Principal’s Message
Dear Parents, Staff, Students and Friends of WIS,
Due to the May holidays, we have nearly two weeks’ worth of news to catch up on.
Firstly, I would like to congratulate a number of people for their busy weekends. Jay Smallbone and Zachary Ishida represented Kowloon Cricket Club at Football for the JLLA Singapore International Sevens Tournament. Competing against teams from all over South East Asia and playing in extreme heat for three days, the boys successfully won their division.
In addition, the WIS boys and girls tennis teams also won their individual matches and we now have both teams in Division 1 next year; the first time this has happened at West Island.
Our strength in sports was also demonstrated by WIS students who were busy organising the IBET Sports Day during Buddha’s Birthday. WIS students volunteered to organise and run a Sports Day for children attending Integrated Brilliant Education Trust (IBET). Our students developed valuable leadership skills whilst giving brilliant service to the local community.
Making an equally strong contribution to the local and international community, families and West Island teachers participated in the first ‘Darkness to Light Walk in Hong Kong’. This was organised by Pieta House foundation to fundraise and raise awareness of suicide. A number of families and WIS staff walked in honour of Jamie Bruno and raised money for the work of this charity and the Samaritan Befrienders. Thank you to all who took part and continue to remember the contribution of Jamie in our school.
Seb Caldwell who took part in the walk has also been busy making sticky dumplings with Lachlan Richey-Soughan as part of ESF’s charity work caring for the elderly. I would like to commend Seb in particular this year for the amount of time he has given to others on a consistent basis – selflessly and without reward or favour. We value your leadership and example, Seb, really well done.
More teams have presented me with trophies from the Tournament of Minds. It was a delight for staff to applaud three teams who competed against other international schools across Hong Kong. Congratulations to the Math and Engineering team who won this prize for the first time at West Island and to the Social Sciences team who were awarded the ‘spirit’ prize in recognition of their approach, team work and communication skills throughout the tournament.
And finally, the WIS Chef Junior Final saw Alicia Tran and Dorothy Tang claim victory in the compelling WIS Chef Juniors Final. Again, the quality of food was enough to grace the table of a fine dining restaurant. Most of all, we would like to commend you for your perseverance; watching your skills and dishes elevate each week was a real treat. I am not sure what Mrs Craig is going to do for dinner any more on a Tuesday evening but luckily we have the Senior Finals to go next week.
We have passed the half way mark for tickets sales and I am pleased to announce the 25th Anniversary Gala is going to be filled with parents, staff and alumni to celebrate our birthday. There are more tickets on sale and I would like more parents to consider bringing your friends and family to celebrate with us on the evening.
We have also produced a Silver Jubilee Edition of the yearbook this year and last pre-orders are almost due. Please click here to place your order.
Whilst we still have some time to go before the end of the year, can I ask that parents do not remove children from school in advance of our summer closure which is Friday 30 June. If you are leaving us due to permanent changes in living or schooling arrangements, a reminder that the student withdrawal deadline is 1 June.
Enjoy the weekend,
Christopher Sammons
(Principal)
