T2W6 – 26 Jan 2024
Dear Senior School Families,
It was a pleasure to see many of our grade 6 parents at today’s coffee morning. Thank you for taking the time to connect with us, share your thoughts, and ask insightful questions. I encourage you all to continue to contact us if you have any questions about your child’s transition to Senior school. We are available for small groups and individual meetings to tailor your transition needs. There will be more formal sessions towards the end of the year. We will also have a schedule of transition events we will invite your children to the Senior School for.
A special thank you to Mr. Eubin, Ms. Wheelock and our exceptional students who brought great pride to SSIS by excelling in the recent Economics Olympiad. Their dedication and hard work are truly commendable, and we are immensely proud of their achievements. Such accomplishments on a global stage reflect the high standards of academic excellence we strive for at SSIS.
Additionally, the Senior School Chinse department organized a Chinese Singing Competition, showcasing the diverse talents of our students and staff. It was a fantastic celebration of Chinese culture and our community’s diverse talents. We extend our gratitude to everyone who contributed to its success. It wetted our appetite for the upcoming Chinese New Year celebration on Friday 2nd February.
Last weekend our Sabres Swimmers took another step forward on their swimming journey, this time they went to Nanjing for SSL Round 3 for one and half days of competitive swimming.
Our Sabres didn’t disappoint. Every swimmer gaining new and improved PB’s and also trying some new events and challenges, it was great to have the full force of our Parents in full cheer, this was very evident during the Mixed Medley Relay’s on the second day, the sound ‘Sabres Go’ was echoed around the pool and the swimmers gained a boast from this, the 11-12 Mixed Medley Team smashing their entry time by some 30 seconds and a full 15 meters or more in front of the second place team in their heat.
We have gone from only one or two swimmers scoring points for our team to nearly all our swimmers scoring points, it is also the first time we have scored more than 120 points for a SSL Round. It is so nice and rewarding to see our swimmers breaking their PB’s and enjoying their swimming, the team is heading in the right direction and at the right speed, our goal is always the ACAMIS swim championships which are in March this year, preparations are well under way for that, we am expecting our team to peak at this event and produce their best performances of the year.
Thanks to Mr. Glover, his swim team and our dedicated parents for their ongoing support of our swimming programme.
As this is the last newsletter before the Holiday, I wish you and your families a fantastic year filled with prosperity, good health, and joy. May it be a year of growth and achievement for our students, both academically and personally.
Together, we make SSIS a wonderful place for our students to learn and thrive.
Mr. Steven Gaynor
Senior School Principal
Dates for your diary
Friday 2nd February CNY Celebration
Monday 5th Friday 16th February CNY Holiday
Monday 19th February Return to School
Thursday 22nd February Scholarship Application Deadline
Wednesday 13th March (afternoon) University Fair
Monday 18th – Friday 29th March G10 & G12 Mock Examinations
Pastoral Wellbeing
Dear Parents,
January has been focused on getting students to celebrate our diversity as an international community. Well-Being Lessons and assemblies have raised an awareness about inclusion, respect and ‘Embracing our differences’. The ILEAD speaker this week, Ms. Jiovana Babic, shared strategies about dealing with conflict and emotions as we navigate and interact with students and teachers of differing cultures, accents, races and languages. It is our intent to ensure our students show the character strengths of being caring, open-minded and reflective in their actions and words so I encourage parents to foster healthy conversations about these topics within their homes.
It is also with such joy and pride that we share with the community the outcome of our fundraising and charity work. In AY22-23, the PSG and SSIS raised 180 000 RMB and this money helped 6 children undergo heart surgery.
This AY23-24, with the PSG as the driving force and with the immense support from the community, we raised 150 000 RMB at our IFB on November 11. We proudly presented this life-changing cheque to Karen Carrington, who accepted this on behalf of The Heart-to-Heart Foundation.
RAPS Points update – Sapphire is still in the lead! Come on: Ruby, Amber & Pearl.
Ms Shireen Naidoo, Senior School Assistant Principal shireen_naidoo@ssis.asia
Reminders: Student Absence, Uniform and Regular communication
If your child is absent, please email your child’s form teacher as soon as possible with a reason. It is a Shanghai Education Committee requirement for all schools to record attendance and reasons for absence. A reminder that students should arrive at school wearing shoes and ties. As the weather cools, students should wear their school blazers and outside jackets.
Please email me with any questions you may have, and we can arrange a follow-up phone call or meeting through the Senior School PA, Katharine Chen (katharine_chen@ssis.asia)
Yours sincerely,
SSIS Senior School
