Dear Parents and Friends,
Dear Parents and Friends,
I trust that all is well as we find ourselves at the end of an engaging term.
It was busy for several reasons such as catching up on lost one-to one teaching and learning time, completion of assessments which included the Progressive tests for the current Years 8, 9, 10 and 11 students, the virtual Academic review held last Saturday for the parents of the Year 9 and 12
students, etc.
The virtual Academic review on Saturday was a great event with good questions asked and answered. I will share some of the responses in this letter which will be of benefit to all parents.
We thank the parents who made the effort to be part of this event.
Students will return home from the 10th of December and with them a large white envelope which will contain academic report as well as invoices, etc. Parents are encouraged to open and read the contents fully, make time to scrutinise the academic reports, sit down with
your child to discuss, give praise and positive critique where it is due. Let us do our part in this Teacher-Student-Parent alliance/partnership by doing what is required and what’s best for our students.
Importantly, please ensure that students are adhering to the covid-19 guidelines whilst at home, and any flu-like symptoms to be treated and a medical doctor to give a health clearance before they resume in January 2021.
In conclusion, ‘As we celebrate Christmas, the season of giving, let us never forget how blessed we are as a family, for what we have is always bountiful as there are always others worse off than us’.
Stay safe and enjoy the Xmas holidays.
Yours truly,
Abraham. P. Swart
Principal
VIRTUAL ACADEMIC REVIEW Q & A
- Is it possible to have the contact details of the academic staff who teaches our children? The College will share this with parents in the white envelope which will contain the reports, as the face-to-face type of reviews are not possible as in pre-COVID times. However, please email first with the concern before attempting to call the respective staff. This will allow the staff to have all information available when a reply is given. Also, as a matter of courtesy, if you need to call the staff then do so within office hours as staff also have their own families to care for after school. If you check the academic report then you will know who teaches your child in a specific subject.
- Yellow Fever Vaccinations: All parents who responded to the emails, text messages and phone calls, and gave approval for the vaccination to be administered, we wish to confirm that the vaccinations were completed on the 20th of November 2020. The respective children were issued with a certificate to confirm the same.
- Xmas Event: Due to Mr. Albert Authority, music teacher, leaving us in September for another job, the College managed to find a replacement who will start in January 2021. However, for obvious reasons JHC will not have its usual Christmas event this year.
- Can JHC have more co-curricular activities? Despite having an academic focus, JHC has more than enough co-curricular activities. However, we have a few factors in play which gives the perception that we do not have enough. Firstly, the Covid-19 restrictions mean that we cannot have our outside coaches visiting at present as it represents a risk; secondly, some students often complain to parents that we have none or very few, but the fact is these students are picky and do not want to do some of these activities, a typical teenager attitude; thirdly, we only have so much time in the day and this needs to be planned properly in order to achieve our shared vision; in the fourth instance, our location makes our choices limited in what we can offer but we are always working hard to add if reasonably possible.
- Reading, Reading and more Reading: Reading is a core component of learning, without it,students are unable to access teaching & learning. Reading means to understand, to comprehend and ability to feed the information back in one’s own words; it is to know the meaning of words and if not, then to research what it means, use these words regularly in order to build up ones vocabulary, etc. Historically, girls read more than boys, and more boys than girls are not naturally attracted to books. However, we are making improvements with the DEAR (Drop Everything And Read) project, 45 minutes a week to read an approved novel so as to cultivate a love for reading and subsequently, improving spelling, grammar, etc. Please read the attachment regarding the Summer Reading Project as attached.
- Student Underperformance: As per practice, we scrutinise and analyse all students’ performances regularly and if there is a pattern of underperformance then parents will be contacted accordingly. We are here to support every student to be the best that they can be. In
addition, staff sacrifice time and effort to assist not only after school during the week but also on weekends and these efforts must be reciprocated by the affected students to improve accordingly. - JHC Lagos: The Covid-19 pandemic upended several well-laid plans and the ‘JHC in Lagos’ was not
immune to this. However, this will still happen but within an extended time frame and I will
share when I have more information about to share. - YEAR 12 IGCSE examinations: The IGCSE examinations for the current Year 12’s will be written in May/June 2021.
REMINDERS
JHC YEAR 7 AGRICULTURAL EQUIPMENT REQUIREMENTS for TERM 2
Please read the attachment regarding the special clothing required by the Year 7’s when they do the Agricultural lessons from term two onwards.
YEAR 12 IGCSE DT PROJECT MATERIALS
The Year 12 IGCSE DT students have been given information about the materials they require to complete their projects. This needs to be brought to College on resumption in January 2021.
HEALTHY, SAFE and PROTECTED AGAINST COVID-19 & HAIR STYLES
Please adhere closely to the following before resumption for term 2, face masks (at least between three to four washable fabrics) must be brought to College with at least 2 bottles of pocket hand sanitizer. All boys must return with appropriate haircut and girls if wearing braids, this must be of the same colour as that of their hair. No face mask, then no entry from the main gate.
TRAVEL INFORMATION
Here follows the travel information for the Air Peace bookings (www.flyairpeace.com):
Asaba-Abuja- Asaba Asaba-Lagos-Asaba
Departure: 10th December 2020
9:30 am 12:35 pm
Return: 6th January 2021
11:05 am 8:00 am
As a practice, all tickets should be forwarded to lekkyes.dadwang@jameshopecollege.edu.ng, and
sunday.oloyede@jameshopecollege.edu.ng at least two weeks before the departure date.
Also note that the above timings are subject to change by the airline.
FUTURE EVENTS
Date Event
10th December 2020 End of Term
5th January 2021 Staff Inset Day
6th January 2021 Students resume for the start of Term 2
8th January 2021 Closing date for JHC Entrance Exams 2021/22
23rd & 30th January 2021 JHC Entrance/Admissions Exams for 2021/22
5th February 2021 Half-term break
For more information or clarification on any matter, please feel free to contact me at, 0708 396 4440 or abraham.swart@jameshopecollege.edu.ng
