DBIS News

End of year newsletter

Dear Parents

End of the Year:  Another wonderful school year comes to a close tomorrow for our students and staff.  It has been a special year for all of us as we have worked with your children from Nursery through to Year 9.  The levels of academic achievement have been particularly pleasing.  The huge and ongoing development of the musical and sporting participation by our students has only been exceeded by the levels of performance of individuals, groups and teams.  Well done to every one of our students for your efforts to be Better than Before, and in our Secondary School, to Excel, Exceed and work towards Excellence.

Our Reception, Primary and Secondary school days were successfully increased this year.  We extended to Year 9, and our Year 10 students begin their IGCSE studies next year.  The Boardwalk Café has been introduced and proven far more popular than was envisaged (please see the attached ‘thank you’ from Chartwells).  Our Secondary School extension is well underway and we hope that it will be completed at the end of October – including our own 25 metre swimming pool.

A very special thank you to every member of our school staff for the differences you make for all of our students.  Your commitment and hard work is exemplified through all of the endeavours from, and achievements by our students.  We have over 175 staff members.  Every person contributes so much to the life and spirit of our school.  It is a real pleasure to work with you all!

Thank you to all of the members of our School Advisory Committee and our School Council.  The people in these important groups give so thoughtfully of their time to consider the best interests of our school, with their ongoing efforts aimed at assisting the quality education for all of our students.

To all of our students leaving our school tomorrow – I am sure that you will take away a range of treasured memories, matched only by those memories held of you by everyone else in your DBIS family.  Best wishes to you all on your exciting adventures ahead in your unfolding learning journeys.  DBIS will always be your school.

To the families who end their direct association with DBIS tomorrow, with your child or children moving on to other schools in Hong Kong and around the world, please accept the warmth of our school community wishes and our thanks for your continued and valued support.  As noted above, DBIS will always be your school and so much the better for your contributions and participation.

Thank you to all of our families for your contributions.  The opportunity to be part of your child’s learning journey is accepted with great responsibility.  The absolute delight we have with your children throughout every day is welcomed by every member of our staff.  Be sure to have a wonderful break with your family.  Travel comfortably and safely.  We are already looking forward to seeing you all at the beginning of our new school year.

Staffing:  As always, the end of year means the departure of some teachers as they head to new adventures around the world.  This year we say our goodbyes to another fine group of people who have worked with our students.  All have given to our school and to the lives of our students and colleagues.  

We say farewell this year to Mili Majithia, Sevene Ghandour, Alexis Watson, Emma Purday and Lucy Backham who will all be returning to the Untied Kingdom to continue their work in education.  Andrea Kavanagh will move to another school in Hong Kong.  Jarrod Dunn is getting married in October and is heading back to New Zealand.  John Rose will become a head of science at an international school in Beijing.

Thank you all for your efforts and care for our students.  We wish you all the best in the next stage of your respective careers.

Our Secondary School Building Update:  Despite the rain it was a hive of activity outside yesterday.   A steady stream of concrete trucks arrived to pour the ground floor for the building. 

Primary and Secondary Timetables – 2011 – 2012:  There are some adjustments to the Primary and Secondary timetables for next year.  The adjustments have been made in Primary to try and work in with the arrival arrangements of our good neighbours at Wei Lun School, in an effort to ease some of the car park congestion.  Primary classes will start five minutes later at 8:30 am and finish at the same time of 3:00 pm.  The Primary curriculum delivery time remains the same – with five minutes adjusted from the lunch recreation time.

The Secondary timetable changes next year to balance out the day so that students have two periods before break, two periods before lunch and two further periods in the afternoon.  This adjustment maintains our curriculum delivery time while also keeping start, break and departure times different to Primary.  Significantly, our Secondary students will begin their lunch time at 12:15 pm, while continuing to maintain the access times for all Primary classes close to the current structure.  

The adjustment to the Secondary timetable means that school will start earlier at 8:05 am for Secondary students, and their school day will conclude at 3:10 pm.  These adjustments will take effect from 22 August of this year.

