ISPTA Newsletter 2023-24, Term 2
Volunteer Appreciation Coffee Morning
We started 2024 with a coffee morning on Jan 9, to say a “big thank you in a small way” to our wonderful parents who volunteered their time and effort in bringing the Island School community together during Term 1. We had a bustling Term 1 with Diwali and Christmas decorations and then our biggest community event of the year, the Winter Fair, and the coffee morning was a small way to express our deep gratitude. Our school leaders, Mr Loggie, Mr Jobling, Mr Fausset and our PTA teacher reps Ms Mary Lacey-Vitachi and Ms. Stephanie Weathington joined us. Everyone enjoyed the tea, coffee and breakfast treats and of course each other’s company! The spirit of Island School is so evident when parents, teachers and students work together and have fun at the same time!
Yet again our campus was transformed into a festive mood with bright and cheerful Chinese New Year decorations. We are so grateful for our lovely parent and student volunteers who invested their time and talent by bringing in the festive period for the Year of the Dragon.
ISPTA and the student cultural team gave this year’s celebrations a new twist. Along with the teachers’ performance, our very talented parents performed a Chinese-themed dance during lunchtime on Feb 7. After the dance ISPTA, with the support of parents, organised a Chinese snacks food stall sale with Chinese treats like like gin dui 煎堆, egg pastry 蛋散, sesame balls笑口棗, sachima 馬仔, siu mai 燒賣 and rice rolls 腸粉. Students and staff enjoyed the authentic Chinese food and the opportunity to welcome the Year of the Dragon together. ISPTA will use the proceeds from the food stall for student-led projects. A tremendous thank you to the Chinese parent community for bringing the festivities of the Year of the Dragon to all of Island School!
3-Part Parent Speaker Series
As part of our commitment to support student and parental wellbeing, ISPTA sponsored a 3-part Parent Speaker Series for our parent community. The first session of this 3-part series was held at Island School on February 29th. Parents from IS and our primary schools (Glenealy, Peak and Beacon-Hill) mingled at the beginning of the session with tea, coffee and hors d’oeuvres. Dr. Mark Gandolfi, our guest speaker, is a well-established and renowned mental health and wellness practitioner with over 40 years of expertise working with children and families. In the first session, Dr. Mark shared knowledge and practical tips for ‘emotional regulation’ as the core for effective parenting as well as applications in the workplace and personal relationships. We are very thankful to Dr. Mark for his engaging and interactive presentation supporting parents’ emotional regulation and well-being. Building on emotional regulation the second session on March 21, focused on effective parenting to promote positive social media engagement. We look forward to the third session which will be held in Term 3 on April 25.
Preview into Term 3
In Term 3 we look forward to our third and final webinar with Dr. Mark Gandolfi on “Parenting to promote effective social media engagement” to be held on April 25. We will also host the Y13 Graduation reception in May to celebrate the achievements and hard work of our outgoing Y13 graduates of 2024. We also look forward to welcoming our incoming Y7 students and families on the Y7 Transition Day on May 31.
A big cheer and thank you to all the ISPTA committee members and student & parent volunteers for making the term a big success for our students, staff and families.
Wishing everyone a restful break!
Fatema Jangbarwala
Chair, Island School PTA
