Message from the Head of School – December 16, 2022

Note that our CCA’s (Co-Curricular Activities)  will start on Tuesday 24th January after the winter break. Please do encourage your child/children to enroll in these enriching activities which help them develop many skills over and above those taught during the school day.

After the break, we will begin to trial a new traffic management system that will hopefully help parents of our PYP and PYP/MYP students get dropped off and picked up a lot smoother and safer. I shall share details of this as soon as we are ready to begin the trial.

I invite all parents who started from September onwards, and who missed the actual start of the academic year in August, to attend a ‘mini-orientation’ day in January, along with the new parents who will begin in January. The content will basically be the same as was presented in August in that it will cover various handbooks and safeguarding procedures etc.

Recall that school breaks at 1200 midday on Friday 16th December and reopens for term 3 for students on Thursday, January 12th, 2023.

ISA tests (International Schools Assessment): in previous years, this has taken place later in the school year, during May. However, this year, we will conduct these assessments during the month of February. This means that this year we can provide all our students with this important data as previously, some students had left us by the time the assessment data was given to us in June. We hope that by sharing this information and data in a more timely manner that this will keep our parents better informed about their child’s progress in comparison to other international students.

May I take this opportunity to thank all of you for your continued support during this academic year and for those who celebrate Christmas, may I wish you a Merry Christmas!! I would also like to wish everyone good health in the upcoming New Year. In life, there is nothing more important than health.

In order to improve safety and safeguarding, we have been revising our evacuation plans and procedures and have invested in new materials and supplies (trolley, radios, cones, HV Vests, etc.)  to meet the new expectations. This investment will allow us to evacuate the school in a more timely and safe manner and provide our community with a greater sense of security. We will begin the new evacuation procedure drills in semester 2.

Future dates for the diary:

• School holiday: School recommences for students on Thursday 12th January for term 3, as per our school calendar.
• Monday 23rd January: school closed for national/local holiday in lieu of the Lunar New Year (which falls on Sunday 22nd January)