Love One Another

We Three Kings by ICS Boy Ensemble

In 2011, ICS students and families went to serve others around the world.
They built facilities for the poor, visited the weak, raised funds for the needy,
 all because of God's love for all of us.



Our Special Needs students spent time with elderly to show their care



Our High School students visited patients to share God's blessing through Christmas songs



The Show Choir sang and danced at its annual production to raise funds for the needy

Our students and their families went to the Philippines
to build toilets, bamboo footpaths and church buildings

 

Our Middle School students taught English at a village school
 in Cambodia during Week Without Walls trip



ICS facilitates me to reach my goal

Emmanuel (3rd from left) with other students participating in Model United Nations (M.U.N.)

God has always been watching over my life
My name is Emmanuel, I’m in grade 11, and I’ve been in ICS for 5 years now so I’ve been since middle school. First, I want to share about how God has always been watching over my life. Before I was even born, doctors suggested my parents to abort me because they detected hormonal disorders in me. Since then I've also been through asthma, concussions, fractures, pneumonia, collapsed eye muscle, scabies, and amazingly I am alive and well. God has carried me for my entire life through and today I can do all that I can because of His providence for me. God has been protecting and guiding me all my life and education is no exception.

For all of primary school, I studied at another Christian international school that virtually gave me no academic stimulus. My parents paid the tuition and I went to school every day since that’s the law! But I basically learned everything at home. When I began to reach higher grades, my parents began to be worried about my education and wanted to move me to ICS because of its strong academic program and Christian setting. The waiting list was already very long back then, but my parents prayed and somehow I got in.

ICS lets me ask questions without apprehensions

Through these five years, I can see why God chose to put me in this school. ICS is a community where I can experiment and ask questions without apprehensions. I am naturally cynical and inquisitive, so I like to challenge things before believing them; especially religious topics. If you propose something - PROVE IT!

I've always had strong doubts about God growing up but now my faith is firm. The school doesn't just force Christianity upon us, they downplay facts, testimonies, theories, and traditions in every class, especially science class, to allow us students to analyze the truths about God for ourselves. This humanistic approach to comprehending God encourages us student to be critical thinkers, which also explains the academic competitiveness of our school. Furthermore basically everyone tries their best to love each other. I believe that is most important because most schools can brag about building knowledge, but ICS can brag about building friendships and character.

Emmanuel playing music for kids during his High School Week-Without-Walls service trip in the Philippines



ICS facilitates me to reach my goal
As for my future, I want to get into a good university, marry a girl and make her the happiest woman alive, become a doctor, and just heal people. Not only physically, but also spiritually, emotionally, and in whatever way I can, because I see a lot of pain in this world, and I don’t like it. I've obviously experienced some of it myself, and I know it’s my calling from God to be a healing hot spring for him. And yes – ICS facilitates me to reach this goal.

ICS: God’s Instrument to Shape my Life

"May God continue to use this school as a tool to shape the next generation, and may this school continue to glorify God in all it does." Erica Leung (ICS alumna - Class of 2008) likes to share her thoughts about how ICS has impacted her life.  

No institution is perfect, least of all ICS, and as a student, I did my share of complaining about every single fault I could find. Looking back now, however, I can see so clearly that the teachers and the weekly Chapel services were used very powerfully by God to shape me into the person I am now.



Every Thursday, all of the students would gather together within their respective age groups for a time of worship, and also to listen to a message delivered either by one of our teachers, or by a speaker they had specially invited. I first accepted Christ during one of those Thursday chapels, and the many speakers the teachers invited throughout the years instilled in me a desire to live for something greater than myself.

Erica (4th from right) met up with her former ICS classmates

The single greatest blessing God gave me, however, was the teachers. Truly, they were not just teachers to their students, but also mentors and friends. I remember trading jokes with some of them just as though they were my friends, and I remember one-on-one meetings with my homeroom teacher in which he sat me down, then asked, “How has your walk with God been?” I approached so many of these teachers over the years with questions I didn’t feel comfortable asking my parents, and they taught me so much about loving God and following him. Looking back now, especially as I now currently study at a very big public university in the States, I am so appreciative of having had such teachers who truly and so very genuinely cared about my well-being, spiritual or physical, throughout high school. Even now, three years later, when I meet up with them, I can feel their genuine care and concern. One teacher I met up with even told me that on the occasion that he prayed for me, he prayed that I would not put too much pressure on myself, something I had struggled with back in high school, and still struggle with now. Even if, in the seven or so years since he had taught me (he had only taught me in middle school), he had only prayed for me once, that already demonstrates to me the genuine concern that God has placed in his heart for his students, and this is just one example of the amazing teachers I have met here.

Erica (in the middle) with her former High School teacher and her classmate at a banquet

Because of the foundation of faith that ICS had laid out for me, the first thing I did when I stepped foot on the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, was find a church. All the desires and prayers for God to use me, and to allow me to experience of living for something bigger than myself, that the speakers during Chapel times had birthed in me have been answered beyond anything I could have expected in college through the local church ministry I became involved in. I still don’t know where exactly I will be going from here (I still have one more year of schooling left), but I know that, through the academic and spiritual foundation ICS had given me, I will be ready for whatever I end up doing.

2 Corinthians 4:7 – “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.”

Confessions of a Senior

Tiffany (2nd to left) was serving the Advancement Office during Week Without Walls 2011

Tiffany Cheng (Class of 2011) transferred from a local school to ICS three years ago, a relatively short time compared to a lot of the lifers around here. She always find it hard to explain when asked about the reason since she is not too sure herself. It was a rather whimsical decision— she got really attracted to the swimming pool and the fancy art room. However, it was also due to the fact that she is not sure about her future yet. "I didn’t have a clue about what I want to major in college and hence wanted to try out all possibilities", said Tiffany.

