About Us

WELCOME MESSAGES

As Head of School at Canadian International School of Hong Kong (CDNIS), I take great pride in welcoming you to our website. As you explore our site, I trust you will find the pages informative as you learn about our aims, the curriculum we deliver, our great facilities and our amazing staff. I also hope you will get a true understanding of the spirit of our school as we work towards developing responsible global citizens and leaders through academic excellence.

As an expatriate and parent myself, I know one of the most significant decisions parents face is selecting the right school for their child when moving to a new country. At CDNIS we understand the importance of providing a supportive and stimulating learning environment to help families make that decision, and transition, as easy as possible.

Since opening in 1991, CDNIS has worked hard to establish itself as one of the top international schools in Hong Kong and Asia. We have a reputation of delivering the highest quality education by a team of talented and professional teaching staff recruited from Hong Kong, Canada and around the world. Our student body of over 1,850 includes more than 40 nationalities, which creates a distinctive learning environment that enhances the cultural bonds that draw the school together. We are known as a leader in the field of Pre Reception (aged 3) to Grade 12 education - often referred to as a "through-train approach." We recognize the importance of creating a community that encourages academic excellence, inspires and challenges students and is reflective of the Canadian and Chinese values we represent. All of our students share the same campus, which nurtures the formation of strong bonds, long-lasting relationships and fosters a "small school" feel. And as a non-profit organization, all our funds are reinvested to continually upgrade and improve our facilities and learning resources.

CDNIS is an IB World School and we are one of only three schools in Hong Kong authorized to deliver all three IB programmes – Primary Years Programme (PYP), Middle Years Programme (MYP) and Diploma Programme (DP). As part of our curriculum offerings, we combine Diploma Programme with the Ontario Secondary School Diploma, which we refer to as the "dual-passport." Graduates are awarded both these diplomas, giving them a distinct advantage when applying to the post-secondary institutions of their choice. To date, 100% of our graduates have gone on to university and are attending, or have graduated from, some of the most prestigious universities in the world – including Princeton, Yale, Queen's, U of T and the London School of Economics. We are pleased to report that all 2011 graduates registered in the full diploma programme received their IB Diploma, compared to the worldwide pass rate of 76%. Our average IBDP score was nearly 20 percent higher than the worldwide average of 28.8, while over half of the 2011 graduating class achieved a score of 35 or more points. We have also had three students receive a perfect score of 45 on their IBDP exams over the past two years, which was a distinction achieved by only 96 students, or 0.20 percent, worldwide in 2010.

CDNIS teachers and students are regarded as regional leaders when it comes to the effective and appropriate use of educational technology when used for the improvement of instruction and learning. We challenge ourselves to purposefully use a variety of digital tools to satisfy the variety of needs of different learners. All teachers and all students from Grades 5 to 12 have an Apple MacBook at a ratio of 1:1. Students in Pre Reception through Grade 4 share dedicated mobile MacBooks at a ratio of 4:1. Building on our past success with educational technology and our mission to develop responsible global citizens and leaders through academic excellence, CDNIS has committed to a path of future-focused, continuous improvement in its use of digital resources. CDNIS teachers are using educational technologies to meet head-on the limitations of the traditional classroom.

Testament to our success as an exceptional international education provider is the recognition we have received. For four consecutive years, we have been named the Leading International School in Hong Kong, by Hong Kong Business magazine's High-Flyers campaign. The Fraser Institute, an independent international research and education organization, which ranks high schools offering the Ontario curriculum, gave CDNIS a prefect ranking of 10 out of 10 for two straight years. Our school is the only school to achieve this ranking for two consecutive years.

There is no doubt that we are extremely proud of our students and the enthusiasm they show on a daily basis in everything they do, be it in the sphere of academia, sport or the performing arts. As Head of School, I am privileged to be able to spend my time with these young people and witness the happiness and enjoyment that accompanies their learning and development at CDNIS.

Of course, a website can only convey so much; therefore, I hope that you will visit us to see first hand the unparalleled atmosphere our school has to offer. We look forward to welcoming you.

Dave McMaster
Head of School