including Anup Mirchandani, Albert Leung, Arvin Bautista, Atty. Tom Scollon, Kevin Lam, Jackie To, Lermin Kwan, Dr. Aravind Menon, Danny Lung, Ryu Voelkel could attend, they were all there in spirit in celebrating Archie and Chizuko’s new life together!

archie with Chizuko at their weddingJohn Dennis Bautista ’94 (Middle), and Howard Tang ’94 with his girlfriend Candy, join archie and Chizuko at their big day

Tom SCOLLON: Ben, Tom and Chris-tie’s son, is on his 6th month and is getting bigger each day.

Jackie TO: Recently got engaged and will get married later this year.

Howard TANG: Living in HK and work-ing in the public relations/marketing field there.

Anup MIRCHANDANI: Recently im-migrated to Singapore where he hopes to start a family of his own with his lovely

wendy at her wedding, June 2006

Class Notes

�� DragonTales

wife, Neetu.

Albert LeuNG: Living and working in New York City with his wife, Kristin.

Arvin BAuTISTA: Living and work-ing in San Francisco and still working on his own comic book, and has a car named “Betsy”.

Kevin LAM: Liv-ing and working in Toronto; contin-ues to be an auto-motive enthusiast along with Archie ’94.

Aravind Me-NON: Currently in the process of moving into his

new home in Connecticut with his beau-tiful wife, Leena.

Lermin KwAN: Living and working in Boston and is still as intense in sports as he was in high school.

Ryu VOeLKeL: Living in London and working all over Europe as a freelance photojournalist; he gets to cover all the big football matches and of course the best seats in the arenas.

Rosalynn Lee: I’ve led a primarily academic life since high school. I was an Environmental Science major at the Uni-versity of Virginia. I received my Ph.D. in Marine Sciences from the University of Georgia, and now I’m a post-doc at Rut-gers University (in NJ). My research has focused on nitrogen cycling in coastal environments from salt marshes along the east coast (Georgia, Massachusetts) and the Netherlands to my dissertation work in Belizean mangroves. I don’t think I would have made it this far without Mrs. McCarthy, who was a fantastic high school chemistry teacher and solid supporter of the environmental club – THANK YOU wherever you are!

On the side, Rosalynn lee (’94) fosters rescue beagles like nina

Jasper MACSLARROw: I am cur-rently living in Bellingham, Washington – about 30 miles south of the Ca-nadian border. My wife Tiffany and I moved here from Washington, DC about three years ago and are hav-ing a great time. I ran for the Washington State Legislature

last year and lost in a close race and am now working for U.S. Congressman Rick Larsen in his district office. Tiff and I had a chance to visit HKIS during the summer of 2005 and it felt fantastic to walk in the halls of the schools again. I ended up play-ing basketball for most of a day with Tyler Kroos, Jeff Yang, Ted Hurley, and Bo Har-vey and then hanging out at the Ameri-can Club before hitting Lamma Island for dinner – perhaps the greatest afternoon in the last decade! Anyways, I’d love to hear from any folks out there. My email is jasper.macslarrow@mail.house.gov so feel free to drop me a line!

’95 David Cheng

dcheng23@hotmail.com

Lauren DRuMGOOLe Stach: Hi All, Where to begin… I still keep in touch with people from HKIS but I have not sent in an update for the DragonTales. I am in Logistics for Fischer Automotive Systems in Auburn Hills, MI. I am married to a wonderful man named Fred and we have a beautiful 3 year old son named Brody and a 1½ year old dog named Gunner. In March 2006 I was diagnosed with Stage IIIc Breast Cancer, after numerous surgeries, chemo-

therapy and radiation treatments I am of-ficially a CANCER SURVIVOR! I would like to thank all of you that knew and had myself and my family in your prayers we could not have done it without you. Any-one that would like to keep in touch, here’s my email lauren.stach@yahoo.com, and I would love to hear from you.

lauren, Fred, Brody

Charles TSuI: Since graduating from Georgetown University in 1999, I’ve been living and working in the Washington, DC area. Right now, I’m busy preparing for my wedding on June 9th of this year. I’d love to get back in touch with any HKIS alum - especially anyone on the East Coast interested in a mini get-together! charlesgtsui@gmail.com http://www.charlestsui.com/

Anitra BuffINGTON winkler: I am living in Hellertown, Pennsylvania. A lot has been going on since I graduated from Georgia Southern University. I was a man-ager of a restaurant for three years where I met my current husband. We got engaged and he went to Kosovo for the Army Re-serves. When he came home, we were go-ing to be married in May, but our plans got derailed. He was sent to Iraq, so we got married two days before he left. That was 2003. He came home Christ-mas Eve 2003. Since then, we have had our beautiful son Mason Charles Winkler who is now 1½. I am now work part time at a salon, own my own business, and of course have mother other full time job as MOM, but I love every minute of it!

