Issue No. 18 (24 January 2020)

If last half of term was the marathon, the three weeks we have just spent at SIS in January have definitely been the sprint hurdles! It is incredible how much work our students and staff have crammed into such a short space of time, and the energy and enthusiasm with which everyone has thrown themselves wholeheartedly into their studies has been highly impressive. It is clear that all members of the community are determined to fully make up for any time lost last term, and everyone is in very good spirits as we head into the Chinese New Year break.

Today, we also enjoyed a very special CNY Assembly. This was led very ably, as ever, by our students, and facilitated excellently by our Chinese Department. As the year of the pig closes, and the year of the rat commences, and at this challenging time in international history, we must continue to celebrate the wonderfully diverse range of cultures and perspectives at SIS. May the year of the rat be the start of a new, positive cycle in our lives, and may it prove to be a year of wisdom and prosperity.

Kung Hay Fat Choi! Xin Nian Kuai Le!

恭喜發財! 新年快乐!

We trust that if you are travelling during the break, you will return safely and in good health! However, at this moment in time, there is clearly a lot of concern about the coronavirus outbreak, so we would like to draw the attention of our community to the advice recently issued by CHP at the following websites:

https://www.chp.gov.hk/files/pdf/factsheeteng_wuhan.pdf

https://www.chp.gov.hk/files/pdf/pneumonia_travel_advice.pdf

https://www.chp.gov.hk/files/pdf/pneumonia_health_advice.pdf

If, unfortunately, your son or daughter should show any symptoms of flu or pneumonia when it is time to return to school, we would remind you of our own guidelines for this situation which we recently sent to you. You can re-read these here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1glDdupfUXOM97OimJhmGeMoC7smUl9akWG6VTTCaZso/edit

We wish you a very happy, healthy and prosperous break!

Last week some Year 10 and 11 students were fortunate to be able to listen to holocaust survivor Mrs Eva Schloss MBE who was speaking at West Island School. The Hong Kong Holocaust and Tolerance Centre hosted Ms Eva Schloss MBE to commemorate the UN Holocaust Memorial Day and the 75th Anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. Ms Schloss herself is an Auschwitz survivor, as well as being the stepsister of Anne Frank and an internationally renowned peace activist. She spoke movingly about her own experience of hiding in Amsterdam during the Nazi occupation of Holland before being captured on her 15th birthday. After being arrested, she was transported to Auschwitz Concentration Camp where she endured the most appalling conditions for over two years. Ms Schloss was one of the very few prisoners who survived along with her mother, but both her father and brother tragically died there.

One of our key aims at South Island is for students to embrace international and intercultural diversity. Listening to a holocaust survivor is a unique opportunity to learn about the roots of prejudice and to explore the dangers of remaining indifferent to the oppression of others. Living in such a diverse and  multicultural city makes it all the more essential for students to reflect upon what it means to be a responsible citizen. 

Worryingly, instances of anti-semitism and intolerance are increasing again in the world today. Ms Schloss reminded us all of our responsibility to “speak up when we see injustice happening”. She also spoke about the importance of hope and, despite the unimaginable loss and the despair she experienced, she was able to overcome any bitterness.  Listening to Eva was a powerful experience which reminded us of important life lessons. 

As we approach the Chinese New Year of the Rat, it is a timely opportunity for us to celebrate our strong school community and to reflect upon our collective responsibility to work together to be inclusive and always aim to Make a Difference to the lives of others. 

I wish you all a peaceful, healthy and Happy Chinese New Year.  

Lucie Purves

Vice Principal. 

Eric Wishart, former AFP editor-in-chief came in to speak to Year 12 TOK students last week. His thought-provoking presentation explored journalism ethics in the era of fake news and social media. Students learned about AFP’s code of ethics and about the work that they do with organisations such as Facebook to fact check stories that appear on the platform. There were lots of TOK links and plenty of interesting discussion points. We are very grateful to Eric for giving up his time and sharing his expertise with us. 

