Dear Primary Families,
Brilliant Bakers:
Thursday’s Charity Bake Sale was only made possible by the dozens and dozens of families who baked cookies, cakes and traybakes for the Charity Committee! Thank you! Our community is generous with their time and other resources and this was beautifully modelled to students this week. Ms Lee and Ms campos will update us on the totals raised for the focus charity, Child Fund Korea!
Diwali – Our Biggest and Best Yet!
An enormous thank you to our parents who enabled us to celebrate Diwali with their families this week and learn more about this important global festival. It’s been a week of learning for many in our community as they sampled new foods on Friday at our Diwali Lunch, as they danced in Assembly and tried new crafts during the week. Thank you to everyone who danced, planned, set up interest tables and helped children and adults alike be curious and open-minded Global Citizens.
Lunar New Year 2025 – MCs sought: Audition for Lunar New Year Assembly MCs
We are excited to announce that our Lunar New Year Assembly will be held on 24 January, 2025. Therefore, we are planning to offer an audition for choosing MCs (Masters of Ceremonies) for the assembly. All students from Year 5 to Year 12 with an interest in being an MC are welcome to participate, regardless of Chinese language fluency. Please note that the MCs do not need to be super fluent in Chinese to the audition, but they should be prepared to dedicate some of their free time or a few break times for rehearsals before the event.
Audition Times:
- Primary: Nov. 21 & 28, Thursday, 11.45 a.m. – 12.15 p.m.
- Senior: Nov. 21 & 28, Thursday, 1.00 p.m. – 1.30 p.m.
Location: Mandarin classroom 304 A
Audition Details: To help the candidates prepare, we have sent the samples of a few lines in the Mandarin class Teams for students to memorize and present at the audition. We encourage the students to challenge themselves, even if they feel outside of the comfort zone. Skipping difficult parts is fine, but we are looking forward to seeing more people to involved in the events.
Please fill up the survey if your child is willing to attend the audition. The survey link will be shared with your child’s Mandarin teacher or you can fill up from this link. Please sign up with your child’s school email address.
Please feel free to reach out to your child’s Mandarin teacher or Ms Dong for any further information. melody.dong@dulwich-seoul.kr
Songdo Sevens this Weekend:
Best of luck to all our students who are playing this week in the annual Songdo Sevens soccer tournament. I’m looking forward to seeing our students’ great football skills and great competition manners too. Parents if you are able to come along to support, get ready to support our entire team and all our staff with good vibes and positivity!
Thank you to the staff who are volunteering their time this weekend to support our students’ development.
Next Friday – school closed for Staff Training
Friday 8 November is a holiday for students and a training day for all our staff. Our teachers and TAs will work online with hundreds of educators across the EIM/Dulwich group of schools, and in person with colleagues to develop our language learning programmes and pedagogical skill.
Student Council Meets Mrs Smith
I had a really helpful and productive meeting with the Primary Student Council last week. We talked through the varied requests from the classes and I took away a list of actions to get stuck into including: more watermelon and strawberries at lunch; extra LEGO ECAs: more balls for games at breaks; a possible Taco Tuesday event; more boardgames opportunities and a Calming/Wellbeing Area for Y4. These elected leaders are articulate and well-thought-out Reps for their classes – quietly confident and determined to make their mark!
Morning Mingles are Back!
These breakfast events are an opportunity for parents to meet other parents in the year group while also giving their children the chance to play host, bringing drinks and breakfast finger-food to their grownup. The students will also practice their social skills by introducing their parents to others. It’s a morning event aimed at developing good manners and empathy for others. Please note the day in your diary so you have time to come along.
- Venue: B1 Coffee Shop.
- Buses: Please advise Sally, from the school bus service, if your child will not take the bus to school that day (FYI school buses arrive after this event has begun).
- Covered cup: bring your reusable cup for a tea/coffee
- DCSL siblings may not attend (DUCKS siblings may wait in the creche in the Library on 1F from 7.45am). Thank you for your understanding.
- SIGN UP below (please note the deadline for your year group!)
Year 4 Morning Mingle: Wednesday 6 November 7.45-8.30
Please sign-up via the link below by Wednesday 30 October. Late sign-up will not be accepted.
Year 4 Morning Mingle Sign-Up Survey
Year 6 Morning Mingle: Monday 11 November 7.45-8.30
Please sign-up via the link below by Friday 1 November. Late sign-up will not be accepted.
Year 6 Morning Mingle Sign-Up Survey
Year 2 Morning Mingle: Wednesday 13 November 7.45-8.30
Please sign up via the link below by Wednesday 6 November. Late sign-ups will not be accepted.
