Issue No. 5 (14 September 2018)

14 Sep 2018

A WEEK TO REMEMBER …

This has been an exceptionally busy week ….

On Monday and Tuesday, we were visited by our IBO MYP Verification team, Mr Jonathan Smedes, Assistant Principal at The International School of Phnom Penh, and Ms Hema Rai, MYP Coordinator at Zhuhai International School. We will not receive the official report on the verification process for 6 to 8 weeks, so we cannot tell you the official outcomes at this stage. However, a headline is certainly that the team recognised and commended the very strong work of our MYP teachers in preparing and implementing our new MYP curriculum. We will share the findings of the report with you as soon as we receive them.

Today, we were also delighted to welcome so many existing and future members of our community to our annual Open Day. It was wonderful to have the opportunity to talk to so many parents and visitors during the course of the day. We very much hope that you found the talks informative, and that you enjoyed the opportunity to walk around the school and see our students and staff in action, including our musicians, who are preparing with great concentration and skill for next week’s ESF Festival of Music. A special thank you to our PTA for arranging the excellent refreshments in the Atrium.

As I write this, it is unclear whether or not Typhoon Mangkhut will hit Hong Kong within the next few days. In the event that it does arrive, we will of course follow all of our usual extreme weather procedures. Have a good weekend, everybody, and stay safe.

Mr Tom Vignoles
Principal, South Island School

14 Sep 2018

Digital Literacy Tips for Parents – Part 2

Last week we posted the first in a series of tips, prior to the annual Laptop Induction Evening later this term.

Tip 2

The school is not anti-games, particularly when they are played within a social group. Indeed, we are considering the introduction of an e-sports category to the interhouse programme. However, we suggest that gaming be limited to no more than 1hr per day overall. Please note that the wi-fi is switched off at SIS every Wednesday break and lunchtime for students in Years 7-11 as part of the ‘laptop lids down’ policy. This encourages a balanced approach to screen time, a message which we hope will also be stressed at home too.

14 Sep 2018

Sports Bulletin – 14 September 2018

SPORTS NEWS

It was a busy Thursday afternoon for our Junior Boys Football, Junior Girls Football, Boys A Grade Rugby and our U16 Boys Volleyball teams.

The afternoon got off to a great start for our Junior Boys Football team who secured a 6-3 win against GSIS. Man of the Match goes to Sean Lee, scoring two goals! We also had Adrian Chan scoring two goals, Cormac Byrne and Moriz Ip scoring one goal each.

The Junior Girls Football unfortunately lost 2-3 to CAIS. They went two goals down in the first 2 minutes and CAIS scored again early in the 2nd half, but Vivienne Chung got a goal back and following that a ‘Ronaldo-style’ free kick from Maisy Redding made it 2-3! The girls fought hard until the end but couldn’t find that equaliser.

The U16 Boys Volleyball team played two games last night. First they played against ICHK with the final score 8:25 and 17:25.  In the second game, they played against CAIS with a close two sets, with the final scores 24:26 and 20:25. It was good to see the passion and improvement within the team!

Finally, our A Grade Boys Rugby team went all the way to Harrow and notched up a big win 38-12 to continue their unbeaten start to the season!

Well done to all the students who have represented South Island School this week. Keep up the good work!

INTERHOUSE NEWS

Last Friday the Year 7 students got their interhouse competition up and running with a dodgeball competition in the Sports Hall. The atmosphere was incredible, as the house captains organized their teams and got the teams chanting their house songs! The fair play from all students was excellent and the games were competitive all the way through, with Mr Atkinson giving his Kuca students a few teamtalks between games to prepare them.

In the end, it was Shtepi who came out on top with several victories against their rivals, although every house managed to win at least one match. Thanks to all the house captains and Ms Bosson for organising such a great afternoon of sport.

Next week’s sports matches, week beginning 17th September.

