Having received some useful coaching from Dutch BISS Pudong parent, Mrs Annemarie Peeters, Principal Horne declared, “Hierbij verklaar ik de Oranje Draak als geopend!” which, when translated means “I hereby declare the Dutch School opened!”
The informal ribbon cutting ceremony took place in the entrance of our Early Years building where, on the top floor, Room A205 will be the home base of the Dutch School. The spacious classroom has been transformed to reflect traditional Dutch Orange colours as well as the black-yellow-red and red-white-blue colours of the Belgian and Dutch flags. Orange cupcakes and juice were waiting for the staff, students and parents to celebrate the occasion.
As a formal school, endorsed by the Dutch Ministry of Education, De Oranje Draak has been operating in Shanghai for over 16 years in different locations in Shanghai and Suzhou. As many expat families ultimately return to their home country, De Oranje Draak has been very successful in keeping students connected to their home culture and maintaining and developing their language skills to facilitate successful reintegration into the education system at home.
With a staff of four teachers and a librarian they will be offering after-school Dutch classes for Dutch speaking children, every Wednesday from 3.45pm to 6.15pm. The current student enrolment of 28 includes BISS Pudong students from Year 4 to Year 11, as well as a number of students from other nearby international schools.
After brief words of welcome form the principal and introduction of the teachers, the students settled into their classes in various classrooms surrounding A205. Our BISS Pudong parents are delighted their children no longer need to travel to attend Dutch classes. Parents of children from other schools were impressed with the facilities BISS Pudong is able to offer.
Celebrating diversity is what we are about and it is our aim to build and increase the opportunities for all different language groups at our school to enjoy being taught in their mother tongue as part of our after school BISS Pudong Language Academy.
For information and to enrol, please contact:
Email: directeur@deoranjedraak.com
Tel: +86 – 15002114117
Website: www.deoranjedraak.com