I trust that all families have had a restful holiday and are looking forward to the start of an exciting year at the new campus at Phoenix Park.

I would like to warmly welcome my successor at Avondale, Mr Andrew Coote to Singapore. I have known Andrew for some time in Sydney and am sure he will do a fine job in leading Avondale Grammar School.  Mr Coote was introduced  to the children and parents of the school last Monday and also managed to meet with the PA on Thursday.

On behalf of Mr Coote, I would like to welcome new families starting at Avondale Grammar – we hope your children settle in smoothly and quickly to the routines of school life. We strongly encourage all new families to get actively involved in the plethora of activities and events offered at Avondale Grammar School. We hope all new families found the Orientation Morning beneficial in getting to know teachers and some of the new protocols for our new campus. Please don’t hesitate to organise appointments with relevant teachers if any concerns arise. 

We have a number of new teachers starting at Avondale Grammar School this year. We welcome Mrs Shanhong Hughes as our new Music Director, Ms Lorena Romero as a support teacher in the Year 2 classroom, Mrs Gemma Walker in the Year 1 classroom, Ms Amarjit Kaur as our Librarian and Ms Amanda Dundas as a teacher support in Year 1. We wish them all a smooth transition to Avondale Grammar School.

We are most excited about the many developments that have occurred at Phoenix Park since the tours from last term. Classrooms are now appropriately set up to cater for the learning needs of their students. Some of the developments have included interactive mimio boards within each class from Kindergarten to Year 6 (including the ICT room), the playground and sports court at the front of the school are now in place and the rooftop playing area is also completed.  The other developments that you will notice upon your return to school is an added Preschool Playground, a well resourced library that will continue to grow with new and appropriate literature for the children, an ICT laboratory with upgraded and new computers, a wonderful new hall  for school assemblies, presentations and concerts and a well resourced art room.
The school has made a commitment to the children and families of Avondale for a playing field area and swimming pool. Due to circumstances with the Singapore Land Authority, we have been unable to have the swimming pool and playing field area in the originally proposed position on the Phoenix Park site. We have continued to explore the best possible options for relocating the playing field area and swimming pool with the landlord and will ensure families are updated on the progress of the developments. Please see the Parent Lounge Noticeboard for further information.
 We are pleased that the children will still have the above mentioned play options, including the grassed area near the canteen and the spacious Multi-Purpose Hall. Fortunately, we have a number of options of ovals within the neigbouring area that we will use at different times for sports trainings, ECAs and enrichment activities, until all negotiations are finalised at Phoenix Park. We sincerely apologise for the hold up on this development.

Finally, due to some complications with moving the shade cloth from the Toa Payoh site, we need to organise an alternative shade protection for the playground equipment area. We will inform all families on this important area, as it is vital we get the appropriate shade material to meet the standards of Singapore.

We would like to emphasise some important starting procedures for our new school;

· Children should meet in the front of the school (waiting area under cover) when arriving in the morning between between 8am to 8.15am. They will then have the opportunity to play on the playground equipment or sports court at the front of the school. The bell will ring at 8.30am and children will line up at the sports court in their different grades. If it is raining, children will go to the Multi-Purpose Hall. We hope many parents join us at lines each day. Children will then move with teachers to their classrooms. We ask parents to leave at this point, so that children can settle into their classes with their new teachers for the year.
· In the afternoon there will be 3 points of pick up – bus children will meet at the front of the school (at school entry point), children who are picked up by parents will meet at the Sports Court (front of the school) and when Enrichment and ECA activities start children will need to meet Ms Hand in the Multi-Purpose Hall and then move off with their designated teachers. Parents will then need to pick up children at the Multi-Purpose Hall after activities are finished at 4pm.There will be teachers on duty at each of these points.
· Avondale families are able to enter the school from the front entry point or from the Mind Champs stairwell side entrance. We would ask all parents who are driving or walking their children to school to allow extra time for traffic until routines are set in place. We ask that people park at the bottom of the hill near Spruce Café as buses will have priority in dropping off at the front of the school.

Preschool Procedures for Drop Off and Pick Up

· Children catching the bus will be picked up by either Ms Coplin or Ms Fazlyna in the morning from the drop off area at the front of the school at 8.15am. Children getting dropped off by parents will need to taken directly to the Preschool Room. The Preschool children will only come to morning lines at certain times that will be communicated by Ms Coplin.
· At 3pm, either Ms Coplin or Ms Fazlyna will take the children catching the bus to the front of the school (at school entry point) while parents picking up their children will need to meet them directly at the Preschool.

Just a reminder for parents dropping off and picking up their children in the Preschool to do so from the Minds Champ stairwell at the side of the school.

There will be many more procedures that will be communicated throughout the course of the term from Mr Coote. We will ensure the children are very clear on set routines for Phoenix Park and are feeling settled and comfortable in their new school.

Besides the interest and excitement for the children in the classroom, some of the highlights and events for Term 1 include Chinese New Year Celebrations, the Athletics Carnival, the continuation of the Treasure Keepers Values Program and our Easter Hat Parade. We will have an Information Evening in Week 2 and Parent/Teacher interviews will occur in Week 3 to discuss targets for the children in each class for the semester. We also look forward to the Official Opening of Phoenix Park this term – more information will be communicated on this event.
The Extra Curricula Activities and School Enrichment information on offer was sent out at the end of last term with confirmation of chosen activities for children being sent to all families by the end of this week. If you are wanting your child to participate in an ECA (run by outside professionals), please organise payment to the School Office on receipt of an invoice. Teachers will also again coordinate complimentary enrichment activities for the children after school. Please note that all activities will run from 3.15pm to 4pm, starting in Week 2 and concluding in Week 9. It is important that students remain with their chosen activity/s for the duration of the term.

We look forward to our first event organised by the Parents Association this term, namely the School Picnic. More information on the event will be communicated by our new PA team of Mrs Samantha Barber and Mr Adrian Porter. I would like to welcome them to their roles as co-Presidents of the Parents Association and wish them well in the position. The Kindergarten parents will get the opportunity to meet Samantha and Adrian at our Tea and Tissues morning on the 25th of January.
Classes and Teachers for 2010

Preschool – Ms Coplin (Preschool Director)/Ms Fazlyna /Mr Perkowsky (also PE Teacher)/Mrs King
Kindergarten – Ms Picken/Ms Krishnan – (one class)
Year 1 – Mrs Sinden/ Mrs Walker and Ms Dundas – (two classes)
Year 2 – Ms Lim/Ms Romero/ Mr O’Shea (also IT Teacher) – (one class)
Year 3 – Mrs Collins
Year 4 –Ms Vernon – Curriculum Coordinator
Year 5/6 – Ms Hand – Deputy Head
Mandarin – Ms Wang/Ms Mei/ Ms Yanfen Shi (Mandarin Co-ordinator)
French – Ms Bali
Music – Mrs Hughes
Art – Ms Michelle (from Canvas Art)
Librarian – Ms Kaur

We have made some small changes to classes due to some new teachers starting at Avondale.

I would like to again thank teachers, parents and children for their incredible support and encouragement during my Headship at Avondale. You made my final week at AGS a special one.I will always have fond memories of my time at the school.

I wish everyone a successful 2010 and look forward to hearing positive reports about the future of Avondale.

Martin Tait
Head of Avondale Grammar School