Our Y13 leavers took to the roof for a friendly, yet competitive, football match ⚽ against a team of cross-stream faculty. There were goals and tackles, but most importantly, laughter and handshakes all around. Best of luck to our Y13 final-year students as their journey in Secondary soon comes to an end.
#GSIS #GermanSwissInternationalSchool #InternationalSchool #HongKong #EducationalExcellence
One year ago on 22 January 2020, a tourist from Wuhan crossed the Hong Kong border on train No. G5607 Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link at 7:54 pm. He brought with him directly from Wuhan a virus that shortly afterwards had to be declared a worldwide epidemic. Two days earlier, on 20th January, it was announced that 200 people had been infected and three had died in China due to infection with an unknown pathogen. Only a few days later, on 27th January, the first infection in Germany became known when a business traveller from Wuhan infected a business partner in Bavaria.
On 29th January, the Hong Kong government announced that schools would remain closed until 2nd March. This move came shortly after the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared a global health emergency due to the Novel Coronavirus. According to official statistics, there had been 9,709 cases of Coronavirus recorded in China at the time, with 213 deaths. Authorities in Hong Kong had confirmed 12 cases, one of which was identified as a local human-to-human transmission.
No one would have guessed in January of 2020 that this was to be the beginning of a worldwide shutdown with a volatile success rate in fighting the virus. No one would ever have guessed the dimension this was about to take on and lead to more than 2 million deaths a year later. And no one would have imagined months of school closures as a feasible, realistic, let alone tolerable measure.
Here we are in January 2021, having arrived in a new reality that one may not like but is forced to accept: schools, playgrounds, restaurants, pools, parks and gyms closed and Netflix and co. more popular than ever. Time has changed us, shaped us, influenced our behaviour, challenged our families, put the economy in serious turmoil, threatened our health. It is not yet possible to foresee how the situation will develop. It is still a toss between cautious optimism on the one hand and worrying new findings on the other, such as supposed side effects of vaccinations or new mutations of the virus.
What unites us all is that we must remain firm in our efforts to fight and survive the pandemic, maintain our strength and confidence, and continue working together to not only get through the difficult time, but to make the best of it. As a school, we were able to learn enormously and make great strides in digital teaching. As individuals, we were able to rethink our behaviour, our daily routines, our lives. As a society, we have been confronted with enormous challenges of solidarity.
Hopefully, we will emerge from the crisis stronger, with new insights and ideas that will help shape a better future. This hope, a realistic, positive outlook as well as appropriate action are the core principles that we now have to give our children, our students, in order to support them and give them courage for the future.
I wish you a relaxing weekend
| Ulrich Weghoff Principal |
The Community Committee is looking forward to supporting the GSIS community and organising a variety of fun events for students, staff, families and alumni. We would like to start with a short introduction to the team and our brainstorming for the upcoming year.
We would love to hear your ideas and hope that you will join us, get dressed up (optional!) and raise a glass to a virtual ‘Alaaf’ and ‘Helau’!
Sign up linkFasching marks the period before Lent and is known in southwest Germany as Fastnacht, as Fasching in Bavaria and Austria and as Karneval in the Rhineland. It is carnival season and a time of parades, elaborate costumes, marked balls and street parties that culminate on Shrove Tuesday. A fried doughnut (Faschingskrapfen, Fastnachtsküchle, Berliner) is served traditionally in the days before Lent starts, as it was a good way to empty the pantry of lard, sugar, fat and butter which were traditionally fasted from during Lent. We invite you all to join us in the celebrations and share your dress up photographs with us. We will be offering a prize of a box of 12 doughnuts for:
Please send your submissions to us at communitycommittee@gsis.edu.hk by 12pm on Thursday 4th February and we will announce the winners during our Fasching Virtual Party. We will also be sharing our own healthy recipe to make doughnuts at home.
If you would like to be more involved in the Community or have ideas and suggestions for future events please email us at communitycommittee@gsis.edu.hk
| Community Committee |
No updates / announcements this week.
Dear Parents
On the occasion of Chinese New Year it is a tradition at the German Swiss International School to support a charity which looks after the welfare of children in this region. Although we live in a very visibly affluent city there is also real poverty in many parts of our society with needs far outweighing the support they are able to attract. In particular there are many children in Hong Kong who, for diverse reasons beyond their control, are at risk and who desperately need help and support.
