Dear Parents and Guardians,
We are at the beginning of the much-awaited Lunar New Year holiday. This year, we usher in the Year of the Dragon, a symbol of power, wisdom, and good fortune. The dragon holds special meaning in Chinese culture and within our school community, where we strive to nurture these qualities in our students.
The dragon embodies strength, leadership, and the ability to overcome challenges. Just like the dragon, our students are encouraged to develop these qualities and embrace their potential as they navigate their educational journey. We believe every child has unique talents and abilities, and our mission is to provide them with the guidance and support they need to soar to new heights.
This week, we had the privilege of working with our feeder schools and celebrating with other ESF schools during the ESF Lunar New Year Assembly. These opportunities support learning pathways for our students from the start of their educational journey. Being part of the strong ESF network creates opportunities for the whole community to provide the best education for our students.
Once again, I wish you and your families a joyous and prosperous Lunar New Year. May the Year of the Dragon bring you good health, happiness, and success in the New Year.
Carolyn Andrews
Interim Principal
(1) ESF UNIVERSITY FAIR
Last Friday, 2 February, South Island School hosted the hugely successful ESF University Fair. Over 100 Universities from Europe, Asia, Oceania, North America, and Hong Kong filled the Space, Atrium, and the Diploma Centre as over 900 Year 12 students from across all ESF secondary schools made their way to SIS to meet with university representatives, including SIS Alumni Anjelica Law representing HKUMed, and learn more about the different schools. Students got a chance to gather information regarding topics such as admission requirements, student life, university culture, and anything else on their minds. With only a little more than a year left in their time in secondary school, this is an important event for all Year 12 students as they contemplate the next stage of their education. Shoutout to our Higher Education team and administrators for their hard work in making this happen for the Year 12 students across the ESF community.
(2) LUNAR NEW YEAR ASSEMBLY
The Chinese New Year Assembly 2024 was a vibrant celebration at our school on February 8th. The celebration was thoughtfully divided into two sessions to highlight the talents of different age groups in our School.
The assembly began with a series of musical performances that set an uplifting tone. Students took to the stage with a variety of acts, including dynamic violin and piano pieces 《战马奔腾》, as well as an elegant Chinese dance solo《家燕归巢》. Modern songs, such as 周杰伦 (Jay Chou)《青花瓷》、汪苏泷《有点甜》,八三夭 (831)《想见你想见你想见你》, 温奕心 (Yixin Wen) 《一路生花》, 周杰伦 (Jay Chou) 《说好不哭》, 《开心过年》, were also performed, adding a contemporary vibe to the traditional festivities.
The Chinese Dance Team performed a mesmerising dance 《彝族舞 - 云水伊人》that blended traditional movements with a sense of contemporary energy. A poignant piano and vocal duet touched on themes of hope and the future, resonating with the New Year theme.
Both sessions concluded with a Lunar New Year-themed video and inspiring words from the Principal. The grand finale had everyone singing a song of celebration《恭喜恭喜》, binding the assembly together in a shared expression of joy and community spirit. The event successfully paid homage to Chinese cultural traditions while showcasing the school's creative talent.
Thank you to the students and staff who shared with us their amazing talents, including Sarah Sum, Charlotte Kan, Jason Xiong, Adrian Pun, Ian Tang, Ortiz Lau, Phoebe Lin, Cressida Lee, Ivana Tang, Mikayla Lee, Connie Wai, Yoki Hong, Chloe Liu, Shell Ma, Grace Lim, Crystal Ling, Calista Sy, Isaac Kwong, Belmira Iong, Sonia Lee, Audrey Leung, Oliver Chan, Brandon Wong, Ivana Wong, Reagan Lee, James Choi, Felix Lim, Sophie Holyoak, Cordelia Lee, Chinese Dance Team, along with Mr Lee and Mr Papanastiou. A thank you to Our MCs and backstage crew, Chloe Chan, Cordelia Lee, Bernice Lui, Phyllis Lok, William Zhang, Ian Hioe, Ren Wong, Walker Xu, Lilian Ng, Sophie Rumble, Mikayla Lee, Colement Chao, Joyce Xu, Zackery Yeung, Camella Kam, Shannon Chau, Zni Chung, Katie Kwong, Philippa Tsang, Hailey Yuen, Jennie Huang, Alessia Chan, Kyra Zhong, Doris Hui, Ivan Liu, Kyra Zhong, Vee Lee, Aaden Lee, Alden Hou, Jasper Sui and Mr Wu. A big thank you to the Chinese Department and a special shoutout to Mrs Holyoak for all the preparation she and the students have been putting in since the middle of Term 1.
