~ Roland Claassen
Assistant Director, International Department
In October 2021, KCIS celebrated its 20th anniversary. It was a special and unforgettable week at school with lots of fun activities, surprises, and delicious meals to mark this monumental birthday. The International Department wanted to do something unique under the current Covid-19 restrictions to ensure our students still get to have a bit of fun while participating in the school’s birthday. For this reason, we decided to host a live mystery challenge for each grade level, where they would have to complete a fun design challenge in a short amount of time. Children love a mystery; and, naturally, they love to solve it! The teachers in each grade were asked to keep the assigned periods open for the mystery challenge. However, no information was provided to the teachers to ensure the challenge stayed a mystery to all.
At the start of the allocated time, students arrived at the class as normal and teachers pretended like it was just another regular school day. Some teachers even had their daily agenda written on the board with important learning tasks such as the weekly spelling test. As students settled into their seats, they were shocked to hear the ID Office calling via Google Meet. Teachers, who pretended to be completely unaware, quickly turned on their projectors, so the class could engage in this surprise call.
“To celebrate the school’s 20th birthday, English classes will be cancelled for the next two periods, and we will all participate in a creative mystery challenge.” As this announcement was made, you could almost feel the building shake with excitement as screams of joy echoed around campus. A mystery box was left outside each classroom with some basic materials needed to complete their assigned challenge. The class was given a short amount of time to plan, create, and then meet back online towards the end to showcase their completed work. Classes that completed the challenge received a little souvenir in celebration of the school’s 20th birthday. All the completed projects were displayed in the hallways and formed part of the celebration around campus, lifting the birthday spirit in a big way.
Let’s take a closer look at the challenges each grade level had during the school’s Birthday Mystery Challenge.
From the Editor
Using Technology To Connect and Engage
國際處主任 賴國宜
Education has changed dramatically worldwide, including in Taiwan over the past year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. One positive outcome from this experience is that it creates an opportunity to rethink how digital technology can be used to support teaching and learning. During the Mystery Challenge, I was so surprised by how smoothly we were able to connect and engage an entire grade level of around 300 students using our newly gained technological skills. Google Meet and related technologies are incredible tools to bring people together and foster connection when we are physically apart, and they should be regularly used to build, maintain, and grow a positive educational climate in our school. Students are using these platforms constantly to connect with their friends, and so why not integrate them into lessons and school events to facilitate deeper and more meaningful connections.
今年十月疫情嚴峻，根據防疫規定不得併班或混班，室內集會不可超過50人，甚至在教室裡都必須固定座位，這種情形下，如何不違反防疫規定，又能讓學生們同樂，考驗著籌備校慶活動的夥伴們。還好在五、六月線上教學那段日子，大家已磨練出更有彈性的新思維，很快規劃出不受教室和班級限制的活動方式。透過Google Meet，國際處宣布各年級慶祝康橋生日的神祕挑戰，各班完成任務後，也藉著直播呈現作品。疫情將大家限制在固定的教室裡，但通過科技、虛實共處，全學年的師生仍能共聚一堂，一同競賽、互動和同樂。從Mr. Claassen分享的文章和照片，希望您也能感受到校慶當時的歡樂氛圍。
行動勸募是康橋行之有年的公益活動，今年同樣因受到疫情影響改成線上勸募。連著兩年，行動勸募都結合英文課程的貧窮專題，六年級的大哥哥和大姊姊們要負責跟學弟妹解說弱勢者面對的生活困境，並介紹今年勸募的社福單位，從Mr. Molloy 的文章您將更了解，孩子們對貧窮議題的深入理解，從而產生同理與關懷之情，並發揮領導能力鼓勵學弟妹參與勸募活動。