DCIS Newsletter June 2020

June 2020
DCIS Newsletter
DCIS Year 13 - Class of 2020
As the end of the academic year approaches we want to take the opportunity to celebrate the immense
achievement of our Year 13 students.
Reaching the end of Year 13 under normal
circumstances is a significant milestone
but this has been surpassed by the
extraordinary circumstances we have been
in this year. Our Year 13 students have shown
resilience, composure and ambition as they
completed their International Baccalaureate
programme. They should be commended
for their achievements.
Year 13 is also the time when students
consider their next steps and submit their
University applications. Although each
country’s higher education operate on
different schedules we are delighted that
many of our students have already received
university offers. These offers are from
universities in Singapore – NUS, Australia
- University of Sydney; The Netherlands
The Hague University of applied Sciences,
Maastricht University; United Kingdom
– University of Nottingham, University
of Liverpool, University of Edinburgh,
University of Manchester, Durham
University, University of Bristol, University
of Reading, University of Birmingham, King’s
College London, University College London,
University of Sheffield, University of Stirling,
University of Dundee, University of Leicester,
Royal Holloway, University of Lincoln,
University of Kent, University of Glasgow,
Anglia Ruskin University, University of
Portsmouth, Bangor University, Arts
University of Bournemouth.
Congratulations Year 13, Class of 2020, we
wish you every success for your results in
July and for your future endeavours.
2020-2021 Calendar Events and
Other School Information
2020-2021 Term Dates
DCA Parent Association
DCIS Facebook Page
DC Bear Facebook Page
DCIS Youtube Channel

Letter from the Principal:
June Highlights
Our Principal Christopher Short bids farewell after four
memorable years at DCIS.
Dear DCIS Parents,
I was listening to a BBC radio comedy
programme recently where they talked
about how the frequent use of the word
unprecedented in the last 5 months was …
unprecedented. I am guilty of this overuse,
as well as a few other phrases but, at times,
I genuinely didn’t know what other word to
use. I am sure we have all had times in the
last few months when we have felt we have
had enough and wishing that things could
just go back to normal.
As I mentioned when my move to Shanghai
was announced, I am very sad to be leaving
Singapore and Dover Court. We have a
brilliant set of staff and students and it has
been a delight to share so many wonderful
events with them. We have known that
Dover Court has been a special part of the
international education community in
Singapore for many years but to receive 4
separate endorsements of this over the last
4 years has been fantastic. We are now active
members of the FOBISIA community and I
have just finished 18 months as a FOBISIA
board member. The IB Diploma Programme
has been a great addition to the school, as
will the BTEC programme starting in August
be. This gives us a full 3 – 18 provision for all 3
educational pathways. Our first set of results
for the IB were tremendous, exceeding the
global average, and we look forward to
this year’s results. Achievements in GCSE
and ASDAN have been similarly pleasing.
The CIS and WASC accreditations were a
thorough review of all areas of the school
and we were delighted to receive both their
accreditations earlier this year. They are a
testament to the hard-working staff and
students we have in the school.
Accreditations, awards and world average
beating examination results are all great,
but my abiding memory of Dover Court
will be the everyday occurrences in
being around the school and speaking to
students and staff. The enthusiasm of how
students greeted me each morning and the
excitement in showing me their work as I
went around the classrooms was infectious.
There are stressful aspects to my role –
balancing the needs to 1,650 students, 3,200
parents and 300 staff isn’t always easy but
a visit to a classroom is always something
to improve the tone of one’s day. I’ve
been privileged to judge presentations, be
involved in self-directed learning in Early
Years, watch amazing drama and music
productions, support gutsy competitions
on the sports field, visit children camping
outside for the first time, read inspiring
writing, listen to motivational speaking and
countless other activities.
