Issue No. 37 (14 June 2019)

16 Jun 2019

SIS Strategic Development Plan 2019-2020

Dear Students, Parents and Staff,

This is an extremely exciting moment at South Island School, and an equally exciting moment for me as Principal, as I approach the end of my first year as the leader of this wonderful school.

Since my arrival, I have been blessed with so many students, staff, parents and members of the community telling me their thoughts about what we do well, and what we could do even better – whether through surveys, as a member of an official leadership group or development forum, or simply because they are seeking to Make A Difference.

During the course of this consultation process, we have articulated that, historically at SIS, our Mission has been to maximise Well-Being, Learning, and Global Citizenship. We have now added Sustainability as a fourth Mission Area to reflect the very strong feeling amongst our students in particular that we must make this a major priority going forward. We are in the process of finalising our definitions of each of these areas, and we will be launching a student competition in August on how best to graphically present our mission to the community.

To help us achieve our overarching mission, we have also been looking very closely at the finer details of school life. We have now reached the stage where we have identified our long-term goals, as well as our development priorities going forward, and have articulated these into this central document:

As well as working with the school community, we have also been working very closely with senior colleagues across ESF. As you know from the CEO’s recent announcement, ESF are placing strong value on alignment, agility and accountability going forward.

The creation of the SIS plan has been a genuinely collaborative and collegiate exercise – so we are sure that its contents will be well aligned with the views of our stakeholders, who are now also accountable for helping us to make it all happen! We are also ready to adjust our priorities with agility where necessary: we will be checkpointing our progress against the details of the plan at very regular intervals, and will be officially renewing the plan every year.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everybody who has helped us to articulate our future vision for South Island School. We are blessed with a community who truly care. As we enter our next development phase, this gives me great confidence that SIS is ready to move from being one of the best schools in Hong Kong to being truly one of the best schools in the world.

 

With best wishes,

Tom Vignoles
Principal

 

14 Jun 2019

Travel Updates – 14 June 2019

Dear Parents,

We have all had a fantastic time at the swimming gala today. As ever, your children have been complete stars and we are delighted with how the day has turned out.

By now, you may be aware of suggestions in the media that there could be further possible protests and action on Sunday or Monday. Clearly, we do not yet know exactly what impact this might have on travel to and from SIS next week. However, please be reassured that senior colleagues across all ESF schools will be keeping a very close eye on the situation over the weekend.

As ever, please keep an eye on our website for any urgent communications late Sunday or early Monday morning.

With best wishes,

Tom Vignoles
Principal

14 Jun 2019

12th SIS Film & Media Awards

On 13 June, teachers, students, alumni and Film/Media professionals came together for the 12th anniversary Film & Media Awards ceremony. Held in The Space and MC’d by Emily Chiu (12N1) and Nidhi Mundra (12N1), students received prizes in 16 categories ranging from those in Bauhinia house competing for the Bodega Media Foundation Film Award right the way through to our senior section awards, which identified the best overall fiction film, which went to Karen Chan (12K2), Alicia Leong (12K1), Nidhi Mundra (12N1) & Chrystal Kim (12B2) for their film, Perfection. This very narrowly beat Birthday by Alex Platt (12M1), Ben Sieur (12M1) and Poppy Brian-Boys (12N2) though there was at least consolation for Alex taking the Best Editor Award and Ben, who was part of the winning team for the MaD Award.

The Best Non Fiction Film went to Liz Biek (13B1), one of two awards won by Liz on the night as she also deservedly scooped the Bodega Media Film & Television Production Award. Karen Chan (12K2) was the most successful student of the night taking three of the prizes but the judges commented on the difficulty involved in separating such very strong and different genres of films.