Year 2 Morning Mingle Sign-Up Survey
Autumn Hikes 2024 – Year 5 This week
Year 5 students embarked on an exciting and memorable adventure along the Achasan section of the Seoul Trail. With a special twist, they took part in a geocaching activity, uncovering clues left by Year 6 during their hike the previous week, making this journey both challenging and collaborative. Throughout the hike, students embraced our school values—taking risks as they navigated the trail, demonstrating open-mindedness and teamwork with their peers, and applying critical thinking to solve each geocaching clue. This experience offered a unique blend of adventure, learning, and lasting memories.
Year 3: Thursday 7November (3.4km)
Family Hike – sign up below to join us for a fun amble through the autumn woods with your family as we “love where we live”. Family Hike: Sunday 10 November (7-8km)
Year 3: Thursday 7 November (3.4km)
Year 5: Thursday 31 October (9km)
Family Hike
Sign up here by noon Thursday 7 November to join us for a fun amble through the autumn woods with your family as we “love where we live”.
Family Hike: Sunday 10 November (7-8km)
Menu for lunches and snacks:
Please find here the menu for the month.
International Maths Challenge – Online Simulated Maths Challenge (OSMC) 23-24 November 2024
All Primary School students are eligible to take part in the International Maths Challenge. This year, we are a selected school for the Online Simulated Maths Challenge (OSMC). The referral code for the OSMO is: DCS@IMO More information and registration are directly through their website. If you have any questions or queries regarding the running of the competition, timings, certificates etc., please check the information on their website or contact the IMC on the ‘contact us’ page on their website: Is your child from a Selected School? – International Maths Challenge (international-maths-challenge.com) This is an optional event if you would like to give your child a challenge in maths . We suggest choosing the grade level below your child’s year group e.g. Year 6 = Grade 5. However, it is your choice which grade level you sign your child up for. Registration deadline is 17 November.
Weekly Parent Workshops:
Parents Workshops for this year will be held on Thursdays 10am-11am in the Tech Hub (2F) above the Inquiry Hub) unless otherwise stated. The Coffee Shop (B1) will be open from 9.30am. You will be escorted to Tech Hub from the Coffee Shop by the leading teacher prior to the workshop, so please wait in B1 to be escorted upstairs. For our topics for this Term, please find the PDFs here. If you have any suggestions for future workshops please let us know.
Eat a Rainbow Kitchen Tour: Thursday 21 November 10.15-12.15 Dining Area
Please sign up HERE to register for the workshop. We have limited space and only pre-registered participants can participate for this even.
Parent Rep Meeting
Monday, 11th November (Online Meeting)
Time: 9am – 10am
Platform: Microsoft Teams
Join the Meeting: Join the meeting now
Meeting ID: 482 082 273 893
Passcode: Ey6JDr
Tuesday, 3rd December (Online Meeting)
Time: 1pm – 2pm
Platform: Microsoft Teams
Join the Meeting: Join the meeting now
Meeting ID: 496 236 047 526
Passcode: fZCAPe
We need your help for Dulwich Ducklings!
Sophie Cran, our amazing DUCKLINGs parent who set up this lovely and really important programme is ready to hand it on to another DCSL parent in the coming months. It’s perfect for a parent who is free on Wednesday morning – having your own baby/toddler to take along is entirely optional! If you would like to take over the group, chat to Sophie about how it works and confirm with Mrs Smith if you are interested.
In short, the lead person for Dulwich DUCKLINGs would set up the MPR (F1) with the toys and equipment (all provided), welcome attendees and encourage everyone to connect and have some relaxed fun. Then at the end of the session tidy away. There’s lots of friendly support from school and huge appreciation for bringing our youngest siblings together to play.
Upcoming Dates for your Diary:
Monday 28 Oct – Diwali Dress Up Day for DUCKS 1&2
Thursday 31 Oct – Y5 Autumn Hike
Thursday 31 Oct- Halloween Bake Sale
Thursday 31 Oct – PS Parents Workshop – “Our DCSL Senior School” 10.00-11.00 Tech Hub
Friday 1 Nov – Diwali Dress Up Day for Y3-6
Wednesday 6 Nov – Tuck Shop 10.00-10.40
Wednesday 6 Nov – Y4 Morning Mingle 7.45-8.30 Dining Area. Sign-Up survey link is found in Y4 Week Ahead
Thursday 7 Nov – PS Parents Workshop – “Writing at DCSL” 10.00-11.00 Tech Hub
Thursday 7 Nov – Y3 Autumn Hike
Thursday 7 Nov – Y5 Trip to Seoul Zoo Grand Park
Friday 8 Nov – Professional Learning Day (No School)
Sunday 10 Nov – DCSL Family Hike 10.30-14.00 Suseo Station Exit 6
Monday 11 Nov – Class Rep Meeting 9.00-10.00 On-line
Monday 11 Nov – Y6 Morning Mingle 7.45-8.30 Dining Area. Sign-Up survey link is found in Y6 Week Ahead
Thursday 14 Nov – FOD Coffee Morning 8.00-9.45
Thursday 14 Nov – PS Parents Workshop – “ Maths at DCSL” 10.00-11.00 Tech Hub
Tuesday 5 Nov – Wine & Cheese Social Evening [CANCELLED]
Communications:
As always, if I can assist you with any matters large or small, please get in contact with me at jane.smith@dulwich-seoul.kr
Kind regards
Jane Smith
Charity Bake Sale for Child Fund Korea
The Charity Committee wanted to say a big Thank You to our families who baked and donated a sweet treat for Thursday’s Charity Bake Sale. It was GREAT success with every last crumb sold to students, teaching and admin staff and parents! It has been so wonderful and lovely to have the Dulwich community work together to raise awareness and so much money for Child Fund Korea (amount tbc next week). Have a wonderful weekend!
MADD – It’s Time! – please declare interest by Sunday 3 November
Brief
Students from Dulwich College Seoul are warmly invited to declare interest in going to MADD (Music, Art, Drama & Dance) Festival, taking place in Dulwich College Suzhou between Wednesday 23 April and Sunday 27 April (flights to be confirmed). This opportunity is only open to students in Years 5 and 6, and Dulwich College Seoul has been offered 28 student places on the trip.
The theme of the trip is ‘Time’, where students will be creatively exploring concepts of time through one of the musical, artistic or dramatic disciplines. Students will rehearse or workshop during the day times with an excursion to Tongli Water Town included in the trip, as well as additional downtime activities, including a scavenger hunt and disco. The end of the festival will result in a showcase gala, where students will perform and present their work – which of course, parents are invited to watch.
MADD has 6 different disciplines which students can request to join:
- Music – Choir (6 places) Students should be able to read simple musical notation, and match pitch.
- Music – Orchestra (6 places). Instrumentalists should be at least ABRSM grade 3 standard or equivalent. Please ask your child’s private music teacher for further advice. We cannot accommodate for harpists or pianists in this ensemble.
- Music – Rock Band (2 places, maximum 1 drummer). Instrumentalists should be at least ABRSM grade 3 standard or equivalent. Please ask your child’s private music teacher for advice. There is only space for one drummer from DCSL, and this will be decided on audition if there is more than one drummer.
- Art (5 places) – Students must have an interest in art and fashion.
- Drama (5 places) – Some prior experience is helpful, but not essential. They need to have a keen interest and desire to collaborate. Students must learn their parts before the festival.
- Dance (4 places) – Some prior experience is helpful, but not essential. Some choreography videos will be shared nearer the time, for students who wish to prepare in advance.
What to do to declare interest
- If you and your child are both interested in taking part in this festival, please complete the form in the link here by Sunday 3 November. You and your child should discuss the trip, so they are fully aware of what they are being signed up to participate in.
- We also ask that you are fully aware of the minimum requirements for each of the disciplines. If we do not feel students would be suitable for a specific discipline (ie; the student is not quite at grade 3 ABRSM level on their instrument for orchestra, or they consistently show a reluctant approach to art/dance/drama in school), then we will contact parents directly and consider withdrawing them from the ballot or offering an alternative discipline.
- As well as this, if your child is interested in more than one discipline, please complete the form again, declaring interest in the other disciplines. Your child can declare interest in as many as they would like – but on the trip, students will only be able to take part in one discipline.
How we select students
- We will ask parents to complete the declaration of interest form by no later than Sunday 3 November. At this point, we will contact parents if we feel their child is unsuitable for the discipline they have chosen and offer an alternative.
- If we find we are over-subscribed, on Thursday 7 November at 10.20am in the Auditorium, we will complete a ballot from a random name generator to compile lists of students for each discipline. Students are invited to come and watch this ballot unfold, for full transparency and fairness.
- If one child is selected for two disciplines, that student will choose which one they would like to do the most, then offer a place to the student next on the other list. We will also share the lists of the names generated, in order, so parents can see if their child will likely be selected if other students withdraw interest.
- Once this is completed, we will send invoices and a detailed questionnaire, so we can gather all the necessary documentation for flights and insurance purchasing.
- If students and parents withdraw interest, we will go to the next person on the relevant list, and directly contact those parents. If the next person on the list is already on the trip in another discipline, we will skip to the next person who was not previously selected.
