Dear Parents,
New Year and return to…
A warm welcome to Term 2 for our NAIS Hong Kong families. I hope that our school community has returned refreshed this term, having enjoyed time with family and friends.
A new year often brings with it a focus on New Year’s resolutions or, indeed, new actions that we will undertake. However, we should be open to reflecting on what we are excited to be ‘returning to…’ which can be a powerful tool to recognise ‘why’ it is successful or impactful, what is next, and how we get there.
In the spirit of that, I have been looking forward to returning to school as the term approaches because we are midway through our action plans for school improvement. Our school leaders at different levels are working on development plans for their subject areas, which run alongside meetings to discuss the progress of children in all year groups.
We have returned to increased school community engagement as we held our first assessment workshop for parents. Over 130+ parents attended an informative and engaging session that detailed the ‘why,’ ‘how,’ and ‘what’ assessment looks like in school. Ahead of our reporting cycle, it was an excellent opportunity to learn about assessment practice at school.
Finally, I wanted to share that the Year 6 Peace Convention was an event that made me excited to return to school. It was the culmination of a huge amount of teamwork and collaboration from our Year 6 team. It was so much more than the outcomes of units of learning. Those who attended witnessed the development of character, change-makers, and student agency. We were humbled by the kindness and understanding our children shared and the impact that their fundraising will have on a community that they may never see or meet.
If we can return to a school that extols such child-centered approaches, we may count ourselves fortunate to belong to such a community. While there is much ahead for our school, there is much to return to as well.
Best regards,
Stephen Sharma
Head of Primary
