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GSIS Gazette – Issue #30
23rd October 2020
motivators and leaders
to be better every day
anything is possible
in everything that we do
positive contribution to the world
Dear Parents
When was the last time you agreed on a compromise? It cannot be long as compromising is vital in our daily lives. In public discourse, however, or even in our semi-public school context, we frequently encounter a no-compromise attitude. "Five demands, not one less": This slogan could be heard on the streets of Hong Kong and also in our IB Hall during a general meeting.
Today, the no-compromise attitude is quite common. In Germany, for example, there is currently a lively discussion about patio heaters (‘Heizpilze’). Many Hong Kong residents may not be familiar with this device. It is a gas-powered heater that can be installed outdoors on restaurant terraces to allow outdoor dining in cooler seasons. These heaters were banned in Germany last year because of their CO2 emissions. In our current pandemic however these devices would offer a chance for restaurateurs etc. to keep their businesses open and afloat. The discussion about the heaters divides society and now also our Green party. The discussion is one of extremes: You are either pro-heater, which makes you anti-climate protection, or you are against the heaters and hence a climate protector. No longer are the factual arguments carefully weighed against each other, but the moral judgements of each side discredit the position of the other side.
We have seen similar extreme discourse in Europe in recent years. The migration matter divided not only the Germans, but the whole of Europe. The Corona policy even divided the countries of the world into those that wanted to contain the pandemic with rather harsh government measures and those that relied on their citizens to act sensibly. The points of view can only be black and white and are simply categorized in opposites such as good or evil, truth or lie – and everyone naturally thinks of themselves as being on the right side of the ‘or’.
Other social debates have become similarly charged. Whether climate policy, racism, feminism, or gender, the supporters of a certain position always know how to discredit the ‘other side’ as completely unacceptable and intolerable. These are strange times in which we promote gender justice and at the same time have the image of the ‘old white man’ as a reactionary, conventional, sexist, power-hungry and selfish person. The term ‘old white man’ has become fashionable for the scapegoat par excellence, not only for inappropriate behaviour of men towards women, but for any political and social misconduct.
The political discourse of our time is full of generalising, moralizing and judgmental behaviour. Moral condemnation should give way to factual arguments, which in the end may even lead to an understanding, a compromise. Compromise is the result of meticulous argumentation on a factual basis.
A colleague recently gave me a nice example: In a BBC article from 5th October with the title ‘Coronavirus: How to tell which countries are coping best with Covid’ the author asks why Germany in particular can show significantly better results in the fight against the Corona virus. She states, for example, that Germany has a Corona mortality rate of 11.5 people per 100,000 inhabitants, France 48: 100,000, UK 63.3 : 100,000 and Belgium even 87: 100,000. In addition to factors such as the well-developed health system, the article names Chancellor Merkel as a reason, Merkel being one of the very few "world leaders" with a Scientific background, who is known for assessing circumstances analytically and objectively. The article describes a situation in which Merkel appeared in front of the press after a meeting with Germany's prime minister and stated: 'I simply conducted a model calculation’. It further cites ‘She proceeded to talk to her audience through the maths of exponential growth in a pandemic, concluding with a warning that Germany would need to take extra measures. She was careful to describe the situation as “urgent” but not dramatic’. (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-54391482 )
This example shows that social discourse should neither be defined by moral finger pointing and a ‘know-it-all’ attitude nor one-sided devaluation and contempt for the other side, but objective balance and equilibrium. The compromise must become socially acceptable again, then we can move forward as a society.
Surely one or the other of the above can be applied to our school community. But I will leave these thoughts to you.
Finally, I would like to point out two important pieces of information:
- Please remember that on the Monday after the autumn vacation, i.e. 2nd November, the school-wide CPD Day (Continuing Professional Development Day) will take place. All teachers will deal with topics such as safeguarding, curriculum development, further development of the strategic action plan, online learning, etc., so there will be no classes on that day. Teachers are asked to prepare tasks for a study day for all Primary and Secondary students and to send this to them on the morning of CPD Day.
- On 22nd September I informed you that there were unforeseen problems with our air conditioning system in the Upper Building (Primary Department), which forced us to quickly react with an emergency plan. I am pleased to report that these unforeseen problems have been solved and we now have a stable air conditioning system that can both cool and heat the building. The emergency plan will not need to be enforced and we are happy to be able to teach all children in the primary school building.
Best wishes, a nice weekend and a relaxing Autumn break
Ulrich Weghoff
Principal
Email
Schoolwide News
German International Stream
From Head of German International Stream
Dear Parents
The first weeks of school are over and, other than in previous years, this time was unfortunately not marked by highlights in school life such as the Wellbeing Week or our traditional Discovery Week. We rather remember stormy times with two typhoon days as well as numerous Google Meets since we had to return to this way of teaching in the first weeks of school. Meanwhile we are happy to be able to teach all students live on our two campuses again.
