Dear Parents and Students,

Welcome to the 2024-2025 School Year!

I sincerely hope that you have been enjoying your summer holidays and that you have been able to spend quality time with friends and family. Summer is a special time filled with adventure, new experiences, and unique opportunities to explore Hong Kong and other parts of the world. I know I speak on behalf of all faculty and staff when I say that it will be wonderful to see you and hear all about your summer!

School Resumption – Wednesday, 14 August!

We are excited to welcome our students back to campus on Wednesday, 14 August. The front gates will open at 7:40 am. I’ve been told that we may be seeing our favorite AIS Mascot, E the Eagle, something we always look forward to! This year, E even has a staff ID card!

New Leadership Team Members

I am so pleased to welcome our newest Leadership Team members as they officially begin their roles. Mr. Andy Ris, our High School Principal, Ms. Mandy Kaur, our Elementary Assistant Principal, and Mr. John Paul Tomaque, our Director of Educational Technology, have all been welcoming our new teachers and working with their respective returning teams and faculties to prepare for our students’ arrival this week. I am confident that we are in capable hands and look forward to the many contributions I know they will make to our school community.

New Faculty

It is my pleasure to take this opportunity to welcome our New Faculty to AIS. We have a wonderfully talented group of teachers joining us this year, and I know you will extend a warm AIS welcome to them all. They have been working very hard to carefully prepare for our students’ arrival and join the AIS community. I am confident that you will be delighted to meet them. There is no doubt that our students will benefit from their care, kindness, and teaching expertise.

PTA Wine and Cheese and Divisional Family Orientations

Please stay tuned for the upcoming PTA Wine and Cheese Event and Divisional Family Orientation in the next few weeks. Kindly mark your calendar and refer to the schedules below.

I also want to take this opportunity to thank our Parent Teacher Association (PTA) for their incredibly warm welcome this week and especially our new PTA President, Ms. Jennifer LUI. A lovely array of snacks and beverages were available every day of our New Faculty Orientation Week, and we are grateful! The personalized cookies for our faculty and staff were truly appreciated.

School Lunch Program

It’s not too late to order lunch from Cafe Concepts if you haven’t already. We remain very proud that our lunch program meals are healthy and contain no added chemicals, preservatives, or food coloring.

Communication

At AIS, we believe in the importance of frequent and ongoing communication to ensure a positive and productive learning environment. Make sure to connect with your child’s teacher(s) and Divisional Principals whenever needs arise. Open communication is essential to supporting student learning, wellbeing, and academic achievement. We often say, “Communicate early and often.” This practice helps us to avoid potential misunderstandings and promotes important communication skills we develop with our students. When parents and families work together, we make a powerful difference in the lives of our students.

Traffic On Waterloo Road

Parents and families who drop students off in front of the school are kindly reminded that they spend as little time doing so as possible. Please make sure that you and your child are prepared to exit the vehicle without delay. Our school buses are the only vehicles that are permitted to drop off in that area. We need your help to avoid a situation where the Department of Transportation changes the designation in front of Gate 123 to a no-stopping area.

Remember, drop offs can be arranged on surrounding streets. You may also wish to consider enrolling your child in school bus services as well. Please visit California Coach or complete this School Bus Service Application to sign-up. Let’s work together to keep Waterloo Road free from congestion and safe for our students and families.

Health and Safety Procedures

Just a reminder that when we start the new school year, we’ll resume our regular health and safety practices at AIS. Like flu, cold, Covid-19 and other respiratory viruses and illness, students who test positive or are symptomatic/unwell should refrain from attending school or work. Mask wearing is encouraged for anyone who is feeling unwell while at school. You are reminded that if a doctor’s note is provided within two (2) days from when a student returns to school, the absence can be recorded as an authorized absence, in accordance with AIS Attendance Policies.

Registration

Thank you to all of our families for ensuring that your children are registered for school and ready to begin on Wednesday, 14 August. If you have not yet registered, please be sure to check your email for important messages related to tuition and registration as well as messages from your Divisional Principal.

We look forward to seeing you on Wednesday! Only two more sleeps until then!!

My best,

Anita Simpson
Head of School