Primary Corner

Happy Halloween!

On 31 October, our hallways and classrooms were filled with ghosts, witches, wizards, vampires, pumpkins, and skeletons. Both children and adults arrived in class dressed up, and students in Grades 3 and 4 practised their pumpkin carving skills. During the breaks, the costumes sparked new inspiration for role-play.

Autumn is traditionally the time when the harvest is reaped and when you are grateful to have enough for yourself and your loved ones. Not all people can look at what they have with such peace of mind. Many thanks to all the families who participated in the "Box of Hope" campaign. The boxes will bring a lot of joy to children from families who are less fortunate. 

Johannes Claassen Head of German Primary Department Email

Beate Weinhardt Deputy Head of German Primary Department Email

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Departmental News and Announcements

From Head of Stream

Welcome back to school after the mid-term break. We hope all the secondary students who went on a Discovery Week trip enjoyed a fantastic time wherever they were. I have heard a range of wonderful experiences from Berlin to Anilao and from Sai Kung to Room 514! In preparation for next year’s Discovery Week, we will be sending a survey to gauge students’ and parents’ satisfaction with the recent programme and invite suggestions for further improvement.

We are looking forward to the upcoming BLI next week and trust that all the hard work in preparation will be suitably rewarded. Following this process, we will make our formal application for membership to the Council of International Schools (www.cois.org). This will lead to Accreditation following a yearlong self-study, which is already underway, that will cover all departments of the school. The final phase of the process will be aligned with additional accreditation from either the Western or New England Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC or NEASC). The aim of this process is to ensure that the school has formal independent recognition of its leadership & governance, curriculum, pastoral care, community & home partnerships as well as premises, facilities, technology, and auxiliary services. Achieving full accreditation will mean that the school will join a membership of 650+ schools worldwide and provide access to a range of professional services that CIS provides.

With only eight Mondays until Christmas (!) we have a great deal to look forward to this half term, not least our Deepavali celebrations this week, Sports Days, HKAYP Expeditions, Mathematics Olympiads, trips to the theatre, debating competitions, curriculum trips, Parents Information Days, the Christmas Bazaar, Niklaus’ Visit, Wandertag, Christmas Concerts and Turmblasen.

I look forward to seeing you at some of these events.

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Primary Corner

We hope that you all had a wonderful Autumn break. It was a fun way to start the term on Tuesday with so many students and teachers choosing to dress up in their Halloween costumes! Check out the class sites for photos!

We have several important events coming up this half term:

• November 6 to 10 - BLI visit
• November 13 to 24 - Parent Information Days (See details below)
• November 15 - Whole of Primary Diwali celebration
• November 16 to 22 - Peak Campus Photo Week 
• December 2 - Bazaar
• December 6 - Nikolaus Assembly (Students only)
• December 14 - Christmas Carols by Candlelight - Evening Event for families

Parent Information Days

You will receive an email invitation to our first Parent Information days of the year. As last year,  the PIDs will be held over a 2 week period from Monday, 13 November 2023 to Friday, 24 November 2023.

Parents can book their 15-minute online appointments with their child’s class teachers via Calendly. Please find the instructions on how to book your appointment in this document.

Each class teacher’s booking link can be found in this Google Sheet.

The booking system will be active until 48 hours before the appointments. 

The departmental secretaries, Susanne Dömmecke, 2180 0505 (Peak Campus) and Ashley Banach 2849 6217 (PFL Campus) will also be available to assist you with any enquiries.

If you attend your meeting in person, please be reminded that you must sign in with the guard, wear a visitor badge and follow the visitor code of conduct.

We look forward to meeting you online or in-person to discuss your child’s progress so far this year and their next steps in learning.

Donna Morley Head of English Primary Department Email

Eleanor Cowling Deputy Head of English Primary Department Email

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Departmental News and Announcements