Dear Parents and Guardians,
I hope this newsletter finds you well and that you're enjoying the cooler weather. This week I am keen to share more information about our Values in Action Curriculum. At South Island School, we strongly believe in providing a well-rounded education that encompasses academic excellence, pastoral care, and the development of values through our Values in Action (ViA) curriculum.
Our ViA curriculum plays a vital role in nurturing our students and helping them become compassionate, respectful, open-minded, resilient, and committed individuals. It empowers them to explore their potential and make a positive difference in the world around them. Recently, we had the pleasure of witnessing our students' resilience and commitment to our values during our whole school Inter-house event, MusicFest. After years of limited opportunities due to the pandemic, it is understandable that students may feel reluctant to participate in large-scale events. However, when we focus on our values, we create a safe and nurturing environment for our students to thrive.
During MusicFest, it was truly inspiring to see our students take the stage with confidence and enthusiasm. Even when faced with challenges, they showed remarkable resilience and supported one another wholeheartedly. It was a testament to the nurturing environment we strive to create at South Island School. I couldn't be prouder of our students and the way they exemplified our values.
Next week will be a very special and important time for our school community to once again demonstrate our values in action as we celebrate MaD (Make a Difference) Week. During this week, our students will have the opportunity to use their skills and knowledge to make a positive impact in our world. It is a time when we come together as a community to recognize the power of individual actions and collective efforts in shaping a better future.
We are incredibly proud of our teachers and students for their dedication and hard work leading up to this important week. Their commitment to creating a positive impact is truly commendable. I eagerly await their return and look forward to hearing about their experiences and the impact they have made.
Thank you, parents, for your ongoing support and encouragement. It is through our collective efforts that we can empower our children to become responsible global citizens who make a meaningful difference in the world.
Wishing you all a wonderful week ahead.
Carolyn Andrews
Interim Principal
(1) MUSICFEST 2023
This past Wednesday, our students filled the SIS Hall with great vibes and melodies for MusicFest 2023! Over 100 students across all year groups braved the stage and shared their amazing musical skills with the community. Shout out to all our performers, from the Y7s taking the stage in front of the school for the first time to the Y13s rocking out to bangers and bringing the fun in their last MusicFest. It was a great way to wrap up this half term before our students take off for MaD Week and mid-term break.
(2) Y7 LAPTOP INDUCTION
South Island School is committed to a 1 student to 1 laptop initiative to enhance and expand our students' learning opportunities. This past week, our Y7 students received their laptops. In an effort to have our Year 7 students acclimate to the daily comings and goings at South Island School, our Y7 students were intentionally held off from their laptops for this first half of the term.
Parents and students sat through an induction programme to learn more about the proper uses of their laptops and how our computers are a tool for learning and communicating. We had presentations from our ICT team and our Digital Leadership Council (DLC) to inform and educate the proper use of this powerful tool and how our school makes active efforts to combat unhealthy digital habits. The Year 7s learned that laptop use is a privilege, not a right.
(3) MaD WEEK
MaD Week is underway! With our first full MaD Week offerings since 2018, our first MaD Week trip took off last night for Fontainebleau, France, a small town outside Paris. With 37 MaD Week Experiences, both overseas and local, this looks to be an exciting MaD Week to come. Whether it is our Y7 camp, immersive experiences in Hong Kong, service trips across South East Asia, or cultural exchanges in France and Spain, our students will be making a difference within themselves, with other students, and with the communities that they will be in.
We look forward to hearing and seeing all the different stories and experiences our students will encounter next week. We will share updates throughout next week on the @esf_sis Instagram.
(4) MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS WEEK PREPARATIONS
Earlier this week was World Mental Health Day. At South Island School, we kickstarted planning for the SIS Mental Health Awareness Week (6 - 10 Nov).
Led by our Vice Principal, Ms Purves, Social Worker, Ms Yeung, and new Student Counsellor, Ms Tse, our newly formed Wellbeing Council planned a week’s worth of activities to increase awareness of student mental wellbeing.
Look forward to fun interactive activities, heartwarming wellness messages, informative conversations and more from the Wellbeing Council as we make a difference equipping our students with tools and skills to keep up with our mental health.
(5) Hong Kong Schools Debating Championships (Senior SDC)
This past weekend, our debating team achieved fantastic results at the Senior Hong Kong Schools Debating Championships (Senior SDC). Joshua Wong (13K1), Katie Yip (12K2), Utkarsh Goyal (12N2), Atree Sinha (11B1), and Aiden Teng (11K2) articulated their way through tense preliminary debates on Saturday and made it into the quarterfinals amongst the elite teams.
