Dear Year 10 Families,
I extend a Happy New Year to you all. In Term 1, students took on the challenges of balancing the demands of the IGCSE course and navigating both core subjects and electives.
Many Year 10s have stepped up to lead various Primary extracurricular activities (ECAs), contributing to football, swimming, table tennis, running and netball. Students have also joined the Community, Sustainability and Subject Ambassador Councils. Additionally, it was inspiring to see so many engaged in ECAs like the Production Team, Model United Nations, AYP, Netball and Badminton. There has also been a separate weekly library volunteering group to help catalogue, shelve and create engaging library themes. Our tutor time every day for 20 minutes has combined week management, news awareness, challenges and house activities, with each day dedicated to a specific theme. In Term 2, we will focus more on wellbeing. Small groups from all three forms have taken the initiative to lead assemblies at tutor time on important themes – mental health, the significance of ECAs, and effective revision techniques. We believe that opportunities to lead assemblies enhance students’ planning, time management and audience engagement skills, fostering their leadership abilities and confidence in public speaking. As a part of our student leadership programme, we will be opening Secondary Shadow House Captain and Secondary House Captain applications after the Chinese New Year. The dates will be notified to the students.
While as a tutor team we continually remind students to include these experiences in their Personal Branding Portfolios, I encourage you to ask them to show you their portfolios so far. Students should actively record their achievements and activities across different aspects of life in their portfolio slides, as this practice fosters a sense of pride and accomplishment. Additionally, it helps them reflect on areas for further development, making their portfolios a valuable resource for university applications in a little more than two years.
Important Dates to Record in your Calendar for Term 2:
| Monday 6th January 2025 – Thursday 3rd April 2025 | Term 2 (includes Chinese New Year half-term holiday from Monday 27th January to Friday 31st January) |
| Friday 17th January 2025 | Aspirational target setting completed |
| Friday 17th – Sunday 19th January | FOBISIA Battle of the Bands |
| Friday 24th January 2025 | Chinese New Year celebrations |
| Monday 3rd February 2025 | Beginning of Term 2.2 |
| Wednesday 12th February 2025 | DBIS Live |
| Friday 21st – Sunday 23rd February 2025 | AYP Silver assessed hike (provisional) |
| Wednesday 26th – Thursday 27th February | Secondary School Production |
| Friday 28th February 2025 | House celebration assembly |
| Friday 7th March 2025 | PD day – no students in school |
| Saturday 8th March 2025 | International Food Fair |
| Monday 17th March 2025 | Strength & target report published |
| Friday 21st March 2025 | House Charity Event Day |
| Wednesday 2nd April 2025 | Spring Concert |
| Friday 4th April 2025 | Public Holiday |
| Monday 21st April 2025 | Public Holiday |
| Tuesday 22nd April – Friday 27th June 2025 | Term 3 |
Links:
- Secondary Parent Handbook: https://issuu.com/dbis3/docs/dbis_secondary_parent_handbook
- IGCSE Curriculum Handbook: https://issuu.com/dbis3/docs/dbis_igcse_btec_l2_curriculum_handbook
I encourage you to support your children in establishing a short daily study routine in addition to regular homework. Their small everyday commitment can significantly reduce anxiety, continue extracurricular participation and avoid last-minute cramming, leading to higher achievement.
On another note, it was observed in Term 1 that many students were missing lunch. Conversations revealed that some were also skipping breakfast. We plan to address this during our 1-1s, assemblies, and L4L lessons in Term 2. We request your support towards this – engaging in discussions with them about the high importance of nutrition, which supports brain development, enhances focus, improves memory retention and promotes healthy physical growth during this pivotal stage of their development as young people.
As a reminder, the mock exams will be held in May 2025. Further details will be shared closer to the date.
Wishing everyone a wonderful term filled with growth, learning, and success!
Best regards
Amrith Prabhu