Clubs were a great success this week with lots of sport science, baking, board-gaming and coding going on.
If your child will be missing a club one week or quitting please send us an email to confirm. We need more than the students say-so to put them on the bus.
Assessment Week
Please remember that next week is assessment week for Year 2 and above. The students will be taking exams in Maths, English and Science (Year 6 only).
We like to tell ours students that exams are important and that we should do our best, but they are nothing to worry about.
Good luck everyone!
Ministry of Education Audit
This week we welcomed some visitors from the Korean Ministry of Education. They are in school to check that all our paperwork is in order. They were very happy.
Sports Day
HFS Sports Day will be on Friday 7th May.
We have managed to arrange to use the sports field at Ulsan College so we can have a bit more space. Parents will be welcome to attend and enjoy the day with us but we will have to be very careful to follow COVID-19 and social distancing regulations.
Some clubs have limited numbers so make sure to sign-up quickly.
N.B – In Science/Baking Club the groups will rotate between Science with Mr de Klerk and Baking with Ms McClellan on alternate weeks. One week you will be baking and the next week you will be doing some science.
Clubs will start in Week 2 and last until Week 9
Club
Day
Open to
Max Number
Teacher
Coding Club
Friday
Year 2+
No limit
Mr Green
Chess and Board Games Club
Thursday
Year 2+
20
Mr Green
Sports and Games
Monday
All
20
Mr Dunn
Science/Baking
Tuesday
Group A: FS 1- Year 2 Group B: Year 3 +
10 for each group
Mr De Klerk Ms McClellan
Welcome to our New Students
A very warm welcome to our new students in Ms McClellan’s class.
Welcome Niko, Sarah and Ava!
We hope you we be very happy at HFS.
Students Leaving Early
If you know you will be leaving HFS before the end of term it is very helpful if you let us know as soon as possible. We need to make sure lots of important paperwork gets completed.
School Calendar 2021/22
Here is the School Calendar for next year.
Some points of explanation…
Term 1 will start with a short week for the students starting on Thursday 19th August. This is to allow for two days of new class activities and then full weeks of learning starting the following week. It also allows us to give the students a short break in November to break up a long term.
The students will have two days off in November while the teachers are still working at school. This is to give the students a break in a long term and also allow the teachers to complete the work necessary for our next CIS visit.
Chuseok and Lunar New Year have been made into full week holidays.
Week 3 this term (week beginning 19th April) will be an assessment week for students in Years 1-7.
Students in Year 6 will be sitting the Cambridge Checkpoint Exams in English, Maths and Science. These exams are externally marked and the results sent back to the school. The results of these exams will be shared with parents in your child’s final reports in June.
All Students in Year 2-7 will be sitting the Cambridge Progress Tests in Maths and English. These exams are marked in school using the standards set by Cambridge Assessment. The results of these exams will also be shared with parents in your child’s final reports and June.
The best thing you can do to help us is to remind your child that although exams are important and we should try our best, there is no need to be stressed or nervous. Keep calm and do your best.
As these assessments cover material learned throughout the year and a student ongoing progress, there is no specific preparation the students should be doing.
Cambridge InCAS Assessments
The feedback we have received from parents and our external auditors have shown us that parents want more objective assessments of their child’s progress. As a result of this feedback and our own reflection, we have decided to introduce an additional assessment program.
Students in Years 1-6 will complete Cambridge InCAS Assessments twice a year. These assessments are completed online and will provide the school and parents with an age-standardised assessment of a child’s ability and progress at a given time. Also, by tracking this data over time and by comparing the performance of our students in different curriculum areas, the school will be better able to monitor how well we are doing and adjust our efforts accordingly.
The students have already started working on these assessments this term.
We currently considering how best to share the results of these assessments with parents, but they will most probably also be included in a child’s report.
Please remember that there are no clubs in the last week of term. This is to allow time for events and Parent-Teacher Conferences.
Clubs will return in Term 3. The students shared some great ideas for possible clubs in assembly today.
Parent-Teacher Conferences
Class teachers will be available on Thursday 18th March between 3:45 pm and 5.30 pm for Parent-Teacher Conferences. We would like to do as many of the appointments as possible on this day, but if you are unable to attend we are happy to make other arrangements. We are always happy to meet parents whenever is convenient.
Please use this form to book an appointment on Thursday 18th March
Term 2 Progress Reports
Term 2 Progress Reports will be sent home on Tuesday next week. Please remember the format of reports in Term 2 will be more concise than Term 1. There will a short comment on general progress, and progress in each of the core subjects. There will also be two specific targets for improvement in each subject.
HFS TV – Coming in Term 2
Starting in Term 2 we will be launching HFS TV – A weekly news show featuring everything happening at HFS. Watch this space.
The end of Term 2 is approaching fast and spring is beginning to appear. Students at HFS are still hard at work and learning!
Here are some important dates that are coming up.
