About Kong Hok-Shiu
Kong Hok-Shiu
We hope to foster in our students joy and amazement of the world and to help them to grow into thinking, well-rounded people.
Science and mathematics blend so students will see how equations and functions can describe the world around them – the waves of sound, the exponential growth of bread yeast, the Fibonacci series of sunflower seeds. As much as we will play with numbers and revel in hypotheses, experiments, and theorems, we will also work on communication and writing skills so that our young people can effectively share what they think and know with others.
Kong Hok-Shiu carries the name of Stephanie Kong’s grandfather. Hok-Shiu means “Learning Excellence.”
Stephanie Kong
After growing up in North Carolina, Stephanie studied Biochemistry at Harvard University. She earned her PhD in Biochemistry from the University College London and the Imperial Cancer Research Fund (now Cancer Research UK) and did postdoctoral research at the Stowers Institute in Kansas City. She has taught biotechnology and organic chemistry as adjunct faculty at Rockhurst University. She currently tutors students in math, chemistry, physics, Latin, and English.
“DrK” also been a competitive ballroom dancer. Noticing that young people needed more opportunities to learn Ballroom and Latin dancing in this area, she started a youth ballroom dance program – Kansas City Youth Ballroom (www.kcyouthballroom.com).
Not surprisingly, science and math become woven into learning dance. We learn how to be on our tarsal phalanges (toes!) and how the Pythagorean theorem dictates how large a step one can take. Do not be surprised if math students decide to create a dance to explain different functions to their friends and family.