Discovery is back for the seventh year!
It is a pleasure to start a new school year with you all and we send a warm and special welcome to new families in the Discovery community! Here are a few updates from our first few days back at school. Tuesday, August 23rd marked the first day of school for our primary students, whereas our early years classes followed suit on Wednesday, August 24th.
Discovery in Kibagabaga
Wednesday was also the opening day of our new campus in Kibagabaga. This campus will host 2's, 3's, 4's and 5 year old classes. These classes will also continue at our Gisozi campus.
Please share the news with all your friends and family in the Kibagabaga, Kinyinya, Kimironko, and surrounding areas! Album:Kibagabaga Campus Opening Day
back to school!
Access card verification
Thank you to all families that have settled their tuition and resource fees, this allows Discovery to focus on delivering an outstanding provision to our students.
From Thursday, September 8th, our welcome team will be verifying access cards.
Please clear with finance and secure your child(ren)'s access cards between today and Wednesday, 6th September (if you have not) and send proof of payment to info@discoveryrwanda.org and copy finance@discoveryrwanda.org.
If you do not have your access cards by the 7th of September, please keep your child at home and schedule a meeting with Ms. Claudine Uwitonze or Ms. Gloria Tunga (send a message or call +250781111002 and email info@discoveryrwanda.org to book an appointment).
Clubs and enrichment
Extracurricular clubs will begin on September, 19th 2022
Parents can register their children for extracurricular activities through Access Center
The deadline to register for clubs and extracurricular activities is September 12th.
Available Clubs
Ballet
Rwandan traditional dance
Soccer
Basketball
Taekwondo
Robotics/Coding/3D Design
Extra French Club
Extra English Club
Homework and Revision Club
Bible Club
Coming Soon
Swimming
Musical Instruments
Click here to register your child for clubs
(Use an email address you registered with Discovery)
Traffic Flow
We aim to keep traffic flowing fast at pick-up and drop-off, here is how you can participate!
If you like to arrive way before gates open, please minimise this, do not arrive any more than 5 minutes before gates open (cars that arrive too early can quickly fill up the feeder road and block Kagugu/Gisozi traffic before school gates actually open)
Aim to arrive at Discovery at gate opening time but not later than 20 minutes after the gates open. This allows you to drive through much faster and keeps the traffic flow moving fast in Discovery, towards Kagugu and towards Gakinjiro.
Arrival/Drop-off Guidelines
Gates open at 7h 40
Early Years students aged 1 to 4 years can arrive at 8h 00
Primary students have math and language revision at 7h 50 am, they must be settled and at their desks by 7h 50, please drop them off by 7:45 am
Dropping off younger children..
For younger children, try to keep the goodbyes short and sweet for an easier transition
Remind the children to have their school belongings ready to be quickly carried from the vehicle on arrival
Parents are only allowed to walk students to class during the first two weeks of the school year
After that period, children follow the arrival and dismissal guidelines in this update.
Early Arrivals (before 7:40 am)
As much as possible, we request that all parents drop off their children at 7:40 am
Should an earlier drop-off be absolutely necessary, you will need to register your child for early drop-off. A registration form to this end is available on Access Center.
A kind reminder that our staff shifts are set by contractual hours and they already exceed 8 hours a day (including staff duties occurring before and after children are picked up).
Picking up your child from Discovery
When using the drive-through roundabout, we aim to bring students to at least 5-6 cars at a time
For this to work, cars will be guided to park very close to the upper exit gate (drive-through) to create space for other cars and to maximise all the exit and entry points in the drive-through.
Half-day dismissal is at 12h 30 and full-day dismissal is at 16h 00.
Late pick-up fines
Parents are reminded that the school enforces fines for those who are more than 30 minutes late to pick up their children.
Half-day dismissal is 12h 30, so fines are issued from 13h 01
Full-day dismissal is 16h 00 so fines will be issued from 16h 31, or 13h 45 on Tuesdays.
Fines are 20,000 RWF after the 31st minute and an extra 35,000 RWF fine every hour past the first hour.
Parents have 24 hours to pay the fines .
Help us keep the school functioning well by respecting one another's time. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.
Meeting or Talking to Staff at Pick-Up or Drop-Off
If you would like to talk to a teacher or staff member, please book an appointment outside of the arrival and dismissal windows.
Staff in the full-day program can be available on an agreed workday, usually at about 4:30 pm
The dismissal window from 4:00-4:30 pm is not ideal for talking to staff members, as all staff are heavily involved in the dismissal procedures.
