Dear Parents and Guardians,
Happy New Year! Welcome to those who have joined our Dulwich community in Term 2. For those returning, I hope you had a restful winter break and are excited to be back.
I travelled with my family to Serbia, my wife Katarina’s home country, and it was lovely to reunite with family and old friends in the region. The weather in Belgrade, like many places across Europe, was the warmest on record since the 1800s. The unseasonable warmth was a reminder for me that global climate change is happening now and we are already experiencing its effects.
Over the break, there were a number of improvements made to the College facilities. We have a new DUCKS ‘Rainbow Kitchen and Cafe’, specifically designed for small children and equipped with everything they need to learn and grow in the culinary arts. There is a new, more-accessible helpdesk window for the IT office and we have set up a dedicated prayer room for the convenience of our Muslim students.
In some very exciting news indeed, our Head of Senior School, Suzy Pugh, has just returned from escorting our first ever Ignite Switzerland Year 9 cohort to the Hochalpines Institut Ftan campus in the beautiful Engadin Valley. The students were greeted with a breathtaking winter wonderland, complete with the majestic Swiss Alps towering on the horizon, providing an unforgettable backdrop to the start of their programme. You can find more information and photos in the SS section of this e-update.
I would like to bring to your attention an insightful article written by our Director of University Counselling, Paul Sweet, that was recently featured in Business Korea. The article, titled How to prepare tomorrow’s business leaders, offers some valuable perspectives on supporting students in making wise choices for their education and career journeys. Thank you, Paul, for your leadership on this topic.
With only a week of school before we break again for the Lunar New Year holiday, or Seollal, as it is called in Korea, I would like to invite all parents to attend our special Whole School Lunar New Year Assembly at 2pm in the College Gymnasium next Friday 20 January. It’s an exciting event that showcases a diverse range of vibrant student performances – a grand spectacle not to be missed.
Next week, there will be our first adventurous journeys of the new term, with Year 3 to Year 6 students heading off to the ski fields. These trips provide an excellent opportunity for students to develop their physical coordination and build on social relationships while having fun in the great outdoors.
This week we learned of a proposal to amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act issued by a member of the Korean National Assembly. There are two specific amendments that would make it more challenging for Korean nationals to attend international schools.
Whilst our current students are not impacted, the proposed amendment, if implemented, would significantly affect the operations of international schools across the country. For more information, please read the letter that was sent to all parents on Wednesday of this week. We will keep the community updated on this important issue. You can view the public comments on the proposal here.
We have our New Parent Coffee Morning taking place at 8.30am on Tuesday next week. This is a great opportunity to connect with other parents as well as speak with key members of the College Leadership Team. I am very much looking forward to meeting and getting to know the newest members of the Dulwich community.
We are excited to announce that the Dulwich College Seoul Gala, organised by the Friends of Dulwich, will be taking place on Tuesday 28 February at the Conrad Seoul. Join us for an evening of fun, food, and entertainment as we come together as a community to celebrate and support our school. Mark your calendars and prepare to attend this not-to-be-missed event. We will share more details in the coming weeks.
This week, we all had to deal with some quite poor air quality, but thankfully the rain today has brought some relief and cleared the dust. It looks like there will be more rain and possible snow over the next couple of days so please stay warm and dry as you enjoy a restful weekend.
With my best wishes,
Mr Gudmundur Hegner Jonsson
Head of College