Greetings Stonehill community! Diwali has always been one of my more favourite holidays, with bright colours, fashionable wear, the lighting of candles, music, dance and of course the food! I’d like to wish our community a Happy Diwali break! It is my hope that we can celebrate Diwali as a community next year. It is a fact that the impact of the Coronavirus has had a residual effect on everyone in our community, students, parents, teachers and staff. Schools in India, have been working hard to address the effectiveness of teaching and learning online, but also safeguarding the well-being of all. At Stonehill, we have not only been committed to continual improvement of our remote and distance learning delivery, but also mindful about fine-tuning our practices to help the well-being of our students, teachers, and parents. Key amongst these is recognizing that our learners and educators alike are going through numerous transitions in recent months. It is a biological fact that as human beings our DNA is constructed for social interaction. With the lack of such, times have been understandably most challenging for many. These challenges have also brought opportunities to build relationships authentically, albeit online. At SIS, we continue to strive to fulfil our mission during these challenging times, with continued instruction to build content knowledge and skills as well as continue building relationships, collaborating authentic partnerships. Providing a healthy balance is indeed our aim. As we prepare for the upcoming Diwali celebrations and holidays, thank you for your continued support. I wish you all a restorative holiday to celebrate, reflect, and recalibrate, and yet most importantly, be safe. Wishing each one of you a very Happy Diwali! Brian Brumsickle Head of School |