’96Kelly Bissey

kmbissey@gmail.com Sara Dallaire

Sara.dallaire@gmail.comFahd Bilal Hakim

fbh04@aol.com Jennifer Doman

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jenginad@hotmail.com

Deana LANHAM Mitchell: Greetings from the Mitchell household! I have been married now for five years to a wonder-ful man named Dax (see picture), who is a ceramics artist and an electrician, and we are currently working on starting a family. We lived in Fort Worth, Texas while I at-tended medical school at the University of North Texas Health Science Center under an Air Force scholarship. I graduated in 2006 and entered into active duty as a cap-tian. We moved to Florida where we are now stationed at Eglin Air Force Base. I am currently finishing up my internship in family practice, and we will be here until I finish residency in 2009. My E-mail ad-dress is: docdeamitch@yahoo.com. Drop a line sometime or come visit. It’s beauti-ful here with luscious white sandy beaches and crystal clear blue water! My sister Dar-lene ’93 is doing awesome and progressing up the political ladder in Austin,Texas and my parents retired and now live in Azle, Texas.

’97 Josephine Chiang

Josie_chiang@yahoo.

comTimothy Lo

lo_tim@hotmail.com

Meghan Sul-livan Smith

meghansmith2000@cox.net Lisa Tan

lisa@lisatan.com Victor Hip Wo Yeung

yeesung@gmail.com

Petra fORSBeRG Ljungkvist: I got married on July 29, 2006 in Höllviken, Swe-den to Mats so I now have a new surname. I am still working as a Paralegal within the Intellectual Property area at the law firm Lindahl here in Malmö.

Just Married

Meghan SMITH Heidmann: My

husband Chris and I welcomed our beau-tiful baby girl, Kathryn Grace Heidmann on November 1, 2006. She is our pride and joy! We are still living in Chandler, Arizo-na. We spent this last Christmas in Hilton Head, South Carolina with several HKIS alumni! My sisters Darcy ’99 and Ashley ’04 as well! We are hoping to make it to the 10 year reunion in Las Vegas!! Hope to see you there!

First family Christmas for Heidmann: Meghan, Kathryn, Chris at Dennis smith’s home in Hilton Head, sC

Josephine CHIANG wu: On Febru-ary 8th, my husband and I were blessed with a beautiful baby girl, Naomi. She is a darling little angel and we couldn’t be hap-pier with her arrival. Needless to say, we’re really enjoying parenthood and are excited to watch our little princess grow up!

Mike YIH: I am currently living in Xia-men, Mainland China. I am the vice gen-eral manager of a manufacturing company that supplies decorative glass products to the US and Europe. I plan to be in China until 2010. My sister, Christie Yih ’95 lives in Los Angeles as a music writer for Hol-lywood. I still keep in touch with many HKIS’ers. Some of my best friends today go back to HKIS days. The Birds =). It’s always good bumping into a familiar face now and then. Drop me a line if you’re ever in the area: michaelyih1@gmail.com.

’98 Cheryl Yip

yippiec@hotmail.com Sarah Yeung

yeungsarah@hotmail.com

Kevin TSe: I joined KPMG Corporate Finance LLC as an Associate in the In-

vestment Banking Group. At KPMG CF, I focus on Investment Banking transactions with values ranging from US$50-500mm. I still keep in touch with a lot of old friends from HK. If anyone is in the Atlanta area, please look me up.

’99Kiwan Chung

kiwan99@hotmail.com

Karen NGAI: Hi, I just wanted to update on my whereabouts. I was in HKIS from grades 8-11, and recently got married on February 24, 2007. My husband and I are also expecting our first child at the end of summer. I am working for the Ontario Court of Justice as a court reporter.

