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How to give back this holiday season!
How to give back this holiday season!
Sophie Turner, Y12
Box of Hope
The Box of Hope program has been running since 2008, with the goal of bringing joy to underprivileged youth in countries in SouthEast Asia such as Cambodia and Vietnam. The charity encourages volunteers to donate a used shoebox wrapped in gift wrapping, that has been filled with essential items that will be given to a child who doesn’t have access to what more fortunate children may take for granted. This includes hygiene products like soap and toothpaste, stationary, as well as items to help stay active like a skipping rope. In the 15 years that the program has run for:
272,300 boxes have been shared with children
Over 200 volunteers have given up their time annually
Approximately 130 schools and kindergartens in Hong Kong have been involved
If you are interested in creating your own box, making a donation, or finding out how to give your time, learn more here:
https://www.boxofhope.org/en/
Operation Santa Paws
Whiskers N Paws, a pet supply store, created Operation Santa Paws to benefit local sheltered pets during the festive season. With various collection points around the city, they ask the community to donate either new or lightly-used pet supply products, which are then given to various shelters. These include the Hong Kong Dog Rescue and the SPCA.
Learn more + donate at:
https://www.spca.org.hk/get-involved/how-to-donate/
Santa’s Sack Food Drive
Feeding HK, a local non-profit that focuses on reducing food waste by donating surplus food, runs their annual Santa’s Sack Food Drive. They ask people in Hong Kong to either make a cash or food donation. The food items they look to collect include rice, noodles and canned food. These are then used to create food parcels that also include festive treats. A donation of just $150 is enough to collect and deliver one food parcel that will be given to vulnerable people in Hong Kong.
Discover how you can help prevent food waste at:
When Numbers Lie: Why You Can't trust Statistics
When Numbers Lie: Why You Can't trust Statistics
Jude Denham, Y13
Statistics is the art of accumulating masses of messy numerical data and shaping them into numbers we can analyse and interpret. This provides valuable insight into fields across both the humanities and the sciences. From newspapers to courtrooms, society has developed an undeniable need for statistical and mathematical proof in order to accept conjecture as fact. However in recent times the misuse of statistics has become an increasingly pressing issue, with modern statisticians exposing old tricks often used to deceive us.
Statistics aren’t always twisted to mislead audiences. If Hong Kong had an unemployment rate of 4% in 2019, and of 6% in 2020, which is a more fitting headline: “Hong Kong Unemployment Rate Rises by 2%” or “Hong Kong Unemployment Rate Rises by 50%”? The question is not only which is better, but which is more correct? Well, they both are. This is just one case in which statistics can be presented accurately with no malicious intent, and yet still be misinterpreted.
The diagram below shows another example of this. Both graphs show exactly the same data: 40 students graduating from FIS with the IB diploma in 2010, and 50 in 2011. (These are not actual statistics). The difference between the two graphs is in the base values - the graph on the left starts from 36 while the right starts from 0. Despite neither of these graphs being statistically wrong, at first glance the left suggests that the number of graduates more than doubled in just one year, which is clearly not the case shown in the graph on the right.
Whether the Simpson's Paradox or the Monty Hall Problem, paradoxical problems are perfect examples of statistics and probabilities becoming bamboozling. For instance, The Prosecutor's Fallacy states that the probability of event A occurring given that B is true is equal to the probability of event B occurring given that A is true. An example of this: to argue that the probability of a person being a woman given that she is pregnant (almost certain) is the same as the probability of a person being pregnant given that she is a woman (possible, but far from certain).
One real life instance where this fallacy was used was in the infamous 1995 murder trial of O. J. Simpson. Prosecution showed that the statistics presented a 1 in 400 chance of him being innocent, given that a blood sample matching Simpson’s was found at the crime scene. The defence used the Prosecutor’s Fallacy to flip the probability, arguing that if the chances of the blood sample matching Simpson’s was 1 in 400, applying this to the population of LA, there would be over 10,000 people that fit this description, meaning that there were over 10,000 people who had an equal chance of being guilty. This trick went unnoticed by the jury - a contributing factor to the highly controversial not guilty verdict.
With today’s era of the internet and social media comes the viral spread of news and gossip. A lack of an ubiquitous educated filter distinguishing fact from fiction leaves the responsibility to you, as an individual, to decide what is trustworthy. So think twice before you believe the next headline statistics - you never know when the numbers might be lying.
The Most Unusual Christmas Traditions Around the World
The Most Unusual Christmas Traditions Around the World
Audrey Ching, Y11
Sweden:
In Sweden, an enormous goat statue made of straw is constructed every year. According to stories, Christmas elves ride the Yule goat going from door to door delivering gifts to little kids every year - similar to how Santa Claus does. This tradition started in 1966, when the town, Gävle, wanted to liven up the city square with a sprinkle of Christmas spirit. A highly flammable straw statue wasn’t the brightest idea however, as the goat was burned down shortly after. Nowadays, the townspeople eagerly wait for the goat’s downfall and sometimes, bettings are even made on whether or not the goat will last till Christmas day.
Austria:
During the first week of December, people in Austria dress as a “Krampus” - a malicious, ghoulish creature with a ghastly appearance. According to the myths, the role of this half-demon, half-goat monster is to punish badly behaved children using a rod or a horse’s tail. Each year, a Krampus parade (Krampuslauf) is held where people march the streets in frightening Krampus costumes. A basic Krampus costume consists of a demonic wooden mask, long horns, fangs, red contacts, and fur - lots of it.
How Capitalism Stole Christmas - A Commentary
How Capitalism Stole Christmas - A Commentary
Rose Lyden, Y10
Christmas, a time of joy, love, peace, and of course…presents. I'm not going to lie, I'm not going to pretend I'm above it all, when I so clearly am not. I love presents, I love receiving them and I love giving them. But how exactly did we go from a day for family, to a day for competitiveness and superficial bonding? Each year, Americans spend roughly 900 billion dollars on gift-buying, and each year this staggering number only increases. We use this holiday to flex our wealth in a way that definitely doesn't promote 'generosity' but rather an obsession with things of materialistic value.
It's hard to say when this drastic change in the way we see Christmas occurred, but I suppose you could say around the same time that everything became so mainstream, and publicised through the media. Just like how Halloween became about decorative lawn ornaments and cavities, and Easter became about bunnies and, well, also cavities, Christmas is now about how excessively lavish you can make a gift.
But all the same: Merry Capitalism everyone!
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