Dear Parents,

We have reached the end of the 2019/20 academic year and what a fitting sendoff it was.

HFS End of Year Assembly

As is now custom at HFS we ended the year with a celebration of learning that has taken place over the course of the term as well as awarding students for their good character and academic performance. Congratulations to Olivia Walker-Hutchison, Ryan Kirkland, Léo Chaudet, and Dayeon Lee for being deserving recipients of the HFS Citizenship Award this term. You truly embody the values which we hold dear at HFS. Congratulations must also go to Jisika Philip, David Song, Jeremy Philip, and Theo Fatet for your fine academic performance this term. I have no doubt that you will keep up the good work as you enter your next year of studies.

It was an extra special ceremony this time as we had the pleasure of seeing the fruits of the students’ hard work in putting together their international group projects. All of the presentations were outstanding and I was blown away by their creative performances.

A special message of congratulations to Leigh-ah Cho Duggan on her graduation from Year 9. We wish her all the best of luck and happiness as she enters the next phase of her schooling career. Well done to our FS 2 students for also making it to the next step of their learning journey as they prepare to enter Year 1 next year.

On a sad note, we bid farewell to Dayeon Lee and Chris Roussos as they depart HFS. We have enjoyed having them at HFS and wish them nothing but adventure and delight on the next leg of their learning journey. We would like them to know that, should they return, they will always have a place at HFS.

Taekwondo Summer Camp starting on Monday 20 July

A friendly reminder of the UNESCO Taekwondo Summer Camp that starts on Monday 20 July. The school gate will be open at 9:45 am for you to drop off your child and the lesson will start at 10:00 am and run until 12:00 noon. Please remember to pack a water bottle and ensure that your child wears sports outfit and long sweat suit trousers are recommended. Students will be barefoot during the lesson. Parents should collect their children promptly at 12:00 noon. It promises to be a fun and rewarding initiative.

Farewell Ms. Nurse

It is with a heavy heart that we bid farewell to Ms. Nurse. She quickly made herself a well-liked member of the HFS community and her warm, friendly presence in the halls of the school will be missed by all. Ms. Nurse, we thank you for this year that you have spent teaching the Year 1-2’s and music to all the HFS students and hope that you have enjoyed your time at HFS. I wish you luck and happiness wherever you may land.

New School Year Calendar and Class Structure

The 2020/21 academic year will commence on Monday 24 August, with induction for new students being on Friday 21 August. Please click here to see the Academic Calendar for 2020/21.

The class structure for next year will be:

• FS 1 – Year 1 : Ms. McClellan
• Year 2 – 3 : Mr. Kearney
• Year 4 – 5 : Mr. Green
• Year 6 – 9 : Mr. Dunn

I am looking forward to what the new year holds in store for the school and am confident that we are ready to face any new challenges that the new year may bring. Thank you for your continued support and I hope you have a safe, healthy and enjoyable summer break.

Mr. Keareny

Dear Parents,

As we complete the final week of the term, we have been fortunate to have had a week of pleasant, warm weather. These are the items of news that I would like to share with you at this time.

Term 3 Student Progress Reports

I am very pleased that the term 3 student progress reports were sent out to parents today. The reports provide a breakdown of your child’s learning progress throughout this term, including information from any assessments that they might have taken. On Monday 13 July, student workbooks will be sent home for you to see the work that they have been doing this term. Please review them and mention any concerns you may have to your child’s teacher in the parent-teacher conferences next week. I am sure you will be pleased with your child’s learning progress throughout this term.

Parent Teacher Conferences on Thursday 16 July 

Parent Teacher Conferences will take place on Thursday 16 July from 09:20 to 3:30 pm. This term’s Parent Teacher Conferences will be conducted online through Google Meet. To secure your interview slot, please ensure that you have signed up by clicking on and completing this online sign-up sheet by Tuesday 14 July. A gentle reminder for parents to inform the admin office if they require a laptop to access the interviews. School laptops will be sent home with the students on Wednesday after school if parents have requested one. Please ensure that you can access and use Google Meet before the day of the conferences. Click here for an instruction guide. A link for your child’s class will be sent out on the day and parents are asked to only click on the link at their scheduled interview time. Thank you for your cooperation in this regard.

Two-week Taekwondo Summer Camp from 20 to 31 July 

A friendly reminder that HFS will be hosting a free two-week Taekwondo Summer Camp at the school during the summer break from 20 July to 31 July. The lessons will be taught by two fully qualified English-speaking Taekwondo experts and will take place from 10:00 to 12:00 Monday through Friday. Since the school is closed we are unable to provide a bus to and from the school during the summer camp. The instructors will give a demonstration at the assembly on Monday.  If you would like your child to participate in this initiative, please click here to complete the sign-up form. Responses must be submitted by Tuesday 14 July. I look forward to this exciting and rewarding initiative.

