LS Newsletter 1-29-2024 - Hangzhou International School

HIS CALENDAR

HIS DATES

Upcoming Events

*15 Jan-29 March CCA 2

*8 February Chinese New Year Gala Last day of school

*9-16 February Chinese New Year Holiday

*19 February First day back to school

*21 February 100 Days of School Celebration

*28 February English/ ESL Curriculum Day(EY1-K) Night (GR 1-5)

*11 March Staff Professional In-service Day (no school for students)

*19 March Student Led Conferences Parents make an appointment and attend with their child No formal classes.

*22 March Mid-Semester Reports

*12 April Night of Tales

*9 January-21 June Semester 2 2024

Congratulations Caroline Xue!

On January 17th and 18th, Grade Five Caroline Xue was selected as the cultural envoy to celebrate Thailand-China's 49 years of diplomatic anniversary. She arrived in Bangkok on the 17th to participate in the official activities of Thailand-China's Diplomatic Anniversary.

At noon on the 17th, at the Long Table Lunch meeting between the cultural ambassadors and the young leaders of Thailand, they listened to the experiences of the young leaders, learning from their expertise and establishing confident and happy relationships with the outstanding elders. Also, the young cultural envoys also heard from the leaders about their Ivy League schools in the United States and how ambition and a positive mindset had helped them succeed.

On the evening of January 18, Caroline took the stage at the Thai Cultural Center concert to introduce the Chinese culture Dunhuang Flying program.

Congratulations, Caroline, on being chosen for this most prestigious experience and positively representing yourself and your country!

INQUIRY IN ACTION

Grade 3 Field trip! JoYoung Factory-comparing the old and new uses of technology !

CHINESE NEW YEAR MANDARIN GALA

Message from the Vice Principals

Last week our wonderful 1st Grade students shared stories with their KG reading buddies. They not only used strong oral communication skills to read the stories, but additionally, students used the props and puppets they made, as well as different lights and sounds, to assist with telling their stories. Their buddies listened intently as the stories were read and acted out. Well done to our creative and courageous Grade 1 students!

Warm Regards,

Jessica

Dear Parents,

What an exciting week in ECE! This week in PreK, children are engaged in learning all about patterns. Patterning supports children's ability to recall, and sequence and is the foundation to understanding number operations. Learning about patterns and connections helps them make predictions and form logical connections. It is a cornerstone of later mathematical thinking and reasoning.

We continue to learn and grow together!

Kind Regards,

Rene Smal

CCA's have begun again! Junior Scientists make crystals Origami and Paper Folding Basketball

Junior Scientists were making crystals from salt and sugar solutions. Students needed to follow a series of written instructions, organize materials, and measure accurately. During this activity, they covered the concepts of dissolving and crystallization.

PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE

Dear Families,

The countdown and preparations are on for our Chinese New Year celebrations, including the lion dance, followed by the LS Mandarin Gala concert.

Thank you to parents who will support us with costumes and help dress and prepare students before performing.

The LS students and ECE will get to watch the show before our Gala performance on Thursday, 8 February, at 10 am

Library

We are delighted to have Mrs. M back in the library from maternity leave and sincerely thank all the staff who have supported us in keeping everything working smoothly, especially Ms. McMahon and Ms. Jeanne.

During the recent break, Mrs. M has already helped reorganize the library, which looks beautiful.

Today, we discussed plans for Book Week (8-12 April), culminating in our spectacular Night of Tales on Friday, 12 April. We were so excited by the end of our chat with the plans for our students that we know they will enjoy and celebrate books, reading, and learning!

Count Up to 100 Days of School

The count-up continues until our 100 Day celebration on Wednesday, 21 February. This count-up helps to get all students involved in mathematical thinking and highlighting a number in multiple ways depending on the student's grades.

English/ESL Curriculum Night

Please save the date for our English/ESL Curriculum Night on Wednesday, 28 February, from 6.00 pm to 7.30 pm. This evening is a unique opportunity to see how the English curriculum develops from EY1-Grade12 and the language demands of each grade level. It also highlights the support students new to English receive to match their cognitive levels with the required linguistic demands of the curriculum.

A night not to miss!

A reminder that the last day of school is Thursday, 8 February.

The first day back is Monday, 19 February 2024

Kind regards,

Lynn

LS ATHLETIC NEWS

LOWER SCHOOL ATHLETICS NEWS

Current Seasons

Grade 5-8 Badminton

Boys Practice Schedule: Tuesday 3:15-4:00, Thursday 4:00-4:45

Girls Practice Schedule: Tuesday 4:00-4:45, Thursday 3:15-4:00

Grade 5-8 Volleyball

Practices each Monday and Friday 3:15-4:15

Upcoming Seasons

Middle School Track and Field Season (G5-8) Begins Monday 26th February (Tues 3:30-5, Thurs 3:30-5)

CCA information

CCA

CCA for K-Grade 5 students are from 3:15 – 4:15 with a few exceptions where the CCA will finish at 4:45. Please be on time to collect your child from the Main Gate at 4:15.