Now we are all looking forward to restful holidays and the Chung Yeung Festival. I would like to remind you of two events that will take place immediately after Autumn Break, which have also been marked in our school calendar:
- Monday, 2 November, CPD Day – students in Primary and Secondary Departments will receive assignments for self-studying
- Parent Information Days in all departments
12/13 November: GPD (Peak) and GSD
19/20 November: GKG and GPD (Pok Fu Lam)
I wish you and your children a nice staycation with many memorable experiences around Hong Kong. Keep well and stay healthy.
Grit Cichon
Deputy Principal / Head of German International Stream
Email
Kindergarten Corner
Dear Parents
The weeks have gone by so quickly and the children have adapted to being back at school rather seamlessly even after being away from school for a period of time due to COVID-19.
On Thursday, a letter was sent home in support of Box of Hope (BoH). Kindly find a copy of this letter below.
We would like to draw your attention to our upcoming events in November.
Parent-Child Lantern making
- GKG Wednesday, 4 November
- EKG2 Friday, 6 November
- EKG1 Tuesday, 10 November
Please find further information in the attached letter below.
St Martin’s Lantern Festival, 11 November
Unfortunately, but as expected we will not be able to hold our traditional St. Martin’s Lantern family walk this year. However, the children will still be celebrating this festival in school and more information will follow in the next Gazette.
Parents Teacher conference November 19 (3:00pm to 6:00pm) & November 20 (8:00am to 1:00pm)
Kindly reserve the dates mentioned above. This is an opportunity for you to meet with the class teacher regarding your child’s progress. More information regarding online appointment booking will be sent in early November.
Finally, Mid-Term break is from 26 till 30 October, and as Professional Development Day for all staff at GSIS is planned on the 2 November, we look forward to having the children back at school on 3 November.
From all the Kindergarten staff and from us both, have a restful and relaxing break.
Warm regards
Primary Corner
Dear Parents
At the moment we are trying to plan ahead a little more just in case. To be on the safe side, we have given our students the most important school materials to take home in case we are surprised by an EDB decision regarding online learning. In the future we will do this before all school holidays – this is merely a precaution, which also helps our work.
Should any emergencies come up, computers can be borrowed from the School if needed.
Online Parent Information Days (PIDs)
Due to the large number of parents, the PIDs cannot be held in person on our campuses. Nevertheless, we would like to give you the opportunity to stay informed about the performance and behaviour of your child.
This year you can book your appointments with teachers online via Calendly, which will send you a link for the video conference (Google Meet) once you have booked. Please note the following dates and plan for enough time to read through the information and book your appointments.
- 4 November: You will receive links and instructions
- 5–9 November: System open for booking
- 12 / 13 November: PID online (Peak)
- 19 / 20 November: PID online (PFL)
Should longer meetings be necessary, the teacher will contact you to arrange another appointment.
Please note that some of our part-time teachers are only available on one of the two days. This will be made clear in the online booking options.
Photo week
After the autumn break we will have photo week at the Peak campus.
Please refer to the information below to find out when your child will have their photo taken.
‘Adventskalender’
Perhaps you too have had fun learning a new computer programme or you are interested to learn more about what children learn in Primary school during computer classes.
For this purpose, interested parents will create an ‘Adventskalender’ for the children of the Primary school together. The parents’ creations will be presented in a Google Slide, in which the children will find a surprise every day in December.
Ms Tavernier and Ms Erni are happy to help you with the ideas and the implementation and therefore we offer four workshops. You can participate in one or all four workshops.
Please keep 4 / 5 / 9 / 10 November free from 6–7 pm if you are interested in the idea. More information can be found in this link.
I thank the KPRs again for attending the KPR meeting last Monday and for their constructive comments.
Now we wish you a nice autumn break and good rest.
|
Priska Erni |
Inga Riedel-Narayan |
Secondary Corner
Dear Parents
We have completed an intensive and varied week with many different projects. Our students have welcomed our Project Week programme as change from their regular school routine and have been very interested and committed to the projects. The photos below show grades 5 to 7 at their activities.
Projekt Inselmodell (K05)
Projekt Robotik (K06)
Projekt Reisetagebuch (K07)
Dates
- Monday, 2 November.: No lessons (CPD Day)
- Photo week 3–6 November
- Parent Information Days (online):
- 12 November 4:30–7:30 pm
- 13 November 8:00 am–1:00 pm
I wish you and your families nice and relaxing autumn holidays!
|
Wiebke Langer |
English International Stream
Kindergarten Corner
Dear Parents
The weeks have gone by so quickly and the children have adapted to being back at school rather seamlessly even after being away from school for a period of time due to COVID-19.