One student has come into my office most
weeks over the last 4 years and asked me
what my priorities are for the week, term,
year. Questions like these really make you
stop and think as young people won’t accept
a vague answer. Two weeks ago, I was sitting
at my desk doing Principal like things on
my computer when Ms Pemberton and Emi
from Nursery came in. They couldn’t undo
Emi’s lunch container and they felt I could
help. As you can imagine, that made my
day (I could open the container!). We have
a wonderful staff body who it has been
my real pleasure to work with. I often visit
other schools (in normal times) and you
can pick up on the ethos of a school very
quickly. The purposefulness I see as I go
around our campus from all members of
the team, teaching or otherwise, is a great
sign of the effectiveness of the staff body.
The care our team show and their ability to
go above and beyond is tremendous. In the
last 4 weeks many staff have been involved
in multiple duties to ensure safe supervision
of students and non-teaching staff have
found themselves swapping the tools of
their day to job to measure temperatures,
mark record cards or help younger children
get to their class. I have also really enjoyed
getting to know many parents either in
school or at events around the city. As I
said earlier, any Principal will struggle to
keep everyone happy all of the time but
I’ve always appreciated the support and
parents’ willingness to give honest feedback
as this is so important in any organisation
that aspires to always strive for continuous
improvement. As we say to our Student
Council – you will always get your say, you
may not always get your way!
Myself and other staff and students leaving
this this year have a slightly strange
experience. I wish all families moving on from
Singapore the very best in their adventure. I
know some of these moves have not been
planned so I also wish all families the best
of fortune as we continue to deal with the
fallout from the current pandemic.
I wish everyone a safe, if different summer
holiday and all the best for the new
academic year.
2
Check out the interview video here: https://bit.ly/interviewmrshort
Christopher Short
Principal

Primary School June
Highlights from Ms Lebihan
Ms Lebihan reflects on the Final Term of the 2019-2020
Academic Year.
As the term draws to an end, I would like
to thank the children for their hard work
continuing their learning, both at home
as well as back in school. The children
have faced an unfamiliar situation with a
huge change to their routines and have
truly done their best to stay engaged and
to take the opportunities that have been
offered to them. Our teachers are also to
be commended for their work, making a
change in curriculum delivery happen in
a very short time, yet continuing to deliver
the learning to the children. I understand
that this has been a challenging term for all,
parents included, and thank you for all your
support with the children’s learning from
home too.
We have been pleased to share some lovely
events this term, including our virtual
primary choir which many families took
part in. The outcome was spectacular and
we have received many comments and
compliments about it so thank you to those
who offered their support and gave the time
to contribute. Our book day parade was
a little different this year and took place
virtually – many children took part and it
was great to see their enthusiasm for their
favourite books and characters. Diversity
Day also took a different slant but was well–
celebrated. The array of posters was fantastic
and the time that went in to producing them
was clearly visible. Thank you everybody for
your contributions to these great events and
for supporting from home.
As the situation in Singapore has changed,
it has been nothing but brilliant to see so
many children back in school over the last
few weeks, again with a shift in routines to
cope with, but happy to see their friends,
teachers and TAs. I have been amazed at
how well even our youngest children have
coped with social distancing, and masks and
face shields. Smiling with our eyes has been
a real thing!
As we move to the holiday, with some
restrictions being lifted, we can all look
forward to some small group socialising
and outings to some of our familiar and
well-missed haunts. A number of children
have happily told me about their very recent
visits to a park or restaurant, and it is lovely
to know that their patience with a situation
that was well out of their own hands has
finally paid off.
As always in term 3 we have to say goodbye
to some of our families and staff. In a
nutshell, it has been lovely having each and
every one of you, and I wish you all well with
your next adventures in new places. I hope
you all take away happy and fond memories
– please remember us at DCIS!
With the break upon us, I wish you all a
restful time ahead; enjoy some family time
and most importantly, take care and have
fun.
Kara Lebihan
Head of Primary School
There has been so much fabulous worked
turned in that has encompassed many of the
visions including resilience.
