Keystone Magazine Keystone Magazine 5th EN | Page 66

Family Profile
perspective on the subject and efficiency in
task completion. As the old Chinese saying
goes “a workman needs to have the best
tools to do a good job.” It is obvious that the
teachers at Keystone are equipping her with
the right tools, which lays a solid foundation
for her future studies.
TKM: The Keystone ethos is not only
about personal achievement, but also in-
corporates the philosophy of giving back
to the community. You seem to be quite in-
volved in many activities, including some
of the service initiatives.
Cherry: Keystone’s Global and Service
Initiatives are my favor ite activ ities.
During the October National Day break, I
accompanied my teachers and classmates
on a trip to Laos where we helped repair
homes in a rural community. I learned from
the local people there about their way of life,
and it also helped me understand how we
can better support their community. I also
take part in many events organized by the
Student Council. As a grade-level student
Keystone Activities Program (KAP). It lets representative, I am always determined to do
me try out new things or gain more exposure my part in promoting and preparing for the
to things I am already interested in. For activities we organize.
example, I have signed up to the North East
Asian Math Competition KAP, which has TKM: How do you manage the challenges
of being involved in various activities?
given me a completely fresh perspective.
Mother: In this year and a half at Keystone,
Cherry has not ceased to surprise us. I can see
that she is more confident now, works well
with others, values academic integrity, and
excels in critical thinking. Her enthusiasm for
learning, life and making new friends has been
revived. The biggest change we have noticed
is that she has become more intellectually
curious, and enjoys learning. Before Keystone,
Cherry was not particularly interested in Math;
she would study what was needed and leave
it at that. Now thanks to guidance from her
teachers, she has become fascinated by Math
and takes the initiative to study beyond what
is required. She goes over very difficult Math
problems with her classmates, and takes part
in competitions. We can see from her grades
that being interested in a subject is the key to
effective learning.
Father: We are really happy to see Cherry’s
academic progress. Her grade 8 Chinese
writing portfolio, complete with an author’s
introduction, not only demonstrates her
skill in using a variety of tools to research
the literature, but it also shows her unique
66 The Keystone Magazine
Cherry: These activities do take up a lot of
my time after class, but I really enjoy being
involved; spending time on them is really
worth it. If I focus on challenges, then I
would have to say that it is time management.
Organizing my time is really important when
it comes to finishing my schoolwork. My
strategy is to separate my time for study and
for participating in activities. Anytime I feel I
am losing my time balance, I ask my advisor
for guidance.
TKM: Study time vs. co-curricular activi-
ties – is there a hierarchy in your opinion?
What is your take on this? How would you
support your child?
Father: I have read in a classical Chinese
masterpiece “a child should learn to nurture
love for the family and for others, and develop
honesty and compassion before embarking
on academic learning.” I think this is the
understanding that underlies engagement
in any co-curriculum activities. We hope
the same for Cherry. Studying or study time
should come after making sure a child has