Happy School Recognition Campaign 2024-2025
Happy School Recognition Campaign
1.INTRODUCTION
Happiness reflects a state of joy, contentment, and purpose, where individuals believe their lives are meaningful and fulfilling. Education plays a pivotal role in shaping this sense of fulfillment, with schools recognized as essential contributors to holistic student development. Globally, there is a growing emphasis on incorporating happiness into educational practices.
Happy schools create environments where students feel safe, respected, and supported, nurturing their sense of belonging and engagement. These schools encourage creativity, critical thinking, and a passion for learning. We believe that students immersed in such positive, happiness-centered environments are not only more motivated and engaged but also better equipped to build resilience and navigate challenges.
In the face of today’s complexities, there is an urgent need to rethink traditional educational models. By embracing diverse talents, nurturing positive relationships, and fostering inclusive learning environments, schools can go beyond promoting academic achievement to become thriving centers of well-being and happiness.
Following the success of the first and second Happy School Campaigns in 2022-2023 and 2023-2024, the Chief Happiness Officer Association, in partnership with Preface, is proud to announce the launch of the third edition for 2024-2025. The Happy School Recognition Campaign 2024-2025 continues to foster a thriving ecosystem that places the happiness and well-being of students. Happiness is not merely a destination but the pathway to a brighter, more fulfilling future for all.
Let’s pledge to tell the world the good education stories of Hong Kong together.
2.OBJECTIVES OF HAPPY SCHOOL RECOGNITION CAMPAIGN
- Honor schools that demonstrate tremendous effort in driving well-being, happiness and wellness in the school community
- To promote the holistic development and emotional well-being of students by creating positive learning environments that foster happiness and wellness, engagement and success
- To advocate for the integration of happiness and wellness in educational policies and practices
- To establish an active exchange of best practices among the awarding schools and the community
3.BENEFITS TO SCHOOLS
- To recognize the school’s commitment to promoting happiness and wellness, well-being, and a positive learning environment
- To enhance the school’s reputation locally and regionally and position it as a leader in fostering a happy schools approach
- To acknowledge the school community’s collective efforts in creating a happy and supportive learning environment
- To demonstrate the school’s dedication to holistic education and attract attention from prospective students, parents, and community members
- To track the changes in happiness levels over time and gauge the effectiveness of implemented school strategies through industry-recognized survey
- To attain opportunities for knowledge exchange, sharing of best practices, and collaborative initiatives aimed at further advancing the well-being, happiness and wellness of students
4.DEFINITION OF HAPPY SCHOOL
Happy schools can be sites or spaces to support social cohesion, creating communities across differences. Happy schools, too, can foster a lifelong love of learning through joyful engagement, rather than pressuring academic performance over all else to the detriment of personal well-being, which will in turn undermine learners’ engagement in learning. In short, happy schools can provide the safety, support, and positive social interactivity engagement that is needed for students to learn.
The definition is based on UNESCO’s 2022 publication, The Global Happy Schools Framework.
5.FRAMEWORK OF HAPPY SCHOOL RECOGNITION CAMPAIGN
With reference to the Global Happy Schools Framework of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and considering the local culture, current school situation as well as the education system, CHOA adopted the Happy Schools Framework and embedded the PERMAV Theory – Positive emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, Achievement and Vitality – to design the Happy School Survey for use in Hong Kong. It provides a starting point as an integral reference for measuring the quality of learning in schools that looks beyond strictly academic outcomes.
The Happy School Survey measures the school’s alignment with the Happy Schools principle, as well as its actual execution across the three necessary dimensions – People, Process, and Place:
- Not at the expense of academic priorities
- Provide students with better learning experiences
- Encourage school-wide culture of learning, creativity, and innovation
- Promote trust, tolerance, and cooperation between school community members
- Respect for diversity and difference
- Commitment to rigor, engagement, and joy in all learning space
5.1 People – refer to all human and social relationships among members of the school community and is considered to be particularly important among the 3 categories
- School leaders include the happiness of the school community as a factor in monitoring system success
- School leaders promote school-wide positivity and growth mindsets
- School leaders coach, collaborate with, and allocate planning time to teachers to create happy learning environment
- Teachers invest in empathetic relationship-building with students
- Teachers share personal happiness with students
- Teachers believe in the potential of each student
- Teachers build partnerships with parents
- Students feel a sense of belonging at school
- Students engage in peer learning and school activities
- Parents pursue partnerships with teachers based on listening, understanding, and sharing knowledge
- Parents sustained engagement in students’ learning
- School and community work together to prioritize happiness at school
5.2 Process – encompass teaching and learning methodologies that can enhance students’ sense of well-being, and gain non-academic skills and competencies
- The workload of the school for students is manageable
- The assessment at school can mitigate students’ stress
- Innovative pedagogies and assessment strategies are used at school
- The school provides students with learning experiences that promote curiosity, inquiry, and creativity
- The school provides students with learning content that fit the local culture and, at the same time, globally conscious
- The school has a feedback mechanism for students to receive the teacher’s opinions and comments timely
- The school allows students to manage stress and emotions through self and communal reflection
- There are regular celebrations of peer achievement at school
- Students have freedom of choice for a personalized teaching and learning experience at school
- The school provides students with extracurricular activities, sports and arts activities and a variety of school events
5.3 Place – refer to contextual factors that include the physical environment and the school atmosphere
- Teachers and students have personalized school spaces
- The school provides multi-functional learning spaces that enable physical and pedagogical flexibility
- The school adopted principles of Universal Design for learning, e.g. including disability access
- The school maintains healthy, environmentally sustainable physical conditions, considering lighting, temperature, noise, ventilation, furniture comfort, nutrition, etc.
