Sports Day. The students of Hanova worked hard for many weeks in their PE programme to prepare for the first ever annual Sports Day.  They took part and enjoyed several athletic events including relay races for all, a decathlon of many events for the younger students.  The older students took part in 100m, 200m, 400m races, long and high jumps, and throwing events.  The rain caused a slight hiccough in the day but certainly didn’t dampen the students’ enthusiasm. It was great to see the students putting great effort into each competition but also showing good sportsmanship toward their peers and support for their fellow students.  The day ended with a fun senior students v staff football game and a delicious barbecue hosted by the staff and parents.  We were overwhelmed with the amount and quality of food brought in by the wonderful Hanova school community.  Thank you for your support both with the food and cheering your child on.

Earth Day. The students, teachers, and even some parents joined in to celebrate Earth Day 2013 by taking care of their local environment.  Everyone worked in groups throughout the day to clean up an overgrown area of the school grounds by clearing brush, leaves and rubbish.  All the students enjoyed this experience and were happy to contribute to bettering this area that we hope to use as an outdoor learning space upon completion.

Parent School Association (PSA) meeting. The PSA met again this Tuesday and learned how assessment grades are given in the IB middle years programme and looked at the structure and learning in Chinese in the primary.  The planned class organisation of the programme for primary through to senior years for next year was shared.  The numbers in school are estimated to grow to around 95 for the start of school in August and then higher during the year.  To plan for this growth an additional 6 teachers have been or are being hired, to bring our main teaching staff to 23.  The majority of these new teachers are to improve our programmes for students who have English as a second language and to cater for an anticipated increase in such students.  This also allows  teachers of students who are proficient in English to focus more on the extension of the programmes for these proficient speakers.

Illness and medicines. There seems to have been more sickness in the last couple of weeks than almost in the entire year, although thankfully nothing more serious generally than coughs and colds.  I would like to reiterate some policies and simple preventative measures we are taking.

We are reminding the children to cover their mouths when coughing and to use a tissue to catch a sneeze and then bin it. Similarly we direct the students to wash their hands thoroughly before eating and after visiting the bathroom – most of them are very good at this. I am sure you do so already, but do reinforce these messages at home if possible.

If a student vomits, has diarrhoea or a fever then they should not attend school until they have been clear of symptoms for a full 24 hours.  This is to both ensure their comfort and to reduce the likelihood of contagion.

If a child is taking medication they are usually not fit for school.  However, there may be occasions where this is not the case.   This is an excerpt from the Family Handbook.  ‘Any medicines sent to school with your child must be sent directly to the office with written instructions on how the medication is to be stored and administered. … Children are not to keep medication in their bags or to self administer in the day, except inhalers.’

Book Fair. Representatives from Beijing Star Kids Children’s Bookstore are returning to set up some books for purchase on Thursday, 9^th and Friday, 10^th May.  The Book Fair will be open to parents and friends on Thursday and Friday from 8:15-8:50am and again from 3:15-4:00pm in the library. This is a chance to look through the books on offer, either with your child on your own. The students will have a timetabled time to visit the Book Fair with their class some time on the Thursday.  In that way they can write down any books they would like to purchase for you to approve and then they can return with the money the next day.  Please send any money in a sealed envelope with your child’s name, the amount of money and the book title (if known).

We do apologise for not being able to inform you of this visit until after the order has gone out for Scholastic books, but this return visit has only been arranged quite recently.

School May Holiday. I hope you all enjoy the May holiday.  Our last day of school is Friday, 26^th April and we return on Monday, 6^th May.  There will be no Saturday Sports on either of the Saturdays in the holidays or on Carnival day.  Saturday Sports will restart on Saturday, 18^th May.

Best regards,

Martin Hughes

Forthcoming events

Friday, 26^th                                  School closes for May holiday

Saturday, 27^th                             No Saturday Sports

May

Saturday, 4^th                               No Saturday Sports

Monday, 6^th                                School reopens

Monday, 6^th to Friday, 10^th      Talent show rehearsals

Tuesday, 7^th                                Parent volunteer group at 3:40pm

Thursday, 9^th and Friday 10^th  Book Fair

Saturday, 11^th                             Spring Carnival and Talent Show