Student Council – Island Currents https://islandcurrents.org Fri, 16 Jan 2026 11:25:15 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 https://islandcurrents.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/cropped-Untitled_Artwork-32x32.png Student Council – Island Currents https://islandcurrents.org 32 32 2024/10/04 Student Council Update https://islandcurrents.org/20241004-student-council-update/ Wed, 02 Oct 2024 23:46:01 +0000 https://islandcurrents.org/?p=1664 Culture

We’re excited to let you know that we’ve finished selecting the heads for our Multicultural Team and the Cultural Sub-Groups! 🎉

Here is some clarification on the roles of these teams:

  • The Multicultural Team will be organising our Multicultural Week, happening in February or March 2025.
  • Meanwhile, the Cultural Sub-Group heads will assist the Culture Heads and Deputies in planning upcoming events like Korean Culture Day (mark your calendars!) and celebrations for Diwali (mark your calendars! × 2) and Chinese New Year.

Speaking of Diwali, planning is in full swing! Get ready for the return of the Staff Dance and many of the classic festivities at Island School. An agenda is to be shared in the coming weeks, so keep your eyes peeled!

As always, if you have any questions, please contact us at the below emails:

Thanks for all your support over the past academic year, and we hope that you continue to get involved in the Culture Committee’s endeavours over the coming year.

Creative Arts

Stars 2024 on the 2nd and 3rd of October!

Congratulations to all the finalists and thank you to all those who participated in the auditions. 

Link to the tickets are here: www.ticketflap.com/stars2024

If you buy 4 tickets it will be 10 dollars off per ticket! 

Follow @is.creativearts for our promotion reels :))) 

Media

The Media Team is currently working on the autumn issue of Island Currents and plans to recruit writers and column editors. If you are interested in either role, please fill in this form. In the meantime, we are also collaborating with subgroups of the Media Team, such as Island Insiders, to plan and post reels that provide students with tips and hacks for studying and choosing subjects. Regarding design, our team is currently working with the Culture Team to create their Instagram posts.

Islands’ Insider

Currently, we are working on the website and we will be conducting interviews with different individuals we’ve reached out to after the half-term break! Our website should be launched and updated with study advice and tips before school resumes after half term. As we make more content, we’ll contact the editing team and provide them access to edit the site for us.

Social Action

Social Action has been as busy as ever in the past few weeks. We as a committee have brainstormed many methods to improve the yearly experience of the Walkathon for students so that the event can be more interactive and exciting. We are also proud to announce possible new events in the upcoming year such as a Community Chest Flag Day. Additionally, Social Action has started preparing for the handover process that will be commencing in late October, this includes preparing notes and possible startup points for the incoming Heads and Deputy Heads to build on to ensure a smooth transition.

Connected Communities

The Mother’s Choice Carnival will be held at Island School on the 3rd of November, welcoming an expected number of over 1000 participants throughout all the festivities. This year is the new campus’ first year of hosting the Carnival at our school, and we’re still keeping an eye out for student performances for the event! Fill in the Google Form on the school bulletin board if you’re interested.

Our members will also be helping out with the City Kids Preschool Xmas Fair on the 23rd of November, which serves a great way for our community to build on connections with organizations close to our school.

Moving forward, be on the lookout for our flagship Open Day happening on the 10th of January! We’re welcoming the Sha Tin Wai elderly back to Island School for a Chinese New Year celebration taking place in the courtyard after school. The event will be run by students, involving student performances, game stalls, and so much more.

Girls Rising

Girls Rising has just transitioned to a fresh batch of leaders: Ava Au Yeung 12D, Bella Broad 12D, Zita Lok 12W, and Yelena Bracovic 12W. These new leaders are more than excited to lead the club for its 24-25 iteration, so stay tuned for their upcoming initiatives!

One of these initiatives includes a Bookmark Competition, with submissions due on the 14th of October after the term break. Details are in the slide below. 

Also, the club has recently launched their Period Equity initiative in conjunction with a social enterprise, LUÜNA, a local company that emphasises sustainability and menstrual wellbeing. This commits the school to provide pads in all gender-neutral and female bathrooms from now onwards. The initiative, which is funded by the Island School Trust, aims to raise awareness of the inconveniences that inaccessibility to period products may cause to girls/females in Island School, and promote equality and awareness of menstrual health.

Furthermore, a rebrand of the Girls Rising Instagram account (@is.girlsrising) is currently ongoing, with a new logo marking the start of the account’s renewal. Be sure to follow them to be updated on what’s ahead!

Sports

Since the end of August, we’ve been not only keeping up with different sports, but also continuing the media aspects of sports in Island School with more regular posts and updates. Stay posted with our @istyphoons Instagram page, where we’ll be releasing new reels, photos and filming of Typhoons games.

