How wonderful to have a full week of uninterrupted schooling! I would like to acknowledge the past few weeks of weather disruptions and my gratitude for how well our staff, students, and parents handled the disruptions. This resilience and adaptability demonstrate our commitment to overcoming obstacles while nurturing a strong sense of community.
I also want to thank all parents and students for following our school site access guidelines for private cars. This morning, during the peak hour, we saw students moving safely and quickly around the car park, showcasing their respect for the rules and each other. This contributed to all bus students getting to class on time, starting their day smoothly and stress-free.
At South Island School, we prioritise the safety and well-being of our students, fostering a sense of belonging and self-awareness during their time with us. We aim to provide a nurturing environment where every student feels valued and cared for. The result of these efforts was evident in a recent event that happened for our 2023 graduating class. I had the privilege of attending the Chinese University White Coat Ceremony for Medical School, where two of our students, Davina Ho and Ian Lee from the Class of 2023, were honoured.
Usually, I am also invited to the Hong Kong University White Coat Ceremony, but I did not receive an invitation this year. I recently discovered there was an error in their email list, and I was not included. I was disappointed and worried that my students felt unappreciated. However, when I attended the Chinese University ceremony, I was pleasantly surprised to see our students who were honoured at the Hong Kong University White Coat ceremony with their white coats! This moment exemplifies how our school community celebrates each other's achievements and showcases mutual respect and support. It was an incredible day and a wonderful reminder of how special our school community is. Hong Kong University has since invited me and our Head of Post Secondary Engagement, Lauren Sharman, along with students interested in medicine, to their campus to properly congratulate our HKU medical students Kandace Chan, Eun Cho, Anson Ho, and Anjelica Law. We will also have a chance to meet other SIS alumni studying medicine at HKU. It promises to be a fantastic event!
Throughout this newsletter, you will find many other examples of our community putting our values into action. I am immensely proud of our students.
I wish you a lovely weekend, and, as always, please do contact me if you have any feedback to support the continued growth of our school.
Carolyn Andrews
Interim Principal
(1) SOUTH ISLAND SCHOOL UNIVERSITY FAIR 2023
We were excited to host a successful university fair this past Wednesday, with 111 world-renowned universities visiting South Island School. This was the first large scale fair we have held since 2018! Filling the Atrium, Space and Diploma Center, our Year 11, 12, and 13 students had the chance to speak with university representatives from all over the world, including the UK, US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, Singapore, France, Spain and Japan.
In their typical South Island fashion, our students came prepared with questions ranging from personal statements and admission test requirements for various majors to campus life and culture.
With our Year 13 students in the midst of processing their University applications, the fair was extremely helpful for them to gather more information as they finalised their application. Next February, SIS will have the privilege of hosting the ESF University Fair, and this will be another great opportunity for our students to further explore their university options as part of our Higher Education workshops.
(2) CUHK WHITE COAT CEREMONY
With the new school year off and running, many of our recent graduates have stepped onto their new university campus. Last Saturday, two of our most recent graduates and ESF Chairman Award winners Davina Ho and Ian Lee received their white coats as they began their studies in medicine at Chinese University of Hong Kong. With support from many of their fellow medicine students from HKU, this was a joyous celebration for Davina and Ian as they enter into this field. We can’t wait to hear amazing stories as they instil the values they have learned in their years at South Island and continue to make a difference in their new community at CUHK, in the world of medicine, and beyond. We’re rooting for you Davina and Ian!
(3) IB FILM - HONG KONG FILM ARCHIVE VISIT
Last week, Year 13 IB Film students visited the Hong Kong Film Archive in Sai Wan Ho to explore their extensive collection of resources as they begin working on the Comparative Study component of the course. Each student has selected a film focus area relating to either film style & genre, film theory, or film movements. They will compare two films with contrasting cultural contexts, presenting their findings in a video essay. The Hong Kong Film Archive library contains books and magazines relating to a broad range of international cinema, and it was great to see the students identifying and locating sources relating to their chosen film focus area.