In the quarterfinals on Sunday, the team elevated their game even further against stiff competition. Though they ultimately fell to the tournament's top seed and the eventual champion, everyone should feel hugely proud that our school ranked within the top 8 teams out of all participating schools.
With their talent and dedication, Utkarsh, Katie, Atree, Aiden and Josh have taken our debating program to new heights. Over the past weekend, they demonstrated rapid-fire thinking, persuasive skill and command of complex issues, including the recent expansion of the BRICS bloc of nations, whether countries with ageing populations should significantly relax immigration, and the balance of choice, justice and equity in whether to require all criminal defendants to be represented by state-employed lawyers.
With their continued hard work and strategic preparation, they will surely achieve even greater success in future tournaments.
Congratulations to all involved – they have represented our school with distinction and raised the bar for what our debating programme can achieve!
(6) FAREWELL MS CHAN!
Today is a bittersweet day, as it is Ms Janna Chan’s last day with students on campus. Ms Chan has been at SIS for 9 years as an Individual Needs teacher and as shared a few weeks back have been the Head of House for Casa the past 3 years. In her position as an Individual Needs teacher and as a pastoral leader at SIS, she has made a great difference in the lives of our students, parents, and staff in the SIS community. Many of you have experienced this yourselves. While we are sad to say goodbye to Ms Chan, we are excited for her next venture! Farewell and good luck. We know you will continue to make a difference in the places and spaces you’ll make a home in!
(1) MaD WEEK BUSES & CATERING SERVICES
With MaD week here, please note the below school bus schedule for MaD Week.
Dates: 16 Oct 2023 (Mon) - 20 Oct 2023 (Fri)
Please note there will be no late start on Tuesday and no early dismissal on Friday. Tuesday morning/after-school activity buses will also be stopped for the week as there are no activities during MaD Week.
Catering services at school during MaD Week will be available at the LG Cafe and G/F Refectory. Students may purchase food from there during lunchtime.
(2) STUDENT GRANT APPLICATIONS 2023/2024
The 2023/2024 Student Grant application is now available. Students should have received their forms from their Tutor last week. Please complete, sign and submit the application form to your child’s Tutor by 31 October 2023 to claim this year’s subsidy. For more information, please refer to the ESF App message or email sent to parents earlier this week.
(3) BOX OF HOPE
The annual Family Bauhinia Box of Hope collection will begin after the mid-term break. Box of Hope is a local NGO that looks to bring joy to children during the festive season who may not have the same opportunities and privileges as others. Their main drive each year is providing packages of gifts and essential items to children from low income families during the Christmas season.
Students and families wishing to participate can assemble their boxes during the next couple of weeks. Box of Hope has shared with us that they are in more and more need of boxes targeting secondary school age students (11-18 years old). We encourage our community to put together boxes and help Box of Hope to meet this increasing demand. For more instructions on how to put together a box and what items to include, please check out the Box of Hope website HERE.
School collection details will be shared with the SIS community after the mid-term break.
(4) INCLUFIT
We are pleased to share IncluFit's FIRST large-scale event, FITNESS FOR ALL!
This special needs event is free and open to everyone! The event is designed to create a space where different families and individuals can connect, sweat and have fun with one another.
For more information, please check out their Google Form HERE.
(5) SIS-PTA - ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING (AGM) - 30 OCTOBER
Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the South Island School Parent Teacher Association Limited (SIS PTA Ltd) is scheduled for 30 October 2023. We warmly invite all current parents and teachers to attend the AGM. Please click HERE for more details. Your presence and participation are vital in shaping the direction and success of our PTA. We look forward to seeing you at the AGM.
(1) Darren Pun - Greater Bay Area Visit to Study Innovation and Technology
SingTao Daily recently interviewed Darren Pun (11S2) to share his experience over the summer at The Hong Kong Academy for Gifted Education (HKAGE). After going through a rigorous interview process, Darren was one of 35 students accepted into the Greater Bay Area Visit to Study Innovation and Technology trip and, at the end of the programme, was one of 2 to be given the honour to present his work.
You can read Darren’s interview HERE (article is in Chinese)
(2) Michelle Wong - Aramco Golf Series
Despite the rough weather over the weekend, Michelle Wong (12N2) participated in the Aramco Team Series Golf competition event in Hong Kong. Competing in a team with professional golfers, Michelle was invited to play in the tournament as the amateur participant for Team Soenderby. Playing alongside Ladies European Tour players Smilla Tarning Soenderby, Kim Metraux, and Madelene Stavnar, Michelle and the team finished 5th in the typhoon shorten event.
Michelle shares,
“During the two rounds, I was feeling a mixture of nervousness and anticipation as this was my first time playing in a professional tournament. With a stroke of luck I managed to shoot even par, beating the professionals in my group and was up there on the leaderboard. However the second day I shot +6, which was not enough to reach the podium. I learned that I have a long way to go with my tournament knowledge and a few skills in order to perform even better in the future, but I feel I'm on the right path now. It was an extremely enlightening experience!”
Marvellous job Michelle. We look forward to more even greater news from the links.
(3) Charlotte Kan - Hong Kong Primary and Secondary School Robotic Competition 2023
Charlotte Kan (08N2) was awarded first runner up for her recent participation in the Hong Kong Primary and Secondary School Robotic Competition 2023. Organised by Caltex Robot Engineers Lab, Charlotte finished second in the “Saving the Astronaut” secondary section. In recent years, Charlotte has been diving in great depth into robotics and gaining greater experience in the subject matter. We are excited to see where this journey will take her and how she will continue to expand her knowledge and creativity in this field!
Go Charlotte! Go!
(1) U16 GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
The ISSFHK league game for the U16 Girls Volleyball team against ICHK was an exciting, two-set game. The South Island girls took a huge win in the first set, winning 25-1. Shina Tamaki's consecutive serves contributed 11 points, while Esther Au Yeung's serving earned the team 14 points in the first set. Demonstrating remarkable coordination and communication in the second set, South Island remained composed, securing the win 25-22 despite a spirited comeback attempt by ICHK. The South Island Girls team's relentless pursuit of excellence and adaptability were key to their success. Congratulations to South Island on their well-deserved win, and they will move on to the Semi Finals.
Team - Shina Tamaki, Tze Ching Kao, Esther Au Yeung, Isabel Choy, Camille Phieu-Parisot, Paulina Behrens, Victoria Lu and Corliss Young.
(2) GRADE A BADMINTON
On Wednesday, 11 October 2023, the SIS A grade girls' badminton team faced off against LHYMSS at Hung Hom in their second match of the year.
The match unfolded as follows:
Ultimately, SIS lost the match with a final score of 1-3. It was a closely contested battle, and the team came incredibly close to victory.
(3) U20 Boys Volleyball
This week's match against the undefeated ICHK ended in a two-set loss, but many positives came out of the experience. The first set consisted of a score of 14-25, and the second set 20-25. Despite the loss, SIS still qualified for the semi-finals and look to begin their preparation. For the first set, Max Chan played well as the setter, doing a good job for his debut U20 game, with Aidan Sullivan and Hardit Mandeer showing strong qualities during defence; however, the SIS attack was lacking.
SIS put their best combination of players in for the second set with a different formation than our previous games. Cruz Yu and David Chong were offensively strong, with the whole team getting good receives. Although the SIS performance was good, ICHK played better, with limited mistakes. The boys are keen to focus up on their upcoming trainings and look to become more consistent. The team is committed to training hard to get ready for the upcoming semi-finals.
Team- Max Chan, Aidan Sullivan, Gary Lo, Justin Cheng, Matthew Wines, David Chong, Cruz Yu, Robbie McGraw, Hardit Mandeer & Jasper Chan.
(4) DIVISION 2 BOYS SWIMMING
The Division 2 boys had a fantastic day at the HKSSF heats today at Victoria Park. There were some great races, notably Andre Yeung edging out Enza Wong to come 5th in the A grade 50m breaststroke, and Colin Wijono’s great finish winning him the 100m C grade Freestyle by 0.2 of a second. A special mention for Sean Wong who won both his events today and his brother Mike Wong who qualified for both his events at the finals next week. A lot of the swimmers also qualified for the finals next week but unfortunately, because of MAD, only Sean & Mike can compete so good luck to them.
As a run up to World Mental Health Day (10 October) and Mental Health Awareness week (6-10 November) at South Island School, we would like to introduce to our community a few of our Well-Being personnel here at SIS. This week we would like to introduce to you Vice Principal of Well-Being, Ms Lucie Purves
Please read her Intro HERE
October
16th - 20th - MaD Week
21st to 30th - Mid-Term Break
31st - Box of Hope Collection Begins
Please access the latest school calendar HERE
—
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