Kelly Díaz

Head of Post-16 Learning

Dear Parents,

We need volunteers! We’re looking for parents, family, friends and alumni of SIS to join us at our Careers Fair. We need professionals from ALL industries to talk to kids about the breadth of wonderful careers out there!

Sign up now: https://forms.gle/BQi6fjXLikHd4Ek17

January 16th-18th, 2020

35 Students and 9 Staff were involved in the HKAYP practice expedition to Lantau last weekend. We were lucky to have good weather and the students performed well in all the challenges they faced. On Thursday and Friday they walked challenging routes which tested their map-reading, teamwork and endurance skills. There were overnight camps at Ngong Ping after which all students climbed HK’s second highest peak Lantau (934m..just short of 1km high!) then one group headed over Sunset Peak too (869m) to camp at Nan Shan. Much of this involved students hiking by themselves with staff supervision at a distance. On the last day all students hiked round the Chi Ma Wan Peninsula and completed various challenges enroute. This included First Aid Compass Work and Team Building activities. Most groups completed between 45 to 55 km over the weekend. On Friday we were joined by two Bronze students who were on a catch up camp and they integrated well too.

HKAYP Bronze and Silver Awards

Congratulations to the following on recently completing their Bronze or Silver Awards. These will be recognised in school at a presentation to the students on 4th February.

Bronze

1. Amos Ching
2. Anakin Wan
3. Andrea Lee
4. Dawn Chan
5. Grace Timpany
6. Hugo Lee
7. Hugo Yu
8. Jasmin Edwards
9. Jasmine Lo
10.  Madeline Kwan
11.  Maya Bragge
12.  Naomi Teng
13.  Salvador Boon
14.  Sophie Poulton
15.  Yin Sing Ng
16.  Yue Ryeo Hong

Silver

1. Dicky Lim
2. Jeffery Hau
3. Richard Rhoads

Next HKAYP Expeditions

Just a reminder that we have two big AYP Expeditions on the 7th-8th Feb – that’s our first week-end back:

1. BRONZE ASSESSMENT (All Day) – Fri 7th and Sat 8th Feb, Year 10 Students,
2. SILVER PRACTICE (Rescheduled) – Fri 7th (1.45pm) and Sat 8th, Year 12 Students (All Day)

Congratulations to Evan Ko 10K2, who won a gold medal in the 15th Regional Kendo Championships (teenage individual event), on 14 December 2019.

Please note this date in all your diaries – as per the Interhouse calendar, there will be a whole school Interhouse event developed by the Y12 House leadership teams on Friday 20th March. This will have the dual aims of adding an exciting new student led event to the IH calendar, and also will be our main annual fundraiser for our whole school cause which we have supported for the last 6 years – our SIS Family Academy in Bacolod, Philippines. You can find out more about the Family Academy programme run by our partners, ICM, here and here. As a school, we pledge to donate HKD70,000 per year to fund our own Academy with whom our students also work during MaD week.

A few points to note:

• The event will run from 11.30-3.15, with a break for lunch. School will end at 3.15 for all students, and buses will all leave at 3.30. All lessons will run until 11.15, but each will be slightly shortened. It will be an expectation that students will attend this event, in the same way that they attend for example the swim gala or athletics finals.
• Orchestra, vocal academy and other calendared events eg the Year 12 Higher Education session will go ahead as planned  – we will be working around them
• The event is student led, student organised, and will involve choice of a range of activities put on by Houses. Students will be invited to sign up for 2 of the 6 events beforehand, each of which has been chosen and will be run by a House leadership team.
• Interhouse points will be awarded for winning an event – and also for the House that raises the most donations in each event
• The event will be followed in the evening by an IH team quiz for parents and students.

SUNDAY 12th

In the ISSFHK fencing competition, the Girls team emerged as winners!! Gold medals were award to Lau Yi Heng in the women’s foil and Summer Jane Sit in the women’s sabre

MONDAY 13th

The A grade girls took a win on Monday over HYS and finished the season in 3rd place. WoTM: Caitlin Donovan and a fantastic contribution by all – it truly was a team effort. It was the last match for half the squad, who will be moving onto pastures new next year. They finished strong and undoubtedly made SIS proud!

