Island School Parent Teacher Association (ISPTA)
ISPTA Mission
Island School Parent Teacher Association (ISPTA) supports the Island School community by contributing to events, initiatives, and resources that enhance the overall educational experience of Island School students and the well-being of the school community: students, parents, and staff. We work together with the school to build a community where everyone feels a sense of belonging.
ISPTA’s Role: Supporting the School Community
ISPTA’s key role is community-building. We build connections between parents, staff and students through support and involvement in parent information sessions, higher education career talks, well-being initiatives, and organising social events: winter fair and coffee mornings. We support the school’s various cultural events (through funds and volunteering), bringing the community together to share and appreciate the cultural diversity of our school. Our parent get-togethers: coffee mornings, parent talks and WhatsApp community helps connect parents, creating a sense of belonging.
In addition to community-building, ISPTA supports student-led projects and initiatives. Our major funding projects in the last two years since our return to the Borrett Road campus have included sound speakers for the inner courtyard, enhancement of the community garden space, a composter machine to promote sustainability, and an Ocean Park trip for students as part of our commitment to well-being. ISPTA membership fees ($200 per family) and fundraising events during the year, e.g., the Winter Fair, support funding of these projects.
ISPTA continues to be one of the key donors of Island School Trust’s Nicola & Kenneth (N&K) bursaries that honour the memory of two Island School students. The bursaries fund financially disadvantaged secondary students from local schools who are driven and committed towards their education. Since the start of 2019, ISPTA has supported fundraising for N&K through the Winter Fair silent auction and/or market sales.
In addition to organising events and funding student-led initiatives and projects, ISPTA promotes sustainability in Island School with the ISPTA Secondhand Shop collecting and recycling, gently-used (in good condition) school textbooks, calculators and uniforms. Please use the secondhand order form to purchase available items: Secondhand Readers; Secondhand Uniform. Please consider donating your school uniforms and books to the ISPTA’s Secondhand Shop. Items can be dropped off at PTA Office, Room G-03, address your donation to “ISPTA Secondhand Shop”. Please see here for more details of accepted English Readers/Books. You can also sell school related items on our Buy, Sell and Swap Facebook group.
All funds raised from the sale of secondhand items go towards student-led initiatives and events.
ISPTA COMMITTEE 2024-2025
The ISPTA Committee involves dedicated parent volunteers who drive ISPTA’s aims and objectives of community-building and contributing meaningfully in improving student experiences. Recently, the committee was elected in the Annual General Meeting (Sept 2024).
The committee comprises of the following parent-elected committee members: Fatema Jangbarwala (Chair), Gloria Chiu (Co-vice Chair), Kandy Sum (Co-vice Chair), Eric Chen (Treasurer), Frank Lang (Secretary), Principal: Stephen Loggie (ex officio); Teacher Members:Mary Lacey-Vittachi, Joseph Travers, Stephanie Weathington; Elected-parent members: Lamey Chang, Catherine Ho , Karen Lau, Henry Pang, Jennifer Pollard, Tania Shao; PTA Staff: Azeez Kasubhai (ISPTA Manager) and; Invited-parent members: Zarrah Bhutta, Ali Ebrahim, Teresa Kwan, Jasmin Metha, Sonal Nigam, Alicia Piguillem, Florence Wan, Michelle Wu, Emilie Yabut, Rick Yoon, Lily Zheng, Cindy Zhou.
We are grateful for the wonderful team of parent volunteers that support the work of the ISPTA in bringing the IS community together.
PTA Events
School Fair
Together with the teachers and students, ISPTA organises the annual School Fair. The School Fair brings together the whole school community for an evening of games, shopping, international food cuisines, live performances and arts. The international food court organised by our parent volunteers brings in delicacies that showcase the cultural diversity of the school community. The surplus of the School Fairs supports various initiatives that enhance the school life.
Cultural Events & Initiatives
ISPTA supports Island School’s cultural events for Diwali, Christmas, Lunar New Year and other cultural celebrations. Parent volunteers help to decorate the courtyard for the celebrations, and ISPTA funds the decorations and part of the cultural activities.
Y13 Graduation Reception
In addition, ISPTA also hosts the Y13 Graduation Reception in May for our graduating class to celebrate their time at Island School and successes.
Parent Lunches and Get-togethers
ISPTA in collaboration with school leaders host on-campus parent lunches across year groups. The parent lunches provide an opportunity for parents and school leaders to connect and chat on meaningful topics related to IS life.
Coffee Morning ZOOM Webinars
ISPTA and school leaders, organise Friday Coffee Morning ZOOM webinars, which are extremely popular on topics relevant to IS education and school life. Topics include webinars on: curriculum, languages, quest week, student support services, pastoral care, ECAs and social media. ISPTA provides ideas and feedback and worlds with staff members to design the sessions to provide a deep-dive in these topics. The highlight of these sessions is the Q & A session at the end, facilitated by ISPTA committee members to enhance parental understanding.
Collaboration with Higher Education
ISPTA collaborates with Island School’s Higher Education and Careers team to find interesting and engaging speakers (alumni, parents and external professionals) for various career events and opportunities for industry visits.
Welcoming parents, WhatsApp groups and Parent Buddies
ISPTA supports welcoming new parents by participating in the transition and induction. We participate in the ESF-wide Y7 Transition Day to welcome incoming families with a sale of gently-used uniforms. Our WhatsApp groups connect parents with other parents in their year-group and also have groups for bus and commute discussions, a support group for communication in Chinese, and community groups for Korean, Japanese and Indian families. To join the group please fill in ISPTA Whatsapp Registration Form.
Volunteering with ISPTA
Parents who volunteer their time and talent for the ISPTA are the heart of the Island School community. Sign up as a Volunteer to help us at various cultural events and at the school fair.
