San Jose Episcopal Day School

Today, Monday, we had the pleasure of visiting with some amazing students and teachers from the German Swiss International School in Hong Kong. We were able to explore the school and visit with Pre-Kindergarten through 4th grade students.

They do not wear a uniform (only for P.E.). A typical school day starts at 7:40 am and for the primary grades ends at 12:40. Some students will stay for a few more hours for after school activities, like soccer, music lessons, tennis, language classes, etc.

The most amazing impression we got was that each student of the school (even the 3 year olds) speak at least two languages (German/English). Many already speak three (German/English/Mandarin Chinese) if not four (German/English/Mandarin Chinese/ Spanish, Dutch, Latin, or French). All the children seemed to be able to switch between all their languages without any difficulty.

We were present during a Chinese class, listened to fourth graders sing a German Christmas song, third graders sang “Jingle Bells” with us and showed off their math skills by counting Euros. We even got to sing “Happy Birthday” to a little girl who was turning four years old.
Our Jose was a big hit among the students. He was passed around, hugged and made friends with several new Teddy Bears, residents of the school.

Jose listening in on an English class

Jose with a new friend in the auditorium during a Christmas Program rehearsal

Jose with Bella, Benny, Oma Baer, Opa Baer

Jose in front of a fourth grade daily class schedule: P.E.; German; Mathematics; Chinese Cultural Studies, Library, English.

Posted in Jose's Journey, China Trekkers, Hong Kong, Day 4 |

10 Responses to “German Swiss International School”

1. on 04 Dec 2006 at '11:50'   mrs.milon

   Good morning! My class wants to know how many time zones you crossed on your way to China. Thank you!

2. on 04 Dec 2006 at '11:54'   mrs.encarnacion

   We are thoroughly enjoying your blog. The children would like to know the following:

   1. Do you have to take off your shoes when you enter a house?

   2. What is the average temperature now?

3. on 04 Dec 2006 at '12:51'   mrs.balek

   Jose,

   We enjoyed reading about your day at school. We would like to know a couple of things:

   1. Do they have recess?
   2. Do they play any games in class?
   3. How many kids are in a kindergarten class?

   Love,
   Mrs. Balek’s Class

4. on 04 Dec 2006 at '13:08'   mrs.davidson

   We really enjoyed looking at the school you visited. Our students have a lot of questions for you. We thought it was really cool that they could speak so many languages. We would love to know:
   1.Why are their days shorter than ours?
   2. What do the students eat for lunch?
   3. How many students are in each class?
   4. Were there any American students in this school?
   5. How are you going to travel to Shanghai?
   6. How long will it take you to get there and how far is it?

   We miss you and we hope you are having fun.
   Love, Second Grade

5. on 04 Dec 2006 at '13:13'   mrs.gatling

   Is more than one language spoken by parents in the home on a day to day basis?Do the schools tend to promote any one particular sport over another? mrs. gatling

6. on 04 Dec 2006 at '18:21'   stolisano

   Mrs. Milon,
   We had to cross 13 time zones when we traveled to China. Since China is to the East of the United States, that means the time in Hong Kong is ahead of the time in Jacksonville. When it is 8 pm in Florida, it is 7 am in Hong Kong.

   Mrs. Encarnacion,
   The average temperature in Hong Kong in the month of December is a high of 70 Degrees and a low of 60 Degrees Fahrenheit. Since we did not visit any homes, but are staying in a hotel, we don’t really know if everybody takes their shoes off when entering a home. We did see a couple of classrooms at the school though that had a stand for shoes outside for the students

   Mrs. Balek,
   Yes, students do have recess everyday. Usually a 10 minute and 20 minute alternating break. When we were in a a Kindergarten class we saw the children play different board games. In a Chinese class, children were playing a language game. Stay tuned for some videos, where you will be able to see these games in action.

   Mrs. Davidson,
   That is a good question about the shorter school days for the students. We don’t know what the students will eat for lunch, since there is no cafeteria at school and most of them will be going home to eat. As they get older some after school classes are added and students go to a special Lounge room to eat their food. We saw many different class sizes, ranging from about 8 students to 23 students. Yes, there are also students at the school who have an American parent.

   Mrs. Gatling,
   Most children will have more than one language spoken at home, either by their two parents or by a Nanny or maid. We did not see any preference over one sport being promoted over another at the school.

7. on 05 Dec 2006 at '9:15'   mrs.freyer

   Mrs. Pickering’s class would like to know how long their summer break is.

8. on 05 Dec 2006 at '9:45'   mrs.freyer

   Mrs. Menger’s asks: How many days a week do these student go to school? How long are the class periods? Do the 6th graders change classes and have lockers?

9. on 05 Dec 2006 at '9:52'   stolisano

   Mrs. Menger’s class,

   The students go to school Monday through Friday, just like we do. As far as we could tell about the class periods, they were similar to ours, about 45 minutes. But some were shorter. Yes, six graders change classes. They go to their different language classes, music, P.E.,computers, etc. But some of the teachers do come to see them in their homeroom class too.

10. on 05 Dec 2006 at '11:55'   mrs.dearing

    What is the bear’s name who has a Q on his belly? He looks very nice. We are glad Jose has made some friends.

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