Alongside this, we’ve released our new Kukri kits, which are sports uniforms our Typhoons athletes will wear when they represent our school in future games. You’ll see them around and in pictures throughout the rest of this term and beyond!

We look forward to returning with more updates, and from us outgoing heads, thank everyone for one year of collaboration, fun, and success!

Student Advisors

Student advisors work behind the scenes to ensure the school runs smoothly. Over the past few months, we’ve collaborated with Oxford Brookes University on a competency research project that sheds light on the value of the six competencies. We’ve also enhanced the student portfolio and encouraged reflection and goal-setting. In the coming month, we will assist with the options process for incoming IB students. These projects will continue to thrive even after our departure.

Good bye and good luck. Keep advising ‼

WANBO & Precious Plastics

After our last update at the end of August, WANBO held Green Week from the 2nd to 6th of September, which encompassed activities like our Green pledges, but more prominently the launch of a bottle cap collection inter-house, co-ordinated by the student team Precious Plastics. 

Collected bottle caps from this can be shredded, melted down and used to make different creations in the DT department. Please be reminded to purchase wisely: avoid deliberately buying single-use bottle caps, and focus on recycling the ones you have at home. And don’t forget—you can also recycle bottle bodies through any of the plastic recycling bins at school. 

Alongside this, we’ve also continued with our onsite composting, which has gone smoothly this year! Congratulations to us for reducing the amount of non-food waste items in the food waste bin 👏👏👏 

Lastly, the Mexican Rolex (burrito) is finally coming to the Island Cafe right after the half-term break! Keep your eyes peeled for our first sustainable dish, one of hopefully many more to come. 

As we begin the handover process for our new set of heads, the four of us just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone, and especially Mr. Burrough as well as our WANBO members for their unconditional support with our endeavors. Stay tuned for the future—there’s a lot more to come ♡

Signing off,

🐟🦝🦅🐿

Global Goals Council

The Global Goals Council has recently opened applications for Y10-12s who are interested in spearheading initiatives regarding the global goals/SDGs! Responses are being reviewed on a running basis before the deadline on October 4th – moving forward, we hope to continue to develop awareness of the global goals in Island School by organising events and experiences, as well as participate in international exchanges with a focus on sustainability🌱! 

English Committee

The English Committee is in charge of organising Book Week, Island School’s annual week-long celebration of all things literary aimed at promoting the joy of reading. Some previous activities include a Spelling Bee competition, second-hand book sales, decorate-the-door competitions, and the highly anticipated Dress Up Day, where students and teachers alike dress up as literary characters based on a variety of categories (Action & Adventure, Magic & Fantasy, Sci-Fi, etc.).

Apart from Book Week though, there are other relevant activities that the English Committee are involve with! Our 2024 Essay Competition is currently open for submissions. You can find more details below:

Topic: ‘What unique opportunities or challenges does technological integration present in online versus traditional learning environments?’

  • Eligibility: Students in grades 7-8 and 9-13
  • Word Count: 500-800 words
  • Prizes: Mr Corlett will organise
  • Judging: The English Committee → English teachers

If you’re interested in taking part, submit your entry to this form before 9 am on the 25th of October. Good luck, and we look forward to reading your submissions! 

Humanities Committee

Stay tuned—something’s coming after half-term break!

STEM Committee

After a strong kickstart to the first semester, we’re nearing the beginning of half-term break with many successful initiatives! We spoke in a recent assembly on the return of the Cross Mentorship Programme on the 17th of September, and are seeing promising results for mentor applications. The deadline for the Cross Mentorship Programme has been extended to after the half-term break. Furthermore, we plan to promote this initiative more actively to encourage participation through methods like PTA, student bulletin, etc. 

Additionally, after the half-term, the Maths Mentorship Programme will also be launched. We hope that Island School looks forward to these exciting initiatives aimed at enhancing STEM at Island School!

We are also currently in communication with Girls Rising to organise a potential speaker talk focused on women in STEM. This collaborative effort will aim to inspire and empower our students, but is still currently in the discussion phase.

]]> 2024/08/30 Student Council Update https://islandcurrents.org/20240830-student-council-update/ Thu, 29 Aug 2024 14:45:47 +0000 https://islandcurrents.org/?p=1560 Culture

Dearest Islanders, 

We wish you a warm welcome (or welcome back)! We hope you’re just as excited as we are for events – old and new – coming to Island School this year. Here’s a snapshot of what the Culture team has been up to over the past weeks, along with plans for the future.

Event Updates: Diwali 2024

We are ecstatic to announce that Diwali 2024 celebrations at Island School are now in the works. Building upon the successes of past years, we are working hard to bring to you a Diwali that all of you can enjoy. Diwali this year takes place on the 1st of November, so mark your calendars for the festival of lights!

