| Christian Alliance International School | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Kowloon City, Hong Kong |
|
| Information | |
| Type | Private |
| Established | 1992 |
| Principal | Arthur Enns |
| Grades | Kindergarten - Grade 12 |
| Number of students | ≈ 600 |
| Medium of language | Canadian English |
| Color(s) | Blue, White |
| Athletics | Volleyball, Soccer, Basketball, Swimming, Field hockey, Badminton, Track and Field |
| Mascot | Lion |
| Website | cais.edu.hk |
The Christian Alliance P.C. Lau Memorial International School (CAIS) (previously called "Christian Alliance International College") is an elementary/secondary Christian school that is based in Hong Kong and runs on a Canadian curriculum. The school is a non-profit organization and is owned and operated by the Kowloon Tong Church of the Chinese Christian and Missionary Alliance (KTAC). The school requires all students to speak English. It maintains an evangelical Christian environment.
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CAIS began operation in September 1992 with about 40 students ranging from grades 7-11. Grade 12 was created the following year and increased the enrollment to about 90 students. Grades 1 to 6 joined the school in 1995 and, in 1996, a kindergarten was added.
CAIS presently accommodates an enrollment of around 600 students from more than 20 different countries and is represented by a diverse mix of cultural, ethnic, and religious backgrounds.
In July 2009, the Government of Hong Kong awarded CAIS a land grant for the construction of a 1600 student school in Lai Chi Kok. The new school will be developed in several stages beginning in 2011 and should be fully operational by August 2014.
Since Kowloon City Campus is operating at capacity enrollment, a second campus at Shek Kip Mei is open effective August 2010. Students in grades 1 through 3 will occupy the temporary premises until the new school is completed.
The main campus in Kowloon City has been full renovated over the past several years and has twenty four classrooms and additional amenities such as a dance room, fitness centre, home economics laboratory, library resource centre, computer laboratory, science laboratories, a band practice room, music room and visual arts room.
The ancillary and interim campus at Shek Kip Mei has 10 newly renovated classrooms as well as a library resource/media centre, art/science room, music room and spacious courtyard/play area.
CAIS provides a number of locally developed curricula and specialized programs including band, dance, French/Mandarin, music/drama, visual arts, information technology education, domestic sciences, Accelerated Reader (AR) programs, special education, and advanced placement (AP) courses.
The school's main sport is basketball. The basketball teams compete against other schools' basketball teams. The U14 Boys won the championship for basketball in the year of 2010-11. It is significant as this was the first ISSFHK Division One championship won by the school.
The school has a 5th grade band, a 6th grade band, a middle school band, ranging from the 7th to 8th grades, and a 9th to 12th grade concert band. The students perform in various concerts, especially during the Christmas and spring seasons, and also many other performances for High school students. The bands also compete often, each year at the music festival, obtaining an average of excellent to superior ratings almost every year, and doing generally well compared to the competing schools.
Battle of the Books is a program that encourages reading by all students at the primary and middle school levels, originating from a public radio program in the 1940s that was introduced to North Carolina libraries in the USA in 1981. Mr. Bryant McEntire brought the idea to Hong Kong when he moved to CAIS from the United States in August 2000. Since its introduction, enthusiasm has spread from school-wide battles to city wide competitions. Every year, over 7 Hong Kong international schools, with over 240 students formally participate in the program.
Christian Alliance International School ranked 1st place in most questions answered during World Maths Day 2007, as well as two of its students (Stefan Lam and David Wong) obtaining the two top ranks in the world.
"Spirit Days" only applies to secondary students. "Spirit Days" are 3 days where you dress up as a certain theme. Each class has its own theme. Themes change each year so that students are encouraged to be more creative. The last day is shared with Sports Day where the secondary students go to Kowloon Tsai Park where they participate in various sports. Each individual is randomly placed in different colored groups and compete against each other to win 1st, 2nd and 3rd place. On the last day of "Spirit Days" and Sports Day, each class comes up with a cheer and presents it to the rest of the school.In the 2009-10 school year the grade 10's won 1st place and in the year before that, 2008-2009 they also won.