Happy Dragon Boat Holiday! The Dragon Boat Festival is a traditional holiday originating in China, occurring near the summer solstice. The focus of most celebrations involves eating sticky rice treats wrapped in bamboo leaves, and racing dragon boats. It also marks the last days of school, and this year we have just one week left before the summer break.

PYP Student-Led Conferences At Hanova. On Wednesday 8th June Hanova held a very a special day in our PYP calendar. The Student-Led Conferences were a valuable form of reflection, discussing the learning process and also an opportunity for goal setting. This event provided parents with significant feedback about their child(ren)’s learning.

Throughout the year, students collected work that reflects what they have learned and have placed it in their portfolio. Students were taught how to select work samples and how to evaluate their work, to determine their strengths and weaknesses. While the teacher served as the conference facilitator, the student led the conferences through discussion and activities and they explained skills they have learned and shared goals they had set for themselves.

Why do we have Student-Led Conferences? We believe that student involvement in the conferences makes learning active, provides opportunities for students to evaluate their performance, and encourages students to accept responsibility for their learning. Having students take charge of the conference makes them more accountable for what they are learning. In addition, this form of conference strengthens the partnership between the home and the school. Both research and experience have demonstrated that Student-Led Conferences offer many benefits including a stronger sense of accountability among students, a stronger sense of pride in achievement among students, a more productive student-teacher relationship, the development of leadership skills among student, a greater parental participation in conferences and increased teacher focus on standards.

EOTC Field Trips. A reminder about the final field trips in Primary and Secondary, where students will experience the last experiential education for this school year. We are grateful to all teachers, parents and staff for the organization support received in gradually expanding this important part of the curriculum.

Art Exhibition. A reminder about the MYP and PYP Visual Art Exhibition staged to view and celebrate our students’ artworks. Located in our school lobby and 1st floor corridor, this exhibition will be on display till the end of the academic year.

Hanova Carnival Cancelled. A reminder that this year the Hanova Carnival, currently planned for 11th June, is cancelled. This difficult decision was made because according to the information we have collected from the carnival letter and the feedback from our parents, many members of the Hanova community, as well as visitors and guests, express that they most probably cant attend this event due to the national holiday weekend and many families will go out for short travelling. Thank you again for your understanding and support.

Last Day of School. You may have noticed from the School Calendar on our website that the last day of school for this academic year is set for Friday, 17th June 2016. Please, remember that will be only a half day, so the buses will leave at lunch time. In addition, The 2016-2017 School Calendar is already available on the school website ( http://his-xian.com/wp- content/uploads/2016/05/Hanova-calendar-2016-17.pdf ). If you print a copy, please also check for regular updates as additional events may be added from its first publication. In any case, all changes will always be notified in the newsletter as well.

School Uniforms. We remind to parents again that students should be in school uniform. If you have any problem please don’t hesitate to contact our Liaison officer Ms. Yang (zena.yang@his-xian.com).

Security. A reminder about our strengthened security measures on campus, as we communicated with specific emails and letters to all parents and staff, especially if parents need to attend the final assemblies.

Thanks again for your continuing support.

Yours,

Francesco Masetti-Placci