At ICS, Tiffany got the chance to take a wide range of classes spanning from graphic design to human anatomy; some of which she couldn’t even imagine herself taking at her previous school. As a whole, it had been a challenging and rewarding experience, especially the APs, and through this trial and error process, she is beginning to find where her true interests lie.

Another thing that struck Tiffany when she first came was how highly religion is valued. She have been in Christian schools all her life but ICS is unique in that the Christian faith permeated every single aspect of school life. Students are not afraid to proclaim their own faith or pray outside of class, and they actively participate in chapel worship every week. The teachers are very approachable and have encouraged her to reexamine her own faith. ICS has given her the opportunity to reflect on her own beliefs and open up myself to new ideas. Community services, such as the Make a Difference project and Week Without Walls were also thought-provoking experiences. As she head off for college next year, she would always treasure memories she had at ICS.

People at ICS have serving hearts!



Hillman is on the right standing next to our Headmaster Ben Norton



In the beginning was the ICS IT (Information Technology) department, and Hillman Lai was with the IT department, and Hillman Lai was the IT department. This was back in the Bethel days when Hillman Lai supported the whole ICS computer server singlehandedly. Now ICS has far more complex servers, some of the most sophisticated equipment, and a large team working in the IT department. It has been a miracle of a journey for ICS, and Hillman has been in every part of that journey.

Hillman went to university in Canada and worked in the IT industry in Hong Kong for over 10 years. However, the job required too much travelling which was not good for his wife and one year-old boy. Hillman knew a teacher from ICS who connected him to the school by telling Hillman that the current computer teacher (who ran the whole system) was leaving. Hillman saw a mission school supporting missionaries and decided to help out for just a bit, signing a one-year contract with the school.

He thought of his new job as a transition job rather than a permanent career because working with such low-end equipment in a torn-down building was “worse than working in China.” One time he and a few alumni had to manually connect all the cables to every single computer in the school during a hot summer because no company was willing to help. In the end he replaced all the computers in the school so that technological and IT advancements could be made possible in the future.

However, what started out as a mere transition job became his career. Hillman soon fell in love with the school because “people were serving and doing good to others with a serving heart.” He explained that this was not the case in his previous job because of intense stress and pressure from politics. In ICS the people cooperated with him as long as he explained what he was doing. He especially enjoyed the morning devotions that faculty members organized- “we get paid to have devotions! This is a privilege and blessing from God.”

Hillman is happy with where he is because he is learning new things along the way. God has given him the opportunity to integrate his career into ministry and allowed his profession to be used as a means of serving the school. “God has really shown his mighty work,” Hillman said. This past May, Hillman has reached his 10-years of service to the school. It is a great reminder of what God has done in Hillman’s life- to be a blessing to ICS.

A Christian from a non-Christian Family




Mildred is in the middle with her classmates at ICS

 

For the past 13 years of my life ICS has taught me not just about academics but also about communication and morals. I come from a non-Christian family. Before coming to ICS, I emigrated from Hong Kong to Canada and attended preschool there. At the age of 5, I came back to Hong Kong. I began to study at ICS during 1998 in kindergarten. The twins, Felicity and Natalie Tang who were in the same grade as me were the first to talk to me. Growing up in the ICS environment, I began to become more open and communicated with my peers more often. I frequently look forward to attending school just so I can be absorbed into the happy atmosphere that the student body provides.

Music has become a huge part of my life because of ICS. I have always been interested in science. However, my experience at ICS has given me interest in music as well. I have been taught to sing in ICS since kindergarten. From 4^th grade to 10^th grade, I started learning the clarinet through attending the school’s band. Now, I listen to music and sing almost every day.

I gradually became a Christian during 8^th grade through staying at ICS. My time spent with God has increased as I grew older. Listening in chapels especially during high school encouraged me to stay as a Christian despite the many outside influences every day. In the coming fall, I am planning to attend the University of Toronto. Nevertheless, I will not forget the many opportunities and experiences ICS has given me throughout these 13 years.

"ICS is a strong community"



David Woo (left) with Jonathan Wang (2010 Graduate).




If you’re looking for the student most involved with ICS affairs, look no further than David Woo. David has been in the ICS student council for 7 years since 6^th grade and is now the high school president of ICS. He has experienced ICS “to its full potential” by fitting in every possible thing in his schedule to the point that he has no free lunch blocks or after-school blocks. ICS has inevitably molded this student into who he is today.




David greeting Mr. Michael Tien during the ICS Careers Talk.

 

David transferred to ICS when he was in third grade in 2001 because ICS was “a reputable school in the Christian community.” He explained what really made ICS different from other schools by lavishing praise about it.

 “It is a strong community,” he said. “A close-knit one. There’s a positive and friendly atmosphere and is open to everyone. The teachers are extremely friendly. The school provides lots of extracurricular activities which many have the opportunity to enjoy because of the small size of the student body. Also, the faculty-student ratio is good so every teacher and student knows each other and reaches a personal level of relationship.”



David then recalled a memorable episode that emphasized this personal relationship between students and teachers. He was once involved in an unlikely fist fight in middle school with another student and a teacher was there to witness it. Instead of reporting back to the school, the teacher kept it confidential to help the students overcome their conflict. It is no wonder David has become touched with the school.

ICS has helped David become a more sociable character, one who can communicate effectively with others. Of course, this is a key arsenal that is required of a president. He is confident that he can interact with anybody. Now he is about to graduate and getting ready to head out to university. We hope that he will be able to use his skills developed in ICS to reach out to others in the community.

  



The Junior/Senior Banquet 2009