Thank you for taking the time to read through the finer details of this email, and we hope to see students in Years 5 and 6 participate in what promises to be a wonderful artistic collaboration with other schools across the EIM network, as well as a hugely enriching experience for your child. If you have any specific questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Mark Knights (mark.knights@dulwich-seoul.kr).
Audition for Lunar New Year Assembly MCs
We are excited to announce that our Lunar New Year Assembly will be held on January 24, 2025. Therefore, we are planning to offer an audition for choosing MCs (Masters of Ceremonies) for the assembly. All students from Year 5 to Year 12 with an interest in being an MC are welcome to participate, regardless of Chinese language fluency. Please note that the MCs do not need to be super fluent in Chinese to the audition, but they should be prepared to dedicate some of their free time or a few break times for rehearsals before the event.
Audition Times:
- Primary: November 21 & November 28, Thursday, 11.45am. – 12.15pm.
- Senior: November 21 & November 28 , Thursday, 1pm. – 1.30pm.
Location: Mandarin classroom 304A
Audition Details: To help the candidates prepare, we have sent samples of a few lines in the Mandarin class Teams for students to memorize and present at the audition. We encourage the students to challenge themselves, even if they feel outside of their comfort zone. Skipping difficult parts is fine, but we are looking forward to seeing more people to involved in the events.
Please fill up the survey if your child is willing to attend the audition. The survey link will be shared with your child’s Mandarin teacher or you can fill up from this link. Please sign up with your child’s school email address.
Please feel free to reach out to your child’s Mandarin teacher or Ms Dong for any further information. melody.dong@dulwich-seoul.kr
Mandarin Department
Animal Bios
3S have welcomed a new hedgehog called ‘Doodle’. He is a shy, calm and sleepy little guy, so you might see him taking lots of naps. This makes sense as hedgehogs are nocturnal animals. Doodle is two years old and is used to being around children having lived with a family before being donated to Dulwich College Seoul. He is very cute, with tiny ears and stripy spikes. He runs very quickly and will dart around the room when given the chance! He loves to nibble at apples and bananas and is very spoilt already by the students at Dulwich.
Gregory is one of our three new guinea pigs. He is five months old, just like his two brothers. He is very calm and likes to eat hay and lettuce. He loves running around and playing with his siblings. You can tell which one Gregory is because he has light brown, almost gingery fur with white patches. His ears are also a light gingery brown and having investigated, we think Gregory might be a ‘teddy’ type guinea pig! Gregory can be cheeky sometimes, like the time he tried to drag the entire food bowl into his sheltered area to eat it all himself! Unfortunately, he tipped it over and spilt it everywhere, so Pet Patrol had to put down even more snacks!
This guinea pig is called Chicken Nugget. Chicken Nugget has got an interesting fur pattern on the top of his head, almost like a crown! His brother Gregory also has the same type of fur pattern. It is white, but the rest of his fur is ginger and light brown. He has small, adorable, floppy ears and a sweet pink nose. He is a little nervous at the moment because he is only five months old, but he is becoming more confident each day and will now squeak at Ms Ramsden when he’s hungry!
Our last new school pet is called Checkers! We decided to name him Checkers because the pattern on his back looks like a checkers board with squares of light and dark brown. Unlike his brothers, Checkers’ head doesn’t have the fluffy crown, but rather it is smooth and flat. His ears are also a little less floppy and he is maybe the bravest of the three, often exploring his pen and squeaking at passing students! We also think he is so cute!
Animal biographies written by Pet Patrol members Shep (5M), Hyesin (4G), Hailey (4G), Austin (4W), Soo In (4W), Emma (4R) and Ethan (4R).
House Advent Calendar Competition
For any inquiries, please feel free to reach out to us at:
younjin.seo@dulwich-seoul.kr, maggie.goddard@dulwich-seoul.kr, or heather.song@dulwich-seoul.kr
The Ambassador Platform
We’re pleased to share “The Ambassador Platform” with our community—an interactive chatting app that’s been connecting prospective parents with our dedicated community of parents. Our team of parent ambassadors has been doing a great job engaging with potential families, sharing personal experiences, and offering advice to showcase why Dulwich College Seoul is a great choice.
This platform is not only useful for prospective parents but also a helpful resource for our current parents. They can easily start a conversation with our experienced parent ambassadors to get answers to any questions they may have about Dulwich College Seoul’s school life. Click here to start chatting and learn more about our community and the enriching experiences at Dulwich College Seoul for your family!
Stars of the Week
DUCKS1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
Year 5
Year 6
