First Jewish High School Graduation for Hong Kong
Source: Asian Jewish Life Blog
Elsa High School, part of Hong Kong’s Carmel School Association, held its first graduation on 21 May 2013. This was a first for Hong Kong Jewry, being home to the Far East’s only Jewish secondary school. The last time a Jewish school held a high school graduation in the greater China region was nearly 70 years ago in Shanghai.
The school is evidence of making the seemingly impossible into a reality. The founders see this as just a start and evidence of what even a small community can accomplish. The Carmel School Association, from its very start, made the decision to adopt an Orthodox ethos but to maintain a pluralistic admissions policy. While this can be seen as merely a sensible decision given the challenges of attracting a critical mass from a community of only 4000-5000 Jews total, it is also actually a statement as to how tightknit this community is.
With one Jewish community center and one school, this community that is diverse in terms of national identity, mother tongue, affiliation and observance levels has built a Jewish center for 21st century learning that can boast an IB program, Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) accreditation, state-of-the-art technology and certainly not least of all Jewish education and very Jewish values in the Far East.