Dear DCIS Families,
As we reach the end of an action-packed start to the year, there is so much to celebrate and reflect upon. We strive for all in our community to experience a strong sense of belonging so that our learners, staff and parents will thrive with us. Our Sixth Form students started the year at NUS, with an eye on the future and the opportunity to build connections before the year got underway. It was great to see them enjoying the first induction of its kind for us.
Our Culture and Community Week, in its second year, witnessed a variety of workshops across the curriculum and over the week to encourage students to explore their own identity and increase their understanding of others. Our new definition of Global Citizenship was unpacked and explored. We are of course a unique and dynamic community, proud of our ‘footprint’ here in Singapore and our focus on people. Developing our own understanding of inclusion witnessed our first Inclusion Ambassadors course for Year 12 and the safeTALK programme, and we participated in the Purple Parade for the second year.
Student agency continues to build, and the student leadership campaigns and the activity of our new leaders since are a testament to their understanding that a title does not make a leader. The weekly visits of our Year 12s to connect with Pathway 3 students certainly prove this. We also saw students venture to MIT this term, which was a fantastic and rare opportunity, and we experienced Science Week.
Hosting the Lions City Fair for the first time on campus was certainly a highlight, bringing a range of universities and further education options to our students and with the ‘present future’ perhaps in mind, as staff, we learned more about AI and its possibilities for education from Professor Dylan Wiliam. If we want our learners to be future-ready and to embrace the positive impact AI can make, we need to understand the rapid changes taking place, and we are now on this journey.
Whilst there has been a great deal of learning, assessment, and parent-teacher conferences happening on campus, we have seen more opportunities this term to harness Singapore for Art, Theatre, History, Geography and ASDAN learning. Drama performances on site have been a real treat for audiences. Our U15 squad were fine ambassadors for DCIS and the many fixtures and successes in ACSIS leagues certainly throw a spotlight on the determination and talent we see in our sports teams. The early morning training has paid dividends!
Our Year 7’s and Year 9’s ventured into the wilds ( by bus...) for their residentials this term and the Silver Duke of Edinburgh adventurous journey students were recently paddle boarding down the river Kwai. With more students than ever interested in the Duke of Edinburgh award we are thrilled that our students are keen to ‘unplug’ and be in nature, leeches and all!
This term, we have seen incredible successes in our UKMT Mathematics competitions. We also hosted the Outstanding Pearson Learner Awards for Pearson Education and celebrated some remarkable achievements alongside other schools in Singapore.
We have ended the term with the DCA Christmas Fayre and the much-loved Pathway 3 Christmas Fayre; enterprising and inspiring, we all got into the holiday mood last week. Battle of the Bands was a brilliant event which must have caused some serious problems for the judges due to the talent and passion of the performers, but we look forward to seeing many of the bands again when they perform at Timbre in Term 2.
All of these things (and there are many more) have only been possible because of the staff's will to make things happen. Our sincere thanks to them all. Of course, there are many things that cannot be captured here. They may not be seen, but they are certainly felt: the support, care, kindness, and commitment that is part of our DNA.
Thank you to all our students, parents and staff for your support and contributions to our community this term.
On behalf of the Secondary School Leadership Team, we wish you all a wonderful holiday and New Year!
Rachel Edwards
Head of Secondary