Today – Last Day for Talent Show Entries
Tuesday 16th March – Term 2 Reports Published
Thursday 18th March – Parent-Teacher Conferences
Friday 19th March – Talent Show – Last Day of Term
Monday 5th April – First Day of Term 3
Book a Parent-Teacher Conference Appointment
Class teachers will be available on Thursday 18th March between 3:45 pm and 5.30 pm for Parent-Teacher Conferences. We would like to do as many of the appointments as possible on this day, but if you are unable to attend we are happy to make other arrangements. We are always happy to meet parents whenever is convenient.
Please use this form to book an appointment on Thursday 18th March
Talent Show Entries
Here is a list of all the exciting Talent Show entries we have received.
It is really going to be a great show!
If there is anyone else who would like to enter, or if I have missed anyone, please email me before Monday.
Who
What
Seoa
Kalimba
Iris
Piano
Cherry
Piano
Mr Green
Guitar Sing-a-Long
HFS Staff
Singing Performance
Logan, Reyansh, Dave, Nikolay, Jeremy
A Band
Chloe
Hula Hooping
Cherry, Hannah and Lois
Singing Performance
Caroline and Chloe
Singing Performance
Nathan
Guitar
Aarna
Piano
Jeremy
Violin
Audrey
Ukulele
The HFS Beatles
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
School Trips
Many students and parents have been asking about school trips. We are hoping to arrange some great trip and activities in Term 3 when the weather is nice. The COVID-19 regulations still limit what things we can do indoors so we are thinking about some outdoor trips and activities we can organise. Watch this space!
Invoices
Invoices for the term 3 tuition fees went home with your child today. Please be sure to look out for them if this applies to you.
Bus Seating
From Monday we will be changing the seating arrangement on the bus. If your child is unhappy with their new seat, please help us by explaining that the arrangement is partly organised to allow smooth loading and unloading and that everyone can’t sit exactly where they want. Also, we change the seat regularly so it won’t be forever. Thank you.
Book Donations
Please remember that there is a basket at the door of each classroom where students can donate books. Donated books will either be added to the school library or included in a charity book sale. There is a sticker available to place in donated books so students in the future can remember you. We hope that this will encourage not only reading but also support the spirit of sharing in the HFS community.
Great Learning Happening
Mr Dunn’s class have been doing some some science experiments this week. Great job guys!
Please remember that school will be closed on Monday 1st March for the Korean Independent Day Holiday.
See you on Tuesday!
Talent Show
Friday 19th March – 2pm
We are already getting very excited about the Talent Show and the teachers and school staff are busy preparing their entries. Mr Green will sing and play guitar, the Korean staff have formed a singing group and Mr Dunn is practising his fire juggling.
Students can sign-up to take part in the Talent Show using this Sign-up Form. It would be great to see as many students as possible involved in the Talent Show. Remember, anything goes, you don’t have to be a professional and we all have a talent to show!
We are planning to record the Talent Show and produce a video for parents to see.
Term 2 Reports and Parent Consultations
Your child’s class teacher will be in touch with you soon to arrange a Parent Consultation for Term 2. We are hoping to do most of these consultations on Thursday 18th March, when teachers will be available until 5.30 pm.
Reports for Term 2 will be published on Wednesday 17th March. These reports will be in a different format from those you have received in the past. As a school, we are looking at the way we produce written reports and investigating how we can improve.
Starting from next year we will be producing two written reports a year. These reports will be similar to the ones you have been receiving, with some improvements. Reports will be published in the middle and at the end of the school year. There will still be three Parent Consultation sessions in the year.
Library Renovations
We are very grateful to Mrs Shin for all the hard work she has been doing in the library. The library is looking great now and the students are reading more and enjoying being in the library. Thank you.
Book Donations
As part of our drive to encourage students to read more, we would like to ask you to take a look around your home and donate any age-appropriate books that are no longer being read. Donated books will either be added to the HFS library or will be available for parents and students to purchase at a mini-book sale we are hoping to host in the near future.
For the next two weeks, there will be a green basket in each classroom where students can leave their book donations.
February Birthdays
Happy Birthday to everyone who celebrated a birthday in February. Thanks for the snacks!
Remember, we celebrate birthdays on the last Friday of each month at assembly. Students are allowed to bring a small snack/gift for their classmates/everyone is they wish. There is no obligation to bring anything and please keep it small.
FS1-Y1 had a great time celebrating their 100th day of school this year.
Parking at the Hanmaeum Centre
Parking inside the square in front of the school is not allowed for the general public. However, HFS has made special arrangements with the Hanameum Center, which allows our school parents to park inside the square for the purpose of dropping off and picking children in the morning and in the afternoon (8:30 to 09:30 am and from 3:10 to 5:00 pm).
In order to do so, parents need to apply for a yellow parking permit from the admin office, which you can get by submitting a copy of your car registration certificate and a refundable deposit of 20,000 won.
If you need to visit school at other times, please park at the Ulsan University Hospital parking tower, adjacent to the school. Parking is allowed for up to an hour and a half and a free-parking coupon is available from the admin office.
Talent Show
Art Trip
Everyone had a great time visiting the Anthony Browne exhibition. Hopefully, we can organize some more school trips soon.