Principal’s Message
Dear Parents, Staff, Students and Friends of WIS,
We finished last week with the ESF Learning Centre Summer Festival. Students from across ESF secondary schools came together to compete against each other in a variety of sports and activities developing skills and having fun. It really was a great day and my thanks go to our West Island Inclusion Team for hosting and organising. Unfortunately, I personally did not get a first place in my race but will try harder for next year.
During Monday, Year 7 Individual and Societies students shared their “This is Hong Kong” exhibition with parents and the community. A wide range of inquiries were shared with parents and teachers who all found out new things about Hong Kong. The work was testament to the quality of learning which has happened throughout the year and my thanks to the faculty who facilitated such high quality learning.
We were also invited to attend the annual HKSSF Awards on Monday. Our achievement overall places us in fourth place for the Bauhinia Bowl which recognises the incredible talent amongst our student body, the hard work of our PE faculty, sports coaches and parents. At the same time, and for the second time in school history, West Island students were awarded both the sportsman and sportswoman award. Clayton Gibb has received recognition as the best Sportsman, Lucia Bolton has received recognition as the best Sportswoman and Mikkel Christensen has received the boys prize for Rugby. The awards celebrate continuous high performance of our athletes in competition throughout the year.
The summer will be no different. I heard this week that Hana Lane along with Lucia Bolton have been selected to represent Hong Kong U18 Rugby 7s in the World Youth Championships in Paris during July. A great achievement.
After three days of racing in Macau and some setbacks due to a crash in the third round, Haydn Ching has also won the second runner up trophy in the Asian Karting Open Championship which gives him the right to represent our region in the Belgium final. Another huge achievement in a highly competitive sport.
Following in his brother’s footsteps, well done to Raunaq Kapur was announced as Hong Kong’s Junior Cricketer of the Year for 2017-18, the highest recognition given to a junior cricketer in Hong Kong.
For the arts, congratulations to Danya Bhasin who visited me this week to say a final farewell. Thank you Danya for leading the Ethos Magazine this year which has raised an incredible
HK$2,847.50 for charity, the highest achieved yet.
Our Design Technology students also enjoyed success at My Smart Hong Kong 2030. Sula Hedley, Eamonn Lacey, Sam Scroggie and Lukas Krug achieved a joint second place prize for their architectural model and video. They had to present their model to Chief Executive Carrie Lam and were interviewed by the South China Morning Post. Students have been working on their design for several weeks after school and during lunchtimes and were judged by the American Chamber of Commerce, MIT Node Hong Kong and Google Hong Kong. Students have received HK$3000 cash prize and a learning experience at MIT Node Hong Kong.
Congratulations to learners of Chinese who were asked to make a book full of their own love stories and photos. The project allowed students to design, decorate and create their own Chinese narratives. The results are great and it was heartening to read how learners have grown as a result: “I feel like this task was more than just homework. This task provided insight on a version of myself that I would never have noticed had it not been for reflecting on my past. I now realise that, given the right conditions, I am actually a very cheerful and outgoing person, but I tend not to show it in fear of embarrassment. I am grateful.”
I too am grateful. Congratulations West Island community for your effort, perseverance and fun. Enjoy good rest and return safely in August when we get to do it all again.
Happy Summer!
Yours,
Christopher Sammons
(Principal)
PS – Please note that our servers are offline from 29 July – 4 August which means phone lines and emails will be out of action. Complete details here.
