Five Disciplines

The ISF Academy has identified Five Disciplines that serve as a platform to develop personal skills essential for the 21st Century. These are Dance, Music, Speech, Robotics, and Wushu. Professional training is offered to students to explore these areas in further depth in extended units outside the standard curriculum.

In Foundation Year to Grade 2, students have extended units of six to seven weeks in each of the disciplines. After three years in this program, students are asked to concentrate on one of the disciplines in Grade 3 to 5. Detailed information on the program choices is given to students at the beginning of each academic year. All courses are offered during regular school hours.

Technology

The Independent Schools Foundation Academy’s Technology Discipline will be led by Learning through Engineering, Art and Design (LEAD). LEAD was initiated in 2005 by The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups (HKFYG) in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Laboratory and is a project of creative education with technology, engineering, art, multi-media and design. Through design-based activities, students are encouraged to express their innovative spirit and originality through a multi-disciplinary approach. Program facilitators are LEAD workshop leaders from The HKFYG Jockey Club LEAD Centre who have rich experience in delivering LEAD activities. This year, through their customized programs LEAD hopes to bring about a creative and playful learning experience of robotics to students, and inspire them to develop an interest in the fields of technology and engineering.

Dance

The Independent Schools Foundation Academy’s customized Dance Repertory will be led by Ms. Stella Chung, Principal Ballet instructor of Hong Kong Aberdeen Studio, and her team of highly trained instructors from the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts (APA). The Dance Repertory will be designed to aid in the development of both technical and performance skills. Different dance styles and dance principles will be introduced to broaden the understanding of dance and body awareness. Principles of modern dance and Tibetan tap dance will be taught and participants will have a chance to perform in their own student musical production at the end of the second semester.

Music

Ms. Sandra Ng, from the Cadenza House Children’s & Youth’s Arts Promotion Centre will develop our Youth Choir. A graduate from Trinity College of London and the Paris Conservatory of Music, Ms. Ng began teaching music and vocal performance in 1991. Since then, she has been invited as choir conductor and music instructor in numerous organizations.

Her course will expose students to a range of techniques used in vocal training such as intonation, diction and expression and teach students how to develop basic tone accuracy, rhythm and variation in sounds. The course will also expose students to music in different languages—Chinese, English, French and German.

Wushu

Master Wong Chi Kwong has been selected to lead our Wushu Discipline. Master Wong is a Registered Instructor of the Hong Kong Wushu Federation and has worked as a Wushu instructor in various Hong Kong Primary and Secondary schools. He has achieved many distinguished honors in the Wushu world, including numerous top awards in Asian and has won different awards from Asian and World Class Wushu Competitions. He also serves on the judging panel of Hong Kong Wushu Federation.

The course objectives include mastering the basic principles of Wushu and exposing students to advanced Wushu movements and techniques. Through systemic training, Master Wong hopes to inspire students by broadening their understanding of Chinese Culture, strengthening their mental fortitude and improving overall physical health through exercise.

Speech and Debate

Ms. Annie Cao currently serves as our in-house Speech and Debate specialist and will train students step-by-step in the art of Speech and Debate. Ms. Cao received her Bachelor of Language Education in English from the Hong Kong Institute of Education and has several years’ experience training students in school and in competitions. She has also served as a leading Adjudicator in several speech competitions. In addition to teaching the basic techniques of speechmaking, she will help students learn how to form and refine logical arguments and to understand basic debate regulations and various debate formats. She will also prepare students to participate in inter-school mock debates and challenges.