Canadian International School of Hong Kong

Canadian International School of Hong Kong (CDNIS) is an international school in Aberdeen, Hong Kong. Founded in 1991, the school provides an education for over 1,800 students representing more than 40 nationalities from Early Years 1 to Grade 12.

Curriculum
CDNIS is one of seven International Baccalaureate (IB) World Schools in Hong Kong authorised to deliver three IB programmes – the Diploma Programme (DP), Middle Years Programme (MYP) and Primary Years Programme (PYP). In addition to the IB Diploma Programme, students are also eligible to receive the Ontario Secondary School Diploma upon graduation.

The language of instruction is English, with Mandarin, French, and Spanish taught as second languages. Additionally, the Early Years programme now supports two teaching streams: Bilingual and International. In the Bilingual stream, students receive equal instruction in both Mandarin and English. The international stream has 80% English and 20% Mandarin instruction]. The Bilingual programme commenced at the start of the 2022 school year in both Early Years 1 and 2. The school will roll out the bilingual programme one more grade level each school year all the way up to Grade 5.

Lower School
The Principal of the Lower School is Lief Erickson. Students from Early Years 1 to Grade 5 are part of the Lower School and make-up just over 60% of the student body. Students in Early Years 1 and Early Years 2 attend school for either the morning or afternoon session, while Prep to Grade 5 students attend school all-day.

Students as young as three and four-years-old attend the half-day Early Years 1 and Early Years 2, programmes. While the International Baccalaureate's Primary Years Programme (PYP) is used from Early Years 1, students also take part in Mandarin, performing arts and physical education classes. In August 2019, the school opened its Early Years Environment (EYE), a purpose-built environment for the school's youngest learners.

Upper School
The Upper School consists of students from Grades 6 to 12, with a current enrollment of just over 820 students, making up almost 40% of the student body. Students in Grades 5–9 take part in the Middle Years Programme (MYP), while students in Grade 10–12 take part in the Diploma Programme (DP). The Principal of the Upper School is Dr. David Butler.

Starting in August 2020, CDNIS began the Middle Years Programme (MYP) in Grade 6.

CDNIS has one of the largest DP cohorts in Hong Kong. 100% of the 104 students in the Class of 2023, the 13th cohort of IB graduates, were awarded the IB Diploma. Four students were awarded a maximum of 45 points out of 45, while 26 students achieved a score of 40 or above. The Class of 2023 IB score average was 37 points.

History
Canadian International School of Hong Kong was founded in 1991 by a group of Canadians living in Hong Kong who volunteered their time to establish an international school offering the Canadian curriculum. When the school first opened its doors to the first 81 students, the school campus was located in a small rented facility in Causeway Bay.

By 1994 it became popular with international families wishing to expose their children to Chinese languages in their education.

The school continued to grow, and by 1999 has reached the "through-train" objective, providing education from Reception to Grade 12. The school produced its first graduates at the end of the 1998/1999 school year. During the 1999 school year, Canadian International School moved to its present location Aberdeen. CDNIS is a non-profit organisation.

The Head of School is Dr. Tim Kaiser. The school celebrated its 25th anniversary during the 2016–2017 school year. The school received its full IB re-authorisation in 2018 and full CIS/WASC accreditation in 2018. Over the summer of 2019, the school installed 349 solar panels on two of the school's roofs - making CDNIS’ photovoltaic farm the largest solar farm of any school on Hong Kong Island.

Construction of Aberdeen Campus
The school campus, designed by Canadian architect Norman Grey-Noble, was built in three main phases over a period of several years. The first phase, often referred to as the main building and used mainly by the Upper School, includes floors one to nine completed in 1999. A swimming pool is on the first floor, two gymnasiums and an outdoor playground are on the third floor, a design studio, the main school cafeteria and another outdoor playing surface, which is covered in artificial turf, is on the sixth floor and the main school office is on the ninth floor.

The second phase, which was finished in 2002, is used mainly by the Lower School and includes floors nine to 14. Besides numerous classrooms, this area also includes the school library, a science and innovation lab (The Hive), a covered playground on the 11th floor, and another cafeteria on the 12th floor. The third phase, the Leo Lee Arts Centre (LLAC), was completed in the spring of 2008. The LLAC is a HK$100 million facility with a 604-seat auditorium and teaching facilities for music, drama, dance and visual arts. The fourth phase includes the Green Roof Garden and Chinese Cultural Centre, which were completed in August 2015 In August 2019, the school created the Early Year Environment (EYE) and installed 349 solar panels to create the 2nd largest Photovoltaic Farm on Hong Kong Island. Following the summer of 2020, the school unveiled its newly renovated main cafeteria and its newly renovated spaces for Grade 5 and 6 students as part of its Transition Years Programme.

Curriculum
By 1994 the school added studies of Chinese culture to its curricula, and the school had instruction in the Mandarin language.

Notable alumni

 * Raz Gal-Or - Israeli social media figure active in China
 * Richard Juan, actor, TV host, film producer and entrepreneur
 * Matt Orr, professional footballer for China League One side Guangxi Pingguo
 * Clement Benhaddouche, professional footballer for China League One side Heilongjiang
 * Brett Warning, formier professional footballer for Southern District RSA
 * Oscar Coggins, professional triathlete and Olympian representing Hong Kong, China
 * Ethan Shaw, Black Lives matter campaign