Philanthropy

What does the name St. Nicholas’ mean?

When we were first seeking a name for our school, we knew it was important to choose one that reflected the moral elements we hoped to establish – acceptance, compassion and humanity. Ultimately, we chose the name: St. Nicholas’ because we felt it served as the perfect representation of the values and qualities we strive to instil in our students.

Who is St. Nicholas’?

Bishop Nicholas’ (now widely known as Santa Claus) was known for his generosity to those in need, his love for children and concern for sailors and ships. Bishop Nicholas’ brought gifts and treats in December. Usually, these gifts came in the form of small surprises and good things to eat. Bishop Nicholas’ gave in secret, alerted to others’ needs and expected nothing in return. His life and deeds as protector and helper have made him beloved and revered throughout the land, which earned him the title of a saint. To this day, St. Nicholas’ example still inspires acts of charity and generosity.

The definition accurately states our approach to education and signifies our passion for continually and wholeheartedly giving our students the best learning experience possible. We hope that with this philosophy in mind, our students will understand the importance of hard work, education, and learning, as responsible citizens to create a better future.

Intergenerational Collaboration

Throughout the years, we have placed great emphasis on connecting our children with the elderly. Our school has developed a strong partnership with …

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Readathon

Reading is no doubt of paramount importance to the development of children. Reading at a young age not only can nurture children’s self-confidence …

Read More
Community Chest

For more than fifteen years, our parents, students and teachers have been very active in participating in Community Chest’s Dress Casual Day and helping to …

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Christmas

During this festive season every year, children not only celebrate with one another, we also encourage them to share their blessings with the underprivileged in …

Read More
Peace Day

Every year at St. Nicholas’ we celebrate International Day of Peace. The day is dedicated to world peace, and specifically the absence of war and …

Read More
  • 57 Cumberland Road, Kowloon Tong, Kowloon, Hong Kong
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Intergenerational Collaboration

Throughout the years, we have placed great emphasis on connecting our children with the elderly. Our school has developed a strong partnership with HKSKH Lady Maclehose Centre and their senior volunteers, who visit us multiple times each year to help out at our various school events and activities. This unique relationship provides great opportunities to enhance intergenerational communication. As we always adhere to whole-child education, we not only impart academic knowledge, but also dedicate ourselves to moral education. We hope children could learn to pass on love and care to others as they interact with the older generations.

At the start of every academic year, we kick off with welcoming the elderly, who have received prior training in Montessori, to come observe our lessons and students. They are constantly fascinated to see how the Montessori approach is put into practice in the classrooms. The observations allow them to witness what they have learned in theory apply to the children.

The first festival of the year our children celebrate with the elderly is the Mid-autumn Festival. Apart from story-telling and riddle-guessing activities, we invite senior citizens and social workers to make snowy mooncakes with our students, which have become an annual tradition at St. Nicholas’.  

Every Christmas, the seniors come to make Christmas cookies and snacks with our children. It is not only a great chance for intergenerational collaboration and communication but also for the children to enrich their hands-on experience. The children really enjoy the snacks they made full of love with their families. Following the snack preparation, we also extend an invitation to the elderly to watch the Christmas Variety Show put on by all our students. The audience is truly amazed by their talents and confidence. In return, a group of senior actors and actresses perform a drama to our students and parents, retelling the story of caring for the elderly during the winter season.

During this delightful holiday, it has also been our ritual to visit a senior home to share the joy with the elderly. Our students give a performance, sing a few Christmas carols and play games with the seniors. The kids extend their best wishes and present Christmas gifts to the elderly, including their own artwork. This activity is a great way for the kids to learn to take care of the elderly from an early age, while the elderly really enjoy the kids’ company as well. 

To celebrate Chinese New Year, we transform our entire campus into a Flower Market every year. A number of food and game stalls are set up by our parent volunteers, teachers as well as elderly volunteers to promote intergenerational cooperation. They teach our children to make traditional Chinese snacks, such as rice balls, dumplings and turnip cakes. Together, they have a lot of fun with writing couplets, decorating red packets and doing the Lion Dance.

Aside from holiday festivities, the elderly volunteers come to guide our students in various activities as well. Sewing is one of them, in which they demonstrate how to sew a flower key chain to our U3 students. Although sewing seems very difficult for a young child, it is actually a Montessori practical life activity that trains the child’s fine motor skills, concentration, and eye-hand coordination. With immense dedication, the child creates a flawless final product, in which they are all very proud of and present to their parents with gratification.