The B grade girls played their heart out but unfortunately it wasn’t enough to take the win today against HYS! It was an evenly matched first half of the game, but there were not enough legs to secure the win! They were disciplined throughout and played with the highest integrity and endeavour and again were a credit to the school. We can’t be disappointed with 2nd place as it’s an improvement from last years 3rd place spot! Fingers crossed for next year, as this team is one to watch!

TUESDAY 14th

The A grade Boys basketball team went into their final HKSSF game v Yu Chung with only 5 players available and unfortunately lost 44-27. They gave their all but it wasn’t enough in the end to win the match. A disappointing end to a season which promised a lot. 

The U16 Stingrays beat ISF 5-3 in ISSFHK football comp. Goal scorers Sherman Wong (2), Adrian Chan (2), and Josh Au. MoM: Jamie Harvey. 

SIS B grade rugby finished with one win and one loss in the HKIS invitational 10s tournament. They won their first game 24-12 against HKIS followed by a 31-12 defeat to WIS. A lot of players made their SIS debuts.

Players of the day: Michael Brewster and Marco Conti

HKSSF badminton A grade boys, against SPC lost 0:3.

Girls HKSSF Division 1, unfortunately got the usual thrashing from the champs DGS! However, Dana and Phoebe managed to win a game.

WoM: whole team for avoiding the walk over.

WEDNESDAY 15th

It was a very successful day at the ESF Athletics Championships today, with lots of good performances and lots of team prizes. Good preparation for the HKSSF comp at the end of Feb.

Our results:

• Year 7 girls 1st, Year 7 boys 1st
• Year 8 boys 1st
• Year 9 girls 1st, year 9 boys 1st
• Year 10 girls 1st
• Year 11 girls 1st, Year 11 boys 1st
• Year 12 girls 1st, Year 12 boys 1st

THURSDAY 16th

Season opening C grade 10s tournament. took place and SIS finished with two draws. 20-20 vs DBIS and 30-30 vs Kellett. Player of the day: Minjun Koo.

FRIDAY 17th

The Boys Divison 2 tennis team won the ISSFHK match 3-1 (21-14) and should make the finals next month now. MoM: Julien Bordeaux for an encouraging debut match.

The Senior Girls Football team started ISSFHK campaign with a 5:3 victory over Kellett. Goals from Lily Brewster (3) and Andrea Chan (2).

The Boys Senior Football team won 2-0 v CIS in ISSFHK Cup, with goals from Paul Saudi and Sherman Wong. MoTM – Timo Choi.

There was a very good performance in the pool on Friday from the C grade boys who won lots of medals at the CIS Invitational gala. Taka Leong was Man of the Pool with 3 golds.

SUNDAY 19th

This was a great start to the year for the rowers on Sunday. The 1st race in the Middle Island Race series saw SIS picking up vital points towards the whole 3 race series. It was also great to see some new rowers racing for the first time and achieving strong results. The team is hoping more rowers will join them throughout the year to help take on the large HKIS team. 

U14 Girls Single:

• 2nd Charlotte Blyth
• 3rd Charlotte Moran

U16 Girls Single:

• 1st Kirra Cameron

U16 Boys Double:

• 1st Sam Wong/ Amos Ching

U18 Boys Single:

• 1st Oliver Blyth
• 2nd Amos Ching

U16 Boys Single:

• 2nd Sam Wong
• 3rd James Coward

U14 Girls Double

• 2nd Charlotte Blyth/ Charlotte Moran

Congratulations to the Y8  French team on their organisation and collaborative skills. Together, we, teachers and students were able to learn and taste the French culinary culture this week.

It was a wonderful experience of sharing with others beyond our class along the whole 3rd floor of D block, and we had great enjoyment in receiving both their presentation and  dish samplings.

Well done Y8 for all for your great contribution to the Culinary Project.

The French Team!