If you have any inquiries relating to CCA, you can email activities@hisdragons.org.cn

__________________________________________________________

Late Bus Service

The late buses will begin service when CCA1 begins. If you are eligible for the Late Bus Service, you will have received an email this afternoon and now need to register for the late bus between now and this Thursday at 8am.

Please note the following regarding access to late bus:

If you do not register in time, you will not have access to the late bus for the 1st week of CCA.

Only students who are eligible and registered for the regular morning/afternoon school bus service will be eligible for the Late Bus Service.

Late buses are only for students who are registered and participating in one of our after-school activities on the day they wish to use the late bus (CCA, Swim Team, Athletics Teams, Performing Arts Rehearsals)

Questions relating to the late bus can be directed to our Transportation Secretary MS. Tracy Zhu: tracyzhu@hisdragons.org.cn

When selecting CCA or Swim Team practice days, students should not register for any which conflict with their sports practice days.

Students involved in Performing Arts rehearsals can participate in both activities if they can participate in at least 1 sports practice per week for their chosen sports.

All information relating to HIS Athletics can be found at the following link:

https://www.his-china.org/extend/athletics

Registrations for sports teams are now open through the link below.

https://www.his-china.org/extend/athletics/athletics-handbooks

GATE PROTOCOLS

Wearing masks to enter the school is optional for students and staff. Masks will still be available for students who want to wear them.

Procedures and Protocols

Please ensure that if your child is ill that they do not attend school. If your child continues with a high temperature or remains unwell, please seek medical support. We ask that parents err on the side of caution and keep children at home until they have fully recovered.

Please note that if your child is absent due to COVID you must ensure they have a valid negative COVID test to reenter the school. Please forward your child's result to

lilyfan@hisdragons.org.cn or florali@hisdragons.org.cn

HOW TO CONTACT TEACHERS WE ARE ONLY USING WECHAT FOR EMERGENCY SITUATIONS SUCH AS SCHOOL CLOSURES AND LOCKDOWNS

Moments 365 Help

Help with Moments 365 is available from Mr Emlyn Majoos (Mr.M) to ensure we have all parents using this platform. If you need a Chinese or speaker of another language please contact Mr M.and we will arrange support.

emlynmajoos@hisdragons.org.cn

Contacting Teachers

We ask parents to contact teachers via Moments 365 or by email. Teachers are busy working with students, attending meetings, preparing class materials, and ensuring student safety. They infrequently look at their computers or mobile phones and may miss your message. For changes to pick-up arrangements or urgent news, please get in touch with the school secretaries, who are online all day.

ECE lilyfan@hisdragons.org.cn LS main building florali@hisdragons.org.cn

Online teaching and Student/Teacher contact

For online teaching and correspondence between teachers and students we use TEAMS.

SWIMMING NEWS

SAVE THE DATES!

February 24, 2024 – SSL 4 at SASPX

March 15 & 16, 2024 – ACAMIS Junior Swimming Championships at XLIS

March 30, 2024 - HISAC 3 at WCIS

REMINDER: INTENT TO PARTICIPATE DEADLINE

SSL 4 – Wednesday, January 31, 2024 at 4:00 PM

ACAMIS Jr. Swim Championships – Wednesday, January 31, 2024 at 4:00 PM

COMMUNICATION Please direct any aquatics and swimming-related questions to swimming@hisdragons.org.cn. Include your child's full name, grade level, and swim squad in the message.

REGISTRATION PACKET (New Swimmers)

Kindly familiarize yourself with the Swim Team Registration Packet for LS and US (emailed). It includes guidelines, expectations, etc. This is also now digitalized. Please complete the form before your first practice by scanning the QR code or through the link below. Please note that the Student Identification Number is needed.

https://www.hisdragons.org.cn/his/his_utilities/qrcode.php?id=494

Any further inquiries should be directed to swimming@hisdragons.org.cn

UPCOMING EVENTS:

February 24 – SSL Round 4 (SASPX & SCISHQ PD)

March 15 & 16 – ACAMIS Junior Swimming Championships (XLIS)

March 30 (TBC) – HISAC Round 3 (WCIS)

April 13 & 14 – SSL Championship

Quick Links:

https://www.his-china.org/extend/swim-team/swimming-handbooks

Aquatics Calendar 2023-2024

Swim Meet Schedule

HIS Swim Records

S wim Meet Results

CCA INFORMATION

Please visit the Co-Curricular page on the HIS website for more information https://www.his-china.org/extend/co-curricular-activities-clone.