Tuesday

C grade rugby v AIS/DC/DBIS – Kings Park, 4pm

A grade football v CDNIS – WCH, 4pm

U14 boys football v YMCA – YMCA, 4pm

A&B grade girls basketball v KGV – KGV, 4pm

Wednesday

U14 girls football v DBIS – DBIS, 4pm

Thursday

A grade rugby v AIS/DC/DBIS – Happy Valley, 4pm

A&B grade boys basketball v WIS – SIS, 4pm

U16 boys volleyball v ICHK – CAIS, 4pm

14 Sep 2018

Benedict Allen: Life on the Edge – Lost in Papua New Guinea

On Wednesday 12th September, we were honoured to have the famous explorer Benedict Allen come to school to talk to an audience of 400 students, mostly Year 7 and 10 about his adventures in Papua New Guinea (PNG)  and how he had immersed himself in the lives of the indigenous people in the very remote areas of PNG. This talk was possible thanks to the Royal Geographical Society Schools Outreach programme and we are grateful to them for making this possible. Benedict was to have spoken last November but went missing in PNG, due to both disease weather and tribal conflicts. Following an informative and entertaining talk, Benedict enjoyed answering questions from our audience including graphic details of eating Sago Grubs!

7 Sep 2018

PTA Annual General Meeting & Welcome to New Principal

NOTICE – South Island School (SIS) PTA LTD – Annual General Meeting (AGM)

NOTICE is hereby given that the SIS PTA LTD AGM will be held on:

Date / Time: 3 October 2018 (Wednesday), 6:30 – 7:00 pm

Venue: THE Space, 5th Floor, South Island School, 50 Nam Fung Road, Aberdeen, HK

The Agenda will be:-

  1. To receive and consider the audited Financial Statements of the Company for the year ended 30 June 2018
  2. To appoint Auditors 2018/19, FTW & Partners CPA Limited who have concluded their service for 2017-18 and offer themselves for re-appointment
  3. To elect Committee Members for the year 2018/2019
  4. To transact any other ordinary business of the Company

As a Member of the SIS PTA LTD you are invited to attend and vote at the AGM.

If you wish to NOMINATE a parent or to join the PTA Committee, please complete the Nomination Form. This Nomination Form should be returned to the Chair on/before 26 September 2018 (1600 hours) by email to pta@sis.edu.hk or by hand to the SIS PTA Office.

 NOTICE of the AGM, Agenda, Financial Reports and Nomination Form are available on the school website

Welcome New Principal and Social

At the same evening, please also join us to welcome our New Principal, Mr. Tom Vignoles. This is also an excellent opportunity for you to meet other parents as well as the Vice-Principals, School Council Members and the PTA Committee Members.

Rundown:

6:00-6:30 Reception and Refreshment

6:30-7:00 SIS PTA LTD AGM

7:00-8:00 Welcome New Principal and Social

Please click HERE to register.

Thank you and look forward to seeing you!

SIS PTA LTD

7 Sep 2018

South China Morning Post (SCMP) Subscription 2018-2019

The PTA is co-ordinating the subscription of the SCMP 2018-2019 for the SIS students. If your child is interested in subscribing to the SCMP, please download the following form and submit with your cheque payment to the PTA office.

SCMP subscription details and form

The subscription deadline is 21 Sep 2018.  Please note that the late applications will not be accepted.

Subscriptions applied for through the PTA can be picked up from the PTA office, starting 22 Oct 2018. Holiday & Sunday issues can be collected at selected Convenience Store outlets with a redemption passport.

For more information about this package, please go to the school website Communications >> Parent Teacher Association Ltd >> PTA Events (SCMP Subscription) 

17 Aug 2018

ESF Festival of Music: Secondary Showcase 18-20 September

Over the course of four days next week, 300 of the ESF’s young musicians will be collaborating in a diverse range of musical ensembles, working with our Music teachers and visiting guest artists from the HK music scene.  The rehearsals will culminate in a series of 3 concerts to showcase the students’ achievements:

Tuesday 18th – Our String students and Chinese Orchestra will perform at Island School, Tai Wai, 7pm

Wednesday 19th – Our Wind and band students will demonstrate a range of ensembles and combinations at Sha Tin College, 7pm

Thursday 20th – South Island will be hosting the final concert presented by our young singers in 3 different vocal ensembles, in the SPACE at 7pm

We warmly invite you to join us for any of the concerts to celebrate the work of our talented young people.

Good luck to all the SIS musicians involved – we hope you enjoy working with different students and professionals and have fun with the repertoire.

Ms Debra Jones
Director of Performance/Head of Music

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