Leadership Opportunities for Y12s

We have been engaging in discussions about carving out new leadership opportunities for Y12s. It is paramount for Y12s to undergo experiences pertaining to leadership, to satisfy their CAS requirements as well as to build a compelling personal profile. We’re excited to implement these opportunities and will share more details as they develop. Y12s, make sure to keep your eyes peeled!

A New Initiative: Multicultural Team

In line with our commitment to paying close attention to student voice, we are excited to announce the formation of a new sub-team. The Multicultural Team will aim to bridge the gap between Islanders and the Culture team, helping to pave the way for a diverse range of cultural perspectives in programming and events. We’re eager to see how this will enrich our community and foster a deeper understanding of diverse cultures.

Coming Soon: Instagram Posts

In the coming weeks, we are also looking forward to showcasing our past achievements on the Culture Instagram account (@is.cultureteam – go follow!). We would like to thank the Media team for their hard work and creativity! Their efforts have been instrumental in bringing our initiatives onto a virtual spotlight, and we are looking forward to when we can finally post them.

(Almost) Anything Else!

As always, we encourage everyone to share their thoughts and ideas with us. Your feedback is invaluable in shaping our initiatives and ensuring that we are meeting Islanders’ needs. If you have any questions or suggestions, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Creative Arts

  • Stars 2024 is coming SOON!
    • Auditions and callbacks have been happening in the past week, where we got performances from a wide range of talented singers! 
    • Keep your eyes peeled for the date of the performing night at @is.creativearts 
  • Chicago Preparation workshop 
    • All auditioning students are welcome to join this workshop during Tuesday lunchtime (1:10 – 1:50 pm) in room 213 – no sign-up is required! Please contact Ms. Vitachi if you have any more questions.

Media

The Media Team is returning with a variety of new initiatives. We are collaborating with the subgroups within the Media team, such as the Island Insider, to provide students with study tips and hacks. Additionally, we are working on a school podcast that will broadcast student voices. On the design front, our team is assisting the culture group by creating templates for their Instagram posts. Following from the previous year, we have been working on posting information regarding the Student Council Committees on this website. The 2024-25 Committee List can be viewed here.

Social Action

The Social Action committee is ready to start the new academic year with a bang! We currently have many plans in motion regarding the fruitful activities we as a committee have prepared in the upcoming academic year. A few of these include the Helper Appreciation Day, Pride Week and the annual Whole School Walkathon. However, for Term 1, our central focus is to gather relevant documents and materials as we prepare for the Student Council handover process. We hope to make this transition as smooth as possible by providing the incoming committee heads with sufficient guidance by offering them the resources we used when organising various initiatives throughout the 23/24 academic year.

Sports

On behalf of the Island School Sports Council, we have been mainly working on figuring out the logistics of the new Island School Typhoons sports kits that we’ve been working on alongside Kukri to produce and distribute the new kits for the 24/25 sports season. Along with that, as the sports seasons for football, volleyball and netball are starting, we are also hosting official matches and friendlies with other schools in our Island School Sports Hall. We are also aiming to have as much media coverage such as filming and photographs on the @istyphoons Instagram page to update students, parents, and others.

STEM Committee

Following its integration into the wider Student Council, the STEM committee has planned a range of school-wide events and initiatives. 

To begin a new year of academic endeavour and rigour, we will be reintroducing the STEM Cross-Year Mentorship Program, where older students from Y10 and above will have the rewarding opportunity to teach and mentor younger generations in various aspects of STEM. This is a prime opportunity for them to reconsolidate their knowledge, make connections with the years below, and learn the interpersonal skills of teaching along the way. Applications for both mentors and mentees will take place in September.

Furthermore, plans for various new initiatives incorporating students from Island School and beyond are underway, and we will continue aiming to catalyse interest and cultivate curiosity in STEM. The coming academic year holds a world of potential, and the STEM committee looks forward to your engagement!

Student Advisors

To kick off the new year, the Student Learning Advisors have brought a spectrum of changes to the Student Portfolio. With a refreshed and renewed UI, it has taken on the role of a viewing platform for student progress. At the end of the year, it will be published and printed out as a report card for students and parents to see their progress across not only grades, but also goals, competencies, in-school achievements through badges, and more. The input process has also been refined. Google Forms have become obsolete and fully replaced by the IStudent App, a centralised platform where students can enter their reflections, engagements and targets with ease. 

Aside from the portfolio, we have also made progress with the Oxford Brookes Competency Curriculum research project we started last year to demonstrate the importance of competencies in the school curriculum. Before the summer, we had the opportunity to interview a range of Year 10 students on their experiences in the elements course and how they have contributed to their character development. In the next weeks, we will conduct qualitative and quantitative data analysis on the interview transcripts to support the work of Professor Patrick Alexander. 