You can also send an email to activities@hisdragons.org.cn if you have any inquiries.

PICK UP OF STUDENTS DELAYS AND IMPORTANT MESSAGES TO TEACHERS

Please assist staff by advising us early (before lunchtime) wherever possible, if you need your child to do something different at their usual pick-up time and location. Teachers focus on working and engaging their class while maintaining a safe environment. They get to their computers sporadically and may miss changes. In addition, some classes are with Specialist staff for the last lesson and bring the students to the pick-up locations. They may be unaware of last-minute changes.

If you need to make a late change to plans, I'd suggest you send a message to our Lower School secretaries, florali@hisdragons.org.cn or in the ECE lilyfan@hisdragons.org.cn, and they can pass on your message.

PAFA NEWS AND EVENTS

Chinese New Year Celebrations – Year of the Dragon!

Join us for a festive day to welcome the Year of the Dragon at HIS. Parents are invited to the activities (ONLY parents, please)

HIS Community Band!

Mr. Vincent would like to formally invite all HIS parent musicians with experience playing a String, Woodwind, Brass, or Percussion instrument to come together and collaborate to form the First HIS Community Band!

Rehearsals will be on Thursday evenings starting at 5:00 PM in the Band Room and will begin on Thursday, February 22, after the Chinese New Year Holiday.

If you have any questions, please send me an email to: brianvincent@hisdragons.org.cn

Fridays HIS Artisan Food Market is back! Every Friday from 2:30 to 4:30 pm

Every Friday Hangzhou International School along with our community Artisans will offer to purchase tasty treats and excellent snacks from the different food vendors attending.

Come for a pleasant afternoon to end the school week, and head out for a relaxing and fun weekend with a happy stomach!

For information, contact Ms. Andrea: andreastubbs@hisdragons.org.cn

HIS Social Media.

Follow us and subscribe to our channels!

#GoHISDragons!

Andrea Stubbs

Director of Admissions and Community Relations

Hangzhou International School

2190 Xiangbin Road, Binjiang District, Hangzhou 310052 Phone: 86-571-8669-0045
Email: andreastubbs@hisdragons.org.cn

LIBRARY NEWS

Students were so excited to see the snow on Monday. They enjoyed the winter books and couldn’t wait to share their experiences of how they played with the snow. At the same time, some students would also love to create their special snowflakes. Although cold outside, students love sticking together and reading with friends and teachers.

Dear HIS Families,

I am happy to be back in the Lower School Library after my maternity leave. Many thanks to everyone who sent good wishes and I am sure you will get to meet my daughter, Kiana, very soon.

Friendly reminder, all parents can open a library account and check out up to 5 books at a time! Simply email the relevant librarian, email addresses below, and they will help you set up your account. You are also welcome and encouraged to visit our libraries after 3:15pm.

What kind of books can you find in the lower school library? Please check out the genre posters to find out more about our fantastic and diverse collection of over 10 000 books!

We look forward to seeing you in the libraries!

If you would like to contact the libraries, please use the email addresses listed below:

ECE Library, Ms. Ivy – ecelibrary@hisdragons.org.cn

Lower School Library, Mrs. Majoos and Ms. Jeanne – lslibrary@hisdragons.org.cn

Upper School Library, Ms. Sara– uslibrary@hisdragons.org.cn

In addition, don’t miss HIS Read Alouds that are uploaded to Moments 365 every week for students in ECE to Grade 5. This is a great opportunity to enjoy listening to a story together with the family at home and to learn more about the books in the library. Happy Reading!

Mrs. Majoos

Lower School Librarian

Best wishes,

ECE and Lower School Librarians

Parent and Student ID Cards

All students and parents should have an HIS Identification Card. Please review the information on the website to submit your photo to the secretary for ID card generation. HIS ID card information

DRAGONS WEAR THEIR UNIFORM WITH PRIDE EACH DAY!

Please can I ask you to remove the QR code and instead update the link so that it directs people directly to the website (rather than the PDF)?

https://www.his-china.org/extend/co-curricular-activities-clone

School Uniform

Please wear our school uniform with pride each day, and we seek your support in having your child dressed in the complete uniform each day. We will notify you if it is a special day to dress up; otherwise, students should be in uniform. Also, please have your child wear their PE kit on swim days (Grade1-5). Please label your child's clothing to help us return it to you. We often find many items without names, and the students cannot recognize their belongings.

Purchasing School Uniform

Families can purchase items at the Dragon Shop. It is open

Monday to Friday from

*8.05 am-2.45 pm and 3.15 pm-4.00 pm

For more information, please contact the dragon shop:

olivexu@hisdragons.org.cn

Alternatively, if you need to link, check it out here
https://issuu.com/hangzhouinternationalschool/docs/uniform_catalogue