Korean International School Hong Kong raises Christmas cheer, HK$14,000 for Operation Santa Claus
- With large gatherings impossible due to social distancing, principal Christopher Chadwick had to find smaller ways to inject some holiday cheer
- Operation Santa Claus is an annual charity initiative co-organised by the South China Morning Post and public broadcaster RTHK since 1988
In the six years that Christopher Chadwick has been principal of the Korean International School Hong Kong (KIS), he has always dressed up as Father Christmas for Santa Fun Day in December.
“In different forms, though: I could be sitting for people to take photos, visiting classrooms or greeting families in front of the gate in the morning,” said Chadwick, a proud owner of more than 20 Christmas-themed shirts and 37 such neckties.
For last year’s event on December 10, he did all three to boost the festive spirit at the school given that big group gatherings were still banned due to pandemic-related social-distancing restrictions.
So instead of breakfast with Santa and student-driven game booths like throwing water balloons at teachers, the student body of 700 was confined to their classrooms, where they sang carols and had a festive lunch with both ham and turkey. But Santa – played by Chadwick and other faculty members – still visited every classroom to spread Christmas cheer.
To participate in the event, students made a minimum HK$20 donation, with the funds given to Operation Santa Claus (OSC) – an annual charity initiative co-organised by the South China Morning Post and public broadcaster RTHK since 1988.
Established in the same year, KIS offers classes for students aged four to 18 years old, and is separated into international and Korean sections. It has partnered with OSC since 2002.
The international section raised more than HK$14,000 (US$1,795) for the 2021 campaign.
“It’s very tricky to host fun events because it’s very restrictive to get all the kids together,” Chadwick said of the social-distancing regulations. “But we still try to instil the Christmas spirit starting in the beginning of December, through greeting the families in my Christmas ties and shirts, for instance.”
Aside from OSC, KIS also supports the Hong Kong Community Chest and invites representatives from the Lifelong Animal Protection Charity to give talks about animal rescue. Every March, the school hosts a blindfolded lunch and sports to raise funds for Orbis Hong Kong, a group that aims to fight blindness.
This January, two community service coordinators will join the KIS family to further its philanthropic footprint. Chadwick said the newcomers will work with the “very proactive student council” to do good.
Going forward, he hopes physical programmes will make a comeback next Christmas so senior students can get involved in the event-planning process again.
