Parent Update
31st January, 2022
Settling in to Term 2!
We are ecstatic to see our students face-to-face everyday! Seeing everyone happy and healthy is wonderful!
We want to continue this strong start, so please do read our Covid19 prevention policies and health guidelines. Let's all be vigilant so we can stay together!
We cannot wait to see what the year of 2022 will bring us and we already have some exciting dates and events coming up so enjoy!
Team Discovery, 2022
(Teachers, Assistants, Admin and Support Staff)
New Leaders and New Communication Channels
This year ushered in a new season of changes and new leadership at Discovery, Mr. Matt and Mme Irene have relocated to the United States to be with their families. However, they will continue to work online with Discovery on a part-time basis.
Our team is now reorganised to better serve our students, staff, and parent community. Please take note of the following;
Class teachers continue to be the primary contact points and relationship managers for parents and children.
For any issues or concerns beyond the teacher's scope of support, parents are encouraged to contact the following team leaders:
English Section Early Years and Lower Primary Parents: Ms. Mashi Ntimama
English Section Upper Primary Parents: Ms. Laura Nyarora
Francophone Primary Parents: Mr. Adelard Karubu
Francophone Maternelle Parents: Ms. Vanessa Kali
Life Skills and Character Development: Mr. Adelard Karubu
Operations and General Administration: Ms. Gloria Tunga
School Director Alpha Akariza: for any ideas or issues beyond the scope of our team leaders and teachers' support (director@discoveryrwanda.org).
Please contact our hotline on 0781111002 or email info@discoverywanda.org if you would like an initial appointment with any of the team members above.
No classes tomorrow 1st February, 2022
School will be closed on 1st February 2022, a public holiday celebrating Rwanda's Heroes'.
Access card verification from 2nd February, 2022
We are now in Week 3 of Term 2! Thank you to all parents who have settled tuition for Term 2, your partnership in this allows us to continue our dedication to strong student outcomes on daily basis.
In February we will be requesting to see Access Cards on any given morning. Please keep your access card in the designated car at arrival, our team may request to see your child's access card on an as-needed basis in February.
Please do not send your child to school from the 3rd of February, 2022, if you have not cleared with our finance department.
The Discovery Read-Aloud Challenge
We are celebrating World Read Aloud Day this week. We consider this special because reading to children is proven to accelerate their academic progress and their love for learning!
Ms. Laura leads our #DiscoveryReadsChallenge this Monday, with a fun and simple staircase ReadAloud with our Year 5 students.
She read "What the Road Said" by Cleo Wade.
"...Which way do I go? That is your choice to make, said the Road."
The book encourages students to lead with kindness and curiosity, remembering that the most important thing we can do in life is to keep going.
PS: The students enjoyed Ms. Laura's hat too!
A huge aspect of our 'Discovery Difference' is YOU. As part of this celebration, three parents will be given the opportunity to do a Read-Aloud in their child's class!
Please contact your child’s teacher if you would like to come in and read with us. We have many books in our library we heartily recommend or you are welcome to bring a favourite book too!
#DiscoveryReadsChallenge - AT HOME
We would like to see parents and children enjoying a book, send your class group some photos for social media shout-outs!
Key Dates and Upcoming Events
31st January -5th February 2022 - World Read Aloud Celebration Week
1st February 2022 (Tuesday) - Heroes Day is a national holiday, school will be closed
3rd February 2022 - Access card verification
14th-18th February 2022 - School photos will be taken Monday through to Thursday this week. The schedule for your class will be communicated later so your child can be dressed appropriately.
21st-25th February, 2022 - Midterm break
12th March, 2022 (Saturday)- Discovery Sports Event with Discovery Tshirts
14th - 25th March, 2022 - Discovery Literacy and Language Celebration
26th March - School-wide parent meetings on Zoom
4th - 6th April, 2022- End of term parent-teacher meetings (Half-days)
6th April - Discovery T-shirt Day
7th - 22nd April 2022 - 2nd Term Holidays
25th April - 30th June - 3rd Term
8th-23rd August 2022 - Pre-opening training and preparation for all staff
Wednesday 24th August - The next academic year begins for students
Team Development Updates
20 of our staff members completed a 3-day first aid training course with Red Cross, we are glad to have many potential first responders in our building!
As a school team, we are doing an in-depth study of the book, "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey". We are just about to dig into Habit 3 and hope to finish the book by the end of the first term!
Our staff continues to engage in professional development and team-level collaboration every week. We have a continued focus on a positive and productive classroom culture coupled with an emphasis on student progress in core areas of learning.
As part of our professional development activities this term, we have an internal best-practice expo coming up, where each teacher team will share a learning challenge in their class and the best practice deployed to address the challenge. Each team will present evidence and share the journey to student mastery in a particular learning area.
We have a positive team culture marked by growing solidarity and a demonstrated passion for personal growth and professional excellence!
Did your child bring hand sanitizer, tissues and/or wet wipes?
A quick reminder that arrival is 7:45am for Primary and 8am for Early Years. Lessons begin at these times so please be on time!
All students need to provide 300mls (or more) of hand sanitizer & 3 boxes of dry tissues. The 1-5 year old classes also require 3 packets of wet wipes.
Thanks for helping us prevent the spread of illness by providing these essential resources.
IF your child was born in 2020 or 2019...
We are currently registering students for the 2 and 3 year old classes for the September 2022 intake (for children born in 2020 and 2019).
It is important for Discovery Families to register within the next 30 days, we only have a few spots left and we want to make sure we prioritise Discovery Families before responding to parents on our waiting list.
What happens now when there is a Covid19 case at school?
Going forward, when we find out there is a positive case in a class, all students and staff will be tested twice, first on the day the case is identified, and then again after 3 days to screen for any further contagion.
All who test negative for covid19 each time we test will continue with their classes as usual. Positive students and staff will stay at home until they are fully recovered and present negative test results.
When possible Discovery will arrange for testing to be done at Discovery and parents will be requested to pay for the tests via Mobile Money.
Please keep sick children at home until they are fully recovered and have tested negative for covid19.
Term 2 Health guidelines - click here for more information
Discovery T-shirts (for students)
In case you would like to order pick-up cards, masks or Discovery t-shirts for your child, click here for the order form:
We are currently recruiting for the following positions as we prepare for another academic year;
Instructional leaders/Department heads for both French and English sections
A Principal with extensive leadership and instructional expertise (ideally in language and literacy) for a June/July 2022 start
Teachers/Enseignants
Strong bilingual classroom assistants and para-educators (rolling recruitment)
Interested applicants are requested to send their CVs and motivation emails to info@discoveryrwanda.org