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.