Last but not least, one of the treasures the elderly possess is their wisdom in traditional time-honoured knowledge. Towards the end of each school year, we invite elderly volunteers from HKSKH Lady Maclehose Centre to make the traditional Chinese tea cakes (also known as Cha Gwo) with our students. The children are absolutely fascinated by this long-lost recipe and the unusual ingredients. Through hands-on experience, they can also learn more about the origin of this traditional Chinese culture while enjoy making tea cakes with the seniors. We are truly grateful towards all the elderly volunteers and social workers for their genuine support and dedication towards our activities as always. Our school looks forward to further fruitful collaborations with HKSKH Lady Maclehose Centre in the near future.

Readathon

Reading is no doubt of paramount importance to the development of children. Reading at a young age not only can nurture children’s self-confidence and independence but also ignite their creativity and imagination. In becoming a part of the big movement in improving the health and wellbeing of children around the world requires not only determination, persistence but also knowledge and the understanding of how small individual contribution and changes can impact others and lead to the betterment of society and the world at large. Our students have long participated in the “Read for Ronald”, a sponsored reading challenge program that fundraises for critically ill children and their beloved families. Together, they have collected over HK$80,000 for Ronald McDonald House Charities!

In addition to “Read for Ronald”, our children also took part in Heifer’s “Read to Feed” program, which also encourages students to obtain sponsorship for reading and donating the funds to help needy Chinese farmers improve livelihood self-reliantly. As students read more books, they improve their reading skills, broaden their horizons and more families receive gifts of livestock and training. In the first year, we have successfully raised close to $15,000 for Heifer. Through “Read to Feed”, young learners also acquire knowledge about poverty and sustainable development in rural China while nurturing a passion to help others and a desire to create a better world.

When you open a book, you also open a door to the world beyond your knowledge. Children learn more about the world and those around them. Important ethics and values such as empathy and integrity would gradually grow in them. With appropriate guidance, frequent encouragement and opportunity to practice, these values would be effectively reinforced which would in turn become their life guiding principles that governs their life.

Community Chest

For more than fifteen years, our parents, students and teachers have been very active in participating in Community Chest’s Dress Casual Day and helping to raise funds for the disadvantaged in our society. Children and staff wear their casual dress on that day every year. With strong support from all members of our school community, we have raised a total of close to HK$1,000,000 over the years for Community Chest! It has always been an enjoyable day for our students and faculty alike.

Christmas

During this festive season every year, children not only celebrate with one another, we also encourage them to share their blessings with the underprivileged in our society and around the world. They prepare Christmas presents for Box of Hope, an annual charity project aimed at providing useful and educational gifts to disadvantaged children in Hong Kong and Asia. By filling old shoe boxes with new interesting and educational gifts at home and decorating the boxes, they bring hope to those who have never received a present. Over the years, we have collected a total of over 2,000 boxes!

Aside from putting together gifts for the unfortunate in the community, our children also design Christmas stockings for the needy in the most deprived districts of Hong Kong. The stockings are packed with love and warmth, delivering bliss and happiness in the joyful season. We also educate our children about homelessness in the city. At our annual Christmas Fair, we invite ImpactHK – an NGO that addresses the pressing homeless problem in Hong Kong, to deliver a presentation to our students about the issue. Families are rallied to donate food and daily necessities to the food drive, gathering more than 40kg of food donations every year. Students also create Christmas cards and make towel flowers for the homeless, spreading love during this holiday.

Peace Day

Every year at St. Nicholas’ we celebrate International Day of Peace. The day is dedicated to world peace, and specifically the absence of war and violence, including a temporary ceasefire in combat zones for humanitarian aid access. The day was first celebrated in 1982, and is kept by many nations, political groups, military groups, and people. In 2013, the day was dedicated by the Secretary-General of the United Nations to peace education. Peace education is also a very important part of Montessori education, as Maria Montessori actively promoted peace during the Second World War. Montessori believed education was the most powerful and universal way through which to reconstruct society; a way to transition from war to peace.

On the day, all lessons are dedicated to peace. We teach the students to sing the song: “Light a Candle for Peace” and teachers also explain the meaning of peace through the silence game, stories, role play, and activities. Students create various pieces of art, including a large cooperative artwork of peace. All children dressed in white will also gather together in our playground for the World Peace Flag and Peace Ceremony and sing songs about peace, say the “Peace Pledge” and share a peaceful action they have done. We hope all students can gradually find the true meaning of peace and be dedicated to world peace in the future.