Starting Back Next Year:  A reminder that school starts back for all Primary and Secondary students on Monday 22 August.  Year 1 to 6 students will start at the adjusted time of 8:30 am and finish at 3:00 pm.  Our Secondary students will start at a new time of 8:05 am and finish at 3:10 pm, both as noted above.  

Thank You:  It has been a busy few days with many special events taking place at school.  We have had our Award ceremonies, our Secondary transition evening for parents, the music performances for parents, the Year 6 Science Fair, the Year 6 Quiz and Disco, Open Mornings, the Year 5 and 6 Swimming Gala and we will conclude the formal celebrations with our Year 6 Graduation Ceremony tomorrow.

Thank you so much to everyone involved.  Our staff have made all of these events possible.  Our students have all responded magnificently.  Your support wherever possible has, as always, meant so much to our students and staff – thank you all!

The 2nd Great DBIS Uniform Trade Off: Our Second Great DBIS Uniform Trade Off proved to be a resounding success.  Thank you to all families for your contributions towards the Trade Off – it was delightful seeing uniform items in very good condition being passed on for others to benefit from.  A very special thank you to our team of energetic parent volunteers for their efforts in putting the event together – Liz Nettleton, Sue Taylor and Sarah McGill.  We hope to hold a further Uniform Trade Off in the first term of the next school year, prior to the cooler weather beginning.  

Kindergarten News: As if we didn’t have enough water during the thoroughly enjoyable Reception water fun day last week, it seems that rain and wind has temporarily stopped many of our end of year activities.  However, with the typhoon signal lowered to T1, sessions will resume for Reception and morning Nursery classes tomorrow for our final festivities. Nursery students need to come in summer or party clothes for their end of year party and Reception students need to come dressed as pirates.  

We come to the end of another year full of learning opportunities and fun experiences for our Kindergarten students.  It has been a year of amazing growth in all of our students.  As they move to the next year it is with a tinge of sadness, but pride that teachers see them move on. 

Thank you all for your continued support during the year with the planned and spontaneous events we have enjoyed while following the interests of the students.  Thank you to the Kindergarten staff for their outstanding work in providing an exemplary learning environment full of wonderful learning opportunities for your children. 

Have wonderful holidays everyone, wherever they take you and we look forward to seeing returning families rested and ready to go in August.  Jane Hendley - Head of Kindergarten. 

Uniform Shop:  A reminder that the uniform shop will be closed from 21 June 2011 and will reopen on 15 August, at the following special opening dates and times:

Special opening hours:           August 15 - 19                       9:00 am – 1:00 pm

                                                     August 22         8:15 am – 11:00 am

With effect from 23 August, the Uniform Shop will resume its normal operating hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 8:15 am to 11:00 am.

Advance School Uniform Orders:  We suggest that you take advantage of our ordering system.  Please fill in our attached order form and return it with a cheque payment to either the Kindergarten or Primary / Secondary School office.  Orders can be collected from 17 - 19 August at the uniform shop. 

Environmentally Friendly Carry Bags in our Uniform Shop: For purchases over $300, our uniform shop will provide you with a reusable DBIS carry bag.  

Year 6 Graduation Ceremony:  Please remember that our Year 6 Graduation Ceremony starts at 12:45 pm, tomorrow 24 June.  It is important to have everyone (Year 5 and Year 6 students, staff and parents of Year 6 students) seated at 12:30 pm.

Reports:  The end of year Reception through Year 9 reports for will be sent home tomorrow along with your child’s final class list for next year.  The class lists for our 2011 / 2012 Reception classes will be sent home on this date as well.

End of Term:  A further reminder that all Kindergarten classes, including Starlight, will start at 9:00 am tomorrow (weather permitting) and conclude at 12:00 pm.  All Primary and Secondary classes will start at their usual times.  All classes will finish just prior to 1:45 pm so that they can participate in the clapping out and bell ringing by our graduating Year 6 students.

Term Holidays:  Many of you will be well aware of our term dates for next year which have already been published and noted on our school website.  The public holidays for next year have now been gazetted and these are printed in an attachment to this newsletter.

