Dear Parents

This week, I’ll be talking about one of our key core values, Compassion.  This word originates from the Latin root ‘com’ and ‘pati’ (to bear, suffer) and according to the dictionary, compassion is defined as ‘a sympathetic consciousness of others’.  Another description that I personally like is ‘compassion is the heart’s response to sorrow’ and we show this by considering other people’s feelings and showing care, kindness, understanding and empathy to all.

Our students and staff make a difference.  I believe education is the most powerful gift and ours to give to all of those we serve as educators; its true purpose goes beyond academic learning and certificates.  Schools play an increasingly central role in cultivating the necessary social, emotional and ethical skills to support students’ development of values to lead a good life in an ever-evolving world.  I am a firm believer in bringing mindfulness to educators and students alike and from my observations at GSIS, we cultivate this through the breadth of our curriculum we offer in both Streams, as well as focusing on engaging and involving students along their journey with us.  

As the leader of the school, I am committed to a compassionate organisational culture as this builds resilience and fosters a team-spirit, as well as cultivates a work environment where staff feel a great sense of commitment to the school. In collaboration with a team, I believe in leading empathically to make a positive difference in our student and staff lives where compassionate leadership is seen as the norm.

I wish you all a relaxed weekend.

Best regards

University Guidance: Upcoming Events

The following events are suitable and available to all students and parents of students in Y10-Y13 and K09-K12:

INTERNAL GSIS EXCLUSIVE EVENT

EXTERNAL UNIVERSITY EVENT

Claire Wilkins Head of University Guidance Email

Beatrice Ugolini University Guidance Counsellor Email

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Golf opportunity for students

This year we aim to enter a student team into the ISSFHK Inter-schools Golf tournament. This is for existing players with a valid golf handicap card. Students have already had the opportunity to put their names forwards for this.

For developing players, a parent has kindly offered to arrange on-course golf training sessions at Discovery Bay golf club. These could take place regularly on Friday afternoons, during school holidays, or potentially Wednesday afternoons for students with an early finish. Please contact me if you are interested, and I can connect the relevant people. Please note that logistics and financial arrangements will be made privately between parents. The ideal group size would be 4 students, who are not totally new to the game of golf.

If you are interested in this opportunity, please do not hesitate to contact me so that I can help facilitate.

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Student Achievements

"Art Competition by the Goethe-Institut „Covid and I“

For the past month, Fast Track students from K06A, K06B, K07A and K07B have been working on their entries for the Goethe-Institut's current art competition. The theme set is "Covid and I," and students were asked to create a comic strip of at least eight images depicting their experiences with the virus over the past year and a half. The task was to label the speech bubbles and narrative texts in German, the newly learned foreign language. In addition, the participants had to demonstrate their mastery of the comic format, creativity and inventiveness, as well as technical and drawing skills.

The students processed their experiences with quarantine, caring for sick family members, wearing the mask, online classes, but also with the trips some families took to avoid the virus in the early days of the pandemic. Mutual aid was also addressed and in some comics the virus itself has its say.

In preparation for the contest, all 6th and 7th grade students worked on the basics of the art genre of comics and knowledge of perspective in comics.

The participating students energetically created their entries outside of class and discussed them weekly in Art class.

The deadline was yesterday. Let's keep our fingers crossed for all the students that their work will be crowned with success.

(Click thumbnail/s to enlarge image)

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U19 Badminton Double

Very memorable and encouraging  experience for Jayme (K07) in winning her first doubles(U19) in the  Central and Western District Age Group Badminton Competition organized by LCSD last Sunday. Being the youngest among the group she and her partner came 4th!

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Wellbeing Corner

Adventure Awaits

"Just try new things.

Don't be afraid.

Step out of your comfort zones and soar."

-Michelle Obama

We may not be able to get on a plane and discover a new part of the world as the pandemic continues but that doesn't mean that adventure should stop. Adventure awaits -  and it happens as we step out of our comfort zone and try something new and exciting.

The secondary school will be taking part in an adapted version of 'Discovery week' this coming week, and the primary school will be learning about wellbeing and how we can look after ourselves during 'Wellbeing week'.

We encourage you to seek adventure and step out of your comfort zone - the possibilities could be limitless!

Have a great week ahead.

Your school counsellors

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