Weekly e-updates 3 June 2022

From our Head of College Dear Parents and Guardians, Whilst I could not be present due to unforeseen circumstances, it was heartening to hear about the incredible day our students, volunteer parents and staff members had on this Founder’s Day/Queen’s Jubilee Celebration.

I would like to thank all our students and staff who helped prepare the games and set up decorations in the gym; students and staff who played beautiful music during the event; all the parents who planned and offered some wonderful treats from their countries and showcased their culture at the tables; Friends of Dulwich members who helped decorate the foyer, atrium, outdoor eating area, MPR and the gym entrance; and all the staff members who helped with setup, cleaning, photos, photo booths and overall ensured the students had a great time.

It was a momentous affair - the first time that the College had been buzzing with so much activity since the start of the pandemic and a welcome sliver of hope that we could continue to fully open the campus for future events next academic year.

Founder’s Day is the important day on which we celebrate our founder, Edward Alleyn, and it is invariably the most anticipated and fun event of the year. We all look forward to experiencing a full-fledged Founder’s Day next year.

As an international school with British roots, we also celebrated the Queen’s Jubilee as this weekend coincides with the big celebrations in the UK. We saw Jubilee-themed decorations everywhere across campus, including Union Jack bunting, the Queen’s Guard, red telephone boxes and the Queen’s face. The Queen herself could be spotted around the College welcoming guests.

I would like to thank our judges of the Great Dulwich Bake-off, our cupcake decorating competition, who included Deputy British Ambassador Nikesh Mehta, Friends of Dulwich co-chair Vicky Lemmens and Art Technician Alley Kim. Congratulations to all the winners. The entries were positively outstanding!

The 20 tables representing the different countries of our DCSL families offered amazing treats that were a feast to the eye and stomach. The Korean table was a spread worthy of a king and the Island of Jeju was well-represented with parents sporting bright orange hats in honour of the island’s most famous fruit - the mandarin.

What a true team effort this was and we couldn’t have done it without all of your help. I sincerely hope this will be a day our students remember for a long time to come.

I wish you all a restful long weekend. May we remember those who served the country on Memorial Day. With my best wishes, Mr Gudmundur Hegner Jonsson Head of College

Whole School Inquiry Hub Opening Event

We are delighted to announce our official Inquiry opening event, featuring H.E. British Ambassador to South Korea Colin Crooks, who will be our special guest to help us open our award-winning Primary School library. Our Junior Librarians will be giving Ambassador Crooks a tour of the library, where he will be reading a book to our students.

Chinese Test International Co. Ltd (CTI), Confucius Classroom (Crestar) Singapore, International Education Center of East China Normal University, Canadian International School in Singapore and Dalton School of Hong Kong jointly held ‘The 3rd Cloud Symposium on International Chinese Language Teaching’ on May 28 and 29. Experts, scholars, senior teachers and new rising stars in the teaching profession were invited to share their joy in cultivating Chinese language learners and the results they have achieved in Chinese language education and teaching research. A lot of thought and effort has gone into developing the form, content and spiritual connotations of international Chinese language education in the post-pandemic era.

There were around 550 attendees across 21 countries and regions in the world who took part in the workshops. Ms Ying Wen, College Head of Mandarin has been invited to deliver a workshop at the Symposium. The topic she shared was ‘Methods and Techniques of Blended Learning in Chinese Teaching’. She shared the insights on how blended learning of the Chinese language and the pioneering ‘Wo Hui Mandarin’ online learning platform and Apps has been an anchor in the language curriculum in Dulwich College Seoul in these new times. They felt interested in the Wo Hui Mandarin learning platform as well as the practical teaching methods and techniques which she has shared.

Musical: Into the Woods

Camarata Music presents the delightfully hilarious Sondheim musical, Into the Woods. Come on out and see all your favourite fable and nursery characters in a way you never have before!

This hilarious show, hosted by Dulwich College Seoul, is being put on by Camarata Music and features a wide range of actors and actresses from all over the greater-Seoul area. *Note: this production is not recommended for children under 10 years of age.

June Dulwich Talk

We are excited to announce that our final Dulwich Talk on 9 June will feature Ambassador Crooks as a guest speaker and students will be joining the audience for the first time since the reboot. We’re looking forward to welcoming his insightful talk and discussion with students and parents. We expect the event to fill up quickly so please RSVP by clicking this link. Light refreshments will be served beginning at 8am in front of the 4th Floor Auditorium and the event will begin at 8.30am. Please do not bring any food or drinks into the auditorium.