Have a wonderful Lunar New Year Break!
(3) ESF YEAR OF THE DRAGON ASSEMBLY
Our Chinese Dancing Team also had the chance to perform at the ESF Year of the Dragon Assembly held at our feeder school, Quarry Bay School, this past Tuesday. With attendees from across the ESF network, including ESF CEO Belinda Greer, our dance team performed a traditional dance from the Yi ethnic group, gracing the stage with great vibrance and energy while showcasing the rich, colourful movements of the Yi traditional dance. It was an honour to share this performance with the wider ESF community and to celebrate all parts of Chinese culture.
Eva Barber, Isabelle Cheng, Alexia Ebrahim, Ingrid Fong, Aerin Ho, Sophie Holyoak, Zasa Kwong, Audrey Lee, Kaydence Lee, Valerie Lee, Sophia Tsang.
(3) NAMAS MaD WEEK
This week, Namas House held their annual MaD Charity Week, focusing on Fashion Sustainability. Throughout the week, Namas House held events and activities to highlight Sustainable Fashion. Students got to contribute to a scrap fabric installation, upcycling old clothes donated by students and turning them into a community-wide art project. On Wednesday, Namas House held the first ever SIS Thrift Shop alongside the Sustainability Council. Students were able to browse and purchase clothing donated by the student community last week, with all proceeds going to our charity partner, ReDress. It was an exciting time for students as they searched through the donations and found hidden treasure amongst the piles. Along with the clothes that have been donated, Namas was able to raise $3300 for ReDress as we continue to support their work in creating a sustainable fashion economy. Namas House also led a workshop educating students about the fast fashion industry during PLC time on Tuesday and a workshop on upcycling during lunch on Thursday.
Big thank you to Namas House for educating the community this week on how we can make a difference in our fashion consumption.
(5) BTEC SPORTS INTERHOUSE EVENTS
This week, as part of their curriculum, our BTEC Sports students held multiple interhouse sporting events for our Years 7-9 students during lunchtime. As part of the assignment, students had to plan and execute all aspects of an event, including planning a well-attended event, setting competition rules, handling communications and marketing, procuring equipment and facilities and more. Throughout the week, our lower year students competed with their housemates in a multisport training event, a football shootout, and a free throw shooting contest during lunch and break The BTEC Sports students worked with various SIS students and school staff, including teachers, facilities team, communications team and PE staff, to ensure a successful event.
Shares Year 13 student Samuel Madden (13C1), “I enjoyed the process of bringing an event to fruition. There are a lot of details in planning an event that are often overlooked, from the amount of communication required with different people to the simplest spelling errors on a poster. Putting together an event requires a lot of help, so thank you to all the Y9 participants, the House leaders, and teachers for providing me assistance during this process.”
(6) BRADBURY SCHOOL DRAGON’S DEN
The dragons were out a little early for Chinese New Year last Friday as science teacher Mr Turner popped into our Bradbury School and took part as a dragon at the Bradbury Year 5 Dragon’s Den competition. Mr Turner took business pitches and gave feedback to the budding Y5 entrepreneurs. The Bradbury students had many great ideas, from magnetic shoelaces for kids to a device to add tasty flavourings to horrible-tasting medicine and more!
Mr Turner shares, “The Year 5 students had put a lot of preparation into developing their companies with websites, logos, business cards and company t-shirts all on display. The groups presented with passion and confidence and really impressed me with their ability to think on their feet when I asked them questions about their products. The students had clearly put a huge amount of effort into the entire process. Had this been the real Dragon's Den, I know that I would have been investing in several of the companies!”