’00Theresa Cheng

theresacheng@yahoo.com

Aaron ANDeRSeN: This is my first update in DragonTales since graduating, and what better news to report than that I was married on March 23rd to the lovely Shantel Williams! We were married al-most 1 and ½ years to the day of our first date. We met at Brigham Young University in Utah, where I am currently finishing a degree in history teach-ing. Next year, I will be teaching History and English at a nearby high school while Shantel finishes school. After that, who knows where we will end up! I’d love to hear from any of my high school classmates and friends - aaronhkandersen@yahoo.com. We look forward to being in Hong Kong during the HKIS 40 year reunion.

an Officer and a gentleman

Class Notes

�� DragonTales

aaron ’00 with his new bride, shantel, and siblings alice ’05 and Jared ’95

’01 Lauren Elizabeth Tanner lauren@tannershome.com

David Munho Choichoi@purdue.edu

’02 Angela Ho

angela_k_ho@hotmail.com Bob Pan

funkmaster_bp@yahoo.com

’03Timothy Chang

changs@natim.com.hk Kristen Chin

evelynfsm@hotmail.com kchin25@gmail.com

Candace Ho caho@udel.edu

Jane Sit jmsit@syr.edu

Claire fONG and Jennifer SuN-DQVIST: During the Southern Hemi-sphere’s second semester of 2006, Jen and Claire randomly bumped into each other on the University of Otago (Dunedin, New Zealand) campus. Claire was on a one se-mester exchange from the University of Toronto (Canada) where she is currenty wrapping up her degree, majoring in Psy-chology and minoring in Anthropolgy and Linguistics. Jen is currently in her last year studying for a degree in Physical Educa-

tion, majoring in Sport and Leisure studies with a focus on Sport Manage-ment and Sociology of Sport, at the University of Otago.

’04 Amy Easton

amybynet@hotmail.comNicholas Wong

Nixx1985@gmail.comleechlord85@tranceaddict.net

’05Dickson Pak

dickson2go@gmail.com

’06Angela Chih

angelc234@yahoo.com Andrea Lee

ahwlee@bu.edu

Letter from Charles M. wanless ’79

Dear Friends, Family and Co-workers,

I wanted to thank all of you who already know what is going on in our life

and have helped us so very much. I also wanted to inform those who do

not know yet. I wanted to make sure that my co-workers know that I will

be out at times to be with my wife and that I apologize if I cannot be here

at work at times to support your efforts. It is not by choice. Below is a link

to the website that explains my wife’s condition. www.welovedawn.com

Also, two weeks ago we found out that our daughter needs a Mitochondrial

DNA test to determine what is causing her to have seizures. There are three

possibilities, one of them is terminal.

Our plate is full. I beg you all to be patient if I am not here at work to sup-

port you or I do not contact you right away when you send an e-mail. I

also ask you to send good thoughts or your prayers on May 3rd, the day of

Dawn’s surgery. Please go to the website and look at the upcoming events.

If you can join us in a show of support, it would be greatly appreciated.

I cannot thank you all enough for your help and support through this try-

ing time. If you know of anyone suffering from a brain tumor or especially

a cavernous malformation in the brain, please send them my contact infor-

mation as we have taken great pains in gathering a great deal of informa-

tion to help those with these disorders and would love to help in any way

we can. Dawn’s goal after recovery is to create a non-profit organization

to help those in her condition. Again thank you all for your patience and

understanding.

Sincerely,

Charles M. Wanless ’79

Home # 480-503-1022

Personal Cell # 480-290-3986

Business Cell # 480-773-9051

760 W. Keating Circle

Mesa, Arizona 85210

USA

Mark your calendars for the Classes of ’88 and ’89 20th Reunion – June 2008 in San Francisco!! Dim-sum, family-friendly events, and a fun night of din-

ner and dance are planned. More details will be coming out by Summer 2007. If you have not received information on this event yet, please send your email address to Angela Stich Easterwood ’89 at angeast@sn.com. Your Reunion planning committee includes Kerry Ford ’89, Prescille Chu Cernosia ’88, Molly Giss Wadhwani ’88, Pauline Chan Lewis ’89, Vu Williams ’89 and Angela Stich Easterwood ’89.

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Alumni Notices

Staying in Touch

Do you keep in touch with other HKIS alumni? Do you enjoy staying connected with friends from your childhood and teenage years? If so, we need you as a Class Agent! Please email alumni@hkis.edu.hk if you are interested in volunteering to be a Class Agent.

Keep in touch! Moving, changing jobs, getting married, want to keep receiving DragonTales and alumni news? Then please update your information by completing the update form on the alumni website.

Looking for a classmate? Email us at alumni@hkis.edu.hk or check the on-line alumni directory on the alumni website.

History BookFor more information on the History Book, please visit http://dnet.hkis.edu.hk/alumni/.

