Dear Parents and Guardians,
I would like to offer a warm welcome back to all Year 8 students.
Despite the restrictions, there was much to celebrate in Term 1, and the highlight for me was the Discovery Presentations given by members of Year 8. The effort, time and teamwork demonstrated during these projects was fantastic to see, and Mrs Prabhu, who oversaw the Presentations, was really impressed too. Year 7 students were invited to listen to the presentations, and this added pressure was handled well by all. I hope to see more excellent work in the coming months.
I would also like to wish Year 8 student Matthew Chong the best of luck competing in the 103rd Korean Winter Sports Festival. He will be representing the Hong Kong Korean Sports Association in the U14 Alpine Skiing. A great achievement, and I hope to share some photos and reports of his achievements in due course.
Tutor time
1:1 tutoring continues each morning, and your child’s tutor will have informed them when to attend. This provides an opportunity for the tutor to discuss any difficulties, provide support or just get to know their tutees better.
House Events
With the level of restrictions currently in place, we are not able to run a full House event programme. However, there are a number of competitions coming up or already started. Developing a chant, slogan and logo for each house is the first competition this term. I have already seen some excellent contributions from Year 8 students and encourage all to get involved and have an impact. We hope that over the coming months, we can begin to have more House Event opportunities for all students.
SMART targets
The start of the term is also a great opportunity to review the student-led SMART targets. Building on what they achieved last term is important, and by setting their own targets, students tend to more motivated to strive towards them. It is important that these are realistic, and I will be discussing them with students in the coming weeks.
Lunch guidelines​​
To accommodate the Education Bureau guidelines requirements about students eating arrangements at lunchtime, we will have two sittings when children are in school, with set year groups having their lunch at certain times. Year 8 students will need to eat their lunch in the Sports Hall from 1.30pm-1.50pm.
Uniform/hair
I would like to take this opportunity to remind all students of the expectations of uniform. Particular reminders are that students have plain black school shoes and keep their hair as one, natural colour.
Key dates
Year 8 short reports will be released to parents on 18th January 2022.
Thank you all again for your support with Year 8. They are a fantastic cohort and one I am thoroughly enjoying working with. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me. I would also like to hear about any achievements that take place outside of DBIS. Our students are so talented, and their interests so diverse that we don’t always hear what they have been up to.
Kindest regards,
Tom Lemon