We have been reading The Firework Maker’s
Daughter by Philip Pullman which is an
exciting story about a girl following her
dreams. She has to go on a tough journey
to become a Firework Maker. This story is
set in Indonesia and includes the very real
Mount Merapi which recently erupted in real
life! The Year 4 children have filmed news
reports about this news, designed costumes
for characters in the story, written character
description and have performed playscripts.
As well as this, they have also been making
and designing for their project work unit
Fashion! They even tested materials to see
which was the most waterproof.
All the teachers in Year 4 have been
impressed by the technical skills they have
used over the last month and they are very
Dover Ongoing Teaching - Year 4
During their virtual online journey, Year 4 have been demonstrating a lot of
creativity.
Check out the virtual exhibition here: https://bit.ly/y4artexhibition
3

Secondary School
June Highlights from Mr Bull
Mr Bull tells us how proud he is of our strong and positive Dover Court
Community.
We have always been proud of how strong
and positive the Dover Court Community is
and how it is this, which makes our school
special. This has never been more important
than most recently and as we approach the
end of the academic year, I would firstly
like to thank you and your children for your
support. I have been overwhelmed by the
kind and compassionate messages I have
received this year but particularly over the
last few months. I also appreciate that it
has been a challenging time for parents and
carers too so thank you also for your support
of your children’s learning this year.
We are so happy to have been able to invite
students back into school this term. It was
fantastic observing the students evolve
back into ‘normal’ school life and to watch
their faces (well, their eyes) as they saw their
friends for the first time in three months.
Whilst many events this term in particular
have been impacted by the global pandemic,
we have been pleased to share new and
innovative ways of working, in particular the
virtual Parent Teacher Conferences which
seem to have been very well received and
have given us some food for thought about
how we could do things differently in the
future.
We have also held our Year 11 Celebration
and a Year 13 Graduation which we were
extremely pleased could be held in school,
albeit socially distanced and a different
version of what we had planned but no less
important or special. We await the GCSE
and IB results and know that our students
and staff worked extremely hard and I am
confident that these will be realised in the
results this summer.
Outside my office in the Secondary building
I have a cabinet full of special awards, cups
and trophies which have had a small plaque
in front of each of them reading “your name
here?” for the past year. Today, we held
our inaugural Prize Giving event where
these prestigious awards were given out to
our winners. The plaques finally now have
the names of the winners on them and will
remain on them until the end of the 2020/21
academic year. Congratulations to all our
winners!
In my Prize Giving speech I spoke about
how if the recent events around the world
have taught us anything about education,
it is that schools are about much more than
just the imparting of knowledge and that
interaction, relationships, the development
of personal, social and emotional skills and
care are equally important. I am extremely
proud of DCIS for exactly these reasons.
As always, at this point, we have to say
goodbye to some of our families and staff. We
wish you all well with your next adventures. I
hope you all take away happy memories and
remember that you will always be Doverians
so please stay in touch!
Have a wonderful, restful break and enjoy
spending time with your loved ones. Take
care and we look forward to welcoming you
back in August.
Craig Bull
Head of Secondary
Pearson Edexcel Outstanding Learner
Awards for DCIS Students
Congratulations to Maylis and Thomas on their iGCSE awards!
We are delighted to share that we have
received the fantastic news from our
examination board Pearson Edexcel that
Maylis and Thomas, who were both Year
11 students last year, achieved the highest
marks in Singapore in Geography and
Business Studies, respectively.
DCIS Principal, Mr Short said “The accolade
Maylis and Tommy have received is a
reflection on their great work ethic and that
of their teachers over the last few years. They
should be very proud to have been awarded
the ‘Highest Mark in Singapore Awards’ – we
certainly are”
“We are so very proud of both Tommy
and Maylis’ achievement, to achieve the
highest mark in Singapore in Business
and Geography is no mean feat. It also a
testament to the hard work and dedication
of the teachers at DCIS”, Mr Bull, Head of
Secondary said.
Pearson traditionally hold an annual awards
ceremony in the region to present the
certificates to the winners, however due to
the current restrictions this is not possible,
but the students have received their
certificates and will be celebrated more
formally at a later point.