Term 1 will certainly be busy, and the SLA looks forward to your contributions to our upcoming initiatives!

Wellbeing Team

This is what we plan to work on in this coming academic year:

  • Collaboration with other committees (such as culture and creative arts) to host fun events
  • Collect feedback about reasons for stress within the school and work with student advisors to help improve the student experience
  • Launch a volunteer mentorship program to newcomers (Y7 or higher) into Island School
  • Arrange regular fortnightly lunch “help desks” for early IGCSE and IB students (Y10 and Y12 students) with seniors (Y11 and Y13 students) to solve their academic troubles
  • Host an annual wellbeing week with events (eg eating contests, board game, tournament)for students to destress during the academic year

WANBO

WANBO (環保), Island School’s environmental team, is back and ready to work towards cultivating another eco-filled academic year! With our annual Green Week taking place on the 2-6th of September this year (more on it to be announced in next week’s assembly), here are some of the initiatives we have running alongside it:

The Alliance for Sustainable Schools (TASS) & Our School Canteen

Back in January of this year, we signed a charter with TASS and pledged to uphold school-wide sustainability. This semester, we have been in discussions with our school’s canteen provider, Asia Pacific Catering, to potentially introduce low-carbon recipes into weekly lunch menus. Keep your eyes peeled for more (tasty) updates!

Recycling

Recently, we completed an audit of all onsite recycling bins, and are currently in the process of improving our recycling system in and out of classrooms by making it more accessible across campus. Each room should come with its paper waste bin—please ensure unused worksheets or papers are disposed of there instead of general waste.

The composting continues…

We’re now back to full-time composting, adding about 15 kgs of food waste every weekday (excluding half days) to our on-site composter. Once it fills up, some will be removed to use as fertilizer for the school community garden. 

To ensure that our WANBO members can manage canteen waste efficiently, please ensure only food scraps are added to the food waste bin and that tissues, bamboo skewers, and single-use plastics are discarded elsewhere. Your support can go a long way. ♡

There’ll be much more taking place for Green Week that isn’t mentioned here! If you have any questions, please feel free to email any of your WANBO committee heads:

Don’t forget to follow @iswanbo on Instagram for more promotions and updates!

]]> Student Council Committees 24-25 https://islandcurrents.org/student-council-committees-24-25/ Wed, 28 Aug 2024 04:20:56 +0000 https://islandcurrents.org/?p=1561
Culture Committee

Island School’s student body comprises individuals from across the globe. This team aims to enrich Island School’s own Culture by celebrating and bringing awareness to others.

Committee Heads and Deputies

  • organise cultural events and decorations for Diwali Night and other cultural celebrations like Chinese New Year, Christmas and Easter.
  • work collaboratively with the PTA to support cultural events in school;
  • collaborate with tutor group/ house Culture Committee representatives;
  • support the organisation of the Winter Fair and other related activities.
Multicultural Team

Coming soon…

Social Action Committee

“It isn’t what we say or think that defines us but what we do”. This team aims to raise awareness of community needs, primarily in Hong Kong, collaborating in a collective endeavour to embrace responsibility for our home. 

Committee Heads and Deputies will:

  • Coordinate and support leaders of different outreach initiatives
    • Represent these leaders (and their missions) within the student leadership council
  • Ensure that all student initiatives (particularly involving fundraising) are in line with the Island School Guidelines for Charitable Work
  • Host events (including collaborations with external NGOs) such as:
    • Food Donation Drive (Feeding HK x IS)
    • Annual Whole School Walkathon (N&K Bursaries)
    • Pride Week
Whole School Walkathon
Nicola & Kenneth Bursaries
Connected Communities Team

This team aims to support those coming from different communities. The core values that will guide the team’s decisions include: authenticity, kindness, respect, and responsibility. 

Initiatives:

  • Help run Mother’s Choice Carnival (Nov 2nd, Sat)
    • Create stalls 
  • Invite Island School alumni to form teams and do a school quiz
  • Host a Christmas party with the Sha Tin Wai community
    • Create stalls
Sha Tin Community Day
Mother’s Choice Santa Letters at the WInter Fair
Girls Rising

As Island School’s feminist team, Girls Rising advocates for gender equality and women’s rights.

Initiatives:

  • Planning and running activities for Women’s Week held annually – the week of International Women’s Day (8th of March)
    • Including fundraising activities, and annual women’s talk
  • Continue to oversee the ongoing LÜUNA project, which stocks renewable menstrual products in the girls bathrooms
  • Heads will lead weekly meetings with the Girls Rising Team and meet with Ms Coull for other initiatives and discussion
Jewellery Making
‘She Creates Change’ Movie Screening

Student Advisors Committee

Students have a critical role in directing and personalising their learning outcomes. This team aspires to ensure that curricular and co-curricular learning is authentic, relevant and engaging.

