Message from the Principal

Dear parents,

Welcome to our weekly Parent Update, coming to you on Earth Day.

The Peace of Wild Things by Wendell Berry

When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
Who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

Today, April 22nd, marks Earth Day, which is an annual international event. Its aim is to raise awareness of our planet and the environmental challenges it faces. The first-ever Earth Day was held in 1970, and since then, it has been recognised by more than a billion people around the world. It is an opportunity for people to show their support for the environment and come together to take action to help protect the Earth. We would like to invite you to engage in some discussions with your children regarding Earth Day. The Social Impact team of Nord Anglia Education have prepared a short guide for you to help you get involved: Earth Day 2024 (canva.com)

World Earth Day has also been a focus across our school today, with assemblies, environmental activities within a range of subjects, and poignant reminders of our close relationship as a school towards UNICEF’s ambition to empower every child to be a champion for their planet. As a Nord Anglia school, we recognise the need for a greater emphasis upon climate education and our curriculum development goals embrace every opportunity to ensure that this is accessible for all our learners, both in school and across our virtual platform, Global Campus. Students attending NAE schools around the world are increasingly experiencing environmental disruptions to their learning, as most recently seen in our schools in Dubai and Abu Dhabi last week.

Earth Day should be “every day” if we are to combat the relentless destruction of our fragile earth and its precious eco-systems. We have many passionate young climate activists within our NAIS Hong Kong school community, individuals and groups of all ages who are passionate about taking a stand to secure a brighter future for their world.

We also have students who are still “eco-curious” - young learners are keen to learn more but are still hesitant around forming views or opinions on environmental matters, who do not feel empowered to take action to change their fundamental behaviours, or find difficulty in adopting more environmentally friendly habits for themselves, and are still less likely to influence the behaviours and attitudes of others. To support greater confidence that we can all act, the United Nations provide a succinct set of actions for a healthy planet. Please consider these with your child to see what you can achieve as a family and provide your child with opportunities to make decisions around the families environmental footprint where possible as this will give them confidence and optimism for what we can individually and collectively achieve.

I hope that this day and others like it will help to foster a set of beliefs and values within our younger generations to succeed where other generations have failed, to have courage to act where others have not, and to have confidence that they will create a brighter future for our planet.

Kenny Duncan
Principal