Two more weeks before we break for the Winter Holidays, which will start soon. Hereafter the news and the activities information related to this week and the dates of the upcoming important events.

Hanova is now Member of ACAMIS.  This week we received the positive news from the ACAMIS (The Association of China and Mongolia International Schools) Board, who has approved our application. From 1^st January 2017 Hanova will be able to participate to all ACAMIS activities and events.

Today ACAMIS has over 70 school members and continues to grow, despite the strict requirements to accept new member schools. Actually, a lot of big international schools in Beijing and Shanghai are also the member of ACAMIS. The purpose of ACAMIS is:

• to broaden the dimensions of education of all schools involved in ACAMIS in the interest of a total program of education
• to advance the professional growth and welfare of individuals belonging to the staff of member schools
• to facilitate communication and cooperative action between and among all member schools
• to promote understanding and international friendship through the activities of member schools
• to cooperate with other organizations and individuals pursuing the same objectives as ACAMIS
• to provide events that are open to all students whenever possible and feasible.

ACAMIS is trying to realize the continued connections for students through sports tournaments and cultural events, also to further extend the idea of friendly collaboration and competition, drama, public speaking, and Earth Day symposium workshops.

In addition, our current and planned facilities will be very helpful to train our multiple teams and if we are invited to host ACAMIS events in the future. For more information visit www.acamis.org .

Celebrating Success in Secondary.  Following Thanksgiving, our Secondary School took the opportunity to focus on being thankful and celebrating success.

Success comes in many different forms and during the Secondary Assembly this week students have given presentations and performances to collectively recognise the progress and activities that are going on in our Secondary school.

Students and staff came together to share successes from the amazing TedEx event we co-hosted and presented, the Ping Pong and Basketball tournaments we won, the Digital Products that are being created, the “I Belong” project that we developed and the charity work for the Yellow River Soup Kitchen that is ongoing.

We are all truly thankful for the enthusiastic ambassadors we have in our midst!

PYP Parent – Teacher Conferences.  This week we had an excellent communication with Primary parents, who attended this Tuesday and Thursday the Parent-Teacher Conferences and the information session on PYP Chinese Curriculum, presented by Mrs. Zhou, our Head of Chinese ( julia.zhou@his-xian.com ).

This week we had an excellent communication with Primary parents, who attended the Parent-Teacher Conferences and Chinese curriculum meeting. All Primary teachers appreciated parents taking time out of their busy schedules to come here in school during the day to discuss the students’ learning, report on progress, and set together the learning goals.

Primary Christmas Choir.  PYP students (From Y3 to Y6) will perform a short Christmas Concert at the Gran Mélia Xi’an Hotel on December 3^rd, after 5:00pm. This is part of the Christmas Decoration Lightning Ceremony, and they will entertain the audience with two Christmas Songs (Santa Claus is Coming To Town, Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree) and a spiritual in two voices (Kumbaya). For more information, please contact Mr. Sorana ( giovanni.sorana@his-xian.com ).

Primary Winter Concerts.  Our Primary students will perform a Winter Concert consisting of a journey through several countries, presenting how people celebrate Christmas around the World. These countries are China, Indonesia, Israel, New Zealand, Czech Republic, United States and Scotland. Every Year Group has chose an original song coming from the musical tradition of these countries, and they will perform using instruments, dancing and acting, and singing also using the original language.

This Winter Concert will be held on Thursday 8^th December at 6:00pm. Few seats are available also at the dress rehearsal on Tuesday 6^th December. For more information, please contact your Homeroom Teacher or Mrs. Wang ( jessica.wang@his-xian.com ).

Secondary Winter Showcase.  The secondary students in years 7 and 11 are preparing a Winter Showcase to present their work in drama this semester. The Year 7’s will be presenting “Humbug High: A Contemporary Christmas Carol” The year 11’s will present selected scenes from the “Sound of Music”.

This showcase will be held on 15^th December at 10:00am. Since some students may be absent on the 15^th, parents and family members are invited to a dress rehearsal Tuesday 13^th December at 2:00pm. For more information, please contact Mrs. Cortes ( melissa.cortes@his-xian.com ).

Second Hanova Christmas Market.  This Saturday 3^rd December, from 10:00am to 1:30pm, we will host Hanova’s 2^nd Christmas Market. Last year the event was a great success, with great fun and activities, a lot of vendors in the Auditorium and buffets in different stations around the campus.

A big thanks already to all teachers, parents, members of staff who are preparing this year’s event. Another big thank to our sponsors, who are so generously supporting the growth of our activities. All proceedings will go to charity.

Movember 2016.  Several teachers grew moustaches and/or beards for the entire month of November to participate in our annual Movember fundraising event. Voting for the best and worst male and female is happening now and will end on Monday. Please encourage your child to vote. Each vote costs 1 RMB, but students can vote as many times as they wish. All funds raised will be added to the donations for the charities selected by each House, as part of our social responsibility activities. The winning teachers will be announced on Monday afternoon.

Hanova’s New Web Site.  You may have noticed that we have launched a new school web site, with improved and simplified look and feel, to ensure easy navigation between pages and contents. We are now, after few weeks, completing the migration, but feel free to provide feedback and support, to ensure we can use more and better this new platform to increase the communication with our community. You can write to Ms. Yang ( zena.yang@his-xian.com ).

Thanks again for your continuing support.

Yours,

Francesco Masetti-Placci