4

DCIS Science Week 2020
Despite the challenges faced from this new decade of progress and pandemic, the DCIS Science WEEK 2020 was resolute and
ploughed on to success!
The week began on a Friday (obviously)
with Mr Goold’s (now) Famous Fire Show, a
celebration of all things firey, combustible
and of course his singed hair. It is always
incredible to see just how many of our
learners are willing to volunteer when the
prospect of setting fire to a teacher is on
offer!
The Science WEEK’s greatest treat is always
the much appreciated DCIS Science House
Quiz; this year delivered to a smaller
audience of just Year 9 but filmed for all to
enjoy at their pleasure. The science teachers
again began with a sterling performance of
music and dance, the like of which we have
become accustomed to them delivering,
but remain impressed with how much these
Monday kicked off with Mr Sacre’s Sound
Show, a session which chewed and spewed
out the outstanding science behind notes,
noises and vibrations; leaving the audience
inspired by floating flaming sound waves,
and vibrational patterns that would impress
even the harshest art critic.
Tuesdays are always an electrifying affair
in the Physics Department, but even more
so when Mr Tuckley gets out his Van De
Graaff, for his Legendary Lightning Show.
It is undoubtedly a sight for the bold, with
learners charged and sparking, displaying
what appears to be superhuman abilities of
levitation and firing electrical sparks from
their fingertips. Thankfully, these powers are
short-lived … or so we believe!
Wee-oww Wee-oww is that the sound of the
Police? No, its Mr Short’s DCIS CIS team! If
you need cutting edge science to solve those
crimes, these are the guys you want by your
side! Testing and identifying suspicious
substances, decoding and cracking the
secret messages and using forensics to
identify offenders, is but a days work for this
super scientific squad.
Thursday was the finale, and Miss Haworth’s
Bone Hunt was a jaw-dropping, pelvisshaking,
femur-slapping experience! Our
learners located, excavated and identified
the boney remains of skeletons from
owl lunches, during our lunch-time; all
were undoubtedly hooting for joy at their
discoveries!
crazy cats can Boogey and Groove. The Quiz
had four rounds, testing knowledge, skill,
sensory ability and silliness. While it was not
without a slither of controversy (was there
cheating?!), Newton were crowned deserved
winners for the second year in a row! Despite
it being a close-fought victory, the learners
of that yellow house have lived up to their
name-sake, and I am confident Mr Isaac is
certainly smiling somewhere out there.
Mr Goold
Head of Science
5

Dover Court Alumni Story - Manaswi, Class of 2019
Manaswi graduated from the IB Diploma Programme at Dover Court last year, she is now at Lancaster University in the UK,
studying Computer Science.
Q: Hi Manaswi, how are you enjoying
university life in the UK?
A: Currently, I’m loving my life in UK. It’s
exciting to live independently and be
responsible for your decisions. I also feel like
I have had a very balanced life , with fewer
things to focus on compared to the IBDP.
Q: What has been most challenging with
your move to the UK and starting university?
A: Being an international student, coming to
the UK alone for the first time was initially
a challenge. I wasn’t scared, rather I was
extremely excited but equally nervous. The
first few weeks here went by mostly in
homesickness too, however, I was lucky that
in my first week itself I made some really
good friends which helped a lot to tackle
that feeling. I chose Computer Science as
my major but when I came here I had a lot
of doubts about that too. Overcoming those
doubts was itself a challenge.
Q: What do you feel has been the highlight of
your first year at university?
A: Settling into my life here is definitely
one of my highlights. If I could turn back
time, I would definitely tell myself before
graduation that I will figure everything out
in time. Other than that, since I have arrived
here, I have met some amazing people,
they may be my friends, mentors, lecturers,
etc. There is a lot I have learnt from these
incredible people. Furthermore, I’m taking
opportunities here which I never thought
would be possible in my first year, helping
me discover myself.