Initiatives + Activities

  • Support the options process.
  • Run help/advisory/mentoring sessions for students (e.g. presentations about making effective study notes, and dealing with stress);
  • Give feedback regarding the school curriculum (e.g. Elements and Explorations) to improve status quo;
  • Aid the development of the Student Portfolio system and utility of the 6C competency framework both within and beyond the classroom;
  • Continuously collect feedback from students to improve both current and new systems to-be implemented at school, acting as a liaison to connect different initiatives
Wellbeing Team

To promote and uphold the physical, mental, and social wellbeing of students in Island School.

Initiatives

  • Social lunch sessions to help students with subjects with help from volunteers
  • Introduce voluntary mentor programmes to newcomers in Island School
  • Host e-sports events to let students relax and build team spirit
  • Organise after-school de-stressing activities such as movie nights 

Media Committee

Island School is a vibrant, dynamic community. It is important that what happens, what students do, is publicised and celebrated within and beyond the school, amplifying the student voice.

Committee Heads and Deputies will:

  • positively and proactively publicise the life and achievements of Island School students across the school and Hong Kong community;
  • take charge of Island Currents that provides a platform for students to showcase their interests;
  • support other committees and the school with any media-related tasks;
  • provide opportunities for members to explore different media mediums
Islands’ Insider

We aim to help students through their academic journey by sharing insightful study tips and furthering their knowledge on school subjects and more. 

Initiatives:

  • Instagram reels – Interviews with students presenting advice to peers: academics, extracurriculars and social life
  • Island’s Insider website – coming soon!
  • ‘A Tip a Week’ Newsletter with advice from succeeding students 
  • Islands’ Insider podcast on managing school life + advice for different subjects

Arts Committee

The creative arts are an essential part of Island School. This team will connect all students to arts events and opportunities in order to develop and celebrate our creative community.

Committee Heads and Deputies will:

  • Support the Arts curriculum and events, this includes music, dance, drama, film and art installations and events.  (e.g. Stars in their Eyes; drama productions, film or art exhibitions, inter-house events to increase student engagement) 
  • Support the overall success of school fairs, ensuring that the Arts have a strong profile (eg. Winter  
  • lead tutor group and House Art Committee representatives in promoting, organising, and managing student-led Arts events;
  • be an advocate and ambassador for the Arts through all aspects of school life;
  • liaise with the Arts Director, the Faculty of Arts Leadership team and Arts teachers.
Clue: On Stage
STARS 2023

Sports Committee

Sports should be inclusive, fun and enhance wellbeing.  This team will provide a vehicle for promotion, mentorship and celebration of sport.  

Committee Heads and Deputies will:

  • Lead sports across the school;
  • Promote and train other leaders including mentoring house and form Sport Committee representatives;
  • Lead the team, ensuring that all are working toward the promotion of sport across the school;
  • Communicate effectively with House and form Sports reps to support the development of sport and student engagement with sport;
  • Coordinate and promote sports events including inter-house events, sports awards etc.
Inter-House Athletics 2023-24
2023-24 Typhoons Sports Awards

WANBO Committee

The WANBO committee is a team dedicated to leading sustainability-focused initiatives in and out of school, and ensuring our institution stays as eco-friendly as possible!

Committee Heads and Deputies:

  • Maintain communications with The Alliance of Sustainable Schools (TASS)
  • Facilitate and lead WANBO members and form representatives
  • Compost leftover food waste from the dining hall and APC kitchen daily
  • Spearhead and lead Green Week, Biodiversity week, and Redress week as well as initiatives planned within;
  • Manage and facilitate environmental promotions around school

TASS Charter Signing – January 11th, 2024

WANBO Charity Bazaar 2024
Global Goals Council

The Global Goals Council organizes events and activities related to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by collaborating with organizations and schools overseas — ‘housh housh’!!

Initiatives:

  • Huni Kuin Tribal Leaders Assembly
  • Lawrence S. Ting School (in Vietnam) x Island School Sustainable Interhouse Outfit Competition
  • Terrarium Workshop 
  • Global Goals Journal (Lawrence S. Ting School x Island School) for students to publish self-written articles related to the SDGs
Asian Youth Forum in Vietnam
Huni Kuin Tribal Leaders Assembly
Precious Plastics Team

Dedicated to empower students to tackle plastic waste through innovation and education.

Initiatives:

  • Collect and sort through single-use plastic bottles/waste in school
  • Recycle plastics into usable products
  • Teach students of the plastics recycling process
  • Work with WANBO and introduce programmes to reduce plastic waste in school
  • Integrate plastic recycling into current D&T and Elements courses

English Committee

The English Committee oversees all English-related projects and initiatives within island school. This team supports curriculum development and strives to promote English learning within the school community.

