Students Organise Open Day for Local Community Partners, Friends and Neighbours!

Island School welcomes its community partners, friends and neighbours from Sha Tin for afternoon tea, music, fun and games on Friday, 9th December 2022.

Since Island School’s move to Sha Tin in 2018, students have been creating opportunities to engage with community members through activities such as the Senior Citizens Afternoon Tea, Community Gardening and English lessons. With support from teachers, the PTA and the Island School Trust, student representatives from the Connected Communities Committee engaged Islanders throughout the week with focused conversations about the school’s relationships with our former neighbours in Sha Tin. More information about this can be found on this link.

On Friday, over 40 residents from Sha Tin were welcomed to Island School’s new campus at Borrett Road. An opening ceremony was conducted by Principal Mr Loggie and the Chairman of the Incorporated Owners of Pok Hong Estate, Mr Wan Chi Kit. Meeting for the second time, the first being the Connected Communities Committee’s gratitude package delivery in June, both were delighted to observe the flourishing relationships between the Sha Tin community and Island School despite our departure.

As one of the first large-scale events organised under social distancing measures, the Connected Communities Open Day was distinguishable from other activities ever since COVID-19 began. Over 30 student leaders from the Student Council Creative Arts, Culture and Social Action Committee, Ambassadorial Team, and the Connected Communities Committee were present on the day to support the event comprising an array of activities and performances.

Starting off with an afternoon tea served by the school’s new catering provider Asia Pacific Catering, visitors observed the vibrant talent of Islanders through performances by Christmas Carols from the school choir and Canto-Pop songs from Yimo Yao (12E), Kelly Lau (11R), Trevor Chan (13F) and Aileen Yang (11D). The audience immensely enjoyed the performances, and numerous rounds of applause were given. 

Apart from the brilliant performances, the residents also engaged in a series of games and activities, including mahjong, dominos, Chinese chess and checkers, a variety of board games, innovative pop-it sensory challenges, beer pong, and more!

The Outgoing Heads of the Connected Communities Committee, Sam Hui (13W), Joseph Lau (13D) and Wilson Siu (13R), explained that their experiences in Sha Tin had meant a lot to them, and they wanted to continue these partnerships to ensure that future generations of Islanders can also access these unique opportunities, empowering them to develop social projects on areas which they are passionate about.

“From Community English and various afternoon tea events to building vertical green walls, we’ve established wonderful relationships with the Sha Tin community. We didn’t want our departure to be the end of these partnerships. Instead, the new facilities provided at our fantastic new campus provide opportunities for us to open a new chapter in community projects, once that we have never thought about.”

“We’re incredibly grateful to have the opportunity to lead such a meaningful event. Planning, organising and executing this project has taught valuable and treasurable lessons we will never forget. We were delighted to see so many residents visit us and everyone beaming with joy and excitement – it is always wonderful to see people’s smiles (especially under their masks), and we were pleased that this event successfully achieved this goal.”

“We hope this event inspires other changemakers by pushing the first domino in a series of forthcoming chains, catalysing tangible change through developing innovative opportunities. We encourage everyone seeking to make a change or who has a dream, an endeavour to make things happen, to use their power to make it a reality.”

One of the incoming Heads of the Committee, Katrina Hon (11R) added, “It was a very memorable and valuable experience! It was nice knowing the community members had a great time visiting the new campus by participating in various games and activities. Once again, we’d like to thank the Sha Tin Wai community for their unwavering support during our four years at STW; we hope to see them again sometime in the future!” 

On behalf of other Pok Hong Urban Property Management Team members, Vincent Cheung exclaimed that “It was a huge delight to join this special event, and we really appreciated the effort of Island School’s students and staff for putting this together. We all had a great time that day! Although your school has left Pok Hong Estate, we hope to continue this relationship and offer our love and support to the community.”

Chairman of the Incorporated Owners of Pok Hong Estate, Mr Wan Chi Kit, also commented, “Hello Island School and students, I represent the Pok Hong community to thank you all for everything wholeheartedly. I appreciate your contribution to this event which gave our residents an enjoyable afternoon!”

This event was only possible with the support of representatives from Island School and the management office. The team extends their gratitude to the following:

• The Student Council Creative Arts, Culture and Social Action Committees

• The Student Ambassadors

• Island School Staff: Mr Stephen Loggie, Ms Beth Hall, Mr Ross Burrough, Mrs Mary Lacey-Vittachi, Ms Maryanne McPhee, Ms Teri Eves, Ms Vicky Hill, Ms Sara Lau, Mr Ryan Yau, Ms Natalie Tsang, Ms Sherman Tong, Mr Tony Chan, Mr Kyle Yeung, Ms Hilary Hu, Mr Daniel Sen, Ms Doris Tsoi, Ms Frances Lai, Ms Flora Ho, Ms Amy Yau.
• Urban Property Management Team: Ms Sarah Chan, Mr Sam Loh, Ms Zoey Cheung, Mr Vincent Cheung, Ms Yannie Lu, Ms Fion Chan, Ms Candy Yeung, Ms Candy Wong, Mr Elvis Wong.

The Connected Communities Committee looks forward to shaping other meaningful initiatives in the future, possibly involving a broader community too. If you are interested in joining the Committee, please contact Incoming Committee Heads Angus Leung (12N), Yimo Yao (12E), Yee Ka Lau (11R) and Katrina Hon (11R).

Article by Ava Au Yeung (10D) and Nicholas Tsang (10E), Human Resources, Publicity & Outreach Sub-Committee