West Island School Weekly Bulletin 14th October 2011

Members of 'Cantare' were the invited guest performers at The HICAP Awards which took place at the Intercontinental Hotel, Thursday 13th September. The Choir performed the song 'I believe' to an audience of 1000 prestigious CEO's and Business exceutives  to honour Mrs. Marilyn Carlson Nelson's great achievements (*). The performance was truly moving, and recieved a spontaneous standing ovation from the audience. Congratulations to our wonderful performers, we are very proud of you.

Mr. Gleeson
Music Performance Leader

(*) Marilyn Carlson Nelson is on the World Economic Forum’s International Business Council and in 2004 co-chaired the Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland. She served as chair of the National Women’s Business Council, a bipartisan advisory council to the President and Congress, and is the former chair of the U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board. She serves on The World Bank’s Global Private Sector Leaders Forum; and is cofounder and an advisory board member of the Women Leaders Program of the World Economic Forum. In October 2006, H.E. Jean-David Levitte, French Ambassador to the United States, inducted Carlson Nelson in the French Légion d’Honneur, an order created by Napoleon Bonaparte. The order recognizes citizens of France, and a select few others, for their exemplary leadership and service to humanity. She is also a member of the Royal Order of the North Star First Class, presented by the King and Queen of Sweden, the Order of the White Rose, Officer First Class, presented by the President of Finland and Commander of the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit presented by the King of Norway. Carlson also joined with the Queen of Sweden to cofound the World Childhood Foundation to protect street children around the world. Carlson Nelson serves on the boards of ExxonMobil Corporation, the Mayo Clinic, the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. In 2006 she was named one of “America’s Best Leaders” by U.S. News and World Report, and in 2007 Ethisphere Magazine named her one of the “100 Most Influential People in Business Ethics.”

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Parents are reminded that full payments for all Year 9 to Year 13 Horizons Week activities are due now. If you have not received the information on payments please contact natalie.berry@wis.edu.hk

Also, it is very important for parents to update their family contacts, emergency contacts and student medical information on Gateway by 30th October 2011 as we would like to have the latest information that supports the students during Horizons Week. If you have are unable to access your Gateway account then please contact jimmy.villanueva@wis.edu.hk

Dave McLeod
CAS Coordinator

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Please note that the Y11 Mock Exam schedules will be distributed after the half term break.

Graeme Deuchars
Vice Principal

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Tickets are on sale now for West Island School's 20th Anniversary Diwali Ball, $120 for students and $160 for adults. They may be purchased from outside the Music rooms every lunchtime up to November 1st. Get your tickets soon for what promises to be a night of dynamic dance, amazing acting, and fantastic food.

WIS Diwali Ball Committee

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Crossroads is a local, non-profit foundation that collects new/secondhand goods and redistributes them in Hong Kong and overseas.  Many of the goods are allocated to disaster relief, refugees, the elderly and homeless. We are looking for the following items:
Second hand:

• Sporting equipment suitable for teenagers
• Eyeglasses (with or without lenses)
• Bed linen and towels (new or good condition)

New Items

• Hygiene sets (for disaster relief): toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, small shampoos, small towels, sanitary pads.
• Basic stationery:  notebooks and binders, writing tools, staplers, scissors, pens, pencils, etc.
• Mosquito nets/Mosquito repellent.
• Medical/first aid equipment

Any donated items can be delivered to Ms Piavanini (A710).

Ms Piavanini

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20th Anniversary Gala Concert
December 1st

Academy of Performing Arts
West Island School is deligted to announce that our annual Gala Concert will be held at the prestigious Amphitheatre, Academy of Performing Arts. The Gala will celebrate 20 years of excellence in education showcasing the musical and creative talents of our students at West Island School. The concert will feature WIS Choir, Sinfonia, Cantare, Sinfonietta, Dynasty Drummers, Jazz Band and Bauhinia Ensemble. The evening will commence at 6:30 with a reception of food and drinks, followed by the Gala Concert at 7:30. Tickets will be sold through HK Ticketing from the beginning of November. Adults $150 / Students $75. We will notify you when the tickets go on sale.