Primary School Dear Primary parents,

DUCKS 1 - day trip Our smallest Primary students had a lovely Tuesday at the transport museum looking at and asking questions about cars and vans through history. From naming car parts to chatting through the hows and whys of car design, lots of information was shared and chatted about. Thank you to the parents who were able to volunteer for this trip.

Year 6 Award Hike - 10.8km and Two Peaks The weather was perfect for the day’s hiking - cool and overcast for the climbs in the morning, and then sunny and clear at lunch so we could enjoy the views over Gangnam and our well-earned ice creams at the end. This route is the most demanding of those we use for Primary hikes but the Year 6’s made short work of it. By encouraging each other up the hills and enjoying each others’ company at the breakpoints, all had a good day and felt a great sense of accomplishment on achieving their goal. Students paced themselves and had good ‘self-care’ with hats on and water regularly sipped. Their positive mindset and community spirit were clearly on display, as were the lovely friendships that have developed over the years. We look forward to presenting the Year 6 Award medal and certificate to those Year 6 children who have successfully completed all aspects of the Award programme at the upcoming Year 6 Graduation.

Donuts With Dads

Year 2: Well done, Year 2 for being caring hosts this week - so thoughtful and invested in parents’ well being and tummies. Parents were kept circulating around the room by their youngsters, while enjoying Quadra’s delicious breakfast.

Year 1: Next Tuesday (7 June) is Year 1’s turn - many thanks to all the Year 1 Dads (or other family members) who are able to come along to help their children develop great social skills by caring for others. If you are a Year 1 parent who thinks you have missed the sign up deadline but can now come along, please get in touch. This event has been incredibly popular with Dads who have loved the gentle pressure exerted by their children to come along for this ‘playdate’. Look out for more events for parent networking next school year!

Nursery and Reception: Our (final) DWD is for Reception and Nursery as follows Tuesday 14 June from 7.30am to 8.30am. Then the parents are invited to class with their children from 8.30am to 9am, and then an optional campus tour from 9am to 10am. A sign up letter has been emailed out this week for interested Dads (or a Mum) to complete.

Our Family Hike Last Saturday

Saturday had glorious weather so the views enjoyed by our families from Achasan were terrific - well worth the climb to the top. We spotted interesting beetles and other insects on our ascent and everyone enjoyed chatting to new people. Next year’s calendar will feature more family events so pencil them into your diary as they pop up. It’s a great way to meet new people and get some fresh air and exercise with your children.

Founder’s Day: Queen Elizabeth’s 70th Year of Service

Founder’s Day was great fun, delicious and colourful. Students, staff and parent helpers dressed up a little or a lot, all adding to the carnival atmosphere and 70th Jubilee celebrations. The International Food Fayre was a treat for the senses - our students enjoyed asking questions about the tastes from around the world and loved being openminded risk-takers. We are so grateful to our parents who provided the community with delicacies from their home countries. The range and quality of the food provided by families was outstanding - our community greatly enjoyed every bite. From British tablet, to Australian sausage rolls, Italian cheeses, Korean kimbap, Indian sweets, Japan’s fried chicken and Beligium’s waffles, our plates were heaving with delicious nibbles. An event to remember!

Quadra did us proud too with their take on a 1950’s retro British-style “School Dinner” as may have been served on the year of Queen Elizabeth’s coronation 70 years ago! The jam sponge and custard was a winner with the children!

The Student Council-led Games Booths were manic, fun and challenging! Ms Goddard and Mrs Jonsson worked hard with their student groups to create a games sensation for Friday. There were guessing games, water games, aiming games - you name it we had it! When we have the final total of money raised for the Korean Red Cross we will be sure to share it! Thanks to everyone who supported our latest student leadership initiative.

Entertainment in the gym: Many thanks to our musicians and dancers who entertained the assembled children through Friday morning. It was another lovely opportunity to see the many talents of our students and clear evidence of their hard work and commitment.

The Great Dulwich Bake-off was a dizzying array of creative cupcakes - so many different ideas coming together under the theme of “Royalty”. The UK’s Deputy Ambassador, Mr Nikesh Mehta, came along to judge the contest, ably assisted by his co-judges, Ms Alley Kim from the Art Department and FoD’s Co-chair, Mrs Vicky Lemmens.

Many thanks to our thoughtful judges - they had a series of tricky decisions to make! The winner for each category were:

Julia in Year 2 Theo in Year 3 Emi in Year 3 Oonagh in Year 5 Eileen in Year 8 Niamh on Year 4 - Outstanding Award Ian in Year 1 - Outstanding Award Congratulations to all our entrants and well done to the winners!

