News

Dear Parents

We are moving steadily in to term two now and I hope you are settled and keeping warm in this blustery winter weather. There are a few announcements this week that I would like to share with you.

Olivia McCarthy’s Award

I am pleased to announce that one of brightest year 2 students, Olivia McCarthy, received an award for her outstanding abilities in Speed Skating. We presented the award in our assembly on Monday and she was shy but excited to receive it. Well Done, Olivia! We are all proud of you.

Silly Hat Day

What a wonderfully fun day it was. There are certainly a few “Mad Hatters” in our midst at HFS. The students came up with amazingly silly designs and creations which they proudly displayed on the day. We had votes to select the silliest hat in each class and then the school chose the overall silliest hat as a winner. Congratulations to Noah Dunn for his madcap top-hat creation, complete with roads and cars (it was almost bigger than him!)

Fire Safety Inspection

At HFS, the safety and security of your children is our top-most priority and on Monday 21 January we will be visited by the Ulsan fire department as they inspect the effectiveness of our Emergency evacuation procedure for fire. We have practiced this as a drill in the first term and I have no doubt that the students will follow procedures in a calm and orderly fashion as they evacuate the building. We may even be lucky enough to have some photos of the children with the brave firefighters and their fire engine after the drill.

Scholastic book order

Today the popular Scholastic book catalogue went home with your child. Please take advantage of this wonderful resource and browse the catalogue, completing your online orders by no later than Sunday February 10th. The orders will then be delivered to the school and distributed to parents accordingly. Remember, Readers are Leaders!

Order Here ☞ http://world-schools.scholastic.co.uk/hyundai-foreign

Indoor Play due to Poor Air Quality and Low Temperatures

Unfortunately, due to the poor air quality earlier this week it was necessary to have indoor break a few times. At HFS we take the health and well-being of the students very seriously and we check the air quality index each morning. If the Air Quality index shows a high rate of particulate matter, we will keep the children indoors for their own health and safety. This is true for the temperature as well, if the temperature should fall to 0 degrees or below the children will remain warm indoors for play time. Fortunately, both the air quality and temperature improved during the latter part of this week and we could all enjoy our outdoor play time.

That is all for this week. Thank you for your continued support.

Best regards,

Scott Kearney

Dear Parents

Welcome back to a new year and a new term at HFS. I hope you are rested and refreshed from the winter break and all had a fantastic festive season and new year. There are a few exciting announcements that I am happy to share with you in the first newsletter of 2019.

Welcome to Jisika and Minel

HFS is excited to welcome a few new students to our school. Jisika Philip has joined the FS1 class and Minel Simsek has joined FS2. They have settled in nicely and we are delighted to have them as part of the HFS community.

HFS After-school Club Activities

I am happy to report that we will have a full complement of dynamic new club activities that will commence from next week, 14 January. These include arts and crafts, Film making club, Fun Korean learning, knitting and basketball. Violin and swimming club will also be running from next week for those who are participants.  If for any reason you have not joined a club but would like to participate please contact the admin office as soon as possible. We will limit the number of club participants to 20 with a minimum number of 6 in order to make the club viable. It promises to be a fun program of after school activities this term.

National Hat Day

Heads up everyone, Tuesday 15 January is National Hat Day. We would like to celebrate this by allowing students to wear the silliest hat that they can find, make or buy for the day. Each class will have a competition judging and deciding which hat is the silliest hat in their class. I look forward to some amazingly wacky creations on display.

PTA Meeting

We will have our first PTA meeting of the term on Thursday 17 January at 3:30. I look forward to seeing all the members of the group and welcoming any new members who would like to be a part of the parent teacher association for this term. I do enjoy the monthly meetings and discussions with our valued parent group and look forward to seeing you at the meeting next week.

Parent Lunch-time Volunteers

Thank you to all the parents who kindly volunteered their time to assist during our lunch period. The extra set of hands an eyes is much appreciated. A new volunteer list is up outside the admin office for any parent who would like to offer assistance during the lunch period this term. Simply put your name on the list for the day you would like to volunteer and be there on that day. Your assistance with this endeavor is greatly appreciated.

Going for Goals

I am happy to announce the establishment of another program at HFS to instill in our students the qualities of good HFS citizens. The going for goals program is a weekly initiative where students will set a goal to work toward and achieve during that week. Setting and achieving goals is a positive habit and has all the merits of a growth mindset. I am certain that this program will be as successful as other character-building programs at HFS.

That is all for this week. Thank you for your continued support.

Best regards,

Scott Kearney

Dear Parents

Term one has come to an end and looking back it has been quite eventful. From our inauguration at the Hanmaeum Center to our Chuseok celebration and Halloween evening, the first HFS open day and ultimately culminating in the fantastic HFS Winter Show last Monday – we have had a term full of memorable occasions and celebrations as well as the great teaching and learning in between. It has been a remarkable chapter in the HFS story and I am certain that next term will be equally memorable.

I wish to thank all of you for your support during the course of the term. A huge thank you as well to the staff that continues to keep HFS running and the students for all their hard work throughout the term. The school will close today at 12:30 pm for the Winter break. We will open again, energized and revitalised on Monday, January 7th.