- The school provides safe, engaging, interactive digital and hybrid learning environment
- Use of communal outdoor space for unstructured learning activities
- Use of school as a community learning and social center
6.CAMPAIGN ORGANIZING COMMITTEE
- Dr. Alfred Tse (Co-Founder & Education Director of Preface)
- Dr. Cecilia Tam (Advisor, Happy School Campaign Committee, Chow Yei Ching School of Graduate Studies, City University of Hong Kong)
- Ms. Mary Suen (Founder & Executive Chairman of Chief Happiness Officer Association)
7.CAMPAIGN ELIGIBILITY
Happy Schools Recognition Campaign 2024-2025 is open to all kindergartens, primary schools and secondary schools in Hong Kong. The schools are encouraged to share their practices and remarks on their “Happy Schools” execution and nominate at least a principal, 5 teachers and 10 parents to complete the survey checklist.
8.AWARD CATEGORY OF HAPPY SCHOOL RECOGNITION CAMPAIGN
8.1 Star Award
- It serves to recognize the schools that can demonstrate their strength across three categories of Happy Schools Framework: People, Process and Place
- Schools that achieve a passing score in the Happy Schools Survey will be granted the Star Award
8.2 Special Awards
A number of Special Awards will also be granted to the schools with outstanding showcases in different individual areas
- Joyful Campus Award – measures whether the participating school can provide a positive learning environment or room for positive emotional development, as well as mitigating students’ negative emotions
- Enthusiastic involvement in Learning Award – measures whether the participating school can engage and motivate students in learning and other activities. The measurement further extends to engaging other stakeholders in students’ learning
- Supportive Bonds Award – measures whether the participating school can create a supportive environment for positive relationships and social connections between students and other stakeholders. The relationships should be two-way and should involve effective communication
- Growth and Diversity Award – measures whether the participating school can help students to develop a meaningful life. The meaning should not only focus on oneself but extend to a larger community and respect diversity and individual differences
- Inspiring Potential Award – measures whether the participating school can release students’ potential and to reach high achievement. Schools should be able to develop and assess students’ abilities in different aspects (not limited to academics)
- Diverse Vitality Campus Award – measures whether the participating school can help students develop vitality in learning. This includes, but is not limited to, providing suitable environments, creating rich learning experiences, and various activities
9.CAMPAIGN SCHEDULE
| Activities | Date |
Enrollment to Happy School Recognition Campaign 2024-2025 | 14 October 2024 to 30 April 2025 (Deadline for Survey Submission: |
| Happy School Recognition Campaign 2024-2025 Online Briefing | 21 October 2024; 4pm |
| Deadline for Survey Submission for Happy School Recognition Campaign 2024-2025 (Round 1) | 15 November 2024 |
| Result Announcement for Happy School Recognition Campaign 2024-2025 (Round 1) | 22 November 2024 |
| Happy School Recognition Campaign 2024-2025 Award Presentation Ceremony (Round 1) | 6-8 December 2024 – tbc |
| Happy School Recognition Campaign 2024-2025 Nurturing Events for winning schools | November 2024 to May 2025 |
| Deadline for Survey Submission for Happy School Recognition Campaign 2024-2025 (Round 2) | 27 January 2025 |
| Result Announcement for Happy School Recognition Campaign 2024-2025 (Round 2) | 10 February 2025 |
| Happy School Recognition Campaign 2024-2025 Award Presentation Ceremony (Round 2) | 24 February 2025 |
| Deadline for Survey Submission for Happy School Recognition Campaign 2024-2025 | 31 March 2025 |
| Happy School Recognition Campaign 2024-2025 Year-End Celebration for winning schools | Tbc, May to June 2025 |
10.PARTICIPATION FEE
- Participation fee for Kindergartens: $800
- Participation fee for Primary Schools & Secondary Schools: $1,800
- The participation fee covers TWO free seats at the Award Presentation Ceremony
- Additional ticket fee and arrangement of Award Presentation Ceremony will be shared after result announcement
- The participation fee can be settled upon or within 2 weeks after enrollment submission through the following methods:
i. Bank Transfer in HKD to | |
Bank | Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited |
Beneficiary | CHIEF HAPPINESS OFFICER ASSOCIATION LIMITED |
Account No. | 012-802-2-014680-8 |
Remarks | Please mark your account number / name on the pay slip & email the pay slip to: happyschool@choassociation.org or WhatsApp @ 6263 6263 |
ii. By FPS | |
Bank | Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited |
FPS Identifier | 100900554 |
Remarks | Please email the FPS record to : happyschool@choassociation.org or WhatsApp @ 6263 6263 |
iii. By Cheque | |
Cheque payable to | CHIEF HAPPINESS OFFICER ASSOCIATION LIMITED |
Remarks | Please mail a crossed cheque to Flat 2112, 21/F, The Star, 18 Yip Shing Street, Kwai Chung, New Territories. |
11.JUDGING PROCESS
| Judging Process | Details |
Part 1 Enrollment Form Submission |
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Part 2 Happy School Survey Checklist Submission | All participating schools must submit the Happy Schools survey checklist by the following deadlines: 15 November 2024 for Round 1 of the Award Presentation Ceremony, 7 February 2025 for Round 2, and 31 March 2025 for the Year-End Award Presentation Ceremony. Schools have to nominate at least a principal, 5 teachers and 10 parents to complete the survey checklist |
12. ENQUIRIES
- Ms. Mary Suen, mary@choassociation.org at 9608 8888
- Happy School Campaign Secretariat, happyschool@choassociation.org or WhatsApp at 6263 6263
- CHOA Website, https://choassociation.org/zh-hant/