Students had time to look at the current exhibition, "Tango Between Images: Hong Kong Films and Comics," learning about the interactions between these two visual art forms in Hong Kong from the 1930s to the present. They also learnt about the work of the Hong Kong Film Archive in conserving and promoting Hong Kong's film heritage and facilitating film research.
Thanks to our fabulous school Librarian, Ms Ow, for organising and facilitating the visit and providing follow-up resources to aid the students in developing their information literacy and research skills.
(4) IB TOK ESSAY DISPLAY
A month in, and our Year 13 students are ramping up for the final component of their Theory of Knowledge (TOK) coursework, the TOK Essay. To help unpack the questions and jumpstart the thinking process for our Year 13 students, the Theory of Knowledge department shared a display with the different essay prompts from IB. Students are encouraged to add their own takes and approaches to the topic. Check out the prompts on the SIS Instagram and share your thoughts and approaches in the comments!
(5) Y11 FOODLINK FOUNDATION FOOD DRIVE
As part of their Community Project, Year 11 students Chloe Liu (11N1), Sarah Moy (11M1), and Sheryl Kim (11K2) lead our first charity drive of the year. In an effort to raise awareness about the impact of food waste and its consequences on the environment and society, Chloe, Sarah and Sheryl worked with Foodlink Foundation, and ran a food drive over the week of 11-15 September. The girls had chosen Foodlink Foundation as their event cooperator because they already have an existing relationship with our school collecting the surplus cooked food from our canteen kitchens.
In total, our students donated approximately 25kg of food donations from all 6 houses! With Namas collecting the most!
To learn more about Chloe, Sarah and Sheryl’s project please read the girls’ reflection HERE
Thank you to all the students who had participated and great job to Chloe, Sarah and Sheryl for making a difference.
(1) ESF INTERNATIONAL EVENING 2023
ESF International Evening needs an audience! How to maximise your ESF International Evening experience?
If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Shobha Sanker (sankers1@rchk.edu.hk). We look forward to seeing you there.
(2) SIS TRANSPORTATION UPDATE
To ensure our students start and end the school day smoothly and safely, we want to remind parents of the school’s traffic arrangements to streamline the flow of vehicles on campus. As mentioned in the message sent to parents via email and the ESF App, we kindly request parents not to access the school campus by private vehicle during the following times:
We kindly request that all parents adhere to these guidelines and plan your child’s arrival and departure from the campus outside of these peak bus times. This minor adjustment will go a long way in ensuring a safe and efficient transportation experience for our students. For further information, please refer to the message sent to parents earlier this week Subject: Transportation Update: Promoting Safety and Efficiency via email and/or ESF App.
(3) SUN SMART IN PE
The PE Department would like to remind parents to make sure students are SUN SMART during outdoor classes.
Our students are currently undertaking a block of Athletics in PE in preparation for our Athletics Heats (Years 7-11) on 9th & 10th October and our Athletics Day on 1st December (further details will be shared with students in due course).
At times, these lessons will be outside. Please be reminded to be ‘sun smart’ in wearing a protective hat and sunscreen and carrying a filled water bottle. PE staff will ensure that, in the event of extreme heat, activities will be modified accordingly, and students will be offered regular water breaks & adequate rest periods in shaded areas.
(4) ESF EXPLORE
A Message from ESF
As Term 1 begins, ESF Explore is thrilled to invite you to join our incredible line-up of engaging and enriching activities catering to children between 6 months and 17 years old. Whether you're passionate about arts, sciences, sports, or technology, we have the perfect program to ignite your curiosity, unleash your talents, and make this term an unforgettable adventure! Our Autumn camps are running this October 24-27th! Experience our extraordinary themed holiday classes designed exclusively for your child. Indulge in a diverse range of activities that cater to both their adventurous spirit and desire for tranquil enrichment. We offer both one-off and one-week courses with flexible schedules. Register for our Autumn camps here!
Check out our schedule for South Island School here. Click here to see our full range of term 1 programmes, feel free to click into the individual categories to view their available classes.