Performance Shirts now on sale
Our newly designed performance shirts are now available for all our performers to purchase from the PTA shop for $100. Please note the colour for each ensemble: (WIS Choir and Cantare Choir - White, Sinfonia and Sinfonietta Orchestras- Black, Jazz Band - Black, Dynasty Drummers/Bauhinia Ensemble - Red). These shirts will be worn at all performances with black trousers/skirt and black shoes.

Rehearsals for Gala Concert
To prepare for our annual Gala Concert full attendance and commitment at all rehearsals is vital. Our ensembles perform at their optimum when all members are present. Please note the following rehearsal times for our performance ensembles:

Monday: (Week 1: 1:00 - 2:20/ Week 2:40 - 3:20) - WIS Choir/Cantare and Sinfonia/Sinfonietta Orchestras

Tuesday: WIS Choir - lunchtime, Sinfonia Orchestra - afterschool

Wednesday: Dynasty Drummers - lunchtime, Sinfonietta - lunchtime

Thursday: Cantare - lunchtime, Jazz Band - afterschool

Friday: Bauhinia Ensemble - lunchtime

Please access Wisdom - Creative Arts - Performance to regularly rehearse your music. We look forward to seeing you after the mid-term holiday and preparing for our upcoming 20th Anniversary Gala Concert.

Have a great holiday!

Mr. Gleeson
Music Performance Leader

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You and your child are cordially invited to attend a presentation by the representatives from the University of Hong Kong on Wednesday 26 October, 6:00pm-7:30pm, at West Island School. The rundown for the evening can be found by clicking here.

Updated Calendar
The latest version of the “University visitors and outside events: Oct-Dec 2011 - updated 13/10/2011” can be found by clicking here.

The WIS Careers Team

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Swimming Gala and Sports Festival Survey 2011
We are keen to gather feedback on the 2011 Swimming Gala and Sports Festival held on 4 October and to this end, you will have received a link to the survey in a separate email. I would really appreciate it if you could take a few minutes to complete the survey. The feedback from the same survey in 2010 was really useful for planning and improving this event for the future.

Thanks again to everyone who took part and a special thank you to the staff who helped with running the event and the parents who came along to cheer the students on.

WIS Excel at ESF Football Tournament
Click here to read about the incredible results achieved by the WIS “Footy Teams” at the recent ESF Schools Football Tournament 2011.

WIS Sports Fixtures during the October Half Term Holiday
Please click here to see details of upcoming events and training that are taking place during the half term holiday

Richard Lant
Head of PE

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Coffee Morning
Looking forward to seeing parents at the PTA Coffee morning after the mid-term break on Monday 24th October at 10am.  This will be held in the Library.  We look forward to seeing both existing and new parents.

School Fair and Raffle Prizes
We are starting to collect items for the school fair in March, both for the New stall and the second hand toy stall. If anyone has any connections in the merchandise industry and have ‘new samples’ that they would like to donate for the New Stall please contact the PTA office either pta@wis.edu.hk or tel 2816 7222.

We are also looking for donations for the school raffle – dining vouchers, spa/beauty vouchers would be grateful received!  Also, if you have any contacts in the travel, leisure or electronics industry please let us know.

WIS PTA

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The West Island Community School for Adult Education would like to remind you about some exciting courses shortly about to commence.

Digital Photography
Saturday 29 October. Full day indoor and outdoor digital photography, including sports photography using a live model.

Surviving the Pre-Teen Years
Starting on 1 November, 4 weeks of parenting advice, offering practical ways to solve common problems and improve your relationship with your child.

Essential Make-up
Tuesday 8 November. Spend an evening learning how to enhance your looks with Maria Prato, professional ITEC makeup artist.

Pilates Feel Fit Fast
New five -week Tuesday evening course begins on 25 October.

Turn Your Life Into a Book
Starting on Tuesday 1 November, this 5 week writing master-class is provided by highly respected author, Nury Vittachi.

Jason Wordie's Pokfulam walks
Choose either Saturday 19 November afternoon or Tuesday 22 November morning (11 October walk postponed due to monsoon.)

Booking form and further details available from http://wis.edu.hk/west-island-community-evening-school

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