News from the Executive Principal’s Desk

Dear parents, students, teachers and alumni of Sekolah Ciputra,

It is our last week before Term Break, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty going on!  On Monday at 2:30 p.m. our Senior Boys’ Basketball Team will play against Cita Hati East in the DBL Tournament, with the winner moving on to the next round. We have allowed students and staff to go support them, so hopefully they can help cheer the team on to victory.  We will also have the ICAS Science assessment taking place after school on Monday.

Tuesday will bring Dr. Grace Cheng Dodge, the former Associate Director of Admissions at Harvard, coming to speak with our parents and students in Ciputra Hall. Parents of students below 10th grade will have a session from 7:45-9:00.  9th and 10th grade students will join from 9:00-10:00, 11th graders from 10:30-11:30, and 12th graders from 11:30-12:30.  Parents of 10th-12th grade students will have their session from 1:30-3:00, then all High School teachers will work with her on writing Letters of Recommendation after school in the LRC.  

We will also celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival in the PYP with a MoonCake making activity on Tuesday morning. 4th grade parents will come for an information session about the Kidpreneur project Tuesday afternoon as well.  The PYP Sports League House Competition will continue throughout the week, and we will end the week with the Early Years’ 3-Way Conference on Friday. After that, teachers and students will be able to enjoy a well deserved week long break!

As we wrap up Term 1, this week’s article and videos (English & Indonesian) focus on something that is extremely important for all of us: Kindness. Thank you to Mr. Marcus in the PYP for sharing the article with me!  It made me reflect on something I have thought about throughout my educational career…

In US public schools we were taught to stand at the door of our classrooms during class change time in case a fight broke out in the hallway and we needed to go help break it up.  This became a habit for me, and I kept standing at my classroom door every lesson of every day, long after I left the US and moved into the international school world, where there are not so many fights in the hallways.  One day a colleague of mine commented to me how nice it was that I welcomed my students to my classroom each lesson.  I was a bit confused by this, as it had never really occurred to me that it was anything special. Later, I had several students mention to me how much they appreciated my saying hello to them as they entered the room.  That is when it really hit me!

From that point onwards I began focusing more on each individual student as he or she came into my classroom. I began saying hello to everyone I passed in the hallways.  When I first became a principal I made sure I stood at the entrance to the school to say hello to everyone as they arrived, and when I could, I tried to go out and say goodbye to everyone at the end of the day as they left.  I have tried to continue this in every school I have worked in since.  Some students (and parents) walk right past without returning the greeting.  But I keep trying, and day by day, week by week, month by month, and sometimes year by year, they start to see me and respond in kind, until it becomes part of their daily routine as well. And because of this, I have had people actually notice when I am not out there, and tell me they missed my “good morning” to start their day.  It’s such a little thing, but it comes back to the article and videos…being kind to others is so important and something we can all do.  I hope you have a great week and an even better term break ahead!

Dr. Christopher Allen
Executive Principal

Other Articles

News from the Executive Principal’s Desk

Dear parents, students, teachers and alumni of Sekolah Ciputra,

It is our last week before Term Break, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty going on!  On Monday at 2:30 p.m. our Senior Boys’ Basketball Team will play against Cita Hati East in the DBL Tournament, with the winner moving on to the next round. We have allowed students and staff to go support them, so hopefully they can help cheer the team on to victory.  We will also have the ICAS Science assessment taking place after school on Monday.

Tuesday will bring Dr. Grace Cheng Dodge, the former Associate Director of Admissions at Harvard, coming to speak with our parents and students in Ciputra Hall. Parents of students below 10th grade will have a session from 7:45-9:00.  9th and 10th grade students will join from 9:00-10:00, 11th graders from 10:30-11:30, and 12th graders from 11:30-12:30.  Parents of 10th-12th grade students will have their session from 1:30-3:00, then all High School teachers will work with her on writing Letters of Recommendation after school in the LRC.  

We will also celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival in the PYP with a MoonCake making activity on Tuesday morning. 4th grade parents will come for an information session about the Kidpreneur project Tuesday afternoon as well.  The PYP Sports League House Competition will continue throughout the week, and we will end the week with the Early Years’ 3-Way Conference on Friday. After that, teachers and students will be able to enjoy a well deserved week long break!

As we wrap up Term 1, this week’s article and videos (English & Indonesian) focus on something that is extremely important for all of us: Kindness. Thank you to Mr. Marcus in the PYP for sharing the article with me!  It made me reflect on something I have thought about throughout my educational career…

In US public schools we were taught to stand at the door of our classrooms during class change time in case a fight broke out in the hallway and we needed to go help break it up.  This became a habit for me, and I kept standing at my classroom door every lesson of every day, long after I left the US and moved into the international school world, where there are not so many fights in the hallways.  One day a colleague of mine commented to me how nice it was that I welcomed my students to my classroom each lesson.  I was a bit confused by this, as it had never really occurred to me that it was anything special. Later, I had several students mention to me how much they appreciated my saying hello to them as they entered the room.  That is when it really hit me!

From that point onwards I began focusing more on each individual student as he or she came into my classroom. I began saying hello to everyone I passed in the hallways.  When I first became a principal I made sure I stood at the entrance to the school to say hello to everyone as they arrived, and when I could, I tried to go out and say goodbye to everyone at the end of the day as they left.  I have tried to continue this in every school I have worked in since.  Some students (and parents) walk right past without returning the greeting.  But I keep trying, and day by day, week by week, month by month, and sometimes year by year, they start to see me and respond in kind, until it becomes part of their daily routine as well. And because of this, I have had people actually notice when I am not out there, and tell me they missed my “good morning” to start their day.  It’s such a little thing, but it comes back to the article and videos…being kind to others is so important and something we can all do.  I hope you have a great week and an even better term break ahead!

Dr. Christopher Allen
Executive Principal