Initiatives: 

  • Conducts the annual English Curriculum Survey to incorporate student voice into curriculum 
  • Reading Ambassadors and Monthly Recommended Reads, Annual book Week Celebration, Battle of the Books (for younger years) to foster reading habits amongst the student body 
  • Inter-school Books Unwrapped reading group contributor
  • Creative Writing club 
  • Volunteer groups Community English and Carnegie Medal group
  • English Learning website to provide students with revision resources for English examinations 
  • English Aesthetics and Classroom Displays 
Book Week – Teacher’s Favourite Books Talk
Teacher Dress-Up – Science Department

Humanities Committee

The Humanities Committee aims to promote interdisciplinary learning and critical thinking through the expansion (in quantity + quality) of Humanities subject related activities and opportunities. This allows for the development and exploration of Individual & Societies subjects outside of the classroom. 

Initiatives:

  • Societies (Business & Econ, etc) 
  • Cross Year Humanities Mentorship Program (especially for IGCSE & IB Students)
  • Update Humanities/InSoc Website with course details, exam resources, revision guides etc
  • IS Humanities Instagram Account
  • Interhouse and Interyear challenges and competitions
  • Humanities Days for Y7-8
  • Y7-8 Humanities Classroom Support or Y12/13s during free periods (counts as CAS)
  • Humanities Blog 
  • Humanities Talks (professionals & experts in various humanities-related fields e.g. lawyers, business directors etc)

STEM Committee

Our committee supports students to catalyse their curiosity and their interest in STEM, expanding our reach in the process. The goal? Make STEM more accessible to everyone in the school community through hands-on activities, learning experiences, and formal events.

Initiatives:

  • Cross-Year STEM Mentorship Program.
  • Science Investigation Research Journal (coming up).
  • Inter-School Maths and Science Competition (coming up).
  • STEM Days (previously STEM Week).
  • Interhouse Hackathon.
  • VEX Robotics Competition.
STEM Day
Y7 Inter-House Mathematics Competition
]]> 2024/06/21 Student Council Update https://islandcurrents.org/20240621-student-council-update/ Thu, 20 Jun 2024 12:46:34 +0000 https://islandcurrents.org/?p=1499 Culture

  1. Mother Tongue Week (March):
    • Language Boards (changed daily throughout the week)
    • Daily Cultural Cuisines (Korean, English, Spanish, French, etc)
    • Interhouse Mother Tongue Week Quiz (Wednesday Lunch @ G06)
    • Culture Concert (Thursday Lunch @ Courtyard)
  2. Planning for Culture Team Instagram with posts coming soon
  3. Updating the Culture Website

Next year:

  1. Diwali: Recycle some events, introduce some new ones for next year. Planning starts in September to allow for sufficient time (Diwali 2024 is November 1st)
    • Activities returning: Diwali Assembly, Staff Dance 
  2. Christmas (for new heads) – creating an idea document

Creative Arts

We launched the Inter-House Art Competition this year and completed the Photography Competition in collaboration with the Media Team. The judging process will begin in no time. The theme for this year’s competition was House Letters (i.e. Nature for Nansen). 

Here are the Inter-House Competitions going on in this month: 

The IS Dance Inter-House Competition will be held on June 20th and students are required to modify a viral dance to the song ‘Truth or Dare’ by Tyla and recreate it in their own style (contemporary, street, jazz, etc.)

Inter-House Improv Competition will be held on June 23th, where students will be given a prompt to improvise from. 

Inter-House Banner Competition in which teams for each House have been finalised, where students will work alongside their housemates to create banner designs for the Creative Arts Faculty.

The first round of submissions in the Inter-House Music Competition has closed, and auditions will be sent out to students soon.

Media

The Media Team has been very active in bringing our contributions to the school community this semester. We released the Spring Issue of Island Currents, our school’s student article platform. Previously, our website was down but we fixed the issue by renewing the subscription with the hosting website! 

Our team also took part in providing photography for various school and Inter-House events such as the CCCT NYSS x IS Friendly Matches, and have organized the Inter-House Photography Competition in collaboration with the Creative Arts Team and are currently in the judging process.

Recently, we made a video to promote the Lifelong Friends program, on behalf of the Island School Trust. This was presented in the Year 13 Graduation ceremony where we interviewed six Y13 students to share their experiences in Island School and send a message to be part of the program.

Social Action: 

In April, we hosted a Food Donation Drive in collaboration with the NGO Feeding HK — more than 100 food items were collected and distributed to those experiencing food poverty in Hong Kong! In May, Pride Week took place where we promoted the cruciality of fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion in Island School. During the week, painting workshops, temporary tattoo arts, movie screenings, and a Kahoot trivia quiz took place. Moving forward, we will be working alongside the Helpers Appreciation student leadership team to organize this academic year’s final Helpers Appreciation Day, which is set to take place at the end of June, expressing Island School’s gratitude towards domestic helpers in Hong Kong. 