On Thursday, a letter was sent home in support of Box of Hope (BoH). Kindly find a copy of this letter below.
We would like to draw your attention to our upcoming events in November.
Parent-Child Lantern making
- GKG Wednesday, 4 November
- EKG2 Friday, 6 November
- EKG1 Tuesday, 10 November
Please find further information in the attached letter below.
St Martin’s Lantern Festival, 11 November
Unfortunately, but as expected we will not be able to hold our traditional St. Martin’s Lantern family walk this year. However, the children will still be celebrating this festival in school and more information will follow in the next Gazette.
Parents Teacher conference November 19 (3:00pm to 6:00pm) & November 20 (8:00am to 1:00pm)
Kindly reserve the dates mentioned above. This is an opportunity for you to meet with the class teacher regarding your child’s progress. More information regarding online appointment booking will be sent in early November.
Finally, Mid-Term break is from 26 till 30 October, and as Professional Development Day for all staff at GSIS is planned on the 2 November, we look forward to having the children back at school on 3 November.
From all the Kindergarten staff and from us both, have a restful and relaxing break.
Warm regards
Primary Corner
Dear Parents,
Teacher Communication Tool
Last week I mentioned that we have been exploring alternate communication platforms to replace the class Weebly. Years 3-6 will be moving to Google Site on 6th November for the class teachers. The sites will include:
- Curriculum objectives and overview page
- Objectives for the week
- Messages to the parents
- Photos of learning, and
- Schedules
As we are including student photos, this will be a protected site and can only be accessed through your child’s google account. Anyone trying to log in from a different domain will be denied access.
Our Year 1 and 2 classes will continue to communicate through Seesaw. Our Specialist teachers will also begin using Google Site to update you on curriculum, events and weekly overviews. We hope to have their Sites up by 13 November.
Thank you for your patience as we make this shift. Our focus has been on getting the students settled back into the school routine with our new protocols.
Curriculum Information
Our English, maths and integrated studies curriculum are still on the GSIS website -> learning -> English Primary -> EPD Curriculum - https://www.gsis.edu.hk/learning/epd/curriculum/ and will also be contained on the individual year level Google Sites. The Specialist Teachers will provide their curriculum information on their Google Sites.
Parent Information Days (PIDs)
PIDs are scheduled for 12/13 November for Years 2-6 and 19/20 November for Year 1. They will continue as scheduled, but GSIS will hold all PIDs online. Information on timings, format and scheduling will be sent out after the Autumn break.
Photo week
Individual photos will be taken the week of 3-6 of November. Details are provided below regarding the schedule for each class.
Parents out of Hong Kong
A reminder that GSIS must be notified three days in advance of any student’s parents travelling and leaving a student under another adult’s care. We need the name of the individual who will care for your child and their contact information.
I hope that your week of autumn break is restful and full of outdoor activities!
Secondary Corner
Dear Parents and Students,
As the half-term draws to a close, I write to wish you all a well-deserved and restful break. It is fair to say that recent times have been a challenge to us all and I wish to thank you for your support over the past weeks and months.
It has been incredible to see how well the students have adapted to both online learning and the resumption of on-campus teaching under the restrictions in place.
I would also like to thank the teachers and support staff for their enormous efforts in making things work.
Below, please find some reminders and updates on various matters. As always, please send me an email if you have any unanswered questions.
1. ECAs
The ECA programme will begin after the half-term break. Whilst we are not able to offer as full a programme as usual, I hope that you enjoy the activities that are offered. Please ensure that you attend all sessions of the ECA(s) to which you signed up (absence from school notwithstanding)
2. Parent Information Days
The 1st Parent Information Days of the academic year take place on 12th & 13th Nov (for Y07-11) and on 18th Nov (Y12-13). Regrettably, these events will need to take place through an online format at this time.
Further details and invitations will be sent via email soon
3. Staffing Matters
It is with a great deal of sadness that I announce that we will be saying farewell to some of our teaching staff in the coming months. In December, Mr Munt and Ms Schuurman will be leaving GSIS after many years of service. Both return to their respective home countries for family-related reasons. At CNY, Ms Haines will be departing these shores to seek new opportunities and further her career. I wish these valued teachers the very best for their future endeavours. We are currently in the process of interviewing suitable replacements and, once the recruitment process is complete, I will be in touch again to introduce the new teachers.
I would also like to welcome Ms Libby Santella, who will be joining us for an internship in November. Ms Santella is training to become a Biology teacher and she will join a long list of successful interns who have completed part of their teacher training at GSIS.
Have a good break
Regards
|
Ken Stevenson |
