Outdoor Education & Leadership Program
The Outdoor Education and Leadership Program (OELP) is an integral part of our school’s Future Framework and ensures that learning is Social, Personal and Applied. Since 2005, our Service in Action Week program has taken students beyond the red bricks of our school to all parts of the world where they develop key leadership, learning, and life skills.
Research continues to show the benefits for students who participate in experiential learning programs. OELP enriches our students’ learning experiences and supports them in meeting our Expected School-wide Learning Results (ESLRs). As a school, we are committed to providing students with a challenging, safe, and positive outdoor learning and leadership experience.
From Early Childhood, teachers and students begin a scaffolded program of outdoor activity days and interaction with the natural world. Overnight camping stays for our Elementary School students gradually extend to week-long residential camps and then into overseas travel in both Middle and High School. As a compulsory part of our curriculum, the OELP provides students with experiential learning opportunities designed to promote personal and social growth, global citizenship, communication and leadership skills, and empathy and compassion for people and our planet.
Early Childhood
Our core mindset is confidence, and we believe this begins in Year One. We have dedicated ourselves to ensuring that our programs foster confidence and independence throughout each year of learning, starting with Early Childhood.
Our EC OELP offers students a journey into independence, where they begin to learn essential skills such as: fire safety, which includes an opportunity to cook over an open fire; hike with their own gear; fish in a stream; and, discover the wonders of natural clay. We visit areas throughout Hong Kong, helping to expose our youngest learners with a wider experience of Hong Kong.
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
In Elementary School, we further our students’ journey toward independence and confidence. This includes our first overnight sleepovers, hiking, cooking, rafting, and most importantly, making lasting memories with classmates.
First and foremost, this is an educational program that emphasizes teamwork, camaraderie, independence, and self-care. The program evolves as our students grow, continuously challenging them to reach new levels of maturity, confidence, and independence. We visit and sleep overnight in areas only within Hong Kong.
Middle School
In Middle School, each grade level has their own unique experience that helps them develop their independence, resiliency, team working skills, as well as our school’s core values and expected school-wide learning results!
The Middle School Programs are a mix of programs in Hong Kong, Yangshuo (China), and Chiang Mai (Thailand). Grade 5 and 6 remain in Hong Kong, while Grade 7 ventures to Yangshuo and Grade 8 travels to Chiang Mai. Each program is specifically designed to provide scaffolded experiences that build on each other.
high School
Typically, High School coordinates two OELP experiences during the school year. During trimester one, a ‘Service In Action Week’ is offered. During trimester three, we run the ‘INFINITY’ Real-World Learning Program.
The Service In Action Week offers a series of week-long programs and activities which take place overseas and in Hong Kong. By regularly engaging with adventure-based and cultural interaction activities, our students develop their Social Confidence skills, one of our key mindsets.
Students also significantly deepen their inter-cultural understanding as they focus on a service project, often with an NGO, to improve the lives of others in the communities they visit. Through these service learning experiences, our students are empowered to make a positive difference and encouraged to continue to seek ways to give back to the community.
through SIAW, ais hs students have traveled all over the world to …
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The INFINITY Real-World Learning Program provides students with the annual opportunity through each year of high school to explore future career possibilities. Students will work in small groups under the guidance of an Industry Coach to learn more about what a career in a specific field might be like. Each year students will participate in a variety of on and off-campus learning activities while developing a product that responds to a challenge put forth by the Industry Coach.
Students use part of their Advisory Homeroom time to prepare for their upcoming OELP experiences. They are encouraged to document their OELP learning, to reflect on their experience, and to assess their personal growth.
HS OELP 2025: New Horizons in Guizhou, Malaysia, and Mongolia
HS OELP 2024: Eight Wonderful Trip Offerings Around The World
HS OELP 2023: Back to Spreading Wings From Hong Kong to the World
HS OELP 2022: From Global Goals to Local Action in Hong Kong
HS OELP 2021: AIS Embraces New Experiential Program ‘From Global to Local’
HS OELP 2019: Trips Focused on Conservation, Sustainability, and Teamwork
Confidence
starts here
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