Finally, the thanks of the Film & Media department went to benefactor and filmmaker, Jennifer Deayton for providing the trophies and presenting the awards:

2019 SIS Film Award Winners

  • Bodega Bauhinia Media Foundation Film Award – Stephy Lee (8S2), Emily Kwon (8B2), Adison Ng (8S2) & Andrew Han (8S2)
  • Y9 AFP Photography Award – Aashika Mamgain (9N2)
  • Y9 Advertisement Award – Eun Cho (9S2), Isidora Boon (9B1), Chelsea Yeem (9C2)
  • Y9 AFP News Investigation – Jamie Harvey (9K1)
  • Y10 AFP Horror/Thriller Award – Rohan Williamson (10N2), Nicholas Tam (10C2) & Jonty Francis (10S1)
  • Bodega Media MaD Award – Ben Sieur (12M1), Karen Chan (12K2), Alicia Leong (12K1), Man-Ching Hua (13C2)
  • Bodega Media Performance Award – Caitlin Donovan (12N1)
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEXGsTYnvIc&feature=youtu.be
  • Bodega Media Script Writer Award – Seb Caldwell (12N2)
  • Bodega Media Sound Designer/Composition Award – Karina Au (12N2)
  • Bodega Media Cinematography Award – Kotaro Murata (12S2)
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37dcv8h0Qf4&feature=youtu.be
  • Bodega Media Editor Award – Alex Platt (12M1)
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wq0V5WHOf2k&feature=youtu.be
  • Bodega Media Director Award – Karen Chan (12K2)
  • Bodega Media Film & Television Production Award – Liz Biek (13B1)
  • Bodega Media Film Student Award – Karen Liu (13K2) & Man-Ching Hua (13C2)
  • Bodega Media Factual Film Award – Liz Biek (13B1)
  • Bodega Media Film Award – Karen Chan (12K2), Alicia Leong (12K1), Nidhi Mundra (12N1) & Chrystal Kim (12B2)
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rP4YKHXi0fg&feature=youtu.be
23 May 2019

Chickenpox precautionary measures

Dear Parents,

South Island School is committed to maintaining a healthy school environment for everyone, therefore we work very closely with the Department of Health and the Education Bureau to ensure that the school is up-to-date with all the latest government guidelines. Community issues do require a community effort if we are to keep infection at a minimum and have control measures to keep our school safe and healthy.

 

Health & Safety Guidelines

Chickenpox

Chickenpox (varicella) is an acute infectious disease caused by the varicella-zoster virus. It predominantly affects children under 12 years of age. Although almost all persons develop lifelong immunity after a chickenpox infection, the virus may remain latent in the body and recur many years later.

 

Clinical features

  • Patients usually start with a fever and itchy skin rash.
  • Rashes develop in crops over a period of 5 days on the body, then spread to the face, arms and legs.
  • The rash first appears as flat spots and later as vesicles. The vesicles continue for 3 – 4 days, then dry up and form scabs.
  • Patients usually recover in about 2 – 4 weeks.
  • Persons who have received the chickenpox vaccination may still develop chickenpox.

 

Mode of transmission

  • Can be spread through droplets or air.
  • Can also spread through direct or indirect contact.

 

Incubation period

  • 10 – 21 days, usually 14 – 16 days

 

Infectious period

Usually 1 – 2 days before the rash appears and until all vesicles have dried up. It is extremely contagious, especially in the early stage of rash eruption.

 

Complications

Chickenpox is generally a mild disease and is usually self-limiting. However, secondary bacterial infection of the wound may occur. Those with weakened immunity or who are pregnant are most likely to suffer from severe complications. New-born babies who develop chickenpox can become severely ill and even die. Infection in early pregnancy may be associated with congenital malformation of the foetus.

 

Management

  • Consult the doctor to understand the condition and follow the health professional’s advice and medication to relieve symptoms.
  • If the patient has fever, drink plenty of water and have adequate rest.
  • Wear clean cotton gloves during sleep to prevent scratching of the vesicles which may cause infection and scarring.
  • Avoid contact with pregnant women and persons with weakened immunity.
  • Sick children should stay at home and be excluded from schools/kindergartens/child care centres until all vesicles have dried up, usually about 1 week after appearance of rashes to prevent spreading the disease to others.
  • Parents should closely monitor the child’s condition. If the child persistently runs a fever, refuses to eat or drink, vomits or looks drowsy, immediate medical attention should be sought.
  • Parents should also closely monitor other children in the household for signs and symptoms of chickenpox.

 

Prevention

  • Maintain good personal and environmental hygiene.
  • Chickenpox vaccine is available in Hong Kong. About 90% of persons who receive the vaccine will acquire immunity.
  • Under the Hong Kong Childhood Immunisation Programme, children receive a two-dose course of chickenpox vaccination. Parents may consult family doctors or maternal and child health centres for details.
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