School Calendar. As last year we are putting on a number of events for parents and the community.  As you read this we should have just had our International Day on Thursday.  We hope this was a successful and enjoyable day.  There are other events planned throughout the year and we have now put these on our school calendar.  This calendar is attached to this newsletter if you receive it by email.  Alternatively it can be found on the website.

Middle Years Training. Last Friday we undertook professional development at school from the International Baccalaureate.  This was training as part of our progress towards authorisation for the Middle Years Programme (MYP).  All of the staff that teach middle years attended this course along with a number of support staff and three members of the school Board.  We will be undertaking the first stage of our professional training provided by the IB for the Primary Years in November.

Art classes. Ms Cowper our Art teacher has requested that students bring in coloured magazines.  She would like to use images from magazines as part of their Art course for some students.

Art can be a messy, hands on activity.  We would like children from Nursery to Y9 to bring an over-sized old shirt to wear in Art lessons.  We do have aprons for the youngest students to wear when they are doing activities in class, but it is a little harder to find larger aprons.  If you can put your child’s name on the shirt it would be helpful.

School lunch. We have been searching thoroughly to find the best option for our school lunch provision.  A group of parents paid a visit along with me to a new supplier to examine their premises and to check their supplies and provision.  We hope to have improved provision for the children very soon.

Some of our students bring packed lunches.  We are pleased that parents follow our guidelines of no sweets, chocolate or fizzy drinks.  There is evidence that such high sugar foods not only are not good for students but also make learning more difficult.  We also have a policy of no nuts in school.  This is not for health reasons but because these days an increasing number of children are allergic, quite often highly, to nuts.  Food products with some traces of nuts or low amounts are alright to bring.  It is mainly for reasons of allergy that we have a policy that students cannot share their food with others.

Parent consultations. These are taking place on Wednesday, 16^th and Thursday, 17^th October.  You should be receiving an email before the holidays with more information on these two way and three way conferences.  We are looking forward to seeing all parents on these days.

Rideshare programme. Some parents especially of our youngest children would prefer them to be at school for fewer hours, particularly on a Tuesday and Thursday when we have ECAs.  They would also like the children on the bus for a shorter period, if possible.  At the moment it does not appear to be easy to send some children home at different times, so one parent suggested a rideshare scheme.  This would be where parents let the school know that they have spaces available in a car either coming to or leaving school at a certain time.  It may be that one parent could bring children to school and another take them home.  If you would like to take part in this scheme please let May Liu (may.liu@his-xian.com) know the times available and the location from which you are coming. We will then try to match people up.

Playgroup. Playgroup returned to Hanova this week and there was a small group of toddlers in attendance.  Playgroup is open to all parents and carers whether they have other children in Hanova or not.  A small fee will be agreed on by the group and levied for attendance in order to purchase some additional games.  Last year this fee was a one off payment of 50rmb.  Please do come along with your baby or toddler and join in the fun and learning.

Holiday. A reminder that the last day of school before the holiday is Friday, 27^th September.  We return to school on Monday, 7^th October.  There will be Saturday Sports this weekend, none the following week (5^th) and it will restart on Saturday, 12^th October, weather permitting. 

Best regards,

Martin Hughes

 

Forthcoming events

Thursday, 26^th                            International Day 8:55-3:35

Thursday, 26^th                            Buses return at 3:45pm – no ECAs

Friday, 27^th                                  School closes for National Holiday

Saturday, 28^th                             Saturday Sports

October

Monday, 7^th                                 School reopens for students

Tuesday, 8^th                                Playgroup restarts 3-4:45pm

Saturday, 12^th                             Saturday Sports restarts

Wednesday, 16^th &                   Parent Consultations

Thursday, 17^th