The HKIS History Book is Published

The following pages provide you a peek at our History Book – Hong Kong International School: Celebrating 40 Years of Education and Service.

This alumni-sponsored, near-200 page coffee table book charts our school’s history from the very beginning through to today.

The HKIS Alumni Board is credited as the initial driving force behind this book, while the Board’s Justin Hardman ’99 is singled out for special mention. Justin created a website on the school’s history for Homecoming in 2001, which sparked early interest in producing a book to mark HKIS’ 40th year.

We thank past and present members of our community - faculty, administrators, alumni, parents, students and friends for their commitment to this project. Without their memories, insights and photographs, this book could not have been written.

If you happen to notice people or events we have missed, please let us know. Your submissions [as well as photos and archives] will allow us to continue to build on the book so it becomes part of a broader living history. With your help, in the future HKIS will be able to define itself with much more involvement of stakeholders than was possible while putting this book together. We plan to roll out this “living history” via a website version of the printed book. Please email your updates and pictures to alumni@hkis.edu.hk

If you would like a copy of the History Book, please visit http://dnet.hkis.edu.hk/alumni/ for more information.

�0 DragonTales

Special

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In the early 1960s, a group of American businessmen who worshipped together foresaw the day when an American-style school would be needed.

With 21st century hindsight, we now see that Hong Kong in the latter half of the 20th century was about to take off in an unprecedented three-decade spurt of economic and social growth that only ended in the late 1990s. Not many living in the then-British-colony would have predicted the emergence of the Hong Kong we take for granted today. This group of American businessmen and educators not only correctly anticipated the economic growth, but also reasoned that in free-market Hong Kong, an entrepreneurial society if ever there was one, there would be an influx of foreign business and invest-ment to tap into the colony’s well-known manufacturing ability.

More foreign businessmen meant more Americans. More Americans meant more American families accompany-ing the executives, which in turn would increase the need for an American-style educational system, from Kindergarten through Grade 12.

Below: an early photograph of the then new Church of all nations at Repulse Bay

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Special

On September 19, 1966, Hong Kong International School, (“The Provisional School”) opened its doors. By the end of that school year, the following June, the elementary department, with Princi-pal Bob Christian and seven qualified teachers (one for each grade plus a P.E. teacher), had served 195 students in grades 1-6.

That school year also saw the planning and dedication of the newly-constructed eight-story, HK$5,350,000 building of 32 classrooms, chapel, cafeteria, gymnasium and library.

HKIS officially opened in its permanent new facilities in Repulse Bay in 1967, with more than 600 students in kindergarten through to grade 12.

Dr. T. F. nickel, second vice-president of the lutheran Church-Missouri synod, u.s.a. and w. D. gregg, Director of education, Hong Kong at the groundbreaking ceremony on april 28, 1966

DragonTales ��

The original dedication plaque can be found at the entrance to the upper Primary school.

evolution of the HKIS logo A cross reaching outwards equally in all directions was the first HKIS logo used in 1966 with the letters ‘H’, ‘K’, ‘I’ and ‘S’ between the four arms of the cross. The design of the cross symbolized HKIS’ goals to welcome all individuals equally and to ‘respect each person’s personal contributions’, in the words of Mr. Christian. As the urban legend goes, in the 1970s Mr. Christian noticed that the gym floor was showing the first signs of termite damage. Pointing this out to the then art teacher David Kohl, he asked him to design something to cover the damage. Set with the challenge, Mr. Kohl took the existing HKIS logo and gave it an oriental flavor – rounding the logo and increasing the size of the fonts. This covered perfectly the termite damage to the floor and gave HKIS the logo that has represented it ever since.

administration Board, 1968: Robert Christian, Dr. eugene seltz, Joseph Mache, C. s. Hung and Rev. a. K. Boehmke

�� DragonTales

Special

faye ButcherFaye (Hung) Butcher – one of the first and the longest-serving employees of HKIS – is still serving HKIS in its 40th year as lower primary senior library assistant. HKIS has been a significant part of Faye’s life. About her colleagues she says, “They are my lifetime friends.”

Office staff of 1968: Theresa Yuen, Faye Hung, ainslie Jones and Patricia Tarasewich

Left: HKis teachers and their spouses at the first social event organized by the school in July 1967

Time-line

May 1963: Drought which led

to severe water

rationing.

July 1964: A survey of 1,100

(mostly) Americans

on whether an American

school is wanted.

