South Island School

Infobox_School
name = South Island School

|200px
imagesize = 74
caption = South Island School
established = 1977
type = Private, comprehensive, international, secondary, co-educational.
principal = Mr. John Wray
enrollment = approx. 1,400 [ [http://www.esf.edu.hk/schools/sis.html] Dead link|date=March 2008]
free_label = Years
free_text = Year 7-13
location = 50 Nam Fung Road
Aberdeen
Hong Kong
website = http://www.sis.edu.hk/

South Island School (Chinese: 南島中學) is an international school founded by the English Schools Foundation of Hong Kong, located at 50 Nam Fung Road, Aberdeen, Hong Kong SAR, China.

History

In 1977, South Island School was founded as a nucleus of additional classes to accommodate students within the ages of 11 and 18 from Island School, a fellow English Schools Foundation School. The school moved to its current location at 50 Nam Fung Road in 1983. The first version of the school consisted of the Ching Ling Soong Block and an outdoor swimming pool. [ [http://www.sis.edu.hk/index.aspx?nodeid=1120&langNo=1 South Island School - History ] ]

As the school grew in size, more facilities were required. The next big change to the school came with the construction of the Stephen Hawking Building (named after the famous and talented Stephen Hawking), and the swimming pool became an indoor one, allowing all-year round swimming lessons. [http://www.sis.edu.hk/Warps/Principal%20Msg/Autumn%2004.html]

By 2003, the school was starting to show its age. A growing student population warranted the construction of a new school block. Construction began on a new eight-storey building that would accompany the C-block and the S-block. By 2004, the new block was completed, and was designated the Da Vinci Building.

The school year of 2007 - 2008 marked the opening of the IB Centre, a section of the school designated for International Baccalaureate students in Years 12 and 13.

Academics

Students in Years 10 and 11 usually complete a GCSE or iGCSE qualification.

The AS and A Level curriculum is still being offered for the current Year 13 (Class of 2008). The school has initiated the International Baccalaureate Program for all following years.

At the end of each academic year, Awards are given out to recognize achievement in all areas of school life. Great emphasis is placed on students' personal best. The awards are chosen by teachers, and are usually given to the two best students in each year for each subject.

Houses

South Island School operates a House System, whereby all students are allocated into one of the seven houses.

The members of each house compete against each other in athletics, swimming, music and debating, etc. Each house is awarded points depending on the finishing place in each sport. At the end of the year, the House cup is presented to the house with the highest score in the last Assembly before the summer holidays

Each house is named after a notable person and is represented by a different colour:

* Aylward - Yellow "(Gladys Aylward)"
* Hillary - Blue "(Sir Edmund Hillary)"
* Jefferson - Purple "(Thomas Jefferson)"
* Marden - Orange "(Anne Marden)"
* Noble - Light Blue "(Christina Noble)"
* Schweitzer - Green "(Albert Schweitzer)"
* Tolstoy - Red "(Leo Tolstoy)"

Technology

Over the past years, South Island School has developed a great stress in use of technology. The school's classrooms were upgraded with the installation of interactive whiteboards, while the renovation of the C-block continued. South Island school has started its 1: 1 laptop programme, where students are required to bring a laptop to school, and Macbooks are enthusiastically encouraged. Many mac software are provided by the school to the students free of cost. [ [http://www.sis.edu.hk/index.aspx?langno=1&nodeID=1218 South Island School - Laptop Programme ] ]

Activities

Extra curricular activities at the school include squash, netball, basketball, football, debating, swimming, chess, tennis, singing, rugby union and cricket. Every student is obliged to take part in inter-house athletics and interhouse swimming. As well as inter-house competitions, South Island School competes in various inter-school competitions such as basketball and football. The school also has a demonstration team of two Asian martial arts: Taekwondo and Kendo. There are also thriving musical activities culminating in a range of performances throughout the year. [ [http://www.sis.edu.hk/index.aspx?nodeid=1162&langNo=1 South Island School - Activities Programme ] ] In recent years, the South Island School Debating Team has achieved success in both local and international competitions. They have twice been the winner of the Sing Tao Inter-School Debating Competition.

References

External links

* [http://www.sis.edu.hk/ Official website]