Dear Parents and Guardians,
We have arrived at the end of another wonderful academic year. It’s that time of the year where we wish those who are leaving well and send off our students to the next chapter of their lives – whether they are transitioning to university, Senior School, or simply the next year level.
A heartfelt thank you to all of you for your support and commitment to making our students’ learning journey meaningful and engaging. We pride ourselves in making every single student’s journey as personalized to their interests and strengths as possible. We’d like to believe that our students are even more curious, principled, reflective, open-minded and kind today because of their time with us.
On that note, our Year 6 graduation demonstrated just that. I was so impressed with the achievements of our Year 6 award-winning students and all the risks our cohort took as part of their hiking, new skills acquisition, journaling and community service. They all took the challenges in stride and further grew as global citizens ready to take on the most insurmountable challenges. Thank you to Carolee and all who made the lovely ceremony possible.
We wished our colleagues who are leaving well. Some have been with us for longer than others – we’d like to thank you all for your service and commitment. Special thanks to Margaret and Tony Curran, who joined us over 10 years ago and have remained a beacon of professionalism, integrity, kindness and all-around model teachers, wonderful colleagues and exceptional human beings. We were so lucky to have you both and I cannot count the times a student, parent, staff or alumni mentioned either one of you as a positive influence in their lives. You will be missed, and we wish you the very best.
The last assemblies of the year were packed with inspirational stories and aspirational summer plans. Our dynamic Nanta drummers upped the energy in the gym, followed by wonderful performances by our Little Mozarts, playing music they composed themselves. We honored and thanked our student council, Junior Librarians, Little Picassos, House Captains and so many more for their service and leadership. Year 2 students received a tie to mark the next phase of their school years in Junior School.
In Senior School, house points were tallied, with Sejong taking the House trophy. Students who have been with us three, five, eight and 10 years across the Dulwich Family of Schools received commemorative pins and leaving students and teachers were thanked and honored.
As we say our goodbyes, we look forward to welcoming a group of new staff in the new year. We are excited to welcome our new incoming Head of College, Alison Derbyshire. I have no doubt she will take DCSL to new exciting heights and I can’t wait to hear all about it. Please give her a warm DCSL welcome and I would expect no less from the kindest school in the universe! Please see the Whole School section for a full list of leavers and joiners in the new academic year.
On my last day at DCSL, I reflect on all the good memories I take with me – everything from seeing our students’ artworks at the IB art exhibit, playing Santa more than once due to my uncanny resemblance to a certain mythical figure, hearing the outstanding performances of our students and having the privilege of performing with them, connecting with students and parents at picnics and Founder’s Day, being stopped in the dining room by a DUCKS student who just wanted to say hi Mr Jonsson – and too many more to name.
I am proud to have served as your Head of College at a school that upheld such important values that helped define our DNA and everything we do. A sincere thank you to you all for making my tenure as memorable and pleasant as it was. I genuinely enjoyed meeting all of you and it was an honour being your Head of College.
I wish you a restful summer with loved ones. For those who are working through the summer, thank you for holding down the fort and I hope you will take a moment to recharge. Best wishes for those who are leaving us and please keep in touch – once an Old Alleynian, always an Old Alleynian! For returning families, thank you for your support and trust in us and I hope you have a relaxing and fun-filled summer. We look forward to welcoming you back in August.
Með kærri kveðju til ykkar allra – takk fyrir samfylgdina síðustu fjögur árin.
With my best wishes,
Mr. Guðmundur Hegner Jónsson
Head of College