End of the Year Assembly on Friday 17 July

On Friday 17 July HFS will hold its end of term assembly. This time it will be very special since we are combining the students’ International group projects with the assembly proceedings. The program will include the international project presentations, a selection of work presented by each class, the Commendation and Citizenship Award for this term as well as the FS 2 and Year 9 Graduations. We will also sadly bid farewell to those leaving HFS. The assembly will run from 1:40 to 3:30 pm and is open to students of HFS and their parents.

For the school dance that is scheduled for 5:00 pm, Students will be dismissed at 3:30 pm and doors will open at 5:00 pm. Parents are asked to kindly refrain from parking in the open square. Parking will be available in the parking tower for the duration of the event. HFS will provide a parking coupon from the school office when you leave.

That is all for this week. Thank you for your continued support and do have a wonderful weekend.

Mr. Kearney

Dear Parents,

As the end of the academic year approaches there are still a number of significant events that will take place at HFS before the school closes for summer vacation. These are the newsworthy items that I would like to share with you this week.

HFS Sports Day

The weather was cloudy and cool today, perfect for us to hold our annual sports day to celebrate fun, fitness and healthy competition. The activities were an exciting mix of class and team games and the students had a great time taking part in the games. Unfortunately we had to stop the games as the rain came. I would like to thank the parents who came to be spectators for the event and everyone who worked so hard to make the event possible, especially Mr. Dunn and the student council and our judges and scorekeepers Leigh-ah and Chris – Well done everyone! The winners will be announced in the assembly on Monday, but since we had such a great time everyone came out on top. Enjoy these pictures from the day’s excitement.

Two-week Taekwondo Summer Camp from 20 to 31 July

We have been recently approached by UNESCO International Centre of Martial Arts (UNESCO ICM), an umbrella organization of UNESCO, who have been running Martial Arts Open School programmes around the world from 2017, teaching Taekwondo or Taekkyeon (a traditional Korean martial art) to young people. As a result of our discussion with UNESCO ICM and courtesy of the organization, HFS is going to organize a free two-week Taekwondo Summer Camp at school during the summer break from 20 July to 31 July. The lessons taught by two fully qualified English-speaking Taekwondo experts will take place from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm Monday through Friday.

Everyone who signs up will receive a UNESCO logo emblazoned Blue T-shirt, a pencil container, a pen and a notebook and those who complete the two-week lessons will receive a certificate of completion as well as a Taekwondo belt. I must add that this event can only take place if we have a minimum of 15 participants and that UNESCO ICM’s staff will take pictures of our students taking martial arts lessons for their promotional purposes. Please let us know whether your child will join the Taekwondo Summer Camp by Friday 10 July. Fill your child’s name on the sign-up form by clicking here.

Online Parent-Teacher Conferences on Thursday 16 July

On Thursday 16 July we will be conducting the parent-teacher conferences for this term. This is a vital opportunity for parents to converse with their child’s teacher and discuss their child’s learning progress as well as any concerns that they might have. This term, as we did during our E-Learning program and to ensure a safe and healthy school environment, the meetings will be conducted online via Google Meet. The conferences will take place throughout the day, starting from 09:20 am and running until 3:30 pm to allow parents enough time to collect their child from the bus stop in the afternoon. To reserve your time-slot and if you require the school to provide you with a laptop please click here and complete the online sign-up sheet. To ensure that you know how to use Google Meet please click on this instruction guide. Shared Google account and Google Meet link are included in that as well. Parents are asked to only log-in to the meet at their allocated time. You are welcome to contact the admin office for support. Please ensure that you are familiar and able to log-in to Google Meet before the day of the interviews to minimise disruptions on the day. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation with this initiative.

• PTC Sign-up Sheet ☞ Click here
• PTC Instruction Guide ☞ Click here

HFS School Dance on Friday 10 July

As has become tradition over the last few years, we will bring the year to a close with a school dance. The event will take place on Friday 10 July from 17:00 to 18:30 pm at the HFS school hall. Put on your dancing shoes and practice your moves for what promises to be an enthralling end of year celebration. The event is open only to students of HFS and their parents and a juice and snack will be provided, courtesy of the HFS Parent Teacher association. We thank them for their kind and generous assistance in making this event happen. I look forward to seeing you there.

HFS Yearbook Orders Due Today

As we bring the year to a close it is important to reflect on everything that made 2019/20 the year that it was. Mrs. Andersen has designed and crafted a fantastic yearbook that is a collection of all of the memories of this past year. This is a gentle reminder that orders for this yearbook are due today to allow enough time for printing. Please complete your orders by clicking here and filling out this online order form. The PTA has generously sponsored a discount for each student’s first copy and the cost is only 20,000 Won (43,000 Won for each copy thereafter). Please send payment to the admin office. I have already ordered my copy and I do hope you order your copy of this treasure trove of your child’s memories of this year at HFS.

Finally, it is understandable that students may have to leave HFS as their family’s time in Korea comes to an end. if you are certain that your children will be leaving HFS at the end of this year, please inform the admin office by Friday 10 July. While we understand that your journey at HFS may reach its end we will certainly be sad to see you leave.

That is all for this week. Thank you for your continued support and do have a wonderful weekend.

Mr. Kearney