22 Jun 2018

Family Bauhinia Newsletter (June 2018)

Family Bauhinia’s latest newsletter is available to read now. Find out the latest news and upcoming events.

> Celebrating Student Achievements in Family Bauhinia

> Happy Project @SIS Counseling Services

> Curriculum Update – MYP Year 9 Community Project

> After School Activities (Term 1, 2018-19)

> Start of Term Arrangements (2018-19)

> Important Dates for your Diary

Vice Principal’s Comments

Dear Family Bauhinia Parents,

We are now closing in the final week of this school year – it has been an amazing year for Family Bauhinia! A big thank you for your support and the trust you have given to us for the care we provide your children. Every year we grow stronger because of the commitment from you and our talented teachers to provide the best care for our students.

This time of year marks the departure from Family Bauhinia of our Year 8 students and Tutors while at the same time we welcome our new Year 7s and Year 8s into our Family.

The Year 8 students have grown so much in confidence and self-awareness and are ready to take on the new challenges that face them in their new Families and House structures in Year 9.

It is also time to welcome new Tutors to the Family Bauhinia Team

** New to South Island School

We are also sad to say goodbye to a few of our families and our students who will continue their schooling elsewhere – we wish them all the very best and hope to see them again in the future.

In this last newsletter of the year, we will highlight some of our successes over the past month in Family Bauhinia as well as note some important dates and upcoming events to prepare us for this academic year as well as the beginning of the next year.

As a reminder for our New Year 7 and 8 parents for 2018/19, all information regarding the Induction can be found here including application forms for Personalized Octopus Card (requires 2 weeks) and Hong Kong Public Library Card, Families Structure and New Parents Evening Presentation. The link to the SIS Parent Handbook containing important school information can be found here. You should also have received the laptop ordering information from our ICT department. If you have not, please contact ICT Department at ictsupport@sis.edu.hk.

Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to wish all our Family a happy and safe holiday. See you in August!

As always, please let me know if you have any questions regarding the above information.

Lost Property

We have many items in lost property and we would like have all items returned to the students before the summer holiday. We have placed all items in the foyer of the school for the students’ convenience. The items will be on display starting from today, Friday 22nd June until Friday 29th of June. After this time, the items will be donated to charity (all labeled items will be returned). We have so many articles of clothing, pencil cases, water bottles, food boxes and swim bags. Please encourage your child to have a look!

Celebrating Student Achievements In Family Bauhinia

Year 8 Speech Competitions

Recently we held our Speech Competitions which are part of the English Curriculum. All students in Year 8 had the opportunity to prepare and deliver a speech to their classes with one student from each class chosen to represent their class in the final competition. The speeches were fantastic – very well researched and delivered with passion! We are proud of all of our students for all the work they have done with special mention to the finalists:

Josh Lim 8S2, Thomas Hafner 8C1, Chloe Kong 8B2, Megan Rodricks 8B2, Riya Rao 8M2, Erin Armitage 8K2, Sian Littlewood 8B1 and Saloni Sethi 8K1

Marcus Yiu takes Aim!

Marcus Yiu of 7M1 won 2 silver medals in the Samsung 61st Hong Kong archery 🏹 competition. It is a great achievement and we are very proud of his commitment to the sport – well done Marcus!

SIS Gecko Maths Competition

Each year our Maths Department hosts a friendly Maths competition with our two main feeder schools, Bradbury and Quarry Bay to foster the love of Mathematics! The event was a huge success and the students had so much fun doing Maths! It was a great opportunity for all students involved.

Year 7 and 8 Spanish and French Spelling Bee

Wednesday June 20th saw the year 7 and 8 Spelling Bee Grand-Finale in which finalists competed to say as many words as possible in a minute. It was the toughest competition to date and it really was a difficult year to judge. In the end the first prizes went to Alicia Koo (Y7 French), Maya Tobback (Y8 French), Jason Au Yeung (Y7 Spanish) and Saloni Sethi (Y8 Spanish).

However, all finalists should be congratulated on their hard work, dedication and enthusiasm. The finalists were: Tiyana Chan, Lily Haylett, Jeremy Choy, Tania Chim, Chloe Cheung, Kristy Poon, Chloe Kong, Anette Lee, Selina Yeung, Andrea Chan, Tisya Gupta, Anson Li, Ashna Ganguly, Nicole Yulo, Sophia Li, Eun Cho, Megan Rodricks, Evelyn Wang, Kiki Ko, Zoe Leung.

