Dear West Island community,

As the sun comes out after the rainy days, the activities in our community have continued to lift up everybody’s spirit, despite that we are only a week away from the term’s end.

The annual Sports Awards Ceremony this Tuesday was a celebration that recognized parents’ and the awardees’ great achievements in sports, and our thanks goes to all the PHE staff who have been preparing for this ceremony tirelessly over the past months.

Please read on below to see the many wonderful events that have taken place.

The Year 9 MYP community project teams had a chance yesterday to exhibit their work to their parents. These students were inquiring and caring in their collaboration with charity organisations to do good to the underprivileged population.

Last but not least, for students/parents who have made a payment for the yearbook, please pick up a copy at the 6F office no later than next Thursday (June 27). And the digital version can be viewed and downloaded here for free. 

Have a lovely weekend.

Vicki Hallatt

Principal

Pre-16 Assembly

Over the last few weeks we have been delivering assemblies to all West Island Students on the topic of Deepfake. 

This is an increasing risk and students listened to talks about how to spot a deepfake and how it is being used negatively such as for fraud, extortion or to be unkind to others. 

During the Yr7-10 presentations, students were also made aware of not taking images or film clips without consent and the risks of this should they do so.

The Y12 session was run as an interactive workshop, encouraging students to explore the challenges that Deepfakes bring in both educational and global contexts. In addition to discussing scenarios, we looked at ways to detect AI-generated imagery and how students might access support and help.

Please review the presentations below which were prepared age appropriately for the different year groups.

Yr7+8

Yr9+10

Yr12

It is important that all our community understand about this topic so that they are equipped to deal with it should this occur. 

If your child is affected by any of the topics covered or would like to ask some questions, encourage them to speak to a trusted adult such as you, their tutor, head of year or school counsellor.

Giselle Lee has been selected to represent Hong Kong for 20th ISF Gymnasiade - Swimming in Bahrain. Giselle said this was a dream that was eight years in the making and she was grateful to finally turn it to reality. 

On Wednesday 19th June the Sports Leaders in Yr10 held the very first WIS vs Kennedy School Football Festival at SHU. This was a fantastic coming together of the two schools to celebrate our close proximity and relationship and provide a closer link to the new P6 students joining in August 2024. An incredible festival of football and let’s hope it’s the start of many more in the future.  

Jayden Bi dominated the boys' competition at the LTAT（The Lawn Tennis Association of Thailand) Asian 14&Under C2 (1) 2024 by winning the Singles and Doubles in Thailand during the week of June 10-14. 

Founded in 2011, over 200 secondary schools now participate in the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Dual Program. The programme aims to provide accelerated learning for highly able students outside the classroom, with the possibility of earning university credits. The 2023/2024 programme was advertised at WIS through the student bulletin to Year 9 and Year 10 students in September 2023. After eight months of Saturday lectures, workshops, and exams, four of our students - Raina Liu,  Akshat Mohanty, Aryendra Munshi and Albert Chan - successfully completed the first stage of the mathematics programme and are now qualified to progress to a higher level. Here are the reflections of some of the students:

'The coursework was incredibly rigorous, covering advanced topics like math proofs and the transformation of graphs that were well beyond the typical curriculum. I got extra help from the lecturers and worked with classmates to study complex concepts. This experience has been invaluable, deepening my math knowledge and helping me develop critical skills like adaptability and perseverance, reflecting my IB learner profile.' - Akshat Mohanty, Year 9

'The HKUST dual programme Maths course is a worthwhile course for students who have a solid mathematical foundation and would like to extend their knowledge in the subject. This course has given me an opportunity to articulate mathematical ideas in a more logical and elegant manner such as proving the fundamental theorem of arithmetic by contradiction. I have learnt a lot about set theory and mathematical induction which is beneficial for me to tackle more complex mathematical problems and theories in the future.' - Albert Chan, Year 10 

Over 50 Year 12 students were working in the chemistry laboratories all day running experiments, collecting data and analysing their results on Chemistry IA day. This forms part of their final IB grade and is essential in terms of scientific skill development. 

Silliman University Junior High School representatives from the Philippines visiting WIS on 17 June 2024. They toured the school including the Technology faculty, seeing Product Design and Engineering workshops, Digital Design and Textiles classrooms and Food & Nutrition Kitchens. They were impressed with the advanced industry machinery and techniques that students were using such as 3D printing and AR technology.