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Year 10 Service Action

Dear Parents and friends

Year 10 Service Action - written by Mr Gary Wood, MYP Humanities. Year 10 geography students have been carrying out their service action activity this week, sharing their knowledge on how to be a sustainable tourist and have a lighter impact on the environment. Students took turns during break and lunchtimes to present their findings to both students and staff, and touched on things such as eating at local cafes as opposed to chain restaurants, taking your own water bottle, and choosing a mode of transport that carries lower Co2 emissions. This unit worked well as an ending to their unit on the consequences of inaction to climate change, and it was great to see students share their knowledge with the wider Hanova community. #communicators #principled

Y2 students enjoy different stations of learning - written by Mr Graeme Noble, Year 2 Teacher. Year 2 has been using a variety of stations around the classroom and school for creative thinking, social skills and communication skills. The literacy station is where the students have a chance to write a book of their choosing. We are studying bookmaking features, spelling patterns, text types etc. We LOVE writing books in Year 2.

The maths station changes a lot and this was a provocation to let us practice which numbers are odd and which are even. Digits, dominoes and stones with addition sums are added to the table to enhance the challenge.

Year 2 students have used their imaginations at the “loose parts” station to use the open-ended resources (loose parts) to make different living things – connecting well to our Unit of Inquiry. This loose parts station builds on ATL: communication skills – creativity and social skills. Students use the materials placed intentionally in the baskets to create something of their choice.

The light station builds on ATL: communication skills – creativity and social skills. Students use the materials placed intentionally on the light box to create something of their choice.

Another weekend of sport for our Hawks - written by Mr Paul Robinson, Director of Sports. On Saturday 25th March the Hawks PYP boys’ basketball team and MS boys’ football team made our first visit to Dehong International School at their new campus.

Hawks have Wings clipped by Dehong

Our PYP basketball team had a challenging morning against a very strong Dehong team. The spirit of our Hawks team could not be questioned as they continued to fight until the very end of the game. However, the boys were on the wrong end of a 27-4 scoreline. It is from these setbacks that our players will grow and the fact that the boys have asked if they can have additional practices in the coming weeks shows that they have a willingness and desire to improve and develop themselves further.

Hawks Footballers Impress Yet Again

Against a young Dehong U14 team, our footballers again impressed, building on their performance the previous weekend in defeating Dehong by 10-1. This was despite a very impressive performance by Dehong’s goalkeeper who thwarted so many Hanova efforts. The goalscorers were: Edán Hernandez-Day (4), and hat-tricks by David Kang and Aster Cho.

The following Tuesday we entertained XIS U14 team at the Hanova campus. Yet again there was an extremely impressive attacking performance with some excellent passing, individual skill and teamwork on display. The end result was a 10-0 victory with goals with another 4 goals from Edán, a hat-trick from Abraham Smith, 2 goals from David Kang and a single effort from Aster Cho.  The boys are in excellent shape looking towards the U14 Chanba Trophy tournament on Saturday 6th May.

DP History student helps with MYP history lessons - written by Mr John McGovern, MYP & DP Humanities. In a unique initiative aimed at promoting mutual learning and revision, Elijah, a final year DP history student, has taken it upon himself to teach the beginning of the Cold War to MYP students. Elijah has been studying the Cold War in his DP history class and felt that he could use his knowledge to help younger students better understand the complex historical event. With the support of his history teacher, Mr. McGovern, Elijah approached the MYP history teacher, Mr Harris, with his proposal.

Mr Harris was immediately impressed by Elijah's initiative and agreed to the idea. He saw it as a great opportunity for the students to learn from someone who had already studied the topic in-depth. The lessons began last week, with Elijah leading the MYP history class in a discussion about the origins of the Cold War. He used a variety of resources to make the lesson engaging and informative, including an incentive-based activity to portray the role of ideology in the conflict.

The MYP students were enthusiastic about the opportunity to learn from Elijah and asked thoughtful questions about the topic. Elijah said that he was thrilled to be able to share his passion for history with younger students. "I've always loved history, and I think it's important for us to understand the past so that we can better understand the present," he said. "Teaching this lesson to the MYP students was a great experience, and I hope to do more of it in the future." Mr Harris praised Elijah for his dedication and enthusiasm. "It's really wonderful to see a DP student taking the initiative to teach younger students," he said. "Elijah did an excellent job, and I think his lessons were valuable for everyone involved."

The collaboration between the DP and MYP history classes is just one example of the many ways in which students can learn from each other. By sharing their knowledge and experiences, students can gain a deeper understanding of the world around them and develop valuable skills for the future.

Secondary House Competition - clothing deliver - written by Mr Gary Wood, MYP Humanities.  The winter clothing collection has finally drawn to a close with the delivery of the clothing to Xi’an’s Yellow River Soup Kitchen (西安市托妳济困公益慈善中心). There were plenty of items to deliver, but thankfully Mr. John from the secondary office was kind enough to give his time and help deliver the clothing on Friday evening. Song house were the clear winners of this competition as they gave the most donations, with all other houses tying exactly in second place with an equal number. Overall, a very successful activity. Thank you to all those who participated! #caring

MYP Chinese Acquisition - written by Ms Alina Zheng & Ms Rae Zhang, Chinese Teachers.  China's "eating" is famous in the world, which is not only reflected in the rich variety of Chinese food, but also reflected in the unique Chinese food culture.   MYP Chinese Acquisition students learn Chinese from Chinese food, by sharing their experiences of dining out in Xi 'an and recommending local cuisines to the whole Hanova community, thus gaining a deeper understanding of the unique composition of Chinese vocabulary. Please feel free to enjoy their work on L3 at Secondary school building.


Former Head of School


Mr James McCrory

Former Head of School

Mr James McCrory was Hanova's Head of School for the 2022-23 school year. James graduated from Demontfort University in 1988 and worked in the commercial Design sector in Ireland, UK and Spain. He has worked in education since 1994 after completing his PGCE at Goldsmith’s College, London. The last 30 years in education includes 4 years in the UK, with the remaining years working divided between Spain, Japan and Kuwait, as well as leading schools in China over the last decade.


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