A Celebration of a Year of PYP Sport - written by Mr Paul Robinson, Director of Sports. On Wednesday 7th June Hanova held its first ever PYP Hanova Hawks Colour Awards, where we acknowledge and recognize those students who have represented the school in inter-school competition.
We were delighted to say that a significant chunk of the PYP student population has been a Hanova Hawk during 2022/23 with some representing across 2,3 and in 1 case all 4 sports. In this article we will introduce all of those who have received an award and an explanation behind the awards.
Hawks Award
The Hawks Award is for those students who represented Hanova in a single sport in 2022/23. Those in receipt of this award are:
| Year Group | Recipients |
| 1 | Patrick Quan, Timothy Noble |
| 2 | Max Ma, Suho Lee, Spartacus Harris |
| 3 | Jasmine Zhao, Harry Yang, Bailey Miller, Julia Song, Sarah Kang, Hailey Kang, Chris Kim |
| 4 | Martin Jeon, Jordyn Venter, Olivia Choi |
| 5 | Leo Zhang, Wendy Wang, Nesta Silvestri, Jully Im, Nina Yang, John Lee |
| 6 | Kan Zhang, Lucas Chua, Alex Lee, Etain McCrory, Kelly Lee |
Half-Green
The Half-Green Award is for those students who represented Hanova in 2 sports. Those in receipt of this award are:
| Year Group | Recipients |
| 3 | Yiyang Yao, Alex Wang, Nicole Yang, Anoln McCrory |
| 4 | Daniel Zhang, Vladislav Nemytov, Charles Li, Steven Geng |
| 5 | Max Zhou, Bruce Zhang, Chloe Rho, Iris Youn |
| 6 | Easton Yan, Sally Im, Ruby Choi, Andrew Bae, Leon Li |
Full Green
The Full Green Award is for those students who represented Hanova in 3 or more sports. Those in receipt of this award are:
| Year Group | Recipients |
| 4 | Jasper Zhang |
| 5 | Constantine Zhang, Kevin Gao, Jacob Chen |
| 6 | Grace Li, Sophia Chan |
Honours Award for Services to School Sport
We also recognized staff members and students who have assisted with various events or teams across the year- it is important their contributions are recognized as events don’t happen without their involvement. Those in receipt of this award are:
| Year Group | Recipients |
| 6 | Terri Ko |
| Staff | Ms Carrie Yan, Mr Kevin Wang, Ms Jessica Wang, Ms Fiona Zhang, Mr Luke Harris, Ms Emma Tidmarsh, Ms Emma Colling, Mr Goden Zhou, Mr Graeme Noble, Mr James McCrory, Mr Allan Chen (Parent) |
Athletic Director Award
There was also a special Athletic Director Award for Exceptional Services to Sport and Physical Health Education at Xi’an Hanova International School. These were awarded to Mr. Dušan Dordevic, Mr. Sam Quan and Mr. Jason Cui. Without the dedication of these 3 individuals the school would not have been able to offer as many opportunities for our students or enjoy as much success as we have done during this past year.
Hawk of the Year
This left us with the most prestigious award, the Middle School and High School Male and Female Hawks of the Year. This award recognizes outstanding performance across a number of representative sports. The Hanova Hawk of the Year 2023 goes to:
| Recipients | Accomplishments | |
| PYP Female Hawk of the Year | Grace Li | Represented Hanova in all 4 interschool sports, and also represented MS in football and basketball. |
| PYP Male Hawk of the Year | Jacob Chen | Outstanding performances in basketball and football, as well was representing Hanova in Track and Field. |
Thank you to everyone who has made this year such an enjoyable and successful one! Let’s hope 2023/24 can be just as, if not even more successful.
MYP Chinese Acquisition - written by Emily Lee, Year 10 Student. On June 6th, Year 10 Chinese acquisition class students went to the Xi’an City Wall for EOTC.
As part of their studies in Chinese culture, transportation, and community, the MYP4 students went on a school trip to Xi’an City Wall & Gate. Xi'an City Wall, also known as the fortifications of Xi'an, is the most complete city wall that has survived in China, as well as one of the largest ancient military defensive systems in the world.
The students walked around the city wall to discover the structure of the city wall. Students also visited the museum to have a better understanding of its history. In looking at this event, the students will prepare their MYP exhibition about Xi’an city wall based on this trip, but most importantly, it was a beautiful day and everyone was pleased to be outside at the end of the academic year, to create beautiful memories.
——Yr10 Emily Lee
Genius Hour ECA - written by Mr Andrew Symonds, Year 4 Teacher. In the PYP section we ran a Genius Hour ECA earlier this year. The program provides students with an opportunity to learn in a way that is tailored to their interests and passions. It encourages creativity, fosters critical thinking and research skills, builds social skills and confidence, develops metacognitive abilities and helps them become lifelong learners. The Genius Hour program aligns with the IB 
learning philosophy which emphasizes student-centered learning and inquiry-based teaching. Additionally, it allows students to take ownership of their learning and become more engaged in the classroom.
One student created digital music, while others learnt to make specialty juices, designed dresses, built a house on Minecraft, and made miniature craft books.
The children really enjoyed being able to work on their own passion projects, at their own pace.
‘You’ve been Heard’ - Staff Survey Feedback - written by Mrs Sandy Venter, PYP Coordinator. We would like to share with you the feedback we have received from the recent survey conducted among the staff at Hanova. This feedback provides valuable insights into the progress we have made in various areas and highlights areas where further improvements are required.
One important aspect of successful program implementation is the availability of time for teachers to collaboratively plan and reflect. We are pleased to announce that 82.6% of our teachers now feel that they are given enough time during the school day for these activities. This marks an increase of nearly 10% since 2021, demonstrating our commitment to supporting our teachers in their professional development.
Another area of focus for us has been enhancing awareness and understanding of the Learner Profile and its incorporation in the classroom. We are delighted to report that 91.5% of our staff acknowledge that the Learner Profile underpins their units and learning in their classrooms. This recognition is a testament to the efforts we have put into aligning our teaching practices with the principles of the Learner Profile.
Additionally, 74.5% of our staff are actively supporting students in understanding the connection between the Learner Profile and International Mindedness. We recognize the importance of fostering a global perspective among our students, and this result demonstrates our progress in promoting international-mindedness through the Learner Profile.
However, we have also identified an area that required immediate attention. It has come to our attention that staff members have expressed concerns about the lack of data to inform the quality and sustainability of our program. This concern has increased by 14% since 2021. In response to this feedback, we have taken proactive measures by purchasing a school-wide Growth Assessment platform. This platform will provide us with objective and accurate data to inform our decision-making processes. We are planning to implement this platform in August 2023, ensuring that we have the necessary tools to evaluate and improve our program effectively.
We appreciate the feedback from our staff and their commitment to the continuous improvement of our program. By addressing their concerns and investing in appropriate resources, we aim to create a supportive environment that facilitates the success of our teachers and the growth of our students, to continue 'Inspiring Lifelong Learning'.
