Principal’s Message

Dear Parents, Staff, Students and Friends of WIS,

Sunday was a different experience for us all. Some were in well sheltered modern flats protected by taller buildings, some spent the day with mop buckets finding leaks they never knew they had, some lost parts of their homes.

West Island School endured very minor damage, however, the debris which blew into the building, some water seepage and the damage in the tree-lined surrounding area threatened to keep us closed.

What has prevented that, are the many understated, undervalued and committed workers who go unnoticed. These teams work without need or want of recognition, silently just doing their job (and often giving much more than that).

I could not have asked more from our committed and loving army of Support Staff which keep us afloat day in and day out. Without them, none of us would function and they care for young people just as much as anybody else in our community.

Firstly, I would like to give my sincere thanks to Ms Margaret Lau and Ms Angie Hui. These ladies manage our facilities; without them, there would have been nobody to coordinate a call to action. Whilst families and staff were enduring the storm, these two were planning what would be needed for us all when it finished.

Azam, Talim, Chita & Kallen

Purna

Simon

Chi

WIS Cleaners

Simon, Chi and Purna are our long serving ground staff. If you think preparing your outside balcony is a pain, imagine going through a property the size of WIS. They began the mammoth task as soon as we had word of what was coming. Purna was first on site Monday morning to start the clear up and Chi arrived after battling through the mayhem of Hong Kong traffic. They put us back on track. On Wednesday morning when we heard the public buses were cancelled along Victoria Road, they leapt to action clearing the length of the pedestrian pathways to keep students safe.

Azam, Kallen and Chita are our security guards. They were on site throughout the typhoon updating us, advising us and protecting us. Talim, as usual, was on site as the first staff and students arrived back. Their calm, reassuring presence is crucial to the feeling of our family community from the moment you arrive in school.

Finally, our cleaners. They had the most critical task of moving through the whole school and sweeping the leaves, papers and detritus that had blown in.

When you jump out of a plane and pull the cord, your chute should open effortlessly so that you can land safely – sometimes you take the people who packed the chute for granted but they are critical to the success of the operation.

This group of people at WIS are expert parachute packers and we owe them a special shout out and huge thank you. Please take a moment to give thanks to them yourself.

To a calmer and more restful peace this Sunday.

Yours,
Christopher Sammons
(Principal)

COMING UP: 
Monday 24 September: CPD Day
Tuesday 25 September: Public Holiday
Thursday 27 September: New Parents Cocktail (Hosted by PTA)
Monday 1 October: Public Holiday
Friday 5 October: Tang & Yuan Day