6
Q: How easy has it been to settle in the UK?
A: It did not take me very long to settle in
the UK if I’m honest. I was lucky to have
great flatmates, and meet amazing people.
Obviously, there was a long period of time
when I felt homesick but I don’t believe
that is something that will ever end, for
that feeling still resides in me. However,
considering the fact that everyone I knew
were sailing in the same boat as me, and
that university was a brand new experience
for everyone, I believe that helped me fit in.
Secondly, I met my brother in the UK after
a very long time, which was definitely very
helpful!
Q: Do you feel that your university has been
supportive?
A: There are many facilities at my university
to support students in any form, be it
mental, financial, physical, social, etc. They
are very kind and quick to reach out to you.
Moreover, because it is a campus university,
it is very easy to reach out to people for
support and to help you feel like you belong
here.
Q: Are you happy with the course you chose?
A: Choosing Computer Science as a major
was initially a very tough decision for me. I
would say that it has been very challenging
because I did not do Computer Science or
IT related subjects during the IBDP. There
were times in the beginning when I doubted
my decision and maybe having chosen
Mathematics instead. However, with time
I believe I have learnt a lot to realise that
this will be a learning experience for me.
And despite whatever I choose to do career
wise, Computer Science will give me skills
that I can use for a lot of things in the future.
Moreover, learning more about it has only
increased my interest in it.
Q: How did the IBDP and DCIS prepare you
for university life?
A: I often have a lot of coursework to do
and extra-curricular things at university
too. However, I feel like I have a very
balanced life which is why I don’t feel the
pressure as much. The IBDP at Dover Court
definitely prepared me a lot in terms of
time management, how I should handle my
workload, etc. Sometimes when I feel like
I have a lot to do at university, I tell myself
that I have been in more stressed situations
during the IBDP. In fact coming out of IBDP
has motivated me to have a balanced life.
Q: Deciding where you would like to study
is a big decision. Do you have any advice for
choosing a course and university?
A: If there is any advice I would give to
someone else regarding choosing their
major at university, I would definitely
suggest them to not worry, because there
are many opportunities for you to pivot from
your course once you are at university. If
you choose something you have never done
then definitely try to learn a little about it
during the long summer break you will have
before you move to university. It will be very
helpful! Moreover, don’t stress out too much
about what you want to do in life while
choosing your major. This is something I
did during IBDP which put me at a very bad
place. I wish I realised earlier that there are
a lot of directions your life can take in the
future, and the course you choose is just a
snippet of it.

The Global Campus Choreography
Challenge - DCIS 6KK
Through numerous Skype calls, John guided
the students and Miss Hughes through
different choreographic choices. This enabled
students to choose what duets or ensemble
they were to perform as part of a final piece.
Just as we were ready to film the piece on
the school field, restrictions due to COVID-19
intervened and placed the production
on hold. Adapting to Zoom became the
new norm for rehearsals. Technology was
essential. Video playback and Google
Classroom ensured that students could rewatch
old rehearsals and remember their
duets.
Students also faced the challenge of adapting
their duets to solos. Editing footage became
an increasingly hard endeavor. Instead, we
collectively decided to abide by guidelines,
mask up and keep a 1m distance from
another. Students only had one opportunity
to film the dance piece in person and get it
right. The rain came down, the dance was
filmed inside and students collaborated
professionally and, as always, smiled
throughout!
25 schools took part in the Choreography
Challenge, 12 schools were chosen to work
with a Juilliard Student Coach and only 5
schools were able to submit their work to
Global Campus for all to see.
Back in October 2019, 6KK were
selected to work alongside
Juilliard Student Coach, John
Hewitt - Juilliard Alumni
as a mentor through the
Choreography Challenge.
6KK were able to leave on a high note, look at
their hard work as both choreographers and
performers and are able to celebrate. As they
say in the movies; “That’s a wrap!”
