Dear Parents and Guardians,
Welcome back for Term 3! I hope everyone had a restful and rejuvenating spring break. I spent the week exploring the beautiful city of Da Nang in Vietnam with my family. We had the opportunity to visit the stunning Marble Mountains and the historic town of Hoi An – a centuries-old trading port with a fascinating mixture of Chinese, Japanese and European architecture.
Today, I had the pleasure of attending the New Parents Coffee Morning where I enjoyed chatting with some of the new members of our community. We welcomed them to our school and introduced them to members of our school leadership and representatives from the Friends of Dulwich (FoD), who can provide guidance and support to help them settle into our community. They took some time to get to know each other and then went on a guided tour of the campus.
You may remember that recently we had the pleasure of visiting our neighbouring Gyeseong Elementary School, where we were impressed by their long and rich history, beautiful facilities, and unique educational offerings. This week, we had the opportunity to deliver the same hospitality they showed us, as we welcomed a delegation from their leadership team to our school. The visit was a wonderful opportunity to continue fostering our relationship and explore potential areas of collaboration between our schools. We were thrilled to showcase all that we do here at Dulwich College Seoul, and we hope that this visit marks the beginning of a fruitful partnership that will benefit our students and local community for years to come.
I am thrilled to share the incredible achievements of our Year 12 student, Youngsoo A, who recently competed in the 2023 Apollo Projects New Zealand Swimming Championships. Over the course of five days and ten sessions, he broke all of his personal best records. For specific details on his impressive accomplishments, including securing 4th place (behind only adult swimmers!) in the 200m Breaststroke, please click through to the whole school section of this update. We are proud to have Youngsoo as a member of our school community and congratulate him on this outstanding achievement.
Year 4’s self-developed production based on Shakespeare’s Othello was a resounding success. The students’ creativity and hard work shone through as they took on the challenge of adapting and performing such a complex and nuanced work. The play tackled important themes and big ideas, including jealousy, betrayal, and the impact of societal expectations on our behaviour. It was clear that the students had put a tremendous amount of effort into the production, from the development of the script to the performance itself. Congratulations to the students, and thank you to Ms Backhouse and the whole Year 4 team who supported them throughout this project.
The Friends of Dulwich (FoD) will host a special potluck luncheon to honour our dedicated teachers, teaching assistants, and staff for Teacher and Staff Appreciation Day 2023 on Thursday, April 27. This is a great opportunity for us to come together as a community and show our appreciation for the hard work and dedication of our staff, who are so important to the success and well-being of our children. We kindly ask for your support with food donations and volunteering to help run the event. Please refer to the Whole School and FoD sections of this e-update for more details.
I would like to thank UCC Director Paul Sweet for organising our recent series of university fairs. Before spring break, a tour group of 15 universities from around the world visited us to introduce their institutions to our students. This week, we had 25 US schools visit us on a similar tour. Next week, on 18 April at 10.30am, we will be hosting The European University Consortium, a group of eight European universities with programs fully taught in English, in the College Auditorium. This fair will be open to Senior School parents as well, so please join us if you are interested in learning more about study and career options in Europe.
The 10th Dulwich Photo Competition has been underway for some time now, and I would like to remind everyone that entries will be closing in just over a week, on Monday 24 April. This competition is a wonderful opportunity for students, parents, and staff to showcase their photography skills and creativity (and pick up some great prizes!), so if you haven’t entered yet, please do so soon. You can find all the details on how to enter by clicking here.
The weather is warming up and the air quality has improved today – perfect timing for the DCSL Family Hike this Sunday. Signed-up families have two options: an easy 3.4km hike, and an additional more challenging 3.5km extension. It’s going to be a great opportunity for families to spend some quality time together and enjoy the beautiful outdoors. Whatever you do, I encourage you to take advantage of the gorgeously crisp spring weather and explore all that Seoul (and its surrounding areas) has to offer.
With my best wishes,
Mr Guðmundur Hegner Jónsson