March 1965:The Board of

Missions of the

Lutheran Church-Missouri

Synod authorizes a grant and

a loan.

September 1966: HKIS opens its doors

to 170 students in a

renovated apartment building

at 43 Chung Hom Kok Road.

February 1965: The Hong Kong

Education Department

approves a land

grant and an

interest free loan.

April 1966: Groundbreaking

ceremony in Repulse

Bay.

May 1967: Pro-communist riots in

Hong Kong inspired by

Mao’s Cultural

Revolution in

China.

September 1967: HKIS opens a K-12

school in Repulse Bay

with 630 students.

June 1968: First HKIS graduating

class.

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Left: Members of the student Council, 1968.

Left: Kindergarten, 1968 with teachers Miss Feil and Mrs. Zimmerman

Right: HKis’ first graduating class of 1968

�� DragonTales

Special

When the doors of the original school at 23 South Bay Close, Repulse Bay, opened on September 14, 1967, the term campus was not widely used. Over the years, as school after school was blasted out of mountainous and rocky terrain, campus has been widely used to describe the acreage that is HKIS; even though the two campuses are separated by many kilometers of winding road.

In 1971, the “Moving a Mountain” theme was adopted for this second construction project, to expand what was, after all, still a fairly new school. The “Mountain” referred to was the massive rock face beside the existing Repulse Bay School.

The new High school was the first purpose-built facility for older children

In the 1980s, the High School was being planned at Tai Tam. It opened in time for the 1988-89 school year and was dedicated on January 9, 1989. This time the Governor of Hong Kong, H.E. Sir David Wilson, KCMG, did the honors with the U.S. Consul-General, Donald M. Anderson. The new Tai Tam Campus sought to combine the best of East and West, a goal quite familiar in Hong Kong architectural and design circles.

Next came the conception of an American-styled Middle School (Grades 6-8) for 600-700 students on the Tai Tam campus, on land adjacent to the existing High School. The budget for the Expansion Plan was estimated to be about HK$180 million.

On November 4, 1994, the new school was dedicated. The dedication program called the school “A 21st Century Home for the Mind”.

Into the future ...For all the building in the previous decade, expansion planning never stops

HKIS has been blessed, growing in just four decades from humble beginnings with one building and 700 students at its Repulse Bay campus

to four buildings on two campuses, with nearly 2,600 students.

an artist’s impression of the proposed Performing arts Center

an artist’s impression of the proposed science and Technology Center

because Hong Kong never stops. On September 16, 2005, HKIS published its Master Facilities Plan (MFP) – a peek into the near future of the 21st Century.

Under MFP, HKIS is seeking Hong Kong Government approval and land to build, in Tai Tam, a Performing Arts Venue on a site adjacent to the current sports field, and a Science, Technology and Environmental Teaching Block adjoining the Middle School.

There are a number of projects within both campuses that do not need additional land. n

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Contact us:

Office of Institutional Advancement/ Alumni Office

Hong Kong International School1 Red Hill RoadTai Tam, Hong Kong

Tel: (852) 3149-7824Fax: (852) 2813-4293

Email: alumni@hkis.edu.hkWebsite: http://dnet.hkis.edu.hk/alumni

In honor of the unique legacy David Rittmann left to our school, HKIS named a new Alumni Scholarship in his Memory: The alumni scholarship in Memory of David F. Rittmann. The scholarship will go to a local student from Hong Kong chosen from our High Achievers Program or English Language Leadership Program. Through this scholarship, the memory of David will literally live on in the recipient. What better tribute to David, who spent a full life serving the Lord and making a difference in the lives of so many students? The Scholarship is open for donations. To direct a gift, you may do so at https://www.paydollar.com/b2c2/project/hkis/payInfo.jsp. Please select alumni scholarship in Memory of David F. Rittmann where it states “please direct my gift to”. Annual fund Programs 2006-07In the school year 2006-07, three new programs were added to the Annual Fund: the Visiting authors Program, the sports Program, and renovation and expansion of the school’s science laboratories. Other Annual Fund programs include:

u Instrumental Music Programs

u Merit and Need-based Scholarships

u Charles W. Dull Visiting Scholar Series

u Service to the Hong Kong Community

u Lower Primary Special Needs

u Speech and Language Screening

u Speech Therapy Services

u Occupational Therapy Screening

u Summer Programs for Gifted Local Students

u Lower Primary Parent Involvement Program

u HKIS Endowment Fund

Support the Alumni Scholarship in Memory of David F. Rittmann