This year we would like to ask you to support the Hong Kong Student Aid Society with your donation.
Students have begun bringing or will bring home red envelopes for donations to benefit the Hong Kong Student Aid Society. Their new CEO, Candy Yeung, will do a live presentation via Google meet with our Y06 and K04 Students on Tuesday 2nd Feb.
Please return the Lai See packets prior to the CNY holiday.
From 4 February to 10 February students will participate in CNY activities during break times. We encourage all students and teachers to come dressed in red or traditional Chinese outfits on their in person day.
 Head of German Primary Department |  Deputy Head of German Primary Department |
No updates / announcements this week.
No updates / announcements this week.
From SCMP's Virtual Conference: Balancing between whole-person education and academic achievements.
| Simon Misso-Veness Deputy Principal / Head of English International Stream |
No updates / announcements this week.
Dear Parents,
From 4 February to 10 February students will participate in CNY activities. We encourage all students and teachers to come dressed in red or traditional Chinese outfits on their in-person day.
On the occasion of Chinese New Year, it is a tradition at the German Swiss International School to support a charity which looks after the welfare of children in this region. Although we live in a visibly affluent city, there is also real poverty in many parts of our society, with needs far outweighing the support they are able to attract. In particular, there are many children in Hong Kong who, for diverse reasons beyond their control, are at risk and who desperately need help and support.
This year we would like to ask you to support the HK student Aid society with your donation. Their new CEO, Candy Yeung, will do a live presentation via Google meet with our Y06 and K04 Students on Tuesday 2nd Feb. This presentation will be recorded and the video will be shared with the other classes from the 3rd onwards. Students have already begun bringing home Lai See packets for their donations. Please return the packets prior to the CNY holiday.
Have a wonderful weekend!
 Head of English Primary Department |  Deputy Head of English Primary Department |
No updates / announcements this week.
Well done to all the Y11 & Y13 students (plus several Y09 & Y10 students) for a successful and valuable mock exam session.
As results are relayed to students over the coming days, it is important to bear in mind that the mock exams are diagnostic, not summative. Of course, we hope that all students perform well, and most (in general) do, but the real purpose of these exams is to prepare students for the real public exams later in the year. With this in mind, please do not put too much emphasis on the results for the mocks; it is the process and the learning that matters as well as the gaps and targets that students must address in the coming months.
The on-campus classes have gone well and I would like to thank the students and parents for their forbearance and patience in dealing with the restrictions that are necessarily in place.
Over the next couple of weeks, and through to the Lunar New Year break, we will be continuing to invite more students on to campus for classes under the EDB guidelines.
The table below summarizes when each yeargroup will be in school over the next two weeks.
| Day | Date | Classes in School |
| Mon | 01/02/2021 | Y08,Y10 |
| Tue | 02/02/2021 | Y07,Y12,Y13 |
| Weds | 03/02/2021 | Y09,Y12, Y11 |
| Thurs | 04/02/2021 | Y07,Y11,Y13 |
| Fri | 05/02/2021 | Y10, Y12, Y13 |
| Mon | 08/02/2021 | Y07,Y12,Y13 |
| Tue | 09/02/2021 | Y09,Y11, Y13 |
| Weds | 10/02/2021 | Y08,Y10 |
On Fri 5th Feb, the Y11 HKAYP students will be going on their expedition. Unfortunately, this will not include an overnight camp this year, but the hike and associated activities look to be both fun and challenging. Good luck to all involved.
The First Half-Year reports for Y07-10 & Y12 will be distributed from Mon 8 Feb to Weds 10 Feb (depending on which days particular yeargroups are in school). Electronic copies of the reports will be available from Weds 10 Feb onwards via the Parent Portal (Veracross)
{Y11 & Y13 reports are issued shortly after the CNY break, in order to properly reflect upon the mock exams}
 Head of English Secondary Department |
No updates / announcements this week.
How long have you lived in Hong Kong and what was the path that bought you to the German Swiss International School, Hong Kong?
Don't miss the annual GSIS Lion Dance (Secondary) this Chinese New Year on 