Instrumental Programme: The music department is pleased to announce the continuation of our instrumental programme for the next academic year.  Information and application forms can be found on our school website on the music page.

Pencil Case Project:  Please accept my heartfelt thanks for your overwhelming generosity in support of my pencil case project for Ghana. I have received a mountain of stationery and I know it will make a huge difference to the lives and education of the children at Sankofa Mbofra Fie School and Orphanage in Eguafo.  Dawn Hulland – Enrichment Teacher

Cricket News:  Well done to all the Year 5 and Year 6 cricketers who took part in the ESF cricket tournament on a very hot Saturday recently.  We qualified for the plate competition and won one out of the three matches, with two very narrow losses. This was a superb performance by the team as the squad had been decimated by the PE teachers, stealing over half the team for the Beijing rugby tournament.  It was great to see so many parents along supporting as well.

DBIS Summer Programme:  Our Summer School programme will be up and running again for the 2011 Summer break. We have a range of courses available throughout the first four weeks of the Summer break to help keep your children entertained and to provide some great learning opportunities.  Our courses feature small class numbers, individualised instruction and a relaxed learning atmosphere. Our Summer School programme will provide your child with an opportunity to try out new things, develop their skills and areas of interest and to add some further fun and variety to their holiday break.  More information and an application form can be found on our website by clicking here.

Scarlet Fever: A number of cases of Scarlet Fever have been reported recently. Scarlet Fever is an infection caused by the bacteria, Group A streptococcus.  Scarlet fever usually affects children between two and eight years of age and presents as a fever, a sore throat and a rash. Please refer to the following website for further information:

http://www.chp.gov.hk/en/content/9/24/41.html

Upcoming Events

Friday 24 June Year 6 graduation ceremony at 12:45 pm

                End of Term 3

Kind regards

Grant Ramsay

Principal

Community Notices

Disclaimer - The following notices are presented as a community service.  While the content is proofed and generally summarised, it is important to state that the information contained in these Community Notices in no way reflects Discovery Bay International School policy or practices.

Discovery Bay Tigers Baseball Club: The recently formed baseball club is expanding for next season. This parent run non-profit organization is accepting players of all abilities, ages 5 to 13. Saturday afternoons at the YMCA Christian College in Tung Chung, transportation provided.  For more information contact the club at or visit their website http://www.dbtigers.com.


Discovery Bay Angels Football Club:  Discovery Bay Angel's Football Club ("DBAFC") is now registering players for the 2011/12 Season (Sept 2010 through to May 2011).  Membership is now open for all girls born between 1 Jan 1998 (Year 9’s) and 31 December 2005 (Year 2’s). They are particularly looking for girls to join the under 14’s squad (girls born in 1998 and 1999) and a new intake for the under 8's squad (girls born in 2005).  For more information and registration please visit their website at http://www.dbangelsfc.hk Or email

Training is currently held on Sunday mornings at the DBIS school pitch.   Annual fees are HK$500 and there is a one time entrance fee of HK$250 per player that goes towards the cost of their kit. DBAFC participate in a number of tournaments in Hong Kong and intend to host a number of competitive fixtures at the DBIS school pitch.

DC Chess Club Program: The DC Chess Club program, held at Discovery College, will start again on September 5th for the 2011-12 school year. The club is open to both DBIS and DC students and is designed for chess players who wish to enhance their chess results through learning from instructive lessons and will also teach players how to prepare for a tournament. If you are interested, you can pick up an enrollment form at the DBIS school office. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Mingo Lam at 9423 4783. Please note that space is limited.

Ark Eden Summer ECO Camps:  Ark Eden has summer ECO camps from July 18 –to August 19, 2011.

Day Camps - Mon and Fri in Lantau and Sai Kung

Over night  Camps -3 days, 2 nights - Tues to Thurs in Sai Kung.


Please refer to the website for details and registration http://www.arkedenonlantau.com <http://www.arkedenonlantau.com/>