Sports

We hosted a successful sports awards ceremony this year, providing an opportunity to celebrate our school’s athletic community and highlight the importance of teamwork. Student-athletes were recognized for their contributions, with awards given for categories such as Most Valuable Player, Most Improved, and Player’s Player. The event fostered a spirit of camaraderie, as teammates and coaches came together to congratulate one another. The sports council is proud to have organised this meaningful event that brought our athletic community closer together.

Student Advisors

Recently, Student Advisors have created an Instagram account to provide updates on various events. Our competency research project has also made significant progress, with a pilot project being conducted in collaboration with the form representatives. As part of this pilot, a range of questions have been developed for Year 10 students regarding the elements course and its correlation with the six competencies. The project team has brainstormed questions, method of inquiry, and potential interviewees. An interview workshop is also being planned for the student advisors in the following weeks, which will provide them with the necessary skills to conduct effective interviews for the competency research project.

Finally, we are planning to launch a new initiative of a “Competency-based Inter House” in the first term of the next academic year. The aim of this competition is to make the process of acquiring competencies more exciting and approachable for the students.

WANBO

We introduced Textbook Marketplace which is an annual platform where older year students can sell their textbooks and revision notes to others at a lower market price. This year we even have around 300 listings!

How do I use the Textbook Marketplace?

  • Access the Marketplace on Google Sheets via this link.
  • Browse through the categories available (IB / iGCSE/ Other).
  • If you are interested in purchasing materials or have any enquiries, contact the seller through the information they have provided on the “Contact List” page. 
  • Arrange exchanges directly with the seller. Note: WANBO takes no responsibility for any transactional issues surrounding resources.

Please note that all original prices are in HKD and sourced from current online listings of the book! Feel free to negotiate with and direct inquiries to the student sellers through the contact information provided. (For purposes of simplicity, ESS has been isolated just as a G4 subject.)

Do also be reminded that incoming Year 12s will not need to purchase their copy of the textbooks in the following subjects as the school is providing an online subscription for them. (They may still purchase them for additional learning as a supplement, but it is no longer compulsory to do so.) 

  • TOK
  • Biology
  • DP Business
  • Chemistry
  • Economics
  • ESS
  • Geography
  • History
  • Physics
  • Psychology

Our team is planning to increase the visibility of Island School’s recycling actions through TV screens. We hosted the iNaturalist City Nature Challenge inter-house from 25 April to 6 May 2024. Over 4,400 observations were recorded among Island School students. Furthermore, Hong Kong ranked 1st in species count, and 2nd among 690 participating cities globally with around 36,000 observations!

Our team also focused on food waste management and composting which we helped spread the word via posters and trying to ensure individuals don’t throw away or leave reusable cutlery in classrooms since January. 

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Culture

Firstly, we would like to thank you all for the immense support during Mother Tongue Week. We are still in the process of finalising winners for the ‘Show Off Your Mother Tongue’ Competition. Please expect results and prizes in the coming fortnight.

Mother Tongue Week acted as the culmination to what was an immensely successful academic year. From Diwali, to Christmas and Chinese New Year, the activities and traditions may have varied, but your support and enthusiasm remained steadfast throughout.

While much of our work for the academic year is now wrapped up, please be assured that we are working to brainstorm and plan for events next year, both returning and new. Diwali will be our top priority for the next few weeks, taking into consideration past reception and feedback to make it even more enjoyable.

We hope your signature gusto carries through to next year, where new opportunities to get involved lie.

Creative Arts

Launching the Inter-House Art Competitions

  • Banner Competition: Create 5 banner designs for each arts faculty – visual arts, dance, drama, music and creative media
  • Improv Competition: Students will be given prompts to improvise from, they will have 2 minutes to discuss within their groups
  • Music Competition: Students will have up to record their selected performance, and they will be judged based on the following criteria on a scale of 25
  • Dance Competition: Contestants will be asked to put their twist on Tyla’s “Truth or Dare”, as well as extend the choreography in any genre they like
  • Photography: Students will need to submit a photo of something that starts with your house letter, e.g. Nature for Nansen

Follow our Instagram for more updates @is.creativearts

Media

The Media Team has just published Island Currents Spring Issue on the 26th of April. In this issue, we have a range of diverse topics that explore the world of Technology, Art, Science and more! 

Currently, we are working on creating a video for the Lifelong Friends program in collaboration with the Island School Trust that will be shown in the Year 13 Graduation. As part of this project, we will be interviewing Year 13 students to capture their experiences and reflections throughout their time at the school and promote the overall message of the program.

In addition to the graduation video, the Media Team is collaborating with the Creative Arts team to host the Inter-House Photography Competition with the theme of House Letters.