Car Safety
Please seat children aged 12 and below in the back seats (not the front seat)
Please ensure that car doors have the child-lock feature enabled for both doors
Parents should not allow children to exit the car before they can be attended to by a Discovery Staff member.
Hygiene Supplies
If you have not, please deliver the following resources to support class hygiene and minimise the spread of infections, every child is required to bring;
3 packs of dry tissues
3 packets of wet wipes or 6 packets of wet wipes (for children still in diapers)
500mls to 1 litre of hand sanitiser
Parents of New 2 and 3 Year Olds
The first two weeks of school can be challenging for children and parents. However, rest assured that soon your child will feel at ease in their new environment.
Here are a few tips;
The second/third week is always easier than the first, however, a few Mondays tend to come with some tears, especially after a long weekend. Every Sunday, talk with your child about school and support them to process the emotions around this big change. During these conversations, always show them photos of their class, their classmates, and of themselves taking part in school activities, this helps to prepare them for Monday and may reduce their anxiety.
If you would like to call or meet with a teacher, please agree on a time with them, mid or late afternoons work best when the children are either napping or back at home.
Typically teachers are not able to chat or take calls during class time as their focus should be on the children almost the entire time, except for emergency situations.
Late confirmations and late registrations
Our finance office is only available from 1pm to 5:30 pm, to process late student admission/clearance.
New students and late-starts report to school 1 full working day after clearing with finance, this allows time for class allocation and placement processing.
Office Hours
In September, the administration and finance offices will receive parents/appointments only in the afternoons from 1pm to 5:30 pm
Access cards will not be processed during morning hours in September 2022
In October, full day appointments with the administrative team will be available again (9am to 5:30 pm)
Communicating with Discovery Teachers
Parents can contact teachers directly with questions about the learning and well-being of their child, here are a few important guidelines to keep in mind;
Messages can be sent to teachers from Monday to Friday between 8 am and 5pm, however, teachers can only respond when they no longer have children in their direct supervision, this could be at the end of the school day
Parents can only call teachers between 4.30 and 5.30 pm, Monday to Friday
Teachers do not work on Saturday and Sunday, we kindly request parents to communicate to staff between Monday and Friday, unless it is an emergency or a serious matter that must be discussed over the weekend and can not wait until Monday
During an emergency or exceptional circumstances, Discovery staff always endeavour to make exceptions and respond to queries as soon as possible
Morning Snack
Please send your child with a healthy snack and drink every day. Click here for detailed snack guidelines
Daily morning snack and drink (at least 1 fruit, healthy carbohydrates, a serving of protein and water)
Well diluted juice and other snacks are welcome, but fruit and water are obligatory - everyday.
Parents are not allowed to send soda, sweets, chocolates, high sugar or salty snacks. Parents are encouraged to read food labels.
The morning snack can include fruits, hard-boiled eggs, yoghurt,healthy sandwiches, well diluted fresh juice or drinking water.
If there is a child with severe allergies that could result in anaphylactic shock, the snack guidelines for the class will be adjusted accordingly and communicated to all parents in the class
Nap requirements
Full-day students aged 4 years and below bring a blanket and 1 or 2 bed sheets every Monday and take them home every Friday for washing.
Clothing, footwear and sun-protection
Pack a light change of clothes for all children aged 7 and below and please include a sweater during the rainy season.
Provide your child with a pair of indoor shoes/crocs.
Remember to send children with simple and practical outfits
School attire should be attire that allows play and exploration - do not send children with impractical or expensive clothing or jewellery or similar items.
For dresses and skirts, always include leggings/collant
All children’s items/belongings must be clearly labelled with a permanent marker.
If your child needs protection from the sun, please send sunscreen and a hat that are labelled with your child’s name.
Making Payments to Discovery
You may pay your child’s fees using MTN Mobile Money 182*8*1*040894
Bank Payment
Urwego Bank
The account name is DISCAL LTD.
RWF 111 6293050122
USD account 111 6293050114
Please send proof of payment to info@discoveryrwanda.org and copy finance@discoveryrwanda.org.
Always specify the child’s name on the bank slip, and in the email, that you send to the school.
For finance information, please contact the Accounts Department on +250783627836 or the School Admin line on 0781111002
To contact our finance department, please send an email to finance@discoveryrwanda.org and copy info@discoveryrwanda.org