Monday, August 31, 2009

Principal's message

The first month of this semester has been a particular Kodai mix of multiple tasks (some challenging, some straight forward), beautiful weather with heavy rain (very welcome) and that wonderful sense of purpose which always fills the school when students and staff return to pick up their tasks for a new academic year..

The last four years have seen many changes here at KIS and I am now pleased to report that we are entering a phase of consolidation. Our student numbers have stabilized at the Council’s limit of 600, our academic results were again outstanding and our focus can move from growth to establishing the standards and systems needed to properly maintain the school. We have welcomed many new students and staff and I am delighted to report that they have all settled in and become part of this community. I would like to take this opportunity to welcome them to our community in the hope that they will find this a very rewarding place to be.

I have had a very busy month which included an emergency trip back to Australia as my mother had a serious heart attack. I am happy to report that she is recovering and despite a chronic condition, is now back home. In addition, I have been managing the process whereby the Council has been interviewing potential candidates for the post of Principal. This process will take another few weeks to conclude and I will be reporting in the next newsletter about the progress. You may be interested to know that we had over 60 applications for the post.

This last month has seen the emergence of the H1Ni virus in India and those of you with children in the school will be aware of the steps put in place to try and limit our exposure to this virus.

This year we hope to finalize our planning permission for building the new dorms and continue with the process for implementation of the PYP in the Elementary School. This, along with the review of our IB program and a continued push to make sure that our professional development supports our staff, are the measures that are in place in order to provide the best teaching we can for our students.

May I take this opportunity to wish all parents and students, old and new, a very successful year.

Yours sincerely,
Geoffrey Fisher