(5) SIS-PTA ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING - DATE CHANGE
MESSAGE FROM THE SIS-PTA
We would like to inform you of a change in the date for the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the South Island School Parent Teacher Association Limited (SIS PTA Ltd). The AGM, originally scheduled for 27 September 2023, will now take place in October 2023. We apologise for any inconvenience caused by the change in date. Our team is working diligently to finalise the details, and we will provide you with the exact date and time of the AGM as soon as possible. We appreciate your understanding and flexibility during this process. Once confirmed, we will send out another newsletter with the updated AGM information.
(1) TOTAL GYM INTERNATIONAL GYMNASTICS TOURNAMENT
Congratulations to Courtney Chow (11B2) for her performance at the 8th Total Gym International Gymnastic Tournament in Malaysia last month. Representing Hong Kong and competing against participants from China, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Malaysia, Courtney brought home medals in ball and ribbon, placing 5th and 6th respectively.
Courtney has been practising rhythmic gymnastics for the past 5 years, regularly training 5-6 hours a week and doubling the training times during competition season.
Courtney shares, “I enjoy gymnastics a lot because it is a beautiful combination of music, dancing, creativity, flexibility, and precise apparatus control. Every routine can be different, and every completion of the routine gives me a great sense of achievement. Through gymnastics, I learnt that even though you are nervous and scared, it doesn't mean that you cannot do it. Gymnastics builds up my confidence as the performance is seen by an audience. This has also trained my ability to perform well even under stress.”
Great job Courtney!
(2) SIS Open Day
As mentioned in last week’s newsletter, we hosted close to 400 visitors last Friday during our Open Day. Through the help of our Head Prefect team and Year 9 prefects, our visitors enjoyed a warm and welcoming experience during their time on campus. We have received numerous positive comments from our prospective parents and we would like to give our student volunteers a big THANK YOU and acknowledgement for their hard work. You have truly made a difference!
Thank you to the following:
Year 13 students: Max Milliken, Kenta Nambu, Adelaide Chan, Cruz Yu, Emily Liu, Katrina Wong, Julian Chu, Sophia Li, Natalie Li, Annabelle Or, Ottillie Chung, Kira Ball, Kristie Lee, Liam Li, Ruth Vanrell, Jessie May, Alicia Bertagnoli, Jaslyn Lam, Emily Kwon, Adam Chan, Keifer Tsang, Alicia Koo, Celine Huang, Enoch Chu, Paul-Antoine Joly, Anusha Oak, Anson Li, Minjun Koo, Arim Lee, Hardit Singh Mander, Jeremy Yung, Beatrice Lui, Jenna Yuen, Varshini Jairam, Destiny Lung, Koharu Honda, Bernice Yiu
Year 9 students: Vuihuo Chan, Navika Khandelwal, Kourtne∞y Lee, Itish Handa, Cameron Lee, Ernest Ho, Vee Lee, Keshav Mathur, Hayley Fung, Chelsea Mock, Aerin Ho, Madison Cha, Evelyn Liu, Paeonia Leung, Oscar Tao, Viviette Sze
For our existing parents, we are in the planning phase of another Open Day event to invite you in to explore our school. We will communicate the date and details soon.
(1) U20 Girls Basketball
The SIS girls' varsity basketball team were back on the court against Sha Tin College on Tuesday evening with their second league game of the season. Terrible traffic conditions meant the game had to be shortened considerably, and the SIS team had to go straight on the court without a warm-up. Sha Tin got off to a quick start, taking an early 4-point lead minutes after tip-off. However, the girls quickly settled into their groove and started controlling the pace of the game, with Hillary Long (11S1) hitting from long range and several buckets in the paint from Sophie Aranha (11S1). Excellent on ball defence from Esther Au Yeung (11K1) and solid interior defence stifled the STC squad, and our girls came away with an 18-12 victory. MVP - Esther Au Yeung for phenomenal defensive play.
(2) U20 Boys Basketball
The SIS Boys Varsity Basketball team kicked off the ESF Basketball season against Sha Tin College on Tuesday evening at STC. After a long delay due to traffic and having to forgo warmups, the SIS team came out with less chemistry than usual, allowing the Sabres to start the game on an 11-0 run. The Stingrays, however, started getting a feel for the game and clamped down on defence, tenaciously fighting back to cut the gap to 2, down 26-28 in the final quarter. That would be as close as SIS would get as Sha Tin College finished the game on a 7-1 run, winning by the final score of 27-35. MVP to Matthew Yau (12C1) for driving the boys’ offence, leading SIS with 16 points! Great job to our U20 boys for showing remarkable resilience and fighting back after being down early.
