Our Principal Christopher Short looks back on yet another extremely busy and successful term at DCIS.
Our Principal Christopher Short looks back on yet another extremely busy and successful term at DCIS.
Dear DCIS Parents and Guardians,
I tend not to look back at previous termly newsletter articles I have written but if I did I have a feeling each one would say that the term has gone quickly and has been extremely busy and successful! This term is no exception – in fact I think the busyness and success is reaching new heights. We were very pleased to host a visit from representatives from the Council International Schools who spent four days with us as part of our pre-accreditation process. The positive outcome of this visit means we now start an 18 month self-evaluation where groups of staff and other members of the DCIS community meet to review all aspects of the school, ahead of a full accreditation visit in November 2019.
We continue to do well on the sports field with promotions and medals in many of our ACSIS competitions. We’ve recently added girls touch rugby to our team roster which is proving popular. We participated in our first FOBISIA Under 13 games this term and I was delighted to be able to fly up to Phuket to see the students in action. I am so grateful to Mr. Holmes and his team of PE (and other) teachers who run these teams and take them to fixtures in the evenings and weekends.
We were really pleased to bring back the annual school production this term. The Grease cast and crew have been working tirelessly over the last few months, which culminated in the excellent performances in the last week of term. A large number of staff gave up a huge amount of time and helped make the performances as successful as they were. Mr. Dwyer, Ms Hooper, Mr. Fernadez, Mr. Irving, Ms Fairchild, Ms Morgan, Ms Bennet, Ms Kertrestel and Ms Johnston , all deserve special mention for their lead roles in this production.
We ran four successful trips this year for Year 6 and the Secondary section. These are an excellent opportunity for students to experience new cultures and work as a team completing different challenges. A great example was the Year 6 trip to Thailand where students had the opportunity to build a fish farm for the local community. Running a school trip is probably the most stressful but rewarding activity we do as teachers and I am grateful to the Year Group and Progress Leaders who led the trips and the staff who accompanied them.
In the classroom we have continued to see great work being done. Our collaboration with UNICEF and the Sustainable Goals is proving to be an excellent focus for education, in this important area. We were fortunate to welcome Peter Milne who ran a series of workshops on what we must do to promote sustainability. There is tremendous debate about the impact of single use plastic and this is an area where we must review our current strategy to ensure we are practising what we preach.
Now that we have implemented the IB Diploma programme, we have had a new focus on students applying to higher education. We have had numerous visits from established universities and Ms Ford has worked with students from Year 10 upwards, on the planning needed to start thinking about career options and how to get into Higher Education. Having been through this process 2 years ago with my daughter I know the planning involved in making sure you can navigate the best way to the next stage of a young person’s education.
One area I have been uncharacteristically quiet about is campus developments and the crossing outside the school. We continue to be in discussions with the relevant authorities and these are proving very positive. I hope to be in a position to say more next term and I appreciate your patience as we continue to find the best solutions for our school.
I hope all of our students and staff have a restful holiday and that you too have a good holiday if you manage to get away. Happy Easter to those parents who are celebrating and we look forward to welcoming your children back to the school on Monday 16th April.
Christopher Short
Principal
