Welcome to the second issue of the School Newsletter of 2020-21. In this issue, we look forward to sharing with you:

• News from the Principal
• News from Primary School
• News from Secondary School
• Forthcoming Events

News from the Principal

New Staff 2020-21. As Parents can imagine, it has been very complicated and costly to the school to get our new teachers here from countries across the world. More and more countries outside of China are experiencing significant increases of COVID-19 infections, and this has led to government authorities closing down and Chinese consulates closing. This has meant that our new staff are having difficulties getting visas. The next problem is that flights into China are far and few between – and extremely expensive.

The school has done everything it can to support these new teachers and to ensure that they join us as soon as possible: the school has been paying for their visa expenses, their flights across the world and into China, as well as covering their hotel quarantine costs when they arrive here.

In the meantime, I’d like to introduce you all to three new staff members that have arrived and have been teaching their classes.

Our first new staff member is Hyung Chan Im and, in his own words:

“My name is HyungChan(Chan) Im who teaches MYP and DP Korean language and Literature. It is a great pleasure to meet Hanova family as well as teach Korean students at Hanova. I had taught in Korea, India, and Suzhou in China before coming to Xi’an. I am excited to live in a historical city of China. I would like to know more about Chinese people and culture. It has been 8 years of teaching MYP and DP in the IB schools. Currently, I am acting as a Korean A IBDP workshop leader and an IB Lead Educator. I live with a super-active daughter in Reception and my lasting supporter. Look forward to being an active listener as a teacher and a colleague at Hanova.”

Our second new member of staff is Emma Colling, who has been teaching our PYP Year 4 students:

“I have had a lovely warm welcome to the Hanova family. The students and staff in this school definitely make this school a great place to work. I look forward to meeting more of our parent community this coming week at parent teacher interviews.

A little about me. I was born and raised in New Zealand, more specifically on the East Coast of the North Island, a beautiful city, right on the beach. I studied in NZ too.

Completing a Degree in Photography and Graphic Design and completing a Post Graduate Programme in Primary Education. I have taught in NZ, Jordan and in Suzhou and Chengdu, here in China.

Outside of school I enjoy travelling, cycling, photography, getting creative in the kitchen, and spending time with family and friends.

I am really looking forward to getting back to NZ at the next opportunity to meet the first baby in my family, my little nephew called Otis who was born in July.”

And our third new teacher to arrive this year is Mr. Bruce MacGregor:

“My name is Bruce MacGregor, and I am very pleased to be a Year 4 teacher at Hanova International School. My students know me as “Mr. Bruce.” I love drinking coffee, reading good books, watching movies, playing chess and cycling. I am from Canada where I received my degree in Elementary Education. I also have a M.A. I have taught in Canada, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and Finland. I have been teaching in IB schools since 2003 and enjoy the Inquiry approach to learning. I share Ms. Emma’s belief in collaborative teaching and learning, and I am looking forward to working closely with the Year 4 team.”

Christmas Holidays 2020. First of all I’d like to thank those parents and staff who complied with the school’s advice on leaving Xi’an during the October holiday. Whilst the advice of undertaking 14 days’ quarantine or taking a COVID-19 test before re-entering the school may seem a little drastic – but we must be sure that students do not come back into school and then infect other students and staff.

The school always complies with local and national government regulations and guidelines. However, these frequently change – and often at short notice! Currently, the advice on travel from the CDC (Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention) is still vague and unclear.

That being said, I am sure that everyone would agree that it the school’s and parents’ responsibility to ensure the welfare of the children – and that also involves their emotional welfare.

Whilst many families have been lucky enough to be together throughout this COVID-19 crisis, we have a significant number of parents and staff who have been separated from their families and loved ones – in some cases for more than a year now. Christmas and New Year are also, for some, a significant cultural event.

So clearly the school must ensure the welfare of the whole learning community and plan ahead of time. The Board and senior management are therefore currently working out what the school’s policy will be for the up-coming Christmas. As soon as this is authorized, we will inform the community.

Christmas Market and Winter Concert 2020. Given that it requires us so much time to prepare for these annual events and that it is likely that existing government advice will probably still be in force in December, the school’s senior management have been discussing the various options.

