Dear Parent/Guardian,
Today, the campus was especially vibrant as students and staff dressed in hanbok, cheongsam, red attire, or the traditional clothing of their home countries to celebrate the Lunar New Year. The special assembly was a wonderful showcase of our community’s talents, featuring a dragon dance, musical performances (including a song sung in five languages), umbrella dance routines, poetry recitations, and creative dramatic presentations recounting the Xian trip. Our student MCs did an outstanding job, switching seamlessly between English, Korean and Mandarin, and it was great to see so many parents joining us for the occasion. A huge thank you to Ms Wen and the Mandarin team for all their hard work leading up to this event.
Last Saturday night, we hosted our very first Worldwise Alumni Network Dinner, welcoming over 60 alumni from across the Dulwich Family of Schools, including graduates from Beijing, Suzhou, and Shanghai Pudong, many of whom had not seen each other since graduation. The night was filled with reconnections, new friendships, and conversations about future collaborations. It was a privilege to meet so many of our former students, and I look forward to forging even stronger partnerships with our alumni both locally and around the world.
We have officially begun beta testing MyDulwich, the all-in-one parent portal scheduled to launch in March, with a select group of volunteer parents this week. Their feedback will help us make final adjustments before all parents have access beginning in March. MyDulwich will replace the current iSAMS Parent Portal, offering a more streamlined and user-friendly way to access timetables, calendars, and essential school updates tailored to your child’s year group. We look forward to sharing more details as we approach the official rollout.
Over the past few days, we have had the pleasure of hosting the Roy McGrath Jazz Quartet, a group of professional musicians from Chicago touring Dulwich Colleges across Asia. They have been working closely with our students during the day, inspiring them through workshops and rehearsals, and even performed a community concert last night. Their visit has truly been a highlight of our Diversity Programme, bringing an enriching cultural and musical experience to our campus.
I had the pleasure of hosting members of our Worldwise Alumni Network including our DCSL rep Alex Blanchard, Beca from Suzhou and Luna from DCB, who came in to talk about their proposed ideas and partnership opportunities. We had a great discussion around the needs of alumni and also what they could offer our current students with their lived experiences. I look forward to strengthening our partnerships further with our exceptional group of Alleynians.
An important update for our Year 8 families: applications for Ignite: Switzerland Academic Year 2024/2025 are now open. A secure link has been sent to your child’s school email inbox, and the first round of applications closes on 10 February 2025.
As we approach our Lunar New Year break this year, please note that we will not return to school until Monday, 3 February. In the meantime, I wish everyone in our community a wonderful holiday, whether you are celebrating the new year or simply enjoying a restful break. I look forward to welcoming you all back soon, refreshed and ready for the exciting weeks ahead.
Best regards,
Alison Derbyshire
Head of College