Miss Hughes
DCIS Dance Specialist
Check out the challenge video here: https://bit.ly/6kkchoreography
DCIS Virtual Choir
- One Little Candle
Over 90 children from Year 3 to Year 6
participated in the project by learning a new
song from scratch and recording themselves
singing all on their own.
Introducing Simon Mann
Introducing Simon Mann
Dover Diaries Episode 3 - Interview with Simon
Mann, incoming DCIS Principal.
Check out the virtual choir here:
https://bit.ly/onelittlecandle
Check out the interview video here:
https://bit.ly/interviewmrmann
7

Into the Woods by Harriet, DCIS Year 6
We are extremely proud of our Year 6 student Harriet who was a runner-up in this year’s FOBISIA Short
Story Competition.
She was alone. Trudging through thick
snow, each step she took she could hear
the crunching of snowflakes beneath her
ice cold feet. Her breath was a wispy white
smoke, the kind you would imagine a dragon
to breath. The branches of the trees around
her were twisted, climbing high above the
ground, the roots firmly anchored, spreading
across the ground like a spider’s web.
An ear splitting bang grabbed her attention.
She felt afraid but her curiosity got the
better of her and she ran towards it. A tree
lay dead and snapped in half, she climbed
over the slowly rotting, splintered wood that
lay scattered on the ground.
She reached a clearing in the forest with a
strangely engraved stone arch in the centre.
“Protect yourself before it gets you” she read
aloud. “What does that mean? Before it gets
you? Before what gets you?” She mumbled
to herself. A strong gust of wind hit her. She
started to frantically look around “ before
what gets me?” she screamed. This time she
got a reply.
A cold, raspy voice whispered in her ear,
“me”. The blood drained from her face. She
ran. Faster than she’d ever run before, then
she tripped. The voice let out a laugh “look
around you, look at what you just tripped
over!” She looked down at the frozen body
of a boy. He blinked and mouthed the words
‘help’.
She screamed as she saw hundreds of other
frozen bodies strewn across the ground.
“Who are you?” she shrieked. The voice
replied “I’ve been watching you, in fact I
brought you here. Did you find those trees
luring you in? And that bang, did that make
you want to investigate?” she paused for a
while.
“ Yes” she replied, “but that stone, why didn’t
you freeze whoever wrote that?” “That is the
last time someone was able to finish my
little game. You see the date on there? That’s
right, 1824. If you can win my game, you will
set all these people free, if you lose you are
stuck here.” His laugh made the hairs on her
neck stand on end. “I’ll play.”
“ The game is What am I? Here are the clues
but listen carefully, I will not repeat. I am
light in color but dark inside, I’m ice cold, a
million years old, the forest is where I lie. You
have exactly two minutes to answer” “Dark
in my soul, light in colour, a million years
old…”
Sarah trailed off. She frantically tried to
patch together the clues. Sarah could feel
panic rising within her and hear her pulse,
louder than ever. She could feel the foul
beasts excitement growing. Then something
clicked “You’re a ghost!” she shouted. The
voice shrieked like nothing Sarah had ever
heard before.
Then she saw it, a pale figure just visible.
She turned her head in fear, he was young,
maybe in his teens she thought, but this
did nothing to diminish the terror when
she looked into his face, contorted in rage.
He looked like he was fighting against some
bonds, perhaps bound by the rules of the
game, but still trying to reach out and claw
at her as he faded into the gloom.
She was surrounded, lifted gently by
strangers and embraced. Nearly 200 years of
victims freed from their frozen state. She felt
bewildered, confused but elated. She worked
her way through the crowd surrounding her
and set off to the safety of home, hundreds
of freed souls trailing behind her. The ghost
watched from the shadows, angry, furious,
but he would start his collection of frozen
souls again, as he had so many times before.
Listen to the podcast here: https://bit.ly/harrietintothewoods
8
Dover Court International School (Pte) Ltd is registered with the Committee for Private Education | CPE Registration No: 197100313E | Registration Period: 05/07/2019 to 04/07/2023
The Committee for Private Education (CPE) is part of SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG)