Dear VERSO Community,

I hope this newsletter finds everyone well and ready for a holiday! A big thank you and congratulations to the entire community for WinterFest. It was bigger and better than last year, and we have all of you to thank for it. From games, to food, to performances, to fundraising, I heard it was a magnificent event. I especially want to thank the VERSOnians and the entire parent community for their time and effort with planning, bringing in prizes, and helping to run the day. Unfortunately, I missed the event, but I saw a great deal of video and pictures, and it looked like it was a wonderful opportunity to bring the community together! 

 

During WinterFest, I was in Seoul, South Korea, at the Next K Challenge event, where I had the opportunity to make a presentation on VERSO, sharing our innovative and progressive practices. Additionally, I was able to engage in conversations about potential future events hosted at our school, and opportunities for our learners. You can read more about this event on my LinkedIn post .

This week we had Colleen Ackford, a consultant from Erin Kent Consulting here at VERSO. The purpose of this visit was to work with our Learning Designers in building a vision for literacy at VERSO. During the LDT's Professional Learning Day on Monday, they were involved in workshops on a variety of topics, including phonics, word study, and reading instruction. On her second day with us, the focus was getting into classrooms, meeting our learners, and demonstrating best practices in literacy instruction. We are looking forward to having Colleen back in February to further our learning and work with our community.

Yesterday afternoon we had our End-of-Season Basketball Awards that took place in honor of our successful basketball season. Congratulations to all of the players involved, and thank you to the parents for your ongoing support! I would also like to congratulate those athletes who participated in the track and field event at Brighton College Bangkok. VERSO brought home 11 medals - what an exceptional showing for our first ever track and field event!

Once again, congratulations on a wonderful start to the school year, and thank you for your warm welcome to the VERSO community. I hope that everyone is able to rest, and enjoy time with family and friends. We will see you on Tuesday 9 January 2024 when school reopens and do save the date for the next Coffee Morning with me on on 17 January 2024.

Have a wonderful holiday.

Best regards,

Ryan Persaud
Head of School