ESF Spanish Speech Competition

The annual Spanish Speech Competition will be held at West Island School on the 26^th June. Alex Chen, Riya Girish, Tisya Gupta, Andrew Han, Paul Antoine, Audrey Lee and Saloni Sethi will be competing from years seven and eight. They have been working very hard so please wish them the best of luck. ¡Buena suerte!

ESF Biathlon

It was another successful sporting event for our Family Bauhinia and South Island School. A team of very talented swimmers competed in the recent ESF Biathlon event placing an impressive 3rd overall.

The team consisted of: Maya Meekcoms, Kavan Leung, Asumi Matsuyama Joshua Wang, Ella Ho, Sophia Laxton–Kwok, Bobbi Lee, Emily Kwon, Anna Oldenziel, Paul Joly, Milo Puels, Theo Diaz, Jeremy Yung, Hong Liang EE, Luca Ho, Markus Ip, Marie Van Den Heuvel, Ella Uyede, Isadora Boon, Clarence Mak, Freddie McCafferty, Mike Brewster, Justin Wong, Ernest Yeung, Sean Lee – well done Stingrays!

South Island School Swim Gala

We have completed another successful Inter-House Swim Gala this month. The Year 7 and 8 students were fantastic; they swam, they cheered and they had a great time. This event is one of the most important events in the Inter-House calendar as it is an opportunity to win many House points!

The races were close and all the swimmers gave their best – the results of the day were:

Bahay
Namas
Casa
Shtepi
Maison
Kuca

Well done to everyone!

Film Awards

On the 1st of June, we celebrated our 11th SIS Film & Media Award ceremony @The Hall. In total, 16 categories were awarded including the Bodega Media Foundation Film Award, which recognises the filmmaking achievements of our Year 8 silent films, made as part of their InterD course. In an exciting Oscar’s style show, 4 teams were nominated by class teachers.

Congratulations go to Ashley Wong, Bella Lovatt, Evelyn Lee & Sian Littlewood for winning the category!

Also, a great achievement by the other three teams:

Jake Yan, Clive Yeung, Sydney Yeung & Henry Wong
Joshua Au, Myron Chan, Erin Armitage & Daisy Daniel
Chloe Marchi, Justin Wong, James Newton & Asumi Matsuyama

Mr. Iain Williamson (Head of Film/TV/Media Studies)

Happy Project @SIS Counseling Services

As the school year comes to a close, we would like our students to enjoy the remaining weeks at school; making new friends, interacting with old friends and and just enjoy being in the moment. Ms. Kamy Yeung, our school social worker who provides invaluable to support to our students, has arranged a variety of ‘Happiness’ activities to provide ‘happiness’ opportunities to all students in our care. Some of the activities included board game lunch times, writing cards and letters to those we care about, Zentangle workshops and mindful colouring at break times. Many of our students have participated in these events and we are grateful o Kamy for all her support.

Curriculum Update – MYP Year 9 Community Project

Year 9 InterD classes engaged in the Community Project this term. This involved working in groups to investigate, propose, plan and implement a project that serves a need within the South Island School community or the larger Hong Kong community. This project will be something our Year 8 students will engage with next academic year. As you can see, students have really thought about issues that have an impact on community!

Some of the projects included:

To participate in a local service by helping solve environmental issues in the streets in Sham Shui Po and North Point
To raise awareness at SIS for people to use the recycling bins appropriately
To inform students at SIS to eat healthy and know the importance of a health diet
For students to balance the use of technology to support mental physical and social well being
To advocate for the rights of domestic workers
To raise awareness of the importance of limiting screen usage
To support students with stress at SIS and develop Mindfulness activities
To develop a planning tool for Year 7 Students
To create/innovate a new winter uniform that meets the need of the SIS community and is eco-friendly
To inform the students at SIS about animals in captivity
To raise awareness of academic pressure among students, parents and teachers at SIS
To raise awareness of the treatment of the LGBT community in HK
To inform others about school bus behaviour
To change behaviours of SIS students to reduce the use of plastic
To participate actively with an NGO to support disabled youth in HK
To change behaviours by including student feedback for teachers at SIS
To change the behaviour of others by proposing the purchase of a reverse vending machine at SIS

The students shared some of their research and findings with parents and Y8 students at the Community Project Sharing Platform. It was an eventful and informative afternoon in which students demonstrated their passion, creativity and communication skills in explaining their projects to others.

Some groups have put their plans forward to the Student Council and the Green Ambassadors who will continue with their ideas, other groups have volunteered to meet with students next year to carry forward their projects.

In their reflections, students have indicated that they now have a greater awareness of their strengths and limitations. They also have further developed their time management, cooperation, leadership and organisation skills. These skills will enable them to take on future projects, especially the Group Project in Y10/11 Global Perspectives course.

Ms. Chile Le (Head of Interdisciplinary)

Upcoming Events

Gala Concert

Our Annual Gala Concert will be held on Tuesday 26th June at 7.00 pm @SPACE. The theme is year is MONSTER and will be a fantastic evening to celebrate the Performing Arts in our School. We hope you can join us and support our talented group of students!

End of Year Family Celebrations (22nd & 28th June)

To end a fantastic year in Family Bauhinia, we will have 2 events for the children to come together as a Family for the last time. We will have our final disco for the year and we will also say goodbye to our Year 8 students during the Staff Pantomime on the last Thursday of the term. We will tweet the photos, so please do check our website!

Progress Check Card

The Progress Check Cards will be available on iSAMS on the following dates:

Year 7 PCC 3 – Thursday June 28th (This is a data report including tutor comment)

Year 7 PCC explanation (MYP grading):

Your child’s teachers will give a rating to express how engaged they have been with their learning in each subject as well as a grading for each criterion (there are 4) for each subject group. The criterion for each subject can be found here. Tutors will also comment as a review of the year for your child. This report has been developed to meet the requirements of the IB Middle Years Programme (MYP)

Attainment : Based on assessments for each criterion (A,B,C,D) on a scale of 1-8

Engagement : How a student has engaged with the subject material since the last reporting period

Attendance : The attendance record is dated from August 2017 until the date of this PCC

TO ACCESS THE PCC IN THE ISAMS PARENT PORTAL (LAPTOP OR DESKTOP), PLEASE FOLLOW THE STEPS BELOW:

1) Login in to iSAMS (Parent Portal)

2) Click ‘School Profile‘ (at the top banner)

– click ‘School Reports‘

– click ‘View (child) School Reports‘

3) You can choose between ‘view‘ or ‘download‘ the reports

– ‘view‘ is a quick view

– ‘download‘ is a full report with the explanation of ratings

TO ACCESS THE PCC IN THE ISAMS PARENT APP (QUICK VIEW ONLY), PLEASE FOLLOW THE STEPS BELOW:

Login in to iSAMS (Parent App)
Click ‘My children‘ at the bottom banner
Select your child’s name
Select ‘Assessments & Reports‘
Select ‘PCC3 Y07 (2018)‘ and you can view the report (quick view only)

After School Activities (Term 1, 2018-19)

All details regarding activities can be found here including how to sign in to the Activities Page.

When to Sign Up for the After School Activities

Activities Allocation

Students may choose up to 4 activities
Allocation for each activity will be selected in random order. This is to make it fair for all students. It is NOT first come first served
On Tuesday August 28th, allocations will be finalized. Students are to check the status of their activities after this time on VLE.

Activities Cancellation

E-mail activities@sis.edu.hk or visit the PE Office to cancel booked activity.

Activities Buses:

Activities buses for after school activities will operate starting from Monday September 3^rd(this service is for bus pass holders only)

All activities must be paid for and appropriate forms signed by Friday August 31^st or the allocation will be given to the next student on the list. Please refer to specific activities for fees and appropriate forms. Please contact the Activities Administrator at activities@sis.edu.hk for any activities related enquiries.

All year 7 students will be given their log in details on Tuesday August 21^st with a full explanation of how to sign up. New Year 8 students will receive their log-ins on their first day of school. Please check to ensure the all students can login. Please contact ICT Department (ictsupport@sis.edu.hk) if you have any question.

End of Term Arrangements

Textbook Return for Years 7-9 Students:

Students should have received a Textbook Loan Form from their Tutor. Students are to return their textbooks to the school Textbook Centre (C48) during the hours specified on the Loan Form (*please see below for reference). Students should bring along the Textbook Loan Form for stamping at the Textbook Centre every time they return textbooks. All returned textbooks should match the registered student’s name and Octopus card. Any textbooks not returned after 29 June 2018 will be charged to the student. Textbook deposits cannot be used to offset non-returned/lost textbooks.

