Letter from the Principal: End of Term 2

Dear DCIS Parents and Guardians,

I may have said this at the end of Term 1 but it is hard to believe that the term is almost over. Its been an amazingly busy term with a great deal of success to celebrate. 

Please note we have issued an updated calendar of events for Term 3. We do try not to move events around but occasionally we do need to change some dates. These are all shown on the new calendar.

It was great to see so many of you at the Celebration of the Arts. The music and drama department did a fantastic job of getting a large amount of students involved and gaining the experience of performing in a formal setting. Many thanks to parents and guests for supporting the event.

We also had a week of Sports Weeks which were also very well supported by parents. The weather seemed to veer from boiling hot sunshine to torrential rain and back again, often within the same race! I am very grateful to Mr. Holmes and his PE team for their hard work and flexibility setting up and running each of the events. The atmosphere was fantastic.

School wide we were very proud to be awarded membership of the Council of International Schools (CIS) and FOBISIA as well as become accredited to offer the IB Diploma Programme. Each process involved external people visiting the school, meeting with key people, observing lessons and then writing a report. While we are obviously delightedly to receive each membership as it enables us to access opportunities for students and staff, it is really heartening to read the reports that are produced as they provide a lovely snapshot of other people’s views of a school you already have a great pride in. All three reports picked up on the great learning environment and our ability to include all learning while making sure we extend everyone in our school community.

With this last point in mind we recently hosted Ms Dee Grimshaw, the Deputy Head of the British International School in Ho Chi Minh City. We are working jointly on a project to ensure that there is a tangible and visible challenge and enrichment programme in place for students. More information on this will be available in Term 3 ready for the new academic year. 

Any outstanding organisation ensures that they invest in their staff and DCIS is no exception. Our staff are involved in weekly Continuous Professional Development and have access to external courses, seminars and conferences. Mr. Smith was away in the penultimate week of term representing us at the IB Annual Conference in Japan while I stayed slightly closer to home (UWC Dover Campus!) attending a symposium on Intercultural learning organised by the Council of International Schools. As a life-long expatriate and someone with 25 years in British international schools I found the two days fascinating. We are proud to offer a British based curriculum but we have an international student, parent and staff body and this, in my opinion, makes the experience we offer all the more richer. There are a variety of ways we leverage this diversity but, along with the DCIS challenge and enrichment mentioned above, we will also review this aspect of our curriculum over the coming months to further strengthen it. 

Many thanks to all the parents who answered our Parent Satisfaction Survey. We do find the survey incredibly useful. We have acted on a number of issues based on last years survey including the access road, lockers and reading books. We do pick feedback from other sources but this is our main opportunity for a larger response. We are holding an Information Session on Wednesday 3rd May at 08:45am and welcome all parents to attend. I am also keen to meet with any parents who have concerns and suggestions who have not previously been able to talk to me about them.

You may be aware that Singapore Polytechnic have closed some of their gates. They are trying to limit the number of unmanned gates they have open due to security. I have given this information to the LTA who will reassess pedestrian traffic patterns over the coming weeks. I would like to thank all our car drivers for their courtesy over the last few months but can I also take this opportunity to remind all our parents who drive that they need to follow our guidelines on driving and parking while on site. I also ask that parents follow road rules on the road outside the school as this helps us in our dealings with the Police and LTA. Please do not park in the coned area around the entrance – these cones allow for a car free zone to help pedestrians.

I hope your child has a restful holiday. The students in Year 11 and 12 will need to balance rest with some serious revision as their examinations start soon into Term 3. With our recent 'Highest in Singapore' EDEXCEL Grade Awards they have much to live up to and I know they will all do their very best. If you do manage to get away, please have a wonderful holiday.

Best wishes,

Mr. Christopher Short
Principal