I didn't write this for Singtao's student newspaper 'Goodies', but I want to share with you the wonder of Irish Dance in Hong Kong. 

ECHOES of ERIN SCHOOL of IRISH DANCE is a great school for dedicated dancers across the SAR. The three instructors are all world-ranked Irish Dance Champions, and all the students you see here participated in the 2014 WIDA World Championships in Germany. They are ALL official Runner-up World Champion Irish Dancers (team dramatic dance category) as well as picking up over 150 solo awards collectively. When you find teachers who help make your kid a world champ, you support any way you can. 

For more info: www.echoesirishdance.com

I have been browsing the internet for several years now, looking for a possible Mandarin summer immersion programme for my child. There are so many to choose from ! — how can you possibly know which is best? Well, I've found one that has impressed me so far… and apparently other parents as well, as several of the students attending are doing so for a second and even a third time. When I went to the first parent meeting, one mum stood up to say what a great programme it was, and how her son wanted to do it again — and he wasn't a student at the school! Now that's a glowing endorsement. The programme my daughter is on, as I write this, is the one organised by her own school, Canadian International School of Hong Kong. It's 14-days of jam-packed learning and lots of fun, a bit pricey, but what I especially like is that four deserving students will be given a 'retroactive' performance-based scholarship of about 30% of the original cost, courtesy of the school's 'Annual Fund'. Students are motivated, the money-management is transparent, and parents can dream… for a few more days at least… that they will be handed a break in the HK tuition department. What's not to love?