Dear Parents of Saigon South International School,
A very warm welcome to the 2019-2020 school year to our new and returning families! I am very proud to serve as the Head of Saigon South International School. These are exciting times for the school and I am delighted that we have the opportunity to build on a strong foundation of 21 years while taking the school to the next level of excellence.
As usual, this summer, we made numerous enhancements to our beautiful campus, to increase comfort and safety for our students. We are very excited to update you on these improvements.
At our main entrance, the canopy has been extended to help arriving students stay nice and dry as they enter school. We have extended the security booth, which will greatly improve the flow of students as they enter the school grounds through the security gates, where arrivers will be greeted by our new Security Team Leader, Mr. Hai.
To give our students increased use of the backfield, we are adding floodlights which will improve safety and ensure that we never have to cut our students’ activities short due to a lack of light. The increased access to this field will be very useful, especially as we also welcome our new Activities Director, Jon Wrzesinski who will no doubt plan all sorts of fun ways to take advantage of this space.
Our cafeteria has gone through a considerable makeover, which will decrease wait times for students at lunchtime, while at the same time enable the Caterers to increase the selections on offer. Thanks to the many parents who helped us understand how our cafeteria and food offerings could be improved; I think you will be impressed with the upgrade.
Additionally, as many of you suggested, we are continuing our work to enhance the atrium for the comfort of our students. This year, we have added more green plants and beautiful bougainvillea vines that will grow to cover the steel columns, and will help to additionally cool the area.
Lastly, I would like to update you on building phase 1 (the summer 2019 construction plan, which included three separate building areas). We looked forward to introducing these spaces to you at the start of the new school year. Despite our thorough planning, the building permits were delayed. At this time, we are unable to give you an exact date of completion, however, we will keep you informed as we learn more. I appreciate your patience and understanding as we continue to develop spaces to further enhance our students’ learning environments.
We greatly look forward to welcoming back Flansburgh Architects, in September for the exciting work on developing the master plan for our facility expansion. This will continue as planned and is not affected by the minor delay of phase 1. Should you have any questions, concerns or suggestions, I encourage you to contact me at hos@ssis.edu.vn at any time.
Please enjoy these last remaining days of the holiday with your children. They have an exciting year of learning ahead! I look forward to welcoming you all on campus in August.
All good wishes,
Dr. Catriona Moran
Head of School