The decision has been made that our PYP Winter Concert will go ahead as planned – but the likelihood is that the event will be videoed if parents cannot physically attend.

With regards the Christmas Market, the decision was not to run this event this year but some parents are looking into the possibility of organizing a ‘virtual on-line’ market.

News from Primary School

EOTC Trip.

From Julie Y6

On Thursday, our class Y6 went to an EOTC trip to Dayanta. There, we saw and drew Big Goose Pagoda. It was really fun!! After, we walked along Dayanta. There, we saw lots of wonderful artefacts. After walking along Dayanta, we went to an Indian restaurant to eat our lunch. There were many different types of food!! There were curries with nan, salads, soup, chicken and fried rice. Food from Indian restaurant was all extremely delicious. The food I liked the most was a delicious ice cream and Indian style curry with nan (indian style bread). I really loved our EOTC trip to Dayanta. I think I will remember it forever.

Year 2:

As a part of their final assessment task for the Unit of Inquiry, Year 2 students interviewed ‘community helpers’ at Hanova to learn more about them. Students chose someone they didn’t know very well in the Hanova school community to interview. The process was an excellent opportunity for students to learn about others and the role they play in the school. They learned many things they didn’t know before. The students were great Risk-Takers by interviewing someone new to them. They practiced the interview questions and did their best to record the answers. We’re proud of each and every student for their great work!

Year 4:

In our UOI we have been learning about Children’s rights. Today we learned about the history of the Industrial Revolution in England with Mr. Rob. During this time children had to work hard, but they only got paid 10% of an adult’s wage. If an adult got paid 100rmb, a child would have got paid 10rmb. They used children for labour because they are cheaper. We noticed what happened when they burnt so much coal, the coal was burnt in fires in factories. There was too much thick, black smoke in the skies. In the photos we could not see the sky. People died from the very bad air pollution. The average age that adults lived to was 30-40 years old. 75% of children died before they turned 5. Children were put into chimneys to clean them, the children were covered in black soot, from the burnt coal. We think it is worrying that children were used for these jobs and paid only a little.

Middle Years Programme Updates

Year 11 Humanities. This term our year 11 humanities students have been learning about the water system and researching major river basins of the world. We have had great fun acquainting ourselves with atlases and researching the topography of the Nile, Amazon, Mississippi, Yangtze, Mekong and Ganges rivers. Who knew a far larger amount of water discharges from rivers into the Atlantic Ocean compared to the Pacific?!

During a month that has seen more rain than usual here in Xi’an and historical levels of flooding in South China, the students worked as a class to carry out specific research into the Yangtze River from its source in the Himalayas to its mouth in the East China Sea, creating a large poster outlining the human impact of the Three Gorges Dam.

Later this year we will be learning more about the topography surrounding and the hydrology of this ancient capital of Xi’an.

MYP Parent-Teacher-Students Conference. It was a pleasure to see our parents on campus again in support of our students for the first MYP Parent-Teacher-Student Conferences on Wednesday 14th October. The MYP Interim Reports are issued half way through each semester so that parents are informed of their child’s academic progress. After these reports parents are invited in to discuss issues with our teachers and their children. These are the Parent-Teacher-Students Conferences.

We took the opportunity to include a Parents Info Session, so that parents understand how assessment works in the MYP and had the chance to meet the management team and their child’s homeroom teacher.

We have created an MYP Parents Group on Managebac where communications can easily be shared. Individual parents should add themselves to this group. If you have any problems doing this, please email Ms. Lilian Li (lilian.li@his-xian.com) who will be able to assist you.

Judging from the conversations we had, I must conclude that we are ready, willing and able to work together as a team to ensure the best academic outcomes for our students. I am looking forward to a great year ahead.

MYP Design. This week students in MYP Design have started the building stage of their ‘Mechanical Hands’ and ‘Inventions’ projects. They have been using rapid prototyping techniques using foam board and hot glue to better appreciate their designs in three dimensions and to see what changes they want to make before they create later versions in tougher materials.

Some students have been improving their technical drawing skills in order to create more refined designs and as part of the ongoing research and development in their projects.

