Personal Project Presentations. Last Friday the Year 11 students held a series of presentations to celebrate their completion of the Personal Project.  MYP students, parents and teachers in Secondary were all invited. 

Students had around twenty minutes to take their audience through the Personal Project process and then have a ‘Viva Voce’ style question and answer session at the end.  The Personal Project reports were available for all to view, as were some of the projects themselves. 

Not only was this a great chance for the Year 11 students to celebrate their work, but it was also a fantastic opportunity for younger students to see the work that lies ahead of them and to get prepared for this.  Many interesting and thought provoking questions were asked of the Year 11 students, and it was clear the MYP students (both Year 11 and other Year levels) learned a fantastic amount from the afternoon.  One of the key messages from the Year 11s to younger students was start the process early and keep a weekly journal of your progress however small that is.  With the help of the volunteer teacher supervisor your project will be successful.

The presentations that the students each gave were really impressive, demonstrating their level of commitment, thought and research that they had undertaken.  Their confidence and justifiable pride in their achievement were clear to see.  This was particularly impressive given the relatively early levels of English many of them had at the start of the school year. 

Some of the products of their Personal Projects can be seen in school and one will shortly be appearing on the school website.  This is the Student Council’s own website demonstrating the voice of the students, designed and developed by Collins Mbithi.  This will appear as a link on the school’s main website in the near future.  Hopefully the student council will continue to add to the content over the coming academic year and on into the future.  This is, of course, the main focus of an IB education-that the student takes full responsibility for their own learning and really drives change within his own community. 

Well done to all the Year 11 students, and a big thank you to all the Personal Project Supervisors who supported them throughout the year.

PYP into MYP Transition. On Monday 8^th June at 2:30pm, there will be a transition meeting for Year 6 parents and students to give them a general introduction to the Middle Years Programme and the transition into Secondary.  Although the PYP and the MYP have been developed by the International Baccalaureate, there are some fundamental differences between the two programmes. 

This workshop will be an overview for parents to understand what their child will encounter in terms of academic subjects, expectations in Service as Action, the House System in Secondary, the Personal Project at the end of MYP, our use of Managebac, and how assessment and reporting takes place in the programme.

Student Led Conferences. Please remember that the Student Led Conferences for Primary are next Wednesday, 10^th June.  We hope to see as many Primary parents attend with their child as possible.  You should have received a booking form for this last week.  After your conference you may take your child home with you provided you notify the Homeroom Teacher.

School Yearbook. Our third school yearbook is currently being printed.  This is a photographic record of the school year and contains photos of every student as a class photo and individually as well.  The book is a hardback, as last year, and will be available for 200rmb. 

If you would like to order a copy then please send 200rmb to the Office in a sealed envelope with your child’s name and class on.  The yearbook will be distributed on Thursday 18^th June to all students who have ordered a copy.  If you are leaving the school a little earlier then please contact the Office to ensure your copy of the yearbook can be supplied early enough.

Year 1 trip. On Thursday 4^th June the Year 1 class will visit Vanguard Supermarket. The children have been looking at money in their Unit of Inquiry and in Maths lessons.  A trip to the supermarket will be a good experience for the students to put their knowledge of money and how it works to use. They have been reading ‘Berenstein Bears Trouble with Money’, which is a book that teaches children how to spend money wisely and how to make a budget. The Year 1 class is planning to have a Bake Sale on Carnival Day and will be shopping for ingredients for baking.  Baking day will be on Friday. Thanks to the parent volunteers who are helping with that.  All the proceeds of the Bake Sale will be donated to Elim Kids and the victims of the Nepal Earthquake.

Middle Years Programme (MYP). We are prepared for our MYP Consultant Visit on Thursday, 4^th and Friday, 5^th June.  Mrs Anne Fowles will visit Hanova to assess the school’s readiness to implement the Middle Years Programme.  Mrs Fowles serves as the Chair of the IB Heads Council, is a member of the Board of Governors for the IB, has many years experience of leading IB schools across Asia, and is an adviser and experienced visiting team chair of the Council of International Schools (CIS) and Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC).  Mrs Fowles is also the Head of IGB International School in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

She, and the school, will have a busy schedule whereby she will evaluate the standards and practices that have been put in place to ensure that the Middle Years Programme runs according to IB regulations.  Teachers, students and parents will be involved.  Thank you to those of you who have expressed your willingness to be part of this process.

Art Exhibition - Secondary. Ms Cowper, the secondary School Art teacher, has just put up an exciting End of Year Art exhibition  which includes the artwork of the students she teaches, (Y9 - Y12). You may remember that the N-Y8 Exhibition occurred at Chinese New Year.  This secondary work will be on display until the end of the school Year so please take the opportunity to view the displays in the School Foyer and on the second and third floors of the school. Any visitors coming to Hanova on Saturday 6^th June for Carnival would have the time to properly study the work then; we have many talented students so please enjoy their accomplishments!

Secondary Awards Ceremony. The Secondary School will host our final Awards Assembly of this academic year on Friday 12^th June at 3pm. Many students have been nominated for awards for their impressive work this term. The student who has received the most nominations will receive the Board Award.

In addition, each subject will award a Certificate of Excellence in that subject, to the top-performing student.

All parents are invited to this event.

Carnival and Talent Show. Please remember Saturday, 6^th June, is Hanova Carnival.  We do hope to see everyone there for a day of fun, food and talent, when you will at the same time be supporting our chosen charities of Elim Kids Orphanage and UNICEF earthquake relief for children in Nepal.

If you are able to help on the day, or are able to provide some gently used items for the yard sale, or are able to bring in some food (a highlight of most Hanova events!) we will be most grateful.  More details in last week’s Newsletter.

Carnival Schedule:

Games and activities: 9:00am-12:00pm

IGCSE and DP workshop: Please note this presentation has been postponed

International buffet lunch: 12:00-1:00pm

Talent Show: 1:00-2:30pm

See you all then!

Best regards,

Martin Hughes

 

Forthcoming events                

Thursday, 4^th and Friday, 5^th   Middle Year Programme Consultant visit

Saturday, 6^th                               9am Hanova Carnival and Talent show

Monday, 8^th                                Y7 Information session for Y6 Parents 2:30pm

Wednesday, 10^th                        Student Led Conferences – PYP

Friday, 12^th                                  Second Semester reports available

Friday, 12^th                                  Awards Ceremony – Secondary 3pm

Monday, 15^th                              Y6-7 Transition Day.  Primary Transition morning

Monday, 15^th to Thursday, 18^th Parent Consultations – by appointment

Friday, 19^th                                  Last Day – half day.  Buses leave at 1pm

August

Friday, 14^th                                  New Family and Student Orientation day

Monday, 17^th                              First day of 2015-16 Academic Year