Final Week of ECAs and Private Music Lessons next week: Thank you to those families who have taken up ECAs and private music lessons for their children this year. Next Friday (10 June) is the last day of these events for the school year.

Year 3 - Year 6 Sports Day on Thursday

Thursday’s event for our Juniors was a great success at GwanMun Sports Complex. The event was an all-day, out-ofschool sports day - the first since the beginning of the pandemic. This was a great day for our students to have the opportunity to be outside and participate in a variety of athletic events with their peers, and included relay races, field games and team games with the goal of the students representing their Houses. At the end of the day, Shackleton House won the day and were presented with the House Cup. Sejong was a close second, the Seacole and Alleyn offering stiff competition too. Parents were encouraged to attend and many took the opportunity to watch their child participate in some fun events and meet others in our friendly community!

Pets for the Summer Please refer to our letter on Thursday for details of how to host one of our school pets for the summer holidays. It’s a great way for children to get the experience of caring for another living thing, with the associated joys and responsibilities. Contact Ms Wildman for more information at natasha.wildman@dulwich-seoul.kr

Assemblies this week Monday Assembly was led by Ms Goddard and Year 5 and it was all about endangered animals, why they may be endangered and what we can do to help. There was no Assembly on Friday due to Founder’s Day.

Monday is a National Holiday and therefore the College is closed for staff and students. Wishing you a lovely day with your children.

NEW: Parent Handbook link

NEW: Click on this link for the full Values: Dulwich College Seoul Community Values

Stars of the Week (DUCKS to Year 4) and Learning Warriors (Year 5 / Year 6) Each week, our staff spot a child in each class who has been doing especially well with the IB Learner Profile dispositions and that child becomes SoW or the LW for the class. Click here to see who was spotted this week and here for the Week's ahead.

Quadra Instagram page link - see daily posts by our caterer, Quadra, showing the lunch served to students that day.

Dulwich Adventure instagram page link - check out posts from staff accompanying our latest day trips and expeditions.

Contact details of Primary Leadership staff: Jane Smith, Head of Primary - jane.smith@dulwich-seoul.kr Jim Harvey, Deputy Head of Primary (Academic - online learning, curriculum and reporting) - james.harvey@dulwichseoul.kr Maggie Goddard, Deputy Head of Primary (Pastoral - student wellbeing and support) - maggie.goddard@dulwichseoul.kr Esther Yang (Primary Administrator) - esther.yang@dulwich-seoul.kr

Have a fun and safe weekend with your family.

Kind regards, Mrs Jane Smith Head of Primary School

Stars of the Week - DUCKS Year 2

Year 3

Year 4

Senior School

Founder’s Day and Jubilee Celebrations Huge thanks to the students, teachers and parents who made our Founder’s Day and Jubilee celebration such a success today. There were a variety of games and activities in the gym to entertain students, many of whom had dressed up for the occasion. Students had the opportunity to try food from around the world, representing our diverse student body. Parents put on a spectacular selection of tasty treats - the highlight of the occasion for me!

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Next Week Don’t forget that there is no school on Monday as it is Memorial Day - a day to commemorate those who died during the Korean War and other conflicts.

Exams continue for Year 10 after the long weekend, but they have a change of focus at the end of the week. Year 9 and Year 10 students will be participating in an online internship programme next Thursday and Friday. Working with industry leaders in biotechnology, mechanical engineering, molecular biology and pharmaceutical science, they will collaborate to solve real world problems. It promises to be an interesting and enjoyable experience, which will give students a valuable insight into their chosen industry.

Best wishes for a relaxing weekend.

Ms Sarah Harrison Head of Senior School

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Senior House Event

May is Mental Health Awareness Month and last Friday, our students across the school had a morning (Primary School) and an afternoon (Senior School) dedicated to wellbeing. In their Houses, students engaged in various activities including yoga, clay play, sports and singing, to name a few.’

Friends of Dulwich Used Books Donation Drive

We are pleased to announce that there will be a ‘Used Books Donation Drive’ from 30 May to 17 June. If you have any gently used books (English books only) that you no longer need, please donate them! We will place collections bins by the College entrance and foyer for easy access. Friends of Dulwich members will sort the books and hold a used book sale at the beginning of the next Academic Year in August 2022. Thank you for your participation!

Flower Arranging Class - Make a Hand-tied Bouquet