Upper Primary Grand Opening
upper primary principal
Farewell Mrs. DeLashmutt! UPS Principal Jennifer DeLashmutt wraps up her fifth year at HKIS before heading to the International School Bangkok (ISB) as Director of Curriculum and Professional Learning. Stay in touch, Mrs. D! What’s been the best thing about HKIS?
The students, faculty, and staff. We have the most diverse, eclectic and engaged students I have ever known. On top of that, we have the most talented and dedicated faculty and staff who can come from all over the world. Being surrounded by such amazingness lets me learn and grow every day. Share a fun moment you had with your UPS students!
I have had quite a few fun moments with students over the last few years. It’s not hard to have fun in the Upper Primary School! Some of my favorite moments with students: Getting hit by a few pies in the face as a “prize” won by a student; facilitating Chapels; interviewing students to get to know what they love about UP; being on lunch duty; and reading aloud in a group in a classroom. What’s your favorite place/nook in the renovated UPS building?
There are too many! Having students, faculty and staff have voice and choice in the design process has allowed for our learning community to own our spaces. The indoor playspaces, the Chinese Cultural Center, the Secret Garden, the entire Design Wing, the library and the Kid Kitchen are all a reflection of the creativity of our students, faculty, and staff. On any given day, being in any learning space watching students as they read, make meaning, write, or collaborate is truly the best place to be! As you look back at your time at HKIS, first as Director of Curriculum and Assessment and then as UP Principal, what are you most proud of? What will you remember most fondly?
The privilege of working with and learning from Mrs. Linda Anderson, our current Director of Curriculum and Assessment, was an impactful launch into my first year at HKIS. Her wisdom and leadership style combined with our collaborative approach to strategic planning and professional learning served me well throughout my years at HKIS and will stay with me. I am thoroughly proud of the UPS faculty and staff for their efforts around collaboration and their commitment to a continuous cycle of improvement. There is always room to grow and as we dedicate ourselves to nurturing resilient, creative, collaborative and compassionate children, the UPS team is second to none in developing the whole child. And this is the team that moved our building twice in 12 months and helped design a future-ready school for our learners, all while continuing to focus on student learning, daily!
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DRAGONTALES SUMMER 2019
What do you love most about Hong Kong?
Hong Kong is our first post away from our home country. It is also the place my children have lived the longest. Hong Kong quickly became our home and is a part of our family’s forever story. Hong Kong is home to a diverse culture, it is welcoming and it is vibrant and gritty like no other city in the world. It has been an honor to live here for the last five years. What are you looking forward to at ISB?
Moving to a school-wide role, I am so excited to collaborate with and support principals around teaching and learning. Having student-centered, learning-focused conversations focusing on a strategic common goal or purpose has always been invigorating to me. I appreciate the opportunity to learn, grow and plan for the current and future development of the whole child, PK-12. Apart from the international move, do you have summer plans?
Between moving to Bangkok and starting the job, we’ll watch our kids play in soccer tournaments in Sweden! Clockwise from below: With Associate Principal Virginia Udall and the Stanley Cup; Director of Facilities Pat Hall, APs Gene Cheh and Virginia Udall, Jen DeLashmutt and Ron Roukema celebrate the UP opening in August; with an UP student; the Terrific Trio that is the UP Admin team!
