We would like to extend a warm welcome back to school after the Chinese New Year celebrations. We hope you all had a wonderful and restful time with your families.
It was fantastic to see so many parents at the SSIS College Readiness Journey and Study Melbourne brunch at Cool Docks. As well as an informative university guidance session, it was also great to reconnect with many of our families after the disruption of the last few years. I look forward to welcoming more parents back to campus this term. Your support and participation are greatly appreciated.
A special thank you goes to the Chinese department for organizing the Chinese New Year Celebration. The team effort and the fast, efficient organisation once COVID restrictions were lifted was truly remarkable. it was a wonderful way to celebrate a full return to school and the Lunar New Year of the rabbit.
We welcomed over 70 grade 5 and grade 6 parents to this week’s G6-G7 transition “Get ready for Senior School” coffee morning. It was fantastic to meet so many “new” Senior School families. I do hope you and your children are excited about the new opportunities that will soon to available. A reminder that this is the first of many welcomes to Senior School events scheduled for the second half of this academic year.
Much appreciation and credit to our Future Global Leaders, CHAUDHURY Tanisha, CHEN Wang Yu Han, HSUEH Weiyo, WEN Xuanrui, AN So Yun, KATYAYAN Aadya, LAI Zhan Heng Isaac and WEN Kuan Hao who took active roles in both the student and parent events.
Please do contact me or Mr Herring if you have any follow up questions.
In Senior School students and faculty shared their love for poetry in a variety of mediums, genres, and venues. This week, student and faculty poets recited spoken word poems in showcases.
Classes were also infused with an appreciation for the written and spoken word to inspire every student to write a poem during this very special week!
Due to the unprecedented interruption, Grade 10 and grade 12 students have experienced due to COVID restrictions we decided to postpone the mocks by two weeks. This postponement is to support our examination grade students by permitting more time for students to complete internal assessments, course content and revision. Please do regularly check in on your children’s well-being during this crucial time and we encourage all of our students to reach out to their teachers and counsellors for support. We are there to help.
I would like to inform you about the rescheduled school day and Parent-Teacher Conference on Saturday, 18th March. Due to the early winter holiday school closure, the scheduled Parent Conferences on Saturday 18th March will also be a school day for students. Students will follow a shortened lesson schedule and have enrichment activities in the afternoon. Parents can arrange meetings with individual teachers based on their availability throughout the day. As students will be in normal lessons for most of this day, most conferences will be between parents and teachers.
Schools buddy will soon be open for bookings.
Senior School term 2 report cards will be accessible in Managebac on Thursday 16th March at 4 pm.
Sabres broadcasting continues to both improve students’ Chinese oral proficiency, as well as creating a platform for students to showcase their Chinese skills in front of the camera. It is an excellent avenue for students to build their confidence and character. Sabres broadcasting is released every week and all Senior School students, no matter which Chinese level they are at, are encouraged to sign up as broadcasters. Last year, there were up to 90 students broadcasting across the Senior School. It is an important platform for students to develop both language and leadership skills.
Please do click on the link below to listen to this year’s episodes.
Monday 13th – Friday 27th March: Chinese Culture Week
Wednesday 29th March: Senior School Sports Day
Monday 3rd April –Tuesday 4th April: School Day
Wednesday 5th – Friday 7th April: Tomb Sweeping Day
Friday 14th April: International Friendship Day (IFD)
Student Wellbeing
Dear parents,
And…it is February already! Half the school year is almost done and we have many more fun events to look forward to.
On Tuesday 7th Feb during our Well-Being Lesson, we focussed on Digital Citizenship. Students have been given the User Agreement which needs both theirs and parent’s signatures. Please support us in promoting safe use of tech as we educate our students on mindfulness with social media & gaming interactions. We have better success with students now being tech-free between 8.20-8.30, during lessons and following the school guidance. That is a remarkable achievement so your continued support at home too is most valuable. Know what apps/games/social media your child is on & monitor their time usage of tech.
This is POETRY Week and across senior school and in the different subjects, both students and teachers have been reading, performing and celebrating the magic of poetry. I am sharing my one of my many favourite poems (Maya Angelou Still I Rise) for your pleasure. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qviM_GnJbOM Share your favourite poem with your child – read and enjoy one together.
We had a great time hosting a number of events related to our Get Ready for Senior School Transition. The Grade 6 students had a small introduction to life in the Senior the School with mini lessons and a tie a tie competition. We were also very pleased to host up to 70 parents of Grade 5 & 6 students at the school for a coffee and information session. I encourage parents to e-mail me should you have any queries. We look forward to hosting more information sessions as we slowly return to normal following a long period of restrictions.
A very important period is fast approaching for our Grade 10 cohort, and for the Grade 9 students who are taking the accelerated Chinese as a Second Language course – Mock exams. This can be a very stressful time for the students, as they prepare to sit their papers under full IGCSE exam conditions, and maintaining mental wellbeing and a healthy balance is crucial. Teachers will be sharing many exam tips, and Mr Gaynor has shared some wonderful resources previously, and I encourage you and your child to look through these to figure out which will best suit them and discuss how we as a community can best come together to support them and set them up for success in both these exams as well as those to come in the future.
Learning is a lifelong skill, and what better time to hone that skill than before important exams. As G12s approach their exams, they have a great opportunity to practice the studying techniques they’ve been taught at SSIS. Remember that quizzing, notecards and active revision is clearly evidenced as being efficient. What is not shown as effective is re-reading, highlighting without annotating as well as passively looking notes or re-copying notes word for word. Essentially, thinking critically, which means annotating, quizzing, reacting, or thinking creatively, is the key feature of effectively improving long term recall. The empirical evidence supports this, so please ask your students not just what they study, but HOW. The HOW can make all the difference.
If your child is absent, please email your child’s form teacher as soon as possible with a reason. A reminder that students should arrive at school wearing full school uniform, including smart black shoes, dark socks and ties. Students should also wear their school blazers as the first outer layer of clothing. Dark minimal-label outer jackets may be worn over the school blazar.
Please email me with any questions you may have, and we can arrange a follow-up phone call or meeting through my PA, Katharine Chen.
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