DBIS News

19 January 2012

 

Dear Parents

 

 

A very special wish to everyone for Peace, Health and Happiness in the Year of the Dragon.

 

Welcome Back:  An extra warm welcome back to all of our students and a very special welcome to our many new students joining their school at the start of this term!  I hope that the warmth of welcome from everyone in our school community is helping you settle into your new environment.  

 

A reminder that all classes in Kindergarten, Primary and Secondary will close at the usual times this Friday for the Chinese New Year holiday.  All classes will resume on Monday 30 January, again at the usual times.  Our best wishes to everyone for a warm and enjoyable family time during Chinese New Year.

 

Chinese New Year Celebrations: To celebrate the Chinese New Year, we will once again hold a Chinese New Year Assembly for our Primary students tomorrow,  20 January.   We would appreciate it if you could provide a Chinese outfit for your child to wear for the day.  Students can also dress in gold, red, yellow or silver if they do not have an outfit to wear.

 

Flower Market: Thank you to everyone who purchased flowers at our annual Chinese New Year Flower Market held last Friday at our Primary and Secondary School.  The beautiful flowers, Dragon Dances and Chinese Caligraphy ensured an enjoyable time for all involved.  A huge thank you for the detailed coordination from Amy Gidwani, our Mandarin department and the team of parent helpers.  Thank you also to our many other staff members who assisted in getting the flowers ready, and for your assistance on the day.

 

School Anniversary:  We celebrate our school’s 29th wonderful year of progress and achievement with our students.  Our school has come a huge distance from our simple beginning with one room in the Residents’ Club consisting of 3 students and 3 staff members – one of whom was our current Office Manager, Ms Connie Ting! Thank you all for your continued and positive support in developing our school for and with our students.

 

A very special thank you to Hong Kong Resort for the amazing ongoing support that has been provided for our school buildings, infrastructure and operation throughout the 29 years.

 

Embankment Behind Year 1 Classrooms:  Please assist us in reminding your children not to use the embankment area behind the Year 1 classrooms at our Primary School at any time.  This includes the rolling of any objects down the embankment.  The area has proven very dangerous with two serious injuries having happened in the past.

 

School Uniform:  A reminder that our school uniform is compulsory – it is a required aspect of your child’s enrolment at their school (http://www.dbis.edu.hk/about_our_school/parent_information/uniforms/ ).  Could you please ensure that your child / children are wearing the correct footwear at all times (it is accepted that some students wish to change into their PE footwear when using our school pitch at lunch times)?  Could you also ensure that your child / children have the correct fleece or hoody on for use at school during the cold weather (it is also accepted that students can wear a non uniform coat or jacket travelling to and from school only)?  Thank you for your ongoing assistance with our school uniform.

 

Visit to the Gore Factory:  Ms Anna Lyndon, our Secondary School science teacher, will be accompanying the winners of the Design and Technology hat competition to the Gore factory to observe the processes involved in making waterproof garments. They will be involved with first hand experience of the waterproof testing process, experiencing the conditions in the “rain testing room”.  The students are; Napasorn Suwanela, Xiao Ran Hua, Lu Na Hu and Elisa Klophaus.  A special thank you to the management of the Gore factory for donating this great prize for our school.

 

Midsummer Night’s Dream:  The cast has been set for our production of Midsummer Night’s Dream. Rehearsals are in full swing and the performances are set for Thursday 19 April and Friday 20 April.

 

New Secondary School Building:  Good progress has been made on the structure of the new Secondary School building and workmen are now involved in the finishing touches to the interior. Cabinetry, tables and chairs have been arriving this week – we are very close to the hand over from the contractors!  Andrew Edwards – Principal Secondary School

       

 

Employment opportunities at DBIS:  Are you interested in making a difference in a supportive, creative, exciting and rewarding atmosphere?  We have positions available on our supply list to support a range of classes across the Early Years and Primary School to cover short and long term absences due to ill health. Please send expressions of interest and a brief resume / CV to Ian Hunt, Principal Primary School, on no later than Friday 3 February.  Successful short listed candidates will be invited for a chat the week beginning Monday 6 February, 2012.

 

2012 Interschool Chess Championship: On Sunday 19 February, this year's Interschool Chess Championships will be held in Aberdeen. DBIS would once again like to enter at least one team with 4 members.  If you can play chess and would be interested to join, please send an email to . For more information, see http://www.hkchess.org/interschool%202012.htm.  Each team member is allocated a position, from the most experienced to the least experienced. Ideally, our students should be playing other students their respective levels. 

 

Influenza Alert:  Two of our Kindergarten students (Farm Nursery and Garden Nursery) were diagnosed with Influenza B recently.  Required levels of disinfecting will be maintained within the classrooms and surrounding areas.  In anticipating the arrival of the Common Flu season and the potential threat of the Avian Flu, we think that is an ideal time to remind you of good infection control practices. Please remind your children to practise good personal hygiene to curb the spread of viruses and minimize the risk of infection. Covering the nose and mouth while sneezing and coughing is an important infection control measure. Frequent washing of hands and avoiding the rubbing of eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed / unclean hands are also effective prevention measures. Ensuring good health to maintain body resistance to infections and enhancing ventilation to minimize indoor microbial population are also good general precautions.

 

 

The basketball season is coming to a close. It looks as though two out of our three teams will be headed for the playoffs. Congratulations to both the U14 and U16 Girls teams who both had wins against Island School this week. The U16 Boys square off against arch rivals Kellett School this afternoon. Good luck to all players and Coach Johnson.

 

You can find the Term 2 Sports Training Timetable on the PE and Sports Tournament sections of the school website. All students are welcome to attend any of the clubs, whether you have registered or not. Please note that to receive email correspondence from the coaches you must be registered at the office with the related sport.

 

Please also note that if a sport is not listed on the timetable, it will be starting at a later date.

 

Primary Year 4 - 6 FOBISSEA Games – Harrow School, Beijing, June 6 - 9: Before the Christmas break, I sent all parents of Years 4, 5, and 6 a letter detailing the above event. Trials for the Primary Games will begin after Chinese New Year. Students will trial in football, T-Ball, athletics, and swimming.  Twelve students (six male and six female) will be selected at each year level to travel with the team. You will be informed of the trial dates via email when they are set.

 

Under 13 FOBISSEA Games Team:  Following Chinese New Year, the team will begin full preparations in all sports. Parents will receive a letter on Friday with a training timetable and hotel recommendations for Suzhou in May. Swim training has been running for two weeks on a Tuesday morning at Club Siena.

 

• ISSFHK Secondary Basketball Playoffs begin

• Year 6 Athletics Invitational – Wednesday February 15

• Shaheen Hockey Tournament – Saturday February 18

• DBIS Beach Touch Tournament – Monday February 20

• Renaissance Mixed Basketball (Primary) – Wednesday February 22

 

 

Monday 6 February Nursery Parent Conferences begin

 

Monday 6 February Green Week

 

Saturday 11 February Year 7 Thailand Trip – departure

 

Wednesday 15 February   Year 2 Celebration Evening

 

Wednesday 15 February Athletics Meet

 

Thursday 16 February Year 2 Celebration Evening

 

Friday 17 February DBIS Beach Touch Rugby

 

Friday 17 February Year 7 Thailand Trip - return

 

 

Kind regards

 

Grant Ramsay

Principal