Principals Message
Dear Parents, Staff, Students and Friends of WIS,
This week, we hosted our annual sports day at Stanley Ho Sports Centre.
We were very relieved that the weather shone on us as it has done for the last 10 years, despite the forecast and the torrential rain earlier in the week, and the equally miserable weather today.
We had a great mixture of sunshine and cool winds, which suited the athletics events well.
Students, as ever, excelled in participation, community spirit and drive. It was a good chance for parents to join us (staff commented very favourably that we had more than ever parents attending this year which added to a sense of partnership) and to watch students compete for Dynasty points, and for their own development within various sports.
As I write, we are awaiting the final results for each Dynasty in every year group and overall – nail biting for the Dynasty leaders!
We also had our annual head student candidate process. 34 students in Year 12 applied for the prestigious role of Head Student. This year we have moved away from the concept of Head Girl/Boy and Deputy Head Girl/Boy. Instead, we have decided to enlist a team of four Head Students made up of two boys and two girls, to echo our student body. This decision has been made based on student voice. For the last few years the Head Students have told me they wish to work as a team equally and that in reality, the posts of Deputy Head Students and Head Students are very similar consequently.
We expect our Head Students to be a role model for the student body; to represent the school to parents and the outside community in events, to represent the student view to the school leadership team and the Principal. We look for students who have skills in all of these areas, as well as those who have a good record in school, a proven record of involvement, a sense of gravitas and presence, and an ability to balance workload with the above responsibilities. We believe maturity, drive and integrity are important factors.
From the 34 applicants we had the daunting task of selecting four boys and four girls to go through the full process. This involved:
- A speech to the school
- An interview with myself
- An interview with the Head Students
The outcome will be revealed on Monday and will be based on the following four areas of feedback:
- A preference poll from the students
- A preference poll from the staff
- The results of the interview with myself
- The results of the interview with the current Head Students
All the candidates have done extremely well, but only four can be finally selected. I was very proud of all of them and their passion for the school, and look forward to the final result on Monday. They should all be proud, whatever the result of their commitment to WIS.
Today we have one of five CPD days which falls across the year and is added by ESF as an extra five days to the calendar of school days as expected by Education Bureau. We are continuing to focus on Approaches to Learning Skills development across the curriculum with sessions lead by staff focusing on research skills, information literacy, mind mapping and note taking – all vital skills within schools for students to be taught both overtly and through the subjects they experience. We also have strands on aiding students with social thinking and anxiety.
Yours,
Jane
