Dear DBIS Families,
We hope you are continuing to keep safe and well during this challenging time. As we begin our third week of imposed class suspensions, I would like to offer some insights, feedback and next steps in our programme of online learning.
We fully appreciate that the last few weeks have presented challenges, frustrations and opportunities for our entire school community, students, parents and staff, as we all become more familiar with this new approach to teaching and learning. We have had to adjust to new ways of delivering authentic learning activities and come to terms with not physically being in the same space as each other. We have listened carefully to your feedback over the last two weeks, and are extremely pleased that our students have responded so positively to this new approach. So far, your feedback has shown that students’ engagement is enhanced when learning activities contain audio, video or live interactions so we are actively looking at increasing this provision as we continue to refine our programme.
In the meantime, all DBIS teachers will continue to develop their use of audio, video and live interactions to support student learning. We have been closely monitoring engagement and students’ learning outcomes in the real-time interactions and live lessons which have already been taking place for our for exam classes in Year 11, 12 and 13, and are now looking to expand this provision more widely across the school in the coming weeks.
By Monday 2nd March, we will be in a position to facilitate real-time interactions and learning delivered during normal Hong Kong school hours for all classes. This will obviously look very different in each phase of the school, and further details will be communicated separately by the Heads of Phase in the coming week.
On Friday I met with the Education Bureau and they have granted permission for small numbers of graduating students to come into school in order to complete coursework in practical subjects from tomorrow, Tuesday the 18th of February. The parents of students eligible for this provision will be contacted by Simon Oakley, Head of Secondary, later today. On Thursday, Carrie Lam will be hosting a meeting for International Schools which I will be attending. Whilst I appreciate that the situation remains extremely fluid and unpredictable, I  hope to be in a position following this meeting, to update you of any further developments.
I am extremely proud of our staff at DBIS and how they have responded during this challenging period as they continue to improve provision and support for your children. I have also been incredibly impressed with our students, who have demonstrated with their resilience, positivity and commitment to their continued learning. Thank you all for your ongoing support. We look forward to your feedback.
Kind regards
Stuart Bridge FRSA, BA(Hons), PGCE, MEd
Head of School