ISPTA Newsletter 2023-24, Term 1
Parent Information Evenings
The new academic year started with ISPTA Representatives joining school leaders for parent information evenings with ISPTA sponsored coffee and tea. We also hosted a coffee morning at the start of the year with the school leaders to welcome new and old families. All of these meetings provide a great opportunity for our community to come together for the sharing of important information while enjoying the company of other concerned parents.
ZOOM Coffee Mornings
Throughout the term ISPTA members joined as panellists with school leaders and staff members across faculties to explore academic, curriculum and wellbeing related topics. ISPTA facilitated the Q & A in these sessions to help parents understand these topics in-depth. We have built a library of resources by recording these sessions which parents can refer to as and when required. The link here provides the recordings for all the coffee mornings held in Term 1. Stay tuned for Term 2 coffee mornings!
Quest Week Drinks & Diwali and Christmas Decorations
It was lovely to see many parents join us for the first Quest Week drinks after a very long time! Just after resuming classes following Quest Week, we continued our tradition to decorate the campus in collaboration with the student cultural team for Diwali. Christmas decorations went up soon after! We had a lovely team of student and parent volunteers who helped us make the campus look festive in time for the Winter Fair and the holiday season beyond!
Winter Fair
The Island School Winter Fair held on Friday, 1 December, was another epic success thanks to all the students, parents, family members, carers, teachers, and friends who joined in the festive celebration! This was the first IS fair with octopus card payment system which provided convenience for everyone. Together, we approximately raised $180,000. These proceeds will be dedicated to enhancing the LG03 playground space as a purposeful space for play, lunch and games. The proceeds from our dedicated Christmas Market have been donated to the Island School’s Nicola & Kenneth Bursaries to support disadvantaged Hong Kong secondary school students.
Higher Education
ISPTA members supported the Higher Education department and organised industry visits for Y11 students to Town Gas and Holiday Inn on November 3. The visits provided valuable learning experiences for our students and ISPTA will continue working to organise industry visits in Term 2 and Term 3. If you would be interested in extending such an opportunity to our students at your place of work, please do let us know!
Contributions
ISPTA supported the school through various sponsorships to support student-led projects and initiatives to improve student experiences and learning. We are very pleased that all these sponsorships have been valuable and already a part of student school life. Students are getting training to use the Composter Machine which was an addition to the sustainability projects. We sponsored the coffee and tea for all Parent information evenings, as well as food and beverages for the Meraki fashion show. We gratefully acknowledged the hard work of the trip leaders during Quest week with Starbucks vouchers, and last but not least we contributed to the new sound system in the inner courtyard. This was made possible by a partnership between ISPTA, the IS Trust and school and was experienced by the whole school community in the Winter Fair. What an important difference it is already making to how we support our students in their performances.
Preview into Term 2
There are 3 major initiatives that are looking forward to in Term 2. The first is hosting additional parent webinars in collaboration with the school. Stay tuned for further communication in Term 2 & 3. ISPTA will also be dressing the campus in February in celebration of Chinese New Year. Finally, please save the date for Friday, 2nd Feb for our annual Walkathon! Your support as a volunteer for the BBQ after the walk (and of course for helping to decorate for Chinese New Year) will be greatly appreciated! More details HERE and do sign-up to volunteer!
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.
There is a lot for us to celebrate for Term 1 and to look forward for Term 2! Happy Holidays from ISPTA.
Fatema Jangbarwala
Chair, Island School PTA