Great job Bradbury students! You have a deal!
(7) HONG KONG SCHOOL DANCE COMPETITION RESULTS - from Mrs Bibi Holyoak
Congratulations to Kyra Zhong (08N1) and Sophie Holyoak (08S1) for being awarded the Highly Commended Award (甲等獎) at the 60th Hong Kong School Dance Competition presented by the Hong Kong School Dance Association. Representing South Island School, Kyra received her award in the Jazz and Street Dance (solo) category, and Sophie received her award in the Chinese Dance (Solo) category. The Highly Commended Award is the top award given to participants in the competition.
Both girls have been dancing since a very young age and have put in hours of practice to reach this level of excellence. Their dedication and hard work is truly commendable. Congratulations once again!
Furthermore, we extend our best wishes to the SIS Chinese Dance Team as they prepare to participate in the group portion of the competition after the Chinese New Year. Good luck girls!
(1) TEDxTSIS
We invite the SIS Community to join us on 22nd February (Thursday) from 5:30 - 7:30 pm at the South Island School Hall (2/F) to attend TEDxTSIS 2024 and experience eight thought-provoking speeches surrounding “The World Ahead”!
All tickets are FREE for the SIS Community.
TEDxTSIS is an official TED-affiliated event that aims to bring together a diverse group of individuals from within and outside our school community to deliver speeches encompassing a wide range of subjects - to foster learning inspiration, and provoke meaningful conversations.
This year, our event revolves around “The World Ahead”, which we have defined as “an insight into the obstacles of our ever-changing future”. TEDxTSIS ‘24 will showcase six exhilarating student speakers and two inspiring external speakers, bringing fresh perspectives about subjects ranging from advancements in health & patient care to the future of Hong Kong’s music industry.
We invite the South Island School community to join us for a night celebrating innovation, knowledge, and learning! Confirm your attendance by signing up HERE!
Please contact our Head Organisers, Tisya Gupta (guptat1@webmail.sis.edu.hk) or Paul-Antoine Joly (jolypa1@webmail.sis.edu.hk) for all enquiries.
(2) ESF ART EXHIBITION - CALL FOR ENTRIES
The ESF Art Exhibition is now taking submissions!
With the Paris Olympics around the corner, this year's exhibition celebrates humanity's remarkable nature. This year’s theme is Faster, Higher, Stronger, highlighting humans and their extraordinary power to achieve. Every single day, people in our schools, in our homes and in our communities are doing remarkable things, and this is what we seek to celebrate in this show.
This art exhibition is open to ALL SIS students from Year 7 – Year 13. You do not need to be in MYP Visual Art, GCSE Fine Art or IBDP Visual Art to participate.
Deadline: Friday 12th April at 12.00 pm.
Interested students can fill out this Expression of Interest Google Form. For full details, students can check their email.
(3) SIS YEAR OF THE DRAGON CARD
Gung Hei Fat Choy! Happy Chinese New Year! Usher in the Year of the Dragon with our SIS CNY Greeting Card! Designed by Year 8 student Isabella Tuenmuk (08C1), the dragon’s vibrant colours represent joy, life, vitality, and nobility, while the addition of the dragon ball is to signify guidance.
Shares Isabella, “The main function of the dragon ball is to guide the dragon's direction. I believe that for people around the world, guidance is very important in our decision-making. I put the dragon ball in front of the dragon to express that under the guidance of the school, our community will prosper and thrive.”
Originally meant for a hand-drawn poster she was making for herself, Isabella decided to enter her design into the ESF Lunar New Year Card competition. “Although it is a pity not to be selected in the ESF competition, I am honoured for my design to be selected by Ms Andrews for SIS.”
Isabella’s use of the greeting 龙行龘龘, which translates “to the soaring of the dragons”, is to encourage a brave and positive attitude and determination as we unleash the dragon in this coming year.