We are also working with the Student Council to develop this bi-weekly update system. These updates will keep the student body informed about various events, initiatives, and achievements within the school community. All of these updates will be stored in our very own Island Currents website. 

Social Action

Recently, Social Action launched its first Food Donation Drive – a collaboration between Island School and Feeding Hong Kong, an NGO based in Hong Kong that redistributes extra food items to local charities that support those experiencing food poverty. Throughout the week, students were given the opportunity to donate any food items such as rice, pasta, and instant noodles. Across all houses, 133 canned and storable goods were collected. This initiative enabled Island School students to become more knowledgeable and aware about the prominent issues and implications of food poverty in Hong Kong while offering students hands-on opportunities to drive change on a local scale.

As we approach the end of the 23/24 academic year, the Social Action Committee will be organising Pride Week, an annual event taking place from May 6th to May 10th in order to celebrate and promote diversity within LGBTQ+ communities. Activities ranging from art workshops on the theme ‘Pride Week’, temporary LGBTQ-themed tattoos, movie screenings, carnival stalls, and trivia quizzes will be taking place.

We hope to continue to bridge the gap between different social groups and foster positive change within our community! We truly believe that by working together, Island School can make a lasting impact and meaningful difference in the world. 

Sports 

As the Student Representatives for Sports in Island School, we’re proud to announce that massive progress has been made towards organising our annual sports awards on the 22nd of May to celebrate our achievements in sports. Our team is continuing to work on logistics and getting the Media Team involved to produce videos and posters in preparation for the event. We are also excited to continue working on engaging the community with our Instagram page @istyphoons and more initiatives to come.

Student Advisors

As an eventful Term 2 ends, the Student Learning Advisors prepare for the stress-packed yet prospective Term 3 ahead. This includes the Oxford Brookes Competency Curriculum research project, troubleshooting the Student Portfolio, gathering feedback on the current target-setting process, and brainstorming future initiatives regarding ECA and Higher Education, which has occupied the SLA for the past few months. Furthermore, we began collating data on the 6 Competencies Curriculum in December 2023 through our dedicated task force, and continue exploring alternative variables, methods and processes to investigate, with plans to publish before our handover. In collaboration with Mr Lester, we are also streamlining and improving the Student Portfolio. We are currently implementing student badges, preparing to transfer the submission processes from Google Forms to online apps and enhancing student and parent engagement through UI and reward system changes. 

Next up, our two sister committees have also accomplished wonders. This Book Week, the English Community has successfully hosted Island School’s inaugural Spelling Bee, alongside a bustling second-hand book store and a popular teacher’s costume parade. Lastly, our STEM Committee held the Cross-Year Mentorship all year, launched the Science Journal with record-breaking entry numbers, and took part in our first Island School STEM Alliance Breakfast, which highlighted the importance of STEM Education and curriculum interconnectedness to parents, alumni and fellow educators. 

WANBO

The WANBO movement never ends! Having just wrapped up Redress not too long ago, we’re currently running the iNaturalist Biodiversity challenge, a yearly inter-house focused on recording (taking pictures of) various plant and animal species around Hong Kong. As a school, Island School is striving to help Hong Kong achieve a high ranking in the global standings—if you haven’t already done so, don’t forget to follow the instructions sent by Mr. Burrough via email, or on our Instagram, @iswanbo!

In addition, we continue to compost food waste from the dining hall and Food Tech. Recently, we emptied roughly 30 kgs of compost from the machine for a workshop held by the Global Goals Council this week. Discussions on how to innovate our recycling system have also been ongoing, with the recent introduction of repurposing plastics in the DT department not so long ago. 

Lastly, we are in the process of kickstarting planning for the textbook marketplace, an annual event in May/June, where upper year students can resell their textbooks, notes, and other study resources to others at more affordable prices. Stay tuned for more updates on this, and have a wonderful day ahead. ♡

Connected Communities

The Connected Communities Commitment Team has made progress on multiple fronts in connecting our communities this year. As our name suggests, our primary objective as the CCCT is to bridge and nurture unity among a wide range of communities in Hong Kong. Previously, we collaborated with other Island School members to help Mothers Choice, an NGO, provide resources for young mothers in poor financial circumstances. A friendly volleyball and basketball match between Island School and NYSS was also organized to deepen our connection with our neighboring school in Tai Wai. 

Among the discussions of our team, we look forward to strengthening our partnerships with NGOs to forge stronger connections with different communities, thus, undertaking similar initiatives along the lines of the events mentioned above. Although the specific events that will take place in the future are yet to be confirmed, our focus for the upcoming academic year will be on introducing different communities in Hong Kong to diverse and insightful experiences, while simultaneously ensuring Island School students engage actively in our initiatives, fostering the development of their collaboration skills, communication skills, and citizenship. 

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