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PRIMARY School AT HKA

Virginia Hunt
Primary School Principal

A warm welcome to HKA’s Primary School, a unique and exciting place that prides itself on the recognition that all children have gifts to be nurtured and celebrated.    

Our curriculum fosters a natural joy and interest in the social and natural world through hands-on interactions and relationships. We strive to support each child's innate curiosity by encouraging the process of questioning and a quest for knowledge. And as children grow, our curriculum addresses their individual developmental needs, ensuring that our students are challenged and stretched in their learning.   

HKA students learn compassion, empathy and tolerance. We support our students to celebrate each other’s strengths and differences whilst recognising the commonalities that they share, valuable dispositions which prepare them for the larger world they will grow into.   

During my 19 years at HKA, I have been amazed and inspired by the collective dedication and commitment of the entire HKA community - students, faculty,  parents and staff - to our Mission, Core Values and Strategy.  

We believe that all children should have choice, voice and ownership for their own learning.

We have designed our Primary School programmes to discover, cultivate and celebrate the individuality of every child. From Playgroup to Grade 5, we create captivating learning environments in which HKA students have a wealth of opportunities to learn from and with one another. We recognise the mutual benefit that comes from authentic relationships and support students in learning how to effectively and successfully collaborate within and beyond the classroom. Every child is a valued member of our Primary School community. 

A CULTURE OF LANGUAGE LEARNING

We recognise the central role that communication plays in building student identity, community and understanding, and language learning is foundational to our Primary School programme. Our language of instruction is English, and in every classroom, interaction with English language and literature provides opportunities for students to connect with and ask questions about the wider world. Our Primary School teacher librarian actively collaborates with teachers at every grade level to ensure that units of study are brimming with rich and engrossing text resources. Every classroom has its own library, and students visit the Primary School library at least once a week to explore, research and collaborate. 

MANDARIN AS A LIVING LANGUAGE  

Expression through more than one language is a fundamental element of the IB PYP and child development. English is our language of instruction, and we offer Mandarin as an additional language of study. Our Mandarin language specialist teachers deliver a relevant and engaging written and spoken curriculum which supports students at various stages of fluency and language capability. We recognise the importance of giving students the opportunity to use their Mandarin language in relevant and purposeful contexts. Our Mandarin language lessons are complemented by co-teacher support within homerooms, where students have ample opportunities to see, hear and apply their Mandarin language skills beyond their language classes. Our parent-run Panda Club engages Primary School students in conversing and role playing in Mandarin through cultural activities, games and traditions as another chance for students to experience Mandarin as a living language. 

INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGY

We take a proactive and developmentally appropriate approach to advancing digital citizenship in our Primary School students. Our youngest learners begin to engage with technological tools that help them shape their communication skills and connect with others with teacher and parent support. As students progress through the Primary School, we introduce a 1 to 1 inhouse device programme through which students continue to develop the traits and behaviours of responsible users of technology, they also begin to learn how to care for and maintain devices in a supported environment. Our Primary School maker space is an area in which hands-on exploration, creativity and innovation come to life. By having the freedom to create their own questions and design their own solutions, students begin to develop the courage to experiment and build confidence in their ideas. 

WHOLE CHILD EDUCATION

Our holistic approach to education provides children with tools and strategies to help them know who they are, become self-directed and develop empathy for others. Our intentionally small class sizes allow us to differentiate learning experiences for every child, with teachers guiding and encouraging all students to ask questions and providing opportunities for them to explore their ideas. We maintain a two teacher model in every Primary School classroom, which promotes strong student-teacher relationships and ensures every child is known and understood as an individual. Our Primary School Counsellor works with both teachers and students to integrate wellbeing education into the curriculum. Students learn the science of how the brain works, how it impacts their learning and interactions and how they can manage their emotions and behaviours both in and outside of the classroom. 

The Role of Counselling/Wellbeing at HKA Co-curricular Opportunities

FUTURE-READY LEARNERS 

HKA’s Primary School programme provides a multitude of opportunities for students to grow, thrive and excel. Our Primary School highlight features a monthly example of how HKA’s IB PYP curriculum brings critical thinking, student agency and responsible action to life.

As an authorised three programme IB World School, we offer a continuum of learning which supports students as they complete the IB PYP and prepare to embark upon the IB Middle Years Programme (IB MYP). Please visit our Secondary School page to learn more about the IB MYP at HKA. 

LIFE AT HKA: PRIMARY SCHOOL STORIES

Our Grade 3 classrooms were transformed into bustling culinary kitchens last Friday for an unforgettable Cooking Extravaganza!

This mouth-watering event was a beautiful showcase of our school community in action. We were thrilled to welcome a wonderful group of parent and faculty volunteers into the classrooms to lead different student cooking stations, guiding our young chefs as they prepared an incredible variety of global food styles and flavors.

The Culinary Journey:

Prep & Cook: Students rolled up their sleeves to chop, mix, and cook diverse dishes alongside their adult mentors.

Present: After finishing their culinary creations, the students designed vibrant posters to present the ingredients, cultural origins, and recipes of their dishes.

The Rooftop Feast: To top it all off, the entire cohort headed up to our 3/F Roof Terrace to share their dishes, picnic-style, and taste-test each other's hard work!

A massive thank you to all the parents and faculty members who shared their time, culinary traditions, and passion with our students. You helped make this hands-on learning experience a massive success! 

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How do teachers teach students at different levels of learning, particularly in reading and math?

All students are on a continuum of learning and HKA teachers are highly skilled at ensuring all learners are given the right level of challenge and support. In an HKA classroom students often work in small groups and this gives teachers the opportunity to offer varying levels of challenge at different work stations. Small class sizes and HKA's exceptionally low student:teacher ratio ( typically 5:1 in primary school ) ensure teachers can adjust levels of support throughout the day based on their real-time and ongoing observations and assessments. Teachers regularly update each student’s reading, writing and math continuums and share these with parents during conferences and as part of the regular reporting cycle.

Math and Numeracy: Instruction is resource-based and grounded in the IB Primary Years Programme. Students are taught multiple strategies for each math problem, enabling them to become strong mathematical thinkers who understand the ‘why’ and ‘how’ rather than relying on memorisation and rote learning.

Reading: HKA is a language rich environment designed to support Primary School students through their development from an emerging reader who is learning to handle books and recognise the alphabet to a secure reader who is ‘reading to learn’.

What is your homework philosophy? What exactly is the homework, and how much time should it take each night?

HKA believes that homework should be engaging, purposeful and meaningful for the students.  Pre-K to Grade 1 students are encouraged to read at home for at least 15 minutes every day. From Grade 2 - 5 students are given a home-work choice grid through which they can apply and reinforce skills which have already been introduced to in the classroom therefore homework gives the students the opportunity to apply their skills independently and deepen their understanding.

What specialist subjects are offered, and how many times a week do students attend them?

Specialist classes in Primary School include Art, Music, PE, Library, Wellbeing and Mandarin language. Students attend Mandarin classes daily and all other specialist classes for two lessons per week.

In addition to specialist classes all Primary School students audition, rehearse for and perform in either the Early Childhood or Upper Primary musical each year, and they present in at least one whole-school assembly.  Students in Grade 2 -5 are also offered our Core Sports programme through which they can attend weekly training and periodic friendly matches in football, basketball, volleyball and netball, and students in Grade 5 can join the U12 sports teams.

To further extend and build students interests HKA offers an extensive After School Activity programme with classes available Monday to Friday.

More FAQ about Primary grade
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