This process has allowed Isabella to connect further with her Chinese culture while developing her creative skills. Isabella adds, “Through this design, I learned more about the abundance of Chinese culture and about the importance of process and planning to ensure success.”
We also want to share a special mention to the other students who submitted a design for the competition: Mika Sato (7S2), Charlotte Kan (8N2), Carolyn Chang (9K1), Camellia Kam (8B1), Isabelle Cheng (8S2), and Lowri Kimberley (7N1) & Alexia Ebrahim (7B1)
(1) MICHELLE WONG (12N2) - CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP
Big shoutout to Michelle Wong (12N2) for her win in the 2024 Ladies Silver Club Championship! After qualifying for the matchplay rounds earlier in the month, Michelle played through two 18-hole matches in the quarter and semifinals before completing her victory with a 36-hole final at the Hong Kong Golf Club last Tuesday. At 16 years old, Michelle is now the youngest champion in the tournament’s 91-year history.
Amazing Job Michelle!
(2) RAPHAEL MAK (10M1) - 2024 29ER ASIAN CHAMPIONSHIP
Over the past weekend, Raphael Mak (10M1) and his partner Louis competed in the 2024 29er Asian Championship at the Sun Hung Kai & Co. Hong Kong Race Week 2024. Raphael and his partner won the U17 Asian 29er champion, came 3rd Asian 29er male and 5th overall. Over the 4 day regatta, Raphael and his partner raced in 14 separate races and came 1st in two of the races.
Raphael also participated in the 2024 29er HK Ovington Boats National Championships two weeks ago. Despite the cold and wet weather, Raphael and his partner won 1st place in U16 and 2nd in Man/Mix.
Great job Raphael!
(3) JAYE LI (11S1) - HONG KONG ART SYMPOSIUM
Congratulations to Jaye Li (11S1), who was awarded the top prize in the Photography Aged 13-18 category of this year’s Hong Kong Art Symposium competition organised by the Chinese International School.
(4) COURTNEY CHOW - CHINESE NEW YEAR PARADE
Watch out for Courtney Chow (11B2) on TV this weekend as she and her rhythmic gymnastics team have been selected to participate in this year’s Chinese New Year Parade on Saturday, 10 February. With the parade returning for the first time since 2019, Courtney and her fellow gymnasts were awarded this great opportunity to perform in front of thousands of people live and on television. The team has been practising hard in the studio and onsite as they prepare for this amazing opportunity to promote the sport. The team was recently interviewed by TVB regarding this upcoming opportunity. You can find their interview (HERE) (Cantonese only).
We can’t wait to see Courtney at the parade!
(5) OWEN CHOW (09K2) - EVERGRANDE FOOTBALL ACADEMY WINTER INVITATIONAL TOURNAMENT
Playing for the Kitchee U15 boys team, Owen Chow (09K2) competed in the Evergrande Football Academy Winter Invitational Tournament last weekend. With opponents from Moscow, Xinjian, Beijing, Tianjin and Guangzhou, Owen and the Kitchee U15 team finished in the top half of the pack ranked 9 of 21.
Owen shares, “The matches were highly competitive and we played the first game in the early morning at 6 degrees celsius! Overall, I am very happy with how I played and enjoyed the chance to play high level competitive football. It was a very precious experience for me.”
Go Owen! We are rooting for you!
(1) ISSFHK CROSS COUNTRY - Coach Jamie Atkinson
Glorious conditions greeted the SIS runners for the final cross-country event of the year. With a challenging course for all runners and over 20 international schools at the event, it was a good challenge for all students.
All runners should be proud of their efforts with some notable individual and team performances. Clarice Chow (07K1) finished 3rd in the U12 Girls, and Zac Leung (10B1) 3rd in the U14 Boys. Both races had over 100 runners.
In the team events, the U12 Boys and U16 Girls came 3rd, the U14 Boys came 2nd, and for the first time, the U12 Girls won the whole competition. There is plenty to build on for next year's competitions!
(2) B-GRADE BOYS FOOTBALL - Coach Jamie Atkinson
The B-Grade Boys' last group match of the season took place this past Saturday. South Island School met La Salle at Causeway Bay Sports Ground with a spot in the playoffs on the line. Both sides were level on points going into the final group game, but La Salle held the advantage in goal differentials. Win, and our boys are in for the knock-out stages. With Lionel Messi training at the stadium and being seen doing football activities 500m away, both sides looked to put on a show for many of the spectators.
With a chance for gold at stake, SIS poured forward in the early stages in search of an opener. Chances were created, but La Salle managed to survive. Completely against the run of play at the end of the half, La Salle scored on the break to lead 1-0.
SIS started the second half with the same aggression but yielded the same results. In the 75th minute, SIS finally found the back of the net on an equaliser through Daniel Li (10K1). However, minutes later, once again, against the run of play, La Salle scored on a free kick to retake the lead. Despite more SIS pressure, the Stingrays could not find an equaliser, as the 1 goal lead held and the boys' season wrapped up with a 2-1 loss. Despite a disappointing end, this was a promising season for the B-Grade boys as they finished in 3rd place with plenty to build on for next year.
(3) B-GRADE GIRLS RUGBY - by Sara Harries
This Tuesday, the B grade girls' Rugby team had our first set of rugby sevens games. We played two challenging matches against HKIS and WIS. To kick off the season, we faced HKIS first. At the beginning of the match, they scored the first try, but we didn't lose hope and continued to push on defence. Eventually, we managed to score a fantastic team try, scored by Skye Semple (11B1) on the wing. Each team scored one more try, resulting in a final tie score of 10-10.
Next, we took on West Island School and started off strong with two tries from South. Sophie Aranha (11S1) was unstoppable with a hat-trick of tries. Unfortunately, West Island School persisted and managed to level the score, leaving us with two draws. Although we didn't win our games, we are incredibly proud of our performance. It was the first time we played together as a team, and was so exciting to have so many girls who are new to rugby playing for their first time.
(4) U12 GIRLS BASKETBALL (UPDATED)
We would like to issue a correction regarding last week’s match report of the U12 Girls basketball Gold Medal Match. There were a few mix-ups with the girls' names. We sincerely apologise for the mistake. Please see the amended report below.
__
The Lions, buoyed by energetic support from their fans, played great defence against the Lady Stingrays, forcing tough shots and denying easy drives to the basket. Natalie Huang (07N1) adjusted well to Lion’s on-ball pressure and double team throughout the game, made great passes to unmarked players all around the court for open shots and got to the line constantly by drawing fouls on drives to the basket. Clarice Chow’s (07K1) on-ball pressure forced multiple turnovers, leading to numerous transition opportunities. Strong post play from Gia Brewster (08S1) denied the Lions from getting easy looks inside, and strong wing defence from Amelie Webster (07B1) and Katelyn Yu (08M2) jammed up CAIS on offence. Winnie Chiu (08M2) came off the bench and immediately added an easy bucket inside. While the stifling Lion’s defence limited the SIS girls to their lowest scoring output in the season, they could not break through the Stingrays’ locked-down defence. Some late substitutes, Lowri Kimberley (07N1) and Mianne Cheng (08M1), allowed more of the Lady Stingrays to show their skills. SIS takes the win 14 - 7 and wraps up the undefeated season as the ISSFHK U12 Silver Division Champions!
Your ISSFHK U12 Girls Basketball Silver Div. 1 Champions:
Gia Brewster (08S1), Mianne Cheng (08M1), Winnie Chiu (08M2), Elizabeth Choi (07N1), Clarice Chow (07K1), Chloe Hui (08B2), Lowri Kimberly (07N1), Sophie Leung (07B1), Krittika Madan (07M1), Venus Ng (08M2), Mui Shimaniki (07N1), Sera Shin (07M2), Natalie Huang (07N1), Amelie Webster (07B1), Penelope Wilde (07K2), Mini Yau (07M2), Katelyn Yu (08M2)
FEBRUARY
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