Welcome back! We hope you all had an excellent holiday, to maintain the teaching and learning enthusiasm needed to complete this Second Semester.

We also welcomed new staff, who have decided to join Hanova and continue to make the school an excellent education institution. This has also allowed us to improve the teaching and learning in both Primary and Secondary schools. Separate letters have been sent to all parents in the last two weeks, and I encourage you all to meet them at your earliest convenience.

Hereafter the news for this past week, while I encourage all parents to contact us at any moment for additional information.

Chinese New Year Celebrations. In the lead up to Chinese New Year our Primary classes last week were busy making dumplings, fans and dragons. The corridors were filled with the sound of drums and many children wore colorful Chinese traditional dress. It was a great celebration to bring in the Year of the Rooster!

Secondary students will celebrate the event on 26^th January, with a house competition to set up a table full of imperial nibbles.

Parent Information Sessions. We are delighted to announce that we intend to continue the Parents in Partnership Sessions that were started last semester in the Secondary school.

Parent Information Sessions will now be held every Wednesday from 3.45pm and will be held in the Meeting Room on the 2nd floor both for Primary and Secondary parents, starting on February 8^th, to offer informative lectures for parents on all our DP, MYP and PYP programmes.

Please see below for the schedule from this week until the next break. Please see the proposed topics and confirm to Primary or Secondary office or to the Marketing and Liaison Team. We will inform you when there is a change in any topic or the venue.

Wednesday 15^th February – An Introduction to the Primary Years Programme

Wednesday 22^nd February – Learning Diversity & Inclusion

Wednesday 1^st March – Literacy in Primary School

Wednesday 8^th March – Diploma Programme Options

Wednesday 15^th March – English as an Additional Language

Wednesday 22^nd March – The Middle Years Programme

Wednesday 29^th March – The Theory of Knowledge

MYP Report. The First Semester students’ official reports have been issued and I hope you are all happy with their progress. Specifically for the MYP programme, Mrs. Trull – our MYP Coordinator – reminds you that assessment in the MYP is progressive and accumulative. This means that students are assessed continuously and cannot rely on ‘final examinations’ to obtain sufficient credit to proceed in the curriculum. Please check Managebac regularly so that you can see when your child’s assessments are due. In some classes, for example, Physical and Health Education (PHE), assessment will happen in class time and students are assessed on their performance in class. This means that if your child misses these classes, s/he may miss the assessments, which could negatively impact on her/his final grade. We then appreciate your support by ensuring that your child does not miss any lessons, or days of school unless absolutely necessary.

Interim reports will be issued on the 30th March, and the subsequent Parent Teacher Conference is scheduled for the 12^th April where all teachers will be available to discuss your child’s progress. If there are issues you would like to discuss regarding these reports, please contact Mrs. Trull ( sandy.trull@his-xian.com ).

University Visit. An impressive number of 32 universities from worldwide have visited Hanova during last semester, and we continue to have representatives and admission officers from universities asking to meet our students. Hereafter is the provisional information of the upcoming university visits, where parents are welcome to join us. If you have any question, please do not hesitate to contact our University Counselor Ms. Zhu ( sharon.zhu@his-xian.com ).

21^st Feb    2:00pm – Azusa Pacific University

24^th Feb    2:00pm – University of Central Missouri

6^th Mar      2:00pm – Muhlenberg College

21^st Mar    2:00pm – CIS University Tour (27 universities)

27^th Mar    2:00pm – Merrimack College

Imperial Nibbles Activity. Just before the holiday break, our MYP and DP students celebrated the Chinese New Year by planning, preparing and eating a special lunch feast that we call Imperial Nibbles. Each of the four Houses met to discuss what they would bring and how they would arrange their food to match this year’s theme: the Chinese Zodiac. Judges traveled around to each House to rate the Nibbles and gave them a score based on visual appearance, matching the theme, and, of course, how the food tasted. Congratulations to Han House who won first place and 50 House points for their highly creative and very tasty salute to the Dragon zodiac sign.

PYP Upcoming Assemblies. A reminder also about the upcoming PYP Assemblies: all concerned parents are welcome to assist and participate to the event.

3^rd March – Book Week Assembly

17^th March – Year 2 Assembly

31^st March – Year 1a and 1b Assembly

Thanks again for your continuing support.

Yours,

Francesco Masetti-Placci