House Captains Elected in Annual Secondary School Tradition - written by Mr Shaun Guffey. On Friday, September 12th, secondary students gathered in their respective Houses—Qin, Tang, Han, and Song—for one of the most anticipated traditions of the school year: the election of House Captains.

The House System plays a central role in student life, encouraging teamwork, leadership, and school spirit. Throughout the year, students participate in a variety of competitions ranging from sports to academics and team-building activities. By working together toward a common goal, students develop important skills, strengthen relationships, and discover opportunities to lead.

As part of this tradition, students interested in becoming House Captains presented short speeches to their peers, outlining why they would be the best candidate to guide their House for the year ahead. Following these speeches, students cast their votes to select the leaders they felt best embodied teamwork, responsibility, and the spirit of their House.

The election not only gave students the opportunity to demonstrate leadership and public speaking skills but also reinforced the values of collaboration and respect that are at the heart of the House System. The newly elected captains will now take on the responsibility of leading their Houses in upcoming events and inspiring their peers to work together toward shared success.

The new captains are:

• Song House: Isabella Chen (Y10), Toprak Gürbüz (Y10)
• Han House: Cris Gong (Y10), Alex Lee (Y9)
• Qin House: Eaindra Gerrits (Y10), Peixin Lin (Y11)
• Tang House: Alice Zhang (Y10), Tommy Zhang (Y10)

PYP House Elections: Student Leadership in Action - written by Mr Daniel Angulo. Our first House activity of the year challenged Year 5–6 students to take a new approach to their campaigns. Instead of giving traditional speeches, candidates were asked to submit videos to be shown in front of the whole Primary in the auditorium. It was a daunting task for many, but to our delight, the response was overwhelming. We received so many submissions that it took two assemblies to share every video and complete the voting. This truly reflected the risk-taking spirit we value at Hanova.

Beyond the number of entries, the quality of the messages made us proud. Candidates called for unity, highlighted principled choices, and even created original chants to boost school spirit ahead of the sports season.

We are excited to introduce this year’s House leaders:

• Tang House: Julia Song (Y6), Luvia Hong (Y6), Skylar Els (Y5)
• Song House: Dayoon Lee (Y6), Jasmine Zhao (Y6), Tilo Angulo-White Chiu(Y5)
• Qin House: Emily Kim (Y6), Alex Wang (Y6), Aiden Oh (Y5)
• Han House: Chloe Han (Y6), Isabella Alunkal Tomadin (Y6), Seohu Choi (Y5)

This event truly highlighted what House is all about. The purpose of our House system goes far beyond friendly competition—it is about raising school spirit by nurturing student leaders who can make their House and their school proud. It is also about building connections across year levels, so students form friendships and learn from peers of all ages. In this way, House remains a cornerstone of Hanova’s culture of community and pride.

_________________

Upcoming Events:

• Sep 15-26: PYP Parent Teacher Meeting
• Sep 26: Whole School Sports (All Day)
• Sep 29-Oct 6: National Day Holiday
• Oct 4: SAT Test
• Oct 9: (TBC) Soccer U11 Boys/Girls @KCIS vs KCIS; (TBC) Soccer U9 Coed @KCIS vs KCIS

• Oct 10: 4:30-5:30 Volleyball U19 Boys/Girls @XLIS vs XLIS; 4:30-5:30 Basketball U14 Boys/Girls @HAN vs XLIS

• Oct 11: 9:00-10:00 Soccer U11 Boys/Girls @XLIS vs XLIS; 9:00-10:00 Soccer U9 Coed @XLIS vs XLIS

• Oct 15: 5:00 Volleyball U19 Boys/Girls @HAN vs KCIS
• Oct 17: DP 1/1 & 2/4 Interim Reports Issued

 PYP Spelling Bee Round 2

• Oct 22: MYP/DP Info Session; MYP/DP Parent-Teacher-Student Conference (PTSC)

             MYP/DP Global University Fair

• Oct 23: 5:00 Basketball U14 Boys/Girls @KCIS vs KCIS
• Nov 1: 9:00-2:00 Volleyball U19 Boys/Girls @XIS Tournament; 9:00-2:00 Basketball U14 Boys/Girls @KCIS Tournament

• Nov 7: PYP Spelling Bee Final