2 Jun 2022

B2B: Community Engagement Week

As Island School starts counting down our last month in Sha Tin, Back to Borrett student leaders have designed the inaugural Community Engagement Week, from Monday 6 June to Friday 10 June. This week provides students with a range of opportunities to express their gratitude and farewell to our neighbouring communities through a variety of activities to celebrate our Sha Tin era.

The B2B Celebrations Group endeavours to simultaneously commemorate our transient time in Sha Tin and celebrate the return to Borrett Road, highlighting our unique school culture through a variety of different activities. With our diverse community, the group encourages all to be inclusive to members of Island School and beyond through these projects. A comprehensive range of opportunities will be provided for students and all members of the community, evincing this exciting time to be a part of Island School.

Sha Tin Thank You Gift Packages

Joseph Lau (12D) and Sam Hui (12W) described, “We had opportunities to meet our neighbours back in 2019 but since then the pandemic has prevented any further development. To express our gratitude for the support our community has provided, we reached out to the Island School PTA to help us with this gesture. They kindly gave us a budget that helped us create thank-you packages, consisting of personalised postcards, masks, hand sanitisers, hand cream, anti-bacterial wet wipes, essential oil, kitchenware, pot plants, and more. Packages will be assembled by members of the Student Council, Student Ambassadors, and Back to Borrrett team from Monday to Wednesday.”

More information regarding the packages can be found below.

Gift Packages: Community Postcards

Abigail Ho (12R) explained, “We ran a competition for the front cover design of the B2B Scrapbook. From these covers, we selected 4 designs as postcards. All students are invited to pick up postcards in the General Office and write thank you messages to the community – both Chinese and English will be accepted!” These can then be dropped off into one of the drop boxes outside the General Office on your site titled ‘Community Engagement’. These will be delivered on Friday 10 June to our neighbours at Shatin Wai and Tai Wai as part of the thank you packages programme.

Gift Packages: Decorating Pot Plants

Alexandra Lai (10W), “Pot plants have been acquired for the care packages. We will be running a pot plant decoration workshop on Tuesday and Wednesday at lunchtime, in the creative hub on the Tai Wai campus. If you’d like to get involved and decorate a pot for the Sha Tin Wai community, feel free to join us then!”

All Years: Dress in House Colours Day – Thursday, 9 June

“After communicating with representatives from the community, we’re hoping to raise enough funds to purchase even more packages, with your help! On Thursday 9 June, we will have a House Colours Fund-raising day. Please enjoy wearing your PE kit or house colours and contribute $20 to our campaign. The more you contribute, the more we are able to distribute! So join us to make an impact. As we will all be dressed in our House Colours, we will gather on each campus for an aerial photograph during the breaks on the 9th of June, so this will be a memorable experience for all!” explained Chelsea Tse (12W).

Year 9: Inter-House Fun Run – Thursday, 9 June

Yimo Yao (11E) said, “During Thrive on Thursday 9 June, there’ll be an inter-house fun-run event where Year 9s will gain house points for participation! Students may choose either to be a runner or sponsor. Each Year 9 form can invite 12 runners, and more sponsors! This will be a part of the fundraising campaign, again contributing to the costs of the packages. Your task is to run as many laps in the playground on STW or on the basketball courts on TW. you will be awarded house points based on how many laps you run and the money you have raised.”

Community English Celebrations

Joseph Lau (12D) added, “We’ve developed a significant relationship with our neighbouring school, Ng Yuk Secondary School. On Wednesday 8 June, we will be holding an assembly celebrating the achievements of these students in the Island School Hall. Furthermore, on Wednesday 9 June, our Year 10 Drama class will perform their production of “Brainstorm” exclusively for your friends at NYSS.”

Our Final Moments – Recording Treasurable Times

Yimo Yao (11E), “Next week, expect lots of opportunities to create and be involved in creating video footage of our buildings and recording past memories. For example, we will interview students about their favourite spot of Shatin and take photographs for farewell banners.”

Art Sessions – Explore Your Creativity!

Chelsea Tse (12W) said, “At lunchtime next Monday 6 June, we will be holding an art session in the art room on STW campus. This will be open to all year 7s and 8s, and no sign-ups are necessary – anyone can join. The theme for this activity is: What do you think the new campus will look like? We’d love to see your imagination and creativity flow through this activity, and we hope to see as many of you as possible on the day!”

Next Steps

All student leaders expressed, “There are so many people we need to thank for making this week possible. The unwavering support we received from the Senior Leadership Team and many members of staff was incredibly inspiring and motivating, and we have been extremely grateful to receive their help and guidance.”

This latest update is Part 2 of our Back to Borrett: Homeward Bound journey. More information about Part 1 can be found on this link. Part 3 of this journey will be released upon our return to Borrett Road in August!

Please choose the part you will play this week by contacting any of the student leaders for more details. All students are encouraged to sign up for the many activities taking place!

Article by B2B Student Leadership Team