Typhoon Club facts for kids
Typhoon Club is a cool magazine for kids! It comes out every month. Cyclone Publishing Ltd in Hong Kong started it in 2002. The magazine helps students in primary and secondary schools enjoy reading English.
Many stories in Typhoon Club are about Hong Kong and Asia. But you can also find articles about places all over the world! Teachers in Hong Kong often use Typhoon Club in their classrooms. It's a fun way to learn English.
Since 2002, over 180 issues of the magazine have been published. That's more than 1,200 different articles and stories!
In 2015, Typhoon Club started making special reading cards. These cards use stories from the magazine. They are written at four different levels of difficulty. This helps all students, no matter their reading level. Both students and teachers really like these cards!
From 2015 to 2016, Typhoon Club ran a special reading program. It was for 40 primary and secondary schools. The English Alliance and SCOLAR (a language education group) helped fund it. About 7,500 students joined this program. More schools will join in 2017 and 2018. Now, Typhoon Club is putting all 1,200 of its stories online. They will also be available at four different reading levels.
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Learn to Write with Typhoon Club
Typhoon Club started a special writing course in 2004. It helps students of all ages write their own magazine stories. Teachers from Typhoon Club visit schools to help. They guide students as they write.
After writing, each student's story is typed and edited. Then it's put into a professional magazine layout. Every student gets their own magazine with their own writing inside! Over 45,000 students in Hong Kong have written their own magazines.
Summer Fun and Writing
Typhoon Club also has summer courses. These courses help primary school students explore Hong Kong. They visit different places. Then, they write about their adventures in their own magazine. It's a great way to combine learning and fun!
Typhoon Club Books
Typhoon Club has published two books. Both were written by Mark Cowley. These books are fun stories for young readers.
Hello From Me
The first book is called Hello From Me. It came out in 2017. The story is about a Hong Kong student named Tim Tang. He visits England for the first time. Tim tries many new things there. He sees traditional Morris Dancing and watches cheese rolling. He also visits London's Transport Museum. And he eats fish and chips on Brighton beach!
Hello From Me, Too
The second book is Hello From Me, Too. It was published in 2019. In this story, Tim Tang hosts his English cousin in Hong Kong. They compare Hong Kong and English cultures. They look at fireworks versus Bonfire Night. They also compare dim sum to a full English breakfast. And they learn about Hong Kong's Cheung Chau Da Jiu Festival and England's pancake racing.
An opera singer named Christopher Purves recorded audio for both books. Many schools have joined reading programs using these books. Students in 40 primary and secondary schools received a free copy. SCOLAR also supported these reading programs.
Reading Projects with HSBC
Typhoon Club has also organized fun events for its readers. One big project was called "Reading & Me." It was an 18-month English reading project with HSBC. The chairman of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, David Eldon, launched it.
Typhoon Club wrote 10 special children's stories for this project. Senior HSBC leaders read these stories. They read them inside one of the bank's branches. Other readers included Vincent Cheng and Peter Wong. Over 3,500 students enjoyed this reading program. Even CNBC made a short TV report about it!