Diploma Programme Updates

DP Report. The first DP report of this academic year is going to be issued on Friday, 23rd October on ManageBac. The Year 12 students and parents will receive their very first DP report(IB1/1), and this is the 4th report for Y13 students(IB2/4). Both reports are interim reports that records subject grades, estimated ‘indicator’ TOK and Extended Essay grades, CAS progress and attendance. There will be a written student summary comment from the CAS Advisor/homeroom tutor and the IB Diploma Coordinator, and reflections from students.

DP Parents’Afternoon – 14:00 Wednesday, 28th October. Year 12 Parents Info Session

14:00 at DP Common Room

It is finally the time for us to meet our new Y12 parents on campus, and to enable us to walk through the IB Diploma Programme at Hanova with you. In this very first parents meeting for Year 12 parents, you’ll learn:

• What is the IB Diploma Programme?
• How it is assessed?
• Assessment & Reporting at Hanova
• Navigating the ‘mysterious’ ManageBac

This session lasts one hour. Although it is designed for Year12 parents, it is open to all of our Hanova community members from any year level who’d like to know the IB Diploma Programme at Hanova. Everyone is welcomed!

Parents-Student-Teacher Conference

15:00 3rd Floor classrooms

The first Parents-Student-Teacher Conference of this year is going to be held right after the info session. We will send out an appointment form to you early next week that you and your child could schedule a time to meet teachers, homeroom teachers, CAS/EE Coordinators, university counselors, Diploma Coordinator and the Head of Secondary. You will have the opportunity to meet us and communicate with us directly in regards your child’s academic progress & life in school.

Year 13 News. The Y13 students have completed their Theory of Knowledge presentations, which is the internal assessment components for TOK. All of them presented professionally, and the quality of most presentations are outstanding! Congratulations to our Year 13 students for stepping closer to their completion of the IB Diploma Programme!

The May 2021 examination is approaching, so this is the time we register our candidates for the official IB examination. A registration confirmation letter contains your child’s subject registration information has been sent to your email, and a hard copy has been given to all Y13 students to bring to home for your signatures. Once we receive the letter back from you, we will start the registration process. If you have any questions about it, please feel free to contact our IB Diploma Coordinator, Ms. Sharon Zhu, via sharon.zhu@his-xian.com.

Diploma Programme Visual Arts Artwork

Title: Greed I

Intention: A strong urge to take more than one’s share is a reaction to the feeling of deprivation. We require ever more because we’ve felt so neglected and vulnerable. Our fear is so confirmed that we try to avoid it by grabbing as much as we can, as quickly as possible. To others, we may seem already advantaged and privileged; but inside we are rather desperate. (the second one is an extended version of the first one)

Intention: Egyptians believed in many gods. Each god has different roles to play and some even have multiple roles. My main inspiration is the world egg. I wanted to show the birth of a baby comparing it with the Egyptian creation myth, and gods.

Artist: Dido

Title: “The peace we find within ___”

Intention: This art work was heavily inspired by the global pandemic during 2020. The skeleton represents death and depression. But at the same time, yonder, a glint of hope. The color variation set the image with different emotion, but it’s up to the viewer to decide what emotion do they imply.

University Visits. On October 14th, we hosted a virtual information session to our upper MYP and DP students wishing to study in Hong Kong. We invited Hong Kong Polytechnic University to talk about university information and admission requirements about studying at Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Students got a chance to ask some questions to the admissions. For the future weeks, on October 30th, we invited University of St. Andrews for a university visit and on November 6th, there are 2 other U.S university, University of Connecticut and University of Delaware, coming to visit Hanova! Don’t miss the cherished face-to-face opportunities to speak with the admissions.

Thank you again for your continuing support.

Yours,

Robert C. Muntzer

 

Forthcoming Events

Please make a note of the events scheduled to take place over the next month:

Friday, October 23                IB DP 1/1 and IB DP 2/4 Interim Reports issued

Tuesday, October 27             PYP Years 3 to 6 PTM

Wednesday, October 28       IB Diploma Parent Teacher Conferences

Thursday, October 29           PYP Years 3 to 6 PTM

Friday, October 30                Halloween

Tuesday, November 3           PYP Nursery to Year 2

Thursday, November 5         PYP Nursery to Year 2

Wednesday, November 18   IB Diploma Information Session