(3) U16 Girls Volleyball
SIS U16 girls made a solid start to their season with a 1-1 split of their doubleheader against Christian Alliance International School and KGV. The girls began their day with a solid 3 set win against a well-prepared CAIS squad. Their second game of the doubleheader saw them come up short, falling in 2 close sets against KGV. Stand-out performers on the day were Esther Au Yeung (11K1), fresh off her work on the basketball court for her work at the net and Camille Phieu-Parisots (10N2), fearless work in libero.
(4) SIS TENNIS
The SIS tennis squad began their new partnership with Tennis Asia, having their first training session today, with special guest Craig O’Shannessy, one of the world's top tennis strategists who has coached Novak Djokovic for a number of years as his strategy coach. The players were excited to receive guidance and hear stories from one of the world’s best and displayed superb discipline and team spirit throughout the session. Roll on a great season ahead.
(5) Grade A Rugby
SIS opened their season away with a doubleheader against HKIS and KGV at the picturesque Tai Tam stadium. The first game was against a strong HKIS team playing at home. It was a tough battle at the start, with both teams putting in excellent defensive efforts. HKIS scored a breakaway try to take the lead, which they extended with another try. SIS fought back though, with a try just before halftime to go into the intermission 12-7. HKIS scored right after the restart to lead 17-7. SIS again fought back with a superb solo try from Jasper Chan (13S2). HKIS hit back with a try of their own before HK U19 National team member Minjun Koo (12B1) wrapped up the scoring with a lovely finish. Despite their best efforts, SIS fell short 24-17.
In the second match of the day, SIS took on old rivals and fellow ESF school KGV. SIS got off to a quick start and raced to a 7-0 lead. In the final minutes of the first half, KGV looked to score after a good line break, SIS’s Luca Ho (13C2) sprinted back 40 metres to make a last ditch, try saving, chase down tackle. From the scrum that followed, Luca ran the whole pitch to score a try under the post, giving SIS a half-time lead. With the side tiring after a tough afternoon, SIS finished the match down two players but still managed to secure the 24-7 win, with Luca scoring again and a final try from Calum Tang (12B2) to cap off a good afternoon’s performance.
The boys are back in action again next week against Kellett and Discovery College at Kings Park
This week's fun photo is courtesy of our ‘Cookie Friday’ club!
Sky Chiu, Dante Chau, Jasper Hansen Edwards 8K1
MEET THE…THE NEW HIGHER EDUCATION COUNSELLOR - MS NURI MAHARAJ
This week, we would like to introduce you to Ms Nuri Maharaj, our new Higher Education Counsellor. Ms Maharj joins us from South Africa by way of the UAE! As our Y13 students are finalising their university applications, Ms Maharaj will be there joyously supporting our students. Please read Ms Maharaj’s introduction HERE
September
22nd - Y10 - Y13 Assembly - Casa, Namas, Shtepi
22nd - Year 10 Interhouse - WaterPolo & Handball
27th - Y11 Psychology Competition @ KGV & VSA
29th - Y10 - Y13 Assembly - Bahay, Kuca, Maison
29th - Year 9 Interhouse Football & Netball
October
2nd - Public Holiday - Day after National Day
3rd - Box of Hope Collection Begins
4th - Open Day [Current Parents]
6th - MaD Week Student Briefing #2
10th - Y13 Student Led Consultations
10th - Y7 Laptop Distribution
11th - Interhouse MusicFest
12th - 13th - Y7 Laptop Induction
13th - MaD Week Student Briefing #2
16th - 20th - MaD Week
21st to 30th - Mid-Term Break
Please access the latest school calendar HERE
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If your child has a particular highlight or achievement you would like to share with the community, please email a short description and photo to ebulletin@sis.edu.hk