HQ Campus Bulletin

At this time I’d like to wish all members of our school community a healthy and auspicious Chinese New Year 2010: The Year of the Tiger! This week will be a busy time for all as we inch closer to the holiday period. If this is your first year in China and you’re planning to stay in China for the holiday, you’re in for a cultural treat!

This week will feature some special events that should provide a highlight for us all, and give us extra appreciation for the fascinating country where we are fortunate enough to reside. This coming Thursday, February 11th, the Princeton High School Orchestra from Princeton, New Jersey, USA will perform in the Performing Arts Center Theater at 1900. They will be joined by a select group of our own SCIS high school musicians. Admission to this event will be free, but donations will be collected in the lobby for the Habitat for Humanity Haiti Earthquake Relief fund. Albert will also be preparing some refreshments in the cafeteria from 1830. Be sure to come a little early if you want a great seat for this special evening concert!

Friday, February 12 will feature Chinese New Year events throughout the day, many of which will include performances from our students:
• Early Childhood, Grade 1 and Grade 2 students will be taking part in classroom-based Chinese New Year activities in the morning and a sing-along in the lower school gym between 0950 and 1050
• Grades 3-5 will hold a Chinese New Year Assembly in the Theater from 0950 to 1050.
• At 1100, the annual Chinese Lion Dance will take place on the sports field
• From 1400 to 1500 the Upper School (grades 6-12) will hold a Chinese New Year assembly in the theater

Once again, let me wish all of you the very best over the coming holiday. We look forward to your return to school on Monday, February 22, 2010.

written by Michael Donaldson

Our Parents and Friends Association (PAFA) and our campus administrators are combining to offer a new family orientation this coming Friday, January 22nd from 0900 to 1100 in our Upper School Library, located on the main floor of the Middle School Building. There will be introductions at 0900 then break out sessions for lower and upper school parents along with welcoming sessions for all parents. This is a great opportunity to put faces to names and I hope to see all of the newest members of our parent community this Friday!
Mike Donaldson
Head of School

written by Michael Donaldson

As announced prior to the winter holiday, SCIS students are encouraged to take part in the 2010 Scripps National Spelling Bee sponsored by the E.W. Scripps Company and other sponsoring newspapers from around the world.
SCIS Hongqiao will host the Shanghai City Finalist Competition in our own SCIS Performing Arts Center Theater on February 27th, 2010. Before then, we hope many of you will enter Round One of the School Spelling Bee Written Test, which will happen at Hongqiao on January 19, 2010. Round One consists of a 25-word written Spelling Bee Test (Test A) to be attended by all those who have entered to competition.
If you are a student who wishes to enter Round One of the Spelling Bee, please register by 1630 on Tuesday, January 18, 2010 by going to http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/?p=WEB22A3ZNH9G5A and filling out the form online. Your homeroom or advisory teacher will provide further information about Round One (time, location and format) before Round One takes place on the 19th. After the completion of Round One, the top fifteen spellers will move on to Round Two on February 15, 2010 which will be an SCIS-wide competition (Including Hongqiao and Pudong) to determine three winners who will move onto Round Three: City Finals
A comprehensive list of eligibility requirements can be found in the Rules for Local Spelling Bees at www.spellingbee.com. Prior to the holiday, students in grades 5 thru 8 should have received a Spelling Bee Pack, which contains the words for this year’s competition along with study tips and other information about the Spelling Bee.
If the website doesn’t answer your questions, feel free to email me at mdonaidson@scischina.org
I sincerely hope our students will have fun with this competition and maybe one of our own students will end up as a champion speller and represent China at the Scripps National Spelling Bee in the US this spring!

written by Michael Donaldson

I would like to welcome all returning and new families back to SCIS Hongqiao for the second semester. School for students begins on Wednesday, January 13 for a full day of classes. Transportation services and school lunches also begin again on this day. If you have questions regarding any issues for the second semester you may contact the school at 6261-4338 as all non-teaching staff are available at this time to assist you. If you are a new family you should have received an email this past week outlining some of the communication procedures in place at SCIS along with some other information about the school’s operating procedures.
While school for students does not begin until Wednesday, our teachers will return to school for professional development on Monday, January 11, 2010.
In closing, I wish all of our community members a safe return to Shanghai and look forward to seeing our student’s smiling faces return next Wednesday!
Mike Donaldson
Head of School

written by Michael Donaldson

At this special time of year I’d like to send festive greetings to all of the families in our diverse international community. Whatever your family’s nationality one can feel the festive atmosphere at this time of year. I’d like to thank our own Director of Business Development Mr. Andy Seng for seeing that the school environment has such a festive atmostphere this season and I’d also like to thank parent Robin Kaptzan for her assistance in this area as well.
I’d also like to recognize that some of our families are leaving us at this time to return home permanently or move to other international locations. For those of you who are leaving the school, we will miss you! Please keep in touch. In today’s world of Twitterbook FaceSpace, goodbye is never forever. Come back and see us or send us an email.

written by Michael Donaldson