Issue No. 17 (17 January 2020)

Dear parents,

To follow up on the email you received from ESF last week about the Government’s Student Grant Scheme, that every ESF student is eligible to receive a HK$2,500 grant. Click here to see the letter.

ESF has now come up with an arrangement with the Education Bureau so that ESF parents will be able to make an application for the subsidy. Parents should follow these steps below:

1. Starting from Monday, 20 January, after 15:00 parents should ask their son or daughter to log into their personal VLE, where they will find the Student Grant Application Form.
2. Download and print out the Form which will be already pre-printed with the child’s details, with the ESF stamp. 
3. Check if all student details are correct, then complete the rest of the form.
4. Remember to sign, and remind your child to submit the completed form to their tutor before 7 Feb tutor session. (DO NOT drop it at the Reception Desk, nor send it to ESF Centre or the Education Bureau).

If you have any enquiries, please contact our school office at sis@sis.edu.hk

Dear South Island School Community,

Chinese New Year is just around the corner! CNY is a time when we wish those around us health and prosperity and show our care and appreciation through the giving of Lai See. Casa continues to support International China Concern (ICC) and the work they do in providing love, hope and opportunity to children with disabilities and striving to end abandonment by keeping families together.

Last year, through our Lai See donations we were able to raise $12,852 for ICC, and this year we would like to continue supporting ICC through another Lai See collection. In the interests of sustainability we will recycle the Lai See we have remaining from last year so we will not be providing enough for each person in the tutor group to place an individual contribution in – please simply fill the ICC Lai See provided with as many contributions as you can fit in – there will be a large envelope to put all donations for each tutor group. Please help us support ICC and the amazing work that they do which makes a difference to the children in their care.

On 23rd January, the last day of school before CNY holidays, the Casa Student Leadership Team will be collecting the filled Lai See Envelope from tutor groups.  Please fill your tutor group’s Lai See and Envelope, as just $10 or $20 from each member of the tutor group will make a substantial  contribution to making a huge difference to the lives of the children in ICC’s care!

Many thanks,

The Casa Student Leadership Team 2019-20

Gaming Disorder at PAL Technology and Well-being Event, 6th February 2020, (Thursday) 17:45 – 20:00

The event is part of our E-Safety week and will focus on responsible technology use and how to ensure that your sons and daughters make the most of the technological opportunities available, but are also protected against some potentially harmful effects.  We have named the event “PAL- Parents Are Listening” which is an acronym used by children and teenagers in texts to indicate to the recipient that the parents of the sender can see or hear their conversation. Please sign up for the presentation.

Annual School Fair: NIGHTFEST, 14th February, 2020 (Friday) 16:00 – 21:00

NIGHTFEST is a school fair which combines fundraising and community-building. Funds raised will be used for facility upgrades for our school. The PTA welcomes all sorts of support from parents, teachers, staff and students to assist us in organising the event.

Please sign up for the area(s) you wish to support / contribute to, as every bit helps.

• Volunteer Task: a time slot at a food stall or game stall or entrance / decoration of the venue / set up or take down.
• Donation: a speciality food of your nation, bakery or money contributed by a cheque.

Please feel free to contact the PTA Office for any question (email: pta@sis.edu.hk / phone: 2240 6773).

South Island School will soon be rolling out the new ESF app this term to help streamline communication and provide a user-friendly experience for parents. This app will provide access to the VLE (Virtual Learning Environment) to which only students currently have access, to the new e-payment system and other easy to use communication functions.

With Internet Safety Week due to start on the 3rd of February as soon as we return from the Chinese New Year holiday, we felt it was an appropriate time to share this very helpful overview of some apps, which our Digital Leadership Council feels that parents should be aware of. For parents new to SIS, Common Sense Media provides some outstanding resources to promote being responsible ‘Digital Citizens.’

More specifically, there is a review and some warnings focused on BIGO Live, BitLife, Holla, IMVU, Like, Yolo, Socratic and Episode. We encourage parents to both read the reviews and then discuss the apps with your children.

For more information click here

Iain Williamson

Digital Literacy Coordinator