A few pieces of information before we depart for the Winter break:

HFS Winter Show

A magical evening of singing, dancing, drama and laughter it was and once again thank you to all involved in making the event a massive success. Please click this link to our Facebook page for a selection of photos from the night. I would particularly like to mention Miss Yoojung Im at the Dongrami Theater for her outstanding work in putting the play together. Her work coaching and teaching the students in the Drama club really shone through and we clearly have some future performers in our midst.

Dongrami theater will be staging a separate production of Aladdin with Jeremy Philip and Cortney Dykes playing key roles. Do take the time to see them perform on Tuesday 18 December at 7:30 pm, you will not be disappointed.

Final Term Assembly

Thank you to all who came to watch our final term assembly. The students really appreciate when parents take time to view their work being showcased. Well done to the students for putting on such awesome displays of your learning. Congratulations to all the recipients of the School citizenship awards and commendations. You deserve all the praise that you have received.

Term 2 Club Activities

We have all enjoyed the variety of after-school club activities during term one and I am happy to report that there will be a host of exciting, different club activities in the new term. We will have an HFS movie-making club for budding directors and cinematographers as well as an arts and crafts club for students to get their creative juices flowing. To keep active, we will have a basketball club and swimming club will continue on Tuesday afternoons. Finally, we will also have a knitting club to keep our finger nimble making scarves, gloves and hats among other things. Please sign your child up for these in the new term.

Farewell to the Lickerts

A huge thank you to Mr. and Mrs. Lickert for generously preparing that scrumptious spread for the farewell lunch yesterday. Again we wish you all the best as you return home and know that you will always have a place at HFS.

Have a wonderful winter break. Travel safe if you are travelling and may everyday be filled with adventure and delight over the holidays. I look forward to everyone returning refreshed and recharged in the new term. Happy Holidays to all and may you ring in the new year with a smile.

Best regards,

Scott Kearney

Dear Parents

December has arrived and we can dust off our decorations and put up the tree. The term is almost at an end but there are quite a few things I would like to bring to your attention this week.

HFS Winter Show

To celebrate the festive season HFS will be staging its annual Winter show in cooperation with Dongrami theater. Join us on Monday 10 December at 6:00 pm for a fantastic evening of holiday-themed entertainment. The students have been working extremely hard on their drama, musical performances and songs. There will be loads of refreshments and snacks on sale as well as some of our students own handmade Christmas arts and crafts. If you would like to contribute some cakes, cookies or fruit to be made available as a refreshment please send it to school on Monday but keep in mind that HFS has a strict no nut policy. Join us for night of singing, dancing and being merry. To parents of children performing on Monday, please ensure that they practise, practise, practise their words and moves to hone their performances for the big show.

Term 1 Reports

With the end of term looming I am sure that you are eager to see what progress your child has made in their learning. Progress reports for term 1 will be sent home with your child today. Please ask them and check their bags to ensure that you receive the report. Once you have read through it in detail please complete the comment section for parents and bring that to the parent teacher conferences next week.

Parent Teacher Conferences

On Wednesday 12 December we will be having our termly parent teacher conferences. A more detailed communique has been sent out but please remember to book your interview slot by filling out the form at the admin office by Tuesday 11 December. The teachers are looking forward to meeting with you to discuss your child’s learning progress.

Farewell for the Lickerts

We are sad to be bidding farewell to Felix, Tom and Mr. and Mrs. Lickert as they depart for Germany at the end of the term. They have become a dear part of the HFS community and their absence will be felt in a big way. We wish the family luck and happiness as they return home and as Tom and Felix continue their learning journey at their new schools. As a farewell gesture the Lickerts would generously like to treat the school to lunch on Thursday 13 December. We will send a more detailed handout early next week but remember to pack only a snack and bring your water bottle for that day. should you see them in passing do say some kind words of farewell to the Lickerts, they will be missed by all of us.

Final Week and Final Assembly

Just a reminder that during the final week of term there will not be any club activities (Except for Violin class on Monday and the make-up Swimming lesson on Wednesday 12 December). The school bus will be running as normal at 3:30 pm daily. On Friday 14 December HFS will close for the Winter break. There will be a final school assembly from 11:00 am on the day where we will present awards and bid farewell to school leavers as well as enjoy some displays of student work. School will be dismissed promptly at 12:30 on Friday 14 December. Join us for an exciting sendoff as we put term one behind us and acknowledge the hard work and achievements that our students have made throughout the term.

Violin and Swimming Club during the Winter Break

There will be a few school activities running during the Winter break. The Schedules are listed below, and registration for clubs needs to be completed through the admin office by 12 December.

* Violin (4 lessons – 60,000 won)

– December 10th: 3:30 pm – 4:30 pm (After school)

– December 17th, 24th, 31st: 11 am-12 pm (holidays)

* Swimming (2 lessons – 45,000 won)

– December 18th, January 8th: 3:30pm-4:30pm

That is all for this week. Thank you for your support, stay warm and have a wonderful weekend.

Best regards,

Scott Kearney