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West Island School Fair

"Carnival"

Saturday, 13th March 2010 from 3pm to 8 pm

 

The theme for the fair will be ‘Carnival’.  This is going to be a fun filled event, especially for all the newcomers to Hong Kong. It also gives us a chance to raise money for the charities that WIS supports as well as raising money for school equipment. Raffle Tickets will be sold at $20 each. There'll be fabulous prizes to be won! So do come to the Fair and support us!

We would also welcome any donations for our raffle prizes as well as any unwanted:
  • New and Old Toys
  • New and Old Books
  • New Items - e.g.from showrooms, factory overruns, samples
  • Bottles and Jars – e.g. drinks, sauces, shampoo, jams, pickles, etc. Please drop them off at the PTA Office (leave outside if closed)

 

 

 

 

 

Please click the following link  to download the

LIST OF PRIZES FOR THE WEST ISLAND SCHOOL FAIR RAFFLE PRIZE DRAW

 

 

Barging Point at Cyberport

The WIS PTA encourage you to view the attached letter (please download from the link below) add your personal details and send it via e mail to The Secretary for Transport and Housing Eva Cheng sthoffice@thb.gov.hk cc pta@wis.edu.hk You may also choose to send a hard copy alone or in addition.

http://clc.esf.edu.hk/GroupDownloadFile.asp?GroupId=19319&ResourceID=269484

The letter concerns the Barging Point at Cyberport that is being proposed as part of the MTR South Island (East) Line extension. It is proposed to bring debris from the tunnelling through Aberdeen, along Victoria Rd and down Sha Wan Rd to Cyberport to the current ‘temporary’ barging point established last year. The content of the letter is hopefully self explanatory.

This matter is now urgent as we understand the issue will be discussed in LegCo on the 4th February, 2010. We are not alone in this as Bel-Air, ISF School, Baguio Villa, Scenic Villa, HKU Estate, Aegean Terrace, Cyberport Commercial Complex are also writing. The more people that write the better.

 

Online Petition


In regards to the MTR proposal to establish a barging point at Cyberport we understand from some parents who have signed the online petition that the second page that appears on the site is one that is asking for a contribution in USD.  Please note that when you get to this page you have already signed up and you DO NOT have to make a monetary donation.  We envisage that should this proposal go ahead it will have a very negative impact on West Island School children both in regards to traffic congestion and safety and increased pollution.  We would like to encourage all parents to sign the online petition:

                                                            <http://ronchanpfl.xanga.com/ 

The proposal is still at the consultation stage so your support is crucial in persuading the Government and the MTR to revise their plan.

ESF LEVY

A Meeting with ESF will be held at WIS Auditorium on Monday, 11th June at 6:30 pm. We encourage all parents to attend this meeting to discuss  the following key points.
 
Key points:
 
Responses to email requesting views from around 30 parents, and the PTA were grateful for parents time and comments. Responses were roughly split 50/50 positive and negative on the principle of the levy. Main contention was a series of governance concerns
 
Issues:
 
1.         Affordability
 
  • Is the levy to substitute the deposit currently paid by parents joining an ESF school?
  • The levy is not affordable for all parents: staggered payment arrangements should be considered as a minimum. 
2.         Capital and maintenance costs
 
  • Relationship between private and subvented schools, how were the private schools funded and what did current parent contribute, what happens when private schools need major maintenance: all this has implications for the current levy and prior use of ESF parent resources?
  • What are the long term maintenance plans? Not all schools need to be replaced, and many will have a long life if properly maintained. Why just price rebuilding?
  • Will the levy be ring fenced for buildings, and buildings in Hong Kong?
  • Is the levy substituting long term capital planning and short term cash flows?
 
3.         Impact on PTA fund raising capacity is likely to be negative.
 
4.         Impact on recruitment of teachers—a potential deterrent?
 
5.         Governance
 
There was generally a concern about poor governance and management. This was summed up in two ways (a) a lack of trust in ESF and (b) we like WIS and think it is a good school but do not like ESF.
 
  • Transparency over announcement
  • Poor communication, little detail behind the scheme given, and displeasure with statements made by CEO
  • Levy over time: static? Rising? Falling with inflation? Mechanisms to govern this: is it the thin end of the wedge?
  • Role of PR company, used here?
  • Role of proposed new fund raising person in ESF head office and levy?
  • Lack of priority accorded to stakeholders: releasing to all at once meant many parent first found out about this in the media.
  • Audit of ESF headquarters: have targets on reductions in central administration costs been met? New audit?
  • What is the purpose of the Committee of Parents? Where is the accountability?
  • Management of the fund: who and how will the fund be managed? How will investment of overseas funds be monitored?