Students should keep the Textbook Loan Form as proof of receipt. In case of dispute, the Form should be presented to School Office as proof of return. If the student fails to produce the Textbook Loan Form as evidence, the school’s computer record shall be final.

* Textbook Centre (C48) Opening Hours:

Every Monday and Thursday

Break Time

10:05 am – 10:35 am

25^th to 29^th June (Monday to Friday)

(last week of term)

Whole Day

8:00 am – 4:00 pm

Yearbook Distribution:

Please note Yearbook 2017-18 will be available for collection next week for students who have pre-ordered only. Students are to collect the yearbook in person. If you authorise someone else to pick up the yearbook, an authorisation letter is required.

Pick up date: Tuesday, June 26 (for Year 7 & Year 8 students)

Location : Foyer area opposite to PTA office

Time : break, lunch time and after school till 4 pm

There will be alternative pick up dates from July 3 to September 28 for those students who are not able to collect the yearbook next week.

On-the-Spot purchase: June 28

Location : Foyer area opposite to PTA office

Payment method : 300 HKD cash only

Time: Break, Lunch time and after school till 4 pm

As there are limited copies, this will be on a first- come first- served basis

PTA Shop (Uniform and Stationery) Opening Hours:

Closed: 3^rd July, 7^th July to 5th August 2018 (both dates inclusive)
Reopens: Monday 6th August 2018 (Monday to Thursday 8:00 am – 3:30 pm/ Friday 8:00 am – 1:30 pm)
Email: uniformshop@sis.edu.hk

PTA Office (School Bus) Opening Hours:

Closed: 7^thJuly to 5^th August 2018 (both dates inclusive)
Reopens: Monday 6^th August 2018 (Monday to Thursday 8:30 am – 4:00 pm / Friday 8:30 am – 2:00 pm)
Email: pta@sis.edu.hk

Start of Term Arrangements (2018-19)

13^th August (Monday) – First day of school for Year 7 and New Year 8 students

This day is set aside for new students starting South Island School for the first time. It gives the children a chance to become familiar with their new learning environment as well as meet the adults that they will be working with over the next year in a more relaxed atmosphere. The details of the day are:

8.30 am

Students and Parents arrive at school and assemble in the SPACE (NO school buses on this day)

8.45 am – 9.15 am

Parents meet with their child’s tutor (Year 8 parents meet with Head of Year 8, Ms. Victoria Butcher)
Students work with Family Bauhinia Leaders and Prefects

9.15 am – 2.00 pm

Students in session with Tutors and Prefects
Students must wear School Uniform and bring their snack/lunch or Octopus card to purchase lunch
Forms and start of year payments will be collected for Year 7 students
House items (swim caps and house shirts) will be collected. Please bring “Year 7 Uniform Order form (2018-2019)”

2.00 pm

Parents pick children up from school or students make their own way home

14^th August (Tuesday) – School day for All students

This is the first official day for the academic year 2018-19! School buses will run on this day. The first session for students will begin at 10.05 am with the following exception:

New Year 8 students arrive at school at 9.45 am to meet tutors in the Refectory

Important Dates for your Diary

JUNE 2018

Jun 26 – Gala Concert
Jun 28 – Year 7 PCC3 live on iSAMS at 4.00 pm
Jun 28 – Family Bauhinia Celebration
Jun 29 – Last day of Term 3

AUGUST 2018

August 13 – Start of Autumn Term (new SIS students) – no school bus on this day
August 13 – Year 7 start of year forms and payment due
August 14 – Start of Autumn Term (whole school)
August 14 – Year 8 start of year forms and payment due
August 21 – Family Bauhinia Assembly
August 24-26 – Sign-Up Period
August 28 – After-school Activities Allocation Confirmed
August 31 – After-school Activities Payment Due

SEPTEMBER 2018

September 3 – After-school Activities Start
September 10/11 – MYP Verification Visits from IB
September 14 – Curriculum Open Day
September 20 – Year 7 Camp information session
September 21 – Year 7 and 8 PCC1 live to parents
September 24 – SIS CPD day (school closed for students)
September 25 – Public Holiday

All dates including whole school events and information can be found on our school calendar. To view the calendar, please go to our website and click